Thanks to the best early Black Friday home deals, theres no reason to be up at the crack of dawn or chasing down deals in store. In fact, many sales have started to rolling in faster than we can keep up with, so consider this list the best of the best. From 35% off bed linens and up to 50% off an Instagram-beloved cookware set, now is a great time to tackle shopping for holiday gifts, gadgets, high-end furniture, and even holiday decor.Though you may have your mind set on a world of robot vacuums, air fryers, or Apple AirPods, dont let the items that really upgrade your home decor go unnoticed. From a striking sectional or kitchen appliances like a chic Dutch oven to trendy rugs and chairs all, we pulled together the best Black Friday deals so you skip coupon searching and stay at home.Our Best Black Friday Home DealsCozy Earth Bamboo Sheet Set, $339 $232Avocado Green Mattress, $1,999 $1,699Balsam Hill Fraser Fir Tree, $799 $549Parachute Cloud Cotton Quilt, $289 $217Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP07 Air Purifier, Heater, and Fan, $750 $530Branch Ergonomic Chair, $329 $279Wayfair Abdiel Upholstered Platform Storage Bed, $229 $148AmazonTime and time again, the mega-retailer has proven that it has some of the best early access deals around. Weve spotted thousands of products on markdown in the home category, whether youre looking for discounted smart Wi-Fi TVs, Dyson vacuum cleaners, or standing desks. Our tried and true? Bestsellers like Levoit Air purifiers and humidifiers or a KitchenAid stand mixer.KitchenAid Artisan Stand MixerLEVOIT Smart Home Air PurifierCozy EarthIf youre searching for some super-cozy sheets, bath towels, or loungewear, check out Cozy Earths early Black Friday sale. Were partial to this cooling bamboo sheet set, which features a sateen finish that feels silky to the touch whenever you snuggle in.Bamboo Sheet SetCozy Earth Linen Bamboo Duvet CoverParachuteA wide swatch of Parachute products are deeply discount right now, from the brands cozy duvets to the crowd favorite robe that made our Editors Picks gift guide. While the brand offers percale and linen, its their Cloud products that really set them apart from the crowd.Cloud Cotton RobeOrganic Cloud Cotton QuiltAvocadoThe Black Friday sale season is hands down the best time to buy a mattress. Get quality, organic sleep in time for the holiday season with up to 20% off a top-rated Avocado mattress or 10% off accoutrements like a mattress topper or pillow.Avocado Green MattressAvocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper, Queen SizeBoll & BranchIf youre on the hunt for classic and luxurious bedding to curl up in (and who isnt?), you can find select styles available at some mega discounts on Boll & Branch. Save 25% on orders over $300 with the code CYBER25. Contributor Erika Owen recommends the Hemmed Duvet Set, especially if youre a hot sleeper prone to night sweats or one of their organic sheet sets.Boll & Branch Signature Hemmed Duvet SetFlannel Classic Plaid Duvet SetBuffyBuffy, creators of the original Cloud Comforter (tested and reviewed by us!) and lighter weight little sibling the Breeze, are offering 25% off sitewide for Cyber Week. If you havent given Buffy a try yet, here is a sneak peek at what senior digital design editor Sydney Gore had to say about the Cloud: Ive been using this comforter since the brand dropped it in 2017 and have never looked back. Its light, soft, breathableeverything you would ever want in a comforter that stays on your bed all year round.Buffy Cloud ComforterWayfairMuch like Amazon, Wayfair always offers unbeatable prices on an extensive inventory of products. The major retailer already keeps things pretty affordable, but their early Black Friday deals really knock things out of the park. Checking out all the low prices on decor is a good place to start, but dont forget deals on other bigger items like mattresses, appliances, and more.Sealy to Go 12" Medium Memory Foam MattressAndover Mills Abdiel Upholstered Platform BedSerena & LilyOpen the Serena & Lily homepage and youll find one simple message: Sale of the year. The coastal-inspired retailer is discounting high quality furniture, bedding, and decor with various markdowns.Belvedere Flannel Duvet CoverAlbion Mohair throwCastleryCastlery is running a buy more save more deal on furniture finds like an MCM-style dining set or MCM-style TV stand. We dedicated an entire story to the pieces were eyeing while the sale lasts.Castlery Harper TV StandCastlery Madison Chaise Sectional SofaPottery BarnThere are literally thousands of products on sale at Pottery Barn right now, but we did a little digging and found the best of the best, if we do say so ourselves. Youll find great toy storage, bedding, and furniture for the smaller people in your life. Check out our full Pottery Barn early Black Friday roundup here or enjoy this pared down selection below.Pottery Barn Dream Modular Sofa Chaise SectionalCrafthouse Ice Bucket with TongsAnthropologieNows the perfect time to stock up on on-trend luxury furniture and decor at Anthropologie. The retailers early Black Friday deals are sweet, with up to 60% off sale items. On our list? Ornate credenzas, swirly tapered candles, statement mirrors, and plush armchairs.Anthropologie Bree Mirrored ShelfAnthropologie Woven Petunia Kori Modular Armless SofaBranchWhen we asked around about the best ergonomic office chairs, contributor Terri Williams told us this one from Branch looks as good as it feels. Use code BFCM to save up to 30% and get free shipping on any order from Branch.Branch Ergonomic ChairBalsam HillThe perfect artificial Christmas tree does existand you can find it at Balsam Hill, along with and all the trimmings you need to nail your holiday decor. Weve tested several of their trees ourselves and can attest to the quality and longevity of their products, so you might want to act fast because they do in fact sell out.Balsam Hill Fraser Fir TreeBalsam Hill Classic Blue Spruce

Blender Foundations 2024 FundraiserNovember 18th, 2024Press ReleasesFrancesco Siddi html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"AMSTERDAM, Netherlands The Blender Foundation today announced its latest fundraising campaign. This campaign, themed Join the 2 percent, aims to substantially increase the amount of incoming donations to support the continued development and maintenance of the beloved free and open-source 3D creation software.Blender is free for everyone. However, developing and maintaining the project is not without cost. These costs are solely covered by donations from thousands of individuals and several corporations. While having a good relationship with corporations is important, individual donations from users are crucial, as they allow Blender to remain an independent community project with development focus on end-user benefits.Blender is massively popular: 20 million downloads were registered in 2023. Understandably, most people are not in the position to financially support the project, but its reasonable to estimate that around 2% of the users have benefited from Blender in one way or another. Its to these people that the Foundation wishes to reach out: join the 2% of users that donate to Blender and keep it free for everyone!About the Blender FoundationThe Blender Foundation is a public benefit organization with the mission to provide everyone access to the worlds best 3D CG technology as free/open source tools, by facilitating and supporting the projects at blender.org. Blender is being used by millions of artists, designers, filmmakers, and professionals worldwide. The foundation is committed to ensuring that Blender remains a powerful, free and open-source tool for creative expression and innovation.Contact:Ton Roosendaal, Blender Foundation[emailprotected]

You have /5 articles left.Sign up for a free account or log in.Sign Up, Its FREELoginNumerous academics have announced departures from X in recent weeks.Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher EdTwo years ago, after Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44billion, promptly renaming it X, numerous academics decamped from the platform. Now, in the wake of a presidential election fraught with online disinformation, a second exodus from the social media site appears underway.Academics, including some with hundreds of thousands of followers, announced departures from the platform in the immediate aftermath of the election, decrying the toxicity of the website and objections to Musk and how he wielded the platform to back President-elect Donald Trump. The business mogul threw millions of dollars behind Trump and personally campaigned for him this fall. Musk also personally advanced various debunked conspiracy theories during the election cycle.Amid another wave of exits, some users see this as the end of Academic Twitter, which was already arguably in its death throes.Most PopularPostelection ExitsFormer Southern New Hampshire University president Paul LeBlanc was among the high-profile academics who have declared they are leaving X, citing a problematic tilt toward disinformation.Going off this platform now. It has become a toxic cesspool, is owned by someone I despise, and has become a tool for disinformation. I miss the fun days of Twitter and sorry to lose contact with so many. Will look for other platforms on which to connect, LeBlanc posted last week on his now-deleted account. Advertisement In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, LeBlanc said he started using Twitter in 2008 to follow other academics but noticed a change when Musk took over. His feed became full of toxic stuff, which prompted him to use the platform less before deciding to leave.When the first wave of defections occurred, when Elon took over, I really wrestled with the question [to leave] then. And a lot of people have made a case that we shouldnt cede the platform over to others, that our voice deserves to have its place there as well, LeBlanc said.But recently, after spending time on the site, LeBlanc said he usually came away feeling worse for the experience, which made him decide Idont need to be part of that. Advertisement Borrowing from Aristotle, LeBlanc said, We cant have a discussion about what should be if we cant agree on what is. If theres one thing that characterizes this election, its that we did not have a shared reality, we had two universes at work, and I think Elon contributed to that.Isaac Kamola, a political science professor at Trinity College, announced his exit by declaring Musk a dangerous fascist and encouraged others to leave the platform with him. While hes keeping his account active to allow other users to direct message him, Kamola wrote by email he plans to stop posting due to concerns about disinformation and his distaste for Xs owner.Twitter has become a plaything of a plutocrat man-child who relishes in trolling the vulnerable and spreading disinformation. Pathetic. I could no longer justify being on that platform, he said.Editors' PicksKamola added that he was tired of seeing irrelevant posts, dumb stuff that had no relevance to what I was actually interested in.The final straw for Kamola was when he saw a post from right-wing conspiracy peddler Catturd in his feed, an account Musk has worked to promote. At that point, he said, It was time to leave.Jay Rosen, a New York University professor with more than 300,000 followers, was another well-known academic who said he would step away from the site (but keep his account open).Starting Monday I wont be continuing at this site For a while Twitter was a way to do journalism education in public, for a publicand for free. I think I was effective at times in that role. I no longer know how thats done, Rosen wrote on X.LeBlanc, Kamola and Rosen all mentioned that they were moving to the platform Bluesky, which has grown to 14.5million users, welcoming more than 700,000 new accounts in recent days. In September, Bluesky had ninemillion users.(X did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed.)Staying PutOther academics, however, plan to stick with the platform.Paul Novosad, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, argued that academics should remain on X as a way to continue to engage with a broader audience, despite the rising number of online trolls there.I understand the academic impetus to move to a new platform. But Ithink it is bad for the commons if all the academics disappear and only talk to each other. We need your good ideas to be shared widely as much we ever did, Novosad wrote in a post last week.Novosad warned against academics retreating to their own social media bubble and shared tips on how to use the platform, including making heavy use of the block and mute functions.And some cited the appeal of a broader audience as a reason to stay.Since Academic Twitter officially ended yesterday, Im also at Blue Sky. I always follow back. But Ill stay on Twitter for the foreseeable future as well because I like that the readership is much more diverse than university personnel alone, Josh Shepperd, a media studies professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, posted on X after the presidential election.Shepperd told Inside Higher Ed by email that he felt X had taken a regressive turn. But he believes its more than just Musk driving academics away, suggesting that the flight from Twitter isnt just reflective of its owner and amounts to a retreat by academics from recent turns to increase public engagement, which ran strong between roughly 2010 and now.The Death of Academic Twitter?For years, Academic Twitter was a space to connect with other users around shared research or policy interests and for scholars to engage the public and press directly. Some professors leveraged their academic expertise and witty musings into massive social media followings.Many used the website to seek or offer advice to fellow academics and raise concerns about issues at their universities or statehouses. Satire accounts poked fun at the absurdities of academe. While those purposes remain, many of the users that comprised Academic Twitter have either deactivated their accounts or disengaged from the platform, according to recent research.A study published in PS: Political Science & Politics last month concluded that academics began to engage less after Musk bought the platform. But the peak of disengagement wasnt when the billionaire took over the site in October 2022 but rather the next month, when he reinstated Donald Trumps account, which the platforms previous owners deactivated following the Jan.6, 2021, insurrection, which he encouraged.The researchers reviewed 15,700 accounts from academics in economics, political science, sociology and psychology for their study.James Bisbee, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University and article co-author, wrote via email that changes to the platform, particularly to the application programming interface, or API, undermined their ability to collect data for their research.Twitter used to be an amazing source of data for political scientists (and social scientists more broadly) thanks in part to its open data ethos, Bisbee wrote. Since Musks takeover, this is no longer the case, severely limiting the types of conclusions we could draw, and theories we could test, on this platform.To Bisbee, that loss is an understated issue: Along with many other troubling developments on X since the change in ownership, the amputation of data access should not be ignored. Want articles like this sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to a Newsletter

Trump makes FCC chair pick Trumps FCC chair is Brendan Carr, who wants to regulate everyone except ISPs Carr says he wants to punish broadcast media and dismantle "censorship cartel." Jon Brodkin Nov 18, 2024 12:20 pm | 136 Federal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr speaks during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on February 24, 2024. Credit: Getty Images | Anadolu Federal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr speaks during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on February 24, 2024. Credit: Getty Images | Anadolu Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn morePresident-elect Donald Trump announced last night that he will make Brendan Carr the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Carr, who wrote a chapter about the FCC for the conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, is a longtime opponent of net neutrality rules and other regulations imposed on Internet service providers.Although Carr wants to deregulate telecom companies that the FCC has historically regulated, he wants the FCC to start regulating Big Tech and social media firms. He has also echoed Trump's longtime complaints about the news media and proposed punishments for broadcast networks.Trump's statement on Carr said that "because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman.""Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans' Freedoms, and held back our Economy," Trump wrote. "He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America's Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America."Carr is a sitting FCC commissioner and therefore no Senate approval is needed to confirm the choice. The president can elevate any commissioner to the chair spot.Carr wants to punish broadcastersCarr thanked Trump in a post on his X account last night, then made several more posts describing some of the changes he plans to make at the FCC. One of Carr's posts said the FCC will crack down on broadcast media."Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resourceour airwaves. In turn, they are required by law to operate in the public interest. When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation," Carr wrote.We described Carr's views on how the FCC should operate in an article on November 7, just after Trump's election win. We wrote:A Carr-led FCC could also try to punish news organizations that are perceived to be anti-Trump. Just before the election, Carr alleged that NBC putting Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live was "a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule" and that the FCC should consider issuing penalties. Despite Carr's claim, NBC did provide equal time to the Trump campaign.Previous chairs defended free speechPrevious FCC chairs from both major parties have avoided punishing news organizations because of free speech concerns. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, the current FCC chairwoman, last month criticized Trump's calls for licenses to be revoked from TV news organizations whose coverage he dislikes."While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored," Rosenworcel said at the time. "As I've said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage."Former Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, rejected the idea of revoking licenses in 2017 after similar calls from Trump. Pai said that the FCC "under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment" and that "the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast."Carr believes differently. After the Saturday Night Live incident, Carr told Fox News that "all remedies should be on the table," including "license revocations" for NBC.We've pointed out repeatedly that the FCC doesn't actually license TV networks such as CBS or NBC. But the FCC could punish affiliates. The FCC's licensing authority is over broadcast stations, many of which are affiliated with or owned by a big network.Carr targets censorship cartelCarr wrote last night that "we must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans." This seems to be referring to making social media networks change how they moderate content. On November 15, Carr wrote that "Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel," along with fact-checking groups and ad agencies that "helped enforce one-sided narratives."During his first presidential term, Trump formally petitioned the FCC to reinterpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a way that would limit social media platforms' legal protections for hosting third-party content when the platforms take down content they consider objectionable.Trump and Carr have claimed that such a step is necessary because of anti-conservative bias. In his Project 2025 chapter, Carr wrote that the FCC "should issue an order that interprets Section 230 in a way that eliminates the expansive, non-textual immunities that courts have read into the statute."Carr's willingness to reinterpret Section 230 is likely a big plus in Trump's eyes. In 2020, Trump pulled the re-nomination of FCC Republican member Michael O'Rielly after O'Rielly said that "we should all reject demands, in the name of the First Amendment, for private actors to curate or publish speech in a certain way. Like it or not, the First Amendment's protections apply to corporate entities, especially when they engage in editorial decision making."Carr to end FCC diversity policiesLast night, Carr also said he would end the FCC's embrace of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies. "The FCC's most recent budget request said that promoting DEI was the agency's second highest strategic goal. Starting next year, the FCC will end its promotion of DEI," Carr wrote.The FCC budget request said the agency "will pursue focused action and investments to eliminate historical, systemic, and structural barriers that perpetuate disadvantaged or underserved individuals and communities." The Rosenworcel FCC said it aimed to create a diverse staff and to help "underserved individuals and communities" access "digital technologies, media, communication services, and next-generation networks."Carr dissented last year in the FCC's 3-2 decision to impose rules that prohibit discrimination in access to broadband services, describing the rulemaking as "President Biden's plan to give the administrative state effective control of all Internet services and infrastructure in the US."Another major goal for Carr is forcing Big Tech firms to help subsidize broadband network construction. Carr's Project 2025 chapter said the FCC should "require that Big Tech begin to contribute a fair share" into "the FCC's roughly $9 billion Universal Service Fund."Media advocacy group Free Press said yesterday that "Brendan Carr has been campaigning for this job with promises to do the bidding of Donald Trump and Elon Musk" and "got this job because he will carry out Trump and Musk's personal vendettas. While styling himself as a free-speech champion, Carr refused to stand up when Trump threatened to take away the broadcast licenses of TV stations for daring to fact-check him during the campaign. This alone should be disqualifying."Lobby groups representing Internet service providers will be happy to have an FCC chair focused on eliminating broadband regulations. USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter issued a statement saying that "Brendan Carr has been a proven leader and an important partner in our shared goal to connect all Americans. With his deep experience and expertise, Commissioner Carr clearly understands the regulatory challenges and opportunities across the communications landscape."Pai, who teamed up with Carr and O'Rielly to eliminate net neutrality rules in 2017, wrote that Carr "was a brilliant advisor and General Counsel and has been a superb Commissioner, and I'm confident he will be a great FCC Chairman."Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 136 Comments

Bare MetalThe latest contender in the retro hardware wars is a high-quality delight: the ChromaticTheres another premium retro console in town, and its got one of the sleekest and fanciest cases Ive ever seen.Image credit: VG247 Article by Alex Donaldson Assistant Editor Published on Nov. 18, 2024 Over the last few years, the retro floodgates have opened - and its honestly never been a better time to be an elderly gamer. If you want to relive the glories of your childhood there are now numerous options from a wide variety of companies - but this latest contender might be one of the most exciting yet.Ive seen a few Game Boy-alikes in my time. Just one year ago I reviewed the Super Pocket, a super cheap and simple offering from the team behind Evercade. The gold standard for the form remains the Analogue Pocket, a luxury and feature-filled device that keeps getting better with updates. The Chromatic slots into this pantheon on the higher end, rivalling the Pocket - though its approach is markedly different in important ways.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. First things first: this is a Game Boy. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck well, this is that. Its got that same familiar form factor - B and A buttons, Select and Start, a D-Pad, power switch, volume rocker everything is where youll remember it. The form factor is alarmingly close to the Game Boy Color, though divergent enough to be Legally Distinct. So, if were getting more specific, this is a Game Boy Color.That definition brings interesting advantages, drawbacks, and considerations that well dig into a little later in this article. But for now, let me start out with some broadly declarative praise - this is one of the nicest pieces of handheld gaming hardware Ive ever used.A lot of this is down to the shell - rather than plastic, as pretty much every other device like this uses, the Chromatic is crafted from magnesium alloy. This is still lightweight, but it feels bloody luxe. Its a weirdly specific thing to zone in on, but when I popped off the battery compartment for the first time (this eschews the now-common rechargeable battery for three traditional Double-As, though a rechargeable battery pack is also available) I was shocked at how solid and firm the compartment feels, and how definitively it clicks into place. The commitment to authenticity is strong. | Image credit: ChromaticIt just feels like quality. Im envisioning that American Psycho business card scene with these damn things. Someone flashes some Abernic Android handheld. Then its an Analogue Pocket; The operating system supports something called OpenFPGA. Then the Chromatic gets slammed on the table. Metal. The tasteful weight of it. Oh my god, it even has an IR portThe folks behind Chromatic claim that its also very, very sturdy - their website pictures a car driving over the device while it still happily runs Tetris. I dont have the stones to test this out, but holding the device in my hands and feeling the natural heft of it, I believe them.The build quality is good. The buttons are lovely; the D-Pad having that right amount of squishiness. The speakers are surprisingly loud, and output from the 3.5mm headphone jack is clear. Basically, its a nice device. Its IPS backlit LCD has a crisp, high clarity. Its not the time of year for testing sunlight - but playing with artificial light Im pretty sure itll fare quite well under natures glare. I like it a great deal.But as ever, the real test for hardware like this comes in terms of the games youll be playing - and this is where the choices made for the Chromatic get interesting.It is, frankly, impossible to talk about the Chromatic without talking about the Analogue Pocket. At this stage I must drop the facade and address them both, for they are such tightly-intertwined rivals that they have to be considered as a duo.As I said before, this is a Game Boy Color. I mean it: those are the games this plays. It takes the original cartridges, and even has the matching Infrared and Link Cable ports. Using those functions, it can talk to original Game Boys - or Analogue Pockets, for that matter.When we sit the Chromatic side-by-side with Analogue, theres no Game Boy Advance support, no wider-reaching operating system with implied support for other types of software, and certainly no physical adapters to slot in things like Game Gear carts. This is a Game Boy Color. It takes those old cartridges and plays em. With FPGA technology, it plays em damn good, with near-100% accuracy to original hardware.Theres a sense of deliberate simplicity here. The Chromatic does less, but it aims to be more impressive in what it offers for that less. For instance, a USB-C port on the bottom can be used not only to charge an optional battery pack, but also to directly video out the screen of the Chromatic to a PC. If youre a streamer who wants to play Game Boy games without emulation, on a device that has the original machines form and function - the Chromatic is now the machine for you.Theres also just something to be said for slamming a cart in, flicking the power switch and away you go. This obviously wont be for everybody. For a start, not everybody has libraries of games. Some want to dump a bunch of ROMs from their original carts (I assume dont tell me how you otherwise obtain them, I dont want to know) and load them from an SD card, getting rid of the need to carry around and swap carts. But theres something in the Chromatic that really channels the original experience, and I like that. Plus, if you really want to, the Chromatic does run an Everdrive without issue.Combine that OG experience with that beautiful metal casing and this feels like a toy, sure - but it feels like a toy for grown ups. There's a certain... charm... to it. | Image credit: ChromaticIts got a grown-up price tag too. The Chromatic runs $200 (161 for Brits, currently) - an unarguably premium product. Younger players less familiar with this hardware and without a cart collection are really not the target of this machine. In that context, and coupled with the super high quality, the price makes sense.The $200 price puts the Chromatic just $20 cheaper than the Analogue Pocket. This is where the situation becomes a bit pricklier - that machine has more compatibility, runs just as well, and is only a smidge more expensive. However, Analogues offering lacks the gorgeous case, and some might find all the bells and whistles a bit of a distraction. The Analogue offers a bigger screen, but as a result comes in a much larger overall footprint - so its less pocket friendly.Swings and roundabouts, as the saying goes. Ultimately, the feature and price comparison between the Analogue and Chromatic leads to what isnt exactly an easy sell - but I can totally see the market for both devices.Plus, the Chromatic has an ace up its sleeve. This is something that could completely flip the script around this machine in the years to come. The X-Factor is thus: Chromatic doesnt just play Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges; it also plays Chromatic Cartridges. Don't but the cart before the horses, now. | Image credit: VG247To be clear, these Chromatic Cartridges are just new Game Boy Color carts, really. The Chromatic ships with an all-new port of Tetris created specifically for the machine, and if you take that cart and drop it into a GBC, Analogue Pocket, or any other similar device, itll run. But the curiosity here is the promise that ModRetro will release more new games, licensed reprints of old games, or all-new ports on these carts, is intriguing.Readily available modern cartridges back up the concept of the machine as a more simple, traditional, physical media-driven device. Weve seen this sort of thing rolled out with great success by Evercade, which now has a pretty impressive line-up of classics available across many carts. Could the same happen here? I hope so.Ultimately, I think this is a lovely device. The price might be difficult for some to swallow - but I think if youre the sort of person whod go in for this sort of thing, youre likely already primed and ready to pay a premium. Its one of the nicest of these devices Ive used - and its one Ill continue to use, which is saying something given how many I have access to.The Chromatic is available to order now - and it could be a perfect Christmas gift for the ageing hardcore gamer in your life. Or, indeed, for yourself - if youre also edging ever closer to picking up your gaming pension.

Popeing OffThe odds of Baldur's Gate 3 being owned by The Pope just got better, as Larian's head of publishing shouts out mods for helping it outdo numbers from last yearThere's also an equally good - if not greater - chance he's not one of the three Vatican-based BG3 buyers, but we can dream.Image credit: VG247/Larian Studios News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Nov. 18, 2024 We all know Baldur's Gate 3's mods have proven pretty popular since official support for them was added by Larian with Patch 7. The developer's gone out of its way to tell us just that, even letting us know just who we need to thank for contributing.Anyway, now Larian's publishing director has shared that embracing mods has actually led Larian in 2024 to be ahead of where it was at in terms of some player stats this time last year, when BG3 was about to head into a holiday season that'd see it start to mop up all the GOTY awards it ended up getting. Seriously, it even looks like there's a chance The Pope's just bought it to see what the ongoing fuss is about.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. On Twitter, Michael Douse has shared some "fun data facts" he's dug up while looking through Larian's sales charts. "Our average daily peak concurrents are up 3% this year over last year" is the first one, "Our average daily active "users" are up 20% over last year" is the second, and "average daily Steam Deck users are up 61% over last year".The exec cites the first two specifically as being evidence that "mods are good", which is a thing I've also been saying for a while now, in between trying to work out which of the over 1000 add-ons is stopping my copy of Skyrim from launching. In response, one user said they wish more developers would embrace modding like Larian has via the release of its toolkit and the bringing of BG3 mods to both PC and console. "They are likely scared that people will mod sex and therefore the ratings boards would chase them down and kill them in the night," Douse replied. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Another interesting nugget which came out via this fresh batch of rare Douse tweets is that Baldur's Gate 3 has now sold one more copy in the Vatican City. Yes, after he revealed last week that two copies of BG3 had been sold in the Vatican - the place where The Pope lives - with one additional wishlist, Douse is now reporting another sale has been made.Naturally, Larian's publishing director has immediately assumed this final copy has been bought by The Pope himself, because that's funny. However, we here at VG247 are all about FACTS, as we've previously proven, so we've decided to try and calculate the odds that The Pope does actually own BG3.As of 2023, the Vatican's population is 764 people. Three copies of BG3 have been sold there. So, roughly 0.39% of the population of the Vatican are BG3 owners right now, meaning that's the chance The Pope has of being one of the three. Unless my maths in wrong, and it's last thing on a Monday right now, so there's a good chance that's the case. Sure, it's not a big chance he owns it, but it's better than nothing.With what his holiness has tweeted about the New Orleans Saints recently, I'm pretty certain he's got a good chance of being a Madden player too, so here's hoping he can find ample time for both in between popely duties.

theHunter: Call of the Wild brings the excitement of the great outdoors into the comfort of your home with amazing gameplay, deep mechanics, and gorgeous visuals.Experiencing the sights and sounds of the wilderness through the lens of an expert hunter is something truly specialand developer Avalanche Studios keeps theHunter: Call of the Wild engaging by releasing a steady stream of map expansions and updates.A game is only as strong as the maps within it, and theHunter: Call of the Wild features 13 outstandings map expansions based on real-world locations!Lets rank the best theHunter: Call of the Wild map expansions based on content currently available, animal diversity, gameplay experience, and critical reception.Dont confuse the ranking with quality, theHunter: Call of the Wild doesnt have a bad maptheyre all great hunting destinations!First, Some Honorable Mentions: New England Mountains, United StatesStarting off our Honorable Mentions are the New England Mountains. While being a gorgeous map with nice moose and Green-winged Teal options, it suffers a bit from a lack of total content and overly dense forests, making it too difficult to see prey. Mississippi Acres Preserve, United StatesThe South offers a noteworthy assortment of wildlife, including the American Alligator, Black Bear, and Wild Hog, all of which are fun to hunt. However, gameplay issueslike alligators scaring off prey like Whitetail Deercan lead to frustrating tracking situations. While this realism adds to the experience, it can sometimes make the hunt feel a bit too realistic for it to rank higher on our list. Parque Fernando, ArgentinaParque Fernando is large and brimming with amazing wildlife to hunt. You can bag a rare Cinnamon Teal or Blackbuck, hone your skills at the archery range, or simply enjoy the views. While the map has a lot to offer, it was affected when quality prey like the Mule Deer became available in other locations through updates, making it less competitive compared to the maps that made our list.Top-10 DLC Map Expansions10. Cuatro Colinas Game Reserve; SpainThe vistas and charms of Spain are captured perfectly throughout Cuatro Colinas Game Reserve, and the large range of available animal classes are so much fun to hunt.Majestic ibex, prancing deer, and scattered remains of Spains history welcome players with a taste for adventure. There are 3 Iberian Wolf boss animals, but we wish the reserve offered a larger diversity of total animals to hunt so the gameplay experience feels a little stunted.9. Medved-Taiga National Park; SiberiaHunt the vast, snow-covered lands of Northern Asia and explore countless miles of frozen lakes, forests, and fields. The terrains blankets of white make night hunting a delight, and you can even battle a rare cave-dwelling albino bear.The Musk Deer and Reindeer are two very popular and exclusive to this snowy map expansion. But the balanced roster of huntable animals is small, and the Revontuli Coast map expansion took away Medved-Taigas exclusivity to the Eurasian lynx and Eurasian brown bear.8. Rancho Del Arroyo; MxicoThis gorgeous ranch, located on the border of Northern Mexico and the Southwest United States, features two map-exclusive animals: the Rio Grande Turkey and Antelope Jackrabbit. Youll feel like a lively desperado as you hunt these warm colored lands. While Rancho Del Arroyo is vast and beautiful, it suffers from a lack of topographical diversity, and there are no boss animals. Youll have a great time in Mexico, but be sure to save some energy for the other maps as well.7. Silver Ridge Peaks; United StatesTackling the Southern Rocky Mountains isnt for the faint of heart; it requires a hunters mentality to thrive in these rugged landsluckily, you were made for this! The Silver Ridge Peaks map expansion offers gamers the chance to hunt a full spectrum of Animal Classes from 1 to 9, so youll never run out of interesting expeditions. Unfortunately, recent updates to drinking times and spawn locations have negatively impacted the hunting experience.6. Yukon Valley Nature Reserve; United StatesAlaskas mystical frontier has captivated hunters for centuries, and the video game version is no less magical. A community favorite map, the Yukon is stunning and offers excellent Class 8 and 9 hunting for Grizzly Bears and Plains Bison. If this map expansion included about four more animals, it would rank higher on our list. While the Yukon Valley Nature Reserve is far from a bad map, theHunter: Call of the Wild simply has many strong contenders!5. Vurhonga Savanna; AfricaTravel to south-west Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Amazing situational hunts like the Blue Wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, and African Lion will net you countless trophies and bundles of cash of traditional setups, you will find great drinking zones and wide plaine hunting too. Hunting zebras and other rare animals would have been nice, but we understand why they werent included. If you love unique hunts then youll easily fall for the Vurhonga Savanna.4. Te Awaroa National Park; New ZealandWelcome back to the southern hemisphere where youll find the Te Awaroa National Parkthe best map for fallow hunting. You can grind through turkey, deer, duck, and rabbit across the stunning, untamed landscape. Lush forests in the west also provide dynamic opportunities to hunt Sika Deer and Feral Pigs. The visuals and effects on this map expansion are absolutely breathtaking, so stick around New Zealand for a bit and fatten that in-game wallet of yours.3. Emerald Coast; AustraliaFinally, the top 3! The Emerald Coast is truly a gem of theHunter: Call of the Wild. Explore the ocean coast, dense forests, and more as you hunt a jaw-dropping mix of animals. Saltwater Crocodiles and Eastern Grey Kangaroos are unique to this map expansion and present some amazing challenges. Big game enthusiasts will feel right at home, as the Emerald Coasts excellent layout is designed for taking down epic Banteng, Sambar, and Red Deer. This fan-favorite map will keep you entertained for weeks!2. Revontuli Coast; FinlandAn elite sense of balance is why the Revontuli Coast finds itself high on our list. This map offers everything a gamer could want with a perfect assortment of both big and small animals. Bird hunters, especially those after ducks, will adore these Finnish lands, home to 13 unique species of birds. The Revontuli Coast expansion flows exceptionally wellthe lower half is brushy with great drink zone hunting, while the northern portion is hilly, open, and perfect for run-and-gun gameplay. Start your adventure on the Revontuli Coast today and discover why it secured the second spot in our ranking!1. Sundarpatan; NepaltheHunter: Call of the Wilds latest map expansion is also the games best. Sundarpatan stands alone when compared to other maps because of the opportunities to hunt the most challenging animals, alongside a fantastic roster of small to mid-range huntables. Bengal Tigers are voracious and formidable foes, but the Snow Leopard presents the toughest challenge in the game. Their agility, awareness, and speed are unmatched, offering a truly rewarding gameplay experience. With three major biomesmountains, hills, and tropical plainsevery inch of Sundarpatan feels distinct and unique to hunt.Did we miss anything? Which theHunter: Call of the Wild map expansion is your favorite?Tell usdrop a comment down below with your ranking!

How many remakes does one game need? Pixel Remaster doesn't even have the GBA content, so it's not even definitive. Did they purposefully impair the Pixel Remaster version so that they could make a HD-2D definitive version later, or what? is that why they're talking about another remake so soon after we just got one?Hey I have an idea. they won't do it, but... What if they just made Final Fantasy 17 a HD-2D pixel art game? Just straight up do the next mainline FF game in this style. Would be more interesting than yet another extremely high budget hack n slash after FF16 and FF7R , right?

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube785kPokmon Scarlet & Violet is celebrating its two-year anniversary with a bumper list of in-game events, all of which culminate in the arrival of shiny Rayquaza, which you'll be able to get for a limited time via Tera Raid Battles.The black-coloured Rayquaza will be available in Scarlet & Violet from 20th December 2024 to 5th January 2025, but you'll have to take it down and capture it in a 5-Star Tera Raid Battle. That's not before a whole slew of events taking place in Paldea, Kitakami, and the Blueberry Academy, however.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube785kWatch on YouTube Between 29th November and 19th December, three sets of Tera Raid Battle Events will be taking place. the first will feature Corbiknight and Bellibolt (until 5th December), the second Azumarill and Clodsire (until 12th December), and the third Annihilape and Kingambit (until 19th December).Three Mass Outbreaks will also be popping up across all three regions in Scarlet & Violet during those same dates. Outbreaks of Tinkatink with the Ferocious Mark will pop up in Paldea until 5th December, followed by Wooper outbreaks in Kitakami with the Absent-Minded Mark until 12th December. Then, at the Blueberry Academy, Girafarig outbreaks (with the Intellectual Mark) will be happening until 19th December.Images: The Pokmon CompanyOther featured Pokmon, during the Rayquaza part of the event, will be Cetoddle (in Paldea), Carbink (Kitakami), and Fraxure (Blueberry Academy). So you'll need both The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk DLC if you want to get everything.Plus, if you want an easy way to level up, Chansey will also be appearing in mass outbreaks across Paldea for the duration of the event.Shiny Rayquaza will also be getting a Multi Battle campaign in Pokmon UNITE in December, so it's a busy month for what might be one of the best-looking shiny Pokmon.Will you be attempting to capture shiny Rayquaza in Scarlet & Violet? Can you believe the game is two years old already? Let us know in the comments. Sparkle and shine[source scarletviolet.pokemon.com]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:692 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNew Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Update Leaves The Switch BehindLa-li-lu-le-lower resolutionReview: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (Switch) - Square Doesn't Drop The Ball, Just Some FramesThe wait is finally overThe First Review For Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Is InFamitsu rates itGrand Theft Auto Trilogy Receives A Surprise Update, Here's What's IncludedUpdate: The Switch patch has also gone live

In BriefPosted:4:43 PM PST November 18, 2024Image Credits:Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic / Getty ImagesBen Affleck tells actors and writers not to worry about AIUnions representing Hollywood actors and writers went on strike last year to secure protections against AI systems taking their jobs. But Ben Affleck says that actors and screenwriters shouldnt worry about AI because its not capable of doing either job today, and likely wont for a long time.Movies will be one of the last things if everything gets replaced to be replaced by AI, said Affleck during an onstage interview with CNBC last week. AI can write you an excellent imitative verse that sounds Elizabethan; it cannot write you Shakespeare.Affleck, who runs a movie studio with Matt Damon now, seems to have a decent grasp on how AI works, offering a barebones definition of transformer architectures at one point in the interview. Hes surprisingly optimistic regarding AIs impact on the film industry, saying it may actually create more work for actors and screenwriters. That said, Affleck notes that the visual effects business could be in trouble.Topics