We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.The price of Amazon's Kindle Colorsoft was one of the biggest barriers to recommending when I reviewed the device earlier this year and compared it to cheaper options like the Kobo Libra Colour, but thanks to Amazon's Big Spring Sale, it's now a significantly more attractive option. Normally selling for $280, it's now down to $225, actually making it cheaper than the Kobo and similar color e-readers from Boox or Bigme. Amazon Kindle Colorsoft $224.99 at Best Buy $279.99 Save $55.00 Get Deal Get Deal $224.99 at Best Buy $279.99 Save $55.00 That's a pretty significant savings, especially because the Kindle Colorsoft has some key improvements over other color e-readers when it comes to the screen. It uses the same E Ink Kaleido 3 display as most other color e-readers, sure, but it also boasts some technical additions that give it higher contrast and better lighting. It's not going to be as vivid as a more traditional tablet, sure, but it's the best I've ever seen with color e-ink.There's also no denying the convenience of Amazon's Kindle store. If you have a pre-existing library of content, getting a new Kindle device is the easiest way to upgrade without losing access to it.That said, you'll still be making some sacrifices here. Comics are easily the best use case for color e-readers I've found yet, and without access to apps from the likes of Marvel or DC, actually finding content to read on your new Colorsoft can be a bit harder than elsewhere. Amazon also recently made it much harder to read Kindle content on non-Kindle devices, so you should know that you're potentially locking yourself into a future of Amazon e-readers if you start buying books using its store.Still, if you're willing to deal with all that, the Kindle Colorsoft is one of the more technically proficient color e-readers available right now, and at this price, doesn't cost you any extra to buy over many competitors. Plus, it also supports wireless charging using aspecial dock, which is also now on sale.Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter,Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including:The Best Over-Ear HeadphonesThe Best Wireless EarbudsThe Best Adjustable Dumbbell SetsThe Best Projectors

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.This refurbished iPad 9th Gen (2021) in Space Gray, bundled with Beats Flex Wireless Headphones, is currently on sale for $224.99 (with free shipping!) on StackSocial, and for that price, its a great value. The iPad itself is listed with a Grade A rating, meaning its in near-mint condition with little to no visible wearbasically as good as new without the retail price tag. That said, its minimum battery health is 80%; and it's also wifi only, so no LTE connectivity, but thats expected.Performance-wise, the A13 Bionic chip keeps things running smoothly for everyday tasks like browsing, streaming, and taking notes. The 10.2-inch Retina display may not be Apples most advanced, but its crisp, bright, and great for binge-watching or sketching. It comes with 64GB of storage, which should be fine for everyday use, but its non-expandable, so heavier apps or a lot of downloads might fill it up quickly. The front camera is 12MP with Center Stage, which keeps you in the frame during video calls, while the back camera is 8MP, good enough for scanning documents or casual photos. Plus, it supports the Apple Pencil (1st Gen)but keep in mind that thats not included, so if you plan on doodling or taking handwritten notes, youll need to budget for that separately. Battery life holds up well, with about nine hours per charge.The Beats Flex Wireless Headphones in the bundle add a little extra value, though theyre more of a nice throw-in than a major selling point. They connect via Bluetooth, have up to 12 hours of battery life, and feature Apples W1 chip for seamless pairing with iOS devices. Sound-wise, theyre decent for casual listening, but they wont blow you away with deep bass or high-end clarity. Still, theyre comfortable and lightweight, and if youre already deep into the Apple ecosystem, these could make a solid backup pair of wireless buds. One potential downside is that these are neckband-style earbuds, which some might find outdated compared to true wireless options. On the other hand, if youre prone to losing small earbuds, this design can be a plus.Along with the iPad and Beats Flex, you also get a case, a screen protector, a stylus, and charging accessorieswhich means you wont have to shell out extra for the basics (rare for a refurbished buy). At this price, its a practical pick if you need an iPad for everyday tasks and are okay with a refurbished model. It wont replace a high-end laptop or an iPad Pro, but it gets the job done for streaming, light work, and general use.

While computers are great and all, there is something so satisfying about physically writing something down. Digital notebooks kind of provide the best of both worlds, allowing you to handwrite as much as you want on just one device. One of the newest options on the market is Amazon's 2024 Kindle Scribe with a redesigned display and uniform borders. Right now, the 16GB version is on sale for $325, down from $399 a 19 percent discount. Our pick for best e-reader E Ink tablet is marked down as part of Amazon's Spring Sale, a site-wide event. The new Amazon Kindle Scribe received an 86 in our review thanks to its nice design, AI enhancements and excellent reading and writing experience. It also comes with a Premium Pen that has a rubberized top to symbolize an eraser. Our biggest quip was its cost, but that's somewhat less concerning thanks to this discount.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-second-gen-kindle-scribe-drops-to-a-record-low-price-for-the-amazon-spring-sale-153010005.html?src=rss

The once-iconic music-sharing platform Napster just sold for $207 million, according to reporting by CNBC. A company called Infinite Reality ponied up the cash. What could Napster offer in 2025 to warrant such a price tag? Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto says itll be used for marketing in the metaverse. In other words, a platform from 1999 will be used as part of a technology that seemingly peaked in 2021. That sounds about right.More specifically, the company plans on creating virtual 3D spaces for music fans to attend concerts and listening parties, in addition to creating a sales platform for musicians and labels to sell merch. This isnt the worst idea in the world, as attending these kinds of shared events is probably my favorite aspect of VR."The most legendary collab?! Infinite Reality has acquired iconic online music brand @Napster.With this acquisition, we're expanding and reimagining Napster, empowering artists with new audience monetization and engagement capabilities, underpinned by iRs #immersive pic.twitter.com/L4Fig7QFct Infinite Reality (@Infinite_iR) March 25, 2025 When we think about clients who have audiences influencers, creators I think its very important that they have a connected space thats around music and musical communities, Acunto said. We just dont see anybody in the streaming space creating spaces for music.Napster holds numerous licenses to stream millions of songs, which is what made it an attractive prospect to Infinite Reality. The company says its version of Napster will disrupt legally.Current Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos says that the purchase will allow artists to create crazy environments that are really only limited by their imaginations. As an example, he described a reggae artist who might enjoy a virtual beach environment. Acunto adds that itll be like Clubhouse times a trillion. Hes referring to the virtual events app that became popular during COVID, but eventually petered out.Infinite Reality has been on a buying spree the last couple of years. In addition to Napster, it purchased the Drone Racing League, the metaverse marketing platform Landvault and the VR shopping platform Obsess.As for Napster, it started in 1999 and took the world by storm, creating an easy-peasy way to steal music. It only took a couple of years for mounting legal battles to catch up to the platform and it declared bankruptcy in 2001.However, that was just the beginning. The software company Roxio purchased the platform in 2002 and relaunched it as a legitimate e-commerce venture that sold digital music files. In 2008, Best Buy came calling and scooped it up. The retail giant only held on to Napster for a few years before selling to Rhapsody in 2011.Rhapsody tried to make Napster a household name in Europe for the next decade before a consortium of blockchain companies, led by Hivemind and Algorand, bought it in 2022. These companies had plans to do some kind of NFT-based nonsense, because music x web3 is one of the most exciting spaces. That didnt work and, well, here we are. Heres to another 25 years of being passed around like a hot potato.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/napster-just-sold-for-207-million-154432315.html?src=rss

Monster Hunter Wilds' Free Title Update 1 will be released on April 3 and will introduce a host of new content, including the addition of a new monster.

This new gaming microphone from RIG is the only one on the market to offer wireless audio monitoring via Bluetooth headphones.

One of the more frustrating classes I took in college in the 1980s was a computer science course on data structures and algorithms. In that class, we learned about a variety of approaches to solving key problems in programming. For example, we learned several different ways to take a list of numbers given in an arbitrary order and to sort that list from smallest to largest. These approaches differed in their efficiency.What frustrated me about the class wasnt the algorithms themselvesthey were interesting. But we were never taught how anyone ever came up with those different approaches. What in the world would have gotten someone to even think of those things? Looking back on it, my frustration arose because the class wasnt teaching us how to imagine alternatives to what we already knew. Instead, it was just providing a series of alternatives that someone else had discovered.In fact, much of school involves learning things that someone else has discovered and then doing assignments in which you answer questions that the person asking the question already knows the answer to. Yet, most of what youre going to be asked to do for the rest of your career involves answering new questions that the person asking doesnt already know how to answer (and perhaps nobody has a satisfactory answer to yet).Imagining alternatives to current reality is not something you are likely to do well unless you practice it. If you feel like you need more practice being imaginative, here are a few things you can do to improve.Consider the scenarioBear in mind that all of the things you imagine are rooted in things you know already. In classic studies, people were asked to draw imaginary creatures from another planet. These creatures all tended to have the same structure, appendages, and sense organs as existing creatures. So, if youre trying to imagine a new alternative, youre going to call an existing scenario to mind. If you arent happy with the outcome of your imagination, try thinking of another scenario to use as a basis for your imagined situation.Think first about the outcomeThere is a tendency to focus on situations you know about when trying to imagine the future. Instead, focus on the solution or outcome you want to achieve, because that might call other things to mind. If you are trying to imagine modes of transportation in the future, rather than thinking about cars or trains, just focus on how a person could start at one place and end up at their desired location. That might lead to a different approach to imagining the future.Add constraintsTry to constrain your imagination. People often think that constraints make them less creative. Studies suggest, though, that without constraints, you often imagine world that is quite similar to the world you know. When you put a lot of constraints on your imagination, most of the initial things you think of violate those constraints, so you have to keep working at it. You may fail to find anything that fits the constraints you set, but when you do, it is probably going to be pretty creative.Devote time to practicingYou should also practice trying to imagine thingseven when you dont need to. Give yourself an assignment to imagine a solution to a problem you see, to come up with a plot for a story, or to develop a business idea. This practice will make you more comfortable using your imagination in situations where the idea you generate has implications for your job success.Ultimately, remember that imagination is a skill that can be improved with practice. Because your education probably did not prepare you to be particularly imaginative, youre going to have to work on it on your own. While it would have been nice to get more practice imagining in school, it is never too late to work on those skills.