Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp comes to your phone Nov. 22
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp comes to your phone Nov. 22
The creators of Nintendo's hotly anticipated mobile version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp have announced that the game will arrive for Android and iOS devices this Wednesday, Nov. 22.
Animal Crossing will be the fourth Nintendo title to make its way onto mobile following the releases of Miitomo, Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes. The game lets you manage a campsite populated with cute critters by performing tasks and challenges to upgrade its comfort and decor. A new in-game currency called "Leaf Tickets" will offer a way for impatient gamers to spend real money to purchase upgrades ahead of schedule.
Outside of the addition of Leaf Tickets, the game features the same gameplay and graphics as the original Animal Crossing, which debuted outside of Japan on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 before crossing over to the portable Nintendo DS.
The pandemic changed health care, and there's no going back
The pandemic changed health care, and there's no going back
This story is part of The Year Ahead, CNET's look at how the world will continue to evolve starting in 2022 and beyond.
If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it's how to take our health into our own hands.
We've become our own triage nurse, analyzing a sore throat with such urgency that, in another time, would've been considered a little obsessive. We've been asked to monitor our temperatures and even become citizen public health surveyors with the help of at-home COVID-19 tests. But one day (hopefully soon), the consequences of leaving the house with a sore throat won't mean we're risking someone's life. Soon, our physical health will remain a core piece of our well being, but we'll shake the neurosis of a pandemic mindset – hopefully, keeping our newfound sensitivity to public health and a desire to not harm others in the process.
But will our health care system?
"The pandemic accelerated a lot of changes that were kind of percolating in the background," says Matthew Eisenberg, associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Eisenberg studies how neoclassical economics ("supply and demand") applies to health care. While COVID-19 "catalyzed" many of the changes -- and inequities -- already budding in health care, he said, it will be up to policy makers as well as the supply-and-demand cycle of health care to decide what sticks and what doesn't.
Telemedicine: a thing of the past, or the future?
Video-calls-as-doctor's-visit wasn't a tool created because of COVID-19, but the pandemic has transformed it from an obscure practice to the new way to do health care. Importantly, policy changes made during the pandemic helped knock down some barriers for telemedicine access, and helped providers get paid for it.
Private insurance companies as well as public payers (i.e. Medicare) relaxed their policies on telemedicine reimbursement for health care providers because of COVID-19. As more health care providers get paid for telemedicine (which gives them incentive to provide it), the more supply there is for patients, Eisenberg says.
"Prior to the pandemic, the only way a Medicare provider could be reimbursed for telemedicine would be if a patient was in a rural area where they could not physically travel to a provider," he says. "Even then, they had to go to a specialized facility and do the telemedicine at some out-patient facility's computer."
Even through a computer screen, there are roadblocks to accessing health care. Before COVID-19, some patients, depending on where they live and what medical condition they have, would need to drive across state lines to access a specialist (which requires an amount of time and money many patients don't have). The loosening of interstate licensure laws during the pandemic has allowed people to connect with a doctor miles away, and even fill a prescription across state lines.
Dr. Megan Mahoney is a family medicine doctor and the chief of staff at Stanford Health Care. Stanford Health Care, along with many other providers and organizations, have advocated to keep those restrictions loose once COVID-19 is no longer a public emergency, and the emergency rules no longer apply.
"We have noticed that there are states that don't have a single pediatric endocrinologist," says Mahoney. These specialists treat children with diabetes, for example. "We have a whole team of pediatric endocrinologists."
But in order to participate in telemedicine, you need an internet connection. Mahoney called the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which has a $65 billion budget for expanding internet access to rural communities and helping families pay their internet bill, a "tremendous" help in health care access. In the new virtual health landscape, access to broadband is a "social determinant of health," she says. Some policies and benefits put into place during the pandemic to help families access the internet, like the Emergency Broadband Benefit, were temporary. As broadband continues to mold in its form as a public good, its relationship to health care access will only strengthen.
FS Productions/Getty Images
Sliding into your doctor's DMs
In addition to telemedicine, the pandemic also gave us nearly unlimited access to our doctors' inbox through the patient portal. According to a report published in JAMA, which looked at instant messaging data between patients and their providers from March 2020 through June 2021, the number of patient messages increased, despite fewer patients seeking care in some specialties.
"The sheer demand that we're seeing is very much a testament to the patients' desire for this new channel of care," Mahoney says.
Even older patients, whose relationship with technology sometimes gets a bad rap, are sending their doctors messages and embracing telemedicine, she says.
"That was what propelled and accelerated the transformation," Mahoney says. When elderly people, who were originally reluctant to use telemedicine, were forced to use it in order to get care during the lockdown, "that helped them get over that hurdle."
"What I've noticed is the digital divide, while we do need to be aware of it, it can be overcome and sufficiently addressed through additional education," she says.
Some of that education for patients requires medical assistants to take on tech support roles. In addition to taking blood pressure and temperature when patients come into the room, they also need to make sure patients are comfortable signing into their patient account and feel comfortable with the technology, according to Mahoney.
That shift in the patient-provider dynamic, and more direct access to care, is necessary to maintain a system Mahoney says can help people get early intervention and, hopefully, prevent visits to the emergency room.
Many of the messages Mahoney receives from patients involve correcting misinformation patients have heard about COVID-19 -- the type of preventative, education-based work that the current health care structure "does not support," she says. For example, sustaining a more thorough patient-doctor messaging system would require providers be paid for their time consulting with patients off-hours. It also requires online communication to be in the patient's language – a barrier for many people in the US who don't speak English or speak it as a second language.
"I hope that health care can keep up with this cataclysmic shift that's happening," Mahoney said. "It will have to."
There are arguments against telemedicine as the end-all-be-all. Dr. Thomas Nash, an internist in New York City, told The New Yorker in a June 2020 report that though telemedicine is "doable...I worry that it's going to delay a good exam, and get in the way of deeper interactions between people and their doctors." The informal setting of telehealth may also be less likely to pick up on big issues which routine in-person exams would normally detect, such as high blood pressure, California Healthline reported. And it's more difficult to build an open relationship with your doctor through a screen than it is when you're sitting in their office.
But that also assumes people had a relationship to lose in the first place. As of Feb. 2019, one year before the pandemic began, about one fourth of all adults and half of all adults under 30 didn't have an ongoing relationship with a doctor, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. This is also a group that shows a strong preference for telehealth, and is the target audience for pre-pandemic care-on-demand services, including Nurx, which allows people to get birth control prescriptions and other medications online, sister sites Hims and Hers, Curology and more.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The great vaccine race
Scientists impressed the world by moving quickly to develop highly effective COVID-19 vaccines in record time – doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine, with Moderna's authorized right behind it, were available to the first round of eligible adults in the US less than a year after the the country went into lockdown. According to Nature, the fastest anyone developed a vaccine was for mumps in 1960, and that took four years from development to approval (Pfizer's vaccine for people age 16 and up has full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, while Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have emergency use authorization). While there's much left to be desired about how the vaccines are distributed and accessed by populations in countries outside the US (only 8.9% of people in low-income countries have had a coronavirus shot), an estimate from the Yale School of Public Health reports the vaccines have saved about 279,000 lives and prevented 1.25 million hospitalizations a s of early July 2021.
Part of the reason the vaccines were developed so quickly was because research on the technology they use was already underway (the mRNA vaccines were developed using information from HIV research). While the global society has shown we can be very efficient at producing effective and safe vaccines, don't get your hopes up too high that it'll happen that fast again, says Michael Urban, an occupational therapist and program director at the University of New Haven.
"The thing people have to remember is that the federal government pumped tons and tons of money into this development," says Urban. "Globally, not just the United States."
One reason for that is because COVID-19 had such a prominent impact on our economy. "The fact that this [vaccine] came out is because this is disrupting the fabric of life," Urban says. "How we make money, how we engage with people – how we enjoy our lives."
While it's tempting to hope that because scientists banded together to create a vaccine for COVID-19 and the US government helped fund much of that work it will usher in more resources to find preventative measures and treatments for other diseases, it's unlikely. The incentive for the government to subsidize research and development of treatments for other things that are more individualized, such as cancer or HIV, Urban says, might not be as strong, which leaves it up to the drug companies themselves. And without a public health emergency as transmissible and widespread as COVID-19, it's unlikely drug companies will pour quite as much time and effort into finding treatments.
And when addressing a drug company that profits "billions off of cancer treatments," for example, is it really in the best interest of the company to find an effective preventative measure?
"If they can do one shot and get rid of cancer, is it really in their best interest?" Urban says. "I hate to say that," says Urban.
Two steps forward, two steps back
In addition to propelling us into trends that've been helpful in health care, the pandemic has magnified our shortcomings and has disproportionately affected the same people who have been mistreated by the medical system for years. Black and Hispanic Americans have been hospitalized with COVID-19, and died from the disease, in much greater numbers compared to white Americans.
Dr. Shantanu Nundy, a primary care physician and author of the book Care After Covid: What the Pandemic Revealed Is Broken in Healthcare and How to Reinvent It, told NPR in a May 2021 report that the pandemic scramble to find a testing site, get a vaccine appointment or access preventative care exposed those who might not have ever experienced it to the perils of health care.
"The pandemic magnified long-standing cracks in the foundation of the US healthcare system and exposed those cracks to populations that had never witnessed them before," said Nundy in the NPR interview.
Another weak spot exposed because of COVID-19 was the US public health response, and its subsequent communication to the public about what to do when you're sick. When the pandemic struck, public health agencies were relying on "old methodologies" in terms of quarantine requirements and testing rules for COVID-19, Urban says. Compared to other countries, we have issues with containment and quarantine restrictions that don't always prevent people from spreading the virus, he says. The CDC's latest isolation guidance for people who test positive for COVID-19, for example, has been criticized by some for being too relaxed and not requiring a negative test.
In the US, there's a one-and-done mentality. "You do a one-time test, you're cleared," Urban says. "Have a nice day."
When the next pandemic happens, he says the US is likely still not set up with the structure and tools needed to respond appropriately to a public health emergency. "We didn't learn from the Spanish flu," Urban says.
An early December report from the Global Health Security Index, an assessment of health security across the globe developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Economist Impact, backs that up. According to the report, 195 countries across the globe are "dangerously underprepared for future epidemic and pandemic threats, including threats potentially more devastating than COVID-19."
But importantly, the blame isn't solely on public health agencies, Urban says. The CDC, for example, is "under pressure" to get people back to work and everyday life, Urban says. To do so, the agency has to work within US federal law and the vastly different state and local laws which govern what we can and can't expect people to do.
Looking forward
As we move away from the immediate threat of COVID-19, our appreciation for mental health care is likely to stay. Eisenberg says that we may see specialized mental health services, including some practices that are virtual-only, and some that are a hybrid of in-office and virtual visits. There may also be a shift away from medication treatments for mental health conditions and more provider-focused psychotherapy, Eisenberg finds.
"It's a small shift, but that could have big implications down the road," he says.
While there are structural and policy changes needed to ensure everyone has autonomy over their health, the pandemic has shifted the way care providers approach health care. Now more than ever, there's an emphasis on public health.
In an interview with the American Medical Association, Nundy explained the framework he believes is necessary to progress health care after the pandemic. Through the course of the pandemic, Nundy said, doctors "built a muscle" for operating with public health in mind.
"Let's take that muscle and let's start applying it to diabetes, let's start applying it to mental health," Nundy said. "So much more is possible."
Correction, Jan. 14: The original version of this story misspelled Shantanu Nundy's last name.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
Clean All the Nooks and Crannies With This Rechargeable Compressed Air Duster for $56
Clean All the Nooks and Crannies With This Rechargeable Compressed Air Duster for $56
Do you have a dust dilemma causing your computer to overheat? Or crumbs in the keyboard? Life happens, but this handheld, rechargeable electric air duster is perfect for blowing away the dust and debris that collects around keyboards, computers, electronics, cars components, video game consoles and more. It's also cordless, lightweight and ultra-portable, with a detachable nozzle that can be stored in the body for easy transport in the car, to the office and beyond. You can grab the Dorobeen cordless air duster for just $56 at Amazon right now, a 25% savings.
The adjustable speed allows you to work with all sorts of situations, from cleaning fragile plants to removing heavy dust from computer fans. Unlike cans of air, this electronic duster is rechargeable, able to be reused time after time. Not only is this a more economic choice for your wallet, but it's eco-friendly as well. A single charge will allow between 15 and 30 minutes of cleaning time based on your settings, which is plenty of time to take care of clearing the debris that collects around most small electronics. And as this device simply needs a USB connection to charge, most cars, computers and power strips can accommodate this air duster, making it a convenient and reliable option for any home.
Hyundai, Kia recall nearly half a million vehicles over fire risk, ask owners to park outside
Hyundai, Kia recall nearly half a million vehicles over fire risk, ask owners to park outside
Hyundai and Kia have issued a recall for 2016-2018 Santa Fe, 2017-2018 Santa Fe Sport, 2019 Santa Fe XL, 2014-2015 Tucson, 2016-2018 K900 and 2014-2016 Sportage models over concerns that a short circuit in the antilock brake system could cause an engine compartment fire. The recall specifically asks owners of affected models to park their vehicles outside until a fix has been performed.
The specific issue stems from a faulty ABS multifuse and potentially a faulty ABS module. The fix for the problem involves replacing either the multifuse or, possibly, the module where necessary. This work, like all recall work, will be performed free of charge by your local Hyundai or Kia dealer.
Owners of affected vehicles can expect to be notified by mail around April 5 for Hyundai and around March 31 for Kia. Those owners who have questions in the meantime can contact Hyundai's customer service department at 1-855-371-9460 and refer to recall No. 218. Kia owners can call 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC227.
How to Factory Reset a MacBook, Windows Laptop or Chromebook to Sell or Give Away
How to Factory Reset a MacBook, Windows Laptop or Chromebook to Sell or Give Away
One side effect of spending more time at home during the pandemic is the realization that I have a lot of old tech lying around. A lot. Then, when I made a KonMari attempt at decluttering said tech, I unearthed several things I forgot I had -- including an old laptop I stopped using years ago because it was too slow for my high-end computing needs.
While this laptop no longer sparked joy for me, it turned out to be a perfect fit for my mom. It just needed to be cleaned up first, and I'm not just talking about removing dust and mystery goo with a few swipes of a disinfectant wipe, though you'll want to do that, too. The type of cleaning I'm talking about is restoring the laptop to like-new condition inside and out. Cleaning the outside is the easy part. Wiping the computer of all your apps, files, folders and other personal information isn't necessarily as straightforward. Of course, how much data scrubbing you need to do will likely depend on the recipient.
The big picture steps you take to refresh a laptop are the same regardless of whether it's a Windows laptop. Apple MacBook or Chromebook -- save your old data, remove all personal information, then go for a factory reset. It's the actual step-by-step procedure that differs depending on the type of laptop you're dealing with. Below, you'll find everything you need to know and do before giving your laptop a second life. And with supply chain issues, shipping problems and chip shortages making new devices harder to get, passing along a new-to-you laptop can be a welcome holiday gift.
Last thing first
I typically save the laptop's physical cleaning until last (why clean your fingerprints off twice?), but you may want to start there -- especially if it's been gathering dust in the back of a closet/under a bed/in the garage for the past several years. The basic equipment required for a good laptop cleaning is a can of compressed air and some disinfectant or alcohol wipes. For a slightly deeper clean, you may also want to grab a screwdriver and remove the bottom cover of your laptop (if possible) so you can carefully blow out any dust that's accumulated on the fans and vents.
After the laptop is clean, you can also wipe down the power adapter and any related accessories. It's also a good idea to ensure the power adapter is still in good, working condition. If you're still not quite sure where to start with the cleaning, check out our complete guide to getting your laptop looking its best.
Gifting a used MacBook
Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET
Before you even think about doing a factory reset on your MacBook, you need to save any data you want to keep. You may have already done this at some point if you migrated data from this old MacBook to a new one using using Apple's Migration Assistant. If that's not the case, it's time to hook up an external drive and use MacOS' built-in Time Machine tool to create a backup. If you have an iCloud account, you can back up your data there as well.
Sign out of everything
You'll also want to log out of all accounts before wiping your MacBook's drive. Start with iCloud, Find My Mac and iMessage. Then look for individual software accounts you may need to deregister. If you use a browser other than Safari, such as Chrome or Firefox, you should sign out of those as well. Basically, if it's got personal account information, you'll want to sign out. (Here's how to find account settings in MacOS.)
Two other things you should do before a factory reset: Unpair any Bluetooth devices -- particularly if the MacBook is being gifted to someone in your household -- and reset the NVRAM. The latter is memory that holds onto settings that the MacBook needs before loading MacOS. On startup, press and hold Option-Command-P-R to reset the NVRAM.
Perform a factory reset
If you've done everything above, you're ready to return your MacBook to its out-of-the-box state. On an Intel-based Mac, reboot the system and press and hold Command-R to enter Recovery Mode. (Accessing Recovery Mode on MacBooks running on the company's Apple Silicon chips is different, however.)
Read more:Before selling your MacBook, you need to factory reset it
Once in Recovery Mode, you'll see a window of MacOS utilities. Use the Disk Utility to erase your drive. When that's complete, you'll be able to reinstall MacOS. After it's done reinstalling, you'll reach the Setup Assistant. From there you can stop and shut it down or set it up for the recipient.
Gifting a used Windows laptop
Screenshot by Josh Goldman/CNET
As with gifting a MacBook, start by backing up any important folders and files on your old laptop to cloud storage or an external drive. If you're doing the latter, go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Add a drive and select the external drive. Then click on Backup Now.
Sign out of all your apps
A lot of paid software requires you to sign in with an account, a product key or both. Before you wipe your laptop's storage, sign out of any accounts and deregister software licenses (if possible). If you need those product keys to re-register software on a new laptop, be sure to save that information. If you use a browser other than Edge, such as Chrome or Firefox, sign out of those as well. Basically, if it's got personal account information, sign out.
Reset the laptop
Ready to clean the drive and reinstall Windows? Go to Settings > Update and security > Recovery. At the top of the window, you'll see Reset this PC. Click on Get Started and select Remove Everything from the box that appears. From there, you can select to reinstall Windows from the local drive or download from the cloud. After that, Windows cleans the drive of all software, settings and data. When it's done, the laptop will start in its setup assistant mode. You can then stop and shut it down for a fresh-out-of-the-box experience or do some setup, which is nice touch, especially if it's going to a family member so they can use it right away.
Unlink from your Microsoft account
If you used a Microsoft account to sign in to the laptop, the last thing you'll want to do is remove the laptop from that account. Sign in to your account from another computer and click on the Devices tab at the top of the page. Find the laptop that you're gifting on the list of devices, and at the bottom of the listing, you'll see the option to remove the device. Click it and you're done.
Gifting a used Chromebook
Sarah Tew/CNET
Chromebooks are the easiest to refresh for gifting. That's mainly because of their cloud-based design. Google also makes it extremely easy to wipe your data and securely clean the internal storage as well as remove the Chromebook from your Google account.
Check the AUE first
Before you even consider gifting an old Chromebook, check its auto-update expiration. Google only guarantees Chrome OS and browser feature support on non-Google hardware for so long. Every device has a date on which it stops receiving updates, aka its AUE date. Current models receive updates for eight years; older models could potentially be a year or two away from reaching their AUE.
Google maintains an AUE list, so finding the date your Chromebook will stop receiving updates is as easy as locating your model on that list. The AUE can also be found in your Chromebook's settings. Here's how to find the AUE from Google and in your Chromebook.
Give it a Powerwash
Powerwash is Google's built-in factory reset tool for Chromebooks. Once you've backed up folders or files stored on the Chromebook's internal drive, running Powerwash will securely scrub the system and reboot. When it restarts, it'll be just like the day you unboxed it.
The actual Powerwash typically takes less than a minute to complete. A simple search for "powerwash" in your Chromebook's settings will bring you right to the feature, but here's everything you need to know about the procedure.
Remove the Chromebook from your Google account
Although you've removed your account from the Chromebook, you haven't removed the Chromebook from your account. Start by signing into your Google account and head to the Security settings. If you use the Chrome browser, you can also click on your account avatar and select Manage your Google Account from the drop-down menu.
In the Security section, scroll down until you see a box labeled Your devices, which lists all the devices attached to your account. At the bottom of the box, click on Manage devices and find the Chromebook you're gifting and select Sign Out.
Give the Chromebook a good external cleaning, gather up any accessories and it's ready to hand off to your giftee.
Read more: How to regift a game console
How Factory Reset Your Devices
Make sure to wipe personal data before selling, trading in or regifting your gear.
See how easy the GoPro Omni makes shooting 360 VR video
See how easy the GoPro Omni makes shooting 360 VR video
GoPro wants to make professional 360 VR easy enough for anyone to give it a go.
The Omni is a synchronized six camera array. Because it's a GoPro device, naturally it uses six Hero4 Black cameras.
For those willing to hand over $5,000 (around £4,060 or AU$6,530 converted) you get the complete Omni kit. This includes six Hero4 cameras, microSD cards, batteries, an external battery pack, stitching software and more. It costs $1,500 to buy the cage rig separately and bring your own Hero4 cameras. You might think that this is expensive, but other systems like Nokia's Ozo cost upwards of $45,000.
With one button you can start and stop recording on the Omni. There's no need to worry about synchronizing footage using a clap or audio track as the rig automatically does this for you.
Once you capture footage, the Omni Importer software gives a quick preview stitch, plus options for color correction and stabilization.
We took the Omni on several shoots, varying the lighting conditions and motion each time. From the inside of a robot pizza factory to a trip down San Francisco's famous Lombard Street, the Omni's compact size and sturdy frame worked to its advantage.
The rig would greatly benefit from a lock switch, however, as it's really easy to press buttons and turn on cameras by accident when placing it in a bag or back in the protective case.
We even threw it around like a ball, which you can watch in all its nauseating glory in flattened 2D in the video at the top of the page.
Then we took it for a spin at Church of 8 Wheels, watching roller skaters weave their way around the dance floor.
All these videos were shot on default exposure settings at 2.7K resolution on each camera, then exported to a 4K file. Watch the footage either in 360 degrees by moving your mouse around the scene to change the viewpoint, or in a VR headset.
Unlike the Nokia Ozo, you don't need an incredibly powerful computer to process the footage. Processing time will depend on the resolution you choose to export, the file size and the computer itself, but a 2-minute clip (4GB of footage) took approximately 15 minutes using Omni Importer on a midrange iMac.
Parallax can still present an issue when you leave the stitching entirely to the Importer software, as well as ghosting, but fine tweaks can be made in software such as Kolor's Autopano Video -- which is included with the complete Omni package.
Plus you'll probably want to think about an external mic when recording with the Omni. You can use the 3.5 mm GoPro adapter to connect one.
Tamagotchi smartwatch will let you live your '90s dream
Tamagotchi smartwatch will let you live your '90s dream
The Tamagotchi is back for its 25th anniversary -- this time as a wearable. Now you can raise your mini electronic pet right from your wrist, and use a microphone to call out to it and the touchscreen to pet it.
The original Tamagotchi debuted in November 1996 as an electronic toy for kids. Coming from Japanese toy maker Bandai, the Tamagotchi smartwatch, spotted earlier Thursday by Kotaku, features a touchscreen LCD and up to 30 hours of battery life before needing to be recharged via USB.
For now, the Tamagotchi smartwatch will be sold by lottery -- you can apply between June 17 and July 2, with the winners announced later in July. For everyone else, the wearable goes on sale Nov. 23. It'll cost 7,480 yen (approximately $68), and you can also purchase additional "smart cards" for 1,100 yen (about $10) that you can insert into the smartwatch.
The Tamagotchi Sweets Friends card will give you themed items like sweets and desserts to feed your little pocket pet, as well as a mini game. The Tamagotchi Rainbow Friends card includes rainbow and unicorn theming like a new clock screen, and food and items for your pet.
Artist pranks LA Best Buy stores with 'useless' gadget
Artist pranks LA Best Buy stores with 'useless' gadget
Consumers visiting five select Los Angeles-area Best Buy stores last Friday encountered a "useless" gadget unlike any other.
Intending to inspire people to think twice about having the latest and greatest piece of tech, street artist Plastic Jesus secretly placed empty black plastic boxes, complete with realistic Best Buy info sheets, near items such as GPS units and tablets at the various stores.
The faux device, labeled as a $99.99 "Useless Plasticbox 1.2," likely fooled people who didn't give the item a second glance. It appeared similar to many streaming devices and other tech items with forgettable aesthetics. Of course, if anyone read the amusing description near the product, they would likely have realized it was a total fake.
"Another gadget you don't really need. Will not work once you get it home. New model out in 4 weeks. Battery life is too short to be of use," said the sheet. Nearby, a warranty notice delivered another punch to consumers: "There is no warranty with this piece of crap. If you are dumb enough to buy it you deserve all you get." Certainly not the most charming text, but it does remind me of a few tech products I've purchased in the past.
In a conversation with CNET, Plastic Jesus spoke about his motivations for carrying out this unique example of "product bombing."
"Like many people out there I have bought every new gadget available, and each one is always heralded as the gadget that will transform our life. The hype for the newest piece of kit often starts weeks before with a build up similar to a Hollywood blockbuster," said the artist. "However, once we spend, often hundreds or thousands of dollars on the item we find that it is not as we were sold, either there are functionality issues, compatibility problems, and in-fact the frustration the item brings us far out weighs any benefit it will bring to our life."
An example of what some consumers saw last week at several Best Buy stores in Los Angeles. Plastic Jesus
Plastic Jesus also described how gadgets can cause more frustration than joy, especially if you need to call customer support to fix any problems.
"This is backed up by the fact that often only days after launch the manufacturer will issue a firmware update to rectify problems. The buying public seem to be the testers for many gadgets," Plastic Jesus said. "The Best Buy 'product bombing' was a very visible way of making a statement. I'm sure If I called Sony, Apple, Samsung or who-ever and complained that their product was a piece of crap they wouldn't listen to me. And try calling an overseas 'Help center' to get help!"
A Best Buy representative confirmed to CNET that a few Best Buy stores were affected by the prank and said the chain was "flattered that Best Buy is so top of mind for Mr. Plastic Jesus."
Said the artist: "I'm blown away with the support my action has received -- I've even had some messages of support from Best Buy staff." Check out more amusing photos of the prank in action at the official Plastic Jesus blog.
New Intel chips want to make your laptop connect, work and play better
New Intel chips want to make your laptop connect, work and play better
Intel is adding six new laptop CPUs to its lineup, the company announced at this year's IFA technology trade show in Germany. Three new U-series and three new Y-series processors are joining Intel's 8th generation of Core i-series parts. Previously, these chips were known by the code names Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake.
These are for laptops, tablets and two-in-one devices that range from mainstream clamshells to thin, fanless designs, and include support for integrated gigabit Wi-Fi, which Intel says is a first for this class of consumer PC. Those system will be labeled as "Optimized for Connectivity."
Intel
The six new CPUs are in the Core-m and Core-i families and include:
1.1GHz Core m3-8100Y
1.3GHz Core i5-8200Y
1.5GHz Core i7-8500Y
2.1GHz Core i3-8145U
1.6GHz Core i5-8265U
1.8GHz Core i7-8565U
In introducing the new CPUs, Intel says that its goal was to address pain points like low-battery anxiety. By encouraging further power efficiencies, newer laptops can hit up to 16 hours of battery life. The U and Y-series chips may also provide enough of a performance boost to convince people holding into older computers to upgrade. Intel claims there are a large number of users still working on PCs more than five years old, and that the latest 8th-gen CPUs can usually double the performance of that 5-year-old system.
Intel is also focused on gaming, which is somewhat surprising, as the integrated graphics chips in Intel platforms have not kept up with PC gaming needs over the years. For most gamers, low-cost laptops and desktop with Nvidia graphics hardware for as little as $799 have filled some of that performance gap.
But Intel says it wants to support casual gaming, which the company defines as games like World of Warcraft or World of Tanks. To help buyers figure out what games they can play, and what settings to use, check out Intel's existing gameplay.intel.com website, which provides a list of compatible games, and suggested resolution and detail level settings based on your exact hardware, including updated setting for these new CPUs.
Intel
More importantly, although these new CPUs don't offer any new integrated graphics hardware, Intel says the overall efficiency of these chips, especially compared to the laptops of a few years ago, will offer smoother pen and inking performance and near-real-time 4K video rendering.
Look for laptops and tablets with these latest 8th-gen Intel CPUs to be announced at IFA and shipping soon after.
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Upgrade Your Backyard With Patio Furniture, Gas Grills and More During Home Depot's Memorial Day Sale
Upgrade Your Backyard With Patio Furniture, Gas Grills and More During Home Depot's Memorial Day Sale
With summer almost starting, now is the best time to prep your backyard (or living space) for entertaining family and friends. Starting today, Home Depot's Feels Like Memorial Day sale is offering dozens of deals to help you improve the inside and outside of your home through May 30.
So, what can you get at this sale? If you need a gas burner, Nexgrill's 4-Burner gas grill is on sale for $300 (a savings of $50). Gardeners can pick up essentials such as Miracle-Gro fertilizer in a 4-for-$10 deal, while Smart Patch seed fertilizer is $20 off. You can even save $30 on Ryobi's soil cultivator, which is currently $159.
There are also outdoor furniture sets. Get a $100 discount on this $600 Hampton Bay Riverbrook espresso brown 5-piece steel outdoor patio set and the Hampton Bay Laurel Oaks 7-piece patio dining set for $799. The Riverbrook has four chairs and a circular table, while the Laurel Oaks set includes two motion chairs, four stationary chairs with cushions and a rectangular table.
As for other items in this sale, you can grab power tools, paint, ceiling fans and more -- everything you need to redesign, upgrade and make your space ready for summer. If you want to see the full deal, head over to Home Depot.
Brian Acton, a co-founder of the popular messaging app WhatsApp, said Tuesday he will leave the Facebook-owned company to launch his own foundation.
Acton, who founded the popular messaging app with WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum in 2009, said in a Facebook post his foundation will focus on the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications.
"It's something I've thought about for a while, and now it's time to just focus and execute," Acton said. "I'll have more to share in the coming months."
Acton, a graduate of Stanford University and former employee of Apple, met Koum while both were working at Yahoo. The pair left Yahoo in 2007 and launched WhatsApp two years later.
The app, which lets users send missives to one another over the internet rather than using traditional SMS messages through a phone carrier, reaches a billion customers each month. It's growing particularly fast in Brazil, Mexico, Russia and India.
Facebook bought the company for $19 billion, helping to give the 45-year-old Acton a net worth of $6.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Acton's departure.
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Snapchat expands efforts to protect teens from drug deals on its app
Snapchat expands efforts to protect teens from drug deals on its app
Snapchat is ramping up its efforts to combat illicit drug deals on its app. Parent company Snap on Tuesday shared an update about its latest efforts to stop the push of narcotics on the platform with a greater focus on teens.
Among the changes, Snapchat is updating its Quick Add suggestion feature to reduce interactions between kids and strangers. "In order to be discoverable in Quick Add by someone else, users under 18 will need to have a certain number of friends in common with that person," the company said in a blog post. Previously, the app would recommend possible friends based on mutual connections, regardless of whether you know the person in real life.
Additionally, the company is working on new parental tools that will roll out in the upcoming months, enabling parents to monitor some of their teens' communication habits.
Last October, the app faced backlash following an NBC News report that examined the deaths of teens and young adults who were suspected of buying fentanyl-laced drugs through Snapchat. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be deadly even in small quantities. Synthetic opioids are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Snapchat has also partnered with several nonprofit agencies for its Heads Up portal to deliver anti-drug use resources. Two new additions to the portal include the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the Truth Initiative, which focuses on preventing nicotine use.
The social media company also said it has measures in place to identify drug slang and content on the app, and is working with law enforcement to report potential cases and to comply with information requests. Snapchat said that it's committed to help in the fight against the illegal online drug trade.
Verizon Isn't the Fastest Internet Provider Anymore, and a New Winner Has Been Crowned
Verizon Isn't the Fastest Internet Provider Anymore, and a New Winner Has Been Crowned
What's happening
Every three months, Ookla announces the results it gathers from info pulled from millions of customer uses of its Speedtest.net tool. Consider it a quarterly checkup on Americans' speeds from their internet service providers.
Why it matters
We've grown increasingly reliant on our home broadband connections for work and play, so the actual performance of those internet services is vital information.
Verizon has been knocked off the mountain. The latest Ookla Speedtest Intelligence report, released in late July, named Cox Communications as the fastest fixed broadband provider among top US internet service providers during the second quarter of 2022. To qualify as a top provider, a company must account for 3% or more of Ookla's total test samples. Verizon had finished on top in the first three months of 2022.
In fact, Verizon had captured the top spot every quarter since the start of 2020. However, Ookla's report, which uses data from customer-run queries on Speedtest.net, now uses the median instead of the mean. So we're not exactly comparing apples to apples. The below image from Ookla's site gives an example of the difference.
Ookla
As an Ookla spokesperson told me via email: "We implemented this change to more accurately represent the typical performance that consumers actually experience on a network."
That means for the second quarter of 2022, Cox finished decisively on top with a median download speed of approximately 197 megabits per second. Xfinity, the runner-up, scored a median download speed of 184Mbps. Spectrum was third at 183Mbps, Verizon was next at 171Mbps, and AT&T capped off the top five at nearly 147Mbps.
Cox also did well regionally. It was the fastest fixed broadband provider in 14 of the 100 most populated cities in the country, including the fastest city in the US -- Gilbert, Arizona -- as well as Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.
Additionally, it was the fastest ISP in four states: Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. Not bad, for sure, but Xfinity was top dog in 12 states, Spectrum in seven and Google Fiber and Verizon each won five states.
Despite its dominating performance at the top of the speed chart, Cox completely missed the top five regarding the fastest upload speeds. It registered a median upload speed just shy of 11Mbps. That was well below the top three providers of Frontier (113Mbps), Verizon (112Mbps) and AT&T (112Mbps). It also couldn't measure up to Xfinity (19Mbps), CenturyLink (12Mbps) or Spectrum (11.7Mbps).
That's not completely unexpected. The cable connections of Cox, Spectrum and Xfinity (or the DSL network of CenturyLink, for that matter) won't be able to compete with the higher upload speeds you can find with a fiber-optic internet connection, which AT&T, Frontier and Verizon all boast to a decent percentage within their respective footprints.
As Ookla continues its reporting throughout the year, it'll be interesting to see if any trends develop as it establishes the use of the median as its primary performance metric moving forward.
