Best Webcams From 1080p to 4K for 2022 - CNET

The low-res 720p webcam in your laptop doesn't always cut it for Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet. Here are a handful of premium webcams to come to your rescue.

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Stephen King Names the Best Miniseries He's Seen This Year - CNET

When King tweets, we listen.

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Logitech Cloud-Gaming-Only Handheld Console Ships in October for $350 - CNET

The Switch-like Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld, co-developed with Nvidia and Microsoft, launches with Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now support.

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This Weighted Clothing Is Like a Weighted Blanket You Can Wear All Day Long - CNET

Pyvot's weighted clothes deliver a calming effect, and they're easier on the eyes than you'd think.

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Windows 11 Update 2022: How to Download the New Upgrade - CNET

Ready to download the new Windows 11 update? We'll walk you through it.

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Go On, Treat Yourself to a Certified Preowned Bugatti - CNET

Can't afford a brand-new multimillion-dollar hypercar? Here's the next best thing.

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PS5 Restock Tracker: Where to Finally Score a Console in September - CNET

If you missed the big PS5 restock this week, you've still got options.

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iOS 16 Cheat Sheet: Your Complete Guide to the iPhone Update - CNET

Have iOS 16 questions? CNET has answers, from compatibility to best features.

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iPhone 14 Cheat Sheet: Your Complete Guide to the Latest iPhone - CNET

Apple's iPhone 14 is out. Here's what's new, how to use the new features and whether you should get an iPhone 14 or not.

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Latest Tech News

The helpdesk platform of popular publisher 2K Games has been hacked in an attempt to spread malware among gamers, the company has confirmed. 

In a tweet, 2K Games said it recently discovered that hackers managed to “illegally access” the credentials of one of its vendors to the helpdesk platform. 

"The unauthorized party sent a communication to certain players containing a malicious link. Please do not open any emails or click on any links that you receive from the 2K Games support account," the company warned.

Setting up MFA

The attackers would first open up a fake support ticket, and soon after, reply to it. In the reply message, they’d share a file named “2K Launcher.zip”, inviting the players to run it on their endpoints. The file turned out to be RedLine Stealer, a known infostealer that’s capable of, among other things, grabbing passwords stored in the browser, stealing banking data, as well as cryptocurrency wallets. Furthermore, RedLine can grab VPN credentials, web browser history, and cookies. 

Knowing the type of malware the threat actor set out to distribute, 2K advised potential victims to reset all passwords stored in the browser, enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible (with an app, rather than via SMS), install an antivirus program, and check the email accounts for any forwarding rules.

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In the meantime, 2K took its support portal offline as it thoroughly investigates the incident. 

"We will issue a notice when you can resume interacting with official 2K help desk emails, and we will also follow-up with additional information as to how you can best protect yourself against any malicious activity," 2K said.

At the moment, it is not known who the threat actors behind the attack are, but BleepingComputer speculates it could be the same group that recently broke into Rockstar Games - Lapsus$.  

“Both companies are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive, one of the largest video game publishers across the Americas and Europe,” it said.

• These are the best firewalls right now

Via: BleepingComputer

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Latest Tech News

Adobe has announced its intentions to buy online collaboration tool Figma for $20 billion. 

The half-cash/half-stock deal, which has yet to be finalized, is a bold move from the company behind leading creative apps Photoshop and Premiere Pro - and will be Adobe’s largest acquisition yet. 

But the shock announcement saw the firm’s stock tumble, with investors seemingly punishing the firm for the high price tag.

Adobe vs Figma

It appears the sheer size of the deal led to investors downgrading Adobe’s stock to its lowest level in almost three years, MarketWatch reported.

The Figma deal isn’t the only problem Adobe currently faces. Despite achieving a record $4.43 billion revenue in its 2022 Q3 financial results, investors were disappointed with the company’s muted outlook for the next quarter. 

But the company remains bullish about the acquisition. 

“Adobe’s greatness has been rooted in our ability to create new categories and deliver cutting-edge technologies through organic innovation and inorganic acquisitions. The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity,” said chairman and CEO Shantanu Narayen. 

Founded in 2012, Figma has gone on to become one of the top interface design tools in its field. Practicing what they preached, its developers made it easy to use (and, for now at least, it offers a free plan). Its cloud-powered, browser-based prototyping, built for collaborating online, proved popular with firmly digitally-minded UX professionals and students. 

Indie software developer Nathan Manousos noted that Adobe’s acquisition “shows how hard it is to turn money into software. You'd think for $20B you could build something as good as Figma yourself, but you can't. Software is art.” 

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Adobe XD was the nearest the San Jose giant could get to a Figma alternative. But many found it less accessible, limited - it only runs on Windows and Mac - and less suited team collaboration. That it suffers from Adobe’s familiar complaint, lack of regular QoL updates, didn’t help endear it to users. 

For a company of Adobe’s size, it’s far easier to just add Figma to its own stable of industry-standard video editing software and photo editors. With its collaboration-focused design, the leading design tool will fit neatly in the Creative Cloud ecosphere. 

If you can’t beat them, buy them. 

Whether that’s the right decision - for Adobe, Figma, and their users - is unclear. 

The minds behind Sketch, UXPin, and mockup software rivals may look upon the merger with envy. And, perhaps, hide a smirk at Adobe’s falling stock.

But few will publicly echo Ricardo Cabello, developer of open-source 3D design library Three.js, who reacted to the news with a Tweet that read simply: "Sell out." 

•  Hit every deadline - we’ve tested the best Adobe InDesign alternatives

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New Hinge Video Prompts Could Give You a Better Feel for Your Matches - CNET

Now your date can see you answering questions about your life.

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Latest Tech News

A new study from Firefox developer Mozilla suggests that YouTube’s video moderation tools are ineffective as the website will continue to recommend videos you aren’t interested in.

The way it’s supposed to work is that users have several tools to teach YouTube’s enigmatic algorithm what they don’t want to watch. You have options like the Dislike button, the Don’t Recommend Channel option, and the ability to remove videos from your account’s history. But according to Mozilla’s study, users still get these “bad recommendations.” At best, YouTube’s tools cut down unwanted videos by almost half. At its worst, YouTube does the opposite: it increases the number of unwanted videos you'll see.

The full 47-page study can be found on Mozilla’s website where it breaks down the researcher's methodology, how the organization obtained the data, its findings, and what it recommends YouTube should do.

Mozilla's findings

The study consisted of over 22,000 volunteers who downloaded Mozilla’s RegretsReporter browser extension which allows users to control recommendations on YouTube and create reports for the researchers. Via RegretsReporter, they analyzed well over 500 million videos. 

According to the findings, YouTube’s tools are all over the place in terms of consistency. 39.3 percent of participants didn’t see any changes to their recommendations. One user, named Participant 112 in the study, used the moderation tools to stop getting medical videos on their account only to be inundated with them a month later. 23 percent said they had a mixed experience. For that group, they stopped seeing unwanted videos for a while before having them reappear soon after. And 27.6 percent of participants did say they stopped getting the bad recommendations after using the moderation tools.

The most effective standalone tool turns out to be the Don’t Recommend Channel, which cut down recommendations by around 43 percent. The Not Interested option and Dislike button fared the worst as they only stopped 11 percent and 12 percent of unwanted videos, respectively.

Researchers also found that people would change their behavior to manage recommendations. In the study, users stated they would change YouTube settings, use a different account, or outright avoid watching certain videos lest they get more of them. Others would use VPNs and privacy extensions to help keep things clean.

At the end of the study, Mozilla researchers give their own recommendations on how YouTube should change its algorithm with most of the emphasis on increasing transparency. They want to see the controls be made easier to understand while also asking YouTube to listen to user feedback more often. Mozilla also calls for the platform to be more transparent on how its algorithm works.

YouTube's response

In response , a YouTube spokesperson made a statement to The Verge criticizing the study. The spokesperson claims the researchers didn't take into account how the “systems actually work” and misunderstood how the tools function. Apparently, the moderation tools don’t stop an entire topic, just that particular video or channel. By the researcher’s own admission, the study is “not a representative sample of YouTube’s user base,” but it does give some insight into user frustration.

That said, the YouTube algorithm and changes surrounding it have drawn considerable ire from users. Many were not happy that YouTube removed the Dislike counter from the website to the point where people have created extensions just to add it back in. Plus, there are claims that YouTube is capitalizing on controversial content to increase engagement. Presuming Mozilla's data is correct, unwanted recommendations may be a byproduct of the platform capitalizing on content people don't want in order to get more views.

If you’re interested in learning more about YouTube, be sure to check out TechRadar’s story on malware being spread through gaming videos. 

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New 'Serial' Podcast Episode Explains Adnan Syed's Release From Prison - CNET

The latest episode of Serial is an addition to 2014's first season, updating fans on what's behind the stunning turn of events in Syed's case.

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Latest Tech News

For many film fans, a Dolby Atmos soundbar will provide everything they need to experience the latest movies on TV with a level of audio realism that their set’s built-in speakers could never deliver. But what if you also want to listen to music? The best soundbars excel at movie sound, but some listeners may end up disappointed when it comes time to play music on the same ‘bar.

The reasons for this are many, but it mostly comes down to a soundbar needing to pack the speakers used to convey left, right, and center channel information – and, in some cases, surround and height channels as well – into a slim, compact, all-in-one unit. The better designs make an effort to reproduce stereo music with a high degree of clarity, but the main job for most soundbars is generally to deliver maximum impact with movie soundtracks.

Fortunately for music fans, a new wave of TV-friendly fully powered stereo speakers has been making gains of late. We’ve seen such models emerge from traditional speaker companies like KEF, Dynaudio, and SVS, and can now add Elac to that list.

While the KEF and Dynaudio offerings are pricey models with built-in Wi-Fi for wirelessly streaming lossless audio from Tidal, Apple Music, and other services, Elac’s new Debut ConneX powered speakers ($600 / £600 / AU$900) depend upon aptX Bluetooth for wireless music streaming. But Bluetooth is only part of the Debut ConneX story. Like the other models I’ve mentioned, Elac’s latest speakers feature an HDMI ARC input, which lets you link them to your TV to get much improved movie sound – though without Dolby Atmos height effects.

Coming from a regular speaker company, the Debut ConneX is designed the same as the best stereo speakers. It uses a 0.75-inch soft dome tweeter and 4.5-inch polypropylene woofer, both of which are powered by a built-in 2 x 50-watts amplifier. Rear-firing ports are used to increase low-end output, and they are aided here by an XBass proprietary bass enhancement circuit.

Not surprisingly for a speaker with ConneX in its name, there are plentiful connection options beyond HDMI ARC and aptX Bluetooth. There’s a USB PC port that supports up to 24-bit/96kHz signals along with an optical digital audio jack and a phono preamp input for a direct turntable connection. A subwoofer output is provided to hook up an external sub for extended bass, and rear-panel speaker terminals on the primary Debut ConneX (the one containing the amplifiers and input connections) is used to link it with the satellite unit via included wire.

The Debut ConneX is available now in three finish options: black, walnut, and royal blue.

The Elac Debut ConneX powered speakers feature a range of inputs options: HDMI, optical digital, USB-PC, and phono for a turntable. (Image credit: elac)

Analysis: Powered speakers with HDMI are the new soundbars

Fully loaded Dolby Atmos speaker systems powered by one of the best AV receivers provide a fast ticket to top-shelf home theater sound, but not everyone has the space for that option, or the money to pursue it. With their compact size and generally impressive handling of movie soundtracks, soundbars are a solid and affordable alternative that makes for an easy recommendation.

But as good as soundbars can sound, you really need to use one of the top-performing models to get decent results for stereo music playback. Not surprisingly, that’s an area where traditional hi-fi speakers can work magic, conveying music with clear separation between channels, uncompressed dynamics, and a sense of transparency that tricks you into believing the musicians are right there in the room with you.

For those seeking the above qualities when listening to music but also want to watch movies and TV on the same system, powered speakers with HDMI are another easy recommendation. Yes, they are not a replacement for a full Dolby Atmos home theater setup, nor are they designed to be one. But with prices starting at $600 / £600 / AU$900 for Elac’s Debut ConneX, they are a flexible and sensible option, and one that can give you the best of both music and movie worlds.

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