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HyperX, the gaming peripheral arm of HP, has announced a series of 3D-printed add-ons at CES to customize and personalize the brand’s keyboards, mice and headsets.

What makes this line interesting is that the keycaps and headphone stands are all produced on HP’s industrial color 3D printers. Using powdered nylon, they’re more advanced than the basic PLA plastic material used by most home 3D printers, but still nontoxic and environmentally friendly.

Now playing:Watch this:Get Cozy, or Dark, With New Custom Keycap Drops From…

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At a pre-CES preview event, I saw a wide variety of styles, some of which were cute and cozy — HP calls this design language “Cozy.” Others had a dark fantasy theme, with lots of skulls and horns. Some of them, like replacement WASD keys — important for gaming — are mostly visual. Others turn keys into towering sculptures and are probably best left for function keys you don’t normally use, as they’re almost impossible to type on.

I also got to see some gaming headsets and mic add-ons. HyperX headsets can be adorned with either cute animal ears or creepy demon horns, and HyperX’s RGB microphones, which have multicolored lighting effects, can sit in special stands like a cozy anthropomorphic mushroom or a skull-and-bones pedestal.

These will be released in limited-edition waves, like other collectible drops, and the first release is a Cozy Cat keycap, which will be available for $20 from HyperX in January. Additional designs in new limited-production releases are planned throughout the year, some in collaboration with game streamers and other celebrities.

Microsoft Office is an essential suite of tools for both your professional and personal computing needs, but if you don’t already have access to its apps on your own computer, you may be annoyed at having to pay monthly to access them.

Rather than stumping up the full price directly at Microsoft, you can snag a lifetime license to Microsoft’s Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher and Access for just $30 instead via StackSocial. That’s back at the lowest price we’ve ever seen, and a whopping 91% off the usual price of $349.

The offer applies to both the Windows and Mac version of the software, which means you can ditch the subscription (with recurring charges) that Microsoft offers for these essential apps. This popular deal has already sold out and been restocked a few times, but we don’t know how much longer it will remain in stock so be sure to grab one for yourself before it’s gone.

Microsoft

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 lifetime license: $30

Save 91%

This wildly popular offer for a Microsoft Office lifetime license is still available for $30. It’s available for both Mac and Windows, so be sure to grab the right one for the computer that you use regularly.

• Microsoft Office for Windows: $30
• Microsoft Office for Mac: $30

$30 at StackSocial (Windows)

$30 at StackSocial (Mac)

StackSocial’s deal is a phenomenal bargain when compared to the online Microsoft 365 subscription suite that costs $10 per month or $100 a year. There is a free online version of Microsoft Office, too, but it has far fewer features.

While the price almost seems too good to be true, we tried it ourselves, and it worked like a charm. (The two big caveats: You get a single key — which only works on a single computer — and there’s no Microsoft OneDrive Cloud Storage included.) In fact, StackSocial has offered a version of this deal since the beginning of 2022. But this lowest-ever price won’t last, so take the plunge while you can.

Mobile gadgets of the future should have the ability to fold, bend and slide, according to Samsung‘s vision. To convey this message, the company provided a small taste of its latest innovations in display designs, such as the slidable and foldable Flex Hybrid, at CES.

The new concept can switch between 10.5- and 12.4-inch screen sizes, thanks to its slidable and foldable design. The left side of the screen folds, while the right side slides. In addition to changing the screen’s size, the prototype can also jump between 4:3 and 16:10 aspect ratios. Although the Flex Hybrid is just a concept, it shows that Samsung is investigating what the next evolution of foldable phones and tablets might look like.

In a Jan. 3 press release, Samsung summarized its new display concepts, but the company plans to showcase the technologies during an exhibition this week at CES. The Flex Hybrid is just one of several mock-ups. There’s also a 17-inch slidable display, which was previewed in September, and a digital cockpit concept meant for self-driving vehicles.

Concepts like these don’t always translate into real products, but the Flex Hybrid feels most in line with Samsung’s current product strategy. Foldable phones only account for a sliver of the broader phone market, but the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip have become well-established within Samsung’s mobile device lineup. The company’s early entry into the foldable phone space has given it an edge in terms of market share as Samsung accounts for more than 88% of the foldable smartphone market, according to Omdia.

TM Roh, the head of Samsung’s mobile experience business, suggested in an interview last August that the company is already thinking about what’s next after the Z Fold and Z Flip. The introduction of new concepts like the Flex Hybrid underscores that point.

“It’s everything you saw [at CES] plus more,” he said, referencing the display concepts Samsung showcased at CES last year.

But Samsung will also likely face more competition as foldable phones continue to evolve. Motorola and TCL have both shown rollable phone concepts of their own. Oppo’s Find N2, which the company introduced in late 2022, also shows a lot of promise thanks to its lightweight design, as my colleague Sareena Dayaram wrote.

Although Samsung is trying to make foldables a more regular fixture in our daily lives, its goal isn’t to replace regular phones.

“I would not see either just a bar-type, or just a foldable, or just another potentially new form factor dominating the market,” Roh also said during the previous interview. “But rather I see the different categories coexisting together.”

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Finding a proper budget laptop can be trickier than you might think. Pricier models will have casual users paying for a whole packet of features they won’t use or need, but the most affordable models like Chromebooks are severely limited. According to CNET’s Dan Ackerman, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go manages to strike an impressive balance between power and affordability for a truly great budget option. And right now, this budget-friendly model is even friendlier, because you can pick it up for 27% less than its retail price at Woot, bringing the cost of this base model down to just $255. This offer is only available for today, Jan. 4, while supplies last.

Like the “Go” name suggests, this laptop is designed to help you get work done when you’re on the move. It weighs just under 2.5 pounds and is only 0.6 inches thick, while still boasting up to 13 hours of battery life, making it perfect for long days on the road. It features a built-in 720p webcam and a 12.4-inch touchscreen display, so you can easily hop on any Zoom or other video calls throughout the day. It comes equipped with a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor and the Windows 10 Pro operating system (and supports Windows 11, if you want to upgrade). And while this laptop only has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, it’ll handle light work and online browsing without a hitch. Plus, you can always utilize cloud storage options if you need a bit more space.

Showtime running a great deal for new subscribers right now. Not only can you try the streaming service free for 30 days, but you can also sign up for a six-month subscription for just $4 a month. That’s a savings of 60% versus the plan’s usual cost — an inexpensive way to see if you really like the streaming service. There’s no coupon code required and you can cancel at any time, the only catch is that you can’t renew a current subscription at this price.

With a Showtime subscription you can stream live or on-demand. You can also download full episodes and movies for when you’re on the go by using the Showtime app on your phone, tablet and other devices. And there’s something to watch for everyone in your household — Showtime offers a wide variety of hit movies, thrilling tv shows and live sports. The subscription gives you access to Showtime’s award-winning, original series, including Dexter and Shameless. It also grants exclusive admission to live contact sports such as MMA and boxing. You can take advantage of this great deal from now until Jan. 23.

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A group of video game testers working for Microsoft’s ZeniMax has voted to form the tech giant’s first union, the Communication Workers of America union said Tuesday.

The CWA, which represents the union, said Microsoft will recognize the union in accordance with a promise Microsoft made to the CWA in June to recognize unions formed by employees. Microsoft acquired ZeniMax, the parent company of game developer Bethesda, which develops the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series, in 2021 for $7.5 billion.

Microsoft confirmed it’s recognizing the new union, saying in a statement “We look forward to engaging in good faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement.”

The video game workers’ unionizing efforts are happening at the same time as the Federal Trade Commission attempts to block Microsoft from purchasing Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, arguing that the merger will harm competition among video game console makers.

President Chris Shelton said that by agreeing to recognize the union, Microsoft is distancing itself from other tech companies that have actively fought against employees’ efforts to unionize.

“Microsoft is charting a different course which will strengthen its corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators,” Shelton said in a statement.

Microsoft’s recognition of the union comes a little more than a week after dozens of video game employees at Proletariat video game studio, which was acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2022, filed for union representation, the third unionizing push that Activision has seen in the past year. Raven Software employees organized in January, and employees at Blizzard Albany voted to unionize earlier in December.

Dell throws everything a worker bee can think of into its new UltraSharp 32 (U3224KB). It’s a new-for-CES 32-inch monitor with a 6K-resolution IPS Black panel (that’s 6,144×3,456 pixels), plus a plethora of graphics and productivity-focused bells and whistles. The IPS Black screen has a higher contrast than typical IPS panels — and it tested well in the 4K version of the monitor I reviewed last year.

What bells and whistles?

• 4K webcam
• Mic array and dual 14-watt speakers
• Clever pop-down front-facing USB ports
• DisplayHDR 600 certification plus 99% P3 color gamut coverage
• Thunderbolt 4 support with DisplayPort 2.1, 140-watt power delivery, automatic peripheral switching between two connected systems and an Ethernet connection
• Support for portrait-orientation rotation

Thunderbolt and the high resolution plus the 140-watt power delivery make it seem especially suitable for use with a Mac, though it may lose some capabilities that might be dependent on Windows-based software (as frequently happens).

Dell expects to ship it by the end of June. There’s no pricing yet, but it probably won’t be cheap.

Two more Dell UltraSharps are getting refreshes: the 43-inch U4323QE with 4K resolution and a USB-C hub (shipping this month for $1,330); and the 34-inch curved U3423WE 3,440×1,440-pixel display, also with a USB-C hub (shipping this month for $1,260).

That’s just the beginning of what promises to be a week full of CES announcements for PCs, monitors and components.

Apple Arcade — a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick — features hundreds of games to play for just $5 a month. The service offers familiar and classic games, as well as exclusive titles. You can find these games in the App Store, but they have paywalls and ads that might hinder your gaming experience. With an Apple Arcade subscription, you can play each title without paywalls or ads at no extra charge.

Here are the new games you can play in January.

Episode XOXO

Developer: Pocket Gems
Release date: Jan. 6

Episode XOXO is the sequel to Episode: Choose Your Story. It’s an interactive storytelling game where players can choose to enjoy a story full of drama, romance and adventure. The game is launching with five new stories, and there are plans to add more stories in future updates.

Illustrated

Developer: Border Leap
Release date: Jan. 13

Illustrated is a puzzle game whose gameplay blends jigsaws and word play. Each puzzle starts with an illustration that shows a concept sketch with the hidden words of the artist’s story behind the illustration. As you place puzzle pieces in their correct spot, the illustration begins to color itself in and the words of the story are revealed.

Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!

Developer: GAME FREAK
Release date: Jan. 20

Game Freak, the creator of the Pokemon game series, isn’t horsing around with its next Apple Arcade game. Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! was originally released as Pocket Card Jockey on the 3DS. The game is a combination of solitaire and horse racing where players clear cards with sequential numbers from the game as fast as they can. The more cards you clear, the better your horse’s mood is. Your horse’s mood helps your trusty steed charge energy during races. Once your horse’s energy is charged and you’re in the homestretch, your horse will have to use that energy to sprint to victory. Special cards also litter the raceway, and they provide your horse boosts and benefits, like leveling up and learning new skills. Off the track, you can breed your horses to produce foals with their parent’s abilities to be used in future races.

Squiggle Drop

Developer: Noodlecake
Release date: Jan. 27

If you like puzzle games with a little bit of physics, you should try Squiggle Drop. In this game, players have to solve puzzles by drawing a single shape. As players solve more puzzles, they can earn rewards and unlock buildings and upgrades to build their own Squiggletown.

Apple Arcade

See at Apple

Apple Arcade games getting January updates

• Angry Birds Reloaded
• Grindstone
• Jetpack Joyride 2
• Skate City
• Lego Star Wars: Castaways
• Zookeeper World
• WHAT THE GOLF?
• Subway Surfers Tag

• Warped Kart Racers

What did Apple Arcade release in December?

• Dead Cells

• JellyCar Worlds
• My Little Pony: Mane Merge

Amazon began using drones to deliver small packages to homes in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California, last month, according to a report from Ars Technica last week. The retail giant had pointed ahead to the launch of its new delivery method back in June. Amazon hopes to expand Prime Air to more locations in the future.

Amazon says the Prime Air drones can safely fly packages weighing up to 5 pounds. The flying bots arrive at a customer’s backyard, descend and hover at a safe height, then lower the package. Residents in the two towns can sign up with Amazon for the new delivery service.

Prime Air uses MK27-2 drones that have six propellers and can move through the air with minimum noise. Installed algorithms are supposed to keep the drones from hitting obstacles such as power lines and chimneys.

Customers in the two towns can expect more deliveries from Amazon, which is looking to have deliveries take less than 60 minutes in the future.

Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wireless Power Consortium said Tuesday at CES 2023 that Qi2, a new standard for wirelessly charging smartphones and mobile devices including wearables, will arrive later this year.

Qi2 will “ensure devices and chargers align perfectly,” thanks to Magnetic Power Profile technology led by Apple, a WPC member, according to the group’s website. If you’re familiar with MagSafe chargers, you’ve got an idea of what Qi2 charging may look like.

The new standard, pronounced “chee two,” aims to improve energy efficiency and reduce charge times without shortening battery life or damaging the device. Furthermore, Qi2 could extend wireless charging to devices such as VR headsets that aren’t designed to lay flat against another flat surface and “support new types of accessories that magnetically attach to the back of the phone, like an extra battery.”

Enhanced wireless charging also poses the potential to reduce the waste of discarded wired chargers that eventually wear out from daily use.

The WPC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on when Qi2 devices and chargers will be available, but a recent Business Wire post indicates they are expected to arrive ahead of the 2023 holiday season.