Category: Technology

It’s the start of a new year, which means a fresh crop of creative works have entered the public domain. Today, many materials that were copyrighted in 1929, along with sound recordings from 1924, become fair game to freely adapt, reuse, copy and share. The Center for Public Domain at Duke Law School collected some of the more notable properties that entered public domain with the start of 2025.

This is a big year when it comes to film, with several seminal directors debuting their first projects with sound, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail and Cecil B. DeMille’s Dynamite. 1929 was also the year when Walt Disney directed the iconic Skeleton Dance short animated by Ub Iwerks, as well as when Mickey Mouse starred in his first talkie. The intrepid Tintin and original Popeye characters have arrived in the public domain as well.

The compositions for several great songs joined the public domain today. There are memorable show tunes like Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris alongside jazz standards Ain’t Misbehavin’ and (What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue and classical hits like the masterwork Boléro. On the recording side are tracks like George Gershwin’s beautiful Rhapsody in Blue and the legendary singer Marian Anderson’s take on My Way’s Cloudy.

Finally, several authors had titles in the Duke Law roundup. Noir fans will be happy to see Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest here. Other notable literary works now in public domain include A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway, Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. And for the verse lovers, the original German version of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet is also on the list.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/thanks-to-public-domain-tintin-can-now-skeleton-dance-to-rhapsody-in-blue-230014559.html?src=rss

VR headsets have jumped into a whole lot of homes these past few years, primarily due to Meta’s regular releases, Sony’s PSVR 2 and PC-adjacent products from HTC, HP, Vive and others. Many of these headsets are great on their own, but they really shine when outfitted with accessories. However, the industry is squarely in its “wild west” phase right now, so it can be tough to know what’s worth buying and what’s likely to end up tucked away in a closet within a week. That’s where Engadget comes in. Here are the best VR accessories to pair with a modern headset.

We tried to keep these picks as universal as possible, to suit the various VR ecosystems out there. However, some of the best VR accessories only work on certain platforms and we’ll note this stuff as we go. We also stayed away from experimental and expensive add-ons, like treadmills and force feedback clothing, to keep you from bankruptcy.

Best VR controller accessories

Best VR headset upgrades

Best VR fitness accessories

Best VR cables, chargers and batteries

FAQs

What equipment do you need for VR?

What you need depends on the VR headset you buy. Some devices, like the Meta Quest 3, are entirely standalone, which means you don’t need anything but the headset itself to use it. Other VR headsets need to be connected to a system from which it can draw power and run software. Some systems, like the HP Reverb G2, must connect to a PC, while others like the PS VR2 can connect to gaming consoles like the PS5. Most VR headsets come with the basic controllers you’ll need to control actions and movement in virtual worlds.

What’s the difference between PC VR, Smartphone VR and Gaming Console VR?

The main difference between those three VR systems is the main machine that allows the VR headset to run. PC VR headsets require a PC, like a gaming laptop or desktop, to run, while smartphone and gaming console VR systems require smartphones and gaming consoles, respectively, to work.

Do all VR headsets need a phone?

No, not all VR headsets need a phone to work. Many VR headsets have build in displays that sit in front of your eyes and basically act as your window into the virtual world.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/best-vr-accessories-150021126.html?src=rss

CNBC is getting in on the streaming game with a service called CNBC+. The platform will have a global livestream with financial news happening in the US, UK and Asian markets. Subscribers can also watch full show episodes on demand. The service is available via iOS and Android apps or on cnbc.com. 

According to Variety, CNBC announced the news and pricing plans for CNBC+ on January 1 in an email to people who had signed up for the network’s digital offerings. Seems odd to announce a brand new property intended for business and financial professionals on a day when most companies are closed. CNBC is also one of the properties current owner Comcast is planning to spin off into a new company, which makes this a potentially challenging time for the network to launch an expensive new endeavor.

And expensive is the key word. Not only is it costly to run a digital platform like this, but CNBC+ also doesn’t come cheap for viewers. A regular subscription will cost $15 a month, while the Pro tier bundles in additional stock ratings and picks as well as a My Portfolio feature for $35 a month or $300 a year. For the truly committed fans, there is also an All Access plan that includes participation in an online investment club led by CNBC personality Jim Cramer. That plan costs a staggering $600 annually.

This isn’t the first time cable news has tried a streaming standalone. Warner Bros. Discovery launched a CNN+ service in March 2022, only to immediately pull the plug mere weeks later. We’ll see if CNBC+ can last longer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/cnbcs-new-streaming-service-can-cost-up-to-600-a-year-211554221.html?src=rss