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The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to find out exactly what information the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has accessed from federal agencies. The civil rights organization submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to several goverment departments in February; it is now suing to get responses from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The SSA denied the group's request for expedited processing and has not responded to the ACLU's appeal, while the VA did not act on the FOIA request, according to the press release announcing the lawsuit.

The ACLU requested any records that would show whether DOGE members have accessed databases that contain personally identifying information about citizens. The request also seeks information about whether AI is being used to analyze government data.

"The federal government cannot dodge accountability by ignoring our lawful demands for transparency," said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project within the ACLU. "The American people have an urgent need to know if their private financial, medical and personal records are being illegally accessed, analyzed or weaponized by Trump's unaccountable team of unvetted outsiders. This is doubly true for our seniors and veterans, who are at particular risk if their data has been accessed illegally."

DOGE, a group headed by Elon Musk, has been leading the move to cut jobs across federal agencies, including those that oversee Musk's business endeavors. Although there have been other lawsuits trying to prevent people who are not civil servants from accessing sensitive government data, other reports claim DOGE members have been trying to circumvent court orders that limit their reach.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/aclu-sues-two-federal-agencies-for-transparency-around-doge-activity-195916390.html?src=rss

The Federal Trade Commission has decided to take formal action against ride-hailing service Uber over what it describes as "deceptive billing and cancellation practices." The FTC's lawsuit, filed on Monday, specifically takes issue with the Uber One service, which lets subscribers earn cash back on rides, get free deliveries and avoid cancellation fees.

According to the FTC, Uber made it easy for subscribers to join Uber One, but much harder to cancel. "Users can be forced to navigate as many as 23 screens and take as many as 32 actions to cancel," the commission claims. The company also reportedly charged some users before their bill their free trial was up, and misrepresented the savings Uber One offered by not taking its subscription fee into account.

The lawsuit says that Uber's actions violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, which "requires online retailers to clearly disclose the terms of the service they are selling, obtain consumers' consent before charging them for a service and provide a simple way to cancel a recurring subscription." 

Uber intends to fight the lawsuit and believes that the FTC has misrepresented the facts in some key ways. The company says that it "does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent" and that subscription cancellations can happen in-app, at any point. Uber does acknowledge that subscriptions previously had to be cancelled 48 hours before a charge through the company's support team, but that's apparently no longer the case.

Despite the best efforts of tech executives, the Trump administration has maintained a level of animosity towards tech companies. New FTC chair Andrew Ferguson suggested that censorship would be a major concern for the FTC under President Donald Trump, but the commission is still moving forward with an antitrust case against Meta, for example. The possibility for the (technically) independent organization to be wielded as a weapon by Trump feels a lot more likely without any Democrat members.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ftc-sues-uber-over-claims-the-company-makes-subscriptions-hard-to-cancel-191552906.html?src=rss

We know Cassian Andor is doomed. 2016's Rogue One makes clear he will meet an untimely death in a massive explosion. That sense of inevitable destruction lingered in the background of the first season of Andor, the prequel series that follows his journey from a low-rent criminal to a rebel spy. But his fate is even more crushing in Andor's second (and final) season, where the cost of fighting against the seemingly all-powerful Empire chips away at his soul.

"Rebellions are built on hope," was an iconic line from Rogue One, first uttered by Andor and then repeated triumphantly by that film's lead, Jyn Erso. In the streaming series' second season, we see how that idea is formed and inspires many people. Rebellions aren't just about massive space battles, and Death Star trench runs. They don't rely on an untrained kid hopping into a spaceship and scoring a major victory thanks to the Force and destiny. Rebellions start with small decisions by normal people, and through collective action they evolve into something powerful enough to take down empires. Read into that what you will.

Lucasfilm Ltd™

Andor always seemed like an odd series for Disney, which spent the last decade milking the Star Wars franchise for all it's worth. Created by Tony Gilroy, the Bourne Identity screenwriter who reportedly swooped in to save Rogue One at the last minute, Andor has no lightsabers and minimal references to the Force. While it's filling in the gaps for a storyline that leads to A New Hope, the series also feels refreshingly free of the stifling mythology that has plagued shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka (and Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi). Andor takes its time, building up its characters and laying out complex ideas, instead of rushing between action set pieces. It's Star Wars for grownups, something I never thought we'd see for a franchise so devoted to kids.

In season one, we're introduced to Andor as he's searching for his sister, who disappeared years ago. After being targeted by two local police officers, he ends up killing them both and is forced to hide out in his home planet of Ferrix. There he meets up with his friend Bix (Adria Arjona), who is working for Luthen Rael, a mysterious man who has devoted his life to taking down the Empire. It doesn't take long before Luthen sees potential in Andor, and begins to court him for his rebel cause.

Lucasfilm Ltd™

Minor spoilers ahead for Andor season two.

Taking place over the course of a few years (and counting down to the Battle of Yavin, where the Death Star was destroyed in A New Hope), season two follows Andor and Bix as they delve further into the rebellion. Bix is still recovering from the events of the first season, where she was imprisoned and tortured. And Andor splits his time caring for Bix and going on spy missions to help rebels on other planets.

I won't say too much about what happens in the season specifically, but in general it builds on everything that made Gilroy's first stab such a refreshing Star Wars entry. We see how the heartless machinations of the Empire affect real people, and how it can push entire populations to fight against tyranny. Small moments, like a hotel bellhop revealing his true thoughts about the Empire to Andor, can lead to more profound acts of rebellion.

Lucasfilm Ltd™

Star Wars has always been about the battle between good and evil. But Andor breaks down what that means for ordinary people, not hyper-powerful space wizards with laser swords. An average citizen could be killed on the spot if they decide to speak up against the Empire. Or, with self-preservation in mind, they could keep their heads down or even volunteer to be a cog in the fascist machine. Not everyone can be Han Solo (though Andor himself is a bit close). But when living under an authoritarian regime, there comes a time for everyone to draw a line. Resist, or lose your soul.

Andor also spends plenty of time on Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) before she eventually becomes the leader of the Rebel Alliance. We see her dealing with the difficulty of funding Luthen's rebel activities, especially as they lead to explosive outcomes. But after the Empire massacres thousands of civilians on the planet Ghorman, an event that’s been referenced in recent Star Wars books, Mothma and other rebel leaders conclude that violent rebellion is the only way to fight back against the fascist Empire.

Lucasfilm Ltd™

"The Empire has been choking us so slowly, we're starting not to notice. The time has come to force their hand," Luthen tells Senator Mothma in Andor's first season. When she notes that people will suffer, he replies "That's the plan. You're not angry at me. I'm just saying out loud what you already know. There will be no rules going forward. If you're not willing to risk your conscience, then surrender and be done with it."

Even though this is Andor's final season, I have a feeling this series will live on in viewer's minds far longer than whatever the hell happened in The Book of Boba Fett. It forces you to think about how the Empire directly affects everyone, from civilians on remote planets to the bureaucratic stooges devoting their lives to fascism. In many ways, it's practically a blueprint for rebellion. And not to put too much on a Disney TV show, but that feels like something we could use right now.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/andor-season-2-review-a-star-wars-miracle-an-ode-to-rebellion-190057159.html?src=rss

Nearly four years after it was originally announced, Riot Games has finally shared a look at Valorant Mobile. The mobile version of the competitive shooter was developed by LightSpeed Studios and will launch in China first before coming to other countries and regions.

Valorant Mobile looks like it relies on a lot of onscreen buttons, but based on a brief gameplay video, the game otherwise seems pretty similar to its PC counterpart in terms of speed and intensity. LightSpeed Studios successfully adapted PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds into PUBG Mobile, and Riot Games clearly believes the developer has managed to do the same with the originally mouse-based Valorant.

Coming to mobile has been in the works for Valorant for years, and makes a ton of sense given the current popularity of mobile first-person shooters like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone. This isn't the first time the game's precise gunplay has had to be adapted to a slightly more cumbersome control scheme, either. Valorant successfully made the jump to controllers when it launched on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 in 2024. Mobile controls aren't that much bigger of a hurdle in comparison.

Players in China can pre-register now to be ready for the next playtest, ahead of a more formal launch at some point in the future.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/valorant-mobile-pre-registration-is-open-in-china-180132021.html?src=rss

Bluesky is adopting an official verification system after all. In an update, the company said it plans to grant blue checkmarks to “authentic and notable” accounts. It will also allow some “trusted organizations" to verify users as well.

The change is a notable shift for the upstart platform, which previously resisted the idea of centralized verification. Up to now, the company has relied on a domain-based verification system, which allows users to change their handles to match domains that they are associated with. But that approach was often criticized for being overly complicated and offering insufficient protection from impersonation. 

These critiques have only amplified as Bluesky has grown in popularity and attracted more prominent users. For example, when former President Barack Obama joined Bluesky in recent weeks, his handle did not use a custom domain, which understandably led many users to question whether the account was authentic. Instead, individual Bluesky employees ended up publicly vouching that the account was legitimate

Under Bluesky’s new system, the company will proactively verify certain accounts and add a prominent blue checkmark to their profile. It’s not clear what criteria Bluesky will use for these badges or how it plans to verify users’ identities. Additionally, there will be a slightly different blue badge — one with “scalloped edges” — that certain “trusted organizations” can grant through a new “trusted verifiers” feature. 

Bluesky

The New York Times is one such organization, and the newspaper will now be able to hand out blue checks to its journalists. Bluesky didn’t say what other organizations will be able to participate in the program, but added that it will review verification from third-parties in order to “ensure authenticity.”

Notably, Bluesky said that people and organizations are still “highly encourage(d)” to verify themselves via a custom domain. And it sounds like the new blue ticks may be in short supply, at least to start. “During this initial phase, Bluesky is not accepting direct applications for verification,” the company wrote in its announcement. “As this feature stabilizes, we’ll launch a request form for notable and authentic accounts interested in becoming verified or becoming trusted verifiers.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-is-getting-blue-checkmarks-and-an-official-verification-system-173204662.html?src=rss

Nintendo is going after the leaker behind last year’s massive Pokémon data breach, according to a report by Polygon. The company has asked a California court to force Discord to give up the identity of the person behind the leak, who goes by the name "GameFreakOUT" on the platform.

Nintendo wants Discord to release the name, address, phone number and email address of the leaker. It said in a subpoena that the person uploaded "confidential materials not released to the public" to a Discord server called FreakLeak. After that, the leaked materials reached every nook-and-cranny of the Internet.

These materials included source codes, early character designs, references to an upcoming MMO and transcripts of design meetings. There was even information about an unreleased Detective Pikachu sequel and other planned Pokémon movies. The data breach included so much data that it’s become known as the “Teraleak” on the internet, referring to the sheer breadth and scope of the leaked materials.

Babe wake up, a new Pokémon beta video from the Teraleak just dropped!

▶️ A Deep Dive Into Pokemon Sword & Shield’s Scrapped Content

[ Full video link in the first reply ] pic.twitter.com/G8pEzWDCHQ

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) April 17, 2025

As of this writing, Discord hasn’t publicly addressed the request. We’ve reached out to the company and will update this post when we hear back. If the platform complies with Nintendo’s request, it’s likely that "GameFreakOUT" will face a lawsuit.

In the past, Nintendo has taken people to court over Pokémon leaks. This happened when photos of a Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield strategy guide were distributed online before the games were released. The defendants in that case were required to pay $150,000 each in damages and attorneys’ fees.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-is-going-after-the-person-behind-last-years-massive-pokemon-leak-171336637.html?src=rss

Barring a completely shocking turn of events, it seems that Microsoft and Bethesda are about to formally unveil the long-rumored remake of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. The publisher will hold a livestream on Tuesday, April 21 at 11AM ET. You can watch it on YouTube or right here by clicking the play button on the above video when the time is right.

Bethesda hasn't explicitly said what the stream is about. The YouTube video is currently titled "All will be revealed..." But the teaser image is a dead giveaway, considering the "IV" logo and the face shield that it depicts. The logo doesn't match the Diablo IV font either.

So, yes, this is almost certainly the Oblivion remake that's said to have been in the works for years. Screenshots from the game were recently spotted on developer Virtuos' website. Reports suggest that Bethesda will release the remake on PC, Xbox Series X/S (including on Game Pass) and PS5 this week, so Elder Scrolls fans might want to start making space on their system storage now. I wonder if they'll do a Skyrim remake next.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-bethesda-reveal-the-oblivion-remake-165806233.html?src=rss

Following a two-year wait, NVIDIA’s highly-anticipated GeForce 50 series of GPUs arrived at the start of 2025. Engadget published its review of the $2,000 RTX 5090 in January, followed by reviews of the RTX 5070 in March and, most recently, the RTX 5060 Ti. But if you’re reading this article, chances are you already know if you want to splurge on a 50 series card. The question then is how to buy one. If you're reading this story on or after April 21, the good news is that major retailers, including Best Buy and Newegg, have officially begun selling the first wave of NVIDIA's new GPUs. 

As for the bad news? Like with the 40 series before it, early demand for NVIDIA's new GPUs has been high, leading to limited availability and rampant scalping. What's more, pricing from NVIDIA's board partners has been all over the place, with most non-Founders Editions models costing far more than their MSRP. For instance, scanning Newegg you won't find a single RTX 5070 listed for its $549 suggested price. Right now, the cheapest model costs $670.  

GeForce RTX 5090 for $2,000: The RTX 5090 is the most expensive consumer GPU NVIDIA has ever released. It’s also one of the most powerful and power-hungry, with the 5090 featuring 21,760 CUDA cores, 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM and a potential total power draw of 575W.

Of course, as with all of NVIDIA’s new GPUs, raw specs are only half the story. In conjunction with DLSS 4, the entire 50 series is capable of multi-frame generation. With the tech, RTX 50 GPUs can generate up to three additional frames for every frame they render using traditional techniques. DLSS 4 is the reason the 5090 can produce an average of 246 frames per second with full ray tracing in games like Cyberpunk 2077.

If you prefer to buy from Newegg or Best Buy, both retailers will stock models from third-party OEMs, including ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Zotac.

GeForce RTX 5080 for $999: The RTX 5080 features 10,752 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM, with a memory bandwidth of 960GB/sec. Like the 5090, you get the benefit of DLSS 4 multi-frame generation. Moreover, total power draw is more modest at 360W, meaning you probably won’t need a 1,000W PSU to power the 5080. Early reviews of the 5080 have been mixed, but that hasn't stopped people from buying the new high-end card. 

Again, both Newegg and Best Buy will stock third-party options. For a Founders Edition model, your best bets are NVIDIA and Best Buy. 

GeForce RTX 5070 Ti for $749. Between the two 5070 variants, the Ti version is probably the safer purchase. That’s because it features 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM compared to the 5070’s 12GB. An extra 4GB of VRAM might not seem like much, but it will likely translate to the 5070 Ti offering better performance over its lifespan. Modern AAA games use a lot of VRAM, so much so that 8GB GPUs like the RTX 3070 are starting to show their age. 

Unfortunately, the 5070 Ti is the one model NVIDIA won't offer a Founders Edition version of, so finding one to buy at MSRP may be tricky. Your best bet here is B&H.  

GeForce RTX 5070 for $549: The RTX 5070 was NVIDIA’s most affordable 50 series GPU. That title is currently held by the RTX 5060 Ti. The 5070 offers solid performance at 1440p and is decent enough for some occasional 4K gaming. That said, it's not much faster than the 4070 it replaced, and, as mentioned, with only 12GB of VRAM, you will probably replace it before long.

GeForce RTX 5060 Ti for $299 : Until the RTX 5060 arrives sometime in May, the 5060 Ti stands as NVIDIA's most affordable 50 series card right now. Between the 5070 and 5060 Ti, the latter is the better deal, with it featuring 16GB of VRAM. It offers excellent performance at both 1080p and 1440p, and provided you can find it for NVIDIA's suggested retail price of $299, it won't break the bank either.     

Update 1/29/25 1:50pm ET: As one may have predicted, it seems like it will be difficult to get your hands on one of NVIDIA’s new graphics cards. The company itself stated publicly that it “expect significant demand for the GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 and believes stock-outs may happen.” It’s possible that limited availability, or widespread stock-outs, could affect customers worldwide. It's reported that some countries, like Korea, won't see shipments until mid-February.

Update 1/30/25 10:10am ET: We updated this piece with more information about availability now that some of the cards are officially up for sale. 

Update 4/21/25 12pm ET: We updated this piece to more information about RTX 5060 Ti availability.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/how-to-buy-a-nvidia-rtx-50-series-gpu-160902797.html?src=rss

Roblox has adapted its payment system to allow for regional pricing. This means that the software will automatically adjust the cost of an in-game item to match the local economy of the buyer. The company says this will make it easier for active community members to "better adapt to local market conditions and maximize earnings."

Prior to this move, users in a country like Vietnam would pay the exact same price as folks here in the US. This effectively priced out users who live in countries with weaker economic conditions. Regional pricing should make international users more active in the Roblox marketplace.

Roblox

Creators have to opt-in for the service. The software will not only automatically determine optimal local prices for items, but will update costs periodically as the global economy shifts. Companies like Nintendo already do this, as anyone who has opened up an eShop account in a different region can attest to.

For the uninitiated, Roblox creators earn something called Robux by selling in-game items that grant perks and abilities. Regional pricing doesn’t yet cover avatar items, but will later in the year.

This follows the platform’s recently-launched price optimization feature, which helps creators set the best price for anything they are selling. Roblox says the feature has increased earnings by around four percent for eligible creators, typically because the price was lowered but more units were sold.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-roblox-economy-is-going-global-as-users-can-now-set-regional-pricing-160047440.html?src=rss

The Roomba Y0140 robot vacuum and mop combo unit is on sale for $149 via Amazon. This represents a discount of 46 percent, as it typically costs $250. It's also a record-low price for this particular model.

It’s rare we see robots that can vacuum and mop at this price point. The Y0140 is actually a combo version of the vacuum-only Q0120, which topped our list of the best robot vacuums on a budget. We loved the iconic design and the surprisingly-robust suction power.

The robovac also integrates with iRobot’s fantastic app, which is a big selling point. It’s easy to use and puts most pertinent controls directly on the front page. The app can be used to schedule cleaning sessions, create maps of the home and more. 

The battery life here is decent, as this robot will run for around two hours before automatically returning to the charging base. Of course, this particular model also includes a mop. There’s a pump to control water flow that keeps the mopping pad moist during cleaning. This washable pad is good for around 30 uses. 

The only downside here? This is an entry-level model, so there’s no standalone debris container or anything like that.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-roomba-robot-vacuum-and-mop-is-46-percent-off-right-now-150656105.html?src=rss

Meta says it's doing more to make sure as many of its younger users as possible are using the teen accounts that it has rolled out for Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Starting today, it's testing artificial intelligence tech in the US to detect whether a person is a teen — even if they've lied about their birthday to make it seem like they're an adult — and then move them to a teen account.

The company says it has taken steps to make sure that the age-detection tech is accurate, but in case it makes a mistake, users that the AI suspects of being a teen have the option to change their settings and stick with an adult account. While Meta has been using AI for age detection for a while, it says employing the tech in this way is a "big change."

Meta debuted teen accounts in Instagram last fall and recently expanded them to Facebook and Messenger. Teen accounts have stricter privacy settings and parental controls. These accounts are, for instance, automatically set to private and prevent teen users from messaging strangers.

The company says it has enrolled more than 54 million teens into such accounts and that 97 percent of users aged between 13 and 15 have chosen to keep them enabled (under 16s need permission from their parents or guardians to opt out of teen accounts). The company adds that over 90 percent of the parents it has surveyed agree that teen accounts have helped keep their kids safe on Instagram.

Also starting today, Meta says it will send parents on Instagram a notification about resources they can use to talk to their teens about why it's important to have the correct age on their profiles so they can be enrolled in teen accounts. Meta says it's working on other ways to ensure users have age-appropriate experiences, such as backing federal legislation to require app stores to seek parental permission whenever an under-16 wants to download an app.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-using-its-ai-age-detection-tech-to-shuffle-more-young-users-into-teen-accounts-142014188.html?src=rss

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly held a second private Signal chat on upcoming Yemen strikes with members including his wife, brother and personal lawyer, according to The New York Times. Sources said that Hegseth shared flight schedules for F-18 Hornets targeting Houthis in Yemen, much as he did on a separate Signal chat the same day that accidentally included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief.

It's not clear that any of the people in the group chat would need to know about the attacks, though Hegseth's brother and lawyer both have jobs at the Pentagon. Jennifer Hegseth, the Defense Secretary's wife, is not employed at the defense department, the report states. 

The second chat, called "Defense | Team Huddle" was created by Hegseth prior to his confirmation and included a dozen or so people from his professional and personal circle, (including two senior advisers who were recently fired over leak accusations). It was initially created to allow discussions around routine schedule and administrative information on Hegseth's personal device.

A US official told the NYT that there was no national security breach, but wouldn't comment on whether Hegseth shared detailed targeting information. "The truth is that there is an informal group chat that started before confirmation of his closest advisers. Nothing classified was ever discussed on that chat." 

Trump administration officials previously defended Hegseth over the first breach, asserting that no classified information was ever shared. However, Democrats in Congress expressed alarm. "If true, this incident is another troubling example of Secretary Hegseth’s reckless disregard for the laws and protocols that every other military service member is required to follow," said Senator Jack Reed, senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. "Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops' lives are endangered by his singular stupidity," added Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/hegseth-reportedly-shared-yemen-attack-details-on-second-signal-chat-with-his-wife-and-others-123046480.html?src=rss

A good keyboard can make all the difference for your work setup. If you primarily work on a laptop, switching from the built-in keyboard to a wired or wireless keyboard can be more comfortable and ergonomic while adding functionality like extra keys and shortcuts into the mix. If your daily driver is a desktop, a keyboard will be an essential accessory that can elevate your rig whether you're using it to work a 9-to-5 with it or play AAA games in your free time.

But the world of keyboards is vast, and we at Engadget have tried out dozens over the years including gaming keyboards, ergonomic keyboards, mechanical keyboards and more. If you're just starting to think about the best keyboard for you, or you're ready to upgrade from an aging peripheral, we gathered all of our top picks for the best keyboards you can get right here.

Best keyboards for 2025

What to look for in a keyboard Design Size

The first thing you’ll want to consider when it comes to your next keyboard’s design is size. There are a number of different keyboard layouts to choose from, but the most common are full-sized, tenkeyless and those smaller than tenkeyless.

Full-sized keyboards, or 100 percent, include a function row at the top and a complete number pad with arrow keys on the right side, along with all of the rest of the alphanumeric keys you’d expect. Tenkeyless, or 80 percent, removes the number pad but keeps the arrow keys and the function row, reducing the overall width measurement of the board by a decent amount. Compact designs keep things ultra simple by including only the alphanumeric keys and modifiers like Alt, Shift, Ctrl and others and they come in different sizes like 60 percent, 65 percent and more. These are the most popular sizes out there, but you can find plenty of other designs that include different mixes of keys along with the standard letters and numbers all should have.

Aside from size, there are two other big categories that you could use to define a keyboard: ergonomic and mechanical. Ergonomic keyboards are designed with, you guessed it, better ergonomics in mind, taking into account where you should position your fingers, hands and forearms to maintain proper posture. Separately, mechanical keyboards use mechanical switches (of which there are many types) that differ greatly from the membrane or scissor-switch keyboards you’ll find dominating most wired and wireless options widely available today. We have guides to the best ergonomic keyboards and best mechanical keyboards, but we’ll summarize what you need to know about both here.

Ergonomic keyboards

If you deal with discomfort from working at a computer all day, ergonomic keyboards can help. These specially designed boards re-orient the keys, allowing you to hold your elbows farther apart and maintain a straighter line from your forearms to hands. Some people find this subtle change more comfortable.

Ergonomic keyboards typically fall into two categories: Alice and split. The former is a single unit with an A-shaped gap in the center of the keys. Split models come in two separate pieces which you can arrange as you like on your desk. Additional ergonomic features like tenting and negative tilt can make typing feel even more comfortable, and are often available on both Alice and split boards. Tenting raises the middle of the keys up so your hands take on more of a “handshake” position. Negative tilting lowers the top of the keyboard to keep your wrists angled downward instead of back towards your forearms.

The way the keys are arranged on the keyboard may make typing easier as well. Traditionally, keyboards are staggered, with one row of letters slightly offset from the row beneath it. Columnar keyboards arrange the keys in a grid of rows and columns. This style takes a little getting used to, but some people find it allows them to type faster. You can also make the keys of some keyboards do more than just produce letters. Programmable boards let you map shortcuts and other functions, which may keep you from reaching for the mouse quite so often, saving you time and possibly strain as well.

Mechanical keyboards

Mechanical keyboards have blown up in popularity as more people have been thrust into creating their own workspaces at home. It’s easy to see why: Compared to a traditional membrane keyboard, a good mechanical board is more durable, more satisfying to press and, most importantly, infinitely more customizable. The best of them usually come with a price premium, but even some cheaper models let you “hot-swap” between keycaps, switches and other materials, letting you tinker with different typing sensations and sound profiles until you find a combination that best expresses your preferences.

Do you want each press to feel deep and full or fast and light? Do you need them to sound loud and clacky or almost totally muffled? Do you prefer your keycaps to look subdued and professional, stuffed with RGB lights or written in an Elvish language from The Lord of the Rings for some reason? With the right mechanical keyboard, it’s all up to you — the only things really holding you back are your imagination and your wallet.

We have a dedicated buying guide that digs deeper into the key aspects to consider when buying a mechanical keyboard, so we encourage you to look at that for a full rundown. To keep things high-level, the most influential part of your purchase is your keyboard’s switch type. These little mechanisms slot underneath the keycaps and generally have the biggest effect on how your keyboard feels and sounds as you type away.

You can broadly separate mechanical switches into three buckets: linear, tactile and clicky. Linear switches feel smooth all the way down; they’re often popular with gamers since they tend to be light and fast to actuate. Tactile switches create a tangible “bump” sensation partway through a press; many people who spend all day typing prefer them because they clearly confirm each press without (always) being all that loud. Clicky switches are functionally similar to tactiles but make an audible “click” sound to match the bump; your coworkers may hate them, but others love the full-throated sense of feedback they provide. To be clear, just because two switches fall within the same bucket doesn’t mean they feel or sound exactly the same. The only way to figure out which switch works best for you is to do your research and, preferably, try some out for yourself.

Other keyboards have a mechanical-style feel but are built on different mechanisms entirely. The hot new trend in gaming-focused keyboards, for example, is Hall effect switches, which use tiny magnets to register keystrokes and let you customize the sensitivity of each press. Optical switches, meanwhile, offer similar functionality by replacing the physical contact point of a typical mechanical switch with a beam of infrared light. More recently, we’ve seen a couple keyboards launch with inductive switches, which can work like magnetic switches but use inductive coils in the keyboard’s printed circuit board (PCB) to cater to all switches collectively and don’t require a sensor for each individual switch. We touch on a couple of magnetic-switch keyboards in our picks below, but for a fuller breakdown of this sort of tech, we recommend you check out our dedicated buying guide to the best gaming keyboards.

Connectivity

You’ve got two options here: wired or wireless. Wired keyboards typically have an attached cable that plugs into a USB-A or USB-C port on your computer (or docking station), although some come with cables that can be removed. Wireless keyboards connect to your machine either via Bluetooth or a wireless receiver dongle. There’s always the chance of some latency with wireless keyboards, so keep that in mind if you’re picking one up to use primarily with a gaming PC. Of course, you’ll only have to worry about battery life with wireless keyboards.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-keyboard-120000018.html?src=rss

Air fryers are fast becoming a staple gadget in many people’s homes, likely because they are fast, convenient and don’t cost a small fortune. And with recent technological advancements, there are air fryers on the market that can cook, bake, sauté, dehydrate, pressure cook and more. If you’ve been mulling over the thought of investing in an air fryer, now’s the time to jump on the bandwagon — let us help you choose the best air fryer for your needs. Whether you’re up for roasting a whole chicken, making a meal for the entire family or want to try your hand at the infamous air-fryer muffins (yes, you read that right), there’s an air fryer to suit everyone.

Table of contents

• What does an air fryer do?

• Best air fryers for 2025

• Buying guide for air fryers

• Air fryer pros and cons

• Best air fryer accessories

• How to clean an air fryer

• How to find air fryer recipes

• How we test air fryers

What does an air fryer do?

Let’s clear one thing up first: it’s not frying. Not really. Air fryers are more like smaller convection bake ovens, ones that are often pod-shaped. Most work by combining a heating element and fan, which means the hot air can usually better crisp the outside of food than other methods. They often reach higher top temperatures than toaster ovens – which is part of the appeal.

For most recipes, a thin layer of oil (usually sprayed) helps to replicate that fried look and feel better. However, it will rarely taste precisely like the deep-fried or pan frying version when it comes out of the air fryer basket. Don’t let that put you off, though, because the air fryer, in its many forms, combines some of the best parts of other cooking processes and brings them together into an energy-efficient way of air fryer cooking dinner. Or breakfast. Or lunch.

Read more: We’ve also rounded up the best pizza ovens and the best sous vide machines.

Best air fryers for 2025

Buying guide for air fryers Convection ovens

You can separate most of these machines into two types of air fryers, and each has different pros and cons. Convection ovens are usually ovens with air fryer functions and features. They might have higher temperature settings to ensure that food crisps and cooks more like actually fried food. Most convection ovens are larger than dedicated air fryers, defeating some of the purpose of those looking to shrink cooking appliance surface area. Still, they are often more versatile with multiple cooking functions, and most have finer controls for temperatures, timings and even fan speed.

You may never need a built-in oven if you have a decent convection oven. They often have the volume to handle roasts, entire chickens or tray bakes, and simply cook more, capacity-wise, making them more versatile than the pod-shaped competition.

The flip side of that is that you’ll need counter space in the kitchen to house them. It also means you can use traditional oven accessories, like baking trays or cake tins, that you might already own.

Pod-shaped air fryers

Pod-shaped air fryers are what you imagine when you think “air fryer.” They look like a cool, space-age kitchen gadget, bigger than a kettle but smaller than a toaster oven. Many use a drawer to hold ingredients while cooking, usually a mesh sheet or a more solid, non-stick tray with holes to allow the hot air to circulate. With a few exceptions, most require you to open the drawer while things cook and flip or shake half-cooked items to ensure the even distribution of heat and airflow to everything.

That’s one of a few caveats. This type of air fryer typically doesn't have a window to see how things are cooking (with only a few exceptions), so you’ll need to closely scrutinize things as they cook, opening the device to check progress. Basket-style air fryers also generally use less energy – there’s less space to heat – and many have parts that can be put directly into a dishwasher.

Some of the larger pod-shaped air fryers offer two separate compartments, which is especially useful for anyone planning to cook an entire meal with the appliance. You could cook a couple of tasty chicken wings or tenders while simultaneously rustling up enough frozen fries or veggies for everyone. Naturally, those options take up more space, and they’re usually heavy enough to stop you from storing them in cupboards or shelves elsewhere.

As mentioned earlier, you might have to buy extra things to make these pod fryers work the way you want them to. Some of the bigger manufacturers, like Philips and Ninja, offer convenient additions, but you’ll have to pay for them.

Air fryer pros and cons

Beyond the strengths and weaknesses of individual models, air fryers are pretty easy to use from the outset. Most models come with a convenient cooking time booklet covering most of the major foods you’ll be air frying, so even beginners can master these machines.

One of the early selling points is the ability to cook fries, wings, frozen foods and other delights with less fat than other methods like deep frying, which gets foods the crispiest. As air fryers work by circulating heated air, the trays and cooking plates have holes that can also let oil and fat drain out of meats, meaning less fat and crisper food when you finally plate things up. For most cooking situations, you will likely need to lightly spray food with vegetable oil. If you don’t, there’s the chance that things will burn or char. The oil will keep things moist on the surface, and we advise refreshing things with a dash of oil spray when you turn items during cooking.

Most air fryers are easy to clean – especially in comparison to a shallow or deep fryer. We’ll get into cleaning guidance a little later.

With a smaller space to heat, air fryers are generally more energy-efficient for cooking food than larger appliances like ovens. And if you don’t have an oven, air fryers are much more affordable – especially the pod options.

There are, however, some drawbacks. While air fryers are easy enough to use, they take time to master. You will adjust cooking times for even the simplest types of food – like chicken nuggets, frozen French fries or brussels sprouts. If you’re the kind of person that loves to find inspiration from the internet, in our experience, you can pretty much throw their timings out of the window. There are a lot of air fryer options, and factors like how fast they heat and how well distributed that heat is can – and will – affect cooking.

There’s also a space limitation to air fryers. This is not a TARDIS – there’s simply less space than most traditional ovens and many deep fat fryers. If you have a bigger family, you’ll probably want to go for a large capacity air fryer – possibly one that has multiple cooking areas. You also might want to consider a different kitchen appliance, like a multicooker, sous vide or slow cooker to meet your specific cooking needs.

You may also struggle to cook many items through as the heat settings will cook the surface of dishes long before it’s cooked right through. If you’re planning to cook a whole chicken or a roast, please get a meat thermometer!

Best air fryer accessories

Beyond official accessories from the manufacturer, try to pick up silicone-tipped tools. Tongs are ideal, as is a silicon spatula to gently loosen food that might get stuck on the sides of the air fryer. These silicone mats will also help stop things from sticking to the wire racks on some air fryers. They have holes to ensure the heated air is still able to circulate around the food.

Silicone trivets are also useful for resting any cooked food on while you sort out the rest of the meal. And if you find yourself needing oil spray, but don’t feel like repeatedly buying tiny bottles, you can decant your favorite vegetable oil into a permanent mister like this.

How to clean an air fryer

We’re keeping clean up simple here. Yes, you could use power cleaners from the grocery store, they could damage the surface of your air fryer. Likewise, metal scourers or brushes could strip away the non-stick coating. Remember to unplug the device and let it cool completely.

Remove the trays, baskets and everything else from inside. If the manufacturer says the parts are dishwasher safe – and you have a dishwasher – the job is pretty much done.

Otherwise, hand wash each part in a mixture of warm water, with a splash of Dawn or another strong dish soap. Use a soft-bristled brush to pull away any crumbs, greasy deposits or bits of food stuck to any surfaces. Remember to rinse everything. Otherwise, your next batch of wings could have a mild Dawn aftertaste. Trust us.

Take a microfiber cloth and tackle the outer parts and handles that might also get a little messy after repeated uses. This is especially useful for oven-style air fryers – use the cloth to wipe down the inner sides.

If Dawn isn’t shifting oily stains, try mixing a small amount of baking soda with enough water to make a paste, and apply that so that it doesn’t seep into any electrical parts or the heating element. Leave it to work for a few seconds before using a damp cloth to pull any greasy spots away. Rinse out the cloth and wipe everything down again, and you should be ready for the next time you need to air fry.

How to find air fryer recipes

Beyond fries, nuggets and – a revelation – frozen gyoza, there are a few ways to find recipes for air-fried foods. First, we found that the air fryer instruction manuals often have cooking guides and recipe suggestions for you to test out in your new kitchen gadget. The good thing with these is that they were made for your air fryer model, meaning success should be all but guaranteed. They are often a little unimaginative, however.

Many of the top recipe sites and portals have no shortage of air fryer recipes, and there’s no harm in googling your favorite cuisine and adding the words “air fryer” on the end of the search string. We’ve picked up some reliable options from Delish, which also has a handy air fryer time converter for changing oven and traditional fryer recipes. BBC Good Food is also worth browsing for some simple ideas, as is NYT Cooking, with the ability to directly search for air fryer suggestions. Aside from that, you can also grab plenty of cookbooks from your local bookshop with lots of recipes that you can use in your favorite air fryer.

And if you have a killer recipe or unique use for your air fryer, let us know in the comments. What’s the air fryer equivalent of the Instant Pot cheesecake? We’re ready to try it.

How we test air fryers

We put each air fryer we test through its paces by cooking a variety of foods in it including raw proteins like fish and chicken, raw vegetables like potatoes and cauliflower and frozen snacks like mozzarella sticks. We attempt to use each cooking method that the machine has pre-programmed, and when possible, follow a couple of recipes in any provided recipe booklets that come with the air fryer. We also clean the cooking basket and all other removable components as many times as possible, and will put those components into a dishwasher if they claim to be dishwasher-safe. We also make note of how loud the machine is when using different cooking settings and how warm the surrounding area becomes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/best-air-fryers-133047180.html?src=rss

Cutting the cord has never been easier. However, with so many video streaming platforms available today, choosing the right one can feel like navigating a maze of TV channels, original shows and subscription tiers. Whether you're in it for binge-worthy dramas, live news updates from CNN or family-friendly movies on Hallmark and Lifetime, the best streaming services offer something for everyone.

Some platforms focus on delivering high-quality 4K content, while others are ideal for accessing live channels like Bravo, local broadcast networks and even full live TV streaming services. It really depends on what you're looking for — whether it’s the latest hit series, real-time sports or just a reliable way to catch your favorite comfort shows without a cable subscription. No matter your preferences, we’ve tested and reviewed the best streaming services to help you get the most out of your cord cutting setup.

Best streaming services for 2025

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-streaming-services-154527042.html?src=rss

Spoilers follow for The Last of Us season two, episodes one and two

HBO’s The Last of Us showed viewers in season one that it would lean heavily on the source video games for major plot points and general direction of the season while expanding on the universe, and season two has followed that to the most extreme end possible. Episode two sees Tommy and Maria lead the town of Jackson Hole against a massive wave of Infected, the likes of which we haven’t seen in the show (or video games) yet. This was a complete invention for the show, one that gives the episode Game of Thrones vibes, or calls to mind a battle like the siege of Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. It’s epic in scale, with the overmatched defenders showing their skill and bravery against overwhelming odds; there is loss and pain but the good guys eventually triumph.

That mass-scale battle is paired with the most intimate and brutal violence we’ve seen in the entire series so far, as Joel’s actions finally catch up with him. His death at the hands of Abby and her crew of ex-Fireflies from Seattle is truly upsetting, even if you know it is coming — and that in the twisted world that Joel and Abby inhabit, it was a form of “justice.”

Of course, it was pretty obvious after the first five minutes of episode one that this is where Abby’s journey would take her, but it sure happened fast. You could say the same thing about when Joel dies in the video game, but ever since the HBO series was announced I’ve been wondering about just how Craig Mazin would choose to tackle the events of the second game and Joel’s death. Part of me wondered if we wouldn’t know for sure Joel was dead until near the end of the season, or if we might not find out Abby’s motivations until much later. But after two episodes, we know that Abby’s dad was the doctor Joel killed at the end of season one to save Ellie, a fact that makes her disturbing lust for vengeance more understandable to the television audience. In the game, on the other hand, players didn’t find that out until much later — a move that cast Abby in the role of "villain" that made Ellie’s own desire for revenge more relatable for the player

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

But what works in a game doesn't necessarily work in a more passive adaptation. I do think there was a way for the writers to save the full reveal for Abby’s motivations for later, but I didn’t really bump on how things played out here. Similarly, I wasn’t really bothered by the introduction to Abby’s crew and her desire to find Joel that happened at the beginning of the season premiere. But I do know a number of people who played the game feel like this has robbed the show of some mystery and changed the momentum in a way that didn’t work for them, and I can appreciate that argument.

For anyone who hasn’t played the games, though, I’m sure that seeing the co-lead character killed off in the second episode of the season was a bit of a shock, no matter how much it was hinted at — particularly after Joel went out of his way to save Abby from certain death. In another world, you could imagine that blunting her need for revenge, or at least having her forgo the extended torture of a helpless Joel. But she’s clearly captivated by the opportunity in a way that even her friends are a bit horrified by. Ellie being there to find Dina unconscious and then forced to watch Abby deliver the final blow is the cherry on the disaster sundae that is this episode. It’s even harder to swallow when you consider their last interaction was Ellie’s extreme rebuff of Joel at the dance the night before.

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

It’s truly a wild choice for such a high-profile show, even though there was nowhere else for it to go. Pedro Pascal has been everywhere the last few years, and The Last of Us could have been his signature role. Joel’s death doesn’t fully diminish that, but obviously even if we see him in flashbacks in this season and the next, it won’t be the same as him leading an episode. To let such a marketable and popular star go must have been a tough pill for HBO to swallow, though chances are that the network knew from the beginning of negotiations that would have to happen. Regardless, it’s a move up there with the death of Sean Bean’s Ned Stark in terms of subverting audience expectations about who is going to lead the show going forward. That’ll fall to Bella Ramsey for the rest of the season.

I will say that Mazin and director Mark Mylod did a great job of balancing the many stories and cast members in this episode. Kaitlyn Dever gets her first extended amount of screen time and captures Abby’s barely-contained ferocity in a way that feels like a great tribute to the game source material, despite the fact that she is not nearly as physically ripped as Abby is in the game. Her scenes with Joel and Dina are absolutely chilling, even before she has Joel on the ropes; big credit to Pascal and Isabela Merced, again, for showing a major range of emotions as they help Abby escape from the Infected only to be betrayed.

Kaitlyn Dever in HBO's The Last of UsPhotograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

Ramsey, meanwhile, shares a lot of time with Young Mazino’s Jesse as they go on patrol and frantically search for Joel; back in Jackson, Gabriella Luna and Rutina Wesley as Tommy and Maria keep Jackson from falling to the Infected. It’s a lot of threads to tie together, and the fact that this episode includes the biggest battle we’ve ever seen as well as Joel’s capture and death without feeling overstuffed is a testament to the writers, directors and cast.

Speaking of that Infected battle, I wasn’t fully sold on it when I saw teases in the trailers for this season, but it was a thrilling delight. I loved seeing the preparations Jackson put into place, like the oil barrels coming down from the walls and the flamethrower brigade surrounded by snipers up on the buildings. Of course, all the best-planned defenses fail once the Infected get through the wall and all hell breaks loose, and the show successfully had me questioning whether the town would make it even though the idea of it fully falling seemed like a deviation too far from the game. It definitely felt like a response to the criticisms of a relative lack of Infected action in season one, but it worked, and the juxtaposition of the disaster befalling Jackson at large as well as the smaller-scale loss of one of its most important citizens added another layer to the grief.

Infected Score: 11/10

The showrunners say season two will have more Infected than season one — let’s see if they’re sticking to their word.

Tommy taking down a Bloater with a flamethrower in front of a Mailboxes Etc. store? Barrels of oil lighting a field of Infected on fire? The extremely creepy reveal of the “live” Infected buried and laying in wait under a field of frozen ones that emerged and chased Abby right into the path of Joel? Jackson’s guard dogs coming to the rescue to keep the horde from overtaking the town? This was the most epic action we’ve seen out of the show yet, on a scale that we didn’t get in the games. It’ll be hard to top this battle.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-last-of-us-season-two-through-the-valley-recap-well-that-happened-020017596.html?src=rss

Star Wars Celebration is heading back to Los Angeles for the first time since 2006 to mark the franchise’s 50th anniversary in 2027. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, then simply called Star Wars, first hit theaters in 1977 and the rest is history. The location was announced during the closing ceremony of this year’s event, which took place in Japan. Star Wars Celebration 2027 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from April 1 to April 4, 2027.

This year’s Star Wars Celebration brought a ton of announcements and previews into upcoming developments for the franchise. We finally got a real look at Star Wars Zero Company, a single-player turn-based tactics game expected to be released in 2026. ILM also revealed a bit more about its Meta Quest mixed-reality experience (which it’s calling a “playset”), Star Wars: Beyond Victory, and it was confirmed that Ryan Gosling will star in a film called Star Wars: Starfighter, per The Hollywood Reporter. And of course, there will be a Fortnite collaboration. With the Galactic Battle season beginning May 2, Darth Jar Jar is coming to Fortnite.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/the-next-star-wars-celebration-will-be-held-in-la-in-2027-for-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-first-film-194628408.html?src=rss

Nintendo surprised us with a little blast from the past this weekend, uploading a 34-year-old Super Nintendo commercial featuring Paul Rudd to its YouTube channel — and it’s released a sequel for the Nintendo Switch 2. Rudd appears in the Switch 2 promo wearing the same outfit he wore back in 1991, but this time he’s playing Mario Kart World with some celebrity friends over the new GameChat social feature. It’s a charming callback to the original SNES ad, which itself is deliciously ‘90s and a real treat to revisit in 2025. Commercials today just don’t hit the same.

Nintendo has steadily been drumming up the hype for the Switch 2’s arrival since it was announced at the beginning of April. The company recently held a livestream to share a more in-depth look at Mario Kart World, which launches on the same day as the new console, revealing some of the new courses, items and assistive features like Smart Steering. We’ve still got some time to wait before it’s all here, though. Pre-orders for the Switch 2 open on April 24, and the console will be available starting June 5.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-shares-a-vintage-snes-commercial-starring-paul-rudd-as-he-reprises-the-role-for-switch-2-171316112.html?src=rss

Beijing held what’s being called the world’s first half-marathon for robots, allowing bipedal bots to compete alongside human runners, and as one might expect, ridiculousness ensued. The robots, which had human operators running with them, for the most part struggled to make it through the course at all, let alone complete the full 13 miles within the four-hour cutoff time. “One fell at the starting line,” Bloomberg reports. “Another’s head fell off and rolled on the ground. And one collapsed and broke into pieces.” They may not be gold medalists just yet, but the videos sure are entertaining.

The humanoid robot half-marathon in Beijing just started! pic.twitter.com/8vr2nXQwuR

— The Humanoid Hub (@TheHumanoidHub) April 19, 2025

According to Bloomberg, 21 robots participated in the race, but the winner — X Humanoid’s five-foot-ten Tiangong Ultra — was one of only four to make it all the way to the end in the allotted time. And at two hours and 40 minutes, its finishing time was more than double that of the winning human runners.

The teams were allowed to do battery swaps (Tiangong Ultra reportedly finished on its third battery) and even switch out their robots mid-race for substitutes, though doing that came with time penalties. Along with Tiangong Ultra, which ran at around five miles per hour, the robot runners included Noetix Robotics’ N2, a Gundam-inspired robot, a “female-looking” bot called Huan Huan, and the 30-inch-tall Little Giant robot made by local college students, Bloomberg reports. Many of them were wearing human running shoes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/a-bunch-of-robots-ran-a-half-marathon-alongside-humans-and-it-was-incredibly-goofy-215134524.html?src=rss

Spoilers for “Lux.”

It’s an interesting time to be a long-running science fantasy media property in the streaming TV age. Star Trek is in the grip of an existential crisis as it (wrongly) fears it’s too old-aged to be relevant. Star Wars became a battlefield in the culture war and, to duck all future bad faith criticism, gave us The Rise of Skywalker. And then there’s Doctor Who, which is somehow managing to plough a 62-year furrow and still fill it with original ideas. Don’t believe me? This week the Doctor and Belinda go up against a sentient cartoon holding the patrons of a 1950s cinema hostage.

James Pardon / BBC Studios / Disney / Bad Wolf

It’s 1952 in a sparsely populated cinema as the audience watches a breathless newsreel on the power of the atomic bomb. The projectionist flips over to a Merrie Melodies-style cartoon of Mr. Ring-A-Ding (voiced by Alan Cumming), an old-timey song-and-dance character. Just then, a beam of moonlight shines through the window, reflecting off a teaspoon and strikes the screen. Mr. Ring-A-Ding comes to life, talking directly to the scoffing audience before emerging into the theater to the sound of screams.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Belinda are in the TARDIS trying to work out why it’s refusing to land on May 24, 2025. Belinda asks why he doesn’t just take the ship back to his home planet for a fix, but she doesn’t get a satisfactory answer. Instead, the Doctor has built a gadget that will help pull the TARDIS back to the present day, it just needs to land in a few other places first. The pair wind up in Miami in 1952 and while the Doctor initially insists Belinda stay indoors, she’s eager to see what it’s like.

They step out into the night (slash early morning) of 1952 Miami, outside the cinema from the pre-credits, albeit three months after Mr. Ring-A-Ding came to life. Since then, the theater has been locked shut, with the 15 patrons in the audience going missing; the projectionist, Reginald Pye, has stayed behind to act as caretaker, playing films to an empty room.

They visit the diner across the street and meet the mother of one of the missing patrons, Mrs. Lowenstein, who fills in the backstory. They head into the cinema and Mr. Ring-A-Ding makes it clear he’s about to trap them in film before a Mr. Ring-A-Ding short stays playing on the screen. While he’s distracted, the Doctor and Belinda hot-foot it to the projection room where they meet Pye, who has been looking after the cinema patrons, all of whom have been trapped in a strip of film.

Pye has been keeping Mr. Ring-a-Ding alive and appeased by playing movies for him every night. But the sinister cartoon has also given Pye something in return: He has a film of his late wife who Mr. Ring-A-Ding can bring back as a “real” person, at least for a few moments each night. Following on the theme of coercion from last week, the carrot is also a stick, since Mr. Ring-A-Ding also threatens to destroy that film if Pye steps out of line.

Naturally, Mr. Ring-A-Ding isn’t just a beloved old-timey cartoon character but a god, one of the same pantheon as the Toymaker, Maestro and Sutekh. His real identity is Lux Imperator, or Lord of Light, and he's determined to consume all the light he can, including the most delicious (potential) meal of all — the atom bomb he’s been learning about in the newsreels. To prevent the Doctor and Belinda frustrating his plans, he manages to trap them in a cartoon.

The Doctor and Belinda are turned into two-dimensional drawings, with two-dimensional minds and characterizations. In their panic, they confess their anxieties, including the Doctor’s worries he can’t get Belinda home. As they do so, they acquire physical depth until they return to their normal selves, and then break (okay, knocking over) the fourth wall into… someone’s living room.

The Doctor and Belinda are greeted by a trio of Doctor Who fans watching the episode who are shocked and delighted to meet their heroes. The fans, Hassan Chowdry (Samir Arrian), Lizzie Abel (Bronté Barbé) and Robyn Gossage (Steph Lacey) explain, uh, Doctor Who to the Doctor. The season’s subconscious theme of Steven Moffat envy continues, with the trio saying their favorite episode is “Blink.” Robyn also points out that the end of the episode is pretty obvious given that celluloid is highly explosive. There’s even time for the fans to be called annoying — a facet they (like all “good” Doctor Who fans) will admit to with a heavy dose of self-awareness.

The trio ready to kick the Doctor out as the episode hits the 30-minute mark, which means it’s time for the third act. But they’re also sad, realizing that they’re the fictitious ones, not the Doctor and Belinda, as they don’t have surnames. They know the characters that don’t have surnames are unimportant, incidental figures in the story that will die when the time travelers crawl back through the screen. (Aside: They do in the closing credits, something that Davies’ alluded to in his most recent column for Doctor Who Magazine talking about the realities of giving one-shot characters names for the credits.)

The Doctor and Belinda return to the cinema, where the previously kind Mrs. Lowenstein has hauled a police officer in to arrest the pair for trespassing in a whites-only cinema. The Doctor fairly instantly calls BS, especially since the police officer is wearing a New York-style uniform: They’re still in the film, and when they break out, the Doctor and Belinda meet Lux / Mr. Ring-A-Ding once again. Lux magically summons up long lengths of filmstrips that act like ropes, wrapping them around his wrists and raising him up high. He turns on the projector which draws the Doctor’s regeneration out as light, projected onto Mr. Ring. A Ding.

Belinda, meanwhile, heads off to a storage cupboard, pulls out lots of film and throws it on the floor. But Reginald the projectionist won’t give her the matches she needs to start the fire until, uh, the ghost of his wife, briefly returning as a solid person, hands him the matches. Belinda then blows a hole in the roof of the cinema big enough to expose Mr. Ring-A-Ding to sunlight, which causes him to exponentially grow until he’s not just bigger than the planet but bigger than the universe itself. Or something.

In the daylight of Miami, Belinda asks the Doctor how exactly Lux / Mr. Ring-A-Ding was destroyed. “We’re 60 percent water and we can still drown,” he explains as the formerly trapped patrons of the cinema emerge from their three month imprisonment. The Doctor and Belinda have bonded over their shared worries, and Belinda is a lot more comfortable with her slightly longer route home. As they head into the TARDIS, Mrs. Flood greets the crowd and tells them if they want to see a really exciting sight, they should watch the ship disappear. Sadly, she adds, it’s a “limited run,” which will end on May 24th.

BBC Studios / Disney / Bad Wolf Eight disconnected thoughts about “Lux.”

Density

Like “The Robot Revolution” before it, “Lux” is packed full of concepts and themes that could easily be the sole subject of a story. This thematic density has always been a part of Doctor Who — a show that has often worn its deep political and literary ambitions on its sleeve — but it can be both a blessing and a curse.

Just think about the sheer number of ideas this one episode is playing with, touching upon:

• How time travel as a plot device can be implicated by race.

• How media habits and consumption have changed in the last century.

• How human nature hasn’t changed in the last century.

• How awful it is to be held hostage by your own desire.

• What it would be like if a fictional character discovered they were fictional.

That’s a hell of a lot of stuff to get through in 45 minutes, even if you’re not going to explore any of them. Though it may be a thrilling high-wire act Davies is pulling off, the result doesn’t have anything weighty to say. Not that I expect or need every episode to be About Something In A Very Special Way, but these themes aren’t meant to be just window dressing.

Ironically, and to contradict what I just wrote, I found “Lux” to be far more enjoyable than “The Robot Revolution.” Free of the burden of having to introduce Belinda and lay down the shape of this year’s overarching storyline, the episode is able to focus on just being itself. Everything here joins up in a more satisfying way, and the emotional beats, while rushed, at least make sense.

Rhyming history

As soon as Ncuti Gatwa was held aloft by moving filmstrips, I realized how closely the scene mirrored the conclusion of “The Devil’s Chord.” I’m not surprised, given both episodes feature the Doctor fighting a member of the Pantheon’s roster of rogue gods. After all, our heroes turn up in what is ostensibly the past of our living memory (‘60s last year, ‘50s here) to battle a god using pop culture as a vehicle (music then, cinema now). For the filmstrips here, Maestro dragged the Doctor and Ruby around Abbey Road with ribbons of music notation.

Soft Elbows

In the few times Doctor Who has acknowledged its fanbase, it’s with a loving elbow to their ribcages. It helps that the series is so tied to the UK’s cultural DNA that everyone is a fan, even if they’re not a fan. Perhaps more importantly, Davies, Moffat and Chibnall were all prominent fans before they had TV careers. All of us are capable of conceding we are (or can be) bloody annoying at times and insufferably smug at others.

One thing did occur to me: All three times Doctor Who has acknowledged its fanbase — Whizzkid in “Greatest Show", the members of LINDA in “Love and Monsters” and here — the themes are the same. Doctor Who fans are always kind-hearted, a little bit annoying and they get taken advantage of by a bad faith figure (Captain Cook, Victor Kennedy and Lux). Isn’t that interesting?

Importance

A key trait of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor is his compassion, even going so far as to kiss a Roomba to apologize for turning it off. When Hassan, Lizzie and Robyn say they're "not important" as surname-less side characters, it irked me that the Doctor didn't push back. 

Production

Much like last week’s episode, “Lux” is wonderfully well-made with every quarter of the production team operating at their peak. Mr Ring–A-Ding is a triumph, capturing the rubber hose style of animation from that era utterly perfectly. The 2D version is great, and the 3D edition he tries to evolve into at the conclusion is the right sort of horrifying.

Belinda

After “The Robot Revolution,” plenty of fans online suggested Belinda knew a little more than she was meant to. Specifically, she knew the name of the TARDIS despite the Doctor calling it his spaceship earlier in the episode. At the start of “Lux,” Belinda says the Doctor is a Time Lord so his people should be able to fix the malfunctioning TARDIS.

I can see why fans, trained on mystery box shows, would be intent on mining lines of dialog in this fashion. But I think they’re chasing shadows: Davies has never been that sort of writer and probably isn’t going to start seeding his dialog with hints that subtle now. The way I read it, the Doctor has probably gotten used to giving new friends an (off-screen) introduction of the basics.

You could easily imagine a cut-for-necessity scene where the Doctor rattles off the whole “time lord with their own time and space machine” spiel. And you’d expect them not to race toward the more trauma-dump-y elements of their biography, like being the last of them still alive. Belinda was also surprised to see the TARDIS land in 1950s Miami, even after seeing it in space last week. Given the theme of the episode was Belinda slowly embracing her time with the Doctor it makes more sense.

That said, it’s interesting that Davies’ specifically focused on the surnames of minor characters for his column in this month’s Doctor Who Magazine. Naturally, he was wrapping a tease for a future episode inside an anecdote about having to clear even minor character surnames with the show’s legal department. And when the Doctor meets the fans, Robyn points out she knows how the episode ends because she read the leak about it online. I should admit, too, that I read the fairly detailed leak about this episode that included the reveal of this fourth-wall-destroying scene. I would never suggest Davies is playing four-dimensional chess with the audience, but if the detailed leak of this episode came from the production office as a further tweak of the metafiction then, bravo.

Queer representation

The awning outside the cinema is advertising a Rock Hudson movie, and Belinda comments that she learned about the late actor on a HIV training course. He was one of the first people in the public eye to pass away from AIDS, causing a shift in public attitudes. Before Hudson’s death, the US had refused to sanction additional funds to support research into combatting the disease. 

Doctor Who has shied away from directly addressing plenty of social issues during its long run, or even allegorically. Despite the vast number of queer people who were involved in its creation and production, such topics were treated as taboo. That the show can now make such a direct reference to Hudson feels refreshing, especially if it prompts some folks to read up on the issue.

The politics of race

There are better qualified writers who can discuss the issues around race and racism that the episode features. “Lux” is set in 1952, two years before Brown v. Board of Education, in a Miami that is segregated. It’s not the first episode of Doctor Who to deal with this, nor the first of Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure that has intentionally highlighted that the Doctor is played by an actor of color.

I suspect that one moment in particular will provoke discussion: When Belinda is outraged to learn the diner is segregated. The Doctor shuts down her objections, saying that he has toppled worlds, and has sometimes lived in worlds and let them “topple themselves.” For the latter, his approach is to “shut up and shine,” suggesting he sits on the respectability politics-end of the spectrum.

It’s perhaps here that we see the limits of what stories Doctor Who can tell given these events took place in our own recent history. The lead character can topple other worlds in any era, but given we’re all aware of human history, can’t act to rid the world of this injustice. Which affirms the theory that the show is fundamentally conservative in nature since one of the Doctor’s main driving forces is to protect the course of history as it presently is.

Mrs. Flood corner

Now we know Mrs. Flood can appear wherever the TARDIS is, so it’s likely she’ll be popping up in every episode, just like Susan Twist did last year. Here, she simply repeated her ominous threat that the Doctor’s time is running out, which is due to happen on May 24th. May 24th is when this season’s seventh and penultimate episode will air.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/doctor-who-lux-review-hope-can-change-the-world-190033447.html?src=rss