An anonymous reader quotes a report from PCMag: Four new features are coming to Google Maps, including a way to hide your identity in reviews. Maps will soon let you use a nickname and select an alternative profile picture for online reviews, so you can rate a business without linking it to full name and Google profile photo. Google says it will monitor for “suspicious and fake reviews,” and every review is still associated with an account on Google’s backend, which it believes will discourage bad actors.

Look for a new option under Your Profile that says Use a custom name & picture for posting. You’ll then be able to pick an illustration to represent you and add a nickname. Google didn’t explain why it is introducing anonymous reviews; it pitched the idea as a way to be a business’s “Secret Santa.” Some users are nervous to publicly post reviews for local businesses as it may be used to track their location or movements. It may encourage more people to contribute honest feedback to its platform, for better or worse. Further reading: Gemini AI To Transform Google Maps Into a More Conversational Experience

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Poland has launched a new antitrust investigation into Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules, questioning whether Apple misled users about privacy while giving its own apps a competitive advantage over third-party developers. AppleInsider reports: On November 25, Poland’s UOKiK has started another investigation into App Tracking Transparency, and whether Apple had restricted competition in mobile advertising. Reuters reports that, to the anti-monopoly regulator, ATT may have limited advertisers’ ability to collect user data for advertising purposes while simultaneously favoring Apple’s ad program. On November 25, Poland’s UOKiK has started another investigation into App Tracking Transparency, and whether Apple had restricted competition in mobile advertising. Reuters reports that, to the anti-monopoly regulator, ATT may have limited advertisers’ ability to collect user data for advertising purposes while simultaneously favoring Apple’s ad program.

This is not the first time that Poland has looked into ATT rules. In December 2021, the regulator held a similar probe following criticism from advertisers. It’s not clear what that complaint determined, or if it is still ongoing. Regardless, in the new complaint, the logic is that Apple had a competitive advantage since its own apps were not subject to ATT rules, but third-party apps did have to deal with ATT. Since Apple didn’t visibly ask for consent for its first-party apps in the same way, there is a presumption that Apple’s rules only applied to other companies.

This is despite Apple’s repeated insistence that it doesn’t use the same kinds of collected data in its own apps and services for marketing purposes, as well as its stance on privacy in general. In short, Apple apps don’t use the data, so it doesn’t pop up a dialog box asking the user if the app can use the data. There is also the argument that, in setting up an account with Apple, users are providing blanket consent to the company. Implementing ATT on its own apps would therefore be a waste of time, since that consent was already granted. Apple said that it will work with the regulator on the matter, but warned that it could force them to withdraw the feature “to the detriment of European consumers.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

Black Friday is generally a great time to buy tech, and laptops are frequent highlight items during doorbuster sales. But there are so many deals (and “deals”) right now that it can be hard to know which ones are worth buying and which might be a little misleading. Luckily, I review laptops for a living, and I’ve narrowed down my favorite Black Friday laptop deals for you, whether you’re looking for a productivity machine, a gaming buddy, or just a cheap little clamshell to go online with.

Best thin and light laptops

M4 Apple MacBook Air

$749.00
at Amazon

$999.00
Save $250.00

$749.00
at Amazon

$999.00
Save $250.00

M5 Apple MacBook Pro

$1,399.99
at Amazon

$1,599.00
Save $199.01

$1,399.99
at Amazon

$1,599.00
Save $199.01

Microsoft Surface Laptop with Snapdragon X Plus (10-core)

$749.99
at Amazon

$1,199.99
Save $450.00

$749.99
at Amazon

$1,199.99
Save $450.00

Dell 14 Plus Laptop

$799.99
at Dell

$1,249.00
Save $449.01

$799.99
at Dell

$1,249.00
Save $449.01

Productivity laptops are going to be some of the most common sales you’ll see this Black Friday, especially if you’re looking at premium, thin, and light devices.

Apple laptops

• Almost every MacBook Air is on sale, for instance, starting at $749 for the most recent model, with the M4 chip. This deal will net you 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which should be enough for light use. Or, you could bump up to the 24 GB RAM/512GB storage MacBook Air for $1,149.

• If you need more power and a built-in fan, the M5 MacBook Pro starts at $1,399 this Black Friday, which will net you 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. There are plenty of models of this laptop available, you could get the model with an M4 Max chip, 48GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage for $3,499. Don’t worry—it’s actually more powerful than the M5, even if it sounds weaker. It’s just that Apple has yet to release an M5 Max chip.

Windows laptops

• If Windows is more your thing, you could opt for Microsoft’s take on the MacBook, with the Microsoft Surface Laptop. This starts at $750, although there are currently two models selling for that price point, the 2024 one and the 2025 one. My pick is actually the 2024 one, as it’s mostly identical, but the CPU has slightly more cores. Speaking of, this laptop has a Snapdragon X Plus chip, a touchscreen, and comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. That chip is actually somewhat unique against most other Windows laptops, as it’s built on mobile architecture, which means it sacrifices a bit on program compatibility but makes up for it on battery life.

• Finally, if you need a more traditional Windows laptop, the Dell 14 Plus is a solid choice. By default, it’s $799 and comes with a solid workhorse of a chip in the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, and packs a generous 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. There are numerous configuration options as well, although discounts vary on each.

Best gaming laptops

Asus Tuf Gaming A16 with RTX 5070

$1,199.99
at Best Buy

$1,699.99
Save $500.00

$1,199.99
at Best Buy

$1,699.99
Save $500.00

Lenovo LOQ Gaming Laptop with RTX 5050

$649.99
at Best Buy

$1,099.99
Save $450.00

$649.99
at Best Buy

$1,099.99
Save $450.00

MSI Vector 16 HX AI 400 with RTX 5080

$1,899.99
at Best Buy

$2,499.99
Save $600.00

$1,899.99
at Best Buy

$2,499.99
Save $600.00

Gaming laptop deals are a bit more rare on Black Friday, mostly because there are so many options out there that you can’t necessarily expect the one you want to be on sale, or for those that are to come with the most attractive specs. However, I’ve found a few compelling options this Black Friday, across a number of price points.

• Starting on the low end of the spectrum, there’s the Lenovo LOQ, which is on sale at Best Buy for $650. This comes with an entry level RTX 5050 graphics card, a strong enough Intel Core i5-13450HX chip, and the standard budget gaming loadout of 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The screen is also a simply 1,920 x 1,080, but given that this is meant more for lightweight games, that shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a good choice if you mostly play smaller indie games, or competitive games like Fortnite, which tend to optimize for users with all types of machines.

• If you want a more middle-of-the-road option, try the Asus TUF Gaming A16, which is $1,200 at Best Buy. This will bump you up to an AMD Ryzen 9 chip, an RTX 5070 GPU, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 1,920 x 1,200 screen. It should be able to play most AAA titles, assuming you’re willing to play with settings on some of the more demanding titles.

• Finally, if you want to splurge a bit, there’s the MSI Vector 16 HX AI 400 for $1,900 at Best Buy. Mouthful of a name aside, this is actually one of the cheaper ways to get the high-end RTX 5080 laptop this Black Friday. It packs an Intel Core Ultra 9-275HX chip, an RTX 5080 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Yes, that amount of RAM is technically a little lower than on the TUF, but the screen is a higher resolution at 2,560 x 1,600, and 16GB should still be enough to run pretty much any game in combination with the rest of this machine’s specs.

Best budget laptops

Acer Chromebook Plus 515

$299.99
at Amazon

$429.99
Save $130.00

$299.99
at Amazon

$429.99
Save $130.00

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook

$282.16
at Amazon

$350.50
Save $68.34

$282.16
at Amazon

$350.50
Save $68.34

Dell Latitude 7410 (Refurbished) + Microsoft Office Pro 2021

$274.99
at StackSocial

$1,019.98
Save $744.99

$274.99
at StackSocial

$1,019.98
Save $744.99

Finally, you can also find a good deal on a budget laptop if all you want is a reliable machine to use for light work and going online. While I’ve previously written about why you should be skeptical of cheap laptops during Black Friday, there are still budget machines out there worth buying. (Most of them are Chromebooks, but I do have at least one Windows option for you as well.)

• Starting off with a general option that should work well for just about everyone, there’s the $300 Acer Chromebook Plus 515. This comes with an Intel Core i3-1305U chip, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. Those humble specs are enough to qualify it for Chromebook Plus verification, unlocking a few extra AI features, and should be enough for the web-based applications Chromebooks specialize in.

• If you want your Chromebook to be able to moonlight as a tablet, you could instead opt for the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i, which is $282. You’ll lose out on those minor Chromebook Plus AI bonuses, but you’ll gain the ability to convert the screen between laptop mode and tablet mode. It’s also a little weaker than the Chromebook Plus 515, with an Intel Pentium N6000 chip, but its 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage mean it should still be up to web-based tasks.

• Finally, if you must get a budget Windows laptop, StackSocial’s $275 Dell Latitude 7410 deal is surprisingly good. With an Intel Core i5-10310U chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, you’ll get a decent amount of processing power for the price, even if that chip is a little old. Plus, you’ll get a digital code for Microsoft Office Pro 2021 thrown in. The catch is that it’s refurbished, but you can’t do much better for a Windows machine below $300.

Does Apple do Black Friday?

Yes, Apple participates in Black Friday, though you may want to compare their sales with other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart. Apple is offering an exclusive $250 gift card for eligible purchases, but so far, the best Black Friday sale on an Apple product is the M4 MacBook on sale for cheaper than ever.

Does Amazon have Black Friday deals?

Yes, Amazon has Black Friday sales, but prices aren’t always what they seem. Use a price tracker to make sure you’re getting the best deal, or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you. And if you have an Amazon Prime membership, make the most of it.

What stores have the best sales on Black Friday?

Nowadays, both large retailers and small businesses compete for Black Friday shoppers, so you can expect practically every store to run sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from larger retailers who can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog. 

Following its licensing deal with Udio, Warner Music Group (WMG) has also reached an agreement with Suno that will let the platform license its artists’ music and likenesses, and end the music company’s ongoing litigation. WMG was previously one of several record labels suing Udio and Suno for allegedly infringing on copyrighted works at a “massive scale.”

As part of the agreement, “artists and songwriters will have full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are used in new AI-generated music,” WMG explains in its press release for the announcement. WMG doesn’t spell out how that will work for musicians impacted by the deal, but it does appear that participation will be opt-in, rather than anything being shared by default. This mirrors the opt-in structure of the company’s Udio deal.

“AI becomes pro-artist when it adheres to our principles: committing to licensed models, reflecting the value of music on and off platform, and providing artists and songwriters with an opt-in for the use of their name, image, likeness, voice and compositions in new AI songs,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl says.

Suno will also make adjustments to its AI music platform, possibly as a condition of the new partnership. WMG says Suno is launching “new, more advanced and licensed models” in 2026, after which its current models will be deprecated. The company will also limit music downloads to paid accounts. “In the future, songs made on the free tier will not be downloadable and will instead be playable and shareable. Paid tier users will have limited monthly download caps with the ability to pay for more downloads,” WMG says. 

In an odd wrinkle to the partnership, Suno is also acquiring WMG’s Songkick concert discovery platform. The company plans to continue running it, and WMG claims that “the combination of Suno and Songkick will create new potential to deepen the artist-fan connection.” An app for finding nearby concerts doesn’t totally square with Suno’s existing music creation tools, but maybe it suggests the company is interested in offering more social features down the road.

Prior to this agreement, Suno openly admitted to using “essentially all music files of reasonable quality that are accessible on the open internet” to train its AI model, under the auspices of fair use. That seems like a pretty blatant admission of copyright infringement, but apparently Warner Music Group is happier with the deals it struck than what it could have won through its lawsuit. The company is reportedly one of several music groups looking to strike a similar deal with YouTube.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/warner-music-drops-lawsuit-against-ai-music-platform-suno-in-exchange-for-licensing-agreement-224619025.html?src=rss

The popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss medications continues to soar—and their uptake is helping to push down obesity rates on a national scale—but a safe, evidence-based way off the drugs isn’t yet in clear view.

An analysis published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine found that most participants in a clinical trial who were assigned to stop taking tirzepatide (Zepbound from Eli Lilly) not only regained significant amounts of the weight they had lost on the drug, but they also saw their cardiovascular and metabolic improvements slip away. Their blood pressure went back up, as did their cholesterol, hemoglobin A_1c (used to assess glucose control levels), and fasting insulin.

In an accompanying editorial, two medical experts at the University of Pittsburgh, Elizabeth Oczypok and Timothy Anderson, suggest that this new class of drugs should be rebranded from “weight loss” drugs to “weight management” drugs, which people may need to take indefinitely.

Read full article

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In an essay published in The Verge, Benjamin Riley argues that today’s AI boom is built on a fundamental misunderstanding: language modeling is not the same as intelligence. “The problem is that according to current neuroscience, human thinking is largely independent of human language — and we have little reason to believe ever more sophisticated modeling of language will create a form of intelligence that meets or surpasses our own,” writes Riley. Slashdot reader RossCWilliams shares the report, writing: The article goes on to point out that we use language to communicate. We use it to create metaphors to describe our reasoning. That people who have lost their language ability can still show reasoning. That human beings create knowledge when they become dissatisfied with the current metaphor. Einstein’s theory of relativity was not based on scientific research. He developed it as thought experiment because he was dissatisfied with the existing metaphor. It quotes someone who said, “common sense is a collection of dead metaphors.” And that AI, at best, can rearrange those dead metaphors in interesting ways. But it will never be dissatisfied with the data it has or an existing metaphor.

A different critique (PDF) has pointed out that even as a language model AI is flawed by its reliance on the internet. The languages used on the internet are unrepresentative of the languages in the world. And other languages contain unique descriptions/metaphors that are not found on the internet. My metaphor for what was discussed was the descriptions of the kinds of snow that exist in Inuit languages that describe qualities nowhere found in European languages. If those metaphors aren’t found on the internet, AI will never be able create them.

This does not mean that AI isn’t useful. But it is not remotely human intelligence. That is just a poor metaphor. We need a better one. Benjamin Riley is the founder of Cognitive Resonance, a new venture to improve understanding of human cognition and generative AI.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

I test a lot of wearables for Lifehacker, and for all the fancy fitness watches and smartwatches out there, I usually think entry-level models are the most useful option for the average runner or everyday person who only wants to track some exercise.

There are plenty of great watches under $250, and with this week’s Black Friday deals, some have dropped even lower. Here are the best deals on good fitness and running watches you can find right now in that price range.

The best Black Friday deals on Garmin Forerunners

I think the Forerunner 255 is probably the best budget Garmin out there, but at this point it’s an older model. It still does its job just fine, but prices can be unpredictable and many of the listings you’ll find are for refurbished units. Nothing wrong with that—just make sure you understand what you’re getting. There are two sizes, 41 and 46 millimeters, and each one can come with or without music storage. Note that the 255 has a MIP screen, an older technology that has its pros and cons.

• Garmin Forerunner 255 Music (46 mm), $229.99 refurbished

• Garmin Forerunner 255S (41 mm, no music storage) $249.99 refurbished

The Forerunner 165 is another good entry level pick, and our resident marathoner loved the 165 Music. Like the 255, it comes in both a music and non-music version, but there is only one size. Both are on sale for Black Friday:

• Garmin Forerunner 165, $199.99 (normally $249.99)

• Garmin Forerunner 165 Music, $249.99 (normally $299.99)

The next step up from there would be the Forerunner 265, which is on a great sale, but unfortunately it doesn’t quite dip into our target price range—it’s $299.99. The Forerunner 55, though, is down to $149.99. This is an older, barebones watch, but not a bad pick if you’re looking for something basic.

The best Black Friday deals on the Coros Pace 3 and 4

Coros just launched the AMOLED Pace 4, and dropped the price on the MIP Pace 3. Aside from that difference in display type, they have similar functions and are both great entry-level watches. I reviewed the Pace 4, which has a great battery life and new voice features. The Pace 3 is a solid pick, too. You can read my comparison of the two here. These prices aren’t necessarily Black Friday deals, but if you’re looking for a bargain, they should definitely be on your list.

• Coros Pace 3: $199.99 (previously $229.99)

• Coros Pace 4: $249.99 (regular price)

The best Black Friday deals on the Suunto Run

Suunto makes some great, underrated fitness watches. I loved the Suunto Run when I tested it. It’s on sale for $199.99, normally $249.99.

The best Black Friday deals on the Garmin Vivoactive 5 and 6

I mentioned Garmin’s Forerunners above, but Garmin also makes some lifestyle watches. These don’t have the running-specific focus, but they have great fitness features and would be great for any casual runner. The Vivoactive 6 is the newest in this line, making the Vivoactive 5 even more affordable. I’ve tested both and liked them; check out my review of the Vivoactive 6 for more on the differences between the two.

• Garmin Vivoactive 5: $184.99 (originally $299.99, but it’s been $229.99 ever since the Vivoactive 6 launched)

• Garmin Vivoactive 6: $249.99 (normally $299.99)

What stores have the best sales on Black Friday?

Nowadays, both large retailers and small businesses compete for Black Friday shoppers, so you can expect practically every store to run sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from larger retailers who can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog.

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Several U.S. banking giants and mortgage lenders are reportedly scrambling to assess how much of their customers’ data was stolen during a cyberattack on a New York financial technology company earlier this month. SitusAMC, which provides technology for over a thousand commercial and real estate financiers, confirmed in a statement over the weekend that it had identified a data breach on November 12. The company said that unspecified hackers had stolen corporate data associated with its banking customers’ relationship with SitusAMC, as well as “accounting records and legal agreements” during the cyberattack.

The statement added that the scope and nature of the cyberattack “remains under investigation.” SitusAMC said that the incident is “now contained,” and that its systems are operational. The company said that no encrypting malware was used, suggesting that the hackers were focused on exfiltrating data from the company’s systems rather than causing destruction. According to Bloomberg and CNN, citing sources, SitusAMC sent data breach notifications to several financial giants, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley. SitusAMC also counts pension funds and state governments as customers, according to its website.

It’s unclear how much data was taken, or how many U.S. banking consumers may be affected by the breach. Companies like SitusAMC may not be widely known outside of the financial world, but provide the mechanisms and technologies for its banking and real estate customers to comply with state and federal rules and regulations. In its role as a middleman for financial clients, the company handles vast amounts of non-public banking information on behalf of its customers. According to SitusAMC’s website, the company processes billions of documents related to loans annually.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A brand spanking-new FoloToy teddy bear can be yours once again. However, he may now be less knowledgeable about spanking. The infamous “Kumma” children’s AI teddy bear, once an expert in BDSM and knife-fetching, is back on sale. The company claims the toy now has stronger child safety protections in place.

The Singapore-based FoloToy suspended sales of Kumma last week after a research group published an eyebrow-raising report. The PIRG Education Fund found that the fuzzy little teddy had a few spicy secrets.

The review discovered that the AI toy had a thing for blades and kinky bedroom play. The bear had no problem suggesting where to find knives in the home. And it not only replied to sexual prompts but also expanded on them. Researchers say it ran with their explicit cues, escalating them in graphic detail and “introducing new sexual concepts of its own.” It explained sex positions, gave step-by-step instructions for sexual bondage and detailed various role-playing scenarios. Who knew Kumma had it in him?

FoloToy

Although it’s hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, this stuff is no joke for parents. With the tech industry pushing AI everything on us for the last three years, it’s easy for a casual observer to conclude that it’s all very safe, regulated and ready for vulnerable eyes and ears. PIRG did acknowledge that young children were unlikely to have prompted the bear with a term like “kink.” (Older siblings may have been another story.) Still, the group’s tests highlighted a shockingly lax approach to content moderation on a child’s toy.

In its statement announcing Kumma’s return, FoloToy boasted that it was the only company of the three targeted in the review to suspend sales. (Could it be that it’s less about principles and more about it being the only one that got media coverage?) The company described the bear’s short hiatus as “a full week of rigorous review, testing and reinforcement of our safety modules.” Wait, a whole week? Whoa there, partner!!

Before his trip to AI rehab, Kumma was advertised as being powered by GPT-4o. Following PIRG’s review, OpenAI told the organization that it had suspended FoloToy for violating its policies. The bear’s new listing makes no mention of GPT-4o or any specific AI models.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/folotoys-ai-teddy-bear-is-back-on-sale-following-its-brief-dalliance-into-bdsm-213138750.html?src=rss

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

Apple products are notoriously expensive. As such, you might have been waiting to buy a new MacBook or iPad until right about now, when there’s a chance Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will bring down those costs. And indeed, Apple is running a Black Friday promotion this year, valid with the purchase of a qualifying Apple device. But here’s the thing: If you want the best price, you probably shouldn’t buy any Apple products directly from Apple during either Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

What is Apple’s Black Friday deal?

According to the official Apple Store Shopping Event site, the company’s promotion starts on Black Friday (Nov. 28) and runs through Dec. 1 (Cyber Monday). During this time, no Apple products will actually be on sale: MacBook Airs will still start at $999, while AirPods Max will still run you a whopping $549. See, rather than cut prices, Apple is instead offering customers an Apple gift card with the purchase of an Apple device.

How much that gift card is worth depends on the product you purchase:

• Apple advertises that you can receive a gift card up to $250, but that’s only available to customers buying a new MacBook.

• If you buy an iPad Air, iPad A16, or iPad mini, you get $100. (iPad Pros are left out of the deal.)

• If you buy an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16e, you get $75. (There are no gift cards when purchasing an iPhone 17 device, either.)

• You can also get a $75 gift card when you buy AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods 4.

• Apple Watch Series 11 or SE 3 customers get $50, as do those buying HomePod, Apple TV 4K, or any of the following Beats products: Beats Studio Pro, Powerbeats Pro 2, Beats Solo 4, Beats Studio Buds +, or Beats Pill.

• You can also get a $25 gift card with the purchase of a Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, Magic Keyboard Folio for iPad A16, or Apple Pencil Pro.

An Apple gift card isn’t necessarily a bad accompaniment to one of these purchases. If you had the choice between buying a $1,000 MacBook with a $250 gift card, or buying a $1,000 without a $250 gift card, I know what choice you’d make. But the issue isn’t the gift card itself, it’s the fact other stores are offering deals of a similar value in discounts.

There are better ways to save money on Apple products

Let’s consider that MacBook Air. For $999, you can pick up the base-model M4 MacBook Air from Apple, and snag a $250 gift card while you’re at it. But take a look at that same MacBook Air on Amazon, and you’ll find that the machine is currently $250 cheaper than it is at Apple. For $749, you can have a laptop Apple charges you $999 for. And while buying it from Apple from Nov. 28 through Dec. 1 nets you a $250 gift card, you can’t retroactively use it on your MacBook Air. Instead, you’ll need to use it on another purchase through Apple. Amazon gives you that amount off up front—and you’ll pay less in sales tax.

M4 MacBook Air

$749.00
at Best Buy

$999.00
Save $250.00

$749.00
at Best Buy

$999.00
Save $250.00

Similarly, you can buy Apple’s AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation from Amazon for $99.99. That same pair will cost you $179 at Apple, which means you’re saving more than the $75 Apple gift card you’d receive for your direct-from-Cupertino purchase. The same applies to the AirPods Max, which are $120 off at Amazon right now, also beating the $75 gift card.

To be fair, not all Apple devices are experiencing the same level of discounts at other retailers. The AirPods Pro 3, for example, are $219.99 at most stores right now. That’s a $30 discount, which isn’t nothing, but you’d get a $75 gift card at Apple for the same product. You might prefer the latter in this scenario, provided you plan to spend more money at Apple.

Here’s another example of this split: The iPad Air is currently $150 off at Amazon, $50 more than the $100 gift card Apple would give you. But the iPad A16 is only $75 off, $25 less than that same $100 gift card. The Apple Watch SE 3 is exactly as discounted as its gift card price—$50—while the 46mm Series 11 is $60 off, a $10 advantage to Amazon.

Now, maybe the gift card deal works well for you: Perhaps you have multiple Apple products on your wishlist, or you’re buying a number of devices for people as gifts, or you want to give the gift card itself as a gift. If so, sure, these gift cards will certainly come in handy. But my advice is this: Take a careful look at what the product you want to buy is going for at various stores, and see which one is selling it the cheapest. My guess is, for the vast majority of Apple devices in this promotion, you’d be better off taking the discount over the gift card—especially if this is the only Apple purchase you’re making any time soon.

Does Amazon have Black Friday deals?

Yes, Amazon has Black Friday sales, but prices aren’t always what they seem. Use a price tracker to make sure you’re getting the best deal, or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you. And if you have an Amazon Prime membership, make the most of it.

What stores have the best sales on Black Friday?

Nowadays, both large retailers and small businesses compete for Black Friday shoppers, so you can expect practically every store to run sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from larger retailers who can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog. 

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything.

Plex is starting to enforce its new rules, which prevent users from remotely accessing a personal media server without a subscription fee.

Previously, people outside of a server owner’s network could access the owner’s media library through Plex for free. Under the new rules announced in March, a server owner needs to have a Plex Pass subscription, which starts at $7 per month, to grant users remote access to their server. Alternatively, someone can remotely access another person’s Plex server by buying their own Plex Pass or a Remote Watch Pass, which is a subscription with fewer features than a Plex Pass and that Plex started selling in April for a $2/month starting price.

Plex’s new rules took effect on April 29. According to a recent Plex forums post by a Plex employee that How-To Geek spotted today, the changes are rolling out this week, with a subscription being required for people using Plex’s Roku OS app for remote access. The Plex employee added:

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Up to 3 million low-skilled jobs could disappear in the UK by 2035 because of automation and AI, according to a report by a leading educational research charity. The Guardian: The jobs most at risk are those in occupations such as trades, machine operations and administrative roles, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) said. Highly skilled professionals, on the other hand, were forecast to be more in demand as AI and technological advances increase workloads “at least in the short to medium term.”

Overall, the report expects the UK economy to add 2.3 million jobs by 2035, but unevenly distributed. The findings stand in contrast to other recent research suggesting AI will affect highly skilled, technical occupations such as software engineering and management consultancy more than trades and manual work.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Perplexity is rolling out a new shopping feature to make buying things through its AI assistant easier and more personalized. The company’s new feature is free for all Perplexity users in the US and builds on Perplexity’s existing relationship with payment provider Paypal.

The new shopping experience lets Perplexity users conduct more personalized product searches, like asking “What’s the best winter jacket if I live in San Francisco and take a ferry to work?” Perplexity says its assistant can keep the context of your chat in mind as it searches for products, and incorporate details it’s learned about your life and preferences to tailor results. Once the assistant has found products it wants to show you, it can then present them in nicely formatted product cards, with pros and cons about each jacket, for example, and other relevant details pulled from reviews and guides.

If one of the products Perplexity finds seems like the right fit, you can also purchase the product directly through the company’s assistant, and pay with payment details stored in a PayPal account. This “Instant Buy” experience provided by Perplexity and PayPal extends to all merchants who offer PayPal as a payment method. While that sounds like it could make a key element of the shopping experience obsolete for these online stores (you never actually visit their website), Perplexity claims merchants still own the most important parts. “They have full visibility into who their customer is, can process returns, build loyalty, and own the post-purchase relationship, just as they would on their own sites,” the AI company says.

Perplexity’s push into online shopping is similar to the “shopping research” feature OpenAI recently added to ChatGPT, and new product recommendation features Google’s added to AI Mode in Google Search. While all these tools are pitched as a more personalized alternative to the shopping guides you’ll find on Engadget and other editorial sites, they often work under the same logic. By referring someone to a product, AI companies hope to receive a payment or a fee from the transaction if the person makes a purchase.

Ultimately, Perplexity is equally interested in offering an end-to-end solution, where it finds and purchases products without a human needing to step in. The company received a cease-and-desist from Amazon at the beginning of November for letting the agent in its Comet browser complete Amazon purchases on users’ behalf.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/perplexity-announces-its-own-take-on-an-ai-shopping-assistant-210500961.html?src=rss

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

I’ve tested plenty of pairs of adjustable dumbbells, and no matter which brand you ultimately choose, I highly recommend investing in a set. The math alone makes it a no-brainer: Buying individual pairs of dumbbells from five to 80 pounds in five-pound increments would cost well over $1,500 and eat up valuable floor space. Adjustable dumbbells deliver the same versatility for a fraction of that price—and with Black Friday deals happening now, there’s never been a better time to buy.

Right now, the PowerBlock Elite EXP Adjustable Dumbbells are on sale for $339.51 on Amazon, down from their usual $449 price tag. That’s a solid $110 savings.

POWERBLOCK Elite EXP Adjustable Dumbbell (2020 Model)

$339.14
at Amazon

$449.00
Save $109.86

$339.14
at Amazon

$449.00
Save $109.86

Why PowerBlocks top the list

You’d be hard-pressed to find a “best home dumbbells” list without PowerBlocks near the top. Lifehacker senior health editor Beth Skwarecki ranks these her favorite adjustable dumbbell set, and for good reason. The futuristic cubic design isn’t just for show. These dumbbells are incredibly compact, which is the whole point of going adjustable over a traditional rack of individual weights. They take up minimal space while offering maximum range for your home gym.

What I personally love most is the pin system for weight adjustment. It’s quick and intuitive, so you can change resistance mid-workout without breaking your flow. Just pull the pin, select your desired weight, and you’re ready to go—no fiddling with collars or plates.

One thing to consider

The only real drawback is the frame design: You have to place your hand inside the dumbbell’s structure to grip it. This can feel slightly awkward at first, especially if you’re wearing a nice big watch. It’s not a dealbreaker, but worth noting if you’re particular about grip comfort. If you prefer focusing on single-arm exercises or want to test the waters before committing to a full set, Walmart has a single adjustable dumbbell (up to 50 lbs) for just $199.99 right now.

How long do Black Friday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. You can get the same Black Friday sales early, and we expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025. 

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

When Amazon launched its first Kindle all the way back in 2007, it set off a brand new e-reader business. But as the technology has progressed, now you can use E-Ink displays for way more than reading. There are now digital notebooks, too, but as you might expect, they tend to be a little larger and a lot more expensive than an e-reader. The Kindle digital notebook is 10.2 inches and usually goes for well over $400, for instance (although it’s currently discounted for Black Friday).

That’s where the iFlyTek AiNote Air 2 comes in. This digital notebook is smaller, at 8.2 inches, and thanks to a Black Friday deal, is now $399 ($100 off its usual price). But, unlike the Scribe, it also comes with built-in ChatGPT access—no subscription required—for AI features like translation and speech-to-text notes.

iFlyTek AiNote Air 2

$399.00
at Amazon

$499.00
Save $100.00

$399.00
at Amazon

$499.00
Save $100.00

That makes it a bit more like the Viwoods’ AiPaper E Ink Notebook than the Scribe or other competitors like the Remarkable Paper Pro. And that’s great news. Lifehacker editor Joel Cunningham gave the AiPaper 4/5 stars in his review, but it’s still not for everyone, coming in at a large 10.65 inches and having an MSRP of $549 dollars (it’s also slightly discounted for Black Friday, but stock is going fast).

Lifehacker hasn’t gone hands-on with the AiNote Air 2, but aside from being smaller and more affordable, it also introduces a 5MP camera, which could be useful when interacting with ChatGPT. It adds a speaker, too, so you won’t need headphones to listen to audiobooks. It also comes with a stylus.

Alongside the additions, though, there are a few compromises. Storage is capped at 32GB, and the battery is smaller than the AiPaper’s, at 2,600mAh rather than 4,100mAh. The resolution is also a little less sharp, at 293PPI vs 300PPI, but this might be less noticeable on the smaller screen.

It’s definitely a more generic take on the product, but the core functionality is here, and it could be a suitable, more compact, and more affordable alternative to people who want to take AI-assisted digital notes on the go. It’s also received praise over on Reddit, where one user called it “the closest experience to writing on a nice pad of paper with a smooth rolling pen I’ve ever experienced.”

How long do Black Friday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. You can get the same Black Friday sales early, and we expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025. 

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

Chinese automakers may not be able to sell their electric vehicles in the United States due to steep tariffs and software restrictions, but they have found an alternative path to American eyeballs through a coordinated campaign targeting car influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. The effort, the Verge reports, is largely organized by DCar Studio, a platform that invites US-based creators to Los Angeles to test-drive vehicles from brands like BYD, Geely and Xiaomi. DCar is actually Dongchedi, a car trading platform owned by TikTok parent ByteDance that raised $600 million on a $3 billion valuation in 2024. The strategy appears aimed at building global brand awareness rather than direct US sales.

Mark Greeven, professor at IMD Business School, told The Verge that American influencers still shape opinions across the Western world. “The charm offensive is to work with American influencers about Chinese EV cars because we still have a dominant opinion in the Western world, which is formed by English-speaking influential figures on social media,” he said. Several creators told The Verge they have heard rumors of undisclosed payments for positive coverage.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It’s not a bad time to upgrade your gaming PC. Graphics card prices in the 2020s have undulated continuously as the industry has dealt with pandemic and AI-related shortages, but it’s actually possible to get respectable mainstream- to high-end GPUs like AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT and 9070 series or Nvidia’s RTX 5060, 5070, and 5080 series for at or slightly under their suggested retail prices right now. This was close to impossible through the spring and summer.

But it’s not a good time to build a new PC or swap your older motherboard out for a new one that needs DDR5 RAM. And the culprit is a shortage of RAM and flash memory chips that has suddenly sent SSD and (especially) memory prices into the stratosphere, caused primarily by the ongoing AI boom and exacerbated by panic-fueled buying by end users and device manufacturers.

To illustrate just how high things have jumped in a short amount of time, let’s compare some of the RAM and storage prices listed in our system guide from three months ago to the pricing for the exact same components today. Note that several of these are based on the last available price and are currently sold out; we also haven’t looked into things like microSD or microSD Express cards, which could also be affected.

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Games Done Quick has wrapped up its 2025 events, but a new year of speedrunning for charity is on the horizon. The organization released the schedule for Back to Black 2026 on Tuesday. You can watch the action from February 5 to 8.

As its name suggests, the event celebrates the Black community through the joy of gaming. Organized by Black in a Flash, the event will showcase all-Black speed runs of titles ranging from popular to obscure.

There are plenty of fun runs on the schedule. Someone will take on Hades II, one of the best games of 2025. Then there’s Cuphead, an excruciatingly difficult title even when you have all the time in the world. The schedule has some retro games, like Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter 2 and Sonic Heroes. You’ll also find some little-known ones, like the 1996 Sega Saturn weirdfest, Mr. Bones.

This year’s shindig will support Race Forward, a nonprofit working toward racial equity. Last year’s Back to Black event raised $44,000 for the same charity.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/games-done-quicks-back-to-black-event-returns-in-february-201500830.html?src=rss

Fubo has issued a statement on its latest row with NBCUniversal over a carriage dispute involving NBC’s most popular channels. This past Friday, NBCU networks went dark on Fubo across both live and on-demand services. Fubo subscribers trying to watch NBC content were met with a message that read, “We are working hard to bring this channel back. We are currently negotiating with NBCUniversal and are hopeful that we’ll bring this channel back to you soon.”

Today, Fubo said it has been engaged in good-faith negotiations with NBCUniversal to renew a content agreement for its networks. Fubo said that NBCU’s demands, however, would harm its customers, and that the streaming company has not agreed to the proposed terms.

“NBCU is spinning off some of their cable networks into a new company called Versant on Jan 1, 2026. Despite them not being worth the cost to Fubo subscribers, Fubo offered to distribute Versant channels for one year. NBCU wants Fubo to sign a multi-year deal — well past the time the Versant channels will be owned by a separate company. NBCU wants Fubo subscribers to subsidize these channels,” the statement reads.

The statement goes on to accuse NBCU of discriminating against Fubo and its subscribers by allowing YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video to integrate Peacock into the popular streaming services, while not extending the same rights to Fubo. In a blog post yesterday, Fubo said the terms on pricing and packaging being offered by NBCUniversal were “egregiously above those offered to other distributors.”

“Fubo has chosen to drop NBCUniversal programming despite being offered the same terms agreed to by hundreds of other distributors. Unfortunately, this is par for the course for Fubo — they’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content,” an NBCUniversal spokesperson told Engadget when asked to comment on Fubo’s accusations.

The company also pointed to ten major drops that Fubo has incurred over the past five years including Discovery networks and AMC. A full list of channels that are still dark on Fubo can be found here. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/fubo-accuses-nbcuniversal-of-egregious-demands-amid-carriage-dispute-193515241.html?src=rss