Many of us rely on the same productivity apps out of habit, even if they are not perfectly suited to our evolving needs. But what if there is a better way to get the job done? You could be missing out on a whole new level of productivity by not exploring the tools below. These platforms offer fresh approaches to task and project management, note-taking, time-tracking, time blocking, focus enhancement and more.

Figma has become the industry standard for UX/UI design, offering a powerful cloud-based platform where teams can collaborate on digital projects. However, its reliance on proprietary cloud storage, subscription costs, and data privacy concerns have led some designers to look for self-hosted alternatives. This is where Penpot comes in.

Windows still has many legacy utilities you can use on your PC to complete tasks. Some are being removed or deprecated, like Paint3D, the People app, DirectAccess, and more. There is also talk of removing the classic Control Panel, but don’t expect that anytime soon. Items in the Control Panel must be migrated to the Settings app first. But I digress.

Windows 11 is a very capable operating system that lets you do just about anything you want, but out of the box, it's not the most optimized experience to maximize your productivity. Thankfully, Windows is also a very flexible platform that can be greatly enhanced by third-party apps and even built-in customizations.

User experience and user interface design is prevalent throughout our modern day experience, as we access web designs from our computers and phones all day, every day. Good UX/UI designs need savvy developers to implement them into code. Penpot makes collaborative design and developer handover a total breeze. Not only does it have great design features, but it is cost-effective and has a great community of help available. Penpot is in constant open-source development, bringing it toe-to-toe with the industry’s best alternative: Figma.

Apple has reportedly been ordered by the UK government to create a backdoor that would give security officials access to users’ encrypted iCloud backups. If implemented, British security services would have access to the backups of any user worldwide, not just Brits, and Apple would not be permitted to alert users that their encryption was compromised.The Washington Post reports that the secret order, issued last month, is based on rights given under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, also known as the Snoopers’ Charter. Officials have apparently demanded blanket access to end-to-end encrypted files uploaded by any user worldwide, rather than access to a specific account.Apple’s iCloud backups aren’t encrypted by default, but the Advanced Data Protection option was added in 2022, and must be enabled manually. It uses end-to-end encryption so that not even Apple can access encrypted files. In response to the order, Apple is expected to simply stop offering Advanced Data Protection in the UK. This wouldn’t meet the UK’s demand for access to files shared by global users, however.Apple has the right to appeal the notice on the basis of the cost of implementing it and whether the demand is proportionate to security requirements, but any appeal cannot delay implementation of the original order.The UK has reportedly served Apple a document called a technical capability notice. It’s a criminal offense to even reveal that the government has made a demand. Similarly, if Apple did cede to the UK’s demands then it apparently would not be allowed to warn users that its encrypted service is no longer fully secure.“There is no reason why the UK [government] should have the authority to decide for citizens of the world whether they can avail themselves of the proven security benefits that flow from end-to-end encryption,” Apple told the British parliament in March 2024 amidst a discussion of an amendment to the Investigatory Powers Act. It has previously pushed back against other UK attempts to legislate backdoors to encrypted communications.Security services and lawmakers in the UK have consistently pushed back against end-to-end encryption services, arguing that the technology makes it easier for terrorists and child abusers to hide from law enforcement. “End-to-end encryption cannot be allowed to hamper efforts to catch perpetrators of the most serious crimes,” a UK government spokesperson told The Guardian in 2022 after Apple first introduced end-to-end encryption.US agencies including the FBI have expressed similar fears in the past, but have more recently begun recommending encryption as a way to counter hackers linked to China. In December 2024 the NSA and FBI joined Canada, Australia, and New Zealand’s cyber security centers in recommending web traffic be “end-to-end encrypted to the maximum extent possible,” in new security best practices. UK security services didn’t join them.If Apple grants the UK government access to encrypted data, it’s likely that other countries, including the US and China, will see the opportunity to demand the same right. Apple will have to decide whether to comply, or remove its encryption service entirely. Other tech companies would almost certainly face similar requests next.Google has offered encrypted Android backups by default since 2018, and Meta also offers encrypted backups for WhatsApp users. Spokespeople for both declined to comment to The Washington Post on whether they had received governmental requests for backdoors. Google’s Ed Fernandez reiterated that the company “can’t access Android end-to-end encrypted backup data, even with a legal order,” while Meta pointed to a previous statement that no backdoors would be implemented.

The Steam Deck is an incredibly impressive example of great hardware harmonizing with great software. It’s truly revolutionized the way we think of gaming handhelds, and part of that is thanks to its Linux gaming crusade of sorts. Valve has incentivized developers to make their games compatible with the Steam Deck, but even for those that aren’t, you can still have a great experience, depending on the game. I bet you didn’t know that you could play these 7 games on the Steam Deck.

Microsoft has started rolling out a new scareware blocker in its Edge browser this week. The AI-powered feature runs on Windows PCs and can identify and block existing scams, and even detect new and emerging ones thanks to a local machine learning model.“Scareware blocker adds a new, first line of defense to help protect the users exposed to a new scam if it attempts to open a full screen page. Scareware blocker uses a machine learning model that runs on the local computer,” explains the Microsoft Edge team in a blog post. “The model uses computer vision to compare full screen pages to thousands of sample scams that the scam-fighting community shared with us. The model runs locally, without saving or sending images to the cloud.”Once a scam has been detected, Microsoft Edge will automatically exit the full screen mode that malicious sites try to enforce, stop audio playback, and then warn you with a thumbnail of the page you were viewing. You can then report the site so it’s added to Microsoft’s Defender SmartScreen service that automatically blocks Edge users from visiting known scam sites.Announced originally at Ignite in November, the scareware blocker in Microsoft Edge is now available in preview in the latest stable channel release of the browser. You’ll need to enable the scareware blocker manually in Edge’s privacy settings, and then restart the browser to get the preview feature.

Metal Gear’s mainline games are some of the great pillars of video games. While the series spans over 20 video games, board games, and more, these core titles are shining examples of what makes Metal Gear truly legendary. However, the consensus on what order they should be ranked in is another thing entirely.

Gaming handhelds are pretty great, but sometimes you need a full-blown laptop for your portable gaming needs. If you're on the hunt for something new, Acer has pulled back the curtain on two powerful laptops that should be right up your alley.

The budget GPU market saw a massive shake-up with the Intel Arc B580 — a $250 1440p champion capable of 60 FPS ray tracing. Sure, you'll need to lower settings a bit in some games, but this was a massive win for Intel. However, the Arc B580 suffers from a significant performance drop with budget CPUs, which incidentally are what most people would pair with this graphics card. Plus, you'll have a hard time finding one in stock, let alone at the $250 MSRP.

One of the longest-running series in gaming history, The Legend of Zelda is a story of heroic adventures, overwhelming odds, and gameplay refinement that finds new ways to reinvent itself with each iteration. With more than 40 games under the Zelda umbrella, we took a look at the main games in the series and have narrowed down the best of the best.