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This RC purse redefines fast fashion with a top speed of 9 mph

A person sitting at a table holding the remote control for an RC purse.
Can you drive an Hermès Birkin bag? | Image: Nik Bentel Studio

Looking for an accessory that can keep up with your busy lifestyle? Nik Bentel Studio has created a leather purse with a remote control car built into its base.

The battery-powered RC Car Bag is four wheel drive, and while its rubber tires can handle minor obstacles like discarded napkins and crumbs while zipping across a dining table, its tiny wheels mean it’s unfortunately not going to be much of an off-roader. Its creators claim the bag has a top speed of nine miles per hour, and it includes a stack of tiny orange pylons if you want to set up an obstacle course and test your driving skills after dinner while you wait for your server to bring the check.

The included pistol grip style controller has a range of about 30 feet, and while’s there room inside the purse to store the remote, it doesn’t look like it leaves space for much else. That could make the RC Car Bag’s $295 price tag a tough sell, but fashion doesn’t always have to be practical, does it?

A spill shot of the Nik Bentel Studio RC Car Bag including its accessories.

A little more storage capacity would be a welcome upgrade, but adding Bluetooth compatibility and the option to control the RC Car Bag using a mobile app on a smartphone would also let you leave the cumbersome remote control at home on date night. The bag is also only available in black, but other color options, including something close to Ferrari’s iconic Rosso Corsa red, would potentially help broaden the appeal of the accessory to racing fans.

Although Nik Bentel Studio might not be the most recognizable name in fashion, it’s created a collection of fun tech-inspired accessories including slim wallets that look like real-life versions of Windows and macOS’ folder icons.

A short video of Nik Bentel Studio’s RC Car Bag racing across a table.

Ron Wyden asks for rules about whether you own your digital purchases

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Andrew Ferguson urging the FTC to require that companies admit when you’re not really buying an ebook or video game. 

Wyden’s letter, shared with The Verge, requests guidance to “ensure that consumers who purchase or license digital goods can make informed decisions and understand what ownership rights they are obtaining.”

Wyden wants the guidance to include how long a license lasts, what circumstances might expire or revoke the license, and if a consumer can transfer or resell the license. The letter also calls for the information “before and at the point of sale” in a way that’s easily understandable. “To put it simply, prior to agreeing to any transaction, consumers should understand what they are paying for and what is guaranteed after the sale,” Wyden says.

Frequently, when you buy digital copies of things like movies, games, music, or books, you don’t actually own that thing — just a license to access it. As a result, you might unexpectedly lose access to games because of PlayStation Network account bans or no longer be able to download and transfer Kindle books to your computer over USB because of an Amazon change

Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning digital stores from using words like “buy” or “purchase” unless they disclose that you’re just licensing the content they sell, and shortly after, Valve updated its Steam checkout screen to note just that.

“The shift from physical to digital goods presents some complex legal questions,” Wyden says in the letter. “One thing is clear, however: consumers deserve transparency about their ownership rights in digital goods. Guidance from the FTC on this issue will help ensure that digital goods sellers are aware of best practices and that American consumers can make informed buying decisions.”

We’ve reached out to the FTC for comment.

YouTube will show fewer ads in ‘interruptive’ slots

Starting May 12th, YouTube says it will show fewer mid-roll ads that it thinks will interrupt sentences or action sequences, and more at “natural break points” like pauses or transitions, according to a help page on the change. The company says it’s also inserting “additional, automatic ad-slots at natural break points” into older videos with manually-placed slots, a change creators can opt out of.

YouTubers can decide to use automatically chosen ad slots instead of manual, or a mix of both. Those who prefer to keep things manual can check whether their chosen mid-roll slots “are considered interruptive” using a YouTube Studio feedback tool the company is rolling out. YouTube says that this will ensure creators are picking slots “where ads are likely to be served.”

The company says it found in an experiment last year that videos using a mix of automatic and manual ad slot placement averaged five percent more revenue than those with only manually placed slots. Creators can opt out of letting YouTube place slots for them in the Earn tab in YouTube Studio, but YouTube says “videos with interruptive mid-roll ad slots may earn less revenue” after the May change.

YouTubers will still control if they want to pick where ads are shown, but it’s not clear if doing so means they’ll risk some of those ads simply not being shown, and YouTube didn’t immediately respond to our request for clarification. The company has removed some of creators’ control over ad placement before, like with a late 2023 change that took away creators’ ability to choose when ads are skippable or whether they’re placed at the beginning or the end of a video.

9to5Mac Daily: February 25, 2025 – iOS 18.4 and visionOS 2.4 beta details

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts appStitcherTuneInGoogle Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by ChargeASAP: Check out the Flash Pro Ultra, featuring a new 275W power bank with an OLED screen that can charge up to 6 devices simultaneously, including your MacBook, phone, smartwatch, and more!

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Sam Bankman-Fried’s first post from prison isn’t even good

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IBM’s $6.4B HashiCorp acquisition cleared by UK

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Paramount+ adds 50 classic MTV Unplugged episodes

If you're a music fan of a certain age, there's a good chance MTV Unplugged has special place in your heart. With the first episode airing in 1989, over the decades the series has produced some of the most memorable live performances in history. Who could forget Nirvana's set, recorded less than a year before Kurt Cobain would tragically take his own life in 1994, or when Alice in Chains played one of its final shows with former lead vocalist Layne Staley. There are too many memorable episodes to count, and now you can watch more than 50 of them, including the two I just mentioned, on Paramount+.

As Paramount notes, many of the episodes haven't been available to watch in more than 20 years. From that perspective, the most interesting release is Oasis' (in)famous 1996 set. For the uninitiated, it's an episode that almost didn't happen. In the days leading up to the performance, the story goes that lead singer Liam Gallagher complained of a sore throat. On the day the band was scheduled to tape the episode, he showed up an hour before "absolutely sh**faced," according to his brother Noel, who went on to sing the entire set on his own. Despite its place in music history, before today it was nearly impossible to find a high-quality video of the performance. On YouTube, for instance, you can find a bootleg recording or two, but as you can imagine, the fidelity isn't there.

This isn't the first the Paramount+ has dug into the MTV archives to expand its catalog. Earlier this year, the streamer had an entire special program around Eric Clapton's 1992 set. If you want to check out the performances for yourself, Paramount+ offers a seven-day free trial.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/paramount-adds-50-classic-mtv-unplugged-episodes-155004134.html?src=rss

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© Frank Micelotta Archive via Getty Images

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana during the taping of MTV Unplugged at Sony Studios in New York City, 11/18/93. Photo by Frank Micelotta. *** Special Rates Apply *** Call for Rates ***

Hands-on: This 3.5-inch smart display makes my digital calendars more digestible

My preferred methods of organizing my schedule could be considered dated, so when I got a chance to try out a gadget meant to streamline my various digital calendars, I took it.

While I do use digital calendars and to-do lists, my go-to method for organizing my day’s tasks, goals, and upcoming events is pen and paper. I use paper calendars in agendas for a visual layout of events, including those as far away as next month. They give me a sense of control, as I'm able to highlight, circle, draw arrows, underline, erase, and so on. I also write more to-do lists than might be considered efficient (as evidenced by “make to-do list” being a frequent line on my to-do lists).

But there are many benefits to using tech for staying organized, too. With digital options, I can easily check my availability on the go with my phone and get alerts to remind me of events.

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The Casio Ring Watch is extremely silly, and that’s why I love it

Close-up of senior reviewer Victoria Song’s hand where she wears the Casio Ring Watch on her index finger. Her other fingers have an assortment of silver rings, which are contrasted against a black shirt and holographic silver nails.
Casio made the CRW001-1 as a limited-edition collectible to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

I am the last person on earth who needs another watch. As The Verge’s resident wearables reviewer, I’m always double-wristing the latest smartwatches. I am also the last person who needs another ring after spending a whole summer wearing six of them like a high-tech mafia wife. But I never said I had good sense, so I’ve spent the last few weeks wearing the $120 Casio CRW001-1 — or perhaps more aptly named, the Casio Ring Watch.

There is no pretense here. This is a tiny Casio watch that sits on your finger. Casio made it to celebrate its 50th anniversary and to cash in on your retro design nostalgia for the halcyon age of our collective youth. It harkens back to the vintage watch rings of the ’80s and ’90s, which you can find on Etsy for $10. This particular one just happens to be fully functional.

Unboxing it, my first thought as a reasonable person is that no one should buy this. For starters, it’s currently unavailable on Casio’s site and is going for upward of $300 on eBay. (Such is the fate of limited-edition gadgety baubles.) In an age when eggs cost $5 a carton — $7, if you live in my neck of the woods — your money can be spent on more practical things, …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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DeepSeek reopens access to its API after three-week pause

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Microsoft cancels some of its AI data center leases

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