Portable storage is an absolute must if you're looking for a local way to keep your data safe. Of course, it can also be quite economical in the long run when compared to cloud storage, which can cost quite a bit if you're paying a brand to store your data.

It has been around six years since I purchased my first smart assistant device, the Amazon Echo Dot. It was a gimmick and was a purchase I didn't need to make, but we enjoyed being able to use voice controls to manage lighting and other various bits around the home. The Echo Plus was then added to the mix, and things progressed well until we hit a few brick walls. We're now looking at ways to replace Amazon Alexa and Echo with better speakers and more community-friendly software support, mostly powered through Home Assistant.

There's nothing quite like a good mechanical keyboard. Regardless of whether you're using it for work or for gaming, a good mechanical keyboard switch can really make a difference, even if that difference is just "it feels nice." Now, one of the big players in the mechanical keyboard scene, Cherry, has just released its brand new MX Northern Light keycaps, and you can snap them up right now.

Running training plans have notably been absent from Strava’s platform… ‘til now. | Image: Strava, RunnaGo to any run club in the world and there’s a good chance that everyone there has two things: a Garmin smartwatch to track their run and a Strava account to brag about it. Given the global running boom, it makes Strava’s lack of any modern, in-app training plans a curious and glaring omission. Or, at least, it was until today as Strava is acquiring Runna.For those who don’t torture themselves with a 6AM daily run, this is big news — even if the companies are keeping mum on the deal’s financial details. Strava is the most well-known fitness social media app on the market. Meanwhile, Runna burst onto the scene in 2021 and has quickly climbed the app charts for folks in need of 5K, 10K, or marathon training plans. Since launch, it’s secured an additional $6.3 million in funding for its AI-powered run coaching, with users spanning 180 countries. In 2024, Runna also tripled the size of its team and is currently hiring roughly 50 roles to expand the product and tech. Peruse running subreddits or RunTok, and you’ll invariably see someone asking about or recommending the app.The deal seems like a win-win for Strava and Runna. Strava gets to shore up one of its biggest we …Read the full story at The Verge.

As nice as Windows 11 looks — and I do think it's pretty — it's frustrating that Microsoft limits customization of the operating system in so many ways. The taskbar, in particular, is a bit of a downgrade compared to previous versions, since it has reduced transparency compared to Windows 10, and you can't really change that.

While most people are aware of IFTTT applets that allow you to cross-post to social media or create calendar events, the platform's functionality with many services allows for plenty of other ways to use it. While I tried out personal automation using Zapier, I also wanted to try out a few applets on IFTTT.

I know many users in the Windows community who aren’t fans of Copilot, let alone its addition to apps in Windows 11. I firmly support that camp and remove it from all apps it has crept into. While not useful, having it part of Windows might benefit some users depending on their workflow.

I pressed the power button on my PC tower, and almost immediately, there was a loud pop. The lights in the room went out as the breaker tripped, and the smell of burning electronics emanated from my PC. My heart sank immediately as worst-case scenarios started running through my mind. I thought about how irreplaceable my GPU is and my brand-new 9800X3D that I had just spent my hard-earned money on.

Handheld gaming has taken some massive strides in the last decade. We've gone from consoles like the Sony PSP and DS, which had somewhat limited computing power, to devices like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, which are capable of running some impressive titles natively on-device.

Towards the end of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in a Washington, DC courthouse, a smile flashed across his face. Meta’s lead attorney, Mark Hansen, had asked the CEO if he was “happy” about paying $19 billion for WhatsApp in 2014.Zuckerberg flashed a grin, took a brief pause, and responded, “I’d do it again.”Over the last decade, the growing scale of Instagram and WhatsApp cemented Meta as one of the most powerful companies on earth. Now, the US government, via a Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit, is trying to unwind those acquisitions through a trial that began on April 14th. Zuckerberg spent roughly 13 hours across three days answering questions from the FTC and Meta lawyers. Much of that time on Wednesday was devoted to attempting to refute one core argument: that he bought both apps to take them out and not to make them better.The FTC contends that WhatsApp was acquired because Zuckerberg and his executives were worried at the time that private messaging apps would grow into fully-fledged social media businesses. From the witness stand, Zuckerberg acknowledged that it was “something I thought about,” but that he thought it would be “extremel …Read the full story at The Verge.

There's nothing that dashes your professional image like a weird typo in a message or email. Fortunately, there's a whole collection of spell checkers that are there to say, "Are you sure?" when you type something weird. Fortunately, Microsoft has been cooking up a new feature that will help you sound less ridiculous when talking to your boss on Teams, and it's now ready to roll out to everyone's computers.

Valve has been taking the fight to Microsoft on the handheld market recently. The Steam Deck designer has always stated its plans to bring the console's operating system, SteamOS, to third-party devices, and now it's making good on its word. In fact, one could argue that SteamOS has already won the war versus Windows. Now, Valve is aiming to make SteamOS even better with a new update that enhances third-party devices.