“Let’s see what a Snickers bar does to my blood sugar,” Justin Richard, a 52-year-old Toronto-based TikToker says just before eating the candy bar on camera. After an edited time skip, Richard says, “It’s been several hours since I’ve had the chocolate bar, let’s have a look at the glucose monitor and see what actually happened.” He slightly lifts his arm flashing the device, an inconspicuous blue circular patch that almost looks like a Band-Aid. Above his head flashes a screenshot of his blood glucose reading, which appears to have spiked, dipped, and spiked again. “I had a spike in my blood sugar,” he says. “That's not a shock because this is loaded with sugar.” A red ‘X’ graphic appears over some b-roll of the Snickers bar. “I did this test because I’m trying to establish a benchmark.”

This is a typical 60-second TikTok from Richard, whose handle is @insulinresistant1 on the platform. In the following clip, Richard eats a cup of broccoli before eating another full Snickers bar, then goes on to share the results of his blood glucose levels from his personal continuous glucose monitor. He eats this oddball combination to show how variations in his food intake can impact or even prevent a blood glucose spike.

Continuous glucose monitors (or CGMs) have long been used as a tool to track blood sugar levels for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Here’s the thing, though: Richard does not have diabetes.

While monitoring sugar intake is standard practice for people on tight blood sugar control treatment plans and those with persistently low blood glucose levels, modern CGM devices – non-invasive wearables that can attach to the back of an arm for weeks at a time – have become a popular wellness trend on social media. Users like Richard that have integrated a CGM into their daily life have stormed platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Some internet health coaches and dieticians have trumpeted their praise. On TikTok, the hashtags #insulinresistance has 1.2 billion views, while #continuousglucosemonitor has over 32.7 million views. Richard, who has over 800,000 TikTok followers, is just one influencer who helped fuel this trend. On his page, which he started during the pandemic, showcases him eating a wide range of foods and drinks, from sodas to chocolate bars, reacting to readings emitting from his Signos-sponsored CGM device.

Richard says he got into continuous glucose monitoring to “optimize his health” and prevent chronic illness, which was especially important to him considering his extensive family history of Type 2 diabetes. “It's like having a coach,” he said in an interview. “But the coach is telling you to do something.” That something was to make some pretty dramatic dietary changes. “'I'm not a healthcare professional and I don't pretend to be. All of my tests are about my blood sugar, and what I read online and how it affects me,” he said, adding that his disclaimer that “individual results will vary” is a key part of his messaging.

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Blood glucose monitoring devices are not new. In the late 1990s, medical companies like Medtronic, Dexcom and Abbott revolutionized the way diabetes could be managed. The importance of continuous glucose monitoring for patients is well established as a means of improving glycemic control, especially in the case of Type 1 diabetes.

CGMs are a vital tool for preventing diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication seen in Type 1 diabetic patients. When sugar levels are too high and the body begins to break down fat as fuel, it can lead to a high amount of acid circulation in the bloodstream. For non-diabetics, however, complications stemming from extremely high or low blood sugar levels isn’t a concern. There is little to no research to back that monitoring blood glucose levels in generally healthy adults equates to an overall improvement in health. 

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Dr. Idz, another TikToker with over 1.7 million followers, calls the use of CGM devices for adults without any prescribed medical need a “feature of disordered eating.” Dr. Idz, short for Idrees Mughal, is a board-certified UK-trained medical doctor with expertise in nutritional research. He became a prominent figure when he started rebuking the “nonsense health information” circulating on TikTok that “prey[s] on people's vulnerabilities.” He says CGMs aren’t really intended for non-diabetics because “our body is designed to regulate the spike.” Dr. Idz says people need to understand that spiking blood glucose is not a problem. In fact, that is supposed to happen when you eat food. “Even protein can spike your blood glucose, and no one is really hyped about that, right?”

Although there may not be an inherent physical risk for people who wear a CGM device to monitor and track sugar levels, there is a real possibility that access to “too much data” can lead to information overload, false alarms, unnecessary anxiety, confusion or misinterpretation. Slight fluctuations in blood sugar levels are normal in people who don’t have diabetes. Dr. Robert Shmerling, a senior faculty editor for Harvard Health Publishing and author of “Is blood sugar monitoring without diabetes worthwhile?” writes that, “we're at the very beginning of the learning curve for home monitoring of blood sugar in people without diabetes. Before buying into what may be the next fad in health monitoring, I think we need to learn a lot more.”

Still, it’s no surprise that more people are interested in experimenting with CGM devices. Not only are TikTokers promoting blood glucose monitoring as an indicator of health and wellness, but ads for CGM devices from up-and-coming brands like Nutrisense, Veri and Signos have been flooding social media.

The companies use language designed to sell the average person on the importance of regularly tracking blood sugar levels as a way to lose weight or as a “metabolism hack.” The idea is that eating refined carbs and sugary foods can spike blood glucose levels and, over time, the cells that are supposed to take up insulin and regulate glucose production in the liver become resistant to the hormone due to habitual bad dieting. Heather Davis, a registered and licensed dietitian and nutritionist at Nutrisense denies that the company promises weight loss through glucose monitoring. “A CGM is not a weight loss device per se,” she said. “The CGM is simply one tool among many that may support insights into how different dietary and lifestyle approaches influence metabolic health, including weight factors.”

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Dr. Idz would disagree with Nutrisense on that. He argues that the vast majority of people won't even know how to interpret CGM results. “Even me as a medical doctor, I would probably need to look at some reference values for each individual, you know, perhaps have to do some calculations. And that's me who's actually a medical doctor. Imagine the average person who's just going, ‘oh, my gosh, I've had a spike. That must mean it's bad, right?’ You don't even know how to interpret it. So it's going to be completely useless.”

Nutrisense’s Davis concedes that there is limited research currently looking at CGM use in non-diabetic populations, but she argues that “once upon a time, there was also limited research looking at CGM use in diabetic populations” and that the “risks of wearing a CGM are extremely minimal for most people.” Still, the FDA has never recommended continuous glucose monitoring for healthy individuals. It has only even approved a handful of devices for people who do suffer from diabetes. Although it may be useful for predicting a risk for pre-diabetes and diabetes, there is a consensus that more scientific studies are needed to observe CGM use among healthy populations.

Companies marketing their wearables to healthy people are entering a crowded, but growing market that’s ripe for exploitation. There is arguably an enormous opportunity for companies advertising to healthy individuals to reap financial benefits from the latest health fad.

Signos

TikToker Richard says he thinks continuous glucose monitoring is only going to grow from here. “I don't think this trend is going to end anytime soon,” he said. “Anybody and every country that's adopted this fast food, highly processed diet is having this same increase in Type 2 diabetes and you really can't ignore it. So I think this trend is gonna continue as long as this fast food is so prevalent.” Dr. Idz, on the other hand, would argue that if you want to prevent diabetes, “that's fine but you're not going to do it by wearing a CGM because you know, as long as you're not insulin resistant, you'll find that you don't need you don't need a CGM.”

To make matters worse, not only are CGMs questionably useful for healthy individuals, but they can be expensive, too. The devices must be replaced every seven to 14 days depending on the manufacturer. Nutrisense does not accept insurance coverage on the grounds it is a “wellness program,” with monthly subscriptions starting at $225 and no-commitment plans reaching $399 a month. Competitors like Signos, which accepts insurance with a diabetes diagnosis, offers a monthly plan for its wearable and monitoring app, and that costs upwards of $449 a month. Veri may accept insurance, depending on the provider. And even though it’s able to dramatically undercut its competitors, the monthly fee of between $40 to $109 is hardly cheap. Richard, who has historically paid out of pocket for his CGM devices, believes the high cost is going to “save him money in the long run.”

Unfortunately, these lofty prices don’t just affect health-conscious TikTokers. Access to CGM devices for diabetic populations can be spotty. Individuals covered by Medicaid are less likely to have one covered, especially people of color, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Aside from the technology’s often inaccessible price points, some experts argue that there simply isn't enough guidance from the scientific community on CGM applications for healthy individuals. The ADA does not recommend CGM device use by healthy people, only clearly stating that the technology should be considered “from the outset of the diagnosis of diabetes that requires insulin management.”

Dr. Idz takes this a step further, stating flatly that “there is no evidence whatsoever that blunting blood sugar spikes does anything for our health.” He backs up his argument with research from a retrospective and randomized trial that focused on the impact of blood glucose monitoring in diabetic and non-diabetic populations. Dr. Idz says, if anything, research suggests that a low average blood glucose level is bad for you and might increase mortality risk over time due to diminished consumption of healthy nutrients and decreased liver function.

Harvard’s Dr. Shmerling reports he could not find a published study suggesting that monitoring blood glucose levels directly translated into improved health. “Unfortunately, some makers of CGM systems aren't waiting for solid research results to market these devices to healthy people. So, consumers and marketing professionals — not researchers or doctors — may wind up driving demand for the product,” Dr. Shmerling writes. Despite the lacking body of evidence to support blood glucose monitoring among healthy populations, the inflated price points for direct to consumer products, and the technological handicaps still present in the burgeoning industry, the growing popularity of CGMs among health and fitness enthusiasts does not seem to be slowing down.

Spain has fined Amazon and Apple a total of 194.1 million euros (over $218 million) for antitrust violations. According toReuters, the penalties relate to a deal the companies made in 2018 that made Amazon an authorized Apple dealer but also included alleged anti-competitive clauses. “The two companies restricted without justification the number of sellers of Apple products on the Amazon website in Spain,” Spain’s antitrust regulator, Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), said today.

The CNMC fined Apple 143.6 million euros and Amazon 50.5 million euros for their role in the alleged price-fixing conspiracy, based on contracts signed on October 31st, 2018. The agency said over 90 percent of existing vendors selling Apple products on Amazon were blocked from the storefront after the deal. In addition, Amazon allegedly restricted non-Spanish retailers in the European Union from reaching Spanish customers. The online retailer also supposedly diminished the allowed advertising from Apple’s competitors in consumer search results for Apple devices.

According to the CNMC, the result was higher online prices for Apple devices listed and sold in Spain.

Amazon and Apple denied that the deal hurt consumers in separate statements to Reuters. “We reject the suggestion made by CNMC that Amazon benefits from excluding sellers from its market place, as our business model hinges precisely on the success of the companies selling through Amazon,” an Amazon representative told the news outlet today. Similarly, Apple said the deal was about limiting counterfeit sales, adding that it had previously spent lots of money on hundreds of thousands of take-down notices for fake products.

The companies have two months to appeal the antitrust watchdog’s decision. Spokespeople for both firms told Reuters they plan to do just that.

Someone with deep pockets has snapped up a piece of tech history after forking over $190,000 for a first-generation iPhone from 2007. That's around 300 times the device's original price.

Don't expect to fetch anything close to this kind of windfall by selling a 16-year-old smartphone you have stuffed in a drawer somewhere. This was a factory sealed device in "exceptional condition," according to the listing. Auctioneer LCG Auctions noted that the consignor of the lot was part of Apple's engineering team when the iPhone debuted. "Collectors and investors would be hard pressed to find a superior example," the auction house wrote.

The lot drew interest from multiple parties as 28 bids were lodged, including five that were over $100,000. In recent months, LCG Auctions has sold two 8GB variants of the first-generation iPhone for $39,000 and $63,000. But what helps this item stand out is that it's a rare 4GB model. Apple only produced this model for two months as consumers overwhelmingly preferred a version with double the storage.

It's unlikely that the buyer will actually open the package up and use the phone, since breaking the seal would send its value nosediving. If they did, though, they'd be tinkering with a device that probably wouldn't even be able to make a phone call, since 2G networks have shut down in many parts of the world. FaceTime would be a no-go, since there's no front-facing camera and the OG iPhone can't even run a version of iOS that supports the feature. The vast majority of other apps won't work on it.

Even so, the original iPhone may still make for a decent iPod. It even had a headphone jack. Remember those?

At the Microsoft Inspire partner event today, the Windows maker announced pricing for its AI-infused Copilot for Microsoft 365. The suite of contextual artificial intelligence tools, the fruit of the company’s OpenAI partnership, will cost $30 per user for business accounts. In addition, the company is launching Bing Chat Enterprise, a privacy-focused version of the AI chatbot with greater security and peace of mind for handling sensitive business data.

Revealed in March, Microsoft 365 Copilot is the company’s vision of the future of work. The GPT-4-powered suite of tools lets you generate Office content using natural-language text prompts. For example, you can ask PowerPoint to create a presentation based on a Word document, generate a proposal from spreadsheet data or summarize emails and draft responses in Outlook — all by typing simple commands. “By grounding answers in business data like your documents, emails, calendar, chats, meetings and contacts, and combining them with your working context — the meeting you’re in now, the emails you’ve exchanged on a topic, the chats you had last week — Copilot delivers richer, more relevant and more actionable responses to your questions,” Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer, wrote in an announcement today.

Microsoft began testing Copilot with a small group of select enterprise partners earlier this year but hasn’t yet announced when all business customers will gain access. However, announcing its pricing could mean that date is fast approaching. The $30 / mo. pricing will apply to Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium customers. The company still hasn’t announced Copilot consumer pricing or availability.

Meanwhile, Bing Chat Enterprise is Microsoft’s more security-minded variant of the popular AI chatbot that launched for consumers in February. “Since launching the new Bing in February, we’ve heard from many corporate customers who are excited to empower their organizations with powerful new AI tools but are concerned that their companies’ data will not be protected,” Shaw wrote. “That’s why today we’re announcing Bing Chat Enterprise, which gives organizations AI-powered chat for work with commercial data protection. What goes in — and comes out — remains protected, giving commercial customers managed access to better answers, greater efficiency and new ways to be creative.”

Bing Chat Enterprise begins rolling out today in a preview — at no additional cost — for Microsoft 365 E5, E3, Business Premium and Business Standard customers. In addition, the company says it will make the enterprise-focused chatbot available as a standalone $5 subscription “in the future.”

College will be back in session soon enough, which also means a new batch of freshmen will start living the dorm life. If that applies to you, we think it’s a good idea to stock up on a few essentials for your new tiny abode before you get there, especially if this is your first time away from home. We’ve got tech recommendations, of course, but not everything on this list is a gadget. That’s because we also wanted to cover the other items that will bring you the comforts of home to your dorm and hopefully make student life less stressful.

Echo Dot

I resisted a smart speaker until a few months ago. After getting an Echo Dot, I now use Alexa to set alarms, play focus music, remind me about stuff and keep tabs on the weather — all of which would have been very helpful back in school. Sure, your phone can do most of that, but anything that helps you pick up your phone less is a productivity booster in itself. Plus, the Dot works with all major music services and the sound quality is surprisingly good for its size. There’s more than enough punch here to entertain a dorm room and do justice to your study beats. — Amy Skorheim, Commerce Writer

Belkin MagSafe 3-in-1 wireless charger

If you own multiple Apple products and you’re constantly detangling charging cables, we highly recommend a 3-in-1 wireless charger like the Belkin BoostCharge Pro. It has a 15W MagSafe charging base for your iPhone and charging spaces for your Apple Watch and AirPods as well. The horizontal layout lets you charge any Qi-capable phone, though at reduced speeds, or other compatible earbuds and accessories. On top of that, the flat pad format means you can easily pack it in your bag the next time you go on a trip. — Nicole Lee, Commerce Writer

Anker Soundcore Space A40

A good set of noise-canceling headphones can help you get some peace and quiet anytime you need to work or want to escape the rowdiness of your fellow dormmates. You don’t need to spend a ton to find a quality pair, either: The Anker Soundcore Space A40 delivers effective active noise cancellation, eight to 10 hours of battery life per charge, a transparency mode, IPX4-rated water resistance and solid audio quality for less than $100 (and even less than $80 often times when on sale). If you don’t like their bassy default sound, you can also customize the profile through a useful companion app. Just note that these are earbuds; if you’d prefer an over-ear pair, try the Anker Soundcore Life Q30. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Commerce Writer

Linenspa shredded foam pillow

Comfort is key to dorm living, which is why we recommend an oversized reading pillow like this one from Linenspa. It helps change up your seating position so you’re not in your desk chair all the time, and it’s definitely a lot more comfortable than just piling up bed pillows against the wall. The pillow is filled with shredded memory foam so it won’t put a lot of stress on your back, plus it comes with a soft velour cover. That posture support makes it great for reading, playing games or watching TV. As a bonus, there’s also a handle on the top that makes it easy to carry around. — N.L.

Zwilling Electric Kettle

Dorms may limit the number and types of kitchen appliances you can have, but most are fine with a simple electric kettle like this one. Zwilling’s Electric Kettle boils water eerily fast and doesn’t have an exposed heating element, which some housing regulations don’t allow. It also looks lovely and, in our experiments, boiled 16 ounces of water in two minutes flat. Sure, it can help you make tea or coffee, but the real pro-level move is stocking up on instant cup foods for morning oatmeal, midnight Cup Noodles and the cravings in between. — A.S.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3

For when their phone’s speakers just won’t cut it, the UE Wonderboom 3 can make their dorm-room parties and chill sessions on the quad even better with punchy sound. The small, barrel-shaped speaker is compact enough to fit in a backpack, and it could be attached to the outside of a bag with a carabiner clip thanks to its built-in top loop. We found the Wonderboom 3 to deliver the biggest sound of all the portable Bluetooth speakers we tested in its size range, and the latest model has improved battery life and wireless range. There’s no app, but it can be paired with other UE speakers for stereo sound. And if it accidentally falls off a table or takes a bit of a beating, its IP67-rating and drop-proof design should sufficiently protect it. — Valentina Palladino, Senior Commerce Editor

Nanoleaf Lines

Nanoleaf’s modular smart lights let you add personality and functional lighting to your half of the room. The 90-degree “Smarter” kit comes with four Lines that attach at right angles, so you can make a few different designs (a square and an X come to mind). The set is expandable and each bar has millions of available colors with the ability to display two hues at once. Lines works with Alexa, HomeKit, Google Home, IFTTT and other smart home platforms, so you can set themes, create routines and control the lights with your voice. But possibly the best news for dorm dwellers is the included mounting tape that won’t punch holes in your walls and anger your RA. — A.S.

LapGear Designer

When you’re just too lazy to sit at your actual desk, a lap desk like the LapGear Designer can make working from the bed or couch more comfortable. The Designer is softly padded and lightweight, with an easy-to-clean top that’s large enough to fit a 15-inch laptop. A stopper at the bottom helps keep things from slipping off when you’re sitting at an angle, plus there’s a slot for holding a phone and a handle for carrying the whole thing around. — J.D.

Vornado 630 Medium Air Circulator

Many dorms lack air conditioning, so having a fan that’s powerful enough to keep you cool during the late-summer months is crucial. The Vornado 630 should do the job, as it moves air around a room powerfully yet takes up little room on a tabletop or larger window sill. It doesn’t oscillate, but you can tilt its head vertically, and the way it circulates air allows it to send a breeze through most of a room. A simple dial lets you swap between three speed settings, while the sturdy plastic frame is easy to clean and keeps the thing relatively quiet when it’s on. If you’re moving into a particularly large dorm room, the Vornado 660 is a stronger alternative. — J.D.

OXO Good Grips cereal dispenser

When I was in college, we called cereal, ramen and vodka “the five food groups.” I hear today’s college-bound generation drinks less (and is probably better with numbers), but I suspect cereal is still a staple, which is why this dispenser from OXO is a must-get. The silicone seal on the pop-top lid keeps Crispix crunchy and Lucky Charms fresh (though it can do nothing to make Grape Nuts less gravel-like). It also keeps ants and other pests out and the clear plastic looks nice on a shelf. But I particularly like being able to open the lid, pour out the cereal and close it back up with just one hand. — A.S.

Pure Green 100% Natural Latex mattress topper

Chances are, the bed in your dorm room isn’t very comfortable. It’s also probably not easy (or cost effective) to change the mattress. That’s why we recommend getting a mattress topper: It’s the one way to control how your bed feels without spending a lot of money. We prefer a natural latex option like this one from Pure Green because it delivers comfort and support without the sinking feeling of memory foam. It also won’t absorb much body heat, which helps keep you cool throughout the night. Pure Green sells its mattress topper in three different thicknesses — from one inch to three — to fit your particular needs. Opt for the 1- or 2-inch if you want firm or medium-firm, or spring for the 3-inch model if you prefer a something softer. — N.L.

Lunya Sleep Mask

Roommate pulling an all-nighter with the lights on? Want to catch some z’s in the afternoon in between classes? Or maybe you’re just particularly sensitive to light? If you can relate to any of this, we recommend getting a sleep mask to make it easier for you to drift off into dreamland. This one from Lunya is one of our personal favorites because it completely blocks out light and feels comfortable to boot; it’s like wearing pillows on your eyes. We tend to prefer this model over masks with eye cups because it’s not quite as bulky. The Lunya’s wide elasticized band will fit most people and it even covers the ears, which helps reduce noise. It’s also machine washable, so you can easily keep it clean. — N.L.

Codenames

Playing casual board games is a great way to socialize at gatherings without the need to engage in small talk. A really popular one is called Codenames, a party game that pits two teams of spies against each other. Each “spymaster” has to get their teammates to guess hidden words (which are plotted out on a grid) using only one-word clues and a number. For example, if you wanted your team to guess the words “costume,” “web,” and “spider,” you might say “Peter, 3” to indicate that there are three clues on the board that match that word. There are also clues you have to avoid, which makes the game a little harder. The game is easy to explain and it encourages communication, which helps break the ice. — N.L.

Herd Mentality

If you want a game that’s more light-hearted, we recommend Herd Mentality. It accommodates four to 20 players, which makes it perfect for parties. In it, you simply take turns flipping over a question and trying to write down what you think everyone else will answer as well. For example, if the question is “What is the best way to cook an egg?” you write “scrambled” and it turns out that is what most other players answered as well, you will get points. But beware of giving the answer that’s the odd one out, because you’ll get the dreaded Pink Cow and be in danger of losing the game – unless you can somehow trick someone else into getting it instead. — N.L.

A Canadian air cargo startup called Ribbit is planning to test pilotless flights for deliveries in remote areas of the country, Northern Ontario Business has reported. The company signed a $1.3 million contract with Transport Canada and Innovative Solutions Canada to start autonomous test flights "over the next 12 months," the company said.

"Many rural and remote areas are served by larger airplanes that fly infrequently," CEO Carl Pigeon said in a press release earlier this month. "Ribbit takes a smaller aircraft and uses autonomy to drastically change the unit economics of that plane. This lets us offer reliable next-day or two-day service and improve supply chains."

The company is starting small with two-passenger recreational-style aircraft. It plans to remove the seats to open up room for cargo, then make the aircraft fully autonomous using remote control software and hardware. The idea began as a project from University of Waterloo students, including co-founders Jeremy Wang and Carl Pigeon. Ribbit said its aircraft would use remote pilots to monitor progress, communicate with air traffic controllers and generally provide a backup.

The company has already signed contracts with retailers and wholesalers, including locally owned businesses that serve the province. The aim is to fill a demand for timely delivery of food, medical items and more. "The goal is really to try and improve that transportation link so that we can get food and other perishables, time-sensitive items, medical supplies, etcetera, into these communities at a lower price to the end consumer more reliably, and more frequently," Wang told Northern Ontario Business.

There are a number of competitors in this space already, most notably Xwing, which has already performed autonomous gate-to-gate commercial cargo flights. That company is using much larger aircraft, namely converted Cessna Grand Caravan 208B utility planes fitted with Xwing's Autoflight software. Another competitor in the space is Reliable Robotics (founded by former SpaceX and Tesla engineers), which has also run successful remotely piloted cargo tests.

Ribbit is smaller than those players, but it knows its customers and the region well. "Be it air cargo, asset monitoring, or maritime patrol, we have identified several applications for the technology," Wang said. "Customers appreciate our ability to understand their operations deeply—then reimagine them with autonomy."

NVIDIA just officially released the 2008 fan-made Portal mod, Portal: Prelude. The company dropped it on Steam and, what’s more, it’s free for anyone who has the original game. This isn’t a drab re-release, as the updated release features new textures, full ray tracing, DLSS 3 for increased performance, NVIDIA Reflex for decreased latency and RTX IO for quicker load times.

NVIDIA also dropped a GeForce Game Ready Driver to simplify setup. All of the changes to the remaster were done by modders, keeping with the spirit of the original release, via the company’s forthcoming RTX Remix creator toolkit. NVIDIA also hired famed modders to modernize assets and improve the lighting.

For the uninitiated, Portal: Prelude was originally released back in 2008 and developed by modders. It acts as a prequel to the original game and is set before the time of GLaDOS. The game offers a ten-hour campaign with nearly 20 test chambers, a fully voiced story and mechanics that go beyond the first Portal. It continues to be the highest-rated Portal mod, and there’s no shortage of competition.

This remake took eight months of dev time and acts as a showcase for the aforementioned modding toolkit, RTX Remix. Portal: Prelude is available right now on Steam and won’t cost you anything, as long as you have the original Portal, so get downloading.

Canon’s mirrorless EOS R mirrorless camera family now sits at a healthy 11 members, but most of those to date have been high-end models priced at over $1,000. Recently, though, the company has been wooing budget-minded shoppers with models like the $480 R100 and the subject of this review – the $680, 24-megapixel R50.

The R50 uses a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor from the $980 EOS R10, so image quality should be on par. Otherwise, you can think of the R50 as an RF-mount version of the older M-mount M50 Mark II – but with updates like uncropped 4K that make it better for creators. At the same time, it’s even lighter and smaller, so it’s ideal for travel, street photography and more.

Where the $480 R100 is aimed at the bottom end of the mirrorless market, the $680 R50 is targeting users a bit more serious about photography and content creation. Does it have enough going for it to entice such users? Let’s take a look.

Body & Handling

The EOS R50 is diminutive in both weight and size, weighing in at just 375 grams with a battery and memory card. With a similarly light and small lens, like the 18-45mm kit or the new 28mm pancake model, it can easily slip into a small bag. Travelers and tourists will often settle for a smartphone rather than lugging around a heavy camera, but the R50 removes that barrier.

There’s a price to be paid in terms of usability, however. It has a relatively small grip that’s effectively unusable with large lenses, though it does have a nice rubber material so it shouldn’t slip out of your hands.

The R50 is also lacking in controls compared to other models. It has just a single dial to change settings, meaning you have to hit the exposure compensation button to toggle between shutter speed and aperture in manual mode. But since the camera is designed for beginners used to smartphones, it’s essentially designed to be controlled by the touchscreen. That works well enough, but the main menu items are a little small and fiddly.

The 2.95-inch touchscreen is nice though, with a relatively high 1.6 million dot resolution. As with all other Canon EOS R cameras, it fully articulates, making it useful for selfies and vlogging. The electronic viewfinder is on the low end though, being relatively small and with a low 2.36-million dot resolution.

With the same small battery as the EOS R10, it gets just 370 shots on a charge – perhaps the camera’s biggest weakness. It is, however, a significant improvement over the 305 shots you get with the original M50 II. Other features include a mic but no headphone port, a single slow UHS-I card slot, USB-C and micro HDMI ports and yes, a built-in flash that’s perfect for its target market.

Performance

One significant problem with budget-oriented cameras is the lack of a good autofocus system – something that’s crucial for camera novices. Luckily, the R50’s hybrid phase-detect autofocus is very solid. A simplified version of the AF from high end cameras like the R3, it tenaciously follows subjects and captures sharp photos.

It can track eyes, faces and heads, along with animals including dogs, cats, birds and horses. It also tracks vehicles like race cars, bicycles, trains and airplanes. You can either let the system choose a subject, or tap the touchscreen to select it yourself.

Steve Dent for Engadget

Performance is a little less dependable for animals and vehicles than it is for people. And subject tracking will often drop the subject if you’re too far away from it. But overall, the AI system is dependable, particularly with people.

That serves it well for burst shooting, which is surprisingly fast for such a small camera. It can grab frames at up to 12 fps in mechanical shutter mode or 15 fps in silent electronic mode. However, you’re limited to 42 JPEG images in a burst and just 7 uncompressed RAWs, due to the small buffer and slow memory card slots.

On top of the usual manual and auto shooting modes, the R50 has creative settings for beginners including something called A+ Advanced Auto. If it detects a scene that’s tricky to shoot due to high contrast or darkness, it takes four shots and combines them into a single JPEG image, much like smartphones have done for years. The results can be pleasing, but may also look overprocessed.

As you’d expect, there’s no in-body stabilization, so you’ll need to rely on optically stabilized lenses for that – and there are only two of those in the APS-C lineup. Those only deliver 4 stops of shake reduction, but it’s enough to allow for sharp shots at 1/10th of a second or so. When using the silent shutter function, beware that some rolling shutter effect is present, but it’s reasonably well controlled.

Image quality

As the R50 shares the R10’s 24-megapixel sensor, photo quality is nearly the same. For normal shooting, I saw color accurate photos with skin tones leaning on the warm side as is typical with Canon’s color science. JPEGs strike a good balance between sharpening and noise reduction, while RAW files allow for a decent amount of room to tweak images.

Low-light performance isn’t amazing, though. ISO 6400 is pretty much a hard limit, and even then you won’t have a lot of room to boost blacks without getting tons of noise. And you don’t have in-body stabilization to help at low shutter speeds.

Luckily, the R50 does have a built-in flash that can fill in if you’re lacking light. Just make sure to dial the illumination levels down in the settings to avoid blowing out your subject.

Video

Where the EOS R10 offers cropped 4K 60p video, the R50 is limited to 4K 30p. Luckily, that is uncropped, however, and supersampled from 6K. You’re limited to 1080p for slow-mo, but luckily it can shoot up to 120fps, though 60fps is considerably sharper.

It’s the cheapest camera on the market by far with 10-bit mode via the HDR PQ mode, though the footage requires some tweaking for normal usage. A C-Log mode that might boost dynamic range isn’t available, but it’s not really necessary for its intended market segment.

Steve Dent for Engadget

For a relatively small and cheap camera, the R50 offers excellent video quality. The oversampled video is very sharp, and colors are accurate and human friendly. The fact that 4K video isn’t cropped is a huge plus for vloggers.

The autofocus is also outstanding for a camera in this price bracket, with tenacious tracking that keeps focus sharp in most circumstances. It also has a “close-up demo mode” that works much like Sony’s product showcase mode, quickly switching focus from your face to any object you bring up to the camera.

The digital stabilization is OK for walking and talking, as long as you try to move smoothly. All of these things make the R50 an excellent camera for vloggers and content creators ready to step up from a smartphone.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent for Engadget

With the R50, Canon has found a good balance between power and affordability. Where the R10 has a lot of competition at its higher $980 price point, the $680 R50 has only a few rivals

Its main competition is Sony’s $700 ZV-E10, which is slightly better for vlogging but not as good for photography. Another option is the $700 Nikon Z30, which offers a similar feature set but lacks an EVF and has less reliable autofocus.

If those models are too much, Canon just released the $480 R100, the least expensive new mirrorless camera on the market. Content creators may lean toward the Sony ZV-E10, but if you’re looking for a solid hybrid camera that can do everything, Canon’s R50 is a great choice.

The Neopets Team has huge plans for the once-beloved virtual pet website in hopes that it could finally catch up with the times. In a lengthy post on Medium, the team has announced that a new Neopets website is coming on July 20th. It'll still live on the same URL, but it'll contain all the brand's announcements and links to all its different games and products. The people behind the revamp are currently trying to resolve bugs and mobile browser compatibility issues. They're also exploring the use of Ruffle, a Flash player emulator, to make old Flash-based Neopets games playable again. 

The company that owned Neopets planned to create an animated show based on the once-beloved virtual pet website, but it failed to release the series before it shut down. In its announcement, the Neopets team has revealed that it's under new leadership and has raised over $4 million in funding for its future projects. The team members definitely seem optimistic for the future of the brand.

In fact, the team doesn't intend to stop with a revamped website. Apparently, it has decided to transition to a mobile app and to build a social life-simulation game called World of Neopets from the ground up. At the moment, the plan is to develop a game from the perspective of a Neopet. Players will be able to decorate their homes, explore lands in 3D and play mini-games with their friends, akin to titles like Animal Crossing. It sounds like the project is still in its very early stages, though, and it remains to be seen if it will materialize.

As our homes continue to get smarter, so does the need for additional precautions across devices. Now, the federal government is taking steps to make it easier for you to know the safety of certain devices. The Biden-Harris administration has announced the "US Cyber Trust Mark" program, which would certify and label Internet of Things (such as baby monitors and alarm systems) with powerful cybersecurity. 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will determine the necessary cybersecurity qualifications for consumer-grade routers by the end of 2023. Bad actors can manipulate consumer-grade routers without strong security in place for eavesdropping and cyber attacks on other devices. Its criteria will determine if a product should be labeled and certified, using factors like incident detection capabilities and strong default passwords. At the same time, the US Department of Energy is working with National Labs, among other partners, to determine the best path forward to classify smart meters and power inverters as meeting cybersecurity requirements.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is filing for a national trademark to put on all certified items, and it plans to create a QR code that links to a database of products. "We knew that we didn't want to create a label that said this product had been certified and secured and then stayed secure forever," a White House official told reporters. "The QR code will give you up-to-date information on the ongoing adherence to cyber security standards." Companies such as Logitech, Best Buy, Samsung Electronics and Amazon have expressed their support and intentions to improve cybersecurity in their product offerings.