Here’s the long and short of it, or Ent and Hobbit of it if you’re already packing your bags to be whisked off to Middle-earth again: The Rings of Power is The Lord of the Rings through and through. It looks incredible, it bursts with hope, and, above all, it’s very long and takes a bit of time getting going.
What would you do if a company accidentally sent you millions in dollars you never asked for? Well, Australia-based news outlet 7News reported Tuesday that Crypto.com, one of the most high-profile crypto platforms in the world, had made an extremely expensive whoopsie last year after a woman living in Melbourne,…
But she also called Trump “smart” during a panel that tried to unpack the former president’s rant.
A few days ago, Corsair introduced a 45-inch display called Xeneon Flex with a panel made by LG that you can bend to switch between a flat and a curved screen. Turns out LG also developed a bendable monitor model of its own. The Korean company has just unveiled the LG OLED Flex or LX3, a 42-inch screen that you can manually adjust until it reaches a curvature of 900R. To note, Corsair’s has a max curvature of 800R, and a smaller number means the monitor’s curve is more pronounced.
You can quickly adjust the Flex’s curvature by using a dedicated button on its remote control and choosing either of the two available presents. But you can also manually adjust its degree of curvature in five percent increments, giving you over 20 levels of curve to to choose from. Further, you can tilt the monitor towards or away from you and adjust the height of its stand by 140 millimeters.
LX3 uses the company’s backlight-free and self-lit OLED technology and was designed to have a 0.1 millisecond response time and low input lag. It also gives you the power to adjust the size of the image onscreen so you can choose to use the whole monitor or just a part of it, if you want to see the whole picture at a glance — say for games that need you to be aware of your environment.
LG also gave the monitor exclusive access to its new Game app, which has shortcuts to popular gaming-related apps like Twitch and YouTube and lists all your connected external input devices. Speaking of connected devices, the model’s Switching Hub function lets you easily switch device connection between your PC and the monitor. You can use the monitor’s built-in mic and anything connected to its USB ports, including headsets and keyboards, and then press a button to use the devices connected to the PC instead. Other features include two front-firing 40W speakers, support for Dolby Atmos and support for Dolby Vision gaming.
LG has yet to announce pricing or relate date for the model, but it will showcase the OLED Flex at IFA 2022 in Berlin.
It only took about two years, but I finally bought an NVIDIA RTX 3070 last month. Along the way, I tried almost everything I could to get my hands on one at the actual retail price. I joined Discord servers dedicated to posting stock alerts. I found Twitter accounts that did the same for Canadian retailers. But no matter how persistent I was, I could never beat everyone else who wanted a 3070 just as much as I did. By the time summer came, I was ready to give up, and I would have if not for the crypto crash.
If you haven’t followed the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum’s slide has dramatically affected GPU prices, particularly on the NVIDIA side of things. The company’s add-in board partners, firms like ASUS and EVGA that produce the majority of GPUs you can buy, are reportedly struggling with overstock after crypto-miners flooded the used market with cheap 30-series video cards. According to some reports, the issue is so bad that NVIDIA may push back the release of its next-generation Ada Lovelace architecture to the end of the year to give its partners time to sell their existing stock. Either way, you can buy a current-generation GPU without jumping through hoops for the first time in nearly two years.
When I finally pulled the trigger on my ASUS Dual RTX 3070, I paid $740 CAD before tax or about $565 USD. I probably could have found a used model for less, but I decided I was okay with spending more to get a video card with a full warranty that someone hadn’t abused for crypto-mining.
What you probably what to know is why I didn’t wait a bit longer for NVIDIA’s next-generation GPUs to arrive. The answer is twofold. Unless the US decides to regulate cryptocurrencies, it’s hard to see a future where the market doesn’t recover and mining becomes lucrative again. Even if that doesn’t happen, by the time NVIDIA’s new GPUs are available to buy, they might not be easy to find.
All signs point to the company opening the Ada Lovelace generation with RTX 4090, 4080 and 4070 models. Not only will those likely be more expensive than their 30-series counterparts, but you can also bet they’ll be in high demand among gamers who want the latest and greatest – particularly the 4070 as the most mainstream model of the trio.
For those reasons, I thought there would be a short window where I could buy a new GPU at a reasonable price. That I was running a GTX 1660 Ti with a QHD monitor made my decision easier. I was starting to see the 1660 Ti sometimes struggle to maintain a consistent rate of 60 frames per second in games like Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order at 1440p. The fact the 1660 Ti doesn’t include NVIDA’s DLSS upscaling technology also meant I was looking at a future where I would have to play some games at reduced quality.
I can safely say I won’t regret buying the RTX 3070 with its successor right around the corner. Playing games like God of War with all graphical settings maxed out and without a single hiccup has been delightful. Even more revelatory has been revisiting games like Control and finally being able to experience them with ray tracing. Sometimes I think we get so caught up trying to pull off the perfect purchase that we don’t buy the product that would serve our needs well right now. I’m glad I didn’t fall into that trap.
The tech layoffs continue, and employees at Snap are reportedly the latest unfortunate victims.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Doctor Strange’s Xochitl Gomez are teaming up for a new sci-fi project. The cast of Disney’s Pinocchio remake talk up the film’s legacy. The Orphan Black spinoff adds another major star. Plus, a new look at Kamen Rider: Black Sun. Spoilers, away!
An evaluation of Uvalde, Texas, school police officers hasn’t happened yet despite the start of the school year being less than a week away.
Carroll Shelby’s Mustang variants were the stuff of legends. The GT350 and GT500 weren’t named for their performance, though. The true reason is surprising.
Apple’s flagship AirPods Max wireless headphones have much to offer like excellent audio quality, ANC and spatial audio support — but they’re definitely not cheap at $549. Now, you can grab a pair in green, pink, silver and sky blue for just $429. That’s 22 percent off and tied with the lowest price we’ve seen to date.
Buy Apple AirPods Max at Amazon – $429
The AirPods Max scored a solid 84 in our Engadget review and made our latest list of favorite headphones, thanks to their high sound quality, effective noise-cancellation and reliable controls. They offer a uniquely Apple-esque design, and despite being slightly heavier than Sony’s WH-1000XM4 cans, are comfortable to wear. Once you get used to it, the rotating crown makes it easy to adjust sound.
Audio quality is more natural than other headphones we’ve tried with bass that’s accurate and not overpowering. Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones have more effective ANC, but the AirPods Max come close. Meanwhile, the Transparency Mode lets you quickly disable ANC if you need to hear what’s going on. The biggest drawback is the lack of lossless audio support, but they work great with Dolby Atmos surround sound on most Apple devices.
The AirPods Max are ideal if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, with the H1 chip letting you quickly switch between an iPhone and a Mac, for example. There’s no question that they’re very expensive at the regular $549 price, so Amazon’s latest discount presents a good buying opportunity if you’ve been eyeing a pair.
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