Helios 44m 4 58mm f2

Today's Dealmaster includes a good discount on Bose's Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, the white version of which is down to $299 at various retailers. That's $80 off Bose's MSRP, about $65 off the street price we typically see online, and tied for the best price we've tracked. Further Reading The Ars Technica ultimate buying guide for your home office setup While we generally recommend Sony's WH-1000XM4 as the top choice among wireless noise-canceling headphones, this Bose pair is a strong alternative. Its battery life isn't as good, but its metal headband gives the design a more premium feel, and it offers a more neutral sound profile than the XM4's more bass-heavy default signature. And though its active noise cancellation isn't quite as effective as the XM4's at maximum, it's not terribly far off. Perhaps more importantly, Bose's companion app lets you customize the strength of the noise-canceling effect on a 10-point scale, so you can lessen the intensity if … [Read more...] about Today’s best tech deals: Bose headphones,

WATERCARE SERVICES LTD. Drone footage of the Hays Creek Dam in Hūnua that Watercare plans to recommission as part of a range of measures to help address the city's water shortages. The short-term cost of boosting water supplies to drought-hit Auckland has risen to $224 million. The estimate from the council subsidiary Watercare was given to councillors as they prepare the Covid-19 hit Emergency Budget , with revenue expected to shrink by $525m. The cost reflects the acceleration of some projects planned for future years, to help boost supply within the next 12 months after a record drought, and forecasts for a drier-than-normal spring. Auckland Council has alerted the stock exchange NZX of higher than expected costs, because some of its bonds are publicly listed. READ MORE: Auckland drought: When and how the city's water supply will grow Agreement for Auckland to take more water from Waikato River reached Watercare earmarks $57.5m to recommission … [Read more...] about Auckland drought: Cost of short term water supply boost rises to $224 million

Light and snappy, a little too flashy and packing potential, the Marsback M1 is an interesting 75% Bluetooth mechanical keyboard that hit Kickstarter this week (early bird price of $159). It’s an attempt at the best gaming keyboard that experiments freely with a chunky, frosted base, over-the-top RGB and extra peppy switches while pulling in helpful features, like hot-swappable switches, that aren’t as common as we might like. Marsback sent us a functioning prototype to test out. Ultimately, it’s a bold design that, at first glance, one Tom’s Hardware editor couldn’t decide if he loved or hated. Marsback M1 Specs Switches Marsback MBS-I (tested), MBS-II or MBS-III& Lighting Per-key RGB Onboard Storage 2 profiles Connectivity USB Type-C to USB Type-A, rubber Additional Ports None Keycaps PBT plastic Construction Polycarbonate plastic Software Marsback Pro Dimensions (LxWxH) 12.6 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches (321 x … [Read more...] about Marsback M1 Wireless Hot-Swappable Keyboard Hands-On: Funky Look, Bouncy Switches

With its curved 2.5D glass screen, super slim profile and beautifully sleek curvature encasing the world’s first 7nm smartphone chipset, Huawei’s Mate 20 series – comprising the Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro and the Porsche Design Mate20 RS – flaunted both beauty and brains at the global launch event held in London on Tuesday (Oct 16). Boasting “A Higher Intelligence” as the tagline, and an enchanting new commercial that sees savvy mobile phone users magically floating above the crowds, it seems Huawei is aiming high with its latest smartphone offerings. Perhaps it’s also got to do with the China-based handset manufacturer’s meteoric ascendance. Founded in 1987 in Shenzhen, it now supports one-third of the world’s communications in more than 170 countries. Since entering the Singapore market, it has seen triple-digit growth every year in the small tech-savvy island nation. Huawei is now regarded as one of the world’s leading marques, ranked among the world’s Top 100 most valuable … [Read more...] about First look at Huawei’s ‘higher intelligence’ Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro smartphones at London global launch