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  • Best Earbuds for Running in 2019

    Best Earbuds for Running in 2019

    Whether you’re an avid runner, exercise often or just want to get started, having a good pair of earbuds is important. Running can be a bit boring without music to listen to. As such, we’re digging into some of the best earbuds for running available in 2019! Let’s talk about it.

    Best Earbuds for Running

    Jabra Elite Active 65T

    Jabra makes a killer set of earbuds with these Elite Active 65T true wireless earbuds. They use an anchoring design that helps them stay locked in the ear, making them a solid pick for runners. The earbuds are small but pack a ton of sound, as well as a great fit and comfort level.

    These earbuds are a bit on the pricey side, coming in at a solid $200 on average. However, for that price, you get what may be the best earbuds for activity on the market.

    Soundcore Spirit Sports

    These earbuds from peripheral manufacturer Anker come in at a stellar budget price of around $40. Featuring a rounded, off-the-neck design that ensures you won’t lose them while running, the Soundcore Spirit Sports pack a ton of features into a small budget.

    These are waterproof, sound great and sport a great 8 hours of battery life. In short, there’s a lot to love here for the low price. They fit well, they’ve comfortable and they’ll do the job. They don’t sound as great as the pricier options, of course, but that’s what you pay for.

    Optoma Nuforce BE Sport 4

    That name is a mouthful, but these are great Bluetooth earbuds for runners. Coming in around $70, these earbuds run the middle ground between the expensive Jabra Elites and the budget Soundcore Sports. They sound great, they have a good 10 hours of battery life and they fit beautifully.

    These aren’t truly wireless, sadly, as they have a bit of wiring on the headset. That’s not a huge drawback, though it’s not ideal for some conditions. If you absolutely must have true wireless, you’ll need to upgrade to the Jabra Elites.

  • The Microsoft Spring Sale is On

    The Microsoft Spring Sale is On

    The Xbox One isn’t exactly killing it in the sales department. While Microsoft carried the day in the prior generation with their Xbox 360, this generation has largely humbled the company. The PS4, with its slate of stellar exclusive titles, has led the pack. On the bright side, this means Xbox owners benefit from some great deals on video games. Here’s a peek at the Microsoft Spring Sale.

    Microsoft Spring Sale

    Xbox Games Pass

    Easily the most bananas part of this sale is the three-month deal on Games Pass. The service allows you to play over a hundred games, whether streaming or through download. Normally you would pay $20 per month for the service, but it’s currently just a single dollar for three months.

    This is an absolutely ridiculous deal. For the number of games you get access to, this is tantamount to Microsoft simply giving you games for buying their system.

    Xbox One X Discount

    The super-premium Xbox One X Bundle is also on sale, down to $399 from $499, letting you get in on high-end 4K gaming on the cheap. However, there is a drawback to what sounds like a great sale: the bundled game is Fallout 76. Well, we suppose you don’t have to play it. And honestly, why would you?

    There are other sales available online through the Microsoft Sale, too. These include discounts on the Samsung HMD Odyssey+ VR headset and the oddball indie title Goat Simulator. However, the Games Pass is the star of the show.

    Getting Into Microsoft’s Ecosystem

    At present, the most economically sound way to get into modern AAA gaming is to buy a used Xbox One S at your local gaming store, probably finding it for around $200 or $250. Then, for a solitary dollar, you get access to over a hundred modern games.

    As far as playing games legally goes, this is the very best bet you’re going to get. We also don’t condone piracy, by the way, but this is as close as you’re going to get to stealing these games without breaking the law.

  • Alexa Recordings Being Monitored by Amazon Employees

    Alexa Recordings Being Monitored by Amazon Employees

    Everyone’s worst fears about Amazon Echo were confirmed this week when Amazon admitted that its employees review audio the devices record. When Amazon introduced the smart speakers, concerns over security dubbed it a “self-imposed listening device”. Now, it turns out, the jokes were spot-on. However, is the recording egregious, or is it in line with Amazon’s promises about the device?

    Fears over Alexa Seemingly Confirmed

    Bloomberg Report

    Bloomberg reported this week that, though most of the audio taken in by Alexa devices is run through a voice recognition software only, some snippets are sent to real people. The employees are sent short snippets of audio picked up by Alexa in order to add annotations.

    According to Amazon, these annotations are strictly to help Alexa get better at listening to commands and responding. However, the presence of real people potentially overhearing their conversations has made some customers leery. What’s to stop Alexa from flat-out spying on you?

     Amazon’s Statement

    “We take the security and privacy of our customers’ personal information seriously,” Amazon emailed to Bloomberg. “We only annotate an extremely small sample of Alexa voice recordings in order [to] improve the customer experience.”

    “Employees do not have direct access to information that can identify the person or account as part of this workflow,” and Amazon spokesperson elaborated. “All information is treated with high confidentiality and we use multi-factor authentication to restrict access, service encryption and audits of our control environment to protect it.”

    Workforce

    According to the Bloomberg report, it’s a rather substantial number of Amazon employees doing this annotation work. The work, not dissimilar from work in call center, has employees interpreting thousands of snippets a week, annotating them and marking them down for further study.

    While Amazon assures customers that there are security safeguards in place to protect privacy, they’ve hardly been forthcoming about the human review process until now. Mistrust of large data-gathering corporations is at an all-time high, so this is a strange look for the massive company. Many consumers are anxious that their conversations are being sold to advertisers, or that their information is otherwise compromised by their own smart speakers.

  • Nintendo Adorably Introduces VR to the Switch

    Nintendo Adorably Introduces VR to the Switch

    When Nintendo introduced Labo, the adorable toy-craft add-on for Nintendo Switch, most people thought it was a fun diversion for the kids. Now, Nintendo has released a full-blown VR experience that the user builds out of the Labo Toy-Con kits. How does it stack up against dedicated VR?

    Nintendo Labo VR

    Construction

    The most notable departure from standard VR experiences here is that you have to build the entire VR device yourself. From cardboard. If you love arts and crafts, this is quite a fun experience. If you’re not as big on the paper-craft, this might be a bit of drag for you.

    In either case, it doesn’t take too long to build your own VR headset that your Switch tablet slots straight into. There are tons of other “Toy-Cons” that you can build out of the kit, too. It’s all delightfully fun and simple, and the on-screen “Build” mode walks you through the process step-by-step.

    The VR

    While dedicated hardware is going to be putting out more impressive visuals than the Switch, it’s downright charming to use the “Play” mode of Labo VR. Inventive and creative uses for the technology abound, transporting the player to the fun-filled world of Nintendo in no time at all.

    Various, silly controllers like a blaster with real kick-back (thanks to some rubber bands and cardboard) and a camera that makes a fun zoom-in, zoom-out sound, make the VR tactile. It feels so real and immersive to fire grenades at goofy aliens in the Blaster game.

    Bottom Line

    For $80 you can get all of the Toy-Cons and software needed to play with Nintendo Labo VR. It’s a fun experience, made all the better by the joy of building silly cardboard controllers. Is it going to blow away die-hard fans of the Oculus Rift? Maybe not.

    But the inventive controllers, fun building aspect and downright charming games all make this the most user-friendly VR experience to yet hit the market. If anyone can sell the odd experience of VR to a mass-market, it’s Nintendo.

  • Are You Spending Too Much Time on Your Phone?

    Are You Spending Too Much Time on Your Phone?

    Smartphones have changed the way we live our very lives. They’re alarm clock, timer, flashlight, calculator, game system, portable computer and, of course, phone, for the modern human. However, many people feel as though they may be spending too much time on their smartphones. When is it time to make a change?

    Too Much Time on the Smartphone

    Ignoring Family

    We’ve all been hanging out with friends or family and then noticed that no one was talking to anyone. Everyone was just scrolling through their social media, or reading an article, or texting. If you find you’re missing out on quality time with loved ones, make an effort to keep your phone in your pocket when hanging out.

    It’s easy to get sucked into your phone. Consider silencing notifications from social media apps, and even just leaving your phone off or on silent. In an emergency, people can reach you. Otherwise, why stay glued to the phone all day? You’ve got a life to live right in front of you.

    Wasting Time

    You know that slurping sound that Facebook makes when it siphons your free time? The feeling of the minutes whiling away as you scroll, infinitely, down the page makes your stomach sink. Stop doing it. There’s nothing new or exciting or interesting happening on your Facebook feed, your Twitter feed or your Instagram feed.

    These apps are designed to harvest your data and then sell it to ad agencies for a lot of money. That’s it. They’re mindless, they’re not keeping you “up-to-date” or “informed,” and they’ve been shown to have a negative effect on mental health. Just stop scrolling.

    Mental Health

    Yes, you read that right. Social media is linked to making people feel more insecure, more depressed and less fulfilled in their own lives. When you’re constantly exposed to clickbait media, fake news articles and manufactured outrage, it becomes grating. Why subject yourself to such a toxic mix of badly curated media?

    Social media can be great for keeping up with friends and current events. Seeing new pictures of family, updates on vacations and news blurbs are all great. However, aside from these highlights, there’s nothing to be gained by scrolling down the infinite feed forever. You’re just subjecting yourself to drivel for no reason.

    How to Quit

    Compulsively checking one’s phone is addicting. Consider getting a smartwatch, or a normal wristwatch. This gives you something to check for the time without pulling out your phone to suck up your hours. Another option is getting into a hobby that is engrossing and doesn’t leave time to constantly check your social media.

    In an extreme case, if you feel like you’re spending too much time on your phone and just can’t stop, take drastic measures. Uninstall your social media apps. Turn off your cellular data. Heck, just turn your phone off. You’ve got a life to live, so live it.

  • Best Budget TVs: Bang for Your Buck!

    Best Budget TVs: Bang for Your Buck!

    TVs have only been getting bigger and better over the past twenty years. At the same time, they’ve been getting much more affordable. Screens that were once thousands of dollars can now be had for a few hundred. If you’re looking for a good second TV, or maybe just a budget first one, here are some of the best options for you.

    Best Budget TVs

    Samsung UN43NU6900

    $300 for a 4K TV might sound too good to be true, but that’s just the era we live in. This stellar Samsung panel is not only an affordable and sizable TV, it’s got full 4K support and wonderful picture quality. It’s not totally without its faults, of course. It has only 2 HDMI ports, poor HDR implementation and a narrow optimal viewing angle.

    In essence, this isn’t a screen you’d get for the living room. For a game room, however, or in the bedroom, this is a great option. For a single viewer, this is a great way to spend $300 and get a 43” 4K screen.

    Vizio E43-F1

    If you want a huge screen but don’t want to break the bank, this Vizio panel is for you. The 65” variant of this panel retails for a whopping $650, making it a steal for the size. For those who want to go even bigger, the 75” can be had for a cool $1,300, which is great value.

    This Vizio panel is great for hardcore gamers on a budget, too. The input lag is negligible, and the motion blur is only slight. While the colors aren’t terribly impressive and HDR is lackluster, this is all mitigated by the low price and high performance of the screen.

     TCL 32S325

    The word with this panel is “cheap”, and we mean it. You can pick up this TCL screen for a crazy-low $150 for the 32” variant. That’s a price to envy, and it’s surprisingly a really nice TV for that price range. It’s not terribly bright, and the picture quality isn’t very impressive, though, so it’s not ideal for being a main TV.

    However, for its price and features, it makes a wonderful secondary TV. It would go well in a kitchen, a garage or a rec room as a backup screen. All size variants come included with a Roku interface, making them great for a guest room, as well. Essentially, this is a budget TV that will satisfy most secondary needs for your home!

  • Will Streaming Replace Everything?

    Will Streaming Replace Everything?

    Netflix streams movies and TV shows straight to your TV. Spotify and Apple Music stream music from your phone, through your car and into your headphones. Google Stadia promises to stream video games for you, Marvel and DC offer digital comic books and Amazon sells ebooks by the millions. Will streaming swallow up all physical media?

    Streaming and Physical Media

    Convenience

    Some people will trade anything for convenience. Ownership, affordability and quality are all negotiable as long as the thing in question can be acquired conveniently. Consider the success of apps like Uber and Airbnb. The quality of the service or product isn’t as important, to some, as the sheer convenience of it.

    The same goes for media. In 2019, one need not own any hardware aside from a television and a smartphone, and they can still experience the breadth of entertainment. Music can be streamed, TV shows and movies can be beamed right in. Soon, even video games will be streaming right to your TV, no hardware needed.

    What You Lose

    The only problem with this distribution model is that, in the end, the consumer owns nothing. No albums they can collect, no DVDs or Blu-Rays they can go back and watch. When the streaming platform they use loses the rights to their favorite media, it’s just gone.

    Not only that, but you have no resale value. Spending money on streaming subscriptions nets you nothing real. You get the experience of the content you’d like to stream, of course, but when all is said and done, you can’t sell the old media. You don’t own any media: you’ve spent hundreds and have nothing to show for it.

    Is This Worth It?

    In some cases, it’s not that big of a deal. You would likely spend much more than a Netflix or Spotify subscription to experience all the movies and music you’ve experienced just to own the physical media. But what do we lose when we give up ownership of everything? If you own no books, no movies, no music, the content you consume becomes curated.

    The Future

    It seems unlikely that the future will be streaming-only. Streaming services certainly aren’t going anywhere any time soon: they’re multibillion-dollar enterprises. However, physical media isn’t going extinct, either. People love their stuff. Holding a book, or a record, or a DVD case in your hand has a certain inimitable quality that streaming will never replace.

  • Borderlands 2 Review Bomb on Steam Met with new Policy

    Borderlands 2 Review Bomb on Steam Met with new Policy

    Valve has addressed an unfolding controversy involving review bombs of Borderlands 2 on Steam. The review bombs come as a result of the news that Borderlands 3 will be a timed exclusive for the Epic Games Store on PC. Valve has introduced a new “off-topic” tag for reviews to address the issue.

    Borderlands 2 Review Bombs

    Borderlands 3 Controversy

    The controversy regarding Borderlands 3 is a bit convoluted. In short terms, Gearbox, the developers of Borderlands 3, have announced that the game will be available only through the Epic Games Store on PC for roughly six months. The game will still be available through normal retailers for consoles.

    Some people have taken issue with this, stating that they feel as though Epic is unfairly competing against Steam, a larger PC content delivery system. To voice their frustrations, they’re review-bombing Borderlands 2 on Steam to announce their distaste. However, these reviews have nothing to do with the content of this earlier game.

    Valve’s Response

    Valve, graciously, has taken the situation in stride. They’ve implemented a new system to tag reviews as “off-topic”. In the case of the Borderlands fiasco, the off-topic reviews simply don’t relate to the content of the game. People looking to make a purchase based on a game’s merits don’t need to be caught up in weird reviews about digital content distribution.

    This is a great opportunity for Valve to indicate that they are serious about preserving the integrity of their user reviews. After all, many consumers rely on the user reviews to tell whether they would enjoy a given game. People abusing it muddy the waters as to what’s good and what’s not.

    Brand Loyalty

    Largely, it appears people upset with Epic Games and Gearbox feel as though Steam is some kind of “default” for PC game distribution. However, this isn’t the case: Steam is simply the largest platform. Valve is no more friend to a consumer than any company selling goods. As such, outrage over a game’s distribution rings unusual, in the least.

    In broad strokes, consumers’ speed to condemn a strictly lateral move from one digital storefront to another is odd. Downloading a launcher and using it to purchase a game is a bit annoying, sure, but it’s hardly ruining the experience. Boycotts over such a miniscule inconvenience ring a bit hollow.

    Other concerns, such as the idea that Epic Games is somehow a greedy corporation just trying to grab your cash, are even more odd. Epic is no more or less “greedy” than Valve. They’re both just trying to sell games.

  • Smartphone Rumors: Budget Google Pixel 3a

    Smartphone Rumors: Budget Google Pixel 3a

    A potential slip on the part of the Google Store has hinted that Google’s rumored Pixel 3a could be coming soon. The Pixel 3a will be a midrange, budget-friendly version of Google’s stellar Pixel 3 phone. This comes amid growing concerns that smartphones are pricing normal users out of using them.

    Google Pixel 3a Rumors

    Google Pixel

    The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are two of the best phones money can buy. These two phones sport great cameras, killer processors that allow for fast multitasking and gorgeous design. The finish is high-quality and impressive, and the build quality leaves little wanting. However, they’re rather pricey.

    For a Google Pixel 3, you’ll have to pony up $800, and if you want the larger Pixel 3 XL, you’ll need $900. There’s a lot to love about these phones, but those are some pretty hefty prices. Stepping back from that, the Pixel 3a is likely to be a rather affordable phone that still sports the main selling points of the Pixel 3.

    Pixel 3a

    A slip-up on Google’s website listed the Pixel 3a as a new item briefly before it was pulled down. This is likely confirming rumors that have been swirling of a more affordable Pixel phone. The 3a will likely be released sometime in August of this year, and will likely retail for $700 or $600.

    There has also been speculation that there will be two versions of the 3a. One will be a standard sized, more affordable options, while the other will be a 3a XL. Both will likely sport comparable cameras and screens to the full-version of the Pixel 3, albeit with some cost-saving measures.

    Rising Smartphone Prices

    Smartphones are in an awkward place in the market. Most people find their handsets to be extremely powerful and hard to replace. Smartphones have largely plateaued: each new generation has introduced less and less revolution and more evolution.

    This goes hand-in-hand with the rising prices of smartphones. The iPhone XS is $1000, as is the Samsung Galaxy S10. These phones, while incredible, are nigh-on unaffordable for the average consumer. As such, moves to produce more affordable versions of top-of-the-line smartphones will likely become commonplace.

    If smartphone companies are to keep up with the shifting market, it seems likely that these in-between, compromise-style phones will become the norm. Expect to see the Pixel 3a before the end of the year.

  • Which Offers Better Sound: Analog or Digital?

    Which Offers Better Sound: Analog or Digital?

    The long-running debate over digital versus analog recording and playback has long divided music fans. Digital recording has been referred to as compressing and simplifying the sound of music. Analog recording and playback has been derided as outdated and inaccurate, mixing too much noise into the sound. Which one is truly the best way to experience music?

    Analog or Digital?

    Signal to Noise

    Analog recording and playback involve using physical media and storing information in a way that is physically visible. Digital recording, however, uses binary code, ones and zeroes, to encode sound in the form of digital text. Both forms require specialized methods to facilitate playback.

    In the case of analog, you need a machine that can read the physically encoded information. The most famous example of this is the needle of the record player interpreting the grooves of a record as sounds. Likewise, digital recordings require software to enable playback. Much like the needle reading the record, digital media players interpret the code as sound.

    Pros and Cons

    When sound is recorded, something is inevitably lost. There exists no perfect recording technique. However, there are some distinct strengths and weaknesses of both digital and analog. Digital has the issue of compressing sound, potentially distorting it, and being corrupted in slight ways.

    Analog, on the other hand, has more chances to introduce noise. Those who have used record players have doubtless heard the slight hisses and pops that are introduced by using physical media to store sound information. Fans of analog media have dismissed digital recordings as sounded “cold” and “distant,” unlike the “warm” and “intimate” sounds of analog.

    Digital recordings, however, can be transmitted easily over the internet. Streaming music services allow instantaneous acquisition of new songs, and digital is easier to transfer and edit.

    A Case for Audiophiles

    In fact, research has shown that increasing knowledge of recording techniques has led to digital recordings offering such high fidelity that it’s indistinguishable from an untouched master. Thanks to new software techniques in reading data, digital sounds can be rendered in perfectly accurate and crisp ways.

    What this doesn’t account for, of course, is the irreplaceable tactile feel of holding a record. The warmth of the sound of vinyl is undeniable. In short, there are a lot of reasons to love analog, even if it isn’t as accurate or convenient as digital. It’s got soul, and that counts for something.