Technologies

Beat Price Increases With Woot’s Can’t-Miss Nintendo Switch OLED and Mario Kart 8 Bundle Offer

Nintendo is raising prices among tariff concerns, but this bargain scores you a console at less than $300 — that’s over $100 off the new price.

Many gamers are upgrading to the new Nintendo Switch 2 console, but at $450 — or $500 for the Mario Kart World bundle — it’s an expensive investment. Normally, we’d expect older models to drop in price with a new console hitting shelves, but Nintendo has announced that it’s raising original Switch prices due to market conditions.

Those increases include the Nintendo Switch OLED model rising to $400 from $350. But you can still find rare deals if you shop around, and we’ve spotted an incredible offer from Woot that drops the console/handheld hybrid down to just $289. That’s a $111 discount on the newer price and, better yet, it includes a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as well as a 12-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. That’s the equivalent of $79 in free add-ons. Couple that with the price cut, and that’s nearly $200 in savings.

The catch? This is an international model, which may mean packaging and other materials may vary from the standard US model, but functionally it is the same device, offering the same games and support. The Nintendo Switch OLED also differs from the original Switch console. It has a sleek white design and a larger 7-inch OLED display that enhances any game played on the move. The OLED model also doubles the standard storage from 32GB to 64GB, has an improved adjustable kickstand and adds an Ethernet port to the dock. A lot of the differences are indistinguishable from the 2017 launch console, but if you’re not fussed about the Switch 2, then this is a great way to access some of the best games of the last decade at a price that avoids price increases due to tariffs.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

One of those fabulous games is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It’s no surprise that the colorful racing game comfortably sits as the best-selling title for the console at more than 68 million sales. And you’ll get it included with your purchase, making this an exceptional offer.

GAMING HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Logitech G535 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset (Black):

$99 (save $31)
Logitech G Pro X Wired 7.1 Gaming Headset (2nd Generation):

$70 (save $60)
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset:

$143 (save $58)
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Headset (Black):

$180 (save $20)
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Headset:

$145 (save $36)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why these deals matter

Nintendo fans know all too well that the Japanese game maker rarely discounts its hardware or games, and with prices rising, this is likely the last time we’ll see a Nintendo Switch deal this good for some time. That’s why sales like this one from Woot shouldn’t be overlooked.

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.