Month: February 2022

Enlarge / Wedding bells are ringing for Russian Sims fans.

Last week, the team behind The Sims 4 "My Wedding Stories" expansion pack—which includes a heavy focus on same-sex marriages—said that the expansion wouldn't be released in Russia where "our storytelling would be subject to changes because of federal laws." Now, video game company EA has reversed that decision, saying the expansion will in fact be released in Russia "unaltered and unchanged" alongside the rest of the world.

In an update posted Wednesday afternoon on the Electronic Arts website, The Sims team writes that it previously believed that "our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia." That's an apparent oblique reference to Russia's Article 6.13.1 law, which prohibits "propaganda or homosexualism among minors." Given that law, the team had decided that "the best way to uphold our commitment to sharing their story was to not release this pack [in Russia]."

Now, the team behind the game says it has "reassessed our options and realized we can do more than we initially believed..." The "My Wedding Stories" pack will now launch in Russia and the rest of the world on February 23, a delay of a few days from its original planned launch date of February 17.

HBO Max has released the full official trailer for Our Flag Means Death, the streaming platform's new period comedy, featuring Taika Waititi's hilariously deadpan portrayal of the infamous 18th-century pirate Blackbeard.

As I've written previously, the series is about an aristocrat who abandons his comfy life to become a "gentleman pirate." Even better: the main character, Stede Bonnet (played to effete perfection by Rhys Darby), is based on a real person who really did sail with Blackbeard for a period. (You can read a bit about the actual pirate here, and/or listen to this episode of the wonderful Footnoting History podcast.)

The first teaser for Our Flag Means Death dropped last month and won us over immediately with its fish-out-of-water premise. Clearly, the series is unlikely to attempt much in the way of historical accuracy, which is entirely the right decision. Tonally, it evokes something along the lines of Hulu's extraordinary period comedy series The Great, which takes historical characters and facts and embellishes them, complete with the odd deliberate anachronism. Per the official premise:

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

October 14, 2025, marks the end of support and security updates for the Home and Pro versions of Windows 10. That means it's also the end of official guaranteed feature and security updates for Windows PCs that don't meet Windows 11's hardware requirements.

Viewed from early 2022, that date is still comfortably far off. Lots of Windows 10 PCs will break over the next 3.5 years, and plenty of people who actually want to upgrade to nicer or faster hardware will have opportunities to do so. But as someone who enjoys repairing, maintaining, and upgrading older hardware to keep it useful, we'll be peering over the edge of that Windows 10 update cliff before we know it.

The question is: what happens to that hardware when Windows 10 goes away? Running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is one possible solution, but we have no idea for how long Microsoft will actually allow installing, running, and updating Windows 11 on older PCs; the company could cut off these computers' security updates tomorrow, or it could allow them to run the new OS indefinitely, and that uncertainty is hard to plan around.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | niknikon)

The Federal Communications Commission has voted to ban the exclusive revenue-sharing deals between landlords and Internet service providers that prevent broadband competition in apartment buildings and other multi-tenant environments. The new ban and other rule changes were adopted in a 4-0 vote announced yesterday.

Although the FCC "has long banned Internet service providers from entering into sweetheart deals with landlords that guarantee they are the only provider in the building," evidence submitted to the commission "made it clear that our existing rules are not doing enough and that we can do more to pry open the door for providers who want to offer competitive service in apartment buildings," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in her statement on the vote. The broadband industry has sidestepped rules that already exist with "a complex web of agreements between incumbent service providers and landlords that keep out competitors and undermine choice," she said.

With the new rules, "we ban exclusive revenue sharing agreements, where the provider agrees with the building that only it and no other provider can give the building owner a cut of the revenue from the building. We also ban graduated revenue sharing agreements, which increase the percentage of revenue that the broadband provider directs to the landlord as the number of tenants served by the provider go up," Rosenworcel said. Rosenworcel had circulated the proposal to commissioners in late January.

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

It's time for another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes a good price on Logitech's MX Master 3 wireless mouse, which is down to $80 at Staples. You'll need to use the coupon code "40765" in your cart to see the deal at checkout. Though we've seen Staples run this deal a few times in the past, it's still a $20 discount from the mouse's MSRP and typical street price. It also brings the device to within $5 of the all-time lowest price we've tracked from a reputable seller.

We previously named the MX Master 3 a top pick in our guide to the best wireless mice. It's certainly expensive, even at this deal price, but if you spend the majority of your workday chained to your PC, it could be worth the money. It's somewhat bulky, but it's comfortably contoured and has a soft finish and a sizable thumb rest. It performs reliably across different surface types, and it's loaded with useful hardware and software features, such as a smooth-feeling electromagnetic scroll wheel, a second scroll wheel for scrolling horizontally, and a couple of programmable side buttons. You can customize how some features work on an app-by-app basis through Logitech's companion app, too, and the rechargeable battery is rated at an acceptable 70 days per charge.

The mouse won't be as accommodating to those with small hands, and it can't connect through a cable in a pinch. Its design and sensor aren't meant for gaming. And sadly, there's no left-handed version. But if you use your mouse heavily throughout the day and don't mind paying a bit extra, it's well worth considering. Note that Logitech makes a version specifically for Mac users, as well.