Marvel Rivals has been enjoying a successful launch, and fan morale remains high as we head into season one. Ill play a few games with my friends throughout the week, my social media feeds are full of buzz about the game, and the future looks bright. But I cant help but look sidelong at the other hero shooter that inevitably comes up when we discuss Marvel Rivals: Overwatch 2.All of this initial cheer and excitement feels really familiar, and I remember experiencing it back in the early days of Overwatch. At first, I waited to see whether Marvel Rivals would burn out quickly once the novelty wore off. Now that the game has been out for over a month and the NetEase team is adding new heroes like the Fantastic Four, it feels like the shooter has the potential to stick around.Then again, the Marvel Rivals developers have the luxury of watching a similar game strike its own course and falter over the years. Overwatch had an incredibly strong start as a hero shooter. The opening cinematic a museum fight where Tracer and Winston faced off against Reaper and Winston over the powerful Doomfist relic was absolutely electrifying. I personally got hooked on the gameplay and became a Pharah main, but I was also intrigued by the overall lore that was drip-fed through events, short stories, and new hero releases.I stayed engaged in the Overwatch community for years, but over that time, my enthusiasm began to dim. Blizzard was slow to release balance patches, letting players marinate in unfortunate meta games like the Brigitte fiasco for months. When patches did come through, they often bent the game in favor of professional play, trying to ensure that there would be a healthy ecosystem for the Overwatch League. I was just there to shoot rockets as Pharah, and this philosophy of updates wasnt to my taste.But what about the initial promise that Overwatch would be a vehicle for some grand lore, an overarching story that would satisfy our curiosity and pay off on so many seeds planted over the years? The Archive missions were an attempt to set these kinds of stories up, but they were often quite limited in scope and scale. In the early days of the game, I would be excited when there was a new hero teaser and we saw a bunch of other characters in frame perhaps any one of these guys could become the next hero!Now, its just exhausting. There is only so long you can dangle threads in front of an audience and promise theyll pay off. After years of relatively small Archives missions, occasional blurbs of lore, and plenty of teasers, I and many other Overwatch fans simply gave up on trying to follow the bread crumbs. The focus on narrative ended up souring the hero shooter for me, since so much of the story is threaded through in-game banter and dialogue.Marvel Rivals, on the other hand, isnt hooking me along and promising me a fulfilling and thrilling story. Thats not to say theres no lore; theres a massive archive of comics and continuities with these characters, and the game helpfully points players towards first appearances or major issues. If I want to read more about Jeff the Land Shark or Hawkeye, I have plenty of options.But Rivals itself is a silly setting in which everyones thrown together in a 2099 realm to fight Dracula and Doctor Doom. The setting is in a comfortable stasis, and I have no doubt that fans find plenty of fodder for writing their own fiction or coming up with their own ships, but its a much cleaner set-up than trying to kick off a grand overarching narrative with high stakes and big payoffs.Well have to see whether Marvel Rivals can stand the test of time; its much easier to run a live-service game for a month than for nearly a decade. But at least NetEase has a list of mistakes that Blizzard blundered into, so it may be able to avoid the same pitfalls. For now, Im still having fun with Marvel Rivals, and I think its popularity is going to turn out to be more than just hype.

In well over a decade of journalism, I've seen a fair amount of copied designs, but I've never seen anything as blatant as Bing's attempt to hoodwink people into believing they're using Google. Since time immemorial, people have used default apps to look for better alternatives, and to switch to those instead. Back in the day, Internet Explorer was often used to download Firefox or Chrome, before being forgotten forever. Now, the same thing is happening with BingMicrosoft's search engineand the company clearly isn't pleased with that.If you haven't changed any defaults on the Microsoft Edge browser, Bing is your search engine. When you type the word "Google" in the browser's address bar, you'll see a page that you may mistake for Google search, but it's actually Bing deceiving you into believing that you're using your preferred search engine. Bing will load a page that looks a lot like Google, complete with a fake Google doodle, a search bar, results laid out in Google's design, and show other spoofed Google UI elements. This was first spotted by 9to5Google.The worst part is that the spoofed page even hides Microsoft Bing's branding entirely by hiding the top bar. You can reveal that by scrolling up a little. When you search for any term other than "Google," Bing's branding and the search bar at the top are prominently visible.It's clear that Microsoft has noticed that people are using Bing to locate Google, their preferred search engine, and chose to try a sneaky way to stop losing users to Google. Parisa Tabriz, who's the vice president of Google Chrome, expressed her displeasure at this move on X (formerly Twitter). Her post reads, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Microsoft spoofing the Google homepage is another tactic in its long history of tricks to confuse users & limit choice. New year; new low @Microsoft." If you're unhappy with such tricks, you can easily switch the default browser on Windows 11.Editor's note: We have reached out to Microsoft for comment but haven't yet gotten a response.

Phones are in a weird spot right now when it comes to gaming. Theyre easily the most popular gaming devices on the market, but they also kind of suck to play on. Despite phones having the power to run some pretty demanding titles, the lack of built-in physical controls force most mobile games to make a lot of compromises to fit the format. Worse, even the best phone controllers are bulky, add a lot of width to your device, and usually require you to take off your case. 20-year-old YouTuber Josh King has had enough, and together with peripheral company Ohsnap, hes releasing the first phone controller I actually feel like Id want to carry around with me on a daily basisthe MCON.The MCON combines two ideas that Im surprised nobody had taken to market before King and Ohsnap. Essentially, it uses MagSafe to ensure an easy and solid grip on your phone, even with its case on, and slide-out controls akin to the slide-out keyboard on old Android phones to help cut down how much space the whole device takes up when not in use. The current MCON controller without a phone attached. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt The result is a phone controller after my own heart. Im one of the few people who bought Sonys Xperia Play, which also featured a slide-out controller, and I miss it dearly. I love the idea of getting in a few stages in a platformer or a couple of matches in a shooter during my free time much more than idly plugging away at Candy Crush; and yet, I thought the industry had moved past me, always teasing me with increasingly more powerful phones that were nonetheless less useable as gaming devices (at least for my tastes) than a Game Boy.The MCON finally feels like it unleashes the full power of my device in a way that makes me want to use it. Again, its not the first gaming controller for phones, but Im simply not taking my case off every time I want to play, especially if Im going for quick, pick-up-and-play sessions. This is the first real solution for that Ive seen (no, attaching a clamp to your phone and hooking it up to a console controller isn't for me, either), and it helps that its real slick.While Ive gone hands-on with the MCON at CES, its not strictly brand new for the show. Its story began seven months ago, when King posted a video to his YouTube channel running through the same gripes I stated above, expressing astonishment that nobody had beaten him to a MagSafe phone controller, and walking viewers through how he built his own to answer that unserved need. The video went viral, and he tells me that, shortly afterwards, he reached out to peripheral company Ohsnap on LinkedIn after being impressed by videos of their manufacturing process, and started working with the company on mass producing his design. Josh King's original MCON design, prior to working with Ohsnap. Credit: Jake Peterson Fast forward to now, and MCON has a new prototype at CES and an already funded Kickstarter that went live for the show.The new version of MCON, which I got to test just today using my own phone in its own case, is everything I want in a phone controller. It works with your case on. It has a full suite of controls, complete with clickable, drift-resistant Hall Effect sticks. And while it works natively with the iPhones MagSafe, it comes with an adapter for use on just about anything.The idea is simple: When the controller isnt slid out, the MCON looks kind of like a portable MagSafe battery bank, and you can attach your phone to its magnetic surface like you would one of those. But upon pressing the slide-out mechanism, the device will unfold to reveal a full controller, with your phone resting securely on a magnetic mount above it. Said controller can connect to your phone over either Bluetooth or a wired USB-C connection, and theres even enough real estate for your phone to be mounted vertically as well, although that placement will cover the sticks. The MCON controller with a phone mounted vertically. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt That magnetic connection is strong, by the wayduring my demo, I saw it used to connect the MCON to a tablet, and at no point did I worry it was going to fall off.Because its still being Kickstarted, King and Ohsnap told me that MCON is still a little bit away from release, with an estimate set for August. That makes sensethe one complaint I had with the demo units at the show is they feel a little unfinished, and thats because they are. Ive only used prototypes with 3D-printed parts, but more conventional manufacturing will be used for the final product.Still, the MCON looks like its come a long way since Kings original video. The new version adds optional flip-out grips and swaps out King's original, iPhone exclusive MagSafe plate for a universal sliding magnetic puck, two of which can be stacked on top of each other to support especially thick phones. It also has stacked shoulder and trigger buttons, which were missing on the original prototype.But there are still a few items left on King and Ohsnaps to-do list. While the final device will come with the sliding magnetic puck as its connector, the MCON team does plan to release optional magnetic plates meant to fit specific phones that you can use instead, starting with certain popular devices like the iPhone. Additionally, a slim version with shorter joysticks is on the list, as is a potential pro version, although the upgrades there are still a bit under wraps.Further, when the device releases, Ohsnap will post free 3D printing files for modders, so that the community can help support the MCON as well. While the MCON will only sell in either black or white at launch, other colorways are being considered.First, though, it has to come out. Kickstarter supporters can pre-order an MCON for a $99 pledge, and King tells me the price for the final product will probably be somewhere between $99 and $150, although its still being worked out. For that, youll get the controller itself, two magnetic pucks, and a MagSafe adapter for use with devices that dont have MagSafe built-in.Its a humbler device, but thats part of the fun of CES for me. For my needs, this is easily my best-of-show so far. Itll make me actually want to game on my phone, which basically means Ill suddenly get a small portable gaming console that can run big games like the most recent Assassins Creed right in my pocket. As someone whose pockets definitely cant fit a Switch, and who doesnt want to carry around a bulky traditional phone controller, a phone case, and my phone in my purse or backpack, thats everything my Game Boy and Nintendo DS-loving heart wants.

Hot off the heels of Lenovos announcement that its miniaturizing its Legion Go gaming handheld with the Legion Go S, fellow PC manufacturer Acer is going in the complete opposite direction with the biggest handheld gaming PC Ive ever seen. The seven-inch Acer Nitro Blaze handheld the company showed off in September isnt even available for purchase yet, and already its getting a much bigger sibling.As part of its CES announcements for 2025, Acer has announced new 11-inch and eight-inch versions of the Nitro Blaze. Theyll have the same internals as the previously announced seven-inch version, meaning an AMD Ryzen 8840HS laptop chip, 16GB of RAM, up to 2TB of storage, and Hall Effect sticks/triggers, but what sets them apart is their screens and sheer size.While the seven-inch and eight-inch versions dont look too dissimilar to a Steam Deck, I cant look at that 11-inch model and think anything other than beeg boy. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt All three Nitro Blazes have a 2560 x 1600 IPS display, with the smaller models running at 144Hz as well, but that 11-inch model just has so much screen real estate. Weirdly, its refresh rate is a slightly smaller 120Hz, but that doesnt keep it from feeling like the most luxurious version available.Frankly, its the biggest gaming handheld Ive ever held, stretching the definition of handheld. I saw some folks on Reddit calling it the final boss of handhelds, which I think is pretty appropriate.But while its not technically the first PC gaming handheld with an 11-inch screen, it definitely seems like the most put-together, going by what the competition is offering. When I picked it up, I was immediately taken aback by how lightweight it feltits just 2.3 pounds, which is a pound heavier than my Steam Deck, but about on par with Asus new category-leading lightweight Copilot+ laptop. This immediately made it feel surprisingly usable, despite how intimidating it looked in its stand.I was easily able to pick it up one-handed as well as nearly toss it around with Acer employees, and while Im not sure its something Id want to pack in an everyday carry bag, it definitely still works as a more portable alternative to a gaming laptop.Also making it more usable is one addition unique to the 11-inch model, although its been seen before. Like on the current, first-gen Lenovo Legion Go, the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 has detachable controllers. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt These can be used paired together with a kickstand for a tabletop play experience, or in a move that actually gives it an edge on the Legion Go, you can turn them on their side and use them as separate controllers for two-player play. Its a no-brainer, something Nintendo made synonymous with detachable controllers when it introduced the Joy-Con with the Nintendo Switch, so its nice to see someone else finally get their hands on that ball.Speaking frankly, Im not sure theres space (literally) for the Nitro Blaze 11 in my life, and with the Legion Go S about to bring my beloved SteamOS to the smaller third-party PC gaming handheld space, I dont think Id opt for one of its younger cousins.But a different, younger, more explicitly gamer-y me would have been all over this. Theres some maximalist pride to be taken in a gaming handheld with a screen that reaches into the double digits, and while thats always going to come with some compromises, the Nitro Blaze 11 is looking to do that concept about the most justice possible. In a time when I was happily lugging a five-pound gaming laptop from class-to-class, I would have had no issue throwing this in with it.That said, youll need to pay four figures for the privilege of finding a way to tote this absolute unit around. The Nitro Blaze 11 will cost $1,099 when it launches in Q2 of this year, although the Nitro Blaze 8 will be a more affordable (by comparison) $899. Acer representatives told me the Nitro Blaze 7 will launch around the same time as well, coming in at $799.

Buying non-Creator branded products will net you some serious savings.

Nvidia enters the ASIC market to meet the growing demand for efficient AI inference chip solutions

The Huawei Mate XT made waves when it launched in China in 2024, but new rumors and demos have got me hopeful that the tri-fold story will continue.

TikTok creators are urging their followers to find them on other social media sites ahead of Jan. 19, when the video app faces suspension in the U.S.

Want more housing market stories from Lance LambertsResiClubin your inbox?Subscribeto theResiClubnewsletter.When assessing home price momentum, its important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate potential future pricing weakness. Conversely, a rapid decline in active listings could suggest a market that is heating up.Generally speaking, local housing markets where active inventory has returned to pre-pandemic levels have experienced softer home price growth (or outright price declines) over the past three years. Conversely, local housing markets where active inventory remains far below pre-pandemic levels have generally experienced stronger home price growth over the past three years.National active listings are on the rise (up 22% between December 2023 and December 2024). This indicates that homebuyers have gained some leverage in many parts of the country over the past year, with some markets even feeling like buyers markets on the ground.However, nationally, were still below pre-pandemic active inventory levels (-15.7% below December 2019), and some resale markets still remain tightbut thats not the case anymore in many pockets of the Sun Belt and Mountain West.Here are the historic totals for December inventory/active listings, according to Realtor.com:December 2017: 1,127,799 December 2018: 1,185,865 December 2019: 1,033,887 December 2020: 612,300 (overheating during the pandemic housing boom)December 2021: 445,303 (overheating during the pandemic housing boom)December 2022: 680,925 (mortgage rate shock)December 2023: 714,176December 2024: 871,509Among the states with the biggest inventory jumps: Florida.In Florida, the biggest inventory increases initially over the past two years were concentrated in sections of Southwest Florida. In particular, in markets like Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, and Fort Myers, which were hard-hit by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. This combination of increased housing supply for salethe damaged homes coming up for salecoupled with strained demandthe result of spiked home prices, spiked mortgage rates, higher insurance premiums, and higher HOAstranslated into market softening across much of Southwest Florida.However, the inventory increases in Florida now expands far beyond SWFL. Markets like Jacksonville and Orlando are also above pre-pandemic levels, as are many coastal pockets along Floridas Atlantic Ocean side.One reason being that Floridas condo market is dealing with the after effects of regulation passed following the Surfside condo collapse in 2021. This is compounded by a slowdown in work-from-home migration to Florida and significant home insurance shocks.Back in August 2024, only four states had returned to or surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 active inventory levels. By October 2024, that number grew to eight states. In December 2024, that number was nine states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.States likely to join that list soon include Oregon (which surpassed pre-pandemic inventory levels in November, only to slip back under in December), Alabama, Nebraska, Hawaii, and Georgia.Click here to view an interactive of the chart below (best viewed on desktop).Why are Sun Belt and Mountain West markets seeing a faster return to pre-pandemic inventory levels than many Midwest and Northeast markets?One factor is that some pockets of the Sun Belt and Mountain West experienced even greater home price growth during the pandemic housing boom, which stretched prices too far beyond local incomes. Once pandemic-fueled migration slowed, and rates spiked, it became an issue in places like Colorado Springs and Austin.Unlike many Sun Belt housing markets, many Northeast and Midwest markets have lower levels of homebuilding. As new supply becomes available in Southwest and Southeast markets, and builders use affordability adjustments like mortgage rate buydowns to move it, it has created a cooling effect in the resale market. The Northeast and Midwest dont have that same level of new supply, so resale/existing homes are pretty much the only game in town.Big picture: Over the past few years weve observed a softening across many housing markets as strained affordability tempers the fervor of a market that was unsustainably hot during the pandemic housing boom. While home prices are falling in some areas around the Gulf, most regional housing markets are still seeing positive year-over-year home price growth. The big question going forward is whether active inventory and months of supply will continue to rise and cause more housing markets to see outright price declines?

For most of us, income is the easiest-to-understand part of your budget. You know how much you make (usually $100 shy of enough) and how often it comes in (at least a day late). Its figuring out where all income goes each month thats the hard part.But just because income is somewhat easier to keep track of than other aspects of your financial life doesnt mean you can afford to ignore it. A thorough understanding of your monthly and annual income is the foundation of a strong budget. You cant build a solid financial life without this understanding.Heres everything you need to know about your income.What is income?While the definition of income may seem obvious, its helpful to spell out exactly what this important part of your financial life is. Specifically, your income is the entire amount of money that flows into your budget over a period of time. This includes money you earn through workyour salary, wages, bonusesor money you earn through investments, such as dividends or rental income.Your earned income can also be broken down further into your gross versus net income. Understanding the difference between these two amounts will help you make more accurate financial decisions.Gross versus net incomeGross income refers to the amount of money your employer pays you before taxes, benefits, and other payroll deductions are taken from your paycheck. Net income is the amount of money that you actually get to take home with you.Anyone who has been excited to get their first paycheckonly to be left wondering who FICA is and why hes taking all your moneywill recognize the big disparity between gross and net income. According to 2023 data from the Census Bureau, the median gross household income in 2022 was $74,580, while the median household income after taxes was $64,240, or nearly 14% lower than the gross income.But even though taxes are part of the reason for the size of your net pay, they are not the only deductions taken.Nothing but net (income)Taxes may take the biggest bite out of your gross pay, but there are several common deductions that can affect your net pay, including:Federal income tax withholding: Income taxes are calculated based on your income and increase progressively, so that higher-income earners ostensibly pay more than lower-income earners.State income tax withholding: If your state imposes income taxes, it will generally be withheld from your pay like federal income taxes.Social Security and Medicare taxes: The Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) charges employees a tax rate of 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, while your employer is required to match that contribution amount.Health insurance premiums: Typically, if your employer provides health insurance, your contribution is deducted from your paycheck each pay period.Retirement savings: If you have access to a retirement investment account through work, you can make contributions to the account from your gross pay, which lowers your net payand your taxable income.Wage garnishment: If you have incurred debt, such as unpaid back taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans, a court can order your employer to withhold a percentage of your wage until the debt is repaid.Adjusting your withholdingTaxes may be one of only two certainties in life, but people working a traditional job have more control over the taxes coming out of their paychecks than they might realize. Thats because the W-4 form you filled out with your employers HR department at the start of this job determines your withholding, and you can adjust the withholding by submitting a new W-4 form.If you regularly receive a large tax refund, you can recalculate your withholding allowances on the IRS.gov website, and use your corrected withholding to fill out a new W-4 form. This will increase the amount of net pay you receive with each paycheck. (You can also adjust your withholding in the other direction, if you would like to send more money to Uncle Sam. There are many taxpayers who use this strategy as a form of enforced savings.)The withholding you claim on your W-4 only determines the amount deducted from your paycheck in taxes each pay period. It is not the same thing as your tax bill. Which means its perfectly legal to change withholding allowances on your W-4, as long as you claim the correct number of allowances on your actual tax return. Just note that adjustments to your withholding will affect your tax refund.Know thy incomeWithout understanding your monthly income, it is impossible to create an accurate budget. Thats why you must start any personal money management practice by calculating exactly how much money you bring home.This calculation is simple for those who have a traditional job with a regular paycheck. If you get paid weekly, simply multiply your pay by four to get your monthly income. For biweekly or semimonthly paychecks (i.e. getting paid on the first and 15th of each month), multiply your pay by two to get your monthly income.Freelancers, contract employees, and salespeople who work on commission have a tougher calculation to complete to determine their median monthly income. If you have an irregular income, you can calculate an approximate monthly take home by adding together a years worth of irregular income, then dividing the total by 12. (If you havent been earning an irregular income for a full year, use as many months worth of income as youve earned, and divide the total by that number of months).Once you have this dollar amount calculated, you can start planning how you use your money, rather than simply wondering where it all went when youre paying for gas with couch cushion change.The importance of incomeBecoming a master of your money does not require arcane knowledge or extreme self-restraint. You only need to understand the five pillars of financial literacy, starting with income.Income describes the amount of money that flows into your budget over a period of time. Your gross income is the amount of money you earn before anything is deducted from your paycheck, while your net income is the money you actually get to take home.While taxes are one of the common deductions taken from your gross pay, you may also have such things as health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and wage garnishments deducted from your pay. Its not possible to opt out of paying taxes, but you can adjust the amount of money that is withheld from your paycheck by filing a new W-4 form with your employer. This is perfectly legal, but it will affect your tax refund amount.Knowing your monthly income is the basis of accurate budgeting. If you have a regular income, you can calculate an exact monthly income, but even workers with irregular income can set up a budget using an approximate median monthly income.