Mashable

Spotify has added a new feature that automatically generates an offline playlist for you based on your listening habits.

Announced by the audio streaming company on Thursday, the "Offline Backup" feature operates in addition to downloads on the platform (when you can download music, podcasts, or audiobooks for offline listening).

SEE ALSO: Spotify wants to make you an AI Playlist for every occasion

Offline Backup generates a playlist for listeners using queued and recently streamed tracks, as well as any tracks you've downloaded in Spotify. Like Spotify's "daylist" feature, the playlist will constantly updating according to what you regularly listen to. Users can also filter the playlist by artist, mood, or genre.

Credit: Spotify

If your phone or laptop is offline or on airplane mode, Offline Backup will appear automatically in the Home tab on Spotify.

If you can't see it appearing on Spotify, make sure you've got the latest app update, have listened to at least five songs recently, and have enabled offline listening — you can find this in Settings > "Data Saving and offline" > "Offline access".

It's the latest update from Spotify, which most recently made its daylists available to all free and paying Premium users (and in 14 new languages), and expanded global access to its AI Playlists for Premium users.

Tesla's cheapest Model 3 variant is no longer available.

The company made no announcement, but Electrek noticed on Wednesday that Tesla's Model 3 online configurator in the U.S. doesn't offer the previously available Model 3 Standard Range variant.

That version, which cost $38,990 and has only the rear motor and less range than the other variants, was by far the most affordable car in Tesla's lineup.

SEE ALSO: Tesla's FSD might finally come to Europe and China in early 2025

Now, the cheapest Tesla you can buy in the U.S. is the $42,490 Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel drive, which also only has one motor, but has a larger battery pack and offers more range.

No more Standard Range for you! Credit: Tesla

The change happened roughly at the same time as Tesla's quarterly earnings report, which showed that the company delivered 426,890 vehicles in the third quarter, slightly less than expected.

Tweet may have been deleted

It's hard to speculate as to why Tesla made the change, but Electrek thinks it could be related to the origin of the batteries in the Standard Range Model 3, which come from China. The U.S. recently increased the tariffs on Chinese battery cells, which probably makes it difficult for Tesla to use them in a car and still make it eligible for the maximum, $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles.

Of course, if you can get the $7,500 federal tax credit, the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive can be had for $34,990, which is still a pretty good deal.

"Heartstopper" Season 3: Joe Locke and Kit Connor discuss teenage vulnerability, eating disorders, and the art of saying "hi!"

"The Daily Show" Michael Kosta has spoken about how Trump reacted to the VP debate during his latest monologue.

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world, and it's already highly secure, making it the best choice for those worried about their privacy and safety online.

One of the great things about the browser is that you can easily customise it and add extensions to personalise your experience. One such option is to add a VPN extension so that you're further protected from threats and the risks associated with your ISP potentially spying on what you're doing.

VPN extensions work a little differently from full VPN services, as they simply route browser traffic through a proxy server rather than encrypt data like a true VPN connection. This is still useful if you want to view content without restrictions, like watching U.S. Netflix content from the UK.

What is a VPN?

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) offer protection for your data and identity when you're online by creating a private network that hides your real IP address. This means that all of your activity is untraceable and secure. Try thinking about VPNs like encrypted tunnels through which all of your online traffic passes through. Nobody can see into the tunnel, and everything inside the tunnel is protected against online threats like viruses, hackers, and malware.

Do you need a VPN for Chrome?

We all know that Chrome OS is a secure service, but you still need to protect your web traffic from online threats. For this task, you need a VPN. You'll also need to use a VPN if you want to unblock extra content from top streaming sites. These cybersecurity services can hide your real IP address and connect you to a server in another country, meaning you get access to all the movies and shows from that location.

What is the best VPN for Chrome?

Many VPN services and extensions are available, so how do you know what's best for you? You will need a service that is highly secure and offers a fairly strong level of encryption, but you'll also want a service that's easy to set up and use, with a no-logs policy. Whatever your reason for using a VPN service, it's important to pick out the right VPN for your needs, and we're here to help you find it.

We have tracked down all your best options for making Google Chrome even more secure, including popular services like TunnelBear and ExpressVPN.

These are the best VPNs for Chrome in 2024.

Stephen Colbert has responded to JD Vance's attempts to normalise Trump's policies and actions during the VP debate on Wednesday.

Zooming through the outer reaches of the solar system, A NASA spacecraft just clocked a distance 60 times farther from the sun than Earth.

The extraordinary benchmark announced this week means the New Horizons probe has doubled its 2015 distance, when it was snapping pictures of Pluto and its moons. 

Perhaps more surprising than this intangible deep-space milestone is the one this intrepid spacecraft hasn't reached yet: the outer edge of the solar system's Kuiper Belt, a disk beyond Neptune of countless comets and thousands of tiny ice worlds. The far-flung region is littered with leftover rubble from the time when primitive planets were forming. 

Scientists had expected the spacecraft to arrive at the proverbial edge about 1 billion miles ago. 

"Our Solar System’s Kuiper Belt long appeared to be very small in comparison with many other planetary systems," said Wes Fraser, a co-investigator for the New Horizons mission, in a statement, "but our results suggest that idea might just have arisen due to an observational bias."

SEE ALSO: This nearby dwarf planet's ice may be left over from a dirty ocean The New Horizons spacecraft has not reached interstellar space yet. Credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / SwRI / Steve Gribben illustration

While the spacecraft has whizzed away at 300 million miles per year, the New Horizons team has continued to collect data about the Kuiper Belt. What's more, using the Japanese Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, New Horizon's scientists detected a population of previously unknown cosmic objects. The group could be sprawled out to almost 90 times as far as Earth is from the sun, according to a recent paper published in the Planetary Science Journal. 

The discovery suggests the Kuiper Belt may span much farther than once thought, or that there is perhaps another such belt even farther away than the one scientists have known about since the 1990s. The new finding could mean the spacecraft has a longer journey ahead — on the scale of billions of more miles — before it gets to interstellar space, the place outside the region affected by the sun’s constant flow of material.

New Horizons delivered this composite image of Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth when it flew by in January 2019. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SWRI

"Maybe, if this result is confirmed, our Kuiper Belt isn’t all that small and unusual after all, compared to those around other stars," Fraser said. 

Scientists don't know much about the new population of objects yet, but one possibility is that Neptune's gravity is affecting the group, causing its orbit to be a precise multiple of the planet's. Regardless, their mere existence would seem to meddle with conventional ideas about how the solar system formed, perhaps indicating planetary material came from a much larger vicinity than previously thought. 

New Horizons launched in early 2006, first visiting Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in 2007. Nine years into its mission, it flew by Pluto. Then, on Jan. 1, 2019, it arrived at its next major target, a Kuiper Belt object roughly 4 billion miles from Earth. This icy red dumbbell-shaped world, only 21 miles wide, is the farthest object a spacecraft has ever encountered. The team officially named it Arrokoth, a Powhatan and Algonquian word meaning "sky," after the Latin first choice sparked controversy for having icky associations with Nazis. 

The New Horizons spacecraft is thought to have enough power and fuel to operate over a distance of 100 times that of the Earth from the sun. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI infographic

The spacecraft's life expectancy lasts until 2050, said planetary scientist Alan Stern, who's directing the mission for NASA. It has enough power and fuel to continue operating beyond a distance 100 times farther from the sun than Earth. 

If it does survive the trek into interstellar space, it won't be the first to get there. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, both launched in 1977, have each drifted outside the solar system, at over 15 billion and 12 billion miles from Earth, respectively.

TL;DR: For a limited time, you can buy a discounted Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac lifetime license for your device for £18.84 (reg. £172.80).

Summer is finally over, and we're all back in school or the office. If you need to boost your productivity this fall, check out this offer for Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac. Through Oct. 27, this must-have productivity suite is on sale for £18.84 (reg. £172.80). For a one-time purchase, you'll get a device license that never expires.

If you use a Mac for work or personal projects, consider investing in this Microsoft software bundle. Even though it’s a slightly older version of Office (the most recent version is the 2021 edition), it still features the most popular Microsoft apps. 

Office 2019 for Mac includes essential applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. These tools are designed to meet various needs, whether you're drafting important documents, managing work or home finances, creating presentations, or organising your email and calendar.

It also includes other favourite apps, including OneNote, for amplified note-taking in one central place, and Teams Classic 2019. 

One of the best aspects of MS Office 2019 is that it’s a one-time purchase. For £18.84, you get lifetime access to the suite without the need for recurring subscription fees, like you would with Microsoft 365. The license covers one Mac device, and it lasts as long as your device does.

This is your chance to get MS Office at a price point that won't stress you out.

Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac is on sale for £18.84 (reg. £172.80) until Oct. 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Retail King Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac £18.84 at the Mashable Shop
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Partners, flings, and dates can now be found with a few swipes on our phones  — for better or worse. This is especially true for LGBTQ people: Queer Americans are much more likely to use dating apps than straight ones, according to the Pew Research Center. 

Grindr launched in 2009, completely transforming dating and sex for queer men over the last 15 years. The introduction of accessible apps specifically catering to the queer community (like Grindr and others) broke down significant barriers to finding fellow LGBTQ people in one's area and became a cornerstone of queer sex culture.

SEE ALSO: Dating predictions for the rest of 2024

The most well-known gay dating and hookup app is still undoubtedly Grindr. However, given recent product issues and growing user frustration, other apps are vying for the new top spot. 

The quick downfall of Grindr

Grindr's rise to become a household name alone showcases how far the community has come, from early 2000s Craigslist ads placed to meet other queer people looking for companionship, to the "largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people" (according to the app, anyway).

In 2024, however, Grindr has been plagued by issues: updates that led to serious bugs and the introduction of further paywalls. The latter includes limiting the visibility of "taps" (a feature indicating interest without sending a direct message), which are now only visible within three hours of being sent. Also, the "explore" feature (allowing you to bypass the usual location-based method of seeing other users) unlocks only one profile outside a user's grid a day, whereas it used to unlock three. These can only be circumnavigated by purchasing a subscription.

When an app like Grindr becomes so embedded into the queer experience, the removal of features and its failure to deliver due to bugs can feel like a betrayal at best, or a user being severed from the queer community at worst. Especially when features like taps, indicating attraction, are hidden behind a paywall, it becomes clear that connection between people is not the main priority for the organisation at this point.

Despite many other options, Grindr remains the most well-known app with almost 14 million active monthly users globally, according to a spokesperson. In response to a request for comment on the complaints made by users, Grindr's spokesperson said, "Since a major investment in modernising our chat platform earlier this year, we are aware that our users have experienced technical challenges on Grindr. We appreciate our users' loyalty and support as we invest in upgrading and improving the Grindr experience."

That being said, how is it possible that an app with such a huge user base (and earning a revenue of $82 million in Q2 2024 alone) struggles to keep its app functioning at an acceptable level? X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms are littered with complaints from users, relaying instances of bugs occurring without warning. Other apps have been undergoing similar issues, with Feeld's updates late last year causing usability issues.

Gus*, an active Grindr user based in London, thinks the Grindr bugs must be "annoying for those who are more reliant on them, in smaller cities, living with disabilities, etc." For himself, he deals with the bugs and recognises that the paid tiers aren't cheap.

Grindr's paid tiers start at £8.99/$12.99 for a one-week subscription to "XTRA" and up to £34.99/$39.99 for one month of "UNLIMITED" as of publication. Both remove significant limits placed on free accounts, i.e. the ability to see more profiles, taps, and fewer third-party ads.

Other gay dating apps, like Taimi and SCRUFF, swoop in

Whilst Grindr has remained an LGBTQ household name, other apps are becoming more commonplace. Alex Pasykov, founder and CEO of inclusive LGBTQ dating app Taimi, sees this moment as an opportunity, as "since their creation, all apps focused on the algorithm of a man looking for a man have been competing with Grindr in one way or another and dreamed of winning the attention of at least part of their audience."

He recognises that users already use multiple apps at once, with their research suggesting that 60 percent of Taimi users utilise other apps for various reasons.

SCRUFF and Jack'd are two popular LGBTQ apps with 30 million combined registered profiles, many of which log in monthly, according to a spokesperson. SCRUFF represents around 65 percent of these and Jack'd represents the remaining 35 percent. The developer declined to share the exact figures of monthly active users.

"Our company is privately held and is queer-owned and queer-led," says Eric Silverberg, founder of Perry Street Software, developer of SCRUFF and Jack'd, counting this as a principal difference between Perry Street and other apps.

"The publicly-held competitors in the dating landscape are publicly-held stock companies. They have intense pressure to monetise," Silverberg continues. "And eventually, this day would have come, sooner or later, if you have that kind of investor pressure, and this is the consequence you're seeing — a lot of pricing pressure across the board in the software industry broadly, and in [the] dating industry in particular." Grindr went public in 2022, and publicly traded companies own other major dating apps including Tinder and Hinge (both owned by Match Group) and Bumble.

SEE ALSO: Tired of casual dates? Try the best dating apps for serious relationships in 2024

"And it's probably because dating is the area of software that most consumers are exposed to subscriptions, other than video and music subscription services. And the last couple years have been intense pricing pressure upward, and it's most acute for the publicly traded companies," Silverberg says. 

This isn't only an issue with Grindr. Users of apps like Tinder and Bumble have said that over the years the dating apps have gotten worse in terms of more ads and fewer free features. 

Silverberg's sentiment is shared by Donny Smith, chief creative officer at Bttr., a brand and digital experience company. "Dating apps are failing their user base because they're prioritising monetisation over user experience. The relentless push for profits through increased paywalls is alienating users who just want a seamless, reliable experience," Smith says.

Eric, a Boston-based user of queer apps says, "Grindr has become almost unusable at times. The ads pop up probably 3x what they do on SCRUFF, and it'll take 3-4 attempts to close out the ad." Currently, he finds himself most frequently using Sniffies, a hyper-localised LGBTQ app focusing on cruising and a lack of censorship, aiming to foster spontaneous, real-life encounters, currently in a global rollout.

"SCRUFF ads are more manageable, Sniffies free version is super usable and the ads are just messages that sit at the top of your chat list, not terrible," Eric continues.

SCRUFF and Sniffies both offer paid tiers similar to Grindr. SCRUFF Pro starts at £6.99/$9.99 per week, with discounted tiers for longer subscriptions, and offers the ability to see complete messaging histories, which are locked on free tiers. Sniffies pricing starts at £5.99/$10.99 for a one-week trial with similarly discounted tiers and offers the ability to unblock users, see unlimited profiles, and post widely received updates. 

Dating apps are failing their user base because they're prioritising monetisation over user experience. - Donny Smith, chief creative officer at Bttr.

Sniffies' work "is driven by a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ community, and we strive to create a platform that is not only functional but also empowering, risk-taking, and inclusive," says Eli Martin, Sniffies' CMO and creative director.

Similarly, Silverberg attributes some of Perry Street's success to a real understanding and focus on the LGBTQ community. "We have worked over the years to build a very thoughtful, very intentional queer ad business," he says. "We only work with advertisers that want to be on our platform, they really want to reach our community, not working with shady games companies."

Silverberg explains that some ads are intended to normalise and share important messages, recognising that repeated exposure to messaging on PrEP (a medication used to significantly reduce the risk of contracting HIV), can have a huge effect in the long term.

Grindr's frequent pop-up ads, meanwhile, often feature low-budget games that push you toward the App Store.

The need for gay dating apps to stay accessible

Eric explains that "meeting people on apps is sometimes easier for me," continuing that he's "not necessarily a big 'club' person, so I'm not often in spaces where people are trying to find someone for romantic or sexual encounters."

Seventy-two percent agreed that online dating plays a significant role in making connections and forming relationships with others in the LGBTQIA+ community, according to a survey by Tinder provided to Mashable, carried out with 4,000 respondents from the LGBTQIA+ community in the UK, U.S., Australia and Canada.

The cost of living crisis is likely to affect those from marginalised groups more severely. With dating and hookup apps also facing rising costs and increasing their subscription prices, those from marginalised groups are likely to be disproportionately impacted by changes made by developers in their pursuit of financial stability and profit maximisation. With free functionality beginning to become more limited as paywalls rise, it is not unreasonable to suspect barriers to accessing queer communities will increase.

"I'm a business owner," Silverberg explains. "And so we have software subscription products that we buy to power our business. They are all pressing us. Every single one is pressing us on price in the last 12 to 24 months."

Apps like Grindr are attempting to push these rising costs onto consumers. This reeks of short-term thinking, only seeing your user base as a financial resource — not your platform's lifeblood. With an area so sensitive as dating, users want to feel trust in their platforms of choice, not like they will be expected to drop more and more money to meet a future partner. These apps may succeed in cutting themselves off from their target demographics through a relentless pursuit of profit. 

* Dating app users chose to go by their first names only for privacy reasons.

This column reflects the opinion of the author.

There's a class of objects journeying around our solar system dubbed "centaurs." They don't come near Earth, but NASA just zoomed in on one with the powerful James Webb Space Telescope.

The centaurs are thought to be icy objects from the solar system outskirts, where Pluto lives, but they've moved inward and now inhabit the realms between Jupiter and Neptune. They remain largely mysterious, but with a Webb instrument (a spectrograph) that can identify the composition of distant worlds, scientists have closely inspected Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, an object known to emit jets of gas.

"Webb really opened the door to a resolution and sensitivity that was impressive to us — when we saw the data for the first time, we were excited. We had never seen anything like this," Sara Faggi, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center who led the research, said in an agency statement.

SEE ALSO: We could nuke an incoming asteroid. Scientists just proved it.

While the object is much too distant and small for a vivid picture — like Webb's view of a large world like Neptune — Webb's spectrograph revealed new jets of gas shooting out from the centaur. Two of the newly discovered jets are blasting CO2 (carbon dioxide) into space, and another is shooting CO (carbon monoxide). The researchers looked for water in these plumes, but didn't detect any.

The graphic below shows the abundances of elements in the jets as observed by Webb (on left), and NASA's 3D construction of what Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 might look like (on right).

On left: The abundances of elements in the jets as observed by the Webb telescope. On right: NASA's 3D construction of what Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 might look like. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / L. Hustak (STScI) / S. Faggi (NASA-GSFC / American University) An artist's illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope viewing the cosmos from an orbit 1 million miles from Earth. Credit: GSFC / CIL / Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

As the reconstructions above show, Centaur 29P might be two objects that long ago stuck together (asteroids and other deep space objects tend to do this). This could explain the differences in the object's CO2 and CO abundances.

But what's driving the bursts of gas remains a mystery. Comets — which are "dirty snowballs" made of ices, rocks, and dust — shoot out gases and water vapor when they near the sun. But in the frigid realms of the outer solar system, it's far too cold for centaurs' ice to rapidly sublimate, or abruptly transition from a solid to a gas.

To understand what's transpiring on these far-off places — which are pristinely preserved remnants of our early solar system and can help us understand our planetary evolution — scientists will need to zoom in on Centaur 29P again.

"We only had time to look at this object once, like a snapshot in time," said Adam McKay, an astronomer and study co-author at Appalachian State University. "Looking at these jets over time would give us much better insights into what is driving these outbursts," he added.

The Webb telescope's powerful abilities

The Webb telescope — a scientific collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency — is designed to peer into the deepest cosmos and reveal new insights about the early universe. But it's also examining intriguing planets in our galaxy, along with the planets and moons in our solar system.

Here's how Webb is achieving unparalleled feats, and likely will for decades to come:

- Giant mirror: Webb's mirror, which captures light, is over 21 feet across. That's over two-and-a-half times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's mirror. Capturing more light allows Webb to see more distant, ancient objects. The telescope is peering at stars and galaxies that formed over 13 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. "We're going to see the very first stars and galaxies that ever formed," Jean Creighton, an astronomer and the director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, told Mashable in 2021.

- Infrared view: Unlike Hubble, which largely views light that's visible to us, Webb is primarily an infrared telescope, meaning it views light in the infrared spectrum. This allows us to see far more of the universe. Infrared has longer wavelengths than visible light, so the light waves more efficiently slip through cosmic clouds; the light doesn't as often collide with and get scattered by these densely packed particles. Ultimately, Webb's infrared eyesight can penetrate places Hubble can't.

"It lifts the veil," said Creighton.

- Peering into distant exoplanets: The Webb telescope carries specialized equipment called spectrographs that will revolutionize our understanding of these far-off worlds. The instruments can decipher what molecules (such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane) exist in the atmospheres of distant exoplanets — be they gas giants or smaller rocky worlds. Webb looks at exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. Who knows what we'll find?

"We might learn things we never thought about," Mercedes López-Morales, an exoplanet researcher and astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics-Harvard & Smithsonian, told Mashable in 2021.

Already, astronomers have successfully found intriguing chemical reactions on a planet 700 light-years away, and have started looking at one of the most anticipated places in the cosmos: the rocky, Earth-sized planets of the TRAPPIST solar system.

Adapting a famous Stephen King novel, especially one that already spawned a cult mini-series directed by none other than Tobe Hooper himself, has got to be a pretty big uphill struggle.

There are few people who probably understand this better than screenwriter Gary Dauberman, who adapted both IT and IT: Chapter 2 for modern audiences. Dauberman's proven himself twice in that regard, and now with Salem's Lot (which he also directs), he pulls off a sensationally creepy hat trick.

Dauberman's feature-length take on King's classic vampire novel is a solidly entertaining scare-fest that pays homage to the original adaptation while also doing its own thing.

SEE ALSO: What to watch: Best scary movies What's Salem's Lot about? Credit: Courtesy of New Line Cinema / Max

Pulling us straight back into the mid '70s with the thematically appropriate sound of Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown," Salem's Lot starts with horror writer Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) rolling back into his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot to find some inspiration for his next novel.

Little does he know he's about to have it served up to him on a plate. The town has two new residents providing plenty of mystery and action: ancient vampire Barlow (Alexander Ward) and his human caretaker Richard Straker (Pilou Asbæk), who are hellbent on turning the town into their personal diner and army of the undead.

There's also a budding romance between Ben and local retailer Susie Norton (Makenzie Leigh), but it gets quickly overshadowed by snowballing disappearances and a fight for survival.

Salem's Lot doesn’t take itself too seriously. Credit: Courtesy of New Line Cinema / Max

How do you even begin to make a vampire movie these days? The genre is so packed full of lore and stereotypes that it's hard not to fall into the trap of predictability.

Salem's Lot navigates this tightrope by leaning into the legends, cleverly mixing genuine scares with tongue-in-cheek moments. There's a scene in a morgue, for instance, where key characters have to race against time to fashion a makeshift crucifix — fumbling with taping two pieces of wood together while struggling to remember the right religious words to say — and the whole thing is self-aware enough to be fun without detracting from the tension.

Despite some lighter moments, Salem's Lot is no comedy; there's plenty of horror to be found in the film. The jump scares are there, as are the creepy children made famous in the novel and series adaptation. Most importantly, Barlow himself is every bit as ominous and unpleasant as a vampire-in-chief should be.

Salem's Lot has stereotypes, but also surprises. Credit: Courtesy of New Line Cinema / Max

There are a few frustrating things about Salem's Lot. Despite the self-awareness of the script, for instance, the main characters can't seem to stop falling into the same traps that horror protagonists have been falling into for decades now.

"Shouldn’t we all stay together?" says 11-year-old vampire hunter (and comfortably the best character) Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter). The response he gets — "There’s no time. Half an hour until sunset!" — is nonsensical enough to be almost enraging.

The movie has some minor issues with pacing, too. King's novel has a large cast of characters, making it better suited for a mini-series. While Dauberman's script does an excellent job of keeping up the pace and tension, it could have spent more time building the relationships between characters, especially Ben and Susie.

The good news? None of these issues are enough to spoil the film as a whole, which combines a fun script and creative direction by Dauberman with strong performances across the board. Salem's Lot pays homage to the source material and mini-series (hello, nightmarish window sequence), but it's when the film branches out and does its own thing that it really excels. The best example of this is the finale, which — without going into spoiler territory — is a thrillingly chaotic sequence that makes creative use of sunlight and a classic '70s setting to give the movie a fresh and bloody sendoff.

Salem's Lot is now streaming on Max.

TL;DR: Get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 and Windows 11 Pro together for just $52.97 (reg. $438) through October 27 — own both for life for one low price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Office 2021 + Windows 11 Pro $52.97
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When it comes to mastering your professional life, nothing beats the power combo of Microsoft Office Professional 2021 and Windows 11 Pro.

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Need to juggle multiple projects at once? Windows 11 Pro steps up your productivity game with enhanced multitasking features like Snap Layouts and Desktops, which allow you to organize and manage your workload more efficiently. With faster speeds and improved app management, you’ll stay on top of your deadlines and switch between tasks like a pro.

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Azure AD integration also gives you top-tier security and manageability, perfect for professionals working remotely or within corporate environments. Plus, with AI-powered updates like Copilot, you’ll benefit from smarter, more intuitive workflows.

Don't sit on this deal for two Microsoft powerhouses at a very reasonable price. Get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 and Windows 11 Pro together for just $52.97 (reg. $438) through October 27.

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Opens in a new window Credit: GTHW App Limited Headway Premium: Lifetime Subscription $59.99
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It's not our fault, really. It is so easy to spend our spare minutes scrolling through social media or news sites because our brains are built that way. Whether you do it in line at the store or while in bed before you fall asleep, there's a better way to use your mini-break times.

Headway Premium lets you turn your spare moments into an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Through September 30, you can secure a lifetime subscription for just $44.99 (reg. $299) when you use the code HEADWAY at checkout.

Headway delivers key ideas and insights from the world’s top minds, condensed into fun, bite-sized 15-minute summaries that are ideal for busy people. Whether you want to learn about business strategies, boost your health, or work on self-growth, Headway has over 1,500 summaries to explore. Plus, with 30–50 new ones added monthly, your learning will never run dry.

This app aims to make growth personal. With curated content tailored to your interests and goals, you’ll get recommendations that help fuel your growth. From achieving professional milestones to enhancing your daily habits, Headway helps you stay on track with your learning journey.

Why should learning be boring? With its gamified approach, you can track your progress, earn achievements, and make personal development a fun, engaging experience. You’ll be leveling up in no time — both in the app and in life.

If you want to take advantage of summaries while driving or at the gym, you also get access to professionally narrated audio summaries, allowing you to learn on the go. And with offline listening, your learning is available whenever you need it.

This price for lifetime access is only available for only a few more days. Get Headway Premium for just $44.99 (reg. $299) when you use code HEADWAY through September 30.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: This keychain charger is the most convenient way to charge your Apple Watch anywhere, now $16.97 (reg. $25.99) through October 27.

Opens in a new window Credit: Shenzhen Centralspot Innovation 2-in-1 Keychain Wireless Charger for Apple Watch w/ Additional USB-C Charging Port $16.97
$25.99 Save $9.02 Get Deal

We heard that your Apple Watch is starting to die a little too often. But hold up! That doesn't mean you need to buy a brand-new Apple Watch. If its battery life isn't what it used to be, there's a charging solution that doesn't require a chunky power bank or annoying cord.

Give your Apple Watch a power up anywhere with this 2-in-1 wireless keychain charger. This compact, portable, wireless and wired charging solution can power your Apple Watch and iPhone simultaneously. Through October 27, it's available for only $16.97 (reg. $25.99).

Quick Apple Watch juice ups anywhere

Once you add this nifty charger to the mix, you might never have to deal with a dead Apple Watch again. The next time your Apple Watch dies on the way to the office or mid-workout, just pop it onto this keychain charger's magnetic attachment.

You'll actually need to remember to charge this accessory so it can do its job. Once it's full, it holds more than enough juice to revive your Apple Watch from zero to 100 up to five times. That means you could have a full recharge for every workday. We recommend checking out the charger's battery life on its integrated LED display so you know when to give it a rest.

All Apple Watch models are compatible with this convenient charging solution, including the original, Ultra, and SE, old and new. The best part? This 2,500mAh charger also doubles as a power bank with USB-C output, so you can power up your iPhone or another portable device while you're traveling, commuting, or running errands.

A charger in your pocket

Thanks to its keychain design, you can clip it onto your crossbody bag, work backpack, or tote bag while commuting or walking around — no need for tangled chargers or heavy power banks. 

Don't sweat over a low Apple Watch or iPhone battery. Grab this 2-in-1 wireless keychain charger for just $16.97 through October 27 at 11:59 PM Pacific. Supplies are limited.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

The Legend of Vox Machina levels up again in a killer Season 3.

The adult animated series, which is based on Critical Role's first live-streamed Dungeons & Dragons campaign, got off to a strong start in its first season. Season 2 built on that base, fine-tuning the show's balance of raunchy humor, fantasy action, and engaging character work. Now, its third outing is proof that a great thing can get even better, putting the heroes known as Vox Machina through their biggest challenges yet, be they personal woes or, you know, trying to save the world from apocalypse by dragon fire.

SEE ALSO: How 'The Legend of Vox Machina' brings a 'Dungeons and Dragons' campaign to life The Chroma Conclave continues to wreak havoc in The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3. Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

Let's start with the dragon fire of it all. At the end of Season 2, Vox Machina defeated the dragon Umbrasyl (voiced by Matthew Mercer) with an NSFW combination of magic and butt stuff. However, there are still more dragons in the Chroma Conclave, including fearsome leader Thordak (voiced by the late Lance Reddick) and icy dragon Vorugal (voiced by Liam O'Brien). Needless to say, they're still out for blood. And with Thordak's clutch of dragon eggs mere weeks from hatching, Vox Machina are in a serious time crunch if they're going to save Tal'Dorei.

Their only hope may just be the Conclave's remaining dragon, Raishan (voiced by Cree Summer), who's offered a tentative alliance. But can she be trusted? Vox Machina's resident druid Keyleth (voiced by Marisha Ray) certainly doesn't think so, in just one of many conflicts that deepen Vox Machina's group dynamics this season.

SEE ALSO: Matthew Mercer reveals his favorite dragon moment from 'The Legend of Vox Machina' The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 gets even more personal. Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

Every season of The Legend of Vox Machina has seen its band of unlikely heroes gelling further, so by now, their chemistry is rock-solid. That doesn't necessarily mean they all get along perfectly — they're basically a family, and a family always has its ups and downs. Instead, it means their interactions are the tightest and most clearly character-driven they've been in the show's run, from painful arguments to filthy jokes to stressed-out planning sessions.

While the group as a whole is a treat to watch, one of The Legend of Vox Machina's biggest strengths is how it teases out the web of relationships between its core cast, even experimenting with breaking the party up to put a microscope on each bond. This season sees romances blossoming in earnest between Keyleth and Vax'ildan (voiced by O'Brien), as well as Percy (voiced by Taliesin Jaffe) and Vex'ahlia (voiced by Laura Bailey), with both featuring their fair share of sweetness and heartbreak. Elsewhere, bawdy bard Scanlan (voiced by Sam Riegel) tries desperately to reconnect with his estranged daughter Kaylie (voiced by Aisling Franciosi), while pious cleric Pike (voiced by Ashley Johnson) reckons with her ever-complex relationship to faith. As for party tank Grog (voiced by Travis Willingham), he takes a bit of a backseat after a jam-packed Season 2, but he's always got his friends' backs.

SEE ALSO: Ashley Johnson and Travis Willingham talk Pike and Grog's friendship in 'The Legend of Vox Machina' The Legend of Vox Machina's action just keeps getting better. Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

Since character is a key motivator in action sequences, these deepened connections translate perfectly to The Legend of Vox Machina's many fights. I didn't know how the show could possibly top any of its earlier standouts, like Season 1's Brimscythe and Briarwood showdowns or Season 2's Killbox and Umbrasyl battles. Yet Season 3 delivers at every turn, with the Vestiges of Divergence obtained in Season 2 adding a superpowered punch to Vox Machina's already considerable skills. Some sequences — like the show's balls-to-the-wall take on a kaiju battle — demand an instant rewatch (and may have elicited much hooting and hollering from yours truly).

That The Legend of Vox Machina's fights keep getting better is a testament to Titmouse's animation, which does a remarkable job juggling hundreds of moving parts (including several dragons!) while maintaining a Saturday morning cartoon flair. It's also a testament to the show's willingness to constantly up the stakes. The Legend of Vox Machina has certainly accomplished this feat season over season, but in Season 3, everything is amplified, from its fantasy playfulness to its most devastating character beats. Truly, it's difficult to imagine it getting better from here. But as every season of The Legend of Machina has shown us, this series is always ready to grow and improve alongside its heroes.

The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 premieres Oct. 3 on Prime Video, with three new episodes every Thursday.

TL;DR: Live stream Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons for free with a 30-day trial of Prime Video. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

We're now into Week 5 of the NFL 2024 season, but the excitement for Thursday Night Football never wanes. For the next big game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Atlanta Falcons — an anticipated showdown within the NFC South. But who will clinch the midweek victory?

The good news for football fans is you can watch all the action without spending a dime. So if you want to watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons for free, here's all the information you need.

When is Buccaneers vs. Falcons?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons takes place at 8:15 p.m. ET on Oct. 3. This fixture will be played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

How to watch Buccaneers vs. Falcons for free

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons is available to live stream on Prime Video in the U.S., but don't worry — you don't need to be fully subscribed to Amazon Prime to watch this game. Simply watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons (plus more Thursday Night Football fixtures) for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.

Fans from outside the U.S. will need to use a VPN to watch the NFL for free on Prime Video. This process is straightforward:

1. Sign up for a 30-day Amazon Prime trial (if you're not already a member)

2. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

3. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

4. Open up the app and connect to a server in the U.S.

5. Watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons for free from anywhere in the world on Prime Video

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not actually free, but the leading VPN providers tend to offer free trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you'll be able to access free live streams of the NFL without actually spending anything. It's a short-term solution, but this gives you enough time to watch select NFL fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the NFL?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the NFL, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is currently available for $99.95. Within this limited time deal you'll get an extra three months at no additional cost, a whole year of unlimited cloud backup for free, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. That's an impressive 49% off altogether.

Live stream Buccaneers vs. Falcons for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

"To be a chef, you've got to love the taste of blood."

So says one of the many chefs present in House of Spoils, and writers and directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy (Blow the Man Down) are all too happy to oblige. Right from the jump, blood and cooking are intertwined. In the film's opening, a coven of women gather around a fire, pounding what looks like hunks of bloody flesh into a paste. Cut to equally bloody filets on the grill in a high-end Manhattan kitchen. Cooking, it seems, is its own kind of witchcraft — and House of Spoils is ready to serve us a thrilling five-course meal of both.

SEE ALSO: What to watch: Best scary movies What's House of Spoils about? Ariana DeBose in "House of Spoils." Credit: Courtesy of Prime

A dark fairy tale with culinary bite, House of Spoils dives into one chef's pursuit of perfection, a theme viewers might most recently associate with The Bear or The Menu. But make no mistake, House of Spoils' similarities to those projects start and end with the fact that they take place in a high-end restaurant.

The chef in question has no name. She's just Chef (Ariana DeBose, West Side Story), her sense of self so tied to her profession that there's no room for anything else. She gets the chance of a lifetime when she partners with smarmy restaurateur Andreas (Arian Moayed, Succession) on a rural restaurant upstate.

Covered in ivy and boasting a secret garden, Chef's new restaurant is straight out of a storybook, the magical launchpad for her greatest dream. Yet something is off. Namely, the food. Bugs squirm their way into her every dish, and mold overtakes her ingredients faster than biologically possible. Is this just some run-of-the-mill infestation? Or is it a curse from the property's previous owner, widely rumored to be a witch?

SEE ALSO: 'The Bear' can't wait any longer for Carmy to evolve House of Spoils wrings spooks and inspiration from mold and decay. Ariana DeBose in "House of Spoils." Credit: Courtesy of Prime

Although it boasts its fair share of jump scares and ghostly figures lurking in the background, House of Spoils' true horror lies in its food. The sight of bugs crawling just below the surface of a dish calls to mind parasites wriggling below the skin of a host, and the thick blankets of mold-draped food are a surefire way to induce nausea.

But perhaps the most disturbing element of the restaurant's mysterious curse is how quickly it erases Chef's hard-earned work. Decay decimates an entire night of peaceful cooking prep, throwing a make-or-break meeting with an investor in disarray. Seeing Chef's plans fall apart time and time again, both by supernatural reasons and human doubt from Andreas, elicits more dread than even the spookiest jump scare. (Although those certainly help accentuate the pain!)

SEE ALSO: 'The Wild Robot' review: Who knew a robot and goose could make me sob so much?

Yet House of Spoils finds a flip side in the challenges Chef faces. When she discovers the prior owner's secret garden, Chef embarks on a foraging journey for the ages, with she and her sous chef, Lucia (Barbie Ferreira, Euphoria), finding a way to turn discarded plants and even mold and bugs into fine-dining gold. Food stylist Zoe Hegedus crafts concoctions that are as alluring as they are repelling, such as a funky mold-tinged bread and a mushroom dish that Chef encourages people to eat without any silverware. Chef's near-possession by culinary inspiration (or maybe something more?) is intoxicating, with Cole and Krudy luring viewers into a lush yet unsettling world of cooking.

House of Spoils tackles toxic masculinity in the cooking world. Ariana DeBose and Barbie Ferreria in "House of Spoils." Credit: Glodi Balazs / Prime

House of Spoils juxtaposes the lush world Chef enters with the cold, hyper-masculine cooking world she came from originally. It was her mentor and former boss Marcello (Marton Csokas) who made that claim about chefs tasting blood. He also asserted that cooking takes balls, a kind of masculinity Chef tries to emulate in her interactions with her co-workers, much to Lucia's disapproval. The sous chef describes fine dining as a "big swinging dick club" and decries some of Chef's "macho posturing." Contrast that with Chef's new gardening focus, which she and Andreas describe as "wild, feminine." In leaving the highly masculine world of her former workplace behind, is Chef discovering and embracing a new part of herself, one she didn't cultivate in favor of molding herself to the standards of other big shot male chefs?

Complicating matters here is the figure of the witch, who looms over Chef's dreams with an ominous command: "Feed the soil." That, coupled with the bloody, sacrificial vibes of the opening sequence, doesn't paint the most favorable portrait of her approach to cooking either. Is Chef truly transforming and evolving at her craft, or is she being manipulated by higher forces? And are blood and sacrifice truly the only way to approach cooking — or any form of art — in order to find success?

House of Spoils certainly keeps you guessing on that front, and on the role of the witch in general. But trust me when I say you won't expect House of Spoils's final course, a turn of events that eschews what you might expect from a more lurid psychological thriller — again, this isn't The Menu — in favor of something more quietly rewarding, yet no less filling.

House of Spoils premieres Oct. 3 on Prime Video.

UPDATE: Oct. 2, 2024, 2:10 p.m. EDT House of Spoils was reviewed out of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest. This review was originally published on Sept. 23, 2024, and has been updated for its streaming debut.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for October 3's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for October 3 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 3 SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 3 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Rolls along, pulled by horses.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter W.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 3 The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

WAGON.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 3's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 3 What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 3 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Drinks

• Green: Not killing a plant

• Blue: Sold together

• Purple: Sounds like a bug

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Beverages

• Green: Care for a Plant

• Blue: Item Sold in Paris

• Purple: Bugs Plus Starting Letter

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #480 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Beverages: JUICE, MILK, PUNCH, SODA

• Care for a Plant: FERTILIZE, POT, PRUNE, WATER

• Item Sold in Paris: BOOKEND, EARBUD, SKI, SOCK

• Bugs Plus Starting Letter: BLOUSE, PANT, SMITE, STICK

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 3

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.