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WWW.TECHSPOT.COMHP agrees to $4 million settlement over inflated PC prices on its websiteWhat just happened? HP has agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations that it misled customers with deceptive pricing on its website, bringing closure to a class-action lawsuit first filed in October 2021. The case centered on claims that HP's website displayed inflated original prices for computers and accessories – creating the illusion of significant discounts that, according to the plaintiffs, rarely existed. The lawsuit accused HP of using "strike-through" pricing – showing a higher, crossed-out price next to a lower sale price – to suggest that shoppers were getting a special deal. However, the complaint alleged that these original prices were often not the actual regular or recent prices of the products in question. For example, one cited incident involved an HP All-in-One computer advertised as discounted from $999.99 to $899.99, even though the higher price was rarely, if ever, used in the months leading up to the sale. Plaintiffs argued that such tactics induced consumers to pay more than they otherwise would have, believing they were benefiting from limited-time offers and low inventory – when, in reality, the lower price was the norm. Under the settlement terms, HP will establish a $4 million fund to compensate affected customers, cover administrative costs, pay attorneys' fees, and provide service awards to the lead plaintiffs. Eligible consumers include those who purchased HP desktops, laptops, mice, or keyboards at a discount directly from HP's website between June 5, 2021, and October 28, 2024 – provided the product was on sale for more than 75 percent of the time it was offered. Compensation will range from $10 to $100 per product, depending on the item purchased. Higher-end models, such as HP Spectre and Envy laptops, qualify for larger payments. Each claimant's final amount may be adjusted based on the number of valid claims submitted. // Related Stories The settlement does not require HP to admit any wrongdoing. The company denied the allegations in a statement but agreed to the settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation. The final approval hearing is scheduled for August 21, 2025, and class members must submit claims by June 9, 2025, to be eligible for compensation. HP's case highlights a broader issue in the e-commerce industry, where misleading reference pricing has come under increasing scrutiny. Similar lawsuits have been filed against other major retailers, including Amazon, which faces allegations of advertising fake "limited-time" discounts on its Fire TV products using inflated list prices that do not reflect recent sales. In Australia, Dell was fined AU$10 million (about $6.5 million) after a court found it had overstated discounts on bundled monitors, sometimes charging customers more for add-ons than if the items were purchased separately. While the $4 million settlement is a modest sum for a company of HP's size – it reported $13.5 billion in net revenue for its most recent fiscal quarter – the case reflects growing consumer frustration over deceptive online sales practices and signals that courts and regulators are increasingly willing to hold tech companies accountable for misleading advertising.0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 69 Views
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WWW.DIGITALTRENDS.COMNothing’s CEO just told us when to expect the Nothing Phone 3There has been a lot of speculation around the Nothing Phone 3, but in an Ask Me Anything thread on X, Nothing’s CEO just confirmed its launch window: quarter three of 2025. Considering today is not April Fool’s Day and Carl Pei runs the company, we can’t think of a more reliable source for information on this. The launch window also lines up with previous releases; the Nothing Phone and Phone 2 both launched in July, and it looks like the third in the series is likely to follow. The Nothing Phone 3 will be the company’s third release this year, following the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro. Nothing also revealed images of the CMF Phone 2 Pro with a new, redesigned look, and more information on the handset will be shown on April 28 at its global launch event. Recommended Videos Pei’s AMA had a few more surprising bits of information, too. When asked how Nothing plans to handle the potential tariffs and increased prices, Pei said the company is “looking into increasing exports from India.” He also shared that it takes Nothing anywhere from nine to 18 months to develop a product from its initial idea, although that time can vary depending on exactly what the product is. Nothing has kept quiet on specific details regarding the Phone 3. However, if it’s launching in July, then it likely won’t be long before more concrete information, such as what chipset it uses and other internal specs, start to make themselves known. Related The price is also unknown. The Nothing Phone 2 launched at almost $600, but with the economic uncertainty and potential of price increases due to tariffs, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Nothing Phone 3 land around $700. That said, we don’t expect it to go much beyond that. There’s too much competition above the $800 mark, and Nothing currently occupies a comfortable gap in the market. Editors’ Recommendations0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 69 Views
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WWW.WSJ.COM17 Books We Read This WeekAn evangelical celebrity, lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, Scotland’s mountain wilderness, the joy of gossip and more.0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 66 Views
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ARSTECHNICA.COMRegrets: Actors who sold AI avatars stuck in Black Mirror-esque dystopia"I needed the money" Regrets: Actors who sold AI avatars stuck in Black Mirror-esque dystopia Is $1,000 worth being the AI face of obvious scams? Rueful actors say no. Ashley Belanger – Apr 18, 2025 2:25 pm | 3 Credit: arvitalya | iStock / Getty Images Plus Credit: arvitalya | iStock / Getty Images Plus Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more In a Black Mirror-esque turn, some cash-strapped actors who didn't fully understand the consequences are regretting selling their likenesses to be used in AI videos that they consider embarrassing, damaging, or harmful, AFP reported. Among them is a 29-year-old New York-based actor, Adam Coy, who licensed rights to his face and voice to a company called MCM for one year for $1,000 without thinking, "am I crossing a line by doing this?" His partner's mother later found videos where he appeared as a doomsayer predicting disasters, he told the AFP. South Korean actor Simon Lee's AI likeness was similarly used to spook naïve Internet users but in a potentially more harmful way. He told the AFP that he was "stunned" to find his AI avatar promoting "questionable health cures on TikTok and Instagram," feeling ashamed to have his face linked to obvious scams. As AI avatar technology improves, the temptation to license likenesses will likely grow. One of the most successful companies that's recruiting AI avatars, UK-based Synthesia, doubled its valuation to $2.1 billion in January, CNBC reported. And just last week, Synthesia struck a $2 billion deal with Shutterstock that will make its AI avatars more human-like, The Guardian reported. To ensure that actors are incentivized to license their likenesses, Synthesia also recently launched an equity fund. According to the company, actors behind the most popular AI avatars or featured in Synthesia marketing campaigns will be granted options in "a pool of our company shares" worth $1 million. "These actors will be part of the program for up to four years, during which their equity awards will vest monthly," Synthesia said. For actors, selling their AI likeness seems quick and painless—and perhaps increasingly more lucrative. All they have to do is show up and make a bunch of different facial expressions in front of a green screen, then collect their checks. But Alyssa Malchiodi, a lawyer who has advocated on behalf of actors, told the AFP that "the clients I've worked with didn't fully understand what they were agreeing to at the time," blindly signing contracts with "clauses considered abusive," even sometimes granting "worldwide, unlimited, irrevocable exploitation, with no right of withdrawal." "One major red flag is the use of broad, perpetual and irrevocable language that gives the company full ownership or unrestricted rights to use a creator's voice, image, and likeness across any medium," Malchiodi said. Even a company publicly committed to ethically developing AI avatars and preventing their use in harmful content like Synthesia can't guarantee that its content moderation will catch everything. A British actor, Connor Yeates, told the AFP that his video was "used to promote Ibrahim Traore, the president of Burkina Faso who took power in a coup in 2022" in violation of Synthesia's terms. "Three years ago, a few videos slipped our content moderation partly because there was a gap in our enforcement for factually accurate but polarizing type content or videos with exaggerated claims or propaganda, for example," said Alexandru Voica, head of Synthesia's corporate affairs. Synthesia offers opt-outs, vows to protect actors For actors who risk AI potentially replacing them in the market, AI avatars could be one path to shore up income and ensure their livelihoods. Since 2023, Synthesia has sold its avatars to about half of Fortune 500 companies, Bloomberg reported, and their business only seems to continue exploding. For brands, the allure of using AI avatars is reducing the time and costs of production for marketing campaigns, so that demand seems unlikely to wane. But for actors who already regret inking deals that prevent them from taking down harmful videos, the money may no longer seem worth the trouble. Yeates was paid about $5,000 for a three-year contract with Synthesia that he signed simply because he doesn't "have rich parents and needed the money." But he likely couldn't have foreseen his face being used for propaganda, as even Synthesia didn't anticipate that outcome. Others may not like their AI avatar videos but consider the financial reward high enough to make up for the sting. Coy confirmed that money motivated his decision, and while he found it "surreal" to be depicted as a con artist selling a dystopian future, that didn't stop him from concluding that "it's decent money for little work." Potentially improving the climate for actors, Synthesia is forming a talent program that it claims will give actors a voice in decision-making about AI avatars. "By involving actors in decision-making processes, we aim to create a culture of mutual respect and continuous improvement," Synthesia's blog said. The company also said it has built security features, minimizes abuse, and protects actors from harmful content. Critically, those efforts include restricting AI avatar use in paid advertisements on social media or broadcast media. Perhaps most importantly, they also give actors opt-out controls they can use "at any point, if they no longer wish for their corresponding stock avatar to be used in new videos." An ejection seat may provide relief, but it won't impact videos already out there. For now, Synthesia claims to be the "only enterprise-focused AI video platform to proactively monitor and extensively prevent the generation of harmful content," with policies "ensuring our talent’s likenesses are not used inappropriately." Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 3 Comments0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 68 Views
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WWW.NEWSCIENTIST.COMMost accurate space clock to launch – and count down to destructionCanadarm2, the robotic arm on the ISS built by the Canadian Space AgencyESA/NASA The most accurate clock in space launches within days and will begin building a highly synchronised network out of the best clocks on Earth. But the project, decades in preparation, will only operate for a few years before it burns up as the International Space Station deorbits at the end of the decade. The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission that will generate a time signal with unprecedented accuracy and then transmit it via laser to nine ground stations as it passes overhead at 27,000 kilometres per hour. This network of clocks will be in extremely close synchronisation and provide highly accurate timekeeping around the world. Advertisement The result is that ACES will be able to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which says that the passing of time is affected by the strength of gravity, with great accuracy. It will also assist with research on everything from dark matter to string theory. ACES is scheduled to launch on 21 April aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Once at the ISS, the Canadian Space Agency’s robotic arm – Canadarm2 – will attach it to the exterior of ESA’s Columbus laboratory, where it will remain in the vacuum of space. The package actually comprises two clocks: one called SHM has the ability to remain stable for short periods, which will allow it to help calibrate the other, called PHARAO. Together, these clocks will be so accurate they would lose less than one second over 300 million years – 10 times more accurate than the clocks aboard GPS satellites. Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month. Sign up to newsletter PHARAO is fundamentally modelled on an atomic clock in Paris that occupies an entire room. Miniaturising that technology into something that takes up less than a cubic metre, and can also survive the rigours of a rocket launch and life in space, was no mean feat. To generate an accurate clock signal, PHARAO spews a fountain of caesium atoms cooled to near absolute zero and observes their interaction with microwave fields. On Earth, this requires a device up to 3 metres tall, but in microgravity these atoms can be sprayed in a slower-moving and smaller fountain, allowing it to be much smaller. Simon Weinberg at ESA says that the device is so sensitive that simply putting a teaspoon near it could create an electromagnetic field strong enough to destroy the clock. “Just to put it in context, it’s better than a thousand million millionth of a second that we’re trying to measure here,” says Weinberg. “So it’s one hell of a challenging job.” The concept for ACES dates back to the 1990s and was originally planned for launch on the Space Shuttle, which retired in 2011. Once it gets to space, the first signal won’t arrive at an Earthbound clock for a year and a half – it will take around six months to commission the device, and then a year’s worth of measurement will be needed to isolate noise and remove it from the clock signal. After that, ACES will operate until 2030, after which the ISS will be deliberately crashed into Earth’s atmosphere and burned up. By that point, new super-accurate timepieces known as optical clocks are likely to have made atomic clocks all but obsolete on Earth, although they may not be small or robust enough for use in space by that time. Weinberg says that at some point ESA will look to launch a new generation of ACES to replace what is lost on the ISS, whatever the most appropriate technology is at the time. “We would be a long way off from doing that, and we would have to gather together the support and the financing and so on to make sure that happened.” Topics:0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 81 Views
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WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COMThe judicial branch wants Congress to know its budget has put judge safety at risk when threats are already upA lack of congressional funding is hampering courthouse security, the judicial branch says. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews 2025-04-18T18:22:55Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? A congressional funding shortfall is putting federal judges' safety at risk, the US judiciary said. The judicial branch's budget is $391 million less than requested. Two judges outlined their concerns in a recent letter to members of Congress. Congress is putting the safety of federal judges at risk at a time when threats against court officials are on the upswing, the US judiciary has warned.The federal judiciary announced Friday that a shortfall in congressional funding this year is hampering the judicial branch's ability to maintain courthouse security amid the rise in threats on US judges.Judicial Conference secretary Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. and Judge Amy J. St. Eve, the chair of the Conference's Budget Committee, sounded the alarm in a letter last week to members of Congress serving on the House and Senate appropriations committees."We have significant concerns about our ability to properly secure federal courthouses given current resource levels," Conrad and St. Eve wrote in the April 10 letter.The latest congressional appropriations left the judicial branch with an $8.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2025 — $391 million less than the Judicial Conference had requested last year.As a result, the US judiciary said, many of the judicial branch's accounts are frozen for a second consecutive year, leaving them operating at fiscal year 2023 levels.Funding for court security remains stagnant at $750 million, it said."Consecutive years of flat security funding comes at a time when threats against federal judges and courthouses are escalating, making this situation unsustainable in the current environment," Conrad and St. Eve wrote in the letter.Representatives for the members of Congress to whom the letter was addressed did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The letter pointed to US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' 2024 year-end report on the federal judiciary, in which he said there had been a significant uptick in threats to the courts.Roberts wrote at the time that over the past five years, the US Marshals Service had investigated more than 1,000 serious threats against federal judges."Some of these threats have necessitated additional security measures by the US Marshals Service, and approximately 50 individuals have been criminally charged in connection with threats," Conrad and St. Eve wrote to the Congress members.The letter said that currently, 67 judges involved in high-profile cases are receiving "enhanced online security screening services" provided by the Administrative Office of the US Courts and the Marshals Service."In extreme cases, the US Marshals Service has been required to take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of judges," Conrad and St. Eve wrote. They said they're also concerned about the impact of hiring freezes and staffing losses at the Marshals Service and General Services Administration on courthouse security.Additionally, Conrad and St. Eve said that the Judiciary's Defender Services program and court staff salaries have also been greatly underfunded.The judiciary is scheduled to submit its budget request for fiscal year 2026 this month, and Conrad and St. Eve wrote that "adequate funding of that request will be critical to mitigating the adverse impacts" of the recent budget gaps. Recommended video0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 74 Views
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WWW.VOX.COMThe daunting task facing Democrats trying to win back the working classIt’s perhaps the most urgent reason Democrats lost in November: The party has solidly lost the support of working-class voters across the country and doesn’t have a solid sense of how to win them back.Now, a group of Democratic researchers, strategists, and operatives are launching a renewed effort to figure out — and to communicate to the rest of their party — what it is that these voters want, where they think the party went wrong, and how to best respond to their concerns before the 2026 election cycle.Led by Mitch Landrieu, former Democratic lieutenant governor of Louisiana and former mayor of New Orleans, the Working Class Project plans to offer guidance over the next few months on how to build “a more sustainable majority” in future elections.Their challenge is daunting. In November 2024, Trump not only rallied the white working-class base of voters that first got him elected in 2016. He also cut into Democrats’ working-class support among voters of color: Nearly half of Latino voters and a historic share of Black voters backed Trump (anywhere from a tenth to nearly one in five). Exit polls from November also show that Trump won over new support from both lower-income and middle-income voters — those who make less than $100,000 per year, and particularly those who make less than $50,000 per year. Last year marked the first time in nearly 60 years that the lowest-earning Americans voted for the Republican presidential candidate over the Democratic one.Some of this can be explained away by pointing to the confluence of factors that made last year’s election unique: the historic age and unpopularity of the incumbent president, the late-in-the-game candidate switch-up, high inflation, post-pandemic malaise, and Trump’s specific appeal. But Landrieu and the Working Class Project want Democrats to resist these excuses — and to accept that their decline with these voters predates Trump.“Since President Obama was first elected in 2008, Democrats have seen over 25 percent in net loss of support among working class voters,” Landrieu explains in the project’s launch announcement. “In other words, for two decades, Democrats have been on a downward slide among the very voters whose interests we champion and who benefit most from our policies.”What this effort looks likeHoused within the liberal opposition research firm and Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, the Working Class Project is primarily focused on research, polling, and focus group works. They’re focused on reaching and listening to voters in 21 states: the traditional seven battleground states, seven safely Democratic states with large shares of white and nonwhite working-class voters (which drifted right last year), and seven solidly Republican states.Some of these focus groups have already been conducted — the group began this work in February after Trump’s inauguration — and they plan on interviewing labor, faith, and local leaders as well. The group is also planning a longer-term study with an in-depth focus on a handful of dynamics unique to the 2024 election that most of the party still seems adrift on. That includes following and finding out the motivations of young white, Black, Latino, and AAPI men who Trump won over, and what their media consumption habits look like. They also say that they’ll conduct longitudinal research on working-class people in these states to track their behavior over the course of Trump’s second term to track their reactions to things like tariffs, taxes, and immigration.“With this deep listening to working class voters across 21 states, we’ll identify messages, messengers, and new mediums to rebuild the Democratic brand and write a blueprint for victory that we’ll deploy using every tool in our toolbox,” the group said.Their effort, of course, isn’t the only one on the left trying to discern and solve the party’s branding, messaging, and policy problems. But their framing is a bit different.Democrats face a numbers problem in 2028 and beyondThe group’s memo says they chose those 21 states because they are the fastest-growing and stand to gain the most from congressional reapportionment in 2030. They include seven “growth” states where Democrats are no longer competitive at the statewide level: Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. And it’s those states where Democrats will need to seriously compete if they hope to win the presidency or hold the Senate after 2030.It’s also in those states where Trump’s 2024 gains — if they hold — would make it impossible for Democrats to be competitive without winning back more working-class voters. To be sure, Trump himself is already doing some of this work for his opposition. His approval ratings have swung sharply away from him in at least nine of those 21 states, according to polling estimates conducted by data journalists at The Economist. And his chaotic handling of tariffs, inflation, and the economy in general is likely contributing to this discontent among his 2024 coalition.But Democrats will have to do more to take advantage of this skepticism with Trump. The Brennan Center for Justice’s reapportionment projections for 2030 suggest that with population losses in solidly Democratic and swing states, a future Democratic presidential candidate will face difficult odds for an Electoral College win after those votes are reallocated to match census estimates. After 2030, the Center estimates, “even if a Democrat in 2032 were to carry the Blue Wall states and both Arizona and Nevada, the result would be only a narrow 276–262 win” making Democratic gains with men, working-class voters, and voters in the South and the Heartland an existential challenge.See More:0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 79 Views
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METRO.CO.UKWhere to pre-order Nintendo Switch 2 before Mario Kart bundle sells outIt’s a ‘limited time production’ (Nintendo) Nintendo has warned that the Switch 2 bundle with Mario Kart World is a limited time offer, so here’s where you can pre-order the console. We’re less than two months away from the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and many retailers have already sold out their allocated stock. The Switch 2 is set to launch worldwide on June 5, 2025, and while you can pick up the base console for £395.99 in the UK, the £429.99 bundle with Mario Kart World looks to be the most popular deal, as it knocks off £33 from the game’s £66.99 digital price. While many assumed this bundle would be sticking around for some time, Nintendo has raised alarm bells through some small print in the recent Mario Kart World Direct. When the bundle was shown during the presentation, small print on the bottom of the screen read: ‘Limited time production through autumn 2025 (available while supplies last).’ While it seems odd that this bundle would have a ‘limited time production’ considering it’s just a code inside the box, Nintendo has some history with bizarre time sensitive deals – most famously Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which was discontinued after six months. The disclaimer is clearly designed to incentivise sales over the coming months, but as Mario Kart World does cost significantly more separately, it’s entirely possible Nintendo doesn’t want the deal to continue beyond its launch year. By Christmas, if stock of the Mario Kart World bundle does run out, it’s likely other retailers might have their own bundles with other games, albeit with less of a discount – and probably less notable titles. More Trending If you’re looking to pre-order the Mario Kart World bundle, retailers like Amazon and Very are currently sold out. However, they’ve been getting small amounts of new stock in on a consistent basis, so if you keep trying the links below you may get lucky – although the My Nintendo Store one is currently invite only. Where to pre-order Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle Some retailers like Currys have only opened up Switch 2 pre-orders in stores, and it’s currently unclear whether they’ll sell units online. While pre-orders are live now across the UK and Europe, pre-orders in the US and Canada were delayed earlier this month due to Trump’s tariffs, with a new date now set for April 24. Along with Mario Kart World, the Switch 2 is set to launch with other games like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, Split Fiction, and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. Yoshi is jumping for joy at the profit margins (Nintendo) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 76 Views
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GIZMODO.COMDead Mail Is a Grimy Retro Horror Thriller Well Worth Seeking OutIn a random Midwestern town in a nondescript moment in the 1980s, a man wrapped in chains bursts out of a home and crawls toward a blue mail collection box, barely managing to slip a scrap of paper in before he’s recaptured by a blurry figure behind him. Thus begins Dead Mail, a refreshingly unconventional horror film made in a deliberately downgraded analogue style that perfectly captures both its setting and the quirky mood that runs through it. Instead of immediately following up on that grabby opening, Dead Mail—which unfolds with a great attention to detail, including retro cinematography and production design that feels completely organic and correct to its world—then introduces us to Jasper (Tomas Boykin), a dead letter investigator who’s the superstar employee of his postal branch. Not that you’d know it by looking at him; he keeps to himself in a back room, methodically tracking down the proper owners of valuables that would otherwise have been lost in the mail. But his detective skills are CSI-level amazing: you almost wish the entire plot of Dead Mail followed Jasper as he phones the National Weather Service checking precipitation levels to see if a smudged letter came through a certain location, or dialing up a foreign hacker to check car registrations to narrow down lists of potential names. His co-workers Ann and Bess (Micki Jackson, Susan Priver) think he’s a genius, and as soon as we see him work, we understand why. But this isn’t a movie only about Jasper; there’s that blood-stained scrap of paper that eventually winds its way onto his list of mysteries, which Jasper initially tosses aside, insisting “they don’t pay me to be a crime detective.” Jasper on the job. © Shudder While Dead Mail is certainly invested in the plight of the chained-up man who sent that desperate letter, it takes its time crafting the series of events that lead up to his written call for help. And much like the offbeat but fascinating Jasper, the characters that emerge in the film’s main drama feel both specific and singular. There’s Josh (Sterling Macer Jr.), a talented synthesizer engineer who isn’t sure how to level up the musical innovations he knows he’s capable of—and Trent (John Fleck), the older loner who slinks up to him at a demo and asks if he’s ever thought about collaborating with a partner. We already know where this is headed, having seen Josh as a prisoner and Trent’s involvement in some extreme behavior to try to reclaim Josh’s letter. But Dead Mail wants to dig into the dynamics between these two, as we watch Josh tinker on his prototype while Trent buys him cutting-edge equipment and giddily learns to cook his favorite meal. Josh may not realize it, but the audience already knows Trent’s interest has already skipped over the line into something very unwholesome, and we must wait as the tension rises ahead of that inevitable mail-box moment—and whatever happens next. Throughout, Dead Mail makes perfect use of its synthesizer plot to use electronic music both in its score and as part of its diegetic soundtrack; this creates a haunting and nearly funereal effect, since Josh’s particular interests include recreating the sounds of pipe organs as well as woodwinds. The longer the two men work together, the atmosphere of unease grows heavier and heavier. But Trent’s self-perpetuating psychodrama doesn’t exist in a vacuum; there’s always the idea that (despite some circumstances getting in the way of Jasper’s usual process) Josh’s small, blood-stained missive has raised an alarm in the outside world. Trent in his home. © Shudder While tales of dangerous obsessions are not unfamiliar, Dead Mail places its peril in a setting that could not better illustrate the idea of the “banality of evil.” Sometimes an obsequious stranger might have a creepy stare you don’t notice in time—or a dead letter investigator and his intrepid co-workers might be the best “crime detectives” of all. It’s rare to see a movie with such a carefully considered point of view and style that it doesn’t remind you of anything you’ve seen before—so all hail co-directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy for coming up with this one. Dead Mail arrives today, April 18, on Shudder. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.0 Commentarii 0 Distribuiri 100 Views