The idea that the chances of getting pregnant plummet at 35 is widespread. But it’s not totally true.
Source: NYT > Well.
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About 15 years ago, I was working at a company where we built apps for travel agents, airport workers, and airline companies. We also built our own in-house framework for UI components and single-page app capabilities.
We had components for everything: fields, buttons, tabs, ranges, datatables, menus, datepickers, selects, and multiselects. We even had a div component. Our div component was great by the way, it allowed us to do rounded corners on all browsers, which, believe it or not, wasn’t an easy thing to do at the time.
Our work took place at a point in our history when JS, Ajax, and dynamic HTML were seen as a revolution that brought us into the future. Suddenly, we could update a page dynamically, get data from a server, and avoid having to navigate to other pages, which was seen as slow and flashed a big white rectangle on the screen between the two pages.
There was a phrase, made popular by Jeff Atwood (the founder of StackOverflow), which read:
“Any application that can be written in JavaScript will eventually be written in JavaScript.”
To us at the time, this felt like a dare to actually go and create those apps. It felt like a blanket approval to do everything with JS.
So we did everything with JS, and we didn’t really take the time to research other ways of doing things. We didn’t really feel the incentive to properly learn what HTML and CSS could do. We didn’t really perceive the web as an evolving app platform in its entirety. We mostly saw it as something we needed to work around, especially when it came to browser support. We could just throw more JS at it to get things done.
Would taking the time to learn more about how the web worked and what was available on the platform have helped me? Sure, I could probably have shaved a bunch of code that wasn’t truly needed. But, at the time, maybe not that much.
You see, browser differences were pretty significant back then. This was a time when Internet Explorer was still the dominant browser, with Firefox being the close second, but starting to lose market share due to Chrome rapidly gaining popularity. Although Chrome and Firefox were quite good at agreeing on web standards, the environments in which our apps were running meant that we had to support IE6 for a long time. Even when we were allowed to support IE8, we still had to deal with a lot of differences between browsers. Not only that, but the web of the time just didn’t have that many capabilities built right into the platform.
Fast forward to today. Things have changed tremendously. Not only do we have more of these capabilities than ever before, but the rate at which they become available has increased as well.
Let me ask the question again, then: Would taking the time to learn more about how the web works and what is available on the platform help you today? Absolutely yes. Learning to understand and use the web platform today puts you at a huge advantage over other developers.
Whether you work on performance, accessibility, responsiveness, all of them together, or just shipping UI features, if you want to do it as a responsible engineer, knowing the tools that are available to you helps you reach your goals faster and better.
Some Things You Might Not Need A Library For Anymore
Knowing what browsers support today, the question, then, is: What can we ditch? Do we need a div component to do rounded corners in 2025? Of course, we don’t. The
border-radiusproperty has been supported by all currently used browsers for more than 15 years at this point. Andcorner-shapeis also coming soon, for even fancier corners.Let’s take a look at relatively recent features that are now available in all major browsers, and which you can use to replace existing dependencies in your codebase.
The point isn’t to immediately ditch all your beloved libraries and rewrite your codebase. As for everything else, you’ll need to take browser support into account first and decide based on other factors specific to your project. The following features are implemented in the three main browser engines (Chromium, WebKit, and Gecko), but you might have different browser support requirements that prevent you from using them right away. Now is still a good time to learn about these features, though, and perhaps plan to use them at some point.
Popovers And Dialogs
The Popover API, the
<dialog>HTML element, and the::backdroppseudo-element can help you get rid of dependencies on popup, tooltip, and dialog libraries, such as Floating UI, Tippy.js, Tether, or React Tooltip.They handle accessibility and focus management for you, out of the box, are highly customizable by using CSS, and can easily be animated.
Accordions
The
<details>element, itsnameattribute for mutually exclusive elements, and the::details-contentpseudo-element remove the need for accordion components like the Bootstrap Accordion or the React Accordion component.Just using the platform here means it’s easier for folks who know HTML/CSS to understand your code without having to first learn to use a specific library. It also means you’re immune to breaking changes in the library or the discontinuation of that library. And, of course, it means less code to download and run. Mutually exclusive details elements don’t need JS to open, close, or animate.
CSS Syntax
Cascade layers, for a more organized CSS codebase, CSS nesting, for more compact CSS, new color functions, relative colors, and
color-mix, new Maths functions likeabs(),sign(),pow()and others help reduce dependencies on CSS pre-processors, utility libraries like Bootstrap and Tailwind, or even runtime CSS-in-JS libraries.The game changer
:has(), one of the most requested features for a long time, removes the need for more complicated JS-based solutions.JS Utilities
Modern Array methods like
findLast(), orat(), as well as Set methods likedifference(),intersection(),union()and others can reduce dependencies on libraries like Lodash.Container Queries
Container queries make UI components respond to things other than the viewport size, and therefore make them more reusable across different contexts.
No need to use a JS-heavy UI library for this anymore, and no need to use a polyfill either.
Layout
Grid, subgrid, flexbox, or multi-column have been around for a long time now, but looking at the results of the State of CSS surveys, it’s clear that developers tend to be very cautious with adopting new things, and wait for a very long time before they do.
These features have been Baseline for a long time and you could use them to get rid of dependencies on things like the Bootstrap’s grid system, Foundation Framework’s flexbox utilities, Bulma fixed grid, Materialize grid, or Tailwind columns.
I’m not saying you should drop your framework. Your team adopted it for a reason, and removing it might be a big project. But looking at what the web platform can offer without a third-party wrapper on top comes with a lot of benefits.
Things You Might Not Need Anymore In The Near Future
Now, let’s take a quick look at some of the things you will not need a library for in the near future. That is to say, the things below are not quite ready for mass adoption, but being aware of them and planning for potential later use can be helpful.
Anchor Positioning
CSS anchor positioning handles the positioning of popovers and tooltips relative to other elements, and takes care of keeping them in view, even when moving, scrolling, or resizing the page.
This is a great complement to the Popover API mentioned before, which will make it even easier to migrate away from more performance-intensive JS solutions.
Navigation API
The Navigation API can be used to handle navigation in single-page apps and might be a great complement, or even a replacement, to React Router, Next.js routing, or Angular routing tasks.
View Transitions API
The View Transitions API can animate between the different states of a page. On a single-page application, this makes smooth transitions between states very easy, and can help you get rid of animation libraries such as Anime.js, GSAP, or Motion.dev.
Even better, the API can also be used with multiple-page applications.
Remember earlier, when I said that the reason we built single-page apps at the company where I worked 15 years ago was to avoid the white flash of page reloads when navigating? Had that API been available at the time, we would have been able to achieve beautiful page transition effects without a single-page framework and without a huge initial download of the entire app.
Scroll-driven Animations
Scroll-driven animations run on the user’s scroll position, rather than over time, making them a great solution for storytelling and product tours.
Some people have gone a bit over the top with it, but when used well, this can be a very effective design tool, and can help get rid of libraries like: ScrollReveal, GSAP Scroll, or WOW.js.
Customizable Selects
A customizable select is a normal
<select>element that lets you fully customize its appearance and content, while ensuring accessibility and performance benefits.This has been a long time coming, and a highly requested feature, and it’s amazing to see it come to the web platform soon. With a built-in customizable select, you can finally ditch all this hard-to-maintain JS code for your custom select components.
CSS Masonry
CSS Masonry is another upcoming web platform feature that I want to spend more time on.
With CSS Masonry, you can achieve layouts that are very hard, or even impossible, with flex, grid, or other built-in CSS layout primitives. Developers often resort to using third-party libraries to achieve Masonry layouts, such as the Masonry JS library.
But, more on that later. Let’s wrap this point up before moving on to Masonry.
Why You Should Care
The job market is full of web developers with experience in JavaScript and the latest frameworks of the day. So, really, what’s the point in learning to use the web platform primitives more, if you can do the same things with the libraries, utilities, and frameworks you already know today?
When an entire industry relies on these frameworks, and you can just pull in the right library, shouldn’t browser vendors just work with these libraries to make them load and run faster, rather than trying to convince developers to use the platform instead?
First of all, we do work with library authors, and we do make frameworks better by learning about what they use and improving those areas.
But secondly, “just using the platform” can bring pretty significant benefits.
Sending Less Code To Devices
The main benefit is that you end up sending far less code to your clients’ devices.
According to the 2024 Web Almanac, the average number of HTTP requests is around 70 per site, most of which is due to JavaScript with 23 requests. In 2024, JS overtook images as the dominant file type too. The median number of page requests for JS files is 23, up 8% since 2022.
And page size continues to grow year over year. The median page weight is around 2MB now, which is 1.8MB more than it was 10 years ago.
Sure, your internet connection speed has probably increased, too, but that’s not the case for everyone. And not everyone has the same device capabilities either.
Pulling in third-party code for things you can do with the platform, instead, most probably means you ship more code, and therefore reach fewer customers than you normally would. On the web, bad loading performance leads to large abandonment rates and hurts brand reputation.
Running Less Code On Devices
Furthermore, the code you do ship on your customers’ devices likely runs faster if it uses fewer JavaScript abstractions on top of the platform. It’s also probably more responsive and more accessible by default. All of this leads to more and happier customers.
Check my colleague Alex Russell’s yearly performance inequality gap blog, which shows that premium devices are largely absent from markets with billions of users due to wealth inequality. And this gap is only growing over time.
Built-in Masonry Layout
One web platform feature that’s coming soon and which I’m very excited about is CSS Masonry.
Let me start by explaining what Masonry is.
What Is Masonry
Masonry is a type of layout that was made popular by Pinterest years ago. It creates independent tracks of content within which items pack themselves up as close to the start of the track as they can.
Many people see Masonry as a great option for portfolios and photo galleries, which it certainly can do. But Masonry is more flexible than what you see on Pinterest, and it’s not limited to just waterfall-like layouts.
In a Masonry layout:
- Tracks can be columns or rows:
- Tracks of content don’t all have to be the same size:
- Items can span multiple tracks:
- Items can be placed on specific tracks; they don’t have to always follow the automatic placement algorithm:
Demos
Here are a few simple demos I made by using the upcoming implementation of CSS Masonry in Chromium.
A photo gallery demo, showing how items (the title in this case) can span multiple tracks:
Another photo gallery showing tracks of different sizes:
A news site layout with some tracks wider than others, and some items spanning the entire width of the layout:
A kanban board showing that items can be placed onto specific tracks:
Note: The previous demos were made with a version of Chromium that’s not yet available to most web users, because CSS Masonry is only just starting to be implemented in browsers.
However, web developers have been happily using libraries to create Masonry layouts for years already.
Sites Using Masonry Today
Indeed, Masonry is pretty common on the web today. Here are a few examples I found besides Pinterest:
And a few more, less obvious, examples:
So, how were these layouts created?
Workarounds
One trick that I’ve seen used is using a Flexbox layout instead, changing its direction to column, and setting it to wrap.
This way, you can place items of different heights in multiple, independent columns, giving the impression of a Masonry layout:
There are, however, two limitations with this workaround:
- The order of items is different from what it would be with a real Masonry layout. With Flexbox, items fill the first column first and, when it’s full, then go to the next column. With Masonry, items would stack in whichever track (or column in this case) has more space available.
- But also, and perhaps more importantly, this workaround requires that you set a fixed height to the Flexbox container; otherwise, no wrapping would occur.
Third-party Masonry Libraries
For more advanced cases, developers have been using libraries.
The most well-known and popular library for this is simply called Masonry, and it gets downloaded about 200,000 times per week according to NPM.
Squarespace also provides a layout component that renders a Masonry layout, for a no-code alternative, and many sites use it.
Both of these options use JavaScript code to place items in the layout.
Built-in Masonry
I’m really excited that Masonry is now starting to appear in browsers as a built-in CSS feature. Over time, you will be able to use Masonry just like you do Grid or Flexbox, that is, without needing any workarounds or third-party code.
My team at Microsoft has been implementing built-in Masonry support in the Chromium open source project, which Edge, Chrome, and many other browsers are based on. Mozilla was actually the first browser vendor to propose an experimental implementation of Masonry back in 2020. And Apple has also been very interested in making this new web layout primitive happen.
The work to standardize the feature is also moving ahead, with agreement within the CSS working group about the general direction and even a new display type
display: grid-lanes.If you want to learn more about Masonry and track progress, check out my CSS Masonry resources page.
In time, when Masonry becomes a Baseline feature, just like Grid or Flexbox, we’ll be able to simply use it and benefit from:
- Better performance,
- Better responsiveness,
- Ease of use and simpler code.
Let’s take a closer look at these.
Better Performance
Making your own Masonry-like layout system, or using a third-party library instead, means you’ll have to run JavaScript code to place items on the screen. This also means that this code will be render blocking. Indeed, either nothing will appear, or things won’t be in the right places or of the right sizes, until that JavaScript code has run.
Masonry layout is often used for the main part of a web page, which means the code would be making your main content appear later than it could otherwise have, degrading your LCP, or Largest Contentful Paint metric, which plays a big role in perceived performance and search engine optimization.
I tested the Masonry JS library with a simple layout and by simulating a slow 4G connection in DevTools. The library is not very big (24KB, 7.8KB gzipped), but it took 600ms to load under my test conditions.
Here is a performance recording showing that long 600ms load time for the Masonry library, and that no other rendering activity happened while that was happening:
In addition, after the initial load time, the downloaded script then needed to be parsed, compiled, and then run. All of which, as mentioned before, was blocking the rendering of the page.
With a built-in Masonry implementation in the browser, we won’t have a script to load and run. The browser engine will just do its thing during the initial page rendering step.
Better Responsiveness
Similar to when a page first loads, resizing the browser window leads to rendering the layout in that page again. At this point, though, if the page is using the Masonry JS library, there’s no need to load the script again, because it’s already here. However, the code that moves items in the right places needs to run.
Now this particular library seems to be pretty fast at doing this when the page loads. However, it animates the items when they need to move to a different place on window resize, and this makes a big difference.
Of course, users don’t spend time resizing their browser windows as much as we developers do. But this animated resizing experience can be pretty jarring and adds to the perceived time it takes for the page to adapt to its new size.
Ease Of Use And Simpler Code
How easy it is to use a web feature and how simple the code looks are important factors that can make a big difference for your team. They can’t ever be as important as the final user experience, of course, but developer experience impacts maintainability. Using a built-in web feature comes with important benefits on that front:
- Developers who already know HTML, CSS, and JS will most likely be able to use that feature easily because it’s been designed to integrate well and be consistent with the rest of the web platform.
- There’s no risk of breaking changes being introduced in how the feature is used.
- There’s almost zero risk of that feature becoming deprecated or unmaintained.
In the case of built-in Masonry, because it’s a layout primitive, you use it from CSS, just like Grid or Flexbox, no JS involved. Also, other layout-related CSS properties, such as gap, work as you’d expect them to. There are no tricks or workarounds to know about, and the things you do learn are documented on MDN.
For the Masonry JS lib, initialization is a bit complex: it requires a data attribute with a specific syntax, along with hidden HTML elements to set the column and gap sizes.
Plus, if you want to span columns, you need to include the gap size yourself to avoid problems:
<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/dist/masonry.pkgd.min.js"></script> <style> .track-sizer, .item { width: 20%; } .gutter-sizer { width: 1rem; } .item { height: 100px; margin-block-end: 1rem; } .item:nth-child(odd) { height: 200px; } .item--width2 { width: calc(40% + 1rem); } </style> <div class="container" data-masonry='{ "itemSelector": ".item", "columnWidth": ".track-sizer", "percentPosition": true, "gutter": ".gutter-sizer" }'> <div class="track-sizer"></div> <div class="gutter-sizer"></div> <div class="item"></div> <div class="item item--width2"></div> <div class="item"></div> ... </div>Let’s compare this to what a built-in Masonry implementation would look like:
<style> .container { display: grid-lanes; grid-lanes: repeat(4, 20%); gap: 1rem; } .item { height: 100px; } .item:nth-child(odd) { height: 200px; } .item--width2 { grid-column: span 2; } </style> <div class="container"> <div class="item"></div> <div class="item item--width2"></div> <div class="item"></div> ... </div>Simpler, more compact code that can just use things like
gapand where spanning tracks is done withspan 2, just like in grid, and doesn’t require you to calculate the right width that includes the gap size.How To Know What’s Available And When It’s Available?
Overall, the question isn’t really if you should use built-in Masonry over a JS library, but rather when. The Masonry JS library is amazing and has been filling a gap in the web platform for many years, and for many happy developers and users. It has a few drawbacks if you compare it to a built-in Masonry implementation, of course, but those are not important if that implementation isn’t ready.
It’s easy for me to list these cool new web platform features because I work at a browser vendor, and I therefore tend to know what’s coming. But developers often share, survey after survey, that keeping track of new things is hard. Staying informed is difficult, and companies don’t always prioritize learning anyway.
To help with this, here are a few resources that provide updates in simple and compact ways so you can get the information you need quickly:
- The Web platform features explorer site:
- You might be interested in its release notes page.
- And, if you like RSS, check out the release notes feed, as well as the Baseline Newly Available and Widely Available feeds.
- The Web Platform Status dashboard:
- You might like its various Baseline year pages.
- Chrome Platform Status’ roadmap page.
If you have a bit more time, you might also be interested in browser vendors’ release notes:
For even more resources, check out my Navigating the Web Platform Cheatsheet.
My Thing Is Still Not Implemented
That’s the other side of the problem. Even if you do find the time, energy, and ways to keep track, there’s still frustration with getting your voice heard and your favorite features implemented.
Maybe you’ve been waiting for years for a specific bug to be resolved, or a specific feature to ship in a browser where it’s still missing.
What I’ll say is browser vendors do listen. I’m part of several cross-organization teams where we discuss developer signals and feedback all the time. We look at many different sources of feedback, both internal at each browser vendor and external/public on forums, open source projects, blogs, and surveys. And, we’re always trying to create better ways for developers to share their specific needs and use cases.
So, if you can, please demand more from browser vendors and pressure us to implement the features you need. I get that it takes time, and can also be intimidating (not to mention a high barrier to entry), but it also works.
Here are a few ways you can get your (or your company’s) voice heard: Take the annual State of JS, State of CSS, and State of HTML surveys. They play a big role in how browser vendors prioritize their work.
If you need a specific standard-based API to be implemented consistently across browsers, consider submitting a proposal at the next Interop project iteration. It requires more time, but consider how Shopify and RUMvision shared their wish lists for Interop 2026. Detailed information like this can be very useful for browser vendors to prioritize.
For more useful links to influence browser vendors, check out my Navigating the Web Platform Cheatsheet.
Conclusion
To close, I hope this article has left you with a few things to think about:
- Excitement for Masonry and other upcoming web features.
- A few web features you might want to start using.
- A few pieces of custom or 3rd-party code you might be able to remove in favor of built-in features.
- A few ways to keep track of what’s coming and influence browser vendors.
More importantly, I hope I’ve convinced you of the benefits of using the web platform to its full potential.
Source: Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers.
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• Pre-Save Movement Vol. 5: https://anjunadeep.co/jgm5.oyd • Listen to Movement Vol. 4: https://anjunadeep.co/jgm4.oyd • Anjunadeep 2025: https://anjunadeep.co/deep2025.oyd • Listen to Anjunadeep Radio 24/7: https://anjunadeep.co/radio.oyd • Anjuna Music Store: https://music.anjunabeats.com/ • Anjuna Merchandise: https://store.anjunabeats.com/ • Join our newsletter for updates: https://anjunadeep.com/gb/join Anjunadeep label boss James Grant presents Movement Vol. 5, the fifth in his acclaimed mixed compilation series. Edition five takes listeners on a journey through James’ favourite selections of recent and upcoming releases from Anjunadeep, Anjunachill and Explorations. Filmed along the breathtaking cliffsides of Ponta da Piedade in Portugal, the mix features 23 stand-out tracks from artists such as Leaving Laurel, Martin Roth, Braxton and Mike Rish. Release date: 5th December 2025 Follow Anjunadeep: • Youtube: https://anjunadeep.co/youtube.oyd • Website: http://www.anjunadeep.com • Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anjunadeep • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/anjunadeep • Spotify: https://anjunadeep.co/spotify.oyd • Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/anjunadeep • SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/anjunadeep • Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/AboveandBeyond/ • Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/anjuna • Discord: http://www.discord.gg/anjuna • Join our newsletter: https://anjunadeep.com/signup/ Follow Anjunadeep Playlists: • Anjunadeep 2025: https://anjunadeep.co/deep2025.oyd • Anjunadeep Discography: https://anjunadeep.co/discog.oyd • Anjunadeep Essentials: https://anjunadeep.co/essentialsplaylist.oyd • Anjunadeep Explorations Discography: https://exp.anjunadeep.co/discog.oyd #Anjunadeep #JamesGrant #Movement5
Source: YouTube.
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Taiwan is confident the Trump administration will allow President Lai Ching‑te to transit through the US, Foreign Minister Lin Chia‑lung told Bloomberg in an exclusive interview. (Source: Bloomberg)
Source: Bloomberg Markets.
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Justice secretary appears to have pulled back from plans to scrap juries for all but the most serious cases
Good morning. David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, will today unveil plans to slash the use of jury trials in England and Wales. With the backlog of cases due to be heard in courts already at 78,000, and heading for 100,000, Lammy will argue that drastic action is needed to handle a “courts emergency”.
The full details will not be unveiled until Lammy stands up in the Commons. The Ministry of Justice is taking the principle that ‘parliament must be told first’ a bit more seriously than some other government departments on this occassion, and the overnight press briefing was a bit short of detail. But Lammy has also given an interview to the Times, and written an article for the Daily Telegraph, and we know roughly where the decision has landed.
I will not be standing up in parliament … and announcing that we are scrapping jury trials, which remains a fundamental part of our system, and is one of the big contributions that flow out of Magna Carta — indeed, to much of the common law and the global community. This is about saving the jury system.
Some argue that reform is an attack on the traditions that define our legal system. They reach for Runnymede and Magna Carta, insisting that nothing must disturb the arrangements of centuries past. These are grand claims but they overlook what Magna Carta actually says. Clause 39 promises the judgment of our peers and the law of the land and, crucially, clause 40 warns that to no one will we delay or deny right or justice.
When a victim waits years for a trial, when the courts are so backed up that criminals fear no punishment, when an innocent person sits under a cloud of accusation – justice is denied. Magna Carta was a protest against state failure. If its authors saw the delays in our courts today, they would not urge us to cling rigidly to tradition. They would demand action.
Source: World news | The Guardian.
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Atlético Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher could leave the club in January, which has Manchester United interested, while United, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all keen on Eintracht Frankfurt left back Nathaniel Brown. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
Transfers home page | Men’s grades | Women’s grades
– Arsenal agree to sign twins from Hincapié’s former club – sources
– Real Madrid boss Alonso calls for calm: ‘It’s a long season’
– Liverpool’s Mac Allister: ‘No doubt’ about Wirtz’s qualityTRENDING RUMORS
– Manchester United, Newcastle, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur are all interested in signing Atlético Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher in January, according to Fabrizio Romano. The 25-year-old was a loan target for Manchester United last summer, but Atlético rejected their advances. Now, though, Atletico could be open to a €30 million permanent deal, while Gallagher himself is looking for a move to advance his chances of featuring for England at the World Cup next summer. Gallagher was not seen as a top priority in the last window, but United boss Ruben Amorim is likely to be at the front of the queue in January.
– Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all keen on signing Eintracht Frankfurt left back Nathaniel Brown, according to Florian Plettenberg. Madrid in particular have sent scouts to watch the 22-year-old in action against Cologne and Atalanta, and the Germany international could be set to leave the Bundesliga in the summer of 2026 after what has been a breakout season. Brown won his first full international cap in October, and his crossing ability and attacking runs have earmarked him as one of the most exciting full backs in the German league. Eintracht are reported to be seeking a fee of around €60 million.
– Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford is considering leaving the club after just five months, following the subsequent arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma, according to The Daily Mail. Fellow City backup ‘keeper Stefan Ortega is also contemplating his future, with both keen for more first-team action. Trafford, 23, arrived from Burnley for £27 million in the summer but hasn’t played a Premier League game since Donnarumma signed from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day. Trafford had hoped his move would help him land the England No. 1 jersey, but now his place in the squad is in jeopardy due to his lack of game time. Newcastle were linked previously and could be first in line for the former Burnley man when the transfer window opens.
– Arsenal are considering a move for versatile Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi, according to The Mirror. The Gunners are looking for further attacking reinforcements and the 23-year-old could be available next summer before his contract runs out in 2027. Dortmund value the striker’s transfer at around €80 million after he racked up 28 goal contributions in his last 56 appearances, grabbing three goals and six assists so far in 2025-26. Adeyemi can play anywhere along the front line, with Chelsea and Manchester United also interested.
– Barcelona boss Hansi Flick is keen to reunite with Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, having given him his debut for the Germany national team, according to Mundo Deportivo. Schlotterbeck, 26, has so far decided against extending his contract at Dortmund, which is due to expire in 2027, meaning he is likely to leave the club next summer. Bayern Munich are keen on signing him, but Dortmund are unwilling to let him go to their league rivals. That leaves Barcelona and Real Madrid as favorites to make a move, though Liverpool are also reported to be interested.
EXPERT TAKE
1:50Should Mo Salah remain on the bench for Liverpool right now?Steve Nicol and Shaka Hislop debate Liverpool’s starting XI after Mo Salah was dropped to the bench against West Ham.
OTHER RUMORS
– Manchester United and Chelsea are both in talks to sign 17-year-old center back Luis Eduardo from Gremio after he starred for Brazil at the recent U17 World Cup. (Transfermarkt)
– Tottenham Hotspur are keen on Manchester United midfield targets Carlos Baleba (Brighton) and Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), but the Londoners are aware that both transfers could come with challenging fees upwards of £100 million. (TEAMtalk)
– Aston Villa and Sunderland are among the clubs hoping to land 19-year-old Rangers star Bailey Rice on a free transfer this summer. (Daily Mail)
– Sunderland are keen to land former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi from Lazio, with the 26 year old hoping to return to the Premier League (iNews)
– Newcastle United goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has indicated that he would like to make permanent his current loan move to Sevilla, despite having two years left on his contract at St James’s Park. (Marca)
– Inter Milan lead a number of European clubs in their interest in Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who is contracted until 2028. (Rudy Galetti)
– Inter Milan center back Stefan de Vrij, 33, is a target for Nottingham Forest and is out of contract in the summer. Football Insider)
– Former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is eyeing a return to Europe following the end of his contract with Mexican club Monterrey, with AC Milan interested in signing the 39 year old defender. (Calciomercato)
– AC Milan are keen on signing prolific striker Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace, who has indicated that he could be interested in a move away from the Premier League. (TalkSPORT)
– English clubs have joined Juventus, Inter and AC Milan in their admiration of Cagliari goalkeeper Elia Caprile. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham could leave the club after just five months and French side Paris FC are interested, though Dortmund would only consider a loan. (Mirror)
Source: www.espn.com – TOP.
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For Day 1 of my Advent of AI challenge, I built a GitHub Action that uses the Goose CLI to generate a daily fortune with ASCII art. I hadn’t run Goose in CI before, so I got to level up there.
What I Built
A scheduled workflow that:
- Runs daily at 6am ET
- Uses Goose with Claude Sonnet 4 (via OpenRouter) to generate creative random daily fortunes
- Creates ASCII art featuring a sassy goose
- Automatically commits updates to the README
Check out the repo to see today’s daily fortune!
+====================================================================+ | | | 🔮 MYSTICAL FORTUNE TELLER 🔮 | | | | Generated on: 2025-12-02 at 06:39:22 | | | | ✨ YOUR POETIC FORTUNE ✨ | | | | The moonbeams dance upon your door, | | Bringing treasures from distant shore. | | With heart so pure and mind so keen, | | Wonders await, as yet unseen. | | | | | +====================================================================+ +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ +====================================================================+ | | | 🦢 PRESENTED BY YOUR SASSY GOOSE ORACLE 🦢 | | | | .-""-. | | / | | | o o | | | | < | | | | ___ | | | ___ / | | '--^--' | | / | | / HONK! | | / 🦢 | | ( ___ ) | | / / | | | | ^ ^ | |…
Getting Goose and CI to Play Nice
The installation script is great for local dev, but in CI? Not so much. It tries to run an interactive configuration step, which obviously doesn’t work in GitHub Actions.
Key Learnings
1. Skip the install script, go manual
Instead of using the install script, I manually downloaded and extracted the binary:
curl -fsSL https://github.com/block/goose/releases/download/stable/goose-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.bz2 -o goose.tar.bz2 tar -xjf goose.tar.bz2 mkdir -p ~/.local/bin mv goose ~/.local/bin/2. Config file structure matters
Goose uses
config.yamlwith environment variables at the root level:GOOSE_PROVIDER: "openrouter" GOOSE_MODEL: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4" keyring: false extensions: developer: bundled: true enabled: true name: developer timeout: 300 type: builtinThe
keyring: falseis critical for CI environments.3. API key confusion
4. Bash quoting issues
Complex prompts with nested quotes in bash? Nope. I solved this by writing the prompt to a temp file and using the
-i(instruction) flag:cat > /tmp/prompt.txt << 'PROMPT_EOF' Create a Python script called generate_fortune.py... PROMPT_EOF goose run --no-session -i /tmp/prompt.txt4. Suppress the noise
Goose is chatty. Redirecting output keeps the logs clean:
goose run --no-session -i /tmp/prompt.txt > /dev/null 2>&1The Final Setup
The workflow now:
- Installs Goose manually
- Configures it for OpenRouter
- Picks a random mood (sarcastic, wise, introspective, grumpy, or poetic)
- Asks Goose to create/run a Python script that generates the fortune
- Commits and pushes the updated README
What’s Next
Not sure how far I’ll get in the Advent of AI 2025, but we’ll see. 👀
You can follow along with my Advent of AI challenge or hit me up on DEV.to with your own AI experiments!
If you want to stay in touch, all my socials are on nickyt.online.
Until the next one!
Photo by Jordyn St. John on Unsplash
Source: DEV Community.
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on smoothies in an almost superstitious way ever since college: A fruit smoothie is like a good luck charm, promising the health you feel you deserve despite all your other bad decisions. But in my more recent adult life, a good blender is the passport to taqueria salsas, Oaxacan-style mole, and all the delicate emulsions I once had to buy at restaurants and in jars.
Well, Vitamix crushes the blender game, but usually comes with a price tag to match. Luckily Vitamix promo codes crop up at various points during the year, and we’re here to help you stay up to date on those discounts.
Vitmix’s top-of-the-line blender model, Ascent X5, is now constructed with a stainless steel container. The 48-ounce stainless steel container is not only huge and hygienic, the machine itself combines an intuitive touch interface with a refined, timeless design. The non-reactive stainless steel material resists stains, odors, and corrosion, and expertly handles hot, cold, and acidic ingredients. This futuristic gadget also has an automatic self-cleaning program and ten blending programs for popular items like smoothies, soups, frozen cocktails and more for a precise blend, every time.
Get a $25 Vitamix Promo Code Plus Free Shipping
Vitamix has tons of ways to save on these handy kitchen gear items, including $25 off when you register your email. All you have to do is input your email on Vitamix’s website, and you’ll get a discount of up to $25 sent straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get free shipping on orders of $100 or more.
Does Vitamix Offer Free Shipping?
Glad you asked. Vitamix is offering free standard shipping for orders above $99. This pretty much means that ground shipping is free for blenders at the current discounts. Priority shipping is not free, however.
The WIRED Gear Team’s Favorite Vitamix Blenders
WIRED has long been singing the praises of the classic Vitamix 5200. The model made a blender convert out of contributing reviewer Joe Ray after he realized that the “model of preference for blender aficionados around the world” was also his key to home mole and Oaxacan-style cookery.
A similar road-to-Damascus moment beset WIRED contributing reviewer Heather Arndt Anderson when she tested the Vitamix Ascent X2, also currently on a $50 promo discount. “The more I thought about it,” she wrote, “the more I realized that maybe I’ve never been a blender person because I never had a good blender.” Anderson also made a big batch of mole and avoided passing out from chile fumes, then moved on to homemade masa and a Georgian walnut spread. She regretted only that the blender wasn’t easier to clean.
After testing through a number of brands’ blenders, WIRED contributing reviewer Emily Peck marveled that even the basic Vitamix Explorian E310 churned almonds frictionlessly into butter without even need of a presoak.
The WIRED Team Loved These Latest Vitamix RecipesOne of the reasons we on the gear team like Vitamix machines is because of their versatility. And Vitamix makes it extra easy to make the most of your Vitamix blender, with tons of Vitamix soup recipes, plus curry, sauces, and more. Make the most out of your device, whether its a Vitamix Professional Series 750 or 5200, Vitamix has the best recipes for you.
Additional Vitamix Deals and Sales in 2025
Vitamix tends to offer a number of other deals and sales throughout the year, like Presidents Day, but the next one won’t crop up till Mother’s Day. Other deals to expect crop up during the summer, alongside the eternal Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals.
Source: Wired.
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Now that Cyber Monday is here, it’s a great time to get your hands on quality tech at a discount. And if you’re searching for the really affordable stuff, you’ve come to the correct corner of the web. This list is all the best electronics deals that cost less than $50 from multiple retailers. Snap up accessories like chargers, hubs, cables and drives; go for small gadgets like smart speakers, portable speakers, smart plugs and Bluetooth trackers; or snag some streaming deals that’ll last far beyond the sales event. It’s all stuff Engadget has tested and recommend in our guides so you know it’s good. Here are the best Cyber Monday tech deals under $50 we could find.
HBO Max with ads (one year) for $36 ($96 off): HBO has been around a lot longer than Apple TV, and it’s got a treasure trove of winners — The Sopranos, The Wire, Veep, Insecure, Girls, Deadwood — with its back catalogue alone, you’ll never run out of high quality entertainment. Plus it has a huge movie library and quite a few current shows that are pretty good, too (The Last of Us and The Chair Company come to mind). Note that the deal applies to the ad-supported tier and will auto-renew after a year unless you cancel. You can get the deal through HBO Max’s website or, if you’re a Prime Video subscriber, you can get the deal as an add-on to your service.
Paramount+ Essential or Premium (2 months) for $6 ($20 or $10 off): This deal applies to either the Premium or Essential tier — both are just $6 for two months of service (or $3 monthly). The Premium plan is the better deal as it’s usually $13 per month, doesn’t have ads, includes Showtime and allows downloads for offline viewing. Of course, whichever tier you choose will hop back up to the full price after two months unless you cancel (which is $13 per month for Premium and $8 per month for ad-supported Essential).
Audible (3 months) for $3 ($42 off): As it does each Cyber Monday (and at a few points besides), Amazon is offering a near-free intro deal for its audiobook subscription. With the plan, you get one audiobook of your choice each month, which includes new and bestseller titles. You can also listen to an unlimited number of titles from a narrower library. A membership also grants access to a daily discounted title and other member-only discounts.
With this deal, the plan will auto-renew at a dollar per month for three months, then default to the standard $15 monthly. So set a reminder to cancel before then if you don’t want to pay full-price. The offer ends December 1.
Starz (one year) for $12 ($50 off): Pay upfront for one year and you can get more than $50 off a Starz annual subscription. There’s a month-to-month option too, which costs $3 per month for the first three months if you don’t want to commit to the full year. Either option gives you access to the entire Starz TV and movie library with offline viewing and no ads. Also available as a Hulu add-on.
UGreen Uno Nexode Charger Block (65W, 3-Port) for $33 ($17 off with Prime) at Amazon: There are other ways to charge your devices, but few are this cute. That’s why we named it one of the best stocking stuffers you can buy. You get three ports in its head and outlet prongs hidden in its removable magnetic feet. Its 65 watts are enough to charge multiple devices at once. Also available directly from UGreen and at Walmart.
Echo Glow Multicolor smart lamp for $20 ($10 off) at Amazon: Every sales event, Amazon puts this thing on sale. And every time, I contemplate buying it. Engadget hasn’t tested it, but we’ve tried enough Amazon hardware to know it probably does what it’s supposed to do — which is pair with an Alexa speaker and light up according to your instructions. That’s it. Is that worth $30? Probably not. But maybe it’s worth $20?
Anker Nano 3-in-1 Portable Charger (10K mAh, 30W) for $30 ($15 off) at Amazon: I love this sleek little box. First and foremost, it’s a 10K mAh power bank (enough to refill a phone 1.5 to two times). But it also has a built-in USB-C cable (so you’ll never be without one) and flip-up wall prongs so it can refill directly from the wall (it even supports pass-through charging). Also available directly from Anker.
Lego Creator 3 in 1 Retro Camera Toy for $16 ($4 off) at Amazon: This three-in-one set builds a retro camera complete with pressable buttons, a wrist strap and loadable (Lego) film. It can also be built as a retro TV set or a camcorder. For ages eight and up.
Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 (4-pack) for $37 ($13 off) at Amazon: In my house, we call these “the good plugs.” The connection is fast and fuss-free and they work with Alexa, Siri, OK Google and via the Kasa app. That means, if you too are a smart home mad scientist with multiple home assistants, you can ask one of them to turn on the lamp and another helper to turn it off. This is the best smart plug we tested. The four-pack went as low as $30 previously. Also at B&H Photo.
Best Cyber Monday deals under $15
Anker USB-C Cable (10FT, 100W) for $9 ($3 off) at Amazon: If you just need a reliable and long charger for your phone, pick this one up while it’s just $9. It can shuttle 100 watts to your handset and, in our experience, Anker cables are plenty durable — plus its red! This can handle data transfers in a pinch, but is limited to 480 Mbps.
Anker SD memory Card Reader (USB-C, SD and microSD) for $9 ($9 off): This might be an ideal representative of an Anker product: A simple, moderately-priced solution that just works. I needed an SD card reader with a USB-C connection. I bought this one. It works. I’m happy.
Anker USB-C Cable (240W, 10ft) for $12 ($5 off) at Amazon: If you’re sick of the sub-par, half-broken, super-short cables occupying your junk drawer, just grab a couple of these. With the max power delivery possible for USB-C at 240W, it’ll always be ready to charge anything. Just note, this is better for charging as its data transfer rates max out at 480 Mbps. Also available directly from Anker.
Anker Nano 3 Charger Block (30W, 1-port) for $11 ($9 off) at Amazon: Black and white are such boring colors for charming accessories, but alas, those basic colors happen to be the ones getting the bigger discount in this deal (the pretty purple, blue and green colors are $1 more). This compact block is our pick for a great iPhone accessory. Its 30 watts of power will reup your handset stat.
Philips Fabric Shaver for $13 ($7 off) at Amazon: Did you know you needed a fabric shaver? You need a fabric shaver. Our editor grabbed this one (at full price) and loves it. It keeps blankets, sweaters and joggers pill free and looking fresh for just $13.
Anker Nano 3 Charger (30W, 1-port) for $13 ($5 off) at Amazon: This tiny and colorful block is one of our favorite fast chargers for 2025. It’ll send up to 30 watts of power to whatever you plug into it. That’s more than enough to fast-charge any smartphone and plenty of juice for your tablets. Also available directly from Anker and at Walmart.
Belkin Secure Holder for Apple AirTag for $14 ($6 off): This is one of our recommendations in our guide to AirTag accessories. The braided wire attachment makes it extra strong and secure. We think it’s an ideal way to create a luggage tag for your AirTag. A four-pack is on sale too.
Bellemonde Kent Paper Screen Protector for iPad (2-pack) for $9 ($9 off with Prime) at Amazon: We named this paper-esque screen protector one of the best iPad accessories for 2025. I put one on my iPad a couple years ago and have been happy ever since. It creates a satisfying texture for the Apple Pencil and it adds a matte, but perfectly clear, finish to the screen. Just be sure to double check you’re grabbing the right size for your particular iPad model.
Spigen for iPhone 17 Case for $13 ($3 off with Prime) at Amazon: It seems a shame to cover up the pretty colors of the new iPhones. But leaving your handset naked is just panic-inducing. We recommend this clear case from Spigen in our accessories guide. I have one on my iPhone 16 and it has kept it safe through many a fumble.
Best Cyber Monday deals under $20
Roku Streaming Stick HD for $16 ($14 off) at Roku: After testing most of the smart TV interfaces out there, Roku’s is still my favorite. I like the colorful Roku City that shows up after a long pause and the navigation is intuitive. This stick will grant streaming abilities to a basic TV. There’s no 4K or other fancy video support, but if all you need is a way to stream, this will do. Also at Amazon.
Lego Creator 3 in 1 Retro Camera Toy for $16 ($4 off) at Amazon: This three-in-one set builds a retro camera complete with pressable buttons, a wrist strap and loadable (Lego) film. It can also be built as a retro TV set or a camcorder. For ages eight and up.
Glocusent Tri-head Clip On Book Light for $16 ($10 off) at Glocusent: My family vies for this handy device each night. It’s ideal for reading a book in bed with a light that lets you adjust the warmth, angle and spread of the beam. It’s also great for shining some light on a desk as you can use its clip like a stand.
Samsung SmartTags 2 Bluetooth tracker for $16 ($13 off) at Amazon: If you’ve got a Samsung phone, the brand’s own trackers will serve you well. They’re one of the best-looking fobs we tested. It hooks up with Samsung’s own finding network, which is surprisingly robust, and was able to locate lost stuff nearly as quickly as AirTags in our tests.
LEGO Botanicals Happy Plants for $18 ($5 off) at Amazon: Here’s an ideal Secret Santa gift — everyone loves Legos and these cheery little guys will keep your giftee company at their desk or on their windowsill, and are the lowest-maintenance plants around. Also at Target and Walmart.
Apple AirTag Bluetooth tracker for $18 ($11 off) at Amazon: An updated version of Apple’s little finding discs is almost certainly on the horizon. For now, an AirTag is our pick for the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users. It’s a little quieter than third party tags like Chipolo, but when it comes to trackers, this is what most people think of. Also at Walmart.
Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for $18 ($17 off) at Amazon: If you just want the Amazon Fire TV experience for the fewest dollars possible, here you go. The HD stick is the best budget option in our opinion and could be all you need if your TV doesn’t support 4K content anyway.
Blink Mini 2 indoor security camera for $18 ($22 off) at Amazon: Do you wonder what the dog and cat do when you’re gone? (The answer is sleep.) An indoor camera lets you keep an eye on your home while you’re gone or just in the other room. We named the Blink Mini 2 the best budget pick in our guide to security cameras for 2025. The tiny squares are easy to set up, work well (and only) with Alexa and deliver suitable (but not ultra high quality) images.
Anker Nano fast charger block (45W, 1 port) for $18 ($17 off) at Amazon: This is just about the max power you can get out of a tiny block like this. Anker’s 45-watt charger is more than enough oomph for phones and tablets, and can even handle a laptop refill in a pinch. The little plug prongs fold down and it even comes with a six-foot USB-C cable.
Tofu Press by Tofuture for $19 ($4 off with on-page coupon) at Amazon: There are plenty of tofu presses out there. But this one won us over with its simplicity, cute looks and clever design that handily clears out the water from any standard tofu brick. It makes a great gift for anyone who likes to cook. Also at Tofuture with code K0Q33KF6FC01.
Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug (dual socket) for $19 ($8 off) at Amazon: Tired of turning off your outdoor holiday lights manually each night? Get one of these and schedule the controls. Or better yet, let Alexa, Siri or the Google Assistant turn them off with just a command. This is the one we recommend in our guide to smart plugs — and the one that faithfully controlled my Halloween lights last month. It’s gone as low as $17 in the past.
Baseus Picogo MagSafe Power Bank (5K mAh, 10W) for $19 ($8 off with Prime) at Amazon: We tested a newer version of this MagSafe bank for our battery guide. It’s Qi-certified (not Qi2) so you won’t get top charging speeds out of it. But if you need a partial refill for a phone, $19 is hard to beat.
TP-Link AC1200 WiFi extender for $19 (37 percent off) at Amazon: If you’ve got some dead spots in your home’s internet coverage and aren’t quite ready for a mesh setup, a Wi-Fi extender can help. This is our favorite budget option in our guide to these plug-in devices thanks to its easy setup and user-friendly app.
Echo Glow Multicolor smart lamp for $20 ($10 off) at Amazon: Every sales event, Amazon puts this thing on sale. And every time, I contemplate buying it. Engadget hasn’t tested it, but we’ve tried enough Amazon hardware to know it probably does what it’s supposed to do — which is pair with an Alexa speaker and light up according to your instructions. That’s it. Is that worth $30? Probably not. But maybe it’s worth $20?
Roku Streaming Stick 4K Plus for $20 ($20 off) at Roku: I called this streaming stick perfect for travel in my review. It powers itself from your TV so you don’t have to hunt for a wall outlet in your hotel room. Plus you can bring all your streaming subscriptions with you — or just enjoy Roku’s dizzying amount of free content. Also at Amazon.
Best Cyber Monday deals under $25
Amazon Echo Pop Alexa Smart Speaker for $22 ($18 off) at Amazon: Amazon’s smallest smart speaker isn’t focused so much on sound quality as it is on putting Alexa+ wherever you may need the assistant’s help. Use the little half sphere to control your connected lights, give you the weather or just have an “interesting” conversation. Last year, it dropped as low as $18 and certain colorways look to be sold out.
Kasa Smart Plug Matter Compatible KP125M (2-pack) for $23 ($12 off) at Amazon: If you want to control your lamps, humidifiers and other simple appliances just by talking to your home assistant of choice, a smart plug will let you do so. We deemed this the top pick for a Matter-enabled plug in our smart plug guide. Set-up is seamless and it supports Siri, Alexa, the Google Assistant and more.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Retro Telephone for kids for $24 ($6 off) at Amazon: One of our top picks for the best tech toys for kids is on sale for Cyber Monday. This cute-as-a-button retro telephone is rated for kids eight and older and is a three-in-one set that can be rebuilt into three different configurations: A rotary phone, cordless phone and an early-days cell phone/flip phone combo.
Chipolo Pop Bluetooth tracker for $23 ($6 off) at Amazon: After testing all the Bluetooth trackers I could get my hands on, I think this is the best finding fob out there. Yes, even better than an AirTag; It’s louder, can ring your phone and works on the same massive Find My network as AirTags do. And for Android users, it’ll work with Google’s Find Hub. Check out Engadget’s guide to Bluetooth trackers for more thoughts. Also available directly from Chipolo.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus for $25 ($25 off) at Amazon: We don’t know why Amazon needs so many streaming sticks in its lineup, but here we are. The 4K Plus is very similar to the 4K Max except it has a little less storage at 8GB and no Wi-Fi 6E (just Wi-Fi 6). You also don’t get the Ambient experience that turns your TV into art. If you can swing the extra bucks, go for the Max, but if those features don’t matter to you, this saves you $10 right now.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $25 ($25 off) at Roku: The difference between this streamer and the newer 4K Plus is that one doesn’t have Dolby vision or an extended Wi-Fi range — this one does. So if you need that extra range and/or have a TV that supports Dolby Vision, this is the Roku stick to get.
Jisulife Life 7 handheld fan for $24 ($5 off): This handy little fan is a must-have if you live in a warm climate or have a tropical vacation planned anytime soon. It can be used as a table or handheld fan and even be worn around the neck so you don’t have to hold it at all. Its 5,000 mAh battery allows it to last hours on a single charge, and the small display in the middle of the fan’s blades shows its remaining battery level.
Best Cyber Monday deals under $35
Twelve South AirFly SE Bluetooth Audio Transmitter for $26 ($14 off) at Amazon: If you (or someone on your gift list) travels by plane a lot, they might appreciate this dongle. It adds a Bluetooth connection to any 3.5mm aux audio jack so they can use their AirPods or other wireless buds to watch in-flight entertainment. $26 isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen (it went as low as $16 earlier this year).
Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $28 ($17 off) at Amazon with Prime: Share your good taste in music with Anker’s portable sound box. It’s Bluetooth connected, goes for 24 hours on a charge and can handle a dunk in water with no ill effects to its 12 watts of sound. Soundcore makes a few of the picks on our list of the best speakers — this is a more affordable model. Also available directly from Anker and at Best Buy.
EarFun Free 2S Wireless Earbuds for $28 ($12 off) at Amazon: These are the ultra-budget pick in our guide to budget earbuds. They don’t have ANC, but the sound is lively and the fit is comfortable. You aren’t getting the highest sound quality here, but if you need a knock around pair, these will do.
JBL Go 3 Mini Bluetooth Speaker for $30 ($10 off) at Amazon: For about two dollars more than the all-time low, you can grab this pocket-sized speaker from JBL. It’s the previous model of a pick from our guide to Bluetooth speakers. It goes for 5 hours on a charge and is $10 cheaper than the Go 4.
Govee Smart LED Light Bars for $30 ($20 off with Prime) at Amazon: Another of our stocking stuffer picks are these smart LED light bars from Govee. They can stand up or lie flat so they can go just about anywhere and are infinitely adjustable via the app. You can even set them to light up in sync with your music. Alexa and the Google Assistant will let you control them with just your voice (and a smart speaker).
Baseus Picogo magnetic portable charger with stand (5K mAh, Qi2 15W) for $30 ($20 off) at Amazon: This little guy gave a solid 43 percent bump to our tester iPhone 15 in 42 minutes, ultimately charging it to 91 percent. It earned a mention in our guide to MagSafe batteries thanks to those speeds, its compact size and the handy (and sturdy) little stand on the back.
Thermacell E-Series Rechargeable Mosquito Repeller for $30 ($20 off) at Amazon: As winter hits, the mosquitos give up the war to claim the backyard for themselves. But they’ll be back. This is a variant of the mosquito repeller we recommend in our guide to outdoor gear. This one has a 20-foot coverage area and sports a built-in light.
Amazon Echo Dot Alexa smart speaker for $32 ($18 off) at Amazon: This is Amazon’s most popular Echo device and it’s the one my family uses most. The new Alexa+ is more conversational and can remember conversations and apply context. It’s still a work in progress, but can set timers, tell you the weather and control your smart home like a champ. It sold for as low as $23 last year.
Amazon Echo Dot Kids for $32 ($28 off) at Amazon: The difference between the kids model and the standard Echo Dot is the cute cover (this one looks like an inverted planetarium) and a free year of access to Amazon Kids+, which includes audio books, games and other content for kids aged three to twelve. Just note, you’ll get more out of the subscription with an Amazon device with a screen and the subscription will automatically renew (at $6 monthly) after a year unless you cancel.
UGreen Uno Nexode Charger Block (65W, 3-Port) for $33 ($17 off with Prime) at Amazon: There are other ways to charge your devices, but few are this cute. That’s why we named it one of the best stocking stuffers you can buy. You get three ports in its head and outlet prongs hidden in its removable magnetic feet. Its 65 watts are enough to charge multiple devices at once. Also available directly from UGreen and at Walmart.
Samsung Evo Select (512GB) for $33 ($14 off): We recommend the Evo Select in our microSD card buying guide for those on a tight budget. It has mediocre write speeds, so it’s not ideal for a camera, but it should be serviceable for most people just looking to add space to an Android tablet or original Nintendo Switch on the cheap. (Note that this is a standard UHS-I card, not a newer microSD Express model.) This deal matches the lowest price to date for the 512GB variant. Also at Samsung and B&H.
UGreen Revodok Pro 109 USB C Hub for $34 ($20 off with Prime) at Amazon: I tested a bunch of USB-C hubs and deemed this one the best. Plug in the generously long cable into your tablet or laptop and you’ll be able to read memory cards, use USB-A peripherals, connect a 4K monitor via HDMI and use Ethernet. The lowest price we tracked on this guy yet is $30.
Anker Nano Charger Block (70W, 3-port) for $35 ($15 off) at Amazon: This specific model isn’t in our guides, but we’ve seen other Anker Nano chargers prove themselves, so we’re comfortable recommending it. This one has two USB-C ports for fast charging devices, plus a Type-A outlet for devices that need it.
Zagg Glass Elite Screen Protector for iPhone 17 for $35 ($5 off) at Amazon: You’re thinking of saying yes to the new iPhone 17. You probably won’t be disappointed. Just make sure you protect it. We like Zagg’s shields and said so in our guide to iPhone accessories. Also available at Best Buy.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $35 ($25 off) at Amazon: We recently wondered why Amazon needs so many streaming devices (Google just has one and it’s our favorite). But in the battle among the Fire TV streamers, we think this one is the best. It can display 4K resolution and Dolby Video, supports the more future-proof Wi-Fi 6E, has more memory than the other sticks and lets you use the Ambient Experience that displays art on your screen when you’re not watching The Expanse.
Anker Prime GaN wall charger (67W, 3-port) for $35 ($15 off) at Amazon: Travelers, take note. This is what we recommend to those on a journey in our guide to fast chargers. It has three ports, and can detect which plugged-in device is in most need of a refill. The 67-watt rating is all you need for phones and tablets and will even top off most laptops if needed. Also available directly from Anker.
Best Cyber Monday deals under $50
Leebein Electric Spin Scrubber for $36 ($34 off with Prime) at Amazon: Shower scrubbing is no one’s favorite activity (I’m assuming here, but I’m pretty sure I’m right). This makes the job so very much easier. Discovered by our editor who abhors the task, the Leebein runs on a USB-C rechargeable battery and has swappable brushes. The course brush combined with the higher speed is no match for any shower scum.
Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1) for $36 ($14 off) at Amazon: This was almost our top pick for the best USB-C hub, but a UGreen model edged it out. But the 555 is still great with ports that include HDMI, Ethernet, two USB Type A, a power delivery USB-C and a USB-C 3.2. That should be enough to keep any tablet or laptop suitably connected. Also available directly from Anker and at Walmart.
Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 (4-pack) for $37 ($13 off) at Amazon: In my house, we call these “the good plugs.” The connection is fast and fuss-free and it’ll work with Alexa, Siri, OK Google and via the Kasa app — so if you’re a smart home mad scientist with multiple home assistants you can ask one to turn on the lamp and another helper to turn it off. This is the best smart plug we tested. The four-pack went as low as $30 is the lowest price we’ve tracked. Also at B&H Photo.
Anker Nano Ultra Slim power bank (5K mAh, Qi2 15W) for $39 ($17 off) at Amazon: This super slim bank pairs nicely with an iPhone Air, or any MagSafe-compatible iPhone for that matter. It’s more affordable than Apple’s version and a top pick in our MagSafe battery guide.
Twelve South PowerBug Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Charger (35W) for $40 ($10 off) at Amazon: – This is one of our top picks for the best iPhone accessories. It turns any outlet into an iPhone (12 or later) holder. Our editor uses it in the kitchen to better see cooking videos. Also available directly from Twelve South.
JBL Go 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker for $40 ($10 off) at Amazon: Our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers ranks the Go 4 as one of the winners. It’s super compact at less than half a pound — so don’t expect top-end sound — but it outputs good volume for its size and even has a handy carry loop. Also available directly from JBL and at Walmart.
Sharge AeroMag Magsafe Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 5K mAh) for $40 ($24 off) at Amazon: To recharge a dying iPhone (12 and later) in the most unobtrusive way possible, go for a MagSafe power bank. It’s not as fast as a wired connection, but super convenient. After testing Sharge’s AeroMag, it earned a runner-up spot in our guide.
Blink Outdoor 4 XR for $42 ($78 off) at Amazon: Here’s the extended range model of the Blink Outdoor cameras that we named among the best. That means you can stick it farther from your house and still see the goings on your property. Like most security cameras, you’ll get more out of it with a subscription (smart motion detections, cloud storage, and longer live views).
Anker Soundcore Space A40 wireless earbuds for $43 ($37 off) at Amazon: Here’s our top pick for affordable earbuds in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds. They have a warm, pleasant sound and surprisingly good noise cancellation for the price. Also available directly from Anker and at Walmart.
Anker Prime GaN Charger (100W, 3-port) for $42 ($28 off) at Anker: Here’s a variant of the top pick for travel in our fast charger guide. This higher-wattage Prime charger can charge three devices at once (two via USB-C and one via Type A). Plus the prongs fold down. Perfect for keeping everything topped off on the road. Note that the discount comes courtesy of an auto-applied code.
Ugreen Nexode Pro GaN slim wall charger (65W 3-port) for $43 ($13 off) at Amazon: In the battle for fast charger supremacy, UGreen’s flatish block got a nod for being pretty good at its job. It has three USB outputs, including one Type-A for your more retro electronics and can pump out up to 65W for phones and tablets, or even laptops if needed. Just note the flat-but-wide design could block other outlets. Also available directly from UGreen and at Best Buy.
Moft Sit-stand Laptop Desk for $48 ($12 off with Prime) at Amazon: It’s a little heavy at two pounds, but it folds down flat and will turn any desk into a standing desk — elevating your laptop to elbow height or thereabouts so you can switch up your working position wherever you are. It’s surprisingly stable and one of our picks for the best MacBook accessories.
UGreen Uno GaN fast charger (100W, 4-port) for $48 ($12 off) at Amazon: This is a larger version of the cute, fast charger with the built-in digital smiley face. It’s also a top pick in our guide to fast chargers. It has four ports, a max output of 100 watts and the magnetic feet still stick to anything ferrous.
Blink Outdoor 2K+ for $50 ($50 off) at Amazon: Amazon released a batch of new smart security cameras alongside new Echo devices in September. And here they are already on sale. Ain’t Cyber Monday grand? We’re in the process of testing this one out for our security cameras guide. But for now just know that these weather-resistant boxes can shoot 2K video, a resolution bump from the 1080p of the previous model. It has color low-light vision, two-way talk and 4x zoom. The prior model is on sale for $28.
Ring Battery Doorbell for $50 ($50 off) at Amazon: We haven’t officially tested doorbell cameras just yet (it’s on the list). But Ring is one of the best-known and most popular brands you can buy. This one runs on batteries so you don’t have to mess with doorbell wires and it supports two-way talk, live view and smart alerts. Just note that many features are tied to a Ring subscription ($5 to $20 per month).
Ring Outdoor Cam (Stick Up Cam) for $50 ($50 off) at Amazon: This weather-resistant outdoor cam has a removable and rechargeable battery that can go for a few months on a charge. We didn’t test this exact model for our security cam guide, but other Ring cameras worked well for us. Here you get live views, color night vision, two-way talk and motion alerts. Just note that it only works with Alexa and some features require a subscription.
Amazon Echo Spot for $50 ($30 off) at Amazon: This is the most giftable of the Alexa speakers. I got one for my mom. It has a small screen to display the time, weather and what song is playing, while the Alexa+ smarts inside keep track of timers and reminders, answers questions and controls connected smart home devices with a fairly high level of competence.
Ultimate Ears Miniroll Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker for $50 ($30 off) at Amazon: Ultimate Ears makes some of our favorite Bluetooth speakers. This is the smallest of the UE portable speakers and fits in the palm of your hand or clips to your handlebars (with its hookable strap). It’ll go for 12 hours on a charge and supports a 40-meter Bluetooth range.
Best Cyber Monday streaming deals under $50
HBO Max with ads (one year) for $36 ($96 off): HBO has been around a lot longer than Apple TV, and it’s got a treasure trove of winners — The Sopranos, The Wire, Veep, Insecure, Girls, Deadwood — with its back catalogue alone, you’ll never run out of high quality entertainment. Plus it has a huge movie library and quite a few current shows that are pretty good, too (The Last of Us and The Chair Company come to mind). Note that the deal applies to the ad-supported tier and will auto-renew after a year unless you cancel. You can get the deal through HBO Max’s website or, if you’re a Prime Video subscriber, you can get the deal as an add-on to your service.
Paramount+ Essential or Premium (2 months) for $6 ($20 or $10 off): This deal applies to either the Premium or Essential tier — both are just $6 for two months of service (or $3 monthly). The Premium plan is the better deal as it’s usually $13 per month, doesn’t have ads, includes Showtime and allows downloads for offline viewing. Of course, whichever tier you choose will hop back up to the full price after two months unless you cancel (which is $13 per month for Premium and $8 per month for ad-supported Essential).
Starz (one year) for $12 ($50 off): Pay upfront for one year and you can get more than $50 off a Starz annual subscription. There’s a month-to-month option too, which costs $3 per month for the first three months if you don’t want to commit to the full year. Either option gives you access to the entire Starz TV and movie library with offline viewing and no ads. Also available as a Hulu add-on.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/cyber-monday-deals-under-50-apple-airtags-legos-ugreen-chargers-blink-cameras-and-more-210050294.html?src=rss
