On Thursday afternoon, after agreeing to a short extension while they continued negotiations, NBCUniversal and YouTube announced a new carriage deal to keep the network’s channels live on the streaming TV service. If the process sounds familiar, it’s because the same thing happened the last time their contract was renewed in 2021.They didn’t reveal the dollars involved, but a press release mentions that it includes an agreement for some full TV shows, clips, and highlights on regular YouTube, as well as confirming the relaunch of NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) after it shut down four years ago.“We’ve secured long-term access to our full portfolio of broadcast and cable networks on YouTube TV, and we’re advancing our Peacock strategy with an upcoming launch on YouTube Primetime Channels and ongoing presence on Google TV,” said NBCUniversal exec Matt Schnaars.The details revealed today are:A multi-year, long-term commitment for carriage of NBCUniversal’s full portfolio of networks on YouTube TV, including NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, E!, Oxygen True Crime, MSNBC, USA, Syfy, and UniversoLater this fall, NBCUniversal will be launching the new NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), which will be available on YouTube TV, allowing fans to enjoy a broad range of NBCUniversal’s robust sports programming. NBCSN will complement the prominent sports properties presented year-round on the NBC broadcast networkPeacock will be available in the coming months as a subscription through YouTube Primetime ChannelsA long-term agreement for short-form clips, highlights, and shows from NBCUniversal’s premium programming on YouTubeFilms and TV shows from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will continue to be available to buy or rent on Google TV, YouTube TV, and YouTube, as well as iconic library films from NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution being available to stream via SVOD on YouTube Premium and AVOD through YouTube Free Primetime ContentA multi-year extension of Peacock’s availability across Google’s Android platforms, including Google Play and Google TVAs Awful Announcing points out, while NBCUniversal has been snapping up sports broadcast rights for Peacock, relaunching the NBCSN channel to put it in subscription packages could let it make money from people who don’t sign up for Peacock after it spins off its other cable networks with Versant.

Shein has announced plans to open its first physical locations in France this November, even as the country works on legislation to regulate the fast-fashion industry, as reported by Euronews and Reuters. The online retailer, which manufactures most of its ultra-cheap clothing in China, will open locations inside department stores across Dijon, Grenoble, Reims, Limoges, and Angers through a partnership with real estate company Société des Grands Magasins (SGM).Until now, Shein has only operated online, aside from the pop-up stores that have appeared in locations like New York City. Its decision to open up stores in France comes just months after the French Senate approved a law that would impose a tax on fast-fashion companies like Shein and Temu based on their environmental impact, as well as ban them from advertising. Shein also faces regulations as a “very large online platform” under the European Union’s framework to rein in big tech, and it was recently hit with a $176 million fine in France over claims it collected user data without their consent.SGM owns the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (BHV) department store chain, and also operates a string of Galeries Lafayette in France stores under a franchise agreement. Shein is supposed to set up shop in both of these stores, though Galeries Lafayette told Reuters it “profoundly disagrees” with the decision, as Shein’s “positioning and practices” contradict the department store chain’s “offer and values.” Galeries Lafayette adds that the move is in violation of its franchise agreement with SGM, according to Reuters.Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo similarly said in a machine-translated statement on LinkedIn that the city “denounces the establishment of Shein” in the local BHV store. “This choice is contrary to the ecological and social ambitions of Paris, which supports responsible and sustainable local commerce,” Hidalgo writes.

There's a new twist in the long and winding saga of Redbox's demise: Assets originally belonging to the company's corporate parent, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, may have finally found a buyer. But don't expect a resurrection of Redbox's red kiosks, or Chicken Soup's Crackle streaming service, any time soon.According to a late Wednesday court filing, a company called Grove Street Partners has offered $100 million for so-called "IP Litigation Assets" owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and its subsidiaries. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment owned the rights to hundreds of movies, mostly through its subsidiary S …Read the full story at The Verge.

This week, Ring, an Amazon-owned smart security company, announced Search Party, a new feature to help find lost dogs. When someone posts a picture of a lost dog on Ring’s Neighbors app, they will be able to initiate a Search Party. Ring then uses AI to scan footage from nearby outdoor Ring cameras and doorbells for the lost pet. If it’s detected via someone else’s device, that camera’s owner will receive a notification and can choose to share the video with the pet owner.I should be able to choose whether my footage is being searched It’s a great use of AI and has the potential to track down missing pets a lot faster than social media posts or text message chains. This is because it (almost) cuts out the middleman — you. Rather than relying on you to see a message about a missing dog, look at a picture or read through the description of the dog, and then go check your camera feeds to see if it ran by your house, all of that happens in the background. “Your Ring AI assistant is looking for that dog and is going to tell you, ‘Look, this dog I saw looks like this dog that’s missing,’” Ring’s founder, Jamie Siminoff, told me in an interview at Amazon’s event this week. You can then decide whether to share the video or just notify the owner through the Neighbors app, he explained. However, it turns out that Search Party is enabled by default. In an email to customers this week, Siminoff wrote that the feature is rolling out to Ring outdoor cameras in November and noted, “You can always turn off Search Party.” I checked my cameras this morning, and they were all automatically set to enable Search Party. And I’m not alone; Ring users on Reddit have also reported that their cameras have been enabled for Search Party. As Siminoff wrote, I can turn this off, and if I don’t, I will get to review any footage it finds before deciding what to do with it. Ring says no video is shared without the owner’s consent. However, getting opted in by default feels intrusive, particularly for a company with a checkered history around sharing footage with the police. While mass adoption enabled by a default opt-in will undoubtedly make the feature much more effective — and yes, I want to help find my neighbors’ dogs — I should be able to choose whether my footage is being searched. I do get a choice in whether or not to share that alert with the dog’s ownerThis is more about consent than privacy. Essentially, Search Party is working in the same way as Ring’s current AI-powered smart alerts for people, vehicles, and packages. The footage from your camera is analyzed in Ring’s cloud for those things. That’s what happens when you get a Ring alert that a package has been delivered. Only now, when someone else initiates a Search Party in the Neighbors app, Ring can also look for a specific dog on others’ cameras. The difference is that I told Ring I wanted it to search for packages, I didn’t tell it to look for dogs.Again, when it comes to the dog, I do get a choice in whether or not to share that alert with the dog’s owner. It won’t be sent to them automatically. “We don’t want data escaping people’s environment without them knowing,” Siminoff told me.While most people will happily help someone find their lost dog, there is a concern about where this could lead. This week, the company also announced it’s bringing facial recognition to its cameras for the first time. Familiar Faces lets you register images of family and friends in the app so you can get specific alerts about who your cameras see. The combination of Search Party and facial recognition raises the question of whether the Ring cloud could one day be used to search for specific individuals. Ring spokesperson Yassi Yarger told me that there are no plans around this for now. “Search Party was designed to match images of dogs to dogs captured in Ring videos,” she said. “It is not designed to process human biometrics.” Additionally, she said Search Party footage is not included in Ring’s Community Requests service, which allows police and other public safety agencies to request help from the public.As someone who regularly uses her own cameras to locate her pets, I think Search Party could be a great tool, and I will keep it enabled on the Ring cameras at my home. But I still think Ring should have asked before turning it on for everyone.

I usually try to self-host as many tools as possible, but until recently, I didn't see the point in doing so for an AI tool. The common reasons for self-hosting, such as privacy, security, control over your data, and air-gapped networks, are all valid, especially for enterprise or information security (infosec) use. Outside of those cases, though, it is harder to see the practical benefits of running AI tools locally. I decided to try it anyway by self-hosting an AI-powered research assistant called Maestro, and I quickly understood why it matters.

With so many different laptop choices, it's pretty easy to find something within your budget. Of course, I like to look for something on sale, because a steep discount can bring a laptop that was previously out of reach, easily within your budget. Every week, retailers like Best Buy and Amazon offer hundreds, if not thousands of discounts on all types of products.

Home Assistant can completely transform your home into one that's truly smart and helpful. It can automate plenty of mundane tasks and allow you to live more, without having to worry about all the little things throughout the home. Everything from automatically cycling lights, firing up heating, and even managing how much power specific devices use through monitoring, it's possible to create quite a versatile and interactive platform for controlling almost everything.

This is one of those laptops that's perfect if you're looking for something that's all screen. Despite there being a ton of different laptop options in 2025, it's still rare to find one with a large screen that exceeds 16 inches. It becomes even harder to find one if you're looking for one on a small budget. Luckily, this one from HP has it all, and delivers it at a budget-friendly price of just $350.

Oh how I miss the time when game demos were all the rage. When they were our one and only avenue into a new game, without massive marketing campaigns with tens of trailers or deep dives. These demos gave us a glimpse of a new game, and we played them a hundred times over, poring over every frame and pixel because that's all we got before a full game came out.

Microsoft recently announced price hikes for some tiers of Xbox Game Pass, including Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The Ultimate tier, which offers the most games and features (as well as access to PC Game Pass), went from $19.99 per month to $29.99. Those who subscribe to PC Game Pass are now being charged $16.49 per month, up from $11.99.You’ll pay those prices right now if you go through Microsoft’s retail channels to subscribe. Don’t do that! Instead, if you plan to stay with the service, you should consider buying through other retailers that are still selling access to those tiers of service at their previous prices.You can get a one-month subscription to Game Pass Ultimate for $19.99 at Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, or Walmart. Then there’s the three-month option for $59.99 from Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, and Walmart, which is like getting one month free at the current rate. As for PC Game Pass, Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy sell a three-month bundle for $35.99, reflecting the previous price.Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (three-month sub)Where to Buy: $90 $60 at Amazon $90 $60 at Best Buy $59.99 at GameStopPC Game PassWhere to Buy: $49.47 $35.99 at Best Buy (three months) $49.47 $35.99 at GameStop (three months) $49.47 $35.99 at Amazon (three months)

The vast majority of my work can be completed on a laptop, and my requirements for what I need aren't unreasonable. Something fast, light, with a premium feel, that also doesn't run out of battery quickly. I want to be able to close the lid, put it in my bag, and completely forget about it until I need it again. I don't want to think about battery life at all, especially not when it's not in use.

Unboxing a brand-new SSD is a special joy for any PC builder or gamer that promises lightning-fast boot times, nonexistent loading screens, and a snappier system overall. That persists, irrespective of whether you're upgrading an old machine or adding faster storage to your gaming PC. Sadly, it's easy to fall for fakes dressed as deals from Samsung, Crucial, or WD, in a market swimming with counterfeit drives. They're usually hiding slow, unreliable, and downright fraudulent hardware under the heat spreader.