 |
|
|
|||||
Less than a week after Valve admitted that the current shortage (and growing prices) of RAM were affecting its hardware plans, the Steam Deck is completely sold out. The Steam Deck has gone in and out of stock in the past, but as Kotaku notes, the timing does raise the question whether Valve's RAM issues could also be impacting its Linux handheld. The 256GB Steam Deck LCD, and both the 512GB and 1TB models of the Steam Deck OLED, are completely sold out on Steam. Valve announced that it was discontinuing the LCD versions of its handheld and selling through its remaining inventory in December 2025, so the fact that the 256GB Steam Deck model is currently sold out isn't surprising. That both OLED versions are also unavailable at the same time, though, is a bit more unusual.Engadget has contacted Valve for more information about the availability of the Steam Deck. We'll update this article if we hear back.When Valve announced the Steam Machine, Steam Controller and Steam Frame, the company notably left pricing and availability off the table, presumably because tariffs and access to RAM were leaving those details in flux. The company's announcement last week that the memory and storage shortage had pushed back its plans and would likely impact prices more or less confirmed that. At no point did Valve mention that the Steam Deck would be similarly affected, but maybe it should have.The rising cost of RAM has already forced other PC makers to adjust the pricing of their computers. Framework announced in January that it was raising the price of its Framework Desktop by as much as $460. Some analysts assume that the memory shortage driven by the AI industry could lead to higher prices and even an economic downturn in the wider PC industry. Ideally, the Steam Deck being out of stock is a temporary issue rather than a sign that Valve is doing something drastic. If things continue as they are, however, changes to the Steam Deck likely won't be off the table.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/the-great-ramaggedon-of-2026-might-have-just-claimed-the-steam-deck-211958306.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
This is going to be one of the shortest articles in my series on how to cancel your subscriptions to the best VPNs. Unlike most providers, Mullvad VPN does not automatically renew an expired subscription unless you tell it to. Thanks to its unique pricing approach, cancelling Mullvad is the default option.When you sign up for Mullvad, you pay for as many months upfront as you want at the constant rate of 5 Euro per month (varying with exchange rates). Each month, Mullvad takes 5 Euro out of your account until there's nothing left. If you're no longer satisfied with Mullvad, all you have to do is stop putting money in.The Mullvad account dashboard.Sam Chapman for EngadgetIf you happen to have originally signed up for Mullvad earlier than the middle of 2022, you may have an auto-renewal account grandfathered in. Mid-2022 is when Mullvad stopped auto-renewing subscriptions and got rid of PayPal integration altogether, but people who had signed up before then had the option to leave auto-renewal on.If you're in this group, cancelling is simple. Just sign into your account page, click on the word Subscriptions, then click Unsubscribe.How to cancel Mullvad if you subscribed through an app storeThere's one more exception to the usual method of cancelling Mullvad. If you got your subscription through an app store instead of Mullvad's website or app, the app store is the one processing your money. You'll need to cancel through them instead.On an iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app, whose icon shows gray gears. Tap your name at the top of the screen to reach your Apple ID page, then tab Subscriptions. Scroll down until you find your Mullvad subscription, tap it, then hit Cancel Subscription.On an Android phone, open the Google Play Store, whose icon is a triangle in the Google colors. At the top-right, tap the circle with the first letter of your username in it. Hit Payments & Subscriptions, scroll down to find Mullvad, then tap it and hit Cancel Subscription.How to delete your Mullvad accountYou can go the extra mile and delete your account if you're sure you'll never want to use Mullvad again. Send an email to support@mullvadvpn.net, provide your account number and request that the account be terminated. You'll get a reply confirming deletion.How to get a refund from MullvadMullvad offers refunds on any purchase within 14 days. To start a refund request, send an email to support@mullvadvpn.net, including your Mullvad account number and your payment token. If you aren't sure what your payment token is, find the charge for Mullvad on your bank statement and look for something in the format VPN*(10-digit number).Payments made in cash can't be refunded, apparently because that's considered a form of money laundering in Sweden. If you got Mullvad through a voucher, request your refund through the store the voucher came from.Best Mullvad alternativesMullvad is one of the best VPNs, especially in terms of privacy. However, I've found it to be a bit slow at times, with a somewhat limited server network. Luckily, Proton VPN is almost as private as Mullvad the only thing it's missing is the ability to sign up without an email. It's also got a larger server network and better overall download speeds.Windscribe is another privacy-optimized VPN with a better record than Mullvad in my unblocking tests. Surfshark is the fastest VPN of them all, while ExpressVPN is ideal for beginners. If you liked Mullvad's cheap pricing, CyberGhost is a highly affordable alternative.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-cancel-mullvad-vpn-200000516.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Anthropic is upgrading Claude's free tier, apparently to capitalize on OpenAI's planned integration of ads into ChatGPT. On Wednesday, Anthropic said free Claude users can now create files, connect to external services, use skills and more.Anthropic added the ability for paid users to create files in September. Starting today, free users of the chatbot can also create and edit Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, Word docs and PDFs. Claude's file creation abilities are powered by Sonnet 4.5.Free users can now create and edit Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, Word docs, and PDFs.AnthropicMeanwhile, Connectors allow free users to link Claude to third-party services. There's a long list of available ones, including Canva, Slack, Notion, Zapier and PayPal.Skills, on the other hand, let you teach Claude to "complete specific tasks in repeatable ways." In short, the chatbot loads folders of instructions, scripts and other resources when performing relevant tasks. Other upgrades to the free tier include longer conversations, interactive responses and improved voice and image search.Claude's free-tier upgrades appear to be a direct response to ChatGPT's planned introduction of ads for its free users. Anthropic's announcement today ended with the tag line, "No ads in sight." This follows the company's promise last week that Claude will remain ad-free. Anthropic even poked fun at OpenAI's cash-seeking move in a Super Bowl ad (below), which also took a swipe at GPT-4o's penchant for kissing ass.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-beefs-up-claudes-free-tier-as-openai-prepares-to-stuff-ads-into-chatgpts-194100939.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||