Those looking for new portable drives, SD cards and other storage gadgets have a bunch of discounted items to choose from today. Amazon has a one-day sale that knocks up to 25 percent off drives from Western Digital and up to 30 percent off microSD cards, thumb drives and more from SanDisk, Lexar and other brands. While we'll likely see discounts tomorrow during Black Friday proper as well, most of the devices in these sales have lower prices for today only.
Some highlights in the drive sale are the SanDisk Extreme portable drive in 2TB, which is 60 percent off and down to $185, plus the Crucial X6 in 2TB and the SanDisk Ultra NAND SSD in 4TB, which are down to $143 and $300 respectively. The SanDisk Extreme portable drive is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and it's pretty durable thanks to its IP55-rated design with two-meter drop protection. It also has optional password protection, 256‐bit AES hardware encryption and up to 1,050 MB/s read and up to 1,000 MB/s write speed. Crucial's X6 is also quite compact, with read speeds up to 540 MB/s and a shock and vibration-proof design.
Either of those would make good portable drives for most people, while the SanDisk Ultra NAND SSD is better for anyone looking to upgrade their computer's internal storage. It supports sequential read speeds of up to 560 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 530 MB/s, and when half off like it is today, it's a great choice for PC gamers looking to add a speedy SSD to their setup.
Highlights in the other memory sale include a number of Nintendo Switch-compatible microSD cards and some Lexar Professional SD cards. You can grab an officially licensed 256GB SanDisk microSD card for the Switch for $37, or 31 percent off, but if you're looking for the most storage possible, we recommend Lexar's 1TB Play microSD card, which is down to a record low of $128. And photographers and videographers may want to pick up one of Lexar's Professional 2000x SD cards to add to their gear while the 64GB model is on sale for $60 and the 128GB card is down to $100.
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Fortnite and Final Fantasy. A doomed pairing of the most lucrative recent gaming phenomenon with one of the most storied video-game franchises spanning over 30 years? I love Final Fantasy, mostly. I’m lukewarm on Fortnite and the battle royale format in general. With Metroid Dread, Shin Megami Tensei, Alan Wake Remastered and Deathloop on my to-do list, why am I still glued to a free-to-play mobile game?
Probably because it’s expanding the already very-expanded Final Fantasy VII universe. The game that got the sequel CGI movie, the remake, multiple mobile games and more. And yet, barring a smart intro movie that cribs from the opening scenes of FF7R, you won’t see the protagonists (or antagonists) of the iconic RPG — though you’ll be able to cosplay as them.
In First Soldier, you play as, well, recruits looking to become the first Soldier — a specific top-class army member. Cloud, from FFVII, is introduced in the original as “Soldier, First Class” and this game takes everything back 30 years to the early formation of Shinra Corp’s military finest.
The setting, then, is a battle royale to see how augmented soldiers fare against each other (and whatever beasts come their way in the process). The battleground is a surprisingly expansive map on the outskirts of Midgar — while also featuring many of the major landmarks of Midgar’s sectors. Aerith’s church and childhood home is there to be shot at, as is the arena, Sector 7’s markets, the abandoned trainyard and more. The battle theme of FF7 kicks in as helicopters swarm into the area, dropping off recruits. It still gets me excited every time.
The grounds are littered with guns, from handguns to sniper rifles, as well as materia (magic orbs that offer both offensive and support capabilities) and even pretty rare summoning spells. I've yet to summon anything so far. There are also potions to pick up and help extend your chances of survival.
These are the baseline weapons and items. Differentiating itself from Fortnite — if not all BR games; we see you Apex and Warzone — you can also choose a job role, a la most RPGs. This mostly affects your special ability, your melee weapon and how you attack with it. Warrior is a straight-shooting class with a sword and a rush special that closes distance so you can wallop your rivals before they can get a shot in. Monks have the ability to heal themselves when they mete out damage, while Ninjas get an extra jump and the ability to hide in stealth mode for a few seconds.
Sorcerers come with a special ability that supercharges MP recovery for more regular offensive (and healing spells), while the ranger reloads guns faster than the others — and has a very convenient Assess skill that will mark threats around you even when they’re out of sight.
Each feels slightly different to play with, but there’s a pleasant balance to the different roles, though both soldier and monk suffer from having to rely on their melee attack for their advantages.
Let me say this outright; you should play First Soldier with a gamepad. Fortunately, I’m testing out Backbone, a third-party connected controller for iPhone that means I was already in a good place to aim my guns and spells. Magic casting controls are a bit messy — you’ll need to hold down an L-trigger while pressing another collar button to unleash one of three spells you may have picked up. Those melee attacks, which all job classes have, are really hard to land on your enemies, regardless of whether you’re using a gamepad or touch controls. Hopefully, the devs are able to finesse melee attacks as the game progresses.
This means that, in a rather un-Final Fantasy way, you’ll come to depend on your guns for most of your kills. But hey, getting that sniper headshot kill is a thrill. Killing other players or monsters, opening chests and surviving through the rounds will level up your character through the match itself. This adds to your attack damage and increases your HP, meaning you should also last longer. It also rewards proactive play and exploration, and not just trying to survive to the final area.
As you might expect from a free-to-play battle royale game, there are season passes available for purchase. These offer up skins, banners, emotes and more cosmetic goodies for wannabe Soldiers. Even without a pass, you can earn a few rewards by fulfilling “rank” criteria during the battles. Gain stars, level up your rank — which is unrelated to leveling up your individual job ranks — and you’ll gain access to a smattering of wardrobe options or chocobo-raising items. I’m currently wearing a moogle hat, please say hi.
Square Enix
Yes, there’s also a chocobo rearing mini-game buried inside First Soldier, and you’re able to summon your favorite steed to the battles as a very handy transport option. It isn’t the only way to speed around levels, however. There are also cars and bikes to get you within the battle arena. The shrinking arena damages anyone outside its perimeter, but you’re able to persist with potions and healing spells and hopefully make it to safety.
The only drawback growing, as I play, is the fact that my leveling up has no tangible effect on my performance in the game — which is true of most battle royale games. The appeal is that each new battle isn’t affected by the round before it, but then chasing these goals (play two rounds as a warrior; make 300 pts of damage with a shotgun; visit Corneo’s mansion) soon tires. What exactly is the point?
For now, the point is that First Soldier skirmishes are entertaining, and the difficulty curve isn’t too brutal. I’ve won a few rounds, out of 75 players, and come second a handful of times. One colleague told me that early iterations of battle royale games are often filled with bots to juice the numbers (and offer up some encouraging early wins) but I will not let him take this tiny victory away from me.
Hopefully Square Enix has plans to offer more levels, weapons and events to spice it up. There are some limited-edition bosses throughout the Midgar level. I’ve managed to best two of them, but I’ve also been felled by Tonberry — a notoriously powerful monster from the Final Fantasy series— a few too many times. Maybe I should try fighting him as a ninja...
HTC's Vive Cosmos is one of the best VR headsets out there, but if we're being real, it's always been a bit too expensive. Now, you can buy that model from Amazon during Black Friday sales for $399 instead of $549, the biggest discount we've seen yet. Amazon also has deals on other HTC headsets and bundles, so it's a good time to jump in if you've been waiting for a sale.
The Vive Cosmos must be tethered to a PC, but there's no need to install sensors thanks to the inside-out tracking system that works well, according to our Engadget review. It's strongest feature is the bright and sharp screens with very high 2,880 x 1,700 pixel resolution across both eyes, along with decent 90 Hz refresh rates. The biggest downside is the price, as it's far more expensive than Oculus headsets — but the sale brings it on par with rivals. Note that the controllers aren't included.
On top of the standalone headset, you can get a good deal on the HTC Cosmos Elite bundle designed for gamers. Rather than using the inside-out-tracking, the Elite's headset comes preinstalled with an External Tracking Faceplate that can be paired with base stations for higher precision. It includes two base stations and a pair of Vive controllers, along with the Vive Cosmos headset — and now costs $649 instead of $899 for a savings of $250 (28 percent).
HTC's Vive Pro headset and bundles are also on sale at Amazon at the best prices we've seen. The HTC Vive Pro offers features like 1,440 x 1,600 pixel resolution per eye on the OLED screens, great ergonomics and built-in headphones. They're not for everyone because of the price, as we noted in our review, but you can now pick up the HTC Vive Pro system, including the headset, base stations and controllers 2.0 for $899 instead of $1,199.
HTC's Vive Pro Eye improves on that with the addition of eye-tracking that uses Tobii's technology. It can follow users' eyeballs in real time, letting developers gather data on where they're looking and when, allowing for new and more immersive experiences. It also allows for foveated rendering, increasing resolution based on where a user is looking. You can now pick up the HTC Vive Pro Eye headset only for $599 instead of $799, and grab the HTC Vive Pro Eye VR system for $1,099, down from the regular $1,399 price.
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Spotify is testing a new feature called Discover that lets users scroll through a feed of vertical videos and skip or like them, much as you do on TikTok, TechCrunch has reported. The feature was spotted in the latest version of Spotify's beta iOS TestFlight build by Chris Messina, who tweeted that it appeared as a fourth icon in Spotify's iOS toolbar.
Discover looks to be a way for users to find new music in an intuitive, rapid way, by swiping up and down to move through the feed. You can tap on a heart to like the song, or hit the three-dot menu to bring up Spotify's standard information card about the song.
Not only that, @Spotify Discover is basically a pared down version of a TikTok-style feed of vertical music videos (likely using their canvas format) that you can like or skip.#NewSpotifypic.twitter.com/hpOEZ8v9bl
The format may use Spotify's Canvas format, Messina notes. That allows artists to create videos to go along with songs, rather than just static images, and appears on certain songs instead of the standard album art when you play a video. They can be in the form of standard video and mixed media, along with 2D and 3D graphics. In pitching the feature, Spotify tells artists that Canvas boosts key engagement metrics like sharing, adding to playlists and visiting profile pages.
Spotify confirmed to TechCrunch that it's testing the feature, but declined to share further details like how it would curate feeds. "At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience," a spokesperson said. "Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We don’t have any further news to share at this time."
Spotify is far from the first platform to flatter TikTok through imitation. Instagram's Reels and YouTube Shorts are virtual clones of TikTok, and even Netflix recently introduced a TikTok-like comedy feed called Fast Laughs. It's not clear yet if Spotify's discovery feature will make it out of beta, but it looks like a useful way to find new music.
If you're in the market for a budget-friendly smart speaker or two (or three) this Black Friday, it might be worth casting a glance in Amazon's direction. Several Echo devices went on sale last week, and now you can save on more. Among them is the Echo Dot with Clock. It's $35 at the moment, which is $25 lower than the regular price. These are the lowest prices we've seen for either device.
The Echo Dot is a smaller version of the Echo speaker. Amazon changed the design last year from a flat hockey-puck look to a spherical one. The Echo Dot with Clock is pretty much the same device save for the addition of an LED clock display..
We gave the Echo Dot a score of 88 in our review, finding that it offered decent sound quality for the price. The 3.5mm audio out jack is a plus, as is the option to tap the speaker to snooze the alarm. There are physical volume controls, a mic mute button and a button that activates Alexa without having to say the wake word. The voice assistant is the main way people will interact with the device, of course.
Elsewhere, Amazon has discounted a bundle of the Echo Show 8 and a Blink Mini camera. They typically cost $165 when buying them together, but the bundle is available right now for $95.
Amazon upgraded the Echo Show 8 over the summer with a faster processor and better camera than the previous model. When you're on a video call, the device can follow you around a room using digital panning and zooming. In our review, we highlighted the quality of the display and audio.
Nicole Lee/Engadget
You can use the smart display to watch a live feed from the Blink Mini. The indoor camera captures video at a resolution of 1080p, and it offers motion detection and two-way audio. Users can control the Blink Mini with another supported Alexa-enabled device or the Blink app too.
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Amazon isn't quite done with its Black Friday e-reader deals. After it put several other Kindles on sale, the company has dropped the price of the latest Kindle Paperwhite from $140 to $105.
The fifth-gen Paperwhite, the first refresh in three years, was announced in September. It has a larger screen than the previous model at 6.8 inches (the last-gen Paperwhite had a six-inch display). Amazon claims the 300 ppi screen looks like real paper and the glare-free screen enables "easy reading" in any condition, including direct sunlight. Having a screen that's said to be 10 percent brighter than the last model's will certainly help.
In addition, there's a white-on-black dark mode and revamped interface, while Amazon says page turns are 20 percent faster. The fifth-gen Paperwhite is water resistant and there's support for USB-C fast charging.
Meanwhile, the Kindle Oasis is on sale too. The 8GB model, which typically costs $250, is currently available for $175. The e-reader was previously on sale for that price during this year's Prime Day.
The Oasis also has a 300 ppi display, though the screen is slightly larger than the Paperwhite at seven inches. It has physical page turn buttons, an IPX8 waterproof rating and a color-adjustable front light.
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Dune has exited HBO Max a month after it came out on the streaming service, but you may soon have the chance to watch it on a much bigger screen. The Denis Villeneuve adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel is returning to IMAX theaters on December 3rd for a limited time only. As Deadline notes, most IMAX locations will show the film with a 1.90:1 aspect ratio, which adds up to 26 percent more picture. Select locations will show it in 1.43 aspect ratio, though, which adds up to 40 percent more picture for the film.
Villeneuve and his crew filmed Dune with IMAX cameras, capturing sceneries and backgrounds with the format's massive screens in mind. Like we said in our review of the movie, this adaptation of Dune demands to be seen on something bigger that a TV if you want to truly be able appreciate Villeneuve's visual world-building.
In case you'd really rather not go to theaters, you'll get more chances to stream the movie in the future. Dune hit HBO Max on October 21st, the same day it came out in theaters. It was only available for streaming on the service for a month, as per Warner Bros. current release strategy, but it will be out on other digital platforms on December 3rd and will be back on HBO Max sometime next year.
American regulators might soon offer much more insight into the legality of cryptocurrency deals. Bloombergreports the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have shared a roadmap of their crypto priorities for 2022, and they're primarily focused on "greater clarity" around the legal status of transactions. This might include everything from stablecoin releases through to loan collateral and the presence of crypto on company balance sheets.
The three agencies also hope to study how they can apply bank capital and liquidity standards to US bank organizations. The roadmap isn't locked in place — the organizations said they might tackle other issues as the marketplace changes.
The outline follows a wave of crypto policy "sprints" that helped decide the regulatory priorities for the year ahead. The Reserve, FDIC and OCC aimed for common ground that included pinpointing risks and determining the usefulness of existing rules.
This roadmap might not lead to a concrete strategy. There's also no guarantee this will work in crypto holders' favor. US regulatory bodies have historically erred on the side of caution, and it won't be shocking if cryptocurrency users have to scale back or even stop certain activities to stay on the right side of the law.
In a rare move to avoid a potential conflict with the Federal Aviation Administration, AT&T and Verizon say they will limit the power output of their 5G cell towers for a period of six months while the agency investigates the effects of C-band spectrum on aircraft safety systems. According to The Wall Street Journal, the carriers made the offer on Wednesday in a letter they sent to the Federal Communications Commission.
“While we remain confident that 5G poses no risk to air safety, we are also sensitive to the Federal Aviation Administration’s desire for additional analysis of this issue,” AT&T and Verizon wrote. Should the FAA accept the proposal, the limit will extend to July 6th. AT&T and Verizon told the FCC they don’t expect the limits to impact their services.
At the start of November, both companies agreed to delay their C-band rollouts by one month to January 2022. Officials with the FAA worry widespread use of C-band spectrum may interfere with the altimeter equipment on some aircraft. Pilots often rely on those tools when they need to land, especially when visibility conditions aren’t favorable.
Both AT&T and Verizon have a strong financial incentive to avoid any further delays to their C-band rollout. The two carriers spent a combined $68.8 billion to secure the necessary licenses for their mid-band buildouts and an additional $15 billion on the necessary infrastructure to take advantage of that spectrum.
The Pentagon has established a new group to investigate UFO sightings. The Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) will succeed the US Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. According to the Defense Department, “AOIMSG will synchronize efforts across the Department and the broader US government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in Special Use Airspace (SUA), and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security.”
The formation of the task force follows the release of a report in June in which the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) examined 144 sightings of “unidentified aerial phenomenon.” Only in one instance were officials able to determine what caused a sighting. For every other incident detailed in that report, ODNI said there was too little data for it to conclude what happened. If the US government were to have any chance at better understanding UFOs, ODNI said it would need to deploy more resources and a standardized approach across various agencies. It would appear the Defense Department has taken that recommendation to heart.
