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How to watch Mother Mary: New streaming details announced

Mashable - Sat, 07/25/2026 - 00:30

I've never heard a movie be described as both "grotesque" and "gorgeous," but that's what Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko called Mother Mary. And naturally, that made it a must-watch for me. It stars Anne Hathaway as pop icon Mother Mary and features songs by Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX, and FKA Twigs. We named it one of our favorite movies of the year, and now it's officially heading to streaming.

The best ways to watch 'Mother Mary' at home: Watch now Buy or rent 'Mother Mary' on Prime Video $9.99 or $5.99 Shop Now Watch now Buy or rent 'Mother Mary' on Fandango at Home $9.99 or $5.99 Shop Now Watch as of Aug. 21 HBO Max (With Ads) $109.99/year (save $21.89) Get Deal Watch as of Aug. 21 HBO Max Standard $184.99/year (save $36.89) Get Deal Watch as of Aug. 21 HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months (save 50%) Get Deal Watch as of Aug. 21 HBO Max Basic With Ads Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month unlimited plan (save $10.99/month) Get Deal Watch as of Aug. 21 Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle $19.99 per month (with ads), $32.99 per month (no ads) (save up to 42%) Get Deal Watch as of Aug. 21 Netflix and HBO Max bundle (with ads) $10/month with Verizon myPlan (save $9.98/month) Get Deal Watch as of Aug. 21 Netflix, Peacock, and HBO Max (with ads) $22/month with Xfinity StreamSaver (save $8.97/month) Get Deal

In addition to Hathaway, Mother Mary stars Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Alba Baptista, Isaura Barbé-Brown, and Sian Clifford. It defies genre, as the trailer even highlights that it's neither a love story nor a ghost story. Though, as Puchko points out, it's kind of both. She dubs it a "gothic horror story," while the official synopsis refers to it as a "psychosexual pop thriller." Whatever you deem it, it's quite the journey.

If you have yet to watch Mother Mary, or if you can't wait to see it again, you can stream it at home this summer. Here's a breakdown of everything you need to know to watch.

What is Mother Mary about?

Directed by David Lowery (The Green Knight), Mother Mary follows the eponymous pop star (Hathaway) as she's readying for a comeback. She reaches out to her former friend/costume designer, Sam Anselm (Coel), for help crafting the perfect dress. The reunion dredges up old wounds the women can't escape and spirals into a supernatural reckoning. Things get pretty tense, to say the least.

Check out the official trailer for Mother Mary below.

How to watch Mother Mary at home Credit: A24

Mother Mary launched in theaters in limited release on April 17th and hit digital on-demand retailers on May 19th. Now it's officially headed to streaming, giving you three different options for watching at home. We've broken down the details below.

Buy or rent on digital

Mother Mary made its at-home debut via digital-on-demand retailers on May 19, 2026. You can either buy the film for your digital library for $9.99 or rent it for $5.99. Note: If you choose the rental option, you'll get access for 30 days, but only 48 hours once you start watching.

Quick links to buy/rent Mother Mary on digital:

  • Apple TV —  buy for $9.99, rent for $5.99

  • Fandango — buy for $9.99, rent for $5.99

  • Google Play — buy for $9.99, rent starting at $4.99

  • Prime Video —  buy for $9.99, rent for $5.99

  • YouTube — buy for $9.99, rent starting at $4.99

Stream it on HBO Max

Since A24 renewed its output deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, new A24 theatrical releases exclusively stream on HBO Max before anywhere else. Mother Mary is set to make its HBO Max streaming debut on Aug. 21, 2026, which follows the same theater-to-streaming schedule as other recently released A24 films (Marty Supreme, The Drama, and Bring Her Back).

HBO Max subscriptions start at $10.99 per month. However, there are some ways you can save money on your plan. Check out the best HBO Max streaming deals below.

SEE ALSO: HBO Max and Paramount+ are combining into one streaming service The best HBO Max streaming dealsBest for most people: Save 16% on HBO Max annual subscriptions Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Basic with ads annual subscription $109.99 per year (save $21.89) Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Standard annual subscription $184.99 per year (save $36.89) Get Deal

The best way to save money on HBO Max (or most streaming services, for that matter) on any given day is by opting for the annual plan. Yes, it costs more up front, but you'll save about 16% over the course of a year — up to $45.89 in savings.

A monthly plan with ads typically costs $10.99 per month, but a full year costs $109.99, which breaks down the monthly cost to only $9.17. If you want to go ad-free, the annual HBO Max Standard or Premium plans will also save you about 16% over their monthly equivalents.

Standard subscriptions cost either $18.49 per month or $184.99 per year (which breaks down to $15.42 per month). Premium subscriptions cost $22.99 per month or $229.99 per year (about $19.17 per month). Both plans are ad-free, but only the Premium option will unlock 4K Ultra HD video quality, Dolby Atmos, and the ability to download more offline content.

Get HBO Max for free: Switch to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max / Cricket HBO Max (with ads) Free for Cricket customers on the Supreme Unlimited plan Get Deal

While it's definitely not the most convenient option, switching your phone plan to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan for $60 per month is the only way to get HBO Max with ads for free. Once you're a Cricket customer, you can use your provider credentials to log in via the HBO Max app or website.

Best HBO Max deal for students: Save 50% on HBO Max Basic with ads Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months Get Deal

College students get an entire year of HBO Max Basic with ads for 50% off. Use UNiDAYS to prove your student status, then you'll receive a unique discount code that'll drop the cost per month down from $10.99 to $5.49. Once the initial 12-month promotional period is up, the price will jump back to the full cost unless you cancel.

Best bundle deal: Get HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu for up to 42% off Opens in a new window Credit: Disney / Hulu / HBO Max Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max $19.99 per month (with ads), $32.99 per month (no ads) Get Deal

The Disney+ bundle deal, which includes HBO Max and Hulu, is one of the best deals in streaming. For just $19.99 per month, you'll get all three streaming libraries with ads, which is about $15 cheaper than paying for each one separately. If you want to go ad-free, it'll run you $32.99 per month as opposed to $56.47 for all three. That's up to 42% in savings.

Best for Verizon customers: Get Netflix and HBO Max for $13/month Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix / HBO Max HBO Max and Netflix (with ads) $13 per month for Verizon customers with Simplicity Plan (save $6.98 per month) Get Deal

If you're a Verizon customer on the Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plan, you can add the Netflix and HBO Max bundle (with ads) to your plan for only $13 per month. A $19.98 per month value, that's about $7 in savings each month. Once you enroll in the promo, you'll have to complete the account setup separately for each service. Check out Verizon's support page for all the eligibility details, terms, and FAQs.

Best for Xfinity customers: Bundle HBO Max, Peacock, and Netflix and save $10/month Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix / Peacock / HBO Max Netflix Standard with ads, Peacock Premium, and HBO Max $22/month with Xfinity StreamSaver (save $8.97/month) Get Deal

Xfinity Internet and TV customers can also get in on the bundle action with Xfinity StreamSaver packages. The package that includes Netflix Standard with ads ($8.99 per month), Peacock Premium ($10.99 per month), and HBO Max Basic with Ads ($10.99 per month) can be added to your existing Xfinity service for only $22 per month. It typically costs $30.97 for all three, so that's about $9 in savings monthly.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5 time-saving Excel tips to put to the test this weekend (July 24-26)

How-To Geek - Sat, 07/25/2026 - 00:00

A few minutes spent trying the right Excel tools this weekend could save you hours in the weeks ahead. These five built-in features tackle common frustrations like scrolling through huge workbooks, cleaning up pasted data, and finding problem cells, so you can put them straight to use on Monday morning.

Categories: IT General, Technology

2 days left to get Microsoft’s Visual Studio Pro 2026 for just $30

Mashable - Sat, 07/25/2026 - 00:00

TL;DR: Get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 for $29.97 through July 26 and build faster with AI-powered coding tools, Live Share collaboration, and cross-platform development support.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 $29.97
$499.99 Save $470.02   Get Deal

Modern software development isn’t getting any simpler, but the tools behind it keep getting better, too. That’s exactly what Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 aims to deliver: a faster, more capable development environment that helps you spend less time managing code and more time building great software.

For just two more days, you can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 for $29.97 (reg. $499.99). Whether you’re building desktop applications, web apps, cloud services, or mobile experiences, it’s a practical upgrade for developers who want the latest tools without paying ongoing subscription costs.

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The newest version introduces deeper AI integration throughout the IDE. Intellicode provides context-aware code suggestions, predicts your next edits, and helps reduce repetitive coding, while built-in AI-assisted refactoring can streamline common development tasks and help catch issues earlier.

Visual Studio Professional 2026 also supports modern, cross-platform workflows. Build applications with .NET MAUI, create web interfaces with Blazor, develop and debug .NET and C++ applications for Windows, Linux, and containers, and integrate directly with Azure and GitHub.

For team projects, Live Share makes collaboration easier by allowing developers to work together in real time without cloning repositories or recreating identical development environments. CodeLens adds another productivity boost by surfacing commit history, test status, references, and code authors directly inside the editor.

If you’re already working in the Microsoft development ecosystem — or planning to — this is an easy way to upgrade your toolkit with the latest version of one of the industry’s most widely used IDEs.

Get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 for $29.97 through July 26 (reg. $499.99) while supplies last.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Lanterns trailer: Hal Jordan and John Stewart team up for a Manhunter murder mystery

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 23:45

TV is about to get a whole lot greener, thanks to Lanterns.

HBO released the official trailer for the Green Lantern-focused series at San Diego Comic-Con, giving viewers a deep dive into the dynamic between Green Lanterns Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). They're intergalactic cops tasked with protecting Earth. Hal is a Lantern legend, while John is a new recruit who's still learning the ropes of how to use his magical ring.

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' teaser shows Sauron in full control of Middle-earth

Based on the trailer, Hal and John's mentor-mentee relationship is pretty strained. No wonder, given that Hal dumps water on a sleeping John, or that everyone refers to John as Hal's backup.

However, the two will have to learn to work together as they try to solve a new mystery right in America's heartland, one that has ties to the fearsome shape-shifting Manhunters.

Co-created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, Lanterns has a neo-Western flair. But that doesn't mean it's without Green Lantern magic. The trailer sees Hal using his ring to fly, and John... Well, John can create a very cute hummingbird with his ring, but it seems he still has a lot to learn.

The trailer also features appearances from Superman's Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), as well as classic Green Lantern villain Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). Check out the full video above to see them, Hal, and John in action.

Lanterns also stars Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

Lanterns premieres Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Queen of the Damned: Everything we know about Season 4 of Interview with the Vampire

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 23:11

It's official. Out of San Diego Comic-Con, AMC Global Media has announced that Interview with the Vampire will return for Season 4. And as fans have predicted, showrunner Rolin Jones will change the title from The Vampire Lestat to Queen of the Damned, reflecting the shift from the second book in Anne Rice's beloved Vampire Chronicles to the third.

The teaser above focuses on Sheila Atim, who played Queen of the Damned Akasha in The Vampire Lestat. There, we saw her awake in flashbacks, as she suspended the Brat Prince in midair for three days as she ranted and declared herself "the answer."

If that's how she responded to Sam Reid saying "spoon," how might she respond to him performing a concert, by vampires for vampires? Well, there's been hints of that since the auction at the start of The Vampire Lestat. But in the teaser, she offers a pretty direct call to action:

You have called to me, not knowing my name.

You, with your dresses stained, your faces down in the mud.

I have heard you.

And I say this to you now: Do not let them shape you into the size of their cage.

Women, get up out of the ditches where they have thrown you, and come with me now to where the men are gathered, and do what you have long longed to do.

Kill them all.

We predict Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle) will like her.

What do we know about Queen of the Damned?

Atim will be back for Season 4, as — we expect — will Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, and Eric Bogosian, who all joined her at the Comic-Con panel.

AMC's press release included assurance that executive producer/writer Hannah Moscovitch will have an important role in Queen of the Damn, specifically writing for Akasha and Gabriella as she did in The Vampire Lestat.

In a press release, AMC shared this statement from Dan McDermott, Chief Content Officer of AMC Global Media and President of AMC Studios about the new season, "In The Vampire Lestat, Mark, Rolin, Hannah and this extraordinary cast delivered an unforgettable season filled with propulsive storytelling that captivated the passionate and engaged fans of this franchise. We can't wait to continue the journey with Queen of the Damned, one of the most iconic stories in Anne Rice's mythology, and watch our established and beloved characters confront Akasha with their world, and ours, very much hanging in the balance."

When will Queen of the Damned be released?

AMC has not yet revealed when Queen of the Damned will come to TV and streaming.

Mashable will update as news develops.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Google announces a Pixel 11 price hike three weeks before the phone's official reveal

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 23:06

Google isn't slated to unveil the Pixel 11 series until August 12, but it's already bracing would-be customers for a price increase. The company has confirmed that all devices will see higher prices than before, including the unreleased Pixel 11 line.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 haunting HBO Max documentaries to watch this weekend (July 24-26)

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 23:00

There's not much in the way of slick and splashy new documentaries premiering on HBO Max as we head down the home stretch of July, and you know what? That's fine. Few streaming services have a better track record when it comes to documentaries, and a bit of a lull in new releases is sometimes just the excuse you need to dive into the archives.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This forgotten Japanese luxury sedan makes German rivals hard to justify

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 22:45

Luxury sedans have long been defined by German brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. They offer refinement, performance, and prestige, but they also come with ownership costs that can quickly add up once they're out of warranty.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 great new Netflix shows to binge-watch this weekend (July 24-26)

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 22:30

July is almost out the door, folks, but Netflix isn't taking its foot off the gas just yet, adding a handful of new TV shows to binge, if you've already ripped through I Will Find You, The Hawk, and maybe even Little House on the Prairie. There's still plenty worth watching for U.S. subscribers, including a series so new it just landed yesterday.

Categories: IT General, Technology

LG users complain about unwanted ads on TVs and gaming monitors

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 22:00

Korean electronics giant LG is taking heat over intrusive settings on its TVs and computer monitors — and the backlash may just be getting started.

It all began on July 17, when an LG gaming monitor customer noticed a pop-up ad for McAfee antivirus software on their screen. The user took to X to vent their frustration.

"PSA: Do NOT buy an LG monitor, it automatically downloaded an app that gives me pop ups for their own apps and McAfee," wrote the customer identified as wexos.

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The YouTube channel Gamers Nexus looked into the report, finding that LG UltraGear monitors were installing a program called LG Monitor App Install after users connected them to Windows PCs.

As our colleagues at PCMag reported, "The program advises customers to install other apps, and shows a pop-up ad for McAfee’s Scam Detector software." (Disclosure: PCMag and Mashable are owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.)

The situation escalated quickly from there. Microsoft EVP for Windows and Devices, Pavan Davuluri, replied to wexos' complaint directly. Later he announced Microsoft had intervened, and that LG had agreed to disable the pop-up ads.

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LG offered this statement to Windows Latest: "LG Electronics reiterates that McAfee is not installed automatically and is never installed without the user’s explicit consent."

But that was not, as it turned out, the only case of intrusive ads on LG screens. Tom Warren at The Verge also took to X to criticize LG for serving ads on his TV homescreen. He didn't mince words.

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There may be many such complaints to come. In March at the advertiser event IAB NewFronts, LG's Ad Solutions division boasted that its home screen was the ideal place to serve video ads from the moment users turn on their TVs.

As Adweek reported at the time, "LG revealed a new, seamless home screen experience, which integrates immersive, full-frame video directly into the LG TV interface, putting brands at the first moment of viewer interaction."

SEE ALSO: What to look for when buying a TV

LG is hardly the only brand to serve ads in internet-connected products. Amazon Echo Show devices are notorious for showing ads that can't be deactivated, and Samsung faced backlash recently for serving ads for the Apple TV Show Pluribus on the doors of smart refrigerators, of all places.

But pop-up ads, universally loathed on the internet, seem to stir a special kind of outrage. The speed of the LG backlash and response is notable. Whether it's enough to stop brands like LG from serving intrusive ads "at the first moment of viewer interaction" remains to be seen.

Mashable contacted LG with questions about its advertising strategy, and we'll update this story if we receive more information.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I tried 5 Notepad alternatives to escape AI bloat, and this 3KB app won

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 22:00

Windows notepad has been a staple of the Windows operating system literally for decades. It is lightweight, simple, easy to use, and it won't mess with your files, which makes it a great option if you need to quickly edit a configuration file. However, recent additions to the program are a pretty significant departure from what originally made notepad appealing to me.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This Lexus proves you don't need to choose between luxury and fuel efficiency

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 21:45

Luxury SUVs are often associated with high purchase prices and equally expensive running costs. While premium interiors and advanced technology are easy to find, impressive fuel economy usually isn't, especially once you move beyond mainstream options and start exploring the luxury segment.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Anthropic release Claude Opus 5, its safest model yet

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 21:31

Anthropic has unveiled a new AI model it says comes close to Claude Fable 5 in its levels of intelligence — at half the price.

Claude Opus 5 was just released by Anthropic on Friday. The AI company is already pushing the model out as the default model on Claude Max, Anthropic's highest subscription plan which starts at $100 a month. It's also the strongest available model on Claude Pro, the company's $20-per-month subscription tier.

Claude Opus 5 tops Anthropic's other models in key areas

Opus 5 is "designed to be used every day," Anthropic says, adding that it's more efficient than the company's previous models.

Most notably, the company calls Opus 5 its "most aligned model to date." This means Opus 5 abides by "human values" and safety guidelines.

When compared to prior models like Opus 4.8, Sonnet 5, or Fable 5, Opus 5 has the lowest rates of deceptiveness and is the least likely to be tricked into misuse, Anthropic says of its "safest model yet."

One intriguing test highlighted by Anthropic: how fast Opus 5 solves a problem that the model has never seen before. The company says it's three times as fast as the next-best model, and scored nearly four times higher than OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol.

Claude Opus 5 benchmarks Credit: Anthropic

Compared to Fable 5, Opus 5 performs better or the same in the vast majority of Anthropic benchmark tests. (Notable exceptions: health and legal benchmarks). It beats OpenAI's GPT 5.6 Sol in every benchmark except for Agentic coding.

Anthropic is especially proud of Opus 5's science benchmarks, calling the model the "most capable generally available model for scientific research." Still, Mythos 5 beats Opus 5 in areas such as biology research.

Cybersecurity is another area where Opus 5 falls behind, and that's by design. Anthropic says it purposefully left such tasks out of Opus 5's training. The model can still find vulnerabilities as it expands its dataset, but is much worse at exploiting them than Mythos and previous models.

The choice is a notable one in the wake of an OpenAI agent recently going rogue and hacking a client's server. Opus 5 was clearly trained by Anthropic with safeguards in mind.

How to try Claude Opus 5

Claude Opus 5 is available as of Friday July 24, across Anthropic's platforms.

Opus 5 is now the default AI model on Claude Max and the strongest available model on Claude Pro. The model costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, which is equivalent to Opus 4.8's pricing.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Samsung's S Pen is not the best phone stylus anymore—and it's not even close

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 21:30

I use a stylus with my phone so often that I carry one in my pocket at all times. This stylus used to be an S-Pen, but no more. I've been surprised to see that the Moto Pen Ultra is better than an S Pen in both expected and unexpected ways

Categories: IT General, Technology

Uh-oh, Qualcomm is hiking prices for its clients amidst RAMageddon, report says

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 21:20

The general perception of RAMageddon has been, for a while now, that it will get worse before it gets better. Qualcomm is seemingly confirming that.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that the chip maker, whose chips can be found in all of Samsung's new foldables, Windows laptops, and smartwatches, has reportedly told clients to expect a price increase on its products for anything shipped after Sept. 1. The specific size of the price increase is not known at this time, but Bloomberg said it will be a percentage in the double digits, so it's not a small one.

SEE ALSO: The 4 best laptops of 2026 (so far) offer exceptional value despite RAMageddon

All of this, of course, was attributed to rising memory component costs due to the AI spending spree. AI companies are in the midst of a huge data center construction boom, and the industry requires massive amounts of memory. This phenomenon, commonly called RAMageddon, has contributed to a wave of price increases across the tech industry, and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

In our previous reporting on the global memory crisis, experts have told Mashable the situation will likely get worse before it gets better. International Data Corporation research manager Jitesh Ubrani told Mashable earlier this year that relief will likely not happen until at least 2028, and even then, don't expect much.

"The memory supply will remain tight from a device's perspective for the remainder of 2026 and well into 2027," Ubrani told Mashable in May. "We will see some alleviation in 2028, but keep in mind that prices will continue to rise throughout. And even in 2028, assuming this new [memory] capacity comes online and is able to provide some alleviation, we don't see device prices dropping significantly."

In other words: Ouch. Not good.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 award-winning movies to watch on Netflix this weekend (July 24-26)

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 21:00

Refreshing your Netflix feed and finding new titles to watch is always exciting. But when you're on the lookout for a movie that's a little different from your usual recommendations, it can be surprisingly difficult to know where to start.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5 myths about CDs we need to leave in the past

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 20:36

As we move further and further away from the heydays of the audio CD, things are getting a little muddled. Perhaps it wouldn't matter so much if physical media like vinyl, CDs, and cassettes were making a niche comeback among certain groups of people.

Categories: IT General, Technology

A new small but mighty Boox e-reader is on the way

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 20:31

Mini, pocket-sized e-readers are having a moment. The Xteink e-readers are catching eyes for their truly pocket-sized build that can even attach to the back of your iPhone. Well, they're not the only ones embracing the mini e-reader: Boox just revealed its Picco.

The Boox Picco (cutest name ever?) comes with a 3.97-inch monochrome ePaper display. It's even smaller than Boox's current smallest tablet, the Palma Pro. It will have a front light and TF card support, too. And well, that's about all we know about the mini e-reader at the moment.

While no exact price was provided, in a press release, Boox says the Picco has an "accessible price point." There's no release date available for the Picco at this time, either.

The Boox Picco is a phenomenal development for readers looking to get a mini e-reader. While I do love the concept and size of the Xteink e-reader, the issue is that those e-readers only support DRM-free files. This means if you use Libby or have a bountiful Kindle library, you can't access any of those books on an Xteink e-reader.

However, the Boox ecosystem is far more expansive. As long as the Picco has access to the Google Play store, users will be able to download the Kindle, Kobo, and Libby apps. That means any of the books you read on your Kindle can be accessed and synced on the Picco.

Boox has yet to confirm that the Picco has the same ecosystem as the rest of its e-readers, but if it does, that's massive potential for such a small e-reader.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Mercedes-Benz faces an ultimatum: divest from China or lose the U.S. market

How-To Geek - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 20:30

China's growing influence in the global auto industry has become a major issue in the United States, with lawmakers increasingly scrutinizing foreign ownership of automakers. While much of the focus has been on keeping Chinese brands out of the U.S. market, proposed legislation could also have unintended consequences for long-established manufacturers already operating in the States.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power teaser shows Sauron in full control of Middle-earth

Mashable - Fri, 07/24/2026 - 20:30

Prime Video released the teaser for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power at San Diego Comic-Con, and things are looking bad for Middle-earth.

SEE ALSO: 'Blade Runner 2099' teaser: Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer team up and hunt rogue replicants

Season 3 picks up five years after the fall of Eregion, with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) now comfortably in control of Middle-earth. His armies have swept across the world, and only a few places remain free from his dark grasp. The dwarves have shut themselves away in Khazad-dûm, while the elves remain ensconced in the realms of Lindon and Rivendell, protected by their three rings of power. Their time of relative safety may be coming to a close, though, because Sauron is hard at work on his greatest piece of statement jewelry yet: a little bauble called the One Ring. Surely that won't cause any problems, right?

The teaser isn't all doom and gloom, though. It offers up our first glimpse of the reunion between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and her long-lost husband, Celeborn (Jamie Campbell Bower), who share some passionate moments even as the world crumbles around them.

Celeborn isn't the only new character joining this season. The Rings of Power Comic-Con panel also saw the announcement of three major players this season: Thrain (Eddie Marsan), older brother of King Durin IV (Owain Arthur); Anarion (Andrew Richardson), the younger son of Elendil (Lloyd Owen); and Marnûkh (Adam Young), a mysterious Orc. Oh, and for the first time ever, the ferocious Balrog will be speaking, and will be voiced by Simon Pegg. More Balrog can only mean one thing: Khazad-dûm isn't long for this world.

To watch all these characters and more — including the Nazgnagôl, early incarnations of the Nazgûl — in action, check out the full teaser above.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 premieres Nov. 11 on Prime Video.

Categories: IT General, Technology
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