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Samsung's smart appliances will soon work more like the company's phones, tablets, and watches. The One UI software is officially coming to Samsung's 2024 appliances, but the promised seven-year software update guarantee isn't great.

Showtime famously shut down its stand-alone streaming service in 2024, leaving many streamers in a panic. It didn’t last long, though, as the service was integrated into Paramount+ as a premium tier. While Paramount+ has rebranded that tier as Paramount+ Premium, it doesn’t mean your favorite Showtime content isn’t still available, because it most certainly is.

Tariffs. The buzz term on everyone's lips and one of the biggest disruptors in the auto industry since COVID-19. But why? Why the tariffs? A significant part of the reason is to stimulate growth in local manufacturing as part of protecting national economic interests. With the automotive industry forming a big part of that conversation, it has mainly been hit, and the trickle-down effect has significant impacts.

The New York Times reported today on the death by suicide of California teenager Adam Raine, who spoke at length with ChatGPT in the months leading up to his death. The teen's parents have now filed a wrongful death suit against ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, believed to be the first case of its kind, the report said.

The wrongful death suit claimed that ChatGPT was designed "to continually encourage and validate whatever Adam expressed, including his most harmful and self-destructive thoughts, in a way that felt deeply personal."

The parents filed their suit, Raine v. OpenAI, Inc., on Tuesday in a California state court in San Francisco, naming both OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman. A press release stated that the Center for Humane Technology and the Tech Justice Law Project are assisting with the suit.

"The tragic loss of Adam’s life is not an isolated incident — it's the inevitable outcome of an industry focused on market dominance above all else. Companies are racing to design products that monetize user attention and intimacy, and user safety has become collateral damage in the process," said Camille Carlton, the Policy Director of the Center for Humane Technology, in a press release.

In a statement, OpenAI wrote that they were deeply saddened by the teen's passing, and discussed the limits of safeguards in cases like this.

"ChatGPT includes safeguards such as directing people to crisis helplines and referring them to real-world resources. While these safeguards work best in common, short exchanges, we’ve learned over time that they can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade. Safeguards are strongest when every element works as intended, and we will continually improve on them, guided by experts."

The teenager in this case had in-depth conversations with ChatGPT about self-harm, and his parents told the New York Times he broached the topic of suicide repeatedly. A Times photograph of printouts of the teenager's conversations with ChatGPT filled an entire table in the family's home, with some piles larger than a phonebook. While ChatGPT did encourage the teenager to seek help at times, at others it provided practical instructions for self-harm, the suit claimed.

The tragedy reveals the severe limitations of "AI therapy." A human therapist would be mandated to report when a patient is a danger to themselves; ChatGPT isn't bound by these types of ethical and professional rules.

And even though AI chatbots often do contain safeguards to mitigate self-destructive behavior, these safeguards aren't always reliable.

There has been a string of deaths connected to AI chatbots recently

Unfortunately, this is not the first time ChatGPT users in the midst of a mental health crisis have died by suicide after turning to the chatbot for support. Just last week, the New York Times wrote about a woman who killed herself after lengthy conversations with a "ChatGPT A.I. therapist called Harry." Reuters recently covered the death of Thongbue Wongbandue, a 76-year-old man showing signs of dementia who died while rushing to make a "date" with a Meta AI companion. And last year, a Florida mother sued the AI companion service Character.ai after an AI chatbot reportedly encouraged her son to take his life.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about AI companions

For many users, ChatGPT isn't just a tool for studying. Many users, including many younger users, are now using the AI chatbot as a friend, teacher, life coach, role-playing partner, and therapist.

Even Altman has acknowledged this problem. Speaking at an event over the summer, Altman admitted that he was growing concerned about young ChatGPT users who develop "emotional over-reliance" on the chatbot. Crucially, that was before the launch of GPT-5, which revealed just how many users of GPT-4 had become emotionally connected to the previous model.

"People rely on ChatGPT too much," Altman said, as AOL reported at the time. "There's young people who say things like, 'I can't make any decision in my life without telling ChatGPT everything that's going on. It knows me, it knows my friends. I'm gonna do whatever it says.' That feels really bad to me."

When young people reach out to AI chatbots about life-and-death decisions, the consequences can be lethal.

"I do think it’s important for parents to talk to their teens about chatbots, their limitations, and how excessive use can be unhealthy," Dr. Linnea Laestadius, a public health researcher with the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee who has studied AI chatbots and mental health, wrote in an email to Mashable.

"Suicide rates among youth in the US were already trending up before chatbots (and before COVID). They have only recently started to come back down. If we already have a population that's at increased risk and you add AI to the mix, there could absolutely be situations where AI encourages someone to take a harmful action that might otherwise have been avoided, or encourages rumination or delusional thinking, or discourages an adolescent from seeking outside help."

What has OpenAI done to support user safety?

In a blog post published on August 26, the same day as the New York Times article, OpenAI laid out its approach to self-harm and user safety.

The company wrote: "Since early 2023, our models have been trained to not provide self-harm instructions and to shift into supportive, empathic language. For example, if someone writes that they want to hurt themselves, ChatGPT is trained to not comply and instead acknowledge their feelings and steers them toward help...if someone expresses suicidal intent, ChatGPT is trained to direct people to seek professional help. In the US, ChatGPT refers people to 988 (suicide and crisis hotline), in the UK to Samaritans, and elsewhere to findahelpline.com⁠. This logic is built into model behavior."

The large-language models powering tools like ChatGPT are still a very novel technology, and they can be unpredictable and prone to hallucinations. As a result, users can often find ways around safeguards.

As more high-profile scandals with AI chatbots make headlines, many authorities and parents are realizing that AI can be a danger to young people.

Today, 44 state attorneys signed a letter to tech CEOs warning them that they must "err on the side of child safety" — or else.

A growing body of evidence also shows that AI companions can be particularly dangerous for young users, though research into this topic is still limited. However, even if ChatGPT isn't designed to be used as a "companion" in the same way as other AI services, clearly, many teen users are treating the chatbot like one. In July, a Common Sense Media report found that as many as 52 percent of teens regularly use AI companions.

For its part, OpenAI says that its newest GPT-5 model was designed to be less sycophantic.

The company wrote in its recent blog post, "Overall, GPT‑5 has shown meaningful improvements in areas like avoiding unhealthy levels of emotional reliance, reducing sycophancy, and reducing the prevalence of non-ideal model responses in mental health emergencies by more than 25% compared to 4o."

If you're feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text "START" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. If you don't like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat at crisischat.org. Here is a list of international resources.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

We're on day three of the lunar cycle, a series of eight unique phases of the moon's visibility. The whole cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA, and these different phases happen as the Sun lights up different parts of the moon whilst it orbits Earth. 

So let's see what's happening with the moon tonight, Aug. 26.

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Tuesday, Aug. 26, the moon phase is Waxing Crescent, and only 11% will be lit up to us on Earth, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation.

There's still not enough of the moon lit up to see anything on its surface, so keen moon gazers will need to wait a few more days before it is bright enough to see anything.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Sept. 7. The last full moon was on Aug. 9.

What are moon phases?

According to NASA, moon phases are caused by the 29.5-day cycle of the moon’s orbit, which changes the angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Moon phases are how the moon looks from Earth as it goes around us. We always see the same side of the moon, but how much of it is lit up by the Sun changes depending on where it is in its orbit. This is how we get full moons, half moons, and moons that appear completely invisible. There are eight main moon phases, and they follow a repeating cycle:

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.

Last Quarter (or Third 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.

Taylor Swift is — really, really, actually, truly — engaged to Travis Kelce. And, again, this isn't a rumor via Swifties' formidable sleuthing skills.

The pop star confirmed it herself in an Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

"Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married," Swift cheekily captioned a series of five photos showcasing the engagement and ring.

The internet quickly went bonkers over the news. Swift's post racked up around 3 million likes in less than half an hour.

Pretty much everything online quickly became about Taylor and Travis, so much so that all other news or info got pushed out to sea.

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Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, even got in on the reactions.

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The jokes, memes, and excitement were very real.

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Please keep Swifties in your thoughts today because it is all really happening for them. And if you don't want to see Taylor Swift content, consider logging off for 24 hours.

Whether you fondly remember owning an Apple II or have fallen down the retro gaming rabbit hole, some old games don’t technically need to be emulated to be enjoyed today. You can play many of them on your computer, using a console, or even for free, thanks to modern ports.

He's not eating spaghetti, but there seems to be some AI slop in a YouTube video shared by Will Smith.

Commenters noticed telltale signs of generative AI in a video on the Fresh Prince's official YouTube channel promoting his tour. The video, which appears to be live footage of Smith performing his new song "You Can Make It," shows fans with distorted faces, hands, and other possible evidence that the crowds were AI-generated.

People did not hold back on the presumed use of generative AI to create big crowds and emotional fans. "Ok, this guy definitely has a humiliation fetish," a user commented. "No other explanation for releasing a crowd of AI abominations holding up misspelled signs about how he saved their lives." One shot showed a fan holding up a sign saying "'You Can Make It' helped me survive cancer. Thx Will." The fan has that cartoony frown and shiny smooth skin common in AI-generated videos, and the hand of the person in front of him morphs into his hand holding up the sign, with a seemingly disembodied hand behind theirs.

The fan holding up the sign looks cartoony and overly smooth, while three hands look morphed together. Credit: Screenshot: Mashable / YouTube

"Imagine being this rich and famous and having to use AI footage of crowds and bot comments on your video," commented another user. "Tragic, man. You used to be cool."

Elsewhere in the video, a sign saying "Lov U Fresh Prince" later morphs into what looks like "Lov U Fr6sh Crince."

In this clip, the sign says "Lov U Fresh Prince." Credit: Screenshot: Mashable / YouTube But in this clip, shown later in the video the sign appears to say "Lov U Fr6sh Crince" and the crowd looks totally different. Credit: Screenshot: Mashable / YouTube

It's unclear whether the footage is AI-generated. Mashable reached out to YouTube and a rep for Smith to verify these claims. Regardless, many viewers are convinced it's AI. The advancement of AI video generators like Google's Veo 3 and upstarts like Kling, Pika, and Luma make it harder and harder to tell the difference between what's real and AI-generated. That's created an effect online where people question the validity of videos and images. To complicate things, a rise in engagement-farming accounts has flooded the web with fake, attention-grabbing content, also known as AI slop.

Whether or not it's explicitly AI, the mainstream adoption of AI-generated videos conjures strong reactions from people.

Backlash to AI-generated videos isn't always about fans feeling deceived. It's also a question of taste. At a recent concert, rock icon Rod Stewart played an AI-generated video of the late Ozzy Osbourne in heaven with other dead artists like Tupac and Bob Marley, with one user calling it "a new low." Journalist Jim Acosta recently "interviewed" an AI version of a teenager killed in the Parkland Shooting, and was accused of crossing an ethical line and exploiting the victim's family.

Smith's tour continues in the UK for the next few nights, and then on to Paris. Should we expect to see more questionable signs and morphed body parts?

In a pretty surprising move, Google Photos is adding the popular tap-and-hold sticker-creation feature to its iOS app. This was a feature that was available on Apple's photo app and was pretty unique. Now, you can do the same thing within the Google Photos app on your iPhone.

Sometime this week, a TikTok star was born — and she wore an orange, spandex jumpsuit and an oversized fake, yellow mustache. I'm talking, of course, about @_ashbyflorence_.

You've likely seen Ashby if you've logged onto TikTok in the last week or so. Maybe you've seen her on a live stream, or you've seen the viral clips, or you've seen people reacting to the clips, or you've seen others talking about how funny she is. Regardless, she's recently become a fixture on FYPs everywhere, mine included.

Perhaps you're like me, randomly spouting quotes from a woman on TikTok dressed as the Lorax or Alexander Hamilton. Things like, "I'm baaaashful" in a vaguely Midwest accent, or "I'm joooking," or sticking out your tongue, lizard-like, as a punchline. I can't imagine I'm alone in this experience, the strange, viral comedy of Ashby worming into your daily life.

So...who is Ashby?

Best I can tell, Ashby's real name is Ashby Florence and she works a real job doing graphic design. (Mashable has reached out to Florence and will update if we receive a response.)

But we're not talking Ashby the IRL person, we're talking the suddenly viral comedian. Like others on TikTok recently, she gained some traction recently dressing up as Alexander Hamilton, which somehow became a trend. This lip sync post, for instance, racked up nearly 12 million views.

In general, Ashby channels a version of Hamilton that was fed up and pressed for time. It's pretty funny.

But the best stuff, the funniest stuff — in my opinion — is Ashby's livestreams. They've created an entire ecosystem of clips, especially the ones with Ashby dressed up as the Lorax. Now...why the Lorax? Well, visually, it's funny, and others have dressed like the Lorax on TikTok before. But you haven't really seen it until you see Ashby do it. Her comedic timing, plus the vaguely Midwest accent, plus the big mustache, the big feet, the belly, it's just...perfect. I mean, just watch this post from Ashby that is part Lorax, part Norm from Cheers, part Andrew Dice Clay, part Tim Robinson... part...I don't know.

Why does she stick her tongue out for a punchline? Who knows, but I love it. Why the rough edits? Again, ditto. Why pronounce squirrels like that? Again, love it. People on TikTok have taken to clipping her live streams, pouring over their favorite moments. It's pretty hilarious stuff, and totally strange, and has taken my FYP hostage.

Ashby is a perfect creator for 2025. She's admitted she hasn't seen The Lorax and openly says "give me money" followed with a ITYSL-esque "I'm jokinnnn." She literally talks (in Lorax voice) about milking her viral moment. She re-treads catchphrases like "I'm baaaashful" and makes crass, silly jokes. Not to read too much into a funny person dressing up as the Lorax, but Ashby openly mocks the idea of creators acting like they don't post for the cash. And people really love it. The reaction online has been nearly universally positive, as far as I can tell.

So, what now?

As far as I can tell, the world of Ashby's content is vast. There are videos of her as the Lorax and Hamilton, of course, but also Pitbull (of course) and, well, herself. There are lots of clips to peruse through because livestreams obviously last longer than the typical TikTok.

And Ashby also has another livestream planned for Tuesday around 9 p.m. ET. It's only listed as a surprise character with the description, "I hope I don’t get too bashful." My personal hope is we get more of the Lorax. But whatever it is, we can rest assured it'll be funny and truly strange.

UPDATE: Aug. 26, 2025, 1:03 p.m. UTC This story was updated to correct Florence's line of work. She works in graphic design, not PR as was previously written.

UNLIMITED TRAVEL FOR ALMOST SIX MONTHS FOR $299: The Frontier unlimited flight pass is now in its fall and winter season. Fly all you want between Sept. 1 and Feb. 28 for $299. The GoWild! pass does include some blackout dates and other booking parameters.

Opens in a new window Credit: Frontier Frontier GoWild! Fall & Winter Pass $299 at Frontier
Unlimited flights between Sept. 1 and Feb. 28 Shop Now

The best flight deal you'll find throughout the end of 2025 won't be on a single fare; it'll be on all your flights for the next six months.

The Frontier pass that unlocks unlimited flights has shifted to its fall and winter window, and it's even cheaper than the summer flight pass. For a one-time purchase of $299, you can fly as often as you want with Frontier between Sept. 1, 2025 and Feb. 28, 2026.

The Frontier GoWild! pass covers flights to both domestic and international Frontier destinations, and you can fly as much as you want (barring some blackout dates, including a few scattered around the holidays). Frontier serves more than 100 airports across the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, offering a ton of options to visit that might be less crowded in the cooler months.

SEE ALSO: The best sites for cheap flights

There are a few other caveats that the ideal GoWild! pass holder would have to be OK with, like Frontier's dicey baggage policy and an extremely time-sensitive booking window. GoWild! flights can't be booked more than one day in advance for domestic flights or more than 10 days in advance for international flights, so be sure to book flexible accommodations.

It's certainly a unique travel arrangement, but the GoWild! pass is definitely worth it if you have plans to take more than one roundtrip flight in the next six months. According to the Bureau of Transportation's most recent statistics, the average plane ticket costs anywhere from just under $300 to just over $500 — so whether you travel for work or just have a lot of destinations to cross off your list, the GoWild! pass kind of pays for itself after one use.

Shop food delivery gift card deals as of Aug. 26: gift card deal $100 Instacart gift card $90 (save $10) Get Deal gift card deal $100 DoorDash gift card $85 (save $15) Get Deal gift card deal $25 Instacart gift card $22.50 (save $2.50) Get Deal gift card deal $15 DoorDash gift card $12.75 (save $2.25) Get Deal

When you're new to food delivery apps, you're showered with all kinds of deals and discounts. But once you become a regular user, deals are few and far between. If you want to lock in some guaranteed savings for yourself, here's a hack for you: grab a gift card while it's on sale.

As of Aug. 26, you can pick up DoorDash and Instacart gift cards for up to 15% off at Best Buy. You can get a $100 DoorDash gift card for only $85, saving you $15, or a $100 Instacart gift card for $90, saving you $10. Other gift card values between $15 and $200 are discounted as well, saving you up to $30.

All of the pricing tiers for both DoorDash and Instacart gift cards are available as digital purchases, which are quicker and easier if you plan on using them for yourself. They just require an email address, and will be sent to your inbox directly after your purchase. You can transfer the digital gift card to someone else if you wish as well, just as you can with a physical gift card.

Once you add in taxes, fees, and tips, food delivery prices can get outrageously expensive. Whether you want discounted groceries via Instacart or cheaper dinner tonight via DoorDash, grabbing a gift card on sale guarantees you get more for less. Bon appétit.

Most hobbies come with some niche expenses, but audio equipment—and sound fidelity—are especially bad about upcharging for "audiophile" grade gear that probably won't improve your listening experience at all. Here's a quick list of some of the worst offenders, and what you should buy instead.

Best De'Longhi Labor Day deals Best automatic De'Longhi espresso machine deal Rivelia Espresso Machine $1,199.95 (save $300) Get Deal Best De'Longhi Nespresso machine deal Nespresso Vertuo Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Maker $349.99 (save $149.99) Get Deal

Welcome to pumpkin spice latte season (and Skelly season). Regardless of whether you love pumpkin spice or wish it would disappear forever, the Starbucks fall menu landed in stores this morning, and of course that includes the PSL. Like everything these days, the latte doesn't come cheap. Not that the coffee chain ever was cheap, but a daily PSL (or any other flavor) can add up at a shocking speed.

We have tons of at-home coffee maker options these days and some are truly amazing. There's typically an initial cost investment, but it evens out to be less expensive than the cafe over time. And making coffee in your own kitchen means you don't need to change into public-appropriate clothing or dodge that acquaintance from high school you'd rather not encounter.

De'Longhi makes some of the most user-friendly and advanced espresso machines, and that includes the brand's lineup of Nespresso Vertuo machines. Just in time for PSL season (and the upcoming fall back clock reset) the brand has discounted espresso machines for Labor Day, and the sale is already live. Here are some great options to shop this week.

Best automatic De'Longhi espresso machine deal Opens in a new window Credit: De'Longhi De'Longhi Rivelia Espresso Machine $1,199.95 at De'Longhi
$1,499.95 Save $300 Get Deal Why we like it

One touch is all it takes to make a latte, cappuccino, flat white, iced coffee, espresso, and more with the De'Longhi Rivelia Espresso Machine. The automatic milk frother is great for milk or milk alternatives and the 3.5-inch color display will help guide you to your perfect coffee-house drink each morning. You can also set four user profiles on the machines, so it'll become your new favorite barista, knowing your precise order. Plus, the Rivelia comes with two removeable bean hoppers, so you can switch from your morning medium roast to your late afternoon decaf roast.

SEE ALSO: Save 25% off sitewide with the Ruggable Labor Day sale

If we assume your daily cafe order includes a $6 latte, it only takes 200 days to break even with today's sale price of $1,200 on the De'Longhi Rivelia Espresso Machine.

Best De'Longhi Nespresso machine deal Opens in a new window Credit: De'Longhi Nespresso Vertuo Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Maker $349.99 at Amazon
$499 Save $149.01 Get Deal Why we like it

If you prefer the convenience of a pod machine, the Nespresso Vertuo Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Maker is one of the best options. Build by the experts at De'Longhi, the machine uses one-touch brewing we've come to love on busy mornings. You'll have your choice of five cup sizes which includes iced and hot options. The one-touch milk system takes mere moments to serve up foamy milk or milk alternatives directly into your perfect cup of coffee each morning. Plus, the 16-ounce milk tank is detachable and can safely head into the dishwasher.

Farmers Insurance has confirmed it was hit by a data breach that exposed the personal information of more than 1 million policyholders after a third-party cyberattack. The incident, linked by some outlets to the recent string of Salesforce-related hacks, involved a vishing scam that gave attackers unauthorized access to sensitive records.

The company disclosed that it first learned of the breach on May 30, when a third-party vendor flagged suspicious activity in its systems. Farmers brought in outside data-security experts to investigate, and on Aug. 22, began sending notices to impacted customers.

According to Farmers, the compromised data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and in some cases, the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Reports indicate that around 1,111,386 people were affected across 10 states: California, Washington D.C., Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

In a statement to Mashable, a spokesperson for Farmers' Insurance had this to say:

At Farmers, protecting our customers’ information is our top priority. We recently discovered that an unauthorized third party briefly accessed a vendor’s system that contained some Farmers’ customer information. The incident involved only limited information from certain customers. 

An investigation — conducted with both internal and external security experts — found no evidence that the exposed data has been misused, nor any indication that Farmers’ own systems were compromised. We are contacting affected individuals directly and are providing support resources, including complimentary credit monitoring. 

Farmers Insurance is part of the Zurich Insurance Group and reported $2.2 billion in profits last year. Zurich is one of the largest insurers in the world and reported $7.8 billion in operating profit in 2024 alone. According to Bleeping Computer, the stolen data was part of the widespread Salesforce data theft campaign that has rippled through multiple organizations this year, exposing sensitive information across industries.

Archivists and retro PC enthusiasts can now upgrade to 86Box v5.0. The IBM PC emulator now features an integrated machine manager and improved shader support—two excellent quality-of-life features that greatly improve its user experience.

If Sony's new Inzone headset isn't cutesy enough for you, Razer has just the thing. Today, the flashy gaming brand unveiled the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro, a new version of its iconic (and Beyoncé-approved) cat-ear headset.

The updated earphones bring several subtle design and connectivity changes, new features designed with streamers in mind, and a $20 cheaper price tag.

The Kraken Kitty V3 Pro retails for $179.99 in Black, White, and Quartz (pink), and it's available now at Amazon, Best Buy, and Razer's website. It works with PC, Mac, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices; a Razer rep confirmed that it's not licensed for Xbox consoles. Razer has also launched a more affordable wired variant, the Kraken Kitty V3 X, which is priced at $59.99.

Mashable has been testing the new Kraken Kitty V3 Pro headset, and we'll have more to share soon.

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Where to buy the Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro: Amazon Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro $179.99 Shop Now Best Buy Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro $179.99 Shop Now Razer.com Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro $179.99 Shop Now What's new with the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro?

This is the third iteration of the streamer-favorite Kraken Kitty Pro, which Razer debuted in 2019 and upgraded in 2022 with swappable ear shapes. This time around, Razer has committed to pointy cat ears and slimmed the shape of the cups by a few millimeters for a more polished look. It's also put the cups on a swivel for a more comfortable fit and a better seal. They don't have noise cancellation, but they should fit flush enough against your head to block a lot of surrounding noise.

The Kraken Kitty V3 Pro's cups are now made with memory foam and a protein "leatherette" that's easier to wipe down than the previous version's half-fabric, half-leatherette material.

Credit: Razer

The sides of the cups and the ears themselves have nine-zone Chroma RGB lighting that can produce pulsing and swirling effects, a feature adopted from Razer's standard (non-Kitty) Kraken line. The lighting effects are reactive, meaning they can sync with in-game action — if you take damage, for example, the ears will flash red. (This currently works with over 300 titles.)

The user can also customize the headset's cups to flash certain colors and patterns in accordance with Twitch chat alerts; a new sub might mean a ripple of rainbow.

Credit: Razer Credit: Razer

The Kraken Kitty V3 Pro has 40mm drivers inside, a slight downgrade from the $199.99 Kraken Kitty V2 Pro's 50mm drivers. However, it brings added support for advanced THX Spatial Audio (instead of simulated surround sound) for a more immersive experience.

The mic on the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro is now retractable, and it fits completely flush inside the left ear cup when it's not in use.

The Kraken Kitty V2 Pro was limited to wired play, but its successor now supports two wireless modes: Bluetooth and Razer HyperSpeed, some proprietary tech that's said to be faster. (It works with a USB-C dongle.) You can press a button on its right ear cup to toggle between both wireless modes.

Credit: Razer

Razer has the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro rated at up to 70 hours of battery life sans Chroma effects, and up to 20 hours per charge with all of its lighting on. It comes with a detachable USB-A to USB-C cable so you can still play it in wired mode, and the headset will also charge at the same time.

The Kraken Kitty family grows

Razer is further expanding the Kraken Kitty lineup with the release of the new Kraken Kitty V3 X, which has a lighter wired design with 40mm drivers and surround sound. It doesn't come with the V3 Pro's swiveling cups, Chroma RGB lighting, or retractable mic, but at $59.99, it's a significantly cheaper entry point.

Razer will continue to sell the 2023 Kraken Kitty V2 BT, a $99.99 wireless cat-ear headset with Chroma RGB, as a mid-range option.

Opens in a new window Credit: Razer Razer Kraken Kitty V3 X $59.99 at Razer.com
Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Razer Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT $99.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

Folks, we have a date with the iPhone 17.

Apple has officially sent out invites to the media for the iPhone 17 launch, which will take place at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday, September 9, 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).

Apple is setting a high bar for itself — this year's tagline for the event is "Awe dropping."

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Yay, new iPhones! Credit: Apple

Those who cannot attend in person will be able to watch the livestream over on Apple's website and YouTube channel.

As for what we expect to see this year, Apple will probably launch, for the first time, a trio of new iPhones: The iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and the ultra-thin iPhone Air.

We also expect to see new Apple Watch devices, and (possibly) new AirPods, as well as a new breed of non-leather accessories. In total, we expect at least 8 new Apple products to be announced on Sept. 9, so stay tuned for our coverage.

SEE ALSO: Apple's big September event is almost here: These are the 8 new products we expect to see

Digital identities, the electronic credentials embedded in phone wallets, workplace logins, and other apps, are becoming ubiquitous. While they offer unprecedented convenience, they also create new privacy risks, particularly around tracking and surveillance. 

One of these risks is linkability, the ability to associate one or more uses of a credential to a specific person. Currently, when people use their mobile driver’s license or log into various apps, hidden identifiers can link these separate activities together, building detailed profiles of user behavior.  

To address this, we have released Crescent (opens in new tab), a cryptographic library that adds unlinkability to widely used identity formats, protecting privacy. These include JSON Web Tokens (the authentication standard behind many app logins) and mobile driver’s licenses. Crescent also works without requiring the organizations that issue these credentials to update their systems.  

The protection goes beyond existing privacy features. Some digital identity systems already offer selective disclosure, allowing users to share only specific pieces of information in each interaction.  

But even with selective disclosure, credentials can still be linked through serial numbers, cryptographic signatures, or embedded identifiers. Crescent’s unlinkability feature is designed to prevent anything in the credential, beyond what a user explicitly chooses to reveal, from being used to connect their separate digital interactions.

Figure 1: Unlinkability between a credential issuance and presentation Two paths to unlinkability 

To understand how Crescent works, it helps to examine the two main approaches researchers have developed for adding unlinkability to identity systems: 

1. Specialized cryptographic signature schemes. These schemes can provide unlinkability but require extensive changes to existing infrastructure. New algorithms must be standardized, implemented, and integrated into software and hardware platforms. For example, the BBS (opens in new tab) signature scheme is currently being standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), but even after completion, adoption may be slow.   

2. Zero-knowledge proofs with existing credentials. This approach, used by Crescent (opens in new tab), allows users to prove specific facts about their credentials without revealing the underlying data that could enable tracking. For example, someone could prove they hold a valid driver’s license and live in a particular ZIP code without exposing any other personal information or identifiers that could link this interaction to future ones. 

Zero-knowledge proofs have become more practical since they were first developed 40 years ago but they are not as efficient as the cryptographic algorithms used in today’s credentials. Crescent addresses this computational challenge through preprocessing, performing the most complex calculations once in advance so that later proof generation is quick and efficient for mobile devices. 

Beyond unlinkability, Crescent supports selective disclosure, allowing users to prove specific facts without revealing unnecessary details. For example, it can confirm that a credential is valid and unexpired without disclosing the exact expiration date, which might otherwise serve as a unique identifier. These privacy protections work even when credentials are stored in a phone’s secure hardware, which keeps them tied to the device and prevents unauthorized access.

Azure AI Foundry Labs

Get a glimpse of potential future directions for AI, with these experimental technologies from Microsoft Research.

Azure AI Foundry Opens in a new tab Behind the cryptographic curtain 

At its core, Crescent uses a sophisticated form of cryptographic proof called a zero-knowledge SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Noninteractive Argument of Knowledge). This method allows one party to prove possession of information or credentials without revealing the underlying data itself. 

Crescent specifically uses the Groth16 proof system, one of the first practical implementations of this technology. What makes Groth16 particularly useful is that its proofs are small in size, quick to verify, and can be shared in a single step without back-and-forth communication between the user and verifier. 

The system works by first establishing shared cryptographic parameters based on a credential template. Multiple organizations issuing similar credentials, such as different state motor vehicle departments issuing mobile driver’s licenses, can use the same parameters as long as they follow compatible data formats and security standards. 

The mathematical rules that define what each proof will verify are written using specialized programming tools that convert them into a Rank-1 Constraint System (R1CS), a mathematical framework that describes exactly what needs to be proven about a credential. 

To make the system fast enough for real-world use, Crescent splits the proof generation into two distinct stages: 

1. Prepare stage. This step runs once and generates cryptographic values that can be stored on the user’s device for repeated use. 

2. Show stage. When a user needs to present their credential, this quicker step takes the stored values and randomizes them to prevent any connection to previous presentations. It also creates a compact cryptographic summary that reveals only the specific information needed for that particular interaction. 

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate this credential-proving workflow and the division between the prepare and show steps.

Figure 2: Crescent’s credential-proving workflow includes a compilation of a circuit to R1CS, followed by the prepare and show steps. The output zero-knowledge proof is sent to the verifier. Figure 3: The Crescent presentation steps show the division between prepare and show steps. A sample application 

To demonstrate how Crescent works, we created a sample application covering two real-world scenarios: verifying employment and proving age for online access. The application includes sample code for setting up fictional issuers and verifiers as Rust servers, along with a browser-extension wallet for the user. The step numbers correspond to the steps in Figure 4. 

Setup 

1. A Crescent service pre-generates the zero-knowledge parameters for creating and verifying proofs from JSON Web Tokens and mobile driver’s licenses. 

2. The user obtains a mobile driver’s license from their Department of Motor Vehicles. 

3. The user obtains a proof-of-employment JSON Web Token from their employer, Contoso. 

4. These credentials and their private keys are stored in the Crescent wallet. 

Scenarios 

5. Employment verification: The user presents their JSON Web Token to Fabrikam, an online health clinic, to prove they are employed at Contoso and eligible for workplace benefits. Fabrikam learns that the user works at Contoso but not the user’s identity, while Contoso remains unaware of the interaction. 

6. Age verification: The user presents their mobile driver’s license to a social network, proving they are over 18. The proof confirms eligibility without revealing their age or identity. 

Across both scenarios, Crescent ensures that credential presentations remain unlinkable, preventing any party from connecting them to the user. 

For simplicity, the sample defines its own issuance and presentation protocol, but it could be integrated into higher-level identity frameworks such as OpenID/OAuth, Verifiable Credentials, or the mobile driver’s license ecosystem.

Figure 4. The sample architecture, from credential issuance to presentation.

To learn more about the project, visit the Crescent project GitHub (opens in new tab) page, or check out our recent presentations given at the Real-Word Crypto 2025 (opens in new tab) and North Sec 2025 (opens in new tab) conferences. 

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The post Crescent library brings privacy to digital identity systems appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Will Arnett defined Hollywood ennui for years as a crumudgeonly horse/TV has-been of the hit Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman. Now, the Arrested Development star is becoming the face of New York City anxiety as a stand-up comedian, who is making sense of his impending divorce one joke at a time in Is This Thing On?

Bradley Cooper directs a script penned by himself, Arnett, and Mark Chappell. Arnett headlines this seeming dramedy as Alex, a middle-aged man who turns to stand-up while his wife Tess (Laura Dern) urges him to understand how their relationship went awry, so they can find a way to co-parent and move forward.

SEE ALSO: 2025 fall movie preview: Every upcoming film you ought to know about

From the trailer, we get a sense of Alex's desperation and how a desire to understand his circumstances — and perhaps self-flagellate — pitches him into New York's merciless comedy scene. Tough times when even your parents aren't on board with your schtick.

Cooper not only co-writes and helms Is This Thing On?, but is also set to appear in the film, alongside Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, and Scott Icenogle.

Following his remake of A Star is Born and his self-starring biopic of Leonard Bernstein Maestro, Is This Thing On? is Cooper's latest directorial effort focusing on the intersection of act and personal sacrifice. Will it be as critically heralded as his previous efforts? We'll find out this fall.

Is This Thing On? will make its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on its closing night, Oct. 10. Searchlight Pictures will release the film in select theaters on Dec.19. Look for Mashable's coverage out of NYFF this fall.