Category Archives: Technology

This 65-Inch Sony OLED TV Is $800 Off During the October Prime Day Sale

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Prime Day 2026 ends tonight, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over. 

OLED TVs are a hot (yet pricey) item on many shoppers’ wishlists, and many wait to add to cart until the next sale season arrives. Now that early October Prime Day deals are in full force, a few OLEDs from premium brands are seeing discounts, including the Sony 65 Inch Bravia 8 II, which is 24% off during Amazon’s “Big Deal Days” sale, according to price-tracking tools. 

The Bravia 8 II earned an “Excellent” rating from PCMag for its gorgeous picture quality and a central channel input that allows you to incorporate the TV into a surround sound setup by using its built-in speakers for the center channel while leaving the other channels to your satellites. It’s also one of the only high-end OLEDs that uses Google TV as its smart TV platform and supports Google Assistant.

The Wi-Fi 6E-equipped set is “satisfyingly bright” according to PCMag, though it doesn’t get quite as bright as competitors like the Hisense U8QG or the Samsung QN90F. If this means it’s not the best for daytime viewing (though it does have an anti-glare layer), the Bravia 8 II makes up for it with deep blacks, elite motion handling, dazzling colors, and best-in-class image processing. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate with VRR and an input lag of 16.1 milliseconds, which makes it a decent choice for gaming as well as sports, movies, and TV.

If you’re looking for an OLED with striking picture quality, a bright, colorful panel, and Google TV, the Sony 65 Inch Bravia 8 II is an excellent option—and now that it’s $800 off, it’s a smart time to buy. 

October Prime Day FAQs

Is Prime Day once a year?

Prime Day happens every summer. Prime Big Deal Days (or October Prime Day) happens every October. Big Spring Sale happens every spring.

How do you prepare for Prime Day?

You can read our prep guide to be ready for the big sale. One thing you can start doing is setting price alerts for products you want so you can be notified when they go on sale.

Is Amazon Prime Day worth it?

Yes, we’ve done the math, and it’s worth it for most people.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

  • Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale runs through Sunday, July 13 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+. 

  • Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale, “Black Friday in July,” runs through Sunday, July 13 and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Prime Day Deals Right Now

Deals are selected by our commerce team

El Nino Bursts Through Temperature Record Months Before Peak

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The current El Nino has already surpassed the highest Pacific temperature anomaly recorded in the modern era, reaching 3.05C above the 1991-2020 average months before its expected peak. The commonly used ONI measure is also on the verge of breaking the 2015 record. Forecasts cited by The Guardian suggest the event could reach about 4.0C later this year. From the report: The latest data shows the temperature rise at the heart of El Nino in the Pacific Ocean has now reached 3.05C. That is higher than the 3.02C set in late November 2015, the previous high set in the 150 years of modern records. This temperature is measured against the average of 1991-2020. The preferred measure of most meteorologists uses a 30-year rolling average as a reference and so takes account of human-caused global heating. This metric, called ONI (Nino3.4), is on the brink of breaking the record, just one-hundredth of a degree below the 2015 record. Both metrics are underpinned by data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The most recent forecasts predict a peak of 4.0C in November and December, according to the average of 14 different models assessed by climate scientist Zeke Hausfather. That is a level so far above previous events that Hausfather called it “mind-blowing,” while others have described it as “Godzilla-level.” Any temperature rise above 0.5C is deemed an El Nino; above 2C is officially called a “very strong” El Nino — often referred to as a “super” El Nino. The current El Nino is likely to be the largest in at least 1,000 years and will pile extra heat into an atmosphere in which temperatures are already rising rapidly due to human-caused global heating. This double whammy means 2027 is expected to “blow apart” previous records and become the hottest year ever recorded.


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Microbes Could Survive On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus

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New research suggests Enceladus may be an especially promising place to search for extraterrestrial life: microbes similar to those found near Earth’s hydrothermal vents survived in lab conditions designed to mimic the Saturnian moon’s subsurface ocean. A separate study also found that material blasted from Enceladus’ plumes may naturally separate and concentrate salts, organics and potential biosignatures into individual ice grains, potentially making them easier for future spacecraft to detect.

“That is great news in the search for life,” Frank Postberg, lead author of one and co-author of the other of these new studies and professor at Freie Universitat Berlin, said in a statement. “Future spacecraft will have to analyze many individual ice particles in the plume. But if they come across one with microbial material in it, they could identify biosignatures in the particle relatively easy with already available technology.” Space.com reports: Enceladus isn’t the only place in our solar system with water — so, why is it so exciting in the search for life? Well, it has to do with the seafloor of its extensive, liquid ocean. Down deep at the bottom of this body of water, scientists think hydrothermal processes, or movement or reactions with hot water under the surface, are taking place. The plumes shooting upward from the ocean also contain trace amounts of salts and organic compounds. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft found these traces when it flew through the plumes over a decade ago. Between the hydrothermal activity and the organics and minerals in the water, this moon’s ocean has a number of aspects that could be involved in supporting life.

What’s more, using a combination of Cassini data, theoretical models and laboratory experimentation, in Postberg’s new study the team found that the plume’s water droplets blasting out into space at up to 621 miles per hour (1,000 kilometers per hour) don’t freeze as quickly as expected. Before, scientists thought the freeze would happen instantaneously once the droplets reached space, but Postberg and fellow researchers say they found the freezing would actually happen much slower.

They also found that during this freezing process, the salt, organic compounds (and maybe possible signs of life) in the water droplets separate from one another. Not only that, but the team says that as the particles are blasted out into space, they should often collide with the icy cracks of the planet’s surface. This ultimately would leave behind tiny shards of frozen droplets with individually separated out components. Essentially, it’s like the planet has organized its oceanic ingredients into tiny, frozen particle fragments. This work is described in two new studies published in the journal Science Advances here and here.


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Boeing “incredibly excited” to serve as nation’s only astronaut transportation

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NASA announced on Monday that it will exercise options to purchase two additional flights on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, as well as financially support the company in its efforts to return the crewed vehicle to flight and find a new rocket after the Atlas V vehicle retires.

The space agency’s announcement confirms reporting by Ars Technica earlier this month on NASA’s plans to maintain access to low-Earth orbit after the impending retirement of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle.

“I do not think it’s a secret that SpaceX intends to sunset older platforms like Falcon and Dragon as they concentrate on their next-generation capability, Starship,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a news conference on Monday afternoon.

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Boeing “incredibly excited” to serve as nation’s only astronaut transportation

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NASA announced on Monday that it will exercise options to purchase two additional flights on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, as well as financially support the company in its efforts to return the crewed vehicle to flight and find a new rocket after the Atlas V vehicle retires.

The space agency’s announcement confirms reporting by Ars Technica earlier this month on NASA’s plans to maintain access to low-Earth orbit after the impending retirement of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle.

“I do not think it’s a secret that SpaceX intends to sunset older platforms like Falcon and Dragon as they concentrate on their next-generation capability, Starship,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a news conference on Monday afternoon.

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China Broadens Travel Curbs To Encompass Family of Top AI Talent

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Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Business Standard: China has expanded overseas travel restrictions for top AI professionals in private firms to include the families of key personnel, further tightening measures designed to prevent the outflow of critical know-how and information to the US. Government agencies have recently begun to share the wider restrictions with affected people, which include prominent startup founders as well as the heads of strategically important companies in AI-related fields, people familiar with the matter said. Direct relatives such as spouses and children of certain AI and chip executives, whose work is considered paramount to state security, are now required to obtain approval from Beijing before going abroad even for short trips, the people said.

That marks a broadening of existing curbs on the freedom of movement of China’s most influential tech talent — a category that encompasses entrepreneurs, researchers and executives. While not an outright ban on travel, the new requirement is likely to exert a further chilling effect on a tech sector already facing unprecedented curbs. China has restricted foreign travel for top AI professionals in private firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and DeepSeek since earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported in May, reflecting Beijing’s determination to safeguard its technology as it makes big strides in AI and chipmaking.

It’s unclear whether all those people’s families need to follow the new strictures, the people said. China is also separately implementing rules, which became effective Sept 15, for enforcing exit bans in cases ranging from criminal investigations to potential violations of the country’s industrial and technological security. Beijing’s plan is to add relevant individuals to the list as time goes by, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. Government departments have already notified several people of the need to clear family travel, two of the people said.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

China Broadens Travel Curbs To Encompass Family of Top AI Talent

Posted on by

Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Business Standard: China has expanded overseas travel restrictions for top AI professionals in private firms to include the families of key personnel, further tightening measures designed to prevent the outflow of critical know-how and information to the US. Government agencies have recently begun to share the wider restrictions with affected people, which include prominent startup founders as well as the heads of strategically important companies in AI-related fields, people familiar with the matter said. Direct relatives such as spouses and children of certain AI and chip executives, whose work is considered paramount to state security, are now required to obtain approval from Beijing before going abroad even for short trips, the people said.

That marks a broadening of existing curbs on the freedom of movement of China’s most influential tech talent — a category that encompasses entrepreneurs, researchers and executives. While not an outright ban on travel, the new requirement is likely to exert a further chilling effect on a tech sector already facing unprecedented curbs. China has restricted foreign travel for top AI professionals in private firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and DeepSeek since earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported in May, reflecting Beijing’s determination to safeguard its technology as it makes big strides in AI and chipmaking.

It’s unclear whether all those people’s families need to follow the new strictures, the people said. China is also separately implementing rules, which became effective Sept 15, for enforcing exit bans in cases ranging from criminal investigations to potential violations of the country’s industrial and technological security. Beijing’s plan is to add relevant individuals to the list as time goes by, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. Government departments have already notified several people of the need to clear family travel, two of the people said.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.