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Remembering Descent, the once-popular, fully 3D 6DOF shooter

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Descent is a big part of gaming history, but not many people talk about it.

The sound these enemies make is an instant hit of menacing nostalgia. Credit: GOG

I maintain a to-do list of story ideas to write at Ars, and for about a year “monthly column on DOS games I love” has been near the top of the list. When we spoke with the team at GOG, it felt less like an obligation and more like a way to add another cool angle to what I was already planning to do.

I’m going to start with the PC game I played most in high school and the one that introduced me to the very idea of online play. That game is Descent.

As far as I can recall, Descent was the first shooter to be fully 3D with six degrees of freedom. It’s not often in today’s gaming world that you get something completely and totally new, but that’s exactly what Descent was 30 years ago in 1995.

Developed by Parallax Studios and published by Interplay, the game was a huge success at the time, moving millions of copies in a market where only an elite few had ever achieved that. It was distributed in part via shareware and played a role in keeping that model alive and bringing it from the just-retail-and-friends-sharing-floppies era to the Internet-download era.

And fittingly for this list, Descent is also a part of GOG history. For one thing, it was one of the launch titles for GOG’s open beta in 2008. Later, it and its sequels mysteriously disappeared from the platform in 2015. It came out that the game’s publisher had not been paying royalties as owed to the developer, leading to a breakdown in the relationship that resulted in the game being pulled from all storefronts. In 2017, the Descent titles returned to GOG and other digital sales platforms.

Unfortunately, the story of the studio that evolved from the one that originally made Descent ended sadly, as is so often the case for classic studios these days. Parallax morphed into Volition, the company that most recently made the Saints Row games, among others. Volition was acquired by Embracer Group, a holding company that has made a reputation for itself by gutting storied studios and laying off industry luminaries. Volition was among the ones it shuttered completely.

So, let’s pour one out for Parallax->Volition and take a flight through the memory of Descent‘s evil-robot-infested mines.

Single player

I played Descent when I was a teenager. Obviously, some of you were older, playing it in college or well into adulthood. Others reading this probably weren’t even born when it came out. But for me, this was a defining game of my teenage years, alongside Mechwarrior 2, Command & Conquer, Meridian 59, Civilization II, and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.

I remember my friend giving me the shareware demo, telling me that it was the most technically impressive and visceral thing he’d ever played. I installed it and launched it, and the whole vibe immediately resonated with me: It was just the kind of gritty, corpo-sci-fi I loved then and still do today.

It took some getting used to, though. The default keyboard controls were not great, and it was a lot to learn trying to operate in so many axes of movement and rotation. I’ll admit I had trouble making it stick at first.

That changed a few months later; the same friend who was obsessed with Descent often played the tabletop game BattleTech with his brother and me, and so we were all eyeing Mechwarrior 2—which launched not long after Descent—with great interest. I had never purchased a flight stick before, but that seemed important for Mechwarrior 2, so I did, and that was the secret to unlocking Descent‘s charms for me.

(Of course, the GOG version of Descent and various community patches offer mouse support, so it’s far easier to get into without extra hardware now than it was back then.)

Once my flying went from chaos to control, I became completely hooked. I beat the game more than a dozen times, though I’ll admit in the later playthroughs I made liberal use of cheats (gabbagabbahey!).

I loved the loop of destroying the reactor then escaping through the labyrinthine tunnels—something I don’t think many other games have truly copied since then. I loved the music (though Descent 2‘s astoundingly good soundtrack by Skinny Puppy far surpassed it) and the process of getting better at the movement through practice.

The story is minimal, but something about the vibes just work for me in that ’80s anti-corporate sci-fi sort of way. Credit: GOG

I played so much that as I improved, I found even the harder difficulty levels were not enough to challenge me. That’s when the world of online deathmatches (or Anarchy, as Descent called the mode) opened to me for the first time.

Multiplayer

To be clear, I had played some multiplayer games online before, but up to that point, that only included text MUDs. I loved MUDs and still do, but there’s nothing like a fast-paced, action-packed online deathmatch.

It started with playing with my friends via direct dial-up; I have distinct memories of Descent Anarchy matches that were interrupted at pivotal moments by parents picking up the phone to make a call and inadvertently killing the connection.

As a side note, it turns out that my colleague Lee Hutchinson was also heavily into Descent matches with his friends, and he was so kind as to provide a short clip of one of those original matches from 30 years ago to include here, which you can watch below. (Unfortunately, I was not so forward thinking as Lee, and I did not preserve my replays for posterity.)

Lee Hutchinson attempting to defeat his friend with flares

I was the first of my friends to put in the effort to test my skills against the wider world. My memory of the details is fuzzy, but as I recall, online matches were arranged through Kali, an MS-DOS emulator of the IPX protocol for TCP/IP connections. It was nontrivial to set up, but it could have been worse.

I still remember, like it was last week, the Friday night I spent playing Descent online for the first time. It was a defining moment of my gamer origin story.

I’m not saying it was the best-balanced game in the world; balance was barely a thought then, and multiplayer game design was nascent. But the range of skills, the trash talk (which I’m not into now, but at the time I enjoyed, being the young punk I was), the rage-inducing lag: these were all a taste of an experience I still enjoy to this day in games like Call of Duty, The Finals, and Overwatch 2, among others.

Maybe it’s pure nostalgia talking, but there was nothing quite like playing Descent on Kali.

Entering the mines in 2025

For this article, I spent several hours playing Descent for the first time in I don’t even know how long. It was just as fun as I remembered. I was surprised at how well it holds up today, apart from the visual presentation.

Fortunately, the game’s community has done an amazing job with patches. DXX-Rebirth and DXX-Redux add support for modern display resolutions, bring much-needed quality of life and input changes, and more. In my opinion, you shouldn’t even launch the game without installing one of them. The GOG version has the essential tweaks to make the game run on modern systems and input devices, but these community patches go the extra mile to make it feel more like a modern remaster without sacrificing the art or vibe of the original release in any way.

Single-player is easier to get into than ever, and you might be surprised to learn that there are still people playing multiplayer. A “getting started guide” post by Reddit user XVXCHILLYBUSXVX lists Discord channels you can join to arrange games with other players; some have regularly scheduled matches in addition to impromptu, ad hoc matchups.

If you give it a shot, maybe you’ll run into me there. Or at least, you’ll run into my mega missile!

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Photo of Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon is the editorial lead for tech and gaming coverage at Ars Technica. He covers AI, software development, gaming, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.

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Ars Technica and GOG team up to bring you a pile of our favorite games

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That changed with the 1992 release of Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, or ST25 to its friends, which brought the original series Enterprise and its crew to life in glorious 256-color VGA. And to players’ vast relief, it was not a half-baked effort—locations like the Enterprise bridge were lovingly recreated, with beautiful atmospheric sound effects lifted straight from the TV show permeating every scene. The character art is sharp, and it’s easy to tell Bones from Spock. The entire game is like a love letter to OG Trek.

Screenshot of ST25 showing bridge crew

Ah, that old Enterprise bridge feeling.

Credit: GOG / Interplay

Ah, that old Enterprise bridge feeling. Credit: GOG / Interplay

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the time, ST25 is a mouse-driven point-and-click adventure game. It’s broken up into seven discrete chapters, with each chapter being a self-contained mission with problems to solve and objectives to accomplish. Starfleet Command is always watching—complete the minimum number of objectives and an admiral will give you a middling performance review. Go above and beyond and do everything, even your bonus objectives, and you’ll have lavish praise heaped upon you by a grateful admiralty.

The missions themselves tend to follow a pattern. Each starts with the crew of the Enterprise on the bridge as Kirk makes a log entry. Starting with the CD-ROM issue of the game, all the lines are fully voiced by the original cast, so every mission kicks off with Bill Shatner’s familiar “Captain’s log…” lead-in telling us what we need to examine, investigate, locate, or shoot at. (Sadly, the only major voice cast omission in this one is Majel Barrett as the computer.)

Then there’s what I always felt was the weakest part of the game: Most missions kick off with some sort of space battle, where the player has to awkwardly maneuver the Enterprise with the mouse, dodging phaser blasts and photon torpedoes (or just eating them because the controls are just that awful) and trying to blow the other ship up before it does the same to you.

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It’s Prime Day, and these are the best deals we could hunt down

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Greetings, Arsians! It’s Prime Day, where we celebrate liberation from our Cybertronian oppressors, the Decepticons, and the mighty Autobot leader who fought for our freedom, Optimus Pr—hmm, one moment. I am once again being told that in spite of the name, Prime Day does not in fact have anything to do with the veneration of Optimus Prime, and is in fact all about buying things.

All right, in that case, let’s shift gears and engage in some commerce! Our partners over at the Condé mothership have been toiling in the e-commerce mines for days, gathering some tasty deals for your perusal. We’ll be poking at the list throughout the next day or two, adding items and removing them as deals come and go. Please remember to check back if there’s nothing there right now that tickles you!

Amazon devices

Apple devices

Tech deals

Phones

TVs

Headphones and speakers

Kitchen

Home

Outdoor and Active

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

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Ars Technica’s gift guide for Father’s Day: Give dad some cool things

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Wondering what to get the dad who has everything? We have some ideas!

Greetings Arsians! It’s time—at least in some parts of the world—to celebrate dads. Father’s Day is nearly here, and as there’s a custom of gift-giving, many of us will have to choose something. Below, various Ars editors have identified a few things they’ve bought recently that they think could be great gifts for dads—with the caveat that there’s an indefinably large spectrum of variations of what dads like. Still, we did our best to include a few things that are pretty general, and a few that are weirdly specific. In any case, want to show some appreciation for your dad? Here are some options you can throw some money at.

Under $100

86Lux Book Light – $15

Unless your father has light dimmers or has jumped onboard the small-lights-not-big-ones interior design trend, chances are there are two environments available to him for reading: one giant, bright ceiling light that is great for reading but not so great for setting an immersive and relaxing mood or, well, darkness. Enter the clip book light, a good way to light up the page at a brightness suitable for not-so-new eyes without harshing the reading vibes. The 86Lux Book Light is one of many offerings, but we like its simple design. It has multiple temperature and brightness levels, and it’s adjustable, so it can reliably clip onto most books.

Stanley Heritage Thermos – $56

Stanley thermoses are renowned for their longevity and quality, with decades-old models still handling daily duty. The Stanley Heritage Thermos is a modern version of the classic containers, featuring a 1.1-quart capacity, stainless steel body, and the brand’s trademark vacuum insulation that can keep dad’s beverage of choice hot or cold for an impressive 24 hours. The lid is leak-proof, so you can toss it in a bag or backpack without worry, and it doubles as an 8-oz cup. At about $56, it’s more spendy than your average bargain-bin plastic thermos, but you get what you pay for.

AVIDGRAM HDMI 2.1 Switch 4-Port – $90

OK, so this one is admittedly for a very specific dad—but he exists, and if he’s your dad, you know it. Should your father be a true home theater geek and/or a console gamer, he has likely run up against the problem that most modern TVs just don’t have enough HDMI ports. What’s a dad to do when his TV has four HDMI ports, but he has a streaming box, a DVD player, a PlayStation, an Xbox, and a Switch? That’s one too many devices. Enter the Avidgram HDMI 4-port switcher. It supports HDMI 2.1, so it works with modern game consoles. And of a handful we’ve tried, it’s one of the nicest to use and most reliable. Plus, it has a remote, so dad doesn’t have to get off the couch to switch devices.

Mid-price: $100–$300

LaCie Rugged USB-C, 4TB Portable External Hard Drive  – $150

It’s always a good time to give the dad in your life peace of mind through data redundancy. That sounds boring, but it’s important. Whether dad is a digital packrat or just prudently paranoid about data loss, this rugged external drive offers a sizable 4TB of backup space at a price that makes copy-and-forget offsite storage feasible. The distinctive orange bumper isn’t just for show—it protects against 4-foot drops, dust, and water splashes, making it ideal for stashing in a safe deposit box, glove compartment, or anywhere away from the original data source in case disaster strikes. USB-C ensures transfers happen at decent speeds (up to 5Gb/s), so backing up his photo library won’t take all weekend. Mac users will need to reformat, but built-in password protection works regardless of platform.

Apple TV 4K – $179

The Apple TV 4K streaming box can be a suitable gift for various types of dads, from couch potatoes and tech fans to streaming enthusiasts and streaming holdouts. If your dad has been holding out on cutting the cord, the latest Apple TV box is a good incentive for him to make the move.

There’s a strong chance that the Apple TV’s tvOS operating system (OS) will work more smoothly and reliably than whatever OS his TV uses. If your dad has multiple streaming subscriptions, the set-top box’s built-in Apple TV app is handy for unifying many mainstream streaming libraries, so he can spend less time app-hopping and more time watching.

The Apple TV also offers one of the most private approaches to streaming. Your dad (or you) will find it easy and quick to set his privacy controls when setting up the Apple TV. And you don’t have to worry about the OS tracking your dad’s activity nearly as much as you do with most smart TVs and other streaming hardware.

For a bonus gift, you can sign your dad up for a relevant streaming subscription(s) that he doesn’t have, ensuring his new streaming box is put to use. You can save money here by adding an extra member to a streaming subscription you already have or installing free streaming apps.

Big spender: $300+

Sony WH-1000XM6 – $450

The Sony WH-1000XM6 don’t have the best name, but they are some of the nicest Bluetooth headphones money can buy. These cans offer superb audio fidelity, along with class-leading noise cancellation, which is great if dad is a jet-setter—or even if his household is just a bit chaotic. They also have a full raft of connectivity options, like Bluetooth LE, Auracast, and multipoint for pairing with multiple devices. The battery life is rated at an impressive 30 hours with noise cancellation on, and the frame and ear cups are generously padded for long listening sessions without discomfort. Plus, they can fold up for easier transport compared to the older XM5 headphones. The $450 price tag is higher than many other headphones, but it’s hard to argue with the total package.

Segway Ninebot E2 Pro Scooter – $450

Fair warning: Dad will feel like a kid again on this thing—just insist on a high-quality helmet. The E2 Pro’s 15.5 mph top speed is fast enough not to feel slow but slow enough not to be insanely dangerous, hitting that perfect sweet spot for urban commuting or a neighborhood joyride. With up to 25 miles of range, a dual braking system, and traction control for various terrains, it’s practical transportation that happens to be fun. The 750 W peak motor handles 18 percent inclines, while Apple FindMy integration adds security. You can also lock it via an app on a smartphone. Safety gear is essential—this thing is more thrilling than the specs suggest—but that’s exactly what makes it such a perfect gift.

iFixit FixHub Soldering Toolkit – $300

Today’s handyman needs more than just a tool belt and nails. Today, it’s very common for the things that need repairing to include some sort of circuit board or other electronic components. With the proper soldering kit, your dad could up his repair game and save more items from the trash bin. But not every dad was born with a soldering iron in their mouth.

iFixit built its FixHub Soldering Toolkit as an introductory and portable soldering iron that’s novice-friendly, yet remarkably helpful.

The full toolkit comes with a soldering iron, battery pack, and a variety of additional tools, including mandible wire strippers and flush cutters, silicone electrical tape, angled tweezers, a desoldering braid, and a silicone work mat.

If your dad doesn’t need all that, iFixit also sells the soldering iron with just the battery pack for $250. Or you could opt to buy the portable soldering iron with a USB-C charging cable for $80.

In either case, your father gets a soldering iron with a swappable beveled 1.5 mm tip that powers up to 100 watts, besting the 60 W you typically see from USB-powered soldering irons. Your dad will be eagerly awaiting the next broken gadget.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

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Ars Technica’s gift guide for Mother’s Day: Give mom some cool things

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say hi to your mom for me

Wondering what to get the mom who has everything? We’ve got some ideas!

Credit: Carol Yepes / Getty

Greetings, Arsians, and welcome to Mother’s Day, which I am told is once again happening this weekend in the US! Do you, much like the rest of humanity, have a mother? Well, if you do, then this is the time of year when you’re supposed to buy her something to make up for all the pain and suffering she went through in order to bring you into this world! Mom raised you, and while what your mother probably wants more than anything is for you to pick up the phone and talk, you could do a lot worse than throwing some money at the problem and buying your mother something from the list we’ve assembled below!

Stuff for under $100

Severance TV show mug, $17.99

Photograph of a Severance-themed mug

From Allentown to Cold Harbor, discerning innies know the best way to drink beverages.

Credit: Amazon

From Allentown to Cold Harbor, discerning innies know the best way to drink beverages. Credit: Amazon

Whether the mom in your life operates primarily as an “innie” or an “outie,” if she’s a fan of the Apple TV+ show Severance, she may appreciate this ceramic coffee mug inspired by the series. The mug features the iconic phrase “The Work is Both Mysterious and Important” in blue text that mirrors Lumon Industries’ sterile corporate aesthetic. It’s an ideal conversation starter for fans enjoying the show’s second season after the painfully long production delay. Best of all, it’s perfect for morning coffee before Mom begins her own mysterious and important work. The same company also offers a “Woe’s Hollow” mug if you’d like an alternative design. Celebrate the Sisyphean every-day-is-the-same blessing of motherhood with confidence as these mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe, and they are available in both 11oz and 15oz sizes.

Frameo digital picture frame, $49.99

Photograph of a digital picture frame

Frame your mom!

Credit: Amazon

Frame your mom! Credit: Amazon

From awkward baby pictures, to wedding memories and last year’s holidays, your mother likely has more photos than she knows what to do with. Frameo digital picture frames give your mom somewhere to show off those countless photos without embarrassing, unexpected tags on Facebook.

The digital frame shows uploaded pictures like a slideshow. With the iOS or Android app, it’s easy to upload photos from their phone to the frame. Mom hates the cloud and prefers PC storage? No proble—Frameo frames also support PC upload via USB. You can even help ensure the frame puts your best face forward: With the proper permissions, you can access the thing remotely and upload photos to your mom’s frame from afar. Other handy features include sleep mode and the ability to display the time or weather.

There are various Frameo frames available depending on the size, resolution, and look your mom prefers. Here is a popular 10.1-inch IPS one with 1280ˣ800 resolution and 32GB of storage.

A USB-C charger that will actually fast charge her phone, $27.99

Photograph of an Anker phone charger

Faster charging means never having to say “I’m sorry.” Or “My phone is dead.”

Credit: Amazon

Faster charging means never having to say “I’m sorry.” Or “My phone is dead.” Credit: Amazon

Smartphones haven’t come with chargers for a few years now, which means most people like your mom are using one that’s years old. And that old plug probably can’t hit the increasingly lofty charging speeds of new phones. If mom has an old 18W plug, a new one could juice up her phone at double the speed or more. We like Anker’s Nano II charger (on sale for $28) because it’s compact and reaches an impressive 45W, which is fast enough to hit the max wattage for even high-end phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google. It supports USB-PD and PPS charging technologies, which means it can max out anything with a USB-C port to a limit of 45W.

Loop Quiet 2 ear plugs, $20.95

Photograph of the Loop earbuds

They look soft!

Credit: Amazon

They look soft! Credit: Amazon

Let’s face it: Moms need uninterrupted sleep. When relieved from kid or pet duty, or perhaps resting after a night shift, it’s great to wipe out a sleep deficit thanks to some good earplugs. These silicone earplugs offer 24dB noise reduction while avoiding the uncomfortable pressure of cheap foam plugs. The most frustrating thing about traditional earplugs is that there’s a wide variety in “ear hole” sizes out there. To fix that, Loop includes four different tip sizes to ensure a proper fit in any ear canal. The silicone design works well for side-sleepers, and the rubber loop makes them easy to pull out and won’t get lost in your ear canals. Amazon reviewers praise these earplugs highly for travel, focus work, and sensitive hearing situations, with many noting they’re comfortable enough to forget you’re wearing them.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird courses, $40-$125

Photograph of a red bird

If you take a course, you might be able to identify this bird! (Spoiler: This bird is Christina.)

Credit: Cornell

If you take a course, you might be able to identify this bird! (Spoiler: This bird is Christina.) Credit: Cornell

These courses do a few things at once. They give a bird-loving mum hours of engagement. They nicely supplement a complementary webcam-equipped bird feeder or binoculars. And they support an organization that advances bird education, research, and conservation. You can start with beginner basics, pick a lane like ducks or owls, or pack in more with a savings bundle. They pair well with pointing mom to the free Merlin Bird ID app and trading sightings with her throughout the year.

The gift of enlightenment: An Ars subscription, $25-50

Hope to avoid dinner conversations about why you shouldn’t vaccinate your kids? Don’t want forwarded messages about how climate change is a hoax? Can’t endure intense lectures on the perils of germ theory? Know the symptoms of brainworms—and stay safe with Ars Technica.

Brainworms are an active public safety threat in the US. They can infect people you know and love. Brainworms have already attacked our current HHS secretary; they could be coming for your mom next!

Fortunately, there is a vaccine. Get the peace of mind that comes from an Ars Technica subscription. Provide your mom with a completely ad-free viewing experience and access to extra homepage stuff (like the ability to hide news categories she doesn’t like!). An Ars Technica subscription, if applied topically on a daily basis, should inoculate against dumb Facebook memes and other vectors for brainworm infection.

An image of the Ars logo, gift-wrapped

Give that mom an Ars subscription! Moms love Ars subscriptions.

Give that mom an Ars subscription! Moms love Ars subscriptions.

Keep your mom away from jade eggs and pseudoscience! An Ars subscription will show instead how measles is killing kids again, or how the administration’s attack on science is ending America’s worldwide leadership in research, or how NOAA is being stripped bare even as the Atlantic hurricane season gets underway.

Every single subscription helps support the work we do at Ars, and every one is appreciated. So help fight the brainworms and give a subscription to your mother! Soon, she’ll be proudly posting memes in the Ars OpenForum!

Mid-price: $100-$300

Bose Ultra Open-Ear headphones, $249

These are the strangest headphones we’ve ever liked. They’re made for people who want excellent environmental awareness and don’t want the weight of headphones or the discomfort of in-ear units. If those two things are high on your list, these deserve a look. If not, move on because they’re relatively expensive otherwise.

Photograph of earbuds

They’re a little odd-looking, but they sound great.

Credit: Amazon

They’re a little odd-looking, but they sound great. Credit: Amazon

When we first tried these, we expected muddy sound and paltry bass, but to our surprise, they sound extremely good–leaps and bounds beyond bone-conduction headphones that have become popular with some runners in recent years. And unless you crank these, or are sitting somewhere very quiet, people near you won’t hear your music.

They are comfortable, too, despite being clamped on the outer ring of your ear. You can almost forget you’re wearing them, unless you’re one of the rare people for whom these are pure torture. All this said, beware: a recent firmware update improved the microphone, but it’s now only average, and we couldn’t recommend these for anyone who plans on doing a lot of calls with them on. As we said at the outset, these are designed for a particular use case; outside of that, there are better options.

Google TV Streamer 4K, $99.99

Photograph of streamer thing

Stream away!

Credit: Google

Stream away! Credit: Google

Your mom’s TV probably has streaming apps built in, but they’re terrible. A good streaming box can offer better audio and video options, as well as a smoother experience. Google’s TV Streamer 4K fits the bill, with support for HDR10+ and the more rare Dolby Vision video, plus Atmos audio. There are other streaming boxes out there, but we think mom will appreciate Google’s Android TV interface over the cluttered, clunky stuff you get from Roku or Amazon. Google’s streamer also connects to the Play Store for apps, which is much better than the alternatives.

Victrola Empire 6-in-1 record player and speaker, $289.99

Part record player, part boombox, part Bluetooth speaker, all class. Victrola’s Empire 6-in-1 Wood Record Player could be the last speaker your musical mother ever needs.

With the ability to play vinyl records (33 1/3, 45, or 78 RPM), CDs, cassettes, and FM radio (unfortunately, there’s no AM tuner), this speaker lets your mom enjoy all that physical media she has stacked in the house, while also allowing her to tune into live radio to hear the latest hits or about current events. If your mom doesn’t need all that, Victrola also makes record player-Bluetooth speaker combos that skip CD, cassette, and radio functionality for less money.

Photo of a record player

Oooh, retro!

Credit: Victrola

Oooh, retro! Credit: Victrola

Keeping mom in the 21st century, the Empire also lets you connect to its speaker via Bluetooth or a 3.5mm jack, so she can stream music from her favorite apps or play files

stored on her phone.

With a vintage look available in multiple hues, the speaker makes for a classic living room piece that looks vintage without feeling overly dated or antiquated.

Belkin auto-tracking phone stand, $144.99

Photograph of the stand

Mom will be unable to look away. Because the stand will track her.

Credit: Amazon

Mom will be unable to look away. Because the stand will track her. Credit: Amazon

This stand is partly pitched at video creators, sure—but it’s also a boon to anyone who wants to reduce the pain of FaceTime calls with their parents. Set up the stand in their home, make the call, and your folks can sit, stand, wash dishes, wander about, or do anything besides hold a phone in the air or crouch over a table. It comes with a cable and charger, it requires no companion app, and it’s a gift to you, too—the person spending far less time looking up your parents’ noses.

Lego Botanicals Flower Arrangement ($109.99)

The thing about a bouquet of flowers is that it looks nice for a few days, maybe a week, and then it dies. Not so with a Lego Botanicals set, which will always look as good as it did the day you built it. (Speaking from experience, they’re also great conversation starters!)

Photograph of LEGO flowers

Beautiful! Just don’t step on the pieces.

Credit: Target

Beautiful! Just don’t step on the pieces. Credit: Target

This 1,161-piece flower arrangement is one of the larger and pricier sets, but the good news is that the Botanicals series includes many sets at all kinds of prices. Sets like this mini orchid or plum blossom run around $24, or you could pick up a flower bouquet for $48. Longtime Lego fans will also enjoy seeing how Lego has repurposed heads, hats, and other shapes from other sets to create plastic plants.

Big spender: Over $300

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth headphones, $379.99

In our estimation, Bose still sits atop the noise cancellation game. And that’s why you buy these: best in class noise cancellation. The first time I used Bose’s QC line was on a trip from Boston to London. A flight attendant offered me a pair for the flight, and the rest is history: they became my go-to for travel. Apple and Sony can’t touch this noise cancellation.

Photograph of headphones

They’re quiet and comfortable, like it says on the tin.

Credit: Amazon

They’re quiet and comfortable, like it says on the tin. Credit: Amazon

It’s not just bout noise cancellation though. The sound quality is excellent, even if we might give the Sony’s high-end WH-1000XM5 the nod on bass. We found the Bose QC Ultras to be warm and detailed, and certain types of music (hello, Radiohead) sounded amazing with their spatialized stereo option, dubbed Immersive Audio.

Critically, we stumbled upon these as a gift for someone who found the AirPod Max too heavy (385g). At 252g, they’re nearly a third lighter. Bose primarily accomplished this using plastic rather than metal, but in our usage, we appreciated the lightness more than the looks.

Oura Ring 4, $499

We last checked in with Oura when they released version 3.0 of the Oura ring, and it did not impress us much. With Oura Ring 4.0, we’re ready to recommend this device to fitness fanatics with a few caveats. First, the good stuff. The Oura has slightly better battery performance, and we can go 6 days between charges. It’s more comfortable now, too, thanks to repositioning improved sensors. If you want a smart ring, this is the best one right now.

Photograph of a ring

Smart rings are getting smarter all the time.

Credit: Amazon

Smart rings are getting smarter all the time. Credit: Amazon

But yes, caveats: fit is critical. If you want accurate steps and activities, you must get the tightest ring you can still easily remove. Order the sizing kits, or use the sizing its in the story. Do not rely on your traditional ring size. It might not fit!

Most annoying, full use of the ring’s software requires a subscription, which is best purchased annually at $70. This makes the Oura quite a splurge, but if that special mom is looking for extra motivation to focus on fitness, wants to track her sleep, and doesn’t want a wrist-tracker or Apple Watch, we’d recommend this.

Apple iPhone 16E, $599 and up

Though no longer as budget-friendly as Apple’s old, discontinued iPhone SE, Apple’s new iPhone 16E still gives you a lot of value for your money (read our review here). It excels at all the things that most people use their phones for—it’s fast, it’s well-built, it has a great camera, and it will get years of software support from Apple.

Photograph of iPhones

Who doesn’t need an iPhone?

Credit: Apple

Who doesn’t need an iPhone? Credit: Apple

For anyone using an aging iPhone SE, or any iPhone that’s more than three or four years old, it will feel like an immense upgrade. It also ditches Apple’s Lightning port in favor of USB-C, so you can charge it with the same power brick you already use for your laptop/Nintendo Switch/Kindle/etc.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Ars Technica’s gift guide for Mother’s Day: Give mom some cool things Read More »

chatgpt-goes-shopping-with-new-product-browsing-feature

ChatGPT goes shopping with new product-browsing feature

Adam Fry, AI, AI shopping, Biz & IT, chatgpt, coffee, eCommerce, Google, Google Shopping, machine learning, openai, wired / /

On Thursday, OpenAI announced the addition of shopping features to ChatGPT Search. The new feature allows users to search for products and purchase them through merchant websites after being redirected from the ChatGPT interface. Product placement is not sponsored, and the update affects all users, regardless of whether they’ve signed in to an account.

Adam Fry, ChatGPT search product lead at OpenAI, showed Ars Technica’s sister site Wired how the new shopping system works during a demonstration. Users researching products like espresso machines or office chairs receive recommendations based on their stated preferences, stored memories, and product reviews from around the web.

According to Wired, the shopping experience in ChatGPT resembles Google Shopping. When users click on a product image, the interface displays multiple retailers like Amazon and Walmart on the right side of the screen, with buttons to complete purchases. OpenAI is currently experimenting with categories that include electronics, fashion, home goods, and beauty products.

Product reviews shown in ChatGPT come from various online sources, including publishers and user forums like Reddit. Users can instruct ChatGPT to prioritize which review sources to use when creating product recommendations.

An example of the ChatGPT shopping experience provided by OpenAI.

An example of the ChatGPT shopping experience provided by OpenAI. Credit: OpenAI

Unlike Google’s algorithm-based approach to product recommendations, ChatGPT reportedly attempts to understand product reviews and user preferences in a more conversational manner.  If someone mentions they prefer black clothing from specific retailers in a chat, the system incorporates those preferences in future shopping recommendations.

ChatGPT goes shopping with new product-browsing feature Read More »

trump’s-tariffs-trigger-price-hikes-at-large-online-retailers

Trump’s tariffs trigger price hikes at large online retailers

Amazon, Donald Trump, eCommerce, Online Shopping, Policy, shein, tariffs, temu, us-china trade war / /

Popular online shopping meccas Temu and Shein have finally broken their silence, warning of potential price hikes starting next week due to Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Temu is a China-based e-commerce platform that has grown as popular as Amazon for global shoppers making cross-border purchases, according to 2024 Statista data. Its tagline, “Shop like a billionaire,” is inextricably linked to the affordability of items on its platform. And although Shein—which vows to make global fashion “accessible to all” by selling inexpensive stylish clothing—moved its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022, most of its products are still controversially manufactured in China, the BBC reported.

For weeks, the US-China trade war has seen both sides spiking tariffs. In the US, the White House last night crunched the numbers and confirmed that China now faces tariffs of up to 245 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported. That figure includes new tariffs Trump has imposed, taxing all Chinese goods by 145 percent, as well as prior 100 percent tariffs lobbed by the Biden administration that are still in effect on EVs and Chinese syringes.

Last week, China announced that it would stop retaliations, CNBC reported. But that came after China rolled out 125 percent tariffs on US goods. While China has since accused Trump of weaponizing tariffs to “an irrational level,” other retaliations have included increasingly cutting off US access to critical minerals used in tech manufacturing and launching antitrust probes into US companies.

For global retailers, the tit-for-tat tariffs have immediately scrambled business plans. Particularly for Temu and Shein, Trump’s decision to end the “de minimis” exemption on May 2—which allowed shipments valued under $800 to be imported duty-free—will soon hit hard, exposing them to 90 percent tariffs that inevitably led to next week’s price shifts. According to The Guardian, starting on June 1, retailers will have to pay $150 tariffs on each individual package.

Trump’s tariffs trigger price hikes at large online retailers Read More »

you-can-buy-a-diamond-making-machine-for-$200,000-on-alibaba

You can buy a diamond-making machine for $200,000 on Alibaba

alibaba, carbon, china, diamond, diamonds, eCommerce, Marilyn Monroe, Online Shopping, Science, synthetic diamonds, Tech / /

Adventures in compressed carbon —

Making diamonds is cheaper than ever, creating a weird problem: too many diamonds.

–

CLOSE UP: Jeweler looking a diamonds on the work table - stock photo

In an age when you can get just about anything online, it’s probably no surprise that you can buy a diamond-making machine for $200,000 on Chinese eCommerce site Alibaba. If, like me, you haven’t been paying attention to the diamond industry, it turns out that the availability of these machines reflects an ongoing trend toward democratizing diamond production—a process that began decades ago and continues to evolve.

The history of lab-grown diamonds dates back at least half a century. According to Harvard graduate student Javid Lakha, writing in a comprehensive piece on lab-grown diamonds published in Works in Progress last month, the first successful synthesis of diamonds in a laboratory setting occurred in the 1950s. Lakha recounts how Howard Tracy Hall, a chemist at General Electric, created the first lab-grown diamonds using a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) process that mimicked the conditions under which diamonds form in nature.

Since then, diamond-making technology has advanced significantly. Today, there are two primary methods for creating lab-grown diamonds: the HPHT process and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Both types of machines are now listed on Alibaba, with prices starting at around $200,000, as pointed out in a Hacker News comment by engineer John Nagle (who goes by “Animats” on Hacker News). A CVD machine we found is more pricey, at around $450,000.

  • An image of a “HPHT Cubic Press Synthetic Diamond Making Machine” made by Henan Huanghe Whirlwind Co., Ltd. in China.

  • A photo of part of a “HPHT Cubic Press Synthetic Diamond Making Machine” made by Henan Huanghe Whirlwind Co., Ltd. in China.

  • A photo of a factory full of HPHT Cubic Press Synthetic Diamond Making Machines, made by Henan Huanghe Whirlwind Co., Ltd. in China.

Not a simple operation

While the idea of purchasing a diamond-making machine on Alibaba might be intriguing, it’s important to note that operating one isn’t as simple as plugging it in and watching diamonds form. According to Lakha’s article, these machines require significant expertise and additional resources to operate effectively.

For an HPHT press, you’d need a reliable source of high-quality graphite, metal catalysts like iron or cobalt, and precise temperature and pressure control systems. CVD machines require a steady supply of methane and hydrogen gases, as well as the ability to generate and control microwaves or hot filaments. Both methods need diamond seed crystals to start the growth process.

Moreover, you’d need specialized knowledge to manage the growth parameters, handle potentially hazardous materials and high-pressure equipment safely, and process the resulting raw diamonds into usable gems or industrial components. The machines also use considerable amounts of energy and require regular maintenance. Those factors may make the process subject to some regulations that are far beyond the scope of this piece.

In short, while these machines are more accessible than ever, turning one into a productive diamond-making operation would still require significant investment in equipment, materials, expertise, and safety measures. But hey, a guy can dream, right?

You can buy a diamond-making machine for $200,000 on Alibaba Read More »