I make a living by publishing content online, so you can only imagine how much time I spend in front of a screen daily. While most of my work happens during the day, and I generally wind up by evening, there are days when things can get stretched to late nights. Whenever that happens, I prefer working with the lights turned off. However, I recently learned that it's not good practice, as the contrast between the dark room and the bright screen can cause stress on the eyes. At the same time, I also don't like keeping the bright lights in my room turned on late at night. So, to strike the right balance, I decided to pick up a light bar for my monitor.

We're big proponents of self-hosting services you can't live without because you never know when a company will disappear, and keeping your data on a device you control is a huge privacy boost. Whether that's saving backups of your devices, running a media server, or a mesh VPN service, keeping it in-house on your own network-attached storage (NAS) means you're in control.

What better lab assistant than a robot? They don't get tired, they can do dangerous stuff that humans can't, and they can follow you around without getting bored. If you need someone with you at all times, but you don't want to subject a real human being to that sort of torture, why not make your own Raspberry Pi robot to do it for you? That's what one project aims to achieve by combining the SBC with a camera so you can always have a loyal robot by your side.

You know, if someone is going to pay thousands of dollars for a graphics card, I would expect that the utmost care was put into ensuring that they, you know, are built properly. Alas, the Nvidia RTX 5090 has been hit by problem after problem, including missing ROPs on the board, melting third-party power cables (which prompted people to recommend using the stock power cable), and then melting stock power cables. Now, after a month of use, someone has reported that one of the capacitors has exploded, alongside the dreaded coil whine.

Cura is a free and popular 3D slicing software that is compatible with the majority of the FDM 3D printers. Beyond the default features of the software, you can explore additional advanced features by installing plugins to enhance your 3D printing workflow. These plugins are available on the Cura Marketplace, and you can search for and install them easily. There are many available, and each of them has a specific functionality. There are those for controlling the 3D printer remotely, fine-tuning first layer settings, analyzing, fixing broken and non-manifold models, and many others. Below are the five most useful ones you should be using.

Crosswalk buttons in at least three California cities appear to have been hacked this weekend to give them the seemingly AI-generated voices of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In videos posted online, the apparent voice of Musk begs listeners to be his friend, or that of Zuckerberg brags about “undermining democracy” and “cooking our grandparents’ brains with AI slop.”A Palo Alto, California city spokesperson told Palo Alto Online that city employees “determined that 12 downtown intersections were impacted,” and have disabled the crosswalks’ voice features pending repairs. The signals otherwise work as they should, they told the outlet. The hack seemed to have taken place on Friday, the person said. The same thing is happening in Redwood City, where a deputy city manager told The San Francisco Chronicle that the city is investigating and attempting to resolve the issue there. Crosswalk buttons in Menlo Park are also reportedly affected. The voice features of these buttons are used to guide people with difficulty seeing, letting them know when to “wait” and when the walk sign on the other end of the street has turned on. It’s hard to tell how much, if at all, the simulated voices interfere with that, but they seem to be playing in addition to, rather than instead of the built-in safety notices, at least in some videos of the phenomenon.Here are some videos with the simulated voice of Musk, along with my transcriptions below each: @rosecampau Replying to @whitney 🍉 ♬ original sound – rose Hi, this is Elon Musk, and I’d like to personally welcome you to Palo Alto. You know, people keep saying, ‘cancer is bad,’ but have you ever tried being a cancer? It’s fucking awesome. @rosecampau our crosswalks just got vc funding apparently #paloalto #elonmusk #tesla #siliconvalley #walkablecities ♬ original sound – rose Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. You know, they say money can’t buy happiness, and yeah, okay, I guess that’s true. God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that’s pretty sick, right? Right? Fuck, I’m so alone. @lifeashd Emerson st. and University ave. In Palo Alto, CA got hacked! The crosswalk button sound was changed from “wait” to a speech from ElonMusk elonmusknews ♬ original sound – HD Hi, I’m Elon. Can we be friends? Will you be my friend? I’ll give you a Cybertruck, I promise. Okay, look, you don’t know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval.One had a guest spot from a soundalike of President Donald Trump, clearly making light of Musk’s close association with Trump: @chloeakiko newest feature in silicon valley #elonmusk ♬ original sound – Chloe Not Musk: You know, it’s funny, I used to think he was just this dumb sack of shit. But once you get to know him, he’s actually pretty sweet and tender and loving.Not Trump: Sweetie, come back to bed.One video published by Palo Alto Online featured this quote, spoken by a faked Zuckerberg’s voice: Hey, it’s Zuck here. I just want to tell you how very proud I am of everything we’ve been building together. From undermining democracy to cooking our grandparents’ brains with AI slop, to — to making the world less safe for trans people. Nobody does it better than us, and, uh, and I think that’s pretty neat. Zuck out!Otherwise, the other simulated Zuckerberg voice messages I found in videos online all had the same content:Somebody uploaded custom audio of AI generated Zuckerberg to a bunch of crosswalk buttons in Palo Alto and Redwood City and it's hilarious— NIC (@wah.gay) 2025-04-13T07:09:25.682ZHi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me ‘the Zuck.’ You know, it’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every, every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry, because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyway, see ya.

You know what hurts more than bad games? Canceled games. A broken release can be patched, and a lackluster sequel can sometimes be forgiven. However, when a promising title never makes it out of the door? That’s a wound that never heals. The gaming world has seen some great games, and some even greater ones that were never made in the first place.

Let’s face it: remote desktop software can be a headache. Whether it’s for work, tech support, or accessing your home computer, the experience is often affected by slow connections, complicated setups, and security concerns (looking at you, TeamViewer). I have been on the hunt for the perfect remote desktop solution for what feels like forever. Like many, I have tried different platforms like AnyDesk, Splashtop, GoToMyPC, and more, each with its own set of limitations and frustrations.

I love diving into fresh creations and pushing the limits of what my 3D printer can do. Yet, I occasionally hit a mental block and struggle to come up with new designs. Over time, I realized that being open to different sources of inspiration keeps my ideas flowing. By exploring a variety of methods, I have found several reliable ways to jumpstart my next 3D printing adventure.

I swore off small form factor PCs for years. Worrying about high fan noise, blistering temperatures, and limited space for upgrades, I never paid much attention to SFF PCs and all the nuance that goes into them. But that changed a couple of years ago, and since building my SFF rig, I haven't looked back.

Elon Musk’s popularity with the American public is waning, according to the latest polling average from Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin. The billionaire CEO of multiple companies wears many hats, but the most visible one of late has been as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an organization that has been tearing through the US government administrative state. Silver Bulletin’s average shows that 53.5 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Musk, and only 39.6 percent of Americans see him favorably. His unpopularity is way up since the beginning of 2024 when only 38 percent of people disliked him, according to the site’s tracker. Silver writes that his process for tracking Musk’s ratings is similar to how he tracks President Trump’s, but with “slightly more conservative settings as Musk is polled less often than Trump.” According to Silver Bulletin, negative views of the billionaire have been especially trending upwards in the wake of his heavy support — in part by paying voters — for Trump’s second Presidential campaign and, not long after, the beginning of his work at DOGE. That work has seen widespread federal agency layoffs as DOGE’s operatives access, or attempt to gain access, to sensitive areas of the government, including IRS records, the US Treasury’s payments system, and the US Social Security Administration.However accurate Silver Bulletin’s average is, the site is not alone in noting Musk’s unpopularity. Outlets like Fox News, Politico, and Axios have all recently pointed to polls showing a growing distaste for the billionaire. That may have already had electoral consequences for Republicans in Wisconsin, where Musk’s attempt to bolster a conservative Supreme Court candidate this month — using the same voter-paying tactics he used during Trump’s campaign — appear to have backfired. More than half of voters in the state disapproved of his involvement, and about a third said it made them less likely to vote for the conservative justice, according to pollster information published by The Washington Post. In the end, Democrat-backed candidate Susan Crawford won by 10 points, preserving Wisconsin’s highest court’s 4-3 liberal majority.

I first became interested in laser engraving because it transforms simple materials into personalized pieces of art. I was eager to customize gifts, create unique décor, and possibly turn my new skill into a small business. However, I quickly discovered that certain aspects of the process were far more involved than I initially realized. By sharing these insights, I hope to save you from a few surprises and help you get the best possible experience with your machine.