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As his time in DC disintegrated this week, Musk intimated to the Washington Post that he was very surprised by what he saw in American government — but not as surprised as he was by everyone's reaction."The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized," the billionaire told the newspaper. "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least."That "uphill battle" apparently included getting people on board with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the cost-cutting agency that Musk was seemingly gifted in exchange for his help getting Donald Trump elected.While the boy-brained billionaire wasn't exactly popular before his debut in American politics, he and his agency have become downright detested in 2025. From its iffy mandate and its enormous failure to reach its savings goals to its massive professional and competence breaches, DOGE has been a major dud — and Musk's companies are bearing the brunt.But ask Musk, and he has no idea why everybody is so mad. As he told it to WaPo, the agency mysteriously became the "whipping boy for everything.""Something bad would happen anywhere," Musk said, "and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it."Despite his attempts at a breezy reboot this week, it's clear the uber-wealthy memelord is aware that the public hates him and his politics — but the alleged "free speech absolutist" can't seem to figure out why people would want to take their righteous anger out on his company's cars."People were burning Teslas," he lamented. "Why would you do that? That’s really uncool."This isn't the first time Musk has searched around dumbfounded, like a confused John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction," looking for the reason people are taking their anger out Teslas.In March, the world's sometimes-richest man took to the social network he purchased to claim that an "investigation" had found five individuals, along with a liberal-leaning fundraising platform, were behind the widespread protests against his electric vehicle company.He didn't acknowledge, of course, the crux of those protests: that even Republicans and former fanboys consider the mass firing of civil servants toxic, and that his own poor approval ratings were bringing down Trump's.Despite his unceremonious exit from government, DOGE's work will go on in Musk's stead, and the agency will soon be "tackling projects with the highest gain for the pain, which still means a lot of good things in terms of reducing waste and fraud."Today in Washington, as in South Texas, it's business as usual as the White House prepares to send a new slew of DOGE cuts to Congress in a spending bill and SpaceX launches more than two dozen Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.Life in DC has gone on after Musk has left the building — not with a bang, but with a whimper.More on Musk: You Can Suddenly Sense Elon Musk's DesperationShare This Article

The Steam Deck changed the game for PC players, opening up a world of portability that was usually reserved for Nintendo fans. Naturally, manufacturers tried to follow suit with Windows-based handhelds and the results are, shall we say, mixed. Now, Valve has released official instructions for installing its SteamOS on devices other than the Steam Deck. Let's dive into how to do it—and whether you should.I should note up front: This is going to be a nebulous area when it comes to official support from the company that made your handheld. At time of writing, the Lenovo Legion Go S is the only handheld with the "Powered by SteamOS" branding (besides the Steam Deck itself), meaning it's officially supported with a final build. You can install SteamOS on devices like the Legion Go and the ROG Ally, but their support isn't final.Also, it should go without saying, but we'll say it anyway: If you wipe Windows from your handheld, you won't be able to play Windows-based games that aren't supported via SteamOS. That largely consists of online games that require anti-cheat software, but it's worth checking sites like ProtonDB to make sure your favorite games will work on SteamOS.Why should you install SteamOS on your Windows handheld?So, with the caveats out of the way, what are the upsides? Put (overly) simply, Windows is not designed for handhelds. In fact, under the hood, Windows tends to see your gaming handheld as a laptop. Right down to including things like Microsoft Teams that run in the background, or popping up alert boxes that interrupt your game to inform you of a low battery.Now that people are able to experiment with SteamOS and Windows on the same hardware, it's becoming clearer that Windows itself is a massive nerf to both frame rate and battery life. Even gaming laptops, which can often last all day for normal work, can struggle to get even a few hours of gameplay while away from a charger. That's why it's so important to tweak your settings for the best battery life.Gaming handhelds only make this problem worse with a smaller form factor, and thus a smaller battery. In my own experience, I've struggled to get two hours of playing a lightweight game like Stardew Valley from a Windows handheld, while the Steam Deck and even the Switch can get upwards of six hours or more.Since Windows is primarily designed as a desktop (and secondarily as a tablet) computer, it's also harder to tweak settings using controller inputs. What, exactly, is the controller equivalent of Ctrl+Alt+Delete again? While you can plug in a keyboard to dig around in your handheld's settings, it's just easier to do on SteamOS, since its interface has been built from the ground up for controller input.At this point, Valve has also shown that running Steam games via the Proton compatibility layer works so well that it's almost seamless. I admit, when the Steam Deck was first announced, I expected games to be broken or perform much worse than their native Windows counterparts. Four hundred hours in Hades II later, though, and it's clear that many games can actually run better on SteamOS than Windows.Step 1: Download and prepare a SteamOS recovery image USB stickWith all that out of the way, let's get started. To install SteamOS on your gaming handheld, you'll need two things: the SteamOS recovery image and a USB stick (preferably USB-C) with at least 8GB of storage. Make sure anything on that USB stick is properly backed up, because this process will reformat that device.The Steam Deck recovery image can be found here. It's a little over 3GB, so it might take a little while to download, depending on your connection. While you wait for that, you'll also need a utility to create the recovery USB drive. Valve recommends Rufus for Windows users, and Balena Etcher for Mac or Linux users. Once the recovery image is downloaded, use whichever tool you chose to write the recovery image to your USB drive. This process should be relatively straightforward. Rufus, for example, will present you with a dropdown to select which drive to write the file to under Device, and under Boot Selection, click Select to pick the recovery image file. Click Start and wait. Reminder: This will wipe the contents of your USB drive.Step 2: Disable Secure Boot on your handheldThis part can be a bit tricky, and the exact process will vary depending on which handheld you own. Valve has a breakdown of the steps here for a couple specific devices, like the Legion Go and the ROG Ally. However, other devices like those from MSI or Ayaneo will have their own process.In general, the steps will usually go something like this:Reboot to the bios. Similar to how you can hold Del or F2 on a computer while rebooting to get to the bios, your gaming handheld has a similar process. Often it's holding a button like Volume + while pressing the power button, but check your specific device's instructions if that doesn't work.Navigate to the Secure Boot settings. You may have to poke around for this one. Look for categories like Security, and you may need to switch to an Advanced settings mode or menu to find it. This setting should be called Secure Boot. Change this to Disabled.Save settings and restart your device. Once you've changed the Secure Boot setting, make sure to save the changes to your bios and restart.Depending on the device, you might have to use the touchscreen to navigate the bios, or even plug in a keyboard or mouse. Again, Valve has specifics for a couple of devices in the link above, but if you're lost, your device's manufacturer will be your best bet for getting specific instructions.Step 3: Boot using the SteamOS recovery image Credit: Eric Ravenscraft Once you've disabled Secure Boot, you can plug the USB stick into your handheld and restart the device. At this point, you should end up at a boot menu that lets you choose which drive to boot to. Once again, this process will sometimes differ by device, so if you're not sure how to get to the boot menu, check your device's documentation.When you get to the boot menu, select your USB drive with the SteamOS recovery image on it. This will take you to a SteamOS desktop environment. Here, you'll see four shortcuts on the desktop. The one we care about is labeled "Wipe Device & Install SteamOS". Give that a single tap (double-tapping will launch it twice, so be careful).At this point, you should see a warning that proceeding with this step will erase everything on your device. If you had any important game saves, media, or work files (for some reason) on this device that weren't already backed up, you can still bail on this process and reboot to Windows to save them. This is the point of no return, though. Make sure you're ready before moving forward.Step 4: Familiarize yourself with your new handheld's quirks Credit: Eric Ravenscraft The install process won't take too long, and when it's done, your handheld will restart and begin setup as though it's a natural-born Steam Deck. There are a few quirks, though. For example, in my testing on the Legion Go, the device tutorial pointed to the "Steam button" on the bottom-left side, but used the Xbox logo. In reality, the corresponding button was at the top-right, and had a Legion logo. It also pointed to a microSD card slot on the bottom of the device that doesn't exist.Unless you're using an official "Powered by SteamOS" device, prepare for some awkwardness while using the device. Aside from the tutorial, I found some games I wasn't able to install—pressing "Install" on Doom Eternal simply did nothing, for example—and it took some time to figure out which hardware buttons were mapped to which Steam Deck input.To my surprise, some things that I expected to be broken worked perfectly when I tested this. The Legion Go is unique in that its controllers can be detached, Joy-Con style, from the handheld. I expected them to be laggy or non-functional when I played with SteamOS, but they worked perfectly during a Hades II run—a game that isn't very forgiving of input lag.Your mileage can and will vary depending on what games you want to play and what hardware you want to run SteamOS on. Still, as we wait for manufacturers to more officially support SteamOS—or for Microsoft to make a proper handheld of its own—it's exciting to finally be able to have a choice in platform for these devices.

ZDNET's key takeaways The OnePlus 13 is a snappy, nearly no-compromise phone that starts at $899. A Snapdragon 8 Elite, paired with a 6,000mAh battery and 80W fast charging, is a recipe for endurance success. IP69 is almost excessive, but you'll appreciate it when least expected. $999.99 at Best Buy apr / 2025Over at OnePlus' website, both OnePlus 13 models are on sale for $50 off, and each purchase comes with a free gift. Options include a OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro and a Sandstone Magnetic Case.It's not often that I review a smartphone in the first few calendar weeks and feel confident in calling it a "Phone of the Year" contender. But when I tested the OnePlus 13 back in January, that's precisely what happened.Whether Google finally launches a Pixel Pro Fold with a flagship camera system this summer, or Apple releases a thinner iPhone in the fall, the OnePlus 13 will likely still be on my mind when the year-end nominations are due.Also: I changed 10 OnePlus phone settings to significantly improve the user experienceThere's a lot going for the latest flagship phone, from the more secure (and reliable) ultrasonic fingerprint sensor to the IP69 rating to the 6,000mAh Silicon NanoStack battery. It's also one of the first phones in North America to feature Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which promises improvements to performance, efficiency, and AI workloads.I tested the OnePlus 13 alongside my iPhone 16 Pro Max and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL to see exactly how the Android phone stacked up against one of the best phones from 2024. In a few ways, the OnePlus 13 falls short, but in many ways, it puts the iPhone and Pixel to shame.When I first unboxed the OnePlus 13 and held it in my hand, my reaction was audible. Allow me to geek out here: The slightly curved glass, the slimness of the phone, and the overall appearance made my then-four-month-old iPhone look and feel outdated. It's as if OnePlus made the iPhone 17 Air before Apple did.However, what sells the OnePlus 13 design for me is the new Midnight Ocean color, which flaunts a vegan-leather backing that makes the phone visually distinctive and more comfortable to hold than its glass-only predecessors. The texture isn't as rough and grippy as actual leather, though, so I'd be interested in seeing how it ages over the year. (April update: The textured backing is holding up well, save for a few dark spots on the corners, likely caused by the phone rubbing against my palms.) Kerry Wan/ZDNETIf you were hoping the first major Android phone of 2025 would feature Qi2 wireless charging, I have good news and bad news. While the OnePlus 13 doesn't have an in-body Qi2 charging coil, meaning MagSafe (and similar) accessories won't attach directly to the back of the device, OnePlus has embedded magnetic guides within its protective covers, enabling users to take advantage of the accessories so long as the OnePlus 13 is encased. It's a burdenless workaround, but one that hopefully won't be necessary with the next model.For what it's worth, since publishing this review, several other Android phones have been released, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Nothing Phone 3a Pro, and Motorola Razr Ultra -- none of which feature Qi2 wireless charging.For years, one aspect that's held OnePlus phones back is the water and dust resistance rating, or lack thereof. With the OnePlus 13, the company is finally taking a stronger stance on the endurance standard, certifying the phone with an IP69 rating. It's a step above the IP68 ratings we commonly see on competing devices, and allows the OnePlus 13 to withstand high-pressure, high-temperature water jets and humidity changes.Also: 5 habit trackers on Android that can reveal your patterns - and motivate you to changeIn practice, this means the OnePlus 13 can function properly even if you leave it in your washer and dryer, dishwasher, or a pot of boiling soup. The IP69 rating feels very much like a flex, but it's a benefit that users will appreciate when they least expect it. Kerry Wan/ZDNETPowering the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that, from my months of usage, has some noticeable strengths and weaknesses. For day-to-day usage, such as bouncing between productivity apps, definitely not scrolling through TikTok, and taking photos and videos, the processor handles tasks gracefully. It helps that OxygenOS 15, based on the latest version of Android, has some of the smoothest animations I've seen on a phone.Also: I found a Bluetooth tracker for Android users that functions better than AirTags (and it's cheaper)But once you fire up graphics-intensive applications like Adobe Premiere Rush and Honkai Star Rail, you'll notice some stuttering as the higher heat development leads to throttling performance. This isn't a dealbreaker, per se, as the nerfs are only apparent when you're using the device for a prolonged time.I've actually been using the OnePlus 13 quite liberally, as the 6,000mAh Silicon NanoStack battery has kept my review unit running for at least a day and a half per charge. That's unseen with any other mainstream phone in the US market, and I fully expect more manufacturers to adopt silicon batteries for their greater energy density. If not that, copy the 80W fast charging or 50W wireless charging; they're quite the revelation. Kerry Wan/ZDNETOn the camera front, the OnePlus 13, with its triple camera setup (50MP wide, ultrawide, and telephoto), has been a reliable shooter throughout most of my days. While the Sony LYT-808 sensor isn't on par with the one-inch sensors I've tested on international phones like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, it does an excellent job of capturing details and finishing the output vividly. If you're a fan of sharp, bright, and slightly oversaturated imagery (read: more colorful than how the actual subject appears), then the OnePlus 13 will serve you well.Also: The best Android phones to buy in 2025Where the camera sensors fall short is in post-processing and AI-tuning features. For example, the phone leans heavily on computational photography to contextualize details when taking far-distance shots. This sometimes leads to images with an artificial, over-smoothing filter. But when the backend software works, it can reproduce details that you probably didn't think you'd capture in the first place.ZDNET's buying adviceFor a starting price of $899, the OnePlus 13 delivers some seriously good value -- possibly the best of all the major flagship phones I've tested so far this year. The company has improved the device in almost every way, from the design to the performance to its accessory ecosystem. I just wish OnePlus offered more extensive software support, as the OnePlus 13 will only receive four years of Android OS updates and six years of security updates. Samsung, Google, and Apple offer at least seven years of OS support. If you can shoulder the shorter promise of longevity, this is one of the easiest phones for me to recommend right now. Why the OnePlus 13 gets an Editors' Choice award We awarded the OnePlus 13 an Editors' Choice because it nails all the fundamentals of a great smartphone experience while leading the market in some regards, such as battery and charging, durability, and design. The specs this year are noticeably improved compared to its predecessor, the OnePlus 12, with a faster processor, lighter build, larger battery capacity, and a more capable camera system. Most importantly, the OnePlus 13 starts at $899, undercutting its closest competitors like the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Show more When will this deal expire? As per OnePlus, this offer will end on June 8, 2025.However, deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We're sorry if you've missed out on a deal, but don't fret -- we constantly find new chances to save and share them with you on ZDNET.com.  Show more What are the tariffs in the US? The recent US tariffs on imports from countries like China, Vietnam, and India aim to boost domestic manufacturing but are likely to drive up prices on consumer electronics. Products like smartphones, laptops, and TVs may become more expensive as companies rethink global supply chains and weigh the cost of shifting production.Smartphones are among the most affected by the new US tariffs, with devices imported from China and Vietnam facing steep duties that could raise retail prices by 20% or more. Brands like Apple and Google, which rely heavily on Asian manufacturing, may either pass these costs on to consumers or absorb them at the expense of profit margins. The tariffs could also lead to delays in product launches or shifts in where and how phones are made, forcing companies to diversify production to countries with more favorable trade conditions. Show more This story was originally published on January 7, 2025, and was updated on June 1, 2025, adding information for a new June discount.Featured reviews

Thrustmaster T598 + Hypercar Wheel review: a great value PC/PS5 sim racing wheel and pedals built on novel tech Direct axial drive impresses, despite limited software and a firmly mid stock wheel. Image credit: Digital Foundry Review by Will Judd Deputy Editor, Digital Foundry Published on June 1, 2025 We've seen an explosion in the number of affordable direct drive (DD) racing wheels over the past couple of years, with Fanatec and Moza offering increasingly inexpensive options that still deliver the precise, quick and long-lasting force feedback that cheaper gear- or belt-driven wheels can't match. Now, Thrustmaster is intruding on that territory with the T598, a PlayStation/PC direct drive wheel, wheel base and pedals that costs just £449/$499. That's on a similar level to the PC-only £459/$599 Moza R5 bundle and the €399/$569 Fanatec CSL DD bundle, so how does the newcomer compare? And what's changed from the more expensive T818 we reviewed before? We've been testing the T598 - and the fancy upgraded HyperCar wheel that's available as an upgrade option - for weeks to find out. Our full review follows, so read on - or check out the quick links below to jump to what you're most interested in. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Thrustmaster T598 wheel base review: direct axial drive vs traditional direct drive Interestingly, the T598 arguably comes with a more advanced DD motor than the more expensive T818 does. It uses a "direct axial drive" versus the standard "direct radial drive", where the magnets are aligned parallel to the wheel shaft rather than perpendicular (see the diagram below). This ought to allow for more efficient torque generation, producing less waste heat, minimising precision-sapping magnetic interference and requiring less copper to produce. It also means the T598 can "overshoot" to deliver more than its rated 5nm of constant torque for short periods. However, this design also requires a physically taller yet slimmer enclosure (measuring 210x210x120mm), potentially blocking the view forward and requiring a different bolt pattern to attach the base to your desk or sim racing cockpit - both of which are slight annoyances with the T598. (You do get an angle bracket to allow for wider and potentially more compatible holes for your cockpit... but this makes the tall wheel base even taller. Table clamps are also included.) Interestingly, you can also feel a slight vibration and hear a quiet crackling noise emanating from the T598 base while idle - something I haven't heard or felt with other direct drive motors and is reportedly inherent to this design. There's a lot going on inside this wheel base - including some genuine innovation. | Image credit: Thrustmaster/Digital Foundry Thrustmaster has written a pair of white papers to explain why their take on direct drive ("axial flux") is better than what came before ("radial flux"). Image credit: Thrustmaster In terms of the force feedback itself, Thrustmaster have achieved something quite special here. In some titles with a good force feedback implementation - Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Evo and F1 23 stood out to me here - the wheel feels great, with strong force feedback and plenty of detail. If you run up on a kerb or start to lose traction, you know about it right away and can take corrective action. I also appreciated the way that turning the wheel feels perfectly smooth when turning, without any cogging - the slightly jerky sensation common to low-end and mid-range direct drive motors that corresponds to slight attraction as you pass each magnet. However, balancing this, the wheel's force feedback feels a little less consistent than others I've tested from the likes of Fanatec or Moza at a similar price point, with some games like Project Cars 3 and Forza Motorsport feeling almost bereft of force feedback by comparison. You also have that slight vibration when the wheel is stationary, which is potentially more noticeable than the cogging sensation in traditional DD designs. The overshoot is also a mixed bag - as the sudden jump in torque can feel a little artificial in some scenarios, eg when you're warming your tyres by weaving in F1 before a safety car restart. I'd say that these positives and negatives largely cancel each other out, and you're left with force feedback that is good, way better than non-DD wheels, but not noticeably better than more common radial direct drive designs. Depending on the games you play, either DD style could be preferable. It'll be interesting to see if Thrustmaster are able to tune out some of these negative characteristics through firmware updates - or simply in later products using the same technology. 1 of 7 Caption Attribution Here's how the T598 looks IRL - from the wheel base itself to the default rim, the upgraded Hypercar wheel and the included dual pedals. Click to enlarge. Apart from the novel motor, the rest of the wheel base is fairly standard - there's a small (colour!) display on the top for adjusting your settings and seeing in-game info like a rev counter, four large circular buttons buttons (L3, R3, Mode and Settings), the usual Thrustmaster quick release lock for securing your wheel rim and a small button on the back to turn the wheel base on and off. There are connection options for power, USB and connecting other components like pedals or shifters on the back too. Weirdly, there's no ability to change settings in the PC Thrustmaster Panel app - it just says this functionality is "coming soon!" - so right now you can only use it for updating firmware, testing buttons and changing between profiles. "Coming soon!" starts to become a little less believable six months after the first reviews hit. | Image credit: Digital Foundry Instead, you'll be using the built-in screen for making changes, which works well enough but doesn't provide any allowance for extra information - so you'll be sticking to the four basic pre-made profiles, referring to the manual or checking suggested setups online rather than reading built-in tool tips. You still get access to the full whack of settings here, and of course this works well for PS5/PS4 users who wouldn't expect a software experience anyway, but PC users may be disappointed to learn that there's no intuitive software interface here. I found the Boosted Media YT review of the wheelbase to offer some good insight into what settings you're likely to want to change from their default values. Thrustmaster T598 Sportcar wheel review: a workable default option The Sportcar wheel rim looks good - but a plastic construction and relatively spartan controls make it "OK" at best. The "Sportcar" wheel provided in the bundle is a little less impressive-looking than the base itself, with a plasticky feel throughout and fairly mushy buttons - though the paddles are snappy enough and feel good to use. The usual PS-style face buttons are split into two clumps up top with L2 and R2, which is a bit odd, with four individual directional buttons in the lower left, start/select/PS in the lower middle and four configuration buttons in the lower right. Those configuration buttons require extra explanation, so here we go: the P button at the top swaps between four different pages, indicated with a different colour LED, allowing the remaining three physical buttons to activate up to 12 different functions. (The Fanatec GT DD Pro, by contrast, has dedicated five-way controls for each of its four functions. This costs more to produce, but allows you to use the controls without looking down to see what coloured light is active.) There are no rotary encoders or other additional controls here, so PC players that prefer more complicated racing sims may feel a bit underserved by this clunky, cost-saving solution. The 815g wheel is at least sized reasonably, with 300mm circular shape that particularly suits drifting, rally and trucking - though all forms of driving and racing are of course possible. The rubber grips under your hands are reasonably comfortable, but you can still feel seams in various places. Overall, the wheel is possibly the weakest part of the package, but perfectly usable and acceptable for the price point. Thrustmaster Hypercar Wheel Add-On review: true luxury An incredible wheel with premium materials, excellent controls and a more specialised shape. Thrustmaster also sent over the £339/$350 Hypercar wheel rim for testing, which is an upgrade option that uses significantly better materials - leather, alcantara, aluminium and carbon - and offers a huge number of extra controls (25 buttons, including four rotary encoders and two pairs of analogue paddles). Its oval shape feels a bit more responsive for faster vehicles (like F1 cars) that require a quick change of direction, but drifting and rally doesn't feel natural. It supports the same PS4, PS5 and PC platforms as the stock option, but there are no legends printed on the buttons to help you. The difference in quality here is immediately apparent, with much better tactile feedback from the buttons and a huge number of additional controls for adjusting stuff like ERS deployment or brake bias. Each control feels well-placed, even if the T-shaped layout for the face buttons is slightly unnatural at first, and the paddles for shifting and the clutch are particularly well engineered. I also found holding the wheel a bit more comfortable thanks to that flattened out shape, the more premium materials and the absence of bumps or seams anywhere you're likely to hold. It's a huge upgrade in terms of feel and features then, as you'd hope for a wheel rim that costs nearly as much as the entire T598 kit and caboodle. As an upgrade option, I do rate it, though it perhaps makes slightly more sense for T818 owners that have already invested a bit more in the Thrusmaster ecosystem. Regardless, it was this rim that I used for the majority of my time with the T598, and the wheel base feels significantly better with the upgrade. Thrustmaster T598 Raceline pedals review: great feedback, but no clutch and no load cell upgrade offered at present Surprisingly good for two add-in pedals, in terms of feedback and flexibility. The pedals that come with the T598 are surprisingly good, with an accelerator, a brake pedal (with a choice of two different spring options) and no clutch pedal. Each pedal's spring assembly can be pushed into one of three positions to change the amount of pre-load - ie make it a bit softer or harder to press and the pedal plates can be shifted up and down. The narrow dimensions of the metal wheel plate meant that it was impossible to mount directly in the centre of the Playseat Trophy I used for testing, but the slightly off-centre installation I ended up with still worked just fine. They connect using a non-USB connection, so you can't use the pedals with other wheel bases. Using the middle distance setting and the firmer of the two springs for the brake, I found the T598 produced good results, on par or perhaps even a tad better than other metal-construction Hall Effect position sensor (ie non-load cell) pedals I've tested such as the Moza SR-P Lite and Fanatec CSL. Braking is the critical point here, as you want to be able to feel when the brake has mechanically reached its threshold and then modulate your inputs from there, and the T598 pedals do allow for this quite easily. They're also not so hard to actuate that you end up having to hard-mount them to a sim rig for good results, and the included carpet spikes are reasonably effective in keeping the pedals in place. Presumably, it ought to be possible to add on a load cell brake pedal down the line to upgrade to a proper (if slightly cramped) three pedal setup. For the F1 style driving that I prefer, the clutch pedal isn't used anyway, so it wasn't a massive issue for me - and we frequently see companies like Moza and Fanatec drop the clutch pedal on these aggessively priced bundles so Thrustmaster aren't losing ground by following suit. Thrustmaster T598 final verdict: a competitive £450 package with potential For PlayStation owners, this is an incredible value pickup that ranks among the cheapest DD options - and PC owners ought to consider it too. For £449/$499, the Thrustmaster T598 is an excellent value direct drive wheel and pedal bundle for PlayStation and PC with some relatively minor quirks. The wheel base is powerful, detailed and responsive in most games, with some advantages over traditional DD designs but also some disadvantages - notably the taller shape and a slight hum/vibration while stationary. Traditional DD designs from the likes of Fanatec and Moza can offer more reliable force feedback that works over a wider range of games, cars and tracks, while also benefitting from better PC software, but there's certainly potential for Thrustmaster to improve here. The included wheel feels a bit cheap, with a predominantly plastic design, spongey buttons and a slightly odd layout, but the full circle shape and full PS5/PS4 compatibility is most welcome. Upgrading to the HyperCar wheel provides a huge uptick in materials, tactile feedback and number of controls, though this does come at a fairly steep price of £339/$350. If you plan to use the T598 for years and have the budget for it, this is a super upgrade to aim for. The included Raceline LTE pedals are the most surprising element for me. These consist of only an accelerator and a brake with only moderate adjustability and a narrow base plate, but they feel great to use, are made from durable metal with HE sensors, and only really lose out to significantly more expensive load cell options. For an add-in for a relatively cheap DD bundle, they're a solid inclusion, and I hope Thrustmaster release a load cell brake pedal for users to upgrade to a better three-pedal setup later. Overall, it's an competitive first outing for Thrustmaster with the T598 and direct axial drive, and I'm curious to see where the company - and the tech - goes from here. With Fanatec still on the rebuild after being acquired by Corsair and Moza's offerings being hard to order online in some regions, Thrustmaster has a golden opportunity to seize a share of the mid-range and entry-level sim racing market, and the T598 is a positive start.

While updating, upgrading, and reimagining your home can transform it into your dream home, the logistics involved can be daunting, even if you have a general contractor managing the project for you. One of the biggest challenges is setting your budget—unless you have an unlimited budget (lucky you!), determining what a home renovation will involve based on what you can afford is a key aspect of your plan.It’s also one of the most confusing. When budgeting reality bumps up against your dream home fantasy, figuring out what to remove from the project can be difficult because of the emotional aspects involved—everything can seem equally necessary when you’re imagining your future life in the home. In order to pare things down in a coherent and rational way, take a page from business school experts and use the time-tested MoSCoW Method.What is the MoSCoW method?The MoSCoW method was innovated by software developer Dai Clegg in the 1990s as a way to prioritize components of a project in order to stay on schedule and within budget. Although it was initially envisioned as a software development tool (and more widely as a tool for managing business projects in general), it’s malleable enough that it can be ideal for varied circumstances—including getting control of a home renovation project.The method involves breaking all the aspects of your project into four buckets, represented by the letters M, S, C, and W (the Os are just there to make the name more readable). The categories are:Must-haves. These are aspects of the project that are non-negotiable and mandatory.Should-haves. These are parts of the project that aren’t absolutely necessary, but are relatively important.Could-haves. These are smaller details that can easily be removed from the project or added in later if budget allows.Won’t haves. These are aspects of the project that aren’t under consideration at all.The simplicity of the MoSCoW method is its main strength—it’s easy to whip your home reno budget into shape in a short time by plopping everything into the relevant bucket.Using MoSCoW to plan a home renovation projectWhen you’re planning out your home renovation, start dropping each aspect into a bucket as you go:Things that absolutely have to be done are Must Haves. For example, if part of your renovation is replacing a leaking roof, that’s a Must Have—you have no choice, so that cost is baked into your budget from the get-go.Major components of the project that aren’t absolutely necessary fall into the Should Have bucket. If your old hardwood floors are worn but serviceable, replacing them is a big part of what you want to get out of the renovation—but you could leave them in place, or try to refinish them instead of replacing them. These would be the last parts of your project that you remove or downgrade.Grace notes and luxuries go into the Could Have bucket and held there pending how the budget plays out. For example, maybe you’d like your new flooring to have radiant heating. That’s nice, but not an absolute necessity. If money opens up later in the planning, you can toss it in.Finally, there’s the Won’t Have bucket. This might seem like an unnecessary step, since anything not already sorted into a bucket could be considered a Won’t Have. But the exercise of specifically labeling it as a Won’t Have is useful because it brings clarity to your priorities. If you find more budget later, you’ve already prioritized the Could Haves as more deserving of rescue. Won’t Haves aren’t necessarily things you’ll never do—they’re just things you’re not doing now. For example, maybe your HVAC system is a little old and you’re thinking it will need to be replaced in the next few years—but not at this moment, because you’re spending your money on all these other projects. So you put that into the Won’t Have bucket because you know you’ll be returning to it in the future.Once you’ve done an initial categorization of your home renovation, you can start crunching numbers to see if changes are necessary or desired. Maybe you decide, on reflection, that a Should Have is really a Must Have, or vice versa. And if your budget can’t deliver on every priority, you can shift some things into the Could Have bucket and hold them in reserve for the future.Any successful home renovation is as much about planning and prioritization as it is about budget and schedule management, and the MoSCoW Method can help ensure your project is on track before anyone touches a power tool.

Even as children, we in the U.S. learn that June brings good things—warmer weather, ice cream trucks, and most significantly, summer break from school. As an adult, all of those things still matter to me (substitute summer break for outdoorsy weekends), but the arrival of summer produce has crept up to the top of my June list of good things. In this monthly article, I take a look at the fruits and veggies coming into season and some incredible ways you can use them. Let’s dive into June's offerings. Why seasonal and local produce is greatLong distance shipping for out-of-season produce is convenient, but there is usually a price to pay with literal higher prices or lesser quality (or both). Using seasonal produce is a step toward supporting smaller farms situated somewhere closer to where you live rather than a monoculture farm somewhere far away. A big, healthy harvest with shorter shipping distances likely means a cheaper price tag for you. And hopefully the produce exhibits the best possible flavor profile since it doesn’t have to travel great distances to arrive at your market. Buying local and in season means you’ll possibly see a greater variety of tender greens and delicate fruits that don’t travel out of state well. Those little strawberries that pop up at the farmers market are so juicy and delicate you’d never see them packed up and shipped out across the country—they’d be turned into jam before they got a chance to leave. Go to those summer farmers markets downtown and reap the benefits of the juiciest summer fruit.  What’s in season right nowYou’re probably seeing it already, but everywhere from tiny produce markets to big box grocery stores are growing fuller with the very beginnings of summer produce glut, and the prices are dropping. Personally, I’m celebrating the low berry prices with morning smoothies. (If you’re a fruit smoothie-enthusiast like I am, here are a couple great blenders that might interest you.) For those who are growing their own food, keep up with our Home and Garden section for tips.The new produce coming in for June:ApricotsSweet Cherries (not quite yet for tart cherries)StrawberriesBlueberriesRaspberriesBlackberriesBeetsBroccoli Cabbage Garlic scapesGreen peasMustard greensZucchini & summer squashSay, "au revoir" to:AsparagusArugulaRampsParsnipsProduce in peak season:Beet greensLettuceRadishes and their greensRhubarbSpinachTurnipsChardSnap peasSnow peasNote that your specific region may be warmer or cooler, or farther away—so don’t worry if floods of strawberries haven’t arrived yet, or if you still have loads of wild ramps growing in the yard. Nature will do its thing, and we’ll continue trying to keep up.What to cook with your spring bountyFruitsJune is the beginning of having all the fun you want to have when it comes to recipes. Let’s start with fruit. We’re looking at loads of berries for the next few months and the beginnings of stone fruits, so I recommend warming up those ovens. I know that sounds too hot, but think of the pies! Cherry pies, Strawberry-rhubarb, apricot and blackberry, blueberry-goat-cheese tarts—you simply must make some. To help you along, here’s my fail-proof way to lattice pie crust, and my best advice on preventing soggy fruit pies. They’re well worth a read if you’ve had trouble in the past.If you’d rather be stuck in a room with a pack of wild 7-year-olds than make a pie, OK fine. Make a fruit trifle with leftover cake, stuff delicious biscuits with summer fruit and whipped cream, and why not take a crack at your own homemade berry ice cream. I made vanilla bean ice cream with a swirl of fresh raspberry compote and I felt pretty damn pleased with myself. If you’re shopping for affordable ice cream machines, I just tested and reviewed this Cuisinart.As I mentioned, fruit smoothies always welcome a handful of frozen berries. I should mention (and I’ll say this again at the end of the season): Freezing your berries is the best way to reduce waste. (Here’s the best way to freeze fruit.) If you’re using berries to top yogurt or granola, there’s no need to freeze it, but if you’re baking with fruit, making jams, or blending smoothies, freezing is extremely helpful. Pop the fruit in the freezer in the container it came in (hull strawberries first, and halve the big ones). After a few hours, they’ll be solid and you can dump them into a zip-top freezer bag for easier freezer storage.Vegetables All the cruciferous veggies are going strong right now, so go ahead and get that fiber. Use shaved broccoli and cabbage in a salad. Wilt spinach, chard, or mustard greens down in a hearty soup. My absolute favorite thing to do with summer zucchini is to make Thai kai jiao. You can use different vegetables in this dish, but zucchini is my all-time favorite. You also can’t go wrong with grilling big, fat planks of summer squash and drizzling them with a light vinaigrette. Got lots of crisp lettuce? Well, you can always bulk up your warm salads or do what I do and add it to every sandwich. Bacon, egg, cheese, and lettuce. Meatball parm sub and lettuce. Peanut butter and—OK, maybe not that one. Pay special attention to the fleeting produce like rhubarb, ramps, and scapes. They’re around for just a blink so grab them up. Try roasting your rhubarb with strawberries for a sweet, tart, and caramelized treat. Enjoy the best of June produce, and hopefully we’ll get a peek at tomatoes at the end of the month. 

Buying a good Father’s Day gift can be tough for those on a budget, especially if your dad already knows his way around technology. Sometimes they’ll say they don’t want anything, other times they might buy the thing you’re looking to gift without giving anyone a heads up. If you need help brainstorming some ideas, we’ve rounded up a few of the better items we’ve tested that are priced below $50. From mechanical keyboards and security cameras to luggage trackers and power banks, each has the potential to make your dad’s day-to-day life a little more convenient. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-gifts-for-dad-under-50-113033738.html?src=rss