Windows search is slow, frustrating, resource-intensive, and prone to burying the file you actually need under irrelevant results. With a built-in Bing search engine, it’s undoubtedly a common pain point for Windows users. And that's even before mentioning the full-screen takeover that disrupts your focus. Overall, it’s nowhere close to app launchers like Alfred, Raycast, and even Spotlight Search on Mac.

For years, the rule has always been to eject your USB drive before removing it from your computer. Of course, a lot of people ignore this outright and just yank the drive, and for the most part, their data is fine. So, is it safe to pull a drive without first properly ejecting it? Almost always yes, but sometimes — rarely — no.

If you're really looking to elevate your gaming experience, there's no better way than going with Acer's Predator X27U gaming monitor. This is one of the best gaming monitors you can buy right now, being our top pick for a 1440p option. While it has an original retail price of $1,000, it can now be had for far less, with a 50% discount that drops it down to $500. This is the best price we've seen for this monitor, which makes it the perfect time to pick one up.

Google has disabled its Android earthquake detection feature in Brazil after many smartphone users in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro received false emergency alerts on Friday morning, Android Police reports. The alerts of a nonexistent 5.5 magnitude earthquake were sent to devices around 2AM this morning, and pinpointed earthquakes in the country’s Ubatuba and Baixada Santista regions. Google launched the earthquake detection network that uses accelerometers in Android devices as a seismometer in California in 2020, and over the years, it has expanded to other countries. According to CNN Brasil, the Civil Defense of São Paulo, which manages an early warning system for disaster risk, said it “did not issue any alert and that there is no record of any occurrence related to the possible earthquake in the state.”In an email to The Verge, Google spokesperson Ed Fernandez writes:The Android Earthquake Alerts System is a supplemental service that uses Android phones to quickly estimate earthquake shaking and provide early warnings to users. It’s not designed to replace any official or other public warning systems. On February 14th, our system detected signals from devices near the coast of São Paulo and triggered an earthquake alert to users in the region. We promptly disabled the alerting system in Brazil and are currently investigating what happened. We apologize to our users for the inconvenience and remain committed to improving our tools.

The smart home holds so much promise. It can make life more convenient with lights that turn on as you walk in a room, doors that unlock as you approach, and robots that clean your floors. It can also make your home safer, more energy efficient, and even a little more fun. (Have you tried asking Alexa to beam you up?)But for all its benefits, the smart home can be complicated, confusing, and occasionally maddening. It’s also hard to keep up with all the changes. New gadgets are arriving daily, new features come to old products, and there are so many different ways to turn on a smart light bulb.If you need a guide, that’s what I’m here for.Here, I’ll be posting the latest smart home reviews, guides, news, and opinions on everything happening in the connected home. Follow this page to stay updated on what Apple, Amazon, Samsung, Google, and Home Assistant and the rest are doing with their smart home platforms. I’ll keep you in the loop on all the newest technologies — including Matter, Thread, Sidewalk, UWB — as well as the old favorites. And, of course, I’ll cover all the news on the latest gadgets and the biggest releases around tech for your home. Get a look at this stunner. Apple’s smart home robot could actually be a lamp. This Pixar-style dancing lamp hints at Apple’s future home robot Here’s why your smart fridge needs an expiration date There’s a hidden message in Amazon’s event invites I tried the tech that makes hands-free smart locks actually work Matter plans to fix your home Wi-Fi. Here’s another use for that Thread radio in your iPhone. mmWave tech is set to take motion sensing to the next level in the smart home. Matter will be better in 2025 — say the people who make it Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update These POE smart shades are the first to work with Matter. You can now control your LG appliances with Homey. The Google Home app will soon support the Nest Protect Robot vacuums just keep growing This mechanical keyboard can control your smart home. Nanoleaf brought smart lighting for the face to CES. This robovac has an arm — and legs, too The best smart locks you can buy right now The best budget robot vacuums This cat tree is also an air purifier LG’s new smart speaker has heart eyes. Yes, I’m taking a picture of Vee with a door lock. Narwal’s latest mopping robovac keeps corners clean Eufy’s new robovac transforms into a handheld vacuum Eureka’s new robot vac can tackle wet messes LG’s side table grow light is also a speaker. This robot vacuum has legs This $700 door handle has an entire security suite built in Oh yeah, that’s a smart dog door with custom RGB lighting Lifx made its first smart lamp Bird Buddy’s new camera tracks plants and insects in your garden Ecobee launches an even cheaper smart thermostat This smart crib can tell when your baby poops. This tiny button pulls off the wall and controls your lights and music with gestures Aqara’s new seven-inch home control tablet can replace a light switch This sleek doorbell camera is also a smart home hub This big ol’ smart display fits right into an electrical box and controls your home Honeywell Home’s first Matter thermostat costs just $80 Schlage’s sleek new smart lock ditches keys for UWB Ring is making a smart smoke alarm Ring is upgrading its outdoor cameras with 2K resolution (even if you already own them) This home security camera can also monitor for falls and call for help The Home Depot made a smart air conditioner. Ultraloq’s UWB-powered smart lock will cost $400. This portable security camera has a week of free cloud recording Tapo’s palm-scanning door lock promises a full year of battery life This outdoor security cam adds a second camera that moves and zooms Apple, Google, and Samsung will accept Matter certification of smart home products This adorable smart camera watches wildlife, not lowlifes. Aiper’s smart sprinkler limits its spray to a map of your lawn Lutron’s new smart shades cost under $400. SwitchBot’s new video doorbell comes with an in-home display SwitchBot is bringing a Rosie the Robot wannabe to CES This robovac has an arm that can pick up your dirty laundry EcoFlow’s Oasis could be a powerful tool for simplifying your home’s energy use Samsung’s smart fridges will use AI to suggest groceries to buy on Instacart Matter speakers are coming to stream music and tell you when the wash is done Home Assistant’s new voice assistant answers to ‘Hey Jarvis’ Homey launches a $200 smart home hub This Z-Wave smart plug can work over a mile from your house iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot Nest Learning Thermostat review: pretty smart A Gemini-boosted Google Assistant is now available on some Nest speakers Homey adds new energy management features and a dongle Samsung’s Music Sync is getting a deeper integration with YouTube Music. This startup is trying to disrupt your fridge. Every smart home device that works with Matter Homey’s new dashboards look sweet. This new smart thermostat from Meross works with Matter Ikea’s smart lights can now automatically adjust throughout the day Level extends its Matter upgrade to its Bolt smart lock. Tapo’s $30 smart outlet works with Matter and keeps track of electricity usage. Eve’s new app unlocks more smart features for Android users Apple Home support for robot vacuums has been delayed to 2025 The best Cyber Monday smart home deals The best Cyber Monday robot vacuum deals you can get from iRobot, Roborock, and more Ecobee thermostats are getting a new energy management feature. Apple’s first smart display needs to make the smart home just work Amazon’s new Echo Show 21 has a huge screen and built-in smart home hub Flic’s hub is now a scriptable Matter Controller Alexa may get smarter with more APIs rather than more AI Level’s latest lock supports Matter over Thread. Some of Google Home’s Gemini-powered features are arriving this week. Apple could launch a smart security camera in 2026 This tiny smart lock promises to unlock your door in under two seconds Blink’s newest hub takes its security cameras beyond Wi-Fi Matter 1.4 tries to set the smart home standard back on track Amazon’s new Alexa has reportedly slipped to 2025 Eero’s new product takes Wi-Fi beyond your walls Now you can unlock your door from Ecobee’s app Kwikset takes a smart approach with its new smart lock The best Prime Day smart home deals we found Ring’s video history search is super handy for tracking my cat Samsung SmartThings becomes the first platform to support Matter 1.3. Samsung is turning your Galaxy phone into a smart door key Ring is finally adding 24/7 recording to its security cameras Sleep Number’s newest smart bed aims to tackle night sweats Samsung is partnering with Ashley Furniture to sell you on the smart home This smart front door can go from clear to opaque with a voice command This Eufy security camera can show nighttime as if it were daytime Arlo cameras can now recognize people and vehicles Home Assistant reminds everyone that Z-Wave is still relevant. Apparently, “Remarkable Alexa” can’t reliably turn on the lights. Google is bringing its smart home panel to all Google TV devices Google TV Streamer review: smarter than your average set-top box Apple now lets you add Matter devices to Apple Home without a hub Eufy’s new smart lock may Matter to Apple Home users LG finally gets serious about the smart home This is the first smart lock to support ultra wideband After ditching August, Assa Abloy snaps up another smart lock startup Ikea’s smart home hub now supports Matter Nanoleaf launches a smart switch after eight years of trying Samsung is putting a ring on your smart home. Dreame’s concept robovac can climb (small) steps. Aqara’s new touchscreen smart home controls are super slick. I found a Matter-compatible fridge at IFA. And it’s extra. Here’s Switchbot’s unannounced new video doorbell solution. Nanoleaf’s new wall panels can show off your plants and Funko Pops Nanoleaf’s permanent outdoor lights arrive just in time for the holidays. Philips Hue launches a new smart lighting solution for the kitchen The Philips Hue 8K sync box arrives for $350 Aqara’s smart home voice control system isn’t always listening The four changes in Thread 1.4 that could fix the protocol I’m heading to Berlin to seek solutions for the smart kitchen With AI food recognition Samsung Food could be the ultimate meal-planning app Wyze’s AI can now search your camera footage so you don’t have to LG’s new smart home hub has a built-in voice assistant Brilliant is back from the brink Ring’s budget battery doorbell can now see packages left on your porch Tapo’s new flagship doorbell camera does more for less SwitchBot’s tiny robot vacuum gets some big upgrades. Samsung’s new Family Care service helps caregivers monitor loved ones Adaptive Lighting is coming to Matter smart lights in Apple Home Redesigning the Nest Learning Thermostat took “courage.” Gemini intelligence is coming to Google Home The Google TV Streamer might be the Apple TV 4K rival we’ve been waiting for Aqara’s new mmWave presence sensor is cheaper, simpler, and works with Matter. Consumer Reports is naming and shaming smart home companies without proper security vulnerability reporting. Meross has a new mmWave presence sensor for just $36, and it works with Matter. Echo Spot review: this smart alarm clock hits a sweet spot Logitech’s Circle View Doorbell is safe… for now ADT’s new smart security system will unlock your door for a Trusted Neighbor Google brings Nest Hello support to the Home app Amazon is discontinuing my favorite Echo — the one with a dot-matrix clock A new Nest Learning Thermostat might be on the way The next Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box will support 8K. Amazon’s paid Alexa is coming to fill a $25 billion hole dug by Echo devices The newest Roomba can wash its own mop and will work with Matter Zero to 100 in 40 seconds? Yes, please. Eve’s compact weather station gets Matter support. Lutron’s latest Diva deals with your more dramatic lighting. Five futures for Apple’s HomeScreenPod Philips Hue rolls out a fix for its Matter-related bug. First, Apple put Thread in the iPhone, now the smart home radio could be coming to Android phones. How to move a smart home Apple TV’s InSight can instantly add tracks to your Apple Music library. If your Philips Hue bulbs have been acting wonky, don’t worry there’s a fix coming. This is the first retrofit smart lock to support Apple’s Home Key. Amazon’s vying for a ‘spot’ on your bedside table. This is the summer’s coolest new smart kitchen gadget — literally Apple’s rumored HomePod with a screen could arrive with Apple Intelligence. Amazon is bricking its Astro business robots less than a year after launch LG buys Homey in a very Samsung SmartThings move This ice maker is my family’s new favorite smart gadget. These are the robot vacuums that will work with Matter. This smart leak detector can warn you if your fish tank is draining. Samsung SmartThings takes a step toward a smarter grid A major SmartThings update brings support for appliances, robot vacuums, and more through Matter These smart lights could solve the kitchen cabinet problem

Customizing Windows is something we all get the urge to do at some point. It's completely understandable, since the way Windows 11 does things can get long in the tooth after a while. Thankfully, there's no shortage of apps that can customize all aspects of the Windows experience, and two prominent picks are Windhawk and Rainmeter.

Shopping around for a new graphics card used to be exciting but in 2025 it's more like a minefield, attempting to navigate through scalpers, inflated pricing, and low stock at retailers. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series launch, including the RTX 5080, is unfortunately the same with high demand and more looking to make a fast buck (or thousand). Still, when looking at the RTX 5080, which one should you buy? With Nvidia's own Founders Edition and AIB partner cards out in the wild, there are plenty to choose from. We rounded up some of our favorites.

The internet is filled with awesome stuff to read, and there’s new awesome stuff to read being published every day! That’s the good news. The bad news is that finding the good stuff feels harder than ever. You either find your favorite writers or sources and check them religiously or just hope that the algorithm gods deliver you something you’ll like. It’s all a lot more work than just tapping the TikTok icon, you know?Allow The Verge to help a little. This is an endless, often-updated stream of the stuff we’re reading and think you should read, too. Whether it’s a great piece of longform journalism, a sharp take on the news, interesting new studies or lawsuits or whitepapers, a new sci-fi book that will inevitably convince a bunch of founders to build new kinds of robots a decade from now, or something else entirely, it’s all here. So scroll through, click on some stuff, let us know what you think in the comments, and get your read-later queue ready to rumble. The surprisingly deep history of a ubiquitous font. Warner Bros. Games suffered $300 million in losses last year. The Supreme Court case that “could eliminate longstanding free speech protections for sexual content.” “From the means of production to a meme in production: It’s one kind of American dream.” An 1891 recording is country music history. Pedometers tracked philandering spouses and sleepy employees back in the 1800s. Amazon just axed a secret fertility tracker project. The whitewashing of the National Archives. Go read how the US government’s big bet on Intel is in jeopardy. How many people are donating to Trump in your neighborhood? Snapchat to the Trump campaign: We’ll take your money but not your posts. The problem with custom AI chatbots. Anthropic’s CEO has many, many, many thoughts about AGI. Uber and Lyft blocked drivers from working to save money. Here’s the scoop on why the Annapurna Interactive staff resigned. KitchenAid’s new walnut stand mixer is indeed as impractical as it is beautiful. A reminder about marketing. Microsoft pitches generative AI to oil and gas companies. The extraordinary Prince documentary we might never see. The battle of the Bobs. Why is comedy TikTok seemingly all crowd work clips? AI search “shouldn’t be this easy to manipulate.” “The Titanic was an insurance scam” is my new favorite conspiracy theory. The people who worry about killer AI are still worried about killer AI. Whistleblowin’ from 9 to 5. Tim Walz may have liked to make some cuh-razy money in Crazy Taxi. Don’t pick up a Project 2025 duffel bag, I guess? Some teachers worry generative AI hurts students’ critical thinking skills. Bloomberg has an interesting deep dive on Worldcoin. Thomas White reveals himself as a co-founder of Silk Road 2.0 and DDoSecrets. NFT FTX DAO WTF? It takes one to know one? “It never seemed like he was even working.” Do we really “live in a world of social media?” OpenAI wants in on the AI chip business. It is fully 2024 and J. D. Vance’s Venmo is still public. Posting godhood. Cops covet Cybertruck. The Netflix-ization of Disney. Amazon’s quality control issues led to the shipment of a dirty diaper. Bob Wehadababyitsaboy. Dark patterns are everywhere. The many, many, many, many definitions of AI. a16z is trying to keep AI alive with Oxygen initiative. Remember when the iPhone 15 Pro was rumored to have haptic buttons? Does Airbnb protect its guests’ privacy? Open secrets. Literary Theory for Robots is a compelling journey through generative AI’s analog roots. Are bitcoin miners causing major health problems? Scalpers: always one step ahead of Ticketmaster. What if being lonely is what makes people vulnerable to scams? Final Fantasy creator can’t stop playing Final Fantasy XIV. Japan finally quits the floppy. This is what climate change is doing to the US. The new hot gadget is… the Kindle? “A willingness to kiss without paperwork is now a form of chivalry.” George R.R. Martin on a potential Elden Ring adaptation: YouTube didn’t give Dr Disrespect a contract because of rumblings about his Twitch ban. “Be realistic, buddy. No one cares about you.” AI is eating its own tail, Perplexity edition. Artificial intelligence, good old-fashioned consulting fees. Teen sextortion. Sony once made a massive 45-inch CRT TV that cost $40,000. Just how complicit is Mark Zuckerberg? Can AI chatbots crack good jokes? Perplexity continues to piss off publishers. “The 2024 elections will be the most consequential in crypto’s history.” Another look at child influencers on Instagram.

There are a lot of great tablets on the market. But if you want one that's really going to be able to handle all that you can throw at it, then Apple's iPad Pro is going to be the one. The iPad Pro series has always delivered, and the latest M4 models take things even further with more refinements than ever before. And while the 11-inch model is usually priced at $999, you can now score an impressive discount that takes $150 off, dropping it down to its lowest price at $849.

What better way to keep your passwords safe than on a device that you build yourself and uses open-source software to boot? If you want a stylish way to keep your codes safe, and you're on the hunt for a simple build, this portable password manager is a great way to score two birds with one stone.

As much as we can criticize Windows 11, it can't be denied that it is a great platform. With a lot of great features, security measures in place, and a never-ending ecosystem of third-party apps and developers, a Windows PC is capable of just about anything, and an easy choice for anyone.

Thanks to its powerful and flexible way of connecting ideas and building a personal wiki, Obsidian has quickly become a favorite for personal knowledge management (PKM) enthusiasts. While it shines with a graph view, markdown support, and a robust plugin ecosystem, Obsidian misses out on one key element — Calendar support.