Month: February 2023
Best Laptop 2023: The 13 Laptops We Recommend – CNET
The best laptops across all categories from major brands, tested and reviewed by CNET editors.
The best laptops across all categories from major brands, tested and reviewed by CNET editors.
This Fallout successor is coming to PS5 with more than just a facelift
The Outer Worlds is getting an enhanced edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X with 4K support and more improvements.
If you missed its earlier releases, then The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition on PS5 looks like the ideal way to experience Fallout’s spiritual successor. The enhanced version of the open-world RPG launches on March 7 and is also coming to Xbox Series X and PC.
However, this isn’t just a case of an older game coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X with an updated resolution and texture work. The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition benefits from all the advantages of current-generation console hardware. All versions can expect the game to run in 4K at 60fps with brand-new particle effects and volumetric lighting improvements.
Naturally, as a re-release, you’re also getting all the DLC and expansion content, which followed The Outer Worlds’ original October 2019 release. This means you’re also getting Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos, along with A.I. improvements for your companions and the various extra nasties to encounter on Terra-2 and Monarch for both Xbox Series X and PS5.
Detailed in full in a PlayStation Blog post, there has been a lot of thought into exactly how the DualSense might be utilized to bring Obsidian’s bombastic space opera satire into 2023. One of the most exciting editions to the game has to be how the adaptive triggers work with the various ranged weapons in The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition. This means that you’ll be able to really feel the recoil from an assault rifle, as well as feel a bolt action sniper firing out of a barrel backed up by the subtle vibrations of the haptic feedback.
If you already own an existing version of The Outer Worlds, then the Spacer’s Choice Edition upgrade can be purchased for $9.99 / £7.99.
As someone who played and thoroughly enjoyed the original experience almost four years ago, I’m personally quite excited by the improvements made to fully flesh out the game world. The original version did suffer from noticeably dumb enemy A.I., which was particularly obvious in some of the wider open environments. More than a handful of times, companions like Felix and Parvati got stuck on the geometry, too.
It’s the same all-star development team behind Fallout: New Vegas, so if you’re into big open-world games with compelling stories and exciting combat, this one isn’t going to disappoint. You’re looking at anywhere from 15 to 30 hours of content with very little filler; just be careful not to drive you and your crew directly into the sun.
You won’t be able to escape Microsoft Defender on Windows soon
The all new Microsoft Defender app has started installing itself on Windows PCs, to the chagrin of everyone, everywhere.
Microsoft has rolled out automatic installs of the new version of malware removal tool and security dashboard Microsoft Defender on Windows devices with active personal Microsoft 365 (M365) subscriptions.
Documentation for the new Microsoft Defender (via Windows Latest) confirms that M365 subscribers are being used as guinea pigs, stating that other users can expect to be hit by the change in March 2023, despite needing a M365 subscription to use the service.
But if, for some reason, you really can’t wait to install the latest refresh of a largely ineffective security app, you can grab it right now from the Microsoft Store via the official website.
The new Microsoft Defender
While the latest Microsoft Defender isn’t yet available to business users, owing to the bizarre requirement to log into the app with a Microsoft account and work accounts not being supported yet, they’re likely not missing out on much.
Microsoft Defender itself does very little, acting more as an overview of a system’s security. On a PC, it’s actually Windows Security carrying out most of the actual day-to-day security protection like detecting files and performing periodic system scans.
Even then, TechRadar Pro highly recommends investing in an alternative, more robust business antivirus software solution. Microsoft Defender at least has the sense to disable itself if it detects a third-party device installed on the system.
For everyone else who insists on staying with Microsoft’s default offering, note that even avoiding Windows 11, at time of writing the current version of the operating system, won’t be enough, as one commenter on Windows Latest wrote that the new Microsoft Defender installed itself on their Windows 10 device.
Here’s our list of the best small and medium business firewall software right now
Elon Musk says remaining Twitter employees will receive ‘very significant’ stock awards on March 24th
Image: Laura Normand / The Verge
Elon Musk emailed his remaining employees at Twitter on Monday morning to tell them that, after another round of sudden layoffs over the weekend, those who are left will receive “very significant” performance-based stock awards on March 24th, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge.
“This past week, we completed a difficult organizational overhaul focused on improving future execution, using as much feedback as we could gather from the entire company,” Musk wrote, confirming that he has kept laying employees off after telling them he would stop on November 21st. “Those who remain are highly regarded by those around them.”
The short memo, titled “Performance Awards,” is Musk’s first communication to Twitter employees since he laid off hundreds more of them without warning over the weekend, including several senior leaders and nearly all of the product team. (Platformer’s Zoë Schiffer first tweeted about the memo on Monday.) Employees have been in the dark about exactly how Musk will compensate them for the stock awards they lost after he took Twitter private. In previous emails to them, he has alluded to the system he set up at SpaceX to let employees regularly sell private stock.
Musk has made it hard for even those remaining to know the full scope of his cuts. The company’s internal directory remains offline and Musk shut down the ability for employees to use the company’s Slack last week. He then also disabled Google Chat for work emails, which is still turned off as of press time. Current and former employees I’ve spoken to estimate that Twitter’s total headcount is well below 2,000 now versus the roughly 7,500 employees there when Musk took over.
This story is developing.
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Image: Laura Normand / The Verge
Elon Musk emailed his remaining employees at Twitter on Monday morning to tell them that, after another round of sudden layoffs over the weekend, those who are left will receive “very significant” performance-based stock awards on March 24th, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge.
“This past week, we completed a difficult organizational overhaul focused on improving future execution, using as much feedback as we could gather from the entire company,” Musk wrote, confirming that he has kept laying employees off after telling them he would stop on November 21st. “Those who remain are highly regarded by those around them.”
The short memo, titled “Performance Awards,” is Musk’s first communication to Twitter employees since he laid off hundreds more of them without warning over the weekend, including several senior leaders and nearly all of the product team. (Platformer’s Zoë Schiffer first tweeted about the memo on Monday.) Employees have been in the dark about exactly how Musk will compensate them for the stock awards they lost after he took Twitter private. In previous emails to them, he has alluded to the system he set up at SpaceX to let employees regularly sell private stock.
Musk has made it hard for even those remaining to know the full scope of his cuts. The company’s internal directory remains offline and Musk shut down the ability for employees to use the company’s Slack last week. He then also disabled Google Chat for work emails, which is still turned off as of press time. Current and former employees I’ve spoken to estimate that Twitter’s total headcount is well below 2,000 now versus the roughly 7,500 employees there when Musk took over.
This story is developing.
Ted Lasso is extra feel-good in its official season 3 trailer
Image: Apple
Apple released the first official trailer for Ted Lasso’s nearly here third season, and while it reveals very little about the season’s story, the trailer goes all in on the good vibes (even if AFC Richmond, the main team in the show, appears to be struggling).
Set to The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” the trailer largely jumps between shots of recognizable characters and places that presumably all appear during season 3. One of the two moments of actual dialogue in the trailer features the gruff Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) saying “great job” — Apple is clearly trying to keep some mystery around what’s to come in the third season. However, the preview certainly sets up the now-gray-haired Nate (Nick Mohammed) as a major villain, which isn’t too much of a surprise given how he left the team in season 2.
Here’s the official season synopsis from the trailer’s description:
In the third season of “Ted Lasso,” the newly-promoted AFC Richmond faces ridicule as media predictions widely peg them to finish last in the Premier League and Nate (Nick Mohammed), now hailed as the “wonder kid,” has gone to work for Rupert (Anthony Head) at West Ham United. In the wake of Nate’s contentious departure from Richmond, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) steps up as assistant coach, alongside Beard (Brendan Hunt). Meanwhile, while Ted (Jason Sudeikis) deals with pressures at work, he continues to wrestle with his own personal issues back home, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) is focused on defeating Rupert and Keeley (Juno Temple) navigates being the boss of her own PR agency. Things seem to be falling apart both on and off the pitch, but Team Lasso is set to give it their best shot anyway.
The third season of Ted Lasso debuts on Apple TV Plus on March 15th.
Image: Apple
Apple released the first official trailer for Ted Lasso’s nearly here third season, and while it reveals very little about the season’s story, the trailer goes all in on the good vibes (even if AFC Richmond, the main team in the show, appears to be struggling).
Set to The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” the trailer largely jumps between shots of recognizable characters and places that presumably all appear during season 3. One of the two moments of actual dialogue in the trailer features the gruff Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) saying “great job” — Apple is clearly trying to keep some mystery around what’s to come in the third season. However, the preview certainly sets up the now-gray-haired Nate (Nick Mohammed) as a major villain, which isn’t too much of a surprise given how he left the team in season 2.
Here’s the official season synopsis from the trailer’s description:
In the third season of “Ted Lasso,” the newly-promoted AFC Richmond faces ridicule as media predictions widely peg them to finish last in the Premier League and Nate (Nick Mohammed), now hailed as the “wonder kid,” has gone to work for Rupert (Anthony Head) at West Ham United. In the wake of Nate’s contentious departure from Richmond, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) steps up as assistant coach, alongside Beard (Brendan Hunt). Meanwhile, while Ted (Jason Sudeikis) deals with pressures at work, he continues to wrestle with his own personal issues back home, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) is focused on defeating Rupert and Keeley (Juno Temple) navigates being the boss of her own PR agency. Things seem to be falling apart both on and off the pitch, but Team Lasso is set to give it their best shot anyway.
The third season of Ted Lasso debuts on Apple TV Plus on March 15th.
‘Ted Lasso’ season 3 trailer previews the highs and lows of the Premier League
Apple is finally ready to show more than a brief glimpse of Ted Lasso’s next chapter. The company has shared its first full trailer for the Apple TV+ show’s third season, and it’s clear the new episodes will illustrate both highs and lows as AFC Richmond returns to the Premier League. The team’s quest for redemption and the showdown with Nate (now working for West Ham United) remain the main arcs, but it’s evident drama off the field is as important as before.
The trailer suggests Nate has mixed feelings about his defection, and that the new season will dive further into the relationship between Keeley and Roy. It’s also clear we’ll see more attention spent on Jamie, and Ted’s son makes an appearance. Roy’s role as assistant coach is already known to factor into the plot, as is Rebecca’s rivalry with her ex Rupert.
Ted Lasso returns on March 15th, with new episodes arriving each week. It’s unclear if there will be more seasons beyond this. However, it’s safe to say Apple isn’t leaning on the series as much as it did before. Well-received productions like Slow Horses and Severance have helped bolster the catalog, even if it’s still considerably smaller than what you’d find at rivals like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Apple is finally ready to show more than a brief glimpse of Ted Lasso‘s next chapter. The company has shared its first full trailer for the Apple TV+ show’s third season, and it’s clear the new episodes will illustrate both highs and lows as AFC Richmond returns to the Premier League. The team’s quest for redemption and the showdown with Nate (now working for West Ham United) remain the main arcs, but it’s evident drama off the field is as important as before.
The trailer suggests Nate has mixed feelings about his defection, and that the new season will dive further into the relationship between Keeley and Roy. It’s also clear we’ll see more attention spent on Jamie, and Ted’s son makes an appearance. Roy’s role as assistant coach is already known to factor into the plot, as is Rebecca’s rivalry with her ex Rupert.
Ted Lasso returns on March 15th, with new episodes arriving each week. It’s unclear if there will be more seasons beyond this. However, it’s safe to say Apple isn’t leaning on the series as much as it did before. Well-received productions like Slow Horses and Severance have helped bolster the catalog, even if it’s still considerably smaller than what you’d find at rivals like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Is Your Heart Older Than You Are? Here’s How to Find Out – CNET
Multiple factors determine how old your heart is. Here’s what to know.
Multiple factors determine how old your heart is. Here’s what to know.
Spotify’s replacing its heart icon with a new and improved ‘plus’ button
Image: Spotify
Spotify’s heart icon is changing to a “plus” button that lets you save music and add songs to specific playlists. The music streaming app announced the change in a post on its blog, noting that you’ll now have to tap the new “plus” icon once to save a song or podcast to your library and then tap it again to add it to a playlist of your choosing.
Some users already have the combined “plus” button on their app, as it seems Spotify has been testing the change since late last year. Previously, the Spotify app had a “heart” icon available up front that meant liking a song and saving it to your library as well as a separate “add to playlist” button that it hid within the app’s three-dot menu.
Image: Spotify
Tap once to add a song or podcast to your library, and then tap it again to add it to a playlist.
While Spotify says the change should help users “save time” and make it easier “to add to multiple playlists at once,” I can’t say I’m a fan of the change — but only for the pettiest of reasons. To me, the heart is the universal “like” symbol, and changing it to a “plus” makes it seem less intuitive. On the flip side, I have to admit it does seem like a handy addition for anyone looking to quickly add music to a playlist. (Something I don’t find myself doing that often.)
As noted by Spotify, this new “plus” button not only lets you save songs and podcasts to your library or other playlists but also lets you add entire albums, playlists, and audiobooks. The button will change to a green checkmark once the content has been saved. It’s rolling out globally on Android and iOS today and will reach all Spotify users in the “coming weeks.”
Image: Spotify
Spotify’s heart icon is changing to a “plus” button that lets you save music and add songs to specific playlists. The music streaming app announced the change in a post on its blog, noting that you’ll now have to tap the new “plus” icon once to save a song or podcast to your library and then tap it again to add it to a playlist of your choosing.
Some users already have the combined “plus” button on their app, as it seems Spotify has been testing the change since late last year. Previously, the Spotify app had a “heart” icon available up front that meant liking a song and saving it to your library as well as a separate “add to playlist” button that it hid within the app’s three-dot menu.
Image: Spotify
Tap once to add a song or podcast to your library, and then tap it again to add it to a playlist.
While Spotify says the change should help users “save time” and make it easier “to add to multiple playlists at once,” I can’t say I’m a fan of the change — but only for the pettiest of reasons. To me, the heart is the universal “like” symbol, and changing it to a “plus” makes it seem less intuitive. On the flip side, I have to admit it does seem like a handy addition for anyone looking to quickly add music to a playlist. (Something I don’t find myself doing that often.)
As noted by Spotify, this new “plus” button not only lets you save songs and podcasts to your library or other playlists but also lets you add entire albums, playlists, and audiobooks. The button will change to a green checkmark once the content has been saved. It’s rolling out globally on Android and iOS today and will reach all Spotify users in the “coming weeks.”
Netflix’s Pokemon Concierge Trailer Reveals New Stop-Motion Series – CNET
The show will be produced by Dwarf Studios, the acclaimed stop-motion company.
The show will be produced by Dwarf Studios, the acclaimed stop-motion company.