Nintendo has started selling docks for Switch OLED units separately in North America. According to Nintendo Life, the gaming giant revealed the dock would be sold as a standalone item when the OLED Switch was launched. And it has been available in European stores since the beginning of December, but now you can also get one in the US and Canada. While you can use the OLED model with the dock for the standard Switch, the one designed for it comes with a very important addition: An ethernet/LAN port.

In case your home internet isn't as fast as you'd like it to be, and you'd benefit greatly from a wired connection, the new dock may work better for your needs. You'd have to have or buy your own LAN/ethernet cable, though, since the dock doesn't come with one. It also doesn't include an AC Adapter and an HDMI cable, but it can receive software updates. 

You can snap up a dock from Nintendo's store in the US or in Canada for $70. The unit will ship with a standard white panel, which we found flimsy and prone to being lost in our review. But you can get a back cover in black or get another white one as a replacement part from Nintendo's website for $6.

While people around the world still searched for information about the COVID-19 pandemic, other topics dominated Google's Year in Search for 2021 — like cricket and Squid Game. Matches for the T20 World Cup are at the top of this year's global searches, along with other sporting events, such as the UEFA Euro 2021 and the NBA, and the hit Netlix Korean series Squid Game. DMX, who passed away this year, was also one of the most popular searches.

Afghanistan, which was taken over by the Taliban, was the top trending news for the year. COVID remains a hot topic, as you'd expect, with COVID vaccines, stimulus checks and the virus itself joining Afghanistan in the top trending news list. It seems like more and more people are getting into cryptocurrency, as well — or at least getting curious about it — and showed special interest in Dogecoin and Ethereum prices. Current events, including Hurricane Ida and the Georgia Senate race, and meme stocks (AMC and GME) round up the list. 

When it comes to the top trending people of the year, Alec Baldwin holds the top spot, followed by Kyle Rittenhouse. President Biden and athletes Tiger Woods and Simone Biles made waves this year, as well. Meanwhile, Pete Davison, Armie Hammer, Elliott Page and Dave Chappelle were some of the most searched celebrities. Marvel movies were as popular as ever, with Eternals holding the top spot for trending films, followed by Black Widow. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are also in the list, along with other hits for the year, such as Dune and Red Notice. 

Squid Game captured the attention of people everywhere, and it's joined by Bridgerton, WandaVision, Cobra Kai and Loki in the top trending TV shows list. Olivia Rodrigo's drivers license, Lil Nas X's Montero (Call Me by Your Name) and Industry Baby, as well as Walker Hayes' Fancy Like are some of the most popular songs this year. PopCat, FIFA 22, Battlefield 2042, Monster Hunter Rise, Resident Evil Village and Genshin Impact make up part of the top gaming list. Finally, people around the world apparently had cravings for Birria tacos, nasi goreng, feta pasta, shōgayaki and charcuterie boards this year.

You can check out the whole Year in Search results across various categories right here.

The changes Verizon has made to its Selects program also changed at least some subscribers' privacy settings. Verizon (Engadget's former parent company) collected users' location, web browsing and mobile application usage data to send them marketing messages or offers under Selects, though subscribers could opt out if they wanted to. As Ars Technica notes, the carrier recently replaced its Selects program with the Verizon Custom Experience Plus and Custom Experience programs. And that's all well and good, except users have been receiving emails to tell them that they'd been automatically enrolled.

In the email, Verizon stated that they will be included in the programs, which means their data will be collected, even if they previously opted out of participating in Selects. Custom Experience only collects browsing and app usage history, while the Plus version also collects location information and data about the numbers that users call and call them. 

In its FAQ page, Verizon said it doesn't sell user information, but it shares them with the service providers that work with them. "These service providers are required to use the information only for the purposes Verizon defines and not for their own or others' marketing or advertising purposes," the company wrote. The carrier also wrote that it keeps browsing information for no more than 6 months. It keeps location and phone number information for approximately one year. 

To remove themselves from the program, users will have to opt out again. While we're sure a lot of subscribers wouldn't appreciate being enrolled into marketing programs they previously chose not to participate in, it's at least easy to unsubscribe. They can go to their Verizon account's privacy preferences page or "My Verizon" in their mobile app and head to "Manage Settings" or "Manage Privacy Settings" to toggle off both programs. 

Back in November, Amazon started selling its own smart thermostat for a price that's less than half what a Google Nest thermostat costs. Now, Amazon's smart thermostat has gotten its first price drop and is currently on sale for $48, or 20 percent off its original retail price. It's not as feature-rich as its much expensive rivals — it doesn't have motion activation, for instance — but it's a solid option for a fraction of the price. 

The device is Energy Star-certified, which means it was designed to save you an average of $50 on electric bills per year. It works with Alexa voice control, as you would expect from an Amazon product, but it doesn't have speakers or a microphone. You'll have to issue voice commands through a compatible Alexa-enabled device, such as an Echo or the Alexa app.

Once set up, Alexa can take over for you. It can set the temperature if you want it to and update it throughout the day for maximum savings potential. Through the thermostat's learning feature called Hunches, Alexa will be able to automatically adjust the temperature based on its observations. For example, it can turn down the heat if it believes that nobody's home. 

Amazon's smart thermostat also has a simple, modern design that doesn't make it look cheap despite being a budget option. The $48 device doesn't come with a C-wire power adapter. If you need the adapter, you can also get the bundle with one for $63 or 25 percent lower than its usual price, though it's currently not in stock. 

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Tesla will replace the Autopilot cameras in the front fenders of some its electric vehicles for free, according to CNBC. While Tesla has yet to issue a recall, the news organization has seen internal documents distributed to authorized service providers in late November, asking them to replace faulty repeater cameras at no cost to owners. Apparently, the cameras on some Model S, X and 3 vehicles manufactured by the company at its Fremont, California plant have faulty printed circuit boards. 

Those cameras capture the car's blind spots, and Autopilot wouldn't work without them. If they're not working as intended, drivers typically only see a block box on their main display and may get alerts that their Autopilot has limited function. CNBC says Tesla may have to replace cameras for at least several hundred vehicles as a result of the faulty PCBs it used.

A Tesla sales manager told the publication that internal service notices are sometimes followed by voluntary recalls, but the automaker has yet to issue a statement. Tesla recalled vehicles several times in the past over various issues. In October, it recalled nearly 3,000 Model 3 and Y vehicles, because their front suspension lateral link fasteners may loosen. The company also recalled 11,704 Tesla EVs from 2017 and later in November after they became prone to false-positive braking following a buggy Full Self-Driving beta update.

Instagram has launched a number of new and experimental features meant to make its app a safer place for teens ahead of Adam Mosseri's Senate testimony. To start with, it's launching the previously announced "Take a Break" feature in the US, UK, Canada and Australia today. Now, when a user has been scrolling Instagram for quite some time, the app will ask them to take a break and to set reminders for the future. Teens, in particular, will get notifications to set those reminders on to make sure they're aware of the feature. They'll also see expert-backed tips to help them "reflect and reset."

In March, Instagram will be launching tools for parents and guardians that will give them a way to view how much time their kids are spending on the app and to set time limits. Teens will get the option to notify their parents if they report someone, as well, serving as a way to signal the adults in their life that they may need to talk about it. 

One of the experimental features Instagram is testing will come in handy for teens and young adults who want to remove their activity on the app from when they were a lot younger. It will allow users to bulk delete the photos and videos they posted, as well as all their likes and comments. The feature will be available to everyone in January. 

Another test feature will expand what Instagram started earlier this year when it prohibited adults from DMing teens who don't follow them. Early next year, it will also switch off the ability to tag or mention teens by adults who don't follow them, or to include their content in Reels Remixes or Guides. Finally, it's exploring the possibility of limiting the sensitive content teens see even more and is currently building an experience that would nudge users towards another topic if they've been scrolling one topic for a while. 

Samsung has merged its mobile business, the company's biggest moneymaker, with its consumer electronics division in a major restructuring meant to "strengthen its business competitiveness." In addition, to combining divisions, the tech giant has also replaced all of its CEOs. 

Jong-Hee Han, the head of its TV business, has been named as Vice-Chairman and co-CEO of the newly merged mobile and consumer electronics divisions. Han won't be leaving his duties as head of visual display, though, and will instead lead both businesses. According to Reuters, Han has no experience in mobile, but Samsung credits him for playing a key role in the company achieving top position in global TV sales over the past 15 years. 

Meanwhile, Samsung President Kyehyun Kyung has also been named co-CEO and will now lead its chip and components division. Kyung is a semiconductor design expert and used to leading the company's flash product and technology team. He's expected to "help maintain" Samsung's semiconductor leadership and conjure innovative ideas at the same time. 

While mobile generated the biggest revenue (US$24.2 billion) for Samsung in the third quarter of 2021, its chip business isn't that far behind. Its semiconductor business posted US$22.6 billion in revenue due to the heightened demand for server DRAMs and for computers in general during the pandemic. Samsung is aiming to become the number 1 chip contract manufacturer within the next decade and has poured hundreds of billions into the business. Just this November, it announced that it's building a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Texas to manufacture high-end and advanced chips for smartphones, 5G and artificial intelligence.

Toshiba has launched a new flagship smart TV with built-in Fire TV just in time for the holidays. The LED 4K UHD model has hands-free Alexa capabilities similar to Amazon's own Omni TVs, so you can issue voice commands from across the room. Toshiba also claims that it's the first Fire TV with local dimming, which improves the display's contrast ratio by dimming dark areas of the screen when needed. 

Model M550KU has a bezel-less design, with a 4K screen that has a 120Hz refresh rate. It supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, and it has a live view-in-view feature that can show feed from compatible smart doorbells or security cameras. To be able to hear and respond to voice commands, Toshiba embedded microphones into the device, allowing you to launch apps, play music and control smart home devices without the need for a remote control.

When the Omni lineup was announced, there were reports that Toshiba was designing TVs with a microphone array for far-field Alexa and was planning to release them next year. It's unclear if this model was one of those, but you don't have to wait until 2022 to be able to get it. The new model will be available starting early this month in three sizes on Best Buy and Amazon. You can get the 55-inch version for $800, the 65-inch for $1,000 and the 75-inch for $1,200.

You can now take a tour of the White House's halls decked with Christmas trees and other decor fit for the season — virtually, that is. Google first added the official residence of the President of the United States to the places you can visit on Street View almost a decade ago. But now, you can take a virtual walk of its premises to see how the place has been decorated.

The press office of the First Lady previously said that the administration would launch interactive viewing experiences for the White House's decorations this year. In addition, to the 360-degree Street View experience, there's now a "Holidays at the White House" tour available on the White House Experience mobile and web apps. According to The Hill, tours of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are currently not available to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so these virtual experiences may be the only way you can get a glimpse of its decorations for the holidays.

The White House is only one of the many historic sites you can visit on Street View — there's also Chile's Palacio de la Moneda, the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of Giza, the Palace of Versailles and the Colosseum, among others. If you still can't (or won't travel), maybe a virtual trip or two would be enough to sustain you for now. 

Niantic has just rolled out updates for the Pokémon Go app, and one of the new features for iOS will let you run the game at higher frame rates. The Verge has discovered a new option that allows you "unlock your device's native refresh rate for higher FPS." It's not explicitly stated in the app's change log and probably falls under the "various quality-of-life improvements" the developer has listed. Also, the option is off by default, so you'll have to find it in settings if you want to take advantage of your phone's capabilities.

As the publication notes, Pokémon Go was previously capped at 30fps on iOS — players have had to employ workarounds to get their games to run at 60fps — but newer phones are capable of more frames per second than that. The iPhone 13 Pro, for instance, has a 120fps screen. The Verge says switching the feature on made a huge difference and made the game a lot more responsive. While Niantic may have been trying to cater to owners of the new iPhone, the option can also be accessed on its predecessors. It just may not work as well on hardware powered by older chips.

You can find the the feature in the game's advanced settings, which will show "native refresh rate unlocked" when it's switched on.