Flickr is continuing to nudge users toward paid accounts under SmugMug’s ownership. The photo host has told users they’ll soon need Pro accounts to share “restricted and moderate” content. The company claimed the move would help Flickr provide “safer spaces for everyone” (including not-safe-for-work creators) and free up “resources” to improve Pro communities.
The service also wants to steer its more introverted users toward subscriptions. Flickr plans to restrict free users to 50 non-public shots (limited to private, friends or family). Any photos beyond that cap are “at risk of deletion,” Flickr said. The firm characterized this as a way to encourage sharing and socialization, but was quick to suggest Pro memberships to anyone affected.
Flickr said it would share timelines and other details as the relevant terms of service rolled out. The company also noted that deletions aren’t guaranteed. It hasn’t deleted a single over-the-limit image since it instituted the 1,000-photo cap for free users in 2018.
The paywall might have its advantages by discouraging spammers and others who might dump racy content on Flickr without caring about quality. However, it also raises barriers for newcomers looking to post risqué photography — they’ll have to shell out for Pro (ranging from $8.25 per month to $133 for two years) just to make their content available. This is, effectively, a bet that the increased number of paying customers will make up for anyone who leaves for alternative platforms.
Arturia is offering a solid deal on its MiniLab MkII, which may lower the barrier to entry for those who want to try making music with a MIDI keyboard. Not only has the company dropped the price to $99, a reduction of 25 percent, it bundled the MiniLab MkII with software worth over $400.
The MiniLab MkII is a portable, 25-key MIDI keyboard controller. It has 16 velocity and pressure-sensitive pads, the same number of rotary encoders and two touch strips for modulation and pitch bend. The USB-powered device has eight user control presets too.
The MiniLab MkII comes with Ableton Live Lite, a version of one of the most popular DAWs around. It offers dozens of instruments and effects. With Analog Lab Intro, you’ll get access to 500 presets, while UVI Grand Piano replicates the sound of the Steinway Model D grand piano. The bundle also includes Mini V, Stage-73 V and Rev PLATE-140 plugins.
At 3.3 lbs, the MiniLab MkII isn’t the most portable MIDI controller around. Still, it’s a great option for beginners.
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This week was a good one if you were looking for a good deal on the latest Apple gadgets. Not only are the AirPods Max still $100 off, but you can also grab the Apple Watch Series 7 for $339 and the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro for $200 less than usual. Elsewhere, Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones remain on sale for $278 and Amazon’s Echo Show 5 is 47 percent off and down to only $45. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
AirPods Max
Billy Steele/Engadget
Apple’s AirPods Max are $100 off right now, bringing them down to $449. We gave the premium headphones a score of 84 for their excellent sound quality, good ANC and reliable onboard controls.
The 512GB version of the 16-inch MacBook Pro is $200 cheaper than usual right now, bringing it down to $2,299. This is one of Apple’s latest and most powerful laptops and we gave it a score of 92 for its blazing fast performance, fantastic keyboard, lovely Liquid Retina XDR Display and array of ports.
Apple’s latest iPad mini is on sale for $459, which is $40 off its normal price. We gave the small tablet a score of 89 for its lovely display, refined design and excellent battery life.
Certain colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $339, or $60 off their normal price. Apple’s latest flagship smartwatch earned a score of 90 from us for its slightly larger display, faster charging and handy watchOS8 features.
Our current favorite pair of ANC headphones, Sony’s WH-1000XM4, are down to $278 right now. That’s $72 off their usual price and close to an all-time low. They earned a score of 94 from us for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
The Bose QC45 headphones are on sale for $279, which is their all-time-low price that we saw last Black Friday. We gave the cans a score of 86 for their excellent sound quality, strong ANC and comfortable fit.
The second-gen Echo Show 5 is on sale for $45, or 47 percent off its normal price. You can also pick up the Kids version for only $55. It earned a score of 85 from us for its great sound quality, tap-to-snooze feature and compact design.
Google’s second-gen Nest Hub is down to $55, or $45 off its usual price. We gave it a score of 89 for its minimalist design, clearer audio quality and bright display.
A two-pack of the Google Nest WiFi system is on sale for $189 across the web. That’s only $10 more than the pack was during the holiday shopping season last year, so this is a solid sale. We gave the mesh WiFi system a score of 84 for its minimalist design, simple installation process and built-in Google Assistant smart speaker.
A number of Tile trackers are up to 20 percent off at Amazon. You can pick up the 2022 Tile Mate Essentials pack for $68, a two-pack of Tile Stickers for $45 or a single Tile Mate for only $20. These tiny gadgets attach to your belongings so you can keep track of them using Tile’s companion mobile app.
A number of Samsung gaming monitors are on sale again, including the Odyssey Neo G9 mini-LED display, which is $500 off and down to $2,000. If that’s still a bit too far outside your budget, you can grab the 34-inch Odyssey G5 gaming monitor for $430; the 32-inch Odyssey G3 monitor for $230 or the 24-inch Odyssey G3 gaming monitor for $180.
Shark’s robot vacuum with self-cleaning base is down to $500 right now, or $150 off its normal price. You’re getting a powerful robo-vac that can clean carpets and hard floors easily, and it has support for UltraClean Mode, LiDAr navigation, home mapping and more. Plus, you’ll only have to empty its clean base about once every two months.
The Fire TV Cube is back down to a record low of $70, or 42 percent off its normal price. We gave it a score of 84 when it came out for its 4K streaming with Dolby Vision and HDR+, speedy performance and hands-free Alexa controls.
The T7 Touch portable SSD in 1TB is on sale for $140 right now. This palm-sized drive works with most devices thanks to the duo of cables it comes with, and it supports 1,050 MB/s read speeds, 1,000 MB/s write speeds, AES 256-bit encryption and Dynamic Thermal Guard.
Kobo’s Libra 2 e-reader is $20 off and down to $180. We like its ergonomic, waterproof design, its sharp 7-inch display and ability to play audiobooks.
Kohler’s high-tech shower head is down to a record low price of $99. It works as a regular shower head but it’s Alexa-enabled, so you can do things like play music and add things to your shopping list while you’re bathing. It also has a magnetic, removable speaker so you can take it with you around the house.
The Beats Studio Buds are 20 percent off and down to $120. We gave these true wireless earbuds a score of 84 for their tiny, comfortable design, good sound quality and quick-pairing on both Android and iOS.
Sony’s 55-inch Bravia XR OLED set is $600 off right now, bringing it down to $2,200. In addition to deep blacks and the improved contrast that comes with OLED TVs, this set also supports XR Motion Clarity, HDMI 2.1, Acoustic Surface Audio+ and Alexa voice commands.
Fitbit’s most advanced smartwatch, the Sense, is down to £189 right now. That’s not a record low, but it’s still 37 percent off its usual rate. We gave it a score of 82 for its comprehensive health tracking features and big, bold display.
There’s no denying that Apple’s Studio Display is beautifully designed and looks like a very premium monitor. It also comes with features like built-in speakers and also a webcam, saving users the effort of using their own webcams. With the webcam featuring a 12MP sensor and using the A13 chip to power Center Stage, you’d think it’d be pretty good, right?
Unfortunately, it seems that after making very good progress with its more recent webcam upgrades to the M1 iMac and new MacBook Pros, surprisingly enough the Studio Display’s webcam looks terrible. This is according to multiple reviews such as from The Verge and Daring Fireball, both of whom found the webcam to be very disappointing.
However, there is some good news because when The Verge reached out to Apple, the company did acknowledge the quality issue and also stated that they plan to release an update in the future that would address it. There is no mention of when that update is expected to arrive or what exactly is the issue causing this subpar quality, but hopefully it will be able to fix it.
In the meantime, if you did order a Studio Display and plan on using the built-in webcam, don’t be surprised if it isn’t as good as you would have expected from a 12MP sensor powered by an A13 Bionic chipset.
Valve’s new Steam Deck handheld console supports streaming via Steam Link. We suppose that would have been pretty obvious, but what if you wanted to stream using a different service? The good news is that it looks like you’ll be able to stream Xbox games through the console as well.
However, there is a catch and that is you’ll need to create a workaround. In a post on Reddit, Microsoft has actually announced that they will be supporting streaming on the Steam Deck. This will be achieved through its Edge browser, but the catch is that you’ll need to download the Linux version of the Edge browser and install it on the console.
Thankfully though, Microsoft has provided gamers with the instructions on how to go about doing it, so if you have some time to spare and would like more options when it comes to gaming on the device, then do check it out. Keep in mind that you will also need to have a valid and active subscription to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to stream Xbox games.
This workaround feels a lot like the workaround Microsoft used to get its game streaming service onto devices like Apple’s iPhones and iPads. We would love to see a native app on the Steam Deck one day, but for now, this workaround should suffice.
Nine years after it first emerged a live-action HaloTV series was in the works, the show is only a few days away from premiering on Paramount+. To celebrate its debut, Microsoft is giving Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers a free 30-day trial to the streaming service via Perks.
FYI: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can get 30 days of Paramount+ for free via Perks starting March 23, right before the Halo series lands on March 24. Perfect timing. #HaloTheSeriespic.twitter.com/rd7JoVV4Sl
The offer will be available on March 23rd, the day before Halo arrives. There’s a catch, though. Given that only one installment of the nine-episode season is scheduled to drop each week, you might need to subscribe to Paramount+ to watch the entire season (unless you activate the offer a bit later). Paramount+ costs $5 per month with ads or $10 per month to go commercial free and gain access to a feed from your local live CBS station.
Earlier this week, Paramount+ released the final trailer for the show, which has a separate plot from the games and is already renewed for a second season. Along with some story beats, the two-minute clip shows an Elite with an Energy Sword and several shots of Master Chief in action.
Apple’s Mac Studio is not a cheap computer, especially if you plan to upgrade things like the RAM and storage. Unlike desktop PCs where you can easily add more storage or RAM afterwards, this typically isn’t the case for a lot of Mac computers, especially when you consider the fact that the Mac Studio doesn’t look particularly easy to access.
However, according to a teardown by Max Tech, they have taken the computer apart and have discovered that it might be possible for SSD storage upgrades in the future. This is because according to the teardown, upon unscrewing the computer, they found two SSD ports that are relatively easy to access.
This means that should users ever decide they need more SSD storage, they might be able to upgrade it themselves if they have the know-how and are willing to take a chance. However, as Max Tech points out, Apple’s website does clearly state that storage is not user accessible, and that customers who want more storage should basically choose a higher configuration before they purchase it.
However, Max Tech speculates that the language Apple chose to use suggests that maybe down the line, Apple could eventually offer SSD storage upgrades through one of their official service providers later on. That being said, until Apple says otherwise, if you are planning on buying the Mac Studio, make your decision on storage before you purchase it just to be safe.
Apple’s new Mac Studio computer is by no means cheap or affordable, especially if you plan on getting the M1 Ultra version. We reckon that for the most part, this computer will most likely be used in places like studios where companies may require the computing power to render graphics, videos, edit photos, music, and so on.
For those worried about theft, especially given how small and portable the Mac Studio is, a report from MacRumors has revealed that Apple is expected to start selling a lock adapter for the computer soon, according to a memo that the publication saw.
It has been spotted on the Mac Studio that underneath it, there is a small hole that could potentially be used with a Kensington Lock, but given the current design of the lock, it probably won’t fit underneath the computer. This is why Apple will be selling a lock adapter that could potentially make it work with a Kensington Lock.
This adapter won’t be made by Apple themselves and will be of the third-party variety, except that it will be sold through Apple’s website. There is no word on when this adapter is expected to be available and how much it would cost, but it might be of interest for users and companies who are looking for a way to protect their investment.
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There’s no denying that Apple’s Studio Display is beautifully designed and looks like a very premium monitor. It also comes with features like built-in speakers and also a webcam, saving users the effort of using their own webcams. With the webcam featuring a 12MP sensor and using the A13 chip to power Center Stage, you’d think it’d be pretty good, right?
Valve’s new Steam Deck handheld console supports streaming via Steam Link. We suppose that would have been pretty obvious, but what if you wanted to stream using a different service? The good news is that it looks like you’ll be able to stream Xbox games through the console as well.
Apple’s new Mac Studio computer is by no means cheap or affordable, especially if you plan on getting the M1 Ultra version. We reckon that for the most part, this computer will most likely be used in places like studios where companies may require the computing power to render graphics, videos, edit photos, music, and so on.