Technologies

Review: This Portable Controller Is the Perfect On the Go Gaming Accessory

The Crkd Neo S is a fun, little controller with a reasonable price — and a few quirks.

Gaming controllers are a dime a dozen, and it’s not easy to know which ones are worth spending money on. Often, the question is whether you really need to upgrade to a new controller when you still have the one that came with your console. However, the truth is there are so many more ways we can play our favorite games now, including on our phones and tablets. Plus, having something you can quickly drop into your bag in case you want to game on the go is super helpful, too.

I’ve been testing a lot of controllers lately, and the Crkd (pronounced like «cracked») Neo S offers nearly everything you’d want in a good, easily portable game controller — and it’s affordable, too. The company let me check out the Frost Edition, and I’ve been quite impressed.

What I like about the Crkd Neo S

Hardware and customization

Crkd mostly nails the hardware on the Neo S. Firstly, I had not used a rectangular controller before, but it felt very comfortable after just a few minutes. The slightly protruding grips on the back help out quite a bit.

The buttons are really clicky, the joysticks are stiff without being too rigid and the triggers feel great. Gaming with the Neo S for a couple of hours at a time was a pleasure, and I never missed an input due to mushy controls.

The Neo S connects wirelessly via Bluetooth, but there’s also a USB-C port and an included cable for wired gaming. Up to three devices can be connected at a time. Once set up, I was able to quickly switch between my PC, iPad and Nintendo Switch in just a few seconds.

It’s impressive that it’s as good as it is, considering its size. The Neo S is small enough to tuck into a large pants or jacket pocket if you really need to, and it easily slipped into my backpack. Although, the lack of a carrying case meant the sticks caught on my bag occasionally, but it’s quite easy to travel with.

Another fun thing about the Neo S is all the different special editions available. I have the Frost Edition, which is exclusive to the Apple Store (and currently sold out), but there are options like Retro Gold, Classic Clear, Fortnite and several others. You can add them to your «collection» in the Crkd app, and the app will tell you the product number of your controller and even give it a rarity rank depending on how many were made.

It would be cool if you could collect points or something by adding more to your collection, which you could then redeem for discounts on other controllers or accessories, but right now, points seem to be for bragging rights only.

One other impressive thing about the Neo S is the pro-level of customization built into it. Considering its price and size, you wouldn’t necessarily think you could customize almost everything possible input on it. Things like the vibration intensity, trigger sensitivity, even the dead zones for the joysticks — all things that you can normally only customize on controllers that cost a few hundred dollars.

Despite all of its features and compact design, the Neo S is still reasonably priced. At the time of writing, you can find most editions for about $40 to $50, though newly released editions are typically around $60. Plus, you get even more discounts if you buy a few at a time (like if you want to upgrade the kiddos’ Switch controllers). That’s really not a bad price at all for such a good controller, especially with as much customization as this one offers.

What I don’t like about the Crkd Neo S

For as good as the inputs on the Neo S are, the haptics are surprisingly mediocre. They aren’t as bad as others I’ve used, but I would recommend keeping them on the lowest setting or just turning them off. They’re nice to have for some games, but I’m just not a fan.

Also, while the controller is extremely customizable, tweaking those settings is pretty confusing. Changing any of them manually on the controller requires pressing a combination of the big Crkd button at the top and some other random button. It’s not at all intuitive, so you either have to memorize the different button combos or look them up every time.

Thankfully, you can change everything in the Crkd iOS or Android app, but that means pausing your game, connecting to the other device, changing the settings and switching back to the console. It’s quite a lot of steps, and it doesn’t save settings between devices — you’ll have to change them every time.

This confusion also translates to the setup process. Pairing to and switching between devices took some trial and error at first, and even so, you have to remember which button combo connects to which device (D-pad up plus Crkd button for iOS, D-pad right plus Crkd button for Switch, and so on). Having a tiny LCD screen that could help walk you through stuff might help, but my recommendation is to just pair the controller with one device and leave it.

Should you buy the Crkd Neo S?

All that being said, I would absolutely recommend the Neo S in a heartbeat. It’s a really solid little controller that’s incredibly portable and quite comfortable to use. Plus, the immense level of customization means you can get pro-level controls for a fraction of what you’d pay for something like an Xbox Elite controller.

The collectible nature of the special editions also adds another layer of fun to the Neo S.

Personally, I wish I’d discovered Crkd controllers years ago.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 21 #720

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 720.

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.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be easy for those who pursue a certain hobby. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so 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: The beer necessities.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Cheers!

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:

MALE, TREAT, STEAM, TEAM, MOVE, LOVE, ROVE, ROVER, SPEAR, PEAR

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:

HOPS, WATER, MALT, YEAST, BARLEY, SUGAR, WHEAT, FLAVOR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is HOMEBREW. To find it, start with the H that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 21, #986

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 21 #986.

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

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle features another of those purple categories where you need to look for hidden words inside of other words. It can be a real stumper. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rookies don’t have this.

Green group hint: Call the roll.

Blue group hint: How’d you do today?

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom, but with a twist.