Technology

Remember when podcasting becoming a $1 billion industry was a big deal? So quaint. Let’s get into it. Podcasting will be a $4 billion industry in two years It’s the boom times for audio. Ahead of the Podcast Upfronts, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers released their annual joint report on the podcasting business, projecting that the industry will generate $2 billion in revenue this year and $4 billion by 2024. That growth is not just because the number of podcasts and time people spend listening to podcasts are increasing (though that doesn’t hurt). A lot of it, according to executives at IAB, also comes from advances in ad tech that allow advertisers to better target audiences and encourage them to spend more money. The way ads are placed in podcasts has change...

Carhartt Knit Cuffed Beanie Carhartt’s acrylic beanies will make for a welcome present if your giftee is moving somewhere cooler for school or work or if they’re simply looking to add a touch of flair to their wardrobe. The cuffed skullcaps come in nearly 30 colors and pair well with pretty much everything, which is probably why everyone from Jake Gyllenhaal to Frank Ocean has been seen donning them in the wild. Price: $16.99 Amazon Carhartt Anker 313 Power Bank A portable charger like the Anker 313 Power Bank will ensure your graduate never runs out of battery while commuting, in class, or at work. The 1,000mAh battery pack is about the same size as a smartphone and comes with enough power to recharge most phones and tablets at least once. However, you may want to buy a USB-C ...

Specialized launched a new sub-brand called Globe dedicated to building high-quality electric utility bikes that are designed specifically to replace car trips. Globe will be “an extension of the Specialized brand that will focus on bringing more fun to local living while reducing the number of car, truck, and SUV trips needed for everyday transportation,” the company says. E-bikes are unique among two-wheeled vehicles thanks to their very real ability to replace car trips for the vast majority of owners, especially those trips that are under five miles. Cargo and utility e-bikes in particular excel at reducing car usage thanks to their rugged design and payload capacity. Specialized, the third-largest bicycle manufacturer in the US based on market share, says it wants to accelerate e-bike...

Apple has announced that it’s discontinuing the iPod Touch, the last remaining model in its lineup of portable music players. In a news post on Tuesday, the company says that it will sell the current Touch “while supplies last.” While Apple may be done with making dedicated music players, the company says that “the spirit of iPod lives on” in all of its devices that play music, such as the iPhone, iPad, and HomePod Mini. The iPod Touch going away marks the end of an era. As Apple notes, it introduced the first iPod “over 20 years ago.” The original FireWire-equipped model acted as just a portable music player, and Apple made models that were pretty much exclusively for listening to audio up until 2017, when it discontinued the iPod Nano and Shuffle. While the iPod Touch has been embraced b...

Intel has provided more details on the release roadmap for its long-awaited discrete Arc GPUs in a new blog post. The company plans to use a staggered approach, which will prioritize system builders and OEMs in China when it comes to its desktop graphics cards. Meanwhile its laptop chips are currently exclusive to Samsung laptops in South Korea, but the hope is to expand to other manufacturers and markets soon. Intel says it’s working with other laptop manufacturers like Lenovo, Acer, HP, and Asus to get their laptops released with its entry-level Arc 3 GPUs “ASAP.” Laptops with the more powerful Arc 5 and Arc 7 GPUs are planned for “early summer.” The company says it had hoped availability would be “broader” at this point, but blamed software development and supply chain issues for the de...

In 2018, in a bout of curiosity, I decided to review every single wireless gaming headset on the market: 32 pairs to be exact. None of them were anywhere near as comfortable as the Plantronics Rig 800. “The only one so lightweight, so comfortable, I sometimes forgot I was wearing it,” I wrote for CNET. Four years later, I’m happy to say that feeling hasn’t changed. Plantronics no longer exists, after merging with Polycom to become “Poly” and then selling itself to HP. But the Rig 800 is alive and well at French gaming company Nacon. I’ve been trying the 2022 “Pro” model for the past couple of weeks, and it’s hard for me to imagine a more comfortable headset. It still uses the same exact design with a spring-loaded inner headstrap that automatically adjusts tension to the size of your skull...

Nintendo shipped 4.11 million Switch consoles in its January-March quarter, bringing its total to 23.06 million for the financial year, just enough to meet its revised forecast of 23 million. The company had originally predicted 25.5 million units for the year, then 24 million, before reaching its final forecast three months ago. The figure represents a 20 percent decline on the previous year’s figure of 28.83 million consoles shipped, with Nintendo citing shortages of semiconductors and other components. Nintendo has now shipped 107.65 million Switch consoles in total since its launch in March 2017. It’s the company’s most successful home console, having recently overtaken the Wii, though if you consider it a handheld system it still has some way to go to catch up to the Nintendo DS’ figu...