Technologies

5 Things That Helped Me Survive a Massive 24-Hour Power Outage

One of them was a toy frog.

My family was among the 367,000 PG&E customers hit by a massive power outage in the San Francisco Bay Area this week. High winds brought down trees and power lines, leaving us without electricity, internet access and heat for exactly 24 hours.

It sucked.

The outage made me appreciate just how awesome power and internet access are, and how critical they are for modern living. Working from home, hearing from schools and the power company, coordinating with my wife — it all was squeezed through a woefully insufficient mobile phone network connection.

But a few things helped me through this rough patch. Some of them were pretty high tech, but there’s still a place for pre-internet products in your emergency kit. Here’s what I turned to.

Tethering

Connecting my laptop to my phone to take advantage of its mobile network was crucial to getting through the power outage. I’m amazed how much a person can get done with a smartphone these days, but in my case, everything seems to go at least two times slower than with a laptop. Some tasks, like complex photo editing, require a laptop. So for me, tethering was essential.

Unfortunately, the networks my phones use (I have a Google Pixel 7 Pro and an iPhone 14 Pro) aren’t terribly fast, and with so many others’ internet access down during the power outages, I suspect the networks were overtaxed. I remember the crushing feeling when my browser estimated it would take 40 minutes to download a 4.2MB photo file.

Pro tip: On Android, you can tether with a USB-C cable that can be more reliable than Wi-Fi and that keeps the phone charged, too. It works with iPhones and Lightning cables as well. This approach is where the term «tether» came from, of course, but mostly I tether with Wi-Fi these days because it’s simpler and more flexible.

a screenshot of Google's extreme battery saver mode, which dramatically cuts power usage — I used the extreme battery saver mode on my Google Pixel 7 Pro to dramatically cut down on its power usage during a power outage.

Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

Phone battery saver modes

I love my phones’ battery saving modes and use them often when I’m at all-day conferences, out on a long hike, or am uncertain when I’ll be able to charge. I long ago customized my iPhone’s Control Center with the low power mode toggle.

I like my Pixel phone’s approach better, where you can set battery saver mode to engage automatically when the battery charge reaches a particular percentage. I have it set to turn on at 60%, but during the power outage, I just left it on all the time.

Android goes a step farther with extreme battery saver, which shuts down all apps except some core ones and the ones you specify. You can launch anything and use it, but unless you add it to the exceptions list, extreme battery saver will shut it down again. Overnight, my Pixel’s battery charge dropped only 2% during the power outage.

Anker's 535 PowerHouse, a large portable battery, with its front-facing LED light strip turned on — The Anker 535 PowerHouse has a bright LED light on its front face along with four USB ports and four power plugs.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Anker 535 PowerHouse battery

The Anker 535 PowerHouse is one of a host of hulking batteries that, although expensive, can be really useful in a power outage. I used it to charge my laptop and phone, to use an LED lamp, and most crucially, to run my broadband modem when I needed my fast network. The display helpfully told me that my network equipment required 26 watts of power, which is more than I’d like, but the battery is big enough to last hours.

The PowerHouse also has its own built-in LED light strip. It’s pretty bright, and I’d have preferred a dimmer option.

This model comes with conventional power plugs as well as one USB-C port (not enough) and three USB-A ports (too many). You’re better off charging your devices directly from the USB ports if you can: plugging a charger into one of the battery’s power plugs means you’ll suffer efficiency losses converting from direct current to alternating current and back.

A flashlight toy with hundreds of glowing fiber optic strands glows in the dark — This fiber optic flashlight toy proved useful during a power outage.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

My kid’s frog flashlight and other LED-lit toys

Our kid likes little toys as much as any other elementary school kid does, and I was delighted when he realized at night that he’d brought home a couple of LED-lit party favors. I’m not sure what to call them, but they have a glowing cylindrical handle with a brush of plastic fiber optic strands sprouting from one end. They’re meant to be novelty products but turned out to be handy flashlights, too.

My kid's frog flashlight toy has a lever behind its head; pushing it down opens its mouth and turns on an LED light — My kid’s frog flashlight.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

I was happier with another gimmick, though, the frog flashlight we got him at REI to try to cajole him into camping trips. Its carabiner design let me clip it to my belt loop, and it was great for quick lighting at bedtime.

A candle

Candles are millennia-old technology, and you know what? They still work. More than 10 hours into the power outage and with no idea when it might end, I was eager to save any battery power I had left.

I pulled some mushy ice cream out of our not cold enough freezer lit a candle from our emergency kit, and had a late night dessert.

a candle on top of a can of tomatoes — I dripped some wax onto this tomato can to give this candle a safe, sturdy perch.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Technologies

Nintendo’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Hit. Just Ask My Kid

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has sucked my family in, and I can’t get my Switch controller back from my son.

I’d love to tell you all about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, arriving this week, and what it’s been like to play on the Nintendo Switch 2. I can mostly do that — but for most of the past five days, it hasn’t really been me playing. What started as co-playing together quickly turned into my kid taking over completely as he got hooked. And honestly, I’d say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, too many for me to keep track of. But Legends Z-A is the first that’s Switch 2-optimized, although you can play on original Switches, too. I can’t tell you what that’s like, though — my early review access limited me to playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 only at home. I was doubtful about how much a city-based game would truly feel like a must-have experience, but so far it’s already become one of my favorite Pokemon games ever.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s gotten deep into the trading card game and has played most of the recent Pokemon titles over the past year, and he says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how battles work. The quick, real-time system feels more immediate and far less sluggish than in past Pokemon games. Plus, he’s loving the story… and honestly, so am I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the «peculiar» storyline, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokemon game) and the constant sense of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: Z-A (at least from what I’ve seen in my 10-plus hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City — a Paris-like metropolis where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. is planning to rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can better coexist. The setup reminded me of the Detective Pikachu movie during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my instincts were right.

Pokemon roam in wild zones within the city, occasionally spilling into urban areas, while mysterious rogue «Mega Evolution» Pokemon have begun appearing and threatening the city’s calm. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to level up in rank from Z to A by battling various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There’s a group of friends you hang out with at a local hotel, along with research missions you have to carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, though it can feel a bit sparse at times, stretches all the way up to its rooftops, where all sorts of hidden spots are waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and one I’m still navigating.

And the city’s always changing, too. Wild zones keep multiplying, and from day to night the city’s dynamics shift. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up spots each time. It’s not as lively as I’d hoped — this isn’t Grand Theft Pokemon — but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real-life Universal Pokemon theme park could someday look like.

The Pokemon shine

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son’s telling me to do. He loves how many Pokemon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how much fun the battle moves are to pull off. I’m happy he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a looser state of mind, more able to explore and not feel locked down into systems and rulesets. Swapping Pokemon battle moves and reassigning them to buttons is easy, too.

The stronger focus on trainer battles — and the sheer variety of Pokemon capable of mega evolving — gives the game more of that classic, Pokemon-centered energy than Pokemon Legends: Arceus ever did. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon looked and behaved than to uncover new realms to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you’re spending a lot more time roaming one massive location than in any other Pokemon game I can remember. Thankfully, the visual upgrades on the Switch 2 make those Pokemon look fantastic in battle.

I do want to spend more time in Lumiose City, though, and can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse of how all Pokemon games will keep evolving. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like Z-A and Arceus have been more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, Z-A is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, it plays smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game ever has before.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

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

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.