While most AI companies are preciously unveiling their latest algorithms with press tours and blog posts, others seem content to throw their latest wares out into the digital ether like a pirate ship casting off dead weight. One company that fits this latter category is Mistral, a French AI startup that released its…
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Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Is Finally Joining Magic: The Gathering
A few months ago Wizards’ latest Magic: Universes Beyond release celebrated 60 years of Doctor Who in style, with decks filled with cards from every era of the show... except its then-upcoming present. That’s all changing very soon, thankfully.

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Apple’s Journal App May Be the Only Thing to Keep You Sane This Holiday
There are plenty of things to like about the latest iOS 17.2 update. For one, iPhone 15 Pro users are getting telephoto camera improvements and can finally use the titanium-shelled hardware to shoot spatial videos for the Vision Pro. There’s also a new Action button shortcut for real-time translation. But the most…
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Author Loses Book Deal After Blaming Star Wars Fans for Bizarre Review-Bombing Scheme
Late last week, the YA fantasy/sci-fi book scene found itself in disarray following allegations of an author review bombing several other authors in the community. The end result has seen writer Cait Corrain lose her deal with Del Rey Publishing, and other partnerships she had in the works also canceled.

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Ready to Upgrade? Rumors Suggest PlayStation 5 Pro Arriving Late in 2024
A wave of rumors has engulfed Sony’s premiere fish tail-shaped console, with speculation centering on an upcoming PS5 Pro next year with a beefed-up CPU and GPU supposed to help it swim above any of the other prominent consoles currently on the market.

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NASA Asteroid Probe Snaps First Image, Revealing a Field of Stars
It departed our planet just over two months ago, but NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is already 16 million miles from Earth, well on its way to its main destination: the asteroid Psyche. Eager to prove its readiness, the spacecraft recently beamed back the first images captured by both of its cameras to create a tantalizing…
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Rick and Morty's Cast and Crew Talk Season 7's Triumphs—and What's Next
With just one episode remaining in Rick and Morty season seven, it’s officially time to celebrate: fans need not have worried about the show’s future after the high-profile departure of co-creator and key voice actor Justin Roiland. Though every episode wasn’t solid gold, there were some serious standouts, including…
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Not Even James Mangold Noticed Indiana Jones 5's Wild Disney Animation Deep Cut
So I’m watching Oliver and Company, the 1988 Disney animated film featuring the voices of Billy Joel and Bette Midler, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. As Oliver, Dodger, and the crew are being chased through New York City, they head into the subway and jump on the tracks. “This reminds me of Indiana Jones and the…
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Something Unearthly Could Switch Train Signals From Red to Green
Some train track circuits are at the mercy of distant storms on the Sun’s surface, researchers found, which could cause train signals to jump from red to green and vice versa as a result of extreme space weather.
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Doctor Who Saved Its Biggest Gift for Itself
For a show that is often so optimistically forward thinking—and where change is baked into its hearts—Doctor Who often has a bittersweet view of its own past. Heroes and friends come and go, goodbyes are frequent and brief, and a lot of them are permanent, especially when part of the key to its longevity is that its…
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Microsoft Forms Alliance to Help Union Workers Stop Worrying and Learn to Love AI
Microsoft announced an alliance with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) to ensure that artificial intelligence serves the interests of workers, according to a blog post Monday. Labor leaders called the collaboration “historic” as Microsoft became the first big tech…
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Taylor Swift Is Shadowbanned From Google's 2023 Year In Trending Searches List
Taylor Swift is so popular that seismologists measured recent tour dates in Seattle as a magnitude 2.3 earthquake. You wouldn’t know it from the latest edition of Google’s annual annual “Year In Search” roundup, though. Every December, the company publishes a list of the year’s most popular search terms. But one name…
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Three Satellites From SpaceX's Latest Rideshare Mission Are Missing in Action
Among the over 100 satellites that launched on board SpaceX’s Transporter-9 mission, three failed to deploy and their current whereabouts are unknown.
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Showtime's Cable Channel Is Changing Its Name to... Paramount+ With Showtime
As of January 8, linear Showtime will be no more. Instead, it’ll be rebranded as “Paramount+ With Showtime,” an arrangement spurred by the fact Showtime content is now available on the Paramount+ streaming service and executives just have to change things to justify their salaries. It’s the latest rebrand in the…
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Our Favorite Toys of 2023
We love toys here at io9, and when we’re not writing about them, we’re probably playing with them. It’s been a killer year for cool nerdy collectibles, so here’s just a few of our favorite things we picked up in the proverbial toy aisle this past year.

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Watch James Cameron Film an Actual Jet in This True Lies Clip
This week True Lies, along with several other James Cameron films, is being released on 4K for the first time. Unlike Titanic, Aliens, and Avatar though, True Lies (like The Abyss) hasn’t been on physical media since DVD. It literally got remade on TV before getting a proper, high-definition release.
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Google's Project Ellmann Shows Your Life in Photos
In a recent internal summit, Google proposed its next big idea: an AI-powered feature titled ‘Project Ellmann’ that would provide users with a snapshot or, as they’re calling it, a “bird’s eye view” of their entire lives.

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How Jason Momoa Got a 'Story By' Credit on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Director James Wan lights up when talking about his Aquaman star Jason Momoa. Back in 2018, the two had an unexpected box office smash with the first film and are hoping to top even that with this month’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, out December 22. This time around, that relationship between director and star seems…
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How to Watch SpaceX Launch Space Force’s Spaceplane for the First Time
For the first time, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy will attempt to deliver the Pentagon’s spaceplane to low Earth orbit. The mission marks the seventh for the mysterious spacecraft, aiming to expand the Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment and test new technologies.
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Tucker Carlson Launches Subscription Streamer, Because X Reportedly Couldn’t Do the Job
Tucker Carlson launched his streaming service on Monday, charging users $9 a month for five original shows starring the former Fox News host. Carlson explored launching the subscription service on X, where he’s been hosting a show for several months, but Elon Musk’s platform couldn’t develop the technology quickly…
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Barbie Scores Big In the 2024 Golden Globe Nominees
The 2024 Golden Globe nominees are here, and this year everybody is still living in a Barbie world. Pipping its biggest rival at the ceremony this year, Oppenheimer, to take most nominations, Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling are the vanguard when it comes to all things genre.

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