One of the issues with any home lab situation is that you often run out of funds before you run out of ideas, and that's a problem. Maybe you want to put in some extra managed switches to test out routing between VLANs, or play with a router you know will be one you run into at work. Whatever your reasoning, the want doesn't always mesh with the means, but that's okay.

RPGs are known for their lore, depth, and rich options regarding playstyle and customization. While the genre has its share of staple mechanics you'll frequently encounter, there are a number of features that deserve more attention. Specifically, players should have access to options that allow them to do as they please, be it for better or worse. That’s not necessarily suggesting you should be discouraged from committing certain actions or playing a particular way, but a good RPG should make you feel something and that your decisions/actions carry weight.

Managing passwords became a full-fledged job when every website and platform started demanding you create a separate account. Remembering so many passwords is impossible for anyone; hence, we all need a way to manage hundreds of passwords. The solution that I've been using for years is Google Password Manager, the free and built-in solution offered by Google on not just Android, but almost every platform.

The systems under development could alert the NYPD before any crime has been committed. | Photo by Eduardo MunozAlvarez / VIEWpress via Getty ImagesNew York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it’s exploring the use of AI systems for “predictive prevention” of crime and dangerous behavior on the city’s subway platforms.MTA chief security officer Michael Kemper said that the agency is “studying and piloting technology like AI to sense potential trouble or problematic behavior on our subway platforms.” “If someone is acting out, irrational… it could potentially trigger an alert that would trigger a response from either security and/or the police department,” he explained during an MTA safety committee meeting Monday, emphasizing that the police response could come “before waiting for something to happen.”“AI is the future,” he added, noting that the MTA is “working with tech companies literally right now” to investigate “what would work in the subway system.” Kemper didn’t detail which companies the MTA is working with, how AI will be implemented, or exactly what sort of behaviour the AI-enabled cameras will be expected to detect. However, MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan confirmed to Gothamist that the new system won’t rely on facial recognition. “The technology being explored by the MTA is designed to identify behaviors, not people,” Donovan said.This isn’t the first time the MTA has implemented AI. In 2023 it disclosed that it was using AI-powered surveillance software to track fare evaders on the subway, monitoring when, where, and how most fare evasion takes place.

TikTok is back in a Washington, DC courthouse discussing the US law that - at least on paper - effectively banned the app. But this time, it's serving as a witness for the government, not fighting against it.On Wednesday, TikTok's head of operations and trust and safety Adam Presser testified in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust trial against Meta, in the same courthouse where a panel of judges ruled that the government could expel TikTok from the country. Presser's role in the Meta trial was to explain the ways in which TikTok competes (or doesn't) with Meta's services in a market the FTC has defined as personal social networking - a category the FTC says contains only Meta's services, Snapchat, and a small app called MeWe.Lawyers for both the FTC and Meta brought up filings TikTok made in its own litigation against the 2024 divest-or-ban law, which required Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its US business. (President Donald Trump has used dubious legal measures to extend the deadline for enforcement twice, leaving TikTok's service providers facing the potential for billions of dollars in penalties while saying he's working on a deal.) The FTC pointed to a TikT …Read the full story at The Verge.

The Nintendo Switch just got a new update that adds Virtual Game Cards as a way to share digital games with other people. But the update also closes a loophole that would let you play shared games online at the same time as somebody you were sharing the game with, as reported by Eurogamer.Before the introduction of Virtual Game Cards, the only way Nintendo allowed you to share digital Switch games was by logging into your Nintendo Account on a second Switch and downloading the game to that console. Using that system, which is now available under “Online License Settings,” it was possible for you and a friend to play that game that you owned online simultaneously. Following the new Switch update, that digital sharing system is still an option – you don’t have to use Virtual Game Cards. However, with the old system, two people can’t play a shared game online at the same time anymore, which could be a disappointment if you relied on it ahead of this update.If you do opt to use Virtual Game Cards, Nintendo won’t just force you to manage those on a Switch or Switch 2; the company will also let you manage them from a website, which could be handy if you don’t have your Switch nearby but want to share a game.

When I first got into 3D printing, I stuck with the popular options — basic Cartesian-style printers with beds that moved on the Y-axis. Bed-slingers, we call them, because the bed moves back and forth instead of the extruder. These are accessible, affordable, and have huge online communities. But after too many hours spent tweaking, upgrading, and troubleshooting my print projects, I wondered if there was a better alternative. That’s when I decided to try a CoreXY printer.

A small number of YouTube viewers will now see blurred thumbnails for certain search query results. | Screenshot: YouTubeYouTube has announced a new experimental feature that’s “aimed at providing safer search experiences for all users.” The service will begin blurring the thumbnails in search results for some queries “that frequently include sexual themes.” According to a recent update in the Community section of YouTube’s Help Center website, the feature is currently being rolled out to a small percentage of viewers.There are no specifics about what sexual themes may trigger a search to return a list of videos with blurred thumbnails, but YouTube says the video’s title, channel name, and its description will remain visible. Viewers will also have the option to unblur thumbnails.The goal of the limited test rollout is to “understand whether this type of feature helps users avoid accidentally viewing content that follows YouTube’s Community Guidelines but may be sensitive in nature.” But unlike SafeSearch that can both blur and filter out results on Google’s search engine, YouTube’s new experimental feature won’t omit results. In its current form it’s instead designed to provide an extra layer of protection that prevents younger or unsuspecting users from immediately being presented with content that may be inappropriate.

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2025 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $70.1 billion in revenue and a net income of $25.8 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 13 percent, and net income has increased by 18 percent. Microsoft was expected to report $68.42 billion in revenue, so the results have beaten Wall Street expectations.Cloud growth appears to be the main driver of improved revenues, with overall Microsoft Cloud revenue reaching $42.4 billion, up 20 percent. Microsoft hasn’t split out its AI revenues, so it’s still unclear exactly how much that part of its business is growing, though.With all eyes on the impact of the Trump tariffs and consumer spending, Microsoft also reported Windows OEM and devices revenue growth of 3 percent year-over-year. Businesses and consumers are upgrading PCs and laptops ahead of the Windows 10 end of life in October, but there hasn’t been a big upswing in Windows OEM revenue yet. Microsoft does say that Windows OEM growth was partly down to “inventory levels remaining elevated due to tariff uncertainty.”Microsoft now combines Surface revenue with Windows OEM revenue, so it’s no longer clear exactly how its Surface line is doing. Microsoft hasn’t launched any new consumer Surface devices in the recent quarter, but the company did start selling Intel-powered versions of the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 in February for businesses. Microsoft is also rumored to be launching smaller versions of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop soon.On the gaming side, Microsoft warned last quarter that Xbox hardware revenue would decline and it has again. Xbox hardware is down 6 percent this quarter, in a period when Microsoft has been launching a variety of games into Game Pass. Overall gaming revenue at Microsoft is up 5 percent.Xbox content and services, which includes Game Pass, is up 8 percent, though. Microsoft isn’t revealing any new Game Pass subscriber numbers though, and the last time we got an update was in February 2024 when Microsoft revealed there were 34 million subscribers, including the Xbox Game Pass Core (previously Xbox Live Gold) members.Over the past year Microsoft has been pushing ahead with its strategy to bring more previously Xbox-exclusive games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. The move has proven to be a successful one, with preorders for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 topping Sony’s own PlayStation Store last month.“We ended the quarter as the top publisher by preorders and preinstalls on both Xbox and PlayStation Store,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the company’s earnings call. PC Game Pass revenue also increased 45 percent year-over-year, and “cloud gaming set a new record, surpassing 150 million hours played for the first time this quarter,” revealed Nadella.Microsoft’s Xbox everywhere strategy — which I’ve been covering closely in my Notepad newsletter over the past year — will also include titles for the Nintendo Switch 2. Microsoft is preparing a similar list of games to port over to the Switch 2 this year.As is always the case for Microsoft’s earnings, the company’s Office and cloud businesses are once again the stars of the show. Microsoft 365 commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 11 percent year over year, and even office consumer is up 10 percent in revenue. Microsoft 365 consumer subscribers are up to 87.7 million now.Microsoft bundled its Office AI features into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions earlier this year and raised prices. Previously, Microsoft 365 subscribers had to pay an extra $20 per month to get Copilot inside Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as part of a Copilot Pro subscription, but Microsoft now offers these AI features inside Microsoft 365 apps for an extra $3 per month. Existing subscribers have been able to opt out of the AI features and not suffer the price increase, but it’s not clear how many have actually decided to do that. Microsoft does note that it has seen “growth in revenue per user” from the January price increase, which has been partially offset by a “continued mix shift” to the $1.99 monthly Microsoft 365 Basic subscription.Microsoft’s revenues in what it calls intelligent cloud have increased by 21 percent year-over-year to $26.8 billion, which is exactly double the revenue generated by Windows, Xbox, and search and news advertising (more personal computing). Server products and cloud services revenue increased 22 percent, with Azure growth of 33 percent.Update, April 30th: Article updated with comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Package managers are one of the most useful tools you can use on a PC to get things set up quickly. They don't have the same widespread adoption on Windows that they do on Linux, and that's because there wasn't really a standard for a long time. Options like Chocolatey did exist and were great, but most people didn't bother with it.

Since Neuromancer took the sci-fi world by storm in 1984, computing nerds have pined for a "cyberdeck" - the ultimate in personal, portable PCs for surfing and hacking the world. Usually, they're DIY affairs. But the 10-inch GPD Win Max 2 is the closest I've seen to an off-the-shelf cyberdeck worth buying. @verge The GPD Win Max 2 is a lilliputian computing dream: a tiny laptop that doubles as a gaming handheld, with an incredible array of ports. It's surprisingly easy to type on, plays games as well or better than a ROG Ally or Legion Go, and supports two kinds of eGPUs. Keyboard and touchpad make navigating Windows easier than most handhelds. But you might not enjoy holding its stiff metal frame, and it's better paired with a mouse! #laptop #gaming #gadgets #todayimtoyingwith #techtok ♬ original sound - The Verge It's far from the best laptop or gaming handheld. It's an ergonomic compromise in five ways, and the webcam is trash! It's also a portable computing dream. It doubles as a gaming handheld, with joysticks and buttons smuggled away in hidden compartments. It optionally triples as a desktop gaming PC, with a rare Oculink port that lets you plug in a beefy eGPU. I …Read the full story at The Verge.

Windows has had its fair share of bugs these past few decades, and new issues still crop up from time to time. This isn't entirely surprising considering that the operating system is a monolithic piece of software which also contains code that is considered ancient by today's standards. While Microsoft is working on modernizing certain aspects of Windows, it's unlikely that the OS will ever be "bug-free", which is consistent with the inherent nature of software development.