Mashable

SAVE OVER $800: As of Dec. 10, TCL 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart NXTFRAME TV is available for $697.99 at Amazon. That’s a massive $802 off its $1,499.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart NXTFRAME TV $697.99 at Amazon
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This is your sign if you've been waiting for a TV upgrade that feels more like a splurge than a necessity. The TCL 55-inch QLED 4K Smart NXTFRAME TV (2024 model) is currently down to $697.99 at Amazon. With an impressive $802 discount, it's one of the best deals you'll find this season for a high-end TV packed with premium features.

This ultra-slim TV is designed to blend seamlessly into any living space. It boasts a stunning anti-glare QLED screen with 4K Ultra HD resolution, making every scene pop with vivid color and detail. TCL's AIPQ Pro Processor enhances the picture quality, delivering optimized brightness, contrast, and clarity.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI's Sora first look: YouTuber Marques Brownlee breaks down the problems with the AI video model

The TV includes a 120Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync for gamers, ensuring buttery-smooth visuals during fast-paced action sequences. Built-in Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos support elevate your viewing experience with vibrant visuals and immersive sound. Plus, the TV is equipped with Google Assistant and Alexa compatibility, making it a breeze to control smart home devices or search for your next Netflix binge.

TCL has considered everything with this model, including its thinnest world's-thinnest design at just 1.1 inches deep. It comes with a flush wall mount for an elegant look. Still, additional stands and floor mounts are also available for more versatility. If you've ever wanted a TV that doubles as a statement piece, this is it.

Deals like this don't last long — especially during the holiday shopping season. At $697.99, you're snagging an $802 discount and a lot of style. Don't miss out!

A pivotal history of Earth lies submerged beneath the Bering Sea.

Today this frigid strait separates North America and Asia, but geologists suspect when the oceans were dramatically lower a land bridge tied the two continents together — allowing humans and other species to cross into the Americas. Scientists thought the Bering Land Bridge mirrored the dry grassy plains found in the nearby Siberian steppe ecosystem. But new research, employing a vessel's sonar and coring technology, shows the environment was likely dominated by bogs, floodplains, and snaking streams.

The soggy bridge might have allowed some to pass, but not others.

"The watery, wet landscape could have been a barrier for some species, or a pathway for species that actually travel by water," Jenna Hill, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist who coauthored the research, said in a statement. "That’s how this fits into the bigger picture."

SEE ALSO: NASA ventured into the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, a forbidding land

The research, entitled "The Bering Land Bridge During the Last Glacial Stage: Great Grazing or Buggy Bogs?" will be presented at the American Geophysical Union's 2024 meeting.

Before Earth's glaciers dramatically receded and filled the oceans at the end of the last ice age some 11,000 years ago, the bridge was an expansive migration corridor, spreading 1,000 miles from north to south. Humans began crossing over by around 16,500 years ago, which many scientists argue was the earliest (but not the only) migration to the Americas.

Agile, though at times drenched, humans could have skirted ponds and bogs as they slogged westward towards modern-day Alaska. But some larger ice mammals — who never made it across — might have been deterred by the wet region. For example, woolly rhinos never made it to North America, while American camels (who went extinct some 12,000 years ago) and short-faced bears (who inhabited great swathes of North America including Alaska and the Yukon) never made it to Asia.

Even though the bridge was open for business, conditions there may have thwarted much movement. Pleistocene bison made two big migrations into North America. "But DNA analysis shows a fair amount of genetic separation of Pleistocene bison from east and west Beringia suggesting there was only limited movement of bison back west over the land bridge," Pamela Groves, a research scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, previously wrote.

Yet some iconic ice age herbivores still found ways to cross.

"It may have been marshy, but we are still seeing evidence of mammoths," Sarah Fowell, a paleogeologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said in a statement. "Even if it was mostly floodplains and ponds, the grazers were around, just uphill following higher, drier areas."

A map of Beringia, a vast area periodically exposed during Earth's glaciations. Lighter browns depict once exposed land areas. Credit: NPS An artist's depiction of a woolly rhino during the last ice age. Credit: aleks1949 / Getty Images

The Bering Land Bridge's boggy environs were revealed by a research cruise aboard the R/V Sikuliaq, an over 260-foot oceanographic vessel operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The researchers used sonar (which bounces signals off the seafloor) to identify low-lying regions of the former land bridge, and then captured sediment cores from 36 different submerged sites, hundreds of feet underwater.

They found sediments from freshwater lakes, abundant egg cases from freshwater fleas, moss leaves, and beyond. The evidence clearly showed a swampy world.

"We were looking for several large lakes," explained Fowell. "What we actually found was evidence of lots of small lakes and river channels."

The new, hard-earned findings will almost certainly stoke more scientific study and debate about this influential Arctic region, and how it helped mold the diverse world we see today.

TL;DR: Learning fits any schedule with a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium, only $59.99 (reg. $299). 

Sometimes, you can sit down with a book everyone else liked and still get absolutely nothing out of it. It doesn't matter if you're a speed reader, that's still a lot of lost time, and life gets busy. 

If you want a faster way of getting to the meat of a good book, check out Headway. Headway is a mobile app that summarizes a ton of nonfiction bestsellers into quick, actionable insights. You can use these either as a lesson in their own regard or as a way to see which books are actually worth reading in full, and a lifetime subscription is on sale for $59.99 (reg. $299). 

There's finally time to learn

Headway gives you access to a huge collection of titles, and it's growing all the time. There are already over 1,500 with 30-50 added every month. Headway even gives you an incentive to keep learning and growing by gamifying the whole process. See how many days you can keep your streak going. There are even achievements for the completionists. 

The insights you get from Headway summaries are a quick way to learn the key lessons from a book. It's not quite the same experience as reading the full text, but nothing's stopping you from going back and diving in once you know a book is worth the time. 

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TL;DR: Get the 12-in-1 USB-C Hub and Laptop Stand for just $56.97 (reg. $99.99) — 12 ports, ergonomic design, and holiday delivery guaranteed when ordered through December 15.

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Social media platforms have historically run their content moderation much like a parent running a house full of teenagers: If you live under my roof, you follow my rules. But as social media has become increasingly ubiquitous in our offline life — and more inherently political — the questions have become: Who really owns the roof, who makes those rules, and are our civil liberties at stake?

Under President-elect Donald Trump's administration, this debate will likely intensify until the politicization of content moderation reaches a fever pitch.

How did we get here?

The evolution of content moderation began slowly, gaining speed as social media’s influence grew. It became increasingly clear that something had to be done when Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube played key roles in the Arab Spring, a series of protests in the Arab world in response to government corruption, in the 2010s. Facebook was used as a tool for activists to organize, but it quickly became controversial. YouTube grappled with whether to allow violent videos that served educational or documentary purposes in response to activists in Egypt and Libya exposing police torture. Around the same time, Twitter rolled out its "country withheld tweet" policy. 

In 2013, leaked documents from Facebook’s moderation offices showed what content, exactly, Facebook was moderating. The following year, the issue of online radicalization emerged across social media platforms. YouTube reversed its policy on allowing certain violent videos after one showing journalist James Foley’s beheading went viral. Twitter faced backlash over unchecked harassment over the release of the women-led Ghostbusters film, which led to a content moderation change. 

Behind the scenes, the people who moderated the content reported horrible working conditions. And then came 2016.

Misinformation and disinformation plagued the U.S. presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Trump. Despite Facebook launching a fact-checking program, platforms struggled to stop the spread of misinformation and election interference. In Myanmar, the Rohingya people faced huge acts of ethnic violence fueled by Facebook content. Meanwhile, Facebook Live became a place to broadcast suicides and shootings, including the murder of Philando Castile. In 2018, TikTok launched in China, and in the same year, Twitter removed 70 million bots to curb the influence of political misinformation. Later that year, YouTube released its first transparency report, and Facebook formed its Oversight Board, allowing users to appeal its decisions. In 2019, the Chirstchurch terrorist attack, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, led to the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, a group of nations "working together under the rubric of the Call to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting the Internet." Twitter allowed its users to appeal content removal later that year, and eventually, TikTok launched internationally. 

All the while, Trump was president. He signed an executive order on Preventing Online Censorship, which targeted Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and aimed to curb what he saw as biases against himself and other conservatives in how platforms moderate content. This came after many of Trump's tweets were flagged by Twitter for misleading information. He and others in his party accused platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google of anti-conservative bias, which led to Congressional hearings and investigations into moderated content — a kind of impact that Katie Harbath, founder and CEO of tech policy firm Anchor Change and a former Facebook executive, calls "reputational."

The pandemic, January 6, and the peak of politicization

Then, COVID-19 hit. Misinformation about the global epidemic ran rampant, and more people died as a result. The rules to moderate content online expanded internationally to counter the ever-growing phenomena of hate speech, election misinformation, and health misinformation. Facebook introduced policies targeting Holocaust denial content, hate groups, organized militia groups, and conspiracy theories, while Twitter launched its transparency center. 

But January 6, 2021, marked a turning point. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube banned or locked then-President Trump’s accounts for inciting violence during the Capitol attack. 

"I would say Trump de-platforming was a peak swing of the pendulum," Katie Harbath, founder and CEO of tech policy firm Anchor Change and a former Facebook exec, told Mashable. "Since then, over the next four years, [platforms have] been coming back a little bit more to center in terms of how much content they are willing to take down. [And] they're being a lot more quiet about it. They're not being as transparent about it because they don't want the political target on their back around that."

Where are we now?

Since then, Trump has been reinstated on all social media platforms. But the focus has remained: Republicans claim that content moderation silences conservative voices. As Berin Szóka, President of TechFreedom, told Mashable: "Censorship is just content moderation that someone doesn't like."

Elon Musk, a self-identified "free-speech absolutist," acquired Twitter in late 2022 and fueled this rhetoric. In January 2023, House Republicans established a subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government," targeting alleged censorship of conservative views. In one of their first official acts, they sent letters to research groups demanding any documentation of correspondence between those groups and the federal government or social media companies about content moderation. Meanwhile, a lawsuit alleged that President Joe Biden's administration pressured platforms to suppress COVID-19 misinformation, which attorney generals argued was a form of suppression of speech. 

Meta, in a notable shift, has reduced its focus on political content, particularly on its Twitter competitor Threads, which Harbath says is "not necessarily content moderation, but it's a decision about what types of content they're presenting to people or not."

What will we see in the future of content moderation?

President-elect Trump has made content moderation a campaign issue. Brendan Carr, his pick to lead the FCC, has already echoed this agenda, calling for the dismantling of what he dubs the "censorship cartel" and an attempt to "restore free speech rights for everyday Americans."

"To do that, they have to either bully or require tech companies to carry speech that they don't want to carry," Szóka said. "Republicans are at war on content moderation."

This "war" will likely play out on a few different fronts: legislative and reputational, as Harbath says. Reputationally, we'll see more congressional hearings with tech execs, more posts on X from Trump, and more dubious energy concerning content moderation in general. Legislatively, we have an interesting road ahead. 

As Szóka says, Carr will likely do Trump's bidding with regard to criteria for eligibility for Section 230 immunity, which "grants complete immunity for publisher or speaker activities regardless of whether the challenged speech is unlawful." This means that Facebook is not liable for misinformation, hate speech, or anything else that goes down on the platform that it owns and runs with its money.

"[Republicans will] use Section 230 because by doing that, they can say, 'We're not requiring anything,’" Szóka said. "You're free, as a private company, to do what you want. But if you want Section 230 immunity, you have to be neutral, and we decide what's neutral."

Harbath sees chaos ahead but questions whether Section 230 will actually change: “There'll probably be a debate and a discussion around it, but whether or not 230 actually changes, I'm skeptical."

At the same time, the rise of AI is reshaping the future of content moderation. "The next four years, how people are consuming information, what we're talking about today is gonna be completely irrelevant and look completely different," Harbath said. "AI is just gonna change how we think about our news feeds, the incentives for people, what they're posting, what that looks like, and it's gonna open up new challenges for the tech companies in terms of how it’s politicized."

Should we freak out? Probably not. According to Harbath, it’s still too early to predict what content moderation under a second Trump term will look like. But we should keep our eyes open. The rules of content moderation — and who gets to write them — are increasingly shaped by political power, public perception, and technological evolution, setting the stage for battles over free speech, corporate responsibility, and the role of government in regulating online spaces.

"Overall, it's way too early to really know exactly what this is gonna look like," Harbath said.

Is there anything more romantic than cuddling on the couch?! Of course not. There’s a reason modern dating can be summarized with the phrase "Netflix and chill." Netflix is for lovers! 

With a deep catalog and a seemingly endless supply of rom-coms, the streaming giant has a lock on the love department. Whether you're looking for something to make you cry, make you sigh, or put you in the mood, Netflix has a movie for you.

Here are the best romantic movies on Netflix (in no particular order).

1. Hit Man Credit: Brian Roedel / Netflix

Glen Powell is Gary Johnson, a New Orleans psychology professor who finds himself posing as a hitman to help the local police catch people setting up murder-for-hire schemes. And even though he’s shy and awkward in his regular life, it turns out, he’s pretty great at pretending to be an assassin! Until he meets Madison (Adria Arjona), a desperate woman looking for an escape from her marriage. The attraction is undeniable and they quickly start hooking up. So what if she thinks he’s a killer? Nothing could go wrong here, right? 

Richard Linklater’s 2023 Hit Man is a sexy, silly, fast-paced adventure made all the more exciting by the fact that it’s inspired by the true story of a very real, 1980s-1990s professor in Houston! — Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: Hit Man is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Carol

Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt (republished as Carol in 1990), Todd Haynes' Carol stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as two forbidden lovers in 1950s New York. Therese (Mara) is an aspiring photographer working at a department store one Christmas when she meets Carol (Blanchett), who is shopping for a present for her daughter. The sparks fly immediately, but their blossoming love has a few roadblocks, such as Carol's impending divorce from her crappy husband Harge (Kyle Chandler, no!), not to mention that era's attitude toward homosexuality.

If you're in the mood for queer yearning, a tense slow-burn, and one of the best sapphic love stories ever, Carol is the perfect watch. You will feel all the feelings. — Yasmeen Hamadeh, Freelance Contributor  

How to watch: Carol is now streaming on Netflix.

3. Lady Chatterley's Lover Credit: Netflix

This modern adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's scandalous 1928 novel will leave you absolutely swooning. Emma Corrin (The Crown) is spectacular as Connie Reid, the titular Lady Chatterley. Her marriage to Clifford Chatterley seemed like the perfect match before the war, but when he returns paralyzed, withdrawn, and uninterested in her happiness, Connie feels utterly alone and isolated in their empty countryside manor. She finds a refuge for her oppressive loneliness in the estate's gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors (Jack O'Connell). Very quickly the two begin a torrid affair that is both passionate and tender, exuberant and profound — and a threat to both of their lifestyles. 

Much like the source material, Lady Chatterley's Lover puts sex on full display. Their trysts are steamy and explicit, but thanks to the incredible vulnerability of Corrin and O'Connell, and the steady hand of director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, they never feel pornographic. The lovers' stolen moments are deeply intimate and personal. Together, in the sumptuous woods of the Chatterley estate, they explore each other's bodies and souls with unbridled joy. It's an elegant and sensual adaptation that makes an age-old story feel like a breath of fresh air. — K.G.

How to watch: Lady Chatterley's Lover is now streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' review: A steamy affair that makes room to examine class 4. Entergalactic

When street artist Jabari (Kid Cudi) moves into his new Manhattan apartment for a major job opportunity, he knows his life is about to change. But what he doesn’t anticipate is how mesmerized he will be by his charming photographer neighbor, Meadow (Jessica Williams). 

With a breathtaking animation style reminiscent of Into the Spiderverse and Arcane, Entergalactic is a fresh, captivating love story. Accompanied by the music of Kid Cudi’s 2022 album of the same name, the couple falls head over heels in a breathless, unbelievably lovely sequence — it’s hard not to fall with them. With epically imaginative visuals and a star-studded supporting voice cast featuring Ty Dolla Sign, Timothée Chalamet, and Vanessa Hudgens, Entergalactic is a one-of-a-kind romance for the modern audience. — K.G.

How to watch: Entergalactic is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Love at First Sight Credit: Netflix

Based on a hit novel by Jennifer E. Smith, Love at First Sight is a delightful romance with an airport at the center of its meet-cute. Haley Lu Richardson is a perpetually late, underprepared American student heading to London for her dad’s wedding, and Ben Hardy is a charismatic Brit who offers to lend her his phone charger at a crucial moment. They fall in love during the flight, but a mix-up at baggage claim prevents the star-crossed pair from sharing their contact information. Will they ever see each other again? Love at First Sight is a champion charmer, but it also packs a more weighty emotional punch than your standard rom-com. Gut-wrenching moments from a particularly unique costume party will stay with you for days.* — K.G.

How to watch: Love at First Sight is now streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: 12 of the best movies by Black creators to watch on Netflix now 6. When We First Met Credit: Jami Saunders

Groundhog Day meets Some Kind of Wonderful in this delightful romantic comedy from director Ari Sandel. Adam Devine and Alexandra Daddario star as Noah and Avery, friends who could've worked as a couple but didn't get the timing right. So when the pining Noah discovers a magical photo booth that will transport him back to the night he and Avery first met, he's willing to do anything to get it right this time(s). Funny and surprisingly sweet, When We First Met is a hidden gem time-travel romp with spectacular supporting performances and a predictable ending you'll like all the same. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: When We First Met is now streaming on Netflix.

7. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Karan Johar's directorial debut became an instant Bollywood classic when it hit theaters in 1998. Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) and Anjali (Kajol) are college besties until Rahul falls in love with Tina (Rani Mukerji) and Anjali realizes her true feelings for him. The friends become estranged before Tina dies, leaving behind a daughter, also named Anjali in honor of their old friend. Little Anjali grows up reading letters from her late mother, and she learns about her father's old friend — his first love. Tina tasks her daughter with tracking down Anjali and reuniting the friends as lovers, once and for all.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai remains Johar's best work to date, a film that made his name synonymous with pure power in the Hindi film industry. Khan and Kajol's chemistry captivates throughout, from their Gap-clad days of college teasing to the unfathomable sexual tension of the gazebo scene. Despite being famous for its love triangle, the movie never pits Anjali and Tina against each other, instead depicting a beautiful friendship between the two women as well as their respective relationships to Rahul. "Pyar dosti hai," Rahul declares early on: Love is friendship. And Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is nothing if not a timeless story about friends. — Proma Khosla, Senior Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is now streaming on Netflix.

8. Set It Up Credit: Netflix

Rom-coms are back, baby — and Set It Up, written by Katie Silberman (who also penned Booksmart) and directed by Claire Scanlon (The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), is one of the best entries of this new golden age! Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell are young assistants who hatch a plan to set up their high-strung, demanding bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) so they can finally get a weekend off. What these two schemers never anticipated, of course, was that they might find themselves in their own romance in the process. Whoops!

Set It Up is a fun, hilarious romp that feels exponentially more real than your standard, candy-coated romantic comedy. The characters are charming because they're flawed, and they talk like people you know (Zoey uses insider nicknames like "Golf Guy" when chatting with her friends about her dating life). If you're looking for a romantic comedy that leaves you feeling like you just had the night out with your crew, this is the movie for you.* — K.G.

How to watch: Set It Up is now streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: Why everyone you know is falling hard for 'Set It Up' 9. Before Sunset 

1995’s dreamy one-night love story Before Sunrise completely rocked the romance genre. Instead of elaborate meet-cutes, star-crossed circumstances, or mistaken identities, we got two very real people meeting, talking, connecting, and over the course of a single evening, falling in love. It was simple — and audiences were enraptured. 

Before Sunset is writer/director Richard Linklater’s excellent 2004 follow-up to Sunrise. In the first film, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) meet on a train in Europe, disembark in Vienna, and spend the next few hours discussing life, love, and everything in between. In the morning, Jesse will be flying back to the United States, and Céline will be returning to school in Paris, so they better make the most of their night together. Before Sunset catches up with them 10 years later. Did they stay together or did they say goodbye? Thought-provoking, minimalist, and completely engrossing, the Before series is a must-watch entry for all romance fans. — K.G.

How to watch: Before Sunset is now streaming on Netflix.

10. Been So Long Credit: Netflix

Do you love musicals, romance, and Michaela Coel? Then Been So Long is the movie for you. This stylish musical epic follows Simone (Coel), a young, single mother in London completely wrapped up in caring for her differently abled daughter. After her friends and family tell her she's too uptight, she finally agrees to a night out and meets the handsome, complicated Raymond (Arinzé Kene). The two tentatively begin a flirtation, though they'll each have to contend with their own baggage before the relationship can thrive.

Directed by Tinge Krishnan and adapted from the successful stage show of the same name, Been So Long is a bright and buoyant musical for the modern era. The stories are grounded and complex, the characters are relatable, and — perhaps most importantly — the songs are absolute bops!* — K.G.

How to watch: Been So Long is now streaming on Netflix.

11. Plus One

Ben King (Jack Quaid) and Alice Mori (Maya Erskine) are old college friends who, in their late twenties, find themselves some of the few people in their circles left without partners. With a summer of endless weddings and awkward singles tables ahead of them, Ben and Alice decide to team up as each other’s plus ones and wingmen for the nuptial marathon, accidentally falling for each other along the way. 

With a cast full of indie comedy darlings and a funny, grounded script, Plus One is a top notch rom-com for the modern era. For outrageous hijinks and convenient romance, look elsewhere. This is a sweet, relatable winner that feels about as real as a rom-com can get.* — K.G.

How to watch: Plus One is now streaming on Netflix.

12. To All the Boys I've Loved Before Credit: Netflix

Netflix's rom-com revival kicked off in 2018, a year whose slate included this criminally charming movie based on the novel by Jenny Han. Lara Jean (Lana Condor) is a hopeless romantic in the habit of writing letters to her most epic crushes — writing, not sending. When the letters are leaked, she starts pretending to date Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) to divert attention from her real crush on her sister's boyfriend.

SEE ALSO: Why 'XO, Kitty' has the best relationship in the 'To All the Boys...' franchise

With a bouncy pop soundtrack and visual style that is the envy of your entire Instagram feed, To All the Boys is the kind of movie you can return to again and again, a comfort watch as sweet as Lara Jean's baked goods. Will we ever tire of watching fictional characters fake love until it becomes real? If they're even half as adorable as these two, the answer is no. — P.K.

How to watch: To All the Boys I've Loved Before is now streaming on Netflix.

13. Our Souls at Night 

Quiet, sweet, and touching, Our Souls at Night is a beautiful meditation on companionship and love. Jane Fonda and Robert Redford are excellent as two widowed, long-time neighbors who decide to start spending the night in the same bed to stave off loneliness. The arrangement is purely platonic, a simple solution to a problem — but as they get to know each other, a deeper love begins to bloom. 

Fonda and Redford are truly mesmerizing here, completely self-assured in bringing this spare, sophisticated script to life. There aren't a ton of films about romance in our twilight years, but the poignancy of Our Souls at Night proves that the power of love will never get old. — K.G.

How to watch: Our Souls at Night is now streaming on Netflix.

14. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Though this 1940s-set title is a bit of a mouthful, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a straightforward tale of boy-meets-girl. Or boy in a book club meets lady author who is staying in town to do research on the German occupation and uncovers WWII secrets. Lily James (Rebecca, Downton Abbey) and Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones) star as a bookish couple whose interest in history — and the author Charles Lamb — brings them together even as the world tries to move them away from each other. — Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter 

How to watch: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is now streaming on Netflix.

15. The Half of It Credit: Netflix

Director Alice Wu's The Half of It hinges on straight-A student Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) and her journey toward self-acceptance. It does wonders for the streaming service's rom-com catalog, not because it's especially new in its ideas, but because Wu executes them with a flair all her own.

A charming combination of unique subject matter and clichéd storytelling, The Half of It explores the perspectives of characters rare to the genre — namely, Ellie who is a queer, Chinese-American teenager — with some pretty predictable narrative turns. You haven't seen this story done with these characters anywhere else before, but you'll feel like you have. That's a victory for the genre in its own right.* — A.F.

How to watch: The Half of It is now streaming on Netflix.

16. Call Me by Your Name

Timothée Chalamet became a household name with his raw and passionate performance in Luca Guadagnino's Call Me by Your Name (2017). Chalamet plays Elio, a teenager living with his parents in 1980s Italy. When his father, a professor of archaeology, invites a grad student to live with them over the summer, sparks fly between the two young men. When so many LGBTQ romances are centered on repression, Call Me by Your Name is defined by joy. The romance between Elio and Oliver (Armie Hammer) is both tentative and ardent, and as Mashable’s Laura Prudom put it, “will make you believe in love again.” Though Armie Hammer’s multiple sexual harassment scandals have cast a shadow on his former work, there’s no denying that Call Me By Your Name is a hopeful, romantic triumph. — K.G.

How to watch: Call Me by Your Name is streaming on Netflix starting July 1.

17. Always Be My Maybe Credit: Ed Araquel / Netflix

The thrill of a new romance often lies in just that — the fact that it's new. But what if your truest love lies in one of your oldest relationships? Always Be My Maybe stars Ali Wong and Randall Park as a pair of childhood besties who lost touch in their teens but find their way back to each other as grownups. With a delightful supporting cast that also includes Daniel Dae Kim, James Saito, and Keanu Reeves, Always Be My Maybe is as deliciously cozy as a bowl of Mom's kimchi jjigae — and just as satisfying. — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Always Be My Maybe is now streaming on Netflix.

18. She’s Gotta Have It

​​Thirty-one years before it was a Netflix series, She’s Gotta Have It was the daring comedy that launched Spike Lee's career and became a landmark in America's emerging independent film scene. Filmed on a tight budget on black-and-white stock, this Lee joint centers on Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), a charming Brooklyn-based graphic artist who is juggling three lovers. When these jealous men demand she choose just one of them, Nola is pushed to consider what she wants from love, sex, and relationships. Critics championed how Lee captured a side of Black experience rarely shown in mainstream movies. The prestigious Cannes Film Festival honored him with the Award of the Youth, while the Independent Spirit Awards gave him the award for best first feature, and Johns best female lead.* — K.P.

How to watch: She’s Gotta Have It is streaming on Netflix.

19. The Last Letter From Your Lover

The sweeping, soapy melodrama The Last Letter From Your Lover spans half a century and checks off all the romance tropes: love letters, deceit, impeccable costumes, and ill-timed amnesia. It's The Notebook meets An Affair to Remember, with a dash of every period romance sprinkled in for good measure. Don't think about it too hard, and you'll be sure to enjoy the ride. 

SEE ALSO: 9 horny and romantic books that will completely consume you

It's the '60s, and Shailene Woodley is Jennifer Stirling, a woman putting the pieces of her life back together after a car accident damages her memories — and her connection to her husband, Laurence (Joe Alwyn). When she discovers a love letter between "J" and "Boot," she can't help but wonder what else she's forgotten. At the same time, we also follow Ellie (Felicity Jones), a present-day reporter who stumbles across the letter in her publication's archives and becomes determined to find out what happened to the mysterious, passionate pair. The Last Letter From Your Lover is moody, glamorous, and boasts a stellar cast — a cozy, stylish pick for movie night. — K.G.

How to watch: The Last Letter From Your Lover is now streaming on Netflix.

20. The Incredible Jessica James Credit: Netflix

Get a masterclass in self-confidence and healthy communication from The Incredible Jessica James. Jessica Williams stars opposite Chris O'Dowd, with a supporting performance from LaKeith Stanfield. This charming tale of a woman who will stop at nothing to be loved the way she deserves explores so much of what makes romance the sticky business that it is. But this rom-com boasts just the right amount of optimism to keep you invested until its stunningly grounded happily-ever-after.* — A.F.

How to watch: The Incredible Jessica James is now streaming on Netflix.

21. Falling Inn Love

As a genre, romance can offer us a deep exploration of human relationships and what they demand of us — vulnerability, bravery, emotional intelligence — or it can simply be delightfully mindless fluff. Falling Inn Love is a truly excellent example of the latter. Christina Milian is delightful as Gabriela, a city girl from San Francisco who somehow wins a rustic New Zealand inn. And who happens to be the only person qualified to help her fix up the ramshackle property? That’s right — the hunkiest guy in town, Jake (Adam Demos, who co-stars in Netflix's steamy series Sex/Life).

Look, you're not here for the plot. You're here to watch hot people fall in love in a beautiful location, and Falling Inn Love absolutely delivers, with charm to spare. — K.G.

How to watch: Falling Inn Love is now streaming on Netflix.

22. All the Bright Places Credit: Michele K. Short / Netflix

There's nothing like a good ol' YA love story to get the tears going, and All the Bright Places is a guaranteed tear-jerker. Adapted from Jennifer Niven's novel of the same name, All the Bright Places follows two lonely teenagers, Theodore Finch (Justice Smith) and Violet Markey (Elle Fanning), who serendipitously meet one day and become fast friends, then quickly fall in love. The two discover that they share many similarities despite never really talking to each other at school before, which All the Bright Places uses to navigate hefty themes like teen mental health, loss, and grief. The ending will make you cry. Theodore and Violet's relationship will make you cry. And in my book, that's a 10/10 romance movie. — Y.H. 

How to watch: All the Bright Places is now streaming on Netflix.

23. The Lost City

Does it ever feel like nothing will fix your problems but a Sanda Bullock romantic comedy? Enter 2022’s The Lost City. Is it a perfect movie? No. Is it a ridiculously fun adventure chock-full of charismatic actors and one iconic sequin jumpsuit? Heck yes, it is!

Bullock is Loretta Sage, a reclusive romance novelist who has given up on love in her own life after the death of her husband. Channing Tatum is simply perfect as the himbo cover model for her books who is secretly in love with her. When an unhinged billionaire kidnaps Loretta because her latest book recalls similar details to a lost treasure he’s hunting, Tatum takes it upon himself, and his zero useful skills, to rescue her.* — K.G.

How to watch: The Lost City is now streaming on Netflix.

Asterisks (*) indicate the entry has been modified from a previous Mashable list.

Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix Netflix Get Deal

UPDATE: Dec. 9, 2024, 3:09 p.m. EST This article, previously published in June 2024, has been updated to reflect Netflix's current selection.

UPDATE: Dec. 10, 2024, 5:00 a.m. EST This guide has been updated to reflect the latest pricing and availability.

There's definitely something to be said for the crisp handheld control of a powerful cordless Dyson. But if you're not one to classify cleaning as cathartic, why not outsource that tedious task? The best robot vacuums patrol your home to clear away dust, debris, and sometimes even stains on hard floors — no elbow grease required.

Are Roombas the best robot vacuums?

Though Roombas are really good robot vacuums, they aren't the only good robot vacuums.

iRobot dominated the robot vacuum realm from the early 2000s up until a few years ago, so it's no surprise that much of the general public forgets that "Roomba" isn't simply a generic term for any robotic vacuum.

But Roombas officially aren't in a league of their own anymore: You can't even Google "Roomba" without a question involving Shark robot vacuums popping up, and other brands like Roborock and Eufy have entered the chat with a fury. And I'm here to put some respect on their names.

SEE ALSO: As a Dyson stan, I wouldn't tell anyone to buy the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum

I'm regularly testing the top robot vacuums at multiple price points and comparing them to top performers from previous years, with all my evaluations taking place in my own home on various rugs, tile, and hardwood floors. During the testing of each robot vacuum, I keep notes on their overall suction power and scrubbing efficiency (if it's a hybrid that also mops), self-maintenance features like self-emptying or self-washing mopping pads, smart mapping to specific rooms and navigation around obstacles, and the overall user experience.

After all that testing, I've narrowed down your shopping list to five options, all of which I've put to the test personally. Here are the best robot vacuums for every home and budget in 2024:

(While each vacuum's retail price is listed by default, I've also noted the most common sale price in "The Good" sections. And yes, robot vacuum deals can be found throughout the year — not just during a shopping holiday like Black Friday.)

As the new year draws ever closer, so too does the U.S. TikTok ban. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have now requested an emergency injunction, attempting to stave off the looming ban after a U.S. court of appeals upheld it on Friday. If this injunction is denied, TikTok will have to shut down in the U.S. by Jan. 19.

In a petition filed to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Monday, TikTok asked that the U.S. ban on its video sharing platform not be enforced until the matter is addressed by the Supreme Court. Stating its intention to file an appeal, TikTok argued that it's likely the Supreme Court will opt to review and ultimately reverse Friday's decision.

SEE ALSO: Federal court ruling brings us one step closer to a TikTok ban

"[The Court of Appeals'] holding that the Act satisfies strict scrutiny is sure to attract the Supreme Court’s attention," wrote TikTok. "As speech restrictions have survived strict scrutiny only in rare and narrow circumstances, the Supreme Court will want to ensure that this Court’s decision has not diluted that critical standard."

Strict scrutiny is a legal standard which demands that laws which restrict free speech are narrowly tailored to advance a compelling governmental interest. Such laws must also be the least restrictive method of achieving this objective. TikTok has argued that the U.S. government failed this standard by allegedly passing the ban without considering less drastic alternatives.

Tweet may have been deleted

In deciding whether to grant an injunction such as the one TikTok has requested, courts consider elements such as whether the appeal is likely to succeed, as well as if parties will suffer harm if the injunction is not granted. 

TikTok's petition claimed that while the ban will cause it to suffer "extreme and irreparable harm," temporarily holding off will pose no danger to the U.S. or its national security. The company further noted that Congress already delayed the ban coming into effect for 270 days, which TikTok said indicated that "the asserted national security threat is not sufficiently imminent to forestall the completion of orderly judicial review."

"[T]he Government’s own defense of the Act at most asserts that China 'could' engage in certain harmful conduct through TikTok, not that China is currently doing so or will soon do so," wrote TikTok.

TikTok has also argued that it is within the public interest to grant a temporary injunction, as it is "one of the most popular speech platforms in America." If the Court of Appeals denies the injunction, Americans will lose TikTok just one day before Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.

"The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok said in a statement responding to Friday's decision. "Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people. The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the U.S. and around the world on January 19th, 2025."

According to TikTok, a ban on the platform would cause small businesses to lose over $1 billion in revenue within just one month, while creators would suffer $300 million in lost earnings.

TikTok's petition has requested that the Court of Appeals make a decision on the injunction by Dec. 16.

Each year, Google’s Year in Search provides an uncanny snapshot of what captivated, worried, and inspired us. For 2024, the list of trending search terms is a reflection of a world navigating pivotal political moments, breakout cultural phenomena, and a steady stream of viral hits.

The 2024 U.S. presidential election dominated the charts, as former President Donald Trump secured a historic, second non-consecutive term. Love it or loathe it, his return to the Oval Office has reignited intense conversations, debates, and, yes, Google searches. Beyond the political maelstrom, pop culture juggernauts and athletic superstars carved out their own space on the leaderboard, with some of the year’s most defining moments fueled by viral artists, rising sports icons, and buzzy brand phenomena.

For those not inclined to wade through Google’s data dump, we’ve sifted through the noise to highlight the people, moments, and trends that truly shaped 2024’s search history. Here's a closer look at the year that kept our fingers glued to the search bar.

The top searches in the U.S.

As expected, the 2024 U.S. presidential election claimed the top spot as the most-searched term in the United States, closely followed by searches for former President Donald Trump, whose historic re-election has been the subject of intense interest and debate.

The buzz wasn’t all political, though. The New York Times' word game Connections grabbed the third spot, proving Americans are still as puzzle-obsessed as ever. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees managed to secure fourth place, primarily fueled by a thrilling playoff run and rumors surrounding their offseason trades. Vice President Kamala Harris grabbed the number five spot after stepping in as the Democratic nominee for president after sitting President Joe Biden stepped down.

The second half of the Top 10 Searches (U.S.) were as follows:

• Copa América

• Hurricane Milton tracker

• Olympic medal count

• Toby Keith

• Liam Payne

The most searched people of 2024

No surprises here: the top four most-searched people in the U.S. in 2024 were dominated by the presidential nominees and their running mates. Donald Trump claimed the top spot, followed by Vice President Kamala Harris, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and President Biden. However, the fifth spot offered an unexpected entry — Catherine, Princess of Wales.

The search surge for Princess Kate was likely driven by a dramatic and somber revelation early in the year. In January, Kensington Palace announced she had undergone abdominal surgery, sparking weeks of speculation about her health and whereabouts. It wasn’t until later that the Princess disclosed she had been quietly undergoing chemotherapy— a heavy story, to be sure, but one that captivated attention across the Atlantic.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were:

• Tim Walz

• Mike Tyson

• Jill Stein

• Usher

• Imane Khelif

Notable deaths

Sadly, 2024 also saw the loss of several prominent figures who left lasting marks on their industries and the lives of many fans. Leading the list was country music legend Toby Keith, whose passing in February prompted an outpouring of tributes and nostalgia for his storied career. Following closely in search interest were former One Direction member Liam Payne, whose death shocked fans worldwide, the polarizing O.J. Simpson, and rapper Rich Homie Quan.

Here's the rest of the top 10:

• Thomas Matthew Crooks

• Shannen Doherty

• Carl Weathers

• Richard Simmons

• Maggie Smith

Most searched actors

Unsurprisingly, the most-searched actors in 2024 reflect a mix of comedic icons, rising stars, and fan favorites dominating both screens and headlines. Topping the list is Katt Williams, whose viral and controversial appearance on Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast landed him back in the spotlight. Jacob Elordi follows at number two, riding high on his breakout performance in 2023's Priscilla and Saltburn.

Glen Powell lands third, bolstered by his charm-filled rom-com streak and action-packed roles. Fourth is Jeremy Allen White, still basking in critical acclaim for The Bear. Shane Gillis rounds out the top five, his rise fueled by a mix of edgy comedy specials and a surprise host spot on Saturday Night Live, years after being fired from the cast.

Here’s the rest of the top 10:

• Hugh Jackman

• Barry Keoghan

• Adam Brody

• Ella Purnell

• Jodie Foster

Most searched musicians

The most-searched musicians of 2024 reflect a whirlwind of comebacks, controversies, and clashes. Topping the list is Usher, whose Super Bowl halftime performance, major tour announcement, and Vegas residency catapulted the R&B icon back into the limelight. In second place is Sean "Diddy" Combs, whose name dominated headlines due to a series of disturbing allegations that shook the music industry.

At three and four, Kendrick Lamar and Drake made waves with their fiery and deeply personal rap feud, which became the defining cultural narrative of the summer. Rounding out the top five is Justin Timberlake, whose year took a troubling turn following a high-profile DWI arrest.

Here’s the rest of the top 10:

• Ingrid Andress

• Sabrina Carpenter

• Drake Bell

• Chappell Roan

• Tracy Chapman

Weirdest Google Search trends of 2024

No Year in Search would be complete without diving into the wonderfully weird and oddly specific things people were curious about — and 2024 didn’t disappoint. One of the year’s most popular internet theories was the "burnt toast theory," a whimsical belief that small, seemingly unlucky accidents can lead to fortuitous outcomes. Think: your toast burning made you late to work, which kept you off the highway and out of a major collision. Equal parts philosophical and bizarre, it captured the internet’s imagination.

Parents, meanwhile, struggled to decode Gen Alpha slang. A standout query in the parenting category was, “Why do kids say sigma?" — a reflection of the endless generational battle to keep up with youth culture. On aesthetics, "mob wife" dominated as a top-searched vibe, a nod to bold and glamorous fashion inspired by cinematic crime queens. And when it came to defining trends, "demure" led the way as the U.S.’s top-searched meaning of 2024.

TL;DR: Save 80% on a lifetime subscription to Headway, an app that summarises books into 15-minute summaries. Get this app on sale for £47.06 (reg. £235.30) at the Mashable Shop.

Opens in a new window Credit: GTHW App Limited Headway Premium: Lifetime Subscription £47.06 at the Mashable Shop
£235.30 Save £188.24 Get Deal

Is reading trendy? Well, yes — if TikTok’s growing BookTok community and Facebook book club groups have anything to say. If you want to join the conversation but can’t commit to reading full-length books, this is a clever solution.

Headway’s book summary app condenses what would normally be days' worth of reading into only 15 minutes. While you don’t get access to the whole book, you’ll get its key ideas and insights in easy-to-digest summaries. Get lifetime access at the Mashable Shop for £47.06 (reg. £235.30).

How many times have you seen someone share a book online and thought, ‘I should read that,’ but you knew you’d never actually get around to it? Headway changes your mentality completely since you now only need 15 minutes to absorb its message.

As you read or listen to summaries, the app learns what you like or dislike. From that, you’ll get personalised book recommendations, just like you’re in a real book club. 

Explore over 1,500 nonfiction book summaries and some fiction ones, too. There’ll be something new to check out whenever you open the app. You may even recognise a lot of these titles from your reading list: 

• Atomic Habits

• Total Recall (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography)

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

• To Kill a Mockingbird

• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff … and It’s All Small Stuff

The Headway app also motivates you to come back with a daily learning streak, trophies and achievements, and challenges. You might take a 14-day Self-Confidence challenge, listen to the pre-selected books each day, and earn three trophies by the end. 

Get a Headway lifetime subscription for £47.06 (reg. £235.30) — an 80% discount from the usual price.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

A new report by Human Rights Watch documents the continued exploitation of webcam models abroad, many of whom operate on popular sites like Chaturbate and are streamed by millions around the world — but aren't protected by either the platforms' Terms of Service or the larger labor movement.

An extensive documentation of webcam studio conditions in Colombia, the international human rights group's report outlines an increasingly abusive environment within webcamming studios hosted in cities like Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, and Palmira. The organization spoke to 55 studio-based webcammers, Colombian authorities, U.S. State Department officials, and anti-trafficking experts.

SEE ALSO: How porn performers feel about Trump, Harris, and Project 2025

Many of the models interviewed by Human Rights Watch and Colombian sex worker-led organizations La Liga de Salud Trans and Corporación Calle 7 Colombia recounted being coerced into "abysmal" sanitary and physical working conditions under constant surveillance, for periods of up to 24 hours. Even more recounted having never read or signed the Terms of Service of the platforms their content appeared on, with their accounts being made and overseen by the studios — guidelines that could offer them insight into further wage theft and sexual exploitation. For example, few of the webcam platforms offer protections for models to take breaks during live cam shifts. Studios reportedly pressured models into staying online for extended periods of time, using the threat of docked pay and decreased traffic.

Colombia has decriminalized sex work — a globally supported policy position among sex worker, labor, and human rights activists — and all of the models interviewed had consented to their work, yet adult content platforms, especially those in the webcam industry, continue to slip through the regulatory cracks and threaten the safety of models. “Sex workers deserve the same labor protections as all workers under international human rights law, but the billion-dollar webcam industry has largely avoided scrutiny for abuses in its supply chains,” writes report author and Human Rights Watch researcher Erin Kilbride. "Sexual exploitation is not inherent to webcam modeling, but our research indicates that the risk of exploitation in Colombian studios is extremely high."

Labor violations among webcam studio operators overseeing adult content models are well documented. While streaming platforms take anywhere from 50 to 65 percent of a model's earnings already, Human Rights Watch explains, studios like those documented in Colombia retain as much as 70 percent of what is paid out by the platform, reducing model earnings to meager numbers. In addition, many studios retain ownership of models' accounts, forcing them to stay with the studio or risk losing their followings and living wages. The organization reports that this is also a way for studios to circumvent verification systems that protect minors from entering the platform.

"Webcamming exists at the intersection of feminized labor, anti-sex work stigma, the informal economy, and the platform-mediated gig-economy. This combination makes it a ready site of multiple forms of labor exploitation," Human Rights Watch explains in the report. "Adult webcam platforms have remained largely immune to rebuke for their direct participation in and enabling of the exploitation of studio-based webcam workers."

The holiday travel season is coming up, which means loads of empty homes and packages sitting on porches, ripe for the plucking. All the more reason to gift the people on your list, and yourself, a Ring security device that will shine a spotlight on dark places around the house, alert them to when someone’s lurking, and let them know when packages arrive, all in real time. 

Check out these top Ring picks that’ll keep tabs on their space while they’re at grandma’s — and they can uplevel their device’s capabilities with a Ring Home plan.

We all have that one friend who treats their pet like it’s their child or best friend (or both). If you have one or more pet-obsessed buddies and are struggling to find them a last-minute gift for the holidays, we suggest getting them something that will also benefit their animal companion.

The best gifts for pet owners range from useful pet tech like pet cameras and GPS collars, to enrichment toys, comfy beds, and more. There are a whole lot of great pet products out there for every dog mom, cat dad, and every type of pet owner in between.

Below, we’ve pulled together a group of fantastic gift ideas for the pet owner in your life and we’re confident you’ll discover something here that your recipient will love. Now, go make your fellow pet parent’s day (and their pet’s day, too).

One of the most highly-anticipated AI-related products has just arrived: OpenAI's AI video generator Sora launched on Monday as part of the company's 12 Days of OpenAI event.

OpenAI has provided sneak peeks at Sora's output in the past. But, how different is it at launch? OpenAI has certainly been hard at work to update and improve its AI video generator in preparation for its public launch.

YouTuber Marques Brownlee had a first look at Sora, releasing his video review of the latest OpenAI product hours before OpenAI even officially announced the launch. What did Brownlee think?

What Sora is good at

According to Brownlee, his Sora testing found that the AI video generator excels at creating landscapes. AI generated overhead, drone-like shots of nature or famous landscapes look just like real-life stock footage. Of course, as Brownlee points out, if you are specifically well-versed in how the surroundings of a landmark look, one might be able to spot the differences. However, there's not too much that looks distinctly AI-generated in these types of Sora-created clips.

SEE ALSO: How to try OpenAI's Sora right now

Perhaps the type of video Sora is best able to create, according to Brownlee, are abstract videos. Background or screensaver type abstract art can be made quite well by Sora even with specific instructions.

Brownlee also found that Sora-generated certain types of animated content, like stop-motion or claymation type animation, look passable at times as the sometimes jerky movements that still plague AI video look like stylistic choices.

SEE ALSO: 7 wild Sora videos blowing up social media after its launch

Most surprisingly, Brownlee found that Sora was able to handle very specific animated text visuals. Words often show up as garbled text in other AI image and video generation models. With Sora, Brownlee found that as long as the text was specific, say a few words on title card, Sora was able to generate the visual with correct spelling.

Where Sora goes wrong

Sora, however, still presents many of the same problems that all AI video generators that came before it have struggled with.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI's Sora is officially here

The first thing Brownlee mentions is object permanence. Sora has issues with displaying, say, a specific object in an individual's hand throughout the runtime of the video. Sometimes the object will move or just suddenly disappear. Just like with AI text, Sora's AI video suffers from hallucinations. 

Which brings Brownlee to Sora's biggest problem: Physics in general. Photorealistic video seems to be quite challenging for Sora because it can't just seem to get movement down right. A person simply walking will start slowing down or speeding up in unnatural ways. Body parts or objects will suddenly warp into something completely different at times as well.

And, while Brownlee did mention those improvements with text, unless you are getting very specific, Sora still garbles the spelling of any sort of background text like you might see on buildings or street signs.

Sora is very much an ongoing work, as OpenAI shared during the launch. While it may offer a step up from other AI video generators, it's clear that there are just some areas where all AI video models are going to find challenging.

OpenAI officially launched Sora on Monday, Dec. 9, and people are already testing its capabilities.

The company showed off its AI video generator last year before launching it during its 12 Days of OpenAI series of announcements. It was made available to the U.S. and lots of countries earlier today. Mashable's Cecily Mauran has all the details about the launch.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI's Sora is officially here

The general idea behind Sora is that, much like a chatbot, you give the AI tool a prompt, and it spits out results. But instead of text or images, you get videos. That is both pretty amazing and quite concerning.

There are already a number of videos created by Sora that are going viral online. Here are seven examples.

1. Here's an AI-generated news clip from Marques Brownlee, the popular tech YouTuber, who got to test Sora early. Tweet may have been deleted 2. Brownlee showed off Sora's impressive ability to create landscape videos. Tweet may have been deleted 3. Here is some fake historical video from Sora. Tweet may have been deleted 4. Here's a pelican on a bike...for some reason. Tweet may have been deleted 5. This person made a quick clip of Plato speaking. Tweet may have been deleted 6. Ever seen flying jellyfish? Tweet may have been deleted 7. The Roman Empire is definitely this dude's Roman Empire. Tweet may have been deleted

The tool from OpenAI just dropped, and there are already a number of videos out there.

Obviously, with time, folks will get the hang of Sora, and there will be more and more AI-generated video on our social feeds. Just be sure to stay on your toes and look out for fakes designed to fool you for nefarious purposes.

SEE ALSO: How to identify AI-generated videos

Sora is here.

On Monday, Dec. 9, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that users in "most countries" will have access to its AI video generator, Sora — all you have to do is head to Sora.com and use your ChatGPT account.

This was the company's biggest announcement so far in its ongoing 12 Days of OpenAI event, in which it discusses new products every day for the first 12 business days in December.

"This is going live today in most of the world," Altman said during the livestream, adding that it won't actually go live in most of Europe or the UK. "If you have an open AI Plus subscription, you get 50 generations a month. If you have an open AI pro, you get unlimited generations in our sort of slow queue mode and 500 normal faster generations. You can also get fewer generations at the higher resolution. And anybody with any account can enjoy the feed."

The livestream also featured a demo of Sora, showing users how to check out videos made in Sora by scrolling through them in the "Featured" tab, which you can find under "Explore." OpenAI showed off how to prompt video, choose resolutions, length and aspect radio, and took viewers through how to use its new Storyboard feature.

"We're really excited to see what you all will create," Altman said. "We're really excited to see all of the new ways that this new kind of entertainment and tool will be used. You all did incredible work on this. I'm super proud of the team. I love the product."

OpenAI has officially launched Sora.

On Monday, CEO Sam Altman immediately kicked off the livestream by announcing the Sora public release. As of today, Sora will be available today to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users in the U.S. and other countries — excluding the UK and countries within the EU.

SEE ALSO: Sora reportedly shipping as part of '12 Days of OpenAI' livestream marathon Tweet may have been deleted

Early last year, OpenAI introduced the AI video generator. But it has been quietly in development to a select group of testers, until being unleashed to the public today, allowing plenty of hype to build up in between. Early demos of Sora's photorealistic details and advanced sense of physics and accuracy has wowed AI enthusiasts. But it has also drawn controversy over how it got so good. OpenAI hasn't revealed what Sora was trained on, but reportedly transcribed over a million hours of YouTube videos, suggesting the AI video was trained on videos from the web without the credit or compensation of the video creators. Recently, a group of artists working as early testers for Sora leaked the API credentials in protest of what they call "art washing."

Perhaps, in an indirect response to criticisms that tools like Sora are exploiting and replacing the work of creatives, Flynn emphasized that "Sora is a tool" and an "extension for the creator behind it."

In the livestream, OpenAI product lead Rohan Sahai and product designer Joey Flynn wasted no time in sharing Sora's capabilities. The tool lives on a standalone website, sora.com, with an explore tab for discovering what other users are creating. By clicking into one of the videos, users can see the methods used to the create the video, such as simple text prompt, video or image extension, or Sora's storyboarding tool.

In the library tab, users can get started making their own video with a text prompt or uploading an image. From here, users can select aspect ratio, resolution up to 1080p, duration up to 20 seconds, and multiple variations of the prompt. There are also certain default presets like "stop motion" and "balloon world."

Sora also comes with a more advanced tool called Storyboard, which allows users to shape the video with specific directions. Storyboard bears a similar resemblance to other video editing tools with frame views on the bottom and various editing tools. Each "storyboard card" or frame can be generated from a text prompt or image upload. Users can use the recut feature to shift cards around, the remix feature to describe specific changes to the sequence, the loop tool to play the video on repeat, or blend to create a transition between multiple scenes.

In OpenAI's announcement, the company shared some of its safety measures. All Sora-generated videos come with C2PA invisible watermarks, and visible watermarks by default. Sora will block "damaging forms of abuse, such as child sexual abuse materials and sexual deepfakes," and limits uploads of people.

ChatGPT Plus users get 50 videos a month at 480p (or 720p for less videos) and ChatGPT Pro users get 10 times more usage.

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Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Kindle Paperwhite $134.99 at Amazon
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Amazon is known for good deals, even on their own products, discounting Fire tablets and Echo devices frequently. However, when it comes to their Kindle e-readers, the deals are few and far between. Unless it's a shopping event like Prime Day or Black Friday, Kindles rarely see discounts, and you're left paying full price. Yet, a week after Cyber Monday, Best Buy is offering a sweet discount on the latest Kindle Paperwhite.

Back in October, Amazon launched its 2024 line-up of Kindles that included the upgraded basic Kindle as well as the Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition. Luckily, during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we saw record low prices on the devices. However, as quickly as the deals came, off they went when Cyber Week ended.

The Kindle Paperwhite is my favorite e-reader. It's Amazon's fastest e-reader, turning pages quickly, and not stuttering when switching between books. The screen has a crisp, high-contrast screen with adjustable warmth so you can read at night without any eye strain. Plus, with its Libby integration and Kindle Unlimited, you can read all you want without spending a dime.

As a special holiday treat, Best Buy is offering $25 off the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite. This brings the e-reader down to $134.99, giving you 16% off — this is just $5 more than it's lowest price ever. And since first spotting this deal at Best Buy, Amazon has decided to get in on the savings too, matching Best Buy's price. That gives you the freedom to buy from your preferred retailer.