Anyone who has read any of the Dune books, or watched any of the Dune movies, or, heck, talked to anyone who has done either of those things will tell you: The world of Dune is complicated. This is a grand sci-fi universe, built on a few millennia of royal politicking, power plays, manipulation, and violence.So its no surprise that Dune: Prophecy has a lot of people to cover. Its the same universe, sure, and is loosely adapted from Brian Herberts Great Schools of Dune, a prequel trilogy to his fathers series. But Prophecy is set some 10,000 years and change ahead of when Paul Atreides lands on Arrakis, so theres a whole host of new characters and traditions to establish here. The family names will almost certainly be ones youre familiar with, but the circumstances of the houses will not be.In light of that, weve pulled together a primer on who to know from Dune: Prophecy and how they correlate to other characters across Dune.[Ed. note: The rest of this post contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy season 1.]The Bene Gesserit SisterhoodIn the pilot of Prophecy we see the Sisterhood at a couple different times: Early on we see Valya Harkonnen (played then as Jessica Barden) as a sister, called to the bedside of the dying Mother Superior Raquella. In an effort to preserve the Bene Gesserit breeding program, which is just getting started at this point, Valya uses the Voice on fellow sister Dorotea (Camilla Marie Beeput) and makes her drive her own knife into her neck.Flash-forward to 30 years later, when the Sisterhood is thriving, and now-Mother Superior Valya (played in the present day by Emily Watson) is still committed to doing anything to preserve the Bene Gesserit vision of the universe. At her side is Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams as the elder, Emma Canning as young Tula) and Reverend Mother Kasha (Jihae), who currently serves as the very trusted truthsayer to Emperor Corrino.Theres a collection of young sisters currently studying with the Bene Gesserit, but we dont know a ton about them quite yet. Some were raised by the Bene Gesserit, and others came when they were a little older (like Princess Ynez will); mostly whats important about them right now is Tula and Valya each have their favorites and maybe even a plan for each of them.House CorrinoYou might not know the name, but you certainly know the house: Corrino is still the ruling family during the period of Dune. So the full name of Christopher Walkens emperor character in Dune 2 is Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. But here, 10,000 years before then, Corrinos Empire is at a very different place.Its headed up by Emperor Javicco (Mark Strong), who at this point is mostly concerned with how weak his position is (or could be perceived as) and is all set to marry off his daughter. Hes also pretty reliant on his personal truthsayer, Reverend Mother Kasha, much to the chagrin of his wife, Empress Natalya Arat (Jodhi May). She is concerned about the growing gulf between herself and her husband (saying the Empire was more stable when they were more of a unit), and cautions her daughter against drinking too much of the Bene Gesserit Kool-Aid.But the kids are all right: Constantine Corrino (Josh Heuston), Javiccos illegitimate son, isnt striving for the throne and is more than happy to handle some business on behalf of the family. Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) is doing all she can to prepare to be an effective empress: taking sword training, enlisting with the Bene Gesserit, and marrying a 9-year-old so she can have 10 years to herself.House HarkonnenThough Dune: Prophecys pilot doesnt get into specifics, we know this is a rocky period for the Harkonnens. After being branded traitors by the Atreides during the Butlerian Jihad (the books tell us its because the Atreides wanted to push an attack at the cost of human captives, while the Harkonnens wanted to hold back, and 100 or so years later all anyone can remember is that the Harkonnens deserted), the family has fallen out of favor. When we pick up with them, the Harkonnens have been banished to a remote, icy planet.Obviously two Harkonnens make it pretty far in the Bene Gesserit. But beyond that, the most important Harkonnen player is Harrow Harkonnen (Edward Davis). He doesnt make a ton of impressions at the princess wedding festivities! Mostly his personality for now can be winnowed down to: boring the emperor talking about the utilities of whale farming and a Harkonnen with hair.House AtreidesThere hasnt been much talk of House Atreides in the first episode of Prophecy. Theyre more or less restricted to Valyas voice-over, that history says it was an Atreides who led humans to victory over the thinking machines. She claims this was a history spun out of lies. But this opinion of hers clearly sets up the Atreides-Harkonnen feud going strong 10,000 years later.But there is an Atreides already among our cast of characters, though his house is certainly downplayed: Kieran Atreides (Chris Mason), the princesss swordmaster.Desmond HartDesmond Hart serves House Carrino but he seems to be holding back about something, at least per Kashas assessment about him. Oh, also, he burned a kid alive with only his mind. Seems like theres more to know about this stranger! Most notably: What are his true loyalties, and what game is he playing?

If you're looking for a solid mid-range TV that delivers great visuals and gaming features without breaking the bank, the 75'' Hisense U7 ULED 4K TV is worth a serious look. Currently priced at $897.99 (down from $1,397.99), its at its lowest-ever price, according to price-tracking tools. It has four HDMI ports (two supporting 4K 144Hz, one with eARC), two USB ports, a headphone jack, and an Ethernet portgiving you plenty of connectivity options for all your gaming and streaming needs. Hisense 75U7N $897.99 at Amazon $1,397.99 Save $500.00 Get Deal Get Deal $897.99 at Amazon $1,397.99 Save $500.00 Speaking of streaming, Google TV powers the U7, offering easy access to all the major streaming services, alongside Google Cast and Apple AirPlay (so you can stream straight from your Android or Apple devices without any fuss). Plus, its built-in far-field microphones let you use Google Assistant hands-free for everything from searching for shows to controlling smart home devices with just your voice. You can always use the included remote if you prefer a more hands-on approach.The U7 brings a lot to the table when it comes to both picture quality and gaming. Its 4K QLED panel supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and more, delivering rich colors and excellent contrast. That said, the greens and yellows might not fully nail the DCI-P3 color space, and shadow details in high-contrast scenes could be sharper, but the overall image quality remains stellarespecially at this price point, according to this PCMag review. Add in its 144Hz refresh rate, Wifi 6E, and ATSC 3.0 tuner for 4K broadcasts, and youve got a TV thats pretty much future-proof.Gamers wont be disappointed eitherthe U7 clocks in with a 6.2ms input lag in Game mode, a hair faster than its more expensive sibling, the U8N, and comfortably below the 10ms benchmark for gaming TVs (it might not match the sub-millisecond latency of pricier OLEDs like the LG Evo G4, but it more than holds its own for a fraction of the cost). Plus, with features like VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and a Game Bar for quick setting adjustments, this TV keeps up with the demands of modern consoles.The Roku Pro Smart TV at $898 (down from $1,199) is another excellent choice for those focused on streaming and overall usability.

Like many, I enjoy creating custom playlists on both Apple Music (for myself) and on Spotify (for my friends). Making nice playlist cover art is a fun part of this process, but I've found both Apple Music and Spotify's built-in tools lacking. Apple Music lets you select photos from your library or pick a generated cover. Spotify also lets you pick a photo you've saved, and it has a cover generator feature in beta that offers greater control over the background, elements in the image, and the text. Apple's cover options become repetitive to me quite quickly, while I find it takes too long to make good covers using Spotify's editor. This is why I've been relying on Denim, an app that lets you make custom playlist covers for both Apple Music and Spotify. Denim's been around for a couple of years now, and it recently got a big update that added support for Spotify. Its developer also made Hezel, which lets you back up all of your Apple Music playlists.How to make custom Apple Music, Spotify playlist covers with DenimWhen you open Denim, the app will ask for access to your Apple Music and Spotify data. This is required for the app to see your playlists and help you generate cover art for them. Once you've granted it the proper permissions, the app will show you all your playlists when you tap the + button in the top-right corner. You'll see your playlists sorted in two neat tabsApple Music and Spotify. Note that Denim only lets you customize playlist covers for playlists that you have personally created. It doesn't show Apple or Spotify's editorial or algorithmic playlists, or playlists created by others. This makes it easy to find your playlists with stale cover art. That saved me a lot of trouble, because I have around 200 playlists on my Apple Music account, including around 50 that I've created. To start creating a cover, tap any of your playlists and Denim will generate a whole bunch of covers to start from. There is a good variety of basic covers with a solid background color, and some with gradients, patterns, or textures in the background.As far as I can tell, there's no AI in use here, with Denim instead occasionally adding new artwork manually, such as the patterns designed by Daniel Baketaric. Credit: Pranay Parab I like the Denim covers that prominently display an artist from my playlist. Another personal favorite is the emoji cover, which looks at the region and genre of music and picks emoji based on those factors. You may see the flag of the country that songs are from and some instruments commonly used in the songs. But the real fun begins when you go to the Explore More section. This lets you see covers that are based on moods, scenes, genres, activities, seasons, and much more. Denim is a free download, and it allows you to create many types of playlist covers without paying. The app has no ads, either. There is a Pro tier that is home to a few additional cover and editing options, though, and you'll need it even to edit free covers. Denim Pro is available at $4.99 per year or a one-time in-app purchase of $19.99. This gives you access to editing options including changing the font, the background, and the text on the cover.

Portable monitors have been around for years, but their importance skyrocketed during the pandemic. And with the continuation of remote and hybrid work positions, theyre going to be staples for the foreseeable future. But picking one isnt as simple as it seems. At this point, almost every major PC maker has its own take on travel-friendly displays, with prices ranging from as little as $100 to nearly $1,000. So to help sort through the confusion, I tested out a bunch of options to put together a short list of the best portable monitors on sale today. Things to consider before buying a portable monitor Before you start looking at specific products, its super important to think about how and where you plan on using a portable display. Larger panels are great for home use where you may only need to move it or put it away when you have company over. Meanwhile, smaller screens are great for travel and whipping out at a coffee shop or shared workspace. But if you go too small, you may be adding extra weight to your bag without providing a ton of extra utility, especially if it lacks a good USB-C cable or mini HDMI for connectivity. Its also important to consider your typical workload, as artists may get extra value out of monitors with higher maximum brightness and wider color gamuts. Those who spend all day looking at spreadsheets wont get as much value from more vibrant displays, but they may still benefit from having a basic second display for multitasking. What to look for in a portable monitor Aside from price and the size of the screen, some of the most important specs in a portable monitor include panel type, pixels per inch, brightness, refresh rate and connectivity. Most portable monitors use IPS LCD displays, which generally offer good viewing angles, strong brightness and good power efficiency. However, there are a few models sporting OLED screens that support wider color gamuts, which can be a major benefit for artists and content creators. Some budget models may use TN panels, as that can help cut costs and reduce energy consumption. That said, we generally try to stay away from those as they often have worse image quality compared to IPS screens. For brightness, 300 nits is the lowest we recommend anything less can make the monitor hard to use even in some indoor environments. Ideally, we look for screens that are closer to 350 or 400 nits and above for better accuracy and visibility. Connectivity is also important because if you cant easily hook your phone, gaming console, or laptop to a monitor, it becomes an oversized paperweight. Most travel displays include an HDMI port or USB Type-C port(or both), which cover the large majority of devices. Its rare to find a portable monitor these days with only USB-A, since the majority of devices have moved over to USB-C. However, we also like models that support passthrough power over USB-C, which reduces the complexity of your setup and decreases the number of cords and adapters you have to carry around. Finally, most portable monitors feature 60Hz refresh rates, which is fine for most use cases. However, there are a handful of models that go up to 120Hz or even 240Hz. Panels that fast are especially good for gaming, especially for those planning to bring a gaming console or gaming PC on the go. Best portable monitors for 2024 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-portable-monitor-120050851.html?src=rss

As crisp fall air settles in for the next few weeks, its time to make sure youve got everything you need to enjoy the weather before winters cold embrace drives us inside. Theres still plenty of time to head outdoors, whether its to the backyard, porch, patio or even a campsite. Weve compiled a list of the best outdoor gear for relaxing, enjoying a warm beverage or cooking a meal this fall. Weve got recommendations from products weve tested spanning fire pits, grills, speakers and more. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-fall-outdoor-tech-gear-150041103.html?src=rss

Check out Wt FX's new narrated VFX breakdown of its FX sims for Transformers: The Rise of the Beasts, including its planetary-scale simulation work for UnicronWatch the full video on the Wt FX YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EgtDN5qzQs

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