Apple makes some of the best laptops and tablets on the market, but they certainly aren’t the cheapest. If you want to score a recent Apple device without breaking the bank, often refurbished sales are the way to go. For a limited time, Woot is heavily discounting several MacBook and iPad models with prices from as little as $125, making now the perfect time to upgrade your gear.
According to Woot, you should expect the majority of these refurbished models to show moderate signs of wear and tear, but all have been tested and ensured to be in full working condition. So if you can live with some dings and scrapes, this is a chance to snag a top-rated computer or tablet at a major discount. There are also a couple of brand new items in the sale which are clearly marked as such.
Though some of the devices in Woot’s sale are a little long in the tooth and best to avoid, there are plenty of recent models to choose from. On the Mac side of things, you’ll find the powerful MacBook Pro from 2019 with prices from just $520. It comes in both 13-inch and 16-inch sizes and there are a few different configurations to choose from to suit your needs and budget. A variety of ultraportable MacBook and MacBook Air devices are also available for less.
Those looking for a tablet are spoiled for choice, too. The sale offers brand new 2020 iPad and iPad Air models from $520, though the pick of the sale is the refurbished 2021 iPad Pro at $800 — close to $500 off its original retail price. Having only just been replaced by the M2 model, the M1-powered iPad Pro is still powerful enough for advanced workflows and it supports the Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard accessories. It’s 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED simply gorgeous, too.
Which tablets have the best price?
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Facebook Memories are usually good for a laugh, a cringe (the mid-2000s, right?) or a fond recollection. However, the daily memories can go back more than a decade depending on how long you’ve used Facebook, and it’s likely there’s more than a few we’d like to forget.
Instead of being caught off-guard by regrettable memories, you can customize your Facebook settings to hide them. Here’s how to do it:
1. Open the Facebook app on your phone
2. Tap the Settings bars in the top-right corner of the screen
3. Choose Memories
4. Tap the Gear icon in the top-right corner
5. You can choose between All Memories, Highlights or None. All Memories means Facebook will show you all your memories from that day, Highlights will only show you special videos and collections, and None means you won’t get notifications for any memories.
If you want something more specific, you can choose to hide memories involving specific users and date ranges. Follow the steps above, but instead tap People and type in a user’s name that you want to hide from your memories. The user(s) won’t be notified, and your selections are saved automatically.
Follow the same steps to hide date ranges, but in this case tap Dates. From there, you can enter almost any span of time — a day, a week, month or an entire year — going back in time to well before 2000. When you’re done, tap Save.
When I think of foldable phones, I picture a large device that’s too cumbersome to carry around. Oppo’s latest foldable phone, the Find N2, is beginning to change my mind.
The Chinese company’s new phone, announced Wednesday, is the lightest foldable device you can find — even compared to its biggest rival, the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s also the shortest foldable I’ve ever used.
Foldable phones seem to be inherently chunky, which is one of their major shortcomings, but Oppo has made impressive progress with the Find N2. It’s 42 grams (42!) lighter than its predecessor, the Find N. Oppo credits its upgraded “Flexion” hinge with helping create a lightweight phone. Oppo says it reduced the number of components required to build the hinge and introduced materials like carbon fiber and a “high-strength alloy” used in the aviation industry.
Apart from its practical size, the Find N2 includes all the trappings of a 2022 foldable flagship. It has a powerful Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, two equally responsive displays, fast charging and solid cameras. However, there’s no official IP rating for water- and dust-resistance, and you probably won’t be able to buy this phone, even if you’re interested. The Find N2 is currently earmarked for a China-only release. Oppo has also launched a new flip phone, similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, however, and it’s expected to receive an international release in the coming months. There was no pricing available for the Find N2 at the time of this writing.
The cover display of the Find N2 has a 120 Hz refresh rate, which is the same as the inner screen.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The Find N2 is a shortie
The Find N2’s design is similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4’s in that it’s a book-style foldable phone. However, one key difference is that the Find N2 feels much more compact. The Find N2 is almost 1 inch shorter than the Z Fold 4. Think iPhone 13 Mini in terms of height, but backed with double the thickness. It also has a different aspect ratio of 17.7:9. This means when you unfold the Find N2, it morphs into a squarish screen as opposed to the more rectangular display seen on the Z Fold 4.
The Find N2 is the lightest commercially available foldable phone. At 233 grams, the Find N2 is 30 grams lighter than the Z Fold 4. It also weighs less than the iPhone 14 Pro Max by a few grams. This lightweight design makes it easier to deal with the inherent heft of a foldable phone.
All these qualities make for a more portable foldable phone. I feel more comfortable storing it in my pocket without worrying that it might fall or stick out. This square-like screen also makes the Find N2 stand out from Samsung and Huawei’s competing devices despite the many similarities between these phones.
The Find N2 has a nearly creaseless display
Oppo admits the Find N2’s main display has a crease, but it’s hardly discernible. In my short time with the Find N2, I hardly ever saw or felt the crease. In fact, I needed to maneuver the screen to just that right angle (in a bright room) to see it. While a completely creaseless phone is ideal, the Find N2’s didn’t bother me at all. As for durability, Oppo says the Find N2 has been tested up to 400,000 folds.
The Find N’s inner screen measures 7.1 inches and offers a 120Hz refresh rate Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 7.6-inch inner display. The Find N2 also has a 5.5-inch AMOLED outer screen, which might feel short if you’re used to taller phones.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The Find N2 has a triple-lens rear camera
The Find N2 has a polished Hasselblad-branded camera module. There are three rear cameras: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide and a 32-megapixel telephoto lens. In general, the Find N2 took impressively bright photos even in low-light environments. It was also great to have a telephoto camera capable of a 2x optical zoom, which is 1x less than the Z Fold. There is also support for 10-bit RAW and full manual control with Hasselblad interface elements.
Like its foldable rival from Samsung, the Find N2 has an amusing feature that lets you use the cover screen as a viewfinder for taking selfies with the rear camera. That’s a big deal because front-facing cameras are usually lower quality than the main cameras on the back of the phone.
FlexForm mode in action on the camera app.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Oppo’s Find N2 also has a feature called FlexForm Mode, which moves the app you’re using to the top of the screen while displaying the controls at the bottom when the phone is half open. This allows you to place the camera on a surface — say a table — and capture a subject from a top-down angle. In my case, I used it to take pictures of my dog sleeping on the floor and ended up getting some cool images from a lower angle. I wouldn’t have been able to capture that shot as easily with a regular, non-folding phone. Samsung’s foldable phones also have a similar software option called Flex Mode.
Taken using FlexForm mode.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Taken indoors with sunlight pouring through the window.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This is a tricky environment for the camera since there is bright light just behind the subject. The Christmas tree looks darker than it actually is in real life.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Zooming in past the Christmas tree, past the windows and into the outside environment.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
20x zoom example.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
I haven’t thoroughly tested the Find N2, but Oppo’s second foldable phone impressed me during the short time I spent with it. The Find N2 has a refreshingly compact design for a foldable, two sharp screens, dependable cameras, and fast charging. With its shorter design, the Find N2 proves it’s possible to design a phone with a tablet-sized screen that’s still portable. The squarish shape also differentiates the Find N2 from its main Android rival, the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s a shame the Find N2 will only be available in China — at least for now.
If there’s one thing I know it’s that photographers are always happy to get more gear. From the best cameras from Canon, Sony or Nikon to new lenses, bags or tripods, there’s no shortage of things a photographer would love. That makes it easy to buy gifts for them. If you need a little help finding the right thing, here are the best gifts for serious photographers in 2022.
But with so much choice of items from a huge number of brands to sift through, finding just the right gift to suit them isn’t always straightforward. To help you find the ideal gift for the photographer in your life (or yourself), we’ve rounded up our top picks of the best cameras, tripods, drones, action cameras and photography accessories. Whether they’re a keen landscape photographer or a budding YouTuber, we’ve got gift ideas to fit all budgets.
Nikon’s Z50 packs a smaller APS-C sized image sensor into a small and lightweight body, which makes it excellent for chucking into a little backpack and heading out on your travels. Its 20.9-megapixel sensor takes good-looking images, with excellent detail and enough dynamic range in the raw files to pull back highlights or lift shadows.
There’s no in-body image stabilization (you’ll need to splash more cash for that) but its 11 frames per second burst shooting rate should help you score a sharp image. It shoots 4K video at up to 30 frames per second and its tilting rear LCD will help get shots in more awkward angles.
Nikon currently offers only three lenses designed for its APS-C DX-format camera which isn’t a wide selection — although the wide zoom ranges available will likely suit beginners well. It does use the same Z-mount for its lenses as Nikon’s FX-format cameras like the Z7 II, however, so you can always use those professional-standard lenses on this camera. That said, the higher prices of those lenses will somewhat negate the affordability of the Z50 itself.
You’re receiving price alerts for Nikon Z50 + Z DX 16-50mm Mirrorless Camera Kit (209-point Hybrid AF, High Speed Image Processing, 4K UHD Movies, High Resolution LCD Monitor) VOA050K001
Canon’s EOS R5 has a slew of great features, including its amazing image stabilization, lightning-fast autofocus and quick burst shooting. But the R5’s standout feature is its ability to shoot video in 8K resolution. While not everyone will need that many pixels, 8K can give a lot more scope for cropping and creative editing, making it a great choice for the dedicated videographer who’s looking for the best camera gear.
Sony’s vlogging-focused ZV-1 is small enough to fit into a pocket, packs a flip-out screen so you can see if you’re in the frame when you’re talking to your audience and can be bought with a handy grip that lets you easily start and stop recordings. The 4K video quality is great and while battery life could certainly be improved, we think keen YouTubers everywhere will appreciate adding this little thing to their production lineup.
With cameras like the Canon R5 capable of shooting incredibly detailed 8K video footage, you need a storage card that can keep up. Even shooting lots of bursts of still images can be taxing on your card.
ProGrade’s Cobalt CFexpress card provides write speeds up to 1,500MB/s, which will keep up easily with your video shooting needs and far outstrips the speeds offered by older SD cards. And with capacities up to 650GB in size, you don’t need to worry about running out space when you’re out in the field.
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Although not the latest model, GoPro’s Hero 10 Black still offers up 120 frames per second footage at 4K resolution, which is great for slowing down the action. Its stabilization is superb and the overall video quality looks glorious. But as it’s a previous-generation model you can typically pick it up for a good deal less than the current Hero 11.
DJI’s smallest drone can be squeezed comfortably into a jacket pocket, but its camera is capable of taking beautiful videos and photos thanks to its 4K resolution and ability to shoot still images in raw format. It’s very easy to fly too, making it a great option for beginners, or more enthusiastic aerial photographers who want to travel as light possible. We’re linking to the Fly More Combo below, which includes extra batteries and other niceties, but you can save by buying the basic drone kit.
Better known for its drones, DJI’s Mic setup is a superb wireless audio recording solution in a really neat package. The kit comes with a receiver that sits on your camera and two separate wireless mics — one for you, one for your friend, perhaps. In our experience, the connection is strong and stable and the audio quality is superb, even in high wind thanks to the supplied wind shields.
The mics are stored conveniently in a case that charges them, providing up to 15 hours of total recording time. The output can plug directly into your camera’s mic socket or you can even use it with your iPhone or Android phone using a 3.5mm adapter.
With cameras shooting stills and videos at ever-increasing resolutions, it’s easier than ever to run out of storage when you’re out in the field. Thankfully, storage doesn’t have to break the bank and this 256GB SD card from SanDisk packs a huge amount of space for your files and comes with a very reasonable price tag attached. It’s an ideal option for beginners wanting one card they never need to worry about filling up, while being cheap enough for enthusiasts to buy several to make sure they can always keep on shooting. Just make sure the camera it’s going in supports SD cards up to 256GB in size.
LowePro has been a staple of the photography bag world for years and with the ProTactic 450 it’s easy to see why. This rugged backpack opens fully from the back, although there are side and top quick-access points too. It provides a wealth of storage slots for a DSLR, multiple lenses, filters, batteries and other accessories — I even stuffed a small drone in amongst my gear.
If you can’t quite fit everything inside, you can get additional accessory pouches that attach to the outside of the case, where you can also attach your tripod. It’s comfortable to carry thanks to both chest and hip straps, it’s made of durable materials and it has a zipped compartment for laptops up to 15 inches.
Peak Design’s Travel Tripod, as it’s known, is best for exactly what its name suggests: traveling. It’s one of the best camera gear choices for those who want to travel light. The carbon fiber version weighs only 2.8 lbs (1.27kg) and packs down to only 15.4 inches (39.1cm) long, making it easy to chuck in a backpack or camera bag. The aluminum tripod model weighs 3.4 lbs (1.5kg).
Its ball head is quick and easy to use, it’s sturdy enough to hold a professional DSLR and it comes with its own grip so you can mount your phone on the tripod that tucks away inside the central column. It’s all extremely well thought-out and feels reassuringly sturdy.
Photography filters come in all shapes and sizes, but few are as well thought-out or as high quality as Polar Pro’s. With aluminum frames, each filter is sturdy, easy to hold and convenient to slot into the filter holder. The landscape set comes with a circular polarizer, two neutral density filters and a graduated neutral density filter to help balance bright skies in your landscape photos. It’s an essential set for the keen landscape photographer in your life.
The iPhone 14 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro and other top phones can shoot superb, professional-quality video, but if you want to take it to the next level, consider using a gimbal. Gimbals stabilize your hand shakes or other movements to provide smooth-looking footage without any of the wobbliness that you might expect from amateur videos.
DJI’s OM 5 has a built-in selfie stick so you can get smooth videos of yourself or you can use it to get more creative low-down angles without having to bend over. It folds down to a compact size, too, so it’s no trouble to chuck in a backpack.
The 3 Legged Thing Bucky is a super tripod for almost any photography situation. Its carbon fiber construction means it’s light enough to comfortably strap to a backpack, it packs down small but its maximum height of over 6.2 feet (191cm) makes it extremely tall too. I’ve found it brilliant for landscape photography as it’s no trouble to carry out into the hills, but I can still shoot at eye level.
Its ball head is secure enough to hold even the weightiest DSLRs with a big zoom lens attached, its legs can be detached to use as monopods, and its solid construction means you don’t need to worry about it taking a few knocks on the road. It doesn’t come cheap, but photography enthusiasts in any genre are well catered for here.
Nothing worth having in life comes easy. If you want a shiny Pokemon, you’re going to have to work for it! Thankfully, it’s actually easier to catch shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet than in previous games — but “easier” doesn’t mean “easy.”
When Pokemon spawn in Scarlet and Violet, they have about a 1 in 4,000 chance of being shiny. Those odds are no good but can be improved by three methods. Two of them are only available in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s postgame, but one strategy can be harnessed from very early on.
If you’re wanting to hunt shiny Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet, here’s what you need to know.
Pokemon outbreaks are your friend
Here’s the basic method of shiny hunting in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that you can do no matter how early in the game you are.
First, you need to look for Pokemon outbreaks. If you look on your overworld map, you’ll see icons of Pokemon scattered across Paldea. These denote an outbreak, where an area is swamped by the Pokemon in question. (Note that if you see a question mark on your map, it’s an outbreak of a Pokemon you’ve not encountered before.)
If you’re unsatisfied by the Pokemon on offer, you can rotate the selection by doing a dodgy move. Go into your Switch’s settings and change the date and time to be a day in the future. A new day brings new Pokemon outbreaks.
Say you’re after a Magneton, and you’ve found an outbreak in Glaseado Mountain. You now need to go about killing Magneton — lots of them. Press ZR to activate Let’s Go mode, at which point your lead Pokemon will come out of its ball, then seek and destroy. This is much more efficient than engaging Pokemon one by one in standard battles. Yourodds of finding a shiny Pokemon go up once you kill 30 — and go up even more once you kill 60.
An outbreak of Magneton. Once you find an outbreak, down 60 to dramatically improve your chances of finding a shiny Pokemon.
Nintendo/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom
Make sure you keep a tally in your head or your phone or computer. After you’ve downed 60 of a certain Pokemon, the odds of finding a shiny version of that Pokemon go from roughly 1 in 4,000 to just over 1 in 1,000.
Once you’ve killed 60, it’s shiny hunting time. Scope out the area for shinies. If there are none, setup a picnic and then pack the picnic up. Doing so resets the Pokemon in the area, giving you a new set of Pokemon in which a shiny may be lurking. Keep going until you find your prize.
It’s crucial to note that finding a shiny Pokemon often means closely inspecting it. There’s no shiny gleam around them in the open world, nor any sound or other stimuli that indicates their presence. It’s only once you initiate a battle with a shiny Pokemon that, during its opening battle animation, it’ll be shrouded in sparkles.
This method works, and can be done early in the game. But your odds of finding a shiny Pokemon can dramatically rise once you beat the main storyline.
You’re going to have to Tera Raid
If you’ve played Pokemon Scarlet and Violet for any length of time, you’ve surely participated in a few Tera Raids. These are key to hunting shiny Pokemon.Once you complete the games’ three main quests, you’ll gain access to five-star Tera Raids. In these boss encounters, you’ll take on level 75 Pokemon made even more powerful by their terastalized state, harnessing the chaotic crystal energy that flows throughout Paldea.
To maximize your odds of finding a shiny Pokémon, you need to collect Herba Mystica sandwich ingredients. Once you have the right combination, you can make sandwiches that boost your chances of finding a shiny Pokemon by 300%. To collect Herba Mystica ingredients, you need to compete five-star Tera Raids.
Unfortunately, Scarlet and Violet don’t exactly hand these out — I had to do about six of these high-level raids before I got my first Herba Mystica. Note that you can also receive Herba Mystica from six-star Tera Raids, which you unlock after beating all Paldea gym leaders for a second time and winning the Academy Ace Tournament, but your odds of getting them don’t seem higher. So it’s best to stick to the easier (but still hard) five-star Tera Raids.
Complete five- and six-star Tera Raids to collect precious Herba Mystica ingredients.
Nintendo/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom
To give yourself a good chance at succeeding in these five-star Tera Raids, you’ll want a crew of Pokemon around levels 80 to 90. Head to the Delibird Presents shops around Paldea and collect items designed to be held in battle. Especially helpful are the Choice Band and Choice Specs, which greatly enhance your attack and special attack, respectively, and the Metronome, which empowers a move if you do it several times in a row.
Once you’ve completed a few of these five-star Terra Raids, with luck you’ll collect some Herba Mystica. They come in several varieties — sweet, salty, spicy and so on. If you make a sandwich with the right combination of ingredients, you’ll boost your rate of encountering a shiny Pokemon by 300%. The catch is that each recipe correlates to an element of Pokemon. So for instance, I wanted to hunt for a shiny Magneton, which is an electric-type Pokemon. So I created a sandwich that boosts the likelihood of finding a shiny electric Pokemon.
And to boost your odds of finding a shiny Pokemon even more, you can use the Shiny Charm item. But to get this, you have to first complete your Pokedex by catching all 400 Pokemon in Paldea. If you’ve caught all Scarlet and Violet’s Pokemon, speak to Jacq in your school’s biology lab to get the shiny Charm.
Notice the Sparkling Power Level 3 buff that improves your chances of finding a shiny Pookemon.
Nintendo/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom
Pokemon outbreaks + sandwiches = shiny success
Now it’s time to put it all together. Once you’ve found an outbreak and killed 60 of the same Pokemon, it’s time to shiny hunt in earnest. First, pause the game, go into options and disable autosave. Then, manually save your game. Finally, craft your sandwich using your precious Herba Mystica ingredients.
Sandwich buffs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet only last 30 minutes. The reason you’re disabling autosave and then saving before making the sandwich is so that, if you don’t encounter a shiny Pokemon within 30 minutes, you can close your game and reboot it before you used your scarce Herba Mystica resources. If you fail, you can then reset it to after you’ve killed 60 Pokemon, meaning you won’t have to go through that laborious task again.
As you’ll see once you put your sandwich together, you’ll get a 3x buff for sparkle Pokemon of a certain type (see image above), depending on the recipe you used. Now it’s time to employ the same method above: Search the area for Pokemon, reboot the Pokemon in the area by setting up and closing down a picnic, wash, rinse and repeat until you find your shiny.
The hardest part is collecting Herba Mystica from the five-star Tera Raids. Once you’ve done that, you can usually find a shiny Pokemon around an hour if you follow this method. Good luck!
SpaceX has the green light to grow its Starlink broadband-from-space constellation to more than 10,000 small satellites in low-Earth orbit over the next several years, and it hopes to offer service for smartphones via T-Mobile by the time just half of those flying routers are operating.
SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission on Dec. 6 seeking authorization to equip some of its second-generation Starlink satellites with “direct-to-cellular” hardware.
This is a key regulatory hurdle Elon Musk’s space company must clear to deliver on an August announcement with T-Mobile to connect the two data networks in the name of eradicating mobile dead zones, at least in much of the US.
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The new capability would allow Starlink “to provide voice, messaging, and basic web browsing at theoretical peak speeds of up to either 3.0 Mbps or 7.2 Mbps peak upload… and up to either 4.4 Mbps or 18.3Mbps on the downlink,” the filing reads.
Other companies are working to offer space-based mobile broadband, including Texas-based AST SpaceMobile, which recently launched a test satellite with a huge array of antennas that’s relatively easy to spot from the ground (much to the chagrin of astronomers).
SpaceX has already launched 3,500 first generation Starlinks and says it could offer “full and continuous” smartphone coverage with 2,000 equipped Gen2 satellites as soon as 2024.
If you’ve been interested in trying League of Legends but were put off by the thought of having to unlock 160-plus characters, Microsoft has great news for you. The wildly popular multiplayer online battle arena is now on Xbox Game Pass. It’s a behemoth of a partnership: League has been around since 2009, has spawned an unbelievably successful esports scene and has even been turned into a Netflix animated series. And Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is CNET’s pick for the best deal in gaming. This new partnership makes that already great deal even better.
The presence of League (and Riot Games’ other titles, like Valorant and Legends of Runeterra) in Game Pass isn’t a huge deal in itself. League of Legends is free to play, so you don’t save money by getting access to the game through Game Pass. You do, however, get access to every single League of Legends champion for free for as long as you keep your Game Pass subscription.
I did the math: There are currently 162 champions in League. They cost, on average, about $6.50 to unlock. That means you’d save more than $1,000 with Game Pass, compared with paying to unlock each champion individually. For context, that would pay for more than five years of Game Pass Ultimate. You’ll also immediately unlock new champions when they’re released, typically about five times per year.
A few caveats worth mentioning: First, paying for champions isn’t the only way to unlock them — the game lets you unlock champions for free over time. You can pick one of five champions immediately after completing the tutorial. After that, you can complete daily missions to acquire five additional champs, picking one character per day from a selection of three. Players can also use Blue Essence, which you acquire just by leveling up and earning the first win of the day, and they can earn Champion Shards to reduce the amount of Blue Essence needed. So you can unlock the whole roster without paying for champions — just very slowly over time.
Second, Game Pass technically doesn’t grant you ownership of all 162 champions, according to Riot’s FAQ. It unlocks them for play, but the game doesn’t consider you an owner, which means you won’t be able to buy skins for the champions you’ve only unlocked with Xbox Game Pass. You’ll still need to buy the champion if you want to buy skins (using paid Riot Points or free Blue Essence). Champions and other content that you’ve unlocked with Game Pass will have a special indicator as a differentiator from content you own.
The icon in the top-right corner of each portrait indicates the champion is available through Game Pass, but it isn’t considered an “owned champion.”
Riot Games; screenshot by Adam Benjamin/CNET
If you try to buy a skin for a champion you’ve unlocked but don’t fully own, you’ll get a notification.
Riot Games; screenshot by Adam Benjamin/CNET
That means if you end your Xbox Game Pass subscription, or if the partnership dissolves in the future, you’ll no longer have access to the champions you’ve only unlocked through Game Pass. But champions you acquired through the new player missions or bought with blue essence or Riot Points will still be available to you.
Still, this partnership is a steal if you’re new to League of Legends or Valorant, especially if you already have Game Pass. (Valorant agents can also be unlocked for free over time but cost $10 to unlock immediately. Players will save about $140 compared with paying to unlock new agents, not to mention future ones.) You’ll have the ability to try out new champs and agents at will, and still have the ability to permanently “buy” the ones you really like for free, just by playing the game.
You can link your Riot account to your Xbox profile by going to the Xbox sign-in page and signing in to both your Xbox and Riot accounts. If you already have Game Pass, you should get a notification when you sign in to the game once the content has been unlocked. Riot says this process may take up to 24 hours.
If you aren’t already subscribed, Xbox Game Pass for PC costs $10 per month, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which combines the console and PC passes and also includes cloud gaming, costs $15 per month.
As Elon Musk drama continues to roil Twitter, some users leaving the site for good. According to The Guardian, market research firm Insider Intelligence predicts that Twitter will lose more than 30 million users over the next two years.
Many of those people opting out of Twitter are opting into the decentralized social network Mastodon. One of the biggest obstacles for would-be Mastodon users, however, is its confusing registration system. But once you get past the initial learning curve, the sign-up process isn’t more difficult than starting a new email account.
Here’s the step-by-step process for creating a Mastodon account and getting started on the growing social network. For more about social media, here’s how to download your Twitter archive.
How do I join Mastodon?
Unlike Twitter, Mastodon is not a single website: It’s a decentralized network made up of thousands of websites talking to each other. To start posting on Mastodon (which until quite recently was called “tooting“) and following other people, you’ll need to create an account on a specific Mastodon server or “instance.”
To start following people and posting messages on the Mastodon social service, you begin by joining one specific instance. Each server (if open for registration) has its own sign-up process, but the majority only require a username, email address and password.
Once you’ve joined a Mastodon instance, however, you’re not limited to just following people and posts on that server. You can follow, favorite, reblog or reply to any Mastodon account that’s connected to the larger Fediverse.
How do I decide which Mastodon server to join?
The Mastodon organization provides a partial list of servers — about 100 — on its joinmastodon.org site. You can filter the servers by geographic region, language, topic registration process and whether or not they’re hosted by individuals or organizations. All servers on the official Mastodon site have agreed to follow the best practices of the Mastodon Server Covenant.
If you’re just testing Mastodon out, you might consider one of the official server instances run by the Mastodon organization. While the first and biggest — mastodon.social — has temporarily paused registration, a newer mastodon.online server is still open and picking up the slack.
The site provides useful data about each Mastodon instance, including number of users, number of “statuses” (posts), server uptime percentage and which versions of the Mastodon software it is running. It also lets you filter servers by language; minimum/maximum number of users; and prohibited/allowed content such as nudity, pornography, advertisements or entertainment spoilers. You can also click any instance name — fosstodon.org, for example, a server devoted to open-source software — to read a brief description of the community.
Once you’re actually on a Mastodon site, you can learn about the instance from its “about” page, browse community users on its “explore” page or view recent posts on its “public” page.
You should read the server rules for each Mastodon instance to make sure it’s a good fit, but don’t worry too much about which server you join. You can follow users on other servers and join and leave as many Mastodon servers as you’d like. If you do move around, Mastodon allows you to migrate all of your followers and lists with you.
How do I register on a Mastodon server?
Joining a Mastodon server only requires a few personal details.
Screenshot by Peter Butler/CNET
Each Mastodon instance will have its own sign-up process, but the vast majority are the same. You provide a username, email address and password, check the box agreeing to the terms of service and server rules, and click “Sign Up.”
You’ll then see a notification asking you to check your email for a verification message. Click the “Verify email address” in that email message, and you’re done. You can now start posting on your Mastodon server and follow anyone in the Fediverse.
Because of the increased traffic to Mastodon servers since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, some of those registration emails are taking a long time to show up or never arriving at all.
When I registered for the mas.to server last week, I got a confirmation email in about 15 minutes. I’m still waiting for a verification email from sfba.social for a registration attempt three days ago. Be patient, and try a new server if you can’t complete the registration for another.
After you verify your email address, your Mastodon account should be up and running. You can start posting or following people, though it will take a while to build up your feed. Web tools like Debirdify and FediFinder can jump-start the process by helping you find your Twitter contacts on Mastodon.
While most Mastodon servers offer the quick registration process described above, other, more private instances will ask that you apply for an invitation to the instance, which requires a manual review and longer registration time.
If you do decide to register on a Mastodon server and make it through the process, come visit me @peterbutler@mas.to to say hi.
As concerns over a possible recession continue, you may be on the hunt for ways to save some cash. And while most people can’t afford to give up a cell phone, you may be able to get a better value by switching to a more budget-friendly carrier.
There are plenty of ways to do just that in 2022, from prepaid carriers such as Mint Mobile to cable companies’ mobile endeavors like Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile and Charter’s Spectrum Mobile. All of them could be cheaper than an unlimited plan from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. Cheap phone plans now have a lot of the features traditional cell phone plans offer, including unlimited plans.
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While there are dozens of phone plan options out there, I’ve listed a few for you to consider, as well as some other ways to save on your bill. This space can quickly get unwieldy so, as with some of CNET’s other wireless carrier coverage, I’ll focus on options for a single line and for those looking for four lines.
Know your area and which carrier runs on which networks
To get the best deal, you need to make sure you have the coverage that you need. Cutting costs won’t help if it means the service won’t work.
The complex geographic variables across the US make it hard for us to give a blanket recommendation of any one carrier. T-Mobile’s service in New York may be excellent, but if you’re in rural Iowa, Verizon could be more reliable.
While your mileage may vary, the good news is that these networks are growing and improving all the time, particularly as the three major players continue race to blanket the US with 5G. It’s quite possible that, a decade ago, you left a network complaining about its sparse service, but now it’s been beefed up because of that race to acquire customers.
If you know any friends or family in your area that already use the carrier you’re considering, ask about their experience. You could also go to a carrier’s store and see if they offer any free ways to try out the service before switching over, such as T-Mobile’s Network Pass. Using Visible’s similar program, you can try out its parent company Verizon’s network while AT&T’s Cricket just added its own version that lets you sample its service for two weeks.
When it comes to prepaid carriers and mobile options from cable companies you should also check to see which network they are using. Mint Mobile, for instance, runs on T-Mobile’s service, while Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile and Charter’s Spectrum Mobile use Verizon. In these cases, downloading either of the two apps above could be a quick and easy way to try out T-Mobile or Verizon’s coverage in your area before you switch.
We have a list of a few of the major alternative providers and which networks they run on broken down here. Now, onto the picks.
Boost Mobile has added an unlimited plan that offers unlimited talk, text and data to new users for $25 per month with taxes and fees included. Unlike Mint Mobile’s 12-month plan, our previous pick in this slot, Boost’s plan isn’t tied to 12-month increments. You do, however, need to be a new Boost customer to get the offer.
The plan includes 5G access and 30GB per month of high-speed data (if you blow through that your data will slow until your next billing month starts). Hotspot is included as well, with that data pulling from your high-speed allotment. One thing worth noting: You need to set up automatic payments to get the $25-per-month rate.
Verizon’s Visible has recently restructured its unlimited plans, dropping the price for its base offering from $40 per month, per line to $30. In doing so it also tweaked some of the features perhaps most notably removing access to Verizon’s fastest Ultra Wideband 5G network (for that you’ll need to pay $45 per month for the Visible Plus plan). The carrier also removed its Party Pay family plan-like option that allowed for rates as low as $25 per month.
But if you don’t need the fastest speeds and want to be on Verizon’s network, it’s hard to beat this price. You still get unlimited hotspot (capped at max 5 Mbps speeds) and unlimited talk, text and data in the US.
Ryan Reynolds’ phone company has made a name for itself with its quirky advertising, but it also has one of the better offers for unlimited data that we’ve seen. For 12 months, you can get unlimited talk, text and data for $30 per month per line. Running on T-Mobile’s networks, you get 35GB of high-speed data on 5G and 4G LTE per month, though if you do blow through that before your 30-day period resets, your speeds will slow to “3G speeds.”
There’s also 5GB of high-speed hotspot data and free international calls to Mexico and Canada.
Google’s cell phone service got a pricing revamp that makes it a much more appealing alternative to major providers. For a family of four, you can now get its Simply Unlimited plan for $80 per month ($20 per month, per line) which includes not only unlimited talk, text and data but also 5GB of mobile hotspot. There also is free roaming in Canada and Mexico, though taxes and fees are not included in the sticker price.
Google Fi runs on T-Mobile and US Cellular’s networks and its service includes 5G access, though we should note that iPhones running on Google Fi can’t use 5G.
US Mobile, which runs on either T-Mobile or Verizon’s respective networks, costs $80 per month ($20 per line) for four lines on its Unlimited Basic option. For that price, you get 30GB of high-speed data, including 5G, but no perks like international roaming or hotspots. Like Fi, taxes and fees are not included in the sticker price.
AT&T’s prepaid brand has a decent deal if you’re looking for four lines: $25 a month for unlimited talk, text and data. A single line is $55 a month, but Cricket gives a solid discount if you’re willing to add more lines to the account.
Unlike Visible, however, this is a traditional-style family plan where one person pays for all the lines, so you may want to do this with people you know and can rely on to pay on time. While it’s nearly identical in price, Visible’s plan includes unlimited hotspot data, giving it the edge over Cricket. Like Visible, Cricket includes taxes in the price.
Cricket’s T-Mobile rival Metro has a similar four lines for $100 a month unlimited deal, but you need to buy the plan in-store and switch providers to get the deal.
If you’re looking for service for a backup phone that’s rarely used, TextNow has a free plan. Running on T-Mobile’s network, the service offers free unlimited talk and unlimited texting, though ads are placed in its app which you use to call and text people. There isn’t any data included with this option and removing the ads without adding data would run you $10 a month. If you want to watch YouTube, FaceTime, or surf the web make sure to connect to Wi-Fi.
Text messages are also done through the company’s TextNow app, not through iMessage or WhatsApp which makes sense as those services require data.
Getting 1GB of high-speed mobile data starts at $9 a month, with the company throttling you down to “2G speeds” if you use that up before your billing cycle resets. If you are largely on Wi-Fi, this could be a good option. 2GB runs $16 a month, with the company offering up to 5GB of high-speed data for $28 a month.
US Mobile has a good option for 5GB of data for $15 a month, which beats comparably priced offers from Mint ($15 a month for 4GB of data), Boost Mobile ($15 for 2GB of data) and others.
Boost, however, has a $100 deal for new customers that offers 1GB of data per month for a full year. That breaks down to $8.33 a month. Boost offers service on AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks today, though parent company Dish is in the process of building out its own wireless network.
If you don’t have Boost, largely use Wi-Fi (but still want some data) and price is the biggest driver for you, then this is the go-to pick for a new service.
Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile and Optimum Mobile could be options, depending on where you live. Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile each use Verizon’s network while Optimum uses T-Mobile.
To get these deals you need to have an internet package from the respective provider. As for the value, expect that to vary. Xfinity recently matched Spectrum’s plans with unlimited talk/text/data at either provider now running $45 a month for a single line. At both cable companies that rate drops to $30 per line, per month for two or more lines (so two lines run $60 per month, four lines are $120 monthly).
If you have more than four lines, each additional line at Xfinity is $20 per line, per month (additional lines at Spectrum are $30 per line, per month).
Optimum Mobile is in a similar boat, with a single line running $45 a month and four lines running $30 per line, per month.
But these prices require you to have home service from these providers. If you cancel your cable service expect the bill to jump.
If you cut the cord and ditch Xfinity’s home services, each mobile line will cost an additional $25 per month, per line. For a family of four, that will jack your monthly bill from $120 a month to $220.
Sarah Tew/CNET
What about carrier discounts?
If you want to stick with a major carrier such as AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, one easy way to save is to take advantage of its discounts. All of the carriers offer additional discounts that you could be eligible for, depending on your employer, military status, student status or age.
If you’re 55 or older, you may also be eligible for a discounted plan: T-Mobile offers discounted plans nationwide for as low as $55 a month for two lines, and Verizon and AT&T offer similar options — but only for Florida residents.
The holiday season can quickly sneak up on you before you know it, and you don’t always have a sizeable stack of money saved up to spend on everyone. Thankfully, there are great gifts for $50 or less that are sure to please the people in your life.
From an affordable weighted blanket to handy tech that will simplify your life, this year you can buy a perfect gift for the holidays for under $50. Note that several Black Friday deals and Cyber Week discounts are still available throughout the month of December.
The JBL Bluetooth speaker that received the biggest improvements for 2021 is among the company’s smallest. The JBL Go 3 has a completely new look — it’s now covered in durable fabric instead of having the naked plastic design of its Go predecessors — and that new design, coupled with surprisingly decent sound for its small size, makes the Go 3 one of the top micro Bluetooth speakers out there.
Available in multiple color options, it has an IP67 water-resistance rating (it can be dunked in water and is dust-proof). Plus, the battery life is rated at up to five hours. It’s a great gift for the music lover in your life.
Weighted blankets have become a popular item that people use to sleep better. They hug your body and distribute weighted glass beads evenly in small pockets. This blanket is breathable and machine-washable in a cleaning bag on the gentle cycle. And you can’t beat the price.
If you’re on the hunt for a decent pair of budget sunglasses, Knockaround has various models, including those with polarized and mirrored coatings, for $25 and even slightly less (prices start as low as $15). They’re not premium glasses obviously, but the lenses are pretty decent and the glasses look more expensive than their low price would indicate. These designer sunglasses also seem pretty durable. Several different styles, colors and lens options are available.
Here’s a gift that anyone who’s susceptible to losing things will appreciate. Apple’s AirTags accessories work with any Apple device and use the company’s FindMy network — the same one used to locate lost iPhones. Attach them to keys, a backpack or just about anything else. It’s $29 for one and $99 for four, and if you buy them through Apple, you can get free customized engravings, too.
If you’re looking for a compact external battery pack for your iPhone (or any smartphone), Mophie’s pocketable Power Station Mini (2022) features a 5,000-mAh internal battery and 20W USB-C PD fast charging. (You’ll need a USB-C to Lightning cable to take advantage of that fast charging if you’re an iPhone owner.) That battery will allow you to fully charge your iPhone.
For $20 more, you can pick up the 10,000-mAh version with dual USB-C ports — both come in black or blue colors. Also, note that Zagg, Mophie’s parent company, offers a 20% discount off your first purchase, so that model (it’s simply called the Power Station) is actually $50.
Created by former NFL fullback Chris Gronkowski (brother of Rob), the Ice Shaker not only keeps your beverages hot — or cool — for hours — but comes with a removable twist-in agitator to help mix your protein shakes (or anything else that needs mixing). Available in a few different sizes and many fun colors, they have a built-in handle for easy carrying and start at around $35. It’s one of the better insulated bottles I’ve used and a great way to make sure you stay hydrated.
Known for its value headphones and earbuds, JLab has released a pair of on-ear headphones with an integrated boom microphone — it can be rotated up when just listening to music — and multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them to your phone and computer simultaneously. I’m more partial to the Jabra Elite 45h, which lists for $100 but usually sells for around $75. But if you don’t want to spend quite that much, the Go Work is a solid pair of headphones, and headset, for its modest price. They’re also comfortable to wear, with a lightweight design. You won’t mistake these for premium headphones but the build quality seems fine.
Battery life is rated at up to 45 hours at moderate volume levels, and you can mute calls using the multifunction button (an LED lights up at the end of the boom mic when the call is muted). I wouldn’t call the sound quality for music listening and the headset performance stellar, but they’re good, particularly for the price. For music listening, there’s ample bass and clarity and a cable is included for wired use. The headphones charge via USB-C. Bottom line: This is a solid gift for anyone who spends some or all of their time working remotely.
I was a fan of the original Earfun Free buds, and now there’s an upgraded version called the Earfun Free 2 (which has been subsequently upgraded to the 2S). They’re not a huge upgrade, but like the originals they fit my ears well and deliver decent bang for the buck with strong sound — it has just a touch of treble and bass boost (there’s plenty of bass) — and extra features such as wireless charging.
Battery life is rated at up to seven hours at moderate volume levels, and these buds are fully waterproof with an IPX7 rating. These are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 and use Qualcomm’s QCC3040 chip that includes support for the aptX audio codec if you’re using a compatible device (certain Android smartphones support that protocol).
Note: Enter the code BFFREE2S4 at checkout on Amazon to get an additional $13 off.
These days, it’s nearly impossible to get a TV without a bunch of “smart” streaming apps built in. But that’s not true of older TVs, and even newer ones don’t have all the top new services and simply don’t offer the faster performance of a dedicated video streaming box that plugs into an HDMI port. For under $50, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K (2021) boasts access to just about every online video service you can think of, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and hundreds more, at resolutions up to 4K. The Streaming Stick 4K Plus comes bundled with a step-up voice-enabled remote for $20 more.
Infinity Lab is Samsung-owned Harman Kardon’s new accessories subsidiary and I like its InstantGo 5000 and InstantGo 10000 power banks, which come with an integrated Lightning cable for easy charging for iPhones. The larger 10000 mAh costs $20 more and is heavier and bulkier but it can charge most iPhones twice.
I was a fan of Creative’s original Sound Blaster Jam headphones that came out in 2015 and had a decidedly retro look and feel, as well as good sound for the money. Now these headphones are available in a 2.0 version with some key upgrades, including Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C charging, improved call quality and multipoint Bluetooth pairing that allows you to pair them to two devices simultaneously. Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours.
BioLite has several portable lighting options, and the Alpenglow 250 is one of the most affordable. It’s a portable “lantern” that has multiple modes and color options. As its name implies, it delivers 250 lumens of light in a few color options.
The step-up Alpenglow 500 (pictured on right) offers 500 lumens for $15 more. Both are rated for 5 hours of battery life on their high setting and up to 200 hours on the low setting.
Here’s a deal worth checking out on a set of open earbuds that perform surprisingly well: the Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS. Their list price is $50, but after a 20%-off instant discount, use the code DELXHSPR at checkout to get an extra 10% off (the price drops to $35). The deal is good through Dec. 15 or while supplies last.
What makes these Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS buds special is that they sound surprisingly good for open earbuds — they’re pretty close to what you get from Apple’s AirPods 3 for sound. On top of that, they support Sony’s LDAC audio codec for devices that offer it. Not too many cheap open earbuds have good sound, but these Soundpeats have good bass response and clarity. They’re also good for making calls and have a low-latency gaming mode.
You’re receiving price alerts for SoundPEATS True Wireless Earbuds Bluetooth 5.0 Earphones with Built in Mic in-Ear Stereo Headphones for Sport, Deep Bass, Binaural Calls, One-Step Pairing, 35 Hours of Playtime, Upgraded TrueFree Plus
Chirp Wheel foam rollers come in a few different sizes and you can buy a four-pack of them if you’re looking for a set. But if you want to start with just one, the 10-inch medium size is a good one.
Chirp Wheels, particularly the larger ones, have a bigger circumference than your typical foam roller. They’re designed to fit between your shoulder blades, and I did find them better than your standard foam roller for stretching and realigning my vertebrae, though they are pricier.
iOttie offers this MagSafe-compatible wireless car charger with a car vent mount. It has a strong magnet, so your iPhone stays on the mount, and it also has an integrated USB-C cable and cigarette-lighter power adapter so you’re ready to start charging out of the box. Note that iPhone “fast” charging caps out at 7.5 watts. It makes for a nice gift for anybody looking for a magnetic car mount for their MagSafe-enabled iPhone.
This one isn’t a fun gift, but it’s the type of thing someone will use every day. This power adapter is one of the better values out there, with dual USB-C PD (power delivery) ports, a USB-A and a total of 65 watts of power. That will allow you to charge most devices, including some larger USB-C laptops. It uses GaN technology, which helps reduce the size of the charger, and the plug is foldable.
You’re receiving price alerts for Baseus USB C Charger, 65W 3 Port Foldable USB C Wall Charger, Fast PD GaN Charger for iPhone 14/14 pro/13 Pro/13 Pro Max/SE/Mini/11/XR/XS, Steam Deck, Samsung S22+/S22, MacBook, iPad, Pixel 6, Black
The Echo Show 5 is Amazon’s smallest smart display, and is great for nightstands or kitchen counters where you don’t want it to take up too much space. Get quick updates on the news, check the weather, update your daily schedule and much more — all with just the sound of your voice. With a 5.5-inch display, it’s also great for watching short videos like recipe instructions, and it’s equipped with a 2-megapixel camera for voice calls and checking in on your home when you’re away.
Although the Echo 5 lists for $85, Amazon has frequently dropped the price to as little as $35. We expect that deal to return for Black Friday, which is why we’re including it here.
You’re receiving price alerts for Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen, 2021 release) | Smart display with Alexa and 2 MP camera | Deep Sea Blue
Some of our favorite gifts are just a little more than $50 — but often you will find these items discounted at close to or under $50. So keep your eye out for deals and decide if you’re willing to put a little bit of cash with that gift card to grab one of these indulgent finds, which could be a great option as a gift or for yourself.
Back in 2020, Tribit released the StormBox Micro, a budget version of Bose’s excellent SoundLink Micro speaker that delivered surprisingly good sound for its size and modest price. The second-gen StormBox Micro 2 offers improved sound and battery life, along with a charge-out feature that turns the speaker into a power bank for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. An integrated strap allows you to clip it to your backpack or your bike’s handlebars.
Like the original, it’s an excellent value and easy to recommend if you’re looking for a super compact portable wireless speaker. It does cost $60 but sometimes goes on sale for closer to $50.
What’s cool about Anker’s 622 magnetic battery is that it’s a wireless battery that has an integrated magnetic flap that converts into a stand. You won’t get fast wireless charging from this 5,000-mAh battery (it charges at up to 7.5 watts), but it’s slim and easy to carry around.
It charges via USB-C, and if you use a USB-C to Lighting to charge your iPhone, it will charge at a faster rate of 12 watts. That’s not as fast as what a 20-watt USB-C power adapter can deliver, but it’s faster than 7.5 watts.
