Author Archives: Will Shanklin

Hulu Black Friday deal: Get one year of the ad-supported plan for $1 per month

Posted on by

Hulu is offering an enormous discount on its ad-supported plan for Black Friday. The streaming service will give you a year of Hulu (With Ads) for a mere $12. The plan typically costs $80 annually, giving you 85 percent off. Hulu’s Black Friday sale is live now and runs through the end of the day on November 28.

Hulu offers films, current-season episodes of popular broadcast television series and older TV. In addition, the Disney-owned service has original programming, like The Bear, Only Murders in the Building and The Handmaid’s Tale. Remember that the $12 Black Friday sale only applies to the version with advertisements, which doesn’t allow downloaded content for offline viewing.

New subscribers and former members who canceled their plan at least a month ago can take advantage of the Black Friday deal. Everyone who redeems it will pay directly to the streamer (rather than through an app storefront) and convert to a full-priced ($8 monthly) ad-supported plan at the end of 12 months. Hulu also offers an optional Starz add-on for $1 monthly for all new and existing subscribers.

If you're more interested in other streaming services, plenty of competitors are offering Black Friday deals at the moment. Max has dropped the monthly price of its ad-supported plan to $3 for the first six months, while Black Friday deals from Paramount+ start at $2 per month for the Essential tier. Peacock, meanwhile, is offering new subscribers access starting at $2 per month for the first year, or you can pay for one year upfront and only be charged $20.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hulu-black-friday-deal-get-one-year-of-the-ad-supported-plan-for-1-per-month-182522537.html?src=rss

Amazon Black Friday deals include the Dyson Airwrap for its lowest price yet

Posted on by

Amazon has the Dyson Airwrap on sale for a record low. The innovative styling tool uses air rather than extreme heat to dry and shape hair — potentially boosting your hair’s long-term health when used regularly. Typically $599, a clickable coupon on its product page drops the price to $480.

The Dyson Airwrap utilizes the Coanda effect, a phenomenon describing airflow’s tendency to follow the path of a curved surface. Here, the air jet flows around the tool’s barrel or brush attachment, wrapping, drying and styling your hair. It does so without extreme heat, which could cause hair damage if used long-term. Dyson says the device measures the airflow’s temperature over 40 times per second, maintaining a safe temperature for your hair.

The styling tool has a rotating cool tip, three airflow speeds, three heat settings and a cold shot feature that immediately turns off the heating element, setting your style with a blast of cool air. Its seven bundled accessories include a 1.2-inch long barrel, a 1.6-inch long barrel, separate brushes for soft or firm smoothing, a Coanda smoothing dryer, a round volumizing brush and a detangling comb. In addition, you’ll get a filter cleaning brush and storage case.

Still from a product video showing a woman holding the Dyson Airwrap styling tool vertically as it wraps her long black hair around its barrel. Gray background.
Dyson

The blue blush holiday gift set and a complete set for straight-to-wavy hair are covered in the sale. Note that a third model on the product page, “Complete Diffuse for Curly to Coily Hair,” isn’t eligible for the $119 coupon.

The Dyson Airwrap has been a hot item on social media that’s regularly gone in and out of stock. So, if you’ve been considering one, you may not want to wait long before snagging Amazon’s record deal.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-black-friday-deals-include-the-dyson-airwrap-for-its-lowest-price-yet-203322271.html?src=rss

Ember Smart Mugs are at record-low prices in Amazon’s Black Friday sale

Posted on by

Amazon has cut Ember smart mug prices to record lows for Black Friday. The high-tech mugs have built-in heating that can keep your coffee, tea or other hot drink at your ideal preset temperature, allowing you to take your time sipping it without worrying about a lukewarm beverage. Usually $130, you can pick up the 10 oz Ember Smart Mug 2 starting at $90.

One of Engadget’s recommended gifts for teachers, the Ember Smart Mug 2 can keep your mug heated to anywhere between 120 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you find your perfect temp, you can set the mug’s companion app (available for iOS and Android) to it and forget about it. The mug will remember your setting, automatically heat when it detects liquid and stop when it’s empty. The mug lasts up to 80 minutes on a full charge, and if you leave it on its bundled charging coaster (except, of course, when picking it up to sip), it essentially lasts all day.

At the time of publication, the white, black and red variants of the 10 oz. Mug 2 are available and marked down on Amazon. However, the black and red options cost a (still heavily discounted) $100, requiring an extra $10 over the white model.

Amazon also has the standard 14 oz. Ember Smart Mug 2 for $40 off. The larger model includes the same features, temperature controls and estimated battery life as the 10 oz. one. This variant ships in white and black for $109.46 (usually $150) and you can grab the copper version for $130 (typically $180).

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ember-smart-mugs-are-at-record-low-prices-in-amazons-black-friday-sale-185030627.html?src=rss

CyberGhost Black Friday deal includes four extra months with two-year plans

Posted on by

If you’re looking for a VPN with robust cross-platform software support, CyberGhost’s Black Friday sale gives you four extra months when you buy a two-year plan. Combined with the typical savings from committing to two years, it adds up to 84 percent off the security company’s standard monthly pricing over the same period.

When you buy two years of CyberGhost access for $56.94, the VPN provider will throw in four months for free. The deal is live now and runs through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, wrapping up on December 7.

CyberGhost is Engadget’s pick for the best VPN for cross-platform access. It offers simultaneous connections on up to seven devices while supporting devices like computers, phones, routers, smart TVs and more. CyberGhost has Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux apps, and it even offers browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Ensuring its status as our favorite cross-platform VPN is the company’s detailed instructions on setting up its various apps, helping to enhance its all-around user-friendliness.

The company recently expanded its server network from 91 to 100 countries, adding Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic to its available locations. CyberGhost committed to an independent audit with Deloitte earlier this year. It also runs a vulnerability disclosure program and recently published an updated transparency report.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cyberghost-black-friday-deal-includes-four-extra-months-with-two-year-plans-174248901.html?src=rss

YubiKeys are buy one, get one half off for Black Friday

Posted on by

If you’ve considered securing your online accounts with a physical key, today isn’t a bad time to start. Yubico has its highly rated YubiKeys on sale for Cyber Week, and you don’t have to wait for Black Friday to take advantage. From today through November 27 (Cyber Monday), you can buy one and get one half off on YubiKeys in the standard and YubiKey 5 series.

A physical hardware key is one of the most secure ways to protect an online account: It’s a secondary authentication method to prevent people from jacking your data with a password alone. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Slack and other big names in the tech world support the accessories. Unlike using your phone for SMS authentication, YubiKeys aren’t prone to SIM card hacks; an intruder would need your physical key and passwords to access your protected accounts.

The buy one, get one half-off deal is appropriate because security experts recommend keeping one hardware key with you at all times and a backup stored in a safe location. This redundancy means you can still access your data even if you lose one key. Just remember to set up both keys with each account you secure. (Scan the account’s setup QR code for each key.)

When shopping for YubiKeys, buy the type that matches your devices’ ports. Yubico sells models with USB-A, USB-C, Lightning and NFC connections — some including more than one. If you have an older (pre-2023) iPhone, you may want to consider future-proofing your purchase with the YubiKey 5Ci, which has both Lightning and USB-C connectors, or the YubiKey 5C NFC, which you can tap against your phone without plugging in. Apple has phased out Lightning in its current products, so getting a YubiKey with USB-C will allow you to eventually upgrade your phone without buying new security keys.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/yubikeys-are-buy-one-get-one-half-off-for-black-friday-140046543.html?src=rss

Ooni Black Friday deals include up to 30 percent off pizza ovens and accessories

Posted on by

Ooni is holding a Black Friday sale, offering all-time-low deals on its highly-rated outdoor pizza makers. The company’s Fyra 12 wood pellet pizza oven is 30 percent off, dropping it to $244 from its standard $349. If that’s out of your holiday budget, Ooni also has the Pizza Steel 13, a flat surface that upgrades your indoor-baked pizzas, on sale for $70.

The Ooni Frya 12 wood pellet pizza oven is one of Engadget’s top picks for the best pizza ovens. It uses “sustainably sourced hardwood pellets” to reach 950 degrees Fahrenheit in 15 minutes and can cook stone-baked pizzas in as little as 60 seconds. It uses a gravity-fed hopper that replenishes the pellet tray automatically, allowing you to focus less on the oven’s needs and more on your pie’s.

The outdoor oven fits 12-inch personal pizzas inside, allowing everyone at your gathering to customize their pies. It weighs only 22 lbs and has a relatively small footprint, ideal for easy transportation and tabletop pie-baking. It could be a popular supply for outdoor parties, tailgating, camping and other open-air activities that would benefit from more pizza.

Lifestyle marketing photo of the Ooni Pizza Steel 13, a stainless steel slab for oven-baked pizza. An oven door is open as we view a ready-to-eat pizza on the steel surface.
Ooni

Meanwhile, the deceptively simple-looking Pizza Steel 13 accessory slides into your conventional oven to enhance your homemade pies. The stainless steel surface heats quickly and retains the warmth, helping your indoor pizzas come out more like those made in dedicated pizza stoves. The Pizza Steel 13 is on sale for $70 (typically $100).

Ooni’s Black Friday sale runs from now through November 28.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ooni-black-friday-deals-include-up-to-30-percent-off-pizza-ovens-and-accessories-140019161.html?src=rss

Cadillac’s midrange Optiq electric SUV takes cues from the high-end Lyriq

Posted on by

Cadillac has unveiled a new entry-level compact electric SUV. The Optiq will sit below the Lyriq in Cadillac’s lineup, and images the automaker shared suggest it will also borrow from the more expensive SUV’s stylings. However, you may have to wait a while before buying one, as Cadillac says we won’t hear more about the Optiq (including its full specs) until 2024.

The Optiq will continue Cadillac’s naming convention of ending its EVs’ names with some form of “IQ.” In addition to the Lyriq, other examples include the Escalade IQ and Celestiq.

Although Cadillac hasn’t explicitly stated so, the Optiq will likely use GM’s Ultium battery platform. Road and Driver speculates that since Cadillac’s SUV is similar in size to the Chevy Equinox EV, it could have similar specs. The Equinox has a 210-horsepower electric motor for the front wheels and an optional 290-horsepower dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup with a range likely capping out at around 300 miles for maxed-out configurations.

Marketing photo of the Cadillac Optiq, sitting under a modern building at nighttime. The vehicle is a reddish-orange.
Cadillac

Autoblog notes details we already know about the version of the Optiq made for China, thanks to photos and information shared through the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) pre-market vehicle approval process. That model is allegedly 189.8 inches long, 75.3 inches wide and 64.6 inches tall. That would make it around 2.5 inches narrower and seven inches shorter (in length) than the Lyriq. The China model is listed as weighing 4.850 lbs with a top speed of 112 mph. It has two front-wheel-drive configurations, including a 201-horsepower motor and a 241-hp one.

Cadillac’s full press release was short and to the point. “Today, Cadillac has confirmed the fourth vehicle to join its expanding global electric vehicle portfolio — OPTIQ,” the announcement reads. “OPTIQ will act as the entry point for Cadillac’s EV lineup in North America, slotting in below LYRIQ, a luxury compact SUV. OPTIQ’s spirited driving dynamics are designed to appeal to global luxury customers.  Additional details, as well as available features and pricing, will be unveiled next year.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cadillacs-midrange-optiq-electric-suv-takes-cues-from-the-high-end-lyriq-183414934.html?src=rss

Apple joins Meta and ByteDance in contesting the EU’s ‘gatekeeper’ designation

Posted on by

Apple has joined Meta and TikTok owner ByteDance in contesting their platforms’ definitions as part of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation allows regulators to designate dominant companies’ services or platforms as “gatekeepers,” or big and powerful enough to act as a bottleneck between businesses and customers, which it can then fine for prohibited behavior. It currently targets 22 gatekeeper services run by six Big Tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Amazon and ByteDance’s TikTok). The law encourages consumer-friendly competition, preventing businesses from imposing unfair conditions on customers.

The EU Court of Justice (via Reuters) posted on X Friday about Apple’s formal objection, announcing that the iPhone maker had joined Meta and ByteDance in contesting its decisions. Although the complaint details aren’t public, Bloomberg News reported last week that Apple would challenge the gatekeeper designations of both the App Store and iMessage. The company said this week it would soon support RCS on iPhone, potentially removing one of the EU’s bones to pick with iMessage consumer lock-in. 

Microsoft and Google have reportedly accepted their DMA designations, while Meta and ByteDance contested theirs. Meta specifically questioned Messenger and Marketplace’s gatekeeper labels, seeking to clarify why they were included. (Meta didn’t challenge Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’s inclusion.) The company argued Marketplace is a consumer-to-consumer service and Messenger is a chat feature on Facebook, not an online intermediary.

Meanwhile, ByteDance argues that TikTok is a challenger in the social market rather than an established gatekeeper. It claimed designating its platform as such would only serve to protect more established companies.

Like the Digital Services Act (DSA), the DMA has significant teeth. Companies failing to comply can face fines of up to 10 percent of their global turnover, up to 20 percent for repeat offenders and periodic fines of up to five percent of their average daily turnover. Other penalties, including the divestiture of parts of a business, could also be included following market investigations.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-joins-meta-and-bytedance-in-contesting-the-eus-gatekeeper-designation-165915809.html?src=rss

Sonos Black Friday deals discount the Era 100 smart speaker to $199

Posted on by

If you’re in the market for a premium smart speaker that sounds better than sub-$100 options, this Sonos Black Friday deal may be what you’re looking for. The company is taking $50 off the Sonos Era 100, which offers improved bass and clarity over its predecessor, the Sonos One. In addition, the company has notable discounts on the Sonos Ray soundbar and Sonos Roam portable speaker, letting you save on a variety of home audio products thanks to early Black Friday sales.

Usually $250, the Sonos Era 100 is one of Engadget’s picks for the best smart speakers in 2023. Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham gave the device a review score of 88, writing, “The $250 Era 100 is a complete redesign, inside and out, and the end result is a worthy upgrade and a very versatile speaker.”

The Sonos Era 100’s audio is a cut above budget choices like the Echo Dot and Nest Mini, and it gives you the option of Alexa or the Sonos assistant for voice control. If you pick up two speakers, you can turn them into a stereo pair that fills your room with rich, immersive audio. The WiFi-connected speakers even have Bluetooth as a secondary option.

If you’re looking for a soundbar this holiday season, the Sonos Ray may also be of interest. Engadget found it to have a solid balance of price and performance with its clear dialogue, rumbling bass and solid stereo presence. Usually $279, Sonos’ Black Friday deal brings the soundbar down to $223, making it a much more attractive buy for enhancing your TV’s audio.

Photo of the Sonos Roam (grayish-white) sitting on a wooden outdoor ledge with old buildings in the distance.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Meanwhile, the Sonos Roam lets you take your music with you. Sitting at over six and a half inches tall and weighing less than a pound, its sound quality transcends the simple Bluetooth speakers it could easily be mistaken for. Holding down a button is all it takes to switch from its standard WiFi to Bluetooth when taking the little sound machine to a party or outdoor excursion. Speaking of the latter, the speaker is rated IP67, meaning it can withstand sitting in three feet of water for 30 minutes. When reviewing it for Engadget, Ingraham stuck it in a bucket of water and tossed it across the room; it kept playing without skipping a beat. The speaker even adjusts its audio depending on whether it’s sitting upright or horizontally.

Sonos’ sale runs from today through November 27 (Cyber Monday).

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonos-black-friday-deals-discount-the-era-100-smart-speaker-to-199-140002193.html?src=rss

Hackers use a new SEC rule to snitch on the company they infiltrated

Posted on by

A hacking group deployed a surprising tactic after infiltrating a financial software company’s network. They reported the breach to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

DataBreaches.net initially reported on the incident, which was conducted by ALPHV / BlackCat, a group known for breaching entities as diverse as MGM Resorts and Reddit. The hackers reportedly infiltrated the servers of fintech company MeridianLink on November 7, stealing company data without encrypting it. However, when the business neglected to negotiate directly, the hackers increased the pressure by filing a report with the SEC.

They did so citing a new rule the SEC passed this summer, which requires companies falling victim to “material cybersecurity incidents” to report them to the agency within four business days.

However, the four-day requirement may not have taken effect yet. At least one official form claims the rule kicked in 90 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register (they appear to have been published on August 4, making that alleged effective date November 2) or December 18. But the Federal Register document says, “With respect to compliance with the incident disclosure requirements in Item 1.05 of Form 8–K and in Form 6–K [the part referring to the four-day requirement], all registrants other than smaller reporting companies must begin complying on December 18, 2023.” Adding to the confusion, Reuters reported in October that the rule takes effect on December 15.

Engadget reached out to the SEC to clarify whether the rule is active yet. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

MeridianLink told BleepingComputer that it quickly worked to contain the threat. “Based on our investigation to date, we have identified no evidence of unauthorized access to our production platforms, and the incident has caused minimal business interruption,” the company wrote. The company says it’s still trying to determine if any consumer personal information was breached, promising to notify affected parties if it was.

Whether the SEC has any teeth (or desire) to do anything about MeridianLink’s failure to report the incident in four business days, the rule could, ironically, serve as a new tool for cyber attackers. Rather than contacting customers or making calls to tighten the grip and pressure companies to comply with their demands, perhaps they can now simply rat them out to Uncle Sam.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hackers-use-a-new-sec-rule-to-snitch-on-the-company-they-infiltrated-201242292.html?src=rss