Technology

There are plenty of things I use PowerToys for, and it replaces many tools. However, it seems weird that it is not a default tool on Windows. The separation isn't an oversight; it's actually a really good business move. Looking at the pros and cons of making it the default, Microsoft's choice makes a lot of sense.

A quick look at our favorite 4th of July sales so far SharkNinja save up to 30% on kitchen appliances, vacuums, and more Shop Now Bear Mattress save 35% sitewide Get Deal Oru Kayak save 20% sitewide Get Deal Home Depot save up to 30% on appliances, furniture, grills, and more, plus get free tools Shop Now Funboy save 25% sitewide Shop Now

It doesn't matter if Prime Day runs for a singular day or nearly 100 hours like the 2026 sale last week — it's easy to get overwhelmed and forget to buy something. Luckily, Prime Day 2026's unusual timing means we get to flow directly into 4th of July sales.

If there are any items still lingering on your summer shopping list, you have quite the host of July 4th sales to shop in the days preceding July 4th on Saturday. As always, home gear like bedding and mattresses, countertop appliances, and tools are major 4th of July themes, as well as the outdoor items that come to mind when you think "fun in the sun": inflatables, kayaks, fire pits, and more are on sale.

Below, we're tracking the best 4th of July deals through the holiday weekend. More will be added to the list as sales go live, so check back before your festivities start.

Home deals

• AirDoctor: Save up to $709 on air purifier bundles

• Buffy: Save up to 25% sitewide

• Caraway Home: Save up to 15% on cookware and bakeware

• Cozy Earth: Save 20% when you buy three or more items

• Crate & Barrel: Save up to 60% on dinnerware and drinkware, 35% on kitchen brands, and 30% on furniture

• Ecobee: Save 25% on smart home thermostats

• Home Depot: Save up to 30% on home appliances, living room and patio furniture, up to $165 on power tools, and up to $250 on grills

• IKEA: Save up to 50% on furniture and storage, home textiles, pillows, and more

• Joybird: Save up to 45% off on bestselling furniture and 35% sitewide

• KitchenAid: Save up to 25% on select countertop appliances

• Lovesac: Save 40% sitewide

• Lowe's: Save up to 45% on select major appliances, up to 40% on lighting and ceiling fans, up to 30% on gardening products, and more

• Mellow Sleep: Save up to 50% sitewide

• Michael's: Save 50% on all red, white, and blue party decor, up to 60% on summer party and craft supplies, BOGO frames and shadow boxes, plus save 30% on all regular price purchases

• Nest New York: Save 25% sitewide on Limited Editions

• Nutribullet: Save up to 44% on blenders and ice cream makers

• Pluto Pillow: Save $25 on a custom pillow + pillow case set

• Pottery Barn: Save up to 70% on select outdoor furniture, bathroom accessories, quilts, and more, plus an extra 20% on select styles

• Revival Rugs: Save 20% sitewide

• Rugs Direct: Save up to 80% sitewide on brands like Safavieh, Chris Loves Julia, Loloi, Rifle Paper Co., and Rugs USA

• SharkNinja: Save up to 30% on Ninja kitchen appliances and Shark vacuums, hair tools, and fans

• Target: Save up to 25% on sunscreen, up to 20% on inflatable pools and water toys, and more

• Wayfair: Save up to 70% on indoor and outdoor rugs, umbrellas, gazebos, mattresses, pillows, and more

Mattress deals

• Avocado: Save up to 15% on organic mattresses

• Bear: Save 35% sitewide

• Brooklyn Bedding: Save 30% sitewide

• DreamCloud: Save up to 60% on mattresses and 66% on bundles

• Eight Sleep: Save up to $500 on Pods and accessories

• Tuft & Needle: Save 25% on all bundles

• Purple: Save up to $800 on a mattress and base

• Saatva: Save up to $650 on mattresses or up to $750 on bundles

• Zinus: Save up to 60% off, plus get an additional 20% off

Bedding deals

• Baloo: Save $30 on weighted throw blanket + cotton duvet cover bundle

• Brooklinen: Save 25% sitewide

• Coyuchi: Save up to 40% sitewide

• Cozy Earth: Save 20% on bedding bundles

• Ettitude: Save up to 25% sitewide and up to 70% on final sale

• Naturepedic: Save 20% on organic bedding + get a free muslin blanket

• Silk & Snow: Save 20% on all sheets

TV deals

For even more 4th of July TV deals, check out our story of the best Prime Day TV deals — almost every model is still at its Prime Day price as of June 30.

• Insignia 55-inch F50 Series 4K TV — $179.99 $349.99 (save $170)

• LG 55-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $379.99 $599.99 (save $220)

• Hisense 50-inch E7 Cinema Mini LED QLED 4K Fire TV — $398.99 $699 (save $300.01)

• Hisense 55-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K Fire TV — $529.99 $849.99 (save $320)

• Hisense 50-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $649.99 $1,299.99 (save $650)

• Samsung 55-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $997.99 $1,397.99 (save $400)

• Hisense 65-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K Fire TV — $698.99 $1,099.99 (save $401)

• Hisense 65-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $799.99 $1,299.99 (save $500)

• TCL 65-inch QM8K Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $997.99 $1,499.99 (save $502)

• Samsung 65-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $1,199.99 $2,499.99 (save $1,300)

• Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,299.99 $1,999.99 (save $700)

• LG 75-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $699.99 $999.99 (save $300)

• Hisense 75-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $848.99 $1,399.99 (save $249.01)

• TCL 75-inch QM8K Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $1,397.99 $1,999.99 (save $602)

• Hisense 75-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $1,398.99 $2,499.99 (save $1,101)

• Hisense 75-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $2,499.99 (save $800)

• LG 77-inch C5 OLED 4K TV — $1,999.99 $3,699.99 (save $1,700)

• Insignia 85-inch QF QLED 4K TV — $659.99 $1,099.99 (save $440)

• Hisense 85-inch QD6 Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $749.99 $1,099.99 (save $350)

Beauty deals

• Dyson: Save up to $130 on the Dyson Airwrap i.d., Airstrait, and Supersonic Nural

• FabFitFun: Get a free Bonus Box worth $250 when you sign up for a membership

• L'ange: Save up to 50% sitewide

Outdoor deals

• Bote: Save up to 20% on Hangout inflatables, kayaks and paddle boards, and more

• Diadem Sports: Save up to 50% sitewide on pickleball paddles, grips, and more

• Dick's Sporting Goods: Save up to 50% on bikes, running shoes, kayaks, swimsuits and swim trunks, and more

• Funboy: Save 25% sitewide

• HOVERAir: Save up to 50% sitewide

• Oru Kayak: Save 20% sitewide

• Solo Stove: Save 20% on select fire pits and pizza ovens

• TGW: Save up to 50% on select golf cart bags, golf stands, clothing and shoes, and drivers

Tech deals

• Garmin: Save $50 on the Venu 4, $100 on the Forerunner 70, $40 on the Vívofit Jr. 3, $100 on the Tread 2 Overland Edition, and more

• Best Buy: Save up to 45% on select TVs, up to $400 on select MacBooks and iPads, up to $600 on select Windows devices, and more

• HP: Save up to 72% on OmniBook laptops, Omen gaming PCs, All-in-One desktops, and more

• LG: Save up $1,300 on wall ovens, washers and dryers, and more

• Tile: Save up to 30% on trackers

When you buy a Samsung device, you know you’re getting a bunch of features and customization options. This is best showcased on Galaxy phones, but it also applies to the Galaxy Watch. However, Samsung doesn’t enable all the best stuff for you.

The House passed sweeping kids' online safety legislation Monday night in a 267-117 vote (with 47 members abstaining), but the bill's path forward is far from settled.

The legislation, known as the KIDS Act (Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act), emerged as a bipartisan compromise out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to POLITICO. It would, among other policies, restrict minors' use of disappearing messages, require AI chatbots to disclose that they aren't human, and mandate age verification for platforms hosting pornographic content. Age-verification mandates typically require proof of age, such as submitting one's government ID or a facial scan.

SEE ALSO: Roblox launches accounts for kids and teens globally

The KIDS Act packages portions from 14 digital safety bills, The Hill reported, including the long-debated Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). This version of KOSA omits the "duty of care" provision central to the Senate's version, which would require platforms to actively prevent and mitigate harm to minors related to issues like self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Child safety advocates and senators from both parties are critiquing the absence, including the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, and the original KOSA co-sponsor, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, POLITICO reported.

KOSA itself has long been a flashpoint. In 2023, Blackburn said in an interview that protecting children from "the transgender [sic] in this culture and that influence" should be a top conservative priority, comments made shortly before she discussed KOSA — fueling concerns from LGBTQ advocates that the bill could be used to target queer content online even without saying so explicitly. Digital civil liberty groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have also argued for years that KOSA endangers online rights. EFF's Jason Kelley called KOSA's age-verification mechanism a "giant censorship machine that also is privacy invasive" at the time.

In May 2026, a coalition of 45 state attorneys general also warned that the broader House package could limit states' authority to enact stronger child safety protections of their own, a concern that "weighed heavily" on Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ultimately voted against the bill, according to POLITICO.

Age verification in the KIDS Act

Beyond the political fight over KOSA's text, the KIDS Act's reliance on age verification faces a more fundamental challenge.

Initial data suggest that age-verification laws simply don't accomplish what lawmakers intend. In a 2025 working paper (since published in the Journal of Law & Empirical Analysis), researchers analyzed Google Trends data across several states with age-verification laws already in effect. Researchers found a 51 percent drop in searches for Pornhub, the largest platform complying with such regulations. But that decline didn't reflect reduced demand — it reflected migration. Searches for XVideos, a major non-compliant platform, rose 48.1 percent in those same states, while searches for VPNs, commonly used to bypass geographic restrictions, climbed 23.6 percent.

Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, told Mashable at the time that traffic in Louisiana, one of the few states where it still operates while complying with verification rules, dropped roughly 80 percent. "These people did not stop looking for porn," the company stated. "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."

Its authors acknowledged limitations, including an inability to isolate the search behavior of minors specifically — the population the laws are actually meant to protect — but another study published in Nov. 2025 reached similar conclusions.

As POLITICO notes, with the House and Senate still divided over which kids' safety proposal to advance, and Aug. recess narrowing the legislative window, it remains unclear whether the KIDS Act will pass in the Senate in its current form — or if concerns over its missing duty-of-care provision and its age-verification approach will force further changes.

The House passed sweeping kids' online safety legislation Monday night in a 267-117 vote (with 47 members abstaining), but the bill's path forward is far from settled.

The legislation, known as the KIDS Act (Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act), emerged as a bipartisan compromise out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to POLITICO. It would, among other policies, restrict minors' use of disappearing messages, require AI chatbots to disclose that they aren't human, and mandate age verification for platforms hosting pornographic content. Age-verification mandates typically require proof of age, such as submitting one's government ID or a facial scan.

SEE ALSO: Roblox launches accounts for kids and teens globally

The KIDS Act packages portions from 14 digital safety bills, The Hill reported, including the long-debated Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). This version of KOSA omits the "duty of care" provision central to the Senate's version, which would require platforms to actively prevent and mitigate harm to minors related to issues like self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Child safety advocates and senators from both parties are critiquing the absence, including the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, and the original KOSA co-sponsor, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, POLITICO reported.

KOSA itself has long been a flashpoint. In 2023, Blackburn said in an interview that protecting children from "the transgender [sic] in this culture and that influence" should be a top conservative priority, comments made shortly before she discussed KOSA — fueling concerns from LGBTQ advocates that the bill could be used to target queer content online even without saying so explicitly. Digital civil liberty groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have also argued for years that KOSA endangers online rights. EFF's Jason Kelley called KOSA's age-verification mechanism a "giant censorship machine that also is privacy invasive" at the time.

In May 2026, a coalition of 45 state attorneys general also warned that the broader House package could limit states' authority to enact stronger child safety protections of their own, a concern that "weighed heavily" on Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ultimately voted against the bill, according to POLITICO.

Age verification in the KIDS Act

Beyond the political fight over KOSA's text, the KIDS Act's reliance on age verification faces a more fundamental challenge.

Initial data suggest that age-verification laws simply don't accomplish what lawmakers intend. In a 2025 working paper (since published in the Journal of Law & Empirical Analysis), researchers analyzed Google Trends data across several states with age-verification laws already in effect. Researchers found a 51 percent drop in searches for Pornhub, the largest platform complying with such regulations. But that decline didn't reflect reduced demand — it reflected migration. Searches for XVideos, a major non-compliant platform, rose 48.1 percent in those same states, while searches for VPNs, commonly used to bypass geographic restrictions, climbed 23.6 percent.

Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, told Mashable at the time that traffic in Louisiana, one of the few states where it still operates while complying with verification rules, dropped roughly 80 percent. "These people did not stop looking for porn," the company stated. "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."

Its authors acknowledged limitations, including an inability to isolate the search behavior of minors specifically — the population the laws are actually meant to protect — but another study published in Nov. 2025 reached similar conclusions.

As POLITICO notes, with the House and Senate still divided over which kids' safety proposal to advance, and Aug. recess narrowing the legislative window, it remains unclear whether the KIDS Act will pass in the Senate in its current form — or if concerns over its missing duty-of-care provision and its age-verification approach will force further changes.

The most acclaimed LGBTQ movies of the 2020s — All of Us Strangers, I Saw the TV Glow, Fire Island, Leviticus, even Tár — have little in common with Blue Film. Yet writer/director Elliott Tuttle’s Blue Film holds a 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, even with two very flawed characters and a subject matter most audiences would run from.

Unlike most of the aforementioned films, Blue Film contains no romance or sweetness. While Blue Film's characters are as complicated as Lydia Tár, they are not exceptional performers like she is, nor do they have any of the trappings of success, like money, partners, or kids. Blue Film is about one person who has done unspeakable things and another who humiliates lonely people for cash. Not only are the characters difficult to identify with, but their disclosures and interactions throughout the movie make it intentionally uncomfortable for the audience.

While Blue Film was adored by critics, it hasn't yet found a wide audience. Now that it's been released on streaming, it may find more people willing to confront its difficult story.

I recently connected with Tuttle and the movie's stars, Reed Birney and Kieron Moore, about Blue Film. One thing I wanted to know was what Birney and Moore thought of Tuttle's script. Both actors said they were fascinated by the characters, thought of them as challenges, but weren't sure anyone would actually see such a movie.

"What are the odds of a low-budget movie about a pedophile having an audience?," Birney, a Tony winner who also executive produced Blue Film, said. "For it to come out and be greeted so rapturously and so seriously, I'm still in complete disbelief... even when people don't like it, I understand why they don't like it."

SEE ALSO: The big question LGBTQ daters are asking, according to Hinge What's Blue Film about?

The movie's protagonist, Aaron Eagle (Moore), is an LA-based queer camboy who performs for a gay male audience. He’s hostile to his online audience, peppering them with slurs, which seems to be what they want. A pathological liar, Aaron refuses to be honest about his life before he became a cam boy. He's also insecure, posturing an extreme version of masculinity by taking up as much space as possible and using his formidable size to intimidate. He’s pretty hard to like, at least in his current incarnation.

Aaron may have been more endearing before heartbreak — and life in LA — hardened him. The movie’s plot kicks into gear when Aaron heads to the home of a fan who's offered $50,000 for a night with him. Answering the door in a ski mask is Hank (Birney), and just like that Blue Film shifts into horror-thriller territory. The shocks will soon arrive, but there are no weapons, per se.

See, Hank is no stranger. He was one of his teachers back in Maine. Recently released from prison for trying to sexually assault one of his students, Hank is now in Los Angeles specifically to see Aaron, whom he believes he was in love with. That's news to Aaron.

What follows is an all-night conversation between the two men as Hank works to break down Aaron’s defenses and extract some truths from him. Hank is hiding a lot, too, but he seems more adept at opening up and offering up some version of his past, even if it’s filled with delusional thinking and bullshit justifications. Hank is a pedophile, and he seems too oddly comfortable with that fact. Some viewers will recoil at that, others will stay to see what happens.

Blue Film is a dark movie, with a hopeful ending.

Hank is a deeply damaged man who has hurt children, but is superficially a much nicer person than Aaron — while Aaron broods and deflects, Hanks smiles and inquires. Thanks to Aaron's youth and the fact that he’s never done anything remotely as evil as Hank, the younger man seems salvageable in comparison. Because the movie is bookended with Aaron, Tuttle seems to indicate his Blue Film is not about redeeming Hank or making the audience sympathize with a pedophile. Yet Hank is an unexpected force for good to grown Aaron.

At one point, Hank talks about the two men as children and asks Aaron if he ever feels pity for his younger self. It’s a question at the heart of the film — do we ever offer compassion to our earlier versions, our innocent childhood selves eventually beaten into cynicism by life? Can we ever drop our adult armor and get back some of that joy and wonder? Hank reminds Aaron of the earlier self he's discarded; a likable kid who loved to sing. At the end of the encounter, Aaron is humming to himself in the shower and then napping peacefully, with the weight of his double identities seemingly sloughing off his shoulders. This suggests Aaron may have a chance at reclaiming some of his more innocent, joyful self.

Tuttle says he began journaling before the script came together. He was writing about his own adolescent sexuality and the story "became this whole other thing about loneliness and the way we explain ourselves to ourselves," he told Mashable.

Blue Film offers no easy answers.

The conversation that constitutes the majority of Blue Film is occasionally interrupted by beer guzzling, weed smoking, and flashes of sex that end almost as fast as they begin; in that regard, there are some similarities between Blue Film and the 2011 gay classic Weekend, which explored how a short, chance encounter between two men can lead to a deep connection; maybe even a relationship. But, unlike Weekend, there is no climactic kiss in Blue Film, or even an indication its characters will ever see each other again.

Still, both movies speak to the queer experience of adopting personas to shed identities that no longer suit us. While Weekend used a sexy, confident twink as a foil for its repressed/depressed protagonist, Tuttle utilizes a pedophile to the same end. It’s a bold choice, and certainly not for everyone.

"It gave me a great reassurance of how intelligent audiences are," Moore said of the response to his film debut. "People want to watch things and pick them apart and decide how it makes them feel rather than being told how to feel."

Blue Film is available to stream on Apple TV and Prime Video.

The most acclaimed LGBTQ movies of the 2020s — All of Us Strangers, I Saw the TV Glow, Fire Island, Leviticus, even Tár — have little in common with Blue Film. Yet writer/director Elliott Tuttle’s Blue Film holds a 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, even with two very flawed characters and a subject matter most audiences would run from.

Unlike most of the aforementioned films, Blue Film contains no romance or sweetness. While Blue Film's characters are as complicated as Lydia Tár, they are not exceptional performers like she is, nor do they have any of the trappings of success, like money, partners, or kids. Blue Film is about one person who has done unspeakable things and another who humiliates lonely people for cash. Not only are the characters difficult to identify with, but their disclosures and interactions throughout the movie make it intentionally uncomfortable for the audience.

While Blue Film was adored by critics, it hasn't yet found a wide audience. Now that it's been released on streaming, it may find more people willing to confront its difficult story.

I recently connected with Tuttle and the movie's stars, Reed Birney and Kieron Moore, about Blue Film. One thing I wanted to know was what Birney and Moore thought of Tuttle's script. Both actors said they were fascinated by the characters, thought of them as challenges, but weren't sure anyone would actually see such a movie.

"What are the odds of a low-budget movie about a pedophile having an audience?," Birney, a Tony winner who also executive produced Blue Film, said. "For it to come out and be greeted so rapturously and so seriously, I'm still in complete disbelief... even when people don't like it, I understand why they don't like it."

SEE ALSO: The big question LGBTQ daters are asking, according to Hinge What's Blue Film about?

The movie's protagonist, Aaron Eagle (Moore), is an LA-based queer camboy who performs for a gay male audience. He’s hostile to his online audience, peppering them with slurs, which seems to be what they want. A pathological liar, Aaron refuses to be honest about his life before he became a cam boy. He's also insecure, posturing an extreme version of masculinity by taking up as much space as possible and using his formidable size to intimidate. He’s pretty hard to like, at least in his current incarnation.

Aaron may have been more endearing before heartbreak — and life in LA — hardened him. The movie’s plot kicks into gear when Aaron heads to the home of a fan who's offered $50,000 for a night with him. Answering the door in a ski mask is Hank (Birney), and just like that Blue Film shifts into horror-thriller territory. The shocks will soon arrive, but there are no weapons, per se.

See, Hank is no stranger. He was one of his teachers back in Maine. Recently released from prison for trying to sexually assault one of his students, Hank is now in Los Angeles specifically to see Aaron, whom he believes he was in love with. That's news to Aaron.

What follows is an all-night conversation between the two men as Hank works to break down Aaron’s defenses and extract some truths from him. Hank is hiding a lot, too, but he seems more adept at opening up and offering up some version of his past, even if it’s filled with delusional thinking and bullshit justifications. Hank is a pedophile, and he seems too oddly comfortable with that fact. Some viewers will recoil at that, others will stay to see what happens.

Blue Film is a dark movie, with a hopeful ending.

Hank is a deeply damaged man who has hurt children, but is superficially a much nicer person than Aaron — while Aaron broods and deflects, Hanks smiles and inquires. Thanks to Aaron's youth and the fact that he’s never done anything remotely as evil as Hank, the younger man seems salvageable in comparison. Because the movie is bookended with Aaron, Tuttle seems to indicate his Blue Film is not about redeeming Hank or making the audience sympathize with a pedophile. Yet Hank is an unexpected force for good to grown Aaron.

At one point, Hank talks about the two men as children and asks Aaron if he ever feels pity for his younger self. It’s a question at the heart of the film — do we ever offer compassion to our earlier versions, our innocent childhood selves eventually beaten into cynicism by life? Can we ever drop our adult armor and get back some of that joy and wonder? Hank reminds Aaron of the earlier self he's discarded; a likable kid who loved to sing. At the end of the encounter, Aaron is humming to himself in the shower and then napping peacefully, with the weight of his double identities seemingly sloughing off his shoulders. This suggests Aaron may have a chance at reclaiming some of his more innocent, joyful self.

Tuttle says he began journaling before the script came together. He was writing about his own adolescent sexuality and the story "became this whole other thing about loneliness and the way we explain ourselves to ourselves," he told Mashable.

Blue Film offers no easy answers.

The conversation that constitutes the majority of Blue Film is occasionally interrupted by beer guzzling, weed smoking, and flashes of sex that end almost as fast as they begin; in that regard, there are some similarities between Blue Film and the 2011 gay classic Weekend, which explored how a short, chance encounter between two men can lead to a deep connection; maybe even a relationship. But, unlike Weekend, there is no climactic kiss in Blue Film, or even an indication its characters will ever see each other again.

Still, both movies speak to the queer experience of adopting personas to shed identities that no longer suit us. While Weekend used a sexy, confident twink as a foil for its repressed/depressed protagonist, Tuttle utilizes a pedophile to the same end. It’s a bold choice, and certainly not for everyone.

"It gave me a great reassurance of how intelligent audiences are," Moore said of the response to his film debut. "People want to watch things and pick them apart and decide how it makes them feel rather than being told how to feel."

Blue Film is available to stream on Apple TV and Prime Video.

Google has some new AI tools for users to mess around with.

The company announced in a blog post on Tuesday that Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni Flash are now available. These are a couple of new toys that live within Google's suddenly very expansive AI ecosystem, both serving a different purpose.

SEE ALSO: Google confirms death of its Nest speaker lineup

For starters, Nano Banana 2 Lite is a speedy, cost-effective image generator that Google says is designed for people who currently use the original Nano Banana model. It can apparently spit out images four seconds after text inputs, making it ideal for prototyping. According to Google, this model is now available in Google AI Studio, other developer-centric tools like Gemini API, and consumer-facing places like the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search.

On top of that, Gemini Omni Flash is now available in a public preview in Google AI Studio and Gemini API, as well as in the Gemini app and Google Flow. This tool is designed for video generation and editing, allowing users to use natural language, video, and text inputs to get the results they want with Omni Flash. However, there are limitations: Videos can only be 10 seconds long, and Google says character consistency in scene changes is problematic at the moment.

Feel free to go check these out whenever you have a moment.

Google has some new AI tools for users to mess around with.

The company announced in a blog post on Tuesday that Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni Flash are now available. These are a couple of new toys that live within Google's suddenly very expansive AI ecosystem, both serving a different purpose.

SEE ALSO: Google confirms death of its Nest speaker lineup

For starters, Nano Banana 2 Lite is a speedy, cost-effective image generator that Google says is designed for people who currently use the original Nano Banana model. It can apparently spit out images four seconds after text inputs, making it ideal for prototyping. According to Google, this model is now available in Google AI Studio, other developer-centric tools like Gemini API, and consumer-facing places like the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search.

On top of that, Gemini Omni Flash is now available in a public preview in Google AI Studio and Gemini API, as well as in the Gemini app and Google Flow. This tool is designed for video generation and editing, allowing users to use natural language, video, and text inputs to get the results they want with Omni Flash. However, there are limitations: Videos can only be 10 seconds long, and Google says character consistency in scene changes is problematic at the moment.

Feel free to go check these out whenever you have a moment.

Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have announced a recall affecting 741,195 trucks and SUVs in the United States due to a rollaway risk. A software glitch in certain models can cause the transmission to lose the ability to hold the vehicle in park, allowing it to move unexpectedly if the parking brake is not set.

The U.S. has gone wild for Obsession. Writer/director Curry Barker's twisted horror movie about a wish gone wrong is not only a box office hit, but also the highest-grossing Focus Features release of all time. Audiences have screamed, critics have raved — especially over the impeccable performance of leading lady Inde Navarrette.

While the film centers on an aimless young man called Bear (Michael Johnston), it's Navarrette's cursed girl Nikki who's become the internet's obsession. When Bear wishes for his crush to love him more than anyone else, Nikki becomes a horrifically distorted version of herself, who lives only for his attention.

Today, Obsession comes to digital, and with it comes a featurette clip, in which the film's cast looks back on how Navarrette brought this harrowing portrait of being trapped by male desire to such vivid life.

SEE ALSO: Stephen King posts his 2-line review of 'Obsession'

As seen above, Johnston and fellow castmates Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless share what it was like to be on set as Navarrette created Nikki. For her part, the heralded actress credits Barker with helping her work on finding the physicality for Nikki and her "uncanny valley" look. And he marvels that this scream queen was new to letting loose with a good yell.

Obsession is available for now available for purchase on digital. Obsession will be released on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-Ray and DVD on July 14. These options include more behind-the-scenes footage and a commentary track from Barker.

The U.S. has gone wild for Obsession. Writer/director Curry Barker's twisted horror movie about a wish gone wrong is not only a box office hit, but also the highest-grossing Focus Features release of all time. Audiences have screamed, critics have raved — especially over the impeccable performance of leading lady Inde Navarrette.

While the film centers on an aimless young man called Bear (Michael Johnston), it's Navarrette's cursed girl Nikki who's become the internet's obsession. When Bear wishes for his crush to love him more than anyone else, Nikki becomes a horrifically distorted version of herself, who lives only for his attention.

Today, Obsession comes to digital, and with it comes a featurette clip, in which the film's cast looks back on how Navarrette brought this harrowing portrait of being trapped by male desire to such vivid life.

SEE ALSO: Stephen King posts his 2-line review of 'Obsession'

As seen above, Johnston and fellow castmates Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless share what it was like to be on set as Navarrette created Nikki. For her part, the heralded actress credits Barker with helping her work on finding the physicality for Nikki and her "uncanny valley" look. And he marvels that this scream queen was new to letting loose with a good yell.

Obsession is available for now available for purchase on digital. Obsession will be released on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-Ray and DVD on July 14. These options include more behind-the-scenes footage and a commentary track from Barker.

After a tough 2025, the news about the U.S. labor market has been trending positive, at least for the second quarter of 2026. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 20 fell by 12,000 to 215,000, the Labor Department reported recently. That number beat analyst expectations of around 225,000 new applications, according to the Associated Press.

Even with the good news, around 7.3 million are still looking for work, according to May numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For many, the hunt for work begins with polishing one's resume and cover letter — and using AI to do so.

Employers and HR directors are also using AI to screen their large piles of CVs. So, what does AI want to see on your resume and cover letter? In the second edition of our series on making AI love your resume (check out the first story here), we connected with Shaun Pichler, Ph.D., a professor at the Department of Management at the College of Business & Economics at California State University, Fullerton. Pichler, also the senior editor of the Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology and co-editor-in-chief of Human Resource Management, walked us through the realities of the modern job search.

Many people assume AI does the first pass on most resumes and applications. Have you found that to be true?

Pichler: This really depends on the type of job and the employer. AI screening is more likely among entry-to mid-level roles as compared to, for instance, executive roles. It is also more commonly used among large employers of choice that receive high volumes of applications per vacancy. I wouldn’t say that AI does the first pass on most resumes and applications because recent survey data indicates that a little less than half of responding organizations use AI for recruiting in general. And it is common for recruiters to selectively review applications from referrals and other priority applicants without using AI whatsoever.

Does AI have a bias against AI-constructed CVs/resumes/cover letters?

This is an interesting empirical question. Since LLMs tend to prefer self-generated content, there is reason to posit that AI actually has a positive bias in favor of AI-constructed resumes. While there is one conference paper that found large language models prefer resumes created by themselves, there just haven’t been enough studies done on this topic to draw any meaningful conclusions, at least not yet — but give it a couple of years.

There are many websites that claim to help job seekers optimize their CVs for AI. With AI changing and adapting so quickly, can those sites still be trusted to know what AI wants?

There is very little verifiable evidence to suggest that a third-party vendor can meaningfully help a candidate optimize their resume for AI. My suggestion to job candidates is to use multiple LLMs, like ChatGPT and Claude, to help them with their resumes instead of paying money to a third-party vendor. My personal opinion is that this is a waste of money in most cases.

Any tips for people trying to retrofit their resumes for AI and make them stand out within the algorithm?

Yes, but my suggestions apply whether the resume is being reviewed by AI, a human, or both, which are to mirror the language of the job posting/description, highlight important keywords, quantify one’s experience when possible, and focus on job-relevant information. The key here is tailoring the resume to the job posting, something that can take a lot of time and can be streamlined by using AI, so long as the applicant gives an LLM adequate information, such as their resume alongside a narrative of their accomplishments, as well as the job posting.

After a tough 2025, the news about the U.S. labor market has been trending positive, at least for the second quarter of 2026. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 20 fell by 12,000 to 215,000, the Labor Department reported recently. That number beat analyst expectations of around 225,000 new applications, according to the Associated Press.

Even with the good news, around 7.3 million are still looking for work, according to May numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For many, the hunt for work begins with polishing one's resume and cover letter — and using AI to do so.

Employers and HR directors are also using AI to screen their large piles of CVs. So, what does AI want to see on your resume and cover letter? In the second edition of our series on making AI love your resume (check out the first story here), we connected with Shaun Pichler, Ph.D., a professor at the Department of Management at the College of Business & Economics at California State University, Fullerton. Pichler, also the senior editor of the Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology and co-editor-in-chief of Human Resource Management, walked us through the realities of the modern job search.

Many people assume AI does the first pass on most resumes and applications. Have you found that to be true?

Pichler: This really depends on the type of job and the employer. AI screening is more likely among entry-to mid-level roles as compared to, for instance, executive roles. It is also more commonly used among large employers of choice that receive high volumes of applications per vacancy. I wouldn’t say that AI does the first pass on most resumes and applications because recent survey data indicates that a little less than half of responding organizations use AI for recruiting in general. And it is common for recruiters to selectively review applications from referrals and other priority applicants without using AI whatsoever.

Does AI have a bias against AI-constructed CVs/resumes/cover letters?

This is an interesting empirical question. Since LLMs tend to prefer self-generated content, there is reason to posit that AI actually has a positive bias in favor of AI-constructed resumes. While there is one conference paper that found large language models prefer resumes created by themselves, there just haven’t been enough studies done on this topic to draw any meaningful conclusions, at least not yet — but give it a couple of years.

There are many websites that claim to help job seekers optimize their CVs for AI. With AI changing and adapting so quickly, can those sites still be trusted to know what AI wants?

There is very little verifiable evidence to suggest that a third-party vendor can meaningfully help a candidate optimize their resume for AI. My suggestion to job candidates is to use multiple LLMs, like ChatGPT and Claude, to help them with their resumes instead of paying money to a third-party vendor. My personal opinion is that this is a waste of money in most cases.

Any tips for people trying to retrofit their resumes for AI and make them stand out within the algorithm?

Yes, but my suggestions apply whether the resume is being reviewed by AI, a human, or both, which are to mirror the language of the job posting/description, highlight important keywords, quantify one’s experience when possible, and focus on job-relevant information. The key here is tailoring the resume to the job posting, something that can take a lot of time and can be streamlined by using AI, so long as the applicant gives an LLM adequate information, such as their resume alongside a narrative of their accomplishments, as well as the job posting.

Luxury cars have that obvious appeal — sharp design, strong performance, and a level of polish that feels effortless. But that premium feel isn’t always tied to a premium badge, even if most dealerships want you to think it is.

Your phone may have a colorful case and a cool wallpaper, but it's in your pocket or bag most of the time. A smartwatch is on your wrist, out there for the world to see. That's why I was so happy to finally find a watch face that fit my specific needs.

If you're planning to upgrade your computer's memory or buy a new device soon, now may be the time to do it.

That's according to tech analysts who are sounding the alarm: RAM prices are about to rise by nearly 50 percent in the coming weeks.

According to a report from Jefferies Equity Research analysts, memory chip pricing is expected to rise between 40 and 50 percent in the third quarter of 2026 — between July 1 and September 30, in other words.

SEE ALSO: Thank the AI industry for tech price increases: See the full list

Hoping that relief is on the horizon, in the form of increased supply to meet the demand? Alas, that doesn't seem likely anytime soon either. 

Memory prices are expected to rise even further, between 30 and 40 percent more, in the fourth quarter (October through December). And it only gets worse next year; analysts project memory price hikes will continue with a year-on-year increase of 40 to 45 percent in 2027.

Memory chip manufacturers, like Samsung and Micron, have already sold a good portion of their output to companies building out AI data centers. That means fewer chips for consumers in the form of PCs, smartphones, and video game consoles. Demand from AI companies is skyrocketing, going far and beyond what the manufacturers can keep up with. 

As Mashable previously reported, Micron has warned that RAM shortages could last into 2028. In February, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital shared that its "top 7 customers" had bought out all of its storage supply for the year. In addition, the company said that these companies were already buying up its supply into 2028.

As a result of AI-driven shortages, consumer products have skyrocketed in price. Apple recently raised the price of its MacBooks by as much as $500. Gaming companies have also struggled with the shortages. Microsoft recently raised Xbox gaming console prices by as much as $150.

Recent leaks suggest that Sony will either have to sell its upcoming PlayStation 6 console at a minimum of $960 or push the launch date back into 2028 or even beyond that.

In short, RAMaggedon is well and truly here.

If you're planning to upgrade your computer's memory or buy a new device soon, now may be the time to do it.

That's according to tech analysts who are sounding the alarm: RAM prices are about to rise by nearly 50 percent in the coming weeks.

According to a report from Jefferies Equity Research analysts, memory chip pricing is expected to rise between 40 and 50 percent in the third quarter of 2026 — between July 1 and September 30, in other words.

SEE ALSO: Thank the AI industry for tech price increases: See the full list

Hoping that relief is on the horizon, in the form of increased supply to meet the demand? Alas, that doesn't seem likely anytime soon either. 

Memory prices are expected to rise even further, between 30 and 40 percent more, in the fourth quarter (October through December). And it only gets worse next year; analysts project memory price hikes will continue with a year-on-year increase of 40 to 45 percent in 2027.

Memory chip manufacturers, like Samsung and Micron, have already sold a good portion of their output to companies building out AI data centers. That means fewer chips for consumers in the form of PCs, smartphones, and video game consoles. Demand from AI companies is skyrocketing, going far and beyond what the manufacturers can keep up with. 

As Mashable previously reported, Micron has warned that RAM shortages could last into 2028. In February, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital shared that its "top 7 customers" had bought out all of its storage supply for the year. In addition, the company said that these companies were already buying up its supply into 2028.

As a result of AI-driven shortages, consumer products have skyrocketed in price. Apple recently raised the price of its MacBooks by as much as $500. Gaming companies have also struggled with the shortages. Microsoft recently raised Xbox gaming console prices by as much as $150.

Recent leaks suggest that Sony will either have to sell its upcoming PlayStation 6 console at a minimum of $960 or push the launch date back into 2028 or even beyond that.

In short, RAMaggedon is well and truly here.

Love Island USA has become one of the internet's biggest reality TV obsessions over the past couple of summers, and its fans are doing a lot more than watching hot twenty-somethings couple up.

The reality dating show, which airs every night except Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock, gives viewers a near-daily stream of developments to analyze, from bombshell arrivals and public votes to recouplings, shifting loyalties, and the small villa moments that can turn one Islander into a fan favorite or send another into the internet's crosshairs. Fans track, post, and debate every change in the villa like it is a sport (with better swimwear).

So maybe it was only a matter of time before someone tried to put a market around all that forecasting.

Kalshi, the prediction market platform, has been offering Love Island USA contracts this season, giving users a way to trade on outcomes connected to the show, including which couple will win, which Islanders might be eliminated next, and which couples could finish in second or third place. They have also partnered with creators to launch a breadth of TikTok and Instagram ads.

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"Because the fandom around Love Island is so popular, we knew our traders would be excited about getting in on the action," Kalshi spokesperson Clarissa Bronfman tells Mashable. "Trading on the outcome of shows like Love Island allows fans to feel like they're part of these moments."

According to Kalshi, Love Island USA markets brought in more than $20 million in trading volume across the first two weeks of the season, a major figure for an entertainment market. For comparison, the most recent Oscars race for Best Picture, one of the biggest awards-season betting events, drew about $25 million in volume. Kalshi’s Week 2 elimination market closed with $3.3 million traded, more than the $2.8 million traded on the winning couple market at the time.

The demand was not limited to an early burst of curiosity. Bronfman said trading has been "exceptionally popular," with total trading volume for Love Island U.S. and UK markets reaching nearly $40 million as of Monday, June 29. She said trades crossed $1 million in cumulative volume within the first week around the premieres and reached a single-day peak of nearly $3 million traded on June 11.

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Currently, Kalshi's winning couple market has Trinity Tatum and Bryce Dettloff as heavy favorites, with an 80 percent chance of winning (both Melanie and Sincere and Zach and Kayda have a 33 percent chance of landing in the top three). There are also weekly elimination contracts — Amora and Kenzie were both priced around 56 and 37 percent in the Week 5 market.

Kalshi is not the only prediction market platform turning Love Island USA into something tradable. On Polymarket, users have also been able to trade on Season 8 outcomes, down to even what might be said during a specific episode (for example, the word "red flag"). A spokesperson from Polymarket declined to comment on their Love Island trading platform.

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Love Island is different from a traditional awards show or sporting event, though, because fans are not only watching from the outside. Sometimes, they shape what happens next.

Often, the producers prompt fans to vote for their favorite (or least favorite) cast members on the Love Island app, and each time, the fandom certainly mobilizes: The Love Island USA app crashed during both a June 9 and June 16 vote and later climbed to the top of the App Store.

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When asked about the ethics and integrity of markets where users can influence outcomes through public voting, Bronfman says, "We draw a hard line against insider trading — it's prohibited on Kalshi."

She also says it has safeguards in place to detect suspicious activity on its platform. Kalshi uses Know Your Customer checks for everyone who trades on the platform, which Bronfman describes as "very similar (and more extensive) than signing up for a bank."

"When people trade, we use advanced AI surveillance technology that tracks for any irregular trading and investigates suspicious trading activity," Bronfman adds. "We go beyond looking at individual households and look at people’s social connections as well."

Prediction markets are expanding just as sports betting has become a massive part of American digital life. Americans legally wagered nearly $167 billion on sports in 2025, according to the American Gaming Association, and online betting has transformed how many fans experience games. Some states — like Illinois, Nevada, and most recently Michigan (as of June 29) — have placed bans or taxes on prediction markets as state governments debate whether to classify them as financial exchanges, gambling platforms, or something in between.

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The sports gambling world has been built, for the most part, around men. Men are nearly twice as likely as women to report gambling-related problems, and sports betting has become one of the clearest examples of how quickly gambling products can move from occasional entertainment to an everyday phone habit.

So when prediction market companies start using pop culture, influencers, and reality TV to reach more women, it raises a question: Is this just another way for fans to engage with the shows they love, or is it opening a new pathway to betting addiction for an untapped market?

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According to Bronfman, there are "3x more female traders" in Love Island markets compared with other Kalshi markets, and "2/3 of new Love Island traders are women."

Kalshi and Polymarket have both experimented with pop-culture contracts and social media strategies that look different from a sportsbook ad during a football game, setting wagers on — for example — Taylor Swift's wedding venue, Dancing with the Stars cast members, or the Bachelor drama.

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It doesn't mean every fan trading on these outcomes is treating Kalshi and Polymarket like a sportsbook. Prediction markets differ from betting platforms; their contracts are described as "event-based trading," where users buy and sell positions against each other rather than placing bets against the house. In that framing, a Love Island contract is less like a traditional sportsbook wager and more like a stock price fluctuating around a future event.

But for users, the actual experience can still feel familiar, potentially hooking a new prediction-market audience one recoupling at a time.

Beatbot's Sora 70 robot pool cleaner is a high-tech way to clean your swimming pool. CNET Video Producer, Stephen Beacham, tested it out for a week and shares his thoughts on what it's like to use the app-connected cleaning device.