Author: Awais

Netflix is acquiring Estonian startup Ready Player Me, a company creating “cross-game avatar tech” that allows players to bring their digital personas with them to different games, the company’s CEO Timmu Tõke shared in a LinkedIn post. The acquisition is part of Netflix’s new games strategy, which puts an emphasis on approachable multiplayer titles and adaptations of the streaming service’s IP.Ready Player Me’s team of around 20 employees will be incorporated into Netflix’s staff, TechCrunch writes, though Tõke is the only one of the startup’s four founders who will continue on after the acquisition. Neither company has shared when the…

Home burglaries aren’t random: Burglars act in predictable ways, which is why well-applied home security devices can be so effective at stopping them. In most cases, thieves look for an easy target, from holiday gift deliveries on a porch to open windows. But in addition to testing the latest home safety tech, I wanted to dig deeper into break-in behaviors. CNETIn addition to learning what criminals had to say about plying their craft, I spoke with James Lynch, professor and former chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland.”Professional burglars who have some skills…

Need your daily dose of vitamins? To relax and fall asleep faster? Help being more, ahem, regular? There’s a gummy for that. The market for health- and wellness-boosting gummy supplements has ballooned in recent years (by one estimate, it was valued at $10.7 billion—with a B—in 2024), with varieties claiming to support your gut health, immune system, cognitive function, and more. One of the newest to hit (virtual) store shelves is Jüced, a “pre-workout” gummy from the brains behind the greens supplement Grüns.Launched in early December, Jüced bills itself as an extra energy oomph before you hit the gym—or the…

Red Dead Redemption came out 15 years ago for PC and consoles, but now a mobile version of the open-world Western is out for iOS and Android devices, and available for Netflix subscribers at no additional charge. The mobile version is a faithful port of the original game as well as its expansion, Undead Nightmares. It costs $40 when buying from the app stores, but again, it’s included with a Netflix subscription.Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.How to get Red Dead Redemption with a Netflix subscriptionIf you have a Netflix subscription,…

You’ve probably customized your Android phone with a new launcher, swapped out the keyboard, and maybe even installed an icon pack. But you might be missing out on a tiny, powerful secret that could fundamentally change how you use your phone. HTG Wrapped 2025: 24 days of tech 24 days of our favorite hardware, gadgets, and tech Android’s interoperable default apps One of Android’s core features is the ability to choose various “default” apps. These are specific apps that are used to complete specific tasks or open certain file types. For example, when you tap a link in a text…

Why It Works A reduced tomato base—built from sautéed shrimp shells, fennel, aromatics, and passata—creates a concentrated, deeply flavored broth that pairs well with the seafood.Adding each type of seafood in stages ensures tender, perfectly cooked results. Growing up Italian-American in Philly, I developed an almost Pavlovian response to certain Christmas Eve smells: garlic softening in olive oil, the faint licorice waft of fennel, the mineral sweetness of shellfish hitting a hot pot. These smells were the promise of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the meat-free dinner that brought together too many relatives in too small a kitchen, and…

Customers don’t think in channels. They think in experiences. Whether they reach out by DM, SMS or phone, they expect one seamless conversation. But when communication is scattered across platforms, context gets lost and messages get missed. This affects customer loyalty. In fact, the 2025 Sprout Social Index™ shows 73% will buy from a competitor if you don’t respond. To prevent that, you need an omnichannel strategy that connects every touchpoint. And since many interactions start on social, social customer service needs to sit at the center. Here’s how to build that strategy, why social is key and how Sprout…

As Netflix continues to build out its gaming strategy, which has recently included a new era of TV party games, it’s going to let people build avatars — with the help of a new acquisition. The company is acquiring avatar company Ready Player Me and its “cross-game avatar tech” to let players “carry their identities and fandom across games,” according to Ready Player Me CEO Timmu Tõke.Netflix “doesn’t have an estimate of how long it will be until avatars launch” or which games will get them first, TechCrunch reports. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed.Ready Player Me’s team of…

It has never been easier to access high-speed cellular data while traveling, thanks to the advent of eSIM internationally. There’s now no need to keep your smartphone shut off for the duration of your international trip or hunt down an overpriced travel SIM card vending machine. Instead, you can use eSIMs to load up cheap data plans on your phone that’ll work in the country you’re traveling to. Sounds great, right? I’ve never been afraid of spending more for extra convenience, especially when it comes to my most-used devices (like smartphones). That’s why I’ve also never used travel eSIMs for…

Did you know that duplicate content can hurt your visibility within AI Search? Fabrice Canel and Krishna Madhavan from Microsoft explained that with AI Search, having duplicate content makes it harder for the systems to understand signals which reduces “the likelihood that the correct version will be selected or summarized.” This is not too different from how duplicate content or very similar content can cause issues for ranking in traditional search. That is, because AI Search, on Bing and Google, are grounded by the same signals that are used in traditional search – having duplicate content can potentially cause confusion…