Anyone looking for a portable, high-performance gaming laptop might want to move on this Black Friday deal from Razer. Right now this configuration of the Blade 14, normally $2,800, is down to $2,000. This Blade runs on an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 8 Core processor, and while that’s AMD’s previous generation chip, it’s still plenty fast to handle the latest titles. 

Graphics-wise, it’s got NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3080 GPU and a 14-inch QHD screen with a 165Hz refresh rate. You get 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of soldered (non-upgradable) RAM, plus 8GB of video RAM. While that non-upgradable issue might hold some people back, this is still a solid deal on a gaming laptop with a good amount of ports, that also happens to be easy to bring along anywhere you go.  

The laptop deal is part of a larger Black Friday sale from Razer, which also includes discounts on peripherals like the Razer Huntsman Mini keyboard. This quiet and smooth gaming deck is our current favorite 60 percent keyboard and the deal takes 42 percent off the list price, bringing it down to $70. It’s the lowest price we’ve seen so far, making this a good time to snag a responsive, RGB-lit deck that takes up minimal space. 

If space isn’t an issue and you prefer the prowess of a full-sized deck complete with direction keys, a number pad and even a wrist rest, check out the company’s BlackWidow V3. It’s $50 off, bringing it to $90, which is the lowest it’s ever gone outside of last year’s Black Friday sale. The mechanical keys produce that satisfying clack, and the BlackWidow offers customization for a unique dial above the number pad, a media button and the individually backlit keys. 

When we set out to find the best productivity mouse, Razer’s Viper Ultimate was our top pick for a gaming mouse that could handle everyday use. Normally a steep $150, it’s now down to a more palatable $75. In addition to being ambidextrous and super light, we called it “a pleasure to use for extended periods.”

The Razer Seiren Mini condenser microphone is down to $38 from its usual $50. The USB-based mic follows a supercardioid pickup pattern to focus on your voice instead of ambient background noise, and its compact size doesn’t dominate your desktop. 

Check out the entire Razer sale at Amazon for Black Friday deals on more of the company’s gear, including headsets, controllers, and more. 

Buy Razer Huntsman Mini at Amazon – $70Razer BlackWidow V3 at Amazon – $90Buy Razer Viper Ultimate Hyperspeed at Amazon – $75Buy Razer Seiren Mini at Amazon – $38Shop the Razer Black Friday sale at Amazon

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Source: Engadget – Razer’s Black Friday deals knock 0 off the Blade 14 gaming laptop

Netflix’s new in-house game teams may be particularly ambitious. The company has posted a job listing for a director in Los Angeles who would lead work on a “brand-new AAA PC game” — this is not just another mobile title. While many details remain unknown, the new hire will ideally have experience with first- and third-person shooters, constantly evolving “live service” games (think Destiny 2) and quickly prototyping in Unreal Engine. The perfect candidate would also be comfortable with both cooperative and competitive multiplayer, and create a game world “worthy” of a Netflix show.

The streaming service emphasizes that the game director won’t be held back by the “design constraints” of monetization. As with Netflix’s existing games, in-app purchases, ads and other rude surprises shouldn’t exist in this project. A listing for a lead engineer also alludes to a “3rd person action RPG.”

Expectations are already high. Netflix games VP Mike Verdu revealed last month that former Overwatch director Chacko Sonny is leading the LA studio after leaving Blizzard in 2021, and the new director may be similarly notable when they’re expected to have “at least” 10 years of design experience. Netflix has also set up shop in Helsinki and has bought multiple developers, including Oxenfree creator Night School Studio.

There’s a strong incentive to foster game development at Netflix. Less than one percent of the firm’s subscribers are taking advantage of the mobile games that come with membership. Blockbuster games for other platforms could not only reach new audiences, but help Netflix build its reputation in the industry.

Source: Engadget – Netflix is making a ‘AAA PC game’ at its new studio

If you’re looking for a new pair of AirPods to gift to a loved one this year, you’re certainly not alone. These popular wireless earbuds have been high on many wish lists since they first debuted in 2016. We’re now on the third-generation of Apple’s standard earbuds, and the second full revamp of the higher-end AirPods Pro. And those who want all of the conveniences of AirPods in a classic, over-ear design can still turn to Apple’s AirPods Max. Regardless of which model you’re looking to gift (or buy for yourself), there are discounts to be had for Black Friday. Here are the best deals on AirPods we found for Black Friday 2022.

AirPods Pro (2nd gen)

The latest AirPods Pro are on sale for $200 for Black Friday. While that’s not a huge discount, it’s significant for a pair of Apple earbuds that just came out a couple of months ago. These buds earned a score of 88 from us for their improved sound quality, excellent Transparency Mode and solid active noise cancellation. We also appreciate the addition of the U1 chip inside the buds’ wireless charging case, which enables Precision Finding using the Find My app.

AirPods (3rd gen)

Apple’s third-generation AirPods have dropped to $140, which is $30 off their usual price. The company totally revamped the design of the standard AirPods with this iteration, and they earned a score of 88 from us for their comfortable fit, noticeably better audio quality and longer battery life. Just keep in mind that these buds don’t have ANC — you’ll have to spring for the AirPods Pro to get that feature.

AirPods (2nd gen)

The second-generation AirPods are on sale for $79 for Black Friday, although we have seen them go in and out of stock since they dropped that low. They’re a bit outdated at this point, but if you’re looking for a basic pair of wireless earbuds that work well within the Apple ecosystem, they’ll be a good option. This model earned a score of 84 from us when it came out in 2019 for its improved wireless performance and solid battery life.

AirPods Max

The over-ear AirPods Max have dropped to $449, or $100 off their usual price. The most premium of Apple’s audio gadgets, the AirPods Max have excellent, balanced sound, solid ANC, reliable touch controls and a good battery life. There are better headphones out there when it comes to overall sound quality and ANC, but these are the ones to get if you want them to work seamlessly with all of your other Apple devices.

Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.

Source: Engadget – The best Black Friday AirPod and AirPod Pro deals for 2022

It’s the year 2022 and going to the office for work is no longer the norm for a lot of people. You probably know at least one person in your life who’s remote either part-time or full-time. Working from home has its perks – not having a commute being chief among them – but it’s not without challenges. Household disturbances are big ones, as well as poor lighting or simply the lack of professional-level equipment that they might have access to only in-office. That’s why we recommend giving them a gift or two that will help with those shortcomings. From noise-canceling headphones to an ergonomic footrest, here’s a list of things that’s sure to make their WFH life a lot easier.

Mooas Multi-Cube Timer

One of the most difficult obstacles with working from home is all the distractions. You’re constantly sidetracked by temptations like TV, the internet or just easy access to the kitchen. A potential solution to that is to use one of these multi-cube timers from Mooas as a productivity tool. Each side corresponds to different lengths of time; to start the timer, you’ll flip the cube so your desired time faces upwards. Flipping the LCD display upwards again will pause it, while turning the display downwards will stop the timer.

There are a number of ways to use them, but I like using the Pomodoro Technique with these. I’ll enable the 30 minute timer which then encourages me to focus just on my work for the allotted time period. Once time is up, I give myself a five minute rest, and then I start it over again. You can also use them as a reminder to stand up and stretch every so often. These timers come in a variety of colors, each with different time pre-sets, so be sure to pick the one with the time lengths you think your loved one will want. — Nicole Lee, Commerce Writer

Buy Mooas timer at Amazon – $19

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 MagSafe charging station

Apple devotees will appreciate Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro, which will charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch and a pair of AirPods simultaneously. Not only will this save your loved one quite a bit of desk space, it also reduces cord clutter as it only requires a single power cable. Additionally, though the charging pad has 15W MagSafe for the iPhone 12 and up, it’s actually compatible with any phone with wireless charging; it just won’t be quite as fast. That means it’ll work with iPhones 8 and up as well as compatible Android devices. — N.L.

Buy Belkin BoostCharge Pro at Amazon – $140

Logitech Lift Vertical mouse

If someone you love spends all of their time on a laptop for work, getting them a wireless mouse can improve the ergonomics of their setup immensely. Not only are they generally more comfortable to use than trackpads, but they can also help improve posture and prevent hand cramping – especially if you get a vertical mouse. Logitech’s Lift is one of its latest vertical mice and it’s ideal for small- to medium-sized hands (those with large hands should check out the MX Vertical instead). The 57-degree angle in its design places their hand in the natural handshake position, which will put less pressure on their wrist than a standard mouse would. It also has a comfortable, soft-touch finish with four customizable buttons that are easy to reach. They’ll be able to connect it to their laptop via a USB receiver or Bluetooth and, regardless of which method they choose, the Lift will last two years before needing replacement AA batteries. — Valentina Palladino, Senior Commerce Editor

Buy Logitech Lift Vertical at Amazon – $70

Lume Cube Video Conferencing Lighting Kit

If your loved ones already have a camera they like, then getting them a lighting rig is a great next step for improving how they look on videos, live streams and more. While a typical desk lamp might cast a shadow or make them look washed out, a proper lighting kit will illuminate their face and show off their best side.

We like Lume Cube’s Video Conferencing Lighting Kit because it’s small and lightweight enough to fit on tablets, laptops or desktop monitors. The built-in frosted lens and additional white diffuser softens the light so it’s easier on the eyes while also adding a glow to your appearance. The brightness and color is adjustable to fit whichever lighting environment you happen to be in. The Kit has a built-in extended battery so you can use it on the go, but you can also just plug it directly into your computer’s USB port to run indefinitely.

If they also need their video-lighting rig to be a desk lamp, we would recommend Lume Cube’s Edge Desk light instead. It also has adjustable brightness and color temperatures, which will help make them look great in front of the camera, but it can also swivel around to be used as a regular desk lamp when they’re not on a call. It attaches securely to most desks via a clamp which won’t take up much real estate at all. Bonus: It has built-in USB-C and USB-A charging ports which can be used as additional power sources. — N.L.

Buy Lume Cube lighting kit at Amazon – $70Buy Lume Cube Edge desk light at Amazon – $130

Flexispot standing desk converter

By now we all know the benefits of a standing desk, but that doesn’t change the fact that most of them are super expensive. Instead of spending a ton on one, you can work with what you already have – and that might be the better option if you or someone you love already invested in a nice regular desk. A standing desk converter like this one from Flexispot lets you turn your existing desk into one that you can either stand or sit at. This model also comes with a dedicated keyboard tray, so you can separate your workspace a bit and keep things as ergonomic as possible. But the best part is that it costs a fraction of what an actual standing desk would. — V.P.

Buy standing desk converter at FlexiSpot – $210

Logitech C920S Pro Full HD webcam

Remote workers might not have to see their co-workers anymore, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have meetings. Any WFH employee will tell you that their days are often inundated with Zoom calls and Google Meet video conferences. That’s why an external webcam is essential, at least if you care about looking good. Our favorite is the Logitech C920S Pro HD webcam, which offers 1080p video quality, autofocus capabilities and white balance adjustment. One big benefit over regular built-in webcams is that they’ll be able to position it however they like, which makes it that much easier to put unsightly household messes out of view. It has a large 78-degree field of view plus a lens cover that will protect your loved ones’ privacy when not in use. — N.L.

Buy Logitech C920S Pro Full HD at Amazon – $85

Ergofoam Ergonomic Adjustable Foot Rest

Those who sit at their desks all day will appreciate a more ergonomic setup for less back and neck pain. One way to achieve that is with the Ergofoam Ergonomic Adjustable Footrest, which helps provide fim support for your feet and ensure your sitting position is upright. The footrest is made out of memory foam and is covered in a plush velvet, making it super comfortable as well. This particular model is adjustable to two different heights, which is great for those who need a slightly taller footrest. Additionally, the footrest can be flipped upside down and used as a rocker to keep your feet moving, improving your circulation. — N.L.

Buy Ergofoam foot rest at Amazon – $50

Sony WH-1000XM5

It can be hard to control the environment you’re working in when you work from home. You may have kids yelling around you, pets barking, meowing or otherwise making noise and maybe even your partner taking a Zoom call in the room next door. A pair of noise-canceling headphones will become your best friend when you need to block out the world and get things done, and there’s none better than Sony’s WH-1000XM5 right now. They have a refined design and an even more comfortable fit when compared to the (still excellent) XM4 that came before them, and Sony managed to improve upon their already stellar sound quality and ANC.

Thanks to double the number of processors and microphones and a separate V1 chip, the WH-1000XM5 is even better at blocking out human voices and other higher frequencies than its predecessors. And what might be even better is their 30-hour battery life; you’ll be able to use them for hours each day for multiple days before they need a recharge. — V.P.

Buy WH-1000XM5 at Amazon – $398

Ember Mug 2

If you know someone who has a tendency to let their cup of coffee or tea get cold, consider giving them the Ember Mug 2. It’s a self-heating smart mug that keeps beverages at just the right temperature – either for up to 1.5 hours or all day long if the mug is kept on its charging coaster. They can dial in their desired temperatures anywhere from 120 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. The companion app also lets them save preset temps for their favorite drinks. — N.L.

Buy Ember Mug 2 at Amazon – $130

BenQ Screenbar

While a desk lamp is useful for working in lowlight, it can sometimes obstruct the monitor or worse, shine glare into it. A monitor light like BenQ’s ScreenBar is a fantastic alternative, as it reduces that glare while illuminating your desk at the same time. It has a built-in ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the ScreenBar’s brightness according to its surroundings. You can also change the temperature of the light from warmer to cooler hues. Since the ScreenBar attaches to the monitor, it won’t take up valuable space on your desk too. — N.L.

Buy BenQ Screenbar at Amazon – $109

Anker 577 Thunderbolt docking station

It’s easy to get carried away building your perfect work-from-home desk setup, only to realize that it’s not as efficient as it could be. Wires cluttering your space, extra connectors and peripherals you don’t use, all of those things can make your desk a place you dread sitting down at each morning. But Anker’s 577 Thunderbolt docking station, and others like it, can remedy that by giving you one multi-purpose, powerful brick into which you can plug all of your necessities.

This model has 13 ports, so there’s a good chance you’ll be covered at every turn, plus it supports 85W laptop charging, so you’ll always have plenty of power fueling your machine as you use it. In addition to supporting 1-Gbps USB-C data transfer, Gigabit Ethernet and 4K HDMI, it also lets you connect to two 5K external displays at once, just in case you’re going for that space-commander look. — V.P.

Buy Anker 577 docking station at Amazon – $330

Source: Engadget – The best gifts for people who work from home

Every Pokémon generation brings a new region to discover. But with the open-world design of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, instead of simply getting an updated map with a linear path from start to finish, it feels like there’s a vast countryside to explore. Then you add a deeper story with three branching paths, along with a bunch of quality-of-life improvements and tweaks to the traditional Pokémon format, and you have a game that’s a blast to get lost in — even with the title’s unfortunate performance issues.

Welcome to Paldea

As always, the goal in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is to become the very best. However, the twist for this generation is that you’re also a student at a nearby academy (Naranja in scarlet, Uva in Violet), which is where you’ll meet the other important characters in your story, or in this case stories. Nemona is a big-sister type who serves as both your rival and your guide as you try to become a Pokémon League champion. She’s a helluva lot more likable than Hop from Sword and Shield, and she helps teach you some of the basics of battling, which is helpful because you don’t actually spend a lot of time in classes.

Then there’s Team Star, which is sort of this generation’s Team Rocket equivalent, except that this time the gang is more like an afterschool club with a bad reputation and way too much funding. Finally there’s Arven, the son of the new professors (Professor Turo or Professor Sada depending on your version of the game), who is on a hunt to find the fabled Herba Mystica — magical plants that are unique to Paldea.

Sure, the journey to collect eight gym badges and defeat the Elite 4 is as straightforward as ever (well, as much as it can be in an open-world game). But learning the motivation behind Arven’s search for Titan Pokémon nearly brought a tear to my eye. And by introducing special super-sized Pokémon, the game has the freedom to add a new type of combat beyond your battles with trainers and wild monsters.

Meanwhile, for the Starfall Street storyline, Scarlet and Violet use this twist to introduce yet another twist on Pokémon battling. Instead of battling a handful of underlings one-by-one, you use your top three Pokémon to take down waves of enemy monsters off-screen sort of like a Pokémon-theme auto-battler, which plays out more like an endurance test than the game’s traditional turn-based combat. And at the end, you battle the boss of each crew before learning about what made them join Team in the first place which eventually leads to a surprisingly wholesome redemption arc.

The big impact of this is that by having three storylines instead of one, Scarlet and Violet is able to tell a bigger tale from multiple perspectives unlike so many previous entries. And I think this approach really pays off because the paths that don’t have anything to do with becoming the number one trainer deliver some of the most heartwarming moments the series has ever produced.

So much room for activities

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Aside from the multiple storylines, the move to an open-world game design is a big change for the franchise. We got a taste of this with the Wild Area in Sword and Shield (and Legends: Arceus as well), but for generation nine, Scarlet and Violet have really leaned into this fresh approach.

Right away, the world feels big — I nearly got lost just 10 minutes into the game before I even made it to the academy. From there, things get even better, because you quickly get the ability to use your box-art legendary as a vehicle, allowing you to cruise to one point or another in style. Meanwhile, the landscape is littered with Pokémon in a way that feels downright bucolic. I stumbled on Magikarp splashing happily away in lakes and rivers, while in other areas I found a circle of Teddiursa gathered around an Ursaring, as if daddy was telling his kids a story while camping. The downside, though, is that because the world is so big and opposing trainers are often spread quite thin, sometimes it feels a bit lonely, as if there’s more space than the developers know what to do with.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Outside of the big towns, there aren’t a lot of other settlements, and aside from the academy and the main Pokémon gyms, you can’t even really go inside buildings. On top of that, because enemy trainers don’t engage you on sight anymore, sometimes it feels like you’re on a hunt for people instead of Pokémon. Don’t get me wrong, there are also a ton of items and hidden treasures littered across the map (on top of a full post-game zone and four bonus legendaries), but sometimes I felt like I just wanted more of everything. More enemy trainers, more towns and more events that aren’t tried to the three main stories.

I also need to point out that using the main map makes me feel crazy. While you can’t pin locations for revisiting later like in BotW, it’s easy to set destination markers to highlight your next gym or story event. The issue is that when you hit Y to open the primary world map, every time North is orientated in a seemingly random direction, which makes figuring out where you are and where you want to go more annoying than it should be.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Other major changes include Terastallizing, which allows a Pokémon to power up and potentially change its default type, which can act as a surprise during battles when your opponent is expecting something else. It’s a neat twist on the Gigantamax and Max Evolution mechanics we’ve seen in previous games, though the effect can look a bit silly for certain Pokémon, particularly flying types which are represented by three giant crystalline balloons that pop out of their heads.

But to me, some of my favorite tweaks are the smaller quality-of-life changes added in Scarlet and Violet. The new auto-heal feature lets you restore HP to wounded monsters simply by highlighting them and pressing the – button. TMs are now also craftable, so you can more easily teach your monsters the moves you really want. And instead of move tutors, you can relearn forgotten attacks right from a Pokémon’s summary instead of having to find a specific person/location in the game.

Of course, the move to an open-world design isn’t without its flaws, with the main one being that there isn’t any level scaling for enemies. So while technically you can go anywhere you want and tackle gyms in any order, that isn’t really true in practice. This means you need to follow a somewhat pre-determined progression because if you try to jump straight from the starter zones into areas with a bunch of high-level monsters, you’re going to get clobbered. Same goes for tackling trainers that have fully evolved squads, while you’re still rocking a level 15 Fidough. There are also a couple areas that are walled up until you complete specific story events, and while it’s possible to climb or jump over some barricades, it’s generally not a good idea. Thankfully, if you ever lose your way or forget what to do next, you can always ask Nurse Joy (or one of her countless sisters) at a Pokémon center, who will suggest the best place for you to go next.

Performance woes

When you need to call attention to a game’s performance it’s usually for one of two reasons: it’s either a graphical tour de force or it runs as smooth as the skin of a Qwilfish. And sadly for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it’s the latter. The game just kind of chugs. Even doing simple stuff like panning the camera around can result in choppy framerates, with slowdown getting worse in more congested areas like cities and towns. NPCs in the background can also look like slideshows, as they slowly stutter step across the screen. And when you look at things up close, textures often look flat while shadows are big and blotchy, not to mention all the jaggies you see from diagonal lines (a little anti-aliasing would go a long way). Don’t get me wrong, it’s not an ugly game, but I feel like that biggest game franchise in the world can do better.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

It’s almost like Gamefreak’s engine for Pokémon puts a massive strain on the Switch’s hardware, which is pretty mind-boggling from a game that looks similar to Breath of the Wild, except that it’s not nearly as pretty, it’s lot less dense and it’s way way smaller in size. I even suffered three crashes over my 35 hours of game time along with countless other minor bugs and visual glitches (I got stuck inside terrain twice, once of which required me to restart the game).

Thankfully, Scarlet and Violet’s autosave system is pretty reliable, so even when the game crashed, I never lost more than a couple minutes of progress. Regardless, while no software is bug-free, the latest Pokémon runs a lot worse than your typical video game, and as a whole, the game succeeds in spite of its performance, which is kind of depressing.

Which version should you get?

Without giving too much away, aside from a handful of Pokémon that are only available in one version or the other, the main differences between Scarlet and Violet come down to their respective legendaries and how that plays into the final endgame area. So if you prefer more historical-looking monsters like Koraidon (korai means ancient in Japanese), pick Scarlet. And if you like sleeker, more sci-fi looking Pokémon like Miraidon (mirai means future in Japanese) go for Violet.

Wrap-up

For a series that I started playing in middle school, all the changes in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet result in a game that feels fresh but still familiar. The world is bigger than ever, and now you have the freedom to explore it how you like (mostly). The addition of extra storylines also allows the game to tell a deeper and more engaging narrative than any Pokémon game in recent history. Unfortunately the game’s performance issues put a damper on the overall experience. So while I’d love to see updates to the core turn-based combat in the future, Scarlet and Violet feel more alive than any game Pokémon that came before — especially since the franchise’s move to the Switch.

Source: Engadget – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review: Growth and growing pains

Solo Stove’s Black Friday deals are in full swing, and they’ve cut up to 40 percent off all of the company’s fire pits. You’ll find the biggest discount on the Yukon, the largest of Solo Stove’s machines, which comes in at $400. That’s $350 off its usual price and the cheapest we’ve seen the second-generation fire pit. Meanwhile, the Bonfire 2.0 is down to $225, the Ranger is on sale for $180 and the tabletop-friendly Mesa is only $80 right now. The latter actually has its own promotion as well: buy one Mesa fire pit and get the second one half off.

Shop Solo Stove Black Friday deals

We’ve recommended Solo Stove machines numerous times in the past, and while they are on the expensive side, we’ve found them to be some of the best fire pits out there that don’t smoke you out. The 2.0 models, which came out this summer, fixed one of our biggest issues with the fire pits: how difficult they could be to clean. Instead of having to hold the fire pit upside down to get all of the ash and debris out, now with the new versions, you can simply empty the removable base plate and ash pan that come with each of them.

Otherwise, the new fire pits have a similar design to the previous models, featuring the company’s 360° Signature Airflow Technology that channels smoke away from you, pulling hot air through vent holes and back into the fire. If you want all of the accessories you’d need to truly make a Solo Stove your own, check out all of the bundles that the company has discounted as well. We’re partial to the backyard bundles, which include the fire pit of your choice, a stand, shield, shelter, lid and carrying case.

And if you want to truly go all-in on your backyard setup, Solo Stove has also discounted its Pi Pizza Oven for Black Friday. This new machine is down to $400 right now, which is $225 off its regular price. Made of stainless steel, the Pi has a “Demi-Dome” construction, giving you a good amount of space inside the machine to rotate pizzas. We also like that you can use wood or gas (with an optional burner sold separately) as your fuel source. Overall, it’s a worthy alternative to Ooni’s pizza ovens that produces great results.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Source: Engadget – Solo Stove fire pits are up to 0 off for Black Friday

Elon Musk is refusing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel bills accumulated by Twitter employees before he took over the company, The New York Times has reported. The company is on a drastic cost-cutting campaign and Musk has reportedly issued orders to slow or even halt payments to vendors and contract services. The move has sparked complaints from Twitter insiders and vendors who are owed millions of dollars in back payments. 

Musk brought in allies from Tesla, his family office and The Boring Company with the directive to “cut, cut, cut,” according to the article. As such, Twitter is asking staff to review, renegotiate or even not pay some outside vendors, according to NYT‘s sources. Some areas under review include computing costs, travel, software services, real estate and even in-office cafeteria food. 

Twitter is reviewing partnerships with sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, along with media companies including Condé Nast and Fox. It’s also trying to renegotiate deals with tech firms like Amazon and Oracle that provide computing services. In addition, corporate credit cards have been shut off, free lunches eliminated and expense report payments delayed. And the company has reportedly not delivered checks previously promised to charitable organizations. 

Musk took on $13 billion in loans as part of his acquisition of the social network, with interest payments supposedly amounting to $1 billion each year. He has told employees that the “economic picture ahead is dire” and “bankruptcy is not out of the question.” Twitter has slashed half of its 7,500-strong work force, seen mass resignations and reportedly terminated a majority of its contractors, many of whom worked on policing content.

Source: Engadget – Twitter is reportedly failing to pay some suppliers amidst cost-cutting measures