This year showed that a roguelike can be almost anything.

Read the full story at The Verge.

Metaphor: ReFantanzio is one of 2024’s best games racking up a stack of Game Awards including best RPG, best art direction, and best narrative. But one category in which Metaphor particularly stood out was its music. The soundtrack, produced by Shoji Meguro – the long-time music director of the Persona series, is one of the outstanding achievements in video game music this year, particularly its battle theme which became a viral hit. In an interview with The Verge, Meguro talked about his work on the Metaphor soundtrack including what went into what is perhaps the coolest piece of video game battle music ever made.

Meguro, known for his work producing the pop-y, jazzy vibes of the Persona soundtracks, acknowledged that Metaphor’s heavy orchestral / choral sound is not something Persona fans would expect from him and definitely outside his own wheelhouse. He said in order to effectively change gears from Persona to Metaphor, he had to relearn classical music theory.

“But that’s what makes creating this score so exciting,” he said. “When I was first told about Metaphor: ReFantazio, I was told it would be an epic, high-fantasy RPG. And immediately I heard the sound of great...

Read the full story at The Verge.

Amazon might have released a new Kindle Scribe earlier this month for $399.99, but after testing it, I still don’t think it can compete with its rivals. If you’re looking for a good e-reader with more useful note-taking capabilities, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is still one of my favorites, and it’s down to an all-time low of $349.99 ($50 off) at Amazon or Target. Rakuten Kobo will also throw in $10 in credit when you buy a $50 gift card, which you can use toward buying books or styli.

If you’re the type of person who likes to scribble in margins while reading ebooks, you’ll likely prefer the Kobo Elipsa 2E. The Elipsa 2E lets you directly write on ebook pages, taking notes in margins or anywhere else you’d like, just as you would on paper. The new Kindle Scribe lets you directly write on pages, too, but it’s a lot more complicated and you can’t even circle phrases or words.

The Elipsa 2E also offers other helpful features beyond just a more natural note-taking experience. It boasts double the storage (32GB) as the entry-level Kindle Scribe, for example, and accurately converts handwriting into typed text faster than the Scribe. The biggest drawback, of course, is that it doesn’t natively support Kindle ebooks, so you’ll have to convert your library if you want to read them from your Kobo device.

Just a few more deals

• Sony’s WH-CH720N noise-canceling headphones are currently down to just $74.99 ($75 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is their all-time low price. Their noise cancellation isn’t as effective as rivals like Sony’s WH-1000XM5, but for the price, they do a decent job of tuning out noise. They also deliver good sound, support for multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, and up to 35 hours of continuous playback, rendering them a great option if you’re on a budget.
• If you’re in need of USB-C chargers, you can buy the Anker PowerPort III and the eco-friendly version of the 30-watt Anker 511 Charger bundled together for $24.99 ($29.99 off) from Best Buy. Both are USB-C chargers that’ll quickly power up your phone, laptop, tablet, and electronics, but the 30-watt Anker 511 Charger is smaller and thus more portable with a single port. In contrast, Anker’s PowerPort III is a 65-watt wall charger that lets you quickly juice up to three devices at once.
• If you’re looking out for porch pirates, the Blink Outdoor 4 camera is on sale for $49.99 ($50 off) — one of its better prices to date — at Amazon with a Sync Module 2 included. Blink’s 1080p security camera offers better image quality than its predecessor, two-zone package detection, and an impressive two years of battery life. You don’t need a premium subscription to record motion events either, thanks to the included Sync Module 2, which lets you record motion-activated video locally (with a USB stick) for free.

We got a healthy dose of Star Wars and Marvel shows on Disney Plus this year, but the more mature series from Hulu helped balance things out.

Read the full story at The Verge.

It was another sci-fi-heavy year for Apple’s streaming service.

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Barbie Phone, much like the doll it pays tribute to, is a thing of beauty. But like that doll whose proportions, historically, are impossible, the Barbie Phone just isn’t built for the modern world.

Even if the ultra-feminine aesthetic isn’t your thing — and it’s not really mine — you have to hand it to the Barbie flip phone. From the box it comes in, to the interchangeable back plates, rhinestone stickers, and Barbie-fied interface, it’s a delight. The charger and battery are both pink, though they’re a lighter shade than Mattel’s trademarked Barbie Pink (Pantone 219). The phone says “Hi Barbie!” when you turn it on. It’s the definition of committing to the bit.

The breezy fun of the Barbie aesthetic, Pantone 219 or otherwise, is at odds with the actual experience of using the phone. It’s based on one of HMD’s feature phones, and it runs an operating system called KaiOS. The phone is designed for basic connectivity — texting, calling, emails — and even includes a web browser.

According to HMD, in addition to being cute, the nostalgic design and limited feature set are supposed to encourage you to disconnect and spend time with your friends IRL. There are a series of...

Read the full story at The Verge.

This year paved the way for a future where earbuds are much more than audio accessories.

Read the full story at The Verge.

American Airlines temporarily grounded all of its flights in the US this morning due to unspecified technical issues, disrupting travel at the start of a busy Christmas Eve. Service has now resumed as of 8AM ET according to a statement American Airlines spokesperson Sarah Jantz provided to CNN.

The airline suffered a massive system outage according to multiple travelers on X who are facing delays, which prevented boarding passes from being scanned and flights from departing. A notice published on the Federal Aviation Administration website at 6.50AM ET said that the airline grounded all flights nationwide. An FAA update posted at 7.50AM ET has since announced that the nationwide groundstop has been canceled.

The airline hasn’t given any details on what caused the technical issues.

“We’re currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights,” American Airlines said in a statement on X before flights resumed. “Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.”

Update, December 24th: American Airlines flights have now resumed nationwide.

If statement keyboards are your thing and you have some serious cash to burn, you should check out this brutalist flagship offering from Serene Industries. The Icebreaker is a wedge-shaped mechanical keyboard constructed from a single block of CNC-machined aluminum, featuring hot-swappable aluminum keycaps with configurable RGB backlighting.

Preorders are available now, with pricing starting at $1,500 for the wired version. A Bluetooth wireless and a wired version with magnetic hall effect switches are also available for $1,600 — the same price as a new 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro. The keyboard base comes in two colors — clear or black — with the latter option costing an additional $500. Serene Industries hasn’t provided an ETA on delivery, but says production will begin when pre-orders close on January 28th.

The Icebreaker comes in a 65 percent layout and measures 450 x 44 x 24mm (around 17.7 x 1.7 x 0.9 inches). It sports a configurable integrated EC11 rotatory dial, dual silicone dampeners to help reduce noise and vibrations, and a 4,000 mAh battery that supports a battery life of around three months according to Serene Industries. The specifications don’t mention how much the keyboard weighs or what “full height” switches it comes with. We’ve asked Serene Industries to clarify and will update this piece if we hear back.

Image: Serene Industries

There’s also premium features like “micro-perforations” on each keycap to allow the LED backlight to shine through, and 1/4-20 inch mounting points — three on the USB-C port face, and four at the base — for users to attach accessories like tripod mounts, monitor arms, or…axe handles.

The design was partly inspired by the Flatiron Building in New York City, according to Serene Industries founder Denis Agarkov. When the Icebreaker was first announced in January 2024, Agarkov told Null Society that he aimed “to create a keyboard that goes against the prevailing trends, adopting a more distinctive and challenging design.” It’s certainly an expensive conversation starter for any keyboard collectors who want something more niche than your typical DIY kits.

The Federal Trade Commission announced on Friday it finalized an order (pdf) requiring Marriott International and subsidiary Starwood Hotels to improve their digital security, reports BleepingComputer. The FTC charged the companies with lax security practices that resulted in three big breaches detected in 2015, 2018, and 2020, “affecting more than 344 million customers worldwide,” leaking passport details, payment cards, and other info.

The shortest breach lasted 14 months before it was detected, while the longest one saw attackers maintain access for four years, starting in 2018. The beefed-up security programs they've agreed to establish include creating policies to only keep information for as long as it’s needed and publishing a link allowing US customers to request the deletion of information tied to their email address or loyalty account.

Hotels have been one of many key targets for hackers, with one breach last year catching FTC Chair Lina Khan among the many people left waiting to check in when a ransomware attack forced MGM Resorts to fall back on using pen and paper.

The FTC announced its charges in October, accusing the companies of having “deceived consumers” with false claims of “reasonable and appropriate data security.” Their alleged failures included having bad password and firewall practices and not patching outdated software and systems. The same day the FTC revealed the charges, the Connecticut Attorney General’s office announced Marriott had agreed to a $52 million settlement.

Beyond improving their security, the companies are now forbidden “from misrepresenting how they collect, maintain, use, delete or disclose consumers’ personal information; and the extent to which the companies protect the privacy, security, availability, confidentiality, or integrity of personal information.” Other requirements include that they keep compliance records and submit to FTC inspections. The order will stay in effect for 20 years.

Garmin may be best known for its hardcore fitness watches, but it’s got an extensive line of lifestyle offerings, too.

Read the full story at The Verge.

The PayPal Honey browser extension is, in theory, a handy way to find better deals on products while you’re shopping online. But in a video published this weekend, YouTuber MegaLag claims the extension is a “scam” and that Honey has been “stealing money from influencers, including the very ones they paid to promote their product.”

Honey works by popping up an offer to find coupon codes for you while you’re checking out in an online shop. But as MegaLag notes, it frequently fails to find a code, or offers a Honey-branded one, even if a simple internet search will cover something better. The Honey website’s pitch is that it will “find every working promo code on the internet.” But according to MegaLag’s video, ignoring better deals is a feature of Honey’s partnerships with its retail clients.

MegaLag also says Honey will hijack affiliate revenue from influencers. According to MegaLag, if you click on an affiliate link from an influencer, Honey will then swap in its own tracking link when you interact with its deal pop-up at check-out. That’s regardless of whether Honey found you a coupon or not, and it results in Honey getting the credit for the sale, rather than the YouTuber or website whose link led you there.

Paypal VP of corporate communications Josh Criscoe said in an email to The Verge that “Honey follows industry rules and practices, including last-click attribution.”

MegaLag isn’t the first to make such claims. A 2021 Twitter post advises using Honey’s discount codes in a different browser to avoid it taking the affiliate credit. A Linus Media Group employee also explained in a 2022 forum reply that Linus Tech Tips dropped Honey as a sponsor over its affiliate link practices.

Honey’s convenience has resulted in the extension being recommended widely, including in almost 5,000 Honey-sponsored videos across about 1,000 YouTube channels, according to MegaLag. We’ve even recommended it here at The Verge; now we do not.

Here is Criscoe’s full statement:

Honey is free to use and provides millions of shoppers with additional savings on their purchases whenever possible. Honey helps merchants reduce cart abandonment and comparison shopping while increasing sales conversion.

Lux Optics has released a loose product roadmap for its next big iPhone photo app, Halide 3.0 (which it’s calling Halide Mark III). After being more forthright than usual in the development of its Kino video app, which was recently awarded iPhone app of the year for 2024 by Apple, Lux is giving the next version of its popular photo app a touch of the Steam indie dev treatment.

Not only is Lux already hyping key upcoming features in a blog post by cofounder Ben Sandofsky, but it also plans to open up the development process via a Discord server, where users can give feedback once they start trying Halide Mark III.

So far, Lux has detailed three upcoming features for Halide Mark III that subscribers will be able to try early: Color Grades, HDR photos, and an app redesign. Color grades will operate a lot like they do in Kino, with users able to quickly load an aesthetic look / color palette based on Lux’s own creations, film stocks, and imported recipes cooked by other users. In addition to what sounds like Lux’s take on Fujifilm’s film emulations, Halide Mark III will also include the developer’s take on HDR photos — now that iOS 18’s Adaptive HDR feature is making it easier to view HDR images on more platforms.

Not much has been revealed so far about Halide 3.0’s redesigned interface, but Sandofsky said in the blog post that form follows function, and “if Halide’s version of Instant Grade goes as smooth as we think it will, we’ll make grade-picking central to the UI, just like Kino.”

Sandofsky’s blog post also didn’t go into further detail about when Halide Mark III will ship beyond sometime in 2025, and it didn’t say how much Halide Mark III will cost. But the @halideapp account on Threads indicated to a commenter that Mark III will be included for Mark II users, and an upgrade for v1 users.

Hyundai announced it will start distributing free CCS to Tesla NACS adapters to its EV customers in the first quarter of 2025. The adapters will enable vehicles such as the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 to connect to “20,000-plus” Tesla Supercharger stations. The free adapter is available to those who purchased or leased their Hyundai EVs on or before January 31st, 2025.

The NACS adapter deal includes 2024 and earlier Kona Electric, Ioniq hatchback, Ioniq 5, and Ioniq 6. It also includes the 2025 Ioniq 6, 2025 Ioniq 5 N, 2025 Kona Electric, and Genesis brand EVs (a full list will be revealed next year). You can request the free adapter through the My Hyundai owner portal.

Hyundai’s sister brand, Kia, is also giving free NACS adapters to some owners starting in early 2025.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Ioniq 5 with a native Tesla port will have Supercharger access as soon as it ships to customers. Tesla posted on X that it has already flipped the switch, enabling the 2025 Ioniq 5 to charge at Superchargers. Still, owners with older CCS-native models must wait for the Hyundai-approved adapters to get access.

Yes, Christmas is a couple of days away — and yes, we know you have yet to buy a gift. We understand that life gets busy, though, and sometimes it feels like the holidays creep up on you out of nowhere. But before you spiral into a full-blown panic attack, take a deep breath. Luckily for you, the internet is filled with a treasure trove of gift cards, subscriptions, and other great digital gifts you can buy as late as Christmas Day itself.

To help make your life a little easier, we’ve curated a list of some of the best digital gifts we’ve either used ourselves or gifted to our friends and family. We’ve organized the list by interests, too, so you can find the perfect present whether your loved one is into the arts, exercise, or something else entirely. That way, you’ll at least be able to gift something more thoughtful than a generic Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart gift card — even if those are still totally viable options in our book.

Gifts for film and TV buffs

Regardless of whether you’re shopping for a movie buff or an avid sports fan, there are a number of subscriptions on the market that’ll grant your giftee access to a wide range of content. Below are some of the most popular, as well as a few catered toward anime diehards, horror lovers, and those looking for something more niche.

• A gift card to a major streaming service like Netflix (Amazon, Target, Best Buy, or Walmart) or Max is a good gift that’ll cater to all kinds of passions. On Netflix, they can spend their holiday binging Carol and the End of World, The Crown, Onimusha, and Squid Game: The Challenge. Max viewers, meanwhile, can catch up on everything from Barbie to The Last of Us, Euphoria, and House of the Dragon.
• A Criterion Channel gift card grants access to over a thousand classic and contemporary Hollywood, international, art house, and independent movies. It also features programming spotlighting directors, stars, genres, and themes, including a “15-minute-a-month film school.”
• For the anime lovers in your life, a Crunchyroll gift card provides access to hundreds of anime shows and films shortly after they air in Japan, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Lock, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. They can even use the gift to purchase Crunchyroll’s extensive collection of anime figures, vinyl records, and clothes.

Gifts for the gamers

If you’re not sure which type of games your giftee prefers, you can gift them an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo subscription. Not only will these memberships grant him access to free digital titles but they also come with perks such as online multiplayer and cloud-based saves, among other incentives.

• If your giftee is a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 owner, a membership to PlayStation Plus grants them access to free titles and discounts every month, lets them play games online, and allows them to access cloud-based backups. PlayStation Plus memberships start at $9.99 a month, and you can subscribe directly via PlayStation or buy a subscription with a PlayStation Plus gift card, which is available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target in denominations starting at $10 and going up to $250.
• Nintendo Switch lovers, meanwhile, might enjoy an annual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, which starts at $19.99 a year (Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop). The membership lets giftees play with more than 70 retro games released during the NES, SNES, and original Game Boy eras. They can also play online with friends and access cloud saves.
• If you’re willing to fork out extra money, you can also buy an annual Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. In addition to offering all the same benefits as the Switch Online membership, it also grants access to Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, and Nintendo 64 games, as well as DLC content for some titles. Individual plans cost $49.99 (Walmart), while a family plan — which allows for up to eight accounts — is currently available via gift card at Walmart for $79.98.
• Alternatively, you could buy a gift card to a store like GameStop (Amazon, GameStop), which is useful if you don’t know which console your giftee prefers or want to give them the option of buying accessories and games.

Gifts for the adventurers and globe-trotters

Is your giftee in dire need of a screen break? Fortunately, the internet is filled with travel-oriented gifts, ranging from the obvious — like airline gift cards — to national park passes.

• A GetYourGuide gift card provides an easy way to take advantage of guided tours and fun tourist attractions at various destinations around the world, allowing your loved one to explore volcanoes like Italy’s Mount Etna or swim with sharks in Cape Verde.
• For aspiring polyglots, a Rosetta Stone membership will make it easy to learn everything from French to Arabic to Japanese from the comfort of their home. Along with lessons, memberships come with helpful extras, including speech recognition tech to get the accent just right. At the moment, Rosetta Stone is offering up to 50 percent off of its plans, with the 12-month tier for learning just one language starting at $126 ($42 off).
• Finally, a gift card to a rideshare service like Uber (also usable for Uber Eats and available at Amazon, Best Buy, Target) or Lyft (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) will come in handy when they need a ride to the airport or for a ride home if their New Year’s Eve plans include popping a few celebratory shots.

Gifts for health and wellness fans

For health and wellness enthusiasts, many services offer a wealth of streamable fitness classes to help them get fit at home. Other gifts can help your giftee practice self-care and lighten their load with meditation or even massages. Below, we’ve listed out a range of options that’ll help your giftee take care of both their body and mind.

• A gift card for Headspace, a popular mindfulness app, offers members access to hundreds of expert-taught meditations, each designed to help them relax, sleep better, and improve their mental health. A gift subscription will run you $38.99 for three months, or you can save by getting 12 months for $48.99 ($21 off).
• Fitbit Premium subscriptions start at $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year (33 percent off) and are available to all, even if your giftee doesn’t own a Fitbit (though, they’ll be able to enjoy more in-depth metrics if they do). A membership comes with thousands of guided and customizable workouts, which cover everything from martial arts and dance to meditation. Fitbit also offers guided programs covering topics like nutrition, along with the option to one-on-one with a professional health coach for an extra $54.99 per month.
• For those who prefer in-person classes to virtual, a gift card that goes toward a ClassPass subscription will let your giftee try out thousands of gyms and fitness studios in their local area, not to mention nearby salons and spas.
• If your giftee is too busy to prepare healthy meals every day, a gift card to Blue Apron, HelloFresh, or any meal prep service that offers a healthy selection of meal kits will be very welcome.

Gifts for foodies

Whether they’re a diehard foodie, a wine connoisseur, or a caffeine addict, the internet is filled with subscriptions and gift cards for all types. Here are just a few of our favorites:

• A Sur La Table gift card (Sur La Table, Kroger, Staples) is a great gift for the beloved chef in your life. They can use it to buy whatever they need for the kitchen, as well as to take online cooking classes where live instructors help students make everything from chicken piccata to tiramisu. Classes start at $29 per household, with each taking between 90 and 120 minutes a pop.
• For those with a sweet tooth, Goldbelly’s monthly ice cream subscription allows them to enjoy up to six pints of ice cream or 24 ice cream sandwiches a month, all of which are sourced from small creameries all over the country. It’s a pricey subscription, however, with a three-month plan going for an eye-watering $298.95. You can explore other types of subscriptions, too, from BBQ to New York City staples, or get a gift card to let your recipient order whatever they like.
• These days, it feels like there’s a Starbucks pretty much everywhere you look now, meaning a Starbucks gift card (Amazon, Best Buy, or Target) can help your giftee get their caffeine fix whenever, wherever.
• Sometimes, it’s better to leave the cooking to somebody else. For foodies, a gift card to a food delivery service like DoorDash (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) means they can nab some crab rangoons from their favorite Chinese restaurant without leaving home.

Gifts for music lovers

Whether your giftee is a musician or just loves to unwind with some music, there are a lot of digital presents you can buy. We all know about Spotify gift cards (Amazon, Best Buy, or Target), but there are also other streaming services that you can gift as a subscription, some of which we’ve highlighted below.

• For the true audiophiles out there, a Tidal gift card (Walmart, PayPal, or Best Buy) is great because it will allow them to stream music in the highest audio quality possible. The ad-free service starts at $10.99 per month and allows giftees to enjoy support for lossless FLAC audio, Dolby Atmos Music, and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio formats. If they happen to be a DJ or aspire to become one, paying an extra $9 per month gives them access to the DJ add-on, which offers high-quality catalogs of more than 110 million songs that they can mix on popular DJ software and hardware.
• If you know somebody who’s always wanted to learn to play the guitar, a Fender Play subscription can help them do so thanks to a continuously updated catalog of hundreds of instructor-led video lessons. A subscription typically starts at $19.99 a month, but you can gift them six months for $79.99 or 12 months for $149.99.
• A Vinyl Me, Please subscription is perfect for those who love spinning records. Every month, giftees receive vinyl records from their choice of music genre, whether that’s hip-hop, rock, or jazz. The packages also come with booklets so they can learn more about the record, along with access to exclusive discounts. Three-month subscriptions start at $148 and come with a total of four records (one of which is a limited-time bonus).
• Lastly, a Ticketmaster gift card is a present that’ll allow your loved one to buy a ticket to watch their favorite musicians perform live, whether that’s Shakira, Garth Brooks, or The Rolling Stones.

Gifts for the bookworms

Obviously, you could just gift a bibliophile a book and they’d probably be happy. But what if you don’t know what your giftee is into or simply want to give them more options? In that case, a gift card to their favorite bookstore or a subscription to something like Kindle Unlimited, which grants members access to millions of ebooks and even select audiobooks, is a good idea. That said, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite alternatives below.

• For fans of Marvel and DC comics, as well as manga like Fairy Tale, a Comixology Unlimited subscription is perfect. For $5.99 a month, they’ll be able to enjoy over 45,000 comics and graphic novels, not to mention more than 2,400 manga titles from their phone or tablet. Subscribers also get discounts on select digital books.
• You can also gift a Book of the Month membership, which currently starts at $59.99 for a three-book plan. The company curates a small selection of five to seven bestsellers and classics for members every month, making it easy to quickly choose something to read.
• If your giftee prefers to pick up books from brick-and-mortar bookstores, a gift card to Barnes & Noble (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Best Buy) might be a good idea. For those who want to support local bookstores, there’s also a gift card for Bookshop.org.
• For those who prefer traditional newspapers and magazines, you can gift a subscription to The New York Times or The Washington Post, or publications catered to specific interests like Cosmopolitan and National Geographic.

Gifts for the creatives

Movie buffs and bibliophiles are easy to shop for, but what do you get the creative type? It’s actually not that hard — just buy them something to help them create, whether that’s an online course or access to a new tool. Below are a few subscriptions and gift cards creators will love that you can also buy last minute.

• A MasterClass membership (which normally starts at $10 a month but is currently 50 percent off for all tiers) provides access to classes taught by world leaders and other subject matter experts, including screenwriters, musicians, and business experts. Going for a Masterclass Plus or Premium subscription allows concurrent viewing on two or six devices, respectively, and also unlocks offline viewing.
• An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription ($59.99 per month) is a good gift for both aspiring and experienced creative professionals alike, providing access to popular services like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, InDesign, and other Adobe apps. Adobe doesn’t yet support gifting subscriptions, so you’ll need to create a new account or login to an existing account your recipient may have. You can also purchase digitally redeemable Creative Cloud subscription codes from partner retailers like Best Buy, which has a 12-month plan on sale for $428.92 (about $231 off) right now.
• If you know somebody trying to learn how to code, a subscription to the coding educational platform Codecademy ($29.99 per month) can help them build their portfolio with online courses, a community, fun events, cheat sheets, and other resources. There’s even a $39.99 a month plan for those looking to change career paths, one that offers all the above as well as technical interview help.
• For giftees into arts and crafts, a Craftsy membership ($123 a year) grants access to more than 2,000 live and on-demand classes led by experts covering everything from baking and cake decorating to woodworking and painting. Members also get to connect with other crafters in the Craftsy community and attend live events.

Gift cards for pretty much anyone

• Sometimes the best gift card is one that’ll give your giftee a ton of options, especially if you’re having a hard time figuring out what they want. Gift cards from major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are perfect in these situations, namely because they’ll let your giftee choose whatever they like from a wide range of departments.

Update, December 23rd: Updated links, pricing, and info for several digital gifts.

After its victory against Google in an antitrust trial earlier this year, the Department of Justice recently proposed a sweeping set of changes its search business. The DOJ put a lot on the table, demanding that Google sell its Chrome browser, syndicate its search results, and avoid exclusive deals with companies like Apple for default search placement. It even kept open the possibility of forcing an Android sale.

Now, Google has responded with a far simpler proposal: prohibit those default placement deals, and only for three years.

A court found Google liable for unlawfully monopolizing online search, and its remedies are supposed to reset the market, letting rivals fairly compete. Google (obviously) disagrees that it’s running a monopoly, but before it can appeal that underlying conclusion, it’s trying to limit the fallout if it loses.

Google’s justification is that search deals were at the heart of the case, so they’re what a court should target. Under the proposal, Google couldn’t enter deals with Android phone manufacturers that require adding mobile search in exchange for access to other Google apps. It couldn’t require phone makers to exclude rival search engines or...

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google, Salesforce, H&M and other brands have turned to unlikely allies to help them clean up their carbon pollution: sewage treatment plants and paper mills. The companies joined an $80 million plan to take CO2 out of the atmosphere, though the strategies they’re using have yet to show whether they can have a meaningful impact on climate change.

They’re paying $32.1 million to a startup called CREW that aims to trap carbon dioxide emissions produced at wastewater treatment facilities. And $48 million will go to another startup called CO280 that retrofits pulp and paper mills with controversial carbon capture technologies. The two agreements were facilitated by a carbon removal initiative called Frontier that’s led by led by Stripe, Google, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability on behalf of those founding companies and other brands trying to meet their own sustainability goals.

Companies are increasingly looking for ways to try to cancel out the damage caused by their greenhouse gas emissions. They’ve funneled millions into startups building new-fangled industrial...

Read the full story at The Verge.

Asus is planning to launch a new Rog Strix laptop at CES on January 6th, 2025, the company confirmed in a post spotted by VideoCardz. The short teaser shared by Asus shows a laptop with RGB lighting that wraps all the way around the bottom of the device, likely making for an even more colorful underglow when compared to previous generations.

Though Asus doesn’t say which Rog Strix models it will introduce, leaked retail listings suggest Asus could reveal new Rog Strix 18 Scar and Rog Strix G16 laptops.

While the Rog Strix Scar 18 is rumored to come with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285 HX processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics chip, the Rog Strix G16 could feature the same CPU options but with up to a GeForce RTX 5080, as noted by NotebookCheck.

Asus may have more to share than just a pair of new Rog Strix laptops at CES, which is just a couple of weeks away. Recent leaks also indicate that Asus is getting ready to reveal an upgraded Rog Flow Z13 hybrid tablet / gaming laptop equipped with AMD’s next-gen “Strix Halo” processor.

A couple of months ago, we saw the Sony WH-1000XM4 drop to $129.99, which was an absolute steal for the last-gen noise-canceling headphones. That deal predictably sold out in a heartbeat, and there’s no telling whether we’ll see it that low again, but Amazon is selling them in black for $178.20 (about $170 off), which would be an all-time low if not for said outlier. You can also pick them up in blue and white for $198 right now, though that price is frequently available these days.

The newer Sony WH-1000XM5 have leapfrogged the heap as the best noise-canceling headphones for most people in our book, but the XM4 remain a great pair of headphones if you’re looking to save some money. They feature phenomenal audio quality and noise cancellation, which keeps them in the big leagues occupied by newer sets. They also have nice quality-of-life features, including a foldable design and multipoint Bluetooth support, the latter of which allows you to connect them to two devices simultaneously. The XM5’s improved microphones make them the better buy if you frequently take calls while using your headphones, but not so much that we would dissuade you from saving more than $100 by going for the older pair.

Read our Sony WH-1000XM4 review.

More Monday deals and discounts

• If you want to try something a little different to play games on Xbox and PC, RIG’s Nacon Revolution X controller might be worth checking out. Amazon is selling it in white for an all-time low of $39.99 (50 percent off) when you clip the on-page coupon. You can customize the weightiness of the wired gamepad, change its analog stick shafts and toppers, remap all of its buttons (including its four back buttons), and set thumbstick sensitivity and trigger dead zones using the companion app. It doesn’t have Hall effect sticks and its build quality doesn’t quite match that of the best Xbox controllers; however, those are fair tradeoffs at this price.
• The newly released Insta360 Link 2 is pretty expensive, but you can get it for a new low of $179.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, B&H Photo, and Adorama right now. The 4K webcam is overkill for the average work needs, but its rotating head can be fun for content creation, dynamic presentations, or just to ensure you’re always centered in the frame. The Link 2 builds on the original with magnetic mounting, the ability to recognize and reframe multiple people in a scene, improved gestures, and stronger noise cancellation.
• The budget-friendly Sony ZV-1F is a modest step above a smartphone for basic vlogging needs, and now the camera is going for a new low of around $348 ($151 off) at Amazon, B&H Photo, and Sony’s online storefront. It has a 20mm-equivalent fixed focal length lens with a 20-megapixel sensor and decent low-light performance, and records up to 4K at 30 frames per second or 1080p at up to 120fps. It also has an articulating display to help frame your shots, plus eye autofocus like some of Sony’s pricier cameras (but with a less effective contrast-detect autofocus system). The ZV-1F is not a great stills camera as you can’t shoot RAW photos, but it’ll do if all you need are quality clips and YouTube thumbnails.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing Walmart and payroll service provider Branch Messenger for alleged illegal payment practices for gig workers.

The bureau says Walmart was opening direct deposit accounts using Spark delivery drivers’ social security numbers without their consent. The accounts also can come with intense fees that, according to the complaint, would add either 2 percent or $2.99 per transaction, whichever is higher. It also says Walmart repeatedly promised to provide drivers with same-day payments through the platform starting in July 2021 but never delivered on that.

The Bureau alleges that for approximately two years starting around June 2021, defendants engaged in unfair, abusive, and deceptive practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, including by requiring Spark Drivers to receive their compensation in Branch Accounts, opening Branch Accounts for Spark Drivers without their informed consent or, in many instances, on an unauthorized basis, and making deceptive statements about Branch to Spark Drivers.

“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement. “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.” The agency sued both companies in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Spark delivery workers have been complaining about Walmart’s Branch Messenger account requirements for years, which forced workers to use these accounts with no option to direct deposit to a preferred credit union or local bank. Walmart allegedly told workers they’d be terminated if they didn’t accept the Branch accounts.