If you are always looking for an edge, a way to squeeze more out of your day, and complete that growing to-do list, you are not alone. For me, the secret weapon lies in niche Docker containers. While everyone talks about the big-name tools, I have discovered a few unsung heroes in the Docker ecosystem that have transformed my workflow. These aren’t your typical web servers or databases. I have hand-picked specialized, often overlooked containers designed to tackle productivity bottlenecks.

You might find it kind of sad to put a hard-earned gadget into a protective case. To me, it's freeing. Using a case relieves me of the worry that it will accumulate tons of little scratches. So, I wasted no time testing cases on the new Nintendo Switch 2, and it didn't take long for me to find one that I think is the best.I tried several types of cases on the Switch 2. I tested flimsy shells that snap or slide onto the Switch 2 to provide a simple, aesthetically pleasing barrier from scratches to the console and its Joy-Cons. I also tried slim cases that have one job: to protect the console when it isn't in use.I just listed my high standards for form-fitting cases made to fit the Switch 2 while it's in use. However, the bar for slim zip-up/clasp cases is lower. They just need to protect the console and, ideally, provide some extra value, like a pocket for cables or cartridge storage.As for my favorite case, I didn't want to make any major compromises; I wanted one that's just as good for handheld mode as when docked, which is why I think the Dbrand Killswitch is the best model overall. I published a full review of the Killswitch, but the skinny is that while it's perhaps mo …Read the full story at The Verge.

Network-attached storage (NAS) often has finite resources without much wiggle room to upgrade internal parts. This is especially so with prebuilt enclosures from brands such as Synology and Asustor. That said, there are some ways you can improve the performance of the NAS without spending too much money. Before switching to a mostly DIY home lab setup, I made the most of my NAS enclosures through a few different ways, getting as much from each model as possible before outright replacing them.

Ace Two Lite. | Image: Veloretti Dutch bicycle brand Veloretti just announced a slimmed-down version of its excellent Electric Two series of electric bikes for European commuters.The step-over Ace Two Lite is a lighter and less expensive version of the very heavy Ace Two e-bike I reviewed back in 2023, which ditches the sublime Enviolo automatic shifter in favor of a simpler single-speed, belt-driven transmission. It’s being sold alongside the step-through Ivy Two Lite for €2,599. The original Ace Two and Ivy Two e-bikes live on, only now they carry a Pro suffix and a new lower price of €2,999. That gives Veloretti a collection of e-bikes that straddle the €2,681 European average.I should note that the Lite models aren’t exactly lightweight. They shave 3kg (6.61 pounds) off the Pro frames, putting them at 27kg (59.5 pounds) instead of 30kg (66.1 pounds). That’s still heavy, but Veloretti e-bikes ride super sturdy when carrying around groceries or kids as Europeans are apt to do — with hydraulic brakes that carry over to the Lite models to bring everything to a controlled stop. The removable 540Wh battery is still there too, which contributes another 3kg (6.61 pounds) to the overall weight. That large battery is capable of providing between 60-120km of range, which varies based upon the rider, chosen power-assist level, weather, and terrain. The Lite models still feature integrated front and rear lighting, but the brake-light feature has been removed. I’d have preferred that Veloretti ditched its overwrought integrated display, but it lives to fight another day. The Ace Two Lite is available in graphite or matte black, while the Ivy Two Lite is only available in matte black. They’re available to buy now with delivery in 6 to 8 weeks.

Mini PCs can be quite versatile, becoming easy replacements for your work PC, home lab, security setup and more. Perhaps the most surprising thing, though, is that they can be gaming PC replacements as well, coming in with plenty of power at a fair price. So, if you've been looking to downsize your setup but still maintain the same type of power you're used to, we think this GMKtec mini PC is going to be a fantastic solution.

The level of noise emanating from my earliest PCs would have put my PS4 to shame, but I'm much more sensitive to the decibel levels of my main rig now. This is why I made it a point to eliminate as many sources of noise from my PC as possible without encountering other problems. It started with limiting the number of hard drives and switching to an AIO cooler, followed by upgrading to larger fans and using a CPU that doesn't need heavy-duty cooling. My PC is now quite silent during most workloads.

Dbrand will send replacement Killswitch Joy-Con Grips for the Switch 2 to buyers after admitting it had a “spectacularly terrible response” to complaints that the controllers could detach from the console if held a certain way while the grips were on. The company is currently working on tweaks to the grips as well.A few days ago, some owners of the case noticed that the Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers could pop off if you had the case and grips on and held the console primarily by a Joy-Con. This short video helps illustrate the issue.View LinkOn Sunday, Dbrand posted a more than 4,000-word response on Reddit titled “Killswitch Joy-Con Detachment Update” where it said that “nobody routinely holds their Switch 2 like this.” Dbrand argued that the detachment only happened when all three of the following conditions were met:You are specifically holding onto the console from only the Joy-Cons, in such a way that your fingers are making no supportive contact with the main console, andyou are holding the Switch 2 with only one hand, andyour Switch 2 is held more parallel to the ground than not.Part of the issue is that the Killswitch case’s Joy-Con grips wrap around the inner part of the Joy-Con, creating a small lip. “By adding those lips, particularly the ones on the interior face of the Joy-Cons, we filled the ‘air gap’ between the Joy-Cons and the Main Case,” Dbrand said. This means that it’s easier for the Joy-Con to create leverage against the main tablet part of the console so that detachment can occur “when held under a very specific set of conditions.”In some “particularly severe instances of detachment” highlighted on Reddit by Dbrand, the company also believed the Joy-Con grips had “an inner attachment lip that’s a hair thicker than desired.” Dbrand said that it had adjusted its tolerance guidelines for mass production to “filter out any Joy-Cons that cross that ‘lip is 0.12mm too thick’ threshold.”For users who were worried that they were having issues, Dbrand asked them to reach out to support and “describe the regular use scenario that is resulting in detachment” and the company would get them replacement grips in July.More than one commenter pointed out that Dbrand’s post echoed Steve Jobs and Apple’s famous response to iPhone 4 antenna issues caused by a way people could hold their phones. And yesterday, Dbrand published a new post where it said it would “try out a new communication strategy where we both say fewer words and devote less of them to blaming you” and offered to send everyone, “whether or not you’re experiencing this issue,” a replacement set of Joy-Con Grips.“As easy as it is to boil our original post down to ‘you’re holding it wrong,’ what we’re sober to now is the point that you should be allowed to hold it however the fuck you want, without detachment occurring,” Dbrand said. “We get it. Please continue dunking on us for the next six to eight months for reincarnating Steve Jobs.”Dbrand is working on two new versions of the grips: one with “an even thinner retaining lip compared to the ‘good’ stock we’ve already shipped” and one with a new retaining lip design that the company says “fully resolves the detachment issue.” However, that second option won’t be ready for a “mass production trial” until July 10th, and “at that point,” Dbrand will be able to tell if it will be using the first or second options for replacements.Dbrand says to expect its next update on July 10th.

When the Trump Organization launched the Trump Mobile wireless carrier, it also launched a flagship phone called the T1 Phone 8002 (gold version). One of the phone’s main selling points was that it was to be made in America. We figured that was unlikely to be true. And we were right: sometime in the last several days, the Trump Mobile site appears to have been scrubbed of all language indicating the phone is to be made in the USA. (Like, for instance, the huge banner on the homepage that says the T1 is “MADE IN THE USA.” Just to name one example.)Instead, the Trump Mobile website now includes what can only be described as vague, pro-American gestures in the direction of smartphone manufacturing. The T1’s new tagline is “Premium Performance. Proudly American.” Its website says the device is “designed with American values in mind” and there are “American hands behind every device.” Under Key Features, the first thing listed is “American-Proud Design.” None of this indicates, well, anything. It certainly doesn’t say the device is made in the USA, or even designed in the USA. There are just… some hands. In America.That’s not the only thing that appears to have changed about the phone since its launch last week. It was originally advertised to have a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, but now the T1’s site says it’s 6.25 inches. The site used to list the phone as having 12GB of RAM, and now doesn’t list RAM at all. It’s not entirely clear what’s happening here — the Trump Organization hasn’t responded to a request for comment — but it looks like Trump Mobile may have switched suppliers for the T1. Whatever’s going on, it’s certainly another reason to doubt whether this phone is for real. (The badly photoshopped image of the phone hasn’t changed, though, so that’s something.)When Trump Mobile first launched, it was also promising the T1 Phone 8002 would ship in September. Now, the only timing I could find was “later this year.” Probably best not to hold your breath.

Grand Theft Auto VI is set to have one of the biggest maps the series has ever seen. And in expected Rockstar fashion, they’re filling this massive open world with a ton of fun and interesting activities for players to do. While there has been speculation that we may be able to scuba dive or participate in dirt bike races. These are the side activities that Rockstar has confirmed are in the game at this point.

While there are some worthy competitors to Microsoft's spreadsheet application, Excel remains the leading performer in terms of both popularity and the number of features it offers. And it continues to get better, with Microsoft adding a plethora of new features to Excel every month. Not only that, but the company also highlights everything it adds to Excel, which is super convenient for tracking what's new.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a nonprofit privacy rights group have called on several states to investigate why “hundreds” of data brokers haven’t registered with state consumer protection agencies in accordance with local laws. An analysis done in collaboration with Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) found that many data brokers have failed to register in all of the four states with laws that require it, preventing consumers in some states from learning what kinds of information these brokers collect and how to opt out. These findings could be explained by variations in the definition of a data broker, but they may indicate some brokers are breaking the law.Data brokers are companies that collect and sell troves of personal information about people, including their names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, and more. Consumers have little control over this information, posing serious privacy concerns, and attempts to address these concerns at a federal level have mostly failed. Last month, LexisNexis Risk Solutions disclosed a data breach that may have revealed the names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and contact information for over 364,000 people.Four states — California, Texas, Oregon, and Vermont — do attempt to regulate these companies by requiring them to register with consumer protection agencies and share details about what kind of data they collect. Consumers in California, for example, can use the online database to search for different data brokers registered in the state, see contact information, and find steps on how to opt out of data collection. Meanwhile, in Texas, data brokers must follow certain security measures designed to protect consumers’ information.In letters to the states’ attorneys general, the EFF and PRC say they “uncovered a troubling pattern” after scraping data broker registries in California, Texas, Oregon, and Vermont. They found that many data brokers didn’t consistently register their businesses across all four states. The number of data brokers that appeared on one registry but not another includes 524 in Texas, 475 in Oregon, 309 in Vermont, and 291 in California.As noted by the EFF, differences in how each state defines a data broker could explain some of these discrepancies. It’s also possible some brokers don’t collect data from people in all these states — although the industry typically casts a wide net. Conversely, the EFF also says this analysis wouldn’t include the data brokers that “disregard state laws by failing to register in any state.” The EFF and PRC suggest that California, Texas, Oregon, and Vermont look into the companies that failed to register across other states, writing that their findings “could indicate a systematic failure of compliance” in each state. They add that an investigation and enforcement actions could “send a powerful signal” regarding a state’s commitment to privacy.For now, state-level regulation is Americans’ main source of protection against data brokers. Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) aimed to clamp down on the industry with a rule that would ban brokers from selling your Social Security number, but the Donald Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later scrapped these plans.

Out of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, which one do you feel respects your library of old games more? If you ask me, I will always, hands-down, say that Microsoft has everyone else beat. I mean, the Xbox Series X and S still support some original Xbox games. Yes, the console that came out in 2001. That Xbox. That's akin to the PS5 reading PS2 disks, or popping your CD copy of Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube into your Switch 2 (somehow).