Category: Technology

The best 4th of July sales 2018: Macy’s joins the parade of deals

The 4th of July, the day America celebrates its independence, is just a week away. More than just fireworks and picnics, though, the 4th of July is also known for its sales events. It’s one of the best times to get deals on seasonal goods as stores try to start clearing out their summer goods. You can expect to see prices dropped dramatically on summer clothing and camping gear. Look for a bevy of clothing brands to have big discounts. These include:

Otherwise, you can also expect some good (but not great) discounts on grills and patio furniture. And, when it comes to consumer tech, don’t expect much in the way of savings aside from HP’s sale wherein it takes up to 50% off site-wide.

However, the best news of all is that you don’t have to tear yourself away from your barbecue or picnic to go out to the store for these deals. Most retailers will offer all sales items online and even have coupon codes for further discounts. To help you find the best 4th of July sales, we’ve put together this guide to steer you in the right direction.

When will 4th of July sales begin?

You can probably guess what date the 4th of July will fall on this year (unfortunately it’s a Wednesday, so no three-day weekend), but do you know when Fourth of July sales begin? They have already begun at some stores like Walmart, The Home Depot, and Sears, but expect most to launch in the coming week. We will continue to update this page as more information becomes available to so be sure to check back often for all the latest.

Top 4th of July sales

Home Depot
Home Depot’s Red White and Blue Sale has already begun, with a focus on large appliances. The big box store is taking up to 40% off washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves and more. Even better, if you buy multiple appliances, you will save even more: savings start at $50 off two appliances and go up to $500 off six appliances.

Sears
Sears is another store who has already launched its Fourth of July event. It is currently taking up to 60% off a whole host of items, including 50% off appliances, 50% to 60% off mattresses, 30% off grills and many more discounts.

Lowe’s
Lowe’s began rolling out its 4th of July sale this week, offering deals on a selection of home goods. It is offering 15% off Char-Broil Commercial Series grills, up to 40% off select patio furniture, and up to 40% off appliances. It is also discounting specific items like Rubbermaid storage sheds, Miracle-Gro garden soil, and Iris smart home products. Even better, many of these items will be on sale past the holiday to July 9. 

Macy’s
As the sponsor of New York City’s annual fireworks extravaganza, Macy’s has long been associated with Independence Day. As such, it’s fitting that the department store has a big sale each year. It is discounting items in every department. Plus, you can get an extra 25% off if you donate $3 towards helping veterans and their families, or get up to an extra 20% off using coupon code “FOURTH.”

Kohl’s
It may seem like Kohl’s is always having a sale, but its Fourth of July Sale will its biggest of the summer. Expect discounts of up to 80% off, with summer clothing at clearance-level prices. To sweeten the pot even more, you can expect to score Kohl’s Cash when purchasing many items.

Amazon
Amazon may not have a big Fourth of July sale, but as a prelude to its annual Prime Day, it will be rolling out promotional deals to entice customers to purchase Prime membership. As such, look for discounts on items directly related to the perks included with a Prime membership.

Kmart
In addition to a bevy of seasonal items on discount, look for Kmart to offer coupons for additional discounts. If this year is anything like last year, expect $5 off purchases of $50 or more and $10 off  purchases of $100 or more.

HP
Last year, HP had one of the strongest Fourth of July sales when it came to tech. If it follows suit this year, expect the store to take up to 50% off items including laptops, desktops, printers, monitors, and more when it launches its sale June 28.

http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-4th-of-july-sales-2018

Panama vs Tunisia live stream: how to watch today’s World Cup football online

Live stream Panama vs Tunisia – when and where

This group G game sees Panama take on Tunisia at the Mordovia Arena.

The game will kick-off at 9pm in Russia. So that’s 7pm BST and in Tunisia, 11am PT, 2pm ET, 4am AEST – or 1pm Panama time.

This Russia 2018 group G game sees a pointless Panama take on a similarly point-free Tunisia in a match that’s all about playing for the honour of a World Cup win – all of today’s main action is happening in the England vs Belgium encounter.

Regardless of the outcome of this final group game, both Panama and Tunisia will be out of the World Cup 2018 after this match. That means less pressure with just honour to play for – a combination that could hopefully lead to a goal-heavy game.

The last time the North African nation won a game in the World Cup finals was back in 1978, so Tunisia could make a small amount of history here. Panama, on the other hand, will be playing for their first ever World Cup win at their first ever World Cup. So there’s still lots to play for here, on both sides.

You can live stream the Panama vs Tunisia World Cup 2018 match for free using our tips below, and every other match with our handy World Cup viewing guide. Or read on to see you options for this game where you are.

Use a VPN to watch the World Cup 2018 from anywhere for FREE

You don’t have to miss a single minute of World Cup soccer – even if the country where you are isn’t broadcasting certain games. Because every second of action is being shown somewhere (the UK, for example, is televising every game for free – see below), you can simply use a VPN to login to a region that is broadcasting the game. And it’s really easy to do:

1. Download and install a VPN
We’ve tested all of the major VPN services and we rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services and ranks amongst the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation. So for a one-stop shop, you can’t go wrong with Express – but there are more fantastic VPN options out there as well:

The best 3 VPNs for streaming sports online
1. ExpressVPN:  the best all-round VPN for streaming, comes with 30-day trial and/or 15 months for the price of 12
2. VyprVPN:  a 40% discount and blazing speeds make VyprVPN a great choice for 4K – and during the World Cup, it’s giving you the chance to win a PS4 + FIFA 18 when you sign up
3. IPVanish supports up to 10 devices, so great on the go and has 25% off for the World Cup

2. Connect to the appropriate server location
Simply open the VPN app, hit ‘choose location’ and select the appropriate location – it’s super easy to do. If in any doubt, just head straight to the UK.

3. Go to the broadcaster’s live stream or TVPlayer.com
If you know exactly what station you’re hoping to catch the game on, then you don’t need us any longer – head straight there. If you’re not sure, just stick with TVPlayer.com in the UK. It will be showing all the games for free. You don’t even have to sign up.

Want to record the game and catch it in your spare time. TVPlayer Plus carries a £5.99 monthly fee but let’s you ‘record’ up to 10 hours of TV to watch at your leisure. And you can take advantage of its 14-day free trial, too.

How to stream Panama vs Tunisia live in the UK 

From 7pm BST you’ll be able to watch the action of the match between Panama vs Tunisia live in the UK (although we highly doubt you will be). This is thanks to coverage by ITV4 which will show the game broadcast on TV but also via its ITV Hub app for those watching online.

If you’re abroad, you’ll see that the ITV coverage is blocked. To watch anyway, you’ll need a VPN and then the live stream from TVPlayer.com.

How to watch Panama vs Tunisia: US live stream 

Fox Sport is the official US broadcaster of the World Cup 2018 so that’s where you can catch the game live. The Panama vs Tunisia kick-off time will be 11am PT, 2pm ET. The Fox Go app is another way to watch, ideal for those on the go.

For all cord cutters that don’t have cable, Fox Sports is also available to watch on streaming services such as Sling and Fubo.

Another option – ideal if you don’t have cable – is to watch the game via a VPN, which will let you watch as if you were in another country. 

How to watch Tunisia vs Panama: Canada live stream 

For this tournament CTV is the official Canada broadcaster and will broadcast the Panama vs Tunisia game live at 2pm Ontario time or over the internet via the CTV Go app.

Another option – ideal if you don’t have cable – is to watch the game via a VPN, which will let you watch as if you were in another country.

How to watch Panama vs Tunisia: Australia live stream 

Free-to-air SBS has announced that it will now be showing all of the games at the Russia 2018 World Cup. The official Australian broadcaster which will air the Panama vs Tunisia game at 4am AEST. 

And don’t worry if you’re out of the country and want to catch that SBS (or UK broadcast) as using a VPN will let you watch as if you were back at home.

How to watch Tunisia vs Panama: New Zealand live stream 

Sky Sports has won the rights to show the World Cup 2018 in New Zealand so you can catch the Panama vs Tunisia game at 6am Wellington time. Or watch it via you mobile using the Sky Go app.

Another option – ideal if you don’t have cable – is to watch the game via a VPN service, which will let you watch as if you were in another country.

Exclusive World Cup competition with VyprVPN

Win a PlayStation 4 + FIFA 18 with VyprVPN
If you’ve decided that a VPN is the best way to catch your chosen World Cup live stream but can’t quite choose between the hundreds of providers out there, then our exclusive competition may sway you. VyprVPN has clearly got a case of football fever and is giving away a PS4 Slim (1TB) with a copy of FIFA 18 to one lucky winner.

You won’t find this competition anywhere else on the web – it’s strictly exclusive to TechRadar readers – and if you don’t take the top prize, five runners up will receive a free year of Vypr VPN instead. All you need to do is head to the competition page, complete the entry form and you’ll be in the prize draw (full terms and conditions can be found on the competition page). It’s an open goal!

Where else can I watch the World Cup using a VPN

A VPN will enable you to watch every 2018 World Cup fixture from literally anywhere – even if it isn’t being broadcast in that country. So that obviously includes all the competing countries and anywhere else on Earth you might be: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt,  England, France, Germany, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,  Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay and many more!

How to stream all the online action straight to you TV

The ability to live stream all the football to your phone or tablet is undeniably useful – you don’t have to miss a single goal, even if you’re out of the house. But if you want to stream the World Cup from the internet to your TV, then picking up a streaming box might be useful. Check out our guide to the best streaming media players, where the likes of Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire are all included.

http://www.techradar.com/news/panama-vs-tunisia-live-stream-how-to-watch-todays-world-cup-football-online

Facebook and Google accused of deceiving users into sharing personal data

Following Facebook’s massive privacy scandal, the European Union took a strong stance on the issue and passed the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, to protect the data everyday users share with companies online.

Despite that, large tech companies seem to have found a way around it, using duplicitous ways to trick users into sharing their data.

According to a report entitled Deceived By Design published by the Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet or NCC), Facebook, Google and Microsoft have been employing “dark patterns”, or design tricks, that manipulate the user into accepting privacy options they don’t necessarily want to accept.

The underhandedness of it all

The 44-page report cites examples of how Facebook, Google and, to a lesser degree, Microsoft have used dark patterns to their benefit. These include “privacy intrusive default settings, misleading wording, giving users an illusion of control, hiding away privacy-friendly choices, take-it-or-leave-it choices, and choice architectures where choosing the privacy friendly option requires more effort for the users”.

According to the report, if users choose to not accept some privacy policies, they are threatened “with loss of functionality or deletion of the user account”.

For instance, if Google users want to turn off ad personalization, they are presented with reasons why they ought to keep the feature turned on, forcing the user to reconsider their choice. The negative effects of leaving ad personalization on is, however, never presented.

Face-recognition-Book

Another example from the report talks about Facebook’s use of semantics and site design to force people into accepting the use of its facial recognition feature. 

The wording Facebook uses states that “if you keep face recognition turned off, we won’t be able to use this technology if a stranger uses your photo to impersonate you. If someone uses a screen reader, they won’t be told when you’re in a photo unless you’re tagged”. This forces the user to accept facial recognition by suggesting impersonation is a risk they’ll need to take if they refuse.

In terms of design, the user is shown a blue box to accept facial scanning, but the option to decline is hidden within a page only accessible by clicking on “manage data settings”, making acceptance the easier option.

Getting governments involved

Whether these double-dealing methods are legal or not is debatable, but letters sent by consumer groups across Europe, including France, Norway and the UK, to their respective national privacy regulators ask for investigations into the use of dark patterns.

Consumer groups in the US have also asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into the matter.

In fact, Bleeping Computer reports that an Austrian privacy advocate filed a complaint against Facebook and Google for exactly the same reasons within hours of GDPR going into effect, long before the NCC report was published.

And what do you have to say for yourself?

When asked to comment, Facebook chose to not to directly address any of the claims made in the report. Instead, a spokesperson simply said that the company’s “approach complies with the law, follows recommendations from privacy and design experts, and are designed to help people understand how the technology works and their choices”.

Google also decided to tread the same path, not challenging the claims made, but stating that it is “constantly evolving these controls based on user experience tests”.

If investigations are conducted and these companies are found guilty of underhandedness, they could be slapped with fines of up to €20 million ($24 million) or 4% of their annual turnover.

http://www.techradar.com/news/facebook-and-google-accused-of-deceiving-users-into-sharing-personal-data