a new pokemon presents broadcast will air on Wednesday night for Australian audiences (or Thursday morning if you live in New Zealand). The news that they’ll need to stay up late won’t come as a surprise to long-time fans. Pokemon presents broadcasts are usually quite short and sweet, clocking in at around the 15-minute mark. This means that, if you do decide to stay up for it, you won’t have to stick around long. Alternatively, you can catch it in the morning when you wake up. We’ll also have a round up everything announced during the show for you here on Kotaku Australia to get you up to speed.
What to expect:
Though the bulk of the show will center on pokemon scarlet and violetNintendo says fans can expect news and updates on other Pokemon games as well. For those keen to stay up, here’s when and where you’ll be able to catch the latest Pokemon Direct in Australian times.
Pokemon Presents in Australia timezones:
ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC
August 3, 2022 at 11:00 pm AEST
NT, SA
August 3, 2022 at 10:30 pm ACST
WA
August 3, 2022 at 9:00 pm AWST
NZ
August 4, 2022 at 1:00 am NZST
Where:
You can catch the upcoming Pokemon Direct on The Official Pokemon YouTube Channel. Here’s a handy embed:
“Soon she’d go on to be a professional soccer player. She’d get her law degree, and maybe become one of the most successful business negotiation lawyers the world would see,” Ilan Alhadeff told a Broward County courtroom Tuesday, testifying in the death penalty trial of his daughter’s killer.
“She was supposed to get married, and I was going to have my father-daughter dance,” he said, his voice breaking. “She would have had a beautiful family, four kids, live in a gorgeous house – a beach house on the side.
“All those plans came to an end with Alyssa’s murder,” he said.
Families of the 17 people killed in the Parkland school shooting continue to take the stand Tuesday, offering victim impact statements to illustrate the toll the murders have taken as a jury decides whether to sentence the shooter to death.
Nikolas Cruz, now 23, pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, and this phase of his criminal trial aims to determine his sentence: Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, while Cruz’s defense attorneys are asking the jury for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
To recommend a death sentence, jurors must be unanimous. If they do so, the judge could choose to follow the recommendation or sentence Cruz to life instead.
To make their decision, jurors will hear prosecutors and defense attorneys argue aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances — reasons Cruz should or should not be executed. Victim impact statements add another layer, giving the families and friends of the victims their own day in court, though the judge told the jury the statements are not meant to be weighed as aggravating factors.
“We were a family unit of five always trying to fit into a world set up for even numbers,” said Tom Hoyer, whose 15-year-old son Luke — the youngest of three — was killed. “Two-, four-, six-seat tables in a restaurant. Two-, four-, six-ticket packages to events. Things like that.”
But the Hoyers are no longer a family of five, and “never again will the world feel right, now that we’re a family of four,” Hoyer said.
“When Luke died something went missing in me,” he said. “And I’ll never, never get over that feeling.”
‘I will never get over it’
Testimony by the parents of the 14 students killed has focused not only on who their children were, but on who they will never get to become — a never-ending catalog of things left undone and unsaid.
Nicholas Dworet, captain of the high school’s swim team, had just received a scholarship to the University of Indianapolis at the time he was killed, his mother, Annika Dworet, testified Tuesday. He wanted to study finance and move to Boston with his girlfriend from him.
“Nick had big goals — bigger than most of us dare to dream of,” she said. Next to his bed, he’d tapped a note that read, “I want to become a Swedish Olympian and go to Tokyo 2020 to compete for my country. I will give all I have in my body and my mind to achieve the goals I have set.”
“Now,” Annika Dworet said, “we will never know if he would have reached his goal to go to the Olympics.”
Jennifer Guttenberg, mother of 14-year-old Jaime, told the court that watching her daughter’s friends and classmates grow up and achieve things that Jaime never will is “excruciatingly difficult.”
Family get-togethers and holidays are hard, too, with one less seat at the table and no Jaime to keep “everyone upbeat and laughing.”
“There is togetherness, but there is no celebrating,” Guttenberg said. “There is a deadening silence amongst everyone, as they do n’t want to bring up Jaime’s name to her to cause pain, but do n’t want to forget her, either.”
The last four years have been no less painful for Linda Beigel Schulman, who told the court Monday it had been 1,630 days since she spoke to her son Scott Beigel, a geography teacher killed as he ushered students to safety in his classroom.
“I will never get over it. I will never get past it,” she said Monday. “My life will never, ever be the same.”
‘Our lives have been shattered’
Cruz had no visible reaction Monday to any of the victim impact statements, though one of his defense attorneys was seen wiping away a tear, as were at least two members of the jury.
“It’s been four years and four months since he was taken from us, his friends and his family,” Patricia Oliver said of her son, who was 17 when he was killed. “We miss him more than words can say and love him dearly,” she said, adding, “Our lives have been shattered and changed forever.”
Joaquin’s sister, Andrea Ghersi, said her 6-foot-1 baby brother was “energetic, vibrant, loud, confident, strong, empathetic, understanding, smart, passionate, outgoing, playful, loving, competitive, rebellious, funny, loyal and constantly spoke up when he felt something was not just.”
Victoria Gonzalez also took the stand Tuesday. The day of the shooting, she became Joaquin’s girlfriend, Gonzalez told the court, but they already referred to each other as “always soulmates,” and she described him as “magic personified, love personified.” His name, she said, is “etched into the depth of my soul.”
Kelly Petty, mother of victim Alaina Petty, described the late 14-year-old as a “very loving person.”
“She loved her friends, she loved her family and, most importantly, she loved God,” Kelly Petty said of her daughter. “I am heartbroken that I won’t be able to watch her become the amazing young woman she was turning into.”
Alain’s sister Meghan echoed that sentiment, telling the court, “I would have loved to see her grow up. She would have been a blessing to the world.”
CNN’s Carlos Suarez and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
SK hynix Develops DDR5 DRAM CXLTM Memory to Expand the CXL Memory Ecosystem
SK hynix develops its first DDR5 DRAM-based CXL sample
Expandable CXL memory to secure the technology accessibility by development of dedicated HMSDK
SK hynix to expand the CXL memory ecosystem while strengthening its presence in the next-gen memory solutions market
SK hynix Inc. has developed its first DDR5 DRAM-based CXL (Compute Express Link) memory samples and strengthened its presence in next-generation memory solutions market. The form factor of the sample is EDSFF (Enterprise & Data Center Standard Form Factor) E3.S and it supports PCIe 5.0 x8 Lane, uses DDR5 standard DRAM and is equipped with CXL controllers.
CXL1), which is based on PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)two), is a new standardized interface that helps increase the efficiency of utilizing CPUs, GPUs, accelerators, and memory. SK hynix has participated in the CXL consortium from an early stage, and is looking to secure CXL memory market leadership.
Expandable CXL Memory to Begin Mass Production in 2023
The essential point of the CXL memory market is expandability. The CXL memory allows for flexible memory expansion compared to current server market, where the memory capacity and performance are fixed once the server platform is adopted. CXL also has high growth potential as it is an interface spotlighted for high performance computing systems such as AI and big data related applications.
The first CXL memory device developed by SK hynix is a 96GB product composed of 24Gb DDR5 DRAMs based on 1anm, which is the latest tech node. The company expects high customer satisfaction of this product with flexible configuration of bandwidth and capacity expanded cost-efficiently.
“I see CXL as a new opportunity to expand memory and create a new market. We aim to mass-produce CXL memory products by 2023, and will continue to develop cutting-edge DRAM technologies and advanced packaging technologies to launch various CXL-based bandwidth/capacity expandable memory solution products.”
— said Uksong Kang, Head of DRAM Product Planning explaining SK hynix’s CXL memory deployment strategy.
Various Collaboration Plans to Expand the CXL Memory Ecosystem
“Dell has been at the forefront of developing the CXL and EDSFF ecosystems, driving technology standards through the CXL and SNIA consortiums, and working closely with our partners on CXL product requirements to meet future workload demands. The SK hynix EDSFF E3.S form factor CXL memory module is an example of the innovative products that customers will be able to deploy to meet their growing memory needs,”
— said Stuart Berke, Vice President and Fellow at Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group.
Dr. Debendra Das Sharma, Intel Senior Fellow and co-GM of Memory and I/O Technologies at Intel added,
“CXL plays an essential role in extending memory for data center systems to evolve. We look forward to building and expanding the CXL memory ecosystem, as well as quickly developing technology standards through the CXL consortium, by collaborating with partners like SK hynix.”
“AMD is excited about the possibilities of workload performance acceleration with memory expansion using CXL technology. We look forward to collaborating with SK hynix on the development and validation of CXL as the industry shifts to a more dynamic and flexible memory infrastructure,”
— said Raghu Nambiar, Corporate Vice President of Data Center Ecosystems and Solutions at AMD.
“CXL is a key technology that will be critical in optimizing memory systems in the future, and we are actively working with SK hynix in CXL memory design and verification to promote the rapid development of the CXL memory ecosystem,”
— said Christopher Cox, Vice President of Technology at Montage Technologies.
Securing Technology Accessibility by Developing HMSDK dedicated to CXL Memory
SK hynix also developed the Heterogeneous Memory Software Development Kit (HMSDK)3) exclusively for CXL memory devices. The kit will include features to improve system performance and monitor the systems while running various workloads. The company plans to distribute it as an open source in the fourth quarter of 2022. It is expected that end users such as software developers will be able to utilize SK hynix’s CXL memory more effectively.
The company prepared a separate sample for evaluation to help customers evaluate it with ease. As there is currently no server which supports EDSFF E3.S x8 Lane, SK hynix replaced the dedicated samples’ EDSFF pins with PCIe to support customers install the samples to existing PCIe slots.
SK hynix is planning to exhibit the product in upcoming events, beginning with Flash Memory Summit in early August, Intel Innovation at the end of September and Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit in October, while scheduling to demonstrate a demo with HMSDK as well . The company will actively deploy CXL memory related business to provide customers with the memory products they need in a timely manner.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul and Charles Booker, his Democratic opponent this fall in Kentucky, traded shots at each other Monday involving each other’s response to the deadly flooding that devastated several Appalachian counties last week.
Booker personally delivered a truck full of water and supplies to an emergency shelter at Letcher County Central High School in flood-ravaged Whitesburg on Saturday, with his campaign office in Louisville now full of more supplies that will be delivered soon after his call for supporters to provide donations.
But when asked by a reporter at his Monday press conference in Louisville if he felt like he was doing enough for the flood victims — and the optics of his opponent being there on the ground with his volunteer effort — Paul countered that politicians should stay out of the way.
“I think most people think that the people who should be doing the responding are the professionals,” Paul said. “You know, politicians out there having their picture taken probably isn’t that useful.”
Kentucky flooding:How an elementary school is helping Eastern Kentucky flooding victims find relief
Paul added that what flood victims actually need are “monetary donations, as opposed to goods,” saying that much of the goods collected for the Western Kentucky tornado victims in December “still sits in warehouses, and they’re still trying to find somebody that could make use of it.”
“I just don’t like the images of politicians getting in front of a camera out where rescuers are trying to actually dig people out and try to save lives.”
Paul said he would eventually visit the area and work with “the governor and the other elected officials to make sure that disaster relief is there for them. But in the immediate aftermath, we really would need to save lives.”
Booker shot back at Paul’s comments later Monday, issuing a statement that the senator’s “pitiful response is yet more evidence that he does not care about the people of Kentucky.”
“He’s talking like someone who hasn’t been on the ground, because if he saw what I saw, he’d know that everyone’s help is needed,” Booker said. “If he actually listened to the people on the ground, he’d know they are asking for supplies to help with cleanup, hot meals, and debris removal. They’re asking for help finding loved ones.”
Since delivering a truck full of supplies to the emergency shelter in Whitesburg on Saturday, Booker says his campaign office “has received an overwhelming amount of donations and supplies for the impacted areas. We will be working with organizers on the ground to make sure they are distributed to those in need.”
100 days to election:What’s at stake for abortion in Rand Paul v. Charles Booker race?
Booker tweeted a video Monday afternoon of himself walking through rooms of his campaign office filled with water, diapers and other supplies that supporters had donated, writing: “This is what standing together looks like. This is what Kentucky is all about!”
“We turned our campaign office into a drop location for flood relief, and this is how you responded! I can’t thank you enough. Let’s keep going.”
Booker has not been the only politician who lives outside the region to travel there after the flooding and volunteer their help, as Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron posted photos of himself meeting with people in the area Monday.
“Today, I visited local shelters in Breathitt and Knott Counties to deliver essential supplies to Kentuckians who have been impacted by the severe flooding in eastern Kentucky,” Cameron wrote on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. “It was an honor to spend time with such generous and resilient Kentuckians.”
Republican Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles — who like Cameron, is running for governor next year — also posted videos and photos Sunday of himself “delivering water, food and toiletries to devastated areas of Eastern Kentucky including Manchester and Hazard,” along with calls for people to deliver more supplies to his Frankfort office.
Gov. Andy Beshear observed the flooding damage from a National Guard helicopter Friday and visited affected areas on the ground Sunday in Perry, Knott and Letcher counties, before making another trip to emergency shelters in Floyd, Breathitt and Pike counties on Tuesday.
The governor, who has led the emergency response efforts, set up a website for people to donate to flood relief efforts, while also emphasizing the need for donations of water and cleaning supplies to the devastated areas.
Booker added in his statement to The Courier Journal that when he saw news of the flooding, “I did not respond as a politician. I responded as a Kentuckian and (Paul) should have done the same thing.”
State Rep. Angie Hatton, a Democrat from Whitesburg, told The Courier Journal she was grateful for Booker’s donations to her city’s shelter.
“I have known Charles for years, starting when we served together in the Kentucky House, and I was not the least bit surprised that he came here to help,” Hatton said. “He knows I would do exactly the same if the situation were reversed.”
Hatton added that “we don’t have the time or desire to politicize the worst natural disaster my corner of the state has ever suffered. On the contrary, we deeply appreciate everyone who has donated time, money and supplies to help, because the need is so great.”
“With that in mind, I know Sen. Paul has access to many resources, and we would be glad to work with him in any capacity. I’ll accept help — and hugs — from anyone willing to help my people.”
Amidst a weak yen in Japan, electronics are currently facing some serious price hikes, including the likes of Apple’s iPhone, but also encompassing a wide range of pretty essential goods including TVs, fridges, dishwashers, and printers.
One area that seems to be immune (for now) is the video game console market. According to Bloomberg (thanks, VGC), the three major console manufacturers – Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft – were asked whether a price increase is on the cards in Japan in the near future. While Sony and Microsoft conspiciously declined to comment, Nintendo stated quite plainly that it has “no plans” to raise Switch prices.
Of course, plans can change at the drop of a hat, but it’s nonetheless reasonably welcome news for customers. As cited by Bloomberg, none of the console manufacturers want to be the first to raise the price of their products, but what this currently means is that consoles in Japan are effectively $100 cheaper than anywhere else.
On the flipside, as a result of companies not opting to raise their prices, this has also led to scalpers in Japan buying consoles and selling them on again at a profit at the most opportunistic time, further increasing demand in the country and driving profits away from shareholders. As such, an eventual price increase may seem almost inevitable.
One likely reason that Nintendo is declining to raise the price of the Switch is that all models are still selling like hotcakes in Japan. Just last week, Nintendo managed to sell almost 70,000 Switch units, whereas the PlayStation 5 managed just over 11,000. It’s clear that Nintendo sees no reason to raise its prices when its products are still performing so well. Nevertheless, as the yen weakens, Nintendo is expected to report a profit loss as part of its next financial results.
Do you think console prices will rise in Japan? Who will be the first to cave? Let us know in the comments!
AUSTIN, Texas– The father of a 6-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting testified Tuesday that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made his life a “living hell” by pushing claims that the murders were a hoax.
In more than an hour of emotional testimony during which he often fought back tears, Neil Heslin said he has endured online abuse, anonymous phone calls and harassment on the street.
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I truly realized how dangerous it was. … My life has been threatened. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.”
Heslin said his home and car have been shot at, and his attorneys said Monday that the family had an “encounter” in Austin since the trial started and have been in isolation under security.
Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, have sued Jones and his media company Free Speech Systems over the harassment and threats they and other parents say they have endured for years because of Jones and his Infowars website. Jones claimed the 2012 attack that killed 20 first-graders and six staffers at the Connecticut school was a hoax or faked.
Heslin and Lewis are seeking at least $150 million in the case.
“Today is very important to me and it’s been a long time coming… to face Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore the honor and legacy of my son,” Heslin said.
Heslin also said that while he doesn’t know if the Sandy Hook hoax theory originated with Jones, it was Jones who “lit the match and started the fire” with an online platform and broadcast that reached millions worldwide.
Heslin told the jury about holding his son with a bullet hole through his head, even describing the extent of the damage to his son’s body. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin holding his son didn’t happen.
An apology from Jones wouldn’t be good enough at this point, he said.
“Alex started this fight,” Heslin said, “and I’ll finish this fight.”
Jones wasn’t in court during Heslin’s testimony, to move the father called “cowardly.” Jones has skipped much of the testimony during the two-week trial and had a cadre of bodyguards in the courtroom when he did attend. Tuesday was the last scheduled day for testimony and Jones was expected to take the stand as the only witness in his defense of him.
Scarlett Lewis was also called to the stand Tuesday.
Heslin and Lewis suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder that comes from constant trauma, similar to that endured by soldiers in war zones or child abuse victims, a forensic psychologist who studied their cases and met with them testified Monday.
Jones has portrayed the lawsuit against him as an attack on his First Amendment rights.
At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. The parents have asked the jury to award $150 million in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury will then consider whether Jones and his company will pay punitive damages.
The trial is just one of several Jones faces.
Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.
Jones has already tried to protect Free Speech Systems financially. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. Sandy Hook families have separately sued Jones over his financial claims from him, arguing that the company is trying to protect millions owned by Jones and his family from him through shell entities.
In a recent filing, Microsoft told New Zealand’s Commerce Commission that Activision Blizzard produces no “must-have” games. Weird thing to say when the company plans to spend $68.7 billion to buy the gaming giant behind Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraftand plenty more.
In the document, Microsoft said: “There is nothing unique about the video games developed and published by Activision Blizzard that is a ‘must have’ for rival PC and console video game distributors that give rise to a foreclosure concern.”
Attempting to downplay the importance of Call of Duty is just one of the ways Microsoft has tried to placate regulators. In February, the company pledged it would continue to make the franchise available on PlayStation consoles beyond any existing agreements between Sony and Activision.
— Matt Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
It left its equipment in the streets in some cities.
An e-bike- and scooter-sharing startup co-founded by Olympian Usain Bolt appears to have stopped operations. Bolt Mobility offered bikes in five cities, including Portland, Burlington, Vermont and Richmond in California, and others. “We learned a couple of weeks ago (from them) that Bolt is ceasing operations,” a transportation planner in Chittenden County, Vermont, told TechCrunch. “They’ve vanished, leaving equipment behind and emails and calls unanswered.”
Continue reading.
You’ll also see them on individual app pages.
Apple famously bragged it’ll never invade your privacy to serve ads, but it does have an ad business on its App Store and elsewhere. The company is now expanding that business by adding a new ad slot to its Today homepage tab and on individual app pages. The company says these new ad slots will adhere to Apple’s policies on privacy and transparency, by not offering personalized ads to users under 18, never using sensitive data and avoiding hyper-targeting.
Continue reading.
Whether you have Series X, Series S, One X or One S, there’s something here for you.
TMA
Microsoft’s console strategy is unique. Someone with a nine-year-old Xbox One has access to an almost-identical library of games as the owner of a brand-new Xbox Series X. That makes it difficult to maintain meaningfully different lists for its various consoles — at least for now . But while next-gen exclusives may be few and far between, there are a lot of gamers who simply haven’t experienced much of what Microsoft has had to offer since the mid-’10s.
It’s in that frame of mind that we approach this list, now updated: What games would we recommend to someone picking up an Xbox today? Expect more updated guides to the best games throughout the week.
Continue reading.
The proposed class action suit accuses Musk of breaching his fiduciary duty to Twitter shareholders.
TMA
It’s not only Twitter trying to force Elon Musk to buy the company for $44 billion. An investor filed a proposed class action lawsuit to try to stop Musk from backing out of the deal. Luigi Crispo’s suit accuses Musk of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty to Twitter’s shareholders. Musk last month claimed the company made “false and misleading representations,” and that it misrepresented the number of bots and fake accounts on its platform. Crispo concurred with Twitter’s claims that Musk is using false claims about bots and spam to wriggle out of the deal without a valid legal standing.
Continue reading.
Premium features.
It’s 2022 and Spotify is adding the most basic of functions to its iOS and Android apps: dedicated play and shuffle buttons on playlists and album pages. Until now, tapping the button on most playlists started playback, shuffled. This vanilla playback ‘feature,’ however, will only be available to Spotify Premium subscribers.
Continue reading.
There’s already a “TikTok Music” trademark application filed.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “TikTok Music.” The service would let users “purchase, play, share, download music, songs, albums, lyrics… live stream audio and video… edit and upload photographs as the cover of playlists… [and] comment on music, songs and albums.”
A voter drops off his mail ballot for the 2022 Pennsylvania primary elections in Newtown Square, Pa., on May 2. The state’s Supreme Court has ruled in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that expanded mail-in voting.
Matt Rourke/AP
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Matt Rourke/AP
A voter drops off his mail ballot for the 2022 Pennsylvania primary elections in Newtown Square, Pa., on May 2. The state’s Supreme Court has ruled in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that expanded mail-in voting.
Matt Rourke/AP
Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law has been upheld by the state’s Supreme Court, allowing all voters in the key swing state to cast ballots by mail in November and for other future elections.
In a 5-2 decision released Tuesday, the Democratic-majority court overturned a lower court’s ruling from January that found Pennsylvania’s Act 77 to be in violation of the state’s constitution.
“We find no restriction in our Constitution on the General Assembly’s ability to create universal mail-in voting,” Justice Christine Donohue wrote in the majority opinion.
The state law, which passed with bipartisan support in 2019, has become a main focal point in a Republican-driven campaign against mail-in voting in Pennsylvania.
The integrity of what was once a largely uncontentious voting option has been subjected to baseless attacks from former President Donald Trump and his allies, leading many GOP lawmakers to make an about-face on their initial support for mail-in voting.
In fact, the lawsuit that was heard by the courts was brought in part by a group of Republicans in the Pennsylvania state House who helped pass Act 77.
The case has been closely followed by many voting rights advocates and election watchers, as it put access to the ballot box for Pennsylvania’s more than 8.7 million registered voters at stake.
Apple AirTags have become lifesavers of late, with many people reporting using them to locate their lost luggage at airports while traveling. The trackers, which use ultra-wideband versus Bluetooth like most others, are a great way to keep tabs on valuable items, from luggage to a purse, wallet, gym bag, headphones, car keys, and more.
With that said, Apple is a relatively new company to the business, and while the AirTags are great, and pretty affordable (though users will also need to buy an accessory of some kind for attaching it to something), there are other options worth considering. as well. These are particularly fitting for those who don’t own an iPhone, though they all work with an iPhone app, too.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Tile Pro
One of the first and most popular brands of Bluetooth trackers is Tile, and its top-line model is the Tile Pro. In comparing the Tile Pro to the AirTag, the Tile Pro comes in a number of colors and employs a rectangular shape with keyring to nicely hang on keys. It works with the Tile app for locating whatever item it’s attached to, both within range using Bluetooth and out of range using the crowdsourced Tile community.
The Tile Pro has the longest range of all Tile devices at up to 400 feet, though this is still only half that of the AirTag. It is also the loudest when using the phone to ring it when it’s in range. The tracker comes with a replaceable battery that lasts for up to a year. It’s water-resistant, works with both Android and Apple devices, and even supports voice-assisted finding using Alexa, Google, or Siri.
Tile Slim
Perfect for placing in a wallet or side pocket of a bag or luggage, the Tile Slim is, as the name implies, slim in design. Resembling a credit card, it isn’t quite as powerful as the Pro with just a 250-foot range, but its battery will last for up to three years. However, the battery is non-replaceable, which means users would have to opt for Tile’s battery replacement program.
RELATED: iPhone Models That Work Best With Apple’s AirTag
Water-resistant and with the same phone compatibility and voice assistance options, it’s the best choice for slotting into a wallet. This one is perfect for the person who often forgets their wallet on the table or in the pocket of the jeans they threw in the hamper.
Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag
Samsung has its own Bluetooth trackers to compete with the Apple AirTag, and one of the most affordable options is the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag. The only issue here, however, is that it is only compatible with Samsung Galaxy phones. For those who own one, however, this alternative might be the best one.
RELATED: Apple AirTag Vs. Galaxy SmartTab+ Bluetooth Trackers Compared
Like the others, it is powered by Bluetooth and can easily attach to keys, backpacks, purses, and more using the keyhole. It works with the app to ring to find a lost item or connects to the Galaxy Find Network for finding it offline. The SmartTag can even be used to control compatible smart devices in the home, turning lights on and off, which is a nice added benefit.
Tile Stickers
Another option from Tile, the Tile Sticker is unique in that it is the one that most closely resembles the AirTag but it has a cool feature: an adhesive back to stick to the underside of a skateboard or bicycle seat for an unobtrusive way to keep track of larger items. And there are certainly many items worth keeping tabs on with a Bluetooth tracker.
With an up to 250-foot range, water-resistant design, and voice assistance, it also has a three-year non-replaceable battery. But in ensuring it’s always powered up, one of these could be the difference between saying goodbye to that stolen bike and actually tracking down where it went.
Tile Mate
Yes, Tile warrants yet another shoutout with the Tile Mate, the super-affordable option among the pack that has an up to 250-foot range, up to three-year non-replaceable battery, water-resistant design, and voice-assisted finding .
Like the Tile Pro, it has a built-in hole for securing it directly to a set of keys, but it’s square in shape versus rectangular. It’s smaller than the Pro but a bit larger than the AirTag, making it a nice middle-of-the-road option for someone looking for something other than the AirTag.
Chipolo One
The Chipolo One looks almost identical to the Apple AirTag with its small, round shape, except it has a tiny hole for securing it to a key ring. Like the others, it uses an app where users can keep track of the item’s location, and it offers a 200-foot range.
RELATED: The Different Types & Styles Of AirTag Accessories Explained
Like with AirTags, set it to receive an alert if the item goes out of range. If it does, the device leverages the Chipolo community to help locate it. The Chipolo One has an easily replaceable battery that lasts up to two years and is water-resistant. As a bonus, it can even be used a remote shutter to trigger a phone’s camera and has different ringtones from which to choose. It also works with voice control via Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri. Devices like the Chipolo One could be among the best electronics users can buy.
Orbitkey X Chipolo Tracker
Leveraging Chipolo technology and the company’s community of users, the Orbitkey x Chipolo Tracker is another option that’s a bit more expensive than the others, but that’s because it’s designed to work with other unique Orbitkey products.
Namely, this includes the Orbitkey Key Organiser, which is designed to house keys in a Swiss Army knife fashion. Pop the Orbitkey tracker in there as well and it will keep track of the location of the pocket knife-looking contraption. Like the Chipolo One, the button on the device can trigger a phone’s camera. For tracking purposes, it has a shorter range of up to 150 feet and a replaceable battery that only lasts up to six months, but it’s simple and cheap to replace by grabbing one from any hardware store. In terms of design, for those who opt for the Orbitkey Key Organizer as well, it’s a seamless fit that’s worth the extra bucks to keep things neat and tidy without having bulky, jangling keys on a ring.
Huawei Tags
In looking at how the Huawei Tag and Apple AirTag differ, the price is the first big difference: the Huawei Tag is much, much cheaper. It’s most inexpensive option on the list, in fact. It has a pop-up that will advise if an item is left behind and is supported by Huawei’s own “find” network.
It’s rated for water resistance and has a battery that lasts for a year. Like the AirTag, the Huawei Tag is a tiny little device that requires the purchase of a separate keychain or another accessory if users want to affix it to anything, like a set of keys or bag zipper. With that said, the Huawei tag is only available in China for now.
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Christine Persaud (1227 Articles Published)
A professional writer and editor with 20 years of experience, Christine, who shifted to working freelance in 2014, is a self-professed TV fanatic with tastes that vary considerably from comedies to dramas, sci-fi, and more. She can usually be found binging a new show at night, a glass of red in hand. With a long history writing in the field of consumer tech, she now also writes on topics from entertainment to parenting, lifestyle, marketing, and business. She resides in Toronto, Ontario in Canada with her husband and son.
President Joe Biden experienced a “rebound” Covid infection after taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid — and he’s not the only one.
Some patients who took Pfizer’s Paxlovid after contracting the coronavirus have reported the same phenomenon: Days after they finished a five-day course of the oral drug and felt better, their Covid symptoms or a positive test result returned.
Health experts say Paxlovid’s rebound effect doesn’t impact every patient or make it any less effective at its job, which is fighting severe illness from Covid. Still, like with so much about the pandemic, you might have some questions: How severe are rebound cases? Why do they happen? How common are they, and should you still feel comfortable taking the drug?
The answer to that last question is a resounding “yes,” doctors say. Here’s why, and what else you need to know about Paxlovid rebound cases:
Who can take Paxlovid?
In December 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration made Paxlovid available under an emergency use authorization to treat mild-to-moderate Covid cases in a specific group of eligible patients. You can get Paxlovid if you check all three of these boxes:
You tested positive for Covid
You’re at least 18 years old, or at least 12 years old and weigh at least 88 pounds
You have one or more risk factors for severe Covid
That includes patients 65 and older — such as Biden, 79 — or those with underlying conditions like cancer, diabetes or obesity. You may not be able to take Paxlovid if you take certain medications that can interact with the drug and cause serious side effects, according to the FDA.
You can obtain Paxlovid prescriptions from your healthcare provider or through the Biden administration’s “Test to Treat” program, which gives free Covid antiviral pills to patients who test positive at pharmacies across the country.
If you’re eligible, you should start taking Paxlovid as soon as possible after testing positive for Covid, and within five days of experiencing Covid symptoms. You’ll need to take three pills, twice a day, for five days.
Pfizer’s clinical trials last November suggest that Paxlovid does its job: The drug was 89% effective at preventing hospitalization among people who were at risk of developing severe illness.
Notably, that trial was conducted before Covid’s omicron variant emerged — but Pfizer said in January that Paxlovid still works against omicron, citing three laboratory-based studies. It appears to also work against omicron subvariants like BA.5, with no current data showing otherwise, according to Barbara Santevecchi, a clinical assistant professor of infectious diseases at the University of Florida’s College of Pharmacy.
How common are rebound cases, and what are they like?
Some people who take Paxlovid test negative for Covid after finishing their five-day treatment, but then test positive or experience symptoms again two to eight days later, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Roughly 5% of the tens of thousands of Paxlovid users have experienced rebound cases so far, White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said at a news conference last month. They appear to be very mild: A June CDC study found that less than 1% of patients taking Paxlovid were admitted to the hospital or emergency department for Covid in the five to 15 days after they finished the treatment.
Patients also appear to recover from rebound cases without any additional Covid treatment, the CDC says.
A UC San Diego School of Medicine study released in June identified “insufficient drug exposure” as the most likely cause. In that scenario, Paxlovid stops the virus in its tracks for five days, but doesn’t stick around long enough to purge the infection entirely — allowing the virus to temporarily replicate again once the drug is gone.
Dr. Davey Smith, the study’s senior author and an infectious disease specialist at UCSD Health, hypothesizes that some people may metabolize Paxlovid more quickly, or that the drug might need to be taken for more than five days to fully clear the virus in every patient . But there’s no clinical data to back that up yet, he says.
“We don’t know if it’s safe or efficacious to do double the amount of time of Paxlovid, doing two courses,” Smith tells CNBC Make It. “That’s getting too far out over your skis without the clinical research to guide it.”
If you experience a rebound case, you do need to reenter quarantine until you test negative again. The CDC advises isolating for at least five more days before checking the agency’s current isolation guidelines. You should also wear a mask for 10 days after rebound symptoms begin, the CDC advises.
