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Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor

    More From Richard Lawler

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    The Sandman will return for season two on Netflix.

    Reported first by Deadline and then confirmed in a tweet by Neil Gaiman, the adaptation has been confirmed for a second season.

    If you’re thinking about diving in now that you know it’s coming back for another run, check out our review.

    Tariq Moosa had high praise for the effort in our review:

    But “adaptation” is almost an insult to what the creators achieved. The series is perhaps the best-screen adaptation of big concept fantasy literature since Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Beat for beat, iconic frames, lines of dialogue, performers’ makeup and wardrobe — all of it followed the books, except for a few changes.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Alien cornrows.

    Take a minute and watch the trailer for the new Avatar sequel.

    As Charles Pulliam-Moore writes:

    Visually stunning as Avatar: The Way of Water looks like it’s going to be, it’s feeling like it’ll be an even thornier narrative about how Indigenous people are forced to fight for their livelihoods in the face of violent colonial powers when it hits theaters on December 16th.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Elon Musk is The Running Man.

    Mike Masnick of Techdirt plays ghost-of-Christmas-future for Twitter’s new owner, breaking down the obstacle course of legal, political, moral, and economic issues that other social media execs have been carefully traversing over the last 15 years.

    Level Twelve: “We’re the trustworthy social media site that supports open dialogue, while doing our best to stop CSAM, hate speech, infringement, spam, and genocide, and we’re working to hire more trust and safety professionals, along with setting up an outside counsel.”

    Hmm. Our slogan is getting a bit long.

    Hey Elon: Let Me Help You Speed Run The Content Moderation Learning Curve

    [Techdirt]

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Catch up on the chess cheating scandal.

    The chess world is in chaos after Magnus Carlsen accused 19-year-old Hans Niemann of using AI to cheat. On Vox Media’s Today, Explained podcast, Wall Street Journal sports reporter Andrew Beaton runs through the fallout from chess’ biggest scandal in years in under 30 minutes.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Wall Street Journal Magazine profiled Jony Ive as its 2022 Design Innovator.

    This write-up doesn’t detail exactly what we should expect from his post-Apple design firm LoveFrom, but it does dive into his background, as well as his history with Apple and Steve Jobs.

    ...exactly 12 years after Steve Jobs had walked out the door to launch NeXT Inc., Jobs returned as CEO of Apple.

    Ive, then 30, assumed Jobs would hire a more renowned designer to replace him, but something unexpected happened at their first meeting. “I clicked with Steve in a way that I had never before done with someone and never have since,” says Ive.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Green light.

    In addition to today’s Apple TV 4K review from Chris Welch, we also have a feature incoming from Adi Robertson that you won’t want to miss. The flow of earnings news will also continue, with Paramount, Qualcomm, Fisker, and Robinhood among those scheduled.

    But first, a few non-Elon stories:

    Audio-Technica re-released its “Sound Burger” record player from the 80s, which costs $199 and adds USB-C and Bluetooth.

    Tim Stevens digs into the “quirky gimmicks and outré styling exercises” that abound in modern cars, electric or otherwise.

    Tumblr will not nerf nudes now.

    Google’s standalone Street View app still exists, but not for long.

    Apple TV 4K (third-generation) review: unmatched power at a much better price

    Chris Welch
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Microphone check.

    This is the sound of Nothing (ear stick).

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Maybe this time, their helicopter can catch the falling rocket booster.

    SpaceX has pioneered reuseable rocket boosters by guiding them back waiting drone ships, but Rocket Lab’s approach is to try and slow them down with parachutes and then catch them on a hook dangled from a waiting helicopter.

    An attempt in May almost worked but slipped away, and now they’ll try again in a few days.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Now you can buy the Whoop 4.0 fitness tracker for $300, but should you?

    When we reviewed the Whoop 4.0, Victoria Song said it was comfortable, but a pricey $30 per month subscription and recovery-focused tracking means it’s only for serious athletes.

    Now the company is selling its wearable via Best Buy, both in stores and on the site, for $300. That covers a year of service, but once it’s done, you’ll have to resubscribe with another $300 upfront, or pay $30 monthly.

    Only athletes should give a whoop about Whoop

    Victoria Song
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    It’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost, $10?

    Car salesman / media exec Elon Musk is apparently ready to negotiate on pricing.

    One thing he didn’t mention in this response to Stephen King is how his leveraged buyout of the company is a reason Twitter’s suddenly saddled with more bills to pay.

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