Valve’s new Steam Controller has a hidden Easter egg that makes it scream when dropped, which is funny until you remember it costs $99. Users have been sharing clips of the controller playing the iconic Wilhelm scream after being dropped from around three feet while in Big Picture Mode. It does not trigger every time, with one widely shared post claiming it happens roughly once every five or six drops.
How does the Steam Controller scream without a speaker?
The strange part is that the Steam Controller does not need a built-in speaker for this trick. According to reports, it recreates the scream using its haptic motors, which vibrate in specific patterns to mimic the sound. That makes the Easter egg even more absurd, because the controller is basically panicking through vibrations.
The new Steam Controller sometimes does the wilhelm scream when dropped while in Big Picture Mode. pic.twitter.com/Px9XRXCO7I
The scream itself is not random either. It is the Wilhelm scream, one of Hollywood’s most famous stock sound effects. It was first used in the 1951 film Distant Drums and later became an inside joke among filmmakers and sound designers. Over the years, it has appeared in films such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Reservoir Dogs, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Is Valve accidentally encouraging controller abuse?
If Valve meant this as a playful reminder to be careful with the controller, the internet has taken it in the most predictable direction possible. Netizens on X (formerly Twitter) have been uploading clips of themselves tossing, dropping, and testing their controllers just to trigger the scream. While these clips are funny, they are also a little painful, because this is still a $99 controller that is already out of stock at retail. A significant number of units are already being scalped on resale platforms like eBay at heavy markups, while Valve has opened a reservation queue to manage demand and push back against resellers.
I love that Valve’s Steam controller does the Wilhelm scream if you drop it 😂 what a fun little Easter egg pic.twitter.com/Xo7ZfXnOVQ
The comedic timing has obvious potential, especially if the scream lands at the perfect moment. Imagine losing repeatedly to a spammy boss, tossing the controller aside in frustration, and then hearing it let out the Wilhelm scream like it was the one that took the damage. For me, that would probably happen after another miserable run against the Watcher Knights in Hollow Knight. That would make for a great clip, especially if the timing is perfect. I’m just not sure I could enjoy it with my own controller. The second a $100 gamepad screams after hitting the floor, I’m apologizing to it.
Netflix held its fourth annual Upfront this week, and while most of the announcements were aimed at advertisers, there is plenty in there that affects regular viewers, too. If you are on Netflix’s cheaper ad-supported plan, here is what is coming your way.
So how big is Netflix’s ad tier?
Netflix said its ad-supported plan now reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, and over 80% of those viewers are watching actively every week. That’s a sharp rise from the 94 million users the company reported last year. It seems that not only is the ad-supported year flourishing, but it’s also adding new members at a higher rate than its other plans.
“If the last couple of years were about proving we’re a durable player, this year is about establishing ourselves as a formidable one,” said Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising.
This is as clear as it gets that Netflix is serious about expanding its ad-supported tier. In fact, the streaming giant has already announced that the ad-supported tier is coming to 15 new countries starting in 2027, including Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Thailand.
Are we going to see more ads?
In short, yes. The company is high on its ad-tier success and not only introducing ads in new sections but also adding AI tools to feature more targeted ads based on your viewing history and patterns.
The company is also testing personalized ad loads and frequency caps, meaning Netflix will adjust how many ads you see based on your own viewing habits. On top of that, ads are coming to new places, including podcasts and vertical video on mobile, rolling out globally in 2027.
While these are all good news for advertisers, it’s the subscribers who will suffer. I don’t know how seeing ads when already paying for a service became a norm, but I find it hard to digest.
I would rather see restrictions on content I can watch when paying for a lower tier than see ads everywhere in the UI. Personalized ads are not only annoying, but they also mean companies are selling your private watch history and data to advertisers to deliver ads, something which I never want to see.
Google is adding a new tool called Pause Point to Android‘s Digital Wellbeing suite that interrupts mindless scrolling with a 10-second check-in before opening a distracting app.
A middle ground between timers and lockouts
Pause Point works differently from Android’s existing app timers. Instead of blocking access to an app after a set amount of time, it intercepts you at the moment you open a designated app and briefly offers a way out. During the pause, you can do a breathing exercise, set an in-the-moment timer, browse a photo slideshow pulled from your memories, or switch to a suggested alternative like a book.
The feature is also designed to resist easy dismissal. Disabling Pause Point entirely requires a phone restart, which adds enough friction to make the decision feel deliberate. Google says Pause Point is designed to ensure app use is intentional. The 10-second pause gives users enough time to decide whether opening an app is deliberate or just out of habit.
Why it matters
Google launched Digital Wellbeing tools nearly a decade ago, but app timers and usage dashboardsnever gained much traction with mainstream users. Pause Point is the most substantive rethinking of that suite in years. Rather than requiring users to set limits in advance and rely on willpower to honor them, it works in the moment, when the urge to mindlessly scroll is already happening.
For Android users who find hard lockouts too disruptive but standard timers too easy to ignore, Pause Point offers a practical middle ground. Whether a 10-second pause is enough to break deeply ingrained scrolling habits remains to be seen. Google has yet to share rollout details for the feature.
Spatial computing in gaming has been bound to head-mounted devices for the past several years. While virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) glasses, and mixed-reality wearables have dominated the marketplace in virtual gaming, many continue to suffer the problems their early counterparts had, which include the complexity of setup, the comfort of the device, and the isolation one must be in when using the device.
Today’s engineers and designers in the display industry are looking to bypass wearable hardware entirely. An example of this comes from the ZIMO1 interactive light-field display by Zondision, which utilizes screen-based options for 3D visualization.
While glasses-free 3D is not a new concept, many devices have faced challenges such as limited viewing angles, image quality issues, and user fatigue.
The Technology Behind Glasses-Free 3D
There are a number of ways that hardware and software engineers can create glasses-free 3D effects. Some of the more common ways include:
Parallax Barrier Displays, which use a layer of vertical slits to direct different images to each eye.
Lenticular Lens Displays, which use tiny lenses to direct different images to each eye.
Volumetric Displays, which create a true 3D image by projecting light onto rotating displays, or by using lasers or LEDs to create points of light in mid-air.
Parallax Barrier Displays, which use a layer of vertical slits to direct different images to each eye.
Lenticular Lens Displays, which use tiny lenses to direct different images to each eye.
Volumetric Displays, which create a true 3D image by projecting light onto rotating displays, or by using lasers or LEDs to create points of light in mid-air.
Some advanced monitors even utilize artificial intelligence to convert 2D content into 3D.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Glasses-Free Displays
The primary advantage of a glasses-free display is that you no longer have to use a bulky headset or a pair of glasses to see content in 3D. Glasses-free displays can even offer wider viewing angles than traditional 3D glasses, which allows more people to enjoy the effects at the same time.
However, there are certain challenges that come with 3D glasses. More often than not, one has to be at a proper angle in order to see the effect. This can affect people who are watching movies, for example, when they are not in the “perfect spot” in front of the screen.
In some instances, glasses-free 3D can also result in slightly lower resolution, though designers are already working on ways to reduce the “ghosting” effects that often occur when you are not using something such as a wearable.
Future Applications for Glasses-Free Technology in Gaming
While this technology is quickly being adopted by major game developers and hardware producers, glasses-free monitors are still being refined. Like 3D glasses and headsets, many report that there are times when the 3D effects on the monitors become “too much,” and that they have to step away because of it.
Even with this said, the intensity of the 3D being produced from these monitors can be adjusted, and users can acclimate to the technology over long-term exposure to the 3D effects. As the technology continues to evolve, and people become more acclimated to its uses, glasses-free 3D technology may begin to pop up in places where 3D effects may be more desired, such as in movie theatres and even in museum exhibits
With its latest major software update, Samsung has made a tiny change to One UI, which has left Galaxy users pretty frustrated. The One UI 8.5 update has removed the available storage indicator from the Device Care menu in One UI 8.5. So now, users can only see the total storage capacity and how much space is currently used, without clearly displays the amount of free space left.
Why this update has annoyed Galaxy users
Previously, One UI showed the exact amount of available space directly in the storage section. This was a simple, intuitive, and quite useful. You get all the info you need in a single glance. Although, users now have to subtract used storage from total storage to figure out how much space remains.
While this sounds like a minor annoyance, it becomes more irritating on higher-capacity phones. According to PiunikaWeb, owners of 512GB and 1TB Galaxy devices are among the users calling out the change, since the old interface made it easy to quickly check available storage at a glance. Reddit users have also been sharing side-by-side comparisons of One UI 8.0 and One UI 8.5, showing how the older version displayed the free-space metric more clearly.
Got to do the math now
Unfortunately, this is not a setting that you can toggle, so the workarounds aren’t that great. You can add a storage widget to the home screen to get the same info. But some users are reportedly seeing inaccurate numbers. In one example, an S25 Ultra owner said the widget showed 418GB free, while the System Monitor Edge panel showed 389GB. Refreshing the widget apparently did not fix the mismatch. The more reliable native workaround appears to be the System Monitor Edge panel, but even that still adds extra swipes and menus just to check a basic system stat.
Storage management is basic phone maintenance that is essential for people who shoot a lot of video, install big games, and use a lot of storage in general. So changing small utilities that people are used to just sours the first experience of One UI 8.5. Samsung has not said whether the old storage indicator will return in a future patch. Meaning, you’re stuck with this for at least a while.
The announcement caught many fans off guard, given the film’s epic scope and blockbuster-level cast.
What is the Voltron live-action movie based on?
For those unfamiliar, Voltron: Defender of the Universe is a beloved 1984 animated series that followed a group of pilots who commandeer five giant robotic lions that combine to form a colossal warrior robot called Voltron. The team uses this mighty machine to battle an intergalactic warlord named Zarkon and his army of monsters.
Henry Cavill, best known as Superman and The Witcher‘s Geralt of Rivia, will play King Alfur, a legendary warrior and former ruler of planet Altea. Sterling K. Brown plays Zarkon, the film’s primary villain and Alfur’s nemesis.
The rest of the cast includes Rita Ora, Alba Baptista, John Harlan Kim, Samson Kayo, Tharanya Tharan, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Laura Gordon, Tim Griffin, and Nathan Jones.
Everything about this movie screams big screen, so the streaming news hits differently
The idea of turning Voltron into a live-action movie has been floating around Hollywood since 2005, passing through several studios before Amazon MGM Studios finally secured the rights.
Filming wrapped last year, and the movie is expected to arrive sometime in 2027. Rawson Marshall Thurber, who directed Red Notice, helmed the project alongside a script he co-wrote with Ellen Shanman.
The production even built a massive physical rig called the “Lion’s Den” to throw actors around and capture their reactions during robot combat sequences, minimizing heavy CGI reliance.
Given all that ambition, bypassing theaters feels like an odd call, and fans will inevitably start asking whether the decision is about convenience or something more telling about the final product.
How are fans reacting to this?
Fan reaction to the streaming news has been mixed. Some called it “genuinely disappointing” for a film with obvious big-screen potential, while others were perfectly happy watching from home.
Hey, @AmazonMGMStudio It’s genuinely disappointing to hear the new live-action Voltron movie is skipping theaters and going straight to streaming on Amazon Prime. This felt like a film with real theatrical potential….A massive sci-fi spectacle that could’ve brought audiences… https://t.co/YiEgpH4erupic.twitter.com/PQbkeGkTTj
Man, I want to see this in the theater!!!! Come on, at least give us a limited theater release. Maybe like 2-3 weeks. Something! 80’s babies need to see @Voltron on the big screen! https://t.co/FbxHTnlK5Kpic.twitter.com/IOciEsBe06
Love the hell out of this. Going to theaters is in the past for me and the majority of us have a subscription to watch stuff. It’s time all new movies just go directly to streaming or a couple weeks after theater release.
Whether the streaming decision signals anything about the film’s quality remains to be seen, but Voltron is clearly one to watch when it finally lands on Prime Video.
Owners of Google smart displays and speakers have several new updates to look forward to. The company has released a new wave of enhancements for Gemini for Home, boosting both the intelligence and speed of the assistant on these devices.
Gemini for Home becomes more intelligent and personalized
Perhaps the most notable new feature is Gemini’s ability to leverage data stored in Ask Home to respond to queries about security cameras. For instance, if you’ve stored a note identifying your nanny as Alice, you can inquire when Alice got home, and the assistant will automatically retrieve the corresponding video footage. Users can also request a Home Brief through their speaker or display for a concise rundown of household events during their absence. Additionally, smart displays will now present thumbs-up and thumbs-down options following most voice commands, streamlining the process of providing feedback to Google.
Response speeds have been enhanced overall as well. With optimized backend processing for routine commands, actions such as activating lights, creating alarms, and handling timers should now feel significantly more responsive. Adult users will additionally receive more useful answers to general questions, such as requests for cocktail recipes, while existing parental controls continue to safeguard younger household members.
The Google Home app also receives practical improvements
The Gemini updates coincide with the release of Google Home app version 4.16, which introduces its own enhancements. Setting up new devices is now more straightforward due to a redesigned QR code discovery process that automatically guides users to the appropriate configuration steps. Those with Nest Thermostats can now temporarily suspend outdoor temperature settings with one tap, without disrupting their established long-term schedule. Furthermore, thermostat schedule banners will now show more pertinent and up-to-date details. Finally, iPhone owners can now control compatible third-party thermostats and air conditioning units directly within the app, a capability that was previously available only to Android users.
Thinking Machines Lab says it’s building full duplex AI, which means an AI system can take in what someone is saying while generating a response. In plain English, it’s closer to a phone call than a walkie-talkie.
The startup, founded last year by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, announced interaction models, starting with TML-Interaction-Small. It says the system can respond in 0.40 seconds, a pace that puts it near ordinary human back-and-forth.
There’s a catch for anyone hoping to try it today. This remains a research preview, with limited access planned in the next few months and a broader release expected later this year.
A faster kind of AI exchange
The core idea is easy to understand, and the change is meaningful. Instead of waiting for someone to finish speaking before working on an answer, the model processes incoming speech while preparing its response.
That delay matters because pauses make AI assistants sound artificial. Thinking Machines Lab frames TML-Interaction-Small’s 0.40-second response time as close to natural conversation speed, which would be a noticeable shift for voice tools.
It also claims that pace is faster than comparable models from OpenAI and Google. The benchmark gives the announcement weight, but outside users still need to test whether the experience works as smoothly as the number suggests.
When speed becomes behavior
An assistant that answers while it’s still taking in information changes what users expect from a voice chat. The conversation can move faster, but the system also has to manage timing with much more care.
That tradeoff matters when someone wants quick clarification instead of a long generated reply. Faster responses won’t help much if the assistant jumps in too early, misunderstands the speaker, or breaks the flow it’s supposed to improve.
For now, the architecture is the news. The real product test is whether the interaction model can make better timing feel automatic.
What to watch before launch
The release timeline is the key detail now. Thinking Machines Lab says a limited research preview is coming in the next few months, followed by broader access later this year.
Availability, pricing, supported platforms, and performance outside controlled testing are still unclear. Those missing pieces matter because a faster model only helps if people can use it in everyday voice tools.
For anyone who uses AI voice assistants, the practical move is to watch the preview closely. Full duplex AI has promise, but hands-on testing should show whether faster responses actually make daily AI conversations easier.
Signal users should take note: the encrypted messaging platform has launched several new built-in protections aimed at defending against phishing and social engineering schemes.
The update follows a March incident in which Signal acknowledged that its service had been hit by phishing campaigns targeting government personnel and members of the media. These latest enhancements appear to be a direct reaction to those events.
To help protect Signal users from phishing and social engineering attacks, we’ve introduced additional confirmations and educational messaging in the app to help people better detect fraudulent profiles, especially message requests from scammers posing as Signal. More changes… pic.twitter.com/ASZNCXHNFM
— Signal (@signalapp) May 11, 2026
See More
What do the new safety features involve?
The standout update is a “name not verified” label now shown on profiles. This matters because Signal has no way to authenticate the names people choose to display—since users set their own profile names, anyone can pretend to be someone else.
The app has also added an additional confirmation prompt for incoming message requests, encouraging users to approve only contacts they genuinely know. This mirrors WhatsApp’s approach to conversations from unrecognized numbers, giving you the choice to accept or decline.
Signal is now also displaying more comprehensive security tips within the app itself. Users will be warned not to engage with messages purporting to come from Signal, as the company will never request your PIN, registration code, or recovery key. Any such request is fraudulent.
It also flags ambiguous messages intended to provoke a response, dubious URLs, and conversations promoting financial advice as warning signs to be wary of.
Why does this matter?
Social engineering remains among the most prevalent methods of online compromise. No sophisticated technical breach is needed—just deception to extract sensitive details from you.
Fraudsters posing as Signal are especially insidious, capitalizing on the trust users have in the service. The company has indicated that further improvements are coming, marking this as the start of a wider effort to bolster safety across the platform.
SpaceX is leasing the full capacity of its Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tennessee, to Anthropic, giving the Claude maker a sudden infrastructure windfall while xAI’s Grok fights for ground in the AI race.
The early May 2026 agreement, reported by the Wall Street Journal, gives Anthropic access to more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs and over 300 megawatts of processing power. That’s the kind of xAI compute edge Musk’s chatbot business would normally want nearby.
Now Claude gets the benefit. For Anthropic, the lease helps ease pressure on Claude Pro and Claude Max demand. For SpaceX, it turns unused data center capacity into revenue ahead of an anticipated IPO.
Claude gets the fast lane
The sharpest detail is timing. Anthropic isn’t waiting for late-2026 capacity from Amazon, Google, and other partners to fully come online. It gets a live Memphis cluster now, just as AI labs are competing on power, GPUs, and model quality at the same time.
That matters for Claude’s paid tiers, which need reliable infrastructure as demand grows. The added GPU supply can support heavier usage, faster responses, and future model work, though exact user-facing changes weren’t detailed in the source material.
The scale makes the optics harder to ignore. More than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs and 300-plus megawatts look less like spare capacity and more like ammunition in the model race.
Musk’s business case wins
The deal lands with extra irony because Musk had recently described Anthropic in hostile terms, then found a reason to work with it anyway. His later comment that no one at Anthropic triggered his “evil detector” makes the turn feel more transactional than friendly.
The business case is clear. SpaceX gets a way to monetize a major asset before an anticipated IPO, while Anthropic gets a shortcut around a near-term capacity crunch. Grok can still improve, but xAI now looks like it’s fighting from behind while Claude draws power from inside Musk’s orbit.
In AI, data centers can matter as much as demos.
What Claude users should watch
The next test is whether Anthropic turns the Colossus 1 lease into visible improvements before its larger cloud partnerships fully ramp up. Claude users should watch for steadier access, faster responses, fewer plan constraints, or new features tied to heavier workloads.
For xAI, the takeaway is harsher. Grok’s next challenge is infrastructure, especially when a rival can rent power from inside Musk’s own corporate orbit.
