Valve explains why it isn’t subsidizing the Steam Machine

Valve finally announced the price of the Steam Machine, and like a lot of new gadgets these days, it's not cheap: It starts at $1,049 for a 512GB model, and a 2TB model costs $300 more. Configurations with a bundled Steam Controller cost an extra $79 each. Despite Valve offering a console alternative with the […]

Valve prices the Steam Machine at $1,049

After months of waiting, Valve has finally announced that the Steam Machine, its new living room-friendly PC, will start at $1,049 and go on sale beginning June 29th. You can now register your interest to buy a Steam Machine as part of a reservation system. To offer a fair playing field for people who want […]

The Steam Machine is the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played

My first day with the Steam Machine was a mess. Instead of enjoying a worry-free game console, I spent hours troubleshooting what felt like a finicky PC. That's because the Steam Machine is a PC, with a very important twist. Since the Magnavox Odyssey came out in 1972, game consoles have been built with the […]

RingConn’s Lord of the Rings promotion assumes smart ring wearers want to be like Gollum

Smart ring maker RingConn's marketing copy says Lord of the Rings' "enduring narrative highlights a simple but powerful idea: that meaningful transformation often begins with the choices we make each day. RingConn embraces a similar philosophy, believing that lasting change begins with everyday awareness and small, intentional decisions." Of course, the "intentional decisions" Frodo makes […]

AMD releases FSR 4.1 upscaling for older graphics cards

AMD is officially launching FSR Upscaling 4.1 for Radeon RX 7000-series GPUs today. The update means that computers with those older graphics cards, which use the RDNA 3 graphics architecture, will be able to see improvements like better image quality and smoother gameplay in their games. AMD had promised in May that it would be […]

Apple’s latest AirTags are cheaper than ever for Prime Day

Prime Day has brought a number of Apple deals, but one of the most useful if you’re planning to travel over the July 4th weekend or later this summer is on the new AirTags. The four-pack has dropped to a new low of $90 ($9 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, bringing the price of […]

WhatsApp head Will Cathcart is stepping down after seven years

Will Cathcart, who led WhatsApp for the past seven years, is stepping down from his role as Meta appoints a new leader. On Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook that Kunal Shah, the founder of an Indian fintech startup called Cred, is taking over as the head of WhatsApp. Cred is an app […]

Patreon CEO Jack Conte on supporting artists in the AI slop era

Today, I’m talking with Jack Conte, the CEO of Patreon. Jack last joined me on the show almost exactly five years ago, in the summer of 2021, and a lot has changed on the internet and in the creator landscape since then, so I was very excited to talk to him again, especially since his […]

Apple’s AirPods Max 2 are $150 off for the first time

Walmart has the Apple AirPods Max 2 in every color discounted to $399.99 (normally $549) during Walmart Deals, the lowest price we’ve seen yet by a long shot. Amazon currently has the starlight color selling at this price. In our review, we praised Apple’s latest over-ear headset for its excellent sound quality, impressive noise cancellation, […]

Wyze’s new smart scale can break down your body composition for less than $80

Seven months after introducing its $119.98 Ultra BodyScan smart scale, Wyze announced a cheaper $79.98 alternative available today that makes a few compromises to shave $40 off the price. There's no Wi-Fi, but you can sync the BodyScan's measurements to Apple Health and Google Fit by connecting to the Wyze mobile app over Bluetooth. And […]