Salesforce says it’s refusing to pay an extortion demand made by a crime syndicate that claims to have stolen roughly 1 billion records from dozens of Salesforce customers. From a report: The threat group making the demands began their campaign in May, when they made voice calls to organizations storing data on the Salesforce platform, Google-owned Mandiant said in June. The English-speaking callers would provide a pretense that necessitated the target connect an attacker-controlled app to their Salesforce portal. Amazingly — but not surprisingly — many of the people who received the calls complied.

[…] Earlier this month, the group created a website that named Toyota, FedEx, and 37 other Salesforce customers whose data was stolen in the campaign. In all, the number of records recovered, Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters claimed, was “989.45m/~1B+.” The site called on Salesforce to begin negotiations for a ransom amount “or all your customers [sic] data will be leaked.” The site went on to say: “Nobody else will have to pay us, if you pay, Salesforce, Inc.” The site said the deadline for payment was Friday.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The UK’s national security is under severe threat from the climate crisis and the looming collapse of vital natural ecosystems, with food shortages and economic disaster potentially just years away, a powerful report by the UK’s intelligence chiefs is due to warn. The Guardian: However, the report, which was supposed to launch on Thursday at a landmark event in London, has been delayed, and concerns have been expressed to the Guardian that it may have been blocked by number 10. The destabilising impact of the climate and nature crises on national security is one of the biggest risks facing Britain, the joint intelligence committee report is understood to say.

Already, food import supply chains are coming under pressure, with the price of some commodities increasing. This could be exacerbated in the near future, the defence experts have warned, with the UK over-dependent on imports. Other industries will also be affected by ecosystem collapse in places such as the Amazon and by the worsening impacts of extreme weather around the world. These impacts will not be encountered far off in the future as some had complacently assumed, ministers have been told, but are already being felt and will grow in significance as temperatures rise beyond 1.5C above preindustrial levels.

The hard-hitting report was to be published on Thursday at a landmark event in London. But the Guardian understands that the report, prepared by experts over many months, has been halted.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Salesforce says it’s refusing to pay an extortion demand made by a crime syndicate that claims to have stolen roughly 1 billion records from dozens of Salesforce customers.

The threat group making the demands began their campaign in May, when they made voice calls to organizations storing data on the Salesforce platform, Google-owned Mandiant said in June. The English-speaking callers would provide a pretense that necessitated the target connect an attacker-controlled app to their Salesforce portal. Amazingly—but not surprisingly—many of the people who received the calls complied.

It’s becoming a real mess

The threat group behind the campaign is calling itself Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters, a mashup of three prolific data-extortion actors: Scattered Spider, LAPSuS$, and ShinyHunters. Mandiant, meanwhile, tracks the group as UNC6040, because the researchers so far have been unable to positively identify the connections.

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

Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

If you’ve been eyeing a Google Pixel watch—or any new smartwatch, really—now might be the perfect time to make your move. Right now the Google Pixel Watch 3 is available for $171 for this October Prime Day, a 32% discount off its list price of $250.

That pricing applies to the 41-millimeter, wifi-only version. Both sizes of the wifi-only model are about $70 off, and both sizes of the LTE model are $100 off, like this 41-millimeter LTE version discounted to $250, down from $350.

Google Pixel Watch 3

$170.99
at Amazon

$249.99
Save $79.00

$170.99
at Amazon

$249.99
Save $79.00

The Pixel Watch 3 is best suited for anyone who wants a smartwatch that simply does fitness tracking well, rather than a fitness watch with a ton of smart features (like a Garmin). Still, the Pixel 3 is a stronger choice than previous Pixel models, featuring a brighter screen and two screen sizes (large wrists rejoice, since one of them is 45 mm). The battery life is better than previous Pixels, with my testing resulting in a longer life than the promised 36 hours. 

While Google’s latest smartwatch is the Pixel Watch 4, the Pixel 3 is still a solid option. And with today’s discount, it’s half the price of the Pixel 4’s $350.

For more deals on fitness trackers and smartwatches, check out more of the top picks from Amazon’s Big Deal Days here.

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

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

Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

Cordless tool kits can be expensive, but tracking prices and taking advantage of deals can save you money now as well as in the long term. I previously covered the best Prime Day deals on tools, but here are my picks that are specifically cordless tools on sale for Prime Day.

Sales on DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, and Milwaukee cordless power tools

A cordless drill and driver set is the cornerstone of a home tool set. These tools enable you to tackle basic home DIY projects, such as installing shelves or hanging a TV, and they will also be useful for more advanced projects, like building furniture or repairing fencing. The Dewalt 20-volt Max Drill and driver set is $159, 39% off its regular price. This set comes with a drill, a driver, two 20-volt batteries, a charger, and a tool bag. This is the driver set I use at work, and it withstands a lot of abuse. The batteries can last up to 10 years without needing replacement, even with daily use.

This refurbished Makita 18-volt subcompact drill and driver set is now $164.99, 31% off its typical price. This set comes with a drill, impact driver, two 18-volt, 1.5-amp-hour batteries, a charger, and a tool bag. A sub-compact drill or driver weighs less than three pounds, making it ideal for portability. These tools are also smaller than the average drill and driver, so they’re good for fitting into tight spaces.

Makita CX203SYB 18V LXT® Lithium-Ion Sub-Compact Brushless Cordless 2-Pc. Combo Kit (1.5Ah) (Renewed)

$164.99
at Amazon

$233.70
Save $68.71

$164.99
at Amazon

$233.70
Save $68.71

This 18-volt Ryobi cordless power drill is priced at $45, and the set includes a drill, a 1.5-amp-hour battery, and a charger. This is a great set for beginners; it covers everything you need for basic projects. The battery will hold a charge for approximately 1.5 hours with moderate use.

Cordless power tools have become lighter and more advanced over the last couple of years, allowing you to use power saws for hours without needing to swap batteries and to complete work without dragging an extension cord behind you. The Milwaukee 18-volt cordless random orbital sander is $99, 39% off its regular price. This is the sander I use in my personal tool kit, and it works just as well as the corded version without needing an outlet and an extension cord. It comes with a dust catcher attachment and a couple of sanding discs, but you’ll need an 18-volt Milwaukee battery to use it.

The DeWalt 18-volt jig saw is $168, 30% off its regular price. This saw is ideal for creating custom shapes and making small, precise cuts. It comes with a starter multipurpose blade, but you’ll need a DeWalt 18-volt battery to use it.

The DeWalt 18-volt cordless random orbital sander is also on sale for $118.99, 52% off its regular price. This sander is a reliable finishing tool for woodworking, and it can also be used for sanding drywall repairs. It comes with a 2-amp-hour battery, a charger, and a tool bag, making it a great addition to your tool set or a great starting point.

And the Ryobi 18-volt three-inch cutoff tool is $99.99, 29% off its regular price. This is a saw designed for cutting metal, wood, or PVC, making it a versatile addition to your home DIY toolkit. It comes with a three-inch metal cut-off blade, but you’ll need an 18-volt Ryobi battery set to use it.

Ryobi PSBCS02 ONE+ HP 18V Brushless Cordless Compact Light Weight Cut-Off Tool (Tool Only, Battery Not Included)

$98.50
at Amazon

$139.99
Save $41.49

$98.50
at Amazon

$139.99
Save $41.49

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale, runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for the development of molecular building blocks with spaces large enough that gases and other chemicals can flow through them. The New York Times: The cavities on the inside are “almost like rooms in a hotel, so that guest molecules can enter and also exit again from the same material,” Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said during the announcement of the award. The laureates’ discoveries, he added, pave the way for the creation of materials that can separate toxic chemicals from wastewater or harvest water molecules in a desert.

The laureates’ work started with experiments by Dr. Robson in the 1980s and gradually developed over a period of about 15 years. “It takes time for science to be recognized, and it takes multiple workers in the field with different approaches,” said Dorothy Phillips, president of the American Chemical Society. The three laureates will share a prize of 11 million Swedish kronor, or around $1.17 million.

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.

Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

The multi-tool is one of those things that you can’t understand just by looking at it—you have to use one to understand why they’re so valuable. And once you use it, you will wonder how you managed your repair and improvement projects around the house without one. I use mine constantly—to start cuts, to trim stuff, to sand and scrape, and to make cuts in awkward spots where a hand saw or even a power saw just won’t fit. When I remodeled my bathroom, using the multi-tool to dig out grout lines was a lifesaver.

Flex 24V Cordless Oscillating Multi-Tool

$94.04
at Amazon

$169.99
Save $75.95

$94.04
at Amazon

$169.99
Save $75.95

Recently, I’ve been thinking about swapping up to a cordless model, because this is the year 2025 and dealing with snaking power cords all the time is getting old. Therefore, this Prime Day deal jumped out at me: The Flex 24V Brushless Cordless Oscillating Multi-Tool—45% off until the end of Prime Day (a savings of more than $75).

Reviewers love this multi-tool, noting that it runs smoothly, without the hand-aching vibration and shaking of some models. Offering up to 20,000 oscillations per minute (OPM), it’s also powerful enough to cut through almost anything you need, including metal pipes, 2x4s, or drywall. And that high OPM means it will cut pretty fast, saving you time and protecting your hands and arms from fatigue. The battery life is solid (though the sale is on the tool alone; if you don’t have a Flex battery and charger you’ll need to either buy it separately or buy the kit).

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

Earlier this year,Texas passed a law requiring app stores to verify the ages of their users. Now, Apple has shared more about how it plans to comply with requirements, which are slated to go into effect next year.

Beginning January 1, 2026, people in Texas creating new Apple accounts will need to verify that they are over the age of 18, Apple said. And anyone under 18 will be required to link their account to a parent or guardian’s via the company’s Family Sharing settings. Parents will then be prompted to approve all of their child’s downloads, in-app purchases and other transactions. 

While Apple didn’t explain exactly how it will conduct age verification, the company noted that developers will also need to make changes in order to comply with the Texas law. The company is working on new developer tools so app makers can implement parental consent requirements and other age-restricted features. 

The Declared Age Range API is available to implement now, and will be updated in the coming months to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas. And new APIs launching later this year will enable developers, when they determine a significant change is made to their app, to invoke a system experience to allow the user to request that parental consent be re-obtained. Additionally, parents will be able to revoke consent for a minor continuing to use an app. More details, including additional technical documentation, will be released later this fall.

Apple had opposed the law and CEO Tim Cook personally lobbied Texas Governor Greg Abbott to veto the measure. In its latest update, the company made clear that it still isn’t enthusiastic about Texas’ approach. “While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores,” Apple said in its note to developers. 

Though Texas’ age verification law for app stores  will be the first to take, it isn’t the only state to implement such requirements. Utah and Louisiana have also passed laws requiring app stores to conduct age verification checks. Those measures will also take effect in 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-explains-how-it-will-comply-with-app-store-age-verification-requirements-in-texas-185934469.html?src=rss

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

Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

Sometimes I think my father had kids just to help with chores around the house—my childhood was defined by an ever-growing list of responsibilities that seemed directly tied to my continued shelter and feeding. The one I hated the most? Shoveling snow. We lived on a corner lot with a driveway, and every time several feet of snow got dumped on us, my father, warm and cozy in his bathrobe, would roust my brother and me out of bed and cheerfully send us out to clear the endless sidewalks and a driveway that seemed to have increased in size overnight.

Greenworks Pro 80V 20 inch Snow Thrower with 2Ah Battery and Charger

$284.99
at Amazon

$499.99
Save $215.00

$284.99
at Amazon

$499.99
Save $215.00

When I bought my house, I swore I’d never lift a shovel full of slushy snow ever again. I don’t have nearly as much sidewalk to clear, but I still love a snowblower—and recently I’ve fallen for electric blowers that run on batteries, because corded ones are a pain and I’d rather not have gas on hand all the time. So this Greenworks 80V electric snowblower is an easy buy—especially when it’s 43% off for Prime Day.

It’s pretty lightweight, which makes pushing it around easier than some of those gas-powered behemoths, and it has a solid half-hour runtime if you store the batteries indoors (and obviously, you can extend that by having multiple batteries). It’s powerful enough to chew through heavy snow and it throws it a good distance, so you’ll be surprised by how much snow you can clear in just one charge. The batteries charge up in about a half hour, too.

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

An anonymous reader shares a report: In another loss for early smart home adopters, Logitech has announced that it will brick all Pop switches on October 15.

In August of 2016, Logitech launched Pop switches, which provide quick access to a range of smart home actions, including third-party gadgets. For example, people could set their Pop buttons to launch Philips Hue or Insteon lighting presets, play a playlist from their Sonos speaker, or control Lutron smart blinds. Each button could store three actions, worked by identifying smart home devices on a shared Wi-Fi network, and was controllable via a dedicated Android or iOS app. The Pop Home Switch Starter Pack launched at $100, and individual Pop Add-on Home Switches debuted at $40 each.

A company spokesperson told Ars Technica that Logitech informed customers on September 29 that their Pop switches would soon become e-waste.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Tag Heuer has announced its latest luxury smartwatch, the Connected Calibre E5, and it comes complete with a partnership with sneaker maker New Balance on a particularly sporty version. The biggest selling point here is likely the design. This is a snazzy-looking watch, with a bright purple and green color scheme that is reminiscent of Unit-01 from Evangelion.

The exterior is coated in Grade 2 titanium and the watch ships with a flexible strap that’s also been inspired by New Balance sneakers. Tag Heuer promises “outdoor-readable screens” and full compatibility with iOS devices. It offers dual-band GPS and a battery that lasts a day and a half per charge. The watchmakers say it can charge from dead to 100 percent in just 90 minutes.

It comes with a Snapdragon 5100+ chip, an AMOLED display and plenty of sensors to track health and fitness. These include a heart rate monitor, a steps counter, a blood oxygen saturation monitor and a sleep tracker, among other sensors.

The only potential downside? The smartwatch runs via a brand-new, untested OS. It comes with a bunch of New Balance training plans preloaded, including options for marathons and 10K races. The companies also promise “gamified prompts” and post-run graphs that “transform data into clarity.”

The watch costs over $2,000, which is an extraordinary asking price but not far off from other Tag Heuer products. In addition to the New Balance Edition, the company is offering the smartwatch in a variety of case materials and strap combos, some of which get the price down to $1,600. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/tag-heuer-made-a-smartwatch-with-new-balance-183614594.html?src=rss

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Google’s Pixel Watch 4 starts shipping this week, and it’s got a few nice little improvements over the Pixel 3. I’ve started testing the new watch for a forthcoming review, and I wanted to share my thoughts on how the device compares so far. Here are three changes I already love.

I love the new charging dock

Credit: Beth Skwarecki

The new charging dock is a big improvement over the older style of charger. Previously, we had to make do with a magnetic puck at the end of a cord, with four little pins on the puck. You’d need to stick it to the back of the watch, and make sure to align the cord to the side with the crown. 

Many smartwatches have a charger in approximately the same format—the Galaxy Watch and the Apple Watch are similar. It’s OK, I guess, though these chargers tend to be more convenient when you have a stand to put them in (here’s one that fits the Pixel Watch 3). 

This new dock is different, and I much prefer it. It sits on your desk or nightstand. To charge the watch, you just pop it in there sideways, crown up. The display remains visible while charging (telling you the time and battery status) and the watch band is tucked out of the way. No longer will your watch be flipping around on the desk while you try to find a good spot for it.

Ultra fast charging works even better than advertised

Google boasts that the Pixel Watch 4 can go from 0 to 50% in about 15 minutes. I tested that and found it performed even better than advertised: The watch went from 10% to 60% in 12 minutes, and was up to 82% (72% added) in 19 minutes. I’m impressed.

The display is bigger even though the watch is the same size

The biggest thing you’ll notice about the Pixel Watch 4 is the expanded display, even on the same size of watch. In these photo I have placed the Pixel Watch 3 (gray band) next to the Pixel Watch 4 (yellow band—they call this color “lemongrass”). I turned on the flashlight app, and you can see a difference in the display size already: 

Pixel Watch 3 on left (gray band), Pixel Watch 4 on right (yellow band)
Credit: Beth Skwarecki

The display is also now domed, although to be clear, the exterior shape of the watch hasn’t changed (at least not that I can tell). To show you what I mean, here’s how the two watches look when displaying the Concentric face, which got a redesign for the Pixel Watch 4. I actually think the older version looks nicer, but that’s not really the point: The seconds around the edge of the face actually appear to go over the rounded portion, rather than staying inside of it. It’s a cute detail. 

Pixel Watch 3 on left (gray band), Pixel Watch 4 on right (yellow band)
Credit: Beth Skwarecki

I’ll have more thoughts on the Pixel Watch 4 in my full review, coming soon.

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

Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

When I first started DIYing stuff in my house, I didn’t have a lot of power tools, and I thought buying them would be a waste of money. I knew they’d make the work easier, of course, but I didn’t think that convenience was worth paying for. I had two hands, after all. I could do everything like my ancestors did: The hard way.

It took sanding down the old stairs in my house to change my mind forever. The stairs were old but solid, and I had to strip layers of paint and roughed-up wood off the treads as part of the rescue project. And it was torture doing this by hand. Halfway through, I stood up and went directly to the hardware store to purchase an orbital sander. These sanders are great for stripping stuff down, because the random action of the sanding pad reduces the scuff marks, resulting in a nice, smooth finish. I finished the rest of the stairs pretty fast after that, and I’ve never looked back.

DEWALT 20V MAX Orbital Sander, Tool Only (DCW210B)

$114.99
at Amazon

$179.00
Save $64.01

$114.99
at Amazon

$179.00
Save $64.01

The DeWalt DCW210 is one of the best orbital sanders I’ve ever used, honestly—and you can get one right now for 30% off (note that this is the “bare tool,” without a battery or charger—if you need those you’re better off buying the kit, which is 34% off right now, too). It’s cordless, which is great when you’re working over a large area. It uses a standard 8-hole hook-and-loop attachment pad, so you can use whatever sanding pads are best for the project at hand without being tied to some strange proprietary system. And it’s very comfortable in your hand, though it does tend to feel a bit heavy after you use it for a while.

Battery life is good, typically in the hour range, though it can be shorter if you’re using heavy-duty grit or really working the sander hard. The battery also charges up fast, so a lot of times I can get hours of continuous use by charging a battery while I work and swapping as needed. If you’re still hand-sanding, or if your orbital sander has seen better days, grab this one at 30% off before Prime Day ends.

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

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

Amazon Big Deal Days end tonight, Oct. 8, and until then, 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.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

The second and last day of October Prime Day is upon us. Right now, Amazon is having a big sale on Sonos devices, with almost all of its products seeing good deals. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is one of the best deals of the bunch currently down to the lowest price it has ever been—$369 (originally $499)—according to price-tracking tools. The Sonos Ace is also seeing its lowest price of $298.99 (originally $399) if you’re looking for some good quality headphones.

Sonos Beam Gen 2 5.0ch Smart Soundbar (Black)

$369.00
at Amazon

$499.00
Save $130.00

$369.00
at Amazon

$499.00
Save $130.00

Sonos Ace Headphones

$298.99
at Amazon

$399.00
Save $100.01

$298.99
at Amazon

$399.00
Save $100.01

As the name suggests, this isn’t the first generation of the Beam soundbar. That would be the Sonos Beam Gen 1, which came out in 2018. It was the first smart soundbar to support both Google and Alexa voice assistants, as well as AirPlay. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 then came out in 2021, adding Atmos compatibility, eARC connectivity, NFC connectivity, and a better processor from the features that were already in the Gen 1. The Sonos companion app also improved dramatically, making for a much better experience and extra features, like the Sonos TruePlay (only for Apple phones), which calibrates the speaker based on its environment.

The release of the bigger and more powerful Sonos Arc Ultra last year meant the Beam Gen 2 was no longer the flagship premium soundbar, which has helped bring the price down in sales like these.

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

Over a year after former Twitter executives sued Elon Musk for around $128 million in unpaid severance benefits, both parties have agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount. The settlement is dependent on “certain conditions” being met in the near term, according to a new filing in the Northern District Court of California, but will postpone existing deadlines in the case so Musk can fulfill his obligations.

Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett originally sued Musk for millions of dollars of unpaid severance benefits in 2024. The justification for their lawsuit was made clear in Walter Isaacson’s account of the Twitter acquisition: Musk closed the $44 billion deal early and fired the executives in an attempt to avoid paying out their severance and vested stock options. The executives naturally sued, and now appear to be receiving some amount of what they’re owed.

The whole lawsuit likely wouldn’t have happened if Musk hadn’t originally tried to back out of his acquisition of Twitter, which the company later forced to happen through an extended legal battle. The early days of Musk’s ownership of the social network were characterized by drastic cost saving measures as a result, including mass layoffs and the decision to just not pay rent for some of the company’s offices.

Finally settling this lawsuit closes the book on that original Twitter saga, with a dismissal of the lawsuit the only real missing milestone. If for whatever reason Musk and X are not able to meet the terms of the settlement, the case will continue on October 31.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/elon-musk-and-former-twitter-execs-agree-to-settle-128-million-lawsuit-181915972.html?src=rss

An anonymous reader shares a report: Universities in the UK reassured arms companies they would monitor students’ chat groups and social media accounts after firms raised concerns about campus protests, according to internal emails. One university said it would conduct “active monitoring of social media” for any evidence of plans to demonstrate against Rolls-Royce at a careers fair.

A second appeared to agree to a request from Raytheon UK, the British wing of a major US defence contractor, to “monitor university chat groups” before a campus visit. Another university responded to a defence company’s “security questionnaire” seeking information about social media posts suggestive of imminent protests over the firm’s alleged role in fuelling war, including in Gaza. The universities’ apparent compliance with the sensitivities of arms companies before careers fairs has emerged in emails obtained by the Guardian and Liberty Investigates after freedom of information (FoI) requests.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, 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.

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

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

Whether you’re preparing for an emergency, planning a camping trip, or just want peace of mind during routine power outages, a portable power station is the answer. While they’re typically known for being pricey gadgets, this October Prime Day, you can pick up the Anker Solix C1000 Portable Power Station for 53% off, dropping the price to under $400. (You can also get the same generator bundled with a 200W solar panel at a similar discount.)

Anker Solix C1000 Portable Power Station

$379.00
at Amazon

$799.00
Save $420.00

$379.00
at Amazon

$799.00
Save $420.00

This versatile power station is part of the brand’s “camping series,” but it works equally well at home in a pinch—it can power up a fridge for 14 hours and a CPAP for over 18 hours. (If you want a longterm whole-home power, solution you’ll want to upgrade to the F3800 Plus, mentioned in this CNET roundup.) According to this “Mashable Choice” review, it has plenty of charging ports and 1,056Wh capacity, and recharges quickly via grid power, solar, or your car, going from 0 to 80% in under 45 minutes on a wall outlet. It’s also easy to monitor and manage with Anker’s companion app. 

At  28.4 pounds, it’s lightweight given the power it delivers, and has a durable exterior. Its built-in LED light strip keeps things visible when the lights go out during a power outage. The USB-C power output maxes out at 100W, and it only supports one expansion battery, for 2,112Wh total. While it’s designed for camping, it’s also reliable for home use, powering up a fridge for 14 hours and a CPAP for over 18 hours.

 If you’re looking for a portable power station with a wide range of features, high capacity, quick recharging, and multiple port options, the Anker Solix C1000 Portable Power Station is a small powerhouse that offers excellent value, especially at 53% off during Prime Day.

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 from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+. 

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, 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.

Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.