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Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped

“I’m told that Australian teens, in preparation for this ban, have been exchanging phone numbers with each other.”

© Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photo: David Gray/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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OpenAI Calls a ‘Code Red’ + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop

“For OpenAI to realize its ambitions, it is not going to be enough for them to make a model that is as good as Gemini 3. They need to be able to leapfrog it again.”

© Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photo: Peter Cade/Getty

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Guitar amp sims have gotten astonishingly good

It’s an incredible time to be a guitarist who doesn’t want to own a bunch of $2,000 amps and an expensive pedalboard of gear. Amp and pedal simulators, which have been around for decades, have in the last few years finally come into their own as nearly indistinguishable sonic replacements. Even John Mayer is now willing to ditch his beloved tube amps for digital models.

I certainly don’t have Mayer’s chops or gear budget, but I do love messing with this sort of tech and have purchased everything from NeuralDSP‘s Archetypes series to Amplitube and Guitar Rig. Last week, as part of an early Black Friday sale, I picked up two amp/effects suites from British developer Polychrome DSP—Nunchuck (Marshall amps) and Lumos (clean through mid-gain tones). They are both excellent.

Any reasonable person should be satisfied with this tech stack, which models gear that collectively costs as much as my house. After my Polychrome DSP purchases, I reminded myself that I am a reasonable person, and that I could therefore ignore any further amp sims that might tempt my wandering eye.

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ChatGPT’s Platform Play + a Trillion-Dollar GPU Empire + the Queen of Slop

At DevDay, OpenAI signaled its ambition to take everything you can do on the internet and shove it inside ChatGPT.

© Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photo: Benjamin Legendre/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Amazon’s clear-voice Fire TV Soundbar Plus falls to its best-ever price

A great soundbar can significantly improve your TV experience, especially if voices are difficult to comprehend or if you feel like movies and series sound weak on your current speakers. That’s exactly where Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus comes in, bringing a complete audio package into your living room with 3.1 sound, integrated bass, and support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

The Fire TV Soundbar Plus is currently on sale for just $149.99 (was $249.99) with this amazing 40% discount. That’s the absolute lowest price it’s ever been by a mile! With an average rating of 4.4 with close to a thousand reviews and over 3,000 units sold in the last month, this model is one of the most popular in this category.

Why the Fire TV Soundbar Plus is great

The Fire TV Soundbar Plus is an all-in-one solution. It does away with additional subwoofers and satellite speakers, instead integrating all channels in one convenient housing. The center channel is particularly noteworthy for how it more clearly reproduces speech. If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to hear dialogue in a movie or show, then this center channel will make all the difference in the world.

Another benefit is support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. These technologies create a 3D sound that better fills your room and conveys more depth than conventional stereo sound. There are four sound modes to choose from depending on the content, from film and music to night mode (which ensures clear voices at low volume).

It’s easy to use, too. You simply connect the soundbar via the TV’s HDMI eARC or ARC connection. The controls are also practical: with a Fire TV remote control, you can operate both TV and soundbar at the same time, even with individual audio settings on compatible models. The soundbar also offers Bluetooth support, so you can even play music or podcasts from your smartphone or tablet wirelessly.

Why this deal is worth it

The Fire TV Soundbar Plus is pretty good at full price, but it’s an incredible value with this 40% discount that puts it at its all-time lowest price of $149.99. (Before, its best-ever price was $174.99.)

Many users praise the soundbar for its room-filling sound, clear voice reproduction, and simple unobtrusive design. The ease of installation and value for money are also common regularly mentioned. There’s some criticism of clunky settings and connectivity issues, but users are overall satisfied. Grab it on sale while you still can!

Save 40% on Amazon's Fire TV Soundbar Plus, now at its lowest price evr

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