Years ago, comedy writer Mike McMahan got the opportunity of a lifetime an interview to join the writing staff of a new Star Trek series, the first in over a decade. McMahan was a massive Trekkie and had recently made a splash with a parody Twitter account called TNG Season 8, in which he summarized goofy, imaginary episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Hed even sold the idea to Simon & Schuster and written an entire episode guide for the bogus season. Now, he was getting a chance to work on the real thing and he turned it down.McMahan had been working on a new animated series that had not yet premiered, but that he loved working on and didnt want to walk away from. To hear McMahan tell it, the folks at Secret Hideout, Alex Kurtzmans production company in charge of the new Trek spinoff, thought he was crazy.The show McMahan was working on was Rick and Morty, which went on to be a massive pop culture sensation. More confident than ever in McMahans instincts, Secret Hideout reached out again in 2018, this time to ask him what he wanted to do. McMahan answered with a pitch for an animated sitcom based in the Star Trek universe, a truly wild swing for the typically reverent and cerebral sci-fi franchise.This gamble paid off, too, as his series Star Trek: Lower Decks has become an overwhelming fan favorite with an appeal that has reached beyond the Starfleet faithful. As the series comes to a close after five seasons, Polygon caught up with McMahan about how his wacky passion project made its mark on one of American pop cultures most cherished legacies.This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Polygon: I just saw on Bluesky someone surfaced the preface to your collection of Star Trek Season 8 posts where you said, Im never going to write for Star Trek.Mike McMahan: But even worse than that, I wrote those TNG Season 8 posts, and then I sold the idea to Simon & Schuster and wrote a fake guide to a fake season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And in the intro to that book, I talked about never having a Star Trek show, so this book is going to be it. And people bring it up and Im just like, Man, 10-years-ago Mike, what were you doing?No, I mean, it all worked out for you! Its very aspirational, Im sure, for a lot of fans thinking, This is something that can and has happened. Right?Yeah. It was cool because when I was becoming a writer in TV and writing my own stuff all the time, I was watching Star Trek with my wife, being like, Man, I wish Star Trek was still around, because it was in the in-between phase. And I remember being like, Im just gonna write Star Trek whether somebody pays me to or not. And, eventually people saw me doing that especially Aaron Baiers, who became the head of Alex Kurtzmans company. He and I were assistants back in the day, and he saw me doing that on my own volition. And then when I worked on Rick and Morty, it became like a natural sort of thing. So, if youre a big fan of stuff, what I would say is: Keep loving that stuff, but also work on all sorts of other stuff you love, and then it might converge. That was the lucky part, was the convergence of it.Sure. I mean, luck is usually something that only works in your favor if youve done a lot of hard work first, right?Yes.Did you ever write a Trek spec script, just like a proper a TNG script for fun?I never did because I always wanted it to be funny. And like, TNG is funny, but I wanted it to be Lower Decks funny. So, I had written things that were kind of like, not really TNG, but were basically like The Orville kind of versions.A thing that I appreciate about this whole new era of Star Trek is that each new series has pushed the boundaries of what Star Trek is, but in a different direction. In the early days, Discovery seemed to be aiming to be a Game of Thrones-y thing. And your project is almost in the exact opposite direction of that.So what Id like to explore with you today is essentially the rules of the Lower Decks writers room, and how they evolved over five seasons. How did you come to define what this was both within and without the bounds of Star Trek?So, season 1, I went into it day one having actually like a bible written up for the shows style guide for the artists and the writers. I knew that the show had to feel like it took place seven years after Star Trek: Nemesis, that we had to fit into the timeline both technologically and with design and with all of the character attributes that that would come with. So that we recognize this as kind of like the last of the TNG-era shows. When it comes to the narratives that were telling, every episode right off the bat had to have a big Star Trek story happening to the ship and the bridge crew that was affecting our Lower Deckers, but that their main storyline was a social, emotional, comedic story pulled from experiences people had at work or dating or in life in their 20s and 30s. So we always had two stories happening at the same time the big sci-fi story and the getting to know who you are in life story.On top of that, the first season was all, Oh, I cant believe I get to make a Star Trek. Im going to play, Im going to do the hits. Were going to see a Klingon in the second episode. Were going to have a trial episode. Were going to have a big bad that has a metaphorical political social commentary at the end of the season. The first season it felt like we were Doing a Star Trek. And then the second season, we understood the characters better. We had spent a lot more time with the actors and finding stories with the characters. And thats when we became Were doing a Lower Decks.Thats when we were like, We want to incrementally move these characters forward. When they learn stuff, we dont want to have them unlearn it the next episode, like a classic sitcom. And the main goal the whole time was that the big surprise of this show should be that its funny, but its also thoughtful Star Trek and that theres different ways to do that.Like, I love the original animated series. I think its fascinating and I grew up watching it too, but I didnt want Lower Decks to become that. I didnt want Lower Decks to be an asterisk show, a show that, like, people probably had never heard of or didnt care about. Our goal was, if youre talking about your favorite Trek shows, you should at least admit that Lower Decks is one of the Trek shows. And I feel like we maybe overshot that a little bit, because a lot of people love Lower Decks.I think that of the crop of new shows, Lower Decks is the predominant favorite.Which is crazy! We must have lucked into that, because I think they did some amazing stuff on those other shows. And weve just been doing, you know, literally what we set out to do from day one. It feels very lucky that we got to do it, and that people respond to it feels lucky, too, because sometimes I feel like Im making the show for me, whether or not other people are going to like it. So when they do, its a very nice surprise.Im curious, when you were working on that first season, what kind of conversations you were having with your fellow storytellers about the accessibility of the show versus Were a bunch of fans and we want to see these things.We werent worried about the accessibility because the only people who think Lower Decks isnt accessible to outside viewers are people who know a lot of Star Trek. And people who dont know a lot of Star Trek are just meeting aliens that are not too complex to figure out for the episode. Like, when you meet a Klingon, you know who they are in the first 30 seconds. In Lower Decks, you dont need to know who Kahless is. If a Klingon is talking about Kahless on Lower Decks, the lines are designed for you to understand the meaning it has to them, even if you dont know all the apocrypha, just like you can watch any episode of Star Trek and not have to have seen them all.In Rick and Morty, we were creating pastiches of other sci-fi characters all the time that felt like it was world-building, but you didnt have to know the backstory of the aliens they were meeting. That was the same way we were treating legacy species in Lower Decks. But luckily, with, say, the Cardassians, there are many episodes that define them for us. We just get to kind of give a slightly broader take on them. So for me, the stuff that a lot of people were railing on and worried about was not going to be a problem for me because all of the little legacy stuff, all of the design choices, the understanding that Mariner has seen the holologs of the things that we call episodes, that all of that stuff is to turn Star Trek into a world so that we can have comedy take place within it. Its kind of like when I worked at Second City in Chicago, there were a lot of sketches where you kind of have to live in the city to get what theyre making fun of here, but they were doing it in a way that even if youre in it from out of town, youre still laughing in the scene. It just has a different kind of resonance for you. That is what the deep-cut stuff in Lower Decks usually plays as. Now, sometimes, just to be little stinkers, well put in, like, an extremely deep cut that makes no fucking sense to you unless youre way in.Like the Spock helmet.Yeah, the Spock helmet, or Mariner referencing Xon. Thats a character who never even ended up on screen. Those moments are for deep, deep fans. But in a way, I always talked about Lower Decks being sort of like a translator for all other Trek. Like, if you watch Lower Decks, you could go pop into any other Trek and you kind of get the gist because the Lower Deckers either encountered somebody or talked about it or we did an episode that sort of honored it. You know, you could pop into Voyager, you could pop into Enterprise or TOS. I mean, our characters literally popped into Strange New Worlds. Like, they should feel kind of like an Every-Trek, in a way.And I think that as a fan, you always worry especially as a Star Trek fan that somebody using the things you liked from before are gonna ruin them, or theyre gonna be the wrong version of them, or theyre gonna lessen the thing you liked about it. But we always talk about Star Trek as being like going to a national park. Like, when were writing and designing stuff, you have to enjoy it, to enjoy being there, but dont change it so that the next person cant enjoy what you liked about it.Right. You always want to be additive to what youre working on.Yeah, additive and celebrating it. And originally, there wasnt even a big drive to have legacy actors reprise their roles on the show. But, I had met Jonathan Frakes when I was shooting a Short Trek that I wrote, and he was directing an episode of Discovery. And I showed him the pitch that we were about to take out for Lower Decks, and he was cracking up and he made me promise him that we would have Riker show up in it. And thats why Riker shows up at the finale of the first season, because I was like, Oh man, I promised Frakes we would do this, and we better get Marina [Sirtis] in there. And then, you know, we had Q show up for a quick bit. But that created the feeling of, like, Oh, I guess part of this show is having these characters come back. How are we going to do that? Weve got to keep them funny. Weve got to honor what they set up before. And everything on Lower Decks is really hard to write because its got to be funny, but also deeply thoughtful.So it sounds like you didnt have to have anybody in the writers room who was just like a casual Star Trek fan who could be your test audience, like you could kind of just trust that it was going to work.You know, it was a mix. In the first season, it was me, Ben Rodgers, Brad Winters, David Wright, M. Willis. Like, the writers room was a mix of comedy writers, animation writers, and deep, deep Star Trek fans, but not somebody who had worked on Star Trek before. Brad Winters, my producer, has a brain that is so deep in Trek. Like, we can have a conversation when we have an episode written where hell be like, You have the characters doing this here, but theres an episode in the middle of Voyager that says this cant happen. So lets talk about why you wanted to do it and how we can fit it in.So everything is always, when it comes to the Trek lore, guiding us to what we wanted to do, and then sometimes we just have to adjust. We also have Dr. Erin [Macdonald], who is our science advisor, and shell get every script, because part of what feels right about Star Trek is that the science actually makes sense, even if were doing something silly. She does a pass on every script to make sure that Im not making stuff up thats crazy. And then we have the Star Trek franchise team, like John Van Citters and Marian Cordry and Dayton Ward. Not only have they worked on so many episodes of Trek, but also on all of the side stuff, the comics and the books and everything. Ill have them look at everything and make sure that it passes the sniff test with them too. So, like, we would have a lot of Star Trek fans, you know, watching the stuff and like, the reviews we always got were, Oh, yeah, a new Lower Decks episode just came in! You know what I mean? It felt like we were doing something right.Like in almost any show, but especially in comedy, theres usually a period early on where the writers and the actors are all kind of figuring out the characters together. Like how it takes a season and a half for TNG to really find Will Riker as he gradually becomes more like Frakes. And Im curious how the animation workflow affects something like this, going back and forth between writer, actor, and animator. It really does feel when you see interviews with Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid and Nol Wells and Eugene Cordero, that theres so much of them in these characters.Yeah.Do you feel like you can pinpoint a moment where you all found your stride, and how did it come about?It kind of came about naturally. It was, you know, I had done a lot of direct, like, voice directing on Rick and Morty and on Solar Opposites. So, when we started recording Lower Decks, I just kind of put them through hell at first. Like, I would have Tawny do, like, 25 takes of each line, and then we found those characters together. And, over time, Brad, my producer, also was able to start voice directing the show primarily because over time, we all started to understand the characters together. Not only from watching the show together and performing the show together, but Tawny and Eugene were going to conventions and having really interesting conversations with fans of the show and with actors on other Star Trek shows.Like, at first there were no wrong answers. And then over time, as you start to learn the characters, its like, Oh, Rutherford wouldnt say that. Whats a Rutherford way to say that? And you dont have that at first because you dont know Rutherford. But I think it just speaks to the patience and the talent of the cast. We really lucked out in some respects in casting, that we made some right choices right off the bat. Jack Quaid didnt know anything about Star Trek coming in, but hes an amazing actor and hes super funny. And he wanted to know about Star Trek. He wanted to know what it means to be in love with Starfleet. Every actor had that desire. There wasnt really any one miracle moment. It was just really loving to work with this cast, really believing in the scripts and the cast thinking theyre funny too. Nobody was at odds with each other and there was tons of communication. Anybody on the cast could call and ask questions beforehand or when were there, and we were never trying to force them into something. We were trying to find the best version all together from the very first episode.Well, now youve got sort of a legacy being built out of that experience. Tawnys in the writers room for one Star Trek show and apparently developing another one, which Im sure you cant tell me anything about.I cant, but Tawnys a genius and everybody shes working with seems amazing. Like, everybody on the show feels like a mega star I got before the rest of everybody else found out. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I would think Tawny can do literally anything that she wants to do in this world.And on top of that, just wrapping up here, can you tell me anything about Starbase 80?Starbase 80 smells really weird; its systems are very old. Its like a mix of Enterprise, TOS, lots of stuff.Are we going to be going there again?I would love to go there again. There are no plans to go there again. I pitched a Starbase 80 spinoff to CBS like, three years ago, which is where a lot of this came from. I would love to go back to Starbase 80, but right now there are no plans to do it.

One of the standout moments of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Jim Carrey pulling double duty as two Doctors Robotnik Ivo and his grandfather Gerald merrily dancing their way through a classic Hollywood trope: the laser security grid. That sequence was not only technically challenging to pull off, Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler tells Polygon, it was a scene proposed by Carrey himself which sure sounds like a thing Jim Carrey would do.In our early conversations, it was one of Jims requests, Fowler recalls. In the first [Sonic the Hedgehog movie], theres a moment where Robotnik is in his lab, and thinks hes by himself. He puts on some music [Where Evil Grows by the Poppy Family] and he just starts dancing. He has a little dance party, and then he gets interrupted by [his assistant] Stone. And so Jim wanted to dance again. Of course, we had to not just have him dance, we had to go big, and really go for it.Carrey even requested the song that was ultimately used in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, The Chemical Brothers Galvanize.We immediately brought in these amazing choreographers and this dance team, Fowler said. Of course, Jim wanted to do everything he could, but there was no way he could do everything, especially since hes dancing with himself. So theres always going to need to be another human in there dancing with him that would then become a face replacement down the line.Fowler said that making the double Robotnik dancing scene work was a challenge, based on the dozens of lasers bouncing off their laser-resistant-suited bodies. We very quickly learned that the more we threw in there, the harder it became to understand their movement, Fowler said. So it was very much trial and error, just whats the right amount of lasers to create these really fun silhouettes and geometric patterns with the way the lasers were reflecting off their bodies.Fowler called the short but memorable sequence which, surprisingly, does not goof on the infamously leering laser-trap scene featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment a lot of work from a lot of people.But its such a standout thing, the director said. I think weve all seen sequences with laser grids and lattices where people are having to navigate them. But the idea of just dancing right through it it was so Jim Carrey, so perfect, and just really fun to execute.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.When you have a reliable internet connection, you don't think about how you watch YouTube on your iPhone. It just works. But there are plenty of times when you either need to go offline, or give your data plan a break. For these situations, it's pretty easy to download YouTube videos on your iPhone to watch them offline or without using databut not all the methods are exactly equal. Is downloading YouTube videos legal?This ones a bit complicated. If you download videos to your iPhone using YouTubes service (more on that below), its 100% on the up-and-up. However, the platform does not approve of downloading videos from its servers outside of that capacity. Its actually against YouTubes terms of service for app developers to make YouTube downloaders and put them on app stores. That said, the company wont do a thing about it if you do download videos from third-party solutions. Where it will take action is if you upload those videos, especially copyrighted videos, back online. So, play it safe: Download these videos only for your own personal use. How to download videos using YouTube PremiumYouTubes preferred method for downloading videos on your iPhone is, of course, by paying for the service. With YouTube Premium, youll find a convenient Download button next to most videos on the platform, so you can quickly save your favorite videos for offline viewing anytime. Sometimes, the button is tucked away, but if you swipe on the row of options below the channel's name, you'll find it. The first time you tap "Download," YouTube will offer you quality options for your download: Low (144p), Medium (360p), High (720p), or Full HD (1080p). If you choose "Remember my settings," YouTube won't ask you next time, and will default to whichever quality setting you choose here. Unless storage isn't a concern, I'd suggest letting YouTube ask you each time, since you'll see the total download size of each quality choice with this menu. You'll find your videos under your profile tab on the bottom right, in the Downloads section. You can watch your videos from here, as well as delete any you no longer want saved to your iPhone. Your downloads will stay put so long as your iPhone connects to the internet at least once every 30 days. That's a bit annoying, but unless you're backpacking off the grid for over a month, you should be alright. Credit: Jake Peterson There are other perks to YouTube Premium, including avoiding ads before videos and the high-quality 1080p Premium bitrate, for $13.99 per month. Its an expensive way to download your YouTube videos, but it is the way YouTube approves of.Use a YouTube downloader site (but be cautious)Mobile browsing on iPhone has come a long way. In many respects, its just as capable as browsing on a Mac or PC. For example, you can actually use a YouTube downloader in Safari and download a YouTube video just as you would on desktop. This type of downloader is far from a perfect option, however. The YouTube downloaders online can be spammy, blasting you with sketchy ads and giving off an overall malicious vibe. Still, they do work, so its a notable option.About ShortcutsIn the past, my go-to has typically been Apple's Shortcuts, a treasure trove of powerful programssome of which happened to be YouTube downloaders.The problem is, these shortcuts tend to break fast. It's not clear exactly why, but it's possible YouTube frequently changes things on its end and stops these shortcuts from working. That wouldn't be so bad if developers stuck around and patched the issues are they pop up, but, unfortunately, these shortcuts are often abandoned. So, when something goes wrong, the shortcut is useless. Previous versions of this article recommended JAYD (Just Another YouTube Downloader), as well as Sur. Unfortunately, both seem to have met the same fate as other YouTube downloaders, so I can't recommend them anymore. Most other YouTube downloader shortcuts I can find are also old and abandoned. At this point in time, you really have two options for downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone: paying YouTube for the privilege, or using a free downloader site.

Nothing says "Christmas" quite like non-stop ads for cars, all adorned with giant car-sized bows on top. While I've never personally been gifted a car with a giant car-sized bow (and feel free to change that for me), it's true that this time of year is one of the best time to go car shopping. Many automakers offer sales and financing deals on cars right now to help push them off the lot as the new model year cars roll in. If youre in the market for a new or used car, this time of year can be a great time to buy for added savings, but only with the right plan. Time your purchase right Aim to purchase near the very end of December, as salespeople scramble to meet monthly quotas and annual sales goals before the year concludes. Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are excellent times to get the best offers. Model year-end clearance sales will also net steep discountsjust be sure youre comfortable buying the prior years model if going this route.Research at homeBy the time you arrive at the dealership, you should already know the following:Your budgetWhether you're leasing or buying (Although you should probably buy, not lease.)Your top choice (plus two back-up models)Research market prices for vehicles using price-comparison sites like Edmunds or Kelley Blue Book. Gauge the fair-market value of the make and model you're interested in.In terms of payment, the gold standard is to pay for a car in cash and in full, but that's not a realistic possibility for all buyers. Instead, opt to get pre-approved for an auto loan from your bank or credit union and compare the offer to dealer financing. Your credit score plays a major role in determining your interest rate and whether youll get approved. Before applying for a loan, check your credit score so you know where you stand. If its low, here are ways to boost it.Another holiday-specific tip is to look at year-end inventory on last year's models. As the 2024 models come in, dealers will be looking to offload 2023 and even 2022 models still sitting on the lot, giving you negotiation power.Arrive informed about the deals Look out for holiday-exclusive pricing packages and cut preferential financing rates. Monitor sales highlights and fine print exclusions on manufacturer and dealer websites. Check to see if manufacturer financing or customer rebates are available for the cars you're considering. Keep in mind that some holiday-related manufacturer incentives might actually be in place before the holiday weekend and may extend past it. Be decisiveTime to put all your research to use. Cars are hot commodities, so be ready to pull the trigger at the dealership. You should mention any competing offers you've received to use as leverage, even if they aren't an exact apples-to-apples comparison. Then again, the old days of walking away as a negotiating tactic are over for the time beingby the time you come back, your car will most likely have been sold.One area to be flexible: car color and trim options. Opting for colors/options that aren't as popular can save you money as the dealer may be trying harder to move those vehicles.If you're trading in your existing vehicle, its age or mileage will determine its baseline value regardless of whether it's the holidays or not. But you gain leverage negotiating the purchase price for the new vehicle during peak sale promos. Highlight applicable retail rebates and reference year-end volume goals salespeople are striving towards when pressing for the lowest overall price. Review which dealership fees you can and cannot avoid.The festive chill in the December air doesnt have to dampen big-ticket purchaseswith the right mindset, you can unwrap a sweet new car deal this holiday season.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.It's not too late to shop for some Christmas gifts, and if you're looking to wow a loved one (or splurge for yourself), this OLED TV from LG is a great option. Best Buy has the 55-inch LG B4 OLED smart TV for $999.99 (originally $1,399.99) after a $400 discount. The deal is also one of the 52 TVs that comes with a $100 Best Buy gift card. This is the best discount this TV has had over the last few months, according to price-tracking tools. OLEDs are great, but they're not for everyone. Here's what this TV offers and how to determine if it's a good fit for you. 55-inch LG B4 OLED Smart TV Resolution: 4K (2160p), Size: 55 inches, Display Type: OLED, Voice Assistant Built-in: Amazon Alexa. $999.99 at Best Buy $1,399.99 Save $400.00 Get Deal Get Deal $999.99 at Best Buy $1,399.99 Save $400.00 One of the main things you need to know about OLEDs is that they are susceptible to burn-in. If you plan on leaving the TV running for a long period with the same image, like a channel that keeps the logo on the same corner, you run the risk of that image permanently getting burned onto the display. Another thing to keep in mind is that OLEDs don't get as bright as other TVs, so if you plan on using them in a bright room, your image quality will not be optimal.Despite those downsides, OLEDs offer some of the highest-quality images available on modern televisions. The B4 OLED just came out this year and has 4K capabilities with 2160p resolution, High Dynamic Range (HRD), 120 Hz refresh rate (which is great for gaming), and webOS smart platform with voice assistant and access to many streaming services. If you're looking for a 55-inch OLED TV under $1,000 that will arrive before Christmas, this is the best bang for your buck.

We may be a bit technology-obsessed here, but the Engadget team does occasionally get around to low-tech activities, like reading. Well, some of us read on ereaders or our smartphones, but you get the point books are great, and we read some exceptional ones this year that each deserve a shoutout. These are some of the best books we read in 2024. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/our-favorite-books-we-read-in-2024-151514842.html?src=rss

A federal judge in California has agreed with WhatsApp that the NSO Group, the Israeli cybersurveillance firm behind the Pegasus spyware, had hacked into its systems by sending malware through its servers to thousands of its users' phones. WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, sued the NSO Group back in 2019 and accused it of spreading malware to 1,400 mobile devices across 20 countries with surveillance as its purpose. They revealed back then some of the targeted phones were owned by journalists, human rights activists, prominent female leaders and political dissidents. The Washington Post reports that District Judge Phyllis Hamilton has granted WhatsApp's motion for summary judgement against NSO and has ruled that it had violated the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).The NSO Group disputed the allegations in the "strongest possible terms" when the lawsuit was filed. It denied that it had a hand in the attacks and told Engadget back then that its sole purpose was to "provide technology to licensed government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime." The company argued that it should not be held liable, because it merely sells its services to government agencies, which are the ones that determine their targets. In 2020, Meta escalated its lawsuit and accused the firm of using US-based servers to stage its Pegasus spyware attacks.Judge Hamilton has ruled that the NSO Group violated the CFAA, because the firm appears to fully acknowledge that the modified WhatsApp program its clients use to target users send messages through legitimate WhatsApp servers. Those messages then allow the Pegasus spyware to be installed on users' devices the targets don't even have to do anything, such as pick up the phone to take a call or click a link, to be infected. The court has also found that the plaintiff's motion for sanctions must be granted on account of the NSO Group "repeatedly [failing] to produce relevant discovery," most significant of which is the Pegasus source code.WhatsApp spokesperson Carl Woog told The Post that the company believes this is the first court decision agreeing that a major spyware vendor had broken US hacking laws. "Were grateful for todays decision," Woog told the publication. "NSO can no longer avoid accountability for their unlawful attacks on WhatsApp, journalists, human rights activists and civil society. With this ruling, spyware companies should be on notice that their illegal actions will not be tolerated." In her decision, Judge Hamilton wrote that her order resolves all issues regarding the NSO Group's liability and that a trial will only proceed to determine how much the company should pay in damages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/judge-finds-spyware-maker-nso-group-liable-for-attacks-on-whatsapp-users-140054522.html?src=rss

One of the benefits of rewatching your favorite holiday films year after year is getting the opportunity to take a deeper look into the stories. Were all familiar with overt themes about how Christmas is a time for giving, togetherness, and Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot range model air riflesbut the hidden messages in these movies can also provide some surprisingly cogent financial advice. In particular, the Grinch and other Christmas movie villains teach some of the most useful lessons about money. Heres how the worst characters in your beloved Christmas movies can change how you look at money.The Grinch reminds us to ask ourselves whyHes a mean one, that Mr. Grinch. He steals Christmas just so the Whos down in Whoville cant have it. While the noise the Whos make during their holiday celebrations could be an understandable complaint, there is no real reason for him to take out his frustration by snatching the roast beast (and stockings, ornaments, and other non-noisemaking holiday accouterments).The Grinch should have questioned his own motives when little Cindy Lou Who finds him stealing her familys Christmas tree and asks him, Sandy Claus, why? But our small-hearted anti-hero comes up with a lie instead of actually engaging with Cindy Lous question. However, the innocent query gets to the heart of whats wrong with the Grinchs plan.The Grinch is looking to hoard Christmas because he doesnt like that other people enjoy it. His why is both inherently selfish and short-sighted, since Christmas joy arrives in Whoville anyway, even without presents, decorations, or food. He didnt actually want what he stole, and his theft didnt do anything to stop the singing. Had he asked himself why, he might have realized what really wanted was to not be quite so alone.While none of us wants to think were Grinch-like, its easy for us to treat money like he treats Christmas. Those of us who have enough may still want more without questioning why we want it. Getting more money can seem like an end in itself, but that may mean we dont think through what it costs us to keep acquiring more, and we dont figure out what it is we really want.Mr. Potter teaches us that the power of money has limitsA key figure in the long line of Chirstmas baddies that includes Scrooge and the Grinch, the villain of the 1946 classic Its a Wonderful Life is the heartless Mr. Potter, who owns the bank and most of the town of Bedford Falls. George Baileys Building & Loan is the only thing keeping Mr. Potter from completely dominating and destroying the small town.In one of his more subtle attempts to dissolve the Building & Loan, Potter offers George a job for $20,000 per year (over $320,000 in 2024 dollars). While George is momentarily dazzled by the huge dollar amount, he quickly recognizes that taking the job offer will mean the downfall of the Building & Loan.Later in the film, Georges Uncle Billy loses the Building & Loans $8,000 cash deposit (nearly $130,000 in 2024 dollars) by accidentally handing it over to Mr. Potter. When George approaches Mr. Potter to ask for a loan to replace the money, offering his small life insurance policy as collateral, Potter is delighted to point out that George is worth more money dead than alive.Mr. Potter believes throughout the film that he should be able to get what he wants because he has money. He tries to entice George Bailey with a huge salary early on, and later assumes that he has George and his Building & Loan over a barrel because of the missing deposit. But in both cases, the power he wields with his money is no match for Georges idealism and morals and the respect the rest of the town has for him. The money Potter wields cant deliver him the Building & Loan because there is a limit to the power of his wealth.(That said, Mr. Potter does successfully get away with stealing the $8,000. Unfortunately, justice does tend to work differently for those with money.)Hans Gruber shows us corporate greed is a type of terrorismAlan Rickmans portrayal of the faux-terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard is part of what makes this film as delightfully rewatchable as How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Its a Wonderful Life. Grubers team claims to take the party guests at Nakatomi Plaza hostage for ideological reasons, but they are actually after the $640 million in bearer bonds (over $17 billion in 2024 dollars) hidden in the buildings vault.Throughout the film, the Nakatomi Corporation executives hosting the office party are compared to Gruber. The sleazy Harry Ellis tries to befriend the terrorists by telling them, Hey, business is business. You use a gun, I use a fountain pen, whats the difference? Similarly, Gruber remarks on Joseph Takagis John Phillips suit, saying that he has two himself. The audience is invited to see the parallels between the terrorists and the businessmen.The characterization of protagonist John McClane as a regular Joe compared with Gruber and the businessmen helps reinforce the similarities between the terrorists and the corporate executives. McClane is a New York cop who is uncomfortable in a limousine and resentful of the gold Rolex watch his estranged wife Holly received as a gift. He spends the film fighting the terrorists while also trying to win Holly back from her new life and corporate career.When Gruber grabs onto Hollys Rolex in the finale, the connection between terrorism and corporate greed goes from metaphor to reality. The watch represents the Nakatomi Corporation, since it was a gift to Holly from her workplace, and the greedy Gruber grabs onto it in a last-ditch effort to kill Holly and McClane. Only by unclasping the watchreleasing his wife from the thrall of corporate greedcan McClane kill the terrorist.Learning from villainsCurling up with a classic Christmas movie is a delightful way to spend a snowy evening. But while you watch, remember that even the characters you most love to hate can teach you something unexpected.In addition to letting your heart grow three sizes, remind yourself to ask why you sometimes act Grinchly. While you feel the warm truth that no one is poor who has friends, take the time to be thankful that moneys power is limited. And as you enjoy the seasonal cries of Yippee-Ki-Yay, remember theres a thin line between greed that destroys via business practices and greed that destroys via terror plots.

Figuring out whos creditworthy is getting more complicated, and millions of Americans are stuck with thin files or are considered credit invisible. That means theyre struggling to borrow or access credit, while lenders miss out on potential customers.To tackle this, credit-scoring companies are stepping up and evolving.Recently, for example, last year, FICO launched a new program to help expand the use of alternative data for credit scoring. But years before that, Experian fired an opening salvo when it introduced Experian Boost, which helps consumers improve their credit scores by tapping into their payment histories for rent, insurance, and even streaming platforms.And now, the man behind Experian Boost, Jeff Softley, is helping transform Experians consumer business further, turning the company once known almost exclusively for credit reporting into what he describes as every consumers financial copilot.Part of that strategy is the recent launch of Experian Smart Money, which, like Experian Boost, is a service devised to help consumers build their credit. But Smart Money allows them to do so without taking on debt. Instead, it works by having users pay their bills with a debit card that works in tandem with Boost, using eligible transactions to potentially increase a customers credit score.Thats really just the beginning, says Softley, who is on a mission to broaden Experians role in consumers financial lives. For some who have rightly grown skeptical of credit reporting bureaus, that may sound questionable, as those bureaus (Experian and its key cohorts, Equifax and TransUnion) have had their share of issues in the past. Experian, however, believes it has worked out a model for creating new services that have put it on another level relative to its competitors.Its a data businessWe were a very narrow business, delivering credit reports and scores to consumers, Softley says of Experians former iteration. We were the front end of a credit bureau. And today, its a totally different business. Its a data business.Reams of data are allowing Experian to step into its new skin. Softley notes that a decade-and-a-half ago, when fintech companies were popping up left and right, making it obvious that one-dimensional financial firms were going to need to innovate or get left behind, Experian found itself in no-mans-land. The company had experienced 16 straight quarters of decline, and leadership was antsy to find new ways to expand or evolve.So Softley says they took a small team, put them in a different office, and had them build a different platform. Thats the platform we use today. That new platform involved moving away from a focus on supplying credit reports through FreeCreditReport.comyou may remember the catchy FreeCreditReport.com commercials, which were countered by the FTCs own commercialsand double-down on Experian as a brand.Softley says that meant building new products and services that were unique and relevant, and above all, actually served a purpose. Thats how Experian Boost came about. It was in its conceptual stage in the early 2000s, he says, on a sticky note.Spirit of 08The financial crisis and Great Recession gave Experian an opportunity to put its plans for evolution into action. During that time, new needs emerged, and new opportunities emerge if youre listening to the consumer, says Softley.And Experian was listening. In focus groups and interviews, consumers were saying that they didnt want to be punished for their past financial behavior via a bad credit score, but instead wanted to be rewarded for what they were doing now and in the future.It was an ideal time to get the ball rolling on Boost, which gave consumers a sense of agency and control over their credit scores and rewarded them for sharing their information related to their finances and expenses. Still, the backend tech and infrastructure also needed to be in place to be able to aggregate the data, crunch it, and spit out an updated credit score. Experian had the ability and manpower to do it, so it was off to the races.It was a watershed moment, Softley recalls. It was one of the first products that all of Experian built because it drew from so many capabilities across the organization. Experian tested it out, and it actually became a business case, and the business case became the platform rebuild.From there, the company started to zero in on developing and launching products that allow you to leverage your data to open up financial opportunitiesBoost helped create the blueprint to intertwine data and technology.Industry experts agree that Boost did push the envelope for consumer-facing credit products. Experian was the first to come out with plain-English credit reports back in the day, says Gerri Detweiler, a credit expert and the former director of Bankcard Holders of America, a nonprofit consumer credit and advocacy organization. So while Boost is an innovation, theyve been at the forefront of the consumer market for some time.Detweiler says that Boost is also notable because it raised the visibility of alternative data for consumers, or their ability to leverage it to their advantage. Its helped open up the ecosystem, she says. There are some criticisms and limitations, she adds. Thats truea WalletHub ranking of credit-builder products released in August 2024 ranked Boost 15 out of 20, and noted that it didnt report negative information to creditors, which may be problematic.Detweiler says that consumers (and creditors) should take that into account, and realize that Boost or similar services are not going to be a cure-all for people with thin or bad credit. But it will open the door to other products that can further help people rebuild their credit.A new trajectoryThat process has landed Experian with its current development model: Finding a consumer need, determining the best way to help them, and then creating a product or service that acts as a solution. Some trouble spots that the company could be looking at wading into include finding ways to help people buy homes or cars, or even developing tools for small business owners.But there are also areas that the company likely wont explore, or at least not right now. That could be because the technology simply hasnt caught up to the moment yet, which was the case with Boost, which ultimately incubated for a decade or so before the technology existed to create a fast, effective product.In the meantime, Experian is working on new AI features, such as a new virtual assistant. That will play a bigger role in 2025, with the aim of becoming a full-blown financial copilot for customers. Softley says that everything the company is doing now, though, can be traced back to the shift of thinking of itself as a data company first and foremost.Viewing ourselves as a data company put us on a different trajectory, he says. And this next chapter is all about providing financial power to all consumers.

Kendra Adachi is the host ofThe Lazy Genius Podcastand theNew York Timesbestselling author of two books,The Lazy Genius WayandThe Lazy Genius Kitchen.The goal of excellent time management shouldnt be to achieve maximum productivity and perfection. That approach is a recipe for fleeting satisfaction amid anxiety and shame. To manage time without being at its mercy, learn to plan in a way that fills you with contentedness and confidence every single day. Learn to plan not for a good life someday but for good living today.Below, Adachi shares five key insights from her new book,The PLAN: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius.Listen to the audio versionread by Adachi herselfin the Next Big Idea App.1. A good life doesnt have to be great to matter.In America, greatness, hustle, opportunity, and potential are in the fabric of our national identity. The American dream tells us to chase after and fight for what we want as we constantly seek to grow in greatness and prosperity. We should all be masters of our craft and our lives. Theres nothing wrong with that. In fact, some personalities are suited for the pursuit of greatness, some jobs require it, and some people genuinely love it. Trying to master something is a beautiful thing, and we all benefit from the mastery of others. But there is an expectation that if youre not always trying to be great, youre wasting your life. I disagree.The reality is that most of us live fairly average lives, but rather than celebrating and cultivating contentment and valuing beauty in the ordinary, were told to keep hustling. Make every minute of every day count toward an invisible future that you have reverse-engineered and are constantly striving to bring to fruition. If you cant do it, youre considered not disciplined or motivated enough.Thats a dangerous paradigm to live under. The future is beautiful. Mastery is, too, but I dont think that is where we can begin.2. Youre allowed to start with who and where you are today.I have read many time management books over the years. I have bought many planners. I have gone into so many Januarys fiercely optimistic about what I would make better and accomplish because the future felt bright. But just like we can have an unbalanced obsession with mastery, we can have an unbalanced obsession with the future.It is good and honorable to care about your future, plan for it, and take steps now to ensure it looks a certain way later. But youre allowed to start with who and where you are today. Youre allowed to focus only on today without any consideration of the future. You can make decisions today that only serve today, and not later. Not every choice, task, or habit has to be in service to future dreams. They can, but they dont have to.I remember feeling the difficulty of this in my early 30s when I had two tiny kids. I was in my peak time management era, trying to get every bit of information I could on how to be the architect of my future. That message communicates a false sense of security that I am in full control of my life. I dont know if youve ever spent an entire day with tiny children and then another day after that and then many, many more. You have very little control over what is going to happen. If the purpose of each day is to build on itself to serve an ideal, invisible future, those ordinary days that many people (especially women) have for months or years at a time feel like they are not enough. If thats you, you might experience a deep sense of loss, resentment, and insufficiency when you look at your life.In this pursuit of greatness and an invisible future, we often leave behind our humanity. We ignore the needs of our bodies, families, mental health, and peace. We dont prioritize rest and play. We call ourselves lazy when we arent optimizing every moment. There is this undercurrent that the best version of us is in the future, and we should focus on that person rather than who we are right now.In the current productivity paradigm, a contented life full of kindness, patience, and reasonable choices that honor who and where you are today is looked upon as an exceptionas settling, as giving up. Its a stopgap until you have enough energy, resources, discipline, and motivation to pursue greatness once again.I believe you are allowed to start with who and where you are today, not as a second measure, excuse, or necessity before real work begins, but as the foundation for everything. When you start with who and where you are today, it invites a new goal.3. The goal is not greatness. Its integration.Instead of greatness being the ultimate goal, what if its integration? What if its personal wholeness, groundedness, a steady stance in the face of any circumstance? Instead of reflecting on what happened during the day, what if you reflected on how you experienced it?One of the most pivotal moments for me in this paradigm shift was about ten years ago when I was home with two small children. I was reading a time management book geared towards mothers, and the author described two separate days. The first was a day of chaos. Her girls didnt nap; they threw their food; the errands were a bust; and the mom didnt get a chance to sit down, let alone shower. It was the quintessential image of being a hot mess mom. Then she described the next day when her children napped simultaneously. She completed all the errands, looked put together while doing it, and made dinner ahead of time. When her husband came home, surprisingly, with some clients from out of town to join their family for dinner, she was ready. I remember reading the account of these two days and anticipating that her next line would be something like, And both of those days matter. But thats not what she said. She said, And that day [the second one] was the proudest I ever felt as a mother and wife. I remember reading that like it happened yesterday. My heart sank. My confidence plummeted. I wanted permission to be myself, content with and proud of just getting through a hard day. That is when I realized I had a different goal. That authors goal was greatness. Mine is integration.When your entire life is oriented around being the truest version of yourself, no matter what happens, you are a lighthouse in the storm. You are an oak in the wind. You are the stubborn will of a toddler refusing to eat their peas. The strength that comes from the goal of personal integration is markedly different than the strength that comes from the goal of greatness. One is lifelong. The other is fickle. As my friend and poet David Gate wrote, Hustle makes for a terrible compass.4. Your season of life matters.We often see life as one long line from A to B. Ideally, there should be no speedbumps, detours, or changed minds during the journey. There always will be, but our intent is to avoid them at all costs. Stay the course.My life is not at all like that.Your season of life matters. If you are caring for an aging parent, adding a new baby to your family, changing jobs or homes, dealing with a chronic health condition, or struggling through a particularly tough season of mental illness, the way you manage your time and live your life must change. Its not laziness or plugging a leak. Honoring your seasons of life matters. Its critical to living a life of kindness and contentment.You no longer have to put your head down and fight through a difficult time to maintain the priorities other people have placed on you, particularly the priority of greatness. When integration is the goal, you see your season of life not with resentment but with compassion. You can be who and where you are today because you recognize that it is a seasonit is not forever, and you will honor it now.5. Its more valuable to learn how to pivot than how to plan.The name of my book isThe PLAN, so yes, Im aware of the irony of this last insight. I love planning, and plans are valuable. However, we are far more likely to require skills of pivoting than those of planning.Daily life is full of obstacles. We create a plan to get through the day, but when circumstances thwart those plans, we stand our ground, force rigidity (sometimes calling it discipline), and dont respond kindly to whatever is happening. That posture is harmful and unnecessary.Pivoting is a required skill, and we need to learn how to do it better. Rather than seeking out new and better ways to plan, prepare for the day, and create systems that succeed and routines that never break down, try putting some of that energy into learning to pivot. Be resilient and flexible when plans fall apart. Be nimble and compassionate. When you no longer pursue greatness first but instead honor integration and who you are today, your access to a skillset of pivoting is a beautifully wide door.This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.