The US government has no higher award with which to honor a civilian's achievements than the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Handed out at the discretion of the Commander in Chief, the MoF celebrates "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." President Biden announced the first slate of MoF recipients of his administration on Friday, a list that includes former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.
President Biden's nominees for this award class number 17. They include luminaries like Olympic-winning gymnast Simone Biles, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Gold Star Father Khizr Khan, former US Senator John McCain (posthumous), former president of the AFL-CIO Richard Trumka (posthumous), and the most clearly worthy recipient of the group, Denzel Washington.
Between the July 4th holiday and Amazon Prime Day coming up in a couple of weeks, there are a bunch of tech deals available right now. Solo Stove's Independence Day sale knocks up to 45 percent off fire pits, while our favorite ThermoWorks food thermometer is down to only $79. Early Prime Day sales bring Eero 6 router packs and Blink security camera kits down to record-low prices, and you can still pick up a Google Nest WiFi router for as low as $115. Here are the best 4th of July tech sales we could find.
Apple Watch Series 7
Engadget
Most colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $329 at Amazon, or $80 off their normal price. This is our current favorite smartwatch and we gave it a score of 90 for its larger display, faster charging and handy watchOS features.
Amazon has discounted most Eero 6 systems ahead of Prime Day. If you're a Prime member, you can snag the Eero 6 WiFi system for as low as $71, the Eero 6+ for as little as $90, the Eero Pro 6 starting at $148 and the Eero Pro 6E for only $179. These are some of the best prices we've seen on all of these WiFi 6 systems, especially for the Eero 6+ and Eero Pro 6E, both of which just came out earlier this year.
Today is the last day Prime members can get a bundle with the Echo Show 5 and the Ring Video Doorbell for only $85. That's 54 percent off what the pack would normally cost, so this is a solid deal if you're looking to add another level of security to your home. The smart doorbell will show you who's outside your home and the Echo Show 5 can show you the feed from the doorbell's camera.
A number of Google Nest WiFi packs are on sale right now. You can pick up one router for $115 or a three-pack with one router and two access points for $199. We like this system for its minimalist design, easy setup and built-in Google Assistant smart speaker.
Solo Stove's latest sale knocks up to 45 percent off fire pits, so you can grab one for as low as $200. The Ranger is the cheapest of the bunch, followed by the midsized Bonfire for $220. Both of those are fairly portable, but if you want the biggest possible fire pit for your backyard, you can pick up the 38-pound Yukon for $400.
Sonos has discounted a bunch of refurbished devices again, bringing many of them down to the best prices we've seen. A refurbished Arc soundbar is $360 off and down to $540 while the refurbished Sonos One SL is on sale for $119.
Samsung's 980 Pro SSD is 33 percent off and down to $140, which is one of the best prices we've seen. It earned a spot in our PS5 SSD guide for its reliability, compact, M.2 form factor and read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s. You will need a heatsink to use it with the PS5, but you can grab a bundle that includes one with the drive for only $170.
Prime members can save big on Blink Indoor and Outdoor cameras ahead of Prime Day. The Indoor camera kits start at $55 while the Outdoor kits start at $60. Plus, the Blink Mini wired security camera is on sale for $30 while the Blink Video Doorbell is down to only $35.
Anova's Precision Cooker Nano sous vide machine is on sale for $99 right now, or 34 percent off its normal rate. This machine earned a spot on our list of favorite kitchen gadgets because it combines affordability and precision in a compact package. It can also connect via Bluetooth to your phone so you can control temperature and time settings from within its app.
The red, white and blue colors of the Thermapen One are down to $79 for the Independence Day holiday. This is one of our favorite instant-read thermometers for cooking thanks to its fast readings, improved accuracy and bright display.
In a rare sale, Wahoo Fitness has knocked up to 25 percent off its devices, from pedals to full bikes. You can pick up pedals for as low as $120, while the Elemnt Bolt bike computer is down to $240 and the Kickr smart trainer is on sale for $960.
Through July 4th, you can get 20 percent off sitewide at Satechi with the code JULY20 at checkout. That makes it a good time to grab a USB-C hub for your laptop, a new wireless keyboard or a charging stand for your phone.
If you’re a Comcast Xfinity TV customer looking to move all of our TV watching into a single platform, then grab your finest off-brand champagne. The company has announced that the Xfinity Stream app is now available on Apple TV, both in its vanilla and 4K flavors. And users won’t just be able to watch live and on-demand programming, they’ll also be able to access material they’ve stored on their DVR, so long as they’re within the home.
This is also the first opportunity to see the freshly-redesigned Xfinity Stream app, with what Comcast is calling a “new, more intuitive user interface.” You’ll also get improved personalization recommendations and editorial picks to help you find your next great show. Which will go nicely enough with the remainder of the off-brand champagne you’ll be toasting with, surely.
Sonos has discounted many of its refurbished speakers to some of the best prices we've seen. A refurbished Arc will set you back just about $540, which is a whopping $360 cheaper than a brand new model. The Sonos Five, one of our favorite music-focused speakers, normally costs $549, but a refurbished model is on sale for just over $373, so you can save about $175. And if you're looking to get your first Sonos speaker, we recommend the Sonos One SL, which you can pick up refurbished for only $119.
You might be hesitant to buy a refurbished gadget, and that's why it's important to check out the conditions of a company's refurbished program before doing so. Sonos includes all necessary accessories, manuals and replacement parts with its refurbished devices, and they come with the same one-year warranty as new items, too. Considering how expensive it can get to build your dream home entertainment system (whether with all Sonos devices or not), going the refurbished route is a good option if you're on a budget.
The Sonos Arc soundbar is one of our favorites and we gave it a score of 85 when it first came out. We like its modern design, excellent sound quality, support for Dolby Atmos and directional audio, plus its ability to recalibrate to your living room when you add additional speakers into the mix. The Sonos Five, on the other hand, is really for music lovers and those who want the best audio quality possible. We also appreciate its simple setup process and how easily it can be added to existing Sonos systems.
Alternatively, the Sonos One SL is a good option for those who don't have a sound system in place yet. It's the microphone-free version of the Sonos One, which means it's also good for those who don't care to have a virtual assistant speaker in their homes. It has a compact yet attractive design, great sound quality, WiFi and AirPlay 2 support, and stereo audio capabilities when you pair two of them together. Plus, it's one of the cheaper options you can get from Sonos — a brand new one costs $199, which isn't bad, but grabbing a refurbished model for $119 is even better.
Ducati has unveiled not just its first electric motorcycle but a key piece in the 2023 season of MotoE e-motocycle racing, it announced. The V21L prototype has that classic Ducati look but is swathed in carbon fiber and packs a 150HP electric motor with a 18kWh battery. As detailed in an announcement last year, Ducati will be the exclusive supplier of all 18 bikes used for FIM MotoE World Cup racing from 2023-2026.
It weighs in at 225 kilograms (496 pounds), with just under half the weight for the battery — very heavy for a racing bike (143 pounds more than ICE models), but still 26 pounds under the MotoE specification for 2023. It's also 35 kg (77 pounds) less than the Energica e-motocycles currently used in MotoE racing.
The V21L can be charged to 80 percent in just 45 minutes and has enough range to complete the required seven laps of key GP tracks. It has reportedly hit speeds of up to 171 MPH at the Mugello MotoGP Circuit in Tuscany.
The e-motorbike is quite a bet by (and on) Ducati considering it's never done one before, but the company said it used its extensive racing experience to design the model. At the same time, it'll take racing lessons learned back to its consumer models.
"At this moment, the most important challenges in this field remain those related to the size, weight, autonomy of the batteries and the availability of the charging networks," said Ducati R&D director Vincenzo De Silva in a statement. "Helping the company's internal expertise to grow is already essential today to be ready when the time comes to put the first street electric Ducati into production."
Non-fungible tokens have arrived on Facebook. Meta has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has started giving select creators in the US the power to post digital collectibles on their profiles. While it's unclear if and when the feature will make its way to more users — Meta called the release a "slow rollout" — company CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously said that Meta was going to test NFT support on the social network. Meta Product Manager Navdeep Singh has posted photos on Twitter of what NFT integration would look like on Facebook's, and similar to Instagram's implementation, creators will have a digital collectibles tab on their profile where they can show off their NFTs.
Creators will be able to post their collectibles as status updates that people can comment on and react to, and clicking on them shows information on the artwork. According to Decrypt, Facebook will allow users to link their compatible digital wallets with the website, similar to how they can do so on Instagram. At the moment, Facebook supports NFTs minted on Ethereum and Polygon, though it will soon support Solana and Flow NFTs, as well.
We're launching NFTs on Facebook! Excited to share what I've been working on with the world. pic.twitter.com/TaV66zRanV
Meta started testing NFT integration on Instagram in May, promising additional related features, such as allowing users to display their pieces as augmented reality stickers in Stories. NFTs are perhaps a more fitting addition to Instagram than Facebook, based on the platforms' userbase, but Meta is determined to make them a part of its products. Zuckerberg wrote in the post announcing the arrival of digital collectibles on Instagram: "We're starting building for NFTs, not just in our metaverse and Reality Labs work, but also across our family of apps."
In 1982, when the BBC’s prime-time technology show – Tomorrow’s World – did a segment on a new musical format called the “Compact Disc” the presenter skeptically asked "Whether there's a market for this, remains to be seen". We all know what happened next, but even in the early ‘80s the benefits of CDs should have been clear: high quality, non-degrading sound in a compact format. Oh, and you could even skip, shuffle and repeat tracks, which, in a pre-digital world, truly felt like the future
The Compact Disc turns 40 this year, and there are already signals the format is primed for a mini revival. For the first time in 17 years, CD sales actually went up - and by almost 50 percent, according to the RIAA’s sales database.
It’s still a long way from the format’s peak. In 2021, 46.6 million CDs were shipped in the US – compared to nearly a billion back in 2000. For context, that 46.6 million barely accounts for four percent of last year’s total music revenue. Vinyl albums, by contrast, sold fewer overall units (39.7M) but are more of a money spinner for artists (seven percent of total revenues).
Some reports claim that the uptick in CD sales is mostly due to mega-artists like Adele and BTS releasing new albums (the former’s 30 accounted for two percent of total CD sales alone). But there are other potential – and more practical – contributing factors, too, including the pandemic.
“CD sales are growing again now that retail stores are reopening and artists are back on tour. And while CDs haven’t yet seen the same type of revival as vinyl, the CD format remains a steady revenue stream for independent artists.” Rob Bach, COO of CD Baby told Engadget. They should know, as one of their services is the production and distribution of CDs for indie bands.
Kevin Breuner, SVP of Artist Engagement and Education for the company, thinks there’s an increasing appetite for CDs as memorabilia, rather than just as a way of playing music. “Part of it is that streaming hasn’t replaced anything at the merch table … the appeal of a physical item like a CD is that it’s a piece of memorabilia in a live setting, something you can have signed by artists. Similarly, for artists, there’s nothing that can replace when a fan goes back to the merch table to buy a CD or a t-shirt; it’s always been that way.”
There’s also the fact that what once seemed restrictive to younger listeners – having to own a song if you wanted to hear it – now presents a different way of enjoying music. A good album isn’t merely a collection of songs, but a structured experience to be enjoyed from start to finish. You can, of course, do this with streaming, but a CD requires getting up to change, Spotify is usually just a click away.
CDs launched in Japan in October 1982. The format and hardware to play it on didn’t land in the US and Europe until the following year. Adoption was relatively swift and just two years later the first million-selling CD album - Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits – would cement the shiny disc's popularity. By the early ‘90s, assisted by increasingly smaller, affordable and even portable players, the CD was the de facto way to listen to music. And for good reason.
In this new digital world, the CD format was consistent in a way that analog never could be. What became known as the “Red Book” standard – two-channel 16-bit PCM at 44.1kHz – would be the prevailing specification from there on out. When someone used to say “it’s CD quality” one might assume that’s what they were referring to.
This standard is considered the minimum requirement to be called “lossless” by today's streaming services. Of course, how or what you record at 16-bit/44.1 is really what matters, but that’s a whole other story.
Jamal Saidi / reuters
More important than any of this, for the labels and artists at least, is that the arrival of the CD meant they could re-sell us our entire music collection in the new wonder format. The ‘90s were a good time to be in the music industry, at least until Sean and Shawn came along.
There were other benefits to this new digital medium, too. And not just the aforementioned ability to skip/program/shuffle tracks. With CDs, you could hide bonus tracks in new ways that would otherwise be visible on a vinyl record or instantly found by anyone that left a cassette tape running.
Even more exciting? Once PCs started being a more common feature in homes, artists and labels realized you could bundle in entirely different bonus media like videos and karaoke versions – as found on some versions of Americana by The Offspring, for example.
Before we show you some ways you can enjoy/rediscover the joys of compact discs, bear in mind the experience was far from flawless.
Despite being more durable than vinyl, it definitely is possible to scratch a CD. When a record has a scratch, it’s almost charming. With CDs, it’s more like walking slowly through hell as they dig up the streets. If your disc was damaged, it also might work in some players yet, frustratingly, not in others. Many an hour has been wasted cleaning and reseating a CD in the hope it would take.
— Mother of the House of Shaming (@mmkayrulz) May 26, 2022
Of course, many CD players took only one disc, so you’d frequently be swapping them out. If you knew someone who had every CD in the right jewel case, that was often a tell that this person doesn’t listen to their music enthusiastically or often enough (It’s possible they were just slightly organized, but where’s the fun in that). This “which disc is in which case” problem became even worse when someone decided CD singles – one song you wanted and some less good songs on one disc – were a good idea.
Not to mention the fragility of the cases they came in. Jewel case hinges would crack just by looking at them, while center hubs (the part that held the disc in place) would crumble no matter how well you handled things. Most often while moving house or the aforementioned enthusiastic listening with friends.
Unlike other formats, the CD is unique in that it played a part in its own demise. With the advent of CD burners, you could easily copy your friends’ album collection, print out album artwork and even print circular stickers with the CD art on them, too. This was how music was stolen for the short period when CD burners and blank discs were affordable and online piracy hadn’t taken hold. The CD was then effectively relegated to the role of external storage medium before quietly regressing into obscurity. Until now, of course.
With those small challenges in mind, if you’re ready and willing to give the humble Compact Disc another, uhm, spin, here are some recommendations, new and old, cheap and not-so, to dive into the world of the CD.
Where to find CDs
Maybe you already have a collection, if so, you’re good to go. But if you’re new around here, you’re going to want to grab a few albums to get you started. For current, mainstream music you’ll be able to find a selection at Target and Walmart. Jeff Bezos will of course also happily sell you a CD. Tower Records also recently returned as an online-only store which also has a good selection of CDs. For more of an indie-artist focus, there’s of course Bandcamp – or the good old-fashioned merch stall at a gig.
You can, of course, also navigate the secondhand market either locally (thrift stores, local record shops) or online at places like Discogs, eBay or even apps like Letgo.
What you may already own
Aaron Souppouris / Engadget
Maybe, you have a CD player unironically in your front room right now. We admire the dedication. Or perhaps you have an old one in storage somewhere? But if you’re young enough to have gone straight to streaming, it’s worth asking family and friends in case they have one gathering dust somewhere.
That said, you might even own a CD player without even knowing it. If you have an Xbox with a disc drive, congratulations, you’re already in the club. PlayStation fans, however, need either a PS1 (original), a PS2 or a PS3, as after that Sony decided the functionality for audio discs was no longer needed.
Cheap and easy
There was a brief period where the only CD player in the house might well have been in your PC. Primarily used for installing software or the drivers for a peripheral (yeah, we know, bad times) the CD-ROM drive was also good for playing music too.
Most PC cases these days aren’t really made with a CD-R drive in mind, and the last Mac to include a CD drive was the 2012 MacBook Pro. That model was discontinued in 2016, the same year Apple nixed the iPhone’s headphone jack - a rough year for many music listeners.
No worries, there’s a sort of dongle for that. You can pick up a USB CD-Drive for a little over the price of one album, such as this one for a reasonable $22. You’ll also get DVD and CD burning functionality thrown in, which surely will also be due their own revivals before long.
A new take on a classic
James Trew / Engadget
For many, the advent of the portable CD player was a long time coming. But the format wasn’t entirely suited to being in motion. Not initially at least, with even the slightest of movements causing a disc to skip. Over time this was resolved as players were able to buffer more music to ride out those bumps.
NINM Labs’ “Long Time No See” portable CD player (approx $117) blends the best of the past with modern conveniences like Bluetooth and USB power. The transparent design gives off early-aughts Game Boy vibes, while a clever speaker “lid” accessory means you’re never without a way to listen to those discs. That said, there’s of course the aforementioned Bluetooth for connecting to speakers and headphones and even a good old fashioned headphone port.
What’s more, you can run the player directly from USB power or AA batteries. You can even charge said batteries while it’s connected over USB. And the whole thing is magnetic, too, so you can get creative with where you place it.
Taking things to a (much) higher level
James Trew / Engadget
For the most authentic experience, it has to be HiFi separates. In the ‘90s a good HiFi was the quickest way to let someone know you were serious about music. No MegaBASS or often even an EQ for these dedicated listeners, just pure unadulterated sound. They may also be seen with magic pebbles or some CDs in the freezer.
Cambridge Audio has been around long enough to know what makes a great CD player. Its CXC “player” comes right in at $700. The CXC doesn’t even convert the CD to audio, it passes the digital signal directly to… something else, as long as it has either S/PDIF coaxial or TOSLINK in puts. You may as well complete the look with Cambridge Audio’s CXA61 amplifier ($1,100) with a DAC. It’s the perfect companion for the CXC both in terms of looks and connectivity. Of course, spending $1,800 on fancy HiFi gear doesn’t always mean you’re set. You still need some speakers, so you might as well toss in the SX60 bookshelf set for the fully-loaded CD setup.
If you're looking to experiment more in the kitchen, sous vide cooking could be a way to do that. Anova makes a couple of WiFi-connected sous vide machines that we like, and our favorite, the Precision Cooker Nano, is back on sale for $99. That's 34 percent off and one of the best prices we've seen it, making it a good time to grab the entry-level device.
You'll need a couple of things to give sous vide a try, but the one that you probably don't already have at home is a machine like the Nano. This method of cooking involves putting food in a sealable bag and then cooking it in a water bath. Devices like the Nano constantly circulate that water while keeping it at a precise temperature so your food comes out perfectly done, not over- or undercooked.
Anova's Precision Cooker Nano earned a spot on our list of favorite kitchen gadgets because it combines affordability and precision in a compact device. Normally priced at $149, the Nano comes in at only 1.7 pounds and its small enough to fit in your kitchen's utensil drawer. It uses 750 watts of power to heat water for up to 3,000 hours before you'll need to recharge it, so you'll be able to conduct a number of sous vide tests before it needs more juice.
The Nano has onboard controls that you can use to adjust temperature and timing, or you can connect it via Bluetooth to your phone and do so via its companion mobile app. Unlike more expensive Anova machines, the Nano doesn't connect via WiFi, and it also has a fixed clamp that attaches to your cooking pot, rather than an adjustable one. Aside from those features, the biggest differences between the Nano and Anova's standard Precision Cooker lie in wattage and size. But we think the Nano is a great option for all home cooks, and sous vide newbies will find it especially easy to use.
NVIDIA has rolled out Experience Upgrade v9.1 for all Shield TV and TV Pro units, and one of the features it brings will make watching action movies without earphones more feasible for night owls. The new Night Listening mode can optimize sounds when it's switched on so that loud explosions are subdued while quiet dialogue gets emphasized even while the volume is on low. "Enjoy watching movies or playing games at night without disturbing your family," the company said in its announcement. To note, the new model is available while using HDMI audio only.
In addition to Night Listening, the latest update also enables Shield TVs to automatically switch to low latency game mode on all supported television and display models. So long as a display has Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), the streaming media device will be able to ensure that it's activated while a user is playing, whether it's a local game or something from the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service. By reducing latency, ALLM reduces lag and allows a smoother, more responsive gaming experience. Upgrade 9.1 comes with a few more features that include the ability to disable displaying HDR/Dolby Vision content and to get notifications when the microphone is turned on.
Shield TV's previous update brought Android 11 to all models and added access to a new Google Keyboard with support for voice searches. It also fixed a a vulnerability that allowed remote attackers to cause a permanent denial of service. While 9.1 doesn't come with a big security fix, it does include a bunch of bug fixes for both Shield TV app and devices.
Uber has released its second bi-annual safety report covering the period between 2019 and 2020. The headline statistic is that the ride sharing company received 3,824 reports of sexual assault or misconduct via its app during this time. In addition, 20 people were killed in assaults and 101 fatalities as a consequence of an Uber-related crash, although the company is keep to emphasize the majority of those cases were caused by a third-party driver.
Compared to the last safety report, which covered the years 2017 and 2018, the figures for sexual assault have fallen from 5,981 then to 3,824 now. As both The New York Times and Bloomberg say, this may have been related to the fall in demand caused by shelter-in-place orders caused by COVID-19. Uber said that more than 99.9 percent of its rides happen without incident, and that these disclosures are an affirmation of its commitment to safety rather than the opposite.
