Monthly Archives: November 2025

Google starts testing ads in AI Mode

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Google has started inserting ads into query results from its AI Mode, which was originally spotted by an SEO consultant named Brodie Clark. These ads show up in the bottom of search results in the Gemini-powered AI Mode. They are labeled as “sponsored” content, but otherwise look similar to other links whipped up by the chatbot.

Google says this is just a test and that ads shouldn’t be showing up for all users. The company also told 9to5Google that there are no current plans to fully update AI Mode to incorporate ads. Those are nice words, but AI has to make money somehow and ads seem to be a good way to do that.

The time has come. Google is now showing ads within AI Mode for the first time ever.

Similar to the ads that I had originally spotted showing within AI overviews earlier this year, the placement is at the bottom of the response.

And as you can see, the ad results are labelled… pic.twitter.com/JZa7g8rS2N

— Brodie Clark (@brodieseo) November 21, 2025

For now, the software seems to be prioritizing organic links over sponsored links, but we all know how insidious ads can be once the floodgates open. AI presents an especially slippery slope here, as these chatbots are often advertised as personal assistants. I don’t really want a personal assistant barking ads at me 24/7.

Incidentally, there doesn’t seem to be any way to hide the aforementioned sponsored links. Google Search lets users hide sponsored results once they scroll past them.

It sure looks like our free ride is already coming to an end, as AI companies are really speedrunning through that whole enshittification thing. X recently announced that it would be incorporating ads into query results. 

I love Sora 2

Sam Altman must love this too pic.twitter.com/YexwVEoBKQ

— Adyseus (@Adyseku) October 1, 2025

There are also rumors that OpenAI has been hiring people to turn ChatGPT into an ad platform. That company’s recently-launched AI social media slop factory Sora reportedly burns through $15 million a day generating videos of Sam Altman eating pizza in space or whatever. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-starts-testing-ads-in-ai-mode-192800265.html?src=rss

Microsoft Finally Admits Almost All Major Windows 11 Core Features Are Broken

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Microsoft has acknowledged in a support article that major Windows 11 core features including the Start Menu, Taskbar, File Explorer and System Settings break after applying monthly cumulative updates released on or after July 2025.

The problems stem from XAML component issues that affect updates beginning with July’s Patch Tuesday release (KB5062553). The failures occur during first-time user logins after cumulative updates are applied and on non-persistent OS installations like virtual desktop infrastructure setups. Microsoft lists Explorer.exe crashes, shellhost.exe crashes, StartMenuExperienceHost failures and System Settings that silently refuse to launch among the symptoms. The company provided PowerShell commands and batch scripts as temporary workarounds that re-register the affected packages. Both Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 share the same codebase and are affected. Microsoft said it is working on a fix but did not provide a timeline.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Keep your receipts: Tech firms told to prepare for possible tariff refunds

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For months, the Trump administration has warned that semiconductor tariffs are coming soon, leaving the tech industry on pins and needles after a chaotic year of unpredictable tariff regimes collectively cost firms billions.

The semiconductor tariffs are key to Donald Trump’s economic agenda, which is intended to force more manufacturing into the US by making it more expensive to import materials and products. He campaigned on axing the CHIPS Act—which provided subsidies to companies investing in manufacturing chips in the US—complaining that it was a “horrible, horrible thing” to “give hundreds of billions of dollars” away when the US could achieve the same objective by instead taxing companies and “use whatever is left over” of CHIPS funding to “reduce debt.” However, as 2025 winds down, the US president faces pressure on all sides to delay semiconductor tariffs, insiders told Reuters, and it appears that he is considering caving.

According to “two people with direct knowledge of the matter and a third person briefed on the conversations,” US officials have privately told industry and government stakeholders that semiconductor tariffs will likely be delayed.

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My Favorite Heater/Fan Combo Is $150 Off Ahead of Black Friday

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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.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, 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.

  • 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.

  • Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

When it comes to how I live, there are a few basic facts: I dwell in a small apartment and I am constantly “working on it.” Sometimes, this involves overhauling my entire organizational system. Other times, I’m overcome with the sudden desire to wallpaper the kitchen. I am constantly in a state of decorating, cleaning, rearranging, and generally improving. Lately, that’s involved a lot of tech and appliance upgrades to make my environment better and more serviceable, not just nice to look at.

One of the best things I’ve gotten my hands on is the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, which is both a heater and a fan. I’m picky about both because I always want to be warmer and need a heater, but I also like the noise of a fan at night to fall asleep (while I’m safe from the cool air under my blanket). Having both in one has been awesome and, now that the device is $150 off ahead of Black Friday, you should consider getting one, too.

The Shark TurboBlade deal

First of all, I always want to be upfront when I’ve been given something by a company so I can review it. That’s what happened here. I don’t write a nice review if something stinks, though, so here I am, saying this thing is extremely useful.

Typically, the TurboBlade Cool + Heat is $400. That’s a lot, although it makes economic sense if you don’t want to spend a bunch of money on a good fan and a good heater separately. It also makes sense for someone like me in a little apartment. It’s frustrating to have to store two large devices when I could just have one. Still, the discount, which puts this at $250 for the shopping holiday, is much appreciated.

The fan

The TurboBlade Cool + Heat is bladeless and modern-looking, which I like. It’s also powerful. You can adjust it up to 10 levels of air-blasting, so you can get just a touch or a whole wind storm. I opt for a level-10 wind storm because I am especially interested in white noise at bedtime, but it comes with a convenient little remote so if it gets too loud or too airy, I don’t have to get up to adjust it. The heat option, which is easy to toggle on, has three modes. There’s a filter at the bottom that looks easy to clean, but I haven’t had to do that yet.

Shark TurboBlade

Credit: SharkNinja/Lindsey Ellefson

You can turn the vents horizontally or vertically, plus it can tilt and oscillate on its own. If you’re going to pay a few hundred bucks for something, it should do a few cool tricks, and this does. You can also dim the control panel, which I do because I like to sleep in pitch darkness.

Some tech specs: It has 1,400 watts, its air flow capacity is 1,180 cubic feet per minute, and its top speed is 10 RPM. It has a 120 voltage and weighs a little over 21 pounds. I am a simple person, so I don’t pay attention to any of those things except the weight. It doesn’t come put-together, so I foolishly assembled it in the middle of my entryway (which was perfectly easy to do and took me maybe five minutes), then had to haul it around, assembled and heavy, to place it where I wanted it. Is 21 pounds a ton of weight? No, but it was tricky for me to push it up the ladder into my lofted bedroom and I do wish I had assembled it in the room where I planned to use it. Just a word of advice.

What stores have the best sales on Black Friday?

Nowadays, both large retailers and small businesses compete for Black Friday shoppers, so you can expect practically every store to run sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from larger retailers who can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog. 

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Black Friday Deals Right Now


Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)


—
$69.99

(List Price $139.99)

Sony WH-1000XM5


—
$248.00

(List Price $399.99)

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus


—
$24.99

(List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

The most effective anti-spam tool I’ve ever used is on sale for Black Friday

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My colleagues on Engadget’s buying advice team have put out great recommendations for physical gadgets like this humble fabric shaver that are on sale for Black Friday. I, however, am an evolved being who swims in the digital ether, so my top product of the year lives only online — though DeleteMe will still improve your life wherever you are. From now until December 5, DeleteMe is offering 30 percent off all subscriptions with the coupon code BFCM30OFF25.

Chances are you’ve seen at least one public-facing “people search” site. You know the ones: they usually have names like 411.info or Find.people, and you can type in a person’s name and find all the info the site has been able to scrape on them. If you search your own name, it’s hard to avoid immediately running to the kitchen to make yourself a tinfoil hat. The most annoying thing is that these “data broker” sites are perfectly legal to run and use.

However, that’s also their Achilles’ heel. If they want to operate in the open, brokers legally have to include a way for you to remove yourself from their database. Most of them make it as aggravating and time-consuming as possible, but the option is there.

That’s where DeleteMe comes in. All you have to do is sign up and enter all the data you want removed from brokerage sites. DeleteMe handles the rest. It searches for your information on people database sites, automatically sends opt-out requests, bugs the broker if they don’t comply quickly enough and gives you a weekly report on how it’s doing. You do have to be OK with DeleteMe itself having your data, but I trust them way more than the randos over at violate.privacy.

It’s so much faster than handling all the opt-out requests yourself, which — if you’ve ever tried it — rapidly becomes a full-time job. Since I’ve been using DeleteMe, I almost never get spam calls or texts anymore, except in short bursts before its crawlers catch my name on another site. And yes, it doesn’t work on shady data brokers who don’t follow the rules, but it’s still a massive reduction of your online footprint.

The only problem is that it’s pretty expensive, so I strongly recommend jumping on this Black Friday deal. A few months on DeleteMe should be long enough for you to see if it reduces spam for you — and I’m betting it will.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-most-effective-anti-spam-tool-ive-ever-used-is-on-sale-for-black-friday-190526952.html?src=rss

My Weekend at the Death Valley Century

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Several months ago, Zwift Co-Founder Jon Mayfield and I were talking about training for upcoming events, and he mentioned the Death Valley Century. This was a ride Jon had done several times already, and he was signed up to do it in November. Would I be interested in coming along?

After giving it some thought, I decided to pull the trigger. Why not? It was a place I’d never ridden before, plus I needed to plan an event or two to inspire my training.

I signed up, then mentioned it while chatting on Discord during my Thursday Pizza Burner 100km ride. Two ride regulars, Casey Tucker and Justin “Wagz” Wagner, both said the ride sounded interesting. Then texted me within a few days to say they’d signed up!

And just like that, there were four of us heading to Death Valley National Park for an epic century.

At least, that was the plan…

The Prologue

In the weeks leading up to the ride, I’d been messaging Jon to find out what he was planning, while also chatting back and forth in a text group with Wagz and Casey.

Jon was going to bring his telescope and camera, because he dabbles in astrophotography and Death Valley is a Gold Tier designated dark sky area, meaning, “On clear, moonless nights, the Milky Way casts visible shadows, and thousands of stars typically washed out by light pollution become readily apparent.” Epic stargazing? I’m in.

Wagz was driving in from Salt Lake City, Casey from Bend, OR, and I from NorCal, meaning we were all driving 8 or more hours to arrive in Death Valley on Friday, for the ride on Saturday. We decided to stay Saturday night as well, and maybe get a ride in on Sunday before heading out. Casey started researching alternative rides, and found an epic 25-mile climb up to a lookout called Dante’s View. Sunday’s ride: planned.

Things began to unravel in September, though. A big storm came through, dumping 1.5″ of rain in one day. (This may not sound like much, but Death Valley averages 2.2″ of rain annually. If a good portion of that arrives in a short time, chaos ensues: flash floods, washed out roads, etc. This will be important later on…)

Then the government shutdown began on October 1, meaning Planet Ultra could hardly even find anyone to talk to since Death Valley is a national park and those employees were off work until further notice. As the shutdown dragged on (43 days, the longest in history), we were notified that the route had been changed, then notified of further changes. By the time the shutdown ended, just a few days before the ride, Planet Ultra had settled on a metric century route for us to ride, with the option of removing our ride numbers and finishing out the full imperial century however we chose once we crossed the line.

So that was our Saturday ride plan.

But within a few days of the ride, the weather forecast, which had been wonderful for weeks, began to turn. First it was rain on Sunday. Then a bit of rain on Saturday. We realized there would be no stargazing, as clouds would fill the sky all weekend. And by mid-day Friday, as we were all making our way to Death Valley, it showed 1″ of rain on Saturday.

An email arrived from Planet Ultra. Subject line: URGENT!!! Death Valley Ride: CANCELLED.

A flurry of texts and phone calls followed between the four of us. The concensus was clear: we weren’t cancelling. The hotel was booked, we’d been granted our “Husband Passes,” and we were going to figure out a way to do something epic.

Even if it killed us.

Which was actually a distinct possibility.

Act 1: Night Riders

We were all targeting a 4pm Friday arrival, since that was the hotel’s check-in time. But Wagz and Casey arrived before I did, and decided we needed to do a shakeout ride. Knowing we didn’t have a lot of daylight, I kitted up in my car, grabbed my bike, and headed out with Wagz and Casey.

It’s funny: I hadn’t yet met these two in real life. But we’ve spent many hours riding together virtually while chatting on Discord. So when I pulled up and saw them, there was no introduction necessary – we had just ridden 100km in Watopia the day before! The jokes picked up right where we’d left them.

We headed out from Furnace Creek (Death Valley towns have great names) toward Badwater at 4:12pm. Casey and Wagz both had headlights, but I hadn’t brought one. Figuring we had about an hour of daylight, so we decided we’d ride out around 15-20km, then turn around and come back.

15km out, Casey suggested we take a left and ride the Artist’s Drive road instead of just flipping a u-turn. “It’s a nice little loop,” he said. (It was closed to automobiles due to recent floods, but his research said there was just a bit of gravel washed across the road here and there.) We rode around the barrier, crossed the first bit of gravel, and decided to give it a go.

And that’s when our shakeout ride turned spicy.

Have you ever climbed with another cyclist, where neither of you talks about how you don’t want to let the other guy beat you? The unspoken race? That’s what this was. And the problem was, none of us knew how long or steep the climb actually was.

4.5km and 325 meters of climbing later, we finished the main portion of the climb. And we realized we had a problem. Or more accurately: I had a problem. It was dark. I had no light. And we were nowhere near home.

We began the main descent of Artist’s Drive, with me trying to stay sandwiched between Casey and Wagz so I could see the road. And this wasn’t just any road: it was an unfamiliar, twisty, and steep descent. Made all the more interesting by random gravel patches deposited from recent flooding!

It felt like we were just on the edge of crazy, which is a rather fun place to be. We only had to unclip and hike the bikes once, thanks to a particular deep gravel section. But apart from that, we made our way down, teasing Casey for his route suggestion and laughing at the irony of my gravel bike sitting in my garage, headlight and all.

By the time we returned to the main road it was pitch dark, and we still had 10km to go. We turned off all our lights for just a minute, to take in the total darkness of the place. Wow. Have you ever experienced that? It’s rather disorienting, like you’re floating in space.

Turning the lights back on, we made our way to the hotel. When we arrived, we checked the stats: our 1-hour ride had turned into a 100-minute ride covering 40km and 747m of climbing. And although nobody said it, I think we may have all been thinking the same thing: I went too hard, and I’m going to pay for it tomorrow.

See this ride on Strava >

Intermission: Dinner Plans

Jon, Casey, Wagz, and I sat around the dinner table Friday night, looking at weather apps and roadmaps to plan our new Saturday route. We decided to start in the morning with an out-and-back to Badwater Basin, since it’s a key tourist attraction, being the lowest point in North America (282′ below sea level). That would give us 55km.

Then we could refill bottles and restock snacks upon our return to the hotel, and decide if we wanted to continue with the second leg of the ride: heading north for a 75km loop that included a nice little 11km, 570m climb.

Jon planned to join us for the first leg, but left the second leg up in the air depending on how he was feeling. (He had always ridden this event as a solo TT, so he wasn’t sure if he would want to ride part of it solo, or even make it a shorter day so he had the legs to take on Dante’s View the following day.)

Act 2: The Big Day

Heading to Badwater, while the rain storm moves up the valley toward us

The four of us rode out from the hotel the next morning. Temps were in the low 60’s, with a light rain. We watched a handful of riders leave and head north, but we were heading south, hoping to finish up in low-elevation Badwater before things got too wet.

The road to Badwater Basin is rolling and smooth, and we quickly settled into an easy, albeit muddy, rhythm. Nobody wanted to push hard this early in the day, and it felt to me like the cancellation of the official event had given the whole affair a sort of casual feel. Which was nice.

Alkaline mud was washing across the road’s low spots, and that mud quickly coated our shoes, socks, and backsides. It smelled distinctly like fresh, wet cement and left a slimy layer on bikes and clothes after rains washed most of it away.

Badwater Basin was something to behold: a 200-square mile salt flat with a sign on the nearby cliff marking sea level, 282′ above us. We looked around a bit, watched people head out to the salt flats on the broad boardwalk, snapped a few photos, then headed back to the hotel.

At the hotel, Jon decided to hit the shower, change clothes, then head out on the second leg solo. Wagz, Casey, and I decided to restock provisions and head out together. The rain was still light, the temperature just right, and the northern roads didn’t seem likely to flood even if it poured down.

We started on HWY 190, churning through almost 30 flat kilometers. The best way to see the world is from a bicycle, especially if you’re not in race mode. We were able to enjoy the otherworldly scenery as we worked our way across the desert. The distant craggy mountains, the tumbleweeds, the sand dunes, the multicolored soils, the feels of the wind and rain, the unique smell of the place… everything mixed into a singular feast for the sense.

Eventually we turned left and onto the day’s big climb: Mud Canyon Road. 11km long and averaging 5.5%, this steady grade wasn’t bad apart from two things:

  1. None of us could figure out how long the climb was. You would think we would have learned our lesson the previous night, but here we were, not sure if the climb was 6 or 12 miles long.
  2. Casey tried to suck down a Honey Stinger mid-climb, and managed to inhale most of it into his windpipe. Between coughing fits, he said (and I quote): “It feels like there’s a porcupine in my throat,” and also, “I don’t think I’ve ever had my throat hurt this bad.” Turns out, those Honey Stingers live up to their name if you ingest them just right. (Of course, Wagz and I considered attacking at this point, but decided to be nice.)

From the top of the climb we bombed the descent of Beatty Cutoff Road, then headed back to the hotel via HWY 190. It began to rain in earnest in these final kilometers, which was actually rather nice, as it washed away some of the mud caked onto our bikes and clothes.

After Casey took a long pull on the front, I went forward and upped the watts, figuring it would be fun to “make it interesting” as we hit the small rise heading into Furnace Creek. But Casey, feeling his monster pull, fell off the back. Then Wagz attacked in the gutter, forcing me to chase his wheel for shelter! I figured he would drop me like he often does near the end of Pizza Burner rides, but quickly saw he had gone too early, with legs that were too tired. I managed to chase back onto his wheel, then sprint to glory across the invisible townline.

131km and 1,321m of elevation on the day. Not bad for a cancelled ride.

See this ride on Strava >

Intermission: A Flood (of Excuses)

Returning to the hotel, it was cleanup time. We hopped into our showers fully kitted up, rinsing the remaining mud from our bodies and clothes. Casey and I even hauled our bikes into the showers, which worked quite nicely. (Although we found the next morning that the water had left some rust spots on our chains and cassettes, probably due to the chemical makeup of the local water and/or soil.)

We reconvened with Jon for dinner at the all-you-can-eat buffet and shared stories of our rides. (Jon had ridden the same route as us, but the second portion was solo, on his Zwifty Pinarello with TT bars.) Soon enough, the conversation turned to the next day: what was our ride plan? Were we climbing to Dante’s View?

Wagz stated definitively what he’d been hinting at all day long: he needed to leave early to get back to his family. Jon felt like his legs were too cooked to take it on (he had been training for a half-marathon in the months leading up to this, and didn’t feel his cycling fitness was up to snuff.) And Casey chimed in with unexpected news: his parents, who had made the trip with him, wanted to head back early. He wouldn’t be riding the next day either.

But I’d had my heart set on attempting that epic climb, and my travel plans allowed me to stick around and do it. I let them know I was still going to go for it, even if they were only joining me in spirit!

As we wound down the conversation, our waiter came over to inform us that it was “Really coming down outside. You might want to head back to your rooms soon.” We left the restaurant to discover both main roads into the hotel were now flowing rivers, which was particularly irksome given we had our hearts set on ice cream.

That ice cream, it turned out, was served at a shop on the other side of the hotel grounds, requiring us to ford two newly-created driveway rivers. After spending some time trying to find a way across while staying dry, we made the decision to sacrifice one shoe/sock, stepping into the water and leaping the remaining distance across the road. It was a small sacrifice for ice cream.

Act 3: Solo, So High

The next morning I bid farewell to Wagz and Casey, and began the 40km ride from Furnace Creek (-190′) up to Dante’s View (5,475′). Blue sky was visible through the clouds for the first time since our arrival, along with fresh snow on the highest peaks. The air was crisp, with a stiff breeze blowing up from the south.

Knowing this was a long climb, and knowing the steepest pitches were at the end, I kept my power squarely in the comfort zone, chugging along in zone 2 around 210 watts.

70 minutes in, I hit the halfway point (in terms of distance) to the top, and turned right off of HWY 190 onto the road to Dante’s View. I was feeling good, taking in the views while making slow but steady progress. The crosswind I’d been climbing with became a quartering headwind as the road shifted southward, but it was all doable, and I smiled and waved as the first cyclist I’d seen that day zoomed past, coming down from Dante’s View.

Traffic was quite sparse, and when my Varia radar indicated a car coming up behind, I scooted over to give it room. But this car slowed and pulled up alongside me. It was Jon! I had wondered that morning if I’d see him on the road, since he had said he’d never been up to Dante’s View. He asked if I needed anything – water? Clothes? A donut? I took a donut, then continued on as he zoomed up the road.

Three ominous signs on the way to Dante’s View…

31km in, everything changed. The road made a hard right, the landscape changed from a canyon to a wide-open prairie, and the wind, now a straight headwind, became stronger. And to my left, across the prairie, I saw the mist of rain marching across the prairie toward me.

I was forced to increase my efforts substantially just to make meaninful progress. Not only was the wind was stouter, but the road was steeper. (I didn’t realize this at the time, because Death Valley road pitches are oddly confusing. Sometimes it’s hard to know if you’re going up or down, or how steep the road really is!) Minutes before I’d been climbing at 18kph while holding 210W, and now I was working at 250-275W to move forward at just 10kph. I shot a quick video to record the ridiculousness of it all:

Near the middle of the prairie, I saw Jon’s Tesla coming down the mountain. He pulled over and I stopped, both of us shaking our heads as the wind howled around us.

“Do you want some warm clothes? I’ve got a wind jacket, some arm warmers…” Jon offered.

“No, I brought a vest, I think it’ll do the job,” I said, realizing it was probably time to put that vest on, as I’d worn just a jersey and bibs thus far and the temperature was definitely dropping. I pulled out my vest and put it on, and even that was a bit of a chore, given how hard the wind was blowing!

We talked a bit more about conditions at the top: “It’s really windy and cold up there,” Jon said. He refilled my bottles with water, and I grabbed a handful of sour gummy worms. “Are you sure you don’t want more clothes?”

I took the arm warmers. And as I pulled them on, I could feel rain starting to fall. At the last minute, I took the wind/rain jacket he offered, because cyclists know it’s OK to ride in the cold, and also OK to ride in the wet. But wet and cold? Not OK.

Bidding Jon farewell, I continued the push across the prairier. It was getting colder. (Looking at my head unit’s data, the temperature dropped 15°F from the start to the end of the prairie.) I pulled over again and put on the wind jacket. Much better!

I gritted my teeth, counting down the kilometers.

7 to go… 6 to go… just keep pushing…

I found myself alternatively yelling into the wind, yelling at myself to keep pushing, and laughing whenever a particularly hard gust came up. It felt wild and crazy, but I also felt alive. It was man vs nature, me vs the mountain, and I couldn’t give up now.

The interminable prairie section finally ended with 5km to go, and I began climbing through the canyon once again, longingly looking around each corner, hoping the end would be in sight. The wind was howling down the canyon, my hands were growing numb, but I couldn’t stop now. I knew I was so close!

After what felt like an endless number of blind curves with no end in sight, I rounded a corner to see the finish. But I groaned out loud when I saw it: the road pitch was insane! Cars were driving up and down the final stretch, and it looked like they were climbing vertically into the sky.

“There’s no way I can climb that without stopping or walking the bike,” I thought to myself. But I gritted my teeth and began to hammer as the road pitched up to 15%. I used every trick in the book, swinging wide on the corners to flatted them out, alternating standing and sitting to recruit every muscle possible.

A cyclist came down from the top, the second I’d seen on the day, and ominously yelled as he came past, “It’s worse coming down!”

I kept pushing, and soon enough, I realized something amazing: I was going to make it. I wouldn’t need to stop and rest.

Despite the temperature now being squarely at 32°F, it was like the clouds parted and the sun came out. Hallelujah! I was at the top!

I stuck around for perhaps 10 minutes, drinking in the view while taking lots of pictures. It was a dizzying sight to look over the steep ledge and see Badwater Basin some 5757′ feet below.

But the wind was howling, and my hands weren’t regaining feeling. Neither were my wet toes. I needed to get off that mountain before any deep chill set in.

So I saddled up and began the tricky descent down the wet, -15% switchbacks, with the wind howling in my ears. That cyclist was right: it was worse coming down!

I figured the wind would subside as I made my way down, but it kept blowing hard, a cross wind hitting my front wheel and forcing me to constantly lean left to avoid being blown off the road. It was sketchy, and I was riding my brakes just to stay in control. I stopped twice to shake out my hands, to regain feeling. And as I left the prairie, I could feel the temperature warming.

I had figured I’d descend the 40km home in well under an hour, but it actually took me 70 minutes due to constant braking in hard crosswinds. I can honestly say I enjoyed the climb more than the descent… and that’s saying something!

But don’t get me wrong. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it all over again. This was one of those epic rides that builds confidence and reminds you of what cycling is all about. If you ever get a chance to ride up to Dante’s View, do it. And bring warm clothes.

See this ride on Strava >

Epilogue (and Your Suggestions)

This was one of those rare adventure weekends all true cyclists love. It had the key elements: riding with friends, battling the weather, admiring new landscapes, even conquering an epic climb. This kind of stuff is good for the soul. It makes memories, while building physical and mental toughness.

While we were forced to change our initial plans, I’m happy we were able to repurpose those lemons into fine lemonade. Now I have to decide: where next? I’m open to suggestions…

My Favorite Universal Travel Adapter Is One of Amazon’s Best Early Black Friday Deals

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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.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, 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.

  • 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.

  • Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

Back in the pre-pandemic days of 2019, I was looking for a universal travel adapter to accompany me across the world. I stumbled upon this older one by Epicka and bought it almost without thinking, something I rarely do. That turned out to be one of my best purchase decisions ever, because that travel adapter is still going strong. I’ve taken it to multiple countries and have used it extensively while traveling to remote locations in India, where you don’t always have a reliable power supply. Last year, I gave it away to a friend I met during a meditation retreat, and she’s been happily using it since then.

This is the first time I’ve had a travel adapter for that long. I’d bought a few crappy ones before and they couldn’t always reliably charge multiple devices or last very long. This Epicka unit was quite impressive in that regard, but it did have a couple of limitations. It was a fairly slow charger, and it had only one USB-C port. I’ve been looking to upgrade to a better travel adapter for about a year now, and I think I’m going to do it this time. Epicka has another model with three USB-C ports and support for up to 75W charging, which makes it ideal for me. That one is now down to its lowest ever price in an early Black Friday deal.

Even at the deal price of $45 (15% off), it is a bit pricey, but I think the premium is worth paying for a fast charger from a brand with a good track record. I will say that this product is a bit bulky and some people will prefer to travel with a more compact charging adapter, but its size never bothered me much. You also get two USB-A ports (one on each side) in this adapter, which is good for those with older charging cables.

This Epicka universal travel adapter has a 4.8 rating on Amazon, with a total of 336 reviews at time of writing. The general consensus among Amazon reviewers is that this is a great product. One review says that if you charge multiple devices, this adapter splits power evenly across the devices, which means that all devices will be charged reasonably quickly. It has plugs for the US, UK, Australia, and EU, and a nice locking mechanism to keep the plugs in place.

Note, though, that if you’re planning to use high-wattage electronics such as hair dryers with this adapter, then it’s not for you. This adapter is also not a voltage converter, so be sure to check if your electronics ship with a built-in converter when using the Epicka adapter in other countries. Most phone and laptop chargers are dual voltage, so you probably won’t have to worry about it much, but safety first.

How long do Black Friday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. You can get the same Black Friday sales early, and we expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025. 

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Black Friday Deals Right Now


Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)


—
$69.99

(List Price $139.99)

Sony WH-1000XM5


—
$248.00

(List Price $399.99)

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus


—
$24.99

(List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

Hotel Infinity Review: A Standout Example Of True Room-Scale VR

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You check into a hotel, but no one’s there. Not even at the reception desk. You sign your name, but then the paper disappears. Things only make less sense from there.

The entire structure of the hotel makes no sense. Turn a corner, and suddenly you can see where you were before at the other side of the room, or an impossible corridor that turns in on itself. And what’s that oozing red substance that seems to be everywhere?

Hotel Infinity is a geometrically impossible labyrinth of an escape room, and that’s precisely what makes it one of the best VR experiences I’ve ever had in the medium.

The Facts

What is it?: An impossible space puzzler through a mysterious hotel.
Platforms: PS VR2, Quest (reviewed on Quest 3S)
Release Date: Out now
Developer/Publisher: Studio Chyr
Price: $19.99

The brainchild of Manifold Garden developer William Chyr and his team at Studio Chyr, Hotel Infinity takes the abstract puzzle exploration of his previous work and implants it into a roomscale VR experience like few others. Indeed, it builds on many of those ideas of impossible spaces and portals to new areas that the game deployed to allow that unique puzzle title to thrive, naturally translating the idea to this very different medium.

Basic techniques that Hotel Infinity employs to make its physically 2×2 meter space feel much larger are not itself new, and you may have experienced the idea before in Tea For God. But how it combines the approach with interesting puzzles makes for a unique experience.

Your reasons for arriving at the hotel are unexplained, but the point once inside is to reach your room, then find a way out. Which, when no corner or object in this space obeys the laws of physics and order you’re used to, is more difficult than it sounds. It’s also incredibly unnerving to never know where you’re going next, witnessing everything from dense corridors to sights of massive hedge mazes and the ever-present glowing neon sign of Hotel Infinity. There’s no dialogue, and there’s barely any music bar the occasional riff and subtle audio cues during puzzles to guide your way. But that doesn’t mean that the game doesn’t raise your heartbeat for its unique atmosphere and the uncertainty over what’s to come.

It’s split into five chapters, each taking you through a set route through the hotel before warping you back to your hotel room and venturing deeper. There are puzzles that must be cleared along the way but beyond some basic math and spatial awareness, these are hardly challenging for anyone with even a base intelligence for these sorts of titles. That’s not the point when taking in this space and discovering (or interpreting in your own terms) the secrets are more important.

For those who lack a 2×2 meter physical space, there is a stationary mode, but I strongly recommend finding the space to play Hotel Infinity how it’s designed to be played. Trust me, as someone living in a Japanese apartment that, while not small, did require a bit of reorganization to make work, I know how challenging this can be if you don’t live in a large place. But it’s worth it. Hotel Infinity is so clearly designed around having the space to make it work that without it, it feels lacking in the spark necessary to get into its many joys under the surface.

If you can find the space, the experience that Hotel Infinity delivers is magical. It’s like a bridge between home VR and the location-based spaces that take advantage of huge, expansive locations to offer a free-roaming experience enhanced by VR. Having experienced many of these in Japan, it’s hard not to see the wonders of being fully transported into a haunted house or location using the tech as you physically, carefully wander the eerie corridors one step at a time. There are many great at-home VR horror experiences or titles in other genres that can transport you to new worlds with more depth. Still, I won’t lie about occasionally wishing I could take that next step myself, and not with a thumbstick.

Hotel Infinity manages to find that happy medium by using impossible space to create the immersive exploratory feel of these commercial VR attractions with a longer adventure, puzzles, and greater possibilities than ever. It’s precisely what makes the roomscale mode of this game such a wonder. Within this 2×2 meter space, corridors are designed in such a way that you can fully walk and duck your way through every area in the game without needing the controllers for anything other than gripping, holding, and interacting with objects or levers in the environment. Walking through this hotel and turning each corridor not knowing what you’ll see next brings an added layer of fear and excitement, and before long you forget where you are. Sure, you don’t need to step over that gap or duck to get through the door; it doesn’t exist, but I bet you will anyhow.

It makes Hotel Infinity one of the most immersive VR games on the market, and a showcase of the technology that should become the standard for showing newcomers what’s possible in VR moving forward. This can also have the opposite effect, though, where every exciting and mind-blowing effect is coupled with moments of genuine terror that feel so much more real when you have to take a step towards them. For that reason, I can’t recommend the later moments of this game to anyone with a major fear of heights. I have a partial and circumstantial fear that manifests when I feel directly in control of whether I can fall from such a height, leaving me genuinely worried traversing some of these later areas.

But isn’t that a testament to just how well this game can transport you by virtue of its free-standing 360-degree movement? The core design of moving within this contained and transforming space is its biggest asset, making this idea possible and bringing the immersive free-roaming VR into the home in a way often impossible for setpiece-driven narrative works.

Sure, some of its puzzles can feel overly simplistic, and it’s a very short adventure that can be cleared in about 2 hours in a single sitting before the battery notification of your headset even buzzes. But when it’s this much of a wonder to explore, that hardly matters.

Hotel Infinity – Final Verdict

Hotel Infinity is a standout example of true room-scale VR, and a must-own for anyone interested in understanding the potential of this medium. Notably, the potential is not merely to be a new way to experience familiar ideas, but to offer experiences only possible in VR. What a revelation of a game this is.

UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.

Thunderbird Pro Enters Production Testing Ahead of $9/Month Launch

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Thunderbird Pro has moved its Thundermail email service into production testing as the open-source email client’s subscription bundle of additional services prepares for an Early Bird beta launch at $9 per month that will include email hosting, encrypted file sharing through Send, and scheduling via Appointment.

Internal team members are now testing Thundermail accounts and the new Thunderbird Pro add-on automatically adds Thundermail accounts for users who sign up through it. The project migrated its data hosting from the Americas to Germany and the EU.

Appointment received a major visual redesign being applied across all three services while Send completed an external security review and moved from its standalone add-on into the unified Thunderbird Pro add-on. The new website at tb.pro is live for signups and account management.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

All Amazon Kindle Paperwhites Are at Their Lowest Ever Prices for Black Friday

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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.

Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, 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.

  • 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.

  • Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

When buying a new device, it takes me a long time to actually click the “buy” button. I grew out of using my iPhone and Mac to read ebooks a few years ago, but I waited until this year to finally grab the e-reader I’d been eyeing since 2020. It’s the Kindle Paperwhite, which I bought on discount a few months ago. I love it, which is why I’m happy to report that it’s now on sale for Black Friday and is down to its lowest ever price.

I know what you might be about to say, but buying a Kindle doesn’t mean that you’re forced to opt into Amazon’s ebook ecosystem. I’ve successfully de-Amazoned my Kindle, and it’s been going fine so far. You have lots of Amazon alternatives to buy ebooks, and I’ve made the most of the opportunity to read many of the DRM-free ebooks purchased over the years. The Kindle Paperwhite itself is a great device, too. It’s quite snappy and doesn’t show any performance issues even if you turn a lot of pages back-to-back.

It’s water-resistant, which means that you can use it by the pool, beach, or even while doing the dishes. And yes, there was a time when I got so locked into a book that I actually was reading the series even while doing the dishes. It was a bit annoying to stop and turn the page every minute or so, but the point is that I never worried about causing any water damage to my Kindle Paperwhite.

Yes, there is a cheaper Kindle, too, but it lacks water resistance and has about half the battery life of a Paperwhite, which makes it less appealing to me. If you can afford to do so, I think buying the Kindle Paperwhite is the smart choice. But there still are a few more decisions to factor in. One is the color. The Paperwhite is available in black, green, and pink colors and all are currently at their lowest ever price. Once you’ve figured out your color, you need to choose if you’re buying your Kindle with ads or ad-free. I always recommend spending the extra 20 bucks to get the ad-free version, but if lock screen ads don’t bother you, then you can get the lower priced model.

The third and final choice is whether you want to stretch your budget for the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. This variant has 32GB of built-in storage (double that of the regular Paperwhite), an auto-adjusting front light, and support for wireless charging. It’s just $5 more than the ad-free Kindle Paperwhite at time of writing, and it’s worth remembering that this variant also doesn’t have ads.

Personally, I think the choice is really between an ad-supported Paperwhite at $125 or an ad-free Paperwhite Signature Edition at $150. Both are great devices, so no matter what, you can’t really go wrong.

How long do Black Friday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. You can get the same Black Friday sales early, and we expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025. 

Does Amazon have Black Friday deals?

Yes, Amazon has Black Friday sales, but prices aren’t always what they seem. Use a price tracker to make sure you’re getting the best deal, or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you. And if you have an Amazon Prime membership, make the most of it.

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Black Friday Deals Right Now


Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)


—
$69.99

(List Price $139.99)

Sony WH-1000XM5


—
$248.00

(List Price $399.99)

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus


—
$24.99

(List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

I’ll Never Again Remodel Without a Power Caulking Gun

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We may earn a commission from links on this page.

I’ve DIYed three kitchen and two bathroom renovations so far in my life; I’ve re-caulked countless old windows and doors; I’ve applied construction adhesive to a lot of things. And I’ve always struggled with caulking. It’s difficult to get smooth, equal caulk lines, and when caulking large areas my arm gets pretty tired, especially if I’m pushing some thick and heavy material out of that tube. Plus, I always ended up wiping away accidents with my hands, leaving me smeared with caulk.

After years of constant frustration, it finally occurred to me that the culprit might be the old-school manual caulk gun I’d been using for decades. It’s bent, rusted, and covered in a crust of old caulk, cement, and dirt; I couldn’t think of a single reason why I hadn’t upgraded it. When I did, I decided to try out a power caulking gun, so I picked up this cordless one by DeWalt. It’s not the cheapest option, but I love this thing.

What is a power caulking gun?

A power caulking gun is similar to the standard manual tool you’re used to. It’s a bit bulkier and heavier, of course, but it operates in much the same way: You pop in a cartridge (or a sausage tube if your gun can switch between them), you cut the tip, and the rod pushes the caulk or adhesive out. The main difference is that the rod advances automatically when you press the trigger—you don’t have to keep exerting force with your hand, and caulk is dispensed continuously instead of in the chaotic waves I always managed manually.

Why you need a power caulking gun

What’s fantastic about this power caulk gun is the level of control. You can set the maximum and minimum speed of the tool precisely, so you get exactly the flow rate you need for your job, and you can change speed within that range easily with the trigger. It comes with different canister trays to accommodate different tubes, and it has a nifty little light that allows you to actually see what you’re doing—something I didn’t realize I needed until I experienced it.

One thing I love is that the rod retracts when you release the trigger, preventing caulk or adhesive from oozing out of the tube. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve set the caulking gun down to do something and discovered a nice pile of caulk on my floor. That’s not an issue any more.

There’s a bit of a learning curve with this—it’ll take a moment to get a feel for the flow and to mentally calibrate what speed setting is right for what job. Once you get the hang of it, though, being able to caulk an entire run of tile or countertop without pausing feels like a superpower. And not getting covered in caulk is priceless.

Android 16 starts rolling out to Nothing Phones

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Nothing Phone 3 owners, your Android 16 update is here. Owners of other models? Well, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Regardless, the company’s Nothing OS 4.0 update brings Google’s newest mobile software, along with a bunch of UI tweaks.

In addition to Android 16, Nothing OS 4.0 should deliver a smoother, zippier experience. The company promises “faster responses, cleaner visuals, smoother interactions” and more. Along those lines, app transitions, the notification shade and gestures have been redesigned to respond “with sharper tactility and depth.”

Nothing also redesigned its first-party icons, with cleaner, more minimal styling. “The home screen feels balanced, modern and comfortable to use,” the company claims. Status bar icons have been refined, drawing inspiration from Android 16’s stylings. There are also new lock-screen clocks to choose from, and an “extra dark mode” (in addition to standard dark mode), designed for nighttime reading.

A marketing grid, showcasing Nothing OS 4.0's new features.
A marketing grid, showcasing Nothing OS 4.0’s new features.
Nothing

The Glyph Interface has always been one of Nothing’s most unique features, and it gets some updates, too. Glyph Progress integrates with Android 16’s Live Updates. “Rides, deliveries, and timers now sync across your screen and the Glyph Interface,” as the company describes it.

You can read up on all the changes on the release page. Nothing OS 4.0 is rolling out now to the Nothing Phone 3. Most other devices will start seeing it “over the coming weeks.” The company’s (recently spun off) CMF brand devices will receive the update by the end of 2025. Finally, Phone 3a Lite owners have to wait until “early next year.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/android-16-starts-rolling-out-to-nothing-phones-182637951.html?src=rss