Category Archives: Blog

As we head into the spookiest season of the year, Disney+ is adding more originals to its catalog.

Some of the new titles coming our way include anthology series Just Beyond and NASA documentary Among the Stars. Disney+ will continue dropping episodes of its ongoing shows like What If…?, Turner & Hooch, and Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Plus, you will no longer need Premier Access to watch Black Widow.

That’s just the beginning. Here’s everything coming to Disney+ in October 2021.

Top Pick: Muppets Haunted Mansion

Who wouldn’t want to spend Halloween with the Muppets? In this spooky special, the world famous daredevil the Great Gonzo takes on his greatest challenge yet: Spending one night in the Haunted Mansion. Inspired by Disney’s Haunted Mansion attractions and featuring the whole Muppet crew, Muppets Haunted Mansion looks like a fun time for the whole family.

How to watch: Muppets Haunted Mansion is streaming on Disney+ October 8.

Movies

Alvin and the Chipmunks (10/1)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (10/1)

Black Widow (10/6)

Disney Junior Mickey’s Tale of Two Witches (10/8)

Just Roll With It: You Decide Live! (10/1)

Lost Cities with Albert Lin: The Great Flood (10/15)

Megacity of the Maya Warrior King (10/15)

Muppets Haunted Mansion (10/8)

Rookie of the Year (10/22)

The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular! (10/1)

Thumbelina (10/22)

Under Wraps (10/8)

TV

Among the Stars (10/6)

Apollo: Back to the Moon Season 1 (10/13)

Disney’s Magic Bake-Off Season 1 (10/20)

Drain the Oceans: The Mississippi River & Arctic War Season 1 (10/6)

Impact with Gal Gadot Season 1 (10/6)

Just Beyond (10/13)

LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales (10/1)

Muppet Babies Season 3 (10/6)

PJ Masks Season 5 (10/20)

Puppy Dog Pals Season 4 (10/6)

Secrets of the Zoo: Down Under Season 2 (10/13)

Secrets of the Zoo: North Carolina Season 1 (10/13)

The Ghost and Molly McGee Season 1 (10/6)

The Wild Life of Dr. Ole Season 1 (10/20)

The Wizard of Paws Season 1 (10/13)

Zombies: Addison’s Moonstone Mystery Shorts (10/13)

The imperative to improve smartphone use for people with limited motor capabilities has resulted in some truly cool — and hopefully helpful — new features.

Thursday, Google announced an expansion of its accessibility settings as well as a new app that will let people navigate their phones with facial gestures.

The feature within the Android Accessibility Suite is called Camera Switches. Previously, Google let users who could not navigate phones with the touchscreens connect a manual switch device that let them scroll and select.

Now, the new “switch” is an Android phone’s camera and a person’s face. Users can assign facial gestures like look left or right, smile, or raise eyebrows to functions like click, back, scroll, and more. The phone’s camera will be able to recognize the gestures and translate them into action.

Camera Switches will be rolling out to Android phones (not just Pixels!) in the coming weeks.

The second feature requires downloading an app, but takes the idea of gesture control further. The app, Project Activate, will let people use their phones to send common messages or perform actions, or even verbalize on their behalf, by customizing gestures. An example Google gives is that the app can be programmed to have a gesture like looking left send a text to a caretaker that says, “Please come here.”

Google notes that, based on feedback from users and advocates, giving people the ability to customize both the gestures and the action taken by the phone was crucial for these features to be useful. With gesture control, it’s interesting to see how helping people with disabilities navigate the world with their smartphones pushes engineers to create innovative and, frankly, super cool products in their own right.

Shop the best robot vacuum deals as of Sept. 23:

• Roborock E4 Robot Vacuum — $219.99 (save $90)

• Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro+ Robot Vacuum and Mop with Self Empty — $579.99 (save $220)

• iRobot Roomba S9+ with Automatic Dirt Disposal — $1,099 (save $200.99)

Only three things are certain in life: Death, taxes, and a few days each month when you need to vacuum but just don’t have time. Whether you detest the chore or get a little bummed when you can’t have that satisfying dance with your Dyson, a robot vacuum is a universal lifesaver. Shop models on sale below.

Our top picks

Roborock E4 Robot Vacuum — $219.99 (save $90)

If you’re vacuum shopping on a budget, this basic Roborock packs serious sweeping skills for less than the cheapest Roomba. A suction level of 2000Pa beats the specs of similarly priced vacs and reliably combs carpets. Scheduled sweeps and spot cleanings can be set up through the app.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro+ Robot Vacuum and Mop with Self Empty — $579.99 (save $220)

Pro and plus feel like appropriate descriptors for a self-emptying vacuum and mop with an asserted 2,600Pa of suction. (That beats the Roomba s9+, which is almost double the price .) The Ozmo N8 Pro+ includes premium smart upgrades like laser-based mapping that can target specific rooms and sensors that dodge carpets while mopping. After nearly two hours of cleaning, the N8 Pro+ returns to its charging and self-emptying dock, which only requires emptying once a month.

iRobot Roomba S9+ with Automatic Dirt Disposal — $1,099 (save $200.99)

Multi-pet homes need a vacuum that won’t flounder on carpets doused in fur. The Roomba s9+ is iRobot’s current most intelligent bot, unleashing 2,500Pa of suction onto heavy shedding zones and using its flat edge to snatch hair from corners. But more debris collected doesn’t mean more emptying on your part — the automatic dirt disposal bin is good for 60 days at a time.

More great robot vacuum deals:

Under $300:

• ILIFE VS3 Pro Robot Vacuum — $120 (save $39.99)

• Eufy Robovac 11S (Slim) Robot Vacuum — $149.99 (save $80)

• Eufy Robovac 15C Max Robot Vacuum — $175.99 (save $104)

• Roborock E4 Robot Vacuum — $209.99 (save $90)

• iRobot Roomba 614 — $224 (save $25)

Under $500:

• iRobot Roomba i3 Robot Vacuum — $349.99 (save $50)

• Shark AV1010AE IQ Robot Vacuum with Self-Empty Base — $449.99 (save $150)

Under 800

• iRobot Roomba i6+ Robot Vacuum with Automatic Dirt Disposal — $699 (save $100.99)

Over $1,000 (but really nice)

• iRobot Roomba S9+ with Automatic Dirt Disposal — $1,099 (save $200.99)

Robot vacuum and mop hybrids and dedicated robot mops

• Coredy R750 Robot Vacuum and Mop — $199.99 (save $121)

• Roborock E4 Robot Vacuum and Mop — $249.99 (save $130)

• Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N7 Robot Vacuum and Mop — $349.99 (save $150)

• Bissell SpinWave Hard Floor Expert 2-in-1 Vacuum and Mop — $349.99 (save $50)

• iRobot Braava Jet M6 Robot Mop — $399 (save $50.99)

• Ecovacs Deebot N8 Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop — $429.99 (save $120)

• Roborock S6 Pure Robot Vacuum and Mop — $459.99 (save $140)

Explore related content:

• The best robot vacuums for every budget

• iRobot’s Roomba S9+ self empties and tackles corners like a pro

• Have a pet? You need a robot vacuum. Here are the best robot vacuums for pet hair.

A sport pack company called EVOC created an airbag specifically designed to complement bike backpacks.

If your pics aren’t quite as sharp or clear as you’d like them to be, you probably wish something existed that could fix that via artificial intelligence (AI). After all, not everybody is a top-tier photo editor with access to top-tier photo editing software.

Thankfully, it’s the 2020s, and you have access to plenty of easy photo editing applications not named Adobe Photoshop, if you know where to look. And even better: you don’t even have to look, because we did that for you. Here are five apps that can enhance your photos with AI.

1. Remini

Remini
Credit: Remini / app store

One of the most popular photo enhancers in the App Store is Remini. The app offers instant photo-enhancing to turn blurry or grainy photos into HD, along with other editing features, including “Colorize” and “Oil Painting”. Remini currently holds a 4.8/5 star rating with 21,000 ratings.

2. PicPlus

PicPlus
Credit: PicPlus / app store

Picplus markets itself as “the photo editor for both experienced users and those just getting started.” Aside from boosting the quality of your photos, PicPlus also offers aesthetic filters, animated filters, a layout builder to make collages, and more. With around 5,500 ratings, the app currently sits at a 4.7/5 star rating.

3. EnhanceFox

EnhanceFox
Credit: Enhancefox / app store

EnhanceFox boasts photo-enhancing features along with an “AI-powered colorizer, which can colorize your black and white photos to make them look better.” Interestingly enough, you can also use the app to animate photos by adding eye and mouth movements, making it seem as if your pics are actually alive. EnhanceFox as a 4.3/5 star rating with around 1,300 ratings to date.

4. Animatify

Animatify
Credit: animatify / app store

Animatify uses AI to enhance your photos with the touch of a button. The app can also colorize black-and-white photos, add animation, and add various effects. Animatify holds a 4.7/5 star rating with 1,000 ratings.

5. Tingo

Tingo
Credit: tingo / app store

Tingo is an AI-powered selfie enhancer that touts its ability to boost your selfie quality with autocorrection, eye bag remover, skin smoothen-er, and even a teeth whitener! So those of us with a coffee/tea addiction (myself included) can brighten our smiles without thousands of dollars of dental work. Though a bit less popular than the others, Tingo still has a 4.7/5 star rating with almost 100 ratings to date.

Sweater Weather is coming, which means one thing: It’s time to watch Knives Out.

If you’re impatiently craving a brisk chill in the air, you can easily get in the fall mood by cozying up on the couch and watching Rian Johnson’s humorous murder mystery.

Though Knives Out is meant to be enjoyed year-round, the movie is set in the fall months, features a gorgeous autumnal color palette, and puts foliage on full display. It also showcases a wardrobe ripe with sweaters, scarves, pea coats, and other warm and snuggly styles. All of these components make it the perfect fall film, and thus, September will henceforth be known as the start of Knives Out season.

I mean, can you even look at these fresh fall outfits without feeling like crawling into a wooden restaurant booth, downing a beer, and eating a nice hot bowl of beans? I, for one, find it impossible!

Ransom Drysdale, god of sweaters.
Credit: mashable composite: Claire folger / lionsgate

Get us some beer and beans, now!
Credit: CLAIRE FOLGER / LIONSGATE

I first saw Knives Out in 2019 on a perfect November night, and as some of you may recall, my major takeaway was that Chris Evans’ cable-knit sweater is the eighth wonder of the world. After a kind Twitter user, @mapleservo, reminded me that Knives Out perfectly embodies “sweater weather,” I knew it was time for a rewatch. And others agree that Knives Out has some of the biggest autumn vibes in cinematic history.

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If all these screenshots from Knives Out were somehow not autumnal enough to inspire a movie night, perhaps these tweets that imagine the cast of film as adorable, sweater-wearing baby goats will do the trick.

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The bottom line is this: If you’re looking to speed up the arrival of fall, I can think of no better way than to put on a sweater, drape a blanket over your shoulders, fill a “My House, My Rules, My Coffee!!” mug with tea, and watch Knives Out on Amazon Prime. And we guarantee that after the movie ends you’ll be inspired to “really start dressin'”.

This article was originally published in September 2020 and updated in September 2021.

The Muppets are descending on Disney in a creepy-yet-cutesy debut trailer for Muppets Haunted Mansion — the first-ever Halloween special from everyone’s favorite felted fiends that’s actually set inside the iconic Disney Parks attraction.

This killer crossover follows famous daredevil the Great Gonzo as he attempts to survive an entire Halloween night in “the most grim grinning place on Earth.” In the sneak peek, which is accompanied by narration that sounds just like what you hear on the ride, we see Miss Piggy reimagined as Madame Leota, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew as possessed busts, and even Janice as the tightrope walker from one of the portraits in the stretching room.

Will Arnett, Yvette Nicole Brown, Darren Criss, Taraji P. Henson, Chrissy Metz, Danny Trejo, and more play alongside the Muppets as Haunted Mansion characters, and John Stamos makes an appearance as himself. Plus, we’re getting three new original Muppets songs and a Muppets cover of King Harvest’s 1972 hit single “Dancing in the Moonlight.”

Looks spooktacular! Muppets Haunted Mansion starts streaming Oct. 8 on Disney+.

Immersing yourself in a new language is a great way to force yourself to learn it. One way you can do that is by changing the default language on Facebook.

Whether you are learning a new language or need to change the language on Facebook for some other reason, we’ve got you covered. Changing the language on Facebook is very easy and straightforward. Changing it on desktop involves a different process from changing it in the mobile app.

Follow the steps below to change the default language on Facebook on both desktop and mobile.

How to change language on Facebook on Desktop

1. Navigate to the Facebook website

2. Select the upside down gray triangle in the upper right hand corner

Select the gray arrow.
Credit: screenshot: facebook

3. Select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown menu

Select “Settings & Privacy.”
Credit: screenshot: facebook

4. Select “Settings” from the dropdown menu

Select “Settings.”
Credit: screenshot: facebook

5. Select “Language and Region” on the left hand side of the screen

Select “Language and Region.”
Credit: screenshot: facebook

6. Find “Facebook Language” and select “Edit”

Select “Edit.”
Credit: screenshot: facebook

7. Select the upside down arrow next to your current Facebook language

Select the arrow.
Credit: screenshot: facebook

8. Scroll to find your preferred Facebook language in the dropdown menu

9. Select your preferred Facebook language

10. Select “Save Changes”

Select “Save Changes.”
Credit: screenshot: facebook

How to change language on Facebook app:

The language on the Facebook app is dictated by the language your iPhone is set to, so to change the language on the Facebook app you have to change the language of your iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app

2. Scroll down and tap “General”

Tap “General.”
Credit: screenshot: apple

3. Scroll down and select “Language & Region”

Tap “Language & Region.”
Credit: screenshot: apple

4. Tap “iPhone Language”

Tap “iPhone Language.”
Credit: screenshot: apple

5. Search for your desired language and tap it

Search or scroll through to find your desired language.
Credit: screenshot: apple

6. Tap “Change”

Tap “Change.”
Credit: screenshot: apple

Emotions always run high on Twitter. Thankfully, at least on Wednesday, they were the good kind of emotions.

The latest meme to rip across the social media platform calls out heartfelt, sad, and poignant moments from our favorite shows. In doing so, it tears to shreds whatever promise we made to ourselves not to cry.

“I promise I won’t cry,” reads the meme text in part. “It’s just a single frame from a TV show.”

This promise is followed up by “the frame” in question — which of course is the most emotional shot possible from shows like The Good Place, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Fleabag, or Futurama — immediately causing the tweeter to break their promise.

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And then there are the delightful joke versions, where the tweeter flips the entire thing on its head.

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Which, frankly, provide a much needed emotional palate cleanser after the welling up we just went through.

The ensemble cast of Dear White People cooks up an alternative plot for Season Four of their Netflix show.