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A new type of smart glasses from Emteq Labs have cameras pointed inwards, aiming to track your life and quantify how you’re feeling—and what you’re eating.

A pilot program in Alabama will distribute $280,000 from opioid settlement funds to support ‘grandfamilies’ formed to raise kids affected by the opioid epidemic.

(Image credit: Drew Hawkins)

'Jamboree' feels scattered and altogether too eager to please. But while the game's a mixed bag, it's still one of the best in the chaotic Nintendo series.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Apple's updated MagSafe Charger is better than ever and now it's just $29, too.

Macon doesn't have many broadband providers, but it does have reasonable plans. From cable to fiber to fixed wireless connections that ensure you can easily access the internet.

I couldn't stop watching this unique crime series.

Vice President Harris will discuss her new proposals to win over Black male voters today at a town hall event. And, aid groups fear Israel is starving people in northern Gaza.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)

Owning a hot tub comes with some trials and tribulations, but they're worth overcoming.

We’ve all made the mistake of downloading some useless apps at one point or another, but there used to be a degree of certainty that the fake beer drinking app or the wild west sound effect buttons wouldn’t turn out to be spyware - as long as you got it directly from the App store. Well, new research from Zscaler says that might not be the case anymore.

Zscaler’s new ThreatLabz OT Threat Report has identified over 200 malicious apps available on the App store, which have already been downloaded by 8 million users so far. This comes with a 101% rise in spyware year-over-year, as well as a 29% increase in banking malware attacks.

This suggests that the motives for the attacks remain primarily financial, as banking malware allows threat actors to steal your credentials not just to use themselves, but also to sell on to other criminals.

More than a few bad apples

The targets of these attacks mirror research on other types of cyberattack, with the education, technology, and manufacturing sectors experiencing the most incidents. Education proves once again to be attractive to cybercriminals, and saw a 136% increase in attacks in the last year.

As more and more of us work from home, we introduce more software to enable us to connect or for productivity in hybrid environments, but these open the landscape up for threat actors to exploit.

"Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting legacy exposed assets which often act as a beachhead to IoT & OT environments, resulting in data breaches and ransomware attacks," said Deepen Desai, Chief Security Officer at Zscaler.

"Mobile malware and AI driven vishing attacks adds to that list making it critical for CISOs and CIOs to prioritize an AI powered zero trust solution to shut down attack vectors of all kinds safeguarding against these attacks."

These are not the first reports of infected apps even from the official Play store, so we recommend checking reviews, number of downloads, and ratings when looking for something new.

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• Take a look at some of the best endpoint protection services
• This detailed malware can hack your systems and turn off your antivirus to do more damage
• Check out our pick for best antivirus software

New and improved Kindles are reportedly set to be announced *checks watch* tomorrow, October 16, with one seemingly set to launch with a brighter display and a more sustainable design than its predecessor. Such an upgrade would mark the first improvement to the product line since the Amazon Kindle (2022) dropped.

This comes from Good e-Reader (via T3) who claims “many people who work in retail” are preparing to sell new Kindle models in-store and online from October 16. They don’t have model names, just numbers, however those models are expected to be a new entry-level Kindle, and an update to the Kindle Paperwhite (2021).

This leak is supported by a previous accidental listing for a 2024 edition of the entry-level Kindle on its site at the end of September by a Spanish retailer, and that some Amazon Kindle ereaders have been sold out for a little while – suggesting Amazon could be phasing them out in order to launch a new Kindle soon.

There was also a pair of FCC filings – 2A4DH-5698 and 2A4DH-5688 – for what appears to be new Kindles (via Good e-Reader) with photos and diagrams for the products still under an embargo, again teasing that Amazon has a surprise launch coming soon.

The leaked Spanish retailing listing is where we get the details of the new design, including that the ereader is seemingly made with 75% recycled plastic and 90% recycled magnesium, and that the display will boast 25% higher brightness than the 11th-gen model.

It also reportedly boasts 16GB of onboard storage, an eight-week max battery life, and offer faster page turns to feel like a more responsive device.

As with all leaks it’s worth taking all of these details with a pinch of salt – until Amazon makes an official announcement nothing is certain.

(Image credit: TechRadar) What we want to see

Considering how long it's been since we last got new Kindles it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see new models this year. And if the recent Fire HD 8 tablets launch is anything to go by, Amazon isn’t afraid to just drop new tech without a massive fanfare. Just don’t expect Amazon to launch its new Kindles with an immediate discount like it did with the Fire HD 8 tablets.

That’s not to say the launch won’t still be exciting, with that faster page-turn leak suggesting that the 2024 Kindle will use the E Ink Carta 1300 display which debuted in the 2024 Kobo Clara BW – and helped cement it as one best ereaders this year.

Beyond that, the addition of color e-ink would be appreciated – with this tech yet again being boasted by Kindle rival Kobo’s Clara Colour. At the same time, Kindles are pricier.

A more achievable upgrade could instead be the cheapest Kindle getting the same IPX8 waterproof rating as the Kindle Paperwhite, but we’ll have to wait and see what (if anything) is revealed in the rumored launch tomorrow.

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• Ebook vs paper: which reading medium is better for the environment?

Reality Defender, a startup focused on AI detection, has developed a tool to verify human participants in video calls and catch fraudsters using AI deepfakes for scams.

The death of an American woman inside Philip Nitschke’s latest invention reveals the next frontier in the right-to-die debate.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: October 11, 2024

Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series developer Atlus is back with its first original franchise in years in the form of Metaphor: ReFantazio. This new game trades in the modern-day Japan backdrop for a decidedly dark fantasy setting - something we haven’t really seen from Atlus since the Etrian Odyssey series.

However, Metaphor’s take on fantasy is remarkably different from its peers - and it’s highly ambitious. The game presents a world racked by discrimination and a broken class system in which church and state very much operate hand in hand. It explores how peoples’ fear and anxiety can be weaponized against them - and how that can cause people to confidently act against their own best interests time and again.

This - paired with an evolution of Atlus’s challenging ‘press turn’ battle system that merges the best elements of the developer’s other franchises - makes for a constantly engaging role-playing game (RPG) that never once grew stale across its mammoth 80-hour runtime. With all that said, Metaphor: ReFantazio is easily the best RPG of the year, one of Atlus’s best games to date, and shouldn’t be missed whether you’re familiar with the developer’s back catalog or not. 

Fight for your right

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s world is inhabited by numerous humanoid tribes, each with their own defining features such as horns, wings, or facial markings. Most of the tribes tend to keep to themselves, with rarely a nice thing to say about one another. Most have also fallen into the teaching of the Sanctist Church, which also acts as the world’s primary governing body.

Our protagonist hails from the eldan tribe, a near-extinct race defined by the fact that they have no, well, defining physical features at all. They are the closest to resembling real-world humans and thus are the most shunned of all of Metaphor’s societies. What the game refers to as ‘humans’ are instead towering, demonic monstrosities that roam the land, terrorizing countryside and communities both. You can see a bit of meta-commentary starting to form there, then, but to divulge more here would be to encroach on spoiler territory.

The story in Metaphor begins as the world is thrust into a rite of royal succession. The culprit is a high-ranking military man known as Count Louis. After assassinating the king in cold blood and placing a curse on the prince that puts him into a coma, we, as the prince’s aide, are tasked with bringing the Count to justice. However, that’s much easier said than done; while the populace knows Count Louis to be the culprit, discontent with the royal family and the Sanctist Church have made him a popular figure and thus a frontrunner to succeed the throne.

Best bit

(Image credit: Atlus)

The battle system in Metaphor: ReFantazio is its crown jewel. Archetypes are a phenomenal evolution of both Personas and Shin Megami Tensei’s highly customizable demon builds. Being encouraged to change up your party and archetype composition between quests and dungeons means you’ll constantly have your thinking cap on when it comes to clearing content as efficiently as possible.

Much of Metaphor’s narrative revolves around the ‘Tournament for the Throne’- a contest set into motion by the deceased king. It’s here where our protagonist and his band of comrades must make a name for themselves in order to be considered worthy of Louis’ attention.

It’s an eclectic and diverse bunch, too. There’s Strohl - a nobleman’s son bent on killing Louis after razing his village to the ground - as well as Hulkenberg, a decorated royal knight who blames herself for being unable to protect the family in her charge. And that’s just the first two party members; the rest each have their own vibrant personalities, motivations and backgrounds that are equally rich and tragic. I’m also a huge fan of the wide variety of British accents used in the game’s English dub, ranging from East London ‘cockney’ and Welsh to Irish and Liverpudlian.

Overall, Metaphor: ReFantazio presents a constantly gripping story that I found incredibly difficult to step away from. It’s a veritable virtual page-turner where I often found myself playing into the wee hours of the night just to unfurl the next chain of unpredictable events. 

Royal beggars

(Image credit: Atlus)

The flow of gameplay in Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like a broad mixture of systems from other Atlus games. Like the Persona series, Metaphor features a calendar, but it only covers about four months as opposed to a year. The tradeoff there, then, is that you’re not attending school in Metaphor, and therefore there’s more you can do in a single day. Days are broadly split into two halves; day and night. Performing an activity consumes one of these halves, unless you’re exploring a dungeon, which will take up the whole day.

Metaphor repurposes Persona’s social link system as ‘Followers.’ There are 14 of these that’ll gradually unlock over the course of the game, and includes your party members and non-player characters (NPCs) that play a key role in the narrative. Improving your standing with your followers is crucial, as you can unlock various benefits such as increased battle experience, cheaper rates at shops, and new Archetypes to take into combat (more on those later).

You’ll also have opportunities to perform activities that increase the protagonist’s five Royal Virtues. These are Courage, Wisdom, Tolerance, Eloquence and Imagination, and upgrading them is essential to unlocking further bonuses with your Followers. My tip would be to spend your free days improving these, if you don’t have any dungeons to explore or present Follower conversations to see to.

Tasks like these will most often be done in the days you have before a plot-crucial deadline, which usually comes in the form of clearing one of the game’s major dungeons. I often found myself planning out my days in advance, and there’s a great deal of satisfaction in clearing up your to-do list with enough time to spare.

What's your Archetype?

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio employs Atlus’s ‘press turn’ style of battle system most commonly found in the Shin Megami Tensei series. Essentially, on your turn, you’ll have up to four actions based on the number of characters in your party. By attacking, guarding, or using an item, you’ll consume one of these actions by default. However, hitting an enemy’s elemental weakness (or passing a character’s action onto another) will only consume ‘half’ of it, thus increasing the number of actions you can perform in a whole turn. On the other hand, if an enemy dodges, blocks or repels your attacks, you’ll lose precious actions or possibly even your whole turn.

As a result, battles will typically either be a resounding success or a crushing disaster. Mercifully, Atlus has thrown in some lifelines this time. You can choose to restart a battle at any time (with enemy weakness and resistance analysis carrying over), and the game isn’t instantly over if the protagonist dies in battle.

The real genius of Metaphor’s battle system, though, is Archetypes, which feel more like traditional RPG classes that each bring their own sets of skills and abilities.These are Persona-esque summoned entities in appearance, but they really feel more like Shin Megami Tensei’s demons, with all the customizability and player expression those bring.

Also, there are zero restrictions on party members equipping different Archetypes. Unlike Persona, it’s not just the protagonist that gets free reign. As a result, different quests and dungeons will typically require you to change up your party and Archetype composition each time. For example, some enemies may be susceptible to a specific element, encouraging you to bring along magic casters. Others, rather humorously, might be enraged if they so much as see a staff, implying you should bring along a number of melee-based Archetypes.

(Image credit: Atlus)

Now, party members do have base stats to consider. Hulkenberg has high Endurance by default, making her excel with tankier Archetypes like the Knight or the Brawler. Heismay (a former knight hailing from the mouse-like eugief tribe) is physically weaker but has naturally high Agility, meaning Thief and Gunner Archetypes are perfect for him. Strohl is something of an all-rounder, making him handy for trying out specialist Archetypes like Merchant (which has attacks that literally cost money) and Faker (which specializes in applying debuffs to enemies).

Archetypes also have some leeway in which skills they can equip with up to four free slots with which they can inherit skills from others. This means that you can carry over skills that you regularly rely on should a quest or dungeon require you to change up your Archetypes. Each also has its own set of resistances and elemental weaknesses, which you’ll need to take into account to avoid enemies getting too much of an advantage.

To summarize, I think this is Atlus’s most rich and in-depth battle system to date. You simply can’t plow through the entire game relying on the same handful of Archetypes; you’re constantly asked to adapt to the situation at hand. This means you’ll get plenty of use out of every party member (there’s little room for choosing favorites here), and discovering which Archetypes are best suited to each - not to mention unlocking more powerful versions of them - is an adventure in itself.

Delightfully dystopian

(Image credit: Atlus)

While not the most visually stunning game on the market, Metaphor: ReFantazio nonetheless sells its setting with incredible art direction. The brutalist architecture of the royal capital of Grand Trad is striking, as are its dingy alleyways where the least fortunate in society congregate. Even in more seemingly well-to-do areas like the castle town of Martira or the port of Brilehaven feel like they’re subtly stagnating, helped in part by the deliberately drab color palette that goes a long way to sell the grim fantasy setting. It’s certainly Atlus’s grittiest-feeling game - probably since the PlayStation 2’s Digital Devil Saga.

The game’s soundtrack is also a highlight with renowned composer Shoji Meguro returning for the score. Here, he trades in the infectious pop beats of Persona and the grimy rock sound of earlier Shin Megami Tensei games for something more orchestral and offbeat. The battle themes are the crowning achievement here, for sure; while they took some time to grow on me, the fast-paced, almost overbearing chanting really helps drive battles forward.

Unfortunately there are some performance issues that Atlus should look to iron out with future updates. Atlus targets 60 frames per second (fps) here, but it can chug as low as 30fps in busier city areas and when traveling between zones. It does hold up better in battles and in dungeons, but overall performance is currently a blemish on an otherwise pristine package.

Accessibility

Metaphor: ReFantazio has no dedicated accessibility features, though it does have a robust difficulty selection for those who want to tailor their experience. Players can also choose to enable a network function that shows how others spend their in-game days, offering a handy bit of guidance in case you’re torn between multiple choices.

Should I play Metaphor: ReFantazio? Play it if...

You want a truly unique dark fantasy RPG
By combining the best bits of its other series and marrying those with a firmly gripping narrative, Atlus has crafted a truly unique turn-based RPG that’s also among the best stories it has ever told.

You love highly customizable parties
Metaphor’s Archetypes mean that no two quests or dungeons are going to feel the same, and you’ll be constantly encouraged to switch up your composition, skills, and abilities for the best chance at success. 

Don't play it if...

You prefer modern settings
The grim fantasy setting of Metaphor: ReFantazio may not be to your liking if you’re more at home with Persona’s comfier modern-day adventures. 

You don’t like turn-based combat
If you prefer action RPGs or faster-paced battle systems, you might not get on with the relatively slower turn-based affair here - even if the UI and animations are perfectly snappy and responsive.

How I reviewed Metaphor: ReFantazio

My full playthrough from start to credits for Metaphor: ReFantazio lasted around 85 hours on the Normal difficulty setting. During this time, I was able to max out all Follower ranks, unlock most Archetypes and complete most side quests in addition to completing the main story.

Being a fan of the RPG genre and having played almost all major Atlus releases since the PS2’s Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, I’ve been able to experience the developer’s growth of its turn-based battle systems and storytelling over the years. With Metaphor: ReFantazio, I found a relatively much more mature story and arguably its most refined battle system to date.

I played through the game on PS5 on an LG CX OLED TV, using a DualSense Edge controller, occasionally playing with a JBL Quantum 910P gaming headset which really helped the game’s soundtrack to pop.

First reviewed October 2024.

For years now we've been living in a vinyl revival, with sales of vinyl LPs and the best turntables in rude health. But new data from Billboard suggests that this particular listening party could be coming to an end. Between 2023 and 2024, US vinyl sales dropped 33.3%. That's much more of a drop than CD sales (down 19.5%) or digital albums (down 8.3%). And it's not been replaced by streaming, which is only up 7.2%.

The problem's pretty simple. Vinyl almost always costs too much now.

New releases are routinely priced at $30 / £30 or higher before shipping, and considerably more if there's more than one disc. And old records are being rereleased and priced the same too – assuming they're not being re-released as an even more expensive package such as Green Day's 8LP American Idiot reissue ($199 / £239.99) or U2's "Super Deluxe Collector" 8LP re-release of How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ($299.98 / £229.99)

New vinyl is expensive in part because there aren't enough places making vinyl records, and partly because the costs of making records have increased. But it's also because of greed in both the new and the resale markets.

Opinion: the price of vinyl simply isn't sustainable

New vinyl has been expensive for some time now, and limited supply is a key factor: there are only so many pressing plants that can make the records. When Adele's record company got her 2021 album 30 manufactured, it took up so much capacity that other artists were facing wait times of up to nine months to get their own records made.

That problem has become worse since pop acts in particular started creating deliberate scarcity with multiple vinyl variants of the same record. Taylor Swift is probably the most high profile of these vinyl villains, making multiple versions of the same vinyl in slightly different colors (six colors for Midnights and approximately a million billion different variants of The Tortured Poets Department), but it's widespread across mainstream music now.

The high prices and limited supply in retail are having a knock-on effect on resale too. If you spend any time on the r/vinyl subreddit or similar forums you'll see redditors – redditors who love vinyl, redditors who've spent more on music than some of us spend on cars or feeding our families – talking in astonishment about the soaring prices of old records, the greed of second-hand sellers and why they're scaling back their buying as a result of what many consider to be blatant price gouging. And as some point out, high prices doesn't necessarily mean high quality either.

I love vinyl, and in a world where streaming CEOs have a higher net worth than almost any musician in history, I want to support artists directly by buying their stuff. But like many music fans, I'm buying a lot less now because I simply can't afford the prices being charged.

Music is made to be listened to, not hung on a wall or kept in the hope of selling it on for a profit. But as with the cost of concert tickets, the cost of vinyl is excluding all but the most affluent.

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United Nations aid officials and Israeli human rights groups say Israel’s latest offensive in north Gaza forces residents to choose between leaving or starving. Israel allowed in food after Vice President Harris showed concern.

Samsung has begun the rollout of its One UI software update to select Samsung TVs earlier than anticipated, as reported by SamMobile.

Following a recent announcement that Samsung would incorporate its One UI software design to its TVs – bringing them more in-line with how its phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S24, look – the rollout of this software has begun, well ahead of the expected 2025 release date before.

In the report, SamMobile reports that the One UI update appeared on its Samsung S90C, one of the best TVs available, and it appears that other 2023 models are also receiving the update.

The One UI software update is said to run on Tizen 8.0 – Samsung's 2023 TVs currently run on Tizen 7.0 – and while the One UI update will make cosmetic and design changes to Samsung's TVs, the actual smart TV platform itself will remain as Tizen under the surface.

The other headline news about this update is that Samsung's TVs will now get seven years worth of updates, meaning Samsung TVs from 2024 such as the Samsung S95D for example will receive software updates until 2031.

For some of the major changes and updates based on the One UI rollout, see below. It's worth noting that these updates may vary by model, region and more.

One UI updates

SamMobile shows that the One UI update is being implemented on Samsung's TVs - including its own 2023 S90C. (Image credit: Sammobile )

As for the changes the One UI software update has made on the 2023 TVs, some key features include For You, Live and Apps tabs on the home screen – something 2024 Samsung TVs already have – that tailor recommendations based on recent viewing, as well as the inclusion of the Daily+ Hub for lifestyle management and health apps, similar to Samsung's super useful Game Hub.

There's also a new 'Watch Later' tab where users can save TV shows and movies to a list to watch at a later time. There's a design change to the Game Bar to the latest version, too.

There's also fitness improvements, as real-time data such as heart rate and calorie consumption can be tracked when you connect a Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch, such as the Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch Ultra, which we rate as one of the best smartwatches.

There are also app widgets and animation changes made to look and act like the One UI software in terms of design.

Samsung's aim with bringing the One UI software to its TVs is said to be an attempt to unite all its products into one family, further expanding on its current SmartThings technology. But is this good news for Samsung TV owners?

One UI reservations

In our recent reviews of One UI on Samsung's phones, we have been critical of its less than user-friendly approach. (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

We've previously mentioned our reservations about the introduction of One UI to TVs as a regular criticism we've had of the One UI software in the past in our reviews of its phones is that its too overcomplicated, often hiding features that should be easily accessible.

While we have no qualms with Tizen as a smart TV platform, and have in fact praised its improvements over the years with the most notable being the 'hub menu' system, we've never found it to quite beat the likes of webOS, Roku TV and even Google TV in this year's sets, finding Tizen isn't as user-friendly.

So if One UI is something we've been critical of for not being user-friendly, is adding it to a smart TV platform that we've not found as user-friendly as rival smart TV platforms a step forwards or backwards?

We're still in the very early stages of this rollout so we'll have to see how One UI fares on the best Samsung TVs – here's hoping it's a long-term improvement.

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Google has signed a new deal with Kairos Power to use small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to power its energy-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) data centers as the world begins to confront the consequences of widespread AI adoption and a grid that’s struggling to keep up.

The partnership will be the first corporate agreement involving the purchase of nuclear energy from multiple SMRs, and is set to begin operation by the end of the decade.

With the first reactor online by 2030, Google plans to enlist additional reactors over the following five years.

Google to use nuclear for its data centers

In the nearly two years that have followed the public preview launch of ChatGPT, which is credited with kickstarting widespread interest in artificial intelligence, tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon have been forced to rethink their strategies as data centers’ power consumption and use of other natural resources have come under fire.

Google’s Senior Director for Energy and Climate, Michael Terrell, emphasized the importance of the agreement, noting that the grid needs new energy sources to support AI’s continued expansion. He described the partnership with Kairos as an opportunity to accelerate clean, reliable nuclear power and to unlock AI’s full potential.

Kairos Power CEO Mike Laufer commented: “By coming alongside in the development phase, Google is more than just a customer. They are a partner who deeply understands our innovative approach and the potential it can deliver.”

Alphabet isn’t the only big corp looking at nuclear energy to power its data centers – Microsoft and Amazon have also been publicly exploring the potential of nuclear, with the US Department of Energy also deeming it a viable solution.

Besides nuclear, Google has also been diversifying its energy investments to offshore wind, solar and geothermic activity.

It's not just Google who are looking to address the significant power usage of data centers, as energy companies have also been advised that they need to plan ahead for the AI data center power drain, or lose out on revenue.

In a recent interview, Jay Jiang Yu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Nano Nuclear Energy Inc, told TechRadar Pro that "The systems which would need to be in place to meet the expected energy demand would need to commence their installation now, to ensure that the AI and data centers in 2-3 years had the power supply necessary to continue their upscaling and expansion."

"Currently the deficit in energy is expected to hit the tech centers sometime around 2026-2027, and currently no new system looks able to come online before those dates," he concluded.

Via BBC

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• These are the best cloud computing services
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• Google says its emissions have grown nearly 50% due to AI data center boom — and here's what it plans to do about it

Global Intelligence claims its Cybercheck technology can help cops find key evidence to nail a case. But a WIRED investigation reveals the smoking gun often appears far less solid.

Microsoft is reportedly expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming in November to allow users to stream owned games that are not part of Xbox Game Pass.

According to a recent report from The Verge, sources familiar with Microsoft's plans told the publication that the company is preparing to test the new update as part of a project called "Project Lapland" where it will expand its Game Pass Ultimate offering.

Starting next month, members who are signed up for the Xbox Insider program will be able to test the new feature, which will allow the Xbox Cloud Gaming servers to support the streaming of thousands of games.

Streaming is expected to be released to more Xbox users at a later date after testing.

Xbox Cloud Gaming was supposed to launch with game library streaming in 2020, and Microsoft later announced it would support the game library on the service in 2022.

The feature didn't launch that year, however, with The Verge claiming that the work has been "complicated by having to prepare key infrastructure for thousands of games, instead of the hundreds that currently exist on Xbox Game Pass."

It's also said that publishers will withhold some games due to licensing requirements or ongoing deals.

Elsewhere, Microsoft is reportedly releasing a brand new Xbox wireless headset this month that is more expensive than the current model.

Seemingly called the "Xbox Wireless Headset Refresh", the hardware is claimed to launch in Europe on October 22 and the US on November 5 and will cost $109.99 / £99.99 / AU$163.56.

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Several key refinance rates were higher this week, making it harder to find a lower rate on a home loan.