Ill admit, macabre isnt the first word that comes to mind when I think of Sonic ally Big the Cat, but I dont know how else to describe the purple felines unused cameo in the second Sonic the Hedgehog movie as relayed to IGN by trilogy writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller.During the Siberia sequence in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, one draft included a riff on Raiders of the Lost Ark, specifically the moment from the opening where Indiana Jones springs a trap and reveals the corpse of a rival adventurer. Only, instead of a human body, Sonic would have been confronted by the skeleton of a cat. A big cat.Heres the entire conversation:Casey: In one draft of Sonic 2, we actually, when theyre going through the snowy mountains to the cave, we had a bit, because Sonic 2 was sort of an Indiana Jones. Its a trope that at some point a skeleton pops out at you and scares you. So we were going to do that, but with a skeleton of a, I would say, a Big the Cat, not necessarily-Miller: Not necessarily the Big the Cat.Casey: But we ended up cutting it. It didnt make any sense.All three Sonic movies have done a good job of organically introducing new characters from the video games, from sidekick Tails to friendly rival Knuckles and anti-hero Shadow. While the latest installments post-credits scene already revealed where the movies plan to go next, that doesnt prevent Big the Cat from popping his head in for an extended fishing sequence.And hey, a Big the Cat cameo should be even easier now that the writers dont have to explain Sonic coming face-to-face with what may or may not have been his gross, rotting carcass in a previous movie. Win-win!

Its that time of year, when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say: Not a lot new on TV! Dont let that get you down; this is, after all, just a list of premieres (and a curated one, at that). Theres plenty to watch, whether youre pulling from our best-of-the-year lists of movies and television, ongoing shows like Skeleton Crew, or even just pulling out some of the holiday season (or holiday season time) staples.But dont let that distract you from the big headlines of the week (non-holiday-related): Were going back in the Squid Game! The Doctor is in over his head just in time for Christmas, once again! Bad Sisters is coming to a close!Heres all the best new TV premieres and finales in this holiday week. New shows on NetflixSquid Game season 2Genre: Dystopian competitionRelease date: Dec. 26, with all seven episodesShowrunner/creator: Hwang Dong-hyukCast: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Lee Byung-hun, and moreAt the end of Squid Game season 1, Gi-hun was just about to get out and put his time in the games behind him. And then he stopped. Season 2 picks up with what happens next: He wants to get put back in the game. New shows on Disney PlusDoctor Who Christmas specialGenre: Sci-fi Christmas adventureRelease date: Dec. 25 at 9:10 a.m. PST/12:10 p.m. ESTWriter: Steven Moffat Cast: Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola CoughlanYou know the drill: Its Christmas Day in our world, and in the Doctors (Ncuti Gatwa) only his has some timey-wimey weirdness and we get to watch. Joy to the World is 2024s Who Christmas episode, and it brings with it Derry Girls Nicola Coughlan, a series of very odd happenings (as the trailer can attest), and what appears to be many different worlds. Happy Christmas to all indeed!New shows on Apple TV PlusBad Sisters finaleGenre: Irish black comedyRelease date: Dec. 25Showrunner/creator: Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett BaerCast: Sharon Horgan, Eve Hewson, Fiona Shaw, and moreAfter yet another season of misadventures and (unfortunately) murder, the bad sisters of Bad Sisters are rolling into the finale of season 2. With bodies in their wake and betrayals still left to be dealt with, what will this final episode bring for the sisters?

When Apple announced last year that it would finally bring RCS support to the iPhone, it seemed like the beginning of a new era in tech and communications. Finally, Androids and iPhones could message directly with one another without having to go through SMS, an inherently insecure and outdated messaging protocol responsible for poorly functioning group chats, low-quality images and videos, and most things we associate with "green bubble" messaging. However, even when RCS officially rolled out on iPhones with iOS 18, there were limitations. For one, RCS' biggest perk, end-to-end encrypted messaging, didn't work (and still doesn't work), which means texting between iPhones and Androids on RCS is as insecure as it is over SMS. What's more, you might not even get the other perks of RCS on your iPhone, since the protocol is carrier-dependent. At launch, only the major carriersAT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobilesupported RCS. If you used another, you were out of luck. Since then, things have changed. More and more carriers have adopted the protocol for iOS, so chances are pretty high your iPhone can message other Android users over RCS.9to5Mac spotted the latest updates to Apple's list of carriers that support RCS. As of Monday, Dec. 23, these are those carriers:AT&TBoost Mobile (iOS 18.2 required)C SpireConsumer CellularCricketFirstNetH20 WirelessMetro by T-MobilePureTalkRed PocketSpectrum MobileT-MobileTracFone / Straight TalkUS CellularVerizonVisibleXfinity MobileAs 9to5Mac highlights, the two major exceptions right now are Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile. Combined, these carriers have about three million customers, and were acquired by T-Mobile earlier this year, so it's a bit surprising it's taking so long for them to adopt this messaging protocol. In all likelihood, these carriers will add RCS support in the near future.As a reminder, you can make sure RCS is enabled on your iPhone from Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging. Note that even if this setting is enabled, and your carrier supports RCS, you might not see RCS appear for all chats with Android devices. The Android device also must support RCS, including both the device, its carrier, and the messaging app in question. If the other user doesn't have RCS enabled for any reason, you'll see that SMS is the protocol used for that particular conversation.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Fire tablets started as budget tablets since their initial release many moons ago. The 2024 Fire HD 8 is the latest iteration of their mid-tier tablet, which was released this fall, but you can already find it for nearly half the price. If you're looking for a budget tablet to do some streaming or social media doom scrolling, the 32GB Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is $54.99 (originally $99.99), a great value for your money. Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet 8 HD Display, 64 GB, 30% faster processor, designed for portable entertainment, (2022 release) $129.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $129.99 at Amazon The previous Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet came out in 2022, with this newer 2024 version adding an extra GB of RAM for a total of 3GB. The Fire HD 8 gets its name from the 8-inch screen display with 1,280 by 800 pixels, has a Hexa-core 2.0 GHz processor, a resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels, about 10 hours of battery life, a brighter screen than the older version, and a 32GB storage capacity with the possibility to expand it to 1TB if you want to buy more separately. The front camera is the same 2MP with 720p HD video recording, but the rear camera is now a 5MP lens with 1080p HD video recording.The high-definition touch screen is not amazing by any means, but for a $54.99 tablet, you'll get great value for your money if you're just looking for something you can carry around to watch your shows or browse online. This is a great budget tablet, but keep in mind that since it is a Fire Tablet, you'll be limited in terms of the apps with Amazon's own app store unless you download the Google Play Store.

When you drive in the winter, you have to deal with a lot of foggy windshields. What's the best way to make that fog go away? Some people will tell you to blast the heat, others to turn on the air conditioning. Who's right? And when should you just hit that "defrost" button instead? I'll explain. To defog in cold weather, turn on the heat and the air conditioningIll go into a more detailed, scientific explanation in a minute, but the short answer is that to defog the windshield quickly in cold weather, you want to turn on the heat and the air conditioning. Yes, you can do both at once. If you have a dial that adjusts temperature, put it on the hottest setting. Then look around for a button that turns the AC on or off. Click it so its on.Some cars have a button that does everything for you. My car has a windshield defrost button that does the following: Points the blower at the windshieldTurns the blower on full blast and raises the temperatureTurns the AC onTurns recirculation offThis is exactly what you want to do if youre managing the controls yourself: heat on, AC on, and make sure the air is getting blown full blast on the windshield (look for the windshield icon instead of the one with the arrows pointing at the person). Turning off recirculation helps because youll be pulling in dry air from outdoors instead of recirculating the slightly humid air inside. How to defog your windshield in hot weatherIf you're reading this on a sweltering summer day, just turn on your windshield wipers. The fog is on the outside of your windshield, so you can just wipe it away. What is the difference between defrosting and defogging? OK, some definitions. Fog is made of tiny droplets of water that have condensed onto the windshield. You'll find this anytime you have a difference in temperature between two sides of the glass. The fog forms on the warmer side (which is the inside of your car, in winter). Frost, on the other hand, is a layer of ice. You'll see it most commonly on the outside of your car, and it's what you scrape off with an ice scraper. In very cold weather, the fog on the inside of your windshield can freeze, giving you frost on the inside. Treat this the same as fog. The rear defrost button in your car heats up a set of wires embedded in the glass. They melt the ice on the back window. The front defrost button in your car will defrost the windshield by heating it up, and defog it by drying out the air to evaporate the fog. It's both a defogger and a defroster.Check your car's manual for specifics on what settings your car has and how they work. The rear defrost button is very common, even in old cars; the front defrost button is a newer development but still commonly available.The science of defoggingThere are two things going on here, in the short term (seconds to minutes) and the long term (the rest of your drive). Heat prevents fogging (and frost)In the long term, you can prevent fogging by making sure both sides of the windshield are the same temperature. The fog on your windshield accumulates for the same reasons as a cold drink sweating on a hot day. When one side of the glass is significantly colder than the other, moisture from the warm air will condense on the warmer side of the glass (because the glass is cold compared to the warm air). This means that in winter, youll get condensation from the warm indoor air onto the still-cold windshield. If you can warm up the windshield enough, it will stop being able to pull moisture out of the air. In summer, its the opposite. If youve chilled the inside of the car but outdoors its 100 degrees, you can get moisture from the outside air condensing on your windshield. This is not a defogger situation, though: The condensation is outside, so you just wipe it off with the windshield wipers.A/C dries up the fog that is already thereSo why isnt heat alone enough to do the job? Well, for one thing, sometimes its just too cold to keep the windshield warm enough to prevent fogging. But more importantly, you need to defog the windshield, not just prevent future fog. Thats why you turn on the air conditioning.Air conditioners dont just chill the air; they dry it out. When you run the heat and the A/C at the same time, you get hot, dry air. This starts warming the windshield while also drying up the moisture. Put the AC and heat on full blast, and often the whole windshield will clear up in seconds. If you've heard the advice to open your windows, that can help for a similar reason: a blast of cold dry air will help to dry up the fog. But the air conditioning will usually do the same job quicker, without making your entire car cold. So I'd stick with the A/C.How to prevent foggy car windowsSince windshield fog is caused by moisture inside the car, keeping the inside of your car dry will help. If youve tracked a lot of snow and slush into the car, clean it out.You can also start warming up the windshield before its time to drive. If you have a remote starter, great! But even if not, the first step in getting your car ready to drive in the winter should be turning on the car and getting it warmed up. Put the heat on the windshield while you brush and scrape the outside. And finally, consider cleaning the inside of your windshield, because clean glass doesnt fog as easily. No, not with your hands or with those fast-food napkins you found under the seat; skin oils and miscellaneous grease and dirt will only make the problem worse. Use a proper glass cleaner like Windex.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has started a probe into Chinas semiconductor industry, looking for anti-competitive trade practices. According to a White House statement, the USTR is looking into China for acts, policies and practices that reduced or eliminated competition in the marketplace for semiconductors.The probe is being conducted through Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 to examine trade practices for foundational semiconductors that are used by the automotive, healthcare, infrastructure, aerospace and defense industries. The White House accused China on Monday of routinely engaging in non-market policies and practices, as well as industrial targeting, of the semiconductor industry that caused significant harm to its competition and created dangerous supply chain dependencies, according to the statement.If action is taken as a result of the investigation, Section 301 allows the USTR to impose duties or other import restrictions, withdraw or suspend trade agreement concessions or enter into an agreement with China to either eliminate the conduct in questionor compensate the US with satisfactory trade benefits, according to the US Trade Act. Those decisions, however, will be left to President Trumps administration and incoming USTR Jamieson Greer.A spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the US investigation. The nation would also take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its rights and interests, according to the New York Times.Tensions between the US and China are already high. President Biden launched an investigation in February into China and other unnamed countries over possible vulnerabilities and threats from connected vehicles. Then in May, the White House announced a significant increase in tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports including semiconductors.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/white-house-calls-for-investigation-into-chinas-alleged-anti-competitive-semiconductor-industry-184030356.html?src=rss

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Russell Hedrick, a North Carolina farmer, flies drones to spray fertilizers on his corn, soybean and wheat fields at a fraction of what it would cost him to use a conventional ground spreader.As a volunteer rescuer, Hedrick uses thermal drones to search for people trapped by mudslides and cargo drones to send water and baby formula to those who are stranded something he did afterHurricane Helene.Now he is fretting that one day he will have to ground his drone fleet. Most commercial drones sold in the United States, including those used by Hedrick, are made in China. They have become a target of U.S. lawmakers, who see the dominance ofChinese dronesnot only as an espionage threat but as a commercial threat because they make it nearly impossible for American manufacturers to compete.Its another front in the U.S.-China economic and technological competition thats likely to intensify with the return to the White House in January of Republican Donald Trump, who has promised to get tough on China.Washington has already placed restrictions onChinese telecommunications companiesand imposedhigh tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehiclesas the U.S. competes with China insemiconductors, artificial intelligence and other areas.A defense bill that Congress passed on Dec. 18 includes a clause to stop two Chinese companies from selling new drones in the U.S. if a review finds they pose an unacceptable risk to American national security. Congress has banned federal agencies from acquiring Chinese drones, with some exceptions, and several states have barred publicly funded programs from using or procuring Chinese drones.A broader ban is worrisome for Americans for whom drones have become a part of their lives and work. It could disrupt wide-ranging operations, from law enforcement to mapping and filmmaking that drone operators say are viable because of the low cost and high performance of the Chinese drones. American-made drones just arent comparable, they say.American reliance on Chinese-made dronesIn Hickory, North Carolina, Hedrick began flying Chinese-made drones in 2019 to fertilize crops and monitor crop health. A drone spreader costs $35,000, while a conventional ground sprayer would set him back $250,000, he said.With the drone efficiency, we are able to do things we were never able to do before: to apply fertilizer but use less, which is good for American consumers, Hedrick said.But its precisely that reliance on Chinese drones that worries U.S. lawmakers.It is strategically irresponsible to allow Communist China to be our drone factory, argued Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has been tapped by Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She led earlierHouse effortsto ban new Chinese drones.It was the role of drones in everyday life that drove Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to get Congress to restrict the purchase of Chinese drones by federal agencies. Those restrictions were included in a defense bill that Democratic President Joe Biden signed last year.Scott has compared Chinese drones to spy balloons that could gather data or carry harmful payloads across America, posing risks to military bases, critical infrastructure and natural resources.Michael Robbins, president and chief executive officer of AUVSI, an advocacy group for unmanned vehicles such as drones, opposes an immediate ban. Instead, his group has urged the government to support the U.S. drone-making industry through investment so it can catch up with its Chinese competitors in both capability and cost.He applauds Congress for addressing some of the issues in the 2025 defense budget, including promoting investment in autonomous technology and working to develop a secure supply chain for U.S. drone manufacturing.That vulnerability was clear earlier this year when Beijing sanctioned the U.S. drone maker Skydio, forcing it to ration its batteries sourced from China.This is an attempt to eliminate the leading American drone company and deepen the worlds dependence on Chinese drone suppliers, wrote Adam Bry, chief executive officer of Skydio.Citing security interests, China has restricted exports to the U.S. of drone parts, including motors, flight controllers and imaging equipment.John Goodson, CEO of Darkhive, a San Antonio-based drone maker, said a ban would not stop Chinese drone makers from selling their products elsewhere in the world but could hurt U.S. drone companies that rely on China for parts.For now, it remains unrealistic to ban Chinese drones when there are few comparable products, said Faine Greenwood, a drone enthusiast who writes extensively about drones. If we ban the Chinese drones, we knock out many amazing things we do.The dominant Chinese playerThe best-known Chinese drones are those by DJI Technology Co., a company founded in 2006 and based in the southern city of Shenzhen. Its named in the defense spending bill, along with another Chinese company, Autel Robotics.DJI has the lions share of the global drone market and is the dominant player in the U.S. market. Its devices are known for their affordability and high performance. They are even used on the battlefield in Ukraine by both sides, even though DJI does not make military drones.DJIs drones have been used by first responders to locate disaster victims, mappers to survey roads and utility lines, mosquito control officers to reach swarms of larvae, and filmmakers to capture aerial footage. Police use them to help prevent crime and find missing people.Hedrick, the North Carolina farmer, mobilized drone search efforts as a volunteer after Helene hit. On the first night, he and his teammates located 150 stranded people. When they could not be immediately rescued, Hedrick said his team used DJI cargo drones to send in supplies.I am not going to say I wont love to have U.S. drones, but I dont see the American drones as anywhere close to the DJI drones in terms of reliability, ease of use, and just the user-friendly software, Hedrick said. The U.S. drones are not as good as the DJI ones but cost twice as much.But as U.S.-China relations have soured, DJI drones have come under scrutiny. The U.S. government has put the company on several blacklists, saying it violates human rights by supplying drones to Chinese police to surveil members of the ethnic Uyghur minority, and alleging links to the Chinese military.DJI has denied wrongdoing and is suing the Pentagon over the designation that it is a Chinese military company. U.S. customs officials also have blocked some DJI shipments over concerns that the products might have been made with forced labor. DJI has called it a customs-related misunderstanding.As for the defense bill, DIJ said it contains no provision that would allow the company to defend itself. We call on a relevant technical intelligence agency to undertake an audit of our products, and we ask for a fair right of reply to any findings, DJI said.The Chinese Embassy in Washington said China opposes what it calls the politicization of trade.The Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies in carrying out international trade and cooperation in drones for civilian use, and opposes certain countries frequent illegal sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals on the grounds of so-called national security, Liu Pengyu, the embassy spokesman, said in a statement.A lack of alternativesSeveral states have already restricted the use of Chinese drones. In Tennessee, public agencies, including police and fire departments, are no longer allowed to purchase DJI drones.That caused a headache for Capt. Chris Lowe of the Kingsport Fire Department. After his department lost a DJI Mavic Pro drone, he was quoted $5,000 for a replacement from an approved list of drones, when another DJI Mavic Pro would cost $1,000 to $1,500.Basically it would be a DJI clone but doesnt have all the capabilities, Lowe said of the alternative. Without any state assistance, he said he would either forgo a new drone or tighten the belt in equipment maintenance elsewhere. He said the department has used drones to scope out wildfires, chemical leaks and disaster scenes and to search for missing people. Its about life and death, he said.In Wimberley, Texas, Gene Robinson has used high-resolution drone images to analyze differences in vegetation to discover buried bodies. He said he helped police find a victims buried arm, making prosecution possible. Robinson doesnt think theres a viable alternative to the DJI drone he uses.He said his project at Texas State Universitys Forensic Anthropology Center would be deader than a doornail if theres a national ban on Chinese-made drones.At the Interior Department, the policy against foreign-made drones has hamstrung its drone operations, resulting in the loss of opportunities to collect data on landscape, natural and cultural resources, wildlife and infrastructure, according to a September report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.Floridas state banIn Florida, law enforcement officers last year complained to the state senate that a ban on state-funded agencies operating Chinese-made drones left them with costlier aircraft that didnt perform as well. That prompted state lawmakers to appropriate $25 million to help government-run drone programs acquire compliant models.Christopher Todd, executive director of the not-for-profit group Airborne International Response Team, described the ban and the subsequent switch as an absolute mess.Lawmakers failed to understand that this issue is far more complicated than simply changing from one drone to another, he said. You need to learn a new user interface with new shortcuts and new protocols, and then you need to change all of the software and accessories and re-examine all of your network configurations to accommodate the technology change.But the financial assistance as well as training programs, such as the one provided by his group, made the transition possible, he said.More than 90% of law enforcement agencies in Florida used DJI drones in 2022, and the share plummeted to about 14% after the ban, according to Todds group.In Orange County, where Orlando is located, the sheriffs office said it spent nearly $580,000 to replace 18 noncompliant drones last year and received nearly $400,000 in reimbursements from the state.The transition has gone well and has simultaneously increased our drone fleet with better capabilities and technology, the sheriffs office said.Didi Tang, Associated Press