Carrie Fisher will be in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ without use of CG

Lucasfilm swore that it wouldn’t create a digital version of the late, great Carrie Fisher for future Star Wars movies, but that doesn’t mean she’ll be cut out entirely. Her brother Todd has revealed that Disney still wants to include Carrie in Episode IX, but that it plans to use recent footage of the actress instead of relying on a computer generated facsimile. Both Todd and Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, have granted permission to use the shots.

It’s not certain just how Carrie would be incorporated into this third movie in the current trilogy. She had already shot her General Leia parts for Episode VIII, so there’s definitely more we haven’t seen. However, the absence of CG means that the producers may have to be very selective with the footage they use and write scenes around these limitations.

However it’s accomplished (assuming it goes ahead as planned), the approach is a stark contrast to Rogue One’s heavy use of CG to recreate actors in their Episode IV heyday. It’s not necessarily a backlash against CG stand-ins, but it does reflect the delicate nature of using them — are you paying tribute to legendary figures, or tarnishing their legacy? In this case, it’s clear that Disney would rather exercise caution than insist on using technology to preserve its intended storyline.

[Thanks, Kristy]

Via: Hollywood Reporter, Nerdist

Source: New York Daily News

Apple Said to Add Beats 1 Broadcasting Booth to Iconic Fifth Avenue Store in New York City

Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan will include a “very unique area” for broadcasting its Beats 1 radio station, as part of ongoing renovations, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Apple’s iconic Fifth Avenue store in New York City
The person did not share any further details, but it’s possible that New York City-based Beats 1 radio DJ Ebro Darden could broadcast at least some of his shows at the Fifth Avenue store once it reopens. Currently, he appears to broadcast from a studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

As usual, there is a chance this rumor is false, or that Apple’s plans will change. However, our source is the same person that accurately revealed Apple’s plans for its first retail store in Mexico, prior to any official announcement and over nine months before the Via Santa Fe location opened.

Apple Fifth Avenue, known for its iconic glass cube entrance, has been closed for renovations since January 20. The redesigned store will reportedly have over twice as much square footage, so there will likely be more than enough space for a dedicated Beats 1 broadcasting booth alongside the sales floor.

Beats 1 radio anchor Ebro Darden, based out of New York City
Beats 1 is Apple’s internet-based radio station, broadcasted around the clock in over 100 countries around the world. It launched in tandem with Apple Music in June 2015. In addition to Darden, the station is anchored by former BBC Radio 1 host Zane Lowe, based out of Los Angeles, and London’s Julie Adenuga.

Apple Music executive Larry Jackson recently described Beats 1 as “the biggest radio station in the world,” and he claimed there is no other station in existence that has as many concurrent listeners at any given time.

Beats 1 can be listened to through iTunes on Mac or PC, or in the Apple Music app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. Listening is free, with no Apple Music subscription required.

Apple has not indicated when its Fifth Avenue store will reopen, but renovations are likely to continue for several months. In addition to more space and a Beats 1 broadcasting area, the store will likely feature Apple’s next-generation retail layout, in line with stores in Brooklyn, Brussels, Paris, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
Tags: New York City, Beats 1
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Climate change could make your flights a lot more turbulent in the future

Why it matters to you

Here’s a particularly tangible effect of climate change — if you hate flying in turbulent weather, you may need to buckle your seat belt with much more frequency.

If your children and your children’s children aren’t reason enough for you to worry about climate change, perhaps your own travel plans will do the trick. As per a new study from the University of Reading published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, climate change could be making your plane rides considerably more turbulent, with forces strong enough to throw unbuckled passengers and crew members around a cabin.

In the first study to take a closer look at the future of what is being called “severe turbulence,” involving “random up-and-down motions that are stronger than gravity,” scientists believe that climate change could be making this phenomena two to three times more common than it is today. That would mean that walking around a plane, attempting a food service, or even holding some items could become impossible.

The study determined that the average amount of light turbulence will see a 59 percent increase, while light-to-moderate turbulence is said to increase by 75 percent. On the higher end of the spectrum, moderate turbulence is said to go up by 94 percent, moderate-to-severe by 127 percent, and severe by 149 percent. These increases are due to the stronger wind shears within the jet stream caused by climate change, and as wind shears become increasingly unstable, so too will our rides in the sky.

More: The answer to climate change could be 10 million wind turbines in the Arctic

“Our new study paints the most detailed picture yet of how aircraft turbulence will respond to climate change,” said Dr. Paul Williams, who conducted the research. “For most passengers, light turbulence is nothing more than an annoying inconvenience that reduces their comfort levels, but for nervous fliers even light turbulence can be distressing. However, even the most seasoned frequent fliers may be alarmed at the prospect of a 149 percent increase in severe turbulence, which frequently hospitalizes air travelers and flight attendants around the world.”

In the study, Williams and his colleagues simulated how wintertime transatlantic clear-air turbulence would change at around 39,000 feet above Earth’s surface when the atmosphere contains twice the amount of carbon dioxide it does today. Those new levels of CO2 are expected to become a reality later this century.

Williams concluded, “My top priority for the future is to investigate other flight routes around the world. We also need to investigate the altitude and seasonal dependence of the changes, and to analyze different climate models and warming scenarios to quantify the uncertainties.”

Scientists aim to reach the Earth’s mantle with an undersea drill

We’d know a lot more about what’s under the Earth’s crust if Jules Verne’s Icelandic volcano weren’t but a figment of his imagination. Japan’s Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology’s (JAMSTEC) largest drilling ship called “Chikyu” is very real, though, and a group of international researchers plan to use it to drill into the Earth’s mantle for the first time.

The JAMSTEC-led team will conduct a two-week preliminary study in the waters off Hawaii this September to determine if that’s where their Chikyu should drill. If the location doesn’t work, they’ll look at their other choices in the waters off Costa Rica and off Mexico. All three are in the ocean, because the continental crust is twice as thick as the oceanic crust.

Chikyu’s drill will have to go through 2.5 miles of water and 3.7 miles of crust to be able to reach the mantle, which makes up roughly 84 percent of our planet’s volume. It’s a silicate rocky shell that flows slowly and affects volcanic activity, as well as the motion of tectonic plates that causes earthquakes. The Japanese government is providing partial funding for the project in hopes that it will lead to better ways predict the surface phenomena. As you might know, the country was rocked by some particularly strong ones in recent years.

The researchers also want to investigate the boundary between the oceanic crust and the mantle to figure out how the crust formed. Plus, they want to see if microbial life exists that deep inside the planet. The scientists hope to begin drilling by 2030 at the latest. For now, they need to find the perfect location and figure out where to get the $542 million funding the project needs.

[Image credit: JAMSTEC/CNN]

Source: CNN, The Japan News

Tesla reveals a sleek solar panel built for your existing roof

Tesla’s home energy efforts might be centered around its solar roofs, but it knows that not everyone can (or wants to) rip up their roof just to bring renewable energy to their home. To that end, the company is offering a first glimpse at Panasonic-made solar panels that would go on top of your existing roof. Unlike many aftermarket options, this would be relatively slick and unintrusive — the panels have “integrated front skirts and no visible mounting hardware.” While it’ll be patently obvious that you have solar energy on your roof, it shouldn’t be the eyesore you sometimes get with conventional designs.

The company is taking requests for custom price quotes right now, but it tells Electrek that production for the 325W modules should start sometime in the summer. You’ll have to be patient if you’re determined to escape the conventional power grid. However, this is definitely not a secondary project for Tesla. The firm says that it’ll use these panels for all new residential projects (outside of tiles), so you’re really looking at the future of Tesla’s mainstream energy tech.

Via: Electrek

Source: Tesla

How to password protect a Microsoft Excel document

If you use a computer, you probably have some Microsoft Excel documents on your Mac or PC that you wouldn’t want other people to find and read. After all, Excel is used by both regular consumers, businesses, government institutions, and millions of other folks all over the world.

Thankfully, it’s easy to secure an Excel 2016 document with a password. In this guide, we’ll show you how to do just that. In future updates, we’ll add instructions on how to secure Word and Word-compatible documents in other Word-like programs, like OpenOffice, and others.

More: Best Microsoft Office alternatives

How to password protect an Excel document

First, open the Excel document that you want to secure with a password. Then, click File, Info, and hit Protect Workbook underneath Info.

From there, click Encrypt with Password.

Excel will then prompt you to type in a password. Pick one out, but keep in mind that if you forget what it is, you’ll lose access to that document.

Remember, this only protects the single target document. Each Excel document you want to protect with a password must be done so on an individual basis, and you can check on whether or not a document is protected in the Info tab.

Microsoft Excel will prompt you to type it in each time you want to open a protected doc.

And…that’s it! Were you hoping for more steps? Well, sorry to disappoint — but it really is that easy to password protect an Excel document.

However, if you want to password protect an entire folder, things can get trickier. The easiest way to protect a large number of files is to encrypt them. Luckily, encryption programs are not hard to find. Several freeware options exist, and Windows 10 Professional users have a built-in encryption utility called Bitlocker. Check out our introduction to encryption if you want to learn more.

The 5 best cases to style and protect your Huawei P10

The Huawei P10 boasts an excellent, dual-lens camera that supports all kinds of photography tricks. It’s also a powerful phone with an attractive design and great battery life. But, like many of the top phones on the market, it has an all-glass front wrapped in a curved aluminum body. The P10 looks great, but if it takes a tumble you can expect chips, scuffs, and cracks to spoil your day. It’s time to buy some protection, so let’s take a look at the best Huawei P10 cases and covers.

More: Huawei P10 and P10 Plus review

Pierre Cardin Leather Cover ($25)

Here’s a stylish, genuine leather shell for your Huawei P10. It’s a pretty minimal design with openings for all your phone’s functions, though the camera cut-out is a bit tight. It won’t provide rugged drop protection, but it does cover the corners and extend around the screen. The leather exterior is warm and easy to grip, and it features a neat stitching detail in a vertical line down the back with a debossed Pierre Cardin logo. You can get this case in black, red, and light or dark brown.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Huawei P10 Fabric Case ($23)

This official Huawei case is a bit different, because it has a fabric finish. The frame is matte, textured plastic and the back panel is fabric in light grey, dark grey, or brown. It’s a very slim, plastic shell with a minimal footprint. You’ll find large openings for easy access to the buttons and that amazing camera on the back. The bottom edge is also open, but there’s protection on the corners and a slight lip around the screen. We wouldn’t rely on this case for drop protection, but it will enhance grip and it looks and feels great.

Buy one now from:

Mobile Fun

Tudia TPU Cover ($10)

You don’t have to spend much to get basic protection for your Huawei P10. This Tudia case is made from flexible TPU, so it’s easy to fit. There are a couple of panels on the back sporting a carbon fiber design. The sides are also textured for an enhanced grip. You’ll find precise cut-outs for the camera module on the back and the ports on the bottom edge. There are also button covers and a slight lip to protect the screen. It comes in black, blue, or grey.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Olixar Leather-Style Wallet Case ($16.50)

If you like the leather look, then Olixar has a reasonably-priced wallet case that might tempt you. There’s a slim, plastic shell inside to hold your Huawei P10 snugly in place. The front cover has two slots for credit cards and it can fold back to act as a landscape stand. There are openings for the buttons, camera, and ports. It’s not real leather, as the low price suggests, but it looks pretty convincing. This wallet case comes in black or red.

Buy one now from:

Mobile Fun

EasyAcc Clear TPU Case ($8)

This transparent case allows you to add a layer of protection without covering up your Huawei P10’s design. It’s made of flexible TPU which will take the sting out of minor impacts. There’s a lip around the screen, slim button covers, and a full range of accurate cut-outs for uninterrupted access to phone features and functions. It also offers slightly enhanced grip, so you’re less likely to drop your phone in the first place.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

You can now get discounted digital versions of your physical books from Kobo

Why it matters to you

If your physical bookshelf is started to overflow with titles, it may be time to digitize it. Kobo has acquired Shelfie to help you do that.

An e-reading company has quietly snapped up an e-book platform that will help digitize your physical library. Last week, Canadian company Rakuten Kobo Inc. acquired Shelfie, a service that allowed users to obtain free or discounted eBook versions of books they already owned in hard (or paper) back. As part of the deal, Kobo will be integrating Shelfie’s features directly into its own e-readers.

Four-year-old Shelfie previously allowed users to take a photo of their bookshelves, and find digital versions of their collections, all free of charge or at a discounted rate. Shelfie also used those titles as a starting point for further recommendations, allowing users to expand their libraries. While the app actually ceased operations this January, it’s found new life in its new partnership.As per a blog post on Shelfie’s website, Kobo will be working alongside the app to give readers the chance to transfer their electronic libraries to Kobo’s platform. And over the course of the next few months, Kobo will be helping readers add their physical libraries to their reading history as well, thereby allowing the company to make tailored reading recommendations for the most voracious of literary enthusiasts.

More: Kobo enters the ebook buffet arena with Kobo Plus, but there’s a catch

“We know our best customers move fluidly between formats, reading digitally and in print, and we welcome this opportunity to bring their entire reading life together. People who come to Kobo already have a history of reading in print that we don’t want to ignore,” said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo Inc. “This acquisition will allow us to expand our ecosystem by incorporating Shelfie’s innovative advances in book recommendation, discovery, and bundling, which is especially interesting considering our large network of bricks-and-mortar bookselling partners.”

Shelfie’s CEO Peter Hudson echoed these sentiments, noting, “We’re proud of what we’ve built, and in Kobo, have found the perfect platform to expand on what Shelfie has to offer, on a global scale. Finding the next book to read is a challenge that resonates with many booklovers, who increasingly are looking to personal recommendations as opposed to algorithm-based suggestions. With Shelfie’s technology, avid readers will easily be able to find the next must-read book.”

Microsoft’s mixed reality strategy seems stalled, but is it all part of the plan?

Microsoft has come to be a major part of the augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) arena. Its HoloLens headset took the industry by storm when it was announced in January 2015, and a new wave of MR and virtual reality (VR) headsets from Microsoft’s OEM partners, enabled by Windows Mixed Reality, began to take shape.

More: Microsoft’s mixed-reality headsets aim to bridge gap between HoloLens and VR

And they’re still taking shape. Fast forward to April 2017, and with no consumer HoloLens or Windows Mixed Reality headset in sight, it seems like Microsoft has hit the pause button. Has its mixed reality vision stalled, or is this part of the company’s master plan?

HoloLens is still expensive and experimental

Today, HoloLens remains a highly visible yet prototype solution that seems both experimental and mainstream at the same time. Beyond the $3,000 developer’s edition, though, it’s no closer to widespread release than it was when first revealed. It remains solely a commercial endeavor involving very large organizations like Lowes and NASA.

Furthermore, industry watchers reported in February that Microsoft has cancelled a second generation of the HoloLens headset that would have lowered the price and shrunk the form factor — both improvements that would make HoloLens more attractive to consumers. Apparently, the company considers the current version to be sufficient to maintain the product’s place in the nascent market, and it therefore decided to skip to a third generation, to be released in 2019 at the earliest.

Windows Mixed Reality is now a late-2017 proposition

This bad news was relieved by news from Microsoft’s Creators Update reveal event in October 2016, where the company highlighted an upcoming wave of lower-priced MR and virtual reality (VR) headsets using the application programming interfaces (APIs), once known as Windows Holographic and recently renamed to Windows Mixed Reality. These new headsets were expected to arrive from Microsoft’s OEM partners around the Creators Update’s release, which is happening next week, on April 11.

However, although some OEMs showed off early versions of Windows Holographic headsets at CES 2017, and Microsoft distributed Windows Mixed Reality developer kits at GDC 2017, we now know that Windows Mixed Reality headsets won’t arrive until late in 2017.

In other words, two years after Microsoft first introduced HoloLens, we seem nowhere closer to Microsoft’s vision of a commercial mixed reality ecosystem based on HoloLens, Windows Mixed Reality, and third-party headsets. It certainly appears that Microsoft is slowing things down, which raises a related question — is slowing things down the same as falling behind?

Is it a slowdown, or a strategy?

Microsoft had the stage to itself when it first announced HoloLens. It was amazing technology unlike anything most people had ever experienced. HoloLens took the concept of simple augmented reality and stepped it up a notch. Better still, HoloLens itself looked compact and complete. It was easy to imagine it on a store shelf in a year.

Since then, however, others have joined in the fray. Magic Leap, for example, which is the most comparable MR product, has received massive financing from Google and appears poised to release an MR headset in 2017 priced at over $1,000.

Magic Leap isn’t the only worry. Apple is rumored to be planning to experiment with AR with its release of the iPhone 8 later this year, and to expand into dedicated AR hardware at some point in the future.

ODG is another company with big plans for AR, with glasses that support the same kind of six-degrees-of-freedom tracking that HoloLens provides, but at about half the price. ODG’s timeframe is also more aggressive, with developers gaining access to the devices this quarter and then a widespread release to follow shortly thereafter. We’ve tried ODG’s technology at trade shows, and despite its smaller footprint, it beats the current HoloLens in field-of-view and apparent image resolution.

Amidst mounting competition, Microsoft’s opportunity to leverage its standing in the market continues to recede. While no other company has set-in-stone plans or timelines either, several companies at least appear to be pulling ahead. But while Microsoft could be falling behind, it’s also possible that it simply isn’t worried.

Microsoft’s mixed reality strategy looks a lot like Surface 2.0

When Microsoft first announced in June 2016 that it would open Windows Holographic to OEM partners for making their own mixed reality products, it released this statement. “Windows 10 includes Windows Holographic, the platform that powers the amazing mixed reality experiences available on Microsoft HoloLens today. It offers a holographic shell and interaction model, perception APIs, and Xbox Live services. Consistent with our approach to Surface, our development efforts on HoloLens are designed to push the limits and create opportunity across the ecosystem.”

Two years after Microsoft first introduced HoloLens, we seem nowhere closer to Microsoft’s vision

If you take Microsoft at its word, then, it is taking same tactic with Windows Mixed Reality that it’s taken with Windows 10 in general. It created its Surface hardware line at least in part to show its OEM partners how to make better Windows 10 machines.

And that strategy worked. The Windows 10 PC hardware ecosystem is stronger than ever, with an incredibly wide range of high-quality machines from tablets, to 360-degree convertibles, to traditional notebooks in the mobile space, and a host of robust gaming and all-in-one (AIO) options on the desktop. For the most part, Microsoft has priced its Surface products at the extreme high-end of the market, leaving its OEM partners with plenty of room to succeed with their own, more reasonably priced hardware.

Perhaps Microsoft sees HoloLens in the same vein. It might serve as a halo device to prod the industry forward in mixed reality, with the hope that the Windows Mixed Reality platform will take off as the preferred development environment. That would further solidify Windows 10 as the leading OS for yet another growing technology segment.

It would also mean that, ultimately, Microsoft doesn’t care if HoloLens becomes the de facto consumer MR product. HoloLens could very well remain a relatively high-priced product aimed at large commercial interests, and perhaps for MR enthusiasts. The company might be just as happy with a robust ecosystem of Windows 10-based Windows Mixed Reality headsets sold by a host of OEM partners.

Indeed, that could be Microsoft’s competitive ace in the hole. Rather than facing competitors like Magic Leap, Apple, and ODG on its own, Microsoft could be working toward the same kind of ecosystem that maintains Windows 10 as the dominant PC operating system. And, it doesn’t face nearly the same competitive pressures as it was up against — and defeated by — in smartphones.

Windows Mixed Reality is one of Microsoft’s biggest bets in computing

According to a recent email sent from Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi, the company’s Corporate Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, Windows Mixed Reality is one of its “biggest bets” regarding the future of computing. The company plans to make significant investments in mixed reality heading into the holidays in 2017, and it’s hired some of the best people in the industry to move its mixed reality initiatives forward. Microsoft recently highlighted the success of its mixed reality application development environment as part of celebrating HoloLens’ first birthday.

To answer our own question, then: has Microsoft’s mixed reality vision stalled? We’d say it hasn’t. Rather, it’s evolved, as all good strategies do, into something far more potent. HoloLens will, as Surface does for touch and pen, serve to demonstrate to an army of OEMs exactly what’s possible with Windows 10 and its Windows Mixed Reality platform, while leaving plenty of room for those OEMs to make a profit.

If anyone should be worried about the progress that Microsoft is making in carrying out its mixed reality strategy, it’s Microsoft’s competitors.

The best blender

By Christine Cyr Clisset and Lesley Stockton

This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer’s guide to the best homewares. When readers choose to buy The Sweethome’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here.

After researching dozens of blenders, talking with five experts, and testing 20 models over the course of four years, we’re confident that the Oster Versa Performance Blender with Low Profile Jar offers the best value for most people. At roughly $200, it performs as well as blenders that cost twice as much, and it blows cheaper blenders out of the water. With both variable speed and presets for things like soup and smoothies, it has one of the most user-friendly and versatile control panels we’ve seen.

How we picked and tested

Our favorite blenders, from left to right: the Oster Versa, the Vitamix 5200, the KitchenAid 5-Speed, and the Cleanblend. Photo: Michael Hession

A great blender should be able to smoothly process tough things like fibrous kale, frozen berries, and ice without burning out the motor. How efficiently a blender does this depends on a combination of blade length and position, the shape of the mixing jar, and motor strength. All three of these elements combine to create an efficient vortex that will bring food down around the blade. For more on how a vortex is formed, see our full guide.

What separates high- and low-end blenders is that the former are more powerful and process much smoother textures, and they’ll generally last a lot longer than the lower-end, less-powerful ones. The biggest complaint we’ve found about cheap blenders is that their motors burn out easily and their jars crack or start leaking.

When choosing which blenders to test, we considered whether they had tampers, how easy they were to clean, and the material of their jars. To test, we made a green smoothie packed with frozen bananas and berries, kale, and coconut water in each blender. We made mayonnaise to test how each did with emulsification, and mixed raw peanuts into peanut butter to see how well they processed gooey purees. With our finalists, we made rounds of piña coladas to see how well they blended ice into slush.

In 2015, we also processed water for two minutes in each blender to see if any of the jars produced the dreaded black flecks that have fired up the “blend-o-sphere” the past few years. Additionally, we noted how easy or difficult each machine was to clean, how noisy they were, if any of them produced a burning smell while running, if the jars were difficult to attach to the bases, and how easy the interfaces were to use.

Our pick

Photo: Michael Hession

We don’t think you can beat the value of the Oster Versa Performance Blender with Low Profile Jar. It performs as well as blenders twice the price, making silky smoothies, purees, and blended cocktails. It has one of the best combinations of variable and preset speeds we’ve found, and its controls are more intuitive to use than those on other models we’ve tried. The Oster Versa has a broader range of speeds, and the motor runs more quietly than those of equally priced blenders. It comes with features usually available only in more-expensive machines, like a tamper and overheating protection. And at 17½ inches tall to the top of the jar, it will fit under most cabinets, unlike many high-performance blenders.

The Oster Versa passed almost every test we threw at it, blending nuts into butter (as long as there are about 2 cups to work with), and making a velvety puree. It does struggle to make mayonnaise; we could make an emulsification only once out of four tries. It also didn’t achieve the absolute smoothest textures—it leaves whole raspberry seeds in smoothies and makes a slightly grainy piña colada. But these minor faults will likely not be a big deal for most people.

More powerful but less nuanced speeds

Photo: Michael Hession

We prefer the Oster Versa’s friendlier interface, range of speeds, and shorter jar, but we were also impressed by the equally priced Cleanblend. A relative newcomer on the high-powered blender scene—the company was started in 2013—the Cleanblend has an impressive 3-horsepower motor, and in some of our tests it blended better than the Oster Versa, and even the Vitamix.

The Cleanblend was one of the best at making really smooth smoothies in our tests. There were barely any raspberry seeds left in our fine-mesh sieve; the only blender that did better was the Blendtec. The Cleanblend also came in second, behind the Blendtec, in blending a really smooth piña colada.

But a few of its features (or lack of) bumped it from our number-one slot. The Cleanblend’s jar feels really light compared with the Oster’s, and we could see the jar cracking easily, or cracking over time, though we didn’t have any issues during our tests. We also found that during blending the jar tends to rotate slightly on the motor base. The handle is raw plastic and not that pleasant to grip, unlike the handle on the Oster, which has a smooth rubber handle cover. The Cleanblend’s taller jar makes the blender 2 inches taller, so it’s more difficult to store on the counter under cupboards.

Also great: For avid cooks and perfectionists

Photo: Michael Hession

If you want the best performance you can buy in a home blender, we’d spring for the Vitamix 5200. This has been our overall favorite blender for three years, and it’s the most basic model that Vitamix makes. It consistently performed best in all of our tests. It’s the model recommended to us by multiple experts and the one many pros keep in their own kitchens, and it’s recommended in many editorial reviews.

In our tests, the Vitamix 5200 did not make the absolute smoothest smoothies, but when it came to consistent and graceful performance, the Vitamix won every time. It was the only machine we tested that smoothly blends peanuts into butter. Where other blenders, like the Blendtec, Cleanblend, and even the Oster, spit bits of mayo up the sides of the jar and out the lid’s center hole, the Vitamix kept the mixture smoothly and evenly moving around the base of the blade.

If you just want a basic blender

Photo: Michael Hession

If you’re planning to use a blender just a couple of times a week, or you want a starter machine for making smoothies and purees, we like the KitchenAid 5-Speed Blender. It beat out all the regular blenders in our tests last year, and in a year of long-term testing we’ve found it works fine for rustic smoothies.

To be clear, this is no Oster Versa—and certainly not a Vitamix—but for a fraction of the price it does a decent enough job. The other blenders we tested in this price range were either cheap feeling or very loud, or produced a gross burnt-motor smell while running. We didn’t love the KitchenAid’s hard plastic lid, and the way the jar clips onto the base took some getting used to, but beyond that we have no complaints.

This guide may have been updated by The Sweethome. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

Note from The Sweethome: When readers choose to buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn affiliate commissions that support our work.