Technologies
Shadow Brings Its Cloud PCs to Creatives
Shadow for Makers will let you subscribe to cloud-based systems for photo, video and 3D editing, and more.
Blade’s reinvention of its Shadow desktop-in-the-cloud service expands it well beyond gaming — previously with Shadow for Enterprise, and now to Shadow for Makers, a new virtual PC subscription targeted at creatives starting at $59 per month.
Shadow‘s technology allows you to stream a full PC to almost any lower-powered device, like a phone or Chromebook, as well as Macs, similar to the way cloud gaming works for just games. Because Shadow for Makers is still a full Windows desktop, you can still play (or develop) games on it. It’s available starting today.
The company hasn’t moved too far from its gaming roots, however, launching two game studio-focused services, too: Virtual Booth, which may eventually be the installation-free way you try out new games; and Echo Session, a streamlined way for studios to test and get feedback on their games. The latter have been developed in conjunction with Bandai Namco.
Of the four plans launching Wednesday, two will be available in North America (the other two are Europe-only): Spark, which gives you an eight-core slice of an Intel Xeon CPU and the equivalent of an 8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, along with 12GB RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive for $59 per month; and Zenith, which provides dual eight-core slices of an AMD Epyc CPU with a 20GB Nvidia RTX A4500 (the workstation equivalent of an RTX 3090 Ti) with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD for $139 per month. Both allow for upgrades to storage, and Zenith will be upgraded to 28GB in the second quarter of this year.
The Spark configuration is suitable for tasks like midrange photo editing that don’t require a high-powered graphics card, while the Zenith configuration is better suited for video editing and 3D design. The Xeon and Epyc CPU generations and GTX GPU aren’t great for AI acceleration, which has become more mainstream, especially for automating a lot of photo- and video-editing tasks. On the flip side, though, the data centers hosting these servers have much better internet connections than yours, which can be a boon when working collaboratively on video.
Also of note, Virtual Booth brings the game event platform we could have used during the pandemic. It can host up to roughly 100,000 players gaming from the cloud, and will support social media, gamer feedback and Twitch streaming when it launches in the fall.
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Technologies
Crank Up the Tunes With Over $200 Off the Top-Rated Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 Earbuds
Woot is offering you the chance to put these Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 ANC buds in your ears for a massive 44% off, but the deal ends soon.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 earbuds with ANC in anthracite black are now just $280 on Woot. That’s an impressive 44% off the usual $499 sticker price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen so far, but this deal won’t last long. Quantities on Woot are limited, so grab yours while the deal is still live.
The design’s comfy enough for long hauls, and the 15-minute quick charge is clutch when you’re heading out the door. The charging case even doubles as a Bluetooth transceiver, so you can plug into in-flight entertainment systems without fuss. These buds are featured in our roundup of the best wireless earbuds of the year, and audio expert David Carnoy called them «easily among the best-sounding earbuds out there,» with better ANC and a more ergonomic fit than earlier models.
If you’re picky about sound, these are worth a look. They have a snug fit, single-button controls and a case that’s been redesigned to feel more premium. They’re splash- and dust-resistant (IP54 rating), and the updated shape fits better than the Pi7 S2 and Pi5 S2. You can also tweak settings using the Bowers & Wilkins Music app for iOS and Android.
If this isn’t quite your vibe, check out our full roundup of the best headphone deals you can add to your cart now.
HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$248 (save $152)
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Why this deal matters
These earbuds don’t go on sale often, and when they do, it’s usually not this steep of a discount. The anthracite black Pi8s are sitting at their lowest price yet, and they’re backed by solid reviews and a spot on CNET’s best earbuds list. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to splurge, this is it. We last saw this deal during Black Friday, so there’s no telling when these buds will come back on sale after this deal expires.
Technologies
Apple Reportedly Eyes ‘iPhone Ultra’ Name for Folding Phone Expected This Year
It’s another week and another bunch of rumors about the company’s first foldable phone.
It’s a new week and a new set of rumors for Apple’s first foldable phone. If Tuesday’s reports are true, the device will be called the Ultra, have a bookish shape and launch in September.
The main report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who said the foldable is on track for a September launch, despite Nikkei Asia reporting that the phone might not launch until 2027 due to issues that cropped up during the engineering test phase.
Citing unnamed sources, Gurman said Apple will introduce the foldable phone in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Those phones would likely go on sale about a week after being unveiled.
An Apple representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s important to note that while rumors abound, Apple has confirmed none of them — not even the existence of a foldable iPhone.
Still, the earlier Nikkei Asia report was jarring enough to send Apple’s stock down 5.1% before it rebounded later, Gurman noted. The Nikkei Asia story said unexpected issues had arisen during engineering testing and that more time was needed to make «necessary adjustments.» Under a worst-case scenario, the first shipment of the foldables would not occur until 2027, the report said.
More from CNET: Foldable Phones Have Solved Nearly Every Trade-Off, Well Before Apple Debuts One
Looks like a book
Meanwhile, consumer tech reviewer Sonny Dickson posted images on X showing dummy models indicating how big the iPhone Fold, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max might be. In the image, the foldable has an almost square shape when fully opened.
Dummy images are useful for phone accessory manufacturers — such as case-makers — so they can get a head start on mass production before the devices are launched. When phones are released, consumers are quick to order cases and other accessories, so the sizes need to be known. It is unclear whether the dummy models shown are actual mockups from Apple.
People who commented on X didn’t seem to love the dummy images, particularly because the models shown appear to lack MagSafe, Apple’s magnetic system on the back of the phone that lets chargers and other accessories snap on.
Stefan Moser wrote, «If the Fold is missing MagSafe, this will be a big NO for me.»
There were other criticisms, too.
An X user going by DasnkiCS posted that the phone looks «too wide, can’t palm that easily in normal phone use.»
And another X user, Brosnan Hoban, wrote, «Fold looks like a credit card from 2050.»
What’s in a name?
Tuesday’s other big rumor concerned the foldable’s name.
A leaker, Digital Chat Station, posted on the Chinese social site Weibo that the foldable iPhone could be called the iPhone Ultra. The post also said Chinese competitors may use the Ultra name for their own foldables to compete directly with Apple on design, specs, and price.
The predominant rumored name has been the iPhone Fold, but others have included Flip, Duo and iFold.
In March, Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter that Apple was considering a full line of Ultra products, possibly including a foldable phone, an M6 MacBook Pro with OLED, a foldable iPad and high-end Macs. Gurman also said Apple might introduce AirPods with «computer-vision cameras» to send visual data to Siri for its AI assistant feature.
We’ve seen a steady stream of tidbits about the foldable recently. There could be a large inner screen for multitasking, and people could open apps side by side. There might also be two rear cameras, a front-facing camera and a Touch ID side button.
Whatever Apple finally comes up with, it will be playing catch-up. Other major phone-makers already have foldable phones on the market, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the OnePlus Open, the Huawei Mate XT, the Honor Magic V5 and the Motorola Razr Ultra.
Technologies
Artemis II Astronauts Name Moon Crater After Commander Reid Wiseman’s Late Wife
The emotional moment was streamed by NASA moments after the crew made history.
On Monday, after the crew aboard Artemis II made a historic feat by breaking Apollo 13’s distance record, they made the moment even more special by proposing to name one of the craters on the moon «Carroll,» in memory of Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife.
While contacting Mission Control, Mission Specialist and astronaut Jeremy Hansen stated that the «close-knit astronaut family» previously lost a loved one who was «the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie.»
«It’s a bright spot on the moon,» Hansen said while describing the crater during the emotional call. «And we would like to call it Carroll.»
After the request, you can see Wiseman embrace Hansen before the rest of the crew joins in for a group hug.
Carroll Wiseman died in 2020 at 46 years old from cancer. Wiseman’s NASA bio page states that Carroll «dedicated her life to helping others as a newborn intensive care unit Registered Nurse.»
Before the Artemis II mission, Wiseman posted a selfie with his two daughters on X with a caption that reads in part, «I love these two ladies, and I’m boarding that rocket a very proud father.»
Follow CNET’s coverage of the 10-day Artemis II mission as the Orion makes its way back to Earth.
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