Month: May 2022

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Happy May the fourth, everyone! That means two things: a slew of discounts on Star Wars gear and accessories, and a brand new deal round-up. Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes a number of deals on Star Wars games and gear, as well as Apple AirTags and a pair of our favorite inexpensive wireless, noise-canceling headphones, Anker's Soundcore Q35.

Apple's AirTags proved to be highly capable in our review. As we noted, the more Apple devices that are in proximity of your lost, Air-Tagged item the better. That doesn't make them the best choice for people more worried about losing something on a hike in the woods. Tile Mate, which is also on sale, is a better choice for such scenarios. Still, AirTags are extremely capable trackers in ideal conditions. In fact, we were a bit scared by how well they worked. In our review, we note some of the "anti-stalker" features Apple built into them, and those features have been bolstered since then. Snagging this four-pack saves you $11 off the typical $100 price.

Anker's Soundcore Q35 is the latest version of our favorite inexpensive over-the-ear, ANC wireless headphones. They do a decent job of noise cancelation, particularly with low-tone rumbles like trains and planes. The Q35 is also lightweight and comfortable to wear for long periods, delivering bass-heavy sound and 40 hours of continuous listening. The latest $98 price matches its all-time low from the holidays.

Enlarge / Stonehenge as viewed from the northeast, showing the post-and-lintel construction of the Sarsen Circle. (credit: Timothy Darvill)

Stonehenge was an important place for thousands of years before people placed the first stones, according to a recent study. Archaeologists used the microscopic remains of insects, pollen, fungal spores, and ancient DNA preserved in the soil to reconstruct the ancient environment of southwest England’s Salisbury Plain. Six-thousand years ago, the plain was a mosaic of open grassland and woods, where archaeological evidence shows that people once hunted herds of extinct cattle called aurochs.

Samuel Hudson, an environmental scientist at the University of Southampton, and his colleagues say their findings suggest that many of the ceremonial sites and routes left behind by Britain’s earliest farmers—the builders of Stonehenge—may date back thousands of years to land used by the first occupiers of Britain after the end of the last Ice Age.

What happens when worlds collide?

About a mile away from Stonehenge lies an older, less famous archaeological site called Blick Mead. Here, the Salisbury Plain meets the floodplain of the River Avon. Stone tools (more than 100,000 of them), butchered animal bones, and charred fish bones show that people came to this place repeatedly for thousands of years during the Mesolithic period.

Enlarge / Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill on March 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty | Pool)

The pandemic coronavirus will likely become a seasonal respiratory virus, much like influenza, requiring annual booster shots each fall, according to three top officials at the US Food and Drug Administration.

In a commentary piece published this week in the medical journal JAMA, the officials make a case for seasonal shots and caution that preparation for this winter's potential surge needs to begin no later than next month.

"The timeframe to determine the composition of the COVID-19 vaccine for the 2022-2023 season, to use alongside the seasonal influenza vaccine for administration in the Northern Hemisphere beginning in about October, is compressed because of the time required for manufacturing the necessary doses," the officials write. "A decision on composition will need to be made in the US by June 2022."

Enlarge / Artist's conception of Bungie taking aim at anti-choice activists.

Destiny developer Bungie posted a statement late Tuesday expressing strong support for abortion rights in the United States. The move makes Bungie the first video game company to publicly comment on a leaked draft opinion that shows the Supreme Court poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal across the country.

Bungie's statement:

At Bungie we believe that everyone has a right to choose their own path and that freedom is expressed across all facets of life. The leaked draft decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade represents a blow to freedom in America and is a direct attack on human rights.

By creating a divide between those who posses [sic] the fundamental right to make healthcare decisions that are right for them, and those who do not posses that same freedom, this decision, should it become final, will have far-reaching consequences that will be felt for generations across socio-economic lines.

Bungie is committed to safeguarding the freedom and privacy of its employees and providing support to all employees affected by this decision.

Standing up for reproductive choice and liberty is not a difficult decision to make, and Bungie remains dedicated to upholding these values.

The Destiny-maker, which is set to become a Sony subsidiary in the coming months, went on to defend its position in the replies to a heavily trafficked tweet that went out to the company's 2.8 million followers.