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If you're looking for a new laptop to brighten up the long winter ahead, now's your chance. Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air with M2 chip is back at its lowest price since October Prime Day. The 256GB model is currently marked down to $1,049 from $1,299 — a 19 percent discount. 

The $250 savings is also available on Apple's 512GB 15-inch MacBook Air, with a 17 percent discount dropping its price to $1,249 from $1,499. While every color is on sale, the silver option is still a little pricier than its counterparts — available for $1,300 and $1,149 for the 512GB and 256GB models, respectively. 

The 2023 15-inch MacBook Air came on the scene in June, and we were immediately big fans. In fact, we gave it a 96 in our review thanks to factors such as its excellent battery life, keyboard and (large) trackpad. The M2 chip also means it's well-performing, and the six-speaker sound system — the 13-inch model only has four — produces high-quality sound. 

The larger MacBook Air also has a 2,880 x 1,864 resolution, 500 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. Sure, it's missing some of the bells and whistles of the MacBook Pro, but considering that even the 14-inch Pro starts at $1,999, the savings are likely worth it.  

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In 2021, Hertz announced that it was going to order 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla by the end of 2022. Turns out the car rental company is far from being able to reach that number still, and it may take a while to get to 100,000, if it even gets there, because it's slowing down its plans to electrify its fleet. During the company's third-quarter earnings call (PDF), CEO Stephen Scherr said Hertz's "in-fleeting of EVs will be slower than [its] prior expectations."

Hertz reported a 13 percent margin for the quarter, which Scherr said would've been "several points higher" if not for the cost challenges associated with EVs. One of the factors that affected the company's margins was depreciation, compounded by the one-third drop in retail prices of the electric cars in its fleet. Tesla had implemented several price cuts over the past year, slashing the Model S and X prices by nearly 20 percent in September.

In addition, the CEO said that EVs are costing Hertz "about twice in terms of damage cost repair than a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle." He said the company is working directly with Tesla to look at its cars' performance and lower the risk of damage, as well when it comes parts procurement and labor. The company disclosed in its earnings report that 80 percent of its EVs is made up of Tesla vehicles, which means it has 35,000 Tesla in its fleet out of 50,000. As CNBC explains, EVs come with their own set of maintenance challenges, potentially brought about by their heavier weight. Aside from those two factors, moving a portion of its EV fleet from ridesharing use to leisure had affected its margins, as well. Hertz rents Tesla EVs to Uber and Lyft drivers, and it's now planning to move the vehicles it removed from the pool back to its ridesharing business.

Scherr said Hertz remains committed to its long-term plan to electrify its fleet, but it's going to pace itself while it looks for solutions to its EV-related issues. The CEO talked about how taking on EVs by other manufacturers like GM could address some of the problems it's facing. He expects Hertz to be able to purchase them at an "appreciably lower price point" than the prices it paid for its Tesla vehicles. He also thinks that those cars "will likely speak to lower incidence of damage," as well as to "a lower cost of parts and labor." GM and other traditional automakers have a broad parts supply network nationwide established over the decades, which will make it easier — and potentially cheaper due to aftermarket availability — to procure components.

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Samsung's Galaxy S23 FE only just arrived, but Amazon already has a tempting deal on the budget-oriented smartphone. You can grab the 128GB model with a $100 Amazon Gift Card for $600, saving the full price of the card — equivalent to a 14 percent discount. The deal applies to all colors (cream, graphite, mint and purple), the 256GB model (save 13 percent) and with the Galaxy S23 FE/Galaxy Buds FE bundle, which is $150 off including the gift card. 

Samsung didn't make an FE version of the Galaxy S22 last year, but it's now brought it back with a twist. Instead of denoting "fan edition," the FE moniker is simply used for devices sharing features and traits with flagship devices. In other words, you'll get near-flagship performance at mid-range prices — similar to the "a" version of Google's Pixel phones. 

As we detail in our hands-on look, the S23 FE looks very much like the S23, but offers slightly reduced specs. It comes with an older Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip instead of the Gen 2 processor used on the flagship version, along with a 6.4-inch 120Hz display (sized between the Galaxy S23 and S23+) that's slightly less bright. 

Otherwise, it comes with a similar rear triple-camera setup (50-MP main sensor, 12-MP ultra-wide and a slightly lower-res 8-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom). Best of all, it still uses a glass and metal design, unlike Samsung's A-series models with cheaper materials. Other features include a 4,500mAh battery and IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. If you've been eyeing the device but waiting for a sale, now is the time to act. 

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Cruise has paused all its driverless operations, the company has announced on LinkedIn and X. The GM-backed self-driving firm explained that it's taking time to examine its "processes, systems and tools" and that it will "reflect on how [it] can better operate in a way that will earn public trust." Cruise has been thrust under the spotlight recently after the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended its permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state due to several safety related issues. The California Public Utilities Commission also suspended the license giving Cruise the right to charge passengers for robotaxi rides. 

One of the latest incidents involving a Cruise vehicle happened in early October when a woman was hit by another car and was hurled in front of one of the company's driverless vehicles. Cruise's robotaxi stopped on top of her leg and pinned her underneath until first responders arrived and could extract her. The DMV suspended the company's permits a few weeks afterward. 

As CNBC notes, this move comes shortly after GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker will support Cruise's expansion with "safety" as its "gating factor." TechCrunch says it also comes just a day after an all-hands meeting, wherein CEO Kyle Vogt told his staff that Cruise hasn't paused operations outside of California. To note, the company has driverless fleets in Phoenix, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Miami, as well. 

The company didn't elaborate on what examining its tools and systems entail and how exactly it intends to "rebuild public trust." For now, Cruise will only be deploying autonomous vehicles with drivers behind the wheel. 

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced several upcoming accessibility features for Xbox players. A few of those features, including controller-to-keyboard input remapping, are now live and ready to use. This keyboard mapping feature is particularly significant as it will increase gaming options and improve the overall experience for folks with disabilities. Players will now have the ability to configure the buttons of the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and the Xbox Adaptive Controller to match specific keys on their keyboards. Microsoft says this will help to "expand controller input capabilities in games that have many commands, have limited remapping capabilities, or do not support controllers."

Keyboard mapping has been heavily requested by the accessibility community and this move by Microsoft shows the company is still listening. Now that this has been implemented, it will hopefully be easier for smaller developers to include accessibility features as well since they won't have to create that link independently.

Microsoft has come a long way since stepping into the accessibility market. Back in 2015, the company launched the Xbox One Elite controller, which wasn't necessarily designed with accessibility in mind. But many of that controller’s features have ultimately proven helpful for those with different needs.

Microsoft later took a more intentional approach with the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which was released in 2018. This was created with the input of accessibility and inclusion advocates like AbleGamers, Warfighter Engaged, SpecialEffect, Craig Hospital and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. The Xbox Adaptive Controller was the first of its kind, offering a plug-and-play option for people with disabilities.

Other updates mentioned in today’s announcement include a better way to capture and edit game stills in Clipchamp and improvements to diagnostic data sharing. All these features are live and can be accessed now.