Google Photos and Dropbox are good cloud-based options for photo and file storage and management, but using an open-source management toollike DigiKam is a better choice. Not only is DigiKam totally free — unlike the upgrades you’ll undoubtedly need with proprietary options — but its open-source development means you’ve got more control, privacy, and security options, too. Available on many platforms with many customization options, DigiKam should be your new photo manager of choice.

When deciding what to use for your Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device, there's an array of options available. You can use an old PC, a dedicated server, a turnkey NAS, or even a mini PC. Mini PCs may not be the first choice for most simply because of their compact nature and how limiting their storage options are, but there are some good reasons why a mini PC would make for a good NAS, particularly if you don't mind using an external enclosure or Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) to increase its capacity.

SSDs have replaced hard drives as the de facto standard for most use cases, but they're not perfect. Unlike hard drives, SSDs have a fixed lifespan due to the nature of flash storage. This lifespan is often communicated to the consumer using various ratings by the manufacturer, or you can use third-party tools to get a rough idea of your SSD health.

Any device needs continuous maintenance and proper care to last longer. Sometimes we ignore many things that may endanger the lifespan of our PCs and we don’t even realize it. This guide will hopefully help you pay more attention to the small or big things you do to harm your PC and prolong its life.

US Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States.Newly appointed Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson praised his former boss, the conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as “the most important judge of the last 100 years,” in a memo to agency staff honoring Black History Month. The message, obtained by The Verge and confirmed by the FTC, sheds light on how Ferguson may align himself with Thomas — one of the court’s foremost critics of tech’s legal liability shield Section 230 and a skeptic of diversity measures — especially as the FTC chair is tasked with taking on consumer protection cases, which in the past have included considering the role of racial bias in technology.In the February 7th email, Ferguson took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Thomas, whom he clerked for and calls a friend. Thomas overcame “a difficult upbringing” and later had his views on the law “pilloried by American elites,” according to Ferguson. Rather than “hold grudges against America” for his experience of poverty and segregation, Ferguson says, Thomas pulled himself up by his bootstraps and proved that “any American can overcome the hardships of the past and achieve greatness.” More recentl …Read the full story at The Verge.

If you've finished up Baldur's Gate 3 and you're on the hunt for something else, why not give Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader a try? This CRPG tells a story in the thick of Games Workshop's famous sci-fi world and is well worth a look if you're a fan of either the genre or Warhammer in general. Fortunately, if you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can give it a shot at no extra cost very soon.

Are you tired of subscription fees draining your wallet? I have been there. While there is no shortage of excellent productivity apps on Mac, most of them run on a freemium model. However, I believe that productivity doesn’t have to come with a price tag. That’s why I have ditched paid apps and built a powerful, efficient workflow using entirely open source tools.

DuckDuckGo started as a search engine and has evolved into a privacy-focused browser that provides a safer online experience. While nowhere near as popular as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, DuckDuckGo offers a viable alternative for security-conscious users who don't want to be tracked or have their personal information sold online.

Cloud gaming is a neat utility when you want to game on the move, but what if you already own a behemoth of a gaming machine? Well, you can leverage remote game streaming tools to run your favorite titles on your battle station and enjoy them on a different device. But then you’ve got to choose between a Sunshine server + Moonlight client and a Parsec machine. As someone who has experimented with both, I’d rate the holy Moonlight/Sunshine combo higher than its rival.

More often than not, people on the internet advise you to get rid of PC hardware that is perfectly usable, even years after it was considered obsolete. Every year, we are introduced to newer and faster PC components, but that doesn't make what you already have obsolete. Nine times out of ten, if you are itching for an upgrade, chances are that you don't need to upgrade. However, in the remaining cases, you might be chugging along with ancient components that have no place in 2025.

I recently turned a mini PC into a very basic NAS for my home, and I set up my software on top of a basic Windows installation that came with the device. In the article, I warned against using Windows for this kind of project, but that it certainly works for a basic setup if you aren't looking to do too much.

It's no secret that Microsoft wants as many people as possible to use its Edge browser. Apart from adding new features to the browser, the company regularly tries "innovative" ways to encourage customers to use Edge, such as offering a fake guide to uninstall the browser, which actually asks users to do the opposite. Now, the firm has decided to walk a better path, and has announced that Edge is a lot faster than before.