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Apple AirTags are bulky and not ideal for wallets. Check out this ‘SmartCard’ alternative instead.

This deal gets you an annual Sam’s Club membership for 70% off — but hurry, it won’t last long.

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The film adaptation of the immensely popular sci-fi novel Mickey7 has been in the works for years, but now we finally have a trailer and it’s filled with surprises. For one thing, it’s now called Mickey17 and, well, fans of the book know exactly what that implies. It means they’re in for an even crazier experience than what’s written on the page.

The movie is written and directed by one of the modern masters, Bong Joon Ho, who seems to have taken some liberties with the source material. Light spoilers, but the book follows a series of clones of the titular Mickey as they perform the grunt work of colonizing an exoplanet. The book chronicles seven (ish) Mickey variants, but the movie is amping this up to at least 17. This will give us plenty more darkly hilarious clone deaths, which the trailer shows quite a lot of.

The novel is right up Bong Joon Ho’s alley. Clones are basically second-class citizens who exist to die for their corporate overlords. This leaves plenty of room for social satire in the vein of both Snowpiercer and Parasite. The trailer leans into this stuff and the results look truly entertaining and, believe it or not, really funny. We love to see unique IPs in the cinema, don’t we folks?

The various Mickeys are played by Robert Pattinson, so that’ll get some butts in the seats. The cast also includes Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo. As a book reader, I know who everyone is playing except for Ruffalo. That looks like a brand-new character, though he could be an amalgamation of a couple of minor players. Adaptations require some dark alchemy at times.

This could be the first big hit of 2025. It arrives in theaters on January 31. There’s also some franchise potential here, as the book already has one sequel and author Edward Ashton has been toying with ideas for a third entry.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/bong-joon-hos-mickey17-trailer-is-even-crazier-than-the-book-170004844.html?src=rss

We knew Amazon would revive its Prime Big Deal Days sale event this fall, but we didn’t know the exact dates until today. The online retailer announced that the sale event will return this year on October 8 and 9, giving us all the more reason to call it October Prime Day as we have done in years past. This is the third iteration of the fall sale event that Amazon has used as its (un)official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and there are already discounts to be had as we see early October Prime Day deals pop up.

Prime Day in July remains Amazon’s marquee sale event for Prime members, but ever since its debut in 2022, October Prime Day provides subscribers with thousands of exclusive deals to shop during the two-day window. In turn, it also provides Amazon a way to boost sales during the same time period and, arguably more importantly, increase the number of overall Prime subscribers. While we expect most of the deals during Prime Big Deal Days to be exclusively for Prime members, there are always a few thrown in that are available to all Amazon shoppers.

As for the deals we expect, it’s a safe bet that Amazon’s own devices will be on sale: things like Echo speakers, Kindle ereaders, Blink security cameras and more. We usually see tech like wireless earbuds, speakers, robot vacuums and SSDs go on sale during events like this as well. While it might feel too early to even think about holiday shopping, it’s a good idea to entertain. If history is any indication, the sale prices we see during October Prime Day will be similar (and in some cases, the same) as those we see during Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year. If you can shop early and cross a few things off your list, we recommend doing so.

You can also expect to see some “Lightning deals” happen during October Prime Day. Thankfully, these are usually clearly labeled with the amount of time remaining to grab the sale price noted on the product page. In our experience, only a handful of these flash deals are actually worth your money — but if you see something that’s been on your wishlist drop in price for only a few hours, it’s in your best interest to grab it immediately.

To give you an idea of what we could expect to see during October Prime Day this year, these are a few of the standout deals we saw during the 2023 event:

• Apple AirPods Pro for $189 ($60 off): $169 is the new record low for the AirPods Pro, and they are usually a contender for one of the best tech deals of the holiday season.

• Apple Watch SE for $149 ($100 off): This was a record-low price, and considering we did not get a new SE from Apple earlier this month, this remains the budget-friendly Apple Watch to get.

• Anker Soundcore Space A40 wireless earbuds for $54 ($26 off): We’ve seen our favorite budget wireless earbuds drop to as low as $49 multiple times in the past year.

• Amazon Echo Show 5 for $40 ($50 off): This remains the all-time-low price on the tiny smart display; it was $10 more during July Prime Day.

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite for $95 ($45 off): The latest Kindle Paperwhite’s record low price is $100. Considering how lackluster the Kindle deals were during July Prime Day, we’d be happy to see $100 or less on this model during October Prime Day.

• Google Pixel 7a for $399 ($100 off): This has dropped to a record low of $299 since this time last year, and we’d ultimately recommend the Pixel 8a instead now for most people.

• Samsung 55-inch The Frame smart TV for $998 ($648 off): This model has dropped a couple more dollars since last year, but $998 remains a decent sale price.

Engadget will be covering October Prime Day in full, so if you have a lot of tech on your to-buy list, be sure to check back here on Prime Day for the best tech sales we can find. We’ll be sure to include gadgets from across the board – from headphones to robot vacuums to gaming gear. The volume of deals will be daunting, but we sift through them all and pick out the best ones to make Prime Day a bit easier for you.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-announces-the-return-of-prime-big-deal-days-on-october-8-and-9-050356758.html?src=rss

An attack in Lebanon reportedly killed eight people and injured over 2,700. Hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously on Tuesday, leading the Iran-backed militant organization to blame Israel. The New York Times reported that Israel was behind the attacks and conducted it by hiding explosive material inside the pagers. A second wave of attacks, these targeting handheld radios used by Hezbollah members, was reported on Wednesday by The Washington Post.

A day after Israeli leaders warned of escalating its military campaign against Hezbollah, pagers belonging to the Lebanese group’s members exploded at once. Witnesses reported seeing smoke emanating from the victims’ pockets, followed by sounds reminiscent of fireworks or gunshots.

Lebanon’s health minister said 200 of the injured were in critical condition. He added that many victims had facial injuries, especially to the eyes. Hand and stomach injuries were also common, according to the health minister. Among those wounded was Mojtaba Amini, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, according to Iranian state media.

A second wave of attacks across different areas of Lebanon on Wednesday reportedly killed one person and injured over 100 others. The latest attacks reportedly targeted “wireless devices.” One of the explosions, triggered by a handheld radio, was reported at a funeral for four victims of Tuesday’s blasts. “Anyone who has a device, take out the battery now!” The Washington Post reported that Hezbollah security members yelled at the mourners. “Turn off your phones, switch it to airplane mode!”

Israel hasn’t commented on the attacks. But NYT reports that officials (including American ones) briefed on the operation said Israel was behind them. They claim as little as one to two ounces of explosive material were planted next to each pager’s battery, along with a switch allowing for remote detonations. At 3PM in Lebanon on Tuesday, the pagers received a message (appearing to be from Hezbollah leadership) that triggered the coordinated explosions, according to officials. The devices allegedly beeped for several seconds before detonating.

The Washington Post reports that the logo of Taiwanese pager maker Gold Apollo was seen on the sabotaged pagers. However, Gold Apollo claimed the devices were “entirely handled” by a Hungarian company, BAC Consulting Kft, which was authorized to use Gold Apollo’s branding in some regions. “That product isn’t ours,” Gold Apollo’s founder and president, Hsu Ching-Kuang, told The New York Times. “They just stick on our company brand.”

Officials speaking with NYT claimed the devices were tampered with before reaching Lebanon. Most were Gold Apollo’s AR924 model, which the company displayed an image of on its website before removing them on Wednesday.

The attacks sparked a wave of fear of using mobile devices. NYT reports some in Lebanon were scared to use their phones after Tuesday’s attacks, with one resident crying out, “Please hang up, hang up!” to their caller.

The Times reports that Hezbollah, long suspicious of cellphone use near the Israeli border due to the devices’ geolocation capabilities, recently switched from mobile phones to pagers. In February, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah reportedly warned the group that their phones were dangerous and could be used by Israel as spy tools. He advised the group that they should “break or bury them.”

Experts reportedly don’t yet know precisely how the pagers were distributed to Hezbollah’s members. They say that Iran, given its history of supplying Hezbollah with arms, tech and other military aid, would have been pivotal to their adoption and delivery.

Update, September 18, 2024, 11:48AM ET: This story has been updated to add new details about Tuesday’s attacks and the second wave of reported blasts on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/pagers-explode-simultaneously-in-hundreds-of-hezbollah-members-pockets-190304565.html?src=rss

Earlier this year, Behaviour Interactive teased a few Dead by Deadlight spinoff games. One has since been released to relative acclaim, The Casting of Frank Stone, and What the Fog kinda came and went. That leaves one game unaccounted for. Today, we can scratch that one out for good. The company just announced that the spinoff known only as Project T has been canceled.

Project T was advertised as a third-person co-op shooter, making it one of the rare times in the franchise players would be able to fight back against enemies using guns. The game has been around in beta form for a while, as part of Behavior Interactive’s insider program. It looks like those early playtests didn’t go so well. The company said that “a number of players expressed satisfaction” but that the “outcome of this deep analysis yielded unsatisfactory overall results.”

This doesn’t mean anything for the larger franchise. The developer has leaned into experimental projects lately and it looks like Project T just didn’t make the cut. It’s unfortunate, but there’s still the mainline game and it’s many, many crossovers.

There’s also the aforementioned The Casting of Frank Stone, which is a narrative driven title by Supermassive set in the same universe. Finally, What the Fog is something of a Jumanji-like spin on the OG game. Kids get sucked into a board game. You know the drill.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-dead-by-deadlight-co-op-shooter-spinoff-has-been-officially-canceled-154312867.html?src=rss

A lawsuit on behalf of five unnamed contestants who participated in YouTuber MrBeast’s Beast Games was filed on September 16 in Los Angeles against MrBeast as well as Amazon, which plans to distribute the show. It’s also seeking class-action status.

Beast Games is the brainchild of Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast. This game show had participants go through challenges for a shot at $5 million in cash. There would only be one winner out of 1,000 participants, so the money would only go to the last person standing.

When the five contestants participated in the game show, they each wanted to win the money, but nothing prepared them for the poor conditions, mistreatment and harassment they experienced. Among the 14 complaints are failure to pay minimum wages, sexual harassment, false advertising and failure to provide uninterrupted meal and rest breaks.

The plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on behalf of all Beast Games contestants besides themselves. Much of the lawsuit’s content is hidden, including the contestants’ names and the exact details of their mistreatment. Of note were the female contestants’ experiences. The lawyers claimed that the work environment there “fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism where Production Staff did nothing.”

The contestants were considered employees under California law, but MrBeast and Amazon allegedly misclassified them to obtain a tax credit of around $2 million. They also arrived on set to discover that instead of 1,000 total competitors, there were far more people playing for the prize, thus lowering everyone’s chances of coming out a winner. According to the New York Times, the total number of contestants was about 2,000, something MrBeast said was the plan all along. The plaintiffs claimed this significantly reduced anyone’s chances of winning and was considered false advertising. Even worse, the show organizers did not grant them meal and rest breaks as required by California law. According to the lawsuit, some of the show participants developed injuries that “continue to persist and will persist from the future.”

This isn’t the first time MrBeast has been involved in a lawsuit. Last year, he sued Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) for making subpar MrBeast Burgers, ruining his reputation. VDC countersued MrBeast, seeking $100 million in damages.

According to a report from Variety, MrBeast and Amazon have yet to comment on the lawsuit, with the former refusing to. Beast Games, slated for an Amazon Prime Video release, still has no announced release date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/mrbeast-and-amazon-are-being-sued-by-contestants-of-their-planned-competition-show-152613641.html?src=rss