Cyberpunk 2077 will have a free trial on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S this weekend

Night City is looking for new residents — even if they’re only temporary ones who happen to be in the neighborhood for a few hours. CD Projekt Red is offering PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S players the chance to check out Cyberpunk 2077 for free over the Easter weekend.

You’ll be able to play up to five hours of the sprawling first-person RPG at no extra cost between 11AM ET on March 28 and 2:59AM ET on April 1. PlayStation Plus Premium members also have access to a five-hour trial of the base game, but CDPR notes that no subscription is necessary to hop in this weekend.

If you’re an efficient player, five hours of game time might just be enough to see you through the pivotal heist mission toward the end of the first act. It’s there that the story really opens up and perhaps might entice you to buy the full game to keep playing.

Cyberpunk 2077 had a disastrous debut in 2020 and was in such rough shape that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store and offered refunds. The game’s in much better condition these days. I dropped off of Cyberpunk 2077 after playing for a few hours at launch. The arrival of the current-gen console versions in early 2022 pulled me back in and I ended up enjoying the base game. I’ve yet to check out the highly regarded Phantom Liberty expansion or the 2.0 update that overhauled some of the key systems, but newcomers will be able to get a taste of the latter for free this weekend.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cyberpunk-2077-will-have-a-free-trial-on-ps5-and-xbox-series-xs-this-weekend-184444112.html?src=rss

Ron DeSantis signs bill requiring parental consent for kids to join social media platforms in Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just signed into law a bill named HB 3 that creates much stricter guidelines about how kids under 16 can use and access social media. To that end, the law completely bans children younger than 14 from participating in these platforms. 

The bill requires parent or guardian consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to make an account or use a pre-existing account on a social media platform. Additionally, the companies behind these platforms must abide by requests to delete these accounts within five business days. Failing to do so could rack up major fines, as much as $10,000 for each violation. These penalties increase to $50,000 per instance if it is ruled that the company participated in a “knowing or reckless” violation of the law.

As previously mentioned, anyone under the age of 14 will no longer be able to create or use social media accounts in Florida. The platforms must delete pre-existing accounts and any associated personal information. The bill doesn’t name any specific social media platforms, but suggests that any service that promotes “infinite scrolling” will have to follow these new rules, as will those that feature display reaction metrics, live-streaming and auto-play videos. Email platforms are exempt.

This isn’t just going to change the online habits of kids. There’s also a mandated age verification component, though that only kicks in if the website or app contains a “substantial portion of material” deemed harmful to users under 18. Under the language of this law, Floridians visiting a porn site, for instance, will have to verify their age via a proprietary platform on the site itself or use a third party system. News agencies are exempt from this part of the bill, even if they meet the materials threshold. 

Obviously, that brings up some very real privacy concerns. Nobody wants to enter their private information to look at, ahem, adult content. There’s a provision that gives websites the option to route users to an “anonymous age verification” system, which is defined as a third party that isn’t allowed to retain identifying information. Once again, any platform that doesn’t abide by this restriction could be subject to a $50,000 civil penalty for each instance.

This follows DeSantis vetoing a similar bill earlier this month. That law would have banned teens under 16 from using social media apps and there was no option for parental consent.

NetChoice, a trade association that represents social media platforms, has come out against the law, calling it unconstitutional. The group says that HB 3 will essentially impose an “ID for the internet”, arguing that the age verification component will have to widen to adequately track whether or not children under 14 are signing up for social media apps. NetChoice says “this level of data collection will put Floridians’ privacy and security at risk.”

Paul Renner, the state’s Republican House Speaker, said at a press conference for the bill signing that a “child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked in to these addictive technologies, and to see the harm, and step away from it. And because of that, we have to step in for them.”

The new law goes into effect on January 1, but it could face some legal challenges. Renner said he expects social media companies to “sue the second after this is signed” and DeSantis acknowledged that the law will likely be challenged on First Amendment issues, according to Associated Press.

Florida isn’t the first state to try to separate kids from their screens. In Arkansas, a federal judge recently blocked enforcement of a law that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts. The same thing happened in California. A similar law passed in Utah, but was hit with a pair of lawsuits that forced state reps back to the drawing board. On the federal side of things, the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would require parental consent for kids under 18 to use social media and, yeah, there’s that whole TikTok ban thing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ron-desantis-signs-bill-requiring-parental-consent-for-kids-to-join-social-media-platforms-in-florida-192116891.html?src=rss

It’s almost time for T-Mobile customers to claim their free year of MLB.TV

T-Mobile’s annual deal for baseball fans is back. From Tuesday through Sunday, the carrier’s customers can claim a free yearlong subscription to MLB.TV for live and on-demand streaming access to the entire Major League Baseball season.

This is the ninth straight year T-Mobile has offered the deal, which the companies have extended through 2028. MLB.TV lets you watch all out-of-market regular-season games and select Spring Training games. (Unfortunately, blackout restrictions, universally loathed by everyone not profiting from them, apply to in-market games.) They stream in HD, and the service supports DVR and in-game playback controls.

The streaming package usually costs $150 for the season or $30 per month, so this is a nice perk for baseball fans. You can claim the offer in the T Life (formerly T-Mobile Tuesdays) app (iOS and Android) from tomorrow through Sunday only, so don’t forget to claim it during that short window.

As a promotional gimmick to help plug the deal, T-Mobile is introducing a “Secret Baseball Button.” The Bluetooth device connects to your computer and can be set to “discreetly switch from baseball to ‘work’ with the literal click of a button.” (It’s the same idea as the March Madness Boss Button, only in physical form.) If you care about such things, you can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win one.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/its-almost-time-for-t-mobile-customers-to-claim-their-free-year-of-mlbtv-204327276.html?src=rss

Disney's Star Wars Season Brings a Whole Galaxy of New Snacks

Just in time for the Star Wars holiday known as May the Fourth, Season of the Force kicks off Star Wars season at the Disneyland Resort.

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Why Kong Is the True Star of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens this week and while it prominently features both iconic characters, one has a much more satisfying, complete arc than the other. And there are several very good reasons for it.

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The Greatest App of All Time Day 25: WhatsApp vs. Google Maps

Welcome back to Gizmodo’s March Madness bracket challenge to name the greatest app of all time and we’re officially down to our Elite Eight! Calculator took Uber to school in yesterday’s tournament, garnering more than 73 percent of the vote and advancing to the next round. Today, we have the biggest encrypted…

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Pick up the 2023 Echo Show 8 with a free smart bulb for $100 in the Amazon Spring Sale

Today marks the end of the Amazon Big Spring Sale and there are still a few tech deals still worth checking out, including this bundle of an Echo Show 8 paired with an Amazon Basics smart bulb. If you bought them at full price and separately, you’d pay $163, but now the set is down to $100. That amounts to a 38 percent discount. If you want the smart display on its own, it’s the same $100. That’s about $10 more than its record low price and a 33 percent savings.  

If you’re just starting on the path towards smart home grandeur, you can think of the set as a starter kit, as the Echo Show gives you voice and routine control over your new bulb. We named the previous generation of the Echo Show 8 the best Amazon display in our guide. It strikes a good balance between not taking up too much space and offering a sizable enough viewing area with its 8-inch screen. We also liked how adept it is at handling video calls. 

We were able to get a look at this latest version of the display at a demo during Amazon’s hardware event last fall. It has a new edge-to-edge glass front and a more refined design overall. But perhaps the most interesting update is the introduction of the adaptive content feature. Depending on where you are in the room, the display will show different content: large-font time and weather info when you’re far away, and more personalized calendar and news articles when you get closer. 

The bulb lets you change its brightness and color just by talking to your smart display. You can also use the Alexa app to set up routines that will, for example, turn off the light when you say “goodnight” or turn it on an hour before sunset.   

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pick-up-the-2023-echo-show-8-with-a-free-smart-bulb-for-100-in-the-amazon-spring-sale-160940079.html?src=rss

Prime members can get two Switch-ready SanDisk microSD cards for $25 in the Amazon Spring Sale

Amazon is selling a two-pack of SanDisk microSD cards for $25 as part of the company’s Big Spring Sale. Each card is 128GB, totaling 256GB of sweet, sweet game storage. These are drives that have been designed and pre-formatted for Nintendo Switch systems, though they’ll work with just about any microSD reader. This deal, however, is only for Prime members.

The Nintendo Switch is notoriously stingy when it comes to integrated storage, offering just 32GB, so microSD cards are an absolute must for AAA titles. Nintendo may be wizards when it comes to compressing its games, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is only 16GB, but that space is still gonna fill up fast.

As a Switch-friendly bonus, each card comes emblazoned with a Mario-esque mushroom logo. We’ve always liked these SanDisk drives and gave them a call out in our list of the best microSD cards. They come with a lifetime warranty and boast read/write speeds that are, more or less, comparable to rival products. The max write speed is 90MB/s and the max read speed is 100MB/s. This isn’t as fast as something like the Samsung Pro Ultimate, but it’s a whole lot cheaper.

Looking for more than 128GB of storage? The above deal is part of a larger sale on SanDisk and Western Digital products. There are microSD drives up to 1TB, plenty of USB stick drives and external storage solutions. Also, if Mushroom Kingdom iconography is not your bag, you can pick up a 1TB SanDisk card that has been stamped with the Triforce from Zelda for $95.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-members-can-get-two-switch-ready-sandisk-microsd-cards-for-25-in-the-amazon-spring-sale-151356052.html?src=rss

The Best Cloud Gaming Services, Ranked

We’re in the true heyday of accessible gaming. You can game on anything from your handheld console, like the Steam Deck, to your phone, like the Pixel 8 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro, with the extra benefit of a mobile controller like the Backbone One. But let’s ignore hardware for the most part because, thanks to the…

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The Apple Watch SE is back on sale for $189 during the Amazon Spring Sale

The Amazon Big Spring Sale isn’t over yet, and new deals are still popping up all over the site on everything from outdoor cameras to smartwatches—including our favorite budget Apple Watch for 2024. The second-generation Apple Watch SE is 24 percent off, dropping to $189 from $249. It’s not the device’s record-low price, but the $60 off brings it pretty close.

The second-gen Apple Watch SE garnered an 89 in our review thanks to the comprehensive features it offers for much less money than the company’s alternatives. The smartwatch has all the usual options, like heart-rate monitoring, crash detection, and emergency calling. The retina display offers up to 1,000 nits brightness, and the battery lasts 18 hours. 

If you’re considering buying an Apple Watch SE, one thing to keep in mind is that it’s not IPX6 rated for dust resistance like the Series 8 and Ultra. However, it is water resistant up to 50 meters.  

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-se-is-back-on-sale-for-189-during-the-amazon-spring-sale-144728862.html?src=rss