Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Some YouTubers say Honey’s practices are stealing money from them. PayPal’s Honey browser extension has been lauded for years as an easy way to find coupons online. But some are calling it a “scam” after a deep dive from YouTuber MegaLag, who accused Honey of “stealing money from influencers.”The video shines a light on Honey’s use of last-click attribution, an approach to online shopping referrals that gives credit for a sale to the owner of the last affiliate cookie in line before checkout. As MegaLag’s video tells it, Honey takes that credit by swapping its tracking cookie in for others’ when you interact with it.The company has issued statements saying that it follows “industry rules and practices” like last-click attribution. But creators who may have missed out on money because of it aren’t happy. Some YouTube channels Legal Eagle and GamersNexus are now suing. Below, you’ll find all our coverage of the controversy.

There are simply too many laptops to choose from if you're in the market for something new. Of course, we'd recommend some of the best laptops available, but if the prices aren't within your budget, there's a good chance that this one from MSI will be. The Summit E16 AI Studio not only looks good, but also has a large screen and powerful internals as well.

Whether you are a seasoned programmer, a network engineer in training, or a cybersecurity expert, a well-equipped home lab can be your secret weapon for experimentation and skill development. But, with so many tools and technologies available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Before you give up or drain your budget on unnecessary items and software, glance over my listicle to form the foundation of your home lab.

With Windows 10's end-of-year date approaching this October, people still using the operating system have been given a choice: upgrade to Windows 11 or lose support. People have devised solutions for the latter path, including third-party apps that will keep the OS secure. However, it seems that people sticking with Windows 10 will also lose Microsoft 365 support.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Instead of wallowing in misery about potentially losing access to their favorite short-form video app, many TikTokers are flocking to RedNote, a Chinese social media platform also called Xiaohongshu. I’ve decided to spend some time on the platform myself, and it looks like so-called “TikTok refugees” are excited about interacting with a community mainly comprised of Chinese-speaking users — and vice versa.Launched in 2013 as a shopping platform, RedNote has grown into one of China’s most popular social apps featuring photos, videos, and written content. Now it’s seeing another spike in users from another part of the globe, with more than 700,000 users joining RedNote in just two days, according to a report from Reuters. The number is still small, at just a fraction of the 150 million Americans TikTok reported were already using the app in early 2023.As noted by CNN, the name Xiaohongshu translates to “little red book,” which “could be seen as a tongue-in-cheek reference to a red-covered book of quotations from the founding father of Communist China, Mao Zedong.” Many US users seem to be using the Chinese platform out of spite of the US government’s plan to ban TikTok — but in a deeply unserious way. Screenshot: The Verge Amongst all the Chinese-language posts depicting sleek fit checks, mouthwatering food videos, and memes I don’t quite understand yet, is content from TikTok expats. Many joke about their sudden appearance on the app, with one user wondering what Chinese users might think after seeing an influx of US-based users and another showing their gradual transformation from a gun-wielding, Buc-ee’s merch-wearing American into a Chinese-speaking RedNote user. Others are simply saying “hello” to their new community — some of whom have written captions in what I’d assume is machine-translated Chinese.Even more interesting though, are all the RedNote users welcoming TikTokers with open arms. Several RedNote users are eager to introduce the app while also sharing some tips and tricks on how to navigate it. One creator says, “now’s the perfect time to dive into Chinese culture” through RedNote with the Chinese New Year coming up, adding that users on the platform are “obsessed with Luigi, Trump, and Squid Game.” Some even offer to teach their new community members Chinese.But many TikTokers are equally curious about RedNote users in China, too. “Chinese friends, post pictures of your meal or snacks for today! Curious to see what you typically eat,” one user writes. Another asks, “I’m American. Do y’all like us? We know y’all not the enemy. Can we all be friends?”The trend is actually kind of wholesome, and I’m here for it, but I’m not confident it will actually last. If these apps grow in popularity, they could potentially face a ban, too. But the migration to RedNote is likely just a trend — and trends only last as long as it takes for another to replace it.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok’s executives are “planning for various scenarios” ahead of the Supreme Court likely upholding a US ban of the app.In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, employees were told that the company is “continuing to plan the way forward” ahead of the court’s imminent decision, which is expected as soon as Wednesday, January 15th. “We know it’s unsettling to not know exactly what happens next,” reads the memo, which notes that TikTok’s offices will stay open regardless of what happens to the app over the next several days. “The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the US user experience [of TikTok],” according to the memo.Inside TikTok, the mood is grim. One source describes the situation as “definitely stressful,” while another notes that even the employees who survived the first US ban attempt now “seem rattled.”The Chinese government, which has the final say on any sale of TikTok, is reportedly considering allowing Elon Musk to buy the app. Frank McCourt, a billionaire real estate and former owned of the LA Dodgers, has also floated a proposal to buy the app’s US operations. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary... Read the full story at The Verge.

Krita is a fantastic open-source tool for creative image manipulation. While Krita is one of many alternatives to Photoshop, it stands alone as a go-to creative tool for many digital artists and illustrators, even for digital illustration from tabletstoo. Krita has many obvious tools and features, like layers, brushes, shapes, and selection tools, but it also provides many hidden features you should use to boost your creative workflow further.

Experimenting with wacky projects is one of the biggest perks of a home lab, though spinning up a VM with the same ol’ OS and configuration settings can get tiresome after a while. Thankfully, certain apps like Ansible can make your life a lot easier by helping you automate the tedious virtual machine provisioning process.

Self-hosting your own data can be a rewarding experience, knowing that you control all of it and can upgrade the amount of storage you have as you need to. However, you may be weighing whether you should get a NAS or a DAS, and there are pros and cons when it comes to a DAS specifically.

Laura Normand / The Verge Chinese officials are reportedly exploring a backup plan for TikTok after the Supreme Court appeared unlikely to save it from a US ban. With TikTok’s legal options nearly exhausted, multiple news outlets are reporting that China is considering an option it previously said it wouldn’t: letting ByteDance sell the app.The kicker? China is reportedly mulling having President-elect Donald Trump’s favorite tech billionaire, Elon Musk, act either as broker or buyer in the arrangement. Reports from the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg — all citing unnamed sources — indicate that Chinese officials are at least discussing the option of a sale. TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes has called the reports “pure fiction.” The Chinese embassy in the US and Musk’s existing social media company, X, did not respond to requests for comment.Plenty of people have expressed interest in buying TikTok at this point, from ”Shark Tank” celebrity Kevin O’Leary to YouTuber Mr. Beast. The problem has not been a lack of buyers — though obvious ones like Meta and Google would likely be barred by antirust authorities — but reluctant sellers. The new reporting suggests that the Chinese... Read the full story at The Verge.

Once your home network starts getting more complex, like if you were to start self-hosting apps and services, you might want to consider setting up a reverse proxy to shield those services from the internet. This is essentially another server that sits between the device your self-hosted apps are on and the internet, but instead of providing access outward to the internet, it provides access to those apps.

Is your computer just a tool, or is it an expression of yourself? Just like how people once went to extreme lengths to decorate their journals and diaries, you can do the same with your desktop. Programs like Rainmeter have long offered deeper customization options than you might get by default, but Rainmeter doesn't get the love it once did, and it's down to sporadic, few-and-far-between updates.