Category: Laptops

• Newegg is now selling refurbished computer parts and gadgets.
• The online retailer could give Apple a run for its money in pre-owned devices.
• Apple officially began selling refurbished iPhones in 2016, reports say.

There’s a new online marketplace for used Apple products.

On January 25, electronics retailer Newegg launched Newegg Refreshed — which sells refurbished tech gadgets, including a selection of Apple MacBooks, Watches, iPhones, and more.

It inspects, cleans, and tests items before they’re available for purchase, and if customers aren’t satisfied, they have 90 days to return the device.

Still, while it might give Apple a run for its money in selling the brand’s pre-owned devices, shoppers currently won’t find massive bargains compared to Apple’s own site. The tech giant has its own space for selling pre-owned tech, and prices are similar to Newegg for most devices. For example, a 2022 13.3-inch MacBook Pro costs $989 on Newegg compared to $999 for the same model on Apple’s site.

But Newegg does have listings for refurbished units of the new iPhone 15, while the iPhone 12 is the most recent model Apple had on sale as of Friday morning. The tech giant began selling used iPhones in 2016, 9to5Mac reported. Supplies vary based on availability for both sites.

For those who prefer to use tech from outside the Apple family, Newegg has added refurbished options for computer parts and gadgets as part of its Refreshed program.

And if you’re still not finding the right device on Newegg or Apple, electronics giant Best Buy also offers refurbished items at a discounted price in its outlets department.

But now, for the first time, it is going to grudgingly open up many of those elements — because of regulatory pressure.

Important to know: The changes Apple announced Thursday only apply in Europe because of a new law that goes into effect in March.

But, they are significant since Apple has spent a lot of time and effort trying to avoid making many of these changes.

Some of the big ones:

Apple will allow developers to create and distribute apps without using the company’s App Store.

Apple’s App Store now will now take a cut of up to 17%, plus another 3% fee, for payments made on apps distributed on its App Store. That’s down from a long-held maximum commission of 30%.

Developers who use a non-Apple store won’t have to give Apple any fee at all, except for apps that are downloaded more than a million times a year. Those apps — along with apps distributed through Apple’s App Store — will pay a fee of 0.50 euros for each download over a million.

Other key changes include the ability for users to set a default web browser other than Apple’s Safari browser. And for developers to use Apple’s near-field communication tech, so users can make contactless payments with their phones without using Apple’s Apple Pay and Apple Wallet system.

In its language announcing the changes, Apple makes it clear that it thinks many of these things are a bad idea.

“The new options for processing payments and downloading apps on iOS open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, illicit and harmful content, and other privacy and security threats,” the company says.

It also says it will try to help customers by offering some kind of buffer between them and outside developers. That includes a system to “notarize” all apps, regardless of whether they come from Apple’s store or somewhere else, “focused on platform integrity and protecting users.”

And how this actually rolls out is still to be determined. In part, that’s because Apple is still appealing one piece of the new rules’ implementation. And in part because of choices both consumers and developers will need to make.

For instance: Users who do want to buy something via a store other than Apple’s App Store will encounter this screen, making it very clear that if they hand over their credit card info to someone other than Apple, then Apple won’t be able to help them if something bad happens.

If you’ve used an iPhone app in the last few years, you’ve seen a similar screen that told you the app’s developer would like to track your movement around the web. That screen requires you to actively say you want to do that.

Not surprisingly, most people have not opted into that for most apps. And that change has roiled the entire digital advertising industry, including Apple rival Meta. Faced with a warning like that, it may not be surprising to learn that many iPhone users end up sticking around with Apple’s system instead of going with an outside developer’s store.

And developers with very popular apps will have to figure out what Apple’s new fee system means for them

Will any of this come to the US or anywhere outside Europe? No, Apple says, because “this is not the safest system for our users.” Translation: If you want us to do this anywhere else, you’ll need a new law.

That could come in the future. In the meantime, Thursday’s news is a milestone for Apple and regulators: Proof that if pushed hard enough, one of the world’s most powerful companies can change things it said it never wanted to change.

• The Houthis on Wednesday launched their first attack in nearly a week on commercial shipping.
• US forces have been carrying out a handful of preemptive strikes against the rebels lately.
• The strikes have hit multiple anti-ship missiles that were prepared to launch and posed a threat.

The US military has changed tactics in how it deals with Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, now conducting preemptive strikes against the Iran-backed rebels regularly, and it appears to be having an effect.

A US Navy warship on Wednesday shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis at the M/V Maersk Detroit, a container ship that’s flagged, owned, and operated by the US, while a third missile landed in the water, according to a statement from US Central Command, or CENTCOM.

This marked the Houthis’ first confirmed missile launch in nearly a week, although it’s not for a lack of trying. US forces have been consistently blowing up their missiles before the rebels even have a chance to launch them.

The tactic shift happened last week. On Jan. 18, the Houthi rebels fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US-owned and Greek-operated tanker. CENTCOM said this marked their third attack on commercial ships in as many days. Since then, the US has carried out at least four rounds of preemptive strikes against Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at either the southern Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden, two key routes for global shipping.

In each instance — on Jan. 19, 20, 22, and 24 — the Pentagon said its forces hit the missiles while they were “prepared to launch” and presented an immediate “threat” to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region. The military asserted in all four cases that it destroyed the Houthi missiles in “self-defense” and its actions make international waters off the coast of Yemen safer to transit.

The US military’s preemptive — and unilateral — strikes on the Houthi missiles represent a notable shift in tactics since Washington first opted to strike the rebels on Jan. 11 alongside British forces.

Prior to that escalated response, Western militaries had spent months shooting down Houthi threats without taking any retaliatory kinetic action inside Yemen. After intercepting threats ultimately proved insufficient, Washington and its allies then issued warnings that the rebels would face serious consequences if they didn’t stop their attacks on international shipping. They weren’t deterred, and military action eventually followed. The Houthi rebels are, however, still trying to launch attacks.

Amid the US military’s multiple preemptive strikes, American and British forces on Monday carried out another round of joint strikes, targeting Houthi sites and facilities across Yemen.

The US assesses it has “destroyed or degraded” more than 25 missile launch and deployment facilities, over 20 missiles, and also hit drone, radar, weapons storage, and air surveillance capabilities “with good effects” since the initial round of strikes earlier this month, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a Tuesday briefing.

Ryder noted that the US has conducted several “self-defense strikes” over the past week when facing “an imminent threat or an anticipated launch,” which he indicated will remain a focus for the Pentagon.

He acknowledged, however, that the Houthis — who boast a formidable arsenal of Iranian-provided weaponry — do still retain “some” of their capabilities. How much, exactly, is unclear, although Pentagon officials estimate the rebels maintain a majority of their ability to launch missiles and drones at ships, per The New York Times.

“It’s not out of the question that there could be additional strikes,” Ryder explained at the recent briefing. “But again, our goal here is to ensure that the Red Sea is safe and secure for international shipping and mariners. That is our only goal.”

As well as the old guard of Netflix and Hulu, there’s also Max, Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, and Discovery+.

And with so many options and streaming services often changing their pricing and content, users need to carefully select what they value most — whether that means critically acclaimed TV or the ability to watch both movies and live sports. 

Using data from streaming search engine Reelgood, we put the major US streaming services — with the exception of Discovery+ — into greater context. This includes which service provides users with the biggest bang for their buck in terms of movies and TV shows available per dollar spent, as well as the sheer volume of content across these libraries. 

Here are the most important things to think about when subscribing to a streaming service:

• Netflix is crushing its competitors when it comes to “churn.”
• That’s the ratio of people who cancel their subscriptions each month vs. those who stay.
• Starz has the worst churn rate, according to Antenna data shared with BI; Netflix has the best.

Netflix competitors have spent billions of dollars chasing the company. They’re still nowhere near it.

On Tuesday we’ll see another reminder of the gap between Netflix and its peers when it releases earnings: The streamer is expected to say it has something like 250 million paid subscribers and made about a billion dollars in profit last quarter — numbers none of its competitors can come close to.

But you don’t need to focus on financials to see the gap between Netflix and its peers. Here’s one easy way to visualize it: Look at Netflix’s churn rate — the percentage of customers who quit each month — and compare it to the other streamers.

This data comes to us via Antenna, a company that tracks subscription services. And it shows that Netflix consistently has a churn rate of about 2%. That’s way, way below all of its competitors, who at the moment have a weighted average of 5.3%.

Churn, obviously, tells you how satisfied customers are with the product. And it’s particularly important for streamers since their customers have become increasingly likely to quit over the last year.

But even though Netflix has had blips, its churn rate has remained remarkably steady and well below anyone else. Meaning: No matter how often you hear people say they can’t find something to watch on Netflix, they must be finding something to watch.

And they must be liking it because they keep their subscriptions.

None of its peers can say the same.

• Ron DeSantis is ending his 2024 presidential campaign.
• DeSantis entered the race with lofty expectations, with many conservatives seeing him as a next-generation GOP figure.
• But Trump has had a disciplined campaign, and DeSantis lost key support in many early-voting states.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday suspended his presidential campaign, a stunning fall for the conservative leader who had long been seen as the biggest threat to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.

“I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” DeSantis said in a message to supporters. “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.”

“While this campaign has ended, the mission continues,” he continued. “Down here in Florida, we will continue to show the country how to lead.”

DeSantis, who entered the presidential race last May, sought to build on the national profile that he had built for himself as an immigration hard-liner and as a politician who had fought against COVID-19 mandates. After winning reelection in November 2022 in a 19-point landslide, DeSantis’ profile exploded, and he was immediately viewed by many Republicans as the conservative who could go toe-to-toe against Trump and capture the GOP nomination.

In several polls taken before DeSantis entered the race, the governor actually polled ahead of Trump, which at the time revealed the vulnerable state that the former president found himself in politically after Republicans faltered in the 2022 midterm elections.

After DeSantis entered the race, he was competitive in the early-voting states, but as the summer and fall went on, his numbers slipped precipitously across the country. He staked his campaign on winning the Iowa caucuses, but Trump’s standing in the state only strengthened by the end of last year.

Trump’s myriad legal issues seemingly had the effect of boosting his polling numbers with GOP primary voters, which in turn iced out DeSantis as the leading alternative to the former president.

Trump would go on to win the Iowa caucuses, taking 51% of the vote to DeSantis’ 21% share and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley’s 19%. Despite campaigning in all 99 of Iowa’s counties, DeSantis did not win a single county in the state.

DeSantis’ exit from the race also comes two days before the New Hampshire primary, a contest where he was struggling for relevancy, with most his polling numbers mired in the single digits.

The governor in recent days had sought to pivot to the South Carolina Republican primary on Feb. 24, but with Trump riding high there and Haley have a sizable level of support in her home state, his pathway to continuing in the race became incredibly murky.

• Oxfam International published its inequality report, finding it could take 230 years to end poverty.
• Meanwhile, it will be just a few years before the world has its first trillionaire. 
• The report called on nations to invest more in public services such as education and healthcare.

It will take multiple centuries to end poverty at the rate we’re going, according to a recently published report.

Oxfam International published its inequality report this month, detailing a slew of grim predictions about the ever-widening wealth gap.

“At current rates, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in 10 years,” the Oxfam report said, laying the blame on billionaires and monopoly-like corporations that are “exacerbating inequality” across the global economy.

The Oxfam report detailed how some of the world’s top billionaires multiplied their wealth since 2020 becoming $3.3 trillion richer collectively as billions of other people just got poorer, suffering from skyrocketing inflation and stagnant wages. Some 60% of the global population has gotten poorer since 2020, the report added.

“To end extreme inequality, governments must radically redistribute the power of billionaires and corporations back to ordinary people,” the report’s authors concluded. (The five lead authors listed are Rebecca Riddell, Nabil Ahmed, Alex Maitland, Max Lawson, and Anjela Taneja.)

The report called on governments to step up to the plate and invest more in public services, such as education, housing, transportation, and healthcare, just to name a few.

The authors also called on governments to heighten their oversight of corporations, increase transparency, and “radically increase taxes on corporates and rich individuals.”

Other speakers on the topic, such as economist Oded Galor, have suggested reflection on the past is critical to changing the future, BI previously reported. Galor argued global inequality has surged in the last 200 years, and to combat it, key nations like the US need to ensure they have infrastructures that support diversity and don’t regress politically, which Galor argued damages global prosperity.

The participation of global governments in the initiative to decrease wealth inequality will determine whether the world lapses into a future of “billionaire supremacy” or public power, the Oxfam report concluded.

There were near-riots to get limited-edition colors of the Stanleys at Target, and people snapped up a Stanley-Starbucks collab cup and resold them at sky-high prices.

Now, Stanleys have come for our nation’s children.

The Cut reports that Stanleys have become the new status symbols for middle school girls. Julia Reinstein talked to teachers, parents, and kids who told about how Stanley mania is wreaking havoc on schools:

“Every day when I get into school at like 7:45 a.m., everybody comes over to me like, ‘Oh my God, I like your Stanley!’ or ‘It’s so cool, I want a Stanley just like yours!’” the 13-year-old, who is in eighth grade, said. “It makes me feel like I’m famous and being swarmed by paparazzi.”

The Stanley company has been making insulated cups for 100 years, but their 40-ounce straw Quencher cup blew up in the last few years thanks to a blog called The Buy Guide. The cup became a hallmark of the TikTok “clean girl” aesthetic.

The Stanley may have reached its peak popularity this holiday season when it seemed to be the most common gift that Gen Z talked about wanting and receiving for Christmas.

But Casey Lewis, who reports on youth consumer trends, warned that the fact that younger Gen Zers were getting the cup might mean the Stanley trend has peaked.

Basically, once middle schoolers have it, the teens and college kids will move on to something new. (Probably the Owala Cup.)

Lewis’s prediction seems spot-on: The cup is now the hot item for middle school girls — a demographic not exactly known for kind behavior if you deviate from the norm.

God forbid you have a Stanley “dupe.”

Reinstein reports:

Another woman, Jamie Sherman, said her 11-year-old niece was bullied by her classmates for bringing an off-brand version of the cup to her New Hampshire middle school — basically the exact same product, minus the Stanley logo.

“When girls pass her in the hallway, they laugh and point, and they say, ‘That’s not real,’” Sherman said. “Now, she doesn’t want to bring it to school and she doesn’t want to use it.”

Middle school is when kids can be ruthless about who has or doesn’t have some arbitrary status symbol, whether it’s Uggs or folding the waistband of your gym shorts the right way.

But the fact that a water bottle is such an object of obsession for Gen Alpha (kids currently 13 and under) might make some sense if you consider that these are the kids who grew up with their own water bottles with them at all times since they were toddlers. (Back in MY day, we — gasp — used the school water fountain).

And finally, one last quote that will leave you feeling icier than water in a Stanley cup left in a car that caught on fire:

Dahlia, in Dallas, loves her cup, but has mixed feelings about her newfound popularity. “I wouldn’t say any of them are actually my friends,” she said. “They only talk to me in the morning when I’m holding my Stanley.”

Brrrrrrr….. 🥶🥶🥶🥶

But out of hundreds of officials who responded to the scene, according to the report, only a handful have faced any consequences so far.

On Thursday, the DOJ released its long-awaited report summarizing its investigation into how police and other officials handled the May 24, 2022, Uvalde, Texas, school shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Despite nearly 400 officers and first responders arriving on the scene, officers didn’t take on the shooter until 77 minutes after he had entered the building because of a series of communication and leadership failures.

The DOJ’s scathing report details how officers hesitated to confront the shooter, violating training for how to handle active shootings.

Here’s a list of the agencies involved in the incident and what repercussions they faced — if any — for failing to save more lives that day.

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department

The district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo, was fired three months after the shooting, over accusations that he failed to do his duty as commander of the scene.

Two months later, the district police department suspended all of its officers after months of criticism for their handling of the deadly shooting.

Two officers were put on administrative leave, while a third chose to retire. The district’s other police officers were offered other jobs in the district, the schools said at the time.

The DOJ report says the UCISD PD didn’t do any internal investigations.

Customs and Border Patrol

A tactical team from the US CBP called BORTAC — which operates within 100 miles of the border, including Uvalde — was responsible for finally taking down the shooter, despite local police’s warnings to stay outside.

The CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility typically waits for criminal investigations to be completed before starting its own administrative one.

The Uvalde County District Attorney’s investigation into possible charges hasn’t finished as of January 2024, over a year since the shooting.

After waiting 9 months for the District Attorney’s local criminal investigation to wrap up, the CBP decided to start its own review anyway. No findings have been released.

Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office

The county sheriff’s office hasn’t started an internal investigation, but the DOJ report says it’s common practice for agencies to wait for a criminal investigation to be finished before starting their own administrative one.

The DOJ report does say, however, that waiting to start an investigation slows the process down.

Uvalde Police Department

The Uvalde Police Department (UPD) launched its own internal investigation into the incident, which hasn’t finished, according to the DOJ report.

The UPD also coordinated with the Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) on an independent, external investigation, sharing evidence like police body camera footage, with the TXDPS, according to the report.

However, the TXDPS has not shared its data back with the City of Uvalde to help the UPD’s internal investigation, the report says.

Lt. Mariano Pargas — the acting UPD police chief at the time of the shooting — was suspended from his position a few months later while the city investigated if he had failed to take command of the scene.

He later stepped down from his position, after facing backlash from victims’ families, the Texas Tribune reported.

Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers

The director of the TXDPS Steve McCraw has said that seven of his members were investigated for their actions the day of the shooting, and their cases are currently being reviewed, according to the DOJ report.

Two TXDPS employees were fired, including a ranger, and one state trooper who was being investigated has resigned, according to the DOJ.

According to the Texas Tribune, the state trooper who resigned was later hired by Uvalde school’s police department, but the school backtracked after parents protested.

The four other officers were cleared and kept their jobs, the Texas Tribune reported.

In February 2023, state police said no other officers would be disciplined, according to the Associated Press.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

The ATF completed an investigation into the firearm used in the shooting, including the “hellfire trigger” the shooter had attached to make the AR-15 fire at a higher rate.

The ATF found that the design, marketing, and instructions for the “hellfire” device proved that its sole purpose was to turn a weapon into a machine gun.

And so, the weapon the shooter used is considered a machine gun under federal law, according to the DOJ report.

But the report notes that the crime scene investigators nearly didn’t spot the “hellfire” trigger; someone had thrown it out into a classroom trash can after the tragedy.

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The Super Bowl is less than a month away, and we’re here to help you prep for the big game with lots of great discounts on big-screen TVs. Retailers like Amazon and Best Buy have already started offering great Super Bowl TV deals on displays from top brands like LG, Samsung, and Sony. 

The best Super Bowl TV deals right now include $1,000 off a huge 98-inch TCL 4K TV. You can also save $200 on the already affordable 65-inch Hisense U6K, which is our pick for the best TV you can buy on a budget. Check out our full U6K 4K TV review for more details on why it’s such a great display for the money. 

Below, our deal experts have highlighted all of the top discounts so far, and we expect more savings to pop up as we get closer to the Super Bowl on February 11. We’ve mostly focused on big-screen sets to offer the most immersive viewing experience for the big game, but we’ve also included a few smaller models that are going for great prices. If you’re looking for more discounts, check out our full roundup of all the best TV deals right now. 

10 best Super Bowl TV deals right now

How to shop for a TV for watching sports

If you’re looking for a new TV with sports in mind, we recommend focusing on 4K models in larger screen sizes to get the most immersive experience. The best 4K TVs use an OLED display or an advanced LED screen, often branded as QLED, with local dimming. These TVs deliver the highest contrast, deepest black levels, and most accurate colors.

Midrange and high-end QLED models are also known for their impressive brightness, with top options offering up to 2,000 nits, which can make them the best fit for watching sports in living rooms that let in a lot of light. However, the best OLED TVs are still bright enough for most rooms and then have better viewing angles than most QLEDs, which makes them excellent for Super Bowl parties where guests may be sitting off to the side of the display.

If you want a budget-friendly TV for casual viewing and don’t care about getting high-end contrast or color, an entry-level LED panel should do the job. Though picture quality won’t be as impressive as more expensive OLED and QLED models, several cheap LED TVs still have decent performance and solid smart TV streaming.