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9 great reads from CNET this week: COP26, Star Wars, Mars moon and more
9 great reads from CNET this week: COP26, Star Wars, Mars moon and more
There's been a lot of talk about the climate crisis this week, pegged to the UN's COP26 summit of world leaders in Glasgow, Scotland. It's brought together a who's who of luminaries, from Jeff Bezos to Joe Biden to David Attenborough, all emphasizing the need to act now and act smartly to steer us away from worst-case scenarios.
CNET's Katie Collins has been in Glasgow reporting from COP26, and we've also published a range of articles about efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond that, the CNET Money team has mustered up some practicalguidelines about how each of us can navigate the world with climate change in mind.
Those stories are among the many in-depth features and thought-provoking commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don't want to miss.
Researchers look to formidable new allies to rein in methane emissions from agriculture.
Getty/Bloomberg
Here's how to channel those negative feelings into something good.
Westend61/Getty
Injecting reflective particles into the atmosphere could turn down the heat on Earth, but research has been controversial.
Getty
Activists are fighting for it, world leaders agree we need it, but climate justice is still being made to sit on the sidelines at the UN climate summit.
Katie Collins/CNET
Commentary: "She said stop, and he didn't stop."
Disney/Lucasfilm
Japan's space agency plans to find out if the potato-shaped curiosity holds remnants of long-dead microbes.
Realizm
The company is one of many competing to ease your supply chain woes.
Getty Images
Some of the apps are limited to buying and selling and don't let you move cryptocurrency to a wallet. But they might entice beginners to try crypto.
Getty Images
EVs are great for many things -- but towing? Let's see how our long-term Tesla managed with its tow hitch occupied.
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These are the 10 best iPad apps of the past decade
These are the 10 best iPad apps of the past decade
It's now been more than 10 years since former Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad. The move firmly pushed tablets into the mainstream gadget conversation while leading many to ask, "What the heck is this giant iPod touch?" (Oh 2010, you sweet summer child.) In a review of the first-gen iPad that year, CNET's Donald Bell described the device as "an elegant, affordable supergadget." One of the main draws was how easy it was to access and navigate the apps on the 9.7-inch screen.
Jobs said the iPad would define "an entirely new category of devices that will connect people with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before." He wasn't wrong: 10 years later, the iPad's portability, user-friendly interface and variety of apps have made it a favorite device in many homes, classrooms and offices. We use it for web surfing, reading, drawing, binge watching and sometimes even working.
Read more:iPad Pro 2020 review: Working at home with a trackpad, AR and more
Apple separated iPadOS into its own platform last year, bringing the tablets closer to operating like a laptop -- though for most people, the tablet isn't ready to become a primary work device just yet. My CNET colleague Dan Ackerman dove into this topic in his commentary, Apple iPad at 10: Can we call it a computer yet?
Looking back on that first announcement (and how much we made fun of the name iPad), you can see the evolution of our expectations for the iPad and its apps. It briefly looked like the iPad would be the next frontier for magazines, with its large, high-resolution screen and interactive capabilities. That never came to fruition, but Apple is still betting on the format with Apple News Plus, a service for accessing top magazines and newspapers in one place for one monthly subscription fee.
Read more: iPad 10.2-inch (2019) review: The case for the least expensive iPad
The iPad also held a lot of potential for mobile games and -- unlike the expectations for magazines -- that promise was fulfilled. Many of the most popular iPad apps today are games, and the Apple Arcade mobile game service now has more than 130 games you can download and play on the iPad and other Apple devices.
We selected 25 apps that have turned the iPad into a useful tool for entertainment, reading, working and playing. Here are the top 10 -- check out the rest in our full gallery of the best iPad apps of all time.
1. Netflix
Angela Lang/CNET
The release of the first-gen iPad coincided with the expansion of Netflix's movie and TV streaming service. The Netflix app on iPad allowed us to take our favorite shows with us everywhere we went, on a much larger screen than the iPhone -- truly a game changer that helped push us into the streaming era. This became especially useful for parents, who can now hand an iPad to their kid to watch family-friendly Netflix shows in any room of the house, on road trips and in other places where a little bit of distraction could go a long way.
Read more: Best tablet for remote learning in 2020
2. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Lightroom on iPads will let you import photos directly from a memory card, showing a selection screen that lets you pick the ones you want to transfer.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET
With Lightroom, Adobe brought its desktop-standard photo editing to the iPad to use on the go. With a combination of free and premium features, Lightroom helps even professional photographers get important photo work done. With the advent of iPadOS, a recent update even lets you directly import photos into Lightroom from a memory card.
3. Flipboard
Robyn Beck/Getty Images
Flipboard is a curation tool that uses a combination of editors and algorithms to deliver news, videos and podcasts tailored to your interests. Founded in 2010, Flipboard was one of the first apps to take advantage of the iPad's magazine-like layout. In the iPad app today, you can create Smart Magazines that bundle together articles and sources around your specific interests, like photography, technology or recipes.
4. Amazon Kindle
NurPhoto/Getty Images
The Amazon Kindle app for iPad helped open up the world of e-books, as it allowed people to purchase e-books on Amazon and read them on the iPad, instead of on a Kindle. You can't buy books directly from the app on your iPad, but the Kindle books you buy from Amazon (including Amazon.com from your web browser on the iPad) will automatically appear in the Kindle app.
5. Procreate
Procreate is an art app made for the iPad and the Apple Pencil.
Procreate
An Apple Editor's Choice winner, Procreate is an art app made for the iPad and the Apple Pencil, featuring ultra-high definition canvases, hundreds of virtual brushes, and many design and animation tools. It's used by creative professionals, hobbyists and aspiring artists, who can import or export art as Adobe Photoshop files or in virtually any other format they'd like. Professionals who use the app view the combination of iPad, Apple Pencil and Procreate as a big upgrade to the digital tools of the past. (Check out our list of 10 Procreate app tips for budding iPad artists, too.)
6. Star Walk
Vito Technology
Winner of the Apple Design Award back in 2010, Star Walk is a detailed astronomy app that allows real-time tracking of the night sky and its stars, constellations, planets and more. The iPad app showed the benefits and potential of the device's large, portable screen. When you launch the app and point your tablet at the night sky, you'll see a labeled map of stars, planets, satellites and constellations from your location.
Read more: 7 best stargazing apps for spotting constellations in the night sky
7. Notability
Ginger Labs
Another Apple Editor's Choice award winner, Notability is a comprehensive note taking app that lets you combine typed or handwritten notes and drawings with audio recordings -- taking advantage of the iPad's capabilities as a digital notepad. For an extra cost, it will even convert your handwritten notes to text.
8. Duet Display
Rick Broida/CNET
Duet Display is an app that turns your iPad into a second monitor for your laptop, desktop or phone. Designed by former Apple engineers, the app can turn your tablet into a productivity tool, with full gesture support and customizable shortcuts. It also creates a Touch Bar on your tablet. The app works completely via software, so no cables or dongles are needed -- and promises zero lag time.
9. YouTube
Getty Images/Artur Debat
It's another old standby, but the YouTube app for iPad helped further the tablet's reputation as a mobile content consumption platform. YouTube was one of the default apps on the iPad until iOS 6, when it moved to the App Store after Apple and YouTube parent company Google's license to include it in iOS expired. Almost a decade later, it remains one of the most popular apps for the iPad -- and along with other streaming video apps such as Disney Plus and CBS All Access, it makes the iPad a powerful mobile TV. (Editors' note: CNET is owned by ViacomCBS, which also owns CBS All Access.)
10. LumaFusion
LumaFusion
The most popular video-editing app for iOS, LumaFusion proved that iPads can be great not just for watching videos, but for making them. The app is a multitrack video editor used by professional video producers, filmmakers and journalists. It has six video and audio tracks for photos, videos, audio, titles and graphics. It also lets you add and layer effects and color corrections -- all from your iPad.
For more, check out our list of the best iPhone apps of last year.
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iPad Mini review: An excellent 2021 upgrade, but still a niche tablet
iPad Mini review: An excellent 2021 upgrade, but still a niche tablet
What's the most improved product in Apple's lineup this year? It might be the sixth-gen iPad Mini. The company's smallest tablet got the makeover I thought it needed years ago: Now it has the iPad Air's better display, a USB-C port instead of Lightning, a much better processor and better cameras too. You can also magnetically snap an Apple Pencil right onto the side now. Pretty great, huh?
iPad 9th gen vs. iPad Mini 9th gen
iPad 9th gen 2021
iPad Mini 2021
Screen size
10.2 inches
8.3 inches
CPU
A13 Bionic
A15
Starting storage
64GB
64GB
Rear camera
8MP Wide camera
12MP Wide camera
Connector
Lightening
USB-C
Broadband option
4G LTE
5G
Apple Pencil support
1st gen
2nd gen
Weight
1.07 pounds
0.65 pound
Starting price
$329
$499
The only problem is, the iPad Mini isn't a must-have gadget. Far from it; as much as the iPad is usually a secondary device for many people, the iPad Mini is often a second iPad. Which makes this a luxury for most. But the 8.3-inch screen, A15 Bionic processor (same as the iPhone 13) and excellent overall performance could make it a first choice for some, and the $499 (£479, AU$49) starting price, while high, isn't as absurdly high as other Apple products.
iPad Minis aren't as necessary with large phones nearby. And the Mini can't do the one thing larger iPads do very well: connect with keyboard cases easily to become sort-of laptops.
But if you think you'll want an iPad that can be an e-reader and gaming device and casual TV screen and sketch pad and notebook and smart home screen, with some email and social media stuff thrown in, this is a pretty lovely choice. If you're OK with its higher-than-basic-iPad but lower-than-iPad-Pro price, that is.
The Mini has grown on me the more I've used it. And really, all of its features seem upgraded, making for a lovely, speedy little tablet. But I won't be doing any serious writing on it. And with iPhones, more affordable iPads and flashy but still-evolving foldable devices all doing what this Mini does (and possibly better), you have to consider this Mini an overdue revamp that's unnecessary for most. Some will absolutely love it, though.
I'm going to stop trying to type on this Mini, and go back to my laptop to continue this review.
iPad Mini, iPad Air, iPad Pro 12.9-inch: a progression of sizes.
Scott Stein/CNET
It's really small... and growing on me
As I take the iPad Mini out of its box, I think to myself, Oh, this really is small. I'm not sure I like that. After using a larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro recently, this iPad feels extremely tiny. Too tiny. I get used to it, though.
The size of this iPad lines up much more with the folding-phone-phablet-Kindle-Switch landscape. It's more of a relaxed handheld. It feels fine held in one hand, and it's easy to carry around in a pinch. It's got a smaller footprint than the 2019 iPad Mini, in fact, but it's also a bit thicker. The Mini comes in new colors now, but they're very very subtle. Mine is purple, but the matte aluminum finish looks more like a slight variation of gray.
And while that small size could be appealing to some people as a bigger-than-a-phone-smaller-than-most-iPads thing, it also makes using it as a laptop replacement really hard.
The iPad Mini next to the iPhone 12 Pro. The iPad Mini is definitely bigger than that.
Scott Stein/CNET
You can pair a keyboard with Bluetooth, but there's no dedicated keyboard case (maybe Logitech or others will make one). And the usable screen space gets even smaller when you use the onscreen keyboard to type.
You'll also need a brand-new cover, since no older Mini ones fit. The Mini uses magnets on the back so that a wraparound folio cover snaps right on, but like the iPad Pro and iPad Air cases, that won't provide any drop protection.
But yes, this is bigger than an iPhone. It's still significantly bigger than an iPhone 12 Pro (more than twice the size), and I have to admit, I'm carrying it around for reading and games a lot more than I was expecting. But these days, I'm still mostly carrying it around the house.
I stood it up (using the sold-separately smart cover) on my back porch table while putting together a Weber charcoal grill, and called up the instruction manual. It was better than using a phone, but I also thought… hmm, a regular-size iPad would be easier to read.
In the last few days, I've started taking it everywhere. I took it to the doctor's office even though I have a phone. Why? I like the extra screen. I guess it's why people like big folding phones, too.
The iPad Mini's squared-off corners and USB-C port, next to the ninth-gen iPad's older Lightning port.
Scott Stein/CNET
USB-C and a new design, at last
The design of this iPad is completely revamped, much like the iPad Air last year. The flat edges, the sharper screen, the better stereo speakers, a USB-C port, a side magnetic charge strip where second-gen Pencils can snap onto and a side Touch ID home button… this is the total makeover I wanted in the 2019 iPad Mini. I love the look, and it makes me want to use the iPad, even if I'm not interested in using a Mini. It woos me. It all looks great.
But it's not perfect. The repositioned volume buttons on the top edge of the iPad feel weird, though maybe they make more sense when watching videos in landscape mode. And the bezels, while smaller, are still very noticeable to me. They become even more noticeable when using certain apps (see below).
The iPad Mini 2019 (left) versus iPad Mini 2021: Videos look bigger with less bezel.
Scott Stein/CNET
A new aspect ratio means larger videos, but some apps don't benefit
Playing a few games from Apple Arcade, comparing side by side with the 2019 iPad Mini, I think: Wait, does this new iPad display look smaller?
The 8.3-inch, 2,266x1,488-pixel display is a longer display than the 2019 iPad Mini's. It also has slightly rounded corners like the rest of the iPad Pro and Air line. Apple says in the fine print that "actual viewable area is less" than the diagonal measurement. Also, apps that haven't been updated for this new screen size will be pillar boxed with subtle black bars, making the bezels seem bigger and the display seem effectively the same (or even slightly smaller) than the 2019 Mini's. Since this is a prerelease of the Mini, Apple Arcade games currently have black bars, for instance. Safari and Notes and other core apps don't. Some apps will autoadjust, and others will need developers to adapt them (as for previous iPads with different screen sizes).
Documents and things like comics don't always end up looking bigger (iPad Mini 2021 on the left, iPad Mini 2019 on the right).
Scott Stein/CNET
PDFs, graphic books and digital magazines, which often have 4:3 document layouts, also don't take advantage of the larger screen area. It's just a reminder that the "bigger screen" isn't really what it seems to be here.
But it helps for videos, which play in a wider aspect ratio already. There's a bit less letterboxing, and videos fills a larger area of the screen.
A15 performance: Very good
The A15 processor in the Mini is like the one in the new iPhones. Think of it as a hybrid of older iPad Pros and more recent iPhones. The single-core Geekbench 5 benchmark score average I got was 1,598, which is similar to the iPhone 12 models' scores last year. But the multicore score is 4,548, which is close to what Apple's pre-M1 iPad Pros could handle with the more graphics-boosted A12Z chip. Like pretty much every current-gen Apple device, the 2021 iPad Mini is fast enough that you won't have to worry about taxing the system, at least with currently available apps.
Two apps at once can feel small sometimes, but it's almost like two phone screens glued together, too.
Scott Stein/CNET
Multitasking: Mostly works
Holding the Mini sideways with two apps open, it first feels cramped. Then I realize this is close to the two-app split view that the Microsoft Surface Duo has, or that folding phones like the Fold can do. It's kind of like two phone screens side by side, except you can't fold the Mini.
I wanted to hate how small the Mini is, but I'm starting to find multitasking on an 8-inch screen kind of addictive. It's exactly what the iPhone can't do. iPadOS 15 makes swapping apps in and out of multitasking mode a bit easier, but the tiny triple-dot icon on the top of the screen is also easy to accidentally press in some apps, since it's near a lot of top menu bars and icons.
The iPad Mini camera with flash (middle) compared with the iPad 9th gen (left) and the lidar/dual-camera iPad Pro (right).
Scott Stein/CNET
Rear camera with flash, and digital-zoom wide-angle front camera
The Mini's cameras are good: not recent iPhone-level, but more than good enough. A rear flash and 4K video recording will make it good enough for documentation or on-the-spot videos and photos, though it doesn't have multiple rear cameras, and doesn't have lidar scanning like the iPad Pro models do. The front camera has a wider-angle mode that taps into Apple's digital-zooming Center Stage tech, which debuted on the iPad Pro in the spring. It's helpful for face-following while on video chats using FaceTime, Zoom and other supported apps, and is a feature that all Apple devices should add.
So many devices, and the Mini feels a bit like so many of them.
Scott Stein/CNET
Game console? E-reader? Sketchpad? Sure. But… pricey
The size of this Mini sets it up as a gaming tablet, or a Kindle alternative, or a very nice superportable sketchpad. This is what Apple is clearly leaning into with the Mini. There's also a business audience for a revamped and faster mini tablet for point-of-sale or field work.
But add up what this will cost: $499 only gets you 64GB of storage and a USB charger in the box. Buy a case, which you'll absolutely need ($60) and that nice Pencil ($130), and upgrade the storage to 256GB ($150) and you're at $840. Not cheap!
The Microsoft Surface Duo (left) and the new iPad Mini (right). A future glimpse, perhaps, at where the iPad's size could go next...
Scott Stein/CNET
Could this be a phone? Not really
It's tempting. The new Mini has 5G (but read the fine print on that one). It's small. It's sort of lower-priced than iPhones. But there are clear downsides. It's not water-resistant or drop-resistant like an iPhone. It's large, like really large -- you'd need a big jacket pocket or a bag. It doesn't have GPS. There's no actual phone call app. And I don't know why it took me so long to realize, but iPads have no haptics, which is weird. No buzzing for silent notifications, and no subtle feedback in games and in apps.
It really makes me think about using a 5G-enabled iPad Mini as a phone replacement. Apple has a clear gap in its product lineup. The Mini feels like the sort of device that folding phone makers are aiming toward. The Mini is the best option Apple has in that space. But a future iteration could end up being the candidate for a folding display, like the Microsoft Surface Duo or the Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 (which, by the way, both cost a lot more than an iPad Mini).
About that 5G: The Mini's flavor of 5G doesn't support the limited-availability but sometimes very fast millimeter-wave frequency like the iPhone 12 and 13 and the spring iPad Pro do. If you don't know what I'm talking about, 5G signals come in several types, and mmWave (where available) is like a very fast local hotspot. This means, effectively, that this Mini's 5G won't reach superhigh speeds. In suburban Montclair, New Jersey, my Verizon 5G test SIM speeds ranged from 270Mbps to 170Mbps, which is basically similar to LTE. The $150 cellular modem add-on plus monthly fee isn't worth it to me (but maybe your business will foot the bill?)
Using it while putting together a charcoal grill. Second grill, second iPad.
Scott Stein/CNET
It's nice, but niche
I just bought a charcoal grill, a Weber. I already have a gas grill. Why did I do this? I wanted an affordable one that could do charcoal, too. Sometimes people buy second grills. It's a luxury, and a niche. People buy second things. Or specialized things. The Mini is a great total revision, but I wouldn't say it's a must-have… and it's far too expensive (and limited) for kids. (Or my kids, anyway.) For your family, maybe, it might be worth the upgrade if you're in love with the design and don't mind the mini size. But it's the best iPad Mini, if you ever craved one and have the cash to spend. It's a lovely little luxury.
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'The Rings of Power': All the Tolkien Terminology You Need to Know
'The Rings of Power': All the Tolkien Terminology You Need to Know
There's a reason folks who know a ton about the works of JRR Tolkien are often referred to as scholars. Watching The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit is the tip of a genuinely massive iceberg, which is why a lot of people who enjoyed the films are a little confused about what's happening in all of the trailers for the upcoming Amazon series The Rings of Power.
But don't panic! You don't need to read an epic tome or watch 20 hours of Extended Editions to appreciate this new series when it comes to Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 2. Armed with whatever you remember from the last time you watched The Lord of the Rings and this quick terminology guide, you'll be prepared to enjoy this series without feeling terribly lost at these words you've never heard used in the movies before.
The Second Age
The Rings of Power takes place before what you've seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but not like 10 years back like you might see in lots of other prequel stories. The Rings of Power takes place thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit, during a period of time referred to as the Second Age. In this world, large segments of time are separated by major global events. For example, the scene at the end of The Lord of the Rings where everyone gets on those boats and sails away marks the end of The Third Age.
One of the cool things about The Rings of Power telling a story in the Second Age is that we'll get to see characters we've only previously experienced through legend and flashback, as well as ancient characters from the movies when they were young. Elves live impossibly long lives unless they are murdered, so in this series there will be character names we've heard before like Galadriel and Elrond and Isildur but much, much younger versions of the people we've already met.
Harfoots (pronounced har-foots)
One of the Harfoots, a race seen in The Rings of Power and ancestor of Hobbits.
Amazon Prime Video
You may have noticed in all of the trailers for The Rings of Power there are no Hobbits, at least not as you'd recognize them from the movies. There's a very good reason for this: Hobbits don't exist yet! Where Elves, Dwarves, and even Men of The Second Age live long lives and accomplish great deeds, the ancestors of Hobbits have lifespans much closer to an average human here in the real world. That means their evolution happens much faster than the other races of Middle-earth, and what we will see in The Rings of Power are one of the ancestors of Third Age Hobbits, known in this time as Harfoots.
Unlike the Stoors and Fallohides, which are other races that eventually come together with Harfoots to become Hobbits, the little folk we will see in Rings of Power are nomadic gatherers. They live off the land, with a more earthy and natural look to their clothing and behavior. A few of these Harfoots have been spotted in the trailers already, complete with the tell-tale hairy feet and shorter stature. Unlike Third Age Hobbits, Tolkien described many Harfoots as being darker skinned and are on average smaller than the characters you already know.
Expect Harfoots to play a pivotal role in this series, even if they don't get as much screen time as the films' Hobbits.
Silvan Elves (pronounced sil-vn)
Arondir's armor from The Rings of Power, on display at San Diego Comic Con 2022
Katie Aiani
One of the coolest costumes seen in trailers for The Rings of Power so far belongs to the character Arondir, who is not mentioned in any of JRR Tolkien's works. Arondir was created as a new character out of necessity; the race he represents is mentioned several times across Tolkien's works but never given the same kind of attention as many of the other races in Middle-earth.
Arondir is a Silvan Elf, and according to Tolkien these elves are separated from the others and scattered across multiple worlds. Those who made it to Middle-earth have a deep connection to nature, which is why you see Arondir in a wooden breastplate with a tree spirit or Green Man carved into it. What survives of Silvan Elves in the Second Age become part of Lorien, the area of Middle-earth we see Galadriel as ruler of in The Lord of the Rings.
Outside of looking very cool, Arondir and other Silvan Elves we see will be unique and stand out quite a bit from the Elves of this time.
Valinor (pronounced vali-nor)
The first image Amazon Prime Video shared from The Rings of Power was a still shot of Valinor with the two trees still alive.
Amazon Prime Video
The Elves you have seen across all of Tolkien's movies -- and soon this TV series -- live in Middle-earth, but they are not from Middle-earth. The Elves as we see them migrated to Middle-earth from a place called Valinor, a massive land with multiple cities and its own separate constructs of time and life. The way Elves and other creatures of Valinor lived while there is wildly different from the way they live in Middle-earth.
Elves left Valinor and came to Middle-earth because they had no choice: The two trees that allowed life to exist in Valinor were destroyed by a giant spider called Ungoliant and another being called Morgoth. Ungoliant would later give birth to the giant spider Shelob, who nearly kills Bilbo and Frodo in their respective stories. Morgoth passes his darkness to his pupil Sauron, who changes his name to Annatar when he went into hiding from those chasing the remnants of Morgoths army.
Valinor would eventually become a place Elves wish to return to, which you see at the end of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The ships Bilbo, Frodo and other board at the end of the movie are traveling back to Valinor. Being allowed to return home before that point was considered a great honor, so when it's mentioned you will usually hear it in a grand context.
Númenor (pronounced noo-menor)
From a trailer for The Rings of Power, the first shot of the kingdom of Númenor
Amazon Prime Video
We've seen the massive white city of Gondor and the far-reaching lands of the horse lords called Rohan, but there was another Kingdom of Men where Aragorn's ancestors came from called Númenor. This massive star-shaped island was home to Men who lived much longer than most of their contemporaries and could build lasting relationships with Elves and Dwarves. Like Aragorn, many of the people from this island were gifted fighters and great leaders.
The Men of Númenor aren't quite like the men of the rest of Middle-Earth. They live quite a bit longer thanks to their ancestry, which frequently leads to them being treated as something different from someone you would meet in Middle-earth proper. Most Men of this era have never been to Númenor, let alone recognize it as somehow ruling all Men of the era.
Since this is the biggest kingdom of Men in the Second Age, there's a good chance a significant amount of this show will take place in Númenor.
Khazad-dûm (pronounced k'hah-zahd-doom)
Elrond and a Dwarf walking through the underground city of Khazad-dûm in The Rings of Power.
Amazon Prime Video
Most folks only know the kingdom of the Dwarves as a tomb and home to an angry Balrog who loses a fight with Gandalf. In The Lord of the Rings, we know this massive underground city as Moria, but in the Second Age it was also known as Khazad-dûm.
Unlike the scattered, separated version of the Dwarves we see in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, we're going to see Dwarves in their prime throughout The Rings of Power. This is before the Arkenstone and the incident with Smaug, and before the Balrog is awakened in Moria. (All of that happens in the Third Age.) Instead, we're going to see Durin and his kin as master crafters with political agency and hopefully a will to work with the other peoples of Middle-earth.
And, unfortunately, we will probably also see whatever leads these proud people to retreat fully into their mountain.
Lindon (pronounced lin-don)
Amazon Prime Video
Middle-earth is a big place, and at this point in the world's history there are a lot of Elvish territories that currently don't look like the ethereal land Galadriel rules or the civilized kingdom Elrond presides over in the movies. Before Lothlorien and Rivendell there was Lindon, ruled by High King Gil-galad. During most of the Second Age, Elrond actually works for Gil-galad as his herald because he is not yet considered a high-ranking Elf.
Lindon is, for most Elves, the harbor used to travel to either Númenor or Valinor depending on your purpose. It's a protected harbor and in many ways the space used for the army Gil-galad sends to fight Morgoth. For the purpose of this series, it's likely Lindon will be considered the political seat of power for the Elves. And because it's an Elven city, you can expect it to be staggeringly beautiful.
Eregion (pronounced eh-reh-gee-on)
Celebrimbor, lord of Eregion in The Rings of Power.
Amazon Prime Video
While Lindon is the seat of political power for the Elves, it's not where the action will likely take place during The Rings of Power. That honor will almost assuredly go to the Elf-controlled region in the western part of Middle-earth called Eregion at this time. Eregion is located a short distance from both Khazad-dûm and what will later be known as Mordor, which means it's close to our cool Dwarven characters and nicely located for battle scenes against Sauron's army of orcs.
While Gil-galad is High King of all Elves, Eregion is led by Celebrimbor. As a descendant of Feanor, creator of the Silmarils (we'll get into those next), Celebrimbor has an unceasing desire to create something of real value for the peoples of Middle-earth. In the books, Celebrimbor and the other artists of his realm are guided by Annatar to make The Great Rings for all the kingdoms of Middle-earth.
As you probably know, that doesn't go super well for everyone and takes a few thousand years plus a couple of Hobbits to fully deal with.
Silmarils (pronounced sil-mar-ils)
A representation of the three Silmarils embedded in Galadriel's dagger.
Amazon Prime Video
A common misunderstanding about The Rings of Power is that it will be based on stories told in The Silmarillion. As Amazon was unable to secure the rights to use The Silmarillion to craft the stories in The Rings of Power, the actual source material being used will instead be the Appendices in The Lord of The Rings. It's worth noting these pages contain a ton of the timeline elaborated upon in The Silmarillion, including three jewels called the Silmarils. These are powerful magic stones created from the power within the two trees that kept Valinor alive. Instead of using those stones to restore the trees that Ungoliant and Morgoth destroyed, the stones were stolen by Morgoth and embedded in his crown to make him more powerful.
When Morgoth is eventually defeated during The First Age, the Silmarils remained behind while the Elves traveled to Middle-earth because they were too powerful to hold and drove otherwise reasonable people to lust for power. You can see a nod to the three Silmarils on Galadriel's ornamental dagger, and it will likely be a major point of discussion before Annatar becomes Sauron and forges the rings of power to give to all the leaders of Middle-earth.
While the creation of the rings will obviously be the focus of this series, the Silmarils which came before them are likely to be mentioned quite a bit in this series.
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Saturday deals: $12 Bluetooth selfie stick, $59 phone gimbal, $21 monitor mount and more
Saturday deals: $12 Bluetooth selfie stick, $59 phone gimbal, $21 monitor mount and more
Happy weekend, cheeps! I hope you're staring down the barrel of some unseasonably warm weather, as we are here in Michigan. Must. Return. To. Outdoors!
Like, maybe, go out and shoot some video? With a free OnePlus phone, maybe? Hey, just spitballing. Maybe you're content to stay in and play a free game. You do you. (Survey: Is that phrase played out or still viable?)
I found some great stuff to kick off your weekend. Take a look.
Atumtek
Amazon seller: Rosesy
Price: $12 with promo code AATSS065
Sure, at first we all thought selfie sticks were silly. But let's be honest: They're incredibly handy, especially if they're like this one. It doubles as a tripod, an invaluable feature for on-the-go vloggers. Plus, there's a removable Bluetooth remote for snapping photos and starting/stopping video. No-brainer at this price, if you ask me.
Moza
Amazon seller: Videotek-US
Price: $59 with promo code SYRK8NL4
Want to take phone video to the next level? Try shooting with a three-axis gimbal like this one. It promises to keep your footage much steadier than if you filmed by hand, plus it doubles as a tripod. It also folds up for easy transport.
Although I haven't tried this particular gimbal, one thing I've noticed with products like them (which, incidentally, used to sell for $100 and up): There's a learning curve. Read the instructions, watch some tutorial videos. Because operation isn't always intuitive, a little study is in order.
Humble Bundle
If you don't mind a little profanity with your self-help, check out this massive ebook bundle from Humble Bundle. It includes a whopping 27 titles, most from Microcosm's popular Unf*ck Your Life series. (The one that started it all, Unf*ck Your Brain, sells for $10 for Kindle all by itself.)
There are various tiers available, including one that's just $1, but obviously the best value is buying the whole enchilada. Whatever you choose, a portion of the proceeds goes to Street Books, a "bicycle-powered mobile library serving people who live outside and at the margins in Portland, Oregon."
Win-win.
Atumtek
Amazon seller: Rosesy
Price: $20.57 with promo code AATMS034
Two monitors side-by-side = big productivity boost. But if your desk doesn't quite have room to accommodate them, or you want more positioning options, grab this dual-arm mount. Just clamp it to the back of your desk (or using the grommet-hole option) and attach your Vesa-compatible monitors to the arms.
The mount can accommodate screens of up to 27 inches, and they're all good for independent tilting, rotating and swiveling. Great, great deal for the price.
Have a safe and enjoyable weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday!
This article was first published on Friday. It has been updated with weekend deals.
CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up for deal texts delivered right to your phone. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest Walmart discount codes, eBay coupons, Samsung promo codes and even more from hundreds of other online stores. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Answers live on our FAQ page.
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$1 Custom Poster Hangers: Here's How I Made My Own
$1 Custom Poster Hangers: Here's How I Made My Own
This story is part of Home Tips, CNET's collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.
Hanging large posters or big art prints can be tricky, and buying a huge frame or wide hanging rods big enough to support the paper can get expensive quickly. Sure, you could just tape your prints to the wall, but that would give them a look more like something you'd find in a student dorm than your lovely home. But I found I was able to make my own poster hanging rods out of reclaimed wood that were easy to make, looked beautiful and only cost me $1.
The rods attach to your poster across the top and bottom: The top strip provides a way to hang it off your wall, while the bottom acts as a weight to keep the poster taut against the wall. I recently ordered a print measuring 47x71 inches, but I'd need to get custom-made rods that would cost around $80 if I wanted to hang it, so I was very happy to find a home-made solution that saved me a lot of cash and made use of otherwise scrap materials.
Here's how I did it. For more home decor tips, check out the best place to mount your TV, and the best Urban Outfitters home decor deals available now.
Read more: Best Smart Home Products for 2022 That Aren't Made by Amazon or Google
The wood batons I got were cheap, but were dirty and scuffed.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Step 1: I measured my print's top edge. If you're hanging it in portrait orientation, it'll be the shorter measurement. If you're hanging in landscape, you'll want the longer measurement. I wanted the rods to extend slightly beyond the print, so I added about 2 inches to each side.
Step 2: I visited a local reclaimed wood supplier. If you can upcycle and reuse otherwise wasted wood, that's always preferable to using virgin timber, but you may not have a recycled wood shop near you. (Google will help you there.) I found a couple of pieces of timber that didn't match, but that wasn't a problem, and I had the wood shop cut them to size. It cost me 78 pence here in the UK, which works out to almost exactly $1 USD. I can't argue with the value.
Some time with an orbital hand sander and they looked good as new.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Step 3: Being reclaimed from an old bit of furniture, I think, the wood was a bit splintery and rough with visible pen and printing marks. I used an orbital hand sander and gave both pieces a thorough sanding until they looked and felt great.
Step 4: I used Danish wood oil on an old rag (formerly an old T-shirt) and worked the oil into the wood, which gave it a darker tone. This is just an aesthetic choice that you don't need to follow if you prefer the wood's natural look.
Once oiled and dried, I screwed in picture hooks in order to attach the cord for hanging the frame.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Step 5: I screwed in two picture hooks into the piece that would form the top bar and tied cord between the two. I used enough cord to loop it back over itself three times, making it stronger overall when hung. While once or twice would probably have been enough, I was concerned that the print's weight, plus the wood at the bottom might be too much of a strain.
Step 6: Attaching the poster print to the hanging rods was the most difficult part. Premade rods often come as two pieces for the top and two for the bottom. Each pair usually snaps together using magnets, trapping the print and holding it in place. I couldn't get enough thin wood for this, so I instead opted for one larger, solid piece at either end that I would attach to the poster using small nails and glue.
I first attached the print to the rods using small nails. It made it easier to get the print into position and keep it taught all the way along.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The downside is that you can't simply swap the print out by undoing the magnets when you want a refresh. Removing the print using my solution would involve tearing the top and bottom off. On the upside, this is a very cost-effective solution if you know you want this print hanging for a long time. If that's the case, using such a permanent fixing approach will be fine.
I squeezed in some glue into the gaps between the nails to add extra strength.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The poster should be attached to the backs of the rods, with enough overlap left over so you can put the poster in place. When your print is lined up with the rod, use small nails (or a sturdy staple gun) to affix the print in place, working your way along its length to ensure it remains taut and in line. Then, with a thin-ended tube of glue, insert glue into the gaps between the nails or staples and pile some weights (I used some books and a PlayStation4 that happened to be nearby) until the glue dries.
And I weighted the rods down with books and a PS4 until the glue had dried.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Step 7: Hang your mounted print from the cord you attached onto any regular picture hook or nail in your wall. Ensure that the hook or nail is able to take the weight of your new mounted print, particularly if it's been hammered into older drywall.
Step 8: Stand back and enjoy your lovely, massive print.
For more Home Tips, check out the best place to put your houseplants, and how to unclog a toilet without a plunger.
