Category: Uncategorised

Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our partners at TechBargains, we have a fresh batch of deals for your consideration. The top item today is a 40-inch Samsung 4K Smart TV. New Groupon users can get it for $386.99, while existing Groupon bargain hunters will have to settle for $408.99. With a list price of $999.99, either deal is a good one.

Check out the rest of the deals below, including savings on laptops, home theater, and more.

• Samsung 40" 4K UltraHD LED Smart HDTV (UN40JU6100) for $386.99 (10% New Groupon Code TECHB10. Existing users use 5% code: TECHB5 for $408.99).
• 4K Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Intel Core i7 Dual-Core 1080p 15.6" Gaming Laptop w/ 16GB RAM & AMD 4GB GPU.99 $749.99 (use code: 50OFF699 - list price $1,529).
• 20% off All Versions of Uncharted 4 for Prime Members: Libertaria for $95.99, Standard for $47.99.
• Uncharted 4 Limited Edition PlayStation 4 Console Bundle for $379.99 (use code: TECHB5 or $360 with 10% New User Code TECHB10 - list price $399.99).
• $50 Apple iTunes Gift Card for $40 (list price $50).
• 4G Unlocked Apple iPad Air 2 16GB Tablet (REFURB) for $332.49 (use code: TECHB5 - list price $629.99).
• Vizio E55-C1 55" 1080p 120Hz Full Array LED HDTV w/ Local Dimming + $150 Dell Gift Card for $549.99 (list price $627.99).

Laptop & Desktop Computers

"Perhaps you should switch to another cable company… oh, that's right, we're the only one in town." (credit: Viacom)

A cable lobby group that represents more than 900 small and medium-size providers is angry that Charter Communications will be competing against other cable companies.

Cable providers usually avoid each other's territory, choosing not to "overbuild" in cities and towns where other cable networks already exist. But Charter agreed to bring some competition to the cable market in exchange for the Federal Communications Commission's approval of its purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Specifically, Charter will deploy high-speed broadband to at least 2 million residential and small business locations, of which at least 1 million must be in areas served by at least one other provider.

Naturally, cable companies aren't happy about facing competition. The American Cable Association (ACA), the lobby for smaller providers, said yesterday that it is "troubled" by the FCC's overbuilding requirement on Charter. But instead of just arguing that competition will hurt small cable companies, the ACA also claims that competition will be bad for customers.

(credit: Aurich Lawson)

For the past month, people infected with the CryptXXX ransomware had a way to recover their files without paying the hefty $500 fee to obtain the decryption key. On Tuesday, that reprieve came to an end.

Researchers from security firm Proofpoint said in a blog post that version 2.006 has found a way to bypass a decryption tool that has been freely available for weeks. The tool was provided by Kaspersky Lab and was the result of flaws in the way CryptXXX worked.

The crypto ransomware update effectively renders the Kaspersky tool useless, Proofpoint said. It did this with the use of zlib, a software library used for data compression. The new version also makes it harder to use the Kaspersky tool by locking the screen of an infected computer and making it unusable until the ransom is paid.

Nintendo continues to lower the price floor for access to its vast ecosystem of dual-screen portable games. The company announced today that it would start selling the slate-like Nintendo 2DS for $80 on May 20, along with a preinstalled copy of Mario Kart 7.

The 2DS is definitely the bargain-basement option for getting access to the full library of 3DS (and backward-compatible original DS) games. That has been the case since it launched at $130 in 2013 and dropped to $100 last summer. That low price comes with some compromises compared to the traditional 3DS line, though, including a lack of stereoscopic 3D, a non-folding design with slightly uncomfortable button positioning, and a smaller screen than the "XL" line. The 2DS also doesn't play the few games that require the "new 3DS" chipset.

Still, the 2DS is a pretty good deal compared to the $200 that Nintendo charges for a top-end New 3DS XL these days, and it comes in cheaper than even a $120 used 3DS from GameStop. If you haven't taken the plunge on a Nintendo portable yet, $80 is a great price for getting access to over 500 3DS games, thousands of original DS games, and hundreds of downloadable Virtual Console titles from Nintendo's back catalog. That list includes at least a few dozen games that are actually good (We recommend Super Mario 3D World, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and Fire Emblem: Awakening just for starters). Plus, we hear there's a new Pokemon game coming soon...