The internet is not the place we once knew. Every week, millions of people argue with AI bot networks and paid workers at troll farms like the Internet Research Agency, a Russian organization based in St. Petersburg, which became known for state-sponsored online influence campaigns targeting the United States and Europe. At its peak, the IRA had 300–400 employees working in shifts, generating tens of thousands of posts per month with a $1 million per month budget. During high-profile events in the 2010s, up to one in three interactions on social media were inauthentic — now, with the help of AI, it's exponentially more.

Even the most seasoned PC builder started from scratch once, and at one point, there were no easy-to-follow PC building tutorials or YouTube videos to help. Enthusiasts had plenty of forums to get involved in, although navigating them as a new builder wasn't always easy. My first PC, as such, wasn't even a PC; it was an Apple IIc, in the days before PC components and their connectors were standardized. Handy tools like PCPartPicker for checking compatibility and pricing didn't come until much later, and I mostly stuck to pre-built PCs through the start of my computing journey or laptops for portability.

Star Wars is once again descending on Fortnite. This time, it’s through the Star Wars-themed Galactic Battle, a new Battle Royale season that starts May 2nd and features Darth Jar Jar and the debut of Force Lightning, a new in-game ability. The news was appropriately revealed at Star Wars Celebration in Japan. As with most Fortnite seasons, this one had been heavily rumored in the runup.For the uninitiated, Darth Jar Jar is a goofy fan theory that holds that Jar Jar Binks was secretly a Force user and possibly the real villain of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Ahmed Best, the voice of Jar Jar Binks since Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, said on stage at the event that he improvised some Darth Jar Jar lines for the portrayal. When asked to list any of his favorites, he said, “‘I am the phantom menace’ was totally [improvised],” adding that the line was something he’s “been meaning to say for over 20 years.” Galactic Battle will include X-Wings and TIE Fighters that players can pilot, themed maps, and “all-new Item Shop offerings including Mace Windu.” Players will also be able to buy put their hard-earned Fortnite V-Bucks towards a Star Wars-themed Battle Pass with characters like Emperor Palpatine and Wookiee Cuddle Team Leader. Galactic Battle will play out over five weeks with different themes leading up to a narrative live event. Here’s the schedule, from StarWars.com:Imperial Takeover – May 2, 2025The Pull of the Force – May 8, 2025Mandalorian Rising – May 22, 2025Star Destroyer Bombardment – May 29, 2025Death Star Sabotage – June 7, 2025Of course, this is far from the first collaboration between the two pop culture behemoths. There have been Star Wars skins in the game dating back to 2019, and last year Star Wars elements spread throughout the entire Fortnite ecosystem, including its Lego and rhythm game spinoffs.Fortnite’s current season has a heist theme, and has featured celebrity cameos from the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Sabrina Carpenter.

When I initially switched from a Windows PC to a Mac, I started using all the default apps on macOS since they were free to use and most of them offered a good set of features. However, as time passed, I started feeling locked in since a lot of the apps are limited to Apple's operating systems and platforms. This started causing compatibility issues with files exported from those apps, and also with the apps themselves, since I use an Android phone, and most of Apple's apps aren't available on the Play Store. Additionally, some default apps like Finder were just too barebones for my liking. That's when I started looking around for alternatives.

There are many different ways to take a screenshot on every OS, but third-party screenshot applications have never been more popular. The stock Snipping Tool and Screenshot tools on Windows and macOS, respectively, are functional, but sometimes you need something a little extra. Two of the most popular options for third-party screen capture are ShareX and Flameshot, and while the former is lauded for being feature-rich, Flameshot is probably a better choice for most users, and here are 4 reasons why.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the White House on April 10, 2025. | Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty ImagesUS Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly shared details about the March 15th Yemen military strikes in another Signal chat with people who weren’t government officials, reports The New York Times. The chat included his wife and “about a dozen” others he knew personally and professionally, the outlet writes, citing conversations with four unnamed sources. The details he shared “included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen,” writes the Times, which notes the details were “essentially the same” as those shared in the Signal chat between Hegseth and other officials last month that included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who was added by mistake. But in this case, according to the Times, the chat was one that Hegseth made in January before he was Defense Secretary:Unlike the chat in which The Atlantic was mistakenly included, the newly revealed one was created by Mr. Hegseth. It included his wife and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary, and was named “Defense | Team Huddle,” the people familiar with the chat said. He used his private phone, rather than his government one, to access the Signal chat.The outlet’s sources told it that “Hegseth typically did not use the chat to discuss sensitive military operations and said it did not include other cabinet-level officials.” According to the Times, a US official confirmed the “informal group chat” but insisted no classified information had ever been discussed on it. The unnamed official wouldn’t comment on whether Hegseth “shared detail targeting information,” the story says.Other details about the chat mentioned by the Times include that Hegseth’s aides “had warned him a day or two before the Yemen strikes not to discuss such sensitive operational details in his Signal group chat,” and some encouraged him to move any work-related matters from the chat to his government phone, but he never did so.

With plenty of documentation, thousands of container images, and a solid ecosystem, Docker is the most popular container runtime in the home lab community. That said, it’s far from the only platform you can power your container fleet with. For folks who prefer better security and Kubernetes-like pods, you can’t go wrong with the rootless, daemonless Podman.

I used to think I was a pro Notion user. I had my workspaces set up, my pages linked, and I felt like I was getting the job done. But then I stumbled upon a few lesser-known features, and it completely changed how I interact with Notion. These aren't your basic blocks and templates; these are the little tweaks and functionalities that can seriously elevate your organization and efficiency.

On a surface level, Steam Deck and its SteamOS 3 may not appear to truly offer anything better than gaming on Windows. When considering issues like anti-cheat compatibility and the existence of higher-end Windows-based gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally, does the Steam Deck have anything to offer over its competitors? It turns out that there are several reasons I prefer SteamOS 3 to my Windows installation on my gaming PC, and these boil down to the following gaming-centric features.

Many of Logitech’s products are pricier now than they were in the recent past. In a video published this week, YouTuber Cameron Dougherty detailed increases as high as 25 percent on the company’s PC and gaming accessories, including well-known Logitech gear like the MX Master 3S mouse.I took a peek at a few Internet Archive captures of Logitech’s current offerings to confirm the YouTuber’s findings, and sure enough, prices are going up. The MX Master 3S, my favorite mouse and the one I’m using at this very moment, now costs $119.99, a $20 increase from before. And on the keyboards side, for instance, the Pro X TKL has gone up to $219.99 from $199.99 before. One keyboard Dougherty calls out, the previously $27.99 K400 Plus Wireless Touch, went up by $7 to $34.99 — a relatively small increase that, at 25 percent, is one of the higher price bumps Logitech made.Dougherty notes a few products that didn’t see price increases, including the MX Ergo mouse and the G703 gaming mouse. And according to the video, a handful of products have actually dropped in price, like the Pro X Superlight mouse, which was $159.99, but is now $149.99. Logitech doesn’t seem to have …Read the full story at The Verge.

I use my laptop for hours daily and push it to the limit when writing articles, running apps, or playing games. It's a workhorse for testing various productivity apps, browser extensions, and other software. I also use it as my entertainment device and home server.

Reading online isn't a necessity anymore, and most people see it as recreation or a deliberate choice. Students spend hours reading up on course content, staring at a screen, and when I am not writing, I'm usually reading other articles on the web. This avocation takes a toll on my health, with complications ranging from mild headaches and eye strain to worsening eyesight and a prescription that refuses to stabilize.