Save 50% on IPVanish VPN while you help save net neutrality

Learn about net neutrality. Do your part. Save on a great VPN.

Today is the Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality (if you don’t know what’s going on, read this editorial by Daniel Bader). In order to spread awareness about net neutrality, IPVanish is offering 50% off its VPN plans for today only.

VPNs are, of course, about protecting your data, thus they’re about protecting your privacy. That isn’t just limited to your personal information. You internet provider can view what sort of traffic you produce, and without net neutrality, your speeds could be throttled based on your online activity. Entire sites could be blocked to you simply because of your provider’s business interests.

You shouldn’t be told what you can and cannot see online, and IPVanish wants to help in more ways than one. First, you can join the ranks and tell the FCC just what you think about its plans. You can also email your representatives, letting them know what you think about net neutrality. And, if you’re concerned about your data and your privacy going forward, you can save 50% on IPVanish VPN plans. The offer ends at 12:01 a.m. July 13, so do your part to help save net neutrality and protect your data, your privacy, and your online freedom going forward.

See at IPVanish

Here are June’s winners of the Honor/Huawei incentive program!

These are the lucky winners of some cool Huawei/Honor swag.

There’s nothing like being a cool person on the internet and winning great gadgets while doing so. But with our Huawei/Honor Community Incentive Program, you can do just that! The basis is pretty simple: be an active, engaged and friendly member of the Huawei or Honor communities in our forums to win great stuff.

Here are the winners from June:

• dpham00 — Congrats, you’ve won a Huawei MediaPad M3!
• Dconn1975 — Congrats, you’ve won an Honor Band Z!
• krazyatom — Congrats, you’ve won an Honor Band Z!

We’ve already halfway into July, but there’s still plenty of time to get to the top of the charts and win some amazing stuff! All you need to do is be active our Huawei/Honor communities!

Learn more about the Huawei/Honor Incentive Program!

10 Desk Accessories To Keep Your Office Cool During The Sizzling Summer

Are you tired of roasting in your office every summer? Here are some great gadgets that’ll keep you cool and refreshed through the sweltering heat!

Keeping cool can be tough, but keeping cool at the office can be nearly impossible.

You’re always running around to meetings and appointments; you have to dress in more restricted, stuffy clothes; you’re in tight, humid spaces with other coworkers; and that damn air conditioning just shuts off whenever the hell it pleases #imnotbitter.

If you’re looking to cool down at your desk, here are a number of accessories that you can use to do just that!

1. Clip on this tiny fan on your desk and stay cool all day!

Seriously, you can even buy, like, 8 and clip them on your computer and all around your desk for maximum fannage.

2. Keep your drinks cold with this funky insulated water bottle!

It comes in 6 different fun colors, too.

3. Get icy with this Ice Body paper from Japan

Part all-over-body deodorant, part cool summer breeze in a package!

4. Look stylish and keep cool with this cooling bandana!

Yeah, that totally goes with your suit!

5. Warm wrists? We got ya covered!

This aluminum mouse pad is sure to cool down your overheated wrists.

6. Spritz, spritz, then spritz again

Seriously, this Mario Badescu facial spray will have you feeling refreshed and cooled down in an instant!

7. Cool down your laptop ASAP!

This aluminum cooling stand should do the trick…

8. Get some relief from the summer heat with a cooling mat!

You can put the mat on the ground by your feet to cool them off or on your char to chill out your bum!

9. Be not-sweaty with a S’well!

Seriously, these things can keep your ice cold and unmelted for up to 24 hours!

10. Mini USB fan + cooling humidifier feature = everything you’ve ever needed

Seriously, how can you be hot in the office with this little guy at your disposal?!

Hyperloop One claims its first successful test run

The potential of Hyperloop is an easy sell, but until now we haven’t seen Hyperloop One’s proposed mag-lev transit system in action. The company has announced that on May 12th it completed its first full-scale test. The sled hit 70 MPH, in a vacuum, at the company’s Nevada testing facility, according to The Verge. No, it’s nowhere near the ultimate 750 MPH goal, but like the SpaceX project and its myriad test launches, this represents an important milestone along the path toward rapid travel. Next up? Getting the newly designed aluminum-and-carbon-fiber pods to 250 MPH. Baby steps.

Source: The Verge

US government removes Kaspersky from approved vendors list

Kaspersky Lab’s ongoing fears that it would lose US government contracts due to its alleged links with the Russian government have been realised. The Trump administration has removed the Moscow-based cyber security company from two lists of approved vendors covering IT services and digital photographic equipment.

According to a spokeswoman for the US General Services Administration, the decision was made “after review and careful consideration”. However, the move represents the most concrete action taken against Kaspersky since US government officials became suspicious of its involvement with Russian authorities.

Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly stated that it “has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts,” with founder Eugene Kaspersky claiming he is willing to provide source code to demonstrate his company’s innocence. The American government, however, has proven unreceptive to Kaspersky’s assertions, with reports suggesting the Trump administration is considering implementing a broader ban that would block all agencies from using Kaspersky software.

In a statement, Kaspersky Lab said it had not yet received updates from any US government agency abut its vendor status, but added that it believed it has been “caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight where each side is attempting to use the company as a pawn in their political game.”

Via: Reuters

See how Tesla’s Model 3 has changed since its debut

EV fans and some 400,000 buyers are excited about Tesla Model 3 production and upcoming first deliveries, largely because it’s one of the first affordable, long-range electric cars. There’s also the Tesla mystique — with the comely Model S and X EVs, Musk & Co. showed they have serious design chops. However, some folks were underwhelmed with the Model 3 design, particularly the stubby front end.

The design has clearly evolved since then, but how? Some enthusiastic designers at PartCatalog.com have created a GIF (above) that shows the difference between the first model unveiled in May, 2016 and the final production model that Elon Musk flaunted a few days ago. (Bear in mind that differences in camera angles, color and other reasons may exaggerate or minimize the differences.)

The front end in particular has been tweaked, something that’s a bit easier to see on this Reddit post from April showing a spy photo of a nearly identical vehicle. The Model 3 is now a bit longer and lower, has redesigned headlights, and features a more deeply sculpted bumper cover. The front wheel has been pushed forward a bit, and the back end is a bit bigger and higher.

That changes the aesthetic (for the better, in my opinion) and may give folks a bit more trunk space, both in the rear and forward “frunk.” Tesla may have also made the changes for safety, performance, production or other reasons (we’ve reached out to Tesla and Musk for more info).

Overall, the tweaks aren’t a huge deal, but it’s interesting to see how Tesla thought about this. After having production problems with the Model X in particular, Elon Musk vowed to keep things simple with the Model 3. As such, the design changes might have been prompted more by production and quality-control concerns than aesthetics. The company is estimating mid-2018 deliveries for new pre-orders, so it has to build around 400,000 Model 3s in just 15 months.

Via: TechCrunch

‘Arms’ update adds a fresh fighter, mode and a new stage

While we’re big fans of Nintendo’s springy-armed fighter at Engadget, the one criticism we had of the Switch exclusive brawler was that it was a bit lacking in content. Now, with today’s game’s first major free DLC – it looks like Nintendo is trying to change that. Arms 2.0 is now live, bringing with it a slew of free content including a brand new character, an additional mode, extra arms and even another stage to brawl in. Players may recognize the latest addition to the roster, as the new fighter is one of the hard-hitting bosses from the game’s Grand Prix mode — Max Brass. In addition to being able to fight as him, players will also be able to battle it out on Brass’ stage too, Skyloft Arena.

Not wanting to leave out Arms’ other main boss — Hedlok — Nintendo has opted to put the metallic head front and center, giving him the starring role in new versus mode, Hedlok Scramble. Here, players duke it out for a chance to grab a moving capsule containing a Hedlok mask, temporarily transforming them into the big bad boss himself.

Aside from these major new additions, the update also introduces three new arms for you to experiment with: the Nade, Roaster and Kablammer. Competitive players will also be relieved to hear that the controversial Snake Park stage (an arena which sees fighters brawling on giant spinning tops) has now been completely removed from Ranked mode.

In another nice touch, your stats are now tracked on the home screen, revealing how accurate you are with certain arms and even allowing you to see who your favorite fighters are. The 2.0 update also comes with a cool new title screen for you to drool over, too, as well as giving you the option to sign up for official online Arms events.

Like with Splatoon before it, Nintendo promises that this update is just the first part of Arms’ free content rollout. With the game living and dying on its multiplayer component, let’s hope that future DLC drops will be just as meaty.

Source: Neogaf

Walking ‘Silent Streets’ makes for a sinister, but short adventure

My friends, who knew of my uncharacteristic love for Pokémon Go, suggested that I try Silent Streets. It’s a brand new mobile game that combines the same mechanics of augmented reality and walking that I seem to enjoy so much. There’s no magical critter catching going in Silent Streets: a Victorian gothic detective story that sees you roaming your local area to solve a murder — one that had me walking around trying to find The Boy With The Flower Skin.

Once downloaded, there’s no signup or login screen, you just tell the game your name and you’re then instantly thrust into the action. Your otherwise nameless character receives a plea for help from Thomas Horgan, a disgraced former great detective currently in exile. After a period of stalling, you answer his call and set off to the grim, far-flung town of Snowport, only to discover him brutally murdered.

As you’re under suspicion for Horgan’s murder, you must prove your innocence by solving his last case. That means battling the rogues gallery of Snowport’s locals, plus the machinations of both the Royal Society and a dangerous cult that lurks in the shadows. It’s the sort of delicious gothic horror that I have something of a soft spot for, and one that ensured I kept playing.

As for the game’s mechanics, Snowport itself is a map with key locations — your lodgings, the police station, tavern etc — all highlighted. Getting between them requires the burning of actual shoe leather, as your steps, as monitored by the phone, are counted. You need to walk between 300 and 500 steps to reach most of the locations, where you then interview suspects or search for clues.

The interviews are of the traditional, branching style you find in many RPGs: say the right thing at the right time and you’ll be rewarded. Say the wrong thing, and the suspects and witnesses soon turn hostile and ask you to leave. At specific points, you’ll be able to switch into AR mode to hunt for clues around your local location. Then it’s off to the next building, a few hundred steps away.

Most of the game can be played at a leisurely pace, but there are certain moments where you’re given a deadline. These challenges are either related to important side-quests that help you complete the entire chapter, while others are used to build tension towards the climax. The deadlines aren’t particularly taxing: five minutes to walk 100 steps, or 20 to walk 500, but they mean you can’t put the game down even, for instance, if your lunch break has ended.

If you wanted to play the game without the walking, either due to indolence or bad weather, you can skip it by calling for a cab. You’re given one for free at the start of the game, with additional rides setting you back £1.99 ($2.56) for 12 or £2.99 ($3.80) for 30. Subsequent chapters, of which there are four, will set you back a further £2.65 ($3.40) a time. As the first part of the game is free, the overall price you’ll pay is around £8 / $10.

Silent Streets has plenty of things going for it, including a well-written and intriguing story, beautiful hand-drawn artwork and good voice acting. But its game mechanics feel less like a way to make the story more immersive and more a way of stretching out what little content there is. Without the walking mechanic — which I do enjoy, especially as motivation to get me out of the house — the chapter would last half an hour, tops.

There are a couple of other glitches that the studio will need to work out, including app crashes if you pick the “wrong” option at a key moment in the game. But that’s a small issue — and it did help me avoid ruining the ending by picking the wrong culprit.

Funbakers

Similarly, the AR features are barely used, and when they are, it’s simple enough to just scroll around until you’ve spotted all the incongruous objects. One issue with AR games in their current form is that it’s impossible to miss the crudely-rendered item floating in mid-air. Like point-and-click detective games before it, where if you were stuck, you could simply scan your mouse pointer left to right to find when the cursor changed icon.

The biggest joy of Silent Streets is the reward on the investment that you put into it, and I was hooked while I played it. Towards the climax, the aforementioned timed challenges were ever present, with a race against the clock to prevent a tragedy. I’ll confess, knowing that I was saving someone, I actually broke out into a run to reach the conclusion faster. Which was a mistake, because my phone registered fewer steps as a result, slowing me down.

The satisfaction of completing the chapter, finishing the five side quests and getting all that delicious exercise was enormous. If there’s a drawback, it’s the niggling factor that having to buy each chapter individually, as well as walking powerups, feels a little like being nickel-and-dimed. But it’s the unfortunate reality of the economics of the app store that if the game was priced at its actual worth, it would be seen as a rip off.

Overall, however, I really enjoyed my sojourn through the darker corners of Victorian Britain and will probably go back there soon. Silent Streets really did capture the dark, Holmesian vibe that made those stories so engaging. If the following chapters are as engaging as the first, I’m sure the game will do well, and I’ll continue to get more of that much-needed fresh air and exercise.

Source: Silent Streets

Apple Launches 2017 Back to School Promotion: Free Beats With Select Mac or iPad Pro Models

Apple today launched its Back to School promotion in the United States and Canada, offering the choice of a free pair of Beats Solo3, BeatsX, or Powerbeats3 headphones to qualifying students, parents of students, and educators who purchase an eligible Mac with education pricing for a limited time.

Eligible models include any MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac Pro. As usual, the Mac mini and refurbished Macs are excluded from the deal.

The promotion also offers free BeatsX wireless headphones with the purchase of any 10.5-inch or 12.9-inch iPad Pro, or students can pay $50 extra for Beats Powerbeats3 or $150 extra for Solo3 wireless headphones. Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad and iPad mini 4 models do not qualify for the promotion.

In addition to Apple’s online store for education, the promotion is available at Apple retail stores and Apple authorized campus stores, or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE. Those eligible for the promotion include faculty, staff, students, and parents of students at higher education institutions, and select others:

• K-12 – Any employee of a public or private K-12 institution in the Qualified Country is eligible, including homeschool teachers. In addition, school board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members are eligible. PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers are eligible.

• Higher Education – Faculty and staff of Higher Education institutions in the Qualified Country and students attending or accepted into a Higher Education institution in the United States are eligible to purchase. Purchases from the Apple Store for Education Individuals are not for institutional purchase or resale.

• Higher Education Parents – Parents purchasing on behalf of their child, who is a student currently attending or accepted into a public or private Higher Education institution in the Qualified Country, are eligible to purchase.

Apple’s Back to School promotion is also available in select other countries, including Singapore and Mexico, but it has yet to launch in Europe. Apple usually waits up to a few weeks before expanding the promotion to countries like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Apple’s Back to School promotion starts today and ends September 25, 2017 in the United States and Canada. Apple’s terms and conditions outline the complete eligibility requirements for the promotion in those countries.

Students are required to verify their enrollment or acceptance in a higher education institution in order to participate in the promotion. Not a student? Visit our Apple Deals roundup for other deals on Apple products and accessories.

Tags: Beats, Back to School promotion, Apple retail
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Amazon’s Alexa can book hotels through Kayak with your voice

Kayak introduced an Alexa skill a year ago, which lets you search for flights, hotels and rental cars with your voice. Useful, but not that useful — you still need to hop on your computer or fire up a phone to book them. Might as well do either from the start and use emoji to search for travel deals. Now, Kayak has upgraded its skill, so that you can book a hotel with just your voice. Simple say, “Alexa, book a hotel room in [the location you’re going to],” and it will give you a list of available rooms that you can reserve right then and there. The service will make your reservation through its partners Booking and Priceline, but you only need a Kayak account to take advantage of the feature.

That’s not all the upgrade the company’s skill got, though. You can now also tell Alexa to ask Kayak when your next trip or flight is, which is useful if you travel frequently for work. Plus, you can now also search for flights by cabin class (“Alexa, ask Kayak how much is a business class ticket to…”) or ask the voice assistant to create a price alert if you’re waiting for flight promotions. The upgrade is already out for Amazon’s speakers except Echo Show, though Kayak says it could roll out the new features for the touchscreen-equipped device “soon.”

Source: Kayak