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Hisenses ultra-thin art TV is over $300 off

Mashable - 4 hours 36 min ago

SAVE $302: As of April 10, the Hisense 55-inch Canvas QLED 4K TV is down to only $697.99 at Amazon. That's a savings of 30% or over $300. If you prefer not to shop at Amazon, it's also on sale for $699.99 at Best Buy.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 55-inch Canvas S7N QLED 4K TV $697.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $302   Get Deal

If you have Samsung The Frame TV taste, but not quite a Frame TV budget, Hisense's Canvas TV is an excellent alternative. Like The Frame, it turns a basic black box into stylish artwork that hangs on your wall. But instead of paying over $1,000, you can add it to your cart for under $700.

As of April 10, the 55-inch version of the Hisense Canvas TV is down to just $697.99 at Amazon for a savings of 30% or $302. While that's not quite its best price ever, it's still a pretty significant discount we think is worth grabbing. If you're anti-Amazon, you can grab the same TV at Best Buy for just $2 more.

The Canvas TV blends seamlessly into a gallery wall with other non-tech wall hangings, thanks to its matte finish and its ultra-slim wall mount that lies flush for a true framed art look. As a QLED model with real-time adaptive brightness and color temperature, it's also just a bright and brilliant looking TV, no matter what lighting conditions you're working with.

It features a variable refresh rate up to 144Hz, which is surprisingly good for smooth and tear-free gaming, as well as live sports. And unlike The Frame, it uses Google TV's interface, which Mashable's Miller Kern (a satisfied Canvas TV owner) says is much more intuitive and responsive than the Samsung interface.

If you hate the look of a clunky black box in your living room, the Canvas TV offers an aesthetic upgrade. And if you act fast, you can make the change without overpaying.

Categories: IT General, Technology

VW ends US production of its ID.4 EV—here's what's coming next

How-To Geek - 4 hours 48 min ago

Volkswagen only started manufacturing the ID.4 electric SUV in the U.S. four years ago, but it's already moving on. The German brand is ending production of the ID.4 at its Chattanooga, Tennessee factory in mid-April as it shifts to "higher-volume models that support sustained growth in North America." The model isn't selling as well as VW would like, in other words.

Categories: IT General, Technology

VW ends US production of its ID.4 EV—here's what's coming next

How-To Geek - 4 hours 48 min ago

Volkswagen only started manufacturing the ID.4 electric SUV in the U.S. four years ago, but it's already moving on. The German brand is ending production of the ID.4 at its Chattanooga, Tennessee factory in mid-April as it shifts to "higher-volume models that support sustained growth in North America." The model isn't selling as well as VW would like, in other words.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Junk mail wasted gigabytes of my Google Drive storage—here's how I freed up 3GB in just 5 minutes

How-To Geek - 4 hours 50 min ago

I recently received an email from Gmail, informing me that my Gmail storage was almost full. I didn't want to have to pay for extra storage, so I decided to clean out the junk instead. Using a few search operators, I freed up plenty of space in under five minutes.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Junk mail wasted gigabytes of my Google Drive storage—here's how I freed up 3GB in just 5 minutes

How-To Geek - 4 hours 50 min ago

I recently received an email from Gmail, informing me that my Gmail storage was almost full. I didn't want to have to pay for extra storage, so I decided to clean out the junk instead. Using a few search operators, I freed up plenty of space in under five minutes.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Exit 8 just got a major discount on Steam, just in time for the movies release

Mashable - 4 hours 58 min ago

SAVE 30% OFF: As of April 10, get the video game 'Exit 8' for just $2.79 on Steam. That takes 30% off its $3.99 list price, saving you $1.20. This deal comes just in time for the game's movie adaptation release.

Opens in a new window Credit: Kotake Create 'Exit 8' $2.79 at Steam
$3.99 Save $1.20   Get Deal

Even if you're not a gamer, you've probably consumed a video game one way or another. Video games adaptations like The Last of Us, Five Nights at Freddy's, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie are all the rage, but even indie games are being adapted too. The latest is Exit 8, made by Kotake Create, now adapted into a feature film, and it's out today, April 10.

The single-player walking simulation traps players in an endless underground passageway as you try and make your way to the elusive Exit 8. Players are only given the instructions: "Don't overlook any anomalies. If you find anomalies, turn back immediately. If you don't find anomalies, do not turn back. To go out from Exit 8."

Mashable's Shannon Connellan reviewed Exit 8 calling it, "At once a masterpiece of game-to-film adaptation, an elegant, nail-biting horror-thriller, and a technical cinematic marvel." However, if you want to play the game before you see the movie (maybe it'll give you a leg up on the jump scares) there's a limited time deal to check out.

As of April 10, Exit 8 is just $2.79 on Steam. That saves you 30% off its already affordable $3.99 price tag — way cheaper than a movie ticket. The game itself is a quick play through with Steam estimating total playtime is between 15 and 60 minutes. That means in no time, you'll be ready to head to the theater to catch the film adaptation.

Categories: IT General, Technology

7 things I wish I knew before running a Pi-hole

How-To Geek - 5 hours 9 min ago

If you're considering deploying Pi-hole like I did, don't be like me and learn only after the fact that some things will stop working. Let me help you out and show you what you should be prepared for.

Categories: IT General, Technology

New FCC rule will make Starlink satellite internet faster and cheaper

Mashable - 5 hours 10 min ago

SpaceX's Starlink might get cheaper and faster thanks to a set of new rules, but not everyone is happy about them.

On Apr. 30, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is voting on an order (via PCMag) that will change how older, geostationary satellite systems share radio spectrum with low-Earth orbit constellations (such as Starlink).

SEE ALSO: SpaceX may be going public with a big fundraising target

Per current rules, the amount of energy satellite systems can transmit to and from ground equipment is pretty limited for low-Earth orbit systems, in order to protect the higher-orbiting systems. But the new proposal will loosen these rules and let the operators of various satellite systems reach private agreements on how they share radio spectrum.

This would enable Starlink and similar systems to use more satellites in a geographic area, resulting in faster internet speeds there. Conversely, an operator would be able to use a higher power level per satellite, thus delivering the same internet speeds with fewer satellites in a given area, which could reduce costs.

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SpaceX, whose Starlink is actually mentioned in a footnote of the text, lobbied for this change, which led the FCC to consider changing these rules. Both SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Leo systems have already received a temporary approval to exceed the current power limits, but the new proposal, if approved, would make this permanent.

Not everyone is happy about the proposal, though. For example, satellite TV company DirecTV previously said its service could face disruptions if SpaceX is allowed to increase Starlink radio emission levels.

The full text of the document is available on the FCC website.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I fell for the hype on these PC upgrades, and my wallet still hurts

How-To Geek - 5 hours 20 min ago

There is tons of stuff out there that's worth upgrading or overspending on. Other stuff, though, not so much. And depending on where you're getting your tech tips from, you might often hear the wrong advice on what you should spend money on. Here's a few things that you might not want to overspend on.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 rewarding Home Assistant projects to try this weekend (April 10 - 12)

How-To Geek - 5 hours 35 min ago

Sometimes you just want a Home Assistant project that you can get done over the course of a weekend and have something impressive to show off at the end of it. Here are some projects that you might want to try out this weekend.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Why I'm skipping the "AI PC" trend and building a "privacy PC" with Linux instead

How-To Geek - 5 hours 50 min ago

If you're in the market for a computer these days, expect to be sold some form of AI. Windows computers come with a CoPilot button. Chromebooks advertise Gemini during setup. Like many of you, I'm tired of all of it, so I've decided to build my own privacy-oriented PC instead.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Ford issues recall affecting 420,000 owners—check if your car is included

How-To Geek - 6 hours 9 min ago

Ford and recalls seem to go hand in hand at this point. Last year alone, the automaker topped the charts again with a record 153 recalls impacting nearly 13 million vehicles, keeping its spot as the most-recalled brand for a second year running.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Stop building giant desktops—here's why a mini PC does everything better

How-To Geek - 6 hours 20 min ago

If you’re in the market for a new computer, it should be a mini PC, not a full-size desktop. Sure, in the past, full-size desktops were the gold standard, but that’s just not the case anymore. Here’s why I think a mini PC is the perfect system for nearly everyone.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5 Android features Google killed even when users loved them

How-To Geek - 6 hours 35 min ago

Every few years, Google quietly removes something from Android that was doing nothing wrong. I've been using Android since the days of Ice Cream Sandwich, and I’ve lived through Google killing over a dozen apps and features that I used to love. Here are five such features that they dropped in favor of some subpar alternatives.

Categories: IT General, Technology

4 Windows utilities that feel too good to be free (and why I can't live without them)

How-To Geek - 6 hours 50 min ago

The best things in life are free. At least, that's how the saying goes, but it does seem a little ironic that the most practical, valuable tools on a computer are often created by someone who just wanted to solve a problem that was apparently beneath the notice of massive software developers.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Aya Cash on Giant, boycotting, and the silliest part of being on The Boys

Mashable - 7 hours 12 min ago

They say don't meet your heroes, and the new-to-Broadway stage play starring Aya Cash (You're the Worst, The Boys) shows why.

Written by Mark Rosenblatt, Giant stars John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. The British children's book author is best known for such beloved stories as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. This play, however, addresses how the reception of that work shifts as Dahl expresses antisemitism in other published works and interviews in 1983. When his caustic comments cause public outcry, it's up to an American publisher named Jessie Stone (Cash) to manage this bullying "giant" so the scandal won't hurt the sales of his next book, The Witches. As big an admirer as Jessie is of his work, she is shocked by Dahl's viciousness and politics. And Cash proves a compelling, resilient scene partner to a rampaging Lithgow.

Cash came by the Say More studio to talk about Giant, which made the leap from the West End to Broadway this spring. The play deals not only with the specifics of Dahl but also with broader questions about art versus the artist, cancel culture, and more. With Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko, Cash spoke about how she struggles with such questions in her own life. In the full interview, on YouTube, she also talks about what drives her as an actor, her work on Giant and The Boys, and the silliest bit of playing a superhero on the upcoming prequel spinoff series Vought Rising, in which she'll reprise the role of Stormfront.

Giant is now on Broadway.

The Boys Season 5 is now on Prime Video, with a new episode every Wednesday.

Vought Rising's release is currently TBD.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 hot Paramount+ shows you can binge this weekend (April 10 - 12)

How-To Geek - 7 hours 20 min ago

For this weekend on Paramount+ (or into next week, for that matter), if you're looking for something new to watch, or maybe a show you've heard a lot of good things about but have never tried, then the selections below might scratch your binge-watching itch.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Linux is easier than ever, but these 4 defaults still trip people up

How-To Geek - 7 hours 50 min ago

Linux has never been more user-friendly, but that doesn't mean there aren't still some things that give newcomers trouble. These are four things that new users should be familiar with before it causes a headache.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 bingable Netflix shows to get lost in this weekend (April 10 - 12)

How-To Geek - 8 hours 20 min ago

This weekend on Netflix, if you're not (or are done) watching Something Very Bad is Going to Happen or Anaconda and are in the market for something unique, chilling, or enlightening, allow me to politely direct your attention to the list below.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Exit 8 review: The most nightmarish spot-the-difference youve ever experienced

Mashable - 8 hours 40 min ago

If you've ever felt like a lab rat in a hellish maze when trying to exit a subway station, you need to watch Exit 8.

Based on (and almost identically replicating) Kotake Create's acclaimed 2023 game, director Genki Kawamura's adaptation is a staggeringly meticulous piece of cinema. Fans of the game will be shocked to see those signature hallways come to life; newcomers will get to experience the maddening escape room for the first time.

SEE ALSO: 'Exit 8' trailer is one of the freakiest trailers I've seen in an age

At once a masterpiece of game-to-film adaptation, an elegant, nail-biting horror-thriller, and a technical cinematic marvel, Exit 8 locks you in and leaves you to flail. You'll never see your commute the same way.

What is Exit 8 about? Kazunari Ninomiya and Naru Asanuma in "Exit 8." Credit: Neon

To call Kotake Create's game The Exit 8 a walking simulator is an understatement. This masterpiece of environmental storytelling is essentially a nightmarish spot-the-difference experience that ties players in knots when it's not leaving them terrified. Like a Möbius strip, Exit 8 sends you into a seemingly endless loop, walking the same mundane yet unsettling subway hallway beneath Tokyo again and again, with the only chance of escape a mysterious set of instructions: If you find anomalies, turn around immediately. If you don’t find anomalies, do not turn back.

Kawamura and co-writer Kentaro Hirase expand this puzzle into three acts, installing a compelling protagonist, exploring other characters (including an outstanding performance by Yamato Kōchi as The Walking Man), and adding a running theme of fatherhood. We meet an unnamed man (an exceptional Kazunari Ninomiya) on his way to his temp job in the Tokyo subway. He's crammed into a train carriage with thousands of other silent commuters, all glued to their phones in a deeply familiar image. When an upsetting confrontation occurs, he simply turns up the volume and zones out, the bystander effect in full force. He takes a rattling call from his ex (Nana Komatsu). When he tries to leave the station, he finds himself trapped in a mysterious looping hallway, tasked with facing (and identifying) chilling oddities — a door ajar, the sound of suddenly nearby footsteps, a disturbingly exaggerated smile.

While a seemingly simple concept, the themes running through this labyrinth are complex, from the drudgery of the nine-to-five to the weight of major life decisions to the concept of limbo. What is this place? An Escher experiment? A modern version of Dante's Nine Circles of Hell? Kawamura will leave you frantically searching for meaning as you search for aberrations on the screen.

Exit 8 is a masterpiece of filmmaking, from production design to cinematography It's perfect. Credit: Neon

The first time our "Lost Man" rounds the corner into Exit 8's all-important hallway, my jaw hit the floor. Production designer Ryo Sugimoto, set designer Yutaka Motegi, lighting designer Tatsuya Hirayama, and set decorator Yutaka Motegi have perfectly recreated Kotake Create's generic subway setting to down to the very last detail, from the graphic design to the stark lighting and those cruel white tiles. It's a magnificent feat, building this seemingly endless hallway for uninterrupted shots, captured with meticulous precision by cinematographer Keisuke Imamura. 

Long one-shots track Ninomiya's superb, overtly physical performance as he frantically attempts to escape the hallway and survive the disturbing jumpscares, many from visual effects supervisor Seiji Masamoto. The game itself wields first person perspective with every step, turn, or movement through space functioning as player-propelled cinematography, and Imamura expertly channels this into Exit 8, executing a hypnotic, unsettling march through these dreaded hallways.

However, none of this would hit quite so hard without Exit 8's supervising sound editor and foley artist Masaya Kitada. Sound becomes a bona fide weapon in Kitada's hands, building dread from the crisp clack of footsteps and the buzzing of fluorescence, or straight-up terrifying you from inside a locker. Make sure you see this film with a monster sound system.

Exit 8 will have you playing spot-the-difference too

The key game mechanic of The Exit 8, spotting the anomalies, also functions as the narrative driver of the film, as the protagonist studies the few consistent elements of the hallway in order to spot anything amiss. Some anomalies are obvious, while others are microscopic. With the latter, deciding whether an anomaly is in fact one becomes as risky a move as deciding it's not. It's maddening, this constant state of flux between ennui, frustration, drudgery, and pure terror.

Through Imamura's calculated cinematography, the audience is also able to play along in some instances in which we desperately roam the screen to identify an anomaly before the Lost Man does — there were more than a few moments when I pointed, pantomime-style, at the screen wanting to yell "IT'S BEHIND YOU!" Granted, fans of the game will be less freaked out by the startling nature of the anomalies, as experiencing them on a first-time play is as unsettling as watching the film.

While video game adaptations come in a range of sublime to mediocre, Exit 8 is a triumphant realisation and expansion of the original concept. Kawamura's punctilious direction and his incredibly talented cast and crew amplify this contained hallway in satisfying, chilling ways. You'll remain in this hallway long after you've left the cinema — we're all still staring blankly at that Exit 0 sign.

Exit 8 is now in cinemas.

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Categories: IT General, Technology
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