Technology

Agatha All Along is a whimsical road trip through Marvel’s world of witchcraft

Published

4 months ago

September 18, 2024

Agatha All Along is a whimsical road trip through Marvel’s world of witchcraft

WandaVision’s inventive approach to blending different storytelling genres made it one of the most compelling pieces of television Marvel has ever produced. The show became appointment viewing week after week as it fleshed out its central mystery in a way that was fun to follow along with. And for a while, it felt like WandaVision’s story was part of an ambitious plan to push Marvel’s films in an interesting new direction.

Marvel seemingly lost the thread of that plan somewhere between WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — a follow-up film that glossed over the show’s juicy emotional beats in favor of dizzying spectacle and more explicitly horror vibes. But Agatha All Along, Disney Plus’ newest MCU series from showrunner Jac Schaeffer, feels like a sign that the studio has learned a few valuable lessons from its messy multiversal experiment.

Set a few years after the events of WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness, Agatha All Along picks up the story of its titular sorceress (Kathryn Hahn) at a time when everything about her world appears to be coming undone yet again — albeit under slightly different circumstances. Though almost everyone remembers what went down the last time witches showed up in Westview, New Jersey, the town’s actually a pretty peaceful place where people have learned to move on with their lives.

While folks like Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp) have gotten used to scurrying past the vacant lot where the Maximoff / Vision family used to live, their collective trauma keeps them from saying her name out of fear that she might come back. But it also makes it easy for them to accept Agnes / Agatha Harkness (Hahn) as an ordinary, if eccentric, woman who’s trying to handle something they’ve all gone through. To them, Agatha’s mood swings and insistence on being called “Agnes” are just quirky coping mechanisms. But in truth, those are some of the first signs of Agatha becoming aware of the magical prison she became trapped in when last we saw her.

Agatha All Along seems like it’s angling for a slow burn at first as it drops you into a WandaVision-esque send-up of crime dramas (rather than sitcoms) like Mare of Easttown and True Detective. But the show quickly switches gears in a way that reads like Marvel understanding the show’s need to move past its predecessors’ inspired gimmick. It isn’t long before Agatha snaps back to her senses with the help of former lover Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) and a magically adept teen she calls Teen (Joe Locke). With all of Agatha’s powers now gone, however, she has to form a coven and journey on the Witches’ Road in order to restore herself to her former glory.

Whereas WandaVision only really became properly witchy in its last few episodes, Agatha All Along dives right into the magic as it focuses on painting a more detailed picture of who Harkness is and how witchcraft (which is distinct from Doctor Strange’s whole deal) works. WandaVision alluded to Agatha’s treacherous past, but the new show explores how her centuries-long path to acquiring power made her a reviled villain in the witch community long before she ever set foot in Westview.

Sitcom Agnes / Agatha was a highlight in WandaVision, where her unhinged energy helped sell the show’s conceit and leave viewers guessing as to who was really pulling everyone’s strings. But Agatha All Along gives Hahn even more room to flex and vamp as Agatha’s hunt for a coven leads her to other witches like wellness guru Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), fortune teller Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), and security guard Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) — all of whom see her as a threat. They know Agatha’s killed members of her own coven before and that there’s something off about the way that Teen is unable to tell them anything about where he comes from. But the Witches’ Road can give each of them something they desperately want if they join Agatha on her quest.

Though it’s interesting to see more of Marvel’s more “grounded” magical world fleshed out through Agatha All Along’s new characters, the show has a pronounced “I’m putting together a rag-tag team” vibe that makes its beats feel formulaic in moments. Teen — a gothy Agatha fanboy Locke plays with charm and with a noticeably difficult-to-place accent — is meant to be one of the show’s compelling mysteries. But he’s also an audience surrogate whose inquisitive exchanges with the other witches sometimes come across like the show taking a moment to overexplain plot points that don’t really need spelling out.

Every bit of worldbuilding lore the show establishes — within a three-mile radius, there are always enough “witchy enough” people to form a coven, for instance — is followed up with a reiteration of why everyone’s following Agatha. Occasionally, it makes the show feel uncertain of whether it’s introducing too much lore. But when Agatha All Along leans into its weirdness and trusts you to piece things together, the series becomes much more of a spooky joyride that feels reflective of Schaeffer once again trying to bring a genuinely unique energy to the MCU.

You can feel and see this clearly once the gang is actually on the Witches’ Road — an otherworldly realm where they face a series of trials meant to test their knowledge of magic. Similar to the way WandaVision embodied the styles of various sitcoms, Agatha All Along feels like an ode (music features largely) to horror classics like Rosemary’s Baby and newer fare like American Horror Story: Coven.

Though some of the trials skew a bit cheesy — at one point, the witches fight a generational curse — they each highlight just how much of Agatha All Along’s magic is practically produced to compliment the show’s intricate sets. It makes the show stand out compared to Marvel’s usual CGI-laden projects and feel like a solid example of the studio prioritizing art over whizbang spectacle.

Agatha All Along is still a late-stage Marvel show, meaning that there are moments where your appreciation of what it’s doing will hinge on how familiar you are with the larger cinematic universe’s most recent events. But for viewers who’ve been following along and holding out hope for the studio to get back into putting out genuinely weird and playful riffs on the comics rather than hyping up the next big event, Agatha All Along should be a delight to watch — especially once it starts revealing its big secrets later this fall.

Agatha All Along also stars Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, Emma Caulfield, David Payton, Kate Forbes, and Asif Ali. The series’ first two episodes hit Disney Plus on September 18th.

Technology

Drone takes out Super Scooper fighting Los Angeles wildfires

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Drone takes out Super Scooper fighting Los Angeles wildfires

An aircraft helping to fight wildfires that are raging across Los Angeles was struck by a civilian drone on Thursday. The collision damaged the wing of the aircraft — a CL-415 “Super Scooper” capable of scooping up 1,600 gallons of ocean water to drop onto nearby blazes — according to a statement by the LA County Fire Department posted on X, putting it out of service until it can be repaired.

Cal Fire spokesman Chris Thomas told The New York Times that grounding the aircraft will likely set back local firefighting efforts. Super Scoopers can typically refill in about five minutes. But even if it takes ten, that’s six water drops that are lost each hour according to Thomas. “So whose house is not going to get that water to protect it?” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the Super Scooper landed safely after the drone impact, and that the incident is now under investigation.

Temporary flight restrictions have been implemented in the Los Angeles area that prohibit drones and other aircraft from flying without FAA authorization in an effort to protect firefighting efforts.

According to LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, the drone was not assigned to help tackle the Palisades fires, and was destroyed in the collision. Marrone told the LA Times that the FBI is now planning to implement so-called “aerial armor” in the area to prevent further interference from drones.

Several people online have violated the FAA-enforced flight restrictions, posting viral drone photos and video footage across social media showing the devastation from what appears to be prohibited airspace. Fire response agencies are often forced to ground their own aircraft to avoid collisions when dummies fly drones near wildfires for online clout.

“It’s a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands,” the FAA said in a statement. “Additionally, the FAA can impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations. The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses.”

Technology

How to easily print photos from your phone

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

How to easily print photos from your phone

Are you an aspiring Android or iPhone photographer? Both Android OS 15 and iOS 18 bring professional photography features to their new smartphones with advancements made in artificial intelligence-assisted photo processing and top-of-the-line digital camera sensors in the top-line smartphones.

Even if you don’t enjoy taking photos directly from your smartphone, most cameras now allow you to instantly transfer pictures from a camera to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

You can also print high-quality pictures from your phone, and it’s surprisingly easy. Here are a few different ways to print a photograph from your smartphone.

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A photo printer with SD cards sitting on top of it. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Using a Wi-Fi-enabled printer

Many of the most popular printers available today feature Wi-Fi functionality, and if you have a Wi-Fi-enabled printer, you can print photographs directly from your phone. Most modern photo printers are fully wireless, allowing you to easily print photos directly from their Android or iOS smartphones. Check out my top printer picks here. Here’s how to print from a wireless printer on both Android and iOS:

For iPhone:

Ensure your printer supports AirPrint and is connected to your phone’s Wi-Fi network.
Open the Photos app, select the photo you want to print, tap the share icon, and choose Print.
Choose your printer and adjust any print settings.
Click Print in the upper right of the screen.

For Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

Connect your printer to the same Wi-Fi network as your phone.
Go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Printing.
Select Default Print Service or a third-party print service plugin.
Open the photo you want to print in your gallery app, tap the share icon, and select Print.

Using a portable photo printer

Portable photo printers are handy for printing on the go. They usually connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and come with apps for easy printing. Portable photo printers are a great idea if you want a compact photograph printer that’s great for taking with you on trips. Many portable printers are small enough to fit in a travel bag and are battery-powered, so there’s no wired setup necessary. Check on my picks for the best portable printers here.

A portable photo printer being used. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Using an online photo printing service

You can also use apps or websites like Shutterfly or Snapfish that offer photo printing services. Upload your photos, choose your print options, and have them delivered to your home or picked up at a local store. Similar services are also available at your local print shops or even at big-box stores such as Staples, which also provide high-quality poster and image printing. Using a print service and shop to process your photographs can be a great idea, as you can rest assured that your photographs are being printed on high-quality prints with great printers.

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Laptop with photos. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Transferring photos to your computer

You can transfer your photos to your computer and print them from there using your home printer. This is a great option if you have an older printer or an older photo printer that doesn’t support Wi-Fi. Here’s a list of our printer recommendations. I recommend looking at the options for color printers that we’ve highlighted. We made the list for everyone, so we made sure to include printers that can print beautiful photographs with ease. Here’s how to do it from an iPhone to your computer:

Use a USB cable to connect your iPhone to your computer.
Make sure your iPhone or Android is unlocked.
If prompted, tap “Trust This Computer” on your iPhone or Android.
On a Mac, open the Photos app.
On a Windows PC, open the Photos app or File Explorer.
On a Mac, click on “Import” in the Photos app and select the photos you want to transfer.
On a Windows PC, click “Import” in the Photos app, or copy and paste photos from File Explorer.

Printing photos

Make sure your printer is connected to your computer (via USB or network).
Open the photos you want to print on your computer.
On a Mac, go to “File” > “Print” in the Photos app.
On a Windows PC, right-click the photo and select “Print” or use the print option in the Photos app.
Choose your printer and configure print settings (size, quality, etc.).
Click “Print” to start printing your photos.

A man transferring photos from his phone to his computer to print. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Kurt’s key takeaways

It’s exciting to see how both Android and iPhone have stepped up their game in mobile photography. With all the cool AI features and top-notch camera tech, taking amazing photos is a breeze. Plus, printing those memories is super easy now, whether you’re using a Wi-Fi printer, a portable one, or an online service.

What challenges have you faced while trying to capture or print your photos, and how did you overcome them? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

This wildfire evacuation alert accidentally went out to everyone in LA

Published

17 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

This wildfire evacuation alert accidentally went out to everyone in LA

After two days of dealing with wildfires that have burned thousands of acres, residents across Los Angeles County received a wildfire evacuation alert on Thursday afternoon that was a mistake. Shortly after, officials sent a follow-up alert saying that the notice was intended only for people near the Kenneth Fire in Woodland Hills.

Los Angeles County shared a message on X explaining what happened: “An evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills was mistakenly issued Countywide. This alert was only intended for residents of Calabasas and Agoura Hills.”

CBS News quotes a local official who said that the alert, which included a broken URL, was sent “due to a technical error.”

This is the alert to disregard the other evacuation warning.

Image: The Verge

Many wildfires are burning in the LA area, and officials have confirmed at least six deaths, CNN reports. LA County has a population of nearly 10 million people, which is the “largest population of any county in the nation,” according to the county’s website.