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10.03.2025 15:50 Last month, Nintendo of America opened up purchases of its game-themed alarm clock, Alarmo, to the public in the US so anyone could get one — with or without a Switch Online membership. It was originally only available direct from Nintendo, but now in celebration of Mario Day, the bright red nightstand companion can also be purchased from Walmart and Target. The charming alarm clock comes with a handful of built-in themes to choose from at the start — Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4 and Ring Fit Adventure — and Nintendo says others, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, will be available for free down the line. Alarmo first went on sale back in October, but only for Nintendo Switch Online members. That changed in February, when the company announced, “Nintendo Sound Clock: #Alarmo is now available on My Nintendo store, no Nintendo Switch Online membership required.” Alarmo can wake you up and put you to sleep with sounds and animations from your chosen title, and it has a motion sensor for sleep tracking . There’s an undeniable charm to it all; the characters will even celebrate when you finally drag yourself out of bed. The downside is that it costs $100. Still, I can’t say the idea of having a troupe of Pikmin greet me first thing every morning isn’t extremely tempting.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/wamart-and-target-now-sell-nintendos-alarmo-in-celebration-of-mario-day-171945549.html?src=rss

10.03.2025 15:50 Last week was a busy one filled with Apple announced news, with the company refreshing its Mac and iPad lineups. Now, we're starting to see deals on some of the older models that will soon be discontinued. One of the best sales is on the 10th-gen iPad, which is down to $269 at Amazon for the blue and silver colorways. It briefly dropped to a record low of $260 at the end of last week, but now you'll find the $269 price more readily. The 10th-gen iPad arrived in late 2022. At least until we put the new model through its paces, this is our current pick for the best budget iPad — a recommendation that automatically becomes a little stronger whenever it gets this kind of discount. We gave this model a score of 85 in our review. We felt that the screen was somewhat lacking compared with those found in the likes of the iPad Air. However, we appreciated several updates such as the switch to a USB-C charging port and improved performance compared with the previous base iPad. Apple also moved the front-facing camera to the landscape edge, making video calls much more palatable when you're using the tablet in that orientation. If you just want an iPad to help you catch up on reading and email, control your smart home devices, watch videos and stream music, this is probably the one to go for. More resource-intensive tasks will require a more powerful tablet, but this one will handle the basics. Meanwhile, if you're interested in picking up the latest base iPad, you can pre-order one now. Amazon even has a small discount on the latest iPad, dropping it from $349 to $329. Apple has upgraded the chipset to an A16 and doubled the base storage to 128GB, but there's no support for Apple Intelligence in the 11th-gen iPad. Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-10th-gen-ipad-drops-to-a-near-record-low-price-171121239.html?src=rss

10.03.2025 15:50 You have to be patient if you want to take advantage of the best streaming deals because they don't come around as often as discounts on laptops and smartphones. One of the best deals as of late is a new one from Disney: new and returning subscribers can get four months of the Disney+ Hulu Duo Basic bundle for only $12. You'll pay $3 per month for four months, and that represents a 72-percent discount off the standard $11-per-month price. For the whole period, you'll save a total of $32. The deal is available through March 30, but just keep in mind that the Duo Basic plan includes advertisements on both Disney+ and Hulu content. At a time when it feels like every streaming service, audio and video, is pushing their subscription costs ever-higher, it's a treat to get any amount of entertainment access for a discount. That's why we're big fans of the Disney+ Hulu Duo plans; even at the normal rate, it unites two of our favorite standalone content libraries in a single package that's a solid deal at its normal rates. Snagging the basic tier for an even lower cost feels like a no-brainer, especially if you're invested in any facet of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if you're counting the days until the second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives or if you just like to hum along with Encanto in the background while you work. Keep in mind that the ad-free Duo Premium plan isn't covered in this promotion, nor is the option that also bundles ESPN into the package. Access to Duo Premium will still run you $20 a month, while the Trio bundles begin at $17 a month. Check out our coverage of the best streaming deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-four-months-of-the-disney-hulu-duo-basic-streaming-bundle-for-only-12-right-now-123511048.html?src=rss

10.03.2025 15:50 JBL just announced a pair of portable speakers that take advantage of the company’s AI Sound Boost technology. This software analyzes the signal and maxes out the driver while minimizing distortion. The company says this creates a boost in sound quality. The Flip 7 features an interchangeable strap and carabiner and an updated control placement when compared to the previous generation. The Flip 6 easily made our list of the best portable Bluetooth speakers, so any improvement is just icing on the cake. It also includes an upgraded woofer with more output power, which should further improve the sound. The battery life is solid, at 14 hours of use per charge. There’s a Playtime Boost feature that dials back the bass to add another two hours of use. The Flip 7 offers the ability for multi-speaker output that’s powered by Auracast and it can play lossless audio over USB-C, just like the Beats Pill. Preorders are open right now, with shipments going out on April 6. This speaker costs $150. JBL The Charge 6 also includes a new design with an updated button layout and a detachable and reconfigurable strap. Just like the Flip 7, it includes a redesigned woofer for an audio upgrade. The battery life here is astounding, at 24 hours of use per charge. This is several hours more than the Charge 5. It also includes Playtime Boost, for even more juice, and a quick-charge feature. This speaker can be used as part of a larger system via Auracast. Preorders are available right now and shipments go out on April 6. That extra battery life does tick the price up a bit, as the Charge 6 costs $200.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/jbl-just-announced-two-new-portable-speakers-that-support-ai-sound-boost-technology-120052295.html?src=rss

10.03.2025 00:40  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is coming to PlayStation 5 on June 26. At SXSW, Kojima Productions dropped a 10-minute trailer for the upcoming game, giving us our best look yet at the sequel to 2019’s Death Stranding. Pre-orders open on March 17 at 10AM local time, and those who buy the Digital Deluxe or Collector’s Edition will get early access two days before the game officially becomes available. Hideo Kojima was joined by Norman Reedus and Troy Baker on stage at SXSW 2025 to discuss the much anticipated new game. The trailer reveals Death Stranding 2 takes place 11 months after the creation of the United Cities of America. As previous glimpses have shown, Reedus is back as Sam, along with Léa Seydoux, who voices Fragile, and Baker as Higgs. There’s otherwise a lot to take in over the course of the video’s 10-minute run, including a slew of new faces joining the cast. Death Stranding 2 was first announced back in 2022, and last year’s PlayStation State of Play brought a 9-minute look into the game. Come summertime, you'll finally be able to play it. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/death-stranding-2-just-got-its-release-date-and-a-10-minute-new-trailer-231240932.html?src=rss

10.03.2025 00:40 A report from The Washington Post details allegations made by whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams about Facebook in a 78-page complaint filed last April with the SEC, including that the company built a censorship system in hopes to be allowed to operate in China and that it considered allowing the Chinese government to access users’ data in the country. Claims that Facebook developed a content suppression tool to appease China, where it has been blocked since 2009, were first reported as far back as 2016 by The New York Times. Wynn-Williams has a memoir about her time at Facebook, Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work, coming out this week. Wynn-Williams — a former Facebook global policy director who was fired in 2017 — said in the complaint that the company formed a team in 2014 focused on creating a version of Facebook that would comply with China’s laws, under the code-name “Project Aldrin,” The Washington Post reports. In addition to building a censorship system, it was reportedly proposed during negotiations with Chinese officials that the company allow a Chinese private-equity firm to review content posted by users in China, and that Facebook hire hundreds of moderators dedicated to the effort of squashing restricted content. In a statement to The Washington Post, spokesperson Andy Stone said the company's past interest in the Chinese market is “no secret,” and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg had announced a move away from these efforts in 2019. But Wynn-Williams’ complaint paints a fuller picture of how far Facebook was allegedly willing to go to gain a Chinese userbase. Read The Washington Post’s full report here. Zuckerberg has since become vocal about “free expression” and made changes to how Meta’s platforms approach moderation. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook and Instagram would end fact-checking and instead adopt X-style Community Notes.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/whistleblower-complaint-expands-on-claims-that-facebook-once-built-a-censorship-tool-to-win-over-china-215047102.html?src=rss

09.03.2025 20:10 After months of Retroid Pocket Mini buyers reporting issues with the appearance of games when using shaders, Retroid has opened a new return window for people seeking a refund. But there are limitations. Per a screenshot shared by Retro Game Corps, the China-based company said in a Discord message that the return window will be open only from March 8 to March 14, only 200 overseas returns will be accepted and customers will have to pay for shipping. As consolation, the company is offering all owners “a $10 stackable coupon for the upcoming Retroid Flip2 and Retroid Classic.” Retroid released a statement about the RP Mini screen issue:- March 8-14 return window for those affected- Returns capped to 200 units to limit a flood of returns for unrelated reasons- Asking customer to pay return shipping- $10 stackable coupon for all RP Mini customers pic.twitter.com/UpLN9rPL3a— Retro Game Corps March 8, 2025 Retroid Pocket Mini owners have been trying to get to the bottom of the issue since shortly after the device’s release last fall. As RetroHandhelds explains, “The shader issue is mostly only noticeable when specific CRT shaders are applied to older games. Users can expect to see misplaced scanlines, uneven pixels, or a slightly distorted image” in such cases. After much back and forth, the company recently said the issue can’t be fixed, linking it to the screen driver, Discord screenshots shared by RetroHandhelds show. Prior to the latest update from Retroid, some buyers said their return requests were denied. In the Discord message this weekend, the company said, “Please note that this is a large and costly endeavor for our team, and we expect a lot of return requests outside of screen-related issues.” Further down, it added, “For users who do not heavily rely on CRT shaders or pixel grid effects, we encourage you to reserve this opportunity for those who genuinely need it.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/retroid-says-it-will-accept-limited-pocket-mini-returns-due-to-screen-scaling-issue-183143391.html?src=rss

09.03.2025 20:10 It may be a while still before we see the smart home hub Apple is rumored to be working on. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company has postponed the announcement of the upcoming product due to the issues it’s run into developing its “smarter” Siri. Gurman reported last month that the release of Apple’s upgraded Siri may be delayed, and Apple confirmed as much in a statement to Daring Fireball last week, saying it expects to roll out Siri’s more personalized features “in the coming year.” The smart home hub, according to Gurman, “to an extent, relies on the delayed Siri capabilities.” Gurman previously reported that the first version of the smart home display could be revealed as soon as March. It would be a competitor to Amazon’s Echo line of devices and Google’s Nest Hub. While a March release is looking unlikely, Gurman reports that Apple is now allowing some employees to test it at home. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/apples-rumored-smart-home-hub-has-reportedly-been-delayed-151515192.html?src=rss

09.03.2025 15:10 Mario Day, otherwise called Mar10 Day or just March 10, is nearly here. This is a yearly celebration to commemorate Nintendo’s iconic plumber. It’s not his birthday or anything, but rather a totally random day that sort of looks like his name when spelled a specific way. It’s just like how Star Wars Day falls on May 4. The main feature of Mar10 Day is deals, on both Nintendo consoles and Mario-themed games. Walmart is selling a Nintendo Switch OLED bundle for $349 that comes with a digital download code for the fantastic Super Mario Bros. Wonder and a three-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. That’s a savings of nearly $70. GameStop is also selling just about every notable Mario game for $20 off, making them $40. This even includes the recently-released Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, which is a great port of a 3DS classic. Gamers can pick up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario 3D World Plus Bowser's Fury, Super Mario Odyssey and Princess Peach: Showtime, all for $40. The remake of the very first Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is down to just $30. There’s one last little goodie here for Nintendo fans. The company’s famous alarm clock, Alarmo, is now available for purchase from both Walmart and Target, in addition to pre-existing availability on the Nintendo online store.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/mario-day-deals-include-a-switch-oled-that-comes-with-super-mario-bros-wonder-for-349-130030476.html?src=rss

09.03.2025 00:30 Nintendo added an absolute gem to its Switch Online library of classic titles this week: the 1994 Game Boy game, Donkey Kong. The beloved game arrives alongside the 1995 puzzle game, Mario’s Picross. Both are available now for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, right in time for Mario Day . Donkey Kong built upon the arcade game that came before it, and features roughly 100 stages. The story should feel pretty familiar even to those who don’t have a nostalgic connection to it — Donkey Kong has kidnapped a beautiful woman and Mario is in hot pursuit to rescue her. While the Super Game Boy brought some enhancements for the original game, those haven’t been carried over for Nintendo Switch. But it should still be a treat to revisit as is. Mario’s Picross offers a totally different experience, presenting the player with a couple hundred puzzles to solve by chiseling away at boxes and uncovering the secret image below. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/you-can-now-play-donkey-kong-94-through-nintendo-switch-online-225857703.html?src=rss

09.03.2025 00:30 Employees of the General Services Administration, which manages government real estate and certain IT efforts, have been given a custom chatbot from Elon Musk’s DOGE to help automate tasks, according to a new report from Wired, with an internal memo telling workers it can be used to “draft emails, create talking points, summarize text, write code.” The chatbot, GSAi, gives users a choice of three models — Claude Haiku 3.5 , Claude Sonnet 3.5 v2 and Meta Llama 3.2 — and is ultimately meant to be used to “analyze contract and procurement data,” Wired reports. The GSA is one of the many agencies that have been affected by the federal government’s mass job cuts, and has so far let go upwards of 1,000 workers, sources told NPR in a report published this week. That includes roughly 90 people from its tech branch, according to Wired. In memos about the new chatbot seen by Wired, workers were told not to input “federal nonpublic information,” personally identifiable information or “controlled unclassified information.” It was reportedly tested among a smaller group last month before rolling out to the roughly 1,500 workers who now have access, with plans to expand down the line. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/doge-has-reportedly-started-rolling-out-a-custom-chatbot-to-automate-some-government-tasks-211616079.html?src=rss

09.03.2025 00:30 According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has tapped Fast Furious director Justin Lin to direct its upcoming movie adaptation of BRZRKR, the popular comic by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt about an immortal warrior. Netflix first announced plans to create both a live-action movie and an anime based on BRZRKR back in 2021, with Reeves starring in the former and returning to voice his character in the animated show. But, we’ve heard little about the projects since. In the meantime, Reeves and author China Miéville dove back into the BRZRKR lore with The Book of Elsewhere, which was released last year. There are still no details on when the Netflix adaptations will air, but we can safely expect both to bring violence and plenty of action. BRZRKR follows a half-mortal, half-god man known as “B” who has fought his way through 80,000 years of life. By the time he accepts a job killing for the US government, he’s very much over his immortality and looking for a way out. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Terminator Zero showrunner Mattson Tomlin is writing the script for the movie and the anime. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-netflix-film-adaptation-of-keanu-reeves-brzrkr-now-has-its-director-184902694.html?src=rss

08.03.2025 19:11 These are the new releases that belong on your reading list. This week, we've got a haunting novel from Charlotte McConaghy that blends mystery with environmental thriller, and a comic mini-series about the legendary Jersey Devil. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-fiction-wild-dark-shore-mystery-dark-horse-comics-let-this-one-be-a-devil-171026492.html?src=rss

08.03.2025 19:11 Google will have to break up its business, the Justice Department said in a filing, upholding the previous administration's proposal after a federal judge ruled last year that the company illegally abused a monopoly over the search industry. As The Washington Post and The New York Times have reported, the Justice Department reiterated in a new filing that Google will have to sell the Chrome browser. When the DOJ argued for its sale last year, it said that selling Chrome "will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet." The Justice Department also kept a Biden-era proposal that seeks to ban Google from paying companies like Apple, other smartphone manufacturers and Mozilla to make its search engine the default on their phones and browsers. It did remove a previous proposal that would compel Google to sell its stakes in AI startups, however, after Anthropic told the government that it needs the company's money to continue operating. Instead of banning AI investments altogether, the government wants to require the company to notify federal and state officials before making investments in artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, the Financial Times reported that Google was investing another billion dollars in Anthropic. Google is expected to file its own proposal for its final set of alternative remedies. In the earlier one it filed in December, the company said that the Justice Department's original remedies went "overboard" and that they reflected an "interventionist agenda" that "goes far beyond what the Court's decision is actually about — agreements with partners to distribute search." Google suggested allowing it continue paying partners like Apple and Mozilla to offer Google Search, but also to allow them to form agreements with other partners across different platforms. Apple could, for instance, offer different default search engines for iPhones and iPads. Meanwhile, browser companies could change default search engines every 12 months. As The Post notes, the Justice Department's filing could be an indicator of how the Trump administration will handle antitrust cases involving tech companies. It could be strict on big tech like the Biden administration was despite tech leaders supporting the new President and his policies. Google donated to the Trump campaign when he ran last year and just recently halted efforts to hire employees from diverse backgrounds. It said that it was "no longer set hiring targets to improve representation in its workforce." The House also recently subpoenaed Alphabet and its CEO Sundar Pichai for communications between the company and the Biden administration regarding COVID-19. Judge Amit Mehta, the original judge who ruled that Google was a monopolist and had "acted as one to maintain its monopoly," will hear both the government's and the company's remedies and will decide on the final solutions for the case in April. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will-still-have-to-break-up-its-business-the-justice-department-said-150000739.html?src=rss

08.03.2025 00:10 Games Done Quick's next weeklong charity speedrunning shindig kicks off this weekend. Frost Fatales, one of GDQ's two events celebrating women and femmes, runs from March 9 to 16, raising money for the nonprofit National Women's Law Center. Frost Fatales is the winter installment of the pair of events organized by GDQ's Frame Fatales speedrunning community. Last year's Frost Fatales raised $155,000 for the same nonprofit, which fights for gender justice in issues central to the lives of women and girls. Since the first Frame Fatales event in 2019, the biannual speedruns have raised over $1 million for charity. Studio MDHR This year's festivities dive right into the deep end with a run of the charmingly punishing Cuphead at 1PM ET on Sunday, followed by Super Mario Odyssey a mere hour later. Anyone who can beat Cuphead in that time deserves a Medal of Honor. Other notable runs from the week include the OG Legend of Zelda on Sunday, the Wii reboot of Punch-Out!! on Monday, a "girl squad" three-way race in Final Fantasy X-2 on Wednesday and a race to defeat Ganon in Breath of the Wild on Saturday. The week wraps up with a one-handed speedrun of the indie platforming classic Celeste later that night. You can check out GDQ's schedule for the full lineup of games. The weeklong event streams exclusively on the GDQ Twitch channel , starting with that must-see Cuphead run at 1PM ET on Sunday. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-games-done-quicks-frost-fatales-speedrunning-event-from-march-9-220017343.html?src=rss