According to Xbox insider Jez Corden, Bethesda may be gearing up to reveal a remake or remaster of the 2006 RPG The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion in January 2025. This corroborates a leak first seen earlier in December, prompting fans of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion to begin their celebrations a tad early.

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NVIDIAs AI Podcast gives listeners the inside scoop on the ways AI is transforming nearly every industry. Since the shows debut in 2016, its garnered more than 6 million listens across 200-plus episodes, covering how generative AI is used to power applications including assistive technology for the visually impaired, wildfire alert systems and the Roblox online game platform. Here are the top five episodes of 2024:Driving Energy Efficiency, SustainabilityThe AI Podcast NVIDIAs Josh Parker on How AI and Accelerated Computing Drive Sustainability Ep. 234AI and accelerated computing are key tools in the push for sustainability. Joshua Parker, senior director of corporate sustainability at NVIDIA, discusses how these technologies are contributing to a more sustainable future by improving energy efficiency and helping address climate challenges.Zooming In on AI for a Productivity BoostThe AI Podcast Zoom CTO Xuedong XD Huang on How AI Revolutionizes Productivity Ep. 235Zoom helped change the way people work, playing a pivotal role for many during the COVID-19 pandemic. The companys CTO, Xuedong Huang, shares how the company is reshaping productivity with AI.Driving the Future of ComputingThe AI Podcast How the Ohio Supercomputer Center Drives the Future of Computing Ep. 213Alan Chalker, the director of strategic programs at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, shares how the center empowers Ohio higher education institutions and industries with accessible, reliable and secure computational services and works with client companies like NASCAR, which is simulating race car designs virtually.Supercharging Cinematic Content CreationThe AI Podcast Exploring Filmmaking with Cuebrics AI: Insights from Pinar Seyhan Demirdag Ep. 214Generative AI can help anyone become a content creator by rapidly bringing ideas to life.Pinar Seyhan Demirdag, cofounder and CEO of Cuebric, discusses how the companys AI-powered application makes high-quality production more accessible and affordable.Bringing Clarity to CardiologyThe AI Podcast Cardiac Clarity: Dr. Keith Channon Talks Revolutionizing Heart Health With AI Ep. 212Dr. Keith Channon, cofounder and chief medical officer at health tech startup Caristo Diagnostics, discusses an AI-powered solution for detecting coronary inflammation a key indicator of heart disease in cardiac CT scans. These insights could help physicians improve treatment plans and risk predictions.Subscribe to the AI PodcastGet the AI Podcast through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Google Play, Castbox, DoggCatcher, Overcast, PlayerFM, Pocket Casts, Podbay, PodBean, PodCruncher, PodKicker, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.

In Palworld, youll need pure quartz to make circuit boards, which are used to make higher tier assembly lines and electric goods.After reaching level 50, you can unlock a placeable mining site for pure quartz in exchange for five Ancient Technology Points. The farm does cost quite a few materials to make (70 stone, 30 Paldium fragments, and 100 pure quartz), so you will have to get your pure quartz from one of the below places first. Once you make space for and place the dig site on your base, your mining Pals will be able to harvest a limitless supply of pure quartz.Continue on to find out where to find pure quartz in Palworld, and a couple locations riddled with pure quartz nodes.How to get pure quartz in PalworldMake sure to wear your best cold-resistant armor as pure quartz can be found in the snowy mountains on the northern island.Search for a black rock that has jagged glass spikes protruding from it. These rocks are as dark as coal nodes, but arent as monochromatic. Its a little easier to spot pure quartz nodes at night as the quartz color really pops out in the darkness.Pure quartz is mineable with any pickaxe, but a higher tier pickaxe like a metal pickaxe (15 stone, 20 wood, 5 ingots) will make the mining process much faster.Best places to farm pure quartz in PalworldThere are many Great Eagle Statues you can teleport to on this island, but it can be quite a trek to make your way around the mountainous terrain. Here are a few locations that are filled with pure quartz nodes, which make great locations to place a Palbox.The first location can be found at the coordinates (-212, 249). There are a total of nine pure quartz nodes here.The second location can be found at the coordinates (-256, 392). There are a total of eight pure quartz nodes here and two ore nodes. This location can be a little more difficult to reach, but if you have a flying mount, it is fairly close to the Land of Absolute Zero Great Eagle Statue at the coordinates (-238, 491).For more Palworld guides, weve got you covered. If youre just starting out, weve got a beginners guide, a list ofall Pals, and atype chart. We also have explainers on breeding, eggs, and a rundown of how multiplayer works.On the hunt for resources? Check out our guides on how to getore, coal, polymer,leather,sulfur,wheat seeds, Ancient Technology Points, and ancient civilization parts. For advanced players, consult our lists of all tower boss locations, all passive skills, all flying mounts, and the best base locations.

The Steam Deck is one of the best portable gaming devices around, despite one major shortcoming: It doesnt run Windows. Unlike the Asus ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go, and a fleet of other devices that come with Windows preinstalled, the Steam Deck uses Linux.To Valves credit, its handheld alone has changed the perception of gaming on Linux. It can run most Steam games pretty well, but youll need Windows if you want to play PC Game Pass titles, or take advantage of Epic Games Stores constant stream of free games. Youll also need Windows if you play multiplayer games that use anti-cheat software that isnt compatible with Linux. That includes Destiny 2, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and more.The simplest way to get Windows 11 on your Steam Deck without altering (and potentially screwing up) its internal file system is to make a portable version of the OS, conveniently stored on a USB-C SSD that you can easily plug into the Deck when you want it, and unplug it when you dont. Im going to walk you through the many steps required to get this done. This is a long guide, but try not to feel daunted; although the process is long, each of the steps is stillfairly simple.Buy a new USB-C SSD, or construct your own(If you already have the SSD handy that you want to use, skip to the next step.)I suggest buying the smallest (in terms of form factor, not storage) portable SSD you can afford. As for internal storage, 2 TB should last you a while, but 1 TB or less may be sufficient for your needs. Crucials X6 2 TB SSD is a good, relatively small, and affordable option that connects via USB-C. Its not that small, though.For something even smaller, prepare to pay more. Genkis $49.99 SavePoint SSD enclosure is the better route by a wide margin. Its tiny, fitting a compact M.2 2230-size SSD (not included), and its the only enclosure Ive used that was thoughtful enough to include a second USB-C port in its design, allowing for passthrough charging. Normally, you give up the option to charge your Steam Deck when you connect an SSD not with this one. It also includes a magnet, letting you secure it to your Steam Deck so it doesnt dangle. Once you get your M.2 SSD, simply open the enclosure and insert it.Alternatively, you could buy an M.2 2280 SSD on a deal, plus this $29.99 SSD enclosure thatll let you easily connect it to your Deck. Itll be a bit bigger in size than the aforementioned Crucial and Genki SSDs, but itll work just the same.Download Windows 11In case you didnt know, its free, legal, and easy to download, install, and use Windows 11 (unregistered copies lack personalization options and feature a persistent watermark on the bottom-right corner of your screen). Microsoft hosts downloads of its latest OS, and grabbing a copy is a necessary part of this process.Head to this page and scroll down to the section called Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.Select Windows 11 (multi-edition OS for x64 devices), then hit the blue Download Now button. A page will load, then display another option that asks you to select your desired language. Once you do that, select Confirm, then finally click 64-bit download to initiate the download.Create a bootable version of Windows 11 on your SSDWith your SSD connected to the PC where you downloaded the Windows 11 file, its time to turn it into a bootable drive that your Steam Deck can recognize when you boot it up.Start by downloading a copy of Rufus, a free, simple-to-use application that specializes in turning USB devices into bootable drives. Scroll down to the Latest Releases section and download the latest standard version for 64-bit systems.In your downloads folder, find Rufus and open it. The first two steps include hitting the SELECT button on the apps right side, then finding the Windows 11 OS file in your downloads. (The version of the file at the time of publishing is called Win11_24H2_English_x64.) Double-click it to mount it within Rufus. A message saying Scanning image will appear in its status bar, so hold tight as it verifies the file.Next, make sure you check the box next to List USB Hard Drives. Once you do that, your SSD drive should show up. Select it under the Device drop-down menu at the top of the program.Once your drive is mounted, click the drop-down window under Image option, then select Windows To Go. Selecting this option instead of Standard Windows Installation is what lets Windows run off of your SSD without having to install the whole OS on your Steam Deck, which is what we want in this case.Under Volume label in the Format Options section, feel free to name the drive whatever you want.Hit the Start button at the bottom and the process will begin to install Windows onto your SSD. Before it begins, a pop-up window will appear, asking which version of Windows youd like to install. Just select Windows 11 Home. A second pop-up window will appear with more options to specify. You can select the first two, as well as the final option. Youre set with Windows on your SSD once this process finishes, but were not done yet.Download Windows drivers for your Steam DeckIn order for your Steam Decks Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPU, and other components to work properly in Windows, youll need to grab Valves official drivers for the handheld. Open this page, then scroll to the section about whichever Steam Deck you have (the OLED or the LCD). Download each of the drivers listed under the Deck youll be running Windows on, and keep the page open, as itll serve as a useful guide later on. (Note: As Valves page indicates, the Steam Deck OLED needs to be running beta system software in order for its Bluetooth driver to work properly in Windows. To install the beta, head to settings, click into system, then in the Beta participation section, change Stable to Beta release, then restart your Deck.)Each driver will download as a .zip file, and you can unzip and extract the contents of each of the six downloads. Make a new folder called Steam Deck drivers or something similar, then move all of the extracted folders into it. Then, move this folder full of drivers into the root directory of the SSD you have that now has Windows installed onto it.Boot into Windows for the first timeUnless you have the Genki SavePoint SSD enclosure, which allows for passthrough charging while in use, make sure to fully charge your Steam Deck before booting into Windows for the first time.Tap the Steam button on your Steam Deck, navigate down to Power, and select Shut down.Once the system has turned off, connect your SSD that contains Windows and your Steam Deck drivers. Then, hold the volume down button and click the Decks power button, without letting go of volume down until you hear the system chime. This should boot into the Steam Decks drive selector screen. Use the right touchpad to hover over your drive, then pull the right trigger as you hover over it.A lengthy loading process will take place as Windows initializes. Answer the questions it displays, but select I dont have internet if it asks for Wi-Fi. Then, youll eventually get to the Windows home screen. Youll notice something odd that its displaying sideways. Fear not. In the next section, Ill walk through how to fix this seemingly unavoidable quirk.Make Windows display correctlyOn an open section of the home screen, pull the left trigger to right click, which displays a bunch of options. Select Display Settings.Scroll down (either with your finger or the left touchpad) until you find Display orientation under the Scale & layout section. Change it from Portrait to Landscape. That solves that.Install your Steam Deck driversIt might be tempting to click around in Windows to initialize apps and install some games, but lets continue on with the Steam Deck driver installation first. Open the folder where you opted to store them, and with Valves driver page open on your phone or PC, install them on the Deck according to its instructions. Use the left trigger to open up each files options, letting you easily select the correct option to install them.In case the Steam Deck hasnt displayed a your system must restart for changes to take effect pop-up by the time youve finished installing the six drivers, go ahead and restart Windows 11 in order for the hardware changes to be reflected. The device should automatically reboot back into Windows without you having to hold down your Decks volume down button. But if not, at least you know how to get back to the Windows OS.Have fun!From here on out, its all about customizing your experience to the way you want it to be. The Xbox app is preinstalled with Windows, so signing in there will let you stream or download PC Game Pass games to the same SSD that Windows is installed on. Same goes for any other PC game store you may download.Now that you have your very own fully operational Windows install ready for your Steam Deck, you wont miss out on any big PC games.

Jujutsu Infinite allows you to see how you would fare in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen in Roblox.Jujutsu Infinite is an open-world RPG where you take on cursed spirits using innate techniques, curse skills and cursed tools. However, to get some of the best innate techniques, youll need to go through a gacha system and spin for them. Luckily, there are codes you can use to earn more spins!Here are all of the active codes in Jujutsu Infinite for December 2024.Jujutsu Infinite codes for December 2024The active Jujutsu Infinite codes are as follows:RELEASE 200 spinsMERRY_CHRISTMAS 100 spinsMISSION_SHUTDOWN 50 spinsRELEASE_SHUTDOWN_SRRY 200 spinsAlthough these codes dont have an expiration date, they will likely expire at some point, so make sure to use them as fast as possible!How to redeem codes in Jujutsu InfiniteTo redeem codes in Jujutsu Infinite, you must first open the game in Roblox. Make sure youre in the correct Jujutsu Infinite as there are a few duplicates on the platform.There are two ways to redeem codes in Jujutsu Infinite the Customize menu and the in-game shop.Redeem from the Customize menuSelect the Customize option on the title screen.Find the Redeem Code Here text box on the right side of the screen.Enter the codes in the text box and click on the arrow beside it to receive your rewards.Redeem from the in-game shopSelect the shopping cart icon in the bottom left corner of your screen to open the shop.Find the Redeem Code Here text box above the shop.Enter the codes and select the blue arrow beside it to receive your rewards.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.I review a lot of smart home tech, and my home is often full of robots rolling on the floor, voice assistants talking, and notifications chiming from my phone. Most smart home devices have a short lifespan in my houseonce theyre tested, theyre out the doorbut the ones I really love, I hold onto. Here are the ones that impressed me so much that I kept coming back to them.The Brisk It grill is my favorite smoker Credit: Amanda Blum I spent the summer with six smart grills on my patio, and I used them often with friends. While there were a few that really impressed me (The Kamado Konnected Joe, The Masterbuilt Auto Ignite 545 Digital Charcoal Grill), the one I kept was the Brisk It Origin. More a smart smoker than smart grill, it smoked flawlessly and with very little effort on my part. You just choose from your phone what youd like to cook, send the recipe to the grill, and put your food on the grill when instructed. The grill takes over for the most part, raising and lowering the temperature and adjusting the smoke level. I was never passionate about smoking (or grilling, to be honest), but the Brisk It requires so little effort that I often use it as an easy alternative to my oven. It turns out you can smoke almost anything. The Brisk It Smart Smoking Grill $599.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $599.99 at Amazon The BedJet 3 is my favorite luxuryThe BedJet is a smart climate control for beds that shoots air into a billowy top sheet that hangs over you like a cloud. You choose how cold, hot, and powerful you want the air to be, and can use it on hot nights to cool down, or cold nights to warm you and your sheets. My favorite BedJet setting is turbo, which gives me a jet of 110 degree air, and there's nothing more luxurious to me when I climb into bed on a cold night. It's not the most aesthetically pleasing piece of techbasically an air hose that hangs off the end of your bedbut I love it. BedJet 3 Climate Control $489.00 at Amazon $599.00 Save $110.00 Shop Now Shop Now $489.00 at Amazon $599.00 Save $110.00 The Smart Coop helped me get my first chickens Credit: Amanda Blum I finally got chickens this year, and I did it, at least in part, because of the Smart Coop: a fully functioning coop run with smart cameras. Those cameras have AI that can count your chickens, identify intruders, and notice an egg out of the nesting box (and I love watching my sleeping chickens on a closed-loop video). The double-walled coop offers insulation to keep my chickens out of extreme weather, and the run is a good size for my flock of four.I still use my PlusLife Molecular COVID Test Credit: Amanda Blum I still use an at-home, rapid PCR COVID test, and if you have vulnerable friends or family members, the PlusLife NAAT Test Device is a real gift. Its the easiest way to quickly and reliably find out if I have COVID or just allergies. As an interesting bonus, this particular test connects via Bluetooth to virus.sucks and shows a test assay graph in real timeso instead of a simple "positive" or "negative" test result, I can see just how much virus was detected. I find it both fascinating and reassuring.Dreo are my favorite smart fansThis year I tried four Dreo smart fans, including ceiling fans, standing fans, and desk fans, and they're among the best fans I've ever used. You can easily adjust a Dreo fan's strength and direction through an app, and they're easy to take apart to clean them. It's single best feature, though, is the natural setting that varies the power of the fan so it feels less like an artificial wind and more closely resembles a breeze.If you're going to start with a Dreo, I recommend the Polyfan. Dreo Polyfan $98.99 at Amazon $109.99 Save $11.00 Shop Now Shop Now $98.99 at Amazon $109.99 Save $11.00 The Oura Ring is my favorite fitness trackerAn Oura 4 is already out, but since I placed the Oura 3 on my hand a few months ago, it's nearly become an addiction. It tracks my sleep, steps, and energy level, and I can bring the data into other health apps I use, like Guava. I particularly use my sleep data often to gauge whether I need to adjust my sleeping conditions. Wearing my Oura Ring has become a habit, and I use it enough that when I misplaced mine last month, I know Id need to replace it. Oura Ring 3 $249.00 at Best Buy $299.00 Save $50.00 Shop Now Shop Now $249.00 at Best Buy $299.00 Save $50.00 The K10+ Pro is my favorite robot vacuumI have favorite vacuums, and youll hear me talk about Roborock a lot, but my favorite is the K10 from Switchbot. This year, the K10+ Pro improved by ditching the mop function and letting the K10 shine as a well-priced super vacuum small enough get a tight radius around obstacleslike an M&M that moves about the floor. If youre looking to go all-in on a robot vacuum and mop, you should still consider splurging on a Roborock, but for any small house, office, or room that just needs a great vacuum at a great price, the K10+ Pro is a great way to go. Switchbot K10+ Pro Robot Vacuum $599.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $599.99 at Amazon The Terra Kaffe TK-02 is my favorite smart espresso makerI tested every smart espresso maker on the market, and the one I was most reluctant to send back was the Terra Kaffe TK-02. It makes very good coffee and froth, and it's easy to use through its app or touchscreen. I especially loved that I could preload beans every once in a while and change the water every few days, and otherwise let the machine take over from beginning to end. Credit: Amanda Blum The Bird Buddy is my favorite bird feeder Credit: Amanda Blum What can I say, I like to watch birdsin particular, my hummingbirds. Unlike previous Bird Buddies that dont hold a solar charge well, the Hummingbird feeder is fantastic. The video and images are stunning and built for sharing, and its also a fantastic gift (for you, if no one else). The new Bird Buddy subscription allows you even name your favorite birds.The Mammotion Luba is my favorite robot lawnmower Credit: Amanda Blum On my block, I tested robot lawnmowers on the lawns of anyone whod let me. For me, one robot mower was the clear winner: the Mammotion Luba. It reliably left the dock, mowed the lawn regardless of light or weather conditions, and returned to the dock. The Luba didn't care about dips in the lawn or hills, and it traversed rocky paths and anything else I threw at it. At almost $3,000, it's obviously expensive, but it can be worth the investment if you want the best robot mower for your lawn. Mammotion Luba 2 at Amazon Pre-order Here Pre-order Here at Amazon

Thanks to my gig teaching spin classes, I have a front-row seat to a very reliable annual phenomenon: My classes are packed for the first few weeks of the year as people make New Year's resolutions, but by mid-February, I'm back to teaching normal-sized groups of people who are grateful the "January joiners" have cleared out. I'm always sad to see the new faces go, though, because I do think it's possible to set a New Year's resolution and stick to it, even if it's not the norm. There are plenty of self-betterment goals you can set as a new year approaches, both in and out of the gym, but no matter what you set out to do, it's important to have an implementation strategy that ensures you'll actually get it done. One way you can better situate yourself for success is by attaching "cues" to your resolutions. Here's why it works, and how to do it.How to tie your New Year's resolutions to cuesThe more specific your goals are, the better they'll turn out. This is true for pretty much everything. If you wake up on a Saturday morning and want to tidy up your living space, you'll have more success defining a room you want to clean up than attempting to just generally "clean the house," you know? When it comes to New Year's resolutions, that specificity is important, since you're planning for 12 months of change and you'll need some kind of road map. Instead of saying your resolution is to "eat healthier," you should define what your diet is missing, then drill down on it: "I want to eat 10 more grams of protein every day," for example. This is where cues are going to be really valuable. Research shows that adding a cueliterally, a set trigger for actionto your goals can help you implement them better. We rely on automatic processes to do the standard stuff in our daily lives, like how we just automatically turn on the coffee pot after waking up or grab keys on the way out the door. In those cases, waking up and walking out the door are actually cues that signal to our brains it's time to fulfill the second half of the process. Building your resolutions around cues will help them become second-nature habits, too. Here are some examples:If your New Year's resolution is to save a certain amount of money by December, make it something like, "When I spend $X, I'll move $Y into savings."If you want to be more productive at work, try turning the Pomodoro technique into a resolution: "When I work for 25 minutes, I'll take a five-minute break." "When I sit down at my desk, I'll answer all new emails.""When my meetings end, I'll take five minutes for meditation.""When work is over, I'll put on my sneakers and head straight to the gym." "When the 6:00 news ends, I'll call my mom."Why cues work for New Year's resolutionsThere are a few reasons tying your resolutions to existing cues will help you stick with them. First, you're creating those automatic processes in your brain, basically Pavlov-ing your subconscious self into taking action whenever your trigger occurs. It will take a few weeks of conscious effort, yes, but you will already consciously know when you're supposed to act on your new habit, which is half the battle. Operating this way also leaves less room for error. If you don't have a defined schedule and cues in place, you can easily forget to do your new taskor maybe even actively avoid it. Sticking reminders into your calendar can help here, too, since the push alert can further emphasize that it's time to get down to businessplus, seeing a visual reminder that you have something to do can stop you from double-booking. If your cue to go to the gym is clocking out at 5, it will take a few weeks for you to get into the habit of declining an invitation to go for after-work drinks, so having it blocked out on the calendar every day after work will keep you on track. Stick with your cues, but give yourself some space those first few weeks. You might find that the timing you set up doesn't work well with your existing schedule. You just won't stick to the goal as well if you can't make it work. Research shows that if you're following the cue method, it will take about two months, on average, for the habit to form, so use that time to take note of what's working, what isn't, and what could be changed. If you have a goal of being more connected to friends and family, for instance, you might align your cue to call home with the time you spend doing the dishes every night, only to find you're too tired in the evening or eat out too frequently for that one to stick. Switching the cue to calling home when you get in the car to head to work in the morning might work better. Just make sure you stick to it once you figure out the best timing.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.For many of us, New Year's Eve represents not just the climax of a long holiday season, but also a time to simultaneously reflect, and to look forward to what's aheadsometimes with optimism, sometimes with sheer dread. (Lately, mostly dread.)Movies have frequently recognized the simultaneously hopeful and perilous nature of the time. It can be a period of reassessment, or renewal, or massive change. This selection of choice New Year's Eve movies reflects that range of possibilities, including everything from romance and murder, to comedy and tragedy, to wild sex and heartbreaking loneliness. The Substance (2024) New Year's resolutions, for better or worse, frequently include promises to take better care of our bodies in the months to comethough we often just mean we want to find ways to look younger, skinnier, prettier. In this lurid arthouse horror flick, Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a solidly middle-aged celebrity fired from her aerobics show solely because of her age. She's soon introduced to titular Substance, which allows her to generate a younger version of herself with her own consciousness. It's a dire warning about the potential costs of our endless hunger for youth, and the climax appropriately comes during a New Year's Eve telecast that goes horrifically askew. You can stream The Substance for Mubi or rent it from Prime Video. The Substance (2024) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video When Harry Met Sally (1989) The Rob Reiner/Nora Ephron classic follows Billy Crystal's Harry and Meg Ryan's Sally over the course of 11 tempestuous years, with two major scenes set at New Year's Eve parties: The first involves a midnight kiss that signals the beginning of a potential romantic relationship between the two; the second comes at the climax of the film, when a decade's worth of growth, apart and together, sees the two in the same place at the same time, both literally and metaphorically. You can stream When Harry Met Sally on Pluto TV or rent it from Prime Video. When Harry Met Sally (1989) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Gold Rush (1925) You might be forgiven for forgetting that one of early American cinema's most memorable moments was centered around New Year's Eve: in Charlie Chaplin'e early classic, his Prospector character meets Georgia (Georgia Hale), a dance hall girl who dances with him to irritate an obnoxious suitor. She accepts his invitation to a NYE dinner, but mostly forgets about it. While she's having a blast at a big party, he's alone in his cabin, dreaming of companyand entertaining his make-believe guests with a pair of dancing potatoes. (Not to worry: Georgia soon comes to see what a catch the Prospector is.) You can stream The Gold Rush on Max, Tubi, The Criterion Channel, Prime Video, and Freevee. The Gold Rush (1925) at Max Learn More Learn More at Max Phantom Thread (2017) There's a relatively brief, but crucial, scene in Paul Thomas Anderson's film set on New Year's Eve. It's climax is arguably the moment on which the entire film turns: Renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) has been in a relationship with waitress Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps), one that seems poised to break through his carefully constructed routine. He refuses her request to go to a NYE party, though, and, when she goes on her own, he follows her and very nearly drags her away. The moment makes clear that, if this relationship has any chance of succeeding, drastic changes will need to happen. The contemplation of such coming change is, in a roundabout way, what New Year's Eve is all about. You can stream Phantom Thread on Netflix or rent it from Prime Video. Phantom Thread (2017) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Godfather Part II (1974) The climax of the film, and the single most pivotal moment in Michael Corleone's life, comes during a New Year's Eve party in Cuba. It's the night that Michael (Al Pacino) learns of his betrayal by his brother, Fredo (John Cazale). The fateful kiss that ensues is a deliberate inversion of the traditional midnight kissone that ensures that neither Michael nor Fredo will be having a particularly happy year. You can stream The Godfather Part II on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video. The Godfather Part II (1974) at Paramount+ Get Deal Get Deal at Paramount+ Rocky (1976) A little New Year's inspiration, perhaps, offered up by a film with multiple seasonal themes. Journeyman boxer Rocky Balboa is given a chance at the big time when heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (the late, great Carl Weathers) finds himself in need of an opponent for a planned fight. Unwilling to blow his big chance, Rocky finds a scrappy trainer and a scrappier love interest while working toward the big fight on New Year's Day. While the outcome isn't fully in Rocky's favor, he reminds us that sometimes we can win by losing, dusting ourselves off to fight again (in approximately 80 sequels and spin-offs). You can rent Rocky from Prime Video. Rocky (1976) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Ghostbusters II (1989) It might be a lesser film in the Ghostbusters canon, but there's still plenty of fun to be had with this sequel. The entire film builds towards a New Year's Eve climax, with the machinations of Vigo the Carpathian and company moving toward the turning of the year. New York City is saved, ultimately, by some emotionally charged slime and a moving rendition of "Auld Lang Syne." You can rent Ghostbusters II from Prime Video. Ghostbusters II (1989) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Waiting to Exhale (1995) This Terry McMillan adaptation about the power of female friendships has an all-time great cast led by Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. Bassett's character, Bernadine, has a singularly powerful revelation, leading to a memorable revenge sequence, on New Year's Eve. You can stream Waiting to Exhale on Hulu or rent it from Prime Video. Waiting to Exhale (1995) at Hulu Learn More Learn More at Hulu The Apartment (1960) Set almost entirely between Christmas and New Years Eve, Billy Wilders Best Picture winner was groundbreaking in its approach to sexuality. Jack Lemmon plays Bud Baxter, an insurance clerk whos climbed the corporate ladder by loaning out his apartment to the higher-ups to use for their extramarital affairs. In the midst of that, a fraught affection develops between Bud and Shirley MacLaines Fran, the office buildings elevator operator, a woman whos herself been in a joyless affair with Buds boss (Fred MacMurray). A fairly miserable New Year's Eve party gives way to something a bit more hopeful when Fran realizes that love might just be worth taking a chance on. You can stream The Apartment on Tubi, Freevee, and Prime Video. The Apartment (1960) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Il Posto (1961) Along similarly wistful lines, the Italian classic satire Il Posto follows Domenico (Sandro Panseri), a young man pressured by his family to jump right into a career, which he does by signing on witha soul-sucking corporation. At work, he meets Antonietta (Loredana Detto), a young woman in a very similar boat, with whom he steals a few moments at an office New Year's party. The film offers no tangible hope of an escape from the endless grind of modern-day capitalism, but it does serve as a timely reminder that the work is meaningless, and time spent with kindred spirits is far more valuable. You can stream Il Posto on The Criterion Channel. Il Posto (1961) at The Criterion Channel Learn More Learn More at The Criterion Channel Snowpiercer (2013) Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalypse is coming up quick, what with Snowpiercer being set in 2031. Here, the survivors of climate catastrophe live together on one giant train that travels the frozen, lifeless globe. The annual celebration here comes once a year, when the train has completed a full circle of the world. It's one such celebration of the train's new year that the oppressed, maltreated residents of the train's tail end use as an opportunity to stage a revolt against the entitled and pampered passengers at the front. Not the worst New Year's resolution to make, honestly. You can stream Snowpiercer on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video. Snowpiercer (2013) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Poseidon Adventure (1972) An all-star triumph from the golden age of disaster cinema, the original Poseidon Adventure finds Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons (among others) trapped on a cruise liner that's been capsized by an undersea earthquake; one that happens within moments of the ball drop and big party. They'll all have to spend New Year's Day clawing and scraping their way back to the surfacewhich is as good a hangover metaphor as you're likely to find in an upside-down boat movie. You can rent The Poseidon Adventure from Prime Video The Poseidon Adventure (1972) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Sleepless in Seattle (1993) New Year's Eve represents the past in Nora Ephron's romantic comedy-drama, as architect Sam (Tom Hanks) has a sweet but imagined conversation with his late wife set during holiday festivities. The future? Valentine's Day, as Sam and Annie (Meg Ryan) are drawn toward a meeting at the top of the Empire State Building. You can rent Sleepless in Seattle from Prime Video. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video After the Thin Man (1936) The breezy, boozy chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy is a highlight of the entire Thin Man series, and it's still running strong in this first sequel, when married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles are expecting a dull New Year's Eve, only to find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping and murder (involving Jimmy Stewart in his first major film role). The previous movie is set at Christmas, so you might as well watch that one, too. You can rent After the Thin Man from Prime Video. After the Thin Man (1936) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Holiday (1938) Would you rather spend New Year's Eve with William Powell and Myrna Loy or with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant? Why chooseHoliday and After the Thin Man are short enough that you can watch both in less time than a single Avatar movie. Here Grant plays Johnny Case, a self-made thousandaire (hey, it was the depression) who wants to take some time off and enjoy the bit of money he's made while also planning to marry Julia, who's fine and fun and all, but ultimately can't compare to her vivacious older sister Linda (Hepburn). A series of memorable New Year's Eve somersaults set them both on the road to discovering each other, but George Cukor's film doesn't make it nearly that easy. Each needs to decide what they want out of life, and what they're willing to do to get it, before they can really see one another. You can stream Holiday on Prime Video. Holiday (1938) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video New Year's Evil (1980) Is it among the best of the slasher genre? It is not. It's pretty charmingly goofy, though, with a killer calling into a NYE radio show promising to kill people across the United States as midnight arrives in each time zone. In the harsh light of day, it probably won't fit the billbut it might be perfect in that boozy post-midnight haze. It's also got a very solid title track. You can stream New Year's Evil on MGM+ and Pluto TV. New Year's Evil (1980) at Pluto TV Learn More Learn More at Pluto TV Midnight Kiss (2019) Technically an episode of Hulu's Into the Dark anthology series, the feature-length Midnight Kiss finds a bunch of gay friends (and their straight woman friend) heading out to a gorgeous place in the desert for an annual tradition: they'll each pick someone at random to kiss at midnight. Old resentments bubble to the surface, egged on (unbeknownst to most of them) by a serial killer. It's no spoiler to suggest that they won't all make it to New Year's Day. You can stream Midnight Kiss on Hulu. Midnight Kiss (2019) at Hulu Learn More Learn More at Hulu Sunset Boulevard (1950) One-time movie star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) is a mess, frankly, and it's never more clear than during her elaborate, catered New Year's party for two: her, and Joe (William Holden)who we already know will wind up dead in Norma's pool. This might be the moment when we realize just how delusional the diva had become. On the other hand, NYE is a time for a little bit of sloppiness, and, though treated as an ancient relic, Swanson was only 50 when this was filmed, so maybe we can cut her some slack. You can stream Sunset Boulevard on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video. Sunset Boulevard (1950) at Paramount+ Learn More Learn More at Paramount+ Repeat Performance (1947) What if we consider, for just one moment, that the changing of years might not be a time of blessed renewal, but instead an opportunity to travel back in time and try to undo some of the stuff you royally fucked up in the prior year. Given that we're solidly in noir territory here, don't expect overwhelming success. On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page (Joan Leslie) stands over the dead body of her husband, wishing that she could do things differently. Et voila! she's back at the beginning of the year and trying to stop the disintegration of her marriage with some help from her gay bestie (Richard Basehart). You can stream Repeat Performance on Kanopy. Repeat Performance (1947) at Kanopy Learn More Learn More at Kanopy About Time (2013) Another time-travel movie with a key New Year's Eve sequence, this one's significantly less murder-y. Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson star as Mary and Tim, a couple whose story is constantly in flux thanks to Tim's ability to move through timean ability that comes in particularly handy when he wants to keep trying a New Year's kiss until it's just right. You can rent About Time from Prime Video. About Time (2013) at Prime Video Get Deal Get Deal at Prime Video An American in Paris (1951) We do love a New Year's party theme, and they don't come much better (nor more thoroughly designed) than the black-and-white party at the center of Gene Kelly's An American in Paris, the film that won the Best Picture Oscar in its year. You can rent An American in Paris from Prime Video. An American in Paris (1951) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Ocean's 11 (1960) It's less a meticulously crafted piece of cinema than an excuse for the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop) to hangbut that cool, boozy chemistry goes a surprisingly long way. Sinatra plays Danny Ocean, who brings together his old Army buddies with an elaborate New Year's Eve plan to simultaneously rob five Las Vegas casinos: the Sahara, the Riviera, the Desert Inn, the Sands, and the Flamingo. You can stream Ocean's 11 on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video. Ocean's 11 (1960) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Happy New Year (2014) With a bit of inspiration from Ocean's Eleven (the 2001 version), this Hindi-language action comedy stars Shah Rukh Khan as a gritty street fighter who plans a heist as a means of getting back at the man who had his father wrongfully imprisoned. His target? The real-life Hotel Atlantis in Dubai. The catch? He and his team will need to infiltrate a dance competition, though none of them can dance. The result is, unsurprisingly, glorious. You can stream Happy New Year on Netflix. Happy New Year (2014) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix High School Musical (2006) Try not to be alarmed that the feel-good Disney Channel movie is, itself, old enough to start sending off college applications. Just enjoy the 2000s vibes and, particularly, the opening sequence. Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez (Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) meet up at a ski lodge on New Year's Eve for a very seasonally appropriate duet called "Start of Something New." You can stream High School Musical on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video. High School Musical (2006) at Disney+ Learn More Learn More at Disney+ Rent (2005) The adaptation of the stage musical (starring much of the original cast) kicks off on a chilly New York New Year's Eve, and asks the question that's on all of our minds around this time: How do you measure a year? You can stream Rent on Hoopla or rent Rent from Prime Video. Rent (2005) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Are We There Yet? (2005) Ice Cube stars here alongside Nia Long, Jay Mohr and Tracy Morgan in a charmingly goofy (and family-friendly) movie about a New Year's Eve trip to the airport. Sounds simple, sure, but Nick (Ice Cube) is determined to impress the woman he likes by picking up her kids and bringing them to meet her for a flight to Vancouver. Suffice it to say, the kids do not make it easy. If you have even more time to kill on New Year's Eve, there's a sequel (Are We Done Yet?) and a spin-off TV series, all currently streaming. You can stream Are We There Yet on Hoopla or rent it from Prime Video. Are We There Yet? (2005) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Diner (1982) In 1959, a group of close, college-age friends reunite in time for the New Year's Eve wedding of Eddie (Steve Guttenberg), the circumstances prompting a fair bit of introspection on the prospect of fully transitioning to adulthood. NYE is a time for reflection, so why not? Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Stern, and Tim Daly make up the rest of the group. You can rent Diner from Prime Video. Diner (1982) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Trading Places (1983) Trading Places starts off at Christmas and peaks with a New Year's Eve train ride involving a heist, two gorillas (one real, one fake), and multiple disguises. The comedy is often very silly here, but Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd have tremendous chemistry and, unusual for the 1980s, the movie has some very pointed commentary about corporate greed. You can rent Trading Places from Prime Video. Trading Places (1983) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video

I've lost count of the number of things we reviewed this year at Engadget. In 2024, the types of products we tested ranged from the typical phones, laptops and headphones to AI wearables, robotic lawnmowers and handheld gaming consoles, alongside games and shows. It can feel hard to keep track of it all, but thankfully, our scoring system helps us highlight the best (and the worst) devices each year. Our team of reviewers and editors evaluate products based on their performance, value and how they hold up against the competition, and at least two people weigh in on every score before it's published. If something gets a result of 80 and up, it's considered a "Recommended" product, while those scoring 90 and more are awarded "Editors' Choice." The latter means they're the best in their class, beating out most of the competition. Since we have to be very judicious about what we review (there's only so much time in the world), most of the gadgets we call in are from established companies with a track record of making things people will actually consider buying. That's the main reason most of our scores sit between 80 and 90, though we still test the occasional device that ends up getting a number below 70. As we look back on the year in gadgets, here are the 12 highest-scored reviews we published. Unsurprisingly, they're mostly of Apple and Google products, with a smattering of cameras and drones. I'm also including some honorable mentions for good measure, as well as a pair of the lowest-rated devices all year. May we have only excellent gadgets to review next year, and may there be less e-waste all around. Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL I'm honestly shocked. For the first time in years, we've given a Google phone a higher score than an iPhone in the same year. Maybe it has something to do with Gemini AI launching earlier than Apple Intelligence, or the fun colors and solid build of the Pixel 9 Pro series. But as I discussed the scores with our reviewer Mat Smith, a few things added up. Arguably the biggest advantage Google has over Apple this year is battery life the Pixel 9 Pros generally last about two days on a charge, while the iPhone 16 Pro series typically clocks just around 20 hours. We also love Google's cameras and the bright, smooth displays. The gorgeous palette of pastel color options is just icing on a satisfying cake, with Gemini AI bringing a tasty side treat. DJI Avata 2 Though there is looming concern over DJI's longevity in the US, the company has otherwise had a relatively successful 2024. This year saw many DJI products scoring more than 90 in our database, which makes sense as they are arguably the best drone maker around. Steve was most impressed by the Avata 2, though, thanks to its great video quality and maneuverability for a lower price than its predecessor. It even has better battery life, to boot. iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max Apple Intelligence wasn't available when the iPhone 16 series launched and only recently rolled out, so our review score might still change, But as it is, and after months of using the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max in my daily life, I stand by my evaluation. Though there's a lot to like about Apple's latest flagships, I was just so disappointed by the relatively poor battery life that I could not score it higher than the Pixel 9 Pro series. This is more noticeable on the iPhone 16 Pro, though, as the Pro Max generally lasts a few more hours than its smaller counterpart. I also wish the generative-AI features were ready for the public at the time of my review, but now that I've spent more time with Genmoji, Image Playground and notification summaries, I'm pretty sure my verdict remains the same. These Apple Intelligence features are fun, but not game-changing, and with or without them the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are still the best options for anyone on iOS. Canon EOS R5 II We've got a slew of reviews by Steve on this list, mostly for products in cameras and drones that ranked well in their categories. As a Canon girl myself, I was happy to see the EOS R5 II get such a good rating, especially since competition has been heating up. Sadly, the EOS R5 II also heats up when shooting high-res video, but on pretty much every other aspect, it performs respectably. According to Steve, this camera "puts Sony on notice," and I'm glad to see it. Sony A9 III Reviewed much earlier in the year, the Sony A9 III caught Steve's attention for its speedy global shutter, which brought fast and accurate autofocus. It also delivered smooth, high-quality video in a body with excellent handling thanks to Sony's comfortable new grip. Steve also loved the viewfinder, and though it's very expensive at $6,000, the A9 III is a solid product that holds the title of "fastest full-frame camera" at least, until something faster comes along. DJI Air 3S and DJI Neo What lightweight $200 drone shoots good 1080p video but also screams like a banshee? That would be the DJI Neo, which, despite Steve's evocative description, is something I'm considering buying for myself. Not only is it reasonably priced, but it also promises to capture smooth aerial footage at a respectable resolution. Steve also found it beginner-friendly, which is important for a lousy pilot like me. And sure, maybe I'll scare some wildlife or neighbors with its loud screeching, but maybe that's part of the fun? If you want something that can avoid people or obstacles and deliver cinematic shots, the DJI Air 3S is a solid option thanks to its LiDAR and larger camera sensor, both of which improve performance and obstacle-detection in low light. You'll have to pay about five times the Neo's cost, of course, but aspiring Spielbergs might find that price worthwhile. MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024) and MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024) I'm not surprised that the only laptops to make it to this list are this year's M4 MacBook Pros. Apple has demonstrated over the last few years that its M-series processors deliver excellent performance and battery life, and it's continued to prove its point in 2024. This year's model features brighter screens and improved webcams, as well as slight bumps in RAM and storage. I'm a Windows user, but even I have to admit that what Apple is doing with the MacBooks is something that Microsoft and all its partners on the PC side have struggled to fully replicate. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) What PC makers do excel at is power and creativity. When it's not experimenting with dual-screen laptops, ASUS is pushing out capable gaming laptops in its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. This year, our reviewer Sam Rutherford's top-scored product is the ROG Zephyrus G14, which he declared "the 14-inch gaming laptop to beat." Sam hasn't given out a higher score at all this year, so it stands to reason we have yet to see a gaming notebook steal that crown. The Zephyrus G14 won Sam over with its beautiful OLED screen, attractive yet subtle design and generous array of ports. Though he's not a fan of its soldered-in RAM and ASUS' Armoury Crate app, Sam still found plenty to like, calling it "both pound for pound and dollar for dollar the best choice around." Honorable mention: reMarkable Paper Pro There are plenty of products that might have received the same score as the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and iPhone 16 Pro, but we have to cut the list somewhere. It's worth mentioning that other devices we awarded a score of 91 include the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, the Analogue Duo, the Fujifilm X100 VI and the iPad Air (2024). And when it comes to things that got 90 points, we've got the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, the Apple Watch Series 10, NVIDIA's RTX 4070 Super graphics card, the Meta Quest 3S headset, as well as appliances like Ninja's Creami ice-cream maker. But I wanted to shout out Daniel Cooper's review of the reMarkable Paper Pro. It's a gadget that's brought back waves of nostalgia and sentimentality in a time when we're all tired of constantly being wired in. It's one of the highest-rated products of its kind, not only because it's a capable writing tablet, but also because it is a color e-paper tablet that has a bigger screen and faster performance than its monochrome predecessor. At $580 to start, it's certainly a significant investment, but one that might free us from feeling chained to our laptops and phones. Worst products we reviewed this year: Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 In all my 8-plus years at Engadget, I can only remember one other time we've awarded anything a sub-60 score, and that was when Fisher-Price's Sproutling wearable baby monitor gave our editor's baby an eczema outbreak. The Sproutling got an appropriately all-time low score of 41, and this year, the Rabbit R1 broke that bottom when Devindra decided it deserved only 40 points. The Rabbit R1 first made waves at CES 2024, when it showed up out of nowhere and enticed many of us with its cute looks and bright orange color. Its Teenage Engineering heritage was even more alluring, and we all wanted to try out the Playdate-esque scroll wheel for ourselves. The square device also came with an onboard camera, two microphones, rotating camera and a 2.88-inch display. But its biggest promise was, as with everything in 2024, all about AI. And with many things in 2024, the AI promise fell flat. Rabbit made bold claims about its "large action model," but in actuality, at the time of our review, the R1 could barely execute tasks to completion. Instead of letting you easily make orders via DoorDash, for example, it would "often deliver the weather when I asked for traffic," according to Devindra's review. Worse, "sometimes it would hear my request and simply do nothing." Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget I had a similarly frustrating experience when testing the much-hyped Humane AI Pin. It was a shiny chrome square that you could attach to your clothes and interact with either by voice, touch or via a futuristic-looking projector that beamed a display onto your palm. You were supposed to be able to simply talk to the Humane AI assistant to get it to remember things for and about you, eventually coming to rely on it like a second brain. Instead, we got a hot mess. Quite literally. The Humane AI Pin would frequently run so hot that it would stop working, with the device saying it needed to cool down for a bit before you could use it again. When it did work, it was barely smart enough to answer questions, and though the projector was cool visually, using it to do anything was frustrating and just led to sore arms and crossed eyes. Not only did it not do enough to justify the effort involved in using it, the Humane AI Pin also cost $700 way too much for a product this finicky. It gets worse (or better, depending on how you're reading this). Shortly after it was widely criticized by reviewers in April, leaked internal documents showed that people appeared to be returning the AI Pins faster than the company was selling them. In October, Humane had to issue a recall for its charging case due to overheating, with the Consumer Product Safety Commission saying it posed "a fire hazard." I gave the Humane AI Pin a score of 50 in my review, in large part due to the intriguing projector display. Right now, though, it seems these AI gadgets are, at best, struggling to take hold. At worst, they're on fire.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-12-best-gadgets-we-reviewed-this-year-173024990.html?src=rss