Technology

After two bloody, pulse-pounding seasons, AMC's Interview with the Vampire is moving from Anne Rice's first Vampire Chronicles novel to the second with The Vampire Lestat. And it's going to be wild.

In this season, Lestat de Lioncourt takes a cue from his secret-spilling flame Louis, and shares the tale of his life, death, and undead times through song. Yeah, baby, Lestat goes full rock star. And this latest teaser from AMC has Sam Reid wallowing in Brat Prince behavior, smoking and lounging in velvet, while complaining about — of all things — a lamp and a fern.

SEE ALSO: Lestat rocks out in 'Interview With The Vampire' Season 3 teaser

"This is the kind of room that old people grab you by the hand and say, 'Please do not let me die here,'" Lestat spits in this brief and bizarre teaser.

What does it mean? Well, this teaser also gives a glimpse of a frustrated Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) behind a monitor. Clearly, he's interviewing Lestat on camera, rather than just recording audio as he did with Louis. But don't expect this Brat Prince to make it easy on him.

Is there a relevance to the lamp and fern though? I can't pretend I care. I'd watch Reid in Lestat mode read the Wikipedia entry on the combustible engine. So, I'll take whatever scraps AMC deigns to drop ahead of The Vampire Lestat's release.

When is The Vampire Lestat coming? The tease is real. All we know for now is 2026.

Are you ready to tackle some more advanced Raspberry Pi projects? This weekend is the perfect time to take your hobby projects to the next level.

If you can't wait to see Hamnet, Mashable has great news for you. We're teaming with Focus Features for advance screenings in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. And all you've got to do to get in on this event is sign up here.

For more on why Hamnet should be on your must-see movies list, Entertainment Editor, Kristy Puchko presents an Oscar Minute recap.

Previously, on the Oscars, a bevy of movies inspired by the works and life of William Shakespeare (many of them involving Kenneth Branagh) have earned attention from the Academy, from nominations to Oscar gold. This awards season, Oscar's eye is sure to focus on Hamnet — a drama about the real-life tragedy that inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet. 

SEE ALSO: Win tickets to see 'Hamnet' early at Mashable's advanced screenings

Academy Award–winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao directs Academy Award–nominated actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as Shakespeare and his wife Agnes. Hamnet reveals how the two historic figures fell in love, had three adorable children, and grappled with the grief when death came to their door. 

An unapologetic and poetic tearjerker, Hamnet's been earning wild praise from critics, who are already counting it as a front-runner for Best Picture. 

Rave reviews cheer Buckley's bold portrait of maternal joy and pain, and Mescal's poignant take on a Shakespeare who buried his own hurt in one of his most revered plays. 

Undoubtedly, Hamnet is one of the must-see movies of 2025. And Mashable is making it easier to see it. In collaboration with Focus Features, we are offering you a chance to see Hamnet before it opens in theaters. For more details, check out Mashable's full announcement.

UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2025, 3:29 p.m. EST This article has been updated given the enactment of Arizona and Ohio's age-verification laws.

The explicit tube site Pornhub is now blocked in 22 U.S. states.

This is due to age-verification laws. These laws vary state by state, but typically require visitors of a site with over a third of explicit content to submit a government ID or other form of age authentication. Louisiana was the first state to enact such a bill a couple of years ago, and now others have followed suit. In June, the Supreme Court deemed Texas's age-verification law constitutional, setting a precedent for such bills that come before and after.

SEE ALSO: Porn censorship is going to destroy the entire internet

According to one preliminary study, age verification won't work to keep minors off porn sites. This is because of software like VPNs that allow someone to appear to be in a different location, and because of non-compliant websites. (The Florida attorney general is suing foreign-based porn sites for not instituting age verification.) Yet, these laws keep getting passed — and are encroaching on non-explicit websites as well, experts told Mashable.

While Pornhub is not blocked in Louisiana, it is blocked in these states, a Pornhub representative confirmed to Mashable:

• Alabama

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• Florida

• Georgia

• Idaho

• Indiana

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Mississippi

• Montana

• Nebraska

• North Carolina

• North Dakota

• Oklahoma

• South Carolina

• South Dakota

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Utah

• Virginia

• Wyoming

Pornhub isn't blocked in Ohio despite the state's age-verification law, due to a clause stating that establishing age verification methods doesn't apply to a provider of an interactive computer service (Aylo considers itself one).

In Louisiana, where users must submit ID to view Pornhub, the site has seen traffic decline by around 80 percent, Aylo (Pornhub's parent company) told Mashable.

"These people did not stop looking for porn. They just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don't ask users to verify age, that don't follow the law, that don't take user safety seriously, and that often don't even moderate content. In practice, the laws have just made the internet more dangerous for adults and children," Aylo stated when asked for comment by Mashable back in January.

In a statement to Mashable, Aylo continued:

First, to be clear, Aylo has publicly supported age verification of users for years, but we believe that any law to this effect must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults.

Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.

Industry experts say that, in addition to not working for their intended purpose, age verification laws also raise concerns about privacy protection and safety since websites now have to host (even more of) people's personal information. It will be harder to be anonymous online, which experts warn is dangerous to free speech. Adult industry experts Mashable spoke to in an explainer on age-verification laws advocated for device-level filters, as did Aylo in its statement.

SEE ALSO: YouTube will begin using AI for age verification next week

Some in the adult industry worry about what Trump's second presidential term will bring due to the conservative policy outline Project 2025 and its measures to ban porn. One of Project 2025's authors, Russell Vought, was caught on a secret recording stating that age-verification laws are the "back door" to a broader porn ban.

If you were one of the, er, many who watched Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan's new sci-fi thriller series premiere on Apple TV last night, you might be feeling the same as me and the vast majority of critics out there: this could be the streamer's best show since Severance.

Movies Anywhere quietly announced that it will no longer sync purchases from Google Play and YouTube on October 31st. This is an unexpected consequence of the ongoing feud between Google and Disney, the latter of which owns the Movies Anywhere service.

Grand Theft Auto VI got delayed, again, on Thursday, but that's not the only reason developer Rockstar Games is in the news this week.

A trade union in the U.K. (where Rockstar is based) has accused the legendary gaming firm of union-busting, per the BBC. This accusation came after Rockstar fired 31 employees at the end of October. The union in question is the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (or IWGB), which claims that the employees were fired for discussing the formation of a union at the company. While efforts for unionization have borne fruit at studios like Blizzard Entertainment, unions are still relatively rare in the games industry.

While this news isn't exactly breaking, it's worth revisiting in the context of Thursday night's delay announcement for GTA VI. Regarding the game's delay, Rockstar posted on X that the extended timeline "will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: Yes, GTA VI is officially delayed again. Here's what we know.

Of course, Rockstar denies that the employees were fired for union organizing, per a statement given to Bloomberg. According to Rockstar, the employees were let go because they were sharing confidential information about the game in a public setting. Game developers (especially Rockstar) are notoriously secretive about projects in active development, with employees often signing non-disclosure agreements as a condition for their employment.

While the terms of any given Rockstar NDA are not really knowable at the moment, it's possible that they could be broad enough to prohibit workers from discussing work in an outside venue like Slack or Discord. Whatever happened here, don't be surprised if there are more leaks about this situation in the months to come. After all, it's not like anyone is going to be playing GTA VI anytime soon.

Single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi are an incredibly popular way of running Home Assistant. Alongside official hardware like the plug-and-play Home Assistant Green, the Raspberry Pi is the easiest way to run Home Assistant.

Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle company, stunned social media with the introduction of its new humanoid robot, Iron. The robot seemed so lifelike that Xpeng eventually cut the robot open live on stage to prove it wasn't just a human wearing a robot suit.

Mashable reporter Amanda Yeo was in the audience at the AI Day event in Guangzhou, where Iron made its big debut, and we'll have more coverage of the event coming soon. Already, video footage of Iron is going viral on U.S. and Chinese social media apps.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

You can also watch the entire press conference where Iron had its electronic innards exposed to the world on Xpeng's YouTube channel.

Iron does cut a striking figure walking across the stage, and not just because Xpeng decided to give the robot very noticeable breasts, for some reason. For me, its slow, awkward movements instantly evoked Scarlett Johansson in the 2013 sci-fi thriller Under the Skin. (OpenAI was accused of appropriating Johansson's likeness for the original voice of ChatGPT.) Ex Machina also comes to mind, and Iron's white webbing closely mimics the design of the robots in Westworld. There's also the famous scene from Terminator 2, where Arnold Schwarzenegger cuts open his human shell to reveal the robot arm underneath.

Science fiction continues to shape the development and perception of robotics. Human beings, with our awkward bipedal shape, are actually a terrible blueprint for robots, yet engineers keep creating new humanoid robots. We just can't help but create beings in our own image, apparently.

In 2014, Popular Science wrote that humanoid robots were a bumbling mess, and that remains true today, with these humanoid robots still struggling with simple tasks like walking or folding laundry.

Mashable was on hand for Iron's big debut in China this week. Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable

Iron is hardly the first humanoid robot to go viral. Just this year, Tesla's Optimus, Boston Dynamics' Atlas, and the recently announced NEO household helper bot from X1 all had their 15 minutes of fame.

There's just something about anthropomorphized robots that captures our attention, and scientists are still studying how the human mind responds to humanoid robots. Maybe it's the uncanny valley effect. Maybe it's the feeling that we're peering into the future. Maybe it's a neurological reaction we don't yet understand.

Whatever the reason, we're simultaneously fascinated and creeped out by robots like Iron, and for companies like Xpeng trying to go viral and get attention, these bots are a sure-fire way to generate headlines.

We just can't look away.

You can spruce up the wallpaper on your Android to match the time of day. Instead of a boring static wallpaper, you can set the phone to change wallpapers dynamically. For example, you could have your phone display a light mode wallpaper during the day, which transitions to a dark mode wallpaper at night. I’m going to show you three ways you can do so.

YouTube may have significantly intensified its ad blocker war, which is leading to many users reporting that the platform is completely failing to load. Although the spike on DownDetector made it look exactly like a major partial outage, the problem isn’t with YouTube’s servers.

AI slop has entered your cart on TikTok Shop.

According to Business Insider, TikTok Shop and other ecommerce platforms, like Amazon, have an AI problem. Fraudsters are reportedly using generative AI tools to create fake brands, dupes, and products, tricking users into paying for things that are not real and do not exist.

"It's organized crime, to be honest," Nicolas Waldmann, who leads TikTok Shop's governance and experience external affairs team, told Business Insider. "They're trying to basically go through and sell, and of course, never deliver anything, and then run with the money."

SEE ALSO: This 20-year-old earns $50K a month from TikTok Shop. Here's how she did it.

This type of fraud is not a new phenomenon. Scammers are fond of scamming, and they will find a way, but AI has made it increasingly more difficult to catch them. Amazon, for its part, is using AI to track scammers who use AI. TikTok also employs AI to prevent this kind of malicious seller, but it also utilizes human moderation. Waldmann told Business Insider that the company uses "AI to basically deal with AI." What a fun little cycle.

In a report published on Thursday, TikTok said that in the first six months of 2025, it "rejected more than 70 [million] products before being listed, a 40 [percent] increase from the previous six months."

"As our seller and creator community grows globally, and our ability to detect prohibited products improves, the number of violative products we prevent from landing on our platform has increased," TikTok said.

This is not a brand new problem. In August, PC Mag reported that scammers were conducting a "widespread, ongoing, malicious campaign" that allowed them to steal cryptocurrency and users' personal data.

Infrared photography is a technique that involves capturing infrared light by blocking out all or some frequencies of visible light. The results are unique and otherworldly, and it’s fun to see what the world around you looks like when you capture it in this way.

Roblox has just been hit with another lawsuit over its child safety issues.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on social media on Thursday that the state was suing Roblox for "putting pixel pedophiles and profits over the safety of Texas children."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This is the third U.S. state AG to file a lawsuit against Roblox in just the past few months. In August, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against the online gaming platform over a "lack of safety protocols" that "endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana." In October, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed a lawsuit against Roblox over those same child safety issues, saying that "Roblox has ignored this crisis so it could continue turning a profit."

Now, Texas has filed its own lawsuit against Roblox, claiming the company has been "flagrantly ignoring federal and state online safety laws while deceiving parents about the dangers of its platform."

“We cannot allow platforms like Roblox to continue operating as digital playgrounds for predators where the well-being of our kids is sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed,” said Attorney General Paxton in a statement. “Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding behind a screen."

Roblox also faces a slew of lawsuits recently filed by the firm Dolman Law Group on behalf of parents and their underage children.

Roblox is an online gaming platform where users can explore a digital universe, interact with other users, and play user-created games. Roblox has become extremely popular in recent years, with half of U.S. kids under the age of 16 reportedly playing games on the platform. As a result, predators have flocked to the online game in order to take advantage of its young user base. While Roblox does have child safety settings and parental controls, clearly these haven't been enough to stop child exploitation from occurring on the platform, or as a result of initial contact being made on the platform.

With multiple state Attorney Generals now suing the company, Roblox seems likely to find itself in a position similar to Big Tech and social media companies: Either regulate itself and deal with the safety issues head-on, or the government will come do it for them.

We're calling it now, the hottest gift of the season is the Lego U.S.S. Enterprise. This set is massive and designed for the true nerd, someone willing to where no man has ever gone before. This replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise is a 3,600 piece set, surely not for the faint of heart, but the true Star Trek and Lego enthusiast. And as if we didn't need to add any more chaos to the holiday season, it's arriving on Black Friday.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego U.S.S. Enterprise set $399.99 at Lego
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This gift is perfect for the most expert Lego builder who happens to be a major Star Trek fan. Specifically, this set is branded for Star Trek: The Next Generation, as it features beloved characters from the series. Among its 3,600 pieces are 9 mini-figurines depicting Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker, Worf, Data, Beverly Crusher, Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, Guinan and Wesley Crusher.

Among the 9 mini-figures are included accessories such as a teacup, trombone with a stand, a phaser, tricorder, engineering case, PADD, bottle, portable tractor beam generator and a cat figure. Credit: Lego

But the main draw, is this fantastic replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the Starfleet's legendary flagship. It has a detachable command saucer alongside a secondary hull, warp nacelles with distinctive red and blue detailing, an opening shuttlebay, 2 mini shuttlepods and an angled display stand with a schematic and ship statistics.

If you know someone who's a massive Star Trek fan but might be intimidated by just how big this set is, Lego had extremely helpful and comprehensive instructions in the app with 3D digital version available. Including the display stand, fully constructed the set will measure 10.5 inches tall by 23.5 inches long, and 18.5 inches wide.

command saucer on the U.S.S. Enterprise is even detachable. Credit: Lego

As expected, such a big set is going to come with a steep price tag. It costs $399.99 and will be available for sale on Nov. 28. If that date sounds familiar, it's because it's Black Friday. However, don't expect savings on it. This set is sure to be in high demand, making it an unlikely candidate for a discount upon its relief. But we've been wrong before, and just maybe, we'll get a holiday miracle of a deal on the Lego U.S.S. Enterprise set.

Luxury car ownership doesn’t always have to come with a luxury price tag, and this sedan proves it. Known as one of Lexus’ most reliable models, it offers the refinement, comfort, and long-term dependability the brand is famous for, all at a price that rivals a brand-new Toyota Camry. For buyers looking to move upmarket without breaking the bank, it’s a rare opportunity.

Pebblebee just revealed the Clip 5 and Card 5—a cute set of Bluetooth trackers with enhanced safety functionality and rechargeable batteries. They're almost perfect, and I'd probably buy them if not for the lack of UWB precision finding.

SAVE 28%: As of Nov. 7, the Segway Portable Power Station Cube 1000 is on sale for $359.99 at Amazon, down from its list price of $499.99. That's a 28% discount and $140 in savings.

Segway Portable Power Station Cube 1000 $359.99 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $140   Get Deal at Amazon

I'm always that person who forgets to charge their power banks before a big storm, and then I'm left rationing my laptop battery for 12 hours. I've been looking for a serious home backup station for exactly that reason (I live in a storm-prone area on the East Coast, so the power goes out pretty often), and this Segway deal is a really good one.

SEE ALSO: Target Black Friday ad: The best early deals you can buy online

As of Nov. 7, the Segway Portable Power Station Cube 1000 is on sale for $359.99 at Amazon, down from its list price of $499.99. That's a 28% discount and $140 in savings. According to CamelCamelCamel, our trusty third-party price tracker, this is an all-time low (which it just hit yesterday).

This portable cube uses a LiFePO4 battery, which is the standard you want for durability — it's rated for over 4,000 cycles. It has a 1024Wh capacity and a high 2200W output, more than enough to run heavy-duty appliances during an outage. But its best feature, full stop, is the recharge time: it can go from 0 to 100 percent in just 1.2 hours.

There are a couple of things to know, though. First, it's listed as a "solar generator" and "expandable." While this is true, the solar panels and the additional battery packs (to reach 5kWh) are sold separately. It's also a heavy-duty unit (36 pounds), so it’s better suited for home backup or car camping, not for hiking.

Still, for under $360, this is a solid price for a 1kWh LiFePO4 station. It's durable (IP56-rated ), has 12 total outlets, including two 100W USB-C ports, and offers serious peace of mind for power outages.

Blockbuster popcorn movies with high-caliber Hollywood acting talent are great, but sometimes nothing beats the jaw-dropping weirdness and compelling real-life stories that only a good documentary or docuseries can deliver. And lucky for us, Netflix has them in spades.

LibreOffice and other office suites are built around the Open Document Format, or ODF for short, which has a few important advantages over Microsoft Office files and other formats. That includes the ability to open your files years or decades after they were created, as the LibreOffice folks just pointed out.