Technologies

LG OLED Flex: Watch This Huge Monitor Bend From Flat to Curved

We go hands-on with a screen that really does flex at the touch of a button. And it’s not cheap.

The LG OLED Flex is both a TV and a monitor, but its coolest feature is a unique motorized screen. The 42-inch OLED panel goes from flat to curved using a dedicated bend button on the remote. After using it for a week, I found it offers an immersive viewing experience for gamers with its curved screen and built-in bias lighting.

You can adjust the level of curvature with three presets and fine-tune it even further thanks to the motorized system. The monitor also has an X-shaped light on the rear that syncs to video and sound or cycles through colors.

The games I played definitely felt more immersive with the combination of the lighting and the curved screen. It felt like I was using my own private arcade system as I leaned back in my chair with the screen lifted high and tilted down.

The biggest drawback to the LG OLED Flex is the high price and large size. Not only does the stand measure 10 inches deep, but I needed to sit at least 20 inches from the screen to feel comfortable. That calls for a desk 30 inches deep or more, which is impractical for a lot of people. Not to mention, the monitor costs a whopping $2,500 — a steep price indeed when LG is selling a standard flat 42-inch OLED TV for $800.

To see the screen in action along with my full hands-on impressions, check out the video at the top of this article.

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Technologies

AI-Voiced Darth Vader Can Swear, Say ‘Skibidi Toilet’ in Fortnite: How to Find It

Expletives are apparently not off the table as a foul-mouthed AI Darth Vader is added to Fortnite.

It didn’t take long after Epic Games unleashed famous Star Wars Sith lord Darth Vader into the game Fortnite — complete with the AI-enabled voice of late actor James Earl Jones for conversations with players — for Vader to drop the F-bomb.

As seen on multiple social-media videos, Vader can be prompted to say lots of things you wouldn’t find in a Star Wars script, such as curse words, «Skibidi toilet» and to share his thoughts on breasts.

A representative from Epic Games pointed to a post on X saying that the company has already addressed the apparent lack of language filtering. The post reads, «We pushed a hotfix immediately and this shouldn’t happen again.»

But gamers were apparently able to capture footage of inappropriate banter from Vader in the time before the fix was issue. Epic is asking gamers to report any additional problems.

Safety filters to stop the swearing

A representative for Epic Games told CNET on Friday that there are three layers of safety filters built into the feature to prevent this from happening again.

Also, parents must enable the option to «allow voice and written communication with AI features» for kid accounts to speak with Vader.

And even the Dark Lord of the Sith can still get kicked out of the game.

«If a player is repeatedly attempting to get Darth Vader to violate our settings and instructions, he will eventually leave the squad, and the player will be unable to recruit him again in that gameplay session,» the representative said. «If we become aware or receive a bug report that Darth Vader in Fortnite responded in a way he shouldn’t, we investigate it and if needed, make adjustments to avoid similar responses in the future.»

Where is this F-bomb dropping Vader?

It’s likely you’ve missed the window to have an R-rated conversation with Luke Skywalker’s father — although you can find clips that others have saved and posted on social media.

But Vader can still be found in Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode in the Samurai’s Solitude area in the southwest of the map. Your party can recruit the new Vader, who replaced Samurai Vader, and have an AI chatbot conversation with him. Epic used Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model for the responses.

The family of Jones, who voiced the character since the first Star Wars movie, gave Epic permission to use his voice with AI models.

«James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it,» the family said in a statement. «We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.»