For nearly 20 years, Notepad++ has been a staple in my workflow—one of the first programs I install on every new computer, yet I never gave much thought to its origins. I admittedly never paid much attention to the release notes, and when I did, I never really noticed anything unusual. Recently, I found myself wondering about its backstory. As a widely used open-source tool with no commercial ambitions, there had to be a deeper story behind it—and there was.

VLC Media Player has long been the go-to alternative for Windows Media Player on PCs. In fact, it used to be one of the first few apps I installed as soon as I set up a new computer. Over time, though, the same old design has gotten stale, and several alternatives have popped up that offer a fresh look along with a bunch of useful features. That's when I decided to explore the world of free and open-source media players that could give VLC a run for its money. Thankfully, it didn't take me long to encounter some awesome apps that rival VLC and even beat it in some ways.

The WWE 2K games have been gracing our consoles since 2013. Since then, getting a new 2K game about the squared circle is like a Money in the Bank cash-in — you might not always be excited about it, but you know it’s coming. Sometimes, 2K gives us some great, generational updates, but often, they’re barely more than incremental.

Building a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device is an easy process since it can involve using an old desktop PC. A NAS is essentially a PC with numerous storage drives, and using an old PC case can make for the perfect storage server. This is largely due to the ability to install countless drives, recycling old hardware to save money, and using standard parts that make servicing much easier than pre-built turnkey NAS devices.

Adobe Acrobat has long been the go-to software for PDF editing, offering a wide range of tools for working with text, images, and interactive elements. However, the high subscription cost and the software’s proprietary nature can make it less appealing for those seeking a cost-effective solution. Fortunately, Inkscape, a free and open-source graphics editor, can edit PDFs and has impressive features.

Not every video game genre sticks around forever. Some fade as gaming trends shift, others as technology advances, and a few never take off due to hardware limitations. But as any retro gamer knows, no genre ever truly dies.

PLA filament is the go-to material for beginners to 3D printing, and for good reason. It's easy to print, requires minimal fine-tuning, and works well with most consumer-grade printers. However, as users become more experienced and demand more from their prints, PLA's limitations start to show. It lacks durability, struggles in high temperatures, and offers limited post-processing options compared to other filaments.

The Verge is heading to Barcelona, Spain, for Mobile World Congress 2025. We’re fresh off CES, where we saw plenty of new gadgets, from TVs to gaming handhelds and smart glasses. But, as it says right in the name, MWC 2025 is more focused on… mobile stuff. And it’s for a global audience, which means not everything will make its way to the US.Expect announcements from companies like Xiaomi and Nothing, the latter of which will unveil the Nothing Phone 3A, and other global phone makers. Larger firms like Samsung and Google will be there, though it’s still unclear if they’ll have news. But we’re still waiting for more details on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, so maybe that’ll pop up at the show.We’ll also look for more obscure and fun stuff that’s only available here on the floor. In 2024, we saw Humane’s ill-fated AI Pin (RIP), a laptop with a transparent screen, and more.Keep this page bookmarked for all the news, commentary, and first looks from the show floor. Samsung reveals Galaxy A56 with more AI and a modest spec bump What to expect at MWC 2025

The Galaxy A56 comes in a range of colors.Samsung is bringing even more AI to its line of budget-friendly phones. The new Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 now come with what the company calls “awesome intelligence,” enabling an array of new AI-powered image editing features already available with Samsung’s pricier S25 lineup.One of these features is Best Face, an AI tool that lets you swap the facial expressions of up to five people in a motion photo in case someone blinks or looks away from the camera. It’s similar to Google Pixel’s Best Take and launched with the Galaxy S25 in January.There’s an “improved” object removal tool and photo filters, along with Google’s Circle to Search feature that allows you to search for text and images just by circling it on your screen. (Samsung added Circle to Search to select A-series devices last August.) The phones will also support up to six years of Android OS and security upgrades, which is longer than what Samsung previously offered for the previous generation.Besides new AI features, Samsung made some small design tweaks to each phone, as well. In addition to an oval-shaped rear camera housing, all three devices now have the same 6.7-inch full HD Plus display with an up to 120Hz refresh rate, as opposed to the smaller 6.6-inch screen on the A55 and A35, and 6.5 inches on the A25. The A56 comes with the same 12MP ultrawide sensor, 50MP main camera, and 5MP macro camera. It also has a 12MP selfie shooter (which is lower than the A55’s 32MP front-facing sensor).Though the A56 comes with an upgraded Exynos 1580 chip, the A36 has a last-gen Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip. All three A-series devices have a 5,000 mAh battery, but only the A56 and A36 support 45W charging and come with a “larger vapor chamber” to improve performance. Samsung has also extended IP67 dust and water resistance to the A26 for the first time. The phones will ship with Android 15 and come in a range of colors that vary by device.At $499, the Galaxy A56 is the most expensive of the bunch and will launch in the US “later this year.” The A36 will be available on March 26th exclusively at Best Buy starting at $399, while the A26 will cost $299 when it launches on March 28th. The Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 will also be available for purchase in the UK on March 19th for £499, £399, and £299, respectively.

The cool thing about a Raspberry Pi 5 is how it can add some pretty powerful processing to a small build. Sure, you're not going to be hosting a full-blown AI model on it any time soon, but you can throw it tasks such as video game emulation and it'll do the job pretty well. That's the basis behind this build which houses a Raspberry Pi 5 in an arcade fightstick shell so you can game wherever you are.

I'm starting to think there's a holy trifecta amongst DIY enthusiasts, including 3D printers, SBCs, and Lego. We've seen projects that take two of these components and mash them together into something cool, although I'd love to see one where all three are used at the same time. Until then, we have this excellent Michelson-Morley interferometer built using a Raspberry Pi and Lego bricks.

Network-attached storage (NAS) is essentially a system full of storage drives. This could be a formation of solid-state drives (SSD) or mechanical hard disk drives (HDD). Regardless of which type of storage you use, you're guaranteed to encounter a drive failure somewhere in the future. While NAS-rated storage is designed to run for millions of hours inside such enclosures, nothing lasts forever. It's as inevitable as Neo from The Matrix destroying Agent Smith. The only question is when, but there are a few things you can do to better prepare yourself (and your NAS).