Final Fantasy I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition (Nintendo Switch) $55 (was $75) See at Amazon See at Target See at GameStop Final Fantasy I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition (PlayStation) $49.66 (was $75) See at Target See at Amazon (sold out) See at GameStop FF Dot: The Pixel Art of Final Fantasy $20.71 (was $25) | B1G1 50% off Book Sale See at Amazon Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive See at Amazon Final Fantasy's Pixel Remaster Collection is back on sale for $55 (was $75) at multiple major retailers, including Amazon, Target, and GameStop. If you live in the Midwest, you may be eligible for an additional 30% discount on the Switch version, which drops the price down to only $38.49.Released in October for Switch and PlayStation, the Anniversary Edition comes with a sticker sheet of Final Fantasy character sprites. It's worth emphasizing that this is a true physical release, with all six Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters on the Switch cartridge or PS4 disc (fully compatible with PS5).Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Solo Levelingseries is known far and wide by many, and with the anime adaptation of the series, its popularity has skyrocketed. The series portrays how Sung Jin-Woo goes from being the weakest hunter to the strongest.

In Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, players descend into the hidden Prison below the Playtime Co. Factory in their continued efforts to aid Poppy in defeating the Prototype. Encountering allies old and new, players will have to contend with "The Doctor" as he drops them into a variety of deadly traps for his own amusement as they navigate these lower levels of the facility.

This weekend, Sonys PlayStation Network was down for more than 24 hours, one of the longest unscheduled outages for a major gaming network in recent history. Many of PlayStations online services were down Friday and Saturday, interrupting many weekends and stoking some sensible fear about the future of digital game ownership.The network outage previews a troubling future for ownership of games, as the industrys reliance on network connections and digital copies reared its ugly head in the face of the downtime. (And even more troubling, the outage even impacted some peoples ability to play their physical games). But I wanted to share my own personal experience with the outage, too.Gearing up for the Super Bowl, Ive been in a sports gaming mood as of late. Ive been playing a lot of the hockey roguelite Tape to Tape on my PC, and that experience encouraged me to dive even deeper into sports simulation land with the AAA titles I have on PS5. So I booted up TopSpin 2K25, the latest in 2Ks tennis franchise. I wanted a single-player sports title that would allow me to explore the narratives I love in sports games without the complications of having to keep track of a bunch of players at once.Thats when I discovered the PlayStation Network was down, because almost every single game mode in TopSpin 2K25 was unavailable. What was most shocking about this is most of those games were single-player modes. With a PSN outage, I would have expected not to be able to play with or against other people online. But even the single-player career mode file Ive been playing for months, which involves no one but me, was grayed out on the menu screen. Without a connection to the PlayStation Network, the game was essentially unplayable; the only game modes I could play were tutorial or exhibition.So I switched gears and decided to boot up NBA 2K25 for the first time. Somehow, I was able to install a patch for the game as well, despite the network being down, and luckily, the single-player modes in that title worked. So I started a long-running challenge of mine: Start a franchise mode with an expansion team, and see how far I can get with a bunch of the leagues cast-offs. But because I wasnt connected to the network, the game didnt kick me into the tutorial first. Although Ive played the 2K series for many, many years, I was surprised to find the franchise has completely changed the shooting system in 2K25 something the tutorial wouldve told me right off. I missed every shot in my first game before simming the rest in frustration, and ended up starting over with a new file the following day.Closing out my day with the PSN outage, I switched gears to Dishonored, a game from my backlog that my brother and I both decided to play for the first time this month. That game has no real online features to speak of, which meant it was pretty immune from the outage, except I generally play my PS5 on my PC, using the PS Remote Play app, because I like to keep the TV open for my partner to play their own games or watch things. At first, I was able to use Remote Play during the outage, but after my first Dishonored session Saturday, the app logged me out of my Sony account. Because of the outage, I couldnt log back in, meaning I could no longer play the PS5 on my PC.At this point, I called it a day on trying to play a PS5 game on Saturday, and Im sure I wasnt alone. I didnt even have to deal with the bigger issues like the ones people had with physical games, or people scheduling gaming time with friends only to find that was impossible. For me, it was a minor, if quite irritating, inconvenience, but it still surprised me to see how many of my games became unplayable without an online connection. Its a worrying preview as to what could be a very difficult future for gaming preservation and ownership.

Avowed releases in early access on Windows PC and Xbox Series X on Thursday, Feb. 13 five days ahead of its full release on Tuesday, Feb. 18.Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe of Eora, Avowed sends you on an adventure around the Living Lands region, as long as you own a Windows PC or Xbox Series X. Unfortunately, you wont be able to play Avowed on PlayStation 5 at launch. While publisher Xbox Game Studios has started bringing games to non-Xbox consoles, it hasnt yet announced anything about Avowed.Find out what time Avowed releases in your time zone below, how to play in early access, and through Game Pass.How to play Avowed in early accessTo play Avowed in early access, you need to purchase one of the non-standard editions. That means getting one of the following:Premium editionPremium upgrade, for those playing the standard digital edition, including through an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscriptionPremium edition steelbookWith the purchase of the premium edition, youll gain a five day head start, two cosmetic skin packs for party members, the digital artbook, and the soundtrack.What time does Avowed release in early access?Avowed will release in early access on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 1 p.m. EST, according to its store page on the Xbox app. Heres when that is in your time zone:10 a.m. PST for the West Coast of North America1 p.m. EST for the East Coast of North America6 p.m. GMT for the U.K.7 p.m. CET for West Mainland Europe3 a.m. JST on Friday, Feb. 14 for Japan5 a.m. AEDT on Friday, Feb. 14 for the East Coast of AustraliaIs Avowed on Game Pass?The standard edition of Avowed will be playable via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on Tuesday, Feb. 18.If you wish to play in the five-day head start, you can purchase the Premium Upgrade Add-On ($25). Its important to note that if your purchase the add-on and your subscription runs out, youll lose access to the game and its Premium Edition. However, the add-on is much cheaper than the Premium Edition itself, and, if you resubscribe, youll regain your add-on and save file.Make sure to check which version of Game Pass you own, as Avowed will not be available for Standard and Core subscribers.

In Birmingham, Michigan, a northern suburban neighborhood of Detroit, a distinctive residence redefines the relationship between architecture, privacy, and display. Designed by Khanna Schultz, the House for a Collector project caters to a collector with a passion for rare Porsches and fine bourbon, seamlessly integrating his prized possessions into the fabric of daily life.Rather than conforming to the conventional approach of a monolithic suburban home, the architects fragmented the structure into a series of interconnected volumes, arranged symmetrically around a central courtyard. This design choice not only mitigates the visual dominance of a single large building but also fosters a dynamic interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces. The courtyard itself serves as a unique focal point, where automobiles and social spaces coexist in a fluid, open environment.A key departure from traditional suburban design is the positioning of the garages. Rather than being tucked away out of sight, they are an integral part of the courtyard, bringing the car collection into direct dialogue with the homes living areas. This deliberate fusion of functionality and aesthetics challenges conventional notions of how vehicles and residential spaces interact, emphasizing the clients appreciation for automotive design.Materiality plays a crucial role in shaping the homes character. The structure is enveloped in insulated precast concrete panels an industrial material choice more commonly associated with large-scale commercial buildings. Where sections of this concrete shell have been removed, weathered steel cladding introduces a warm contrast, adding depth and texture. Inside, a carefully curated palette of blackened steel, polished concrete, unpainted plaster, and pre-finished wood reinforces the balance between refined luxury and raw utility.Sustainability is woven into the project through strategic design and technological integration. A high-performance building envelope, triple-glazed windows, and a geothermal heating and cooling system work in unison to enhance energy efficiency, ensuring the home is as environmentally conscious as it is visually striking.Beyond its architectural achievements, the home functions as a stage for the clients curated collection. The whiskey display, concealed behind a steel-clad wall, emerges via motorized panels, offering a dramatic reveal when desired. This element of surprise adds functionality and theatricality, allowing treasured items to remain hidden or showcased at the owners discretion.Inside, a monochromatic color palette and scaled back details lend toward the clients wishes to feature their beloved objects, including the cars, curated furnishings and art, and the extensive whiskey collection. Unexpected details, like a floating bridge connecting the upper volumes and a hanging Jim Zivic hammock swing in the primary suite, add to the minimalist interior.For more information on Khanna Schultz, visit khanna-schultz.com.Photography by Michael Moran.Photography styling by Carin Scheve.

OpenAI is trying really hard to make ChatGPT Search into a viable product. It's available for free, to all users, without limits. And now, just like with Google Search, it can be used without logging into an account. But even with all it AI features, Google Search still focuses on giving you links to pages directly, while ChatGPT Search instead uses online sources to give you an answer, backed up by links. You can click the links in your answer's sources to open a website (and you really should check ChatGPT's homework, as it tends to hallucinate quite a bit), but the question remains: is ChatGPT Search worth making your default search engine, and is that even possible? What is ChatGPT Search? Credit: Khamosh Pathak ChatGPT Search is OpenAI's attempt at integrating something akin to an internet search engine into its AI products. You access it through the same page as regular ChatGPT clicking the "Search" button before pressing "Enter" will turn your question into a search instead. OpenAI will then pipe the knowledge from its internet search, gathering the latest information, into its latest AI model. The result is still a verbose, text-heavy answer to your question, but now with links to sources cited throughout. Though, for topics like the weather, you do get visual results. Even compared to Perplexity, ChatGPT's Search interface is light on media, contextual information, and videos.Compared to Google Search, you don't get boxes of sponsored posts or product lists. You also, by default, don't get a list of links, but you can scroll down to the bottom of your answer and click the Sources button to open a short list up in a sidebar. The interface is simple: it's still just text, but better formatted, giving you different sections with citations, and highlighting different results. Should you make ChatGPT Search your default search engine?A user's default search engine is a coveted spot, and most browsers only include a couple of popular and safe options like Google Search, DuckDuckGo, Bing, and so on. So far, no browser has made space for ChatGPT Search on that list. There are, however, workarounds. In fact, OpenAI's official method itself is a workaround. It turns out that browsers like Chrome and Firefox will let you switch the default browser, but only if it comes in form of a vetted extension from their own extensions store.Before I get to these workarounds, I want to say that this caution does make sense. A search engine is a window to your entire online world. Many users don't manually type in website URLs to navigate to webpages anymore. They search on Google instead, and click the first link that pops up (a dangerous practice that leads to a lot of phishing scams, but that's besides the point).Trust is a huge factor when you're choosing a search engine, and I'm not sure if ChatGPT clears that bar yet. In our comparison between Google Search and ChatGPT Search, we found the ChatGPT Search interface to be much better than the bloated mess that Google Search has become. ChatGPT Search is good at explaining things to you directly and can be a great way to research a product deeply before buying something new. But for day-to-day use, where you're searching around to get a link to a web page, ChatGPT Search just doesn't cut it. For most users, I would recommend you stick with Google, use a couple of tips to remove the AI nuisances if you wish, or consider a privacy-friendly search engine like Kagi.How to make ChatGPT Search your default search engine, if you mustIf you've come this far and still want to set ChatGPT Search as your default search engine, you can do so using OpenAI's official ChatGPT Search Chrome extension. This works in Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, and so on. Note, though, that Microsoft Edge throws up an extra popup when you try to enable it, and Chrome, too, will ask for confirmation before it lets go of the default search engine spot. Still, once installed, anything you type in the URL bar that isn't a valid web address will instead directly go through ChatGPT Search. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Safari and Firefox, unfortunately, don't support ChatGPT Search as a search engine, and there's no extension for them, either. Though, there's still a workaround for Firefox, which I'll go over in the next section.How to create a ChatGPT Search shortcut Even if you're able to make ChatGPT Search your default search engine, for most people, I think it would be best to create a shortcut for ChatGPT Search instead. It's called Site Search, and it's available in all Chromium browsers as well as Firefox (sorry, Safari users).It's a really straightforward process in Chromium browsers. Open Settings in Chrome, go to Search Engine from the sidebar, and in the Site Search section, click the Add button.Here, enter "https://chatgpt.com/?q=%s&hints=search" in the URL section, and use something like "@gpt" as a shortcut. Give it a name, like "ChatGPT Search" and click Save. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Now, go to the URL bar, type "@gpt" or whatever you named your shortcut, hit the space bar, and type out what you want to ask ChatGPT Search. When you hit enter, it will open the results in ChatGPT, just like it would if ChatGPT were your default search engine.In Firefox, setting this kind of shortcut requires accessing the hidden settings page. Type "about:config" in the address bar, and click Accept the Risk and Continue.In the Search bar, type "browser.urlbar.update2.engineAliasRefresh", and click the Plus icon next to the search result. Now, make sure that the value is True. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Now, go to Firefox settings, and from the sidebar, choose Search. In the Search Shortcuts section, click the Add button.Add "https://chatgpt.com/?q=%s&hints=search" as the Engine URL, give it a name, and an alias, which is the shortcut. Then, click Add Engine. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Now, you've added ChatGPT as a site search that you can trigger using a shortcut. Credit: Khamosh Pathak The new ChatGPT site search will also now show up now in the Default Search Engine box, so if you really want to, you can make ChatGPT your default search in Firefox, too. Again, though, I wouldn't recommend you go that far.

With tax season officially underway, you'll need to know the standard deduction amount you can claim for 2024. After all, most taxpayers opt to take the standard deduction rather than itemizing deductions on their federal income tax return. The standard deduction amounts tend to increase slightly each year to adjust for inflation. So let's take a look at how much you can claim in 2025 for the 2024 tax year.What's this year's standard deduction? For tax returns filed in 2025 for the 2024 tax year, here are the standard deduction amounts:Single filers: $14,600 (up from $13,850 in tax year 2023)Married couples filing jointly: $29,200 (up from $27,700 in tax year 2023)Heads of household: $21,900 (up from $20,800 in tax year 2023)Filers who are 65 or older or are blind may be eligible to claim an even higher standard deduction. For 2024, the amounts are:Single or head of household: an additional $1,950Married filing jointly: an additional $1,550So for example, a 68-year-old single filer would claim a $16,550 standard deduction for tax year 2024.The standard deduction makes taxes simpler for manyyou can claim this base amount without having to detail itemized deductions like mortgage interest, charitable gifts, medical expenses and more. But for some filers who do have significant eligible expenses, itemizing remains the better route if the total exceeds the standard deduction.As the 2025 deadline approaches in the coming months, double-check your standard deduction amount and filing status before preparing your 1040. The IRS website also offers useful resources on deduction rules and eligibility.

Its a classic New York experience. Youre riding the subway to work, and suddenly the train stops. The lights go off, and you seem to be trapped between stations in a tunnel. For many New Yorkers, hardened over years of bad weather, prevalent trash and cohabitation with rats, this is just another recurring event thats made less nerve-wracking by experience. But for Jarrod Musano, being stuck on a southbound 6 train that had lost power, there was little relief. Musano was born deaf, and the audio-only announcements were of no help. Musano couldnt see anything in the darkness, and had to rely on gauging the amount of panic in his surroundings.I knew if it were serious, people would be moving quickly, he recalled of the incident. Musanos experience reflects one of many ways people who have disabilities and, more specifically, who are hard of hearing, have difficulty when using public transportation. Musano is the CEO of Convo, a company that was founded in 2009 and connects people with sign language interpreters on demand. Today, the company is announcing a partnership with the New York Transit Authority, New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that brings its service to area airports, trains and other major transit hubs. This includes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subway system, the Long Island Rail Road and NJTransit.Through this partnership, QR codes will be placed at various locations across those systems, and scanning them will launch Convos web app through a browser. The user will be asked to grant access to their microphone and camera, and theyll then be connected to a real-time sign language interpreter on their devices. This, of course, requires that people have mobile phones or tablets with working internet connections, which might not always be reliable. Its worth noting, though, that the MTA has been adding Wi-Fi coverage to subway stations across its network. Plus, many of these QR codes are placed at customer service booths, which have gadgets on hand that could provide access.Convo and its partners had been conducting pilot tests at Penn Station, Times Square and the Port Authority terminal for months, and said in a press release that in general, users reported feelings of empowerment, inclusion and newfound confidence in interacting with transit staff. The company added that 44 out of 47 users were able to successfully access the service during the pilot.There are a number of reasons using a sign language interpreter would be more effective and efficient than, say, typing messages on your phone and handing them to another person to read. First, for many deaf individuals, sign language is their native language, and it would be more intuitive to express themselves that way than to type in English. Sign language also has different syntax than English. A sign language interpreter can also help translate as a deaf person is signing and also while a person with hearing is speaking, which can reduce frustration and time spent handing a phone back and forth. It can feel comforting and reassuring to have an interpreter available that understands what youre communicating, and since they are likely to be fairly familiar with the situation, the interpreter could also help share information they already know from context and experience.I went to look for these QR codes when I was at Moynihan Train Hall (an extension of Penn Station) this weekend, and once I spotted the first one at a ticketing counter at the LIRR service area, I started noticing them all over. I counted five of the little green squares in total, and after scanning one, I was brought to Convos page on my browser, which displayed an explanation and tips for better service. I didnt want to waste an interpreters time, so I stopped after that.I do have to point out that as a T-Mobile user, I frequently lose my signal in Moynihan Train Hall and have to use the stations public Wi-Fi, which in my experience has unreliable speeds.Thats one of the challenges Convo will have to contend with and work on as the service reaches more people. As we deploy this out to the MTA, were going to learn the types of behaviors, the types of requests, the types of challenges that were going to face, Musano said when I asked if languages other than American Sign Language would be supported. For now, ASL is the default, though Convo wouldnt have to stretch too hard to find interpreters for British Sign Language and others. In fact, Convo already works with major networks in countries like Australia and the UK, with Musano saying it has partnerships with British Airlines, Aer Lingus, the British railway and more.Convos service in the New York and New Jersey transit systems is free, and its app Convo Now provides 20 free minutes per month to all users who need sign language interpreters.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/new-york-metro-transit-systems-add-on-demand-sign-language-interpreters-152034505.html?src=rss

Having thought-out, unique passwords for each account is hard recently, I got stopped for putting the same letter twice in a row especially when it comes to remembering them all. That's why a password manager is so helpful: It creates and stores all your passwords, so you have peace of mind instead of a major headache. Now, one of our favorite password managers for cross-platform availability is having a sale. NordPass Premium is currently available for $1.29 per month or just shy of $35 for 27 months, rather than $81, and includes three free months. While NordPass offers a free tier, the Premium plan keeps you logged in when you've switched devices. NordPass Premium also gives you tools such as Password Health, which identifies weak, old or reused passwords, and Data Breach Scanner, which alerts you if your emails or credit cards appear in a data breach. Plus, it has Emergency Access, which allows a chosen friend or family member to access all your accounts if you're unable to do so. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/two-years-of-nordpass-premium-is-56-percent-off-right-now-144511622.html?src=rss