Image: Koei-Tecmo After previous games failed to live up to expectations, Origins is a vast improvement. Read the full story at The Verge.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images Brendan Carr is now formally the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, giving him the power to set the agency’s agenda and usher through a host of regulations with major implications for the tech and media industries as soon as he has a Republican majority.In a statement, Carr named a few areas of focus: “issues ranging from tech and media regulation to unleashing new opportunities for jobs and growth through agency actions on spectrum, infrastructure, and the space economy.”Carr’s priorities might also be gleaned from a document you might have already heard about: Project 2025. That’s because he authored the FCC chapter of the Heritage Foundation’s wishlist for a Donald Trump presidency. In that chapter, Carr proposes actions including: limiting immunity for tech companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, requiring disclosures about how platforms prioritize content, requiring tech companies to pay into a program that funds broadband access in rural areas, and more quickly approving applications to launch satellites from companies like Elon Musk’s StarLink. Carr also wrote about protecting the US from security threats stemming from China, including by addressing “TikTok’s threat to national security.” Whether that’s something Carr takes up as chair now seems more in doubt, as Trump has changed his tune on the app’s danger to the US. While Trump was the first to try to ban TikTok from the US, he’s now positioning himself as its savior — putting China and TikTok hawk Carr in a tricky position.The new FCC chair has also indicated that he could use his power to revoke spectrum licenses for networks over their decisions to host speech, when he deems it a violation of the equal time rule. This came up in a scuffle about NBC’s hosting of Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live” before the election — though the network seemed to comply with the rules for giving candidates similar time and placement on public airwaves by offering Trump an appearance on air later on.Regardless, Carr will need a third Republican vote on the commission to approve any measures that are not bipartisan in nature. Trump has nominated Mark Meador, a former staffer to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), to join the commission, pending Senate confirmation. Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Trade Commission is also now in place. Andrew Ferguson, who was already serving as a commissioner, has a reported agenda that echoes parts of Carr’s. It includes a desire to “hold big tech accountable and stop censorship,” and also to “protect freedom of speech and fight wokeness.”

In the Fall of 2023, Valve officially released Counter-Strike 2, their latest installment in the legendary FPS franchise. With the launch came a significant increase in fidelity, and in turn, players were starving for the high framerates their PCs could once achieve without breaking a sweat. Historically, Counter-Strike has been a CPU-bound title, meaning its performance is closely tied to single-core CPU performance over GPU processing power. CS2 is a little bit more GPU intensive than past titles, but its performance is still closely tied to the CPU. These 5 processors are the best you can buy for CS2, so you can focus on headshots over 1% lows.

Photo by Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images Vivek Ramaswamy has stepped down from co-leading President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to the Associated Press. The official line as to why Ramaswamy is moving on is that he plans to run for elected office — he reportedly intends to run for Ohio governor.“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” spokesperson Anna Kelly says in the statement to the Associated Press. “He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today. We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last 2 months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again.”Trump gave DOGE, which is not a department of the US government, the remit to advise cuts to “wasteful” government spending. Musk and Ramaswamy spelled out their plans in a Wall Street Journal article. But CBS News reported yesterday that Ramaswamy was on the way out:People close to Musk have privately undercut Ramaswamy for weeks, frustrated with his lack of participation in the heavy lifting, according to sources familiar with the internal dynamics. There has been friction between the incoming rank and file DOGE staff and Ramaswamy, the sources said, and Ramaswamy has been subtly encouraged to exit.Ramaswamy hasn’t said on X if he’s stepping away from DOGE, but he did post a picture today with Musk. A few days ago, he also quote-tweeted a parody account that “announced” Ramaswamy’s candidacy for Ohio governor, saying that it’s “not a bad idea.”DOGE is already the subject of at least three lawsuits.

I was one of the rare few willing users of Microsoft Edge — even on a Mac. It’s the first thing I’d install on a new laptop. Sure, Microsoft’s aggressive persuasion tactics aren’t exactly agreeable, but I switched to Edge because I wanted a Chrome alternative that wouldn’t disrupt my workflow (with all my extensions) or experience, so it had to be Chromium-based. After sticking with Edge for years, I finally gave in last year and decided to try out the Arc browser. I have to admit that it successfully lured me in with its modern design. It feels refreshingly different from most web browsers, which look identical, with their homepage recommendations (read: ads) being the only differentiator.

If you've been looking for an easy way to expand your home or office setup, then going with a USB hub or docking station is going to be the way to go. These devices can easily add ports to your current device without a lot of setup. You just plug it in and away you go. With that said, there are plenty of choices out there, but we think this Anker PowerExpand docking station is the best choice right now, especially since it's being discounted down to a ridiculously low price.

If you're deep into your home lab journey with several self-hosted apps, you know that remembering all the URLs to access each service's management pages soon becomes a nightmare. Plus, if anything changes in the configuration of your home network, you have to go in and change everything manually. Instead, you can set up a reverse proxy to direct traffic to your self-hosted apps so they're all reachable from the same external URL.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Donald Trump said today he’ll declare a “national energy emergency,” a move meant to speed the development of fossil fuel infrastructure. The actions taken on his first day in office mark the start of President Trump’s attempts to boost oil and gas and retreat from global climate goals. He campaigned on promises to “drill, baby, drill,” and undo Biden-era policies to reduce pollution and stop climate change.The US will “fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy, all over the world,” Trump said in his inauguration speech. Trump also repeated vague pledges he’s made to throw out environmental policies that haven’t actually been put in place. He said his administration would “end the green New Deal, and we will reverse the electric vehicle mandate, saving our oil industry.” It’s unclear what policies he’s referring to with that statement. Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, the most significant piece of climate legislation to date that opened up $369 billion for climate action and clean energy. Trump has previously said that he’d rescind any unspent IRA funds.“I’m not that worried about having an EV mandate since there isn’t one, but I am concerned that he might take steps to make EVs more expensive for American consumers,” Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, recently told The Verge. But Trump has said that he’ll eliminate subsidies and tax credits Biden introduced to make electric vehicles more affordable.Biden-era tailpipe emissions standards are likely also on the chopping block. The Biden administration tightened pollution standards aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging more EV sales.A new White House webpage says a priorities for the Trump administration include “streamlining permitting, and reviewing for rescission all regulations that impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including mining and processing of non-fuel minerals.” There’s little detail on the page about what declaring a national energy emergency will entail outside of using “all necessary resources to build critical infrastructure.” It does say Trump wants to end federal leasing of areas for wind farms and take the US out of the Paris climate agreement, echoing promises he’s made in the pastTrump signed an executive order to exit the Paris agreement later in the evening at his inauguration eve rally.Developing...

Fujifilm has added two new models to its Techno-Stabi binoculars line with stabilization and increased magnification. | Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm has announced two new additions to its flagship Techno-Stabi line of binoculars featuring electronic stabilization, as spotted by PetaPixel. The new TS-L2040 and TS-L1640 deliver even more magnification than Fujfilm’s previous top-of-the-line offering — 20x and 16x, instead of just 14x — while also being smaller and lighter without sacrificing features like waterproofing. Both new models can survive a complete dunking to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes.The Fujifilm TS-L2040, with 20x magnification, will be $1,299.95 when available for purchase starting on January 31st, 2025. The slightly cheaper TS-L1640, which offer 16x magnification, will be $1,199.95.Using binoculars with more than 10x magnification without a tripod or stable support can result in blurred images because humans are simply incapable of holding them steady enough by hand. Even imperceptible hand movements are exaggerated through a pair of binoculars, making it hard to focus on a distant magnified subject. Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm’s new TS-L2040 Techno-Stabi binoculars (right) are smaller and lighter than the company’s previous flagship model (left) which weigh about a pound heavier. Fujifilm’s new models rely on a gimbal-mounted prism with plus and minus three degrees of electronic stabilization. They’re also noticeably smaller and lighter than the company’s existing Techno-Stabi TS-X14x40 binoculars — weighing 1.88 pounds instead of 2.9 pounds — making them easier for birdwatchers to carry on a hike.The two new models aren’t entirely replacing Fujifilm’s heavier and bulkier TS-X14x40 binoculars. Although the older model only offers 14x magnification for the same price as the company’s new 20x offering, they feature a more rugged design with plus and minus six degrees of electronic stabilization.In a video comparing the old and new models, Fujifilm technical expert, Michael Bulbenko, says the older model is still a better choice for boaters given the extra movements while out on the water. Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm says both new models run on a pair of AAA batteries that offer up to 30 hours of stabilization. Other features of the new TS-L2040 and TS-L1640 include 40mm objective lenses on the front that allow more light in to boost brightness. Fujifilm’s cheapest stabilized binoculars, the $749.95 TS12x28WP, feature much smaller front lenses that are just 28mm in size.Both new binocular models are powered by a pair of AAA batteries that Fujifilm says will keep the image stabilization continuously powered for up to 30 hours. The binoculars will also automatically power themselves off after 60 minutes if you forget to, so if you’re headed out on a weekend birdwatching trip, you probably won’t need to pack an extra set of AAAs.

Mind mapping tools can be a game changer for anyone feeling overwhelmed by a jumble of thoughts. If you often struggle to organize a complex project, it’s time to invest in a mind mapping software. But finding the right tool, especially a free one that doesn't skimp on features, can be a challenge. Here is where Draw.io really surprised me. This powerful, web-based platform offers a robust set of tools for creating, customizing, and sharing mind maps.

NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling technology has revolutionized the PC gaming industry in the last few years. Ever since its introduction in 2018 alongside the RTX 20 series graphics cards, we've seen vast improvements in DLSS, with NVIDIA adding more capabilities like ray reconstruction and frame generation. As much as I enjoy using DLSS to upscale and play graphically demanding games at 4K resolution at smooth frame rates, this technology has also negatively impacted the PC gaming space. While it works like magic, your games, in reality, look and feel a bit worse than they should.

If you primarily use your computer for writing, Google Docs might be your word processor of choice. It's free, simple, and the default option if you use many of Google's services or products. However, there are multiple downsides to using Google Docs. It may not be the safest option out there since Google -- at the end of the day -- is an ads company. Moreover, it relies on an internet connection for most features, despite the fact that there is an offline mode. This, along with a few other reasons, made me wonder what other options I could use to write and format my documents.