Here's how much more gaming you did due to COVID

It’s no surprise that the global pandemic has spurred a huge uptick in gaming, but we now have an idea of just how much more that might be.

According to figures released from Valve, the parent company of online gaming service Steam, subscribers spent some 31.3 billion hours playing PC games in 2020. That’s a 50.7-percent increase over the hours spent in 2019. Valve also gained 2.6 million new buyers for the year, a 21.4-percent increase over 2019. 

Steam is the largest online service for PC gaming, and like most, it requires you to log in in to play a game. So if you’re looking for a sign of just how much more time people spent mashing keyboards or game controllers, it’s likely an accurate representation.

Valve said growth was already on the uptick when 2020 kicked off, but it believes many have turned to gaming during lockdowns. “While Steam was already seeing significant growth in 2020 before COVID-19 lockdowns,” the company said in a blog post, “video game playtime surged when people started staying home, dramatically increasing the number of customers buying and playing games, and hopefully bringing some joy to counter-balance some of the craziness that was 2020.”

For perspective, note that some 90 million monthly active players were logged by Steam in 2018. In 2020, monthly active players spiked to 120 million—a 33-percent increase since 2018.

Valve didn’t publish figures for 2019’s peak concurrent players, but in 2018 it reported about 18.5 million. In 2020, the figure jumped 34 percent to 24.8 million. Daily active players tracked at 62.6 million for 2020, compared to 47 million in 2018.

VR is not dead

Is the pandemic good for VR? Despite media and analysts’ diagnoses that “VR is dead,” Steam’s figures show that’s far from the truth. Valve said 104 million Steam VR sessions were kicked off in 2020, including 1.7 million first-timers. Game sales of VR titles increased 32 percent from 2019 as well. Sessions definitely aren’t as long, though, averaging about 32 minutes.

Controllers gain in popularity

Steam can answer the eternal question about keyboard vs. controller for PC games, too. Steam stats show 46.6 million players have used a controller, an increase of  about 47 percent over 2019. Valve said 1.68 billion game sessions used a controller, which is up 67 percent from 2019.

25.2 million 1TB hard drives

And yes, a lot of data was downloaded from Steam too. In fact, Valve clocks the amount of data served up in 2020 at 25.2 exabytes, compared to 16 exabytes in 2019. How much is that? Well, pile up about 25.2 million 1TB hard drives, and you get the idea of just how much game data was delivered.

Valve said it saw about a 30- to 40-percent increase in downloads in March, when pandemic lockdowns started—but that was nothing compared to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. The game set a record of 52Tbps downloads at its peak, which is double the previous peak record. During the preload period, Steam logged 26Tbps downloads.

Can I Save Money by Buying a ‘Dumb’ TV?

Thanksgiving has become synonymous with two things: overeating and buying cheap TVs. And like clockwork, all my friends ask me if it's possible to save more money by buying a TV without smart apps built in—after all, if you already have a Roku, why pay for extra features you don't need? Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple.

Almost All TVs Are Smart Now

If you're buying a TV in 2020, it's probably going to have smart features. "Dumb" TVs aren't completely extinct, but they're pretty close—the few that exist tend to come in small sizes with low resolutions, designed more for watching news in the kitchen than watching movies in the living room. The picture quality on those is nowhere near what you'd get from even a midrange smart TV with features like 4K, HDR, and local dimming—you could get decent quality from a computer monitor, if you can find one big enough, but again, many high-quality TVs offer features that monitors don't have.

Just as in the world of phones, smart features are pretty much a given in today's TVs. But it's unlikely you're paying extra for smart features, even on low-end TVs. If anything, it's likely those TVs are subsidized by the smart features included, since they hook you into an ecosystem. If you buy one of Amazon's Fire-capable TVs, for example, Amazon is banking on you subscribing to Prime and buying more Alexa devices to make everything work together nicely.

Not only that, but smart TVs are data-collecting gold mines, which only encourages manufacturers to include those features on as many TVs as possible. Data collection lines pockets long after a gadget is bought and paid for.

Your Best Option: Keep Your TV Disconnected

If you're interested in a TV but aren't interested in its smart features—maybe you already stream using your game console, or you prefer to watch movies on Blu-ray—you don't need to hunt far and wide for a dumb TV. Just buy the smart model and keep it disconnected from the internet. Don't set up Wi-Fi when you turn it on, don't plug in an Ethernet cable. Just hook up your HDMI devices and go to town—you never have to see the smart features if you don't want to. (Apart from a rare visit to the settings menu, I never even see what smart apps my Samsung TV has available, because I stream through my Roku Ultra.)

This has another added benefit: If you keep your TV disconnected, it won't automatically update its firmware. Firmware updates can improve the experience, but I've heard (and experienced) more than enough horror stories of firmware updates reducing picture quality, introducing new bugs, and slowing down the overall experience. You're better off manually updating the firmware after you've given other people a chance to try it out, and keeping your TV disconnected allows you to do that.

That said, there are a few TVs out there with good smart platforms built in. Many of TCL's TVs come with Roku built in, which is like getting a $100 Roku box for free with the purchase of your TV. That's definitely a value add. Sony, Hisense, and other manufacturers often bundle Android TV, which is a decent platform as well. You don't have to use either, but if you're going to stream Netflix anyway, you might as well.

Streaming Comes With Privacy Trade-Offs

If you're concerned about privacy—remember that data collection I mentioned earlier?—keep in mind that streaming boxes aren't always better. Sure, some smart TVs tend to invade privacy a bit more with their Automatic Content Recognition features (which, thankfully, you can turn off), but if you still plan on streaming your shows, don't think that gets you off the grid. Many dedicated streaming boxes collect their own data as well—as can individual apps. That's just the sad reality of today's internet-connected world. Unless you restrict yourself to DVDs and over-the-air broadcasts, someone's probably phoning home a little.

None of this is to say you should avoid streaming altogether. Most of us are willing to put up with a little data collection to get our Netflix fix. Nor does it mean smart TVs are particularly great—I'd rather stream from a Roku or watch higher-quality Blu-ray discs most of the time. But if you're dead set on avoiding smart TVs for whatever reason, your crusade may be a bit misplaced. Just keep it disconnected and enjoy movie night—you probably didn't pay extra for those features anyway.

Comcast raising TV and Internet prices, including a big hike to hidden fees

Comcast is raising prices for cable TV and Internet service on January 1, 2021, with price hikes coming both to standard monthly rates and to hidden fees that aren't included in advertised prices.

TV customers are getting an especially raw deal, as Comcast is adding up to $4.50 a month to the "Broadcast TV" fee and $2 to the Regional Sports Network (RSN) fee. That's an increase of up to $78 a year solely from two fees that aren't included in advertised rates.

As in past years, even customers who still are on promotional pricing will not be spared from the Broadcast TV and RSN fee increases. "Customers on promotional pricing will not see that pricing change until the end of the promotion, but the RSN and Broadcast TV fees will increase because they're not part of the promotional pricing," a Comcast spokesperson told Ars.

Without the upcoming increase, the Broadcast TV fee currently ranges from $7.90 to $14.95 depending on the market, the spokesperson said. The RSN fee maxes out at $8.75 a month in most of Comcast's territory, but Comcast said this fee is $14.45 for Chicago-area customers with access to the Sinclair-owned Marquee Sports Network that airs Chicago Cubs games. The RSN fee is not charged in some markets that don't have RSNs.

Six Internet-only packages that cost $53 to $113 a month will all rise $3 a month, and the price for professional installations or in-home service visits is rising from $70 to $100. Comcast revealed price increases in a notice that has been shared on Reddit:

List of Comcast price increases taking effect in Chicago on January 1, 2021.

Reddit user Timbo303

While the above price-increase notice is for Chicago only, a Comcast spokesperson confirmed to Ars that price hikes will be nationwide. The Chicago price-change list doesn't include the Regional Sports Network fee "because their RSN fee increased on October 1, 2020 with the addition of the Marquee Sports Network. The RSN Fee will increase by $2 in all other markets effective January 1, 2021," Comcast told Ars.

"Other changes for 2021 include a Broadcast TV Fee increase of up to $4.50 depending on the market; $3 increase for Internet-only service; and up to a $2.50 increase for TV boxes on the primary outlet, with a decrease of up to $2.45 for TV boxes on additional outlets," the Comcast spokesperson added. The fee for a customer's primary TV box is rising from $5 to $7.50, while the fee for additional boxes is being lowered from $9.95 to $7.50.

While the Chicago price list says the base price of the Choice TV package is rising from $25 to $30 a month, it's not clear which TV packages will get price increases in other areas. Comcast told us that changes to base TV prices will vary by market.

Comcast charges a $30 monthly fee to upgrade from the 1.2TB plan to unlimited data, or $25 a month for customers who purchase xFi Complete, which includes unlimited data and rental of the Comcast gateway modem/router. The xFi Complete fee is only $20 in some markets, but Comcast told Ars it is raising the price in those markets to $25 to match what's charged in the rest of the country.

Comcast blames programmers

Comcast defended the price increases with this statement:

Rising programming costs—most notably for broadcast TV and sports—continue to be the biggest factors driving price increases for all content distributors and their customers, not just Comcast. We're continuing to work hard to manage these costs for our customers while investing in our network to provide the best, most reliable broadband service in the country and the flexibility to choose our industry-leading video platform with X1 or the highest quality streaming product with Flex, the only free streaming TV device with voice remote that's included with broadband service.

But Comcast can't solely blame other programmers for price hikes because Comcast itself owns NBCUniversal and thus determines the price of all NBCUniversal content, including the national channels and eight RSNs in major markets. Despite Comcast owning NBC, the cable company recently warned customers that they could lose NBC channels if Comcast is unable to reach a new carriage contract with... NBC. The absurd situation was summarized by TechDirt in an article aptly titled, "Comcast Tells Customers They May Lose Access To Comcast Channels If Comcast Can't Agree With Comcast."

On the broadband side, Comcast seems to be justifying price hikes based on the company's investment in improving its network. But Comcast reduced capital spending on its cable division in 2019 and reduced cable-division capital spending again in the first nine months of 2020.

As we reported Monday, Comcast will also be enforcing the 1.2TB monthly data cap throughout its entire 39-state territory in 2021. Currently, Comcast enforces the cap in 27 states.

Comcast to Institute 1.2TB Data Caps for Xfinity Users in Northeast US

A 1.2TB data cap is coming to Comcast’s Xfinity subscribers based in the northeast US, forcing them to pay an overage charge if they exceed the monthly limit. 

The cap will go into effect in January, although overages won’t be charged until April. Subscribers in 14 states, including New York, and the District of Columbia, will be affected. 

To no surprise, Comcast users are already expressing outrage after the company announced the change on the Xfinity website, deriding it as a cash grab. However, the company says the vast majority of affected subscribers, at 95 percent, never use more than 1.2TB of data, even as millions of Americans are stuck at home during the pandemic. 

According to a Comcast spokesman, the median monthly data use for subscribers in the Northeast was at 308GB from January to June. As a result, the company says the 1.2TB cap is plenty. Nevertheless, a small group of users far exceed the data cap.

“Five percent of our residential customers make up more than 20 percent of our network usage,” the spokesman said. Now Comcast wants them to pay more. 

In addition, the 1.2TB data cap has already been in place in the Western and Southern US for about two-thirds of the Xfinity customer base. “This is really just aligning (our policy) across all our markets,” the spokesman added. 

For subscribers who exceed the data cap, Comcast will charge them an extra $10 per 50GB used but will not exceed $100 extra per month.

Microsoft ends support for Office 2010: What you can do

Office 2010 users, we know you're out there. As recently as 2017, according to a survey published by IT marketplace Spiceworks, Office 2010 was being used in 83 percent of the companies surveyed. But your time's up on October 13, when Microsoft officially ends support for the Office 2010 productivity suite. That means no more technical support, no more patches, and no more security updates.

As you prepare to switch, the good news is, most of the options are reasonably priced. The bad news is, each new version gets closer and closer to subscription-based products. In fact, the latest standalone version, Office 2019, exists only because enough customers complained that Microsoft relented. The writing's on the wall: Eventually, subscriptions will be the only Office option available.

JD Sartain / IDG

What happens if I stay with Office 2010?

If you are dead-set on keeping Office 2010, you can do so—as long as you’re comfortable with the risks. Because Microsoft will no longer be supporting it with bugs and patches, you will need thorough and aggressive virus protection software.

Another roadblock you may face is incompatibility with some of the newer programs and file formats. However, keep in mind that almost all Windows products can be exported regardless of one-to-one compatibility.

Should I switch to Office on the web for free?

You have one free option from Microsoft: Office on the web. All it requires is a Microsoft account. This could be a good starting point for students and new users who want to “try before they buy” and experiment with the online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

Keep in mind, however, that Office on the web is a limited, scaled-down version and lacks many of the full version’s features. Unless your needs are very basic you probably wouldn't want to run your business off these online applications. 

Should I upgrade to Office 2019?

Office 2019 comes in three different versions and prices:

• Office 2019 Home & Student: currently $150 from Microsoft
• Office Home & Business 2019 Digital: currently $250 from Microsoft
• Office Professional 2019: currently $440 from Microsoft

Office 2019 comes with many caveats. Unlike Office 365, which is updated regularly with new features, Office 2019 is not. You get the features that came with the original version that was released in October of 2018, and no more. Office 2019 does not include OneNote, SharePoint Designer, or InfoPath. When the next desktop version is released, you must purchase it again if you want new features.

In addition, 2019 is not supported by Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. And, for those who run networks or install software on multiple drives, Office 2019 can only be installed on the system drive—that is, the C:\ drive (usually), and that location cannot be changed.

Here's the real kicker: You must have Internet access to install and use this product, unlike 2010, which functions offline.

Should I upgrade to an Office 365 subscription?

Microsoft would love it if you upgraded to an Office 365 subscription. Obviously, instead of shelling out some money once for standalone Office, a subscription requires a monthly or yearly cash outlay.

Microsoft 365 comes in many versions, covering a wide variety of users. We'll summarize the versions below.

If you're a home or student user, you'll likely want one of these versions:

• Microsoft 365 Personal: $70 per year (or $6.99 per month)
• Microsoft 365 Family: $100 per year (or $9.99 per month)

If you need Microsoft  365 for a business, you have a longer list of packages: 

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $5.00 per user, per month
• Microsoft 365 Apps: $8.25 per user, per month
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $8.25 per user, per month
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $12.50 per user, per month

Note: The Business Basic version provides the free Web and Mobile versions only, plus four special services: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. If you don’t need these four services, save your money and just go with the free, web-only Office 365 Online version.

In addition to the Business and Home versions, Microsoft also offers four Enterprise plans for corporations and small businesses: Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, and Office 365 E5. All subscription-based, these plans provide a lot more “special services” that the other 365 plans lack. 

What are my alternatives to Office?

If the whole Microsoft thing is getting too complicated or too expensive for your pocketbook, we've reviewed the major alternative programs to Office, including Google's online application, LibreOffice, FreeOffice and more. Because they're all free, there's little risk to trying them.

5 Bad Habits That Are Destroying Your PC

1. Leaving Your Laptop on a Plush Surface (and Other Overheating Problems)

Heat is your computer's mortal enemy. If your computer gets too hot, the processor may slow down, throttling itself to keep temperatures reasonable, or even shutting down completely. Running at high temperatures for extended periods can reduce the lifespan of your processor, fans, and battery as well—not to mention make your computer loud and sizzling to touch.

For desktop computers, the solution is pretty simple: make sure your case has adequate airflow, with enough vents and fans to keep cool air moving through the components. That means keeping it out of tight cabinets and other spaces that trap heat. You probably want to clean out the dust once in a while with an electric duster (more on that below). And if you’re overclocking, take extra care to watch those voltages and temps.

Laptops, on the other hand, require a bit more care. Their portability leads to a lot of bad habits, like putting it on a blanket or other plush surface. This blocks airflow under the laptop, and potentially through the laptop (if the blanket covers the fan vents).

When possible, use your laptop on a flat surface (where the rubber feet usually raise it up off a desk), or at least make sure your lap is free of blankets and other things that can block airflow. Lap desks are a good way to ensure things stay cool. 

Other than that, the same rules apply to laptops as desktops: Don't leave it in hot places (like a car on a sunny day) and blow out the dust once in a while.

2. Letting Dirt, Dust, and Liquids Run Wild

All computers accumulate some dust over time, heating up the components and making those fans work harder. While cleaning it regularly can help, you also want to prevent stuff from getting into your computer in the first place.

For example, cigarette smoke and pet fur will exacerbate those problems, and putting your desktop PC on the floor will ensure more of that dust, hair, and debris will get sucked into the intake. And if you have carpet on your floor, you’re probably blocking the power supply’s intake fan. Keep your computer on a desk or other riser, if at all possible, and make sure there are filters on your intake fans.

Secondly, don’t eat or drink near your PC, or at least take some care when you do. Getting crumbs in your keyboard is not only disgusting, but it can damage the switches or make certain keys harder to press. And I’m sure you’ve heard enough horror stories about people spilling coffee on their laptop, which can straight up destroy the machine. 

Even well-intentioned moves, like cleaning your screen with Windex, can introduce liquid where it shouldn’t be (also, Windex is too harsh for your monitor). Spray your gentle screen cleaner on a microfiber cloth, not on the screen, and don’t go crazy—a little goes a long way.

3. Handling Your Laptop Carelessly

Again, while desktops have the luxury of sitting comfortably in your office, laptops are subject to all sorts of abuse. I've seen people pick up the laptop by its display, open the hinge from one side with way too much force, and toss the laptop onto the couch from the other side of the room. (Sure, a couch is rather soft, but one day, you're going to miss and hit the table or floor, and you'll be sorry.) I've even seen people use closed laptops as a coaster for their drink, which makes me grit my teeth in anxiety.

Laptops are meant to be portable, and some can be pretty durable, but the more you abuse it, the more likely you are to damage something. At best, you'll just have to deal with a worn-out laptop hinge or a crack in the casing. But if your laptop has a traditional spinning hard drive instead of an SSD, tossing or shaking the computer—especially if the drive is active at the time—can even cause its head to dislocate or touch the surface of the disk. It isn't common, but if that happens, you're going to have a bad day, especially if you haven't backed up your data. Your laptop is an expensive piece of property: treat it as such.

4. Mismanaging Your Old Battery

Just because your laptop's battery starts with "eight hours of battery life" doesn't mean it'll stay that way forever. Batteries degrade over time—you may get eight hours on a full charge when you first buy it, but after a few years, that may degrade to six or seven hours. There's no escaping this decline, but you may be degrading it faster than necessary if you always run your laptop down to 0 percent. 

To prolong your battery's long-term health, it's best to perform shallow discharges, and recharge it frequently. Don't over-stress about this, of course—if you're on a plane and need to work, an occasional discharge won't kill your battery—but over time, it's best to err on the side of charging regularly than running it down to empty.

You should, however, stress out if your battery is swollen. If your battery is bulging so much that it’s pushing against the case of your laptop, creating a gap between the panels, you need to stop using your computer now and (safely) replace the battery, lest you encounter an explosive failure. 

When you replace the battery, don’t buy a cheap knockoff from eBay—buy it from the manufacturer or a respected third-party store. Low-quality batteries will, at best, not hold a charge very well, and at worst, can be dangerous. The same goes for third-party chargers—just stick to the manufacturer’s official offering or, in the case of laptops that charge over USB-C, a certified USB-PD charger.

5. Wasting Time on Unnecessary Maintenance

Back in the days of Windows XP, when hardware was limited and computers were slow, PC maintenance may have made a difference. But these days, deleting unused and temporary files is unlikely to give you a noticeable speed boost. Many "PC Cleaning" utilities are scams meant to scare you into buying their product—and the free, less scammy ones are still unnecessary most of the time.

Furthermore, certain types of "maintenance" may actually be harmful. Registry cleaners provide almost no benefit, but if they delete a registry entry you actually need, they can actually cause problems. Similarly, these new "privacy" apps that claim to stop Windows 10 from "spying" on you can break certain features without you knowing why. 

The internet is full of people confused about why something stopped working, only to find that it's the fault of one of these tools. You're better off going through Windows 10's settings, learning what they do, and tweaking them yourself.

If you want to clean up your hard drive, use Windows' built-in Disk Cleanup utility and delete any movies, music, and other files you aren't using. And if your computer is running unbearably slow, try removing startup programs or resetting your PC—if that doesn't work, it's probably time to upgrade your hardware.