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ReviewsFitbit Alta HR Is the Best Fitness Tracker for Normal People
Let’s face it, the world of fitness trackers has plateaued. Most people who want a fitness tracker already have one, and more than a few of us have old trackers shoved away in a drawer, useless because the charging cable mysteriously disappeared, or because the company who made it decided it didn’t care anymore and … Continued
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ReviewsThings I Managed to Do With the $250 Computer From Hell
I’ve never been to hell, but I imagine it’s a lot like going to work and using an abysmally slow computer. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past two weeks, as I’ve plodded along in my own personal nightmare using a tiny, $250 PC built for emerging markets. The Mission One comes from … Continued
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ReviewsThis Silly Button From Logitech Made My Smart Home Fun Again
I have issues with smart home technology. The promise of a Jetsons-style, automated living environment has never been closer, but the experience basically sucks right now. After spending a few weeks with a programmable button by Logitech, however, I feel suddenly hopeful. The button is called the Pop Home Switch. It’s a delightfully simple gadget … Continued
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ReviewsThis $150 Console Gave Me Every Nintendo Game I’ve Ever Owned in 4K
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with retro video games. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited about the NES Classic Edition; it’s also why I spent my Thanksgiving documenting how to put together a Raspberry Pi-based mini SNES instead of brining turkeys. But building an emulation console from scratch … Continued
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io9MoviesThe Live-Action Beauty and the Beast Is Fine, But Also Completely Unnecessary
Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast isn’t bad. How could it be? It’s basically a remake of one of the greatest animated movies of all time. It’s when it tries to be different that it stumbles, and those problems drag down the good parts where it gets hard to overlook its flaws, making you wonder … Continued
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ReviewsThis New Bluetooth Speaker Doubles As a Great Sounding Headphone Amp
V-Moda is known for making practically indestructible headphones that sound great and look nice to boot. What the company isn’t known for is external speakers. And yet I’m writing this review while listening to The Beatles on the V-Moda Remix, the company’s first Bluetooth speaker. But, and this is important, I’m listening to John Lennon … Continued
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io9TelevisionAmerican Gods Is Going to Be Your Next Must-Watch Fantasy Show
Yesterday at SXSW in Austin, Texas, a packed house gathered to worship gods that will beat you up, get you drunk and sex you into oblivion. If the first episode of the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved novel American Gods is any indication, the masses will be showing up to give their love again … Continued
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ReviewsThe Beats X Earbuds Are AirPods For People Who Like to Move
Last fall, Apple killed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and tried to convince us all that we would be much happier with Bluetooth headphones instead. Apple’s flagship solution for all of that woe came by the way of the AirPods, $160 headphones with absolutely no wires. For the price, I like AirPods, but … Continued
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io9Television
The Iron Fist TV Series Is Marvel and Netflix’s First Big Failure
There’s a critical concept with the Marvel Netflix shows often referred to as “the wall”—the moment where, about two-thirds of the way through their season, they slam the brakes on the pacing and stakes and preamble for a bit, mostly before pulling it together in the finale. Iron Fist starts by hitting that wall, and … Continued
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Reviews
Building the Ikea Bike Is a Pain Worth Suffering Through
It’s been about a year since I last jammed my finger putting together Ikea furniture. It was for my brand new apartment, and even though I broke a sweat and a little skin at the top of my hand, I saved a ton of money—that’s the benefit of outfitting your home in Ikea housewares. Now, … Continued
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ReviewsNintendo Switch Review: Plays Zelda Great, Doesn’t Do Much Else
After a shipping snafu with Amazon, I spent the better part of a day trying to track a Nintendo Switch down. I experienced exactly what many hopeful Switch owners will experience. I hounded Craigslist, and haunted Best Buy, and waited in a too-long line at GameStop. And now I’ve spent the last few days living … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
io9Television
The Return of Samurai Jack Is Everything You Wanted, and So Much More
When Adult Swim announced it would be bringing back Genndy Tartakovsky’s beloved animated scifi series Samurai Jack for one last season, many fans expected to see a show that would give them a darker, more violent Jack. The new season does give us that darker hero, but not in the way you might have expected. … Continued
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ReviewsAlienware Proves That Laptop Size Doesn’t Have to Matter
When it comes to playing games, I’ve always preferred consoles to computers. Building (or buying) a custom gaming rig can be fun, but I need a dedicated laptop. And gaming laptops can definitely bring the power, but often with a size and battery-life trade-off that would make it impossible to use in any non-gaming scenario. … Continued
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Reviews
You Can Game on This Super Cheap Laptop, But It Won’t Be Pretty
If you’re trying to spend less than $1000 on a computer you plan to use daily, then you will find yourself making compromises. In the case of the Dell Inspiron 7000, you get a beefy gaming computer that can take whatever game designers throw at it. Unfortunately, its physical design is rife with trade-offs. Indeed, … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsThese Futuristic Earbuds Are a Pricey Upgrade to Apple’s AirPods
I’m sitting on a busy subway train in Manhattan, listening to some tunes. This is a normal situation, something I do a dozen times a week. What isn’t normal is that I only hear my music, and I don’t hear any of the train or crowd noise around me. Instead, my music is backed by … Continued
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ReviewsSamsung’s New Chromebook Is a Nearly Perfect Budget Laptop
I was working on the new Samsung Chromebook Pro, furiously putting together a post that needed to go up stat. The final touch was an image, but I needed to edit it, and I didn’t want to reach for my normal work machine. So I popped it open in the Adobe Lightroom Android app, flipped … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHP Made a Laptop I Actually Want to Use
After spending some time with HP’s redesigned 15-inch Spectre X360, it seems to me the company’s recipe for clawing its way back into the hearts of the people should have been obvious all along: lots of power and features in an attractive package for less money than the competition. Duh. HP has had a rough … Continued
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Reviews
How a Bike With Infinite Gears Changed The Way I Commute
For the past three months, I’ve been riding the Priority Bicycles Continuum, a commuter bike outfitted with a handful of low-maintenance components and a drivetrain system with an “infinite” number of gears. It’s been an absolute joy to ride and has regularly shaved about 15 minutes off my hour-long trips around Brooklyn and Manhattan. Besides … Continued
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Reviews
Someone Finally Made an Electric Grill That Doesn’t Suck
George Foreman changed the kitchen game when he slapped his name on a low-rent panini press and sold it to the masses. In the late 90s and early aughts, the George Foreman Grill was the kitchen appliance to own—after the refrigerator, microwave, and stove. But what if the George Foreman grill wasn’t that cheapo appliance … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
Reviews
The NES Classic Is So Much Better With a Wireless Controller
Several months after its release, it’s still difficult to track down Nintendo’s amazing NES Classic Edition. The tiny console is everything you want it to be, but it does have one tiny flaw that isn’t related to limited retail availability: incredibly short controller cords. The cord on the single controller that comes with the NES … Continued