 The Senate has passed a bill reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial program that allows warrantless spying on foreign “targets,” but a long, knock-down, drag-out fight over amendments kept the Senate in session past midnight on Friday, when the surveillance program officially expired. To be clear, the spying wasn’t actually going to stop. As Sen. Mike Lee (R-OH) pointed out on the Senate floor on Friday afternoon, the FISA court recently granted a government request to allow the program to continue until April 2025. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) claimed that the FISA court’s extension of Section 702 certification “doesn’t mean the program can continue uninterrupted for another year.” “... | ↑ |
 It’s not often we see an excellent portable gaming PC like the Steam Deck on sale for nearly half off, but today’s your lucky day. So long as you don’t mind buying it in certified refurbished condition, you can save hundreds when you purchase it directly (with a one-year warranty included) from Valve right now. The refurbished Steam Deck starts at $279 for the base model with 64GB of storage, which is about $120 cheaper than buying it in new condition. And if you need more storage, the 256GB and 512GB models are both on sale, too, for $319 and $359, respectively. Given they both start at $529 and $649 in new condition, that’s almost like getting them for up to half off. What’s great, too, is that Value says it’s thoroughly tested each... | ↑ |
 If you’re the kind of Mario Kart 8 player who cares about winning and not just playing their favorite characters (Daisy and Peach supremacy), choosing the best combination of driver, vehicle, and wheels gets tricky. Luckily, thanks to data science and 19th-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, there’s a way to figure that out. Data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz applies one of Pareto’s principles, the Pareto front, to plot the best combination among the 703,560 possible decisions players must make in Mario Kart. Eurogamer helpfully explains that a Pareto front finds the best possible solution to a problem with different objectives. In a cool piece of data visualization you should definitely check out, Mayerowitz narrows down the... | ↑ |
 The Kia EV2, the automaker’s small, affordable electric crossover, has been spotted on the street in camouflage. It’s the first time the model has been seen in the wild, although the EV2 is not currently confirmed for the US. The timing of the sighting is particularly significant given recent news that Tesla may have canned its plans for a $25,000 mass-market “Model 2” vehicle. Elon Musk reportedly mothballed the affordable EV in favor of going all in on the company’s plans for a fully autonomous robotaxi. No official price has been set for the Kia EV2, but Electrek says it could be 20 million won, or about $15,000. Other reports have it under $30,000 — which would be considerably more affordable than the current average retail price... | ↑ |
 Target is scaling back the presence of physical media in its stores. A spokesperson for Target tells IGN that the company is “transitioning the limited assortment of DVDs” it sells in stores to its website. “Moving forward, we’ll offer select DVDs in stores when they are newly released or during key times throughout the year when they are more popular, like for gift giving during the holidays,” Target says. That will make Target’s physical DVD section even smaller and only available during specific times. You’ll still be able to buy “thousands” of DVDs on Target’s website, but I have to wonder how broad its selection will be. Reports about Target backing away from DVDs first emerged on Wednesday, when the X account @PhysicalMedia posted... | ↑ |
 Four nights of unique set lists and long jams presented a much different production challenge than U2’s 40-show residency. | ↑ |
 Imagine the most perfect barbecue — a prolific spread of smoked meats, all the right sides, every pie, type of cookie or cake, and even your grandmother’s famous dinner rolls. But there’s a catch: most of the food is kept behind glass to be unlocked at a later date, and you are starving. That’s what it’s like playing the Hades 2 technical test. Spoilers for the Hades 2 technical test. Hades 2, like its predecessor, is a roguelike. You play as Melinoe, the long-lost daughter of Hades and sister of Zagreus, the first game’s protagonist. Unlike her brother, Melinoe isn’t trying to break out of hell. Instead, she’s trying to break into it as Chronos, Titan of Time, has taken over, kidnapping Melinoe’s mother, brother, and father. Reaching... | ↑ |
Which is the best bet to bedazzle your backyard? | ↑ |
 Apple could soon let developers in the European Union use its tap-to-pay technology. A report from Reuters reveals that EU regulators could sign off on Apple’s proposal to open the payment system next month, putting a two-year-long legal battle to rest. In 2022, the European Commission accused Apple of abusing “its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets.” It claimed Apple prevented third-party payment apps from using the iPhone’s NFC (near-field communication) hardware “to the benefit of its own solution,” Apple Pay. The European Commission announced earlier this year that Apple committed to allowing third-party payment providers to freely use the iPhone’s NFC capabilities. Apple’s proposal would also give developers access to... | ↑ |
 Almost any TV you can buy these days supports streaming in some form or fashion, but what if you don’t like its user interface or it doesn’t have all of the apps you need? That’s where a streaming device like the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) comes in. We usually recommend jumping for the 4K version if you have the budget for it, but the HD model is only $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store. It’s a great opportunity to see whether a Chromecast is a better fit for you than Amazon or Roku’s offerings or to access your favorite streaming apps on a secondary TV in your home. Like its pricier sibling, the Google TV platform it uses offers recommendations across a variety of streaming services and provides an array of... | ↑ |
