You're looking to flesh out your storage capacity and just checked your favorite online retailer for prices. After recovering from shock, one easily learns just how expensive this hobby can become, with drive prices reaching the thousands, depending on specs and storage type. It doesn't have to cost you a small fortune as there are some ways to save money without missing out on anything vital. Purchasing external enclosures with installed drives for "shucking" is one way, which involves extracting the drive and using it in a network-attached storage (NAS) device or server.

Do you often struggle with tedious setups, deal with software dependencies, or worry about data privacy? Here is where Docker comes into play. It simplifies your digital life, boosts your productivity, and helps you reclaim control over your applications. I will share a curated selection of Docker containers that have fundamentally changed how I approach development, productivity, and personal data management.

Single-board computers (SBCs) are used for plenty of uses, and they've found a permanent home in the home labs of many of our writers and readers. One of those popular uses is the DNS-based ad-blocking Pi-hole, which doesn't necessarily need the power of the Raspberry Pi 5 to run, but will do its best to keep every device on your home network free from ads. It'll also try to block any URLs that go to known malware sources, which keeps everyone safer. But for all it can do, it's not a complete network security solution, and there are some cracks in its virtual armor. It's still a fantastic addition to your other network security options, but here's why it's not the only thing you need to be running.

3D printing is an exciting way to bring your ideas to life, and it becomes even more enjoyable when you can consistently create great-looking parts. Simple improvements and add-ons can go a long way toward making each print come out just the way you want. Whether you are focused on better quality or more convenience, the right upgrades can make your printer more reliable. With some thoughtful changes, you can say goodbye to frustrating hiccups and look forward to a smoother process.

We've covered a few projects that use eyeballs for creepy effects. For instance, we saw this large eyeball that can speak to you and this portrait that watches you wherever you walk. While these projects are a ton of fun, they may be a little difficult to apply to a bespoke project that you're working on.

Neil doesn’t seem very nice.Death Stranding’s sequel continues to look absolutely bonkers. The upcoming game — known as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — got a fresh trailer and a long-awaited release date of June 26th during a presentation at SXSW.The PlayStation 5 exclusive will cost $69.99 and is available for pre-order starting on March 17th. Those who buy the Digital Deluxe Edition ($79.99) or Collector’s Edition ($229.99) get early access starting on June 24th.Hideo Kojima presented the 10-minute trailer, which opens on two characters — one is Neil, who is played by Italian actor Luca Marinelli — arguing with each other. Following that, there’s plenty of Sam (Norman Reedus) navigating the wastes with his BB and his cargo, facing bad weather, an avalanche, and the series’ signature horrific monsters. The game has a lot of star power, with the trailer highlighting characters like Fragile (Léa Seydoux), Tarman (George Miller), Higgs (Troy Baker), Tomorrow (Elle Fanning), Dollamn (Fatih Akin), Rainy (Shioli Kutsuna), The President (Alastair Duncan), Lucy (Alissa Jung), Heartman (Nicholas Winding Refn), and Doctor (Debra Wilson). Near the end, the trailer shows Neil donning a bandana that, as IGN notes, is very reminiscent of Solid Snake, the lead character of Kojima’s famed Metal Gear Solid series. The shot is creepy, with quick flashes showing his face intermittently replaced with a skull. Kojima also announced “The Strands of Harmony World Tour,” a Death Stranding concert tour that will visit 19 cities and feature the music of Death Stranding, performed by a live orchestra and singers. That begins on November 8th, 2025, in Sydney, Australia.First announced in 2022, On the Beach is a direct sequel to 2019’s Death Stranding, a game that saw Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima branch out with a new studio. The original’s success led to a director’s cut, multiple ports, and an upcoming live-action film made in partnership with A24. The studio is also working on a pair of other projects, with the Xbox horror game OD, which stars Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer, and an “action espionage” codenamed PHYSINT.

Nvidia's RTX 50 series recently dropped, bringing with it quite a lot of disappointment and reigniting hope for AMD's Radeon 9070 cards. While Nvidia claimed "4090 performance" out of the 5070, that was only with the company's controversial mutli-frame generation. Alongside that, all of the cards are basically impossible to obtain, with sky-high prices to boot. However, that's not all of the controversy, and one particular point of contention with the series has me seriously worried for the future of Nvidia's GPUs.

Immich and DigiKam are two of the most popular open-source photo storage tools, but they offer different ways of storing and managing your visual files. Whether you want a quick setup with the guarantee of open-source security, or you want to host your own server in order to manage your photos, ensuring that everything is your own responsibility during every step, DigiKam and Immich provide the choice. These photo management tools are popular for open-source users and have similar features.

When I first came across Microsoft PC Manager, I was really excited by the idea that I could optimize my system without downloading third-party apps. While there are plenty of free Windows apps to optimize your PC's performance, I'm also hesitant to try some of them in case I'm introducing bloatware into my system.

The second-generation Chromecast was a colorful delight.Reports are cropping up today that second-generation Chromecasts and music-streaming Chromecast Audio devices are failing, displaying an error on the device they’re trying to cast from that seems to imply the streamers may no longer be supported, reports 9to5Google.Text from screenshots of the error posted to Reddit reads, “Untrusted device” and continues, saying the device “couldn’t be verified. This could be caused by outdated device firmware.” Understandably, people are concerned that Google has decided to send the streaming pucks, both quite old now, to the Google graveyard. As 9to5Google points out, the company hasn’t said it is deprecating the two, as it did for the original Chromecast in 2023. At least one member of the Chromecast community says they have reached out to Google support and were told that the company is aware of the issue and is awaiting a fix. Google didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.Google discontinued the Chromecast line in August last year but said that it was still offering “continued software and security updates to the latest devices.” If we are approaching the end of the line for the two devices being affected today, it would be a small bummer, especially when it comes to the Chromecast Audio. There are better alternatives to it these days, but none, I’d say, with quite as much charm as Google’s little vinyl record-shaped music streamer.

When it comes to image editing, Photoshop dominates the industry, but not everyone needs or wants to deal with its complexity or cost. There are plenty of alternatives out there, and while some get a fair share of the spotlight, others remain underrated — one such gem in Paint.NET. It's often dismissed as just a step above Microsoft Paint, but it actually offers a surprisingly robust range of features that make it a solid alternative to Photoshop.

We've talked a lot about the RTX 50 series here at XDA, but most of the cards we've seen are on the high end of the power spectrum. There have been rumors that Nvidia plans to release an RTX 5050 card, which aims to be a more budget-friendly option for gamers who don't need the most powerful cards on the market. Now, said rumors have seemingly come true, as details of an RTX 5050 have popped up online.