Technologies

This Entry-Level Gaming Mouse Is a Great Way to Up Your PC Gaming on a Budget

The Cherry MC 2.1 is a solid, inexpensive gaming mouse that gets most of the basics right.

A good gaming mouse can make all the difference in an intense match. It can mean the difference between that game-winning headshot and not being invited back for the next game. For more casual gamers who don’t need lots of customization options, you can still get a solid gaming mouse for not a lot of money. The Cherry MC 2.1 is just such a mouse.

What’s great about the Cherry MC 2.1

The most important thing a mouse to get right is the feel in your hand. If it’s uncomfortable, you’re not going to want to use it no matter how many killer features it has. Thankfully, Cherry got the feel of the MC 2.1 right. It’s not going to blow you away with revolutionary ergonomics, but for an inexpensive gaming mouse it feels solid and comfortable for long periods. The sides have some extra grip to help keep your hand steady and it’s lightweight at only 107 grams.

I used it for hours both while gaming and for daily use, and I never once got a cramp or experienced any soreness while using it. Cherry says it’s an ergonomic design geared for right-handers. It’s fairly symmetrical, so a leftie might be able to use it just fine, though there are dedicated leftie mice that would probably work better.

The other important feel to get right is the clicks. I couldn’t find any technical information about what buttons are used (or their stated lifespan), but suffice it to say they’re tactile and responsive. Oddly, the two side buttons felt a bit softer than the main two. I’m not sure why, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Aside from the main buttons, scroll wheel, and two side buttons, the only other one is right behind the scroll wheel on top. This button with the Cherry logo toggles between four DPI settings, all of which are fully customizable. Four pill-shaped, red LEDs let you know which setting you’re on. If you hold the button, it will launch the Cherry Utility software.

Design

For an inexpensive gaming mouse without many frills, I think the design is OK. It’s pretty unassuming and only comes in black, but again, it’s not meant to be a showstopper. On the bottom you’ve got one long skate up top and two smaller ones below, which is fine, but I tend to prefer larger skates.

There’s also customizable LED lighting, which is surprising at this price. It’s only around the scroll wheel, but I’m a fan of how it looks. It’s subtle but doesn’t feel like an afterthought.

Specs and price

Truth be told, I think Cherry nailed it here. For around $40 the MC 2.1 has a 5,000 DPI sensor with up to a 1,000 report rate, LED lighting, and the ability to save custom profiles for all your games (and for work, if you must).

What I don’t like about the Cherry MC 2.1

The MC 2.1 is fully compatible with Cherry’s Utility Software, but the app leaves a lot to be desired. The UI only recently got updated to something that looks like it was made in the 21st century, but it’s still simplistic. The customization options are also a bit lacking, even considering it’s a budget mouse. Plus, it wouldn’t always load properly when I needed to change something.

What was also a tad concerning was that when you hold the Cherry button, you actually see a Run command window open with the command being typed out before the software opens. Just a bit odd. There even seems to be two versions of this software. The one I downloaded directly from Cherry’s site is not the same one that opens when you hold the Cherry button. I never got any detailed information about this, so I’m not sure what or why this is the case. The one that launches when you press and hold the button is the much better version, so I’d recommend using that one.

I don’t know why, but having the ability to unlock the scroll wheel or customize the scroll speed outside of the Windows settings seems to be a rarity among non-flagship mice, and that’s a bummer. Granted, most games don’t require extensive use of the scroll wheel, but for daily work usage, it’s really annoying to be stuck with a slow scrolling speed. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but either way, give me the option. There’s also no horizontal scrolling, but that’s not expected at this price.

Should you buy the Cherry MC 2.1?

Honestly, the MC 2.1 is a great mouse for $40. You get a solid, reliable, responsive mouse, with some RGB lighting thrown in, at a reasonable price. There’s no wireless option, though, so if you need that you’ll need to look elsewhere and likely pay more. Plus, the software situation is limited, not to mention odd, but if you don’t care too much about customizing your mouse then there’s nothing to worry about.

Even with the slower scroll speed I still found the MC 2.1 to be a great mouse for daily usage. If you’re looking for a solid, inexpensive mouse that’s great for both work and play, the MC 2.1 is an easy choice.

Technologies

Google Discover Gains Follow Button and Expands Content Sources

Google’s personalized news feed will feature a wider variety of content in the coming weeks.

Google Discover, Google’s personalized news feed, has largely remained the same since its introduction in 2018, but it’s now receiving some new and helpful features.

On Wednesday, Google announced that Discover will soon expand the type of content found within the feed and allow you to follow publications and creators. You can find Google Discover in the Google app, and it will be built into the home screens of some Android phones.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Instead of just seeing a list of web pages to visit on your feed, you’ll soon see a mix of web articles, YouTube videos and social media posts from X and Instagram, effectively widening the net of content shown in Discover.

Along with expanding content from more sources, Google Discover is allowing users to follow specific publishers and content creators using a «follow» button at the top right of each content card.

Google says that tapping the publication’s or creator’s name will open a new page previewing the content that’s typically shared before you choose to follow the outlet. From our testing across multiple phones so far, it appears the feature is still rolling out.

Your Google Discover feed should now allow you to follow content creators. A more diversified mix of content will roll out over the coming weeks.

Technologies

New Bill Aims to Block Both Online Adult Content and VPNs: How Your VPN Could Be Affected

A proposed bill in Michigan has a broad reach that covers everything from adult AI content to manga and even depictions of transgender people. It includes a VPN ban to avoid workarounds.

If you live in Michigan, you might not be able to legally use a VPN soon if a new bill is passed into law. On Sept. 11, Michigan Republican representatives proposed far-reaching legislation banning adult internet content.

The bill, called the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act and advanced by six Republican representatives, would ban a wide variety of adult content online, ranging from ASMR and adult manga to AI content and any depiction of transgender people. It also seeks to ban all use of VPNs, foreign or US-produced.

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VPNs, or virtual private networks, are software suites often used as workarounds to avoid similar content bans that have passed in states like Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the UK. VPNs can be purchased with subscriptions or downloaded and are also built into some browsers and Wi-Fi routers.

But Michigan’s bill would charge internet service providers with detecting and blocking VPN use, as well as banning the sale of VPNs in the state. Associated fines would be up to $500,000.

What the ban could mean for VPNs

Unlike some laws banning access to adult content, this Michigan bill is comprehensive. It applies to all residents of Michigan, adults or children, targets an extensive range of content and includes language that could ban not only VPNs but any method of bypassing internet filters or restrictions.

That could spell trouble for VPN owners and other internet users who leverage these tools to improve their privacy, protect their identities online, prevent ISPs from gathering data about them or increase their device safety when browsing on public Wi-Fi.

Read more: CNET Survey: 47% of Americans Use VPNs for Privacy. That Number Could Rise. Here’s Why

Bills like these could have unintended side effects. John Perrino, Senior Policy and Advocacy Expert for the nonprofit Internet Society, mentioned to CNET that adult content laws like this could interfere with what kind of music people can stream, the sexual health forums and articles they can access and even important news involving sexual topics that they may want to read.

«Additionally, state age verification laws are difficult for smaller services to comply with, hurting competition and an open internet,» Perrino said.

The Anticorruption of Public Morals Act has not passed the Michigan House of Representatives committee or been voted on by the Michigan Senate, and it’s not clear how much support the bill has beyond the six Republican representatives who have proposed it. As we’ve seen with state legislation in the past, sometimes bills like these can serve as templates for other representatives who may want to propose similar laws in their own states.

Could VPNs still get around bans like these?

Could VPNs still get around this type of ban? That’s a complex question that this bill doesn’t really address.

«From a technical standpoint, ISPs can attempt to distinguish VPN traffic using deep packet inspection, or they can block known VPN IP addresses,» said NordVPN privacy advocate Laura Tyrylyte. «However, deploying them effectively requires big investments and ongoing maintenance, making large-scale VPN blocking both costly and complex.»

Also, VPNs have ways around deep packet inspection and other methods.

«Some VPNs offer obfuscation — which tries to disguise VPN traffic as standard web traffic — using dedicated servers or custom VPN protocols, like NordVPN’s NordWhisper or Proton VPN’s Stealth,» said CNET senior editor Moe Long. «But note that obfuscation isn’t foolproof.»

There are also no-log features offered by many VPNs to guarantee they don’t keep a record of your activity, and no-log audits from third parties like Deloitte that — well, try to guarantee the guarantee. VPNs can even use server tricks, such as RAM-only servers that automatically reboot to erase data after every browsing session.

If you’re seriously concerned about your data privacy, you can look for features like these in a VPN and see if they are right for you. Changes like these, even on the state level, are one reason we pay close attention to how specific VPNs work during our testing, and recommend the right VPNs for the job, from speedy browsing to privacy while traveling.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Sept. 19 #565

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 19, No. 565.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Do you drink your coffee black? If so, today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a puzzler. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Pour it on.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Wow, no cow.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

NONE, CONE, RICER, SHEW, FAIR, FAIRY, DRAY, YARD, MILK, CASH, DONE, DRAM, MADAM

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: