Technology

• Max renews Creature Commandos for a second season
• The show marks the first project in the new DC Universe
• Creature Commandos tells the story of a secret team of imprisoned monsters that take on deadly missions

Creature Commandos are going on another mission, as the hit adult animated series has been renewed for a second season at Max.

The best Max show is the first project to be released as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran's new-look DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) and debuted to critical acclaim on December 5. With a 95% score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, at the time of writing, it's no surprise that Creature Commandos has been picked up for another season halfway through its seven-episode run.

James Gunn and Peter Safran, Co-Chairs, DC Studios said in a statement: “We're thrilled to team up with Max for another season of Creature Commandos mayhem. From our spectacular first season of Peacemaker to the astonishing run of The Penguin to the record-breaking launch of Creature Commandos, Max has consistently delivered above industry expectations and beyond our wildest imaginings. Thank you, Casey, Sarah, Pia, Sono and the entire team for your tremendous support of DC Studios. We are proud to call Max home.”

What is Creature Commandos about?

Creature Commandos follows "a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails… they’re your last, worst option", reads the plotline.

The voice cast includes Steve Agee, Maria Bakalova, Anya Chalotra , Zoe Chao, Frank Grillo, Sean Gunn, David Harbour, Alan Tudyk, Indira Varma, and Viola Davis, who reprises her role as Amanda Waller from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

In our spoiler-light review of Creature Commandos, TechRadar's Tom Power reveals that the first season "gets DCU Chapter One, aka 'Gods and Monsters', off to a monstrously good start". Fancy more monster madness? There's plenty of in-depth coverage and exclusive stories to check out too in our Creature Commandos guide.

Peter Girardi, executive vice president of alternative programming at Warner Bros. Animation shared: “Thanks to the brilliant imagination of James and the talent of our amazing artists, DC fans fell in love with this new family of heroes. We are excited to continue this wild ride with our partners at Max. You want more monsters, you’re getting more monsters!”

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• Security researchers found two packages on PyPI, showing malicious intent
• The packages grant the attackers access to systems and sensitive data
• The researchers warn developers to exercise caution when using third-party packages

Experts have warned PyPI continues to be abused after researchers discovered more malicious packages hiding on the platform.

A report from Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs discovered two packages designed to steal people’s login credentials, grant unauthorized access to devices, and more.

The researchers says they observed Zebo-0.1.0, and Cometlogger-0.1, two packages that masquerade as legitimate code, but hide harmful features behind complex logic and obfuscation.

Smuggling malware

“The Zebo-0.1.0 script is a typical example of malware, with functions designed for surveillance, data exfiltration, and unauthorized control,” the researchers explained. “It uses libraries like pynput and ImageGrab, along with obfuscation techniques, indicating clear malicious intent.”

The Cometlogger-0.1 script, on the other hand, comes with a different set of malicious behavior, such as dynamic file manipulation, webhook injection, infostealing, and anti-VM checks.

Both packages are described as sophisticated, persistent, and dangerous.

Python is one of the world’s most popular programming languages, and by nature, PyPI is one of the world’s most popular open source code repositories. Developers build code blocks and share with their peers via the platform. Other developers can then use those blocks on their projects, cutting down on time necessary to code out different features.

This gives cybercriminals an opportunity to smuggle malicious code, and infect countless projects through the software supply chain. Sometimes, they would break into legitimate developer accounts and poison their solutions and other times they would typosquat popular solutions in hopes people would mistakenly download the malicious package.

Open-source is arguably more secure, since the code is susceptible to scrutiny from the entire community, but researchers still advise caution, and always verify third-party scripts and executables before running.

Furthermore, businesses should also keep their networks behind firewalls, and set up intrusion detection systems to safeguard their infrastructure.

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• Sega America and Europe CEO Shuji Utsumi has discussed the company's philosophy in a recent interview
• He stated that Sega "needs to be innovative" to remain relevant
• He also confirmed that there will not be any further mini retro consoles

In some bad news for retro game enjoyers, Sega America and Europe CEO Shuji Utsumi has suggested that the company will not be making any more mini retro consoles.

The words come from a recent interview with The Guardian in which Utsumi discusses the company’s current philosophy. “Gamers loved Sega because we showed a new style, attitude and lifestyle to gamers,” he said. “I want to bring that feeling back. But we are not just a nostalgic company, we need to be innovative.”

This approach seems evident in Sega’s recent output, which has included a number of successful new titles such as Metaphor: ReFantazio in addition to new entries in long-running fan-favorite franchises like Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. The company has also seen success in its multimedia efforts, with the new Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film already performing well at the box office.

When asked whether the company would pursue any new mini consoles, presumably to follow up the popular Sega Genesis (or Sega Mega Drive for those outside of the US) Mini, he simply replied: “I’m not going for the mini direction. It’s not me. I want to embrace modern gamers”.

The Guardian also states that Sega then clarified that this meant there are currently no plans for any more mini consoles, which is going to be a bit of disappointment for anyone looking forward to a potential Sega Dreamcast Mini or Sega Saturn Mini.

Even so, Utsumi rounds off the interview by reiterating his forward-facing point of view. “We are not a retro company,” he said. “We really appreciate our legacy, we value it, but at the same time, we want to deliver something new – otherwise we’ll become history.”

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• The creators of Netflix's new show also brought us Narcos and Griselda
• De Niro is a former President investigating a devastating cyberattack
• Zero Day is streaming from February 20, 2025

It's not every day you see a giant of cinema starring in a TV show: in the pre-streaming era that kind of thing was not something successful stars would do. But this is no ordinary day and this is no ordinary show, which is no doubt why Robert De Niro agreed to be in it. That, and probably Santa-sized sacks of money.

De Niro is the star of Zero Day, a new Netflix show created by Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim. Between them the two have a stellar CV that includes Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, President, The Watcher, Griselda, The Maze Runner and more. In this show, which has the potential to be one of the best Netflix series, De Niro plays a former US president who leads an investigation into a devastating cyberattack.

What happens in Zero Day?

As you can see from the trailer, the cyberattack has a devastating effect on the US and causes thousands of deaths. And with the US already on a political precipice, the attack threatens to push the nation over the edge.

According to Oppenheim, "The show also looks at the cost of power for those who are asked to take on these enormous challenges – what it means for them personally, and what it means for their families.”

De Niro is former President George Mullen, appointed head of the 'Zero Day Commission' into the attacks. And to find the truth he'll also have to battle his own personal demons.

Mullen, De Niro says, is a straight-shooter. "That’s the spine of my character in the show. Don’t dodge anything. Don’t play games. Be honest about what’s going on so that the public knows what’s going on.”

De Niro is joined by an impressive cast that includes Angela Bassett, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Connie Britton, Joan Allen, Matthew Modine and more.

Zero Day is a limited series and it'll premiere on Netflix on February 20, 2025.

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• RUVDS expands hosting to Earth’s coldest, remote regions
• Tests promise high-speed data access for extreme remote environments
• Antarctica mission tests data center limits and innovation

Russian hosting firm RUVDS has announced plans to deliver a server to one of Earth’s most isolated locations: the South Pole.

Building on its previous Arctic experiment, the company aims to explore the feasibility of providing high-speed, uninterrupted data access from Antarctica's remote, freezing landscape.

According to the company’s schedule, this ambitious venture will take place next year and it seeks to prove that reliable server infrastructure that can operate even under the harshest conditions.

World’s most challenging climates

This venture follows RUVDS’s earlier success at the Barneo Ice Camp, a temporary station on an ice floe near the North Pole. Earlier in 2024, the company delivered a “data center in a box” to Barneo via an airdrop from an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.

The server is equipped with weather-resistant materials and connected to RUVDS’s satellite. It is designed to provide internet access and data hosting capabilities in the Arctic. While the server was intended to operate for a month, an emergency evacuation due to a crack in the ice cut the experiment short after just one week.

Learning from its Arctic experience, RUVDS is now preparing the Antarctic server with advanced insulation and backup power systems.

The equipment will include uninterruptible power supplies to counter power failures and ensure continuous operations. RUVDS’s goal is to create an “Antarctic data center” capable of providing high-speed data access to users, regardless of the extreme temperatures.

The server’s connection will rely on a high-speed communication channel, expected to be delivered alongside the hardware. RUVDS has not yet specified the exact technologies it will employ for this channel, but its Arctic experiment leveraged its own satellite, the StratoSat TK-1, which was launched in June 2023 in collaboration with Russian aerospace firm Statonautica.

This satellite, a Low Earth Orbit pico-satellite, is a key part of RUVDS’s Arctic and Antarctic operations. Despite memory damage during launch, StratoSat TK-1 remains operational, broadcasting a simple HTML page from space.

The company has a couple of options for the delivery of the server. It will engage transport planes and ships that can withstand the challenges of reaching the South Pole.

If successful, the server installation could pave the way for future data centers in remote polar regions, contributing to scientific research and potentially opening new avenues for communications in inaccessible parts of the world.

"We already have a successful experience of test launching a server at the North Pole - this was a kind of first approach to testing. And Antarctica, as a region with much more complex logistics and conditions, allows us to continue research at a new level," said Nikita Tsaplin, CEO of the VDS server hosting provider RUVDS.

"As part of the mission, the possibility of establishing satellite communications, including high-speed channels, will be studied, and I do not rule out that we will carry out a kind of beta test of commercial use of the server," Tsaplin continued.

Via DCD

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 24.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 562 for Dec. 24.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the Dec. 24 Strands puzzle, No. 296.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,284 for Dec. 24.

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• An Arizona charter school will use AI instead of human teachers for two hours a day on academic lessons.
• The AI will customize lessons in real-time to match each student’s needs.
• The company has only tested this idea at private schools before but claims it hugely increases student academic success.

One school in Arizona is trying out a new educational model built around AI and a two-hour school day. When Arizona’s Unbound Academy opens, the only teachers will be artificial intelligence algorithms in a perfect utopia or dystopia, depending on your point of view.

The Unbound Academy's unconventional approach to teaching needed approval from the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, which it received in a contentious 4-3 vote. Students in fourth through eighth grade will be enrolled in the program, in which academic lessons for two hours a day will be delivered by personalized AI, which will rely on platforms including IXL and Khan Academy. The idea pitched by Unbound is that it will make students happier and smarter, with more time to explore life skills and passions.

During those two hours, the students will be going through adaptive learning programs. While they study science, math, or literature, the AI will track their progress in real time. Depending on their performance, the AI will then adapt the curriculum's style and difficulty to help them succeed. That might mean slowing down and spending more time on some subjects or upping the ante and making some parts of the educational plan more difficult.

While academic lessons are condensed, the rest of the day is filled with hands-on workshops in areas like financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and public speaking. Instead of traditional teachers, students are guided by mentors who lead these sessions and help develop practical skills that aim to go beyond the classroom.

Academic AI

Unbound Academy has tested this concept elsewhere in similar programs at private schools in Texas and Florida under the name Alpha Schools. They claim that students in these programs learn twice as much in half the time. Arizona officials are now betting this success will work in public schools, albeit charter schools instead of standard educational institutes.

This isn't Arizona's first foray into AI education. Arizona State University (ASU) worked with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT as a kind of faculty member. The difference is that ASU has AI helping students to write academic papers and aiding professors in running more complex simulations and studies. It's not actually running any classes. What Unbound Academy is doing is closer to a trial run in the UK. London’s David Game College is running an AI-taught class as part of its new Sabrewing program, bringing 20 GCSE students into the program, which employs AI platforms and virtual reality headsets to guide their learning.

The idea that AI allows for hyper-personalized learning and can make for more successful students is, of course, appealing. The extra time freed up for life-skills workshops is another selling point, preparing students for challenges outside the classroom. But it's all too easy to see the shadow cast by what's lost without human teachers. AI can't replace the mentorship, encouragement, and emotional support that define a great teacher, at least not in any of its current forms.

AI may be able to boost a teacher's ability to help students, but it's objectively ridiculous to claim AI as it is now can be better than a human teacher. It may be cheaper for a district to turn to a for-profit company in the short term, but it's a shortsighted way of considering the value of educators. For now, students at Unbound Academy will be the pioneers of this new approach. Everyone will learn something from the result, one way or another.

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Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Who on earth ...?

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• INTERN
• NINE
• HEALER
• CRIME
• RARE
• VINE

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Earthy ID

NYT Strands today (game #296) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 5th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #296) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #296, are…

• BROOK
• HOLLY
• RIVER
• CLEMENTINE
• LAUREL
• WILLOW
• SPANGERAM: NATURE NAMES

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

Even after completing today’s Strands it took me a while to understand what was meant by NATURE NAMES – then BROOK Shields, HOLLY Hunter, WILLOW Johnson, and RIVER Phoenix popped into my mind.

I was hard-pressed to think of anyone famous called CLEMENTINE or LAUREL, however.

Both are pretty rare names in general. According to the Social Security Administration in 2023 there were 543 babies named Clementine and just 391 called Laurel. For comparison, 15,270 girls in the US were named Olivia in 2023.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 23 December, game #295)

• COCOA
• GINGERBREAD
• CRANBERRY
• PEPPERMINT
• SPANGRAM: HOLIDAY FLAVOR

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1065) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• T

• S

• F

• V

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1065) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1065, are…

• TIPSY
• SCALE
• FLYER
• VALVE

It’s not a bad idea to look over Quordle when you’ve finished, but I always get a sense of regret.

I’ve still not pinned down the perfect second Quordle guess, but I’m pretty stuck on STARE as my starter, which landed me three letters of the second word, narrowing the field down to a possible 35 other possible words. Despite this narrowing of odds I still messed up and wasted a go when I could have got TIPSY a line earlier.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1065) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1065, are…

• THREE
• CRUMP
• AGING
• TRUTH

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1064, Monday 23 December: SNAKE, SAVVY, ELBOW, TWEED
• Quordle #1063, Sunday 22 December: DOUBT, SLURP, PAPER, CIVIL
• Quordle #1062, Saturday 21 December: STRIP, BUDGE, SAPPY, SHELF
• Quordle #1061, Friday 20 December: PENAL, EAGLE, DILLY, QUITE
• Quordle #1060, Thursday 19 December: JEWEL, GNOME, TRAMP, IDLER
• Quordle #1059, Wednesday 18 December: LITHE, BIRTH, HUMID, ROBOT
• Quordle #1058, Tuesday 17 December: DOING, ENJOY, SNAKY, AMPLE
• Quordle #1057, Monday 16 December: HYDRO, CREAM, CHIDE, SLIME
• Quordle #1056, Sunday 15 December: DROVE, STILT, LINEN, GIANT
• Quordle #1055, Saturday 14 December: SPIEL, ONSET, TIGER, DITTO
• Quordle #1054, Friday 13 December: ERECT, REBAR, MOIST, IDIOM
• Quordle #1053, Thursday 12 December: MILKY, CRIER, STORK, DRIER
• Quordle #1052, Wednesday 11 December: BRIAR, NASAL, SHARD, FLUFF
• Quordle #1051, Tuesday 10 December: BEGAN, TRIAL, IDEAL, GUIDE
• Quordle #1050, Monday 9 December: TITAN, FORTE, SPEED, BRIAR
• Quordle #1049, Sunday 8 December: BUNCH, SHINY, MOULT, INTRO
• Quordle #1048, Saturday 7 December: SHAKY, CROOK, GHOUL, VERSE
• Quordle #1047, Friday 6 December: BRAWL, UNTIL, DOWRY, STING
• Quordle #1046, Thursday 5 December: AGING, BICEP, CLOVE, SPILL
• Quordle #1045, Wednesday 4 December: JUDGE, GIVER, GNASH, CLOAK