Author: Trafficblast

Want to learn programming and robotics, but don’t know where to start? Forget expensive colleges and dull textbooks and pick up a Raspberry Pi, the super affordable credit card-sized computer, which makes for the perfect, practical way to learn computing. 

Once you have your own little Raspberry Pi to tinker with, you’ll need a great course to show you the ropes – and right now, the five-course The 2021 Raspberry Pi & Arduino Bootcamp Bundle is on sale for just $19.99 – which works out to less than $4 a course (regular price $995). 

Even if you have no robotics experience, the 4.6/5 star rated course ROS2 for Beginners will walk you through how to get started and master Robot Operating System (ROS) basics, writing, building, and running code so that you can create powerful and scalable robot applications. 

Then, you’ll apply those skills in the 4.7/5 rated Raspberry Pi For Beginners: Complete Course will guide you through practical lessons to build amazing projects with the latest Raspberry Pi 4 using Python 3, GPIOs, Flask, and more. 

You’ll also learn Arduino in the 4.7/5 rated Arduino for Beginners: Complete Course, which will take you from start to finish through complete Arduino projects, leaving you with a strong enough knowledge that you’ll be able to start any custom Arduino project you want.

Each course in this bootcamp is taught by Edouard Renard, an experienced software engineer and robotics entrepreneur with an impressive 4.2/5 instructor rating from previous students. Specializing in teaching complex programming in a simple, step-by-step way, Edouard is a Raspberry Pi and Arduino pro who knows exactly how to help you progress your skills faster.

Take your programming skills to the next level today with The 2021 Raspberry Pi & Arduino Bootcamp Bundle, on sale with 97% off right now for $19.99 (regular price $995). 

Whether you regularly write blog posts, work reports, or academic notes, we could all become more productive by spending less of our day typing. In fact, the average worker in the US spends 2.6 hours every day on emails. Imagine what you could get done if you could get that typing done in record speed? 

Thankfully, there’s a revolutionary new tech that changes the game when it comes to manual typing. Lightkey Pro is the latest version of the world’s only real-time text prediction software, which uses super-smart AI to compose your content faster, and with confidence. Today, we’ve found a lifetime subscription to the service on sale for just $49.99 – that’s a huge 70% discount off the regular price of $169. 

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This new and updated version of the game-changing software comes with an improved UI, a ton of new features, even more accuracy in its AI-powered text predictor – and a lower price tag.

It works by using AI to learn your typing patterns and gradually predict up to 12 words at a time, including punctuation marks – which ultimately allows you to compose your writing four times faster than before. With AI revolutionizing the way we type, both Microsoft Word and Google Docs have experimented with its uses for text prediction – but LightKey Pro has been shown to be more effective and accurate than both programs for predicting text in blog and academic content. 

Not only will LightKey predict your upcoming words, but it will also review your writing and give you real-time suggestions for spelling and grammatical errors – making your writing faster and better. 

Trusted in 160 countries, Lightkey Pro comes incredibly highly reviewed, too. Zapier named LightKey Pro one of “The 20 Best Productivity Apps for Windows,” while the software experts at TheWindowsClub praised LightKey’s deep learning capabilities, writing that it learned their preferences as they used it and that it was “one of the most futuristic and innovative typing tools that I have come across.” Meanwhile, on trusted review marketplace G2, LightKey also earned an impressive 5/5 stars. 

Start writing faster and smarter today with a Lightkey Pro Text Prediction Software: Lifetime Subscription, on sale right now with 70% off, for $49.99 (regular price $169). 

With all of us living our lives more online than ever before, the way you store your most personal files has also never been more important. That’s especially true of irreplaceable family photos and videos, which can easily be lost if not backed up. 

The way to keep them safe forever? By keeping them backed up to a cloud storage service you can rely on. Now’s the time to ensure you never lose an important file again, as we’ve found an awesome deal on Polar Backup Unlimited Cloud Backup Storage, which is on sale for just $44.99 today – that’s a 62% discount off the regular price of $120. 

This complete cloud storage solution will give you unlimited, secure cloud backup for all your data from laptops, PCs, Mac devices, external hard drives, and more, all in one place and easy for you to find – whether its treasured memories, important documents or private banking information. 

What makes this solution so robust? Polar Backup uses the latest Amazon Web Services (AWS) technology, with P256-Bit AES encryption to protect your data, GDPR-compliance, and unlimited storage so that your backups are smooth with super fast service times, too. 

It comes with a ton of useful features, too. Designed with ease of use in mind, Polar Backup makes it easy for you to manage, sort, locate, and preview files with just a click – making lost files a thing of the past. 

Thanks to its wealth of features, this complete cloud solution has even been featured in some of the world’s biggest tech publications, including Mashable, TNW, while TechRadar gave the service a 4/5 star review, particularly praising its easy-to-use interface. 

Protect all your personal files today with Polar Backup Unlimited Cloud Backup Storage, on sale with 62% off now for $44.99 (regular price $120).

It’s no secret that when you get hooked on an awesome simulator, you can happily spend hours upon hours with it. And, forget fancy spas – if you ask us, there’s no activity more relaxing than perfectly simulating a classic steam train journeying through a beautiful European forest vista.

So, we were excited to discover that today The Trainz Railroad Simulator Platinum Edition Bundle is on sale for just $29.99 – that’s a massive 89% discount off the regular price of $279. 

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Featuring nine different, incredibly detailed routes, covering hundreds of miles of track and a huge variety of steam, diesel, and electric powered locomotives to take control of, the TRS19 Platinum Edition is simply everything an enthusiast could ever want in a simulator. 

That includes taking you even further than simply driving the trains, but extending the experience to allow you to set up a fully operating railroad, managing dozens of trains – all under AI control and following your every instruction. 

This new Platinum Edition also introduces new camera modes, to really see the game’s detailed landscapes and trains in all their glory, as well as the awesome new “Unified Driver/Surveyor” mode, which allows you to switch instantly between the world-building tools and the driving simulation module – so you’re never too far away from seeing your simulation in action – as well as a new Content Store Downloader to easily manage all your DLC in one place. 

With 196 locos, 1,191 rolling stock, 21,000 items, and a ton of awesome new features, it’s this platinum edition also comes super highly reviewed, with an impressive 4.5/5 stars from users. As one gamer recently wrote, “I was really amazed at the details and scope of scenery provided. It seems it is well thought out, and the developers have really created a world onto their own.”

Take control of a new fleet of locomotives and manage your own railroad today with The Trainz Railroad Simulator Platinum Edition Bundle, on sale with 89% off right now for just $29.99 (regular price $279). 

Learning a language increases your earning potential, broadens your horizons, and opens you up to a new way of travel and socializing that would never be possible without being able to chat with locals. Plus, it’s fun. 

But simply picking up a phrasebook and trying to teach yourself isn’t likely to leave you fluent in a new language. You know what is, though? Having your own private tutor, available for live sessions, anytime, anywhere – and revolutionary new language learning service Lingoda Live Language Courses gives you exactly that. Though regular private language tutors usually charge around $30 an hour, right now, we’ve found a one-month subscription to the awesome service, which totals to 12 hours of private tuition, for just $49.99 – that’s a 26% discount off the regular price of $67. 

Lingoda changes the way language learning works – empowering even people with the busiest of schedules to master a new language, by allowing you to schedule private classes any time of day or night, 24/7, to perfectly fit into your life. 

Available for both Spanish and French, each private class is usually 60 minutes long and is taught by one of more than a thousand certified, native-speaking teachers, who all come with years of experience as professional teachers. 

As well as the flexibility of your classes, the really special thing about learning a language with a private tutor is that they can totally customize your language lessons, with topics relevant to you and your needs, to help you speak fluently and confidently quicker than any generic course could.

This personalized new way of learning has earned Lingoda glowing reviews across the board from its students, with an impressive 4.5/5 stars from users on Trustpilot, and an equally high 4.5/5 stars on Google Reviews. 

Start learning a new language today, with a Lingoda Live Language Courses: 1-Month Subscription, on sale with 26% off right now for $49.99 (regular price $67). 

We could all do with a vacation right now. With countries around the world opening borders – and recent news that Americans can travel to Europe after more than a year of being closed – now’s the time to plan that epic trip you’ve been dreaming about. Or five. 

Because, when you know the tips and tricks to travel smartly, you’ll be surprised at how cheaply and efficiently you can explore the world. The secret is by using insider tools, in-the-know subscriptions, and by becoming a smart traveler. Thankfully, The World Traveler Bundle includes that – including a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone – and right now, not only is it on sale, but you can take an extra 20% off the sale price by entering the coupon code TRAVEL20 at checkout, making the full bundle just $159.20 (regular price $1,542). 

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First, you’ll become a great traveler and get more out of your travel experiences with a Rosetta Stone: Lifetime Subscription to all languages (reg. $199), the award-winning language learning software that has been trusted for 27 years by top organizations like NASA, Calvin Klein, and TripAdvisor, and was named by The Wall Street Journal as “the next best thing to living in a country.”

Then, you’ll get the tools you need to actually fly to those countries cheaper than you ever knew possible, with a Matt’s Flights Premium 3-Yr Subscription (reg. $149). This incredible service, featured in The New York Times, changes the game when it comes to making your travel dreams a reality, scouring airlines and travel companies for the most super discounted sales or error fares, and sending them directly to your email inbox – giving you instant access to all the best deals. 

Finally, The Complete 2021 Travel Hacker Bundle (reg. $1194) will give you 13 hours of travel hacking courses to show you how to see the world on a shoestring budget and make memories to last a lifetime, as taught by the experts at SkillSuccess, which has been featured on CNN, Entrepreneur, Mashable, and more. 

Make exploring the world a reality with The World Traveler Bundle ft. Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription, on sale today for just $159.20 when you enter the coupon code TRAVEL20 at checkout (reg. $1542). 

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says that the Halo Infinite development team is “very committed” to a holiday release date.

Spencer made the comment while guesting on Dropped Frames, discussing how the Halo Infinite team was approaching the last legs of development among other topics. Spencer says that the team is currently narrowing down the release for Halo Infinite, and already has a good idea for a launch window.

“We know kind of our range in the 3-4 week range,” Spencer said. “We don’t have yet the exact day. There’s some other things with some other game timing that we’re trying to look at. We’ll have better clarity over the summer, but this isn’t a months thing this is just down to a few weeks.”

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Microsoft announced in August 2020 that Halo Infinite would be delayed from a holiday 2020 release date to an unspecified 2021 release date, following a mixed reception to Infinite’s first gameplay reveal, and citing COVID-19 as a major issue. Halo series veteran Joseph Staten was later hired to get Infinite “back on track.”

“Instead of picking this date and having to move it by a week, which at this point would feel like a fail — we don’t want to do that — let’s wait until we’re really solid on what the date is,” Spencer continued. “But the team is very committed to holiday, we feel good about that.”

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Spencer also praised Staten and Pierre Hintze, Halo: Master Chief Collection’s head of publishing. Hintze similarly joined the Halo Infinite team alongside Staten to work on its free-to-play multiplayer mode.

“The way Pierre and Joseph are running the team I feel good about the confidence we have in both quality and getting the game done.”

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The video game industry has experienced a growing list of project delays thanks to the logistical and financial impact of COVID-19, in addition to numerous other factors. Even games that experience multiple delays may launch in a less-than-agreeable state, as evidenced by Cyberpunk 2077’s heavily criticized launch. You can read IGN’s reporting on why 2020 and beyond was such a terrible time for game delays.

On the bright side, we recently got our first look at Halo Infinite’s multiplayer mode.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/often delayed for IGN.

Perhaps more than any other genre, Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs require an intense time commitment, so these recommendations are for games that grabbed us from the get-go all the way through to the 133rd hour. Here’s our list of the Top 10 MMORPGs.

A quick note: all of these games are still playable, but we tried to balance both how easy they are to recommend in 2021 and their contributions to progressing the genre as a whole.  Let’s get started!

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10. Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy 11 came out in 2002, and if you were like us, you snagged the hard drive router combo so you could play it on your PS2. Fast forward to 2021 and there’s still a community dedicated to helping new players experience this amazing Final Fantasy story. Sure, the controls are a bit complicated for modern standards, but just the other day we got Chapter 4 Part 2 of the Voracious Resurgence event! Final Fantasy 11 will always hold a special place in our hearts and if we’re being honest we still sneak on and play every now and then. Protip, hit up one of the free to play double xp weekends to jump into the story asap.

9. DC Universe Online

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Would you rather have the power of flight, or super speed? Why not both? DCUO has been a home for DC and superhero fans and continues going strong 10 years later on 5 different platforms. Now that DCUO is free-to-play and on multiple platforms, it’s now more accessible than ever and still has major content drops like the most recent World of Flashpoint. City of Heroes laid the foundation for superhero MMORPGs but DCUO has such a breadth of existing lore and characters, it was a must recommend for this list. 

8. Tera

In a genre highly dependent on grinding to make the numbers go higher, Tera sets itself apart 

from the rest with an action combat system that still feels good to play today. Its gameplay is highly skill dependent, and the BAMs (Big-Ass Monsters) that roam freely are always tempting 

to sharpen your skill against. It does have issues such as animation-locking during 

combat and a less-than fulfilling endgame, but Tera’s combat is still fun to play if you boot it up right now, and that is a true feat for a free-to-play MMO released a decade ago.

7. EVE Online

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Eve Online has spawned so many great real-world stories that they could make a Top 10 List

of their own. A game of staggering depth and complexity, Eve Online has fostered a player base since 2003 with its meaningful consequences – you can permanently lose ships worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars – and its freedom for players to do just about anything, like assist in Covid-19 research and organize a stirring tribute for Stephen Hawking. Eve Online has found a way to stick around for almost two decades by being uncompromising in its vision, and that vision is staggering.

6. Star Wars: The Old Republic

Storytelling is vital in RPGs and Bioware tells an excellent one in Star Wars: The Old Republic.  For fans of the classic KOTOR series who may not be well-versed in MMORPGs, SWTOR has been tweaked to be single player friendly as well, and now that the game is free-to-play, anyone can jump in to try the class stories and the first couple of expansions. Major content drops don’t seem to be as often as they used to, but The Old Republic is still worth returning to after all this time.

5. Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars popularized the concept of an MMO with no monthly fees, and continues that business model to this day. It’s also very accessible; while it encourages social interaction and cooperation with others, it can also largely be played solo. Add that to the game’s unique weapon ability system in which different weapons provide different abilities for different classes WHILE in different hands, and ArenaNet’s “Living World” approach to storytelling segments, and you have a recipe for a game that stands the test of time. There’s even a new expansion, End of Dragons, that’s slated for 2021.

4. Elder Scrolls Online

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The Elder Scrolls Online allows you to get lost in a fantasy world where you can control your own story down to the nitty gritty details.  Do you want to summon dark magic as a Breton while you fight, or would you rather be a Wood Elf with the power of nature and a bow for defense? ESO combines gorgeous, diverse landscapes that you can easily travel around, wonderful combat and expansive quest options, all while allowing you to play alongside your pals. With consistent DLC drops and performance updates, ESO continues to improve upon itself and now has never been a better time to hop into the world – especially for those who loved Skyrim and other Elder Scrolls games.

3. Phantasy Star Online 2

While the UI and menu design feels a little dated these days, Phantasy Star Online 2 still feels incredibly fresh to play, thanks to the fast-action anime sci-fi combat, incredible character creation tools, randomly generated fields, excellent electronic soundtrack, and chaotic Urgent Quests. It’s also had over eight years of content updates that all rolled out just this past year with PSO2’s recent western release, and will soon receive a new open world, graphics engine update, systems and more, thanks to a major update with New Genesis. The future is looking very bright for Phantasy Star.

2. World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft changed the entire MMORPG genre after its original launch in 2004, setting itself apart from past games by being more accessible to veterans of the genre and newcomers. With nearly sixteen years worth of patches and eight expansions, WoW is an industry titan. While Shadowlands has experienced a delayed launch on top of the longest duration of a launch patch in the game’s history, there’s no denying that WoW still has years of quests, raids, dungeons and even transmog fashion pieces to collect from previous expansions. With the option to also hop into WoW: Classic and the recently released Burning Crusade Classic servers, there have never been more ways to experience WoW.

1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

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One of the greatest modern success stories in video game history, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn took a bland, widely panned launch game and completely retooled it to sit atop the throne of MMORPGs. Not only did Square Enix keep the old game going while working on the reboot, it worked the reboot into the game’s storyline, marking it as a calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Final Fantasy XIV has only improved  since release with three current expansions and a fourth on the way, and each one has added classes, dungeons, and raids pulling from both Final Fantasy history and other Square Enix properties such as Nier Automata. Final Fantasy XV may have come and gone, and Final Fantasy XVI is on the way, but A Realm Reborn still shows no signs of slowing down.

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And there you have it! Our picks for the top 10 MMORPGs. Have we missed any? What do you think needs to be reshuffled?  Let us know in the comments below.

Well, looks like we’re getting a demo for NEO: The World Ends With You sometime soon, though Square Enix may not have wanted us to know that bit of info just yet.

Moments ago, the Square Enix Twitter account posted a new trailer for the game that seemed mostly normal. However, a splash screen at the very end reads “Play the demo now!” As people began to point out the previously unknown demo on social media, Square Enix quickly deleted the tweet.

The trailer is no longer viewable, either.

NEO: The World Ends with You is getting a demo soon apparently. “Play the demo now” https://t.co/dIfR4vOnIl pic.twitter.com/fnfr1XwVO1

— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 23, 2021

This may be related to the news Tetsuya Nomura was teasing on the official Japanese account for NEO: The World Ends With You, which is supposed to be dropped at 12 pm Japan time on the 24th and 8 pm PT/11 pm ET on the 23rd. Hopefully, it is and the demo drops soon, especially as it’s only a month away from release on July 27th anyway.

A widely available demo would be yet another opportunity to get a closer look at how Square Enix’s fantastical vision of an alternate-reality Shibuya has changed in the 14 years since the last game. The company’s already been fairly forthcoming with information about characters, setting, and other changes, but this would give fans a hands-on look for themselves.

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We got a look at the first two chapters of the game earlier this month and found the sequel to be a compelling refresh of its DS roots.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Whether the recent GameStop stock drama (where shares in the game retailer soared to record highs and made investors millions as a result) has raised your interest in trading, or you simply don’t have time to keep track of the stock market every day, knowledge of the market is arguably the most valuable asset you can have when it comes to smart investing. 

And one way we’ve discovered you can get all the knowledge you need to make smart choices – at a glance? With a Bullish Premium: Lifetime Subscription, which is on sale today for just $29.99 – that’s an 89% discount off the regular price of $299. 

This super easy-to-use service sends you two newsletters daily – one before the market opens, and one after it closes – which gives you a perfect snapshot of the market, stock futures, premarket data, and more. 

It means that you can keep up to date with all the key movements of the stock market, all in one place, making staying on top of the market quicker than ever more – and making informed investment decisions based on that simpler than ever before, as a result. 

Not only does Bullish make the stock market easy to keep track of, but it’s ideal for people who simply want a quick, uncluttered overview of the market right before it opens, are interested in trending stocks, and want to know stock futures that signal if the market is trending up or down for the day. Plus, Bullish also keeps its users updated on both the current and historical performance of the major indexes over time, such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones. 

And if crypto is more your thing Bullish has you covered too, with this premium plan including updates on Bitcoin performance as well as the wider crypto market in general. 

Start receiving your own, easy-to-understand daily stock market overview, direct to your inbox, with a Bullish Premium: Lifetime Subscription, on sale with 89% off, for just $29.99 today (regular price $299).