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56 deals from Best Buys Techtober Sale that you wont find on Amazon

Thu, 10/09/2025 - 19:47

If you're not shopped out after Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Best Buy is running a competing "Techtober Sale" through Sunday, Oct. 12. I've spent several hours combing through its listings, and while Amazon's deals were/are far more competitive, there are a few dozen Best Buy gems still worth considering.

Best Buy's best Techtober deals at a glance: Best Windows laptop deal Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $579.99 (save $420) Get Deal Best TV deal TCL 65-inch QM5K 4K QD-Mini LED QLED TV $449.99 (save $450) Get Deal Best vacuum deal Shark Matrix RV2320S $299.99 (save $200) Get Deal Best gaming deal "Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut" (PlayStation 5) $29.99 (save $40) Get Deal

For reference, Amazon has been hosting a two-day fall savings event for members of its Prime program every year since 2022 — and every year since 2022, Best Buy has held its own concurrent sale. (Previously, it came in the form of a 48-Hour Flash Sale.) Best Buy also times a savings event to run alongside Amazon's big flagship Prime Day sale in July, so this sort of counter-programming is par for the course.

Amazon was especially aggressive in price-matching or one-upping Best Buy's Techtober deals during Prime Big Deal Days, and that continues to be the case. Many discounts from the sale are still live even though it technically ended on Wednesday. (The differences between the two retailers' deals get as small as three cents, which is honestly just kind of petty.)

SEE ALSO: 200+ October Prime Day deals still live: Savings on Apple, Kindle, Sony, Ninja, and Lego

As of Thursday, Oct. 9, Best Buy was beating a post-Prime Day Amazon deal on only one product — an Ecovacs robot vacuum, dropped from $1,099.99 to $545.99 — but it came with an extra $16.98 shipping fee. Meanwhile, Amazon was selling it for 30 cents more with free shipping. Better luck on Black Friday, I suppose.

That said, I wouldn't snub Best Buy completely this week. Below, I've identified 56 deals there that you can't get on Amazon right now, either because the product is sold out there, unavailable in new condition, or because Amazon never carried the product to begin with. (Their inventories are very similar, but not identical.) That includes a metric boatload of Windows laptops, a really nice 65-inch TV, the best budget-friendly Shark robovac we've tried, and one of our favorite video games of 2020. I actually bought the latter myself.

None of the deals are exclusive to members of Best Buy's My Best Buy program, but folks who have signed up for the paid Plus and Total tiers do get extra bonus rewards with certain purchases.

Best Windows laptop deal

My Best Buy Plus and Total members get a $50 bonus reward when they spend at least $499 on select Windows laptops.

Opens in a new window Credit: Asus Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $579.99 at Best Buy
$999.99 Save $420 Get Deal Why I like it

The ultrathin and feathery light Asus Zenbook A14 is my favorite ultraportable. It's the fastest sub-$1,000 Windows laptop I've tried, and its svelte 2.4-pound frame (0.3 pounds lighter than a 13-inch M4 MacBook Air!) houses a good mix of ports and a vibrant OLED display. Plus, it lasts almost 22 hours per charge. Best Buy's massive Techtober discount turns it into a great option for budget buyers: The Zabriskie beige base model with a Snapdragon X Plus chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage is only $579.99, or 42% off. It's never been cheaper, and Amazon doesn't carry it.

More Windows laptop deals2-in-1 laptop dealsGaming laptop dealsChromebook dealsBest TV deal

My Best Buy Plus and Total members get a $50 bonus reward when they spend at least $499 on TVs.

Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL 65-inch QM5K 4K QD-Mini LED QLED TV $449.99 at Best Buy
$899.99 Save $450 Get Deal Why I like it

At 50% off, Best Buy's discount on this oversized mini-LED QLED TV is the kind of deal I wouldn't expect to see until Black Friday really gets underway. Mini-LED TVs are great if you care about stark contrast but don’t have an OLED-level budget. The variety of dimming zones you get from a mini-LED TV make it better at showing deep blacks and sharp, dark details than your average QLED display. This particular TCL model comes with built-in Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, and it's not sold on Amazon (though a newer model is $547.99 there, down from $999.99 — ignore its deflated MSRP).

43-inch TV deals50- to 58-inch TV deals65-inch TV dealsDeals on 75-inch TVs and biggerBest vacuum deal

My Best Buy Plus and Total members get a $15 bonus reward with every $150 spent on floor care (up to $75).

Opens in a new window Credit: Shark Shark Matrix RV2320S $299.99 at Best Buy
$499.99 Save $200 Get Deal Why I like it

Shark's Matrix robovacs excel at spot cleaning, and the self-emptying Matrix RV2320S is our favorite model for shoppers on a budget. It "cleans circles around any cheap Roomba I've tried," said my colleague, Leah Stodart, who deemed it "a great contender for a first-time robot vacuum purchase." Stodart has seen the Matrix RV2320S drop to $249.99 at Best Buy before (normally $499.99), but at $299.99, its Techtober deal is still saving you a good chunk of cash. Over on Amazon, it's only available in refurbished condition through a sketchy third-party seller.

More robot vacuum dealsStick vacuum dealsBest gaming deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment "Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut" (PlayStation 5) $29.99 at Best Buy
$69.99 Save $40 Get Deal Why I like it

Ghost of Tsushima was our second-favorite game of 2020, a year packed with huge releases like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hades, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. (Suffice to say, that's quite a feat.) To quote our review, it "shines with an enthralling story, stunning environments, and slice-em-up melee combat innovations." This particular edition is the director's cut, which includes a story expansion and a multiplayer mode, among other extras that the original lacked. The PS5 version is only $29.99 at Best Buy, or 57% off its $69.99 MSRP — a deal so good, I had to buy it myself. It's 99 cents away from its previous all-time low on Amazon, where it's currently sold out.

Read Mashable's full review of Ghost of Tsushima.

More PS5 games on saleXbox Series X/S games on saleNintendo Switch 2 games on sale
Categories: IT General, Technology

Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: 5 things we learned at the New York Comic Con panel

Thu, 10/09/2025 - 19:38

HBO's upcoming fantasy series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms took to the stage Thursday at New York Comic Con, where showrunner Ira Parker, co-creator and author George R.R. Martin, and stars Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell discussed the Westeros-set series.

In addition to releasing the show's trailer, the panel also revealed several intriguing details about what viewers can expect from the show, with Martin perhaps revealing a bit too much about some of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' key plot twists.

SEE ALSO: 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' trailer transports us back to Westeros for an epic tournament

From big battles to cast Mario Kart competitions, here's what we learned at the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms NYCC panel.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will feature spectacular jousting sequences.

Based on Martin's novella The Hedge Knight, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set a century before the events of Game of Thrones, and long after the last Targaryen dragons have died out. The series introduces audiences to new knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Claffey), also known as "Dunk." After the death of his former hedge knight master, he heads to a tournament at Ashford Meadow to earn some coin.

Jousting is among the challenges Dunk will face at Ashford Meadow, and for Martin, those sequences were the most important to get right.

SEE ALSO: George R.R. Martin says he'll write about 'everything that's gone wrong' with 'House of the Dragon'

"I set [the show's team] a challenge, which I think Ira and people have delivered," Martin said at the panel. "I said, 'Let's do the best jousting sequences that have been ever put on film.' A modest little challenge for Ira and this group."

Martin cited 1952's Ivanhoe as the golden standard for jousting scenes before telling the audience, "You guys can judge how well we did, but I think we did pretty well."

Parker added: "We also did something hopefully no one's ever seen before, which is a tournament at night, which just looks badass."

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is "one big violent therapy session" for Dunk. Brandon Davis moderates the "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" panel with Ira Parker, Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, and George R.R. Martin. Credit: Lily Kartiganer / Mashable

Throughout the panel, Parker emphasized that the show's perspective was entirely that of Dunk, a member of the smallfolk with little affinity for the politicking and backstabbing on display in Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. Because of that, the tone is very different from that of HBO's other Westeros shows.

"Following Dunk on this journey should be a very grounded, gritty, earthy, ground-up feel," Parker said. "We've never had this perspective before. Somebody who grew up in the slums of King's Landing as an orphan, who came up in this world. [He] didn't have a name, didn't have an inheritance, didn't have any money, doesn't have the best training in the whole world, and he's just trying to make it. He's trying to go out and do something hard that he's never done before. He's out of his comfort zone. And hopefully a lot of that will resonate with a lot of our audience."

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3: Here's what happens next, according to 'Fire and Blood'

For Claffey, playing Dunk meant playing someone who was learning to embrace all parts of himself, even his lowly background.

"He tries to put away or extinguish that side of him that he wants to forget, that young boy in Flea Bottom just trying to survive. [He was] almost half-human, half-dog, roaming the streets," Claffey said. "But it serves him to know that that is who he is in certain situations towards the end of our story. It serves him to have that personality, that 'never give up' and 'fight tooth and nail' sort of characteristic. So I think he gets to sort of accept himself. It's one big violent therapy session."

Dunk and Egg's actors bonded over Mario Kart.

Dunk is only half of the duo at the center of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The other half is his squire Egg (Ansell), a bald young boy determined to serve Dunk at Ashford Meadow.

The pair's chemistry is key to Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas — could Claffey and Ansell's chemistry measure up?

According to the panel alone, we're in good hands. Claffey and Ansell share the same teasing dynamics on display in the novellas, especially when it came to discussing one thing in particular: Mario Kart.

SEE ALSO: The 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 finale, explained

During filming, Claffey and Ansell would go to an arcade to play Mario Kart, where they racked up a ton of tickets. (For what? "A PS5," Ansell said.)

"One of my favorite ways to decompress after set, because we had so much work to do, was to come back and kick Dexter's ass in Mario Kart," Claffey said.

"I kept winning!" Ansell retorted.

If Dunk and Egg found themselves in 2025, you could imagine their discussions sounding a lot like that.

Episode 5 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will feature a massive action sequence. Brandon Davis moderates the "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" panel with Ira Parker, Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, and George R.R. Martin. Credit: Lily Kartiganer/Mashable

When panel moderator Brandon Davis asked Parker, Claffey, Ansell, and Martin what episode they were most excited for audiences to see, all four had different answers. For Parker, it was episode 6, because that meant the audience will have seen the entire show. Claffey said that episode 4 "hits the hardest," while Ansell said he loves the third episode.

But it was Martin who divulged the most, calling episode 5 "very potent, because that's the big action episode."

According to Martin, episode 5 features a Trial of Seven, which readers of The Hedge Knight will recognize as a trial by combat with seven champions on each side of the battle, instead of just one. It's a pivotal moment in The Hedge Knight, and revealing that it happens in episode 5 might have been more of a spoiler than HBO was prepared to give months before the show's Jan. 18 debut. But that wasn't the only spoiler moment from the panel.

Did George R.R. Martin spoil A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' twist at New York Comic Con?

Huge, huge spoiler warning for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms incoming for anyone who hasn't read The Hedge Knight.

Early interviews and trailers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms have kept details about Egg vague beyond him just being Dunk's sassy squire. But book readers know that he is actually Aegon V Targaryen, a prince in disguise.

Martin alluded to this during the NYCC panel, telling Ansell, "You're not smallfolk. You'll always be a Targaryen, and you have royal blood in you."

At that point, nervous giggles arose from the audience and even the panel, who likely didn't expect the cat to be out of the bag less than an hour after the trailer's release. But to learn why Egg disguised himself and what role he and Dunk have to play in the wider history of Westeros, you'll have to watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. (Or check out The Hedge Knight to prepare!)

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres Jan. 18 2026 on HBO Max.

Categories: IT General, Technology

YouTubes rightward shift? Site launches program for reinstating banned creators

Thu, 10/09/2025 - 19:17

YouTube's most infamous figures will soon be reappearing to subscribers.

The company has officially launched a pilot program designed to streamline the reinstatement of previously banned creators, following a public announcement that the platform felt it was pressured by the Biden administration to remove accounts that were actively spreading COVID-19 misinformation. YouTube's decision came following an investigation by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee into the site's moderation practices, specifically the removal of known conservative figures.

SEE ALSO: Apple bans app that logged videos of ICE

For now, the company says the pilot program will specifically apply to a select group of "qualified creators," who will begin to see an option to apply for a new channel when they log into their YouTube Studio account. YouTube explained that neither old subscriber lists nor previous content will be carried over to new channels, and at least a year must have passed since their channel was terminated.

In selecting which banned creators qualify for reinstatement, YouTube says it considered "whether the creator committed particularly severe or persistent violations of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, or whether the creator’s on- or off-platform activity harmed or may continue to harm the YouTube community." Channels that had copyright infringement violations will not be eligible.

Currently, creators can appeal bans for up to one year. However, the company explains, most bans are upheld after review. "We know that our long-held approach of enforcing lifetime terminations can be difficult for creators. We’ve heard loud and clear from our creator community that they want more options to return to YouTube," the company wrote in a blog post. If creators are approved to return, they must then apply for monetization separately.

According to the company, more than 3 million creators are part of YouTube's monetized creator program, raking in around $100 billion over the last four years. The platform has loosened some of its monetization policies over the last several years, as well, including ones that demoted creators who use profanity. Simultaneously, YouTube has tried to crack down on accounts that post AI-generated videos en masse, many of which spread harmful misinformation.

Researchers have found that YouTube's more controversial pages — including those that spread misinformation and conspiracies on public health, climate change, and the electoral process — are making big bucks from subscriber ad revenue. A 2024 report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, for example, found that popular climate change denialists make around $13 million per year. Popular right-wing YouTubers and their high-dollar accounts have also played a key role in recent political swings and the radicalization of young male viewers, analysts have found. Many, including those who were previously banned and will participate in YouTube's reinstatement pilot, now hold key roles in the Trump administration.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Amazon launches medical prescription vending machines in Los Angeles

Thu, 10/09/2025 - 19:12

The future is here: You can get your prescription drugs at a vending machine now. An Amazon vending machine, specifically.

Amazon announced this week that it's putting vending kiosks at some One Medical clinics in the Los Angeles area, operated by Amazon Pharmacy.

The intention, according to Amazon, is to make the process a bit simpler — visit your doctor, have the prescription sent to Amazon Pharmacy, use your phone to check out in the Amazon app, and then pick up your prescription right in the doctor's office vending machine.

"We know that when patients have to make an extra trip to the pharmacy after seeing their doctor, many prescriptions never get filled," Hannah McClellan, the vice president of operations at Amazon Pharmacy, said in an Amazon blog post. "By bringing the pharmacy directly to the point of care, we're removing a critical barrier and helping patients start their treatment when it matters most—right away."

The kiosks will stock a range of the most commonly prescribed medications, like antibiotics, inhalers and blood pressure treatments, according to CNBC News.

Amazon's FAQ states that the machies won't contain "controlled substances such as Adderall, medications requiring refrigeration such as Wegovy, needles, except for Epipens, and certain other medications."

"As clinicians, we see firsthand how delays in starting medication can impact treatment outcomes," Dr. Andrew Diamond, the chief medical officer at One Medical, said in the Amazon blog post. "The ability to know a patient is leaving our office with their medication in hand—especially for conditions requiring immediate treatment like infections—can make a meaningful difference in their care journey."

The kiosks will be available starting in Dec. 2025, and the company said it would expand to additional locations "soon after."

This isn't the first piece of medical tech from Amazon. In New York City, Amazon operates hand scanners that allow patients to check in for appointments by scanning their palm at select medical offices.

Categories: IT General, Technology

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