Categories
Tech Radar

Superb gaming laptop deals available right now thanks to the 4th of July sales


There’s never been a better time to be looking for cheap laptop deals thanks to the ongoing 4th of July sales from Best Buy, Amazon, and Dell.

While there are literally hundreds of gaming laptop deals on offer right now, four have caught our fancy in particular. First up is this Lenovo Legion 5 for just $949.99 (was $1,099.99), which features everything we at TechRadar like to see in a gaming laptop deal. It’s got a powerful 10th Gen Core i7 processor, a GTX 1660 Ti graphics card, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 120Hz refresh rate monitor, which is an often overlooked feature that manufacturers like to cheap out on. With $150 off, this is definitely a good candidate if you’re looking for a solid performer for under $1,000.  Read More

Categories
Engadget

Porsche unveils more affordable rear-wheel drive Taycan, but only for China


The automaker didn’t explain why the car was China-only upon announcement, although research chief Dr. Michael Steiner previously said the RWD model was for regions where the weather didn’t necessitate AWD. Take heart, though, as Porsche said this version was “still in consideration for the USA.”

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the base Taycan reach the US and other countries. The machine could help Porsche better compete against EV brands like Tesla, whose Model S Performance starts at nearly $89,500. It might also be important in light of grim car markets during the pandemic. While EVs have faired relatively well in the current economic climate, pricing is clearly more of a concern than usual. Read More

Categories
TechCrunch

Tech unicorns look to IPOs as Lemonade, Accolade boom – TechCrunch


Hundreds of tech-oriented startups worth a billion or more dollars had envisioned successful public offerings before the pandemic hit. But new tech listings slowed to nearly nothing this spring as companies have tried to adjust to the profound changes sweeping the world.

Today, more and more companies are back to their previous plans, with Lemonade and Accolade finding an enthusiastic public this week, following Agora’s pop last Friday, as Alex Wilhelm has been covering.

The first big tech IPO this week was in online insurance, the second in health, and despite both being in promising markets, the valuations are quite a bit higher than their business realities to date. Here’s more, from his analysis on Extra Crunch: Read More

Categories
Mashable

How to enjoy the magic of ‘Hamilton’ without Disney+

Hamilton is here for Disney+ subscribers.

Thanks to the COViD-19 pandemic, Broadway will remain shut down through at least the beginning of 2021. But theater fans who subscribe to Disney+ received a gift on Friday in the form of a filmed version of Hamilton from 2016, featuring the original cast.

It’s great, and really a top reason to be a Disney+ subscriber at this point. In the more than five years since Hamilton premiered, the only ways to experience the show have been the Original Cast Recording or nabbing a ticket – not cheap, and not always easy – for the live show. So this movie brings the show to a whole new audience. Read More

Categories
Tech Radar

The best 4th of July mattress sale: big discounts and free gifts with the latest deals


With so many retailers aiming to provide the best 4th of July mattress sale, it’s a perfect time to be looking for a deal. If you’re interested in not just saving some hard-earned cash but picking up some free gifts, then you’re definitely in luck today.

Many of the big online mattress companies are in direct competition today, and we’ve been checking on all the best sites to find the best mattress deals. We’ve rounded up what we think are the best 4th of July mattress sales right down below, so simply scroll down to see all the discounts and free gifts on offer. Read More

Categories
Engadget

Watch Rocket Lab launch a Canon satellite into space at 5:19PM ET


Public fireworks shows may be in short supply this weekend due to the pandemic, but Rocket Lab is ready to fill the gap. It’s planning to launch its 13th mission, “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen,” from a complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula at 5:19PM Eastern with a livestream (below) available 15 minutes before takeoff. The launch window is open until 6:03PM Eastern. This is only the third Rocket Lab launch this year, due in no small part to the pandemic, and it includes some significant payloads. Read More

Categories
The Verge

DuckDuckGo reinstated in India after being unreachable since July 1st


Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has been restored in India after being unreachable for many users there since July 1st, Android Police reported. Reports about what was causing the outage have varied. Some users reported the Indian government appeared to be behind the block, and others said they were getting what appeared to be DNS lookup errors, according to Android Police.

DuckDuckGo tweeted that the service appeared to be restored in India as of Saturday morning.

We’re seeing our services being broadly restored in India. Thank you for all of your reports, bringing attention to this issue. Read More

Categories
VentureBeat

How AI can empower communities and strengthen democracy


Each Fourth of July for the past five years I’ve written about AI with the potential to positively impact democratic societies. I return to this question in hopes of shining a light on technology that can strengthen communities, protect privacy and freedoms, and otherwise support the public good.

This series is grounded in the principle that artificial intelligence is capable of not just value extraction, but individual and societal empowerment. While AI solutions often propagate bias, they can also be used to detect that bias. As Dr. Safiya Noble has pointed out, artificial intelligence is one of the critical human rights issues of our lifetimes. AI literacy is also, as Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott asserted, a critical part of being an informed citizen in the 21st century. Read More

Categories
TechCrunch

How to watch Rocket Lab launch satellites for Canon, Planet and more live – TechCrunch


Rocket Lab is launching a rideshare mission today which includes seven small satellites from a number of different companies, including primary payload provider Canon, which is flying a satellite equipped with the camera-maker’s Earth imaging technology, including high-res photo capture equipment. The Electron rocket that Rocket Lab is flying today will also carry five Planet SuperDove Earth-Observation satellites, as well as a CubeSat from In-Space missions.

The launch, which is named ‘Pics or It Didn’t Happen’ is set to take place during a window which opens at 5:19 PM EDT (2:19 PM PDT) and extends until 6:03 PM EDT (3:03 PM EDT), lifting off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. To check it out live, tune in directly via Rocket Lab’s website here – the live stream should begin around 15 minutes prior to the opening of the launch window. Read More

Categories
Mashable

YouTuber MrBeast’s ‘Finger on the App’ challenge went for 70 hours

Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson is at it again.

The YouTuber, who is known for his elaborate stunts and cash giveaways, challenged willing participants to join his “Finger on the App” competition. The premise was simple: Be the last person to take your finger off your phone screen while the game plays and win up to $25,000. Though the rules stipulated that all players who didn’t cash out would decide how much money people win if there was more than one winner.

Donaldson partnered with the internet art collective MSCHF to launch the game on June 30. The game ended on July 3 at 1:15 p.m. ET.  Read More