With a Raspberry Pi at the heart of your 3D printing setup, you can accomplish so much. This tiny computer delivers reliable performance, allowing you to automate tasks and experiment with creative features. It also helps you control different elements of your builds, offering convenience that makes printing more enjoyable. Below, you’ll find several projects that tap into the power of the Raspberry Pi so you can enhance your 3D printing endeavors and learn new skills.

Balatro just won four Game Developers Choice Awards, including Game of the Year, but the person who made the game wasn’t on stage to accept them.Instead, Playstack communications director Wout van Halderen spoke on behalf of Balatro’s developer, who goes by the alias LocalThunk, each time the game won an award. “The team does that to give LocalThunk the freedom to work in the style that he likes, which we respect,” Playstack marketing director Liz Cheng-Moore tells The Verge. “That’s our job,” van Halderen adds. It’s an arrangement that the Playstack team figured out with LocalThunk ahead of other ceremonies like The Game Awards, where Balatro won three awards and was nominated for Game of the Year. LocalThunk didn’t want to be public, but he also didn’t want to be disrespectful to fans and the industry, so now the Playstack team accepts his awards on his behalf.Balatro was one of the biggest hits of 2024, launching after a series of popular demos to wide acclaim. Months after its initial launch, the game launched on iOS and Android, and as of January, it’s sold more than 5 million copies. LocalThunk was at the Game Developers Conference this week meeti …Read the full story at The Verge.

Windows isn’t the only operating system you can run on your PC. Provided you have space on your local drive, you can use multiple partitions to run different Linux distros, create storage partitions, and more. With storage so cheap these days, most users have multiple drives for managing operating systems and data on their desktops. However, it is still possible to partition your drive, and there are good reasons to use multiple ones.

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 76, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, sorry if your bracket’s busted, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I have been shirking most of my responsibilities to watch March Madness. But I’ve also been reading about Polymarket and the future of social media and Taylor Sheridan, watching the Severance finale and immediately starting a full season two rewatch, listening to Amy Poehler’s delightful new podcast, testing out the new base-model iPad and the Nothing Phone 3A Pro, and cleaning out my Downloads folder for the first time in way too long.I also have for you a new-old gadget I love, a new Assassin’s Creed title, a new mid-range Android phone, a decidedly not mid-range camera you’ll want anyway, a great journaling app, and much more. I want to buy too many things this week. Let’s dive in.(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What should everyone else be watching / reading / playing / listening to / sticking in their suitcase this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge …Read the full story at The Verge.

The Apple Watch Series 10.Apple is working on adding cameras to the Apple Watch in order to enable AI features like Visual Intelligence within the next two years, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in today’s Power On Newsletter.The cameras will be “inside the display” for the standard Series Watch, while the Apple Watch Ultra would feature it on the side, next to the digital crown and button, according to Gurman. With them, the Apple Watch would be able to “see the outside world and use AI to deliver relevant information,” which he says is also the plan for camera-equipped AirPods Apple is rumored to be working on. The Visual Intelligence features that these devices would use debuted on the iPhone 16, where it works with the phone’s camera to do things like add details from an event flyer to your calendar, or look up information about a restaurant. It’s underpinned by AI models from other companies, but Gurman writes that Apple hopes to power the feature with its own in-house models by 2027, when he says the company plans to release these new Apple Watches and AirPods. Visual Intelligence and other AI features coming to Apple’s wearables would depend a lot the leadership of Mike Rockwell, who Gurman reported last week is now in charge getting the delayed Siri LLM upgrade on track. Rockwell was previously in charge of the Vision Pro and reportedly will continue to work on visionOS. That software is expected to power another Apple wearable that’s likely to have a big AI component, but that’s likely still several years away: AR glasses in the vein of the Orion concept that Meta showed off last year.

Synology’s DiskStation Manager (DSM) is among the most beginner-friendly operating systems of any NAS brand. It guides you through the setup process to make it easy, even for first-time NAS users, and has a Windows or Linux-like interface so that you have minimal trouble figuring your way around the OS. While DSM is proprietary, many of its features have cross-platform alternatives that you can use on any NAS, be it pre-built ones like those from QNAP and Terramaster or your own DIY NAS running TrueNAS.

In recent weeks, airport Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have drawn public outcry for denying travelers US entry based on searches of their phones. A doctor on an H-1B visa was deported to Lebanon after CBP found “sympathetic photos and videos” of Hezbollah leaders. A French scientist was turned away after a device search unearthed messages criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts to research programs, which officers said “conveyed hatred of Trump” and “could be qualified as terrorism.” As the administration ratchets up pressure to turn away even legal immigrants, its justifications are becoming thinner and thinner — but travelers can still benefit from knowing what are supposed to be their legal rights. Your ability to decline a search depends on your immigration status — and, in some cases, on where and how you’re entering the country. Courts across the country have issued different rulings on device searches at ports of entry. But no matter your situation, there are precautions you can take to safeguard your digital privacy.CBP device searches have historically been relatively rare. During the 2024 fiscal year, less than 0.01 percent of arr …Read the full story at The Verge.

Gaming mice haven't changed a lot in years, so when I came to know about the Lofree Hypace, an ultralight gaming mouse by Lofree (the company's first, by the way), I was intrigued. The mouse boasted a weight of just 47g, a flagship sensor, and an eye-catching design. Although its looks and specs were the main reasons I wanted to review it, the thing that left a lasting impression on me was its weight.

Anyone can use Linux today. Gone are the myths surrounding its steep learning curve (outside of something like Arch) and some excellent distros are available for those who have yet to visit the command-line interface (CLI). If you're considering the switch from Windows or macOS, I've rounded up a few of my favorite beginner-friendly Linux-based operating systems that almost anyone can use. Don't let this list fool you into believing these are basic distros. Once up and running, you'll have the full power (and versatility) of Linux at your fingertips.

Spring has sprung — and so has Amazon’s latest sales event. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale kicks off on Tuesday, March 25th, and runs through Monday, March 31st, bringing with it a slew of discounts on gardening supplies, bedding, grilling essentials, and other springtime favorites. And while the discounts aren’t as steep as during tentpole events like Prime Day, you can still find steep savings on cheap security cameras, smartwatches, portable speakers, and loads of other tech.As is typical of Amazon, the retailer has already dropped a handful of deals in the run-up to the event, many of which we anticipate will stick around through the seven-day promo period. Most deals don’t require you to cough up $14.99 a month for a Prime subscription, either, making it a great time to snag a tried-and-tested Verge favorite.We’ll be digging into all the deals and discounts next week; however, in the meantime, you can peruse a selection of the best early deals below, all of which have been handpicked and tested by a Verge staffer at one point or another.Featured dealsOther deal recommendationsThe Beats Studio Pro are on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $179.95 ($170 off), which remains one of the best prices we’ve seen. Looks-wise, they’re not drastically different than prior Beats models, though they tack on a useful transparency mode, personalized spatial audio, and lossless playback over USB-C. Plus, unlike most noise-canceling headphones, they offer native support for both iOS and Android software features. Read our review.If you prefer a pair of noise-canceling earbuds that support native software features on both iOS and Android, the Beats Studio Buds Plus are available at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for around $130 ($40 off), nearly matching their best price to date. Yes, their lack of wireless charging and in-ear detection stings a bit at their typical list price, but their see-through design is slick enough that the shortcomings are (almost) forgivable. Read our review.The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e — aka, the best-sounding wireless headphones you can buy — are available at Amazon starting at $296.71 (about $102 off), or from Bower & Wilkins or Best Buy for $319.99 ($80 off). The British audio brand isn’t as well-known as Sony or Bose, though with the S2E, you’re getting superb sound, superior build quality, and controls that rely on physical buttons as opposed to the tap/swipe gestures found on mainstream noise-canceling headphones like Sony’s XM5. Read our review.Amazon’s ad-supported Fire HD 10 tablet is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy right now with 32GB of storage starting at $94.99 ($45 off), or about $20 shy of its lowest price to date. The 2023 model sports USB-C charging, a 10.1-inch, 1080p display, and 3GB of RAM, which is plenty if all you’re doing is streaming or browsing. Just be aware that, like all of Amazon’s budget-minded tablets, it’s really focused on serving up Amazon content at every turn.JBL’s Charge 5 is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart in multiple colors starting at $119.95 ($60 off), which is the best price we’ve seen on the portable speaker since July. We’re not huge fans of the oversized JBL logo, but the powerful Bluetooth speaker hits all the right marks when it comes to functionality and performance, offering an impressive 20 hours of battery life and a built-in USB-A port that lets you top off your phone while listening to music.Despite the fact the Sonos app has been a bit of a debacle as of late, I have few qualms about recommending the Sonos Era 100 for $199 ($50 off), its current price at Amazon, Best Buy, and Sonos’ online storefront. It’s a great smart speaker with stereo sound, privacy-conscious microphone controls, and support for both Bluetooth and line-in connections. It can also connect to Spotify and every other music service you can think of and supports AirPlay 2, letting you stream content from Apple devices. Read our review.Ring’s latest Indoor Cam is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot for $39.99 ($20 off), matching its second-best price to date. The 1080p security camera boasts all the same features as the prior model — including two-way talk, color night vision, and a built-in siren — only it’s equipped with a redesigned mount that makes it easier to adjust. That said, you’ll need a Ring Protect Plan ($4.99 a month / $49.99 a year) to share or view video recordings.For a limited time, Garmin’s InReach Mini 2 is available at Amazon starting at $293.89 (about $106 off), an all-time low. The rugged, palm-sized satellite communicator might seem a little unnecessary given many recent phones now support satellite messaging, but the subscription-based gadget is still great for texting, sharing your location in the backcountry, and triggering an SOS alert in the event of an emergency. It can also last up to 30 days on a single charge, which is significantly more than your smartphone.The Blue Yeti microphone is on sale at Amazon in a myriad of colors for $89.99 ($40 off). That’s not the lowest price we’ve seen — it’s fallen to around $70 in the past — but it’s still a good deal on what has become a certifiable classic USB mic in the era of never-ending Zoom meetings. The versatile mic is easy to set up and simple to use, with a three-capsule microphone that can capture clear, warm sound that should appeal to both amateur podcasters and anyone wanting a more professional setup.One of our go-to gift guide picks, the Instant Pot Duo Plus, is currently available for an all-time low of $89.95 ($40 off) at Amazon. Multiple Verge staffers swear by the six-quart multi-cooker, which is similar to the base-model instant pot but comes with a few additional smart programs, including a customizable sous vide setting and a cake option that lets you pressure cook at high temperature for 40 minutes. That’s in addition to the ability to cook rice, steam veggies, and sauté, among other actions.We’ve said it several times before, but if all you need is a basic monochrome laser printer, just buy whatever Brother model is on sale. Right now, that’s the Brother HL-L2400D printer, which is matching its all-time low of $99.99 ($20 off) at Amazon as part of the retailer’s spring sales event. It’s not really suited for photo use or anything fancy, but it connects to Wi-Fi, works reliably, and lasts ages on a single toner cartridge. It also supports automatic duplex printing, so, you know, it has that going for it.Amazon’s latest Echo Dot is down to $39.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Kohl’s. The tiny, orb-shaped smart speaker features onboard microphones and produces good sound for its size, making it a solid option for listening to music, issuing smart home commands, checking the weather, and making other various Alexa requests. It also includes a built-in temperature sensor, which can tell you the temperature in the room and trigger various Alexa Routines, if necessary. Read our review.Update, March 23rd: Updated to reflect current pricing/availability and several new deals, including those for the UE Miniroll, iRobot’s Romba Combo i5, and the Instant Pot Duo Plus.

3D printing is a rewarding activity, and it becomes even more fun if you keep costs in check. Making minor adjustments to your routine can prevent wasted filament and help you stretch every spool further. You can produce high-quality prints while preserving your resources by taking simple yet thoughtful steps. Here are some practical methods I use to cut down on filament waste.

Graphics suites like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are excellent choices for designers and digital creators because of their free plugins and other powerful features. However, they aren't cheap, and the monthly subscriptions can add up to thousands of dollars over time. Luckily, many free, open-source alternatives to Photoshop are available for users who'd rather try free software and put their cash towards a new laptop or other hardware.