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• Polished charts from simple specs. Flint allows AI agents to reliably generate expressive, visually polished charts from simple, human-editable specifications.
• Semantic types guide design. Flint leverages semantic data types to express meanings of data. They help the compiler choose appropriate scales, baselines, formatting, and color schemes.
• Layouts adapt to the data. Flint automatically manages sizing, spacing, labels, and layout so charts remain readable as cardinality and density change, without explicit user configurations.
• One spec can target multiple backends. A single Flint specification can compile to Vega-Lite, Apache ECharts, or Chart.js without rewriting the chart from scratch.
• Built for agent workflows. The open-source project includes the flint-chart library and the flint-chart-mcp server, so agents can create, validate, and render charts directly in chat or coding environments.

Figure 1. Flint supports a diverse collection of visualizations with its simple spec, which can be rendered with visualization libraries like Vega-Lite, Echarts, and Chart.js.

Creating a good chart requires many design decisions: how dates should be parsed, whether a scale should start at zero, how values should be formatted, how much room labels need, and which colors make the data easier to read. Modern visualization libraries such as Vega-Lite, Apache ECharts, and Chart.js expose these controls, but there is a trade-off: Short specifications that rely on system defaults often produce uninspiring charts, while polished visualizations require detailed specifications with purposely chosen parameters that are often verbose, fragile, and error-prone.

This trade-off becomes sharper as large language models (LLMs) and AI agents take on more visualization work. Agents are especially prone to errors when they must manage complex, low-level specification details, and the resulting fragile code can be difficult for people to inspect, repair, or reuse. Ideally, we need something in between: a compact specification that agents can produce reliably, people can edit directly, and a system can compile into a well-designed chart.

To address this challenge, we introduce Flint (opens in new tab), a visualization intermediate language for AI-driven chart creation. Flint helps AI agents create expressive, attractive charts from simple, human-editable chart specs. Instead of requiring verbose low-level parameters for scales, axes, spacing, and layout, the Flint compiler derives optimized chart settings from the data, semantic types, chart type, and encodings. The same Flint spec can render through multiple backends, including Vega-Lite, Apache ECharts, and Chart.js.

Figure 2. Flint compiles a compact, human-editable chart specification into a complete backend-native specification and rendered visualization. In this heatmap example, the Flint spec names semantic types (period as YearMonth, newUsers as Profit) and maps fields to visual channels. The compiler derives the Vega-Lite details, including temporal parsing, axis formatting, color scale, cell sizing, legend configuration, and layout. How Flint works

Figure 2 illustrates the how the Flint compiler turns a compact chart specification into a refined heatmap.

To produce a high-quality heatmap, traditionally, we need to explicitly tell the system with low-level chart properties about how to process the period field, how to properly label MonthYear values, size individual heatmap cells, and choose a color scale that appropriately represents positive and negative newUsers values. Without these configurations, visualization libraries must guess from field names and raw values, which can lead to charts that are technically valid but potentially misleading. While they are important, hard-coding these details can be difficult and error-prone, and they make specification fragile and hard for users to understand or adapt.

In Flint, these low-level details are systematically managed, where the compiler infers them from high-level data and chart specifications. Here, the data specification captures semantic types and optional metadata, and the chart specification defines the chart type and maps fields to visual channels such as x, y, color, size, or facet. From this information, the compiler derives the parsing rules, scales, axes, aggregations, formatting, color schemes, layout, and generates the backend-native specification, which is used to render the final polished visualization. This frees users from explicitly setting fragile and error-prone low-level details.

Furthermore, because the intermediate representation is separate from any single rendering library, Flint can target backends with very different APIs and programming models. Users can keep the same compact chart intent while compiling to Vega-Lite, ECharts, or Chart.js, and choose the backend whose capabilities best fit the visualization.

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Listen now Opens in a new tab Flint for AI-assisted visualization

Flint is well suited to LLM-based chart generation because semantic types are often easier for models to infer than the full set of low-level visualization parameters. Field names, value patterns, and common data knowledge can help an agent recognize whether a column represents a date, price, percentage, country, ranking, or correlation. Once those meanings are explicit, the compiler can handle many design decisions that would otherwise appear as brittle, library-specific code.

In our research study, we compared Flint with DirectVL, a baseline that asks the model to directly generate full (more complex) Vega-Lite specifications in a LLM self-evaluation pipeline. Across three tested models based on testing data from Tidy Tuesdays, Flint received higher overall LLM-judge scores: 16.27 vs. 15.91 with GPT-5.1, 16.16 vs. 15.60 with GPT-5-mini, and 15.91 vs. 15.34 with GPT-4.1. In fact, Flint has been so powerful and reliable that it is now used to power Data Formulator (opens in new tab), a Microsoft Research project for AI-assisted data analysis and visualization.

To make Flint easy for your agents to access, we also release flint-chart-mcp, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows agents to create, validate, and render charts inside a chat or coding environment. MCP calls can embed data inline or read configured local files, and the server can open an interactive chart view so users can inspect and refine the results.

Figure 3. Once you set up the flint-chart-mcp with your favorite AI client, the agent can generate interactive visualizations powered by Flint to answer your data exploration questions. Try Flint

Flint is open source and ready to use:

• Project site: https://microsoft.github.io/flint-chart/ (opens in new tab)
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/flint-chart (opens in new tab)
• Flint MCP server instruction: https://microsoft.github.io/flint-chart/#/mcp (opens in new tab)

Flint points toward a shared semantic layer for visualization, where people and AI agents can work with compact chart intent while a compiler handles the careful low-level details. We invite the community to explore the project and build on it.

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The post Flint: A visualization language for the AI era appeared first on Microsoft Research.

SAVE $151.99: As of July 8, the Sony ULT Field 7 Bluetooth party speaker is on sale at Amazon for just $348 instead of $499.99. That's a savings of 30% and its best price all year.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony ULT Field 7 $348
$499.99 Save $151.99   Get Deal

Mashable's shopping team loves the Sony ULT Field speaker lineup, so we were thrilled to see many of the top models on sale for Prime Day. One of our favorites, however, was missing from the deals list: the ULT Field 7. Fortunately, after the sale wrapped up, the party speaker got a steep discount and you can save 30% if you act fast.

As of July 8, the Sony ULT Field 7 Bluetooth party speaker is on sale at Amazon for just $348. That's $151.99 or 30% off its list price of $499.99 and its best price all year. But stock is running low, so you'll have to add it to your cart ASAP if you want to secure the deal.

As our reviewer puts it, the ULT Field 7 features a boombox aesthetic that "exudes old-school swagger." But its looks are just a small party of why it earned a spot on our best Bluetooth speakers list. At around 13.9 pounds, you can still carry around the ULT Field 7, but it's more powerful than your average portable speaker. It's ideal for both indoor and outdoor listening, has a battery life up to 30 hours, is loaded with controls, inputs, and settings, and even features multipoint technology to pair it with multiple audio sources at once.

Beyond serving as a Bluetooth speaker, it can also connect to microphones and guitars for live performances. With the Fiesta app, the ULT Field 7 can even serve as a karaoke machine and pump out sound and lighting effects. It's essentially a party in a speaker-shaped package. As for the sound itself, our reviewer says it "fills any room with loud, engaging sound."

It's not the cheapest speaker in Sony's lineup, but at 30% off, it's much more palatable.

Netflix does not just want your movie night anymore. It wants your 13-minute lunch break, too.

Starting Aug. 3, Netflix will begin adding short and mid-length videos from major digital publishers directly to its homepage, giving subscribers a new way to watch internet-native series without leaving the app.

The first wave of partners includes BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., Tastemade, and PMX, a Penske Media subdivision that includes The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Eater, Indiewire, Rolling Stone, and Variety. The rollout will be available to Netflix members at all subscription levels in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

The videos will range from quick three-minute clips to roughly 20-minute episodes and cover food, travel, fashion, entertainment, wellness, design, celebrity interviews, home tours, and other lifestyle topics.

In other words, the kind of stuff people already fall into on YouTube when they mean to watch one Vanity Fair lie detector test and somehow end up 45 minutes deep into celebrity home tours.

SEE ALSO: The 30 best comedies streaming on Netflix right now

Netflix says the lineup will include both licensed past videos and new ongoing series. Among the titles coming to the platform are Architectural Digest's "Open Door," BuzzFeed’s "I Draw, You Cook," Elle's "Where Is the Lie," People's "My Life in Pictures," and Tastemade's "Struggle Meals." Other announced franchises include BuzzFeed Celeb's "30 Questions," Vanity Fair’s "Lie Detector," Harper's Bazaar's "Burning Questions," Billboard's "24 Hrs With," Variety's "How Well Do They Know?," and Travel + Leisure's "Travel Unfiltered."

For Netflix, the move makes sense. The streamer built its reputation on full seasons, bingeable dramas, prestige documentaries, stand-up specials, and original films. But the way people watch videos online has changed. Sometimes viewers want a two-hour movie. Sometimes they want a 13-minute celebrity interview, Get Ready With Me, or a fashion explainer while they eat lunch. Netflix is now trying to ensure those shorter viewing moments can happen on its platform, too.

"Members don't just want to watch a show or film and move on; they want to keep exploring the stories and personalities they love long after the final credits roll," John Derderian, Netflix's vice president of animation series and kids and family TV, said in the announcement on TUDUM, the platform's official editorial hub. "These partnerships help us deepen fandom and create more ways for members to carry those stories with them throughout their day."

The new publisher videos also arrive as Netflix has been expanding beyond its traditional TV-and-movie identity. The company has added games, live events, sports programming, comedy specials, and video podcasts, all while testing new ways to make the app feel less like a library and more like a place to spend time.

Many of the announced series are the exact kind of polished, publisher-made videos that became major digital franchises on YouTube, the reigning media distributor in the U.S.: celebrity Q&As, lie detector interviews, cooking videos, fashion segments, home tours, travel shows, and bite-sized lifestyle series. Of course, Netflix is not replacing YouTube, but it is clearly interested in some of the viewing behavior that YouTube watchers expect — and social media users have noticed the connection.

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There are still some open questions. Netflix has not said exactly how these videos will be surfaced, how the platform will recommend them, or how much they will be tied to related shows, movies, and talent. It has also not announced the full slate of future publisher partners.

But the direction is clear, and pretty soon, internet videos will live where your prestige dramas or true-crime documentaries already do.

A lot of modern devices and appliances offer smart features. These features promise to let you monitor and control your devices remotely or add them to your smart home, at a premium price point.

You'll soon have the option to back up your Android phone to your Windows PC without touching the cloud, but there might be a catch. Google is now known to be developing an automatic backup feature for PCs, but Samsung phones won't be supported.

GET UP TO 47% OFF: As of July 8, you can get up to 47% off select Craftsman tools at Amazon. Save on cordless drills, toolsets, and more.

Best Craftsman tool deals as of July 8: Best drill deal Craftsman V20 Cordless Drill/Driver Kit $59 (save $40) Get Deal Best tool set deal Craftsman 262-Piece Mechanic Tool Set $149 (save $100) Get Deal Best cordless tool deal Craftsman V20 Brad Nailer $99 (save $60) Get Deal

Growing up with a dad who's a mechanic (and a race car driver) meant I spent my childhood rummaging through drawers to bring him whatever tool he needed next. He always had the fanciest toolboxes (it's honestly crazy how much men will pay for those things) and a Snap-On truck came by weekly. Naturally, I inherited none of his knowledge — I have a tape measure, one screwdriver, and whatever leftover hex keys came free with my IKEA furniture.

SEE ALSO: Save $80 on the DeWalt 20V Max Cordless Drill and Impact Driver duo and get more done

If your own setup is looking similarly tragic, Amazon has a ton of Craftsman tools on sale for up to 47% off. It’s a justifiable excuse to stop borrowing your neighbor's stuff and build out a decent collection.

Best drill deal CRAFTSMAN V20 Cordless Drill/Driver Kit (CMCD700C1) $59 at Amazon
$99 Save $40   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

A reliable cordless drill is a non-negotiable adult purchase. After moving year after year and losing my tool bag, I had to learn this the hard way.

If you're looking to buy a drill on the cheap, you can get the Craftsman V20 Cordless Drill/Driver Kit (CMCD700C1) for $59 at Amazon. This is the best price I've seen it across retailers (though Lowe's is matching it). It also comes with a 20V max Lithium battery and charger, as well as a three-year limited warranty.

Best tool set deal Craftsman 262-Piece Mechanic Tool Set with 3-Drawer VERSASTACK Tool Box (SAE/Metric Set, CMMT45309) $149 at Amazon
$249 Save $100   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

While it might not have a hammer or a tape measure, this 262-piece kit is the ultimate upgrade for anyone who wants to start doing their own auto maintenance or heavy-duty garage projects.

Right now, you can grab the Craftsman 262-Piece Mechanics Tool Set for $149 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount or a $100 price cut. It includes 118 sockets, 24 wrenches, 44 hex keys, dozens of specialty bits, and a three-drawer, Versastack-compatible box with a one-handed locking dial.

Best cordless tool deal CRAFTSMAN V20 Brad Nailer, 18GA, Cordless, Bare Tool Only (CMCN618B) $99 at Amazon
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Whether you're working on baseboards or doing trim work, you'll need a cordless nailer. Right now, you can get the Craftsman V20 Cordless Brad Nailer (CMCN618B) for $99, down from $159, at Amazon. That's a 38% discount or $60 savings. It's also the lowest price we've tracked on this tool since 2023.

Note: This listing is for the tool only (the battery and charger aren't included). But if you already own the cordless drill we mentioned above (or any other tool in Craftsman's V20 lineup), you can just pop that same battery right into this nailer and get straight to work.

More Craftsman deals

• Craftsman Torque Wrench (CMMT99433) — $59.98 $75.49 (save $15.51)

• Craftsman Deep Impact Socket Set — $89 $109 (save $20)

• Craftsman V20 MAX Cordless Drill Driver and Impact Driver Set (CMCK200C2) — $99 $169 (save $70)

• Craftsman V20 Cordless Stick Vacuum Kit (CMCVS001D1) — $149 $199 (save $50)

The Television Academy announced the nominees for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards today, and this year's list sets up a showdown between HBO and Apple TV.

SEE ALSO: The best TV shows of 2026 (so far), and where to stream them

The two most-nominated shows of the year are HBO Max originals: The Pitt dominated the drama category with 25 nominations, while Hacks took over the comedy category with 24 nominations. Coming in right behind them are two Apple TV series: Widow's Bay, which nabbed 19 nominations on the comedy side of things, and Pluribus, which picked up 18 nominations on the drama side.

In the limited series category, Netflix's Beef and HBO Max's DTF St. Louis are the clear frontrunners, with 16 and 13 nominations, respectively.

To see what other shows made a splash in the major Emmys categories, read on.

And the nominees for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards are:Outstanding Drama Series

The Diplomat 

The Gilded Age

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 

Paradise 

The Pitt 

Pluribus 

Slow Horses

Your Friends and Neighbors

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age

Chase Infiniti, The Testaments

Keri Russell, The Diplomat 

Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus  

Zendaya, Euphoria 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown, Paradise

Gary Oldman, Slow Horses 

Mark Ruffalo, Task

Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat

Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Taylor Dearden, The Pitt 

Fiona Dourif, The Pitt 

Allison Janney, The Diplomat 

Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt 

Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt  

Julianne Nicholson, Paradise 

Karolina Wydra, Pluribus 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Patrick Ball, The Pitt 

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show 

Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt 

Gerran Howell, The Pitt 

Jack Lowden, Slow Horses 

Tom Pelphrey, Task  

Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Pluribus 

Outstanding Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary 

The Bear 

Hacks 

Margo’s Got Money Troubles 

Nobody Wants This

Only Murders in the Building 

Shrinking 

Widow’s Bay

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary 

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles 

Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback  

Jean Smart, Hacks 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man

Steve Carell, Rooster 

Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay 

Jason Segel, Shrinking 

Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building  

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Dale Dickey, Widow's Bay

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks

Janelle James, Abbott Elementary

Kate O'Flynn, Widow's Bay

Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo's Got Money Troubles

Megan Stalter, Hacks

Jessica Williams, Shrinking

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons

Paul W. Downs, Hacks

Harrison Ford, Shrinking

Nick Offerman, Margo's Got Money Troubles

Stephen Root, Widow's Bay

Michael Urie, Shrinking

Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

All Her Fault

The Beast in Me 

Beef  

DTF St. Louis 

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Claire Danes, The Beast in Me 

Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures

Carey Mulligan, Beef  

Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette 

Sarah Snook, All Her Fault 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Riz Ahmed, Bait

Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit

Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story 

Oscar Isaac, Beef  

Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis 

Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault

Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story 

Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis

Youn Yuh-jung, Beef

Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Jason Bateman, DTF St. Louis 

Richard Gadd, Half Man 

David Harbour, DTF St. Louis  

Richard Jenkins, DTF St. Louis

Charles Melton, Beef 

Nick Offerman, Death By Lightning

Outstanding Reality Competition Program

Dancing with the Stars

RuPaul's Drag Race

Survivor

Top Chef

The Traitors

Outstanding Variety Series

The Daily Show

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Saturday Night Live

The 78th Primetime Emmys air Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Featured Video For You The 'Widow's Bay' cast breaks down their favorite scares from Season 1

FIFA has opened an investigation after alleged racist abuse directed at iShowSpeed was captured during one of the streamer's World Cup livestreams on YouTube, reports the New York Times.

Over the past month, Speed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., has become an unofficial face of the World Cup online, livestreaming matches from stadiums across the United States and giving millions of viewers a front-row seat to the tournament via his official partnership with FIFA, FOX Sports, and YouTube. His streams have featured appearances from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimović, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

SEE ALSO: IShowSpeed had no idea he was sitting next to NYC Mayor Mamdani at the World Cup

FIFA confirmed Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into an incident that took place during Argentina's July 3 Round of 32 victory over Cape Verde at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. In footage from Speed's livestream, the 21-year-old creator, who was wearing a Cape Verde jersey, is seen confronting an Argentina supporter in the stands after viewers alleged the fan directed a racist remark toward him.

"The FIFA World Cup is a celebration of unity, diversity and respect," the organization said in a statement provided to the Associated Press. "It brings together people, cultures and communities from around the world and anyone who acts in a manner that undermines these values is not welcome in our game."

The investigation comes as Argentina has found itself at the center of several of the tournament's biggest flashpoints. Just days after the Cape Verde match, the defending champions survived a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the Round of 16 — a result overshadowed by disputed VAR decisions, a disallowed Egyptian goal, and a formal complaint from the Egyptian Football Association over the officiating. The controversy has fueled intense online debate around Argentina's path through the tournament.

Speed, a longtime Cristiano Ronaldo supporter who frequently trolls Lionel Messi online, was also seen taunting the Argentine star before his missed penalty against Egypt. Later in the same stream, the creator was confronted by Argentina fans in the stands, with one appearing to mock his movements while yelling at him. "What's wrong with that guy?" Speed says in the broadcast.

For Speed, who has over 57 million subscribers on YouTube and nearly 150 million followers across platforms, the incident underscores how his streams have become more than creator content.

With tens of millions of followers tuning in, he's emerged as the World Cup's premier Gen Z correspondent, bringing viewers into the stands to capture the tournament's real atmosphere, not just the polished TV moments.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 was a milestone release: it showed that Samsung's flagship foldable could be just as thin and light as conventional phones while sacrificing relatively little. But the imminent Galaxy Z Fold 8 still has to do more.

SAVE $802: As of July 8, the Toshiba 65-inch Z670R Mini LED 4K TV is on sale for just $697.99 at Amazon. That's more than 50% off its original list price of $1,499.99 and its best price on record.

Opens in a new window Credit: Toshiba Toshiba 65-inch Z670R Mini LED 4K TV $697.99 at Amazon
$1,499.99 Save $802   Get Deal

Known for its budget-friendly pricing, you may not equate the Toshiba brand with premium TVs. But earlier this year, the brand released the Z670R Mini LED model, seeking to change your perspective. With an attractive balance of performance, features, and value, the Toshiba Z670R is a competitive pick for 2026 — especially now that it has its biggest price drop to date.

As of July 8, the Toshiba 65-inch Z670R Mini LED 4K TV is on sale at Amazon for only $697.99. That's a major price drop of over 50% from its full list price of $1,499.99 (though Amazon has undercut its list price significantly). That's also its best price ever.

The Z670R combines Mini LED technology with full-array local dimming, which results in remarkable color and contrast compared to a traditional LED TV. Clusters of tiny LEDs give the panel more precise control over brightness zones, which adds depth to dark scenes in any lighting condition. The REGZA Engine ZRi Gen3 AI processor intelligently adjusts and balances your picture and audio to match room conditions and treat your senses to the best possible viewing experience. It also includes support for Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10+ Adaptive, HDR10, and HLG, and packs a native 144Hz refresh rate combined with HDMI 2.1 with eARC and AMD FreeSync Premium with VRR and ALLM to round out its features.

This model will particularly appeal to casual gamers and home theater enthusiasts seeking a TV that falls in the performance-to-value sweet spot. At full price, the Toshiba 65-inch Z670R Mini LED 4K TV is a bit of a hard sell compared to budget-friendly picks from Hisense or TCL. But at less than half its usual cost, it's quite the competitor.

TL;DR: Beats has launched a new Power Pink colorway for its woven cable lineup, bringing a brighter look to your everyday tech accessories. The cables are available in USB-C-to-USB-C and USB-A-to-USB-C options, with prices starting at $18.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Beats Beats USB‑C to USB‑C (1.5 m / 5 ft.) – Power Pink $18.99 at Apple
  Shop Now

The brand that made colorful headphones a style statement is now bringing that same energy to charging cables with its new Power Pink woven cable lineup. Designed to add a little personality to your everyday setup, the new cables combine Beats’ signature braided design with practical features for charging, syncing, audio, and data transfer.

Beyond the new pink finish, the cables feature a tangle-free woven design designed for everyday durability. Beats says each cable undergoes thousands of hours of testing and features reinforced construction to help reduce fraying over time.

The Power Pink cable lineup comes in three versions, depending on the devices you use and how much reach you need:

• USB-C to USB-C cable (1.5m)
  A compact everyday option that supports up to 60W charging and USB 2.0 data transfer speeds. It works with USB-C Apple and Android devices for charging, syncing, audio, CarPlay, and data transfer.

• USB-C to USB-C cable (3m)
  The longer option for desks, bedrooms, or setups where extra reach matters, with support for up to 240W charging and USB 2.0 data transfer speeds.

• USB-A to USB-C cable (1.5m)
  A handy option for older charging setups, this reinforced braided cable is designed to stay tangle-free while helping prevent fraying over time. It supports up to 15W charging on select iPhone and iPad models, plus USB 2.0 data transfer speeds.

SEE ALSO: Apple fixes a Beats Studio Buds flaw that could let hackers listen to conversations

The cables work with both Apple and Android devices and can be used for charging, syncing, audio, CarPlay, and data transfer. The USB-C to USB-C versions can also charge compatible Beats headphones and speakers while you listen to audio and support lossless playback with compatible devices.

If your tech setup could use a little more personality, the Power Pink woven cable is an easy way to make the everyday cable feel a little less ordinary.

For a long time, I struggled with sluggish web browsing around my house. My internet connection isn't particularly fast, but I could have sworn websites loaded more quickly on my old Wi-Fi 5 router than on my brand-new Wi-Fi 7 model. That didn't make much sense. Even though the newer router is a budget model, it's still packed with newer technology and supports a much higher theoretical bandwidth.

When Moana was released in 2016, it was a gorgeous cinematic wonder, drawing inspiration from Polynesian mythology, offering moving and catchy songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina, and Opetaia Foa'i, and reveling in the creative freedom animation offers. At its core, it was a story of a young girl rejecting the norms of her society to fight for creation and exploration over annihilation and ignorance.

2026's live-action remake of Moana has the same plot. But because of its execution — and arguably its very existence — it flies in the face of the message of the original. By definition, this remake is retreading the path that directors John Musker and Ron Clements laid down before. Beyond that, however, there's a bizarre, uncanny valley feel to this live-action version. It evoked in me a similar reaction to AI slop, where I cringe at the unnerving blend of the familiar and the not-quite-right.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting Disney — which has been accused of using generative AI in the past — or that Moana (2026) director Thomas Kail employed generative AI in making Moana's home of Motunui or its surrounding lands, sea, and creatures. What I am saying is that, hemmed in between the original film's distinctive features and Disney's determination to treat every animated hit as a proof of concept for a wobbly live-action re-creation, there's something uncanny and grotesque lurking here.

Moana (2026) feels less epic, more Disney Channel. Emma Puahi-Shapazian as young Moana in Disney's live-action "Moana." Credit: Disney

Jared Bush's screenplay from the 2016 animated adventure is closely followed, though he and his Moana 2 co-writer, Dana Ledoux Miller, share scripting credit for this remake. Once more, Moana's grandmother (played this time by Rena Owen) unfurls the folklore of Te Fiti, a goddess of life and nature; the trickster demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson, the only actor reprising his role here); and the volcanic beast Te Kā. While the other children are scared of these stories, a young Moana looks elated.

Kail, who helmed the Broadway productions of Miranda's In the Heights and Hamilton, doggedly follows the film's first act shot for shot, inviting the question of why remake a movie if it's just live-action now? (Because audiences will turn up. I know. I know.)

Kail stays as close as he can to the look of the original film. There's no Little Mermaid-like choice to make Moana's animal pals Heihei and Pua look cringingly photo-real. Instead, they look like their animated versions fleshed out in CG. Which, for Pua, is pretty cute. For Heihei, a gangly chicken with bug-eyes and red bumps all over his face, it's less charming, as reaction shot after reaction shot reminds us that cute but creepy is a fine line to walk.

But hey, this is what Disney fans want, right? A loyal recreation of a thing they loved just 10 years ago (that has a sequel and is readily available to rewatch on streaming). Sure. But aside from my general grievance about the lack of innovation in Disney's menagerie of live-action remakes, Moana has a strangely false quality to it. The cast — led by 19-year-old Catherine Laga'aia — gives performances that feel straight out of a Disney Channel show. They're bouncy and broad in a way that made me expect the cheer of a pre-recorded studio audience to break in.

The artifice of Moana ruins the fun. Dwayne Johnson is Maui in Disney's live-action "Moana." Credit: Disney

This studio sitcom tone is jarring against the backdrop of Motunui's lush natural wonder. Here, in the village, when the tribe gathers, is where I could see the potential of a live-action Moana. Seeing a lot of AAPI performers gathering together in traditional costume to sing, dance, and showcase their culture was beautiful. The sequences for "Where You Are" and "We Know the Way" are among this movie's best; it's exhilarating to see these elements, in which community comes together to accomplish something incredible, rendered in live action. It reminds us of the incredible feats humans are capable of, through craft and collaboration. Here is where Kail shines, understanding how to orchestrate a plethora of dancers and performers to create a dynamic staging. However, when the movie is focused on Moana, this reality gets lost.

Part of the issue is the aforementioned Disney Channel performance style, which actually makes this Moana feel flatter than Auliʻi Cravalho's voice acting in the first film. The other issue is the sound quality itself. From early scenes with Moana's chief father (John Tui) through most of her scenes with Maui, the sound recording has that isolated crispness of ADR. Typically, additional dialogue is recorded in post-production to smooth over rough spots in the on-set audio (or to make changes to the script). Here, this sound quality is so abundant that it draws attention back to the artifice around Moana.

From there, how am I to ignore how sequence after sequence seems shot against greenscreen? Though the seascape is convincingly rendered by a sprawling army of VFX artists, the lack of breeze in the air and the crisp lines around the actors all draw attention to the seams. Even Johnson's Maui look feels odd. His wig — which was much mocked online — is perfectly coiffed, as if for a shampoo commercial, framing a face that is chiseled but flawless in texture. Then his body is wrapped in Maui's signature tattoos. But it feels like the exquisite corpse game, as if these three pieces of costuming and make-up were made independently and then jammed together. They lack cohesion visually, like too much of this Moana. So, instead of being caught up in the familiar waves of a wonderful story, I was snagging on the rocks of "WTF am I looking at?"

Rooster Heihei in Disney's live-action "Moana." Credit: Disney

I'm sure a great deal of work went into chiseling this remake into something that will please fans. But Moana then falls into the familiar trap that Disney has built with these movies. Fans want something familiar but new enough to justify the cost of a ticket. It's understandable that this action-adventure Disney princess might have seemed like a great opportunity for a live-action adaptation. But Kail is not an action director, and Moana doesn't offer the kind of song numbers that rely on dance the way In the Heights and Hamilton do. Kail seems lost amid the movie's overwhelming CG, which, while solidly rendered, lacks any sense of artistic direction beyond "like the first Moana."

So, the result is a film that misses the point of its protagonist's journey. Rather than going somewhere new, Kail and company avoid discovery, opting instead to approximate popular IP. And in that way, it feels like AI. It does not feel like an earnest, human expression, but rather a shallow approximation that might have the general look but misses the soul of the original work.

Moana opens in theaters on July 10.

The morning school run isn't exactly where you'd expect to find serious performance. It's usually a sea of family SUVs, backpacks, coffee cups, and enough snacks to survive a road trip.

AI is everywhere these days, and on Discord, that caused several thousand people to lose access to the app for no good reason.

In a thread on X, the gamer-centric chat app confirmed that about 8,000 accounts over the past two months had been banned after posting totally harmless images such as video game textures. This happened because Discord employs an AI moderation system that mistook the images for "harmful material." While Discord's thread said that "a member of our Trust & Safety team always reviews flagged content before any action is taken," thousands of people nonetheless lost access to their accounts since May because of this issue.

SEE ALSO: Discord group says it accessed Claude Mythos by guessing location

Thankfully, Discord also said it is in the process of restoring the lost accounts.

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On one hand, it's easy to see what happened here. As TechCrunch pointed out, some of the images users posted that led to bans, such as checkerboard patterns, bear a resemblance to tactics used by bad actors to conceal child exploitation content. It's easy to rationalize how an AI moderation tool would see that and do something about it. On the other hand, this is a clear-as-day example of why humans still need to be involved in these processes, as a human eye could have instantly discerned that the images in question were harmless.

But with AI becoming an ever bigger part of our everyday lives, expect stuff like this to keep happening.

SAVE $130: As of July 8, get the Dreame L60 Ultra robot vacuum and mop for $1,169.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,299.99. That's a discount of 10%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Dreame L60 Ultra robot vacuum and mop $1,169.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $130   Get Deal

If you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to keep your floors clean, it's time to admit you might need some help. A robot vacuum is one of the best and easiest ways to make sure you have spotless carpets and dazzling hard floors.

As of July 8, get the Dreame L60 Ultra robot vacuum and mop for $1,169.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,299.99. That's $130 off and a discount of 10%.

SEE ALSO: I found the best robot vacuums for every floor, budget, and level of laziness

This robot vacuum and mop combo is capable of serious suction and thorough mopping. It uses special AI-enhanced vision to detect over 280 types of objects potentially in its way at home, with an ultra-thin design that helps it navigate the entirety of your home's floor plan. It has its own all-in-one dock as well that can help it prep to mop up your hard flooring, with a 100-degree waetr mop for washing, a self-cleaning washboard, and 100-day auto-emptying so you don't have to handle it yourself.

It uses a special side brush and outward-swinging mop that work together to give you complete coverage in each room, with corner coverage as well as tight, edge-hugging power that means you don't have to be the one to scrub everything. Plus, it can clean around your pets and get all of the important areas that need extra attention without you having to program it to do so.

Now's the perfect time to splurge on this automated robot vacuum and mop combo, so if you're tired of manually handling it all, grab one before they're all bought up -- or the price goes back up.

Halfway through 2026, I expected my PC upgrade to come from a better GPU, more RAM, and a better monitor to tame my increasingly messy workflow. All that didn’t materialize, and instead, the upgrades that actually changed how I use my computer came from six apps that cost nothing and took a few minutes to install and get used to.

SAVE $50: The 160W GaN Anker Prime Charger is on sale at Amazon for $99.99, down from the normal price of $149.99. That's a 33% discount that matches the lowest we've ever seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker 160W GaN Anker Prime Charger $99.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $50.00   Get Deal

We're deep in the season of summer travel, and if you're trying to minimize the bulk while packing, you've probably noticed the charger/cord situation is a bit much. It's great we have so many fun tech gadgets to pack along, but all of it needs to recharge. and packing the specific chargers gets bulky. Instead of tossing that beast of a power brick into your bag, consider this upgrade.

As of July 8, the 160W GaN Anker Prime Charger is on sale for $99.99 at Amazon, marked down from the standard price of $149.99. That works out to a $50 savings from a 33% discount. Today's price matches the best offer we've ever seen at Amazon.

With three USB-C ports, the Anker Prime Charger aims to replace the need for multiple chargers. With three devices plugged into the charger, you'll be able to get one 100W charge and dual 30W. If using just one port, it's capable of 140W. This is ideal for topping up your MacBook or high-powered gaming laptop while also still having enough juice to recharge your phone and earbuds. And maybe best of all, this is all done via one charger.

SEE ALSO: Need a boost? The Bluetti AC70 portable power station is over $100 off at Amazon.

Anker mentions this model is also compact, coming with measurements that are similar to the AirPods Pro 3 case. The weight clocks in at 220 grams, which is about half a pound. The smart display on the charger itself is also a nice addition.

Before you take off on your next summer adventure, upgrade to the 160W GaN Anker Prime Charger. You'll be able to keep all your devices charged up without packing excess chargers. Since it's on sale for the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon, there's no reason to delay.

Android Auto is a convenient feature on most modern cars that more people should use. And while drivers have several map and navigation apps to choose from, I've been using Waze for over 10 years thanks to its superior directions and traffic avoidance. However, the experience isn't perfect. Here are the settings I changed to make it even better.

You may be thinking about investing in a new eReader, especially if your Kindle is one of the older models that are no longer supported by Amazon. Before you spend money on a new device, it's worth considering installing KOReader on your old Kindle. I put KOReader on my jailbroken Kindle 4, and it can do a lot that even a new Kindle can't do.