- Help
- Google+
SAVE OVER $9: As of Oct. 21. the CHONCHOW gaming keyboard and mouse bundle is on sale at Amazon for $9.49. That's a saving of 50% on list price.
Opens in a new window Credit: CHONCHOW CHONCHOW Gaming Keyboard and Mouse $9.49 at AmazonGaming accessories don't have to break the bank. With many products costing hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars, it's easy to forget that you can do it cheaply.
And that's exactly what this gaming keyboard and mouse bundle offers. As of Oct. 21, you can treat yourself to a gaming keyboard and mouse for under $10. This CHONCOW bundle is reduced by 50%, now just $9.49. This is only available on the White and Black option, however. For White Transparent you'll pay $18.99.
SEE ALSO: Save over $50 on this versatile and responsive gaming headsetWith 104 keys and a sturdy tripod design, both the keyboard and the mouse are built to reduce stress on your hands. So if you're planning some long gaming sessions, comfort comes front and center with this keyboard.
It's also compatible with a long list of platforms including Windows XP, 7, and 10, iMac, Linux, and gaming consoles like PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Switch. Thanks to the USB-A connection, it's plug-and-play, so there's no complicated setup — just connect it and off you go.
But the main selling point is the rainbow backlighting which you can easily control and create lighting effects, switching between breathing or solid modes.
Head over to Amazon to grab this deal before it runs out.
SAVE $300: As of Oct. 21, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is on sale for $1,599.99 at Amazon. This deal saves you 16% on the list price.
Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 $1,599.99 at AmazonWherever you stand on the iPhone vs. Samsung Galaxy argument, there's no denying that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 looks cool. A folding touchscreen phone? Come on, our teenage flip-phone-owning selves would go wild for it. And if it's been on your adult wishlist for a while, you'll be pleased to know it's currently on sale at Amazon.
As of Oct. 21, you can live out your folding touchscreen phone dreams for $1,599.99, reduced from $1,899.99. This deal is available on the 256GB option in the Navy and Silver colorways.
SEE ALSO: Snag a Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 for a new low price at WalmartBesides the folding tech, the outer display really just functions like a regular smartphone screen, while the larger inner screen provides more space for apps or split-screen use, similar to that of a tablet. And like most newer smartphones, it comes with a range of photo abilities, from wide-angle to telephoto.
We really like the "With Circle to Search" feature. With this, you can circle anything on your screen — like shoes or gadgets — and instantly find where to buy them. The phone also comes packed with various AI tools, such as Generative Edit which helps you clean up images, remove objects, and enhance colors.
This is a limited-time deal on Amazon, so act quick before it runs out.
New images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope demonstrate how a withered star remnant is only mostly dead — that is until a bloated nearby star reanimates it, a la Frankenstein.
The legendary observatory has monitored a double star system about 700 light-years away from Earth for more than 30 years, capturing how it dims and brightens over time as a result of strong pulses from the primary star. The binary, composed of a white dwarf star and a red giant star, has a caustic relationship, releasing tangled streams of glowing gas into the cosmos like an erratic lawn sprinkler.
Astronomers have dubbed this toxic pair in the constellation Aquarius a "stellar volcano" for how it sprays streams of glowing gas some 248 billion miles in space. For comparison, that's 24 times farther than the diameter of our solar system.
NASA is watching the stars to study how they recycle elements into the universe through nuclear energy.
"The plasma is shooting into space over 1 million miles per hour – fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in 15 minutes!" NASA said in a statement. "The filaments are glowing in visible light because they are energized by blistering radiation from the stellar duo."
SEE ALSO: This nova is on the verge of exploding. You could see it any day now. When a white dwarf star swings close to a red giant star, it draws away hydrogen. Credit: NASA Goddard illustrationThe binary star system, known collectively as R Aquarii, is a special type of double star, called symbiotic, and it's the closest such pair to Earth. In this system, an elderly red giant, bloated and dying, and a white dwarf, the shriveled core of a dead medium-sized star, are orbiting each other.
The big star is over 400 times larger than the sun and varies dramatically in brightness over a 400-day period. At its peak, the red giant is 5,000 times brighter than the sun. Like the big star in R Aquarii, the sun is expected to bloat into a red giant in about 5 billion years.
When the white dwarf in R Aquarii gets close to its hulking companion along its 44-year orbit, the dead star steals stellar material away with gravity, causing hydrogen gas to heap onto its cool surface. That process makes the corpse rise from the dead, so to speak, warming up and eventually igniting like a bomb.
NASA and the European Space Agency created the above timelapse video of R Aquarii using Hubble images that spanned 2014 to 2023.
This thermonuclear explosion is called a "nova" — not to be confused with a supernova, the obliteration of an enormous star before it collapses into a black hole or neutron star. The nova doesn't destroy the white dwarf — rather, the explosion merely causes it to spew more elements, like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and iron, back into space.
This year scientists have been on the edge of their seats, waiting for a nova to emerge from T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, a binary star system about 3,000 light-years away in the Milky Way. This particular nova, which should be visible to the naked eye, is intriguing because it experiences periodic outbursts. Experts have determined it detonates about every 80 years.
A few months ago, experts believed the white dwarf would go nova sometime before September. Curiously, that sudden brightening hasn't happened yet.
Tweet may have been deleted"Recurrent novae are unpredictable and contrarian," said Koji Mukai, a NASA astrophysicist, in a June statement. "When you think there can’t possibly be a reason they follow a certain set pattern, they do — and as soon as you start to rely on them repeating the same pattern, they deviate from it completely."
These events are critical to understand because of how important they are for generating and distributing the ingredients for new stars, planets, and life. And this is what astronomer Carl Sagan meant when he said humans are made of "star stuff." The same substances that make our bodies were literally forged within the cores of stars, then flung through the cosmos when the stars burst.
R Aquarii blasts glowing jets that twist up and out following strong magnetic fields. The plasma seems to loop back onto itself, weaving an enormous spiral.
Now that we’re over the Prime Day threshold, Amazon’s getting ready for the holiday shopping season by rolling out deals across a wide range of products, including smart home gadgets and appliances. If you want to get ahead of winter’s chilly embrace, we’ve rounded up some of the best deals to help you stay cozy without breaking the bank.
Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day on Oct. 21. If none of these seem particularly exciting, we’ll have a new post up tomorrow with the latest batch of deals to check out. You can also check our lists from Oct. 19 and Oct. 18. Most of these deals are still available, including the JBL Tune Flex true wireless noise-canceling earbuds and the Oura Ring Gen3 Horizon.
Our top pick Opens in a new window Credit: ecobee ecobee Smart Thermostat bundle $239.99 at AmazonThe ecobee Smart Thermostat bundle (which includes a built-in air quality monitor and smart sensor with SmartSensor for doors and windows) is on sale for $239.99, down from $329.98. That’s a 27% discount or $89.99 off.
The bundle includes an ecobee Smart Thermostat (with a built-in air quality monitor) and a SmartSensor two-pack to help keep your home comfortable. The door and window sensors can monitor when doors and windows are opened and closed and adjust the temperature accordingly to save you energy (up to 26% per year, according to the manufacturer).
Best heater deal Opens in a new window Credit: Dreo Dreo space heater $35.96 at AmazonIf you get cold easily or work in a chilly office, the Dreo space heater is 10% off and includes a remote. It’s small enough (3.04 pounds) to take to work or carry from room to room but has a 1500W advanced PTC system that can deliver heat up to 200% farther than a traditional space heater.
It also has a 12-hour timer, child lock, and memory function, so you can stay comfy no matter where you are. Plus, the tilt-detection safety system and V0 flame-retardant materials make it a safer heating option.
Best power station deal Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker 535 PowerHouse $329.99 at AmazonCheck out our full review of the Anker 535 PowerHouse.
If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s unpredictable weather. With winter just around the corner and hurricane season still in full swing, it's smart to have a power source on hand for emergencies.
Right now, you can get the Anker 535 PowerHouse for $329.99 — that’s $170 off and a nice deal if you're looking for a backup power solution to keep your devices charged and running during an outage. The Anker 535 is also a Mashable favorite that we’ve recommended in the past for its powerful 1,024Wh battery capacity, multiple ports, and fast 60W USB-C charging.
“At $500, I can say that it is worth the investment for somebody who needs to be prepared for inclement weather (like myself living in Florida) or spends lots of time in remote areas and may not have access to outlets such as campers or those on a road trip,” writes Mashable contributor Jenna Clark.
None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.
There's nowhere but up for the AI gadget market to go in 2025, because that market in 2023 and 2024 was, sadly, riddled with junk.
Overly ambitious devices debuted — seemingly pegged to the rapturous response to ChatGPT and other LLMs — but once they got into the hands of consumers, to say they did not please would be an understatement.
There was rabbit r1, an underwhelming orange box that, according to Mashable's Kimberly Gedeon, was essentially a fidget spinner with a screen, with which the user could... do very little. The Verge's headline summed it up as "an unfinished, unhelpful AI gadget." Then came the Humane AI Pin, which YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee described bluntly as "the worst product I've ever reviewed."
SEE ALSO: A huge Windows 11 2024 update dropped today: 5 new AI-powered features, including RecallSo the first movers got attention, but it wasn't for their utility, and it wasn't exactly positive. The early AI gadget entrepreneurs have been more like the inventors in that old stock footage of crazy, turn-of-the-century flying machines that don't actually fly.
As we look ahead to 2025, the hope is for more polished, functional devices. There is, to be absolutely clear, no guarantee we'll get any such thing.
1. AI apps preprogrammed into hardwareUseful AI that you can actually hold in your hand might not come in the form of a shiny new "AI-powered" device at all in 2025. Instead, it might materialize via an update to the smudged and scratched device you already have in your pocket.
You might not have even noticed, for instance, that the vaunted "Apple Intelligence" suite of features that made headlines earlier this year didn't actually ship with the new iPhone 16. This may have been on purpose. Features like "Genmoji" and new Siri are neat ideas that are nonetheless far from revolutionary, and it's unlikely Apple wanted iPhone 16 reviewers including long digressions about disappointing AI in otherwise positive hardware reviews. But Apple will inevitably roll out more new phones in 2025, and they'll inevitably ship with these AI features. Instead of a bang, AI will arrive on iPhones with an "oh there that is."
And don't be too surprised if AI features "debut" in this low-key way on other devices like smart TVs and car infotainment systems in 2025.
2. AI complementing existing wearables"AI you can wear" has been part of AI fever since before ChatGPT, and the integration of AI into wearables has definitely already begun. In 2025, however, we should start to see wearables large numbers of people actually own featuring AI software they might actually use. So even if you're not exactly planning to be first in line at an Apple Store to buy a next-generation device in the Apple Vision product line — even though the multi-thousand-dollar headset will probably get a huge AI update in 2025 — there might still be an AI-enabled wearable in your price range next year.
SEE ALSO: First impressions of Humane's Ai Pin: A very out-of-hand proof of conceptDuring a recent Meta keynote from Mark Zuckerberg — which was focused more on a far-out new wearable technology very much not coming in 2025 — Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses received some AI updates without too much fanfare. This came right as Meta deepened its investment in the world of glasses. Don't be surprised, then, if this niche piece of tech, mostly touted for its hands-free photography capabilities, suddenly materializes on faces all over your community next year, and seems to be less a livestreaming tool than a sort of wearable assistant or companion.
Similarly, Fitbit's AI upgrades, and upgrades that make Apple Intelligence features accessible via the Apple Watch should show up on people's bodies next year.
3. 2024 announcements becoming realityThis is probably the AI-powered stuff you're looking for.
In 2025, we’ll start seeing concepts from 2024 materialize as real hunks of plastic — at least, the ones that survive the hype cycle. One such example is the "Friend" AI medallion, a wearable, orb-like companion thingy, created by Avi Schifmann (though its origins are somewhat in dispute). Its purpose is ostensibly to offer emotional support — to be an AI friend who can provide advice and commiseration, rather than, say, summarizing your Zoom meetings. It's supposed to ship in the first quarter of 2025.
Samsung's Ballie, an AI-powered smart robot shaped like a ball that charmed attendees at CES this year could also receive a 2025 release.
4. Expect the unexpected in AI gadgetsIf 2025 is anything like the past few years, we can expect some bizarre, unexpected AI gadgets to emerge — things no one asked for but which might weirdly work.
If 2025 sees the release of, say, a line of AI-powered spoons that stir your sauces, but also taste them and suggest changes to your recipe, well, would you be all that surprised? It's a weird time for tech.
By now, you’re probably aware of AI chatbots and their basic pros and cons: They churn out passable text about almost anything you want, but they’re not about to be mistaken for real people. They also hallucinate often.
But the word "chat" is right there in the name, and you can engage in a back-and-forth with them, although the sort of “can you feel pain”-type questions that researchers and commentators were eager to ask when they first came out have been exhausted, and pretty much no one thinks these machines are sentient. Some people nonetheless enjoy playing make-believe with AI companion chatbots, but if that’s you, you probably don’t need this article.
Instead, you’re probably more of a chatbot normie, and you're wondering how you can have a memorable experience with this new category of software. At their best, chatbots can be a little like funhouse mirrors. They reflect back just enough of a human-like form that you can have some introspective fun by staring into them — and maybe even learn a little about yourself in the process.
SEE ALSO: X to allow third parties to train AI on your postsBelow are five genuinely fruitful prompts you can punch into a chatbot. Despite all of your silicon-based interlocutor's flaws, you might find yourself roped into a lively or even contentious interaction.
1. "What’s an overwhelmingly common opinion I might hold that is probably wrong?"Different Chatbots will have different notions of what qualifies as an "overwhelmingly common opinion," but the answers they give in response to this prompt are diverse, and at times, genuinely remarkable. At one point, ChatGPT served me a hot take about real estate in response to this. Normally, however, chatbot responses to this are like mini Malcolm Gladwell chapters.
Credit: Mashable screenshot via OpenAISmaller models might refute conventional wisdom no one actually believes, like "money buys happiness." But you can always just demand something less trite in a follow up prompt. It’s impossible to be rude to a robot.
2. "Tell me a story in elementary school [insert language you are learning]."No chatbot will generate a riveting story, but that’s not the point here. The point is to get an instant lesson on demand. Ask it what the words you don’t know mean, and then ask it whatever comes to mind after that — but do it without using your native language. 15 minutes of chatbot language immersion is a great workout you can include in a balanced language-learning regimen.
3. "Ask me a question I might find too painful to answer." Credit: Mashable screenshot via OpenAIJust to be clear, no chatbot I encountered was able to come up with a question "too painful to answer." Chatbots are pretty trite, but if you set the standard impossibly high for potential impact — you’re asking it to be so provocative that you break down emotionally — you just might get something that at least registers on your emotional Richter scale in some way. That’s pretty good.
Note: This prompt is apparently too spicy for Anthropic's Claude to answer at all.
4. "[Insert most original thought you've ever had] Who are some people who thought of this before me and what did they say?"Many of us think we’re original thinkers with unique minds, and that our opinions are so brilliant we should be made philosopher kings. If that’s you, or even if it isn’t, one fairly accessible stress test for your latest kernel of wisdom is to throw it into the chatbot of your choice and prompt it to tell you how unoriginal you really are.
The chatbot’s response might trace back through the great thinkers of history and literature — a humbling and enlightening exercise — or it might completely misunderstand what you’re getting at. Either way, it opens up a dialogue with the past and shows how thoughts like yours fit into the wider evolution of human ideas.
5. Summarize, contextualize, and refute [XYZ concept] in 100 words. Credit: Mashable screenshot via AnthropicCan a chatbot take a complex idea and compress it into just 100 words? No! But once again, if you set the bar extremely high, when the chatbot doesn’t reach that bar, you at least get a shortcut to basic understanding out of the deal.
The bot’s summaries will leave out key details — enough to make the answer a bit inscrutable in some cases, but this prompt can spark a useful discussion. After a few follow up questions, the lightbulb in your brain just might turn on. If not, you can always ask it for its human-written source, and then go and read that source.
TL;DR: Take flight with the Ninja Dragon Sky 8 — an obstacle-avoiding smart drone, now available for $99.99 (reg. $199).
Advanced obstacle avoidance tech lets you fly confidently, even in tight spaces
Optical flow positioning helps you hover smoothly and take sharper shots
Equipped with an HD camera for capturing high-quality aerial photos and videos
Simple one-button takeoff and landing makes it easy to master flying
Can handle 360-degree flips and rolls — impress your friends!
Lightweight and portable, so you can bring it along on all your adventures
LED lights make flying at night as fun as it is during the day
Get the Ninja Dragon Sky 8 Obstacle Avoidance Smart Drone with optical flow for $99.99 and experience seamless, obstacle-avoiding flights on your next outdoor adventure.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Dragon Ninja Dragon Sky 8 Obstacle Avoidance Smart Drone With Optical Flow $99.99TL;DR: Get the Mini 4G Dual SIM Smartphone for $94.99 (reg. $119) and enjoy compact convenience with dual SIM support.
Opens in a new window Credit: Rochas Divine Mart Mini 4G Dual SIM Smartphone $94.99If you’re looking for a versatile and compact smartphone that won’t break the bank, the Mini 4G Dual SIM Smartphone could be just the ticket
Get the Mini 4G Dual SIM Smartphone for $94.99 (reg. $119) and enjoy compact convenience with dual SIM support. This Android-based device is perfect for travelers, busy professionals, or anyone who needs the flexibility of two phone lines in one pocket-sized device.
With dual SIM slots, you can easily manage separate work and personal numbers, or save on international roaming fees by using a local SIM while abroad.
The Mini 4G comes in black and silver, offering a sleek look that resembles the design of a Samsung Galaxy, but at a fraction of the price. It’s great for those who prefer a smaller phone that can easily slip into a pocket or bag. The familiar Android interface means you’ll have access to apps via Google Play, making it a practical choice for anyone already accustomed to Android.
Parents may find it’s an affordable starter phone for kids or teens, providing essential features without the expense of a high-end device. It keeps them connected, while the budget-friendly price tag gives parents peace of mind. The Mini 4G isn’t just about affordability — it’s a reliable choice for anyone needing essential smartphone functions in a straightforward, no-fuss package.
For a limited time, the Mini 4G Dual SIM Smartphone is on sale for $94.99 — a smart choice for anyone seeking a portable, affordable, and functional device for everyday use.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
TL;DR: These open-box JBL Tune 520BT headphones give you wireless audio and deep bass for just $36.99 (reg. $49).
Deliver rich, deep bass that makes every song feel like a live performance
Wireless and lightweight, perfect for all-day listening on the go
40-hour battery life means more music and fewer charges
Bluetooth 5.0 for easy pairing and reliable connections with all your devices
Hands-free calls and voice assistant support keep you connected without missing a beat
Comfortable on-ear design that’s easy to wear wherever you go
Considered "open-box", which just means the headphones were briefly handled or returned, inspected for quality, and are in new condition — allowing you to enjoy a discount on a top-notch product
Get ready to enjoy your favorite tracks in style with these open-box JBL Tune 520BT on-ear wireless headphones, all for just $36.99.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Opens in a new window Credit: JBL JBL Tune 520BT On-Ear Wireless Headphones (Open Box) $36.99TL;DR: Host your WordPress site for life with a Hostverge Lifetime Subscription on sale for just $39.99 (reg. $99).
Opens in a new window Credit: Hostverge Hostverge WordPress Hosting Lifetime Subscriptions (Starter Plan) $39.99Managing a website means more than just creating content. You also have to make sure the site itself runs smoothly, stays secure, and handles growth effectively. It's a lot of work to do on your own, but there are tools out there that will do the hard parts for you.
Hostverge is a WordPress hosting service that gives users the tools they need to manage websites. Plus, you don't have to worry about any ongoing costs, because Hostverge has a lifetime plan available for just $39.99 (reg. $99). That means no more monthly hosting payments to worry about — but that's just the beginning.
The host with the mostLifelong hosting is easy on the budget, but affordability doesn't mean much if the platform is completely bare bones. So it's a good thing Hostverge also offers a bunch of other exciting (and unlimited) services. That includes unlimited storage and bandwidth, so users can expand their sites without encountering technical restrictions. With free SSL certificates and malware protection, Hostverge also provides the security necessary to safeguard websites and maintain visitor trust.
You'll also benefit from a global CDN that accelerates website loading times for audiences across different regions. Hostverge’s hosting solution includes unlimited email accounts, allowing businesses to manage communication seamlessly with built-in spam protection. The platform’s WordPress staging environment even makes it possible to test changes before making them live, minimizing the risk of errors.
Running a shop and can't afford losing a sale because your site is offline? Hostverge has a 99.99% uptime guarantee, so you'll have uninterrupted service around the clock.
Why pay monthly for web hosting?If you're going to keep your WordPress site live indefinitely, then paying monthly just means one more bill that's never going away.
Instead, get a Hostverge Lifetime Subscription on sale for $39.99.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
TL;DR: Live stream Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers for free on My5. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
It's time once again for Monday Night Football — and it's a major clash as the Ravens visit the Buccaneers. Both teams are defending divisional champions and share a strong record of 4-2 so far this season.
It was shaky start for the Ravens — despite being tipped as contenders to challenge for the Super Bowl — but they're coming off four straight wins. The pairing of quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry looks sharp and powerful right now. The Ravens are a serious danger in the red zone.
The Buccaneers, meanwhile, scored big against the Saints last week. QB Baker Mayfield had a strong showing, but — like the Ravens — their defence can be shaky at times. All of which means Ravens vs. Buccaneers could be a high scoring game.
With a simple hack, you can live stream select NFL fixtures for free from anywhere in the world. To watch Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers for free, here's all the information you need.
When is Ravens vs. Buccaneers?Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers takes place at 8:15 p.m. ET on Oct. 21. This fixture will be played at Raymond James Stadium.
How to watch Ravens vs. Buccaneers for freeBaltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers is available to live stream for free on My5.
My5 is a free streaming platform that's geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this platform worldwide with a VPN. VPNs can help by hiding your real IP address (digital location) and connecting you to secure servers in other countries (including the UK), which allows you to bypass geo-restrictions and access free streams.
Access free live streams of the NFL by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
Visit My5
Live stream Ravens vs. Buccaneers for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming aren't free, but the top VPN services do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By signing up for these deals, you'll be able to access free live streams of the NFL without actually spending anything. It's a short-term solution, but this gives you enough time to watch Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers and other select NFL fixtures before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for the NFL?ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the NFL, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
Fast connection speeds
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is currently available for $99.95. Within this limited time deal you'll get an extra three months at no additional cost, a whole year of unlimited cloud backup for free, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Ravens vs. Buccaneers for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Amazon's massive Prime Day events generate consistent hype, but Black Friday remains the biggest shopping holiday of the year by far.
Black Friday always takes place on the fourth Friday in November (and the day after Thanksgiving), which happens to fall abnormally late in the month this year. For consumers, that means two things: There's a shorter-than-usual window for last-minute Christmas shopping, but more-than-usual leeway for scoping out Black Friday deals in advance. Plan accordingly.
I'm a Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable, and I've been covering Black Friday sales since 2019. Here's what I think you need to know about them in advance and what you can expect to see from major retailers.
When is Black Friday 2024?With Thanksgiving slated for Thursday, Nov. 28, Black Friday is happening on Friday, Nov. 29 this year.
That being said, most retailers begin rolling out "early Black Friday deals" well ahead of time (days, if not weeks in advance). Some draw things out even longer with Black Friday discounts that bleed into the following weekend. In practice, Black Friday is not restricted to a rigid 24-hour timeframe.
The same goes for Cyber Monday, a similar but more online-centric shopping holiday that happens the same weekend. (It's scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2 in 2024.) Most retailers will shift into Cyber Monday mode by the Sunday after Black Friday, if not earlier. The entire weekend's festivities are typically referred to as "Cyber Weekend."
SEE ALSO: Amazon Prime Day vs. Black Friday: When are the deals better?None of the major retailers have confirmed their official plans for these sales just yet, but I can make some educated guesses about them based on prior years' happenings.
Black Friday at AmazonAmazon formally began its 2024 holiday shopping season with Prime Big Deal Days, a 48-hour sale for Prime members on Oct. 8 and 9. (You may have seen it referred to as "October Prime Day," a riff on Amazon's flagship Prime Day sale in July.) The only sale that's currently on the retail giant's calendar is its fourth annual Holiday Beauty Haul from Oct. 21 to Nov. 3. However, an Amazon blog post notes that "[more] exciting deal events are planned ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday."
Amazon's Black Friday sale started a week early in 2023, ushering in "some of the lowest prices of the year so far." New discounts dropped as often as every five minutes during certain periods of the event, and a special selection of deals was timed with the inaugural Black Friday NFL game (aired for free on Prime Video). Many of Amazon's Black Friday deals then lingered into its Cyber Monday sale, which also got an early launch that Saturday.
Amazon said last year's extended Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale was its "biggest ever compared to the same 11-day period ending on Cyber Monday in previous years," so I wouldn't be surprised if it used the exact same formatting for Black Friday 2024. Expect its announcement to arrive sometime in early November: In 2023, it dropped on Nov. 5.
Black Friday at WalmartWalmart hosted a Holiday Deals event from Oct. 8 through Oct. 13, which opened online with 12 hours of early access for paid Walmart+ members and continued in stores on Oct. 9. (This marked the earliest-ever start to its year-end shopping season.) Its schedule is currently wide open, but a press release called that sale Walmart's "first Holiday Deals event of the season" — emphasis mine — and teased "more incredible deals events to come, including its can’t-miss Black Friday and Cyber Monday events." This would track with Walmart's past holiday programming, which typically involves multiple sales staggered throughout November.
SEE ALSO: Walmart vs. Amazon: Which retail giant has the best deals?In 2023, Walmart scattered its "best savings of the season" across two Black Friday Deals events in early and late November; the second one directly overlapped with Black Friday proper. These sales kicked off online with a three-hour head start for Walmart+ members before opening to the public, and they went live in stores two days after the fact. They then culminated in a one-day, online-only Cyber Monday sale that also featured early access for the Walmart+ crew.
An early November announcement detailing Walmart's 2024 plans is quite likely: Last year, it popped up on Nov. 1.
Walmart Black Friday hoursFor shoppers who want to check out those deals in person, Walmart stores are usually open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time on Black Friday. The big-box store has confirmed that its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day "so associates can spend the day with their families."
Black Friday at Best BuyBest Buy set its 2024 holiday plans in motion earlier than all of its retail rivals this year, and it's been working overtime ever since. In late September, it opened the floodgates with a Member Deal Days sale for paid members of its My Best Buy program. That was succeeded by an Apple Trade-Up Event that ran during the first half of October, plus a 48-Hour Flash Sale that coincided with Prime Big Deal Days. Next up is a Prep for the Holidays Event (beginning Oct. 21) packed with deals on gadgets for entertaining, then a 3-Day Gaming Event from Oct. 25 to 27.
Best Buy seems to like being the earliest, busiest birdie. After three days of early access for paid My Best Buy members, it began offering early Black Friday deals on Oct. 30 in 2023. It then launched into a prolonged official Black Friday sale featuring "incredible deals on thousands of gifts and top brands" a week in advance of actual Black Friday, going head to head with Amazon. It tied a bow on things with a two-day Cyber Monday sale beginning that Sunday.
Best Buy rolled out those Black Friday plans on Oct. 17 last year, so expect its 2024 schedule to show up any day now.
Best Buy Black Friday hoursIf you're thinking about participating in the age-old tradition of camping out outside of a Best Buy on Black Friday, know that its brick-and-mortar stores were open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time last Black Friday. (No pressure, though: All of its deals should be available online, too.) They're normally closed on Thanksgiving, but that's not set in stone for 2024 just yet.
Black Friday at TargetTarget threw its hat into the ring with a Circle Week event from Oct. 6 to 12, presenting members of its free-to-join loyalty program with an opportunity to "save on thousands of items ... and get an early start on holiday shopping." As things currently stand, it doesn't have any other sales in the pipeline — and I don't expect to hear a peep from it about Black Friday for the next couple of weeks.
Target's 2023 Black Friday sale was a weeklong event packed with its "best planned prices of the season" that ran from the Sunday before Black Friday through the Saturday after. It chased that shindig with an online-only Cyber Monday event, which brought in a fresh selection of new deals for the following Sunday and Monday.
Target didn't announce last year's programming until Nov. 16, or just three days before the sale started.
Target Black Friday hoursThe bullseye brand's stores will probably open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday, as they have been in years past. They'll for sure be closed on Thanksgiving: Target CEO Brian Cornell made that a permanent policy in 2023.
TL;DR: Live stream Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs for free with a 30-day trial of Prime Video. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Prime Video is the home of Monday Night Hockey this season, with the Tampa Bay Lightning facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the next live fixture hosted by the platform. This service is aimed at Canadians, but fans from around the world can bypass geo-restrictions to live stream top NHL fixtures for free with a simple hack.
If you want to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Lightning vs. Maple Leafs?Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 21. This fixture will be played at the Scotiabank Arena.
How to watch Lightning vs. Maple Leafs for freeTampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs is available to live stream on Prime Video in Canada, but you don't need to be subscribed to Amazon Prime to watch this game. Fans can watch Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (plus more Monday Night Hockey fixtures) for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.
Fans from outside Canada will need to use a VPN to watch the NHL for free on Prime Video. This process is straightforward:
Sign up for a 30-day Amazon Prime trial (if you're not already a member)
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Canada
Watch Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs for free from anywhere in the world on Prime Video
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but top VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams of the NHL without actually spending anything. This is obviously only a short-term solution, but this gives you enough time to watch select NHL fixtures before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free live streams from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for the NHL?ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the NHL, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
Fast connection speeds
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95, saving you 49% on list price. This deal includes a bonus three months of coverage, a year of unlimited cloud backup, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The likes of Apple and Google are building powerful new AI features straight into their latest operating systems. Many of these new features, however, require the most up-to-date powerful phones out there. Apple Intelligence, for example, is limited to the iPhone 15 Pro or any iPhone 16 model, which is a relatively small subset of iPhones still in use.
But thankfully, you don't have to buy a new phone to take advantage of the latest and greatest AI features. There are tons of AI-powered apps available for smartphones, computers, and more – that you can use with your older devices. Here’s a look at some of the best AI apps you can install on your compatible older device right now.
SEE ALSO: Is this image AI-generated? How to tell in 3 easy steps. ChatGPTAvailability: iOS 16.1 (16.1 or newer, iPhone 8 or later), Android (6.0 or newer), macOS (14 or newer, with M1 or better), web
AI has been brewing in the tech world for years, but OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the first big splash when it comes to generative AI. So it makes sense that it would feature on this list. Anyone with a decent internet connection can access ChatGPT through the web, and you'll get full functionality in the web itself, including the ability to type or record voice prompts.
However, you'll get some additional features with the ChatGPT app, which is available on iOS, Android, and macOS, and is expected on Windows at some point in the near future. Using the dedicated app, you'll be able to start voice conversations with ChatGPT.
As someone who has used this feature, it's pretty eerie how natural it sounds. Using ChatGPT, you can generate texts, email replies, and even code. With one of its multimodal models, it can now see content in images too. You can access ChatGPT for free, though for its newest and most advanced models, you'll need a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 per month.
SuperwhisperAvailability: iOS (16.0 or newer), macOS (13 or newer)
The tech underpinning ChatGPT has spawned a huge range of apps and services too. One of my personal favorites is Superwhisper, which leverages OpenAI's Whisper voice recognition model to enable voice typing with stunning accuracy.
Superwhisper essentially creates tiny recordings of your voice when it's activated, then uses the Whisper model to transcribe what you say into text. Again, it's incredibly accurate, and using the Superwhisper app on macOS or iOS, you can even have the text that's generated cleaned up by one of OpenAI's GPT models to remove any ums or ahs, and make sure that everything is grammatically correct.
Its best use case is definitely on the Mac, and I've found that the iOS app isn't anywhere near as capable or as accurate. That said, if you type a lot on a Mac, you may find that Superwhisper speeds up your workflow by quite a bit, especially considering the fact that it lets you type into any text box on your Mac.
You can try out Superwhisper for free; however, you'll only get 15 minutes of recording using the Pro-level features, after which you'll be limited to basic features that aren't as advanced or as capable. Most users who really want to take advantage of the service will want to subscribe to a Superwhisper Pro subscription, which costs $8.49 monthly, $84.99 annually, or $249.99 for a lifetime subscription.
SpeechPulseAvailability: Windows (10 or newer, 64-bit), macOS (13 or newer, with M1 or better)
Windows users aren't being left out of the voice transcription revolution, though. Windows users who want a stunningly well-built AI-powered transcription service should consider SpeechPulse, which also leverages OpenAI's Whisper model for accurate transcriptions, and lets you type into any text box.
SpeechPulse is actually available on both Windows and macOS, so if you're looking for an option that you can use on two operating systems, it might be a good choice for your needs. It's available as a one-time payment instead of a subscription. However, if you use a Windows and a macOS computer separately, you'll need to buy separate licenses, each of which costs $59.95.
Canary MailAvailability: iOS (11 or later), macOS (10.14 or later), Android (8 or later), Windows (10 or later)
Perhaps you're looking for AI apps for more specific use cases, and one of the most common use cases for AI right now is email. Canary Mail is being billed as the AI email copilot, helping users quickly reply to emails, reformat text to better serve specific purposes, and more.
For example, you could have Canary Mail generate a reply to an email by giving it a prompt of only a few words. Canary Mail is available on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows, and you can start using it for free. However, more advanced users will want to consider subscribing to the $3 per month growth plan or the $10 per month pro plus plan, which is built for professional teams and charged on a per-user basis.
ReplikaAvailability: iOS, Android, web
Want a friend that you can talk to without judgment? Replika may not be a human friend, but it is aimed at allowing users to talk through their problems with an AI bot. It's a little weird at first, but you'll get used to it, after which you may find that it's actually helpful.
Sure, again, it's not a real friend, but sometimes talking through problems can help you solve them without the need for an actual person to talk to. Users have found Replika to be everything from a bit of fun to therapeutic, and it learns over time about you as you use it more.
AI is transforming many professions and industries, generating considerable hype for Big Tech, and serving as an undeniably powerful tool for research. Setting aside the challenges associated with AI, like hallucinations and how it will impact the job market, it's a massively consequential new area of tech.
So as you might expect, this potentially revolutionary tool is already being integrated into social media. There are plenty of ways that AI is completely changing how we use these platforms and interact with their apps.
Here's a look at some of the most interesting of those tools.
SEE ALSO: YouTube Music is testing an AI-powered ‘Ask for music any way you like’ feature Chat with Meta AI in Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsAppFor many people, tools like ChatGPT are incredibly useful in day-to-day life, whether it be for research purposes, generating email responses, or just chatting. But you don't have to subscribe to ChatGPT or download any additional apps to chat with an AI-based chatbot. Meta has built Meta AI, its ChatGPT equivalent, directly into all of its major social media services. You can use it directly from the Facebook Messenger app, the Instagram app, or even WhatsApp, chatting with it like you would with any other person.
The Meta AI chatbot is based on Meta's Llama large language model, a model that Meta is constantly evolving and improving. Unlike models from other companies, Llama is open source (or at least Meta claims it is), and it's gotten a whole lot better over just the past year. Best of all, you don't have to pay for anything to access it. Simply open up one of Meta's messaging platforms and start chatting with the search bar at the top. You can also, for instance, add Meta AI to a WhatsApp conversation, and everyone involved in the chat can see its answers.
AI filters and features in TikTokTikTok is known for its filters, voice changers, and more – and the company has been building AI tools to help supercharge your TikTok videos for years now. Filters — the popular manga filter for instance — use object-recognition, or change your voice while still sounding completely natural, or add 3D objects to a space captured by your phone’s camera. These are all based on AI, and they’ve yielded some of the most interestingly creative videos on the platform yet. If you’re a creator on TikTok, it’s worth giving them a try. Who knows? They could radically enhance your content.
Snapchat AI SnapsSnapchat isn't being left out of the AI push. Snapchat launched My AI quite a while ago, allowing you to chat directly with Snapchat's self-built bot. On top of that, the company is using image generation tools to make snaps even more creative. AI snaps allow you to transform snaps or create new ones using AI.
You'll have to be a Snapchat+ subscriber to take advantage of this feature. If you're a subscriber, you can hit the AI button in the toolbar, then type a prompt or select a preset to create a whole new image. It takes a few seconds for the image to be generated, but it's a neat way to add a little uniqueness to your snaps.
AI translation in Instagram ReelsSoon you'll be able to watch Instagram Reels filmed in other languages as if they were originally filmed in your own language. Instagram is experimenting with a new tool that will use AI to not only translate content in a Reel but also dub and lip-sync the translated text in a voice that simulates the speaker's original voice. If the technology is effective enough, it will make it seem as if there's no translation applied to the Reel at all, just that it was filmed in whatever language you speak. In other words, you won't have to rely on translated captions to be able to follow along with content from creators that don't speak your language.
The feature isn't out just yet, but Meta is conducting small tests with it, translating Reels between English and Spanish, and it plans to add more languages and more widely release the tool soon.
When you think of AI, you probably think of ChatGPT. But it's also going to have a big impact on gaming, and in fact, AI has already started being used in games for a more natural and interactive form of storytelling.
That's right, there are tons of AI games that you can play right now, essentially allowing you to immerse yourself in worlds without the same confinements that traditional video games have. Here's to trying one for yourself. Here are five AI games that you can play right now.
SEE ALSO: Parents have no idea how teens are using AI, survey finds AI DungeonAs you can imagine, text-based games are a perfect use case for AI as it exists right now, considering the proliferation of services like ChatGPT. AI Dungeon is a perfect example of a text-based game that leverages AI tech. AI Dungeon is a text-based fantasy simulation game that allows you to direct AI to create worlds and scenarios within the game. There are few limits in this game and infinite possibilities for how the game will pan out. The game has a great community behind it too. You'll start by picking out a character or a world, or you can choose from one of the thousands of community-built scenarios that will get you started.
Because it's text-based, it's available pretty much everywhere too. You can play it online or download it straight to your smartphone and play it anywhere you go. The game is free to play on all platforms. However, some advanced features will require an AI Dungeon Subscription.
Kingpin AdventureKingpin Adventure is another text-based game with a slightly different vibe. The game is actually Breaking Bad-themed, and in it, you'll play a character in the world of Breaking Bad. It's relatively simple and easy to get started with, and doesn't even require you to sign in. You'll be given decisions to make and plot points along the way, helping build a narrative around your rise as a drug kingpin in Albuquerque. It's a great game for any Breaking Bad fan who wants something interactive, and after playing for only a few minutes, you’ll find that there are infinite possibilities.
AI TownAI Town is a little more visual. While the game is still technically text-based, it has visual elements to it and a mind of its own. The game uses language models to simulate a virtual world in which characters can interact with you and each other, making decisions based on your prompts. Each character has their own occupation, personality, and pre-specified relationships with other characters. It's very interesting to watch the characters evolve with the prompts that you give them and interact with each other based on that too. The game is open source and available to play on GitHub, but you don't need an account, so you can head to the website and play now if you want.
Hexagon WorldHexagon World is pretty much what it sounds like: a game where you'll create worlds of hexagons. Essentially, it's a simulation game in which you'll create tiny worlds from open hexagons and be rewarded based on your creativity.
You'll build these hexagonal worlds through AI prompts, and you'll be able to see the worlds that others have created too. Each time you add a hexagon to the map, you'll be charged 100 points, but you'll earn points based on how creative your hexagons are. You can harvest these points daily. As long as you have 100 points, you can create a new hexagon on the map. It's a pretty unique game, and the fact that it allows you to see worlds created by others is an interesting touch.
Retail MageRetail Mage is an AI game on a much larger scale. The game leverages generative AI to change how NPCs act within the world. In Retail Mage, you'll play the role of a wizard working as a salesperson at a magical furniture store. The goal is to help customers with their requests as they come in. But you'll be able to do essentially whatever you want to fulfill those requests or not. NPCs using generative AI will respond as you go, and outcomes can vary widely.
This guide is about AI games that you can play right now, and technically, Retail Mage is a game that you can play on your own right now. The game is open source and still in beta, and you can sign up to playtest the game. Keep in mind, however, that things might be buggy or incomplete. You'll also need a moderately capable Windows computer to play it.
While generative AI is still in its infancy, it's set to play a major role in video game development going forward. Imagine if NPCs in your favorite game had an infinite number of responses and could understand anything you said to them. Or imagine if a world could change completely based on how you played the game, with each change being totally unique to your specific scenario.
While we're perhaps at least a year or two away from new AAA games leveraging generative AI to enhance gameplay, there are plenty of studios and developers working on smaller scale games that make use of the technology for a more interesting and immersive experience.
One of the first of those is Jam & Tea Studios, which is actually a new studio that’s building its first game with generative AI included as a core component of gameplay. The game is called Retail Mage, and it's essentially a role-playing game in which players take on the role of a wizard working at a magical furniture store. The goal of the game is to help customers with their requests as they come in, but how you fulfill those requests can vary widely depending on how you approach the game. When you talk to an NPC in the game, you'll be able to type text into a dialogue box depending on how you want to respond to customers. You’ll then be given four different dialogue options to choose from – so while your inputted text isn’t exactly what your response will be to the NPC, it will guide what you say, and what NPCs respond to.
While Retail Mage is the first game from Jam & Tea Studios, the talent behind the studio is no stranger to the video game industry. It was actually founded by longtime developers from the likes of Riot Games and Wizards of the Coast, so you can be sure that there are top developers behind it.
The game itself isn't widely released just yet, but it is in a public beta in which users can sign up to playtest the game. I was given a walkthrough of the game and found it incredibly compelling. Again, we're not quite at the point where players can simply speak whatever they want into a game and have NPCs respond as naturally as a human would. But it's not hard to see how we could get there in the near future.
Being able to create your own responses to NPCs, instead of always being forced to choose from a few canned responses, makes a big difference in the immersiveness of the game – and means that no two play-throughs could possibly be the same.
Not only that, but beyond leveraging AI for NPC interactions, the game uses it for object interactions too. Players can approach any object in the game and tell the game what they'd like to do with that object, with the game reacting appropriately. It's not always able to visually represent changes to objects, but it will note those changes in text form.
Retail Mage is likely only one of the first of many new games that take advantage of generative AI. To get a better understanding of how Jam & Tea approaches developing a game with AI in it, we had a chance to chat with M. Yichao, co-founder and chief creative officer at Jam & Tea, and a narrative designer who worked on Guild Wars 2 and League of Legends.
SEE ALSO: An AI is getting very rich off crypto. It gets weirder. Mashable: What can generative AI bring to video games, and why are AI-powered NPCs better than traditional scripted ones?M. Yichao: There are many folks seeking to answer the question "what can [generative] AI bring to video games." Some focus on the developer side, with [a] strong conviction that new tools for content generation will speed up and enhance production pipelines. While we expect various tool innovations to emerge, Jam & Tea sees the true innovation and platform shift on the player side, in the new experiences and game types that [generative] AI could enable at runtime.
That said, I fundamentally don't believe AI-powered NPCs are better than traditionally scripted ones. I do believe AI powered NPCs can be more improvisational and reactive to player actions. To draw an analogy to another form of media: there are scripted sketch shows like "I Think You Should Leave" and improv shows like "Whose Line Is It Anyway." Both are vibrant modes of entertainment, and neither is better than the other. Similarly, a [generative] AI-powered game (where players can steer the story) will be a different experience than a scripted, linear story (with carefully crafted and scripted lines).
What kinds of guardrails do you have to put in place to keep AI NPCs both relevant and safe?On the technical side, we've found promising results through a combination of known methodologies of fine tuning and training bespoke models, as well as a proprietary approach to our game architecture. This, coupled with curated prompts that make specific requests and calls, helps to keep output within bounds.
On the design and content side, we've crafted various systems that maintain output relevance while gently easing the creative burden on players. Rather than having players type or say the exact dialogue, players can express their intent (e.g., "I tell a joke"), and the system provides dialogue options based on their suggestion. This way, if they're roleplaying a loquacious bard, they don't have to be a brilliant writer for their characters to fulfill that fantasy in the game. Similarly, our characters are designed with guardrails and directions on how to react to various scenarios, how much to omit "real world" references, and other instructions — much as actors in immersive theater or escape rooms are trained to interact with curious, playful audiences.
Are AI 'hallucinations' an issue that you have to solve for here?One area where we've made significant advancements — putting us ahead of many larger teams in this space—is our ability to have our characters not only converse (AI chatbot-level functionality), but also plan and execute actions and behaviors in the game world. We actually dialed this back a little for Retail Mage, as customers finding all the items they're looking for on their own, or even helping other customers before players can, isn't ideal when players should be the (retail) heroes!
On the AI R&D front, we've made exciting progress through proprietary methodologies. And as we refine our foundational technology, we also leverage our creative design and gameplay craft to build in moments where strangeness becomes an intentional part of the charm, rather than feeling like errors or bugs. I've seen an NPC who "hallucinated" about a non-existent area of the store get corrected by other NPCs, while some NPCs started a conspiratorial rumor about a "hidden back room" as a result!
Are you using AI beyond dialogue in your games? How so?Fun fact: we'll have worked on Retail Mage for just 6 months from start to ship! Before focusing on this smaller game, our studio was immersed in R&D, building and testing many [generative] AI features for our larger RPG title, codenamed Project Emily. In that work, we developed many exciting mechanics, combining traditional procedural generation techniques to create a more responsive fantasy world for players to explore.
However, we know the best way to test and validate is by shipping games to players. So we selected a few of our most exciting mechanics to build Retail Mage—a smaller, more indie-scale experience that will give players their first taste of what's possible in an improvisational game world.
In Retail Mage, [generative] AI is woven into everything from character creation to NPC logic to our item systems and beyond. The two main mechanics players will experience most directly are dialogue with NPCs and item interactions.
In a traditional game, object interactions — say, with a chair — are preprogrammed: sit, pick up, destroy... In our game, in addition to these common interactions, players can freely state what they want to do with any object: disassemble the chair for parts, paint it blue, carve a customer's name into the chair. The game system will run checks to see if the player succeeds based on their character traits — are you strong enough to lift the chair? — environmental factors — do you have tools to take the chair apart? — previous events — did you get the chair from a fire-damaged corner of the store? — and more. The goal is to encourage players to get creative in how they interact with the world, and to honor and say yes to their outside-the-box ideas and playful interactions.
Every time I watch a playtest, I'm delighted by the surprising ways players craft, invent, conjure, and create the items customers ask for.
There are questions around AI usage in video games and how it impacts artists, voice actors, and developers. Can you speak to that a little?We fundamentally believe that as [generative] AI use proliferates, the need for human creators will increase, not decrease. [Generative] AI makes it easier than ever to generate content. But as I said in the AP article: infinite content without meaning is just infinite noise.
Put another way: if no person bothered to create the experience, why should we expect any person to bother to consume it, much less enjoy it?
Developers, voice actors, artists, and all creatives at our studio are crucial to crafting meaningful experiences that will delight and bring folks together.
AI is poised to play a major role in all areas of tech going forward. You seem to be among the first to use AI NPCs in video games, but how soon do you think it will be until others build similar tech?We have friends at other startups and at large companies exploring this space and its possibilities. And there are other companies building tools they hope developers will use in creating AI-powered games.
However, we're confident that our vision for the new kinds of games this tech enables will set us apart. Our founders' backgrounds combine improv storytelling, new tech integration, and multi-platform game launches into a small but mighty team.
Right now, we're just a team of eight. We've had much larger companies reach out to us and put their vote of confidence behind our tech and work because we're thinking differently about the space, with a core mission of "how can this technology enable people to connect with each other more," rather than "what problems could this technology solve?"
What’s next for your studio? Are you looking into licensing your tech to others, building more games for yourself?We believe the best way to validate tech is to create products that engage and inspire players. Retail Mage is just the start. We're already fielding inquiries about our tools and platform, and as a company, we're excited to not only continue building great games but also to empower others through licensing our technology, as well as other models.
SAVE $150: As of Oct. 21, the roborock Q5 DuoRoller+ is on sale for $299.99 at Amazon. That's a 33% saving on list price.
Opens in a new window Credit: roborock roborock Q5 DuoRoller+ Robot Vacuum $299.99 at AmazonRobot vacuums are having a resurgence in popularity lately, and we're not mad about it. We're big fans of anything that shortens your chore list, big or small. And that's just what the roborock Q5 DuoRoller+ does.
As of Oct. 21, you can grab a great deal on this model at Amazon. Previously priced at $499.99, it is now down to just $299.99 for a limited time, saving you 33% on list price.
SEE ALSO: Robot vacuums spew racial slurs at owners in wake of hackIt's a great deal on a great vacuum. As the name suggests, it's equipped with a DuoRoller system, meaning it can pick up dirt, dust, and pet hair easily, whether it's on carpet or hard floors. It boasts a 5500 Pa HyperForce suction power, which basically just means it's really good at picking up dirt.
One of our favorite features is how low-maintenance it is — not only does it self-empty, but the dustbin has a 2.5 liter storage, so you'll only need to empty it around every seven weeks. We're also big fans of the voice controls, because who doesn't want to boss around an appliance? Whether you use Alexa, Google Home, or Siri, it'll work for them all.
This is a limited-time deal at Amazon, so if a robot vacuum is on your wishlist, don't waste any time.
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.
With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.
So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on MashableHere are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Monday, October 21, 2024:
AcrossToe ___ (goofy term for a pad on a cat's foot)The answer is Bean.
The answer is Belly.
The answer is Lilac.
The answer is Ages.
The answer is Hen.
The answer is Beige.
The answer is Ellen.
The answer is Alas.
The answer is NYC.
The answer is Blah.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of GamesAre you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.
Take a New York Minute to Review Your Recovery Plan Don Henley is right: everything can change in a New York...
I Lost all of my Photos In every disaster I have ever responded to from here to...
Boston's most important responders: Bostonians The people of Boston are to be congratulated for being...
3 Values Your Business Continuity Plan Should Have Your business lives with risk every day from competitors...
Digital Privacy: A Catch 22 Mobility, convenience, accessibility and real-...
Take a New York Minute to Review Your Recovery Plan Don Henley is right: everything can change in a New York...
3 Values Your Business Continuity Plan Should Have Your business lives with risk every day from competitors...
I Lost all of my Photos In every disaster I have ever responded to from here to...