Get this RTX-powered Acer gaming laptop for a stunningly low $607
Acer’s Nitro V is one of the most popular gaming laptops around because it’s a great deal — so much so that it’s consistently the best seller in its category on Amazon.
But right now, you can get one of these bad boys for an even better price of just $606.39 after discounts on eBay. Snatch it quick if you’re in the market because this deal is going to go fast.
Two things to know before you check out: first, this is a refurbished laptop. But it isn’t your usual roll-of-the-dice-when-buying-refurbished piece of hardware! This one is sold directly by Acer (via the company’s official eBay account) and it comes with a two-year Allstate warranty included in the price. That’s about as good as it gets for a refurb deal.
Second, you’ll need to apply a coupon code (as spotted by users on SlickDeals) to get the full discount off its $757.99 list price. Apply the FALL20OFF promo code (that’s a zero in 20, followed by a capital O in OFF) when you check out to get an extra discount, bringing the price down to $606.39 with free shipping. Sweet.
With an Intel Core i7-12650H processor, an Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM, this laptop should be able to deliver medium settings for 3D games at the 15-inch screen’s 1080p resolution and maximum 144Hz refresh rate. Storage is a little pokey at 512GB, but since the Nitro V is big and roomy, you can upgrade both the storage and the RAM with cheap off-the-shelf components and a screwdriver.
It’s a great machine for college students and gamers on a budget, so long as you don’t mind hauling it around with a power cord for when the battery runs out. Again, this deal is unlikely to last too long since eBay listings are stock-limited, so grab one while you can.
Get this Acer Nitro V gaming laptop for just $607Buy now on eBay 
© 2024 PC World 4:35am  
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BBC Natural History Unit co-founder dies aged 95
Former BBC wildlife TV presenter, author and naturalist Tony Soper has died.
© 2024 BBCWorld 3:05am LinkedIn is training AI with your data. Here’s how to opt out ASAP
As an objective journalistic observer of the tech and business world, I’d like to state the inarguable, quantifiable, unavoidable fact that LinkedIn sucks. It sucks really hard. LinkedIn is a terrible fusion of the worst parts of social networks, job boards, and office culture — and it’s about to suck even harder with the help of AI.
Like seemingly every large tech company these days, LinkedIn is injecting generative AI into its platform. (You may have already spotted it on prompts that “help” users write posts or messages.) But the Microsoft-owned website is now scraping its user data to train its artificial intelligence systems. Naturally, you’re opted into sharing your data with LinkedIn’s AI for free, without any kind of message or alert. (Unless you’re in the EU, where this kind of sneaky behavior is illegal.)
In fact, LinkedIn started using your data before updating its often-intentionally-nebulous Privacy Policy, as spotted by 404 Media. The policy has subsequently been updated to include legalese:
“We may use your personal data to improve, develop, and provide products and Services, develop and train artificial intelligence (AI) models, develop, provide, and personalize our Services, and gain insights with the help of AI, automated systems, and inferences, so that our Services can be more relevant and useful to you and others.”
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
The data that LinkedIn has already collected is part of the training model, and there’s nothing you can do about that, according to The Verge.
However, you can opt out of your data being used for any further AI training in the future. To do this, navigate to your account’s Settings & privacy page, select the Data privacy tab, select the Data for Generative AI Improvement setting, and toggle it to Off. (Or take a shortcut directly to the setting by clicking here.)
Further reading: Facebook settings you should really change
© 2024 PC World 2:55am 
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YouTube will shove ads in your face even when you pause videos
YouTube, you’re exhausting. While I spend more time watching YouTube videos than any of the video services I actually pay for, it’s so jam-packed with ads that I’ve spent a lot of energy trying not to see them. And now Google’s web video monopoly is going to show ads even when you’re not watching and the video is paused. Great.
The Verge reports that YouTube is rolling out advertisements that show up when you pause videos, continuing experiments that the company started a year ago. A YouTube representative confirmed that the practice will now become commonplace “as we’ve seen both strong advertiser and strong viewer response.”
I can’t argue with that, but I’ll point out that retching up your Subway sandwich in response to salmonella poisoning is also a “strong response.” While the nebulous engagement metrics probably show YouTube that there’s a lot of information being passed on to users, the initial response on social media seems to be universally negative. YouTube isn’t the first video service to pull this move, but it’s absolutely the largest.
The representative said that advertising on paused videos is designed to create a “less interruptive” experience. But as The Verge notes, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to see a drop in the increasing load of obnoxious and often unskippable advertising on YouTube. And since I’m seeing more and more creators pack their videos with sponsorships, I somehow doubt that the people making YouTube’s content are going to get a bigger slice of the advertising pie.
“We estimate we can sell up to 80 percent of an individual’s visual field before inducing seizures,” said the fictional CEO (of a company that bears more than a passing resemblance to Google) in Ready Player One.
Apropos of nothing, it’s possible to block every single ad on YouTube — even the sponsorships that are baked into the videos themselves — on both desktop and mobile.
© 2024 PC World 3:35am 
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