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What to know about HP's newest, lightest Aero laptop
What to know about HP's newest, lightest Aero laptop
Back in the 2010s, we saw computer manufacturers clambering to flatten their laptops and clinch the superlative of "thinnest and lightest." (See: CNET's YouTube compilation of "Every time Apple says 'This is the thinnest and lightest MacBook ever'" spanning the past 15 years.) But as laptops have bottomed out at under half an inch, it looks like the race to "the thinnest" has run its course: A computer can't get much skinnier without being, well, a sheet of paper. So, companies have pivoted the focus of their hot pursuit -- and now they're just vying to produce a laptop they can call "the lightest."
HP doesn't say its upcoming 13.3-inch Pavilion Aero 13, announced Tuesday, is the lightest laptop on the market. Instead the claim is that this is the lightest consumer laptop HP has ever produced, weighing less than 1 kilogram, or about 2 pounds. That's about 1 pound lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Starting at $749 on HP.com, the Pavilion Aero 13 will likely make its US debut in July. (HP predicts availability in the UK and Australia in August, starting at £750 and AU$1,599, respectively.) HP says it's expected to be compatible with Windows 11, which could roll out as early as October.
In a press briefing, HP touted how this lightweight laptop caters specifically to the post-pandemic mobility needs of younger people, who shuttle their computers between school, work, coffee shops and home. The Pavilion Aero 13 should last 10.5 hours on a full charge, and its display is visible even in outdoor sunlight. It comes in trendy color options like pale rose gold and ceramic white.
For a featherweight device, this laptop seems to pack a punch: The AMD Ryzen 5000 processors provide speed, the 2.5K resolution enables crisp visuals and a unique 16:10 aspect ratio offers 10% more size than 16:9 competitors. Plus, HP says the design prioritizes sustainability, incorporating materials you can recycle and plastics that would have otherwise hit the oceans.
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 is reasonably priced, and it seems as if it should suit those who need a smooth-running laptop that they can plunk into a backpack and carry from place to place. Once we grab one to review, we'll see if it's stricken with the same plasticky feel as the similar-weight Lenovo LaVie Z, or if it successfully balances portability with durability.
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What it's like inside Xiaomi, China's popular upstart phone-maker (pictures)
What it's like inside Xiaomi, China's popular upstart phone-maker (pictures)
1 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
I wanted to see what it was like working inside Xiaomi, the 8,000-employee-strong, Beijing-based phonemaker that's making waves.
2 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
One of the company's five office buildings is attached to a mall. (Xiaomi will consolidate to a single building in 2018.)
3 of 28 CNET
4 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Xiaomi's mascot, the Mi Bunny, channels late martial artist and actor Bruce Lee.
5 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
There's even an office dog, named Wang Cai (which means fortune), who was out and about during my visit -- too bad.
6 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
I snapped this photo of the basement cafeteria after lunch, when it's being used for some sort of testing.
7 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Lots of greenery in the customer service section, but all the plants are fake.
8 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
The PR and marketing area resembles a lot of Silicon Valley offices I've been in: colorful and open.
9 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
There of tons of toys and figurines here, just like CNET.
10 of 28 CNET
This giant Mi Bunny plushie was too cute to resist.
11 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
12 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Xiaomi's gallery of gifts that fans make and then send to headquarters includes this pair of hand-painted shoes with the Mi Bunny logo...
13 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
...and this phone decorated in millet, which is what "Xiaomi" means.
14 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
This collage wall chronicles fan events, the parties for phone buyers that Xiaomi uses to whip up enthusiasm instead of traditional ads.
15 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
There's daily fruit delivery for every employee. Today's produce: a little bag of kumquats.
16 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Some products here from Xiaomi and white label partners include AA batteries that don't include mercury or cadmium, and a mini router designed for college dorm rooms.
17 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Xiaomi's answer to the Philips Hue, this lamp softly glows with the whole spectrum of color.
18 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Xiaomi threw some short-grain rice into their branded cooker.
19 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Just sharing some rice with global VP Hugo Barra.
20 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
After my snack, I took the escalator into the adjoining mall and went to one of Xiaomi's 22 retail stores (only in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for now).
21 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
I saw the pink version of the Mi 5 flagship, which I hadn't seen at the Mobile World Congress launch in February.
22 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
There are also headphones...
23 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
...and Bluetooth speakers. Xiaomi works with partners on a lot of this hardware.
24 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
This air purifier is a great example of a co-design with a company that works with Xiaomi to sell its products.
25 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Xiaomi also lets fans vote on partner products to make, like its own little Kickstarter. This robot is in production now.
26 of 28 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Water filtration systems like this one are bulky, but an important option for safe drinking water.
Shrinkflation traduzione shrinkflation in india shrinkflation statistics shrinkflation twitter shrinkflation india shrinkflation is not a solution shrinkflation in canada what is shrinkflation what is my ip what is my ip address what is monkeypox what is a woman what is esg what is nato what is a verb what is aphasia what is my mmr
What Is Shrinkflation and What Does It Mean for Your Favorite Supermarket Items?
What Is Shrinkflation and What Does It Mean for Your Favorite Supermarket Items?
Higher grocery bills continue to plague American consumers, as the Consumer Price Index for May shows that the "food at home index" was up another 1% in May. Food prices in April were already up 10.8% from where they were a year ago, the largest 12-month increase since November 1980, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It's not just consumers, though: Manufacturers are feeling the pinch of inflation as well, with ingredients costing more and supply chain issues making it harder to get goods to store shelves.
Rather than just raise prices, some manufacturers shrink their packaging, a practice known as "shrinkflation."
Shoppers across the US have reported smaller toilet paper rolls, fewer potato chips and other reductions in supermarket staples.
"It comes in waves," consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky told NPR. "We happen to be in a tidal wave at the moment because of inflation."
Read on to learn more about shrinkflation, including whether it's legal, how to guard against it and which manufacturers are downsizing their products.
What does "shrinkflation" mean?
Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing the size or quantity of a product while keeping the same price. It can mean fewer chips in the bag, fewer scoops of ice cream in the container. Basically, the purchase price remains the same but the cost per unit rises.
Customers may not notice what are effectively price increases, John Gourville, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School. "We found that consumers reacted greatly to periodic changes in price, but not at all to periodic (yet systematic) reductions in quantity," Gourville said in an interview back in 2004.
Some companies disguise shrinkflation with a package redesign, according to Gourville, like adding dents to the bottom of bottles or touting claims of "lower calories."
A Gatorade representative told Quartz in March that the company redesigned its bottles to be "more aerodynamic" and "easier to grab." It also happened to reduce the amount of Gatorade in the container from 32 to 28 ounces.
Is shrinkflation legal?
Shrinking package size is not illegal so long as the product amounts are clearly labeled and "and the business is not engaging in unfair or deceptive practices," according to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs.
"This is legal -- companies can change prices of their products however they want. This way they do it and it reduces the amount of complaints that the companies receive as a consequence of this stuff," Tom Fullerton, an economics professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, told KFOX.
How can I protect myself against shrinkflation?
Consumers tend to pay more attention to product prices than package sizes. Breaking that habit is the top tip for steeling yourself against shrinkflation: learn the package sizes and per-unit pricing for your favorite products.
If you notice that a product has shrunk or reduced the number of included items, consider competitors who offer a similar product at a lower cost per ounce or item. Compare per-unit prices to see which product provides a better deal.
Charmin has reportedly reduced the amount of toilet paper in its Mega package from 266 sheets per roll to 244.
Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
Shrinkflation also offers an opportunity to wean yourself off packaged foods. Retailers might be able to make cereal boxes and granola bars smaller, but they can't shrink a pound of apples.
Dworsky, the consumer advocate, has made shrinkflation (or "downsizing," as he calls it) a major focus of his website MousePrint, which is dedicated to examining the fine print of advertising claims.
Every few months, Dworsky publishescompilations of all the products he's found that have recently decreased in size. He usually posts on Mondays and crowdsources items from his readers to get a fuller picture of which products have changed.
The Reddit message board /r/shrinkflation also serves as a good source for tracking package size changes for your favorite products. Users post instances of shrinkflation that they've found in their local stores or online, usually with screenshots or photos as evidence.
Which products have shrunk?
Consumers have reported shrinkage in all kinds of household products. A keen eye on Reddit found that Huggies Little Snugglers packs dropped from 96 diapers per box to 84.
Procter & Gamble's Cascade reduced the number of dishwashing pods in a box from 78 to 63, while Unilever's Seventh Generation liquid dish soap dropped from 25 to 19 ounces with a bottle redesign.
Charmin has shrunk its Super Mega package from 396 double-ply sheets per roll to 366, MousePrint reported. The toiler paper company also reduced its Mega package from 266 sheets per roll to 244.
Cottonelle reduced the number of toilet paper sheets in its Ultra Clean line from 340 sheets to 312 and in its Ultra Comfort brand from 284 sheets to 268.
Memories Are Captured/Getty Images
Other bath products have also gotten smaller: Pantene has rebranded its Curl Protection Conditioner and in the process reduced the size from 12 to 10.4 ounces, per Reddit. And MousePrint reports that Dove Body Wash recently shrunk from 24 to 22 ounces.
Snacks are another popular target for shrinkflation, as they often come in bags that make it difficult to spot changes. Last year, Doritos decreased the weight of its regular-size bags from 9.75 to 9.25 ounces, a loss of about five chips per bag. Redditors also noticed that Doritos' party-size bag has shrunk from 15.5 to 14.5 ounces.
A party-size bag of Fritos Scoops, which used to be 18 ounces, is now reportedly just under 16 ounces, the Associated Press reported. A tube of Pringles now carries 165 grams of potato chips, down from 200 grams.
Nabisco's Wheat Thins made its "Family Size" product smaller, too, lowering the package weight from 16 to 14 ounces, per Reddit.
A bag of Keebler's Vienna Fingers bag has shrunk from 14.2 to 12 ounces, per Reddit. And MousePrint reports that the size of the company's regular Chips Deluxe package dwindled from 11.3 to 9.7 ounces. (The "family size" package decreased from 17.2 to 14.6 ounces.)
Package downsizing has also hit fast-food chains: Domino's has cut down the number of boneless wings in an order from ten to eight, citing "unprecedented ingredient costs." Burger King is doing the same with its chicken nuggets.
And Subway rotisserie chicken wraps and sandwiches now contain less meat, Bloomberg reported.
What's Wordle? Surely by now you're at least vaguely aware of the viral word game taking over our planet. But in case you want some info on its origins, here's everything you need to know.
What is Wordle?
Wordle is a daily word game you can find online here. It's fun, simple and, like a crossword, can only be played once a day. Every 24 hours there's a new word of the day, and it's up to you to figure out what it is. The site itself does a fantastic job of explaining the rules:
This game is so good.
Wordle
Wordle gives players six chances to guess a randomly selected five-letter word. As shown above, if you have the right letter in the right spot, it shows up green. A correct letter in the wrong spot shows up yellow. A letter that isn't in the word in any spot shows up gray.
You can enter a total of six words, meaning you can enter five burner words from which you can learn hints about the letters and their placements. Then you get one chance to put those hints to use. Or you can try for performance and guess the word of the day in three, two or even one go.
Simple stuff, but also incredibly compelling.
So it's a word game? Big deal...
Yeah, it's just a word game. But it's super popular: Over 300,000 people play it daily, according to The New York Times. That popularity may sound perplexing, but there are a few tiny details that have resulted in everyone going absolutely bonkers for it.
There's only one puzzle per day: This creates a certain level of stakes. You only get one shot at the Wordle. If you mess up, you have to wait until tomorrow to get a brand new puzzle.
Everyone is playing the exact same puzzle: This is crucial, as it makes it easier to ping your buddy and chat about the day's puzzle. "Today's was tough!" "How did you get on?" "Did you get it?" Which takes us to the next point...
It's easy to share your results: Once you've successfully or unsuccessfully done the puzzle for the day, you're invited to share your Wordle journey for the day. If you tweet the image, it looks like this...
Note that the word and letters you chose are obscured. All that's shown is your journey toward the word in a series of yellow, green and gray boxes.
It's very compelling. If you get it easily, maybe in the second or third try, there's a gloating element whereby you must show your followers how smart you are and share.
If you get it by the skin of your teeth in the sixth go, that's also a cool story. But most importantly, the puzzle itself isn't spoiled.
So Wordle isn't just a word game, it's a conversation starter and a chance to show off on social media. That's why it's going viral.
Tips and tricks
If you're a word game purist, you may want to avoid the following tips and rely entirely on your own instincts. For everyone else who's sick of seeing gray boxes, here are some tips that you may find helpful.
Choosing your first word: The first word is arguably the most important. To maximize the value of your opening gambit, choose a word with three vowels and five different letters. Some examples: orate, media, radio. I always use "adieu" for some reason. It's a habit and I'm refusing to break it.
I just finished reading a fascinating piece by Tyler Glaiel, a programmer and game designer who tried to figure out the best possible starting word. Apparently we should all be kicking off Wordle with the word "roate." Honestly, read this whole article, it's great.
Avoid reusinggrays: There's a keyboard at the bottom of the Wordle board that shows what letters are green, yellow and gray. Avoid reusing letters that have come up gray. Yes, this sounds obvious. But it can take time and effort to think of five-letter words that don't use letters you've already tried. That effort will pay off.
Letters can appear twice: This complicates matters, especially when you're running out of letters to try on word four or five. But letters often recur, as with words like chill, sissy and ferry having been the correct answers in the past.
Who made Wordle?
Wordle is the work of software engineer Josh Wardle, who originally created the game for his partner, a fan of word games, and tells the BBC it will never become laden with ads. Extremely online people may remember Wardle as the creator of Place, an utterly wild collaborative art project/social experiment that sent the internet into a tizzy in April 2017.
Place was a shared online space that allowed literally anyone to fight over what was drawn there. It resulted in huge, sprawling communities battling over space on this gigantic online canvas.
It ultimately ended up looking like this:
Remember Place? That was a wild time.
Reddit
Wordle got a mention in The New York Times in November, but really got traction when the share element got added.
In a Reddit post, Wardle said he wanted Wordle to feel like a croissant, a "delightful snack" that's enjoyed occasionally. This is explicitly why there's only one puzzle per day. "Enjoyed too often," he explained, "and they lose their charm," Wardle says.
Agreed.
New York Times acquisition
At the end of January, creator Josh Wardle sold Wordle to the New York Times for a figure "in the low seven figures."
Wardle noted that his "game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined" and added he's "just one person."
The game will ultimately become part of New York Times subscription puzzle service, but Wardle made sure that Wordle would remain free-to-play and that current streaks would be preserved in the move.
"It is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone," Wardle said. "Given this, I am incredibly pleased to announce that I've reached an agreement with The New York Times for them to take over running Wordle going forward."
Wordle hasn't gotten harder since joining the New York Times
It just hasn't! Come on folks!
According to The New York Times: "Nothing has changed about the game play," the Times' communications director, Jordan Cohen, said to CNET in an email.
If you check out the game's script you can see that the New York Times hasn't made any significant changes to the game.
Wordle clones...
Since the success of Wordle, there's been clones. Lots of clones. Some have been cynical cash grabs, but a huge amount of them are unique, interesting alternatives.
Worldle invites you to guess countries based on their outline.
Squabble is a multiplayer, Battle Royale version of Wordle.
Dordle forces you to solve two Wordles at once.
That's just the tip of the iceberg. Here's a fairly comprehensive list of word games you can check out if you get tired of the original.
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What Is Keystone Correction for Projectors? And Why You Should Avoid It
What Is Keystone Correction for Projectors? And Why You Should Avoid It
If you've ever tried to set up a projector you'll be familiar with the struggle of getting a perfectly rectangular image on the wall. This is because the lens of projector has to be perpendicular to the screen. If any corner of the projector is closer to the screen than its opposite, you'll get some kind of trapezoid instead of a nice rectangle.
This isn't a new problem, and for decades projectors have had a "feature" to counter this issue. Called keystone correction, or keystone adjustment, it will technically make a rectangle out of your trapezoid… so to speak. If you care at all about picture quality, don't use it. Here's why.
The problem with not being perpendicular
Examples of what your image might look like if your projector isn't exactly center. You would have to turn or tilt the projector to get it to line up, resulting in a trapezoid. Clockwise from top left: PJ too far right, too far left, too high, too low.
Geoff Morrison/CNET
Projectors are a two-piece system: the projector and the screen. Even if you're using a wall or the side of your house instead of a screen, that still counts. All projectors use rectangular imaging chips to create an image, and it's crucial that the image sent by the chip is exactly perpendicular to the screen. Every corner needs to be the same distance to the screen as its opposite corner and if that doesn't happen, the shape gets distorted.
Even if you've never used a projector, you've probably seen this effect in action. Ever used a flashlight? Point it directly at the wall and you've got a circle. Point it on the ground ahead of you, and it's an oval. Same concept.
Some projectors have a feature called lens shift, which mechanically adjusts how the imaging chips, lens and screen line up. Lens shift lets you move the image slightly on the wall without hurting image quality, but its adjustment range is limited. If you're beyond how far the lens shift can adjust, or the projector don't have lens shift at all, misplacement will cause the image to go askew.
Most screens have black borders so you don't need exact placement to the picometer, but it'd be a shame to spend money on a projector, and time on installing it, only to be annoyed at the visible edges when you're using it.
Which is why every projector has keystone correction. That doesn't mean it's good.
Keystone: Not even once
Keystone correction aims to solve electronically what is inherently an optical problem. The projector will digitally adjust the image in the opposite direction to offset the trapezoid. So if the image is, say, smaller on the left than the right, the projector can reduce the size of the right side so it appears rectangular again. Clever, right? Sort of. Unfortunately there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
All modern projectors use one of three technologies, DLP, LCD, or LCOS. All of them have a fixed number of pixels, or picture elements, used to create an image. There's no way to change the number of pixels on one of these chips. These imaging chips are generally fixed in place as well.
How a projector not lined up correctly might look on screen, and the buttons to press to "fix" the issue, via a business projector's owner's manual.
Canon
What keystone correction does is scale the image smaller, and then further process it to form the shape required to "look" rectangular. Or to put it another way, it's drawing a trapezoid inside a rectangle, but because the projector and image itself is skewed, that trapezoid now looks rectangular.
Both of these things reduce image quality. Scaling, in this case, reduces the number of pixels used to create the image. You're only using a portion of the imaging chip to create the new image shape. The more you adjust the keystone, the fewer pixels are used, further softening the image.
Most projectors don't have much processing power, so this scaling might further soften the image, or it might introduce other noticeable artifacts. Changing the shape of the image is a further processing challenge and can add additional artifacts.
Digital keystone adjustment might get you a rectangular image, but the projector's imaging chips are all still active, so you'll get a dark gray "image" projected where the image isn't. In this illustration, the image at the top of the article has been "adjusted" but the projector hasn't moved. So you get a rectangular image but also the original trapezoid of the angled imaging chips.
Geoff Morrison/CNET and phototropic/Getty Images
And if that weren't enough, it's impossible to turn "off" the pixels you're not using. So there's still going to be light projected on the screen from these unused pixels, which appears inside the trapezoid shape you've been trying to avoid. In an extreme situation, you could have a noticeable gray image beyond the screen area. Inelegant at best, distracting at worst.
The solution? Place the projector properly
There's no better solution than not having the problem to begin with. Proper projector placement placates potential picture perils. Or to quote the ancient adage from prehistory: measure twice, cut once.
If you're mounting your projector permanently, double- and triple-check the mount is in the correct place for your projector. This is crucial. Most projectors, especially those based on DLP, have their lenses offset from the center of the projector. Ideally, your mount will have some adjustment "wiggle room," but it might not.
Usually you can download a mounting template and other info from the manufacturer's website.
Also consider that most projectors, again especially those based on DLP, have an "upward throw." Which is to say, they create an image several inches above the top of the projector (or below, if it's mounted on the ceiling). You can't tilt the projector down since that, too, creates a trapezoid. Again, this info is on the company's website.
Many portable projectors have automatic keystone correction. It's worth turning off if you're able to get the projector properly positioned.
Geoff Morrison/CNET
So yeah, if you absolutely have to use keystone correction, go for it. But it should only be used as a last resort in situations where you physically can't place the projector in its proper position. If you're mounting it, it's best to spend the time and get it right the first time and not rely on image-reducing electronic trickery to fix a bad install.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.
He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and on his YouTube channel.
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What Is Home Equity?
Most homeowners now have more equity in their homes than they did two years ago, thanks to surging home values during the pandemic. That means right now is a good time to consider tapping into your home equity if you're looking to borrow money at a lower interest rate than you might get with other types of loans such as personal loans. Home equity is the difference between what you owe on your mortgage and the current market value of your home.
You build equity in your home by consistently making mortgage payments over the years. Equity is valuable because it allows you to borrow money against your home at lower interest rates than other types of financing. Once you have enough equity built up in your home, lenders and banks will allow you to borrow against it. Some of the most common reasons to borrow against your equity are to pay for life expenses such as home improvements, higher education costs such as tuition, or to pay off high-interest credit card debt.
Most lenders want to see that you've built up at least 15% to 20% in equity in order to let you borrow money against your house in the form of refinancing or other kinds of home equity loans. One of the simplest ways to ensure you have a good chunk of equity in your home is to make a large down payment if you are able to.
For a typical homeowner with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, building up 15% to 20% usually takes about 5 to 10 years. Even if you paid less for your home when you bought it years ago, your equity is based on the present-day value of your house. If, for example, your home is currently worth $500,000 and you have $400,000 left to pay on your mortgage, you would have $100,000 of equity in your home.
Here's what you need to know about home equity, what it is, how to calculate it and why it's important to homeowners.
How do you calculate home equity?
To calculate your home equity, simply subtract your remaining mortgage balance from the current market value of your home. So if you owe $400,000 on your mortgage and your house is worth $500,000, you have $100,000, or 20% equity in your home. You may need to work with an appraiser or real estate agent in order to get an accurate evaluation of your home's fair market value, especially since home values have risen by record-breaking amounts since the beginning of the pandemic.
Ways to borrow against home equity
There are various ways to access the equity in your home. Some of the most common equity financing options are home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (or HELOCs) and reverse mortgages. It's important, however, to keep in mind that all of these options require you to put up your home as collateral to secure the loan, so it's critical to understand that there's a risk of losing your home to foreclosure if you miss payments or default on your loan for any reason.
Home equity loan
A home equity loan lets you borrow money against the equity you've built in your home and provides you with a lump sum of cash at a fixed interest rate. Lenders typically want to see that you have at least 15% to 20% in your home to approve you for a home equity loan. A home equity loan doesn't replace your mortgage like a refinance, rather, it's an entirely new loan that you'll repay monthly along with your existing mortgage payment. But just like a mortgage, with a home equity loan, your interest rate never changes and your monthly payments are fixed, too.
HELOCs
A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is a type of loan that lets you borrow against the equity you've built up in your home and functions like a credit card. It provides you with an open line of credit that you can access for a certain amount of time, typically 10 years, followed by a set repayment period, which is usually 20 years. Lenders also generally want you to have at least 15% to 20% in your home for HELOC approval. With a HELOC, you don't have to take all of your funds out at once, and you can withdraw money repeatedly from your HELOC over the 10-year period, once previously borrowed sums are paid back.
"A HELOC offers more flexibility than a home equity loan -- you can't withdraw money from a home equity loan like you can with a HELOC, and a HELOC allows you to receive replenished funds as you pay your outstanding balance," said Robert Heck, VP of Mortgage at Morty, an online mortgage marketplace.
HELOCs have variable interest rates however, so it's important to make sure you can afford higher monthly payments if your rate goes up once your introductory interest rate expires, especially in the current economic climate.
Reverse mortgage
You must be 62 years or older to access a reverse mortgage and have either paid off your home or have significant equity accumulated, usually at least 50%. With a reverse mortgage, you do not have to make monthly mortgage payments and the bank or lender actually makes payments to you. You must still pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance and continue to live in the house, however. A reverse mortgage allows you to access the equity in your home and not pay back the funds for an extended period of time while using them for other expenses during retirement. It's important to keep in mind that you are building a mortgage balance back up as you borrow against your equity, and your estate will eventually have to pay off your loan. A common way to repay this loan is to sell your house.
The bottom line
Unlocking the equity in your home can be a valuable way to access financing to cover other life expenses. It's important to understand the differences between the kinds of equity loans available to secure the best one for your particular financial situation. When comparing ways to access equity, always take into account the interest rate, additional lender costs and fees, and the size of the loan and how it will be disbursed to you, as well as the amount of time you have to pay it back, before you enter into an agreement to borrow against the equity in your home.
iOS 15.4: What You Should Know About Apple's iPhone Update
iOS 15.4: What You Should Know About Apple's iPhone Update
Apple's iOS 15.4 has a slew of new features for your iPhone. This includes new emoji, the long-awaited Universal Control, bolstered privacy measures and Face ID that works while you're wearing a mask. (All these features are also available for iPad via iPadOS 15.4.) Apple has also since released iOS 15.4.1, a minor iPhone update to fix a battery-draining bug and security issues.
As the name denotes, iOS 15.4 is the fourth major update to iOS 15, which launched with the iPhone 13 in September. These updates, which started with December's iOS 15.1 release, have added more features to Apple's iPhone operating system and improved existing ones. iOS 15.4 follows iOS 15.3.1, which was released last month to patch a security vulnerability in iPhones and iPads.
Release date: Is iOS 15.4 out now?
Yes, both iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 were released on March 14. The new green iPhone 13, the alpine green iPhone 13 Pro and the new iPhone SE come with iOS 15.4 preloaded, according to Apple.
How do I download iOS 15.4?
You can download iOS 15.4 by going to Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install. The 15.4 update is more than a gigabyte, so make sure you're connected to Wi-Fi to avoid chewing through your monthly data allotment.
What is Universal Control?
Universal Control lets you use other Apple devices as second screens, moving content seamlessly between them using only one device. This eagerly anticipated feature was initially announced as part of MacOS Monterey, but was delayed over the fall, with a new timeline pointing to "this spring." Universal Control was part of the iOS 15.4 beta, and launched as a public beta with the Monterey OS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 updates.
Because Universal Control is still in beta, expect to run into some issues now and then. And note that the feature doesn't work on every device. Apple says Universal control is available on:
MacBook Pro (2016 and later)
MacBook (2016 and later)
MacBook Air (2018 and later)
iMac (2017 and later)
iMac (5K Retina 27-inch, late 2015)
iMac Pro
Mac Mini (2018 and later)
Mac Pro (2019)
iPad Pro
iPad Air (third generation and later)
iPad (sixth generation and later)
iPad Mini (fifth generation and later)
Apple notes that to use Universal Control, "Both devices must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID using two-factor authentication. To use wirelessly, both devices must have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Handoff turned on and must be within 10 meters (30 feet) of each other. [The] iPad and Mac must not be sharing a cellular and internet connection. To use over USB, you must trust your Mac on the iPad."
Can I use Face ID with masks?
Apple has updated its Face ID feature to be usable on the iPhone 12 and newer models even while wearing a mask. Because the feature uses a smaller portion of your face to verify your identity, you'll need to be more precise about the angle you're holding your phone at when using Face ID. Your phone will even prompt you if it needs you to look more directly at the screen. The updated feature should work for people who wear glasses, but it won't work with sunglasses.
Read more: iOS 15.4 Finally Lets You Unlock Your iPhone With a Mask On. Here's How
What new emoji are included?
If you're the kind of person who prides yourself on creative and fun emoji use, you're going to love iOS 15.4. There are 37 new emoji in the update, including new options for pregnant people, hands forming a heart shape, a salute and -- my personal favorite -- a lip-biting emoji. These were revealed last fall, and also include a melting face, a face holding back tears, a bird's nest, coral, a lotus, a low battery and kidney beans.
Other iOS 15.4 features
The operating system update also brings new safety-focused updates to AirTags, which have been under the spotlight after reports of the devices being used to stalk people.
The 15.4 update also changes the emergency call shortcut "call with five presses" from a default setting to an option, meaning the feature won't be enabled unless you choose to allow it. The hold-and-press option for the side and volume buttons remains enabled by default.
SharePlay received some updates as well, allowing some apps to start SharePlay calls from the app, rather than your needing to start a SharePlay call and then open the app. Developers will have to update their apps accordingly, so expect this option to roll out over time.
Another feature included in the update is the ability to copy text from objects using the camera while in the Notes or Reminders apps. And, as spotted by ZDNet, iOS 15.4 also fixes a bug related to recordings of Siri interactions.
For more Apple news, read about your iPhone as a payment terminal and Apple's possible wide array of new products for this fall. Also, here's how the 2022 iPhone SE compares with the 2020 version, and whether you should buy an older iPhone SE now.
Spend any time at an online craft market like Etsy, and you'll notice a lot of the products there are 3D printed or include 3D-printed parts. But what do we actually mean by that, and how easy is it to start 3D printing your own items?
The answer isn't as simple as you might hope, but also not as complicated as you might fear.
How does a 3D printer work?
3D printing is a type of additive manufacturing that uses material to build layers into 3D objects. Essentially it prints by adding material (usually a form of plastic) one drop at a time. The 3D printer draws a shape on a flat surface and then draws another on top of it until the model is complete.
There are a lot of different types of materials used to create these layers, but the ones you're most likely to use as a hobbyist are melted plastic and UV resin. Which type you use will depend on the result you want to achieve. The best 3D printers automate a lot of the process, but there is still a lot of trial and error to get it right.
This picture shows one of the positives of owning a 3D printer. My colleague Dan Ackerman needed a mount for his iPhone to attach to his MacBook. A few hours and about $0.15 of material later, he had one up and running. It's satisfying to solve this kind of problem almost immediately.
Making 3D printed parts save you time and money
Dan Ackerman/CNET
What are the types of 3D printer?
Printers come in all different shapes and sizes and can be configured in various ways depending on your end goals, but most of the ones a hobbyist or small business will use can be broken down into two distinct types: FDM and resin.
Fused deposition modeling
This is the most common type of printer and the type most widely used by businesses and hobbyists. An FDM 3D printer is simply a plotting device. It pushes a plastic filament through a hot nozzle to squish layers into the print surface in a pattern.
There are a lot of different materials that you can use with an FDM printer. I won't go into detail here -- if you want more information, check out our list of the best 3D printer filaments -- but the simplest one to use is PLA. It's a type of non-toxic plant-based plastic that prints at fairly low temperatures.
You should buy an FDM 3D printer if you are looking to 3D print practical pieces, medium-sized decorative models and cosplay armor.
SLA (stereolithography) or resin 3D printing
SLA printing, more commonly known as resin printing, is almost the opposite of FDM printing. Instead of melting plastic into liquid, it uses a UV reactive liquid that's hardened under light. Each layer is "cured" using an LED array, which emits light in a set pattern.
Resin printing produces far more detailed models as an end result but it's a lot harder to work with. There are plenty of great resins out there for you to try but you need a wash-and-cure station to make sure they're safe to handle after you have printed them.
You should buy an SLA resin 3D printer if you want to print highly detailed models such as Dungeons and Dragons miniatures jewelry or even dentistry (assuming you're a dentist).
There is another process for 3D printing: Sintering uses a laser to fuse powder into shape. It's expensive and produces amazing results, but it requires large machines and plenty of space. It's certainly not great for use in your garage.
Even though it costs very little, this printer delivers excellent quality every time.
James Bricknell/CNET
How much is a 3D printer?
Prices for 3D printers vary wildly depending on what you want to do with them, how big the printer is and how detailed you want the models from the printer to be. We have a list of the best budget 3D printers on the site if you're looking for something under $500. Or we can recommend the best 3D printers overall if you have a little more money to spend. There are even semi-professional rigs that can cost a few thousand dollars.
The Neptune 2 is a good starting point for beginners. It's easy to set up and use and it's usually priced at under $200. While it isn't going to print the most detailed models, it will give you a good understanding of everything that 3D printing entails. The most important thing is that it's cheap, making it accessible.
If money's no object and you want an amazing in-home 3D printing experience, then the Prusa Mk3S Plus is the best choice. It comes in both kit and preassembled forms, but if you want to learn more about 3D printing you should buy the kit. It's an excellent introduction to how the whole process works, and it'll save you money.
At $799 plus shipping, it isn't the cheapest 3D printer, but it is the best out-of-the-box 3D printing experience money can buy. It's an investment when you're first starting out, but it can save you money in the long run: Some cheaper 3D printers require aftermarket upgrades and replacement parts to really shine.
In the four years that I've owned it, it's been my most consistent 3D printer in terms of reliability and output quality.
Resin 3D printers are similarly priced as their FDM counterparts, though the differences between the price point are more about speed and size than quality. A budget resin printer like the Anycubic M3 can be as low as $270 but the level of detail it can capture is as good as printers five times the cost. What keeps the price cheap is the size of the build area. Simply put; the more space you want the more you will expect to pay.
Is now a good time to buy a 3D printer?
3D printing is currently in a golden age. Unlike days past, when you needed an engineering degree to use a 3D printer, nowadays you can get set up and started with most printers in under 15 minutes.
Advanced safety features such as filament runout sensors and power loss protection are now standard even on budget-friendly options, so you're less likely to experience failures and more likely to succeed. That's not to say you'll never get failures -- you will, I promise. But failures are a good learning experience, and they won't be the majority of your results, like they used to be.
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What to Know About Omicron and Its Subvariants (Including BA.5)
What to Know About Omicron and Its Subvariants (Including BA.5)
For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the
WHO
and
CDC
websites.
What's happening
The omicron variant of COVID-19 keeps changing, creating newer, more contagious variants. BA.5 seems to be the most contagious version to date and is causing most of the current COVID-19 cases in the US.
Why it matters
BA.5 is causing more reinfection in people who already had COVID-19, including earlier versions of omicron. It's also evading immunity from the vaccines.
What it means for you
The vaccines are still effective at preventing severe disease and death. To stay protected, get the booster shots you're eligible for and wear a mask in public.
COVID-19 cases in the US appear to be on a downward trend, according to a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York Times COVID-19 tracker. But most counties in the US still have a "medium" or "high" level of COVID-19, which continues to guide COVID-19 recommendations after the CDC recently updated its guidance. The updated guidance removes the quarantine recommendation for people who aren't vaccinated and other adjustments as the CDC tries to move the US into a new phase of COVID-19.
The cause of most COVID-19 infections this summer is BA.5, the newest subvariant of the omicron variant. Scientists believe BA.5 is the most contagious version of COVID-19 thus far, and it's responsible for about 89% of current cases, according to the latest data from the CDC.
At a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing July 12, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president's chief medical adviser, explained how the virus that causes COVID keeps mutating and that the virus has "essentially bumped one variant off the table after the other," which has led to a long parade of increasingly contagious subvariants of omicron. BA.5 is the newest, and a highly problematic, mutation.
Though BA.5 "substantially" evades antibodies from prior infections and vaccines, health officials say being up-to-date with a booster (or two boosters if you're 50 or older) still protects against severe disease and death. Research so far shows that BA.5 doesn't overcome those protections against severe disease, though more research is needed to understand its clinical severity compared with earlier subvariants of omicron.
In an effort to target the most relevant strain of virus causing COVID-19, vaccines based on the BA.5 subvariant (along with BA.4) will be the first choice for COVID-19 booster shots this fall, to be rolled out as early as September. Response Team Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha encouraged everyone to get a booster if they're eligible and haven't opted for one yet, because it won't affect people's ability to get vaccinated come fall or winter when they become eligible. Second boosters of the existing vaccines will likely only be recommended until then for adults 50 and up and younger adults and teens who are immunocompromised.
COVID-19 treatments, including Paxlovid, are predicted to be effective still, and the US Test to Treat clinics are still up and running to connect people most at risk with prescriptions for treatments if they need them.
Here's what we know about BA.5.
Read more: Best COVID Face Masks For Kids
Do the at-home tests detect BA.5?
Right now there's no reason to suggest that the at-home rapid COVID-19 tests (a few boxes of which are free when you order through the government's website) are less effective in regard to BA.5 compared with earlier versions of omicron. Generally speaking, the FDA says early data suggests the antigen tests detect omicron but may have reduced sensitivity. BA.5 is a version of omicron, and tests are expected to work the same.
But as of last week, the FDA strengthened its stance on the importance of testing more than once. To be positive you don't have COVID-19, the FDA says you should take a third test if the first two were negative, but you're concerned you were exposed to COVID-19. Taking another home test 48 hours after your second negative test will help catch an infection, as a study found that repeat testing over a longer time frame is more accurate, per the FDA.
"Positive results remain highly accurate for these tests, though there still can be false negatives," Shaili Gandhi, vice president of pharmacy at SingleCare, said in an email. This is because it takes a higher amount of virus to test positive on a rapid test than the highly sensitive PCR or lab-based tests. People who are fully vaccinated and boosted, for example, may have a very low viral load (smaller amount of virus) and that may mean they test negative even if they do have COVID-19.
Typically, rapid home tests work by detecting the part of the COVID-19 virus protein that doesn't change much between variants, called the nucleocapsid, Slate reports. "Because of that, the tests are able to detect the different variants," Nate Hafer, an assistant professor of molecular medicine at UMass Chan Medical School, told the publication.
Long story short: take the test.
Read more: New Booster for COVID: Here's the Fall 2022 Vaccine Plan
How severe is BA.5? Do COVID-19 treatments still work?
BA.5 is a subvariant of omicron, which means it's different from the "original" omicron, but not different enough to constitute its own variant status. (Delta is a different variant from omicron and beta, for example.) BA.5 is understood to be the most contagious version of the virus yet, however, and it's evading immunity. This means more people will get reinfected with COVID-19, which can put them at risk of complications and long COVID symptoms, even if the infection itself was mild.
Walensky said last week that we don't definitively know yet about the clinical severity of BA.5 compared to earlier subvariants of omicron. As the pandemic drags on and most of the population has some immunity from vaccines and prior infections, it can become harder to compare variant and subvariant severity in the real world.
In an analysis of a preliminary (not yet peer-reviewed) report from the Kirby Institute in Australia, however, Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, wrote that BA.5's ability to infect cells might be more similar to the delta variant than other versions of omicron. He also writes that changes in BA.5 might explain reports of people taking longer to test negative compared to illnesses with earlier omicron subvariants.
As with other versions of omicron that whittled down our immunity, the vaccines and boosters available are still expected to provide protection against severe disease and death. Boosters -- including a second booster -- have been particularly important for protecting older adults and other people more vulnerable to severe disease in the age of omicron, and have substantially cut the risk of death from COVID-19.
Paxlovid, an effective antiviral medication, is still expected to be effective at treating COVID-19 in people at higher risk of severe disease, Fauci said. The monoclonal antibody therapy available, bebtelovimab from Eli Lilly, is also predicted to be effective against BA.5, as is Evusheld. Evusheld
If you test positive for COVID-19 and are at higher risk of severe disease (you're an older adult or you have a health condition), reach out to your doctor or find a Test to Treat clinic near you.
What are the symptoms?
Right now, there aren't any reports that show BA.5 is giving people different symptoms compared to earlier versions of omicron.
For many people who become sick with COVID-19 these days (particularly those who are fully vaccinated and boosted), symptoms resemble cold symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose and fatigue. Back pain is a peculiar new symptom of COVID-19 that some people with omicron have reported, and the once very common loss of taste or smell appears to be much less common with omicron variants than with older strains.
If you have symptoms and are wondering whether it's COVID-19, taking a test and staying home while you're sick will help protect people more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 disease.
Read more: Is It Allergies or COVID? How to Tell the Difference
Sarah Tew/CNET
Understanding omicron, variants and subvariants
Variants are made up of multiple lineages and sublineages. Each variant has a "parent" lineage, according to the CDC, followed by other lineages, which you can think of like a family tree. As the virus spreads between people, mutations occur, but not all of them change the characteristics of the virus in meaningful ways.
The omicron variant and its sublineages made the virus much more contagious and capable of infecting more people, but it's led to less severe disease, on average, than the delta variant.
One of the most important things we can do to stop the virus from mutating is keeping community levels of COVID-19 low so the virus has less chance to mutate, Fauci said.
Genomic surveillance can detect variants and sublineages. Scientists in South Africa were able to quickly identify omicron as a new variant because of the way it presents through PCR tests. The original omicron causes a dropped signal or marker on the test that sets it apart from delta, which was the dominant variant prior to omicron. BA.2, however, didn't have the same signal, called an S gene target failure. This made it more "stealthy" and gave it its name. Genomic sequencing will detect all omicron subvariants and coronavirus variants in general.
However, detecting new variants or subvariants may be becoming more difficult as the number of sequences shared across the world have "dropped precipitously," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease specialist with the World Health Organization, said in June. While the impact was still enormous, having real-world data available quickly after scientists detected omicron was a benefit during the worldwide surge last winter.
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.
