Month: October 2026

Amazon has made a fairly substantial shift in its tablet lineup. The company has introduced three Alexa Tablets with Android, access to Google Play, and integration with Alexa+. Starting at $229.99, Amazon is looking to move much closer to the iPad’s turf, as reported by MacRumors, especially in apps, productivity, and device design.

An Alexa Tablet 12 Pro to compete with Apple

The star of today’s announcements is the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, which starts at $499.99 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It has a 12-inch 120Hz display and four Dolby Atmos-compatible speakers. Alternatively, you can get the version with a Nanomatte display for $549.99, while the magnetic keyboard and stylus are compatible with both models.

Amazon has also introduced the Alexa Tablet 11 starting at $329.99 and the Alexa Tablet 8 at $229.99. Across the lineup, Google Play gives us access to YouTube, Gmail, Google Docs, and other apps, while Alexa+, fully integrated with the system, offers the most direct way to use Amazon’s AI.

The comparison with Apple is inevitable, and the design similarity to the iPad is hard to miss. The iPad starts at $449 and the iPad Air at $749, so Amazon is mainly competing on price and screen size, while the iPad Pro with M5 chip stands out for its OLED display, its enormous power, and the range of pro apps available in the App Store.

The iPad continues to be the most well-rounded option on the market for those of us looking for power, longevity, and a more integrated experience, but Amazon’s offering is genuinely interesting. And the most interesting thing, as always in cases like this, is what this new competition will drive.

Tim Cook left the role of Apple CEO on September 1, just before John Ternus’s first big launch, the iPhone Duo. His departure from Apple has been years in the making inside the company and has been its best-kept secret. Now we know a little more about this transition.

The iPhone Duo was part of the plan and so was his focus on politics

In a recent interview with The Independent, Cook explains how he wanted Ternus to have “the wind at his back” from day one. At Apple, that momentum comes with the product cycle. So, after Tim Cook’s handover, Ternus was able to make his debut with the unveiling of the iPhone Duo. Cook deliberately chose the most favorable moment for Ternus.

Cook speaks of his extraordinary mutual trust and frequent communication with Ternus and of how, as executive chairman, he is focusing his time on global politics and relations with governments. The separation of roles seems carefully designed at Apple.

“First of all, John and I have an incredible level of mutual trust. The relationship has to be based on trust and communication has to be frequent and meaningful. Beyond that, right now I’m focused on politics on a global scale. And the relationship with governments around the world is important because there are many issues on which we’re trying to make progress or promote change. There’s a considerable amount of work in this area, and that’s what I’m doing, in addition to helping John in whatever way he thinks is appropriate. I don’t meddle. I’m not a person who meddles.”

This lines up with Ternus’s first interview as CEO and with his plans to speed up the development of new products and focus on it.

Tim’s advice to Ternus is clear: make the role his own and focus where he can add the most value, just as Cook did after receiving the same advice from Steve Jobs.

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the best examples of how to turn a huge failure into a great success. Although the game came out in a dreadful state, especially on consoles, over time it has managed to fix its biggest problems and improve enough to become a very interesting game for a wide audience. Even if it has never quite managed to deliver what it promised in the first place. And now CD Projekt Red seems to want to keep expanding the Cyberpunk universe beyond the video game.

A franchise that wants to expand

Because Paramount Pictures and CD Projekt Red have announced that a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 film is in development. The film will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, producer of the Transformers franchise and the recent revival of Pet Sematary, together with CD Projekt Red itself, but no further details have been revealed at this time.

It isn’t the only project set in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077 that CD Projekt Red currently has on the slate. Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2, the second season of the anime produced by Studio Trigger, will premiere on October 20 on Netflix, directed by Kai Ikarashi. So the Cyberpunk universe is only going to keep expanding in the near future.

All of this is a logical move, given the video game’s recent expansion into film and television and its growing popularity in film and TV. If we also consider the tone and the story, the most celebrated aspects of Cyberpunk 2077, and how cyberpunk seems to be on the rise, this is a move that is not only reasonable, but makes perfect sense for continuing to build on a franchise whose next game is already in the works, but whose release still seems to be a long way off.

Rockstar has given a small preview of what we can expect from the music in GTA 6, after they announced a vinyl release featuring original songs from the game. By launching a website where you can listen for yourself to the radio stations, their hosts, and a selection of songs featured on them, they’ve let us get a look inside this highly anticipated game. But if you want a summary, here’s everything we know so far about these six radio stations.

Which radio stations are available?

Cocoteo FM, Back Country Radio, Afrobank FM, The Chamber, Flash FM and Dirty South Classic.

What are the musical styles of each of these radio stations?

Modern Latin music (Cocoteo FM); country music (Back Country Radio); amapiano, African classics and 3-step (Afrobank FM); metal from the 80s onward (The Chamber); pop (Flash FM); and regional rap and hip-hop classics (Dirty South Classic).

Who are the hosts of each of the radio stations?

Bad Bunny and RaiNao on Cocoteo FM; Morgan Wallen, Lana Del Rey and Jeremy Dufrene on Back Country Radio; Burna Boy and Palms Trax on Afrobank FM; Kerry King and Tom Araya on The Chamber; Robyn and Alex Consani on Flash FM; and Trick Daddy and Trina on Dirty South Classics

Which songs have been confirmed so far?

EoO by Bad Bunny, Si Es Trucho Es Trucho (Remix) by Axel Rulay ft. Farruko & El Alfa and Canalla by Romeo Santos & El Chaval de La Bachata on Cocoteo FM. Need a Little Time Off for Bad Behavior by David Allan Coe, Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind) by Loretta Lynn and The Conversation by Hank Williams, Jr. & Waylon Jennings on Back Country Radio. Joha by Asake, Gye Wani by Pat Thomas ft. Ebo Taylor and Shay’sana by DJ Lag & Robot Boii ft. Kamo Mphhela on Afrobank FM. Raining Blood by Slayer, I by Black Sabbath and I’m Broken by Pantera on The Chamber. Electric Feel by MGMT, Good Ones by Charlie XCX and Midnight Sun (Girls Trip) by Zara Larsson & PinkPantheress on Flash FM. And Like a Pimp by David Banner ft. Lil’ Flip, Who Dat by JT Money ft. Solé and Born N Raised by DJ Khaled ft. Trick Daddy, Rick Ross & Pitbull on Dirty South Classics.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most popular games of last year. Sweeping critics and audiences alike, being one of the most award-winning games of all time, its prestige is undeniable. That’s why it’s no surprise that its influence extends beyond its own franchise. And that it’s also making its way into other games.

Two games in one

Astral Ascent has confirmed a free update that will introduce content related to the popular French RPG. Called Expedition 33 For Those Who Come After, now available for everyone who owns the game, it introduces all the characters from the game, as well as iconic bosses like Mimes, Pétank, in addition to 6 new summons, 3 new rooms and 3 bosses.

Astral Ascent, which will turn three next month, is a popular action roguelike with platforming sections and gorgeous pixel art. And with this Expedition 33 update there’s no longer any excuse not to sink your teeth into it. Especially because the game is 60% off on Steam until October 15.

What’s going on with Digger is one for the cinema history books. Not necessarily speaking well of it, of course. Tom Cruise’s film, although it’s stirring up equal parts love and hate, has taken in just $24.9 million worldwide and it’s become clear that it’s not going to come anywhere close to turning a profit or even drawing the attention of the general public before ending up, inevitably, on HBO Max.

Digging toward rock bottom

That said, it has its defenders. For example, Anne Hathaway, who has made it clear that, since you’re going to the movies to see her latest film, Verity, you can also catch her friend Cruise’s movie, with whom she’ll make Days of Thunder 2. In fact, she took to Letterboxd to show her full support. “I loved this brilliant film. It’s smart and crazy and aggressive and funny and ambitious”. Yes. And at the same time… yes?

Hathaway went on to write, “It’s worth taking your time to decide for yourself what you think of it. For me? 10/10”. Hathaway leads by example, in fact, and gives it 5 stars, above the 3.9 it has on the platform. Not bad, by the way, and one that doesn’t do justice to its dismal box office haul.

By the way, if you’re wondering what Hathaway’s “four favorites” are, she has them ready in case one day on a red carpet the Letterboxd mic comes her way: Moonstruck, It Happened One Night, Phantom Thread and The Mirror. A true cinephile.

James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy and lord and master of DC, is also, for some reason, the screenwriter of Scooby-Doo, the 2002 live-action movie with Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, and Matthew Lillard. It couldn’t be more nineties, even at the start of the 2000s. Although it hasn’t stood the test of time, it made good money back then and that was more than enough to spawn a sequel. And it all went to hell.

Where Are You?

Although this sequel didn’t do all that badly (it cost between $25 million and $80 million and grossed $181 million) more was expected, and hopes for a franchise went down the toilet. Matthew Lillard, who had come off Scream, had a golden opportunity to become a star, but he couldn’t break through. “I had a lot of pressure not to screw it up. It was the first big movie I was in and a great opportunity for me. And then I thought I was going to be a big movie star”. He was. But in his own way, years later.

“After the second movie, my career fell apart for a long time. I could be one of those 90s guys who never comes back. I have a love-hate relationship with this movie, because I used to say ‘It’s Scooby-Doo’s fault. That’s why I’m not working’”. Just imagine for a moment blaming your unemployment on a Great Dane who solves mysteries.

You can’t imagine how completely he lost it: “I never regretted doing it because the reality is that if I hadn’t had the money I made on the second one, I wouldn’t have been able to keep going. My wife and I would’ve had to sell everything, and we almost did. We sold our cars, we sold our house. We downsized so we could live decently. Before this movie I thought ‘I’m making all these movies and I’m a big deal’. The reality is that I’m not”.

Honestly, I don’t think I like anyone in Hollywood better than Matthew Lillard. It takes guts, after all, to admit you thought you were all that… and you were always, simply, Shaggy.