While this is shocking to hear in isolation, particularly considering his highly-praised writing for Grand
Surly has updated its Straggler gravel bike. It’s still made of double-butted 4130 chromoly steel tubing and retains its on/off-road and light-bikepacking mandate.
However, after 10 years without an update, there was a lot of catching up to do on the standards front, with today’s gravel bikes very different from those of a decade ago.
According to Surly “the new Straggler is for the rider who sees challenges, not obstacles”, aimed at those looking for a do-it-all gravel bike that’s equally comfortable on- and off-road.
While the previous-generation Straggler, which we reviewed in 2023, had a classic double-diamond frameset with a horizontal top tube, the new bike leans into gravel design with a sloping top tube.
Surly says this offers better standover and more travel for riders who choose to fit a dropper post, which wasn’t an option with the previous frameset.
The sloping top tube and shorter seat tube are part of a geometry update that sees Surly also raise the stack for a more upright ride position. It says this should be more comfortable and improve visibility.
With riders fitting ever-wider gravel tyres, Surly has also increased the bottom bracket drop, with the aim of improving stability.
Tyre clearance is upped from 42mm to 50mm. Surly has done the inevitable and converted from 100mm front/135mm rear quick-release dropouts to 100mm/142mm 12mm-diameter thru-axles.
It’s also changed from brake post mounts to flat mounts, and the rear caliper sits inside the rear triangle rather than on the back of the seatstay, again in line with modern gravel bike standards.
The Straggler still comes with a steel fork as standard, but the 44mm non-tapered head tube opens the option to fit a carbon fork or a gravel suspension fork.
The steel fork has an array of bosses, and there are also three sets of bottle bosses on the frame, along with rack and mudguard mounts.
There are no top tube mounts, though, and the frame is designed for external gear/brake cabling with full outers rather than bare cables, as was the case with the previous Straggler. You can route a dropper cable through the frame, though.
While the previous bike was available in 11 sizes, Surly has pared down the sizing options to eight. There’s still a good size range, though, with frames from 46 to 64cm.
The price for the Straggler frameset is £899.99 in the UK and $899 in the US.
US riders can also choose from two full builds: Shimano Cues 1×11-speed and Alexrims on Novatec hubs, priced at $1,999 or Shimano GRX RX820 2×12-speed and Teravail Washburn wheels, priced at $2,499.
Full builds of the size 46, 49 and 52 frames are fitted with 650b wheels in place of 700c.
The world’s highest bridge opened in China on Sunday, taking the crown from another bridge in the same province. From a report: The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge soars about 2,050 feet above a river and gorge in the southern Chinese province of Guizhou. It is more than twice as high as the Royal Gorge Bridge, which is suspended 956 feet above the Arkansas River in Colorado and is the highest in the United States.
According to Chinese state media, the new Guizhou bridge also sets a record as the world’s longest bridge in a mountainous region, spanning 4,600 feet across. Hailed as China’s latest “infrastructure miracle,” the bridge is designed to spur tourism and economic growth in one of the country’s least developed regions.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Anker has a bunch of new Prime charging devices available and some of them are already getting solid discounts. The lineup includes a laptop-compatible Prime Power Bank (26,250mAh, 300W). The device’s Amazon page currently features a clippable coupon that will take $46 off the price, reducing it by 20 percent. That means you’ll be able to snap this powerbank up for $184.
This portable charger delivers a whopping 300W of total output between its two USB-C ports and single USB-A port. Anker says that, thanks to its 140W output (and if you’re using a 5A cable), you can top up the battery of an M4 Pro MacBook Pro to 50 percent in 27 minutes and an iPhone 17 Pro Max to 50 percent in 22 minutes. You can keep tabs on what’s happening on each port using the display.
This is also the first Anker powerbank that supports up to 250W of input recharging by using both USB-C ports simultaneously. This faster charging can top up the powerbank’s own battery to 50 percent in just 13 minutes, according to Anker.
This model has a capacity of 26,250mAh (99.75Wh), which is very close to the FAA’s limit of 100W. It’s TSA-approved, so you’ll be able to take it on flights. It’s capable of taking an M4 MacBook Pro from fully dead to an 80 percent charge. The power bank weighs 1.3 lbs — the same as about three iPhones, Anker says.
Other Anker Prime devices are on sale too. A new 3-in-1 MagSafe charger — which can top up the batteries of your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods with wireless charging case simultaneously — also gets a 20 percent discount to $184 when you use a clippable coupon. While there are certainly less expensive 3-in-1 MagSafe options out there, this one includes Qi2 25W support for faster charging, as well as TEC active cooling. Anker suggests this can help speed up charging times and help guard against iPhone battery degradation over time.
A three-port GaN Prime Charger that plugs into an outlet is 20 percent off too, at $120 with a clippable coupon. Anker says it’s as compact as an AirPods Pro 3 case and can provide a total output of 160W, with up to 140W via a single USB-C cable. The charger is said to offer smart power distribution, and you can monitor what’s happening and adjust modes via an onboard display and controls.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/ankers-latest-prime-charging-devices-are-already-on-sale-152040769.html?src=rss
The BOSGAME P3 brings impressive gaming power to the work-centric mini PC craze, and you can save $150 if you act now.
The post Amazon Slashes AMD Ryzen 7 Mini Gaming PC to Lowest Price, Likely Clearing Stock Before Prime Big Deal Days appeared first on Kotaku.
Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.
It’s an exciting time to be an iPhone user. There’s iOS 26, of course, which brings a number of major changes to the platform. For the daring, there’s the iOS 26.1 beta, which continues to build upon the foundation of Apple’s latest OS. If that weren’t enough, however, it seems Apple is also working on yet another iPhone update—this time intended mostly to fix problems with the last one.
The update, iOS 26.0.1, could drop any time in the coming days. These types of updates aren’t necessarily unusual: Apple released iOS 18.0.1 three weeks after iOS 18 last year. The intention here is not to introduce new features or add changes; rather, you should notice bugs fixed and less instability.
Per MacRumors, we may see four key bugs squashed with iOS 26.0.1. Those could include the following:
A patch for a bug affected the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air’s cameras
A patch for a bug that causes wifi to disconnect and reconnect on the iPhone 17 series. Reportedly, this bug can also disconnect CarPlay in some cars.
A patch for a bug that affects search in the Calendar app.
A patch for a bug that stops some users from downloading Apple Intelligence models on the iPhone 17 series.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means. We won’t know exactly what Apple has planned for 26.0.1 until the update comes out. It’s possible there will be other bugs patched here, as well as security updates not included in this list.
You usually can tell how monumental an Apple update is by the numbers in its name: An update like iOS 26, a round number, indicates a major, one a year update; an update like iOS 26.1, with one decimal, denotes a minor update that still introduces new features; and an update like iOS 26.0.1, with two decimals, indicates a stability or security update.
When Apple does release iOS 26.0.1, you can install it from Settings > General > Software Update.
Scarecrows. An endless field. The looming fog. Good times!
The post <i>Silent Hill f</i> Has One Of The Best And Creepiest Puzzles Of The Year appeared first on Kotaku.
Meta’s latest first-party game is a Horizon Worlds shooter only playable on mobile and web, not in VR.
It’s called Super Strike, and comes from Ouro Interactive, the studio Meta set up a few years ago to build high-quality Horizon Worlds games.
Ouro built the flagship shooter experience of Horizon Worlds, Super Rumble. Released in 2023, it was one of the first worlds to use the desktop editor, rather than being created inside VR, and it’s playable on all platforms that support Horizon Worlds, including VR.
That its new Super Strike game does not support VR is another step in Meta’s ongoing diversification of Reality Labs from a purely XR focus to a wider ambition of being a popular smartphone gaming platform, competing with Roblox, Rec Room, and app store games, not just a social VR platform.
All Horizon Worlds worlds have been accessible on mobile and web since last year. And this year we’ve seen the launch of a number of non-VR worlds, first from third-party creators – and now from Meta itself.
Meta has fostered and encouraged the third-party worlds, awarding their creators a total of $2 million across two competitions this year so far.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
The first, called the Mobile Genre Showdown, awarded $100,000, $30,000, and $20,000 each respectively in June to the first, second, and third place winners across five genres, as well as $15,000 each to the winners of 15 special categories.
The second, called Elevate Your Mobile World, awarded $100,000, $60,000, and $50,000 in August to the first, second, and third place winners of “Most Satisfying Progression System” and “Most Sharable Moments”, as well as $20,000 each to multiple winners of 14 new special categories.
Meta has also made it possible to access Horizon Worlds almost instantly from links inside Instagram and Facebook, without needing any other app installed.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
Earlier this year, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth declared that “we are still investing massively in VR gaming and don’t plan to stop”, and Meta’s Director of Games Chris Pruett claimed that the company funded over 100 VR & mixed reality titles that shipped in 2024, as well as over 200 currently in “active production”. The company is also set to launch Deadpool VR in November, in collaboration with Marvel Games, its next blockbuster after Batman: Arkham Shadow.
Still, the company’s priorities are clearly shifting, and declining Quest headset sales could see Meta’s content funding decisions change even further.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
But will non-VR shooters, social media integration, and millions of dollars of creator prizes really turn Horizon Worlds into the next Fortnite, or will this be the real legendary misadventure of Meta?
You won’t find a better price on a 15.6-inch full-HD ultra-thin monitor with near-universal compatibility across laptops, consoles, and handhelds.
The post This 15.6″ Portable Gaming Monitor Is Already Cheaper Than Ever, Stock Is Flying Before October Prime Day Even Starts appeared first on Kotaku.
What’s the proper punishment for an illegal U-turn? If you’re a human being in California, it’s a fine of up to $234. If you’re a robot, apparently, it’s nothing at all. The San Francisco Standard: This injustice became apparent to many Facebook users Saturday night after a viral post from the San Bruno Police Department showed footage of officers pulling over a Waymo for the scofflaw maneuver only to discover that no one was behind the wheel.
The car stopped automatically when it saw the police lights during a Friday evening DUI checkpoint, but instead of a person IRL, officers say they were connected with a Waymo rep over the phone. After a brief exchange, the Waymo was sent on its way. Under current law, officials explained, they couldn’t issue a ticket. “Our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot,'” they joked on Facebook. “Hopefully the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Epic Games and Warner Bros. apparently had a failure to communicate
The post <i>Fortnite</i> Peacemaker Dance Pulled Over Nazi Concerns Following Latest Episode’s Big Reveal appeared first on Kotaku.
The 259th installment of the 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup is here for the week ending on September 28th, 2025, keeping you updated with the most important things happening in the Linux world.
Your AirPods may soon become your most important pieces of fitness gear. One of the AirPods Pro 3’s new features is heart rate tracking for both workouts and periodic pulse checks. Apple’s latest earbuds are equipped with photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors that shine infrared light hundreds of times per second to measure how light is absorbed in blood flow. What’s more, the AirPods Pro 3 work in tandem with the iPhone’s accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS and on-device AI for more comprehensive cardio insights and to estimate calories burned during exercise. Here’s how to use heart-rate monitoring with the AirPods Pro 3, along with some maintenance tips to keep the tech in prime working condition.
An important aspect of getting accurate data from your AirPods is understanding how the earbuds track your heart rate. If you’re using Apple’s Fitness app, the AirPods Pro 3 will continuously monitor your pulse during a workout. In addition to the heart rate sensor and accelerometer in the earbuds, details like location, barometric pressure and health information are also pulled from your iPhone, and they’re all used to estimate the calories you burn each session. Lastly, if you’re wearing both an Apple Watch and the AirPods Pro 3 during a workout, the device with the most accurate data over the last five minutes will be used to track your heart rate.
If you prefer to keep one ear completely unobstructed for whatever reason, you might be happy to know you only need to wear one of your AirPods Pro 3 during a workout to track your heart rate. Both earbuds are equipped with heart rate sensors; you can wear either one so you won’t have to forego your favorite ear.
It probably goes without saying, but you need a set of the AirPods Pro 3 to use the heart rate feature. None of the older AirPods models have onboard heart rate sensors. The only other option in Apple’s stable that does is the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.
You’ll also need an iPhone that’s capable of running iOS 26. This is every model from the iPhone 11 and newer, including the second-generation iPhone SE.
Turning heart rate sensing on and off on the AirPods Pro 3 is simple. The feature is enabled by default, but you can turn it off in the AirPods settings menu on your iPhone.
Put your AirPods Pro 3 in your ears and make sure they’re connected to your iPhone.
Go to the Settings app on your phone.
On the main menu, tap the name of your AirPods, which will appear near the top of the screen.
Scroll down to Heart Rate and turn it off.
Repeat the same steps to turn Heart Rate back on.
In addition to workout apps, you can also view your heart rate in the Health app on your iPhone or iPad. Here, you’ll be able to see live data from the AirPods Pro 3’s heart rate sensors.
Put your AirPods Pro 3 in your ears and make sure they’re connected to your iPhone or iPad.
Open the Health app on an iPhone or iPad.
Tap the magnifying glass icon at the bottom right, then tap Heart, then tap Heart Rate.
Your live heart rate from AirPods Pro 3 will be displayed in a graph.
As I mentioned before, your heart rate will appear in the Fitness app during workouts. The AirPods Pro 3 can also send that data to compatible third-party apps. For those, you’ll need to give the app permission to access your heart rate data, as well as the ability to read and record workouts. You’ll only have to do this once: when you use a third-party workout app with Apple Health for the first time.
Put your AirPods Pro 3 in your ears and make sure they’re connected to your iPhone.
Go to the Fitness app or a third-party workout app on your iPhone. (Apple hasn’t published a list of supported apps, but iOS fitness apps that offer heart-rate tracking should work with the AirPods Pro 3 if the developer decides to do so. Examples of those include Nike Run Club, Peloton, Runna and Ladder.)
Start a workout in the app you choose.
Your heart rate will appear in the app during your workout. If you see dashes or the number is dimmed, that means the AirPods Pro 3 aren’t getting a good reading. This is similar to what happens if your Apple Watch is not maintaining contact with your wrist and is typically a result of a loose wristband. Check the fit of your earbuds and make sure they’re connected to your iPhone.
To stop heart rate tracking in any of the apps, end your workout.
You will then get a summary of the heart rate stats for your workout in a third-party app or Apple’s Fitness or Health apps.
In addition to looking at heart rate data in the Health app or other workout apps, you can just ask Siri to tell you a current reading without ever touching your phone.
Put your AirPods Pro 3 in your ears and make sure they’re connected to your iPhone.
Ask Siri “What’s my heart rate?” or something similar.
Remember: You don’t need to touch the buttons on the AirPods Pro 3 in order to activate Siri. If Talk to Siri is set to “Siri or Hey Siri” or “Hey Siri” under Apple Intelligence & Siri in the Settings app on your iPhone, you only need to use the wake word and then ask your question. If not, you can activate Siri with a press and hold the Force Touch button on either side until you hear a chime.
Like any activity-monitoring device, there are some habits that will help ensure the data that you’re getting from the AirPods Pro 3 is as accurate as possible. Not only do the AirPods Pro 3 track heart rate, but the motion sensor data it sends to your iPhone is essential to calculate things like calories burned, steps and distance for your daily activity. For this reason, it’s crucial that your earbuds and iPhone or iPad are working together properly.
Make sure your AirPods Pro 3 fit well. If there isn’t good contact between the heart rate sensors on the AirPods Pro 3 and the skin inside your ear, you could get poor heart rate readings. Apple warns users that the best ear tip size for acoustic seal and the best one for heart rate tracking may be different.
Maintain up-to-date information in the Health app. The details that you enter into the Health app — such as height, weight, gender and age — are used with heart rate and motion sensor data to calculate metrics like calories burned.
Keep warm: cold ears may impact the performance of the AirPods Pro 3. If you’re exercising in cold locations, you may have trouble getting accurate readings from the AirPods Pro 3. Low temperatures can reduce the blood flow to your ears, which makes it more difficult for the earbuds to track your heart rate accurately.
Check your ears regularly. Earwax buildup, moisture or skin conditions can affect contact between the AirPods Pro 3 and your skin.
Check your jewelry or piercings. Apple says metal jewelry from piercings can also interfere with heart rate readings. If you encounter any performance issues during workouts, the company recommends removing any piercings near the location where the AirPods Pro 3 sit in your ears.
Know that everyone’s ears are different. The amount of blood flow detectable through the skin varies from person to person. Like I said earlier, this can also be affected by the environment (cold weather, for example) or activity levels. If blood flow in your ears changes based on either of these factors, it can impact the performance of heart-rate tracking on the AirPods Pro 3.
Clean your AirPods Pro 3. To keep the AirPods Pro 3 in peak working condition, clean them regularly. Tips for the best ways to do that are available in our AirPods cleaning guide.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-to-use-the-airpods-pro-3s-heart-rate-tracking-feature-141510469.html?src=rss
The publisher has announced that it’s being acquired by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners
The post The Internet Reacts To EA’s $55 Billion Sale To Some Of The Worst People Around appeared first on Kotaku.
Right now you can head to Amazon to pre-order your Xbox-branded PC gaming handheld.
The post ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Up for Pre-order Is Live, Skip the Sell-Out FOMO and Secure Yours Before October 16 Release appeared first on Kotaku.
Friday’s reports that Electronic Arts planned to go private were publicly confirmed Monday morning. Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners will join together to pay an estimated $55 billion for the video game mega-publisher in a deal being described as the “largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history.”
EA stockholders will receive $210 per share in the deal, a 25 percent premium on the $168.32 price for a share at the close of business last Thursday (and well above the stock’s $179 all-time-high share price). Share in EA closed at $193.35 on Friday after reports of the private sale first broke and are selling for roughly $203.50 per share in pre-market trading as of this writing.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who is expected to stay on after the deal is finalized in early 2027, said in a public note to employees that “this moment is a recognition of your creativity, your innovation, and your passion. You have built some of the world’s most iconic IP, created stories that have inspired global communities, and helped shape culture through interactive experiences. Everything we have achieved – and everything that lies ahead – is because of you.”
BrianFagioli writes: Electronic Arts has agreed to a $55 billion buyout by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, marking the largest all-cash sponsor take-private deal ever. Shareholders will receive $210 per share, a 25 percent premium over EA’s unaffected price, and once the transaction closes the company will be delisted from public markets. EA CEO Andrew Wilson will remain in charge, with the group arguing that private ownership will allow the publisher to innovate faster and expand its global footprint.
The deal, however, is already sparking controversy. PIF, a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Saudi government, will effectively gain control of one of the most influential names in gaming. While investors stand to profit, many gamers and industry watchers are concerned about how Saudi ownership could shape EA’s creative direction, monetization strategies, and role in esports. With regulatory approvals still pending, the takeover raises difficult questions about the intersection of gaming, politics, and global soft power.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The world’s top artificial intelligence groups are stepping up their focus on so-called world models that can better understand human environments, in the search for new ways to achieve machine “superintelligence.”
Google DeepMind, Meta, and Nvidia are among the companies attempting to gain ground in the AI race by developing systems that aim to navigate the physical world by learning from videos and robotic data rather than just language.
This push comes as questions rise about whether large language models—the technology that powers popular chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT—are reaching a ceiling in their progress.
The leaps in performance between LLMs released by companies across the sector, such as OpenAI, Google, and Elon Musk’s xAI, have been slowing, despite the vast sums invested in their development.
