Category: Technologies

It’s fair to say that anyone hunting for the best webcam won’t find it attached to the top of their laptop’s display. Those who use a desktop computer and monitor might not even have a camera to use at all, let alone a good one. But there are ways and means to add your own and it doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition, either. That’s something very much proven by this deal.

Today, you can grab the Opal Tadpole 4K webcam at Amazon for just $129, a savings of $46, with no codes or coupons required, and same-day delivery is also available, depending on where you are and when you place that order. This deal doesn’t have any indication of when it will end, which means ordering sooner rather than later might be the wise thing to do here.

So what will you get for your $129? The Opal Tadpole 4K webcam supports capturing 4K video images, which ensures that you’ll look crisp whether you’re using Zoom, FaceTime or any other video calling service. Attaching it to your laptop screen or monitor couldn’t be easier, with an alligator clip-like design allowing it to grip onto slim or thick displays, and it’s plug-and-play with its USB-C connector. This camera also comes in black and white options so you can pick the one that best fits with the rest of your desk’s aesthetic.

This webcam has a built-in microphone and it works with Macs, Windows PCs and tablets. One really neat feature of the Opal Tadpole, for laptop users particularly, is a tap-to-mute sensor on the USB-C connector that plugs into to your laptop. Tapping it turns on or off the Tadpole’s mic, which is much quicker than mousing around to find the mute button in your Zoom window.

There are tons of great webcam deals available if the Opal Tadpole isn’t for you, and there are definitely cheaper options if you don’t need 4K video.

The M2 15-inch MacBook Air is one of the best laptops if you’re in the market for something with a bigger screen that won’t take up too much room in your bag. That said, don’t let the thin and light chassis give you the impression this laptop is slow — the M2 chip found inside is a beast.

Finding a discount on Apple hardware isn’t always easy, but today is one of the days when a rare $300 savings is available. That means that the 15-inch MacBook Air will set you back just $999 if you buy from Best Buy right now, a price that is not to last for long. We don’t know for how long this laptop will be available at this particular price, so keep that in mind when planning your order. As an added perk, you get to pick your favorite color, as well.

Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air is the largest Air model to date and offers an attractive option for those wanting a big-screen portable Mac without spending over the odds on a 16-inch MacBook Pro. It’s essentially the same as the 13-inch MacBook Air, but with a larger, 15.3-inch display. It has the same M2 chip, Touch ID sensor, two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, MagSafe charger and 18-hour battery life. Its screen supports up to 500 nits of brightness and up to 1 billion colors. There’s a built-in 1080p camera for FaceTime calls too, as well as a three-mic array and six speakers for spatial audio support.

As great as the 15-inch MacBook Air is, there are sure to be some who need something a little different. For those people we’ve built a list of the best laptop deals around and there should be something for every person and every budget, too.

The Super Bowl is almost here. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will compete for the NFL title on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. If the rest of the playoffs were any indication, this matchup looks like it could be an all-time classic.

A game this exciting should have a TV that’s up to the task. Here are the best TVs we’ve reviewed for football and other sports and they also happen to be the best TVs we’ve reviewed. Unless otherwise noted, we’re linking to the 65-inch model, but most of them are available in smaller and larger (up to 85-inch) sizes as well.

Read more: Super Bowl TV Deals: Upgrade Your Screen for Hundreds Less Ahead of Game Day

Think you’re familiar with all the search engines out there? Maybe not all of them. The Browser Company of New York makes a MacOS web browser called Arc, and now it’s released a mobile iOS app called Arc Search that takes an innovative approach to online searches. Ask Arc Search to find something for you, and it will use artificial intelligence to read and consolidate at least six web pages, assembling the info into one summary page.

It’s been more than a year since ChatGPT from OpenAI made AI a friendlier, less sci-fi-seeming option that even students could put to work. Along the way, forms of generative AI have been making their way into the technologies that we rely on every day — like search engines, which might just be the gateway to familiarizing ourselves with AI. Google and Bing have taken steps into the AI universe, and Arc Search takes it even further, with a smoothly readable results page that looks as if it were put together by a human editor.

The Browser Company of New York’s website notes that it boasts alumni from Instagram, Tesla, Medium, Google, Amazon and more. You don’t have to use the company’s browser to use its search app and, honestly, I’m not about to take on the heavy lift of changing my browser right now. But an app I can handle, and it is promising. Here’s what you need to know about it.

How to use the Arc Search app

Arc Search is a free mobile app that you can download from the App Store. Most iPhone users can use it, but it requires iOS 16.0 or later. Right now, its makers haven’t said whether it will be available for Android.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, open it on your phone and type in your query, whether it’s “what kind of surgery did the Princess of Wales have?” or, “what’s today’s Wordle answer?”

Arc Search will look through six relevant sources, telling you what they are, and will use AI to assemble the information from those pages into a pretty professional looking webpage.

What you get from Arc Search

Traditional search engines present you with a random buffet of sources. For instance, if you search for information on the princess’ surgery, they’ll show you small snippets from People magazine, Entertainment Tonight and other resources that have information about it. It’s your job to sort through them and choose the best source of information, then read through it to get your answer. Kind of like high-school homework.

Google now will allow you to enable SGE Generative AI. When you turn that on, the AI program attempts to answer your query in a more direct way, though it still provides the links to other sources below that AI-generated answer. Microsoft’s Bing will also give you an AI-generated answer after trawling the web for information when you switch over to its chatbot and ask it a question.

I tried out both Google SGE Generative AI and Arc Search with a question about the Princess of Wales’ recent surgery because I knew there wasn’t an accurate, confirmed answer out there, and wanted to see what they did in that situation.

Arc Search gets right to the AI answer attempt, essentially outlining your query and the facts it found for you. Its Princess of Wales response led off with a scrollable carousel of images — including an hours-old Instagram post where William and Catherine thank well-wishers and note that she’s left the hospital and returned home to Windsor. Then it used bolded subheads such as “Surgery Type” and “Specifics” to break down the facts from its six sources. (Spoiler: Other than “abdominal” and “not cancer-related,” no one is sharing details.)

Arc Search performed pretty admirably. Google search with SGE Generative AI got more gossipy, telling me about some unconfirmed speculation and rumors. Arc Search stuck to the facts.

Arc Search also aced the “what’s today’s Wordle answer?” query, giving me the answer in bold type right at the top of the generated answer page it made. It went on to offer details about the game itself, the average player and older answers, but since I’d asked for the answer, I didn’t feel a true need to read further.

What about giving credit?

As a book author and journalist, I was concerned about how Arc Search offers credit and clicks for those who did the research work in the first place. The six sources it used to get my answer were listed briefly as Arc Search did its thing, but they didn’t seem to be clickable. I’ve reached out to the makers of Arc Search and will update this story if I receive more details about how it credits sources.

To test Arc Search’s crediting ability, I decided to perform one search where I was pretty sure my own work would be in the response. It’s a weird one: I searched “Why did Sharon Weiss burn her pie?” Back in 2021, a Georgia grandmother burned her Marie Callender’s pie almost beyond recognition and went viral for it. I was one of the few (only?) journalists who interviewed her, and I knew any searches were going to lean on my original article and my follow-up. (She told me her oven was mistakenly sent to Celsius, not Fahrenheit.)

I was right — Arc Search mentioned CNET right away in its top six sources, and its answer page was pretty much a summary of my article. Later in the summary page, it did go on to list three links, two of which were by me. I don’t know how many people would feel compelled to click on them, since Arc Search already provided the answer, but they were there.

Is it worth the download?

Questions about credit aside, I appreciated how Arc Search handled the summarizing and outlining of an answer for me. I’ll explore it again.

The fact that it’s for iPhones only, and that you have to download an app to use it, is bound to turn away some would-be users. But if you have a lot of web queries and appreciate a snappy, direct answer, you might give Arc Search a try.

With just one win from their last five games, Aston Villa will be hoping to get their top-four challenge back on track on Tuesday as they host Newcastle at Villa Park.

The reverse fixture between these two sides back in August saw the Magpies thrash the Villans 5-1, but much has changed in the intervening months.

Unai Emery’s men have since gone on to mount a credible challenge for the title while Eddie Howe’s Newcastle are enduring a midseason slump. They’re on course to end the campaign in midtable, which would be a disappointing finish for such an expensively assembled squad.

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live wherever you are in the world.

Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United: When and where?

Aston Villa host Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. GMT (2:45 p.m. ET, 11:45 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 6:45 a.m. AEDT in Australia on Wednesday Jan. 31).

How to watch the Aston Villa vs. Newcastle game online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream Aston Villa vs. Newcastle in the US

Tuesday’s Aston Villa-Newcastle match is streaming on Peacock. You’ll need a Peacock Premium or Premium Plus account to catch the game live.

Livestream the Aston Villa vs. Newcastle game in the UK

Premier League rights in the UK are split between Sky Sports, Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports (previously known as BT Sport). The Aston Villa-Newcastle game is exclusive to TNT Sports — showing on its TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports 1 HD.

Livestream the Aston Villa vs. Newcastle game in Canada

If you want to stream Aston Villa vs. Newcastle live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to Fubo. The service has exclusive rights for this Premier League season.

Livestream the Aston Villa vs. Newcastle game in Australia

Football fans Down Under can watch this EPL fixture on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League game live in Australia this season.

Quick tips for streaming the Premier League using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming EPL matches may vary.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.

The current M1 iPad Air is the latest model in the lineup, and while there are rumors of an updated M2 iPad Air in the offing, this is still a great tablet. And right now, it can be yours at an even greater price.

The M1 iPad Air is one of the best tablets around, but its value proposition gets even better when you consider you can now buy one for just $450. What’s more, Best Buy will also give you three months of Apple TV Plus, three months of Apple Fitness Plus, and three months of Apple Music absolutely free. There are multiple different colors available as well.

In terms of specifications, the iPad Air has plenty going for it. That all starts with the almost 11-inch Liquid Retina display and continues with support for Touch ID via the power button. The edge-to-edge display gives the iPad Air a thoroughly modern look and feel, as does the all-day battery life that ensures you won’t be reaching for this tablet’s USB-C charging cable all that often.

We have to talk about that M1 chip, too. It’s superfast and will chew through games, apps and anything else you can throw at it, while support for the Apple Pencil makes this a go-to tablet for note-takers and artists alike.

We don’t know for how long this deal is going to last, but it isn’t every day you get to save $149 off an Apple tablet. Looking for a slightly different iPad? Be sure to check out our list of the best iPad deals if you’re looking for something smaller or bigger, like the iPad Mini and iPad Pro.

Once you’ve spent your hard-earned cash on Apple product like a new iPhone, you may not have much left over to get the accessories you really want. Right now, Woot — one of the few reliable third-party dealers for Apple accessories — is having a sale on select Apple products and prices start as low as $8. The sale ends Jan. 31, so act fast.

One standout deal in this sale is the Apple Watch Series 7 which starts at just $320 for cellular configurations. You can also score cellular-enabled Apple Watch SE models for just $180. While these are both older models — the Series 9 being the current-gen — the Apple Watch didn’t change dramatically from Series 6 through 8, meaning that this is still a solid smartwatch right now and cellular connectivity usually comes at a premium. If you’re new to the platform, want a cheap fitness tracker or a first smartwatch for a youngster, you can do much worse than either of these Apple Watches.

On the iPhone side, you can use this sale to stock up on cables, speedy wall chargers, and MagSafe wireless chargers. There are also plenty of cases for iPhones, with prices starting at just $10. And if this sale looks good to you don’t miss Woot’s other Apple accessory blowout, which includes keyboards, Apple pencil cases and more, starting at just $8.

We’re getting ready for Super Bowl 2024 and with the big day just around the corner it’s time to start getting all of your tech ready. A big-screen TV is just part of the equation, however, and picking a great soundbar is one surefire way of upgrading your audio system with the minimum of fuss. And it’s even better when you can do it while saving some money as well.

This sleek Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar would normally sell for just shy of $900 but Amazon will send you one today for just $799. That’s a deal that will save you $100 without any of those codes or coupons that we all forget to use, and you even get to choose between the black and white finishes, too.

This soundbar is packed full of advanced features to help take your home entertainment setup to the next level. It’s equipped with six full-range transducers, including two upfiring speakers, as well as Dolby Atmos for truly immersive, room-filling sound. It also uses AI to enhance dialogue so it’s not a struggle to hear what characters are saying over the music or sound effects in your favorite shows.

You can connect it directly to your TV using HDMI eARC or optical audio cable, and you can stream music wirelessly via Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect or Google Chromecast. Plus, it has Amazon Alexa built-in for convenient hands-free control.

The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is definitely a premium option so there are cheaper alternatives out there. Whether you’re looking to spend a little less or need different features, be sure to check out our list of the best soundbar deals before you place any orders.

Read more: How to Get Your TV Ready for the Super Bowl

The high prices of Apple’s latest smartwatches like the Ultra 2 and the Series 9 can be enough to put off a lot of first-time buyers. But if you’re wanting a to nab a smartwatch and stay in the Apple ecosystem, there is a budget-friendly option for you in the form of the Apple Watch SE. And right now you can strap one on for even less with Walmart offering $70 off the entry-level 40mm model, dropping it down to just $179. That’s a match for the lowest we’ve seen it go, equalling its Black Friday 2023 discount, and undercutting Amazon’s current $50 off promo.

This deal is available on the Apple Watch SE in midnight or silver finishes, and the 44mm size is also seeing the same $70 in savings, making it just $209 for the larger model. Beyond the size they’re identical, so just make sure to pick the one that’s right for you.

No matter which one you pick you’ll get a great wearable with support for crash detection, heart-rate monitoring and activity tracking. Apple also says that this model is carbon neutral when you choose the Sport Loop. If you’re looking to bag a cheap Apple Watch for a kid, or just want a decent starter smartwatch to help maintain your 2024 fitness regime, this is the time to place an order.

There are plenty more Apple Watches in the lineup, and we’ve got you covered if the SE isn’t your speed. Our collection of all the best Apple Watch deals will get you up and running no matter your budget.

The batteries on even the best smartphones can’t last forever, and they’re all going to need charging eventually. Your iPhone might run out at the most inopportune moments, but the Anker MagGo 622 magnetic battery can help you top it up while you’re on the go. It’s a battery pack that would normally sell for around $70, but right now you can save a full 50% on one at Amazon.

The discount means you can now pay just $35 and pick up a new Anker MagGo 622 in one of five different colors; black, green, white, purple and blue. We don’t know for how long that will be the price, but we do know that you won’t have to enter any discount codes or clip any on-screen coupons to get it.

The MagGo battery pack is a magnetic and wireless solution, which means that it can magnetically connect to the back of your iPhone 12 or newer and charge it without cables. It’s got a 5,000-mAh capacity, which is roughly enough to charge your phone once over, and there’s a USB-C port on the side that can be used to top up the battery pack while offering passthrough charging if your phone’s magnetically attached.

The addition of a kickstand means you can also use this to stand your iPhone up while you catch up on the latest must-watch TV show. And all without a single cable in sight.

Have an older iPhone that doesn’t support magnetic charging? Our list of the best iPhone deals can help you upgrade for less.