In the acknowledgments of her 2024 novel All Fours, Miranda July explains that she was inspired by a series of conversations about physical and emotional midlife changes with several women close to her.And while there is almost no trace of these actual conversations in the book, she adds, they made writing it more necessary.The novel finds a middle-aged mother choosing to leave home and drive across the country in search of herself. Sound a little hackneyed? Maybe thats why she gives up after about 30 minutes, pulling into a dingy motel and instead trying to turn back time from her new home base, the appropriately chosen Room 321.In this bland environment she undergoes a physical and spiritual awakening, a dance to the Muzak of time. Whether remodeling her motel room or defying libidinal decline with a nearby Hertz rental car employee, Julys protagonist, who talks a lot about respirationI breathed in; I breathed outfinally breathes life back into herself.Along the way, All Fours frames middle age as something that must be felt and communicated afresh, one powerful, awkward, minutely recorded sensation at a time.Easier said than done. Some clichs are like planets, their gravitational pull too strong for all but the most propulsive acts of creativity. Middle age is one of these. The changes often associated with being in your forties and fiftiesgray hairs, career doldrums, times squeaky-wheeled chariot drawing nearcan seem as inevitable as aging itself.And yet, as my research on the construction and representation of aging has shown, the middle years arent what they used to be, nor what they will one day become.Inventing midlifeThe history of middle age begins as far back as the eye can read.In classical Western literature, the middle of life is represented as a time to live and die magnificently.The heroes of Greek epicsOdysseus, Achilles, Ajaxare always middle-aged, and none of them loses sleep wondering about his life choices or whether his skills are falling off. Nor does Homer worry much about conveying how these men became who they are. Wily Odysseus, we can only assume, was wily pretty much from the cradle.Beowulf, the hero of an early Anglo-Saxon poem, likewise does not show signs of slowing down until old age, when a dragon proves too much for him to kill without help from a much younger man. Embarrassing.The middle phase of life, these works imply, is the time when people are most themselves, with the greatest abundance of skill and purpose that life will ever confer.Even Shakespeare saw midlife as little cause for anxiety. Among the seven ages of man described in As You Like It, middle age corresponds roughly to the part of the justice, a man with fair round belly and wise saws who sounds a little quaint, perhaps, but also content; it is only during the sixth age, with the approach of what Shakespeare calls second childishness, that a major shift occurs and quality of life starts to drop.The birth of crisisThen everything changed. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to a new bourgeois class that, when not reeling from the latest market crash, had time and money to burn.Middle-class leisure, unlike the aristocratic kind that greeted one at birth, required shifting gears, from a full-steam-ahead search for ones place in the world to the relative stagnancy that came with having found it.This kind of whiplash was enough to make a crisis of midlife: a deep-seated feeling of anxiety about the value of ones achievements, the meaning of existence and the proximity of death.While the actual term midlife crisis was not born until 1965, thanks to 48-year-old Canadian psychoanalyst Elliot Jacques, its gestation stretched across the 18th and 19th centuries. Romantic poets such as John Keats and Percy Shelley, who died at 25 and 29, respectively, taught readers to covet the summer of life with almost desperate intensity, and even a slight chill in the air became cause for dread.The Victorians, perhaps sensing that Britains empire could not stay young and virile forever, took this Romantic dread and ran with it. In the 1853 novel Little Dorrit, 41-year-old Charles Dickens portrays 41-year-old Arthur Clennam, who gloomily meditates on what hes done with himself and how little its gotten him:From the unhappy suppression of my youngest days, through the rigid and unloving home that followed them, through my departure, my long exile, my return, my mothers welcome, my intercourse with her since, down to the afternoon of this day with poor Flora, said Arthur Clennam, what have I found!For Clennam, a jaded merchant who recently vacated his position with the family firm in search of some greater purpose, taking stock of ones life seems a painful but necessary exercise. He also takes another kind of stock, investing in a Ponzi scheme that plunges him, with most of London, into a state of financial crisis that mirrors his personal one.A generation later, in the U.S., Theodore Dreisers 1900 novel Sister Carrie tells the story of George Hurstwood, a successful businessman whose life begins to unravel the moment he stops working long enough to question its real worth.Both Clennam and Hurstwood eventually take up with a twentysomething womanone finding regeneration in that relationship, the other dishevelment and death.In another time, both men might also splurge on a red Corvette.Future midlifeWhat about middle-aged women in the 19th century?In a way, there were none. The critic Sari Edelstein, in her 2019 book, Adulthood and Other Fictions, encourages readers to think about adulthood not as a biological fact but as a cluster of political rights and privileges conferred on some people in the U.S.usually white menand largely withheld from others, such as women and people of color.While race, class, and marital status profoundly impacted womens experience of midlife, one fact remains constant for much of the century: the absence of full adult status under the law. Even as they matured, women were kept little.They were also portrayed as such. Popular novels such as The Lamplighter and The Wide, Wide World retraced time and again the approved boundaries of a married womans life, which extend no further than the home. Unmarried women and widows could hold property and manage their own financial affairs, but the period literature far too seldom represents their point of view. Not until the advent of second-wave feminism, and works such as Doris Lessings 1973 novel, The Summer Before the Dark, did middle-aged womanhood become a topic more openly and creatively explored on paper.For all that creative labor across the past century, the English-speaking world has been largely resigned to the idea of middle age as a dreadful, isolating crisis.This is likely due in part to the midlife crisiss amazing elasticitythe way it stretches to accommodate shifting cultural contexts and the rise of whole new artistic forms. Few other topics seem to lend themselves so generously to esoteric offerings and crowd-pleasing genre fare, to the page and the screen. (For my money, one of the best films about midlife crises is Martin Scorseses Casino.)If not a crisis, what else could midlife be?Perhaps the gateway to something universal.While the narrator of All Fours suffers plenty of distress and ennui, she never uses the word crisis without scare quotes. Shes clearly holding out for another kind of midlife.That faith is rewarded in the last chapter, when she watches a dance recital and feels the warm, hallowed feeling from her hotel retreat gilding the whole neighborhood, the whole city . . . The whole universe? Yes . . .She reflects: If 321 was everywhere then every day was Wednesday, and I could always be how I was in the room. Imperfect, ungendered, game, unashamed. I had everything I needed in my pockets, a full soul.Her consciousness expanding and contracting between the scale of the universe and that of her own pockets, Julys narrator does more than regenerate. Rising and falling, part St. Teresa and part Lady Macbeth, she embraces both the ecstasy and the tragedy of life and is twice empowered.It is a midlife metamorphosis.Matthew Redmond is a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the Universit de Lille.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Theres an important trend unfolding across the corporate sector, from mid-career professionals to the most experienced executives: were leaving. As return-to-office policies continue to increase and threaten an end to flexible work arrangements, many workers are opting out of the traditional career ladder altogether and crafting an exit strategy.Rather than steadily climb toward reaching the C-suite and staying until retirement, corporate employees are choosing to rewrite the rules for career success. Gone are the days of one company or one job at a time, and in their place is a steady rise in portfolio careers, independent consulting, freelancer networks, and fractional executives.It can be both enticing and intimidating to step outside the lines and reimagine your own trajectory in this way, but it is an extremely rewarding path to consider. So, if youve been contemplating a path outside of the traditional corporate journey, here is a road map for staging your own exit strategy.Step 1: Explore the ideaAs with most new and scary concepts, you can get started by simply acknowledging the potential idea. Try writing and then speaking about your desires to your safest and most valued confidants:Why do you want to exit?Whats driving you?What are you afraid of?What does success look like?If you have a coach or an advisor, work with them to itemize the biggest obstacles keeping you in place and discuss potential ways you can work through them. When I was planning my own corporate exit strategy in 2019, I spoke with my therapist about all the worst-case scenarios I had in my mind for each of my fears, and in the end, none of them was insurmountable.Slowly, systematically, my why stay? list got much less compelling, and my why not? list became a very strong case for leaving.Step 2: Run the numbersThe biggest obstacle for many of us, of course, is the income question. So, try facing this head-on to help you get real, rather quickly, about the tangible requirements to make this move.In the independent consulting world, we call this the rent equation. How much income do you need each month to cover your baseline needs? How much to feel safe and comfortable? This wont be your revenue forever, its just a starting point that can feel doable and accessible.Companies keep employees in place through a complex web of compensation spread across salaries, benefits, bonuses, stock options, and other intangibles. Try to simplify the equation by building a list of your core expenses, and then think about how much you really need to earn to become free. Dont forget your deductions will change when youre self-employedoften for the better.This is just a starting point. Youre trying to make a theoretical concept feel more real so you can build the case for yourself and turn a nebulous idea into something realistic.Step 3: Define your value propositionThis is a big one that will require some deep thought. Carve out some time where you can reflect and think through your personal value proposition, defining what you have to offer, and to whom.When you work for someone else, its easy to conflate your value with your title, your role, or even the function of your team. The objective in this case is to begin to separate out those elements from what you, as an individual, have to offer and who you are best suitedor most energizedto serve.Whether you intend to seek out private board or fractional roles, build an advisory or consulting practice, or want to transition into coaching, you need to have a strong feel for what you can do and for whom. Write this down in the simplest, clearest way possible and use it in your outreach.Step 4: Tap that networkNow its time to lean on your network. You cant expect anyone to help you make the leap if you dont ask, and they wont know how to help if you are not clear and direct in what you ask for.Start with your strongest mentors and closest allies and let them know youre considering striking out on your own. Weave in language from your value proposition and let them know what you are hoping to do, who you would like to work with, and your ask of them. Typically, you are asking that they be aware of your goals, keep you in mind, and let you know of anyone you ought to meet.People tend to avoid this kind of outreach because they feel uncomfortable with the ask. But keep in mind that when you do the work to clarify your goals and needs, your champions will always be happy to hear from you and will appreciate knowing how best to help. Avoid group emails and write authentic, personalized notes that sound as if youre chatting over coffee.In this phase, dont forget to grow and expand your network as well. The contacts that got you here probably arent the contacts that will help grow your new business endeavors. Make sure to identify others who have already left the corporate grind and ask for their wisdom, look up people in your desired space and follow and engage and interact with them. Infuse new ideas into your thinking.Step 5: Speak upPeople will not think of you unless you give them a reason, so visibility matters. Use platforms like LinkedIn and local events to show up, and write and share your thoughts wherever you can. Getting out of your echo chamber will help you feel less stuck and more connected to others who might end up becoming partners, advocates, or clients going forward.This is hard. Many leaders feel wildly uncomfortable creating original content and sharing their expertise, but it is a powerful way to signal to those you know, and those you dont yet know, that youre available, experienced, and ready for business.Most of all, dont overthink it.Get started. Send some signals, do some thinking and writing, and see what comes back. You may find that your first consulting or board opportunity is easier to pin down than expectedand suddenly you are on your way.Its easy to stay still, and far more rewarding to take the risk and carve your own path. The exit sign is this way, and you deserve to at see whats just beyond that door.Youll never know if you dont at least take a peek.

Every year, Apple adds additional privacy features that make its products the most secure in the world. Most recently, in iOS 18, Apple added the ability to limit Contacts access to only the select connections you choose. The company also developed its new Apple Intelligence AI system with privacy at its core.Yet there are still several privacy enhancements Apple could make across its devices to ensure that more of our data remains safe from prying eyes. Here are four top privacy features Apple should add to its devices, software, and services in 2025.Lock apps on Apple TVThe Apple TV set-top box is one of the best devices Apple makes (the TV app, on the other hand, still needs plenty of work). Unfortunately, the Apple TV, still lacks the privacy protections that Apples other devices offer. The most glaring privacy oversight on Apple TV is the inability to lock individual appsor access to the device itselfbehind a passcode.Anyone who has access to your living room can access all the digital goods on your Apple TV. When you turn on the Apple TV, there is no login screen where you need to enter a passcode to access the operating system and all its apps. This means that anyone can access all your Apple TV data simply by picking up the Siri Remote.And this doesnt just include your streaming apps. The Apple TV also has the Photos app, just like the one on your iPhone, so anyone with access to your Apple TV can see all the photos youve saved in your iCloud Photos Library. Right now, the only way to stop this is to decline to enable iCloud Photos on your TVbut that means you lose the best screen in your house for viewing your pics.Apple should do what it did with apps on iOS 18: Let users lock the Apple TV and its individual apps behind a passcode.End-to-end encrypted emailBack in 2022, Apple turned iCloud into a digital Fort Knox by allowing users to enable Advanced Data Protection on their iCloud account. Advanced Data Protection encrypts most of your iCloud data end-to-end, which means that no onenot even Applecan access the majority of the data you have stored there unless they know your password.The problem is that not all iCloud data is encrypted end-to-end, including iCloud emails. And since iCloud emails (those sent from an @iCloud.com email address) are still not end-to-end encrypted, nefarious bad actors could gain access to them and read their contents. If the iCloud emails were end-to-end encrypted, any hackers would only see gibberish even if they did breach iClouds servers.There is, of course, a valid reason that Apple hasnt implemented end-to-end encryption for iCloud emails: if you sent an end-to-end encrypted iCloud email to the user of another email service (like Gmail), they wouldnt be able to unencrypt the message because Gmail (and other major email providers like Yahoo and Outlook) doesnt support end-to-end encrypted emails.Still, in 2025, Apple should lead the charge when it comes to bringing end-to-end encryption to emails and, with it, spur others in the industry to do the same so end-to-end encrypted emails can be sent and accessed from any email account you use.Limited Calendar accessOne of the best privacy features in years arrived with iOS 18 last fall. Thats when Apple finally added the ability to grant apps access to only the address book contacts you chose rather than your entire address book. This selective access means that companies, including social media giants, cant see everyone you knowincluding sensitive contacts like health professionalswhen requesting access to your contacts.Yet apps can still request access to all your calendars, which hold valuable data about you, including when youll be somewhere. Your only options are to deny apps access entirely, allow them to add new events only, or give them full access to read all your calendar events. Nowhere is there an option to let an app access only some of your calendars (such as your work calendar but not your personal one).In iOS 18, Apple gave us incredibly granular privacy controls over our address books, helping to keep our contacts safe from prying eyes and nosey apps. Heres hoping this level of privacy comes to Calendars in 2025.Lock individual iMessage chatsFor years, Apples Messages app has led the industry when it comes to privacy. Apple Messages was one of the first to offer end-to-end encrypted chats, for example. And in iOS 18, the Messages applike nearly every other app on the iPhonecould be locked behind a passcode or biometric scan before someone could access its contents. However, the Messages app still cannot lock individual chat threads behind a passcode.Locking specific chats behind a passcode may seem a bit redundant if you can already lock the entire app behind a passcode, but there is a strong use case for adding more fine-tuned options with this privacy feature.Anyone with young children will know that they will frequently ask to borrow a caregivers phone to text someone, like their parent who is at work. Locking specific chats behind a passcode can ensure that your child cant accidentally text your boss. Locked chats could also ensure that someone couldnt gain access to any 2FA codes your bank or other services text to you, and that someone with access to your Messages app couldnt see any texts you receive from sensitive contacts, such as healthcare providers.

Nintendos announcement of the Switch successor is imminent. Just how imminent is anyones guess with the company stating that it would reveal info on the console before the end of its fiscal year in March. Rumors regarding the new Switch have been circulating for more than a year, but with less than two months to go until the promised deadline, and in the absence of any real information from Nintendo itself, speculation about the console, its specs, physical profile, and more have reached a fever pitch. So before the official reveal, heres everything we think we know about Nintendos next console.The only concrete, Nintendo-confirmed piece of information we know about the new console is that itll be backwards compatible with the Switch. Everything else has come by way of leaks and info supplied by third-party manufacturers. Late last year, one such manufacturer, Dbrand, debuted its Killswitch carrying case meant for the Switch 2. According to Dbrand CEO Adam Ijaz, the Killswitch is based on the actual dimensions of the new console obtained from a 3D scan of the real hardware. But in an interview with The Verge, he declined to say exactly how or where Dbrand obtained such information.Dbrands render of its Killswitch 2 case. Image: DbrandIf the Killswitchs design is indeed derived from the real thing, the new console will be larger than the Switch OLED with an 8-inch screen, and feature a kickstand that will span the length of the console similar to the OLED model. That the new Switch will be larger than previous iterations is supported by leaks and info from other accessory manufacturers as well as the idea that the Joy-Con controllers will attach via magnet instead of sliding and snapping into place. The new controller design will also incorporate magnets in the joysticks to combat against the dreaded Joy-Con drift that plagues the Switch even now.CES 2025 provided even more fodder for the rumor mill, with accessory manufacturer Genki showing off a 3D printed mock-up of the console on the show floor. In an interview with The Verge, Genki CEO Eddie Tsai went into detail about what he knows about the new Switch reaffirming rumors regarding its larger size, magnetic Joy-Con, and more.While theres a lot of speculation and potential evidence about what the new console will look like, theres less circulating about what it can actually do. Beyond an alleged photo of the consoles motherboard, there hasnt been much out there about the consoles hardware specifications. Because Nintendo has never made consoles at the bleeding edge (or, honestly, even the cutting one) of graphics or processing power, its hard to guess how well the console will perform or what additional features, like a microphone, itll have.Though the consoles internals remain a mystery, we do know that itll be backwards compatible with Switch games. We can also reasonably guess at least one game thatll be a launch title: Metroid Prime 4. Announced in 2017, and undergoing a change of studio and a development reboot two years later, Nintendo debuted gameplay footage for the first time last year and shared a soft launch window of 2025. When Twilight Princess launched in 2006, it debuted on both the GameCube and served as a launch title for the Wii. Breath of the Wild was also cross-gen, debuting on the Wii U while launching with the Switch in 2017.At CES 2025, The Verge saw a 3D printed mockup of the Nintendo Switch 2, here it is next to the Steam Deck. Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The VergeKnowing that the new Switch and Metroid Prime 4 both launch in 2025 and with Twilight Princess and BotW as examples, its speculated that the reason for Metroid 4s long stint in development hell was, at least in part, because the game was being tooled for both the Switch and its successor. Also, you just cant have a new Nintendo console without a Mario game. Super Mario Odyssey was a Switch launch title, and though theres been other new releases like Super Mario Wonder, there hasnt been a new, standalone (put down your pitchforks Bowsers Fury fans) 3D Mario game since then. Its all but assured one will be announced with the new Switch. The recently announced Pokmon Legends: Z-A is also a good launch title candidate as Nintendo curiously worded the games debut trailer with releasing simultaneously worldwide on Nintendo Switch in 2025.For all the rumors and reasonable guesses supported by increasingly convincing evidence, its helpful to remember that at the end of the day, were still talking about Nintendo. The company has always tread a separate and unpredictable path from the other two major console manufacturers and that oddball strategy has mostly worked very well. Though the company is not immune to the same layoffs and delays (the Switch 2 was originally pegged for a 2024 release) plaguing its peers and indeed has its own manifold issues with how it treats and pays its employees and contractors, of the major publishers, it seems to be the one that is best navigating the current crisis ravaging the industry.It is folly trying to predict what Nintendo will do, and that applies to its new console. All we can count on is that its coming soon, and when it arrives, itll be big.

New renders of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series have appeared in a leak from Android HeadlinesGalaxy Unpacked event later this month. The most obvious change here is that Samsung has tweaked the design of the S25 Ultra, rounding off the phones corners a bit.From the renders, it looks like youll be able to get the non-Ultra S25s in light blue, dark blue, light green, and silver. The Ultra will come in black, gray, and two silvery colors with either a white or blue tint. Heres a gallery of some of the images, but be sure to head over to Android Headlines for the rest:1/30Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Image: Android Headlines1/30Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Image: Android HeadlinesApart from the new colors, the non-Ultra phones are almost indistinguishable from the S24 line. But one finer detail thats changed is the way the camera bumps seem to nod at the look of a traditional camera lens barrel that flares out at the end. Internally, look for a CPU bump from Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips to new Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile processors, but not much else. You can read more about the internals in a separate specs leak that Android Headlines also published yesterday.Stay tuned for our coverage of the next Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22nd, at which we expect the company will reveal plenty of details about these phones. Naturally, you can bet it will talk about new AI features, too. Maybe by then, Ill have stopped thinking about connecting to compatible ships through Matter with SmartThings.

Blue Origin is preparing for one of its biggest launches yet. On Sunday, the Jeff Bezos-owned commercial space company will attempt to send its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket into space for the first time.The launch comes after almost a decade of development, and its outcome could threaten the dominance of Elon Musks SpaceX not only in the commercial space industry but also in the satellite internet business. Heres an overview of what you need to know about the New Glenn flight and how to watch it live.What is New Glenn, and why is it important?First announced in 2016, Blue Origins New Glenn rocket is meant to shuttle cargo, satellites, and, in the future, people into space. The New Glenn is named after John Glenn, the first NASA astronaut to enter the Earths orbit.Its first stage is powered by seven of Blue Origins powerful BE-4 engines, which run on liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen. Blue Origin aims to reuse New Glenns first stage for at least 25 missions, as its designed to touch down vertically on a sea-based platform following launch, allowing the company to retrieve it.The rockets upper stage is disposable and carries Blue Origins payload. Its capable of sending 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit and 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Blue Origin says New Glenn is also engineered with the safety and redundance required to fly humans. Though Blue Origin initially aimed to launch New Glenn in 2020, its inaugural flight kept getting pushed back due to issues with the development of its BE-4 engine and other technical mishaps.RelatedAs pointed out by NPR, New Glenn has a similar carrying capacity to SpaceXs Falcon Heavy rocket, but it stands out with a larger, 23-foot-wide cargo bay. If New Glenns launch is successful, it could heat up its rivalry with SpaceX as both companies vie to secure lucrative government contracts. New Glenn is also key to Amazons Project Kuiper satellite internet initiative. Though the companys first set of satellites is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket this year, Blue Origin will eventually launch Project Kuiper satellites aboard New Glenn, rivaling SpaceXs Starlink. Amazon plans to send 3,236 Project Kuiper satellites into space, which is still far fewer than Starlinks growing constellation of more than 6,000 satellites.What to expect from New Glenns first launchNew Glenn is set to take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a three-hour launch window opening on January 12th at 1AM ET (10PM PT). The launch was originally scheduled for January 10th, but it was pushed back due to a high sea state in the Atlantic. During this uncrewed launch, New Glenn will have the Blue Ring Pathfinder on board, a payload consisting of a communications array, a power system, and a flight computer. It will test the companys Blue Ring spacecraft, which will help support missions with refueling, hosting, data relay, and cloud computing capabilities. The goal is for New Glenn to reach orbit, while anything beyond that, like landing its reusable booster is a bonus, according to Blue Origin CEO David Limp.The Blue Ring Pathfinder will be aboard the New Glenn during its first launch. Image: Blue OriginThis is our first flight and weve prepared rigorously for it, Jarrett Jones, the senior vice president of New Glenn, said in a statement. But no amount of ground testing or mission simulations are a replacement for flying this rocket. Its time to fly. No matter what happens, well learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch.How to watch New Glenns launch liveBlue Origin will likely stream the launch live from its website and YouTube channel. Well embed the stream below once it becomes available.

GameFromScratch.comPython Game Engines in 2025Today we have compiled a list of the best Python game engines, frameworks and language bindings for game development in 2025. This is the first in a series of posts exploring the game engine options available for the most popular programming languages. We will eventually have similar guides for C#, []The post Python Game Engines in 2025 appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

There's thousands of opinions on the best PC gaming setup, and mine will probably be different to very other user on reddit. In today's UK deals, I've found some bargains that are tried and tested by myself from brands I trust. Some are on sale, some are just good value for money with amazing customer service. UK Deals: My Tried And Tested PC Gaming SetupMaingear's MG-1 prebuilt gaming desktops, for example, are built by hand and comes with free and unlimited customer service. Not sure about how to upgrade a component? Give them a call. Yes it ships from the US, but I wouldn't trust another company the way I trust Maingear. Acer Predator products are solid, and there's a great deal on their RGB gaming desk right now at Currys, with a gaming chair at a solid price that does everything it needs too. Add Ducky's One 3 keyboard, another trustworthy brand i've used for years with a 27-inch AOC curved gaming monitor and your laughing.ACER Predator RGB Gaming DeskACER Predator Rift Lite Gaming Chair199.99 at CurrysMaingear MG-1 GoldDucky One3 Classic Black SF RGB Brown Cherry MX Switch Keyboard - UK LayoutAOC Gaming C27G2ZE - 27 Inch FHD Curved MonitorACER Predator RGB Gaming DeskACER Predator RGB Gaming DeskAcer Predator RGB Gaming Desk is made for gamers who want a setup that is as stylish as functional. For 199, you get a solid, steel-framed desk that looks great and has features to keep your battle station tidy. The RGB lighting with three different modes adds some atmosphere to your gaming sessions, and the built-in headset hook means you won't be tripping over your headphones every time you need them. Plus, there's a drink holder, so no more worrying about knocking over your energy drink during intense matches. And with cable cut-outs on the sides, your wires won't look like a tangled mess.ACER Predator Rift Lite Gaming ChairACER Predator Rift Lite Gaming ChairGreat value chair that matches gaming desk199.99 at CurrysAcer Predator Rift Lite Gaming Chair is all about comfort, and for good reason. Whether you're gaming, working, or just chilling, this chair has your back (literally). With high-density molded foam, removable headrests, and lumbar cushions, it's built for long hours. The backrest reclines to 155, so you can kick back between games. You can also adjust the height, seat angle, and armrests to get everything right. It's sturdy, too, with a steel frame that holds up to 150 kg, ensuring you're all set for however long your gaming sessions last.Maingear MG-1 GoldMaingear MG-1 GoldPricing is $1,449. UK price listed is for Mastercard exchange rateMAINGEAR MG-1 Gold isn't messing around. This is if you want top-tier performance in a sleek, understated package. For $1,449 (around 1220), you get an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor, and 16GB of RGB DDR5 RAM (with an option to boost it to 32GB). It's enough to handle AAA games and whatever else you throw. You can even double your storage with a 2TB SSD. The whole setup screams "future-proof," with the Boost button to ramp things up even further. It's basically begging to run the latest games in high settings.Ducky One3 Classic Black SF RGB Brown Cherry MX Switch Keyboard - UK LayoutDucky One3 Classic Black SF RGB Brown Cherry MX Switch Keyboard - UK LayoutDucky One3 Classic Black SF is a solid choice if you want a mechanical keyboard that's functional and feels great to type on. For 104.99, you get a 65% layout with Cherry MX Brown switches that offer a smooth, tactile feel without being too loud. It's got hot-swappable switches, so you can change things up if you like, and the RGB backlighting makes it look sharp. Plus, the PBT keycaps add some durability, so it'll stand the test of time. This is it if you want a no-frills, reliable keyboard that looks good and performs well.AOC Gaming C27G2ZE - 27 Inch FHD Curved MonitorAOC Gaming C27G2ZE - 27 Inch FHD Curved MonitorAOC Gaming C27G2ZE is the monitor you want if you're serious about gaming and don't want to spend a fortune. At 178.97, you get a 27-inch curved screen with a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.5ms response time, which means buttery-smooth gameplay. The AMD FreeSync Premium support ensures minimal screen tearing, and the FHD resolution delivers crisp visuals for all your games. It's got all the specs you need to level up your gaming experience without emptying your wallet. Whether you're into FPS, racing games, or strategy, this monitor has you covered.Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

Sakamoto Days faces an uphill battle as it premieres on Netflix. How can the animated exploits of Taro Sakamoto possibly improve upon the uncommonly detailed and choreographed action that swirls around the titular retired hitman in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump? The answer, based on the series premiere, at least, is that they cant: While the episode finds some excitement in Sakamotos particular brand of violence, other action sequences are hampered by a lack of imagination. Just as troublesome: It can be hard to tell when this Sakamoto Days is trying to crack wise, and when its putting on a straight face. But while it doesnt exactly get out of the starting blocks as a remarkable anime adaptation, Sakamoto Days does lay the foundation for what could one day be a must-watch show.Rather than follow its protagonists escapades as an equally feared and revered assassin, Sakamoto Days wisely goes the way of John Wick by fast-forwarding straight to his retirement, a life of domestic bliss alongside the love of his life, Aoi, and their daughter, Hana. To further cement that Sakamotos days of contract killing are behind him, hes put on some weight and runs a quaint convenience store in a quiet neighborhood. Unfortunately, this abrupt retreat doesnt go unanswered, and now he must protect his family from other hitmen and former colleagues like the clairvoyant assassin Shin.In contrast to shonen series that take themselves too seriously (like, in my opinion, Jujutsu Kaisen and Solo Leveling), Sakamoto Days strikes a visual balance between the physical comedy of Jackie Chans output in the 1980s and the grittiness of more conventional crime dramas. Similar to how placing Chan in an amusement park funhouse might stoke our anticipation for how hell use the objects around him nailed down or otherwise to dispatch his foes, the premiere of Sakamoto Days primes us to expect Sakamoto to make novel use of his surroundings. It best threads the action-comedy needle in two thrilling scenes: One where Sakamoto swiftly mows down a group of gangsters in a smoky, dimly lit warehouse, and the other where he blocks a bullet by spitting a gumdrop at it. But theres a hit-or-miss quality to this balancing act, sometimes resulting in tedious, uninspired hand-to-hand combat where Sakamoto haphazardly teleports around the screen and effortlessly defeats his opponents with lackluster punches. The tension between the two sides of Sakamoto Days personality isnt helped by stiff, monotone performances that make it hard to tell when the show is trying to be serious and when it's making a joke. This is especially true of Sakamoto, whether hes portrayed by Matt Mercer (in the English dub) or Tomokazu Sugita (in the Japanese dub). Much of this stems from the character not having much to say in the premiere; outside of subtle behaviors primarily played for laughs and a heavy supply of expository narration, Sakamoto mostly speaks in half-committal utterances that we only hear because Shin is reading his mind. This dims the star power of Mercer and Sugitas performances. Granted, this is the very first episode, the character theyre playing ought to still have some mystique to him at this point, and the series is based on a manga that burns slowly in its early chapters. But theres almost no variation between their delivery in comedic and dramatic scenes. The lines are less blurry when it comes to the dynamic between Shin and the Sakamotos. Throughout the episode, Shin turns from a cold, calculating assassin to an adopted member of his former mentors carefree family, who are hilariously unvexed by either mans past life as a hitman.Sakamoto Days GalleryConsidering Sakamoto Days is slated to be released in parts with part one comprising 11 episodes and part two slated to debut in July time will tell if the anime will hit its stride in later episodes or if they'll be more the same from whats showcased in its premiere. Regardless, theres the seeds of something extraordinary here thanks to the endearing chemistry of the characters. Hopefully, the anime will flesh out the contours of its lead before the punchline of him being an overweight ex-hitman becomes stale.

For a limited time, Apple is offering (at least) two new sign up bonuses for Apple Card. Apple Card typically comes with no sign up bonus, unlike most rewards credit cards. If youre interested in Apple Card, this could be worth jumping on!Apple ran two similar limited time offers back in August, and the offers are the same this time around. Both offers are running until January 13th, so you only have 2 days left to think about it.Offer 1: $100 after $500Apple is advertising this first offer across social media, requiring new customers to spend $500 in the first 60 days of account opening. Afterwards, you earn $100 in Daily Cash, which can be deposited to your Apple Cash account, or your Apple Card Savings account which currently earns 3.9% APY. Unlike some other credit cards, this offer is not a statement credit, so youre technically free to spend this $100 as you please.If interested, you can sign up at this link before January 13th, to lock in this special offer.Offer 2: $300 after $1500This second offer is a targeted email, sent to customers with the subject Preview your new Apple Card credit limit offer.With this offer, you earn $300 Daily Cash after spending $1500 on your new Apple Card in your the 60 days of opening. Similar to the last offer, you can use this Daily Cash as you please, it isnt a statement credit.Its worth checking your email to see if Apple targeted you for this offer. If not, you can try checking this link, though its unlikely to show anything special for you. Once again, users have until January 13th to consider.If youve been looking to get Apple Card, now would be a good time to do so!My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel