Celebrate Top Gun Day by streaming the classic -- here are the cheapest places to find it - CNET

You can rent Top Gun from Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and elsewhere. But head to Fandango Now for the remastered 4K UHD version.

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The Office episodes are being re-created on Slack -- in real time - CNET

That means some episodes will take weeks to play out. And yes, checking in counts as work.

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Simpsons interactive guide collects 30 years worth of spot-on predictions - CNET

From President Trump to three-eyed fish, see how long it took The Simpsons' predictions to come true.

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Coronavirus test: How long does it take and when will I know my COVID-19 results? - CNET

The answer is complicated and depends on your location. Here's what we know about COVID-19 testing right now.

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Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automaker's sole US vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him.

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Twitter will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about COVID-19, the company said on Monday, as part of a new approach to misinformation that will eventually extend to other topics.

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Australia’s biggest online marketplace has a limited time offer that will help individual sellers on its e-commerce platform pocket some extra cash. And, to make it easier and safer for sellers to ship their parcels, eBay is offering contactless courier pickup from your front door via its new partnership with shipping company, Sendle. Between the two, it’s a great time to sell off some of those extra bits and bobs you’ve been holding on to as you couldn’t get to your local post office during the coronavirus lockdown.

If you have items you’d like to sell on eBay, the company usually charges a small fee for it to be listed on the site. Usually, the online marketplace also charges sellers a certain percentage of the final sale price of the item as well. However, between May 7 and August 5, 2020, eBay Australia is dropping those fees for new sellers.

This offer is specifically available to sellers who’ve not previously sold items on the site – to take advantage of it, you simply need to select the ‘Take Up Offer’ or ‘Get Offer’ option under the Promotional Offers tab on your My eBay account page. Any item – with exceptions like boats, cars and real estate – is eligible, as long as you list them for auction or as a fixed-price offer and, if you have several items to sell, they will all need to be listed within the same category (electronics, for example). Head to this eBay page for more information on the promotion.

No-fuss pickup and delivery with Sendle

As an alternative to Australia Post or expensive courier options, eBay now offers Sendle as a direct, on-site shipping option, providing quick access to contactless door-to-door collection and delivery at no extra cost – a more convenient and safe option compared to queuing up at your local post office.

With direct eBay integration, shipping items with Sendle is easy; once you’ve signed up for an account with the shipper, you can print address labels straight from the eBay Seller Hub. By choosing to ship via Sendle, you’ll also be able to book a free courier pick-up at a convenient time, or alternatively you can drop off the parcel at any of over 600 collection points spread across the country.

Shipping costs are affordable as well, with rates starting as low as AU$6 for same-city deliveries, while national shipping rates begin at just AU$7. Moreover, Sendle includes transit insurance by default, so your package is automatically covered up to the value of AU$300 at no extra cost. And because all Sendle parcels are hand delivered by courier, you’ll be able to track the delivery of your parcel from door to door, with shipping information uploaded automatically to your Sendle account.

Sendle is also a carbon neutral company, offsetting its carbon footprint by investing in projects that reduce emissions. So you can send off your items knowing you’re doing your bit for the environment, without needing to wait in line or spend a lot of money on shipping.

Find out more about shipping with Sendle at eBay’s Seller Centre.

If you’ve got clutter lying around at home, now’s the perfect time to clear out some space and score some extra pocket money at the same time. So head to eBay and start selling today!

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Here, we are comparing the Realme Narzo 10 price and specifications with those of the Redmi Note 9 Pro to help you decide your best pick.

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Realme Narzo 10 vs Realme Narzo 10A price, specifications, availability compared.

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Video conferencing emerged as the solution to guarantee some semblance of business continuity during the global lockdown and Zoom grabbed the maximum eyeballs as the go-to platform. Small wonder that it was the most downloaded app on Play Store and App Store during April. 

The company also faced challenges related to security and privacy as they were found to be sending user data to third parties and overstating end-to-end encryption claims. Rising incidents of "Zoombombing" by uninvited guests were also a major downer. 

Despite these issues and its ban by some large enterprises in the United States, Zoom appears to be the chosen one in India. And the company knows how important this can be due to the sheer number of customers that it can garner. 

Why India matters

Take the case of Facebook which boasts of the second largest customer base in India after its home territory. The same holds true for WhatsApp, which got the tag of the biggest instant messaging platform in the world thanks to its Indian audience. Even a recent entrant like TikTok is relying heavily on its Indian customers to give Facebook a challenge. 

According to a report by Sensor Tower, Zoom became the most downloaded non-game application globally and India contributed 18.3% of its overall growth. And this happened despite the federal government calling out Zoom as being unsafe and issuing an advisory asking employees to refrain from using it. 

So, what's driving this growth?

For starters, the lockdown has resulted in enterprises, large and small, preferring Zoom as it requires no email or phone number to access. That Google Duo brought in a change to suit this requirement shows how effective Zoom became for first time users that also include online learning for students. 

In fact, many of the new users aren't aware that Zoom has existed in India much before it went viral. The company operates a data center each in Hyderabad and Mumbai besides a full-fledged office in the western metropolis. These two data centers are part of the 17 that the company operates across the world. 

The company also had partnerships with Tata Communications and mobile operator Airtel in place. The former was created for managing the data center in Mumbai while the latter was used to enhance adoption of Zoom as a default video conferencing app for subscribers of Airtel. 

The Indian connection

The India operations head Sameer Raje had waxed eloquent about how Zoom always wanted to grow as an Indian company. He spoke to wire agency IANS about the company's plans to grow its employee base in the country and revealed that they were working with the federal and some state governments as well. 

He said the immediate focus was to ensure that more and more people and businesses could stay connected and included the likes of hospitals, schools, financial institutions and even state-level administrative machinery as some of the customers who were using Zoom to keep business continuity going. 

And what would be the future once the lockdown ends? The company is averse to speculating about it at this juncture but has in the recent past announced the availability of Zoom 5.0 that adds support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption to guard meeting data and prevent tampering of calls. The company has even put up a detailed White Paper on the encryption efforts on its website. 

Post-lockdown scenario

However, Abe Smith, head of International at Zoom Video Communications believes that video conferencing is here to stay even in the post lockdown world. While schools may go back to physical classrooms, enterprises may rethink the possibility of more remote workforce. 

He was quoted in a report published in the Hindustan Times as saying that while the trends would be hard to tell, Zoom would make sure that it serves the requirements of customers and continuously enhance user experience and security. 

Take a cue, Zoom's Indian head Sameer Raje has even now listed out four simple steps to make calls secure on the video chat platform. 

Tips to stay safe on Zoom

• Do not share your personal meeting IDs; and use only random system generated IDs for all meetings
• Create strong passwords and use a different one for each meeting. And frequently change passwords and do not have company names as password
• Be more conscious of social media and the information you share. Never put meeting ID or passwords on social media
• Use waiting rooms to block unwanted participants. The waiting room will be default with the Zoom 5.0 update

A report in the Indian Express quoted Raje as saying that Zoom had reached out to many schools to educate safety in the virtual world. "We are having online recorded training sessions and sharing these with school authorities and students," he said. 

Small wonder that Zoom continues to remain the number one video conferencing app in India. This despite the fact that the federal government had agreed to fund start-ups that can develop an indigenous equivalent to the popular app. And there is also a local product that came briefly into the limelight. 

• Zoom rival to be ‘Made in India, for India
• What is Say Namaste? Is it safer than Zoom for video calls
• Indian government latest to ban Zoom

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Prime Day may have arrived late to Aussie shores but it was a great time for it to kick off in 2018. It launched in Australia just when Amazon started to increase the duration of the major sale event from a mere 24 hours to much, much longer. And that meant, in 2019, we got a shopping spree that lasted a whopping 65 hours – starting on schedule at midnight on July 15 and ending only when it did on the US West Coast.

Across the almost-three days of Prime Day last year, over 340,000 Aussies visited Amazon per day, with 40,000 of them making purchases. If that’s the kind of traffic Amazon can handle, we won’t be surprised if the e-commerce giant ups the ante in 2020.

However, there are some doubts about Amazon Prime Day 2020. While we're not expecting the event to be cancelled outright, a Reuters report suggests the avalanche of deals will likely arrive in August. This is good news for both consumers eager to see big sales and manufacturers that need to start making money again.

Having the Prime Day date in early August could allow extra time for economies to recover and buying habits to return to normal, yet not ride into Black Friday 2020 deals territory, another invented online shopping period that Amazon heavily relies on.

When will Amazon Prime Day happen? What Prime Day sales are expected in 2020? How can you get the best discounts in August (you'll have to subscribe to Prime, but you may not have to pay for it with our advice below)?

We're here to help answer those questions while official details are still in the offing.

• Read more: Is Amazon Prime worth it in Australia: Amazon’s subscription service explained

Leading the raft of deals during Prime Day 2020 will be Amazon’s own products, including all the Echo and Kindle products, not to mention Ring security devices. Amazon is also one of the most convenient places to score a discount on the Oculus VR headsets and, now, lay your hands on official stock of Samsung devices, Xiaomi phones and Instant Pots.

• For free, fast delivery and a host of other benefits, sign up for Amazon Prime now

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day began in the US in 2015 as a celebration of the company’s 20th anniversary, with more deals on offer than Black Friday back then. Today, Prime Day is Amazon’s mid-year sales event where members of Amazon Prime get exclusive discounts on a wide range of items. While it began as a one-day sale, 2018 saw the offers last for 36 hours, while 2019 saw a recording-breaking 65-hour event for shoppers in Australia.

Why does Amazon have Prime Day? It's presented as a neat ‘thank you’ to its paying members, but one that involves giving Amazon more money and shifting a lot of stock at the same time.

Prime Day isn’t just about selling Amazon-branded products – many other brands and third-party sellers also save their best deals for Prime Day, completely aware that thousands of extra shoppers will be hitting the online store.

To make the most of Prime Day you’ll need to get yourself an Amazon Prime membership which, in Australia, will set you back just AU$6.99 a month or AU$59 a year – half the cost of the US subscription. While you’re paying for the privilege of free, swift delivery (although that’s currently being slowed down to make space for the essential items people are ordering), signing up for Prime means you’ll also have free access to Amazon’s streaming services, including Prime Video, Prime Music and Twitch. Members also get free access to Prime Reading and Prime Photos for all their ebook and storage needs.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2020?

Amazon hasn’t confirmed the date for this year’s big sale event, but Prime Day has never been pushed beyond July before. That said, the current coronavirus pandemic has made things a little uncertain. Amazon is already struggling to cope with online shopping demands in most markets, Australia included, so scheduling Prime Day as per tradition in July again may be difficult. 

The official Amazon Prime Day date is reportedly in August, although no one knows the specific date or, more likely, dates. Well, maybe Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos knows.

Last year's Prime Day deals lasted 65 hours for shoppers Down Under, and we expect something similar in 2020. Amazon has historically picked a Monday to start the deals and Prime Day usually runs through Tuesday (with a possible extension corresponding to the time the big sale ends over on the US West Coast).

If August is indeed the month, that leaves one of four (or five) choices for the start of it: August 3, August 10, August 17, or August 24. The fifth choice? That's August 31, which is also a Monday, but Prime Day would then extend the sales into September.

We would have initially thought it would have happened on July 13, or possibly the week before on July 6 but, as it stands we're fully expecting things to slip later in the month or not at all.

As soon as we catch wind of the Prime Day 2020 date, we'll be sure to update this page so you can prepare your Amazon wish list.

How long will Prime Day 2020 last?

Well, it's hard to say with any degree of certainty, and in light of the recent rumours of Prime Day 2020 moving back in the year it could be even longer than expected. Prime Day a few years ago was only that, a day, but in 2018 it moved to 36 hours, and last year was a whopping 65 hours of deals for Aussies.

We're fully expecting Amazon to move to a Prime Week any year now, and with a rumoured AU$100 million worth of devices that will need to be shifted thanks to the delay, it could well be this year. That said, we can't see Amazon reducing the amount of time Prime Day lasts for, so expect Prime Day 2020 to last at least 65 hours this year, if not longer.

Are Prime Day deals competitive?

Amazon has a plethora of offers on its site each day and those are usually some of the best prices you can find on consumer tech. Whether you’re after a Samsung Note 10 or a Philips Hue smart lighting system, chances are you’ll get them cheaper on Amazon than any other Aussie retailer. It’s even more the case with Prime Day deals. 

You can easily score about 35% off on Amazon’s own devices during Prime Day which, for the rest of the year probably don’t drop more than 28% or thereabouts. If you’ve managed to score a $500 discount on Samsung or Huawei devices during one of Amazon’s regular deals, then it’s highly likely that the discount will be much deeper come Prime Day. It’s the perfect time to snag a Nintendo Switch or find the lowest prices on the best premium headphones – cheaper than any other retailer who will likely be scrambling to price-match.

What were people searching for on Amazon Prime Day 2019?

According to analytics experts Hitwise, Amazon saw an increase in traffic across all major categories on the Australian site, with the Electronics & Computing showing a 359% growth in reach between 2018 and 2019, with Amazon-branded items being the most popular products on the site, followed closely by the Nintendo Switch. There were nearly 100,000 page views for all NIntendo-branded items, including consoles and games. 

With Samsung now having partnered with Amazon to sell its products on the e-commerce platform in Australia, it was no surprise that the South Korean brand clocked up over 95,000 pageviews during Prime Day 2019.

The other big winners in Australia included Sony, Sandisk, Corsair and Philips.

What to expect from Prime Day 2020

We’re not expecting shopping trends during Amazon Prime Day 2020 to change very much. The Nintendo Switch is still going to disappear within minutes of being discounted, and this could happen to the Switch Lite too if you aren’t quick enough.

Of course, Amazon’s Echo devices will likely be flying off the shelves like before, and we’ll still see the Paperwhite beating out the other Kindles in terms of sales. You can even expect to pocket some decent savings on Ring’s range of security devices, including the Doorbells and the cameras.

Premium headphones have been very popular on Amazon over the last couple of years and 2020 will likely see that continue, particularly for Sony and Bose headphones. With the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 one of the more expensive ANC cans on the market, Prime Day will be a great time to get a set for less.

With more TVs available on Amazon Australia now, we think Prime Day 2020 would be an ideal time to upgrade your home entertainment system, especially if you’re in the market for a good 4K smart telly.

It will also be a good time to get yourself a new fitness wearable, be it from Garmin’s very premium GPS sports watch range or more affordable options from Fitbit. Likewise, cameras and drones will see a price drop, too, so keep that credit card handy.

How to shop on Prime Day in 2020

1. Check out our deals predictions and, eventually our Prime Day deals list

There are also too many deals available on Prime Day. It's never a problem finding discounts, it's always an issue of figuring out what deals are worth your money. That's why we always set up a curated list during the sales marathon. 

We spent some good time last Black Friday thinking about smart ways to shop on Amazon – they're still some great Prime Day tips and tricks.

2. Amazon Prime Day has historically required being a Prime member, so be sure to have a subscription on Prime Day

Amazon started Prime Day as a clever way to drive up its Prime subscription count, and this online shopping marathon – conveniently opposite Black Friday – accomplished just that. 

You'll need to sign up for Prime (you can get a free 30-day trial), which comes with free shipping and Prime Video access, among other smaller perks.

3. Create a wish list to curate what you want, as there will be loads of deals

You're also going to want to create a wish list ahead of time, which will let you sort out what you want and how much everything costs. This will give you a head start. You'll be able to see which deals dropped in price and which did not. 

4. Snap up the best Prime Day 2020 deals before they're gone

We often find the best deals to go in a matter of minutes, at which time Amazon rolls out a waitlist for those who were just behind the curve.

Prime Day: why does it matter more to Amazon?

There are some crucial differences between Prime Day and Black Friday. The first is that Prime Day is Amazon’s own day. It’s right there in the name which, of course, refers to Amazon’s Prime membership program and associated services. Amazon doesn’t own Black Friday, and that means ultimately it’s just another retailer shouting for attention – a massive retailer with a really loud voice. Black Friday is a sales event for the entire retail sector. With Prime Day as its own take on November sale period, it makes it much harder for rivals to muscle in on something that Amazon has effectively created from thin air.

The second and more important difference is that Black Friday doesn’t create new spending. It just moves it slightly. As we’ve discovered in recent years, the money people spend over the Black Friday period is money they were probably going to spend anyway: all Black Friday really does is concentrates pre-Christmas shopping in the last week of November. 

Prime Day spending is different in two ways. First of all, people aren’t spending the money they’d already planned to spend on Christmas presents. And secondly, they’re buying mainly for themselves, not for others.

There’s another key benefit for Amazon. Its global bestsellers on Prime Day weren’t just Amazon devices; they were Amazon devices that connect to Amazon services. Fire TVs, Kindle Fires, Echo devices, Alexa remotes. Each one of them connecting to Amazon Prime, and each one of them requiring a Prime membership to buy in the first place. So when Black Friday rolls around, Amazon will have a whole bunch of Prime members for whom shopping on Prime is the default, and who might want to enhance their Amazon-powered smart homes with Amazon-branded Black Friday deals.

Prime Day means that, for Amazon, Christmas now comes twice a year.

• You don't need to wait for Prime Day to score a great bargain on Amazon. We handpick some of the best tech deals on Amazon and regularly list them right here.

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Track your stimulus check delivery status: How to use the IRS' Get My Payment tool - CNET

You can see the schedule for your coronavirus stimulus payment online with the IRS tracker portal.

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Realme Narzo 10 vs Realme 6 price, specifications, availability compared.

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Where's my mailed stimulus check? Here's how to track through the USPS - CNET

if the IRS is sending your payment in the mail, the US Postal Service can notify you when your check will arrive.

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Last week, Microsoft launched its new 2-in-1 laptop: the Surface Go 2. However, we've found what we believe is a much better deal, especially if you're also after a keyboard and active stylus pen to improve your productivity. 

The cheapest Surface Go 2 model costs $399.99 (£399.99/AU$629) and comes with an Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y processor, 64GB eMMC, 4GB RAM and a 10.5-inch full HD+ display. All in all, not much of an improvement over the first Surface Go.

Swap in the Core M3 model with a Surface Go Type Cover and a Surface Pen and see the price balloon to more than double.

• Here's our list of the best business tablets on the market
• Check out our list of the best business laptops available
• We've built a list of the best rugged laptops of 2020

Compare that to the Chuwi UBook Pro; for a little more dough ($429.99/£352.17/AU$670.79) you get the tablet, keyboard and a functional active stylus pen.

The UBook Pro's other key specs are also far superior to the Surface Go 2's components. It boasts a quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 - which should prove far more powerful than the dual-core 4425Y CPU (but about 10% slower than the Core M3) - twice the system memory and a far beefier and speedier 256GB SSD.

The Chuwi device also features a greater range of ports (an HDMI, two USB 3.0s and a Type-C), Windows 10 Home and the keyboard is backlit to boot.

The only disappointments are the underwhelming cameras and the poor battery life, but compromises had to be made somewhere.

• Here's our choice of the best rugged tablets around

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