James Chappel is an associate professor of history at Duke University and a senior fellow at the Duke Aging Center. He is the author ofCatholic Modern, and his writing has appeared in TheNew York Times,The Nation, andThe New Republic.Whats the big idea?Aging in America is becoming one of our countrys most important policy arenas. With more old citizens than young ones, the relevance of elder members in society has never been greater. Despite great progress in the quality of old age over the past century, there is much need for growth in terms of practical policy and cultural perceptions.Below, Chappel shares five key insights from his new book,Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age.Listen to the audio versionread by Chappel himselfin the Next Big Idea App.1. Population aging is one of the biggest historical transformations of our time.We think about population aging as an issue for medicine and finance, but we dont usually think about it historically. From the broadest perspective, population aging is one of the biggest changes that has happened to American society in the past century. Many people think of politics, iPhones, or AI when considering dramatic societal change, but those things matter less than major demographic changes. Human life is not what it was a century agoits twice as long!and that deserves much more attention.2. Weve only been seriously contemplating population aging for a century.Most of the major things we deal with as a society (education, politics, health, war, gender) are topics we have publicly debated for centuries. We have reflected long and hard on many subjects, but no one really paid attention to population aging until about the 1930s.Even people thinking very hard about social reform and progress, like Karl Marx, werent thinking about agingat all. So, aging is an issue that has a pretty short history. What to do with old age and how to pay for old age are areas of reflection with a lot of space open for creativity. Its an exciting, vibrant, fresh avenue for collective contemplation.3. There have been many different approaches to aging.We often think of aging as something nonideological. Education is ideological, and the military is ideological, so we have robust public debate about themeaningof these things. But old age is kind of like,well, you get Social Security and Medicare, and we dont want to think about it too much beyond that. Old age is in a moment of ideological stasis. But for most of the past century, theres been much debate about what it means to age well: socially, politically, and justly.There has been socialist aging, conservative aging, green or eco-conscious aging, etc. One tradition I look at is critical race theory. From that perspective, the history of aging looks quite different. There actually was a robust tradition of Black thought about aging. A lot of inspiring Black leaders said, essentially, that racism and prejudice follow Americans through the whole course of life. Older Black Americans have all kinds of negative outcomes, and Black activists suggested specific reforms to bring the insights of the Civil Rights Movement into old age politics and policy.We need to reinvigorate and repoliticize old age. We should remember how political and divisive it was (and therefore, how exciting it was) to debate old age just a few decades ago.4. 20th-century solutions to old age are very good.Historians are often quite down on American history. They tend to focus on the persistence of inequality, violence, or disenfranchisement. But when it comes to old age, the situation is much better than it was a century ago.A century ago, older people often lived in squalor, in one-room shacks with dirt floors. There were only a few elders because public health was so bad. Now, older people are quite economically privileged, and they have access to the best poverty reduction program in the country, which is social security. Theyre the only age bracket with something like socialized medicine through Medicare. Theres a lot to be grateful for as aging Americans, but theres also a lot left to be done.There are failures in old-age policy, especially for people over 80, theoldold. Issues of frailty, nursing home care, and things like that. Many American middle-aged couples, especially women, are financially or emotionally devastated by caring for older relatives. This is a result of a policy decision that could have been approached differently. There were approaches on the table that would have lessened the burden on unpaid caretakers, and it is not too late.When we think historically about old age, its important that we tell an optimistic story. Im excited to get old. There will be way more social programs for me when Im 65 than I have available to me now. But theres also room for growth, especially in dealing with policy for theoldold. Nursing homes and extended care will be the most important policy arenas in the near future.5. Getting old is an adventure.Old age in America can be very good. It can be very fun. You have access to so much when it comes to opportunities for leisure and health. But what I mean by the adventure of old age is a bit different.As Americans, we tend to believe that we make our biggest contributions as citizens when were young, that politics is a young persons game: green energy, Black Lives Matter, and other movements are for younger people, and old people can step back. I think that is absolutely not true. That is a completely outdated way to think about American politics. I think the age of youth has eclipsed.There are more older people in America than younger ones. The decisions we make about how to age and think about old age policy will matter now more than ever. Being provocative, I might even say that decisions about aging are going to matter more than decisions about youth because I think the age of the youth is over. Theres been a major demographic transition in this country and many others. As we age, we should not think of ourselves as becoming less relevant. We should think of ourselves as becomingmorerelevant.Thisarticleoriginally appeared inNext Big Idea Clubmagazine and is reprinted with permission.

It even has an optical illusion.

After 75,000 attempts over five years, Summoning Salt is hanging up the virtual gloves.

MacworldAt a glanceExpert's RatingProsConsOur Verdict Hades 2 is a lot of fun and a worthy successor to the original Hades, and itll be nice treat for anyone that enjoys challenging arcade action.Price When ReviewedThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefinedBest Pricing TodayHades was a huge hit when it first appeared back in 2020, so a sequel was pretty much inevitable and Hades II was released as an Early Access game for Windows PCs almost a year ago. However, the game received a big update at the end of 2024 that added native support for Macs with Apple Silicon. The bad news is that the game requires macOS 12 or later and unlike the original Hades Hades 2 wont run on Macs with Intel processors.Take a look at our favourite games on the Mac, see: Best Games for Mac. The first game cast you in the role of Zagreus, the son of Hades the god of death from Greek mythology as he attempted to escape from his fathers underworld and eventually reach the home of the gods on Mount Olympus. This time around its Zagreus sister, Melino, who takes centre-stage, and faces an even greater challenge as she attempts to find and defeat Chronos, the ancient god who was father of Hades and is now waging war on Olympus itself.FoundryHades was one of the few roguelike games that have been released for the Mac in recent years, and Hades 2 follows that formula. Roguelike games dont allow you save the game as you go along and then simply reload when you die, so each death means that you have to go right back to the beginning and start again. That can be frustrating, but you can find new weapons and learn new skills as you progress through the game, as well as earning boons from the gods that make you more powerful. You also get to keep these skills and upgrades even after you die, so each time you start again youre a little bit more powerful and should be able to fight further into the game and beat stronger enemies. And, if that gets too frustrating, or if you simply prefer to focus on the story that unfolds as you encounter the various gods of Olympus throughout the game, then theres a God Mode that gives you a power boost right from the start, making it easier for you to plough through your enemies with fewer deaths to slow you down.But while Hades 2 follows the same basic formula as its predecessor, there are still some important differences that give this sequel its own distinct flavour. Even in Early Access, the developers at SuperGiant Games say that Hades 2 provides more areas to explore, and more gods and monsters for you to encounter than the previous game. More important is the fact that Melino is a sorceress with powerful magical abilities, whereas Zagreus was essentially a hack-and-slash melee kind of guy. Melino can use melee weapons such as daggers and axes, so hand-to-hand combat is still an option if thats how you prefer to play, but she also has a wide range of magical abilities available too, casting long-range and area-of-effect spells against her enemies from a distance.ScreenshotFoundryMelino uses mana to power her spells, so resource management also becomes more important in this game as you now have a mana bar to keep an eye on, as well as the all-important health bar. This magical element also means that crafting is more important in Hades 2, as you can collect various herbs and minerals to upgrade your weapons and skills. I dont really have the reflexes for sword-swinging melee combat, so I quickly felt more comfortable with the long-range magical skills of Melino, and the magic and crafting elements also add a touch of Diablo to the roguelike format as well. We would recommend a games controller, though casting spells is fairly straightforward as long as you have a two-button mouse, but the movement controls feel a little awkward when using a keyboard.FoundryShould you play Hades 2?Although Hades 2 is still in Early Access and looks likely to remain that way for most of 2025 its pretty solid and stable, with no noticeable bugs during my time with the game. The hand-drawn graphics style looks great too, but the relatively simple 2D shaded graphics mean that you dont need a particularly powerful Mac to run it and I was able to get 60fps using High graphics settings, even at 4K resolution using a MacBook Pro with M2 processor. Roguelike games dont suit everyone, but even in Early Access Hades 2 is a lot of fun and a worthy successor to the original Hades, and itll be nice treat for anyone that enjoys challenging arcade action.

Feb 15, 2025Ravie LakshmananMobile Security / TechnologyGoogle is working on a new security feature for Android that blocks device owners from changing sensitive settings when a phone call is in progress.Specifically, the in-call anti-scammer protections include preventing users from turning on settings to install apps from unknown sources and granting accessibility access. The development was first reported by Android Authority.Users who attempt to do so during phone calls are served the message: "Scammers often request this type of action during phone call conversations, so it's blocked to protect you," If you are being guided to take this action by someone you don't know, it might be a scam."Furthermore, it blocks users from giving an app access to accessibility over the course of a phone call.The feature is currently live in Android 16 Beta 2, which was released earlier this week. With this latest addition, the idea is to introduce more friction to a tactic that has been commonly abused by malicious actors to deliver malware.Dubbed telephone-oriented attack delivery (TOAD), these approaches involve sending SMS messages to prospective targets and instructing them to call a number by inducing a false sense of urgency.Last year, NCC Group and Finland's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-FI) disclosed that cybercriminals were distributing dropper apps using a combination of SMS messages and phone calls to trick them into installing malware such as Vultr.The development comes after Google expanded restricted settings to cover more permission categories in order to prevent sideloaded apps from accessing sensitive data.It has also rolled out the ability to automatically block sideloading of potentially unsafe apps in markets like Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam to tackle fraud.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Looking for the most recentregular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.Connections: Sports Editionis out of beta now, making its debut onSuper Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It won't show up in the NYT Games app but will appear in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. Today's puzzle looked like it would be hard, but the categories came together pretty quickly for me, even though I admit to not knowing anything about the blue category. Read on for hints and the answers.Read more:NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of BetaHints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groupsHere are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.Yellow group hint: No points for you!Green group hint: Tony Hawk timeBlue group hint: Smash that ballPurple group hint: "50-yard" is another one.Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groupsYellow group: Try to stop a basketball shotGreen group: Skateboarding tricksBlue group: Two-time NBA dunk contest winners.Purple group:____ lineRead more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English WordsWhat are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers? The completed NYT Connections Sports Edition for Feb. 15, 2025, #145. NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is try to stop a basketball shot. The four answers are challenge, close out, contest and defend.The green words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is skateboarding tricks. The four answers are kickflip, manual, McTwist and Ollie.The blue words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is two-time NBA dunk contest winners. The four answers are Lavine, McClung, Miner and Richardson.The purple words in today's ConnectionsThe theme is ____ line. The four answers are 3-point, blue, goal and Mendoza.Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categoriesThe Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.That said, it's hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.#1: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer?Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.Let's play hockey! Today's NYTStrandspuzzle is a fun one if you're a fan of ice hockey, as I certainly am. (Still mad about the North Stars moving to Dallas.). If you need hints and answers, read on.I go into depth about therules for Strands in this story.If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more:NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So FarHint for today's Strands puzzleToday's Strands theme is:Ice packsIf that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Five for fightingClue words to unlock in-game hintsYour goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:STED, LIGHT, LIGHTING, JEST, REAL, STEAL, MILD, WHILE, DING, TALE, TALES, STALE, METE, MEAD, STAND, WIGHT, TING, MALE.Answers for today's Strands puzzleThese are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you've got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:JETS, WILD, DEVILS, SHARKS, AVALANCHE, LIGHTNINGToday's Strands spangramToday's Strands spangram isHOCKEYTEAM.To find it, start with the H that's five rows over to the right, but on the very bottom row of letters. Wind over and up. The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 15, 2025, #349. NYT/Screenshot by CNETToughest Strands puzzlesHere are some of the Strands topics I've found to be the toughest in recent weeks.#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn't even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK

Image: Fellow TravellerIt's the weekend folks, so hopefully you're already putting your feet up, sipping on a nice cup of tea, and enjoying a bit of down time with some games.This week in the world of Nintendo, a new placeholder listing at a retailer may (or may not) hint towards a cheaper-than-expected price for the Nintendo Switch 2. Meanwhile, a new patent has been made public that heavily hints towards 'reversible' Joy-Con functionality; effectively letting you flip the Switch 2 upside down.Elsewhere, we discussed why the Switch 2 potentially boasting an LCD screen might not be the end of the world, while Sony apparently made moves to remove some so-called 'eSlop' games from digital storefronts, leading to more calls for Nintendo to do the same. Finally, there's another hefty eShop sale on in Europe at the moment, so we took a look at 98 games you should consider adding to your library.It's been a bit quieter on the review front this week, so here's a look at what we covered:Now, let's see what the NL team is up to this weekend...Ollie Reynolds, Staff WriterI'm jumping between Okami HD and Metal Gear Solid on the Switch at the moment. The latter is a quick refresh before our next edition of Catch-Up Crew, while the former is just... yet another playthrough of an incredible game.On the Xbox, I'm now on Halo 4 in my big Legendary run while I await the release of Avowed, while I'm tinkering around with Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection on the PS5 / Portal.Jim Norman, Staff WriterDespite my best attempts to keep it going for as long as possible, I feel like Im getting to the end of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. If this one doesnt end up on my GOTY 2025 list then it will have been a cracking year, I tell ye. What a game!Apart from that, Ive been chatting about Majoras Mask 3D a fair amount this week and its got me in the mood for another playthrough. Its been a good few years since I last played it, but its the one thats overall pretty bright and cheery, right?Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube796kWatch on YouTube Gonalo Lopes, ContributorRemember last week when I mentioned I was about to finish The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom? Well, I did not and you can blame Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 for that. I do realize I need to stop playing this because Im having dreams about the game and have been (allegedly) shouting For the Emperor! in my sleep.Im currently going trough every character of Guilty Gear -Strive- and I discovered I am not very good with the new faces but still top form with old ones. Final stretch of Smugglers Run: Warzones, might jump onto the PS2 titles next because I skipped those back in the day. Its very nice to at long last have Moons of Darsalon on Switch, a love letter in video game form to the computers I grew up with.Game of the week is X-Out:Resurfaced. This is under embargo so I cant really elaborate much, but wow put it on your radar! Plus there is also Project X: Light Years on the way. Amiga owners, rejoice!Alex Olney, Video ProducerI'm not sure if I should be showing my hand too early, but what the hell. This weekend I'll be playing Sid Meier's Civilization VII, and I'm going to have to get some serious hours in to counter Harriet Tubman's relentless espionage efforts on me. We're not even hostile and she's stealing science points like they're a box of windfall apples at the end of my drive marked 'free'.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube796kWatch on YouTube Em Stonham, ContributorThis week, Ill be diving back into Infinity Nikki and exploring more of the Firework Isles zone. Its a game I picked up for work but its ended up becoming a new favourite - its colorful and cute, and I love the variety of events that its always got on offer.Im also entranced by Pokmon TCG Pocket at the moment and will be digging into that even further. Ahead of Pokmon EUIC next week, Im excited to test more decks and hope to see it at the event in some format down the line.Felix Sanchez, Video ProducerThis weekend Im gonna be diving back into Mario Kart Wii! Im bringing my Wii with me to a sleepover and cant wait to play all night with 4 people crammed around a screen like the good old days.I've just finished Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, so I need a new game to play on my Switch, and Im hoping that will be Ender Magnolia since I really enjoyed the gameplay when capturing footage for the review!Gavin Lane, EditorI downloaded Metal Gear Solid last week ahead of our Catch-up Crew article later in February. Playing it feels like more than just playing a game - it's giving me bird's-eye view on a whole platform and 32-bit aesthetic I didn't experience at the time and I'm really enjoying it while wearing my historical hat.Beyond MGS, it'll be my customary Saturday morning blast through Out Run and that'll be my lot. Have a good one, folks.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube796kWatch on YouTube That's what we have planned for the weekend, but what about you? Let us know in the following poll which games you're planning on booting up over the next couple of days.What are you playing this weekend (15th/16th February)? (33 votes)Pikmin 1+2 (Switch)1

The electric Ford Capri was launched amid considerable controversy.Charlie Magee PhotographyFew vehicle launches have faced as much controversy as the arrival of the electric Ford Capri. Only Jaguars rebrand in November 2024 raised more hackles in the last year. Detractors lamented that the new vehicle wasnt an electric update on the cheeky two-door sports coupe they remembered from the 1970s. Instead, it is a chunky SUV. But you should never judge a book by its cover, or a car by public opinion. So I test drove the Ford Capri for an extended period to find out if it warranted the negativity.Ford Capri By Name Only?Although the marketing (and name) of the electric Capri has focused on heritage, the Capri could be viewed as a more imaginative spin on a coupe version of the Ford Explorer, although the Capri is nearly 17cm (6.5in) longer than the latter. Coupe SUVs, many of which are genuinely quite ugly, do appear to be popular with buyers. This is presumably because they try to package the family practicality of the SUV into something that looks a bit sportier, so you can feel like you havent quite given up on fun in the move to having kids. Most electric SUVs now have a coupe variant. Ford has just taken that trend a little further by producing something that doesnt just slant the back a bit but is considerably more distinct.Except that then they called it a Capri, because that was a Ford icon from the heyday of fastback sports coupes. There was even a fastback Ford Granada, which Ive always thought was one of the coolest-looking cars Ford has ever sold in Europe. The problem is that the electric Ford Capri doesnt bear much, or even really any, resemblance to the original Capri created by American auto designer Philip T Clark and sold from 1968 to 1986. Only the rear quarter panel looks a little like what went before. So, despite the marketing, and claims by designers that they were inspired by the original, the Capri link is decidedly tenuous.Not the Ford Capri some of us remember from our childhood.gettyBut once youve got that out the way, the new electric Capri has potential. The drivetrain choices are the same as the Ford Explorer. Theres a 52kWh battery with a 170PS rear motor, a 77kWh battery with a 286PS rear motor, and a 79kWh battery with dual motors providing 340PS. Like the Explorer, this platform is licensed from Volkswagen, rather than developed in-house by Ford. However, the Capri is not just a Volkswagen ID.5 with a different body shell. Ford claims it has substantially tuned the drivetrain, and there are only a few indications of the VW connection. The infotainment is all Ford.Only two trims are available Select and Premium. The Select comes with 19in wheels, partial Sensico leather upholstery, and a seven-speaker sound system. Upgrading to Premium brings a fair bit of extra kit. The wheels are 20in, the upholstery is all Sensico, the sound system a ten-speaker one from B&O, a panoramic sunroof is added, and the tailgate is powered. The LED headlights gain a matrix function, so only portions are dipped that might blind oncoming traffic, with the remainder remaining on high beam. This makes driving at night safer, particularly on dark country lanes without additional lighting.MORE FROMFORBES VETTEDFord Capri: Interior Space And TechnologyThe Capri is essentially an SUV. Its not as tall as many SUVs, but its still quite large, has four doors, and a sizeable rear cargo space. The interior is black, whether you go for the Select or Premium trim that just changes the upholstery material. Even the Select trim has heated seats, but with Premium you get an electrically adjusted drivers seat with a massage function. This certainly improved the long-distance drives I did in the Capri. Its disappointing that the passenger seat is mechanically adjusted, however.The central console offers wireless phone charging via a slot ahead of the central armrest, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto supported. Although the climate control functions are accessed via the 14.6in portrait orientation infotainment screen, the main functions are permanently onscreen and not that hard to access. The infotainment screen has a hidden trick, too. It can tilt its angle, and when fully upright reveals a compartment underneath. If you slide it back to more of an angle, it will lock into position when the car is powered down, making this a good place to store valuables you need to leave in the car.The cockpit experience is of high quality.FordThe steering wheel is conventional and has built-in buttons. The left-hand stalk is for lights, indicators and windscreen wipers, because the right-hand stalk operates drive modes. Although the design is different, this operates in the same way as other vehicles with the Volkswagen Groups MEB powertrain you twist for drive, reverse or neutral, or push the button on the end for park. Theres a relatively small 5.3in digital instrumentation panel, which is another feature with some VW heritage. If you choose the optional Driver Assistance Pack, you get a decent Head-Up Display as well.Although the Ford infotainment interface is quite colorful, with large icons, it suffers a little from having a few menu styles for different categories of information. But its generally easy enough to navigate once you get used to it. Motor power options include Eco, Normal, Sport or Individual. The all-wheel drive powertrain also gains an Offroad option. Some settings menus can be accessed via buttons on the top of the screen, but others require a trip through a further layer of icons.Despite the slanty back, there is plenty of space in the back of the Capri. In the Premium car I tested, the large panoramic sunroof made the rear feel even more spacious. You will probably buy this car for transporting a family with kids in the back, but two adults should be fine even on longer journeys. The middle seat is best kept for kids, although if there are only two rear passengers you can pull the back down to make an armrest with a couple of cupholders.There's plenty of space for luggage in the back, despite the slanty coupe roofline.FordAnother potential loss with a coupe SUV is rear luggage space, and the Capri doesnt do too badly here either. The basic capacity with the rear seats up is 572 liters. Theres a small amount of space under the floor just enough to keep your charging cables out of the way. Dropping the rear seats forward expands capacity to 1,510 liters, which isnt going to challenge the Tesla Model Y, but should be sufficient for the family shop, grabbing DIY items, or a weekend away. There are plenty of electric SUVs with a lot more space in the back than this, including the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV, but its on par with a compact station wagon. The Capri can also tow, but only 1,000kg, or 1,200kg with the all-wheel drive version. The tow hook is a 900 ($1,100) option.Not A Ford Capri For The Professionals, But Range Is GoodAnyone whos driven an original Capri, at least without some additional upgrades, will confirm that its handling is very much of its era. It wasnt really a sportscar, even if British TV cop show The Professionals used Capris successfully to catch criminals. Their successors probably wont be using the new electric version for the same antics, however. While most electric cars are surprisingly quick, the Capri isnt exceptional in this respect. The 170PS motor goes from zero to 62mph in 8.7 seconds, while the 286PS motor drops this to a reasonably quick 6.4 seconds. The all-wheel-drive variant is more on the rapid end of the scale at 5.3 seconds, but thats still not Tesla levels of performance.My test car was the 286PS, 77kWh Premium version. The ride is firmer than Volkswagen Group MEB vehicles Ive tried, but still not too harsh for pothole-filled British roads. The Capri feels a little big in the city, and the large A-pillars obstruct visibility slightly. The steering isnt as responsive as youd want from a car with sporty pretensions, although you can drive quite brusquely on A-roads. Highways are where the Capri feels most at home. It sits very confidently and still offers plenty of torque at motorway speeds. This isnt a sports SUV, despite the marketing. Its more a sporty-looking family car.The Ford Explorer already offers good range, and with a slightly more aerodynamic body, the Capri goes even further with the same powertrains. The 52kWh car offers 243 miles of WLTP range. The 77kWh battery offers up to 390 miles with 19in wheels (370 miles with 20in ones), while the 79kWh battery goes to 343 miles due to the 20in wheels and more powerful motors.The electric Ford Capri is a sporty-looking SUV rather than a sports SUV.FordDuring my testing on a variety of highways, A-roads and city streets, I managed 3 miles per kWh in the 77kWh rear-wheel drive Premium I was testing. Thats okay, if not exceptional, and would make a real-world range of 231 miles. It was also in cold winter conditions. A heat pump isnt standard in the Capri, either its a 1,050 ($1,300) option. My car had this fitted, but it also had a 21in wheel upgrade, which would have reduced its range.Charging speeds are good but not bleeding edge. The 52kWh battery maxes out at 125kW, and the 77kWh battery at 135kW, but the 79kWh battery goes all the way to 185kW. This larger battery only takes 26 minutes to go from 10 to 80%, while the 52kWh and 77kWh units require 28 minutes. These times will be fine for a break every 2-3 hours, making long distance driving comfortable.Ford Capri Faces Crowded MarketThe electric Ford Capri has divided opinion, mostly due to its name and Fords marketing strategy around that. But when you put this to one side, its a competent car with many positive features. Passenger and luggage space are practical, range is decent, and comfort levels good. The more major issue is the price. Even the base 52kWh Select car starts at 42,075 ($53,000), with the 77kWh Select 6,000 ($7,500) more at 48,075 ($60,500). The Premium trim adds 4,100 ($5,000). The all-wheel drive version is 56,175 ($70,500), although thats only available in Premium form.Thats a lot of money for a Ford Capri. The Volkswagen ID.5 is a little cheaper, as is the latest version of the Skoda Enyaq Coupe. Even the larger Tesla Model Y compares quite favorably on price. This is a shame and doesnt fit Fords image of affordable quality. The quality is there. The Capri is a solid car. But with increasing competition from Chinese brands such as XPENG and Leapmotor in Europe, Ford will need to rethink its pricing, if it can, to make this car a success.

Years ago, my husband and I stopped buying each other gifts. We were in a tough spot financially and wanted to save money. Once we could afford them again, we decided to spend the money on travel instead.When my birthday rolled around last year, my husband didn't buy me a gift. When Christmas came, there was nothing from him under the tree. Our anniversary will be the same. But far from it being a disappointment, resulting in the kind of argument that ends up with someone sleeping on the couch, it's standard for us. Chris gets nothing from me, either. Instead, we travel.We stopped getting gifts out of financial necessityThe decision to halt gift-giving was made years ago when we were struggling financially. He was between jobs, struggling to find work, going to interview after interview. I was holding down the fort, working full-time as a high school English teacher and juggling a freelance writing career in the evenings and weekends, plus tutoring extra lessons. When special days rolled around, we felt the pressure. We were barely able to make ends meet each month, and gifts kept getting leaner and leaner.Eventually, I proposed that we do away with them completely. We do our monthly budgeting and accounts together we know what everything costs and when something has been purchased, so the element of surprise is gone anyway. Why bother?The one thing I wasn't prepared to let go of was cards. I have every card or sentimental letter ever given to me, and I treasure them. Being able to read my dad's cards now that he's died is important, a vindication of my card-hoarding tendencies. So there's no way I was letting Chris off the hook for sappy messages. But a bouquet of flowers? A bottle of perfume? I could live without those. The author and her husband spend money on traveling instead of gifts. Courtesy of Tayla Blaire We can afford gifts now, but we spend money on travel insteadEven after we found ourselves financially back on track, we made the call to keep gifts out of the equation. It's been a time-saver. No guessing games for what the other would want, trawling malls on busy weekends looking for inspiration, only to worry that the shirt you're choosing is the wrong size.These days, we buy ourselves what we want or need whenever no waiting for big days. He got new AirPods recently because his old ones were glitchy. My office was looking drab, so I bought potted plants for myself to brighten things up. We bought an espresso machine on Black Friday because it was discounted, not because a birthday was coming up.Instead, we see the trips we now plan as lump gifts for both of us, from both of us, on the occasion ofwell, everything. In 2022, we went to Canada to visit his family and attend his best friend's wedding. We spent time in Ottawa and stayed at a nice hotel in downtown Toronto. Then, we joined his parents in Banff for a week and got to see Lake Moraine, Lake Louise, and Yoho National Park.In 2023, we gallivanted around Scotland, booking the trip on a whim once we realized that his parents would be there from Canada at the same time my friend, who lives in Australia, would be in London for a conference. Since we were going anyway, we decided to make a trip of it, resulting in us spending a week driving around the highlands, exploring Culloden battlefield, and crossing the Skye bridge to stay in the coastal town of Portree, before taking the train down to Edinburgh so we could surprise his mom.Last year saw us in New Zealand on our biggest trip yet. New Zealand has been the No. 1 travel goal for both of us since we were children, long before we ever met. We vowed that it would only happen once we could ensure we could afford every bucket list item, from a helicopter hike on a glacier to kayaking in Milford Sound.It's become a running joke. "Happy Valentine's Day!" I told Chris, as I climbed onto a Jet Ski on Lake Taupo in mid-November. "To seven years of marriage," he shouted a week later as we careened down the mountainside on a rickety luge in Queenstown. Our wedding anniversary is in July.We'd rather make our memories while traveling, whether it's local, visiting the Oyster Box, our favorite hotel in South Africa on the Dolphin Coast, or checking another country off our vision boards.This year, we're planning Thailand. No occasion needed.