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The Moon is now almost entirely out of view as we approach the New Moon, can you see anything tonight?

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Friday, May 15, the Moon phase is Waning Crescent. Tonight, 4% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

There isn't enough visibility tonight to see anything on the Moon's surface. After the New Moon, visibility will start to return.

When is the next Full Moon?

There are two Full Moons in May, with the next due to take place on May 31.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, the Moon takes about 29.5 days to complete a full orbit around Earth, moving through eight distinct phases along the way. Although we always see the same side of the Moon, the changing angle of sunlight as it orbits creates the familiar full, half, and crescent shapes. In total, the lunar cycle is made up of eight main phases:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

We hope you took advantage of that $499 MacBook Neo deal in the Apple Education Store, because if you're not actually a student or teacher, that discount is now closed off for you.

Apple's Education Store provides online discounts for students and educators. In the case of the already very competitively priced MacBook Neo, that discount was a whopping $100 off Apple's latest laptop. Previously, anyone could shop at the Apple Education Store, with Apple simply using an honor system with its users, allowing anyone to shop there with the assumption that they were a student or teacher.

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However, starting this week, Apple changed its Apple Education Store policy. Apple is now verifying that a consumer is actually connected to an educational institution before allowing them to make a purchase.

Many companies offer discounts for educators and students, first responders, and other groups, and these types of third-party verification tools are a common industry practice.

Apple is utilizing the services of a third-party company known as Unidays, which verifies that the user is eligible to buy from the Apple Education Store.

According to Apple, users who are allowed to make a purchase in the Education Store include "current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels."

When making a purchase, Unidays will verify that the buyer is connected to a specific educational institution. For example, a student will have to provide documentation that they are enrolled in a school in order to get verified and make a purchase from the Education Store. 

Unidays verification process is instant for most; however, some users may have to wait up to 24 hours for the company to complete its verification process.

Apple previously worked with Unidays in 2022 when it instituted a similar verification process for the Education Store. However, user complaints led Apple to drop the verification step until now.

Along with the verification change, Apple also added Apple Watch discounts to the Education Store for the first time last week. But, without the Education Store discount, many Apple users may find cheaper deals on Apple products from third parties like Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H, and not directly from Apple.

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The prestigious Cannes Film Festival is underway in France, with high-profile stars from The Fast and the Furious franchise dominating headlines so far. However, the Chinese tech company DJI also took advantage of the opportunity to make its own debut — the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P camera.

Cannes may seem like a strange place for a drone and camera company, but the company wants to pivot from the creator space into Hollywood productions. Pictures of the Osmo Pocket 4P show two lenses, which would set it apart from other cameras in the Osmo Pocket line.

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DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal cameras already have a cult following among creators, and the company recently launched the Osmo Pocket 4. However, the Osmo Pocket 4P is designed specifically for cinematic productions, DJI said in a press release sent to Mashable.

"Following the global success of its predecessor, the Osmo Pocket 4P builds on a growing movement in which compact cameras are reshaping how stories are created and shared," reads the release. "Its Cannes debut highlights its potential to influence the future of cinematic vlogging, inspire a new generation of mobile-first filmmakers, and lead global trends in portrait-driven visual storytelling."

Gimbal cameras have long been used in Hollywood productions, and the Osmo Pocket brought the technology to video bloggers, influencers, and creators of all kinds.

DJI says the Osmo Pocket 4P will offer cinematic-quality HDR video and 10-bit D-Log2 color performance for professional color grading.

DJI didn't provide any details on a possible release date or pricing, but a company spokesperson said the camera would be available through DJI's online store and retail partners. As with other recent DJI releases, it may come late to the United States due to DJI's ongoing problems with the FCC and the U.S. drone ban.

Credit: DJI

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Brick just updated its app to highlight a feature that makes me love this little gadget even more.

Imagine this nightmare: You've done your evening skincare, brushed your teeth, and tucked yourself into bed only to realize you left on a lamp across the room. That's the horror I feel when I forget to Brick my phone before bed and have to get up, walk to the kitchen, and tap it against my Brick in another room.

But when this happened last night, I noticed a change in the Brick app. Now, the button on the home page of the Brick app says "Tap or hold to Brick." So, I held the button and my phone was Bricked — I didn't even need to get out of bed.

Brick, the screen-time device that uses a physical NFC tag to block apps on your phone, cut my screen time in half. Plus, multiple people can use it, meaning my wife and I can share one. The Brick has become so popular that "Bricking" is now a verb.

Hold to lock: What's changed with the Brick? Now, you have the choice Brick your phone remotely. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Previously, you had to tap your phone against the Brick to lock it. Now, you have a second option. You can still tap to lock, or you can just hold the button down within the app, and it will lock. This means when you're on the go and need to focus, you can remotely Brick your phone.

I reached out to Brick, and a spokesperson said that while this feature has always been available, the company updated the app to make this functionality more obvious to users. The change was necessary, I think. Several Mashable staffers are devoted Brick users, and we weren't aware of this feature previously.

Now you can Brick your phone without physically tapping it against a Brick. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

However, this doesn't change how you unlock your phone when it's Bricked. To Unbrick your phone, you still have to physically tap it against your Brick. Not surprising because the alternative would make Brick no different from any other screen time app out there.

So with this update, the only thing to be careful of is locking your phone when you're away from it and getting locked out of an important app. Luckily, you can always use one of your five emergency unbricks.

Opens in a new window Credit: Brick Brick phone blocker $59 at Brick
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