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Need a last-minute gift idea? Check out the hottest toys of 2017

hot toys Nerf Rival Nemesis Mark MXVII-10k
Nerf
Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for the young (or the young at heart)? If you’re unclear as to what the hot toys are this year, we’ve scoured the web — and solicited a few suggestions from our staff — regarding some of the most popular toys and games this holiday season. Read on for our curated list, which includes gifts that will please friends and family of all ages, whether they’re into video games, gadgets, or getting their hands slimy.

Looking for a more robust list of picks? If so, take a gander at our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide.

Nintendo Switch ($300)

Nintendo Switch review
Nate Barrett/Digital Trends

Nintendo’s most ambitious console yet offers the power of a home console in a device you can take with you anywhere. Suddenly, you can play the latest Zelda or Mario game while on your morning commute, and the sharp visuals blow up nicely when you hook the Switch up to a TV. Whether you’ve got kids, or simply love Nintendo’s reliable, fun-for-all-ages style of games, the Switch is a lovely device that’s chock-full of innovation and promise. It’s so cool, in fact, we officially dubbed it our Product of the Year.

Read our full Nintendo Switch review

Amazon

‘Codenames’ ($15)

Czech Games

Board games are more popular than ever these days, and not just for family game night. A generation of young adults raised on Catan have led to a wave of games that are strategic, and often complex. For those who don’t want to manage an economy, Codenames offers a simple — but surprisingly deep — experience that anyone can grasp. Players sort into two teams, each consisting of a spymaster and spies. Tiles with words on them are arranged on the table, and the spymasters must give clues to lead their spies to their team’s tiles (hopefully without choosing the other team’s tiles). It’s an intuitive game, one that any group, from nuclear families to college friends, can enjoy.

Amazon

DIY Slime Kit ($20)

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It seemed impossible for anything to dethrone fidget spinners as the decade’s strangest trend, yet slime did just that. Today’s social media personalities demonstrated that, with household items like Borax or shampoo, anyone could recreate the set of Nickelodeon’s Double Dare. If you’d prefer your kids not play with potentially harmful chemicals, however, why not buy a kit to keep them sliming it up safely?

Target

Epikgo Classic hoverboard ($600)

Image used with permission by copyright holder

They say you should dress for the job you want, so if you want to be a Silicon Valley executive, try living life on a hoverboard. The Epikgo Classic is fun to ride and can go more than 10 miles on a single charge, and besides, the calories you save from walking can be put to better use designing the next app to disrupt [insert industry here].

Amazon

Power Wheels Boomerang ($330)

Image used with permission by copyright holder

What kid doesn’t love to race? The Power Wheels Boomerang is a beastly, battery-powered vehicle that will let kids tear up the lawn in style — but don’t worry, it tops out at 5 miles per hour!

Toys R Us 

Amazon

Nerf Rival Nemesis Mark MXVII-10k

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nerf guns are an ageless gift, enjoyed equally by children in the park and employees at Digital Trends headquarters. Regardless of how you choose to use it, the pricey Nemesis Mark MXVII-10k will make you the power player in any Nerf war. With a 100-round capacity and a motorized feed that’s capable of shooting projectiles at 100 feet per second, you’ll lay waste to opponents like Achilles having a bad day.

Amazon

Lego Star Wars BB-8

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If there’s one character in the new Star War films who is universally loved, it’s BB-8, the world’s friendliest rolling orb. If you want to make your own BB-8, this Lego set makes it possible, with superb detail and even a display stand.

Amazon

Parrot Mambo drone ($130)

Parrot Mambo best drones under 0
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Although it’s not the flashiest drone in the world, this tiny quadcopter handles well and comes with a few fun attachments, including a claw for picking up objects and cannons for shooting foam balls. You can control it with a smartphone app, too, or spend a little more for a twin-stick controller. It’s one of our favorite drones to date, and also one of the most affordable.

Amazon

Will Nicol
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Nicol is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends. He covers a variety of subjects, particularly emerging technologies, movies…
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

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