During an earnings call on Monday, Rocket Lab chief executive Pete Beck announced that the company’s medium-lift launch vehicle, Neutron, would not launch this year.
For anyone with the slightest understanding of the challenges involved in bringing a new rocket to the launch pad, as well as a calendar, the delay does not come as a surprise. Although Rocket Lab had been holding on to the possibility of launching Neutron this year publicly, it has been clear for months that a slip into 2026 was inevitable.
According to Beck, speaking during a third-quarter 2025 earnings call, the new timeline has the company bringing Neutron to Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia during the first quarter of next year. The first launch is scheduled to occur “thereafter,” according to the company’s plans.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Privacy activists say proposed changes to Europe’s landmark privacy law, including making it easier for Big Tech to harvest Europeans’ personal data for AI training, would flout EU case law and gut the legislation. The changes proposed by the European Commission are part of a drive to simplify a slew of laws adopted in recent years on technology, environmental and financial issues which have in turn faced pushback from companies and the U.S. government.
EU antitrust chief Henna Virkkunen will present the Digital Omnibus, in effect proposals to cut red tape and overlapping legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation, the Artificial Intelligence Act, the e-Privacy Directive and the Data Act, on November 19. According to the plans, Google, Meta Platforms, OpenAI and other tech companies may be allowed to use Europeans’ personal data to train their AI models based on legitimate interest.
In addition, companies may be exempted from the ban on processing special categories of personal data “in order not to disproportionately hinder the development and operation of AI and taking into account the capabilities of the controller to identify and remove special categories of personal data.” […] The proposals would need to be thrashed out with EU countries and European Parliament in the coming months before they can be implemented. “The draft Digital Omnibus proposes countless changes to many different articles of the GDPR. In combination this amounts to a death by a thousand cuts,” Austrian privacy group noyb said in a statement. “This would be a massive downgrading of Europeans’ privacy 10 years after the GDPR was adopted,” noyb’s Max Schrems said.
“These proposals would change how the EU protects what happens inside your phone, computer and connected devices,” European Digital Rights policy advisor Itxaso Dominguez de Olazabal wrote in a LinkedIn post. “That means access to your device could rely on legitimate interest or broad exemptions like security, fraud detection or audience measurement,” she said.
The PDF Association is adding JPEG XL (JXL) support to the PDF specification, giving the advanced image format a new path to relevance despite Google’s decision to declare it obsolete and remove it from Chromium. The Register reports: Peter Wyatt, CTO of the PDF Association, said: “We need to adopt a new image [format] that can support HDR [High Dynamic Range] content … we have picked JPEG XL as our preferred solution.” Wyatt also praised other benefits of JXL including wide gamut images, ultra-high resolution support for images with more than 1 billion pixels, and up to 4099 channels with up to 32 bits per channel.
The association is responsible for developing PDF specifications and standards and manages the ISO committee for PDF. JPEG XL is an advanced image format that was designed to be both more efficient and richer in features than JPEG. It was based on a combination of the Free Lossless Image Format (FLIF) from Cloudinary and a Google project called PIK, first released in late 2020, and fully standardized in October 2021 as ISO/IEC 18181. There is a reference implementation called libjxl. A second edition of the ISO standard was published in 2024.
JXL appeared to have wide industry support, including experimental implementation in Chrome and Chromium, until it was killed by Google in October 2022 and removed from its web browser engine. The company stated that “there is not enough interest from the entire ecosystem to continue experimenting with JPEG XL.” Many in the community disagreed with the decision, including FLIF inventor Jon Sneyers, who perceived it as the outcome of an internal battle between proponents of JXL and a rival format, AVIF. “AVIF proponents within Chrome are essentially being prosecutor, judge and executioner at the same time,” he said.
Intuitive Machines announced last week an $800 million acquisition that will catapult the one-time startup into the space industry establishment.
The company’s planned purchase of Lanteris Space Systems, a satellite manufacturer you may have never heard of, is rather significant. Lanteris is the latest addition to a line of corporate brands that dates back to 1957. Until last month, the company was known as Maxar Space Systems. Its acquisition by Intuitive Machines would be perhaps the industry’s most evident example of a “New Space” firm buying up an “Old Space” company.
The deal would help Intuitive Machines expand beyond its core competency of Moon missions to the broader sector of satellite manufacturing and space services. Lanteris has been owned since 2023 by Advent International, a private equity firm. The transaction is expected to close early next year, subject to “customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions,” according to Intuitive Machines.
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It’s been nearly six years since Microsoft released the Surface Laptop 3, but it still holds up as a solid choice for anyone who values portability, clean design, and day-to-day reliability over bleeding-edge specs. The 2019 model is available again through StackSocial in refurbished, Grade A condition (meaning it looks close to new and works like it should) with prices starting at $379.99 for the 13.5-inch i7 model with 512GB of storage and going up to $614.99 for the 15-inch version with 1TB. All variants come with 16GB of RAM and a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, which makes them well-equipped for everyday use, whether that’s writing, web browsing, or streaming.
For most users, the Surface Laptop 3’s biggest draw is its form factor. The 13.5-inch model weighs just under three pounds, and the larger 15-inch version remains thin enough to slip into a bag without fuss. The aluminum build still feels premium, and the PixelSense touchscreen remains bright and responsive, with a 3:2 aspect ratio that is ideal for scrolling through documents or editing photos. Microsoft’s keyboard and trackpad combo has aged particularly well—PCMag called it “snappy and satisfying”—and the typing experience still beats most modern ultrabooks. You also get USB-C and USB-A ports for flexibility, Wi-Fi 6 for strong wireless performance, and a 720p webcam with dual Studio Mics that’s serviceable for remote work or casual calls.
That said, a 2019 laptop in 2025 naturally has limits. You won’t get the faster chips, thinner bezels, or upgraded displays that newer Surface laptops have, and the battery life is closer to eight or nine hours in real use, not the 11.5 hours Microsoft claimed. But it still runs Windows 10 smoothly and can be upgraded to Windows 11, keeping it relevant for a few more years. All in all, for someone seeking a well-built, comfortable-to-use laptop for writing, productivity, or travel (without spending over a thousand dollars), the Surface Laptop 3 remains a great option.
Paramount+ is making some changes that will make its streaming service get more to watch. During Paramount’s earnings report today, the company announced that it will increase the subscription prices for Paramount+ in the US during the first quarter of 2026. Price hikes were also announced today for viewers in Canada and Australia. The new pricing was not shared, but a dollar or two more per month has become the standard change. Considering most streaming services jack their prices every year or two, the news was probably inevitable; the last increase for Paramount+ was back in June 2024. But today’s announcement also revealed that Paramount+ will no longer offer free trials, which is a common practice for most digital entertainment subscriptions.
The changes appear to be part of a reassessment of the Paramount+ finances. The company’s approach to increase long-term profitability “includes shifting away from certain hard bundles and low-margin subscriptions, reducing investment in select international markets without a clear path to sufficient scale, retiring free trials, and reviewing discount practices.”
These new moves follow Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount over the summer, an $8 billion purchase which received regulatory approval after some pretty scuzzy interactions with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/paramount-is-getting-a-price-hike-and-ending-free-trials-231146302.html?src=rss
When engineers build AI language models like GPT-5 from training data, at least two major processing features emerge: memorization (reciting exact text they’ve seen before, like famous quotes or passages from books) and reasoning (solving new problems using general principles). New research from AI startup Goodfire.ai provides the first potentially clear evidence that these different functions actually work through completely separate neural pathways in the model’s architecture.
The researchers discovered that this separation proves remarkably clean. In a preprint paper released in late October, they described that when they removed the memorization pathways, models lost 97 percent of their ability to recite training data verbatim but kept nearly all their “logical reasoning” ability intact.
For example, at layer 22 in Allen Institute for AI’s OLMo-7B language model, the bottom 50 percent of weight components showed 23 percent higher activation on memorized data, while the top 10 percent showed 26 percent higher activation on general, non-memorized text. This mechanistic split enabled the researchers to surgically remove memorization while preserving other capabilities.
Rode is today launching the Rodecaster Video S, a smaller and cheaper version of its existing all-in-one production console. The Rodecaster Video is targeted at professionals and environments regularly producing multi-camera content. The S, meanwhile, is aimed at bedroom streamers, video podcasters and other indie creators with more modest production needs. Consequently, the focus here is on trimming down unnecessary features to get the price to a more reasonable $500.
Rode
It’s easy to spot the differences by sight alone, since the hardware is smaller than its bigger sibling. It’s got fewer input and scene buttons, and is clad in plastic, rater than metal, since it probably won’t need to be moved around a lot. The number of HDMI inputs/outputs drops from 4/2 on the original to 3/1 here, and there’s only one multi-function USB-C port. Similarly, there’s only two headphone outputs here, and you’ll only get 24GB internal storage rather than the microSD-card slot found on the original.
The Rodecaster Video S is available to pre-order today, with units expected to ship across December, depending on your territory.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/rodes-rodecaster-video-s-is-a-smaller-cheaper-production-console-for-creators-230052793.html?src=rss
The Rodecaster series of podcast mixers have become a mainstay among audio creatives. Last year, the company expanded the line with its first multimedia model — the Rodecaster Video. It was a more niche proposition, aimed at streamers, video podcasters and live producers, and, at $1,200, people with deeper pockets. Today, Rode returns with the Rodecaster Video S (RCV-S), a streamlined version that offers much of the same functionality for less than half the cost of the original ($499).
If you currently use Ecamm Live, OBS, a Stream Deck, a Rodecaster Pro/Duo, a video capture card or Blackmagic Atem type switcher, then there’s a good chance the RCV-S does something, or many things, useful to you. Maybe it can replace all those products, some of them or enhance your workflow. It’s a little complicated, but within that complication is a lot of versatility.
With three HDMI inputs, one USB webcam/mic input and up to four NDI/wireless camera inputs, video is clearly the focus here. But there are also two XLR/Combo ports for studio microphones and instruments and the option to connect up to two of Rode’s wireless lav mics (such as the Wireless Go) directly without the need for a receiver. The RCV-S, like Blackmagic’s popular Atem Mini, outputs over HDMI at 1080p/60 (no 4K) or can be used over USB as a virtual camera just like you’d find in Zoom or Teams.
Unlike the Rodecaster Pro or Duo, there are no faders; instead, there are two rows of pads for switching between video sources and scenes. There’s 20GB of onboard storage for media — such as overlays, graphics and audio/video clips — and you can record shows directly onto USB hard-drives or stream natively to Twitch, YouTube and other platforms via RTMP/S. There’s a lot going on, and how you want to use it all is largely up to you. While the RCV-S leans more toward “live” productions such as streaming or podcasts, you can use it for conventional YouTube-style video production, depending on your workflow or video preferences.
Rodecaster Video versus Rodecaster Video S
The huge price difference between the original Rodecaster Video and the new S model might lead you to expect some serious feature trimming this time around, but Rode’s garden shears have been fairly kind. Most notably, the number of sources you can connect has been reduced from six to four. Meanwhile, the number of “scenes” you can create is now five, down from seven. As mentioned above, there are three HDMI inputs, not four, and only one USB webcam/mic input, down from two on the original. There are still nine channels of audio with two headphone outputs, but the line outputs on the original are no longer here. The SD card slot for media has also been removed in favor of internal storage. In short, there’s a little bit less connectivity, but not enough for it to feel hobbled, especially for the more casual users this is clearly aimed at.
In-use
At its most basic, the RCV-S is an all-in-one video switcher. You don’t need to connect it to a PC, just plug in your video and audio sources and you can jump between them in real time with a choice of transitions. For a more polished production you can create “scenes” via the menu with a selection of layouts for multiple cameras, picture-in-picture and so on. That could be two talking heads for a podcast, overlaying your web camera on top of your gameplay or a top-down camera mixed with a different perspective for cooking tutorials or presentations.
You can create scenes directly on the device in advance or live via templates, but things get a lot easier and more creative when you use Rode’s companion Rodecaster app. Here, you’ll find a “scene creator” tool that’s both visual and intuitive, plus it has the option to make custom layouts where you can freely resize and place all your different media wherever you want, add borders or rounded corners and so on.
While the main pads are primarily for switching between sources and scenes, they can also trigger media — pre-made video clips, overlays and graphics, for example. You can assign media to them without reducing the number of sources/scenes that are available to switch between, just tap the Media/Overlay button to temporarily change the functionality of the pads. You can also set up chromakey/green screening directly on the device or via the Rodecaster App, too.
Once you have everything set up, you can directly record output onto a USB SSD, again, without the need for a PC. There’s even the option to record only the main output (“program”) or a multi-track version which will export a recording of every input as a separate file that you can edit as you see fit. This is helpful if you’re using apps like Adobe Premier or Davinci Resolve. If you shoot multi-camera dance tutorials, for example, you can jump between your main and wide camera and then to a close up without having to hunt-down the right part from each file you recorded on different memory cards.
Rode recently updated the Rodecaster Video firmware to add support for up to four “NDI” wireless cameras as additional sources. Typically these are remote or security-style cameras, but Rode’s Capture mobile app also supports NDI streaming, meaning you can use your phone wirelessly as another camera that you can switch to, which is particularly useful. Though do note, the Rodecaster Video will need to be hard-wired to your router on the same network as your phone for this to work.
Audio
The Rodecaster Video S handles audio and video with ease.
James Trew for Engadget
While the RCV-S offers nine audio tracks, it’s fair to say it isn’t really designed for live audio mixing in the pure sense since there are no faders. Instead, you have to access different channels via the menu on a small display and a dial — It’s a lot of hunting and pecking. If you’re connected to a PC, the Rodecaster app does offer a software mixer with faders though, which makes adjusting levels on the fly much easier.
The good news is that some voice enhancement tools, such as Depth, Sparkle and Punch have been carried over from the Rodecaster Pro/Duo, giving you a little more fine-grained control over how you or your guests sound.
There’s a slight drawback when using the RCV-S as a standalone unit, in that you need to physically push the buttons to change the scene, which might not be ideal if you’re trying to make a polished recording or can’t always be near the console. Thankfully, Rode has a solution in “auto switching.” I’m mentioning it here, in the audio section, as the RCV-S can switch cameras based on which one has the strongest audio or based on user-defined priority. Typically, that would be whoever is talking in a podcast, but it could also be in-game sound or when you switch to playing a musical instrument.
Auto switching works well, but it’s not quite dependable enough to rely on for full autonomy in a professional environment — say while recording a panel at a conference — but it solves a problem if you’re on your own, and it could at least save some time in a casual podcast situation.
Things to consider
The Rodecaster Video S (top) vs. The Rodecaster Video (bottom)
James Trew for Engadget
It’s clear that the RCV-S, despite having fewer inputs than the original Rodecaster Video, is still quite a complex, open-ended tool. If you already have a streaming setup you like and the software and interfaces you need, then the appeal of the RCV-S will be down to whether it can do what you need more efficiently. For live video production, it’s an easier sell, as there aren’t many all-in-one devices to compete with it that can be used standalone.
For example, Blackmagic’s Atem series is incredibly popular, and until now, had the advantage on price with the Mini Pro costing just $330. Even the Mini Pro ISO ($550) that exports multi-track video was half the price of the original Rodecaster Video. The RCV-S now offers comparable connectivity, onboard recording, more expansive audio features and multi-track export for $50 less.
For general content creators it’s a little trickier. As someone that makes YouTube videos, the appeal to me is the chance to consolidate a few devices into one and remove some friction in my recordings. Right now, I have a Rodecaster Duo handling my audio, a capture card for my main camera and I swap out that camera for a smaller one if I am shooting top-down footage or need a second angle. That means I have several different devices on my desk, and I’m constantly doing a dance of unplugging things and juggling media or different recordings before I get everything ready to edit.
The Rodecaster Video S has a tiny display for menus and settings.
James Trew for Engadget
With the RCV-S I can ditch my standalone capture card and permanently leave multiple cameras connected to the Rodecaster so that they are ready to go at any time. I can even remove the Rodecaster Duo and bring it back out again on the occasions I need more immediate control over multiple sources of audio (which is sometimes, but not often). The appeal in my case is fewer devices on my desk, and the ability to record multi-camera video without having to set up every shot, every single time, which saves significant time that I can then use to actually get more work done.
There are, of course, some limitations. Not least of all is the lack of 4K. I’m still inclined to record on camera for my primary shot to ensure I still have a 4K copy for YouTube and then use the Rodecaster Video S for everything else, but as a small creator, convenience and flexibility is very appealing. For streamers and live video production, the Rodecaster Video S is a very capable tool that offers a wide range of functionality for an accessible price that will no doubt become the central hub for many creators.
The real kicker here is the price. Let’s be clear, $500 is still significant money. But at less than half the price of the original Rodecaster with decent connectivity and basically the same functionality, it’s an easy recommendation to those who were holding off based on price alone. Likewise, if you’re just starting out with content creation and need something with solid video credentials and audio chops, Rode makes a good case for itself with the Rodecaster Video S.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/rodecaster-video-s-review-compact-and-comprehensive-video-production-230000221.html?src=rss
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, meaning the highly infectious virus is considered endemic once again in the country, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced Monday.
The determination was made by a committee of PAHO experts, who spent last week poring over disease data to assess the measles status of countries across the entire region. The fact that Canada has lost its elimination status means that the region of the Americas overall has also lost the status, which it achieved in 2016. Of the 35 countries and territories in the region—a health region designated by the World Health Organization—Canada is currently the only country where measles is considered to be spreading endemically, though other countries, namely the US and Mexico, are headed in the same direction.
Measles is considered eliminated when a country can go 12 months without continuous local spread. Sporadic cases brought in from international travel can continue to occur, potentially causing limited outbreaks. But elimination is lost and endemicity is declared only when transmission is sustained over the course of a year.
When you think about the tech companies leading the AI race, Apple is pretty much at the bottom of the list. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as far as I’m concerned. From where I’m sitting, many of us couldn’t care less about the latest AI features companies are shoving into their products—we just want the products we actually use to work, and work well.
But strictly focusing on AI progress, Apple is far behind rivals like Google and Microsoft. While Android and Windows are full of AI features, either through Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s GPT models, Apple’s first-party AI advances are much more limited. Both Google and Microsoft promote their AI assistants as a cornerstone of their marketing strategies; meanwhile, Apple pulled it AI Siri commercial, as its promised upgrades kept getting delayed.
That’s not to say there aren’t any AI features here—far from it. Since iOS 18, Apple has rolled out AI features under the Apple Intelligence umbrella, including things like Image Playground, AI image editing, and Writing Tools. But, again, these features are not selling iPhones, and it seems like Apple knows it. The company appears to be doing more AI work behind the scenes than in front of it these days.
Remember how I said Apple’s AI Siri upgrade keeps getting delayed? Well, as it happens, AI Siri might be here sooner than later—at least, in part. According to Gurman, Apple plans to roll out “a new Siri” with iOS 26.4, while the assistant will get a “redesign” with next year’s iOS 27.
If you recall, Apple promised an AI-powered Siri with iOS 18 that was smarter than any iteration of Siri that had come before. This AI Siri was highly contextual, understanding what you meant in your requests without you needing to be hyper-specific. In addition, the assistant could pull information from a variety of sources, such as messages or emails, to fulfill requests, and even had an agent mode to take actions on your behalf. This is similar to how AI browsers let you ask the assistant to do things on the web for you. It’s objectively futuristic, to be sure, but not necessarily useful—nor is it secure.
As it happens, Apple had a lot of trouble actually getting those features to work. The company’s new Siri is an extreme engineering puzzle that wasn’t solved by iOS 18’s release, and was delayed through iOS 26.0. If the schedule holds, those changes should be coming to 26.4, and may even be powered in part by Google’s Gemini model. That said, iOS 26.4 is likely four months away: Apple just released iOS 26.1 and is beta testing iOS 26.2, and neither update comes with any Siri upgrades. Since the company released iOS 18.4 in March of this year, chances are we’ll see 26.4 in March 2026. If so, we might only be a quarter year away from a new Siri experience.
Next year, according to Gurman, Siri will get a total makeover. The assistant will be more conversational, and will power Apple’s upcoming smart home device strategy. But that’s a ways away yet.
AI health agent
Gurman says Apple is also working on an AI agent that can coach users on health-related issues. Codenamed “Project Mulberry,” the service combines a new Health app, subscription (Health+), and AI health assistant. This assistant can pull data from the Health app to inform its advice, and is being trained using real doctors across medical professions. According to Gurman, “if the Health app receives data about poor heart-rate trends, a video explaining the risks of heart disease could appear.”
The company is actually opening studio space to record videos for this service, and may feature a “major doctor personality” to “host” this Health+ service. (My money’s on Doctor Mike, but maybe that’s the only major doctor personality I know.)
Gurman says this AI health agent could arrive as soon as iOS 26.4, alongside the new AI Siri. It will be interesting to see how Apple squares two key problems with this feature: AI sometimes makes mistakes (and sometimes just makes things up), so trusting it to offer health advice raises some red flags. Add in the fact that Apple will be using user data to inform the AI on how to handle health advice, and user privacy questions pop up. The company prides itself on privacy, so I imagine it will have a clear plan here, but if this AI health agent really launches, these points will need to be addressed.
Web search tool
Finally, Gurman says that Apple has “plans for an AI-powered web search tool.” This tool is called “World Knowledge Answers” within the company, and is intended to compete against similar search tools from companies like OpenAI and Perplexity.
World Knowledge Answers will integrate directly within Siri, and may come to Safari and Spotlight too. It may include text, images, videos, and “local points of interest,” as well as AI summaries. The idea is to keep users asking questions within Apple’s own suite of products, rather than see them use other AI search tools. It’s likely it’ll arrive alongside these other two features with iOS 26.4.
Will these AI features be enough to catch Apple up to the rest of the AI players? I’m not sure. But I’m not sure the company needs to catch up. As much as Microsoft has made AI a cornerstone of its new Windows experiences, it’s not the reason people are buying PCs. Similarly, few users are choosing their smartphones, tablets, and computers based on whether Apple, Google, or Microsoft has the best AI assistant, or the best array of AI features. AI might be big money right now, but not in a way where Apple needs to be on top to remain one of the biggest companies in the world.
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Amazon has finally revealed its Black Friday plans in a press release, much later than the competition, which is unusual for the biggest retailer. Here is everything you need to know about Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale.
What is Amazon doing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Amazon will have an early Black Friday sale that will lead up to Black Friday and then a Cyber Monday sale that will last a few days. They will also have new flash daily deals throughout the events with Today’s Big Deals.
When is Amazon’s Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday in 2025?
Amazon’s Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deal event will kick off on Nov. 20 at 12:01 a.m. PST, and run through Dec. 1.
What deals can I expect during Amazon’s Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday?
Amazon says it will have deals on categories like home, electronics, beauty, apparel, and more where people can shop deals of up to 50% on artificial Christmas trees, seasonal decor, Amazon devices, and select electronics. Here are some deals Amazon has already said people will be able to take advantage of starting Nov. 20:
Amazon Devices: Save up to 50% on select Amazon devices, including new releases like Echo Dot Max, Fire TV Stick 4K Select, Fire TV 50″ 4-Series, Blink Mini 2K+, and Blink Outdoor 2K+. Customers can also save on favorites such as Echo Show 11, Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Scribe Essentials Bundle, and Ring Indoor Cam.
Seasonal: Save up to 50% on artificial Christmas Trees from National Tree Company and Fraser Hill Farm. Customers can also find up to 40% on ornaments from Lenox, and up to 20% on holiday gift wrap, bags, and bows from Hallmark.
Grocery: Save on complete holiday meals including Butterball turkeys at $0.69 per pound, pre-made sides like homestyle stuffing, mashed potatoes, and traditional fixings from select brands—all online for same-day delivery where available and at Amazon Fresh stores. Customers can also enjoy great prices on a wide selection of fresh grocery ingredients like carrots, green beans, and gold potatoes, plus wine enthusiasts can save 20% when purchasing six or more bottles through Amazon Fresh (valid through 11/30). Visit amazon.com/grocery for the full selection of grocery items available in your area.
Electronics: Save up to 50% on select electronics from JBL and Canon, and up to 45% on select Bose audio and PC hardware from ACER and ASUS. Customers can also get up to 40% on select home entertainment from LG, TCL, and Hisense, and up to 35% on select Samsung and Google products.
Home: Save up to 55% on select home products from Shark and up to 40% on select floorcare from BISSELL and iRobot. Customers can also find up to 35% on select floorcare from Dyson and select furniture from Signature Design by Ashley, and up to 25% on select luggage from Away and select fitness equipment from NordicTrack.
Kitchen: Save up to 50% on select kitchen appliances from Ninja and up to 40% on select kitchen essentials from Bentgo, Vitamix, Staub, and Nespresso, including deals on Nespresso Original Line Capsules. Customers can also enjoy up to 35% on select espresso and coffee machines from Keurig and De’Longhi, and up to 25% on premium kitchen brands like Breville and Our Place.
Beauty: Save up to 50% on select premium beauty products from Lancôme and luxury fragrances from Armani Beauty and Maison Margiela. Customers can also get up to 30% on skincare and bodycare essentials from Kiehl’s, ELEMIS, Sol de Janeiro, and medicube, makeup from NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP, Milk Makeup, and Tarte; plus select beauty tools from Drybar and Shark.
Fashion: Save up to 50% on select fashion from NAADAM, GAP, Levi’s, Cinq A Sept, and Derek Lam 10 Crosby. Customers can also get up to 40% on apparel from Theory, AllSaints, New Balance, Carhartt, and ASTR the Label, plus up to 25% on select styles from Shopbop featuring brands like LE BOP, PAIGE, and FRAME.
Toys: Save up to 40% on select toys from MAGNA-TILES, Melissa & Doug, Little Tykes, Play-Doh, and NERF. Customers can also get up to 30% off select classic toys from Hasbro Gaming, Fisher-Price, and American Girl, plus character favorites featuring Disney, WICKED, Barbie, Star Wars, Marvel, and Harry Potter.
Books: Save up to 80% on Kindle books and up to 65% on print books, including Editor favorites from Amazon’s Best Books of the Year lists of the past 25 years, including A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, and The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Customers can also get three months of Kindle Unlimited for just $0.99, unlocking millions of titles across every genre. Terms and conditions apply. See here for details.
Do you need to be a Prime Member to shop during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales?
What other retailers are doing Black Friday sales?
The other major retailers doing sales are Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. Right now, Best Buy is the one having the biggest early Black Friday sale, with new deals every Friday. Target has some week-long deals and a Deal of the Day. For Walmart, you’ll have to wait until Nov. 14.
Some tips for a successful Black Friday with Amazon
If this will be your first Black Friday shopping at Amazon, there are some basic things you need to know about Amazon sales:
Wikipedia on Monday laid out a simple plan to ensure its website continues to be supported in the AI era, despite its declining traffic. From a report: In a blog post, the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that runs the popular online encyclopedia, called on AI developers to use its content “responsibly” by ensuring its contributions are properly attributed and that content is accessed through its paid product, the Wikimedia Enterprise platform.
The opt-in, paid product allows companies to use Wikipedia’s content at scale without “severely taxing Wikipedia’s servers,” the Wikimedia Foundation blog post explains. In addition, the product’s paid nature allows AI companies to support the organization’s nonprofit mission. While the post doesn’t go so far as to threaten penalties or any sort of legal action for use of its material through scraping, Wikipedia recently noted that AI bots had been scraping its website while trying to appear human.
Next year will see the end arrive for two of Facebook’s external social plugins. The platform’s Like button and Share button for third-party websites will be discontinued on February 10, 2026. The blog post from Meta explains that site admins shouldn’t have to take any additional steps as a result of the change, although they can choose to remove the plugins before the discontinue date. Any remaining plugins will “gracefully degrade,” which sounds much more dramatic than what will actually happen, which is that they’ll render as a 0x0 invisible element.
Ending support for these features marks the end of an era for Meta and Facebook. External Like and Share buttons were introduced in 2013. The tools were promoted as ways for sites to generate more traffic through the social network, which was a major way that people shared and saw articles at that time. The company’s official line is that the plugins “reflect an earlier era of web development, and their usage has naturally declined as the digital landscape has evolved.” But Facebook also plays a much smaller role in the broader Meta business operation than it once did, and anecdotally, it’s less common to see sites running only integrations with a single social network.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-killing-off-the-external-facebook-like-button-205207354.html?src=rss
New submitter benramsey writes: The PHP Foundation has launched a search for its next executive director.
The Executive Director serves as the operational leader of the PHP Foundation, defining its strategic vision and translating it into reality while managing day-to-day operations and serving as the primary bridge between the Board, staff, community, and sponsors.
While the programming language PHP is over 30 years old, the PHP Foundation was only created in 2021. The Executive Director will be responsible for maturing the foundation’s internal structure and will play a crucial role in ensuring the foundation can effectively support this vital ecosystem.
Interested parties are encouraged to submit a cover letter describing their interest and relevant experience, resume or CV, and a brief vision statement detailing the applicant’s understanding of the position, key opportunities and challenges they see for the foundation, and their approach to the role.
Possibly the most absurd truth of modern computing is that, as far as the technology has evolved, we’re fundamentally still doing the exact same thing we were doing decades ago: twiddling bits. The question, of course, has always been how fast we can twiddle those bits, and how many we can do at once. Because it’s still the same work, though,
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Each year, Apple releases new models of the Apple Watch, but the updates aren’t always that significant—meaning it might make more sense to choose an older one and save on the purchase price. That’s certainly a good option right now, because you can get last year’s Apple Watch Series 10 with GPS + Cellular for $299, $200 off the original price, at Walmart (in four colors!).
The Series 10 has a larger AMOLED display (30% larger, to be precise) and a thinner case than its predecessor, the Series 9. It also features a more powerful chip, improving performance and helping future-proof the device. According to this PCMag review, where it landed an Editors’ Choice Award, its standout features include the Depth app, which measures underwater depth (it’s waterproof up to 50 meters), and a water-temperature sensor, making it great for swimmers and divers. Along with other key health and sleep stats from the Series 9, it also monitors breathing disturbances for people with sleep apnea.
According to PCMag, it exceeds the official battery life estimate of 18 hours and can last more than 36 hours in real-world tests with heavy use, which is close to the battery life on the 11. It’s also fast-charging, reaching around 80% in just 30 minutes. This model comes with both GPS and Cellular, meaning you don’t need to tether it to your iPhone to take full advantage of its features. Design-wise, it has a minimalist look and a durable aluminum and titanium case.
If you’re in the iOS ecosystem and seeking a smartwatch that blends style, readability, and an ergonomic case with advanced health and fitness stats and monitoring, the Apple Watch Series 10 with GPS + Cellular is a feature-packed steal at $299.
Snap is offering Snapchat+ subscribers the chance to have 2D Bitmoji avatars once again. In the coming days, they’ll be able to activate a setting called Comic Bitmoji. Snap said this will revive “the charm of classic avatars, while keeping all the benefits of today’s 3D infrastructure.” If you turn on Comic Bitmoji, all Bitmoji avatars that you see in Snapchat will be rendered in 2D. You’ll also be able to send stickers to your friends in that style.
Snap switched from 2D to 3D avatars back in 2023. The company said the move allowed it to offer a larger array of customizations, including more body types, hairstyles and makeup looks.
However, many users yearned for a return to a 2D look. Nearly 100,000 of them signed a Change.org petition demanding the return of 2D Bitmoji, and Snap said it listened. CEO Evan Spiegel signed the petition too.
Snap says Comic Bitmoji effectively applies a filter to the 3D avatars. To make the animations and expressions work properly in the 2D format, the team had to make adjustments to proportions, shading and outlines, according to Fast Company. Snap said that more than 320 million people use Bitmoji every day, so getting the 2D renders right was important.
It’s a little disappointing that Snap is locking the the Comic Bitmoji setting behind a paywall. However, it seems like just the kind of feature that might prompt more users to sign up for a Snapchat+ subscription.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/snap-is-bringing-back-2d-bitmoji-for-snapchat-subscribers-202257144.html?src=rss
Air passengers departing Singapore will pay a green fuel levy of as much as S$41.60 ($31.95) from next year as the city-state locks in a key step in its effort to cut the aviation industry’s emissions. From a report: Travelers flying in economy and premium economy, as well as those on short-haul routes, will be charged far less. Those customers will pay an additional S$1 for trips to Southeast Asia, and S$10.40 for flights to the Americas, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said Monday. Business and first class travelers will pay four times more, it said. […] The funds collected from passengers will go to the centralized purchase of sustainable aviation fuel — typically made from waste oils or agricultural feedstock — as Singapore looks to achieve a SAF adoption rate of 3% to 5% by 2030.
If your iPhone has been lost or stolen, you’d probably be relieved to get it back, even if it is has been weeks or months since you’ve replaced your device. Having your old phone in hand may provide some peace of mind that your data is secure, and if nothing else, you can sell or trade it in or repurpose it for another use.
Unfortunately, you’re pretty unlikely to see your missing iPhone again, but bad actors are hoping you hold out enough hope to fall for a phishing scam promising that your device has been found.
How the lost iPhone scam works
According to a warning from the Swiss National Cyber Security Center, some iPhone owners whose devices were lost or stolen are receiving SMS or iMessage notifications—purportedly from Apple—claiming that their phones have been located. The text messages include specific and accurate details about the missing iPhones, including the model, color, and storage capacity, and direct recipients to click a link to view the device’s location. The message is signed by the “FindMy Support Team.”
Of course, like all phishing schemes, the link is fake. It directs you to a spoofed Apple Find My page with an Apple ID sign-in designed to steal your credentials, which scammers can use to take over your account.
The goal of this scam is to disable Apple’s built-in security feature tying your iPhone to your Apple ID, which prevents malicious actors from erasing and reselling the device. How scammers manage to find your phone number to text you is unclear, though in some cases they may get it from the lock screen message you can enable when you switch your device to Lost Mode. This may be a good reason to put alternative contact information, such as a dedicated email address, in your custom message.
Avoid falling for lost the iPhone scam
If you do receive a message with a link to locate your lost iPhone, ignore it. Apple does not contact users via text or email with updates about found devices. (Of course, if you’ve enabled Lost Mode and someone reaches out claiming they have your device, proceed with caution.) Never click on links in unsolicited communication, as these are common vectors for phishing.
Of course, you should mark your device as lost in Find My to suspend alerts and notifications that appear on your lock screen as well as payment card access. You should also consider preemptively enabling Apple’s Stolen Device Protection, an anti-theft feature that helps prevent thieves from breaking into your iPhone. If your device does go missing, don’t remove it from your Apple account, as doing so disables some security protections.
