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What to do when everything on their holiday wish list is digital
The following scenario will play out thousands of times this holiday season, and if you're buying a lot of presents for friends and family, it'll likely affect your life personally. You: What do you want for the holidays? Them: The new Akali skin for League of Legends! You: I can get you some Riot Points, but I can't wrap them. Anything else? Them: The Staccato Shotto for Fortnite! You: Same problem. Them: How about Luigi's Mansion 3? Here, just download it on my Switch. You: Ugh. With the advent of living, online worlds and digital-first storefronts, plenty of gamers' wish lists include intangible items like cosmetic upgrades, fresh weapons, extra characters and new games. Gift cards make it easy to hand out in-game currency for most major titles, and download codes mean you don't even have to put on pants to pick out a present. However, white elephant gift exchanges are pretty boring when everyone passes around nondescript envelopes. Even in the modern online age, there's something deeply unsatisfying about giving someone a fully digital present. Luckily, there's a way to give your friends and family all the in-game goodies they want and also provide something to unwrap, all without buying extra presents. It's craft time, baby.
How to buy a gaming headset
Today's games boast stirring orchestral scores, realistic-sounding weaponry and high-caliber voice acting. But none of it means anything if your headset is crap. Same goes for well-laid plans in co-op games: You draw up the best tactics with your teammates, but if they can't hear you because of a bad mic, it all goes to waste. So the headset you buy is key to getting the most out of your game. But with so many companies getting into the market, how do you find the one that best suits your cranium?
How to pay for things securely
We are essentially a cashless society. With the rise of debit cards in the late 1980s early '90s, fewer and fewer of us use paper money to pay for things. Throw in online shopping and single-retailer payment apps like the one from Starbucks, and ATMs seem almost quaint.
How to make your smart home more secure
Making your house "smart" is an exciting process but you also want to make sure you're keeping your home (and everything and everyone in it) protected. We talked to a security expert about the best ways to keep your smart home secure.
A student's guide to keeping track of your finances
For many students, their first year at college is the first time they'll be entirely responsible for their personal finances. Such independence can be stressful, but it doesn't need to be as long as you're savvy, organized and disciplined. And there are plenty of apps and services that can help you stick to a budget when you're worried about cash.
How to stream college sports without losing your mind
Thanks to all the services that let you stream live TV, it's easy to watch sports without a commitment to cable. The channel lineups vary, and some are more limited than others. What's more, the television rights for college sports, especially football, are tied to the conference, so you'll need to find out which channels have the deal covering your favorite schools. From there, it's a matter of making sure the service you choose has all the channels you need so you don't miss a game. Lucky for you, we can help.
How to shoot your next adventure like a pro
In the Instagram and YouTube age, your outdoor adventures basically didn't happen unless there are good images and videos to share. At least that's how it feels sometimes. So why is it that your photos and carefully curated montage clips don't visually pop quite as much as those of your favorite action sports athlete? It could be the gear you're using, the lighting or maybe your settings. Either way, it's probably more than something a filter can fix (even my beloved Clarendon). To help you up your game, we spoke to several experts. From pro skateboarders to wingsuit fliers and YouTube creators to make sure you have all the tools you need. We hope that next time, you absolutely get the shot. (If you want to add Clarendon after the fact, that's up to you). Before we get to the experts, though, there are a few basics to consider. When it comes to action shots, there's one name that's pretty hard to avoid: GoPro. Its Hero line of cameras has become synonymous with outdoor activities, thanks to the rugged design and extensive range of accessories. At the time of writing, the Hero 7 Black is the flagship, and that's the camera we're recommending. We love the built-in stabilization, and the waterproof design has stood the test of time. For aerial video and photos, we're recommending the superlative Mavic 2 Pro.
How to buy a gaming keyboard
When you build a gaming rig, you're going to find yourself talking a lot about numbers. Higher and bigger are generally better, especially when it comes to stuff like processor speed, amount of RAM and the size of your hard drive. But when it comes to finding the perfect keyboard, you'll be confronted with a whole new set of metrics, along with shapes and colors that won't initially make much sense. What the hell is a dome switch? And why are we talking about green cherries?
How to pick the best laptop
We'll help you identify what you can get for your money and what you can live without.
When does it make sense to cut the cord?
What do you do when your cable box is more useful for telling the time than delivering movies and TV? A decade-plus after Netflix added streaming video the internet is ready to take over for cable and satellite, offering more options and lower rates. Now that you're ready to pull the plug, there's a lot to consider, like who has what, what works where and how much everything costs.
The best ways to stream live sports
If you're a sports fan, there's nothing quite like kicking back on the couch, cracking open a cold one and watching your favorite team rise triumphant over the other guys. For the longest time, it was thought that the only way to have such an experience was via a TV coupled with a cable or satellite subscription. That's because, for the most part, sports are best enjoyed live, and watching live TV hasn't always been the province of cord cutters. Things have changed in the past few years, however. Not only can you now stream most live sports on your computer or your smartphone, but you don't even need a cable or satellite provider to do so, which can potentially save you plenty of money. Yet the process is less easy than you'd think -- it depends a lot on what sport you're into and which teams you support -- and there are occasionally local blackouts to contend with as well. But with the cord-cutting movement gaining momentum recently, it's now a lot easier to watch live sports online than it's ever been, as long as you know what to look for. For the purposes of this guide, we decided to focus on the five major sports that are most often watched live -- American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and domestic and international soccer -- though we also offer information about other sports like tennis and golf where relevant.
How to pick a smartphone in 2018
You dropped it one too many times. Its battery life has gotten terrible. You just need a change. Whatever the reason, you're reading this because you've decided it's time to buy a new smartphone. Thankfully, there's never been a better time to be in the market for something new: Smartphones are more powerful than ever, and getting a truly great device doesn't require shelling out an obscene amount of money. (That said, if you're reading Engadget, there's a pretty good chance you were going to do just that.) Finding the right balance of features and price can be trickier than it needs to be, so we've put together a guide to help make this big decision a little easier.
A cheat sheet for the new Galaxy Note 9 S Pen
In its quest to lure more users to the flagship Note 9 phones, Samsung imbued its S Pen with many new powers. Now in addition to letting you scribble on the screen, the stylus serves as a remote trigger for the Note's camera, letting you launch the app, switch lenses and snap pictures from a distance. However, the new S Pen is not only a camera remote control but also a presentation clicker, a track skipper, a pointer and, at its heart, a very good stylus. Thanks to Samsung's helpful on-screen tips when S Pen remote controls are available, you don't have to dig deep to learn how to use them. But there are a few controls you might not even know exist without a trip to the settings menu. For those who want to get the most out of their S Pen, here's a quick guide.
How to better secure your smart home
With the advent of gadgets like doorbell cameras, smart kitchen appliances and data-logging sensors that track your sleep, the smart home now extends to even the most intimate areas of the household. It's great for general convenience, like knowing whether you left the heater on or locked the door behind you, but these connected devices also bring with them a host of security concerns.
The rise, fall and return of the smartphone megapixel race
Sony recently unveiled a smartphone camera sensor with the highest resolution yet, a jaw-dropping 48 megapixels. That's more than the resolution of its $3,000, 42.4-megapixel A7R III mirrorless camera, which has a sensor eight times larger. It sounds great, but you might have forgotten that Nokia's 808 PureView smartphone, with a 41-megapixel camera, was released way, way back in 2012. Why didn't modern smartphone cameras follow Nokia's lead? As Apple has demonstrated over the years, from the iPhone 4s and forward, you get more benefits with other features, like dual cameras and sensors with bigger, more light-sensitive pixels. Those deliver better low-light shooting, more bokeh, faster speeds, zoom capabilities and improved video. However, Sony now believes you can have all that and high resolutions, too. Its Quad Bayer tech, reportedly used in Huawei's P20 Pro camera, might help big-number megapixels make a comeback -- and this time, they'll be far more useful.
How to delete old tweets so you don't get fired
This past Friday, Disney shocked fans of the Marvel Comic Universe with a stunning announcement that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn had been fired from the project after decade-old offensive tweets of his had been uncovered. Regardless of the controversy surrounding how the tweets were unearthed (by right-wing troll Mike Cernovich) or whether Disney's drastic response was warranted, the fact remains that this entire episode could have been avoided with some basic, and often free, social-media housekeeping. It's called "deleting your old tweets so you don't lose your job once you get famous" and it's really easy to do.
What you need to know before going with a smaller wireless carrier
Let's face it: picking a carrier worth pledging your smartphone allegiance to can be a hassle, and plans offered by massive companies aren't right for everyone. These days, you can get cheap, reliable and surprisingly feature-rich wireless service without worrying about a bill from Verizon or AT&T every 30 days. You'll just have to start looking more closely at MVNOs, short for mobile virtual network operators.
How to actually get work done on an iPad
Apple is touting its updated iPad as an education-focused device, once again pushing the idea that the iPad can replace a laptop (or Chromebook, in the case of classrooms). That's unlikely, but with the right tools, it can be a workable substitute in a pinch. It takes more than a few classroom apps and Apple Pencil support to make this iPad a real work tool, though. Mobile apps are still often lacking in efficiency, Apple's Smart Keyboard is mediocre and reaching up to touch the screen is far less comfortable and efficient than using a mouse. However, with a few tips and accessories, you can get around these annoyances, at least for short bursts of on-the-go productivity. It may not be a true laptop replacement, but I've found that the iPad works great as a "just in case" device. Just make sure you keep a few things in mind.
Do you need a smart home hub?
When life gets chaotic, it can be convenient to have all your smart home devices operating on the same wavelength. Achieving this sort of harmony sometimes requires a hub to consolidate the myriad gadgets in your house. But not everyone needs a dedicated smart hub to make their setup run smoothly. A smart speaker like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home can serve a similar purpose, with each device's respective apps acting as central command. Manufacturers have even begun bundling hubs into other devices like security systems and mesh WiFi routers, making home automation simpler for beginners.
The best tablets for kitchen use
Tablets may not be for everyone, but they're uncannily well suited to the kitchen. They can guide you through recipes or play Netflix shows without taking up as much countertop space as a laptop. And unlike the Echo Show and other screen-equipped smart speakers, you can move them anywhere you like while you prepare your meal. But how do you go shopping for a tablet with kitchen use in mind? It can be tricky, since some of the usual shopping advice goes out the window. Here's what you'll want to consider if you're buying a tablet as a cooking companion.
