Valve is on the lookout for new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins, and it's hoping to entice creators to submit designs with a $1 million art contest. The company will select 10 original, dream-themed looks. The creators of the winning designs will each receive $100,000 and the skins will be added to the game.
Today we are announcing the CS:GO Dreams & Nightmares Workshop contest; a $1M CS:GO art contest looking for 10 original dream or nightmare-themed weapon finishes to be shipped in an upcoming case. More information here: https://t.co/mdmInLmUJkpic.twitter.com/y8KgyV46Q1
You can send in as many designs as you like and create them either solo or as part of a team. You can also have multiple winning skins.
Artists will still own the rights to their creations — sending in an entry gives Valve a non-exclusive license to use it in CS:GO. You'll have until October 21st to submit your designs to the CS:GO Workshop. You'll need to use a Steam account that's in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been limited in any way) which has made at least $5 of Steam purchases. Valve will contact the winners by November 21st.
This is a neat contest with potentially life-changing prizes. The Steam Workshop has been around for a decade. It allows players to upload mods, maps and items for a variety of games — including weapon skins for CS:GO.
"Over five million content creators have submitted and published over 20 million new items for a variety of games on Steam, making them available for purchase to millions of gamers around the world," Valve said. "And, as everyone who plays these games knows — including CS players — many of the most iconic in-game items, maps, and more have been authored by members of the community. The Dreams & Nightmares Content Contest is designed to help further support this community."
On the heels of Virgin Galactic completing its first fully crewed spaceflight, Omaze launched a sweepstakes that offers the chance for anyone to win a spot on one of its first trips to space. Through September 1, you can enter to win two seats on one of Virgin Galactic's first commercial spaceflights, which are estimated to take place in early 2022. The prize also includes a tour of Spaceport America in New Mexico with Richard Branson, plus paid lodgings. While the giveaway doesn't guarantee you'll share a rocket with Elon Musk, it remains a unique opportunity to be one of the first people to go on a tourist's trip to space.
As with most Omaze giveaways, there's no cost to enter. But you will increase your chances of winning if you pay for extra entries (you can get 50 entries for $5). Funds donated in Omaze sweepstakes go to charity, and in this case they benefit Space for Humanity, an organization that hopes to make space more accessible for all and hosts the Citizen Astronaut Program, which gives leaders from various walks of life the opportunity to apply to go to space.
If you're unfamiliar with Omaze, it's a site that raises money for charities through giveaways and experiences. You can read more about how the allocation of funds works by reading the "Funding Transparency" section at the bottom of the giveaway page.
Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.See official rules on Omaze.
A number of new tech deals came up across the web this week, plus there are a few July 4th sales that are still going on. Apple's 10.2-inch iPad is down to $300, and Amazon and Best Buy discounted a bunch of Nintendo Switch games to $45 — including Animal Crossing. If you missed it over the holiday weekend, you can get Solo Stove's Bonfire for $120 less than usual and ThermoWorks' Thermapen Mk4 is down to $69. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Nintendo Switch games
Both Amazon and Best Buy have a number of Switch games on sale right now, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons for $45. That's the lowest we've seen it, so now's a good time to grab the title if you somehow haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet. Also discounted are Super Smash Bros. Ultimateand a bunch of Mario games like Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
You can still get Apple's 10.2-inch iPad for $299, or $30 off its normal price. It's arguably the best iPad for new tablet owners and we liked its improved performance, familiar design and support for the first-generation Apple Pencil.
Apple's Mac Mini M1 is down to $600 thanks to an automatically applied coupon that knocks $59 off the sale price. In addition to the M1 chipset, you're also getting 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in this model. This machine is a good upgrade for those with aging desktops as well as those that want a bit more flexibility than the new, colorful iMacs allow.
The latest MacBook Air M1 is down to $899 right now, or $100 off its regular price. It's one of the best laptops for most people, and the M1 chipset only makes it a better buy. The Air M1 earned a score of 94 from us for its incredibly fast performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad, good battery life and lack of fan noise.
Apple's colorful iMacs with 8-core GPUs are $50 off right now at Amazon, bringing them down to $1,450. We gave this desktop a score of 89 for its remarkable performance thanks to the M1 chip, lovely 24-inch Retina Display and its thin-and-light design.
The GPS + Cellular models of the Apple Watch Series 6 Product Red Edition are $100 off at Amazon. The 40mm is down to $399, or close to a record low, while the 44mm version has hit an all-time low of $429. We gave the Series 6 a score of 89 for its speedier performance, quicker charging and slightly improved battery life.
The OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone is $100 off right now, bringing it down to $970. The regular OnePlus 9 is also on sale, but it's only $80 off. We gave the 9 Pro a score of 88 for its fantastic display, stellar performance and much-improved main camera.
Samsung's T7 Touch portable SSD in 500GB is down to $90, which is close to its all-time-low price. This palm-sized drive has read speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000 MB/s, and in addition to password protection, it also has a built-in fingerprint reader for extra security.
Solo Stove's Bonfire remains $120 off even after the July 4th holiday has passed. These are smokeless, portable fire pits that we've recommended in the past as an easy way to upgrade your backyard setup.
The Thermapen Mk4 is still on sale for $69 as ThermoWorks makes room for the new Thermapen One thermometer. The Mk4 is the best instant-read thermometer we've used so far —the backlit display makes it easy to read in almost any situation and the display rotates depending on how you're holding the pen. Plus, you never have to remember to turn it off because the pen automatically turns on when you pick it up and will shut off after some time of no use.
Omaze is giving away another $20,000 to build your ultimate gaming PC. This sweepstakes is free to enter, but funds donated with purchased entries will benefit Schools on Wheels, an organization that provides free tutoring and mentoring services to children experiencing homelessness across Southern California.
Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.See official rules on Omaze.
New tech deals
Philips Hue White and Color Ambience smart lights
A three-pack of the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience smart light bulbs is on sale for $99, or $35 off its normal price. While not a record low, this is a great sale on smart bulbs that don't often see steep discounts. In addition to standard white light, you're getting 16 million colors in these bulbs and they can be controlled with your smartphone.
Dyson knocked $80 off its V10 Allergy cordless vacuum, bringing it down to $400. This model includes the V10 motor with 14 cyclones and a filtration system that claims to expel cleaner air as it traps 99 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. In addition to the vacuum, you're getting the drop-in dock plus five different cleaning head tools.
A handy Anker fast charger is back down to its Prime Day price of $39. That's an all-time low and nearly $22 off its normal price. This slim brick has two USB-C ports and two USB-C ports, so it can juice up to four devices at once with a total of 63 watts of power.
The Microsoft store just kicked off its back-to-school sale, which includes discounts on Surface devices, gaming gear and more. Of note is a deal that knocks up to $100 off the price of a Surface Go 2 + Type Cover bundle, and you can get up to $500 off gaming laptops from various brands.
One of our recommended VPNs is running a good sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up for NordVPN for only $89 for the first two years, which comes out to $44.50 per year — and an additional summer promotion adds three free months on top of that. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.
Tom Nook apparently isn't content to sell houses to millions of Animal Crossing: New Horizons players. It seems he wants Monopoly players to fork over their bells as well. That's right, as leaks suggested in recent days, Animal Crossing Edition Monopoly is on the way.
Rather than the traditional Monopoly format of buying properties and charging other players rent when they land on one of them, you'll be collecting bugs, fish, fossils and fruit. You'll also meet some other characters and carry out island tasks. When you stop by Nook's Cranny, you can use bells to buy decorations, which are worth Nook Miles. Whoever collects the most Nook Miles is the winner.
You'll need to be careful, though. If you're unlucky, you might go right to jail.
Hasbro
The crossover follows previous collaborations between Hasbro and game publishers. Along with Fortniteand Pac-Manversions of Monopoly, there have been severalMario-basededitions. ACNH is one of the biggest games of the past year or so, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Animal Crossing fans snap this up.
Animal Crossing Edition Monopoly costs $25 and it'll be available in August. You can pre-order the board game now.
If you missed Omaze's last PC giveaway, you have another opportunity to enter a new one now. The company is holding a sweepstakes through September 18 in which you can enter to win $20,000 towards a gaming PC — or any PC you want, really.
As with most Omaze sweepstakes, this one is free to enter but you can choose to buy additional entries and those proceeds will go to charity. Funds from this giveaway go to Schools on Wheels, which provides free tutoring and mentoring services to children experiencing homelessness across Southern California. You can also use the code RADNESS150 at checkout to get 150 bonus entries through July 2.
If you're unfamiliar with Omaze, it's a site that raises money for charities through giveaways and experiences. Although you don't have to spend money to enter giveaways like this, you'll increase your chances of winning if you spend a few bucks on extra entries. You can read more about how the allocation of funds works by reading the "Fundraising Transparency" section at the bottom of the giveaway page.
Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.See official rules on Omaze.
Apple's AirPods Pro are back on sale for $190 on Woot little more than a week after they were discounted by the Amazon-owned online retailer. While sporadic deals on the $249 earbuds are the norm, they tend to sell out fast as they remain must-haves for iOS loyalists craving high-quality audio.
Chances are you're familiar with the AirPods Pro by now, so consider this a recap for the cheap seats. The trademark all-white earbuds boast excellent true wireless sound, courtesy of active noise cancellation (ANC) and silicone tips that come in three sizes to help "seal" in sound. For those locked into Apple's ecosystem, there's the added benefit of quick pairing that lets you connect rapidly and switch easily between your MacBook, iPhone and iPad. Plus, their IPX4 rating means they are sweat and water resistant, making them a good fit for the gym or home workouts.
In terms of the design, Apple shortened the stem on the Pro earbuds to make them more compact compared to the entry-level AirPods. It also widened and shortened the case that gives you about an hour of use with five minutes of charging. Overall, the battery life lasts five hours, but drops to 4.5 hours of listening or 3.5 hours of talk time when you turn on ANC.
While reports have started to emerge of refreshed AirPods slated for this year, those will inevitably cost more at the outset. So, if you need a replacement pair of earbuds now, or you're ready to upgrade from the original AirPods, the Pros are still your best bet.
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