Yesterday, the world of IT was shaken on an unprecedented scale following a faulty CrowdStike Falcon update issued on Windows devices by the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. This led to a huge number of enterprise PCs and systems being knocked offline, entering into a bootloop state, Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), and Windows Recovery. Although CrowdStrike has documented some steps to mitigate the issue to some extent, Microsoft has now released its own guidance for IT admins to work around the problem.

Image: The Verge CrowdStrike’s faulty update caused a worldwide tech disaster that affected 8.5 million Windows devices on Friday, according to Microsoft. Microsoft says that’s “less than one percent of all Windows machines,” but it was enough to create problems for retailers, banks, airlines, and many other industries, as well as everyone who relies on them.Separately, the technical breakdown from CrowdStrike released Friday explains more about what happened and why so many systems were affected all at once.CrowdStrike’s breakdown explains the configuration file that was at the heart of the issue:The configuration files mentioned above are referred to as “Channel Files” and are part of the behavioral protection mechanisms used by the Falcon sensor.... Continue reading…

While the best laptops these days are reliable machines that last a long time, there are some things to be aware of if you care about long-term use. Whether you have a Mac or a Windows machine, taking care of your devices is important. Unfortunately, a lot of people unknowingly contribute to their early demise. If you want to keep that shiny machine of yours running for a good while, here are some mistakes to definitely avoid.

As the most prominent SBC lineup, the Raspberry Pi family is compatible with a battalion of operating systems. Full-fledged desktop distros such as Kali Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, and the all-powerful Raspberry Pi OS provide a highly versatile experience. Alternatively, you could go for RetroPie, LibreElec, OpenMediaVault, or HomeAssistant if you want to devote your credit-card-sized board to a specific project.

Picking the right processor for your gaming can be a daunting task, especially if you're not familiar with all the different CPU SKUs. AMD's line-up of chips offers impressive performance, whether it's the entry-level Ryzen 5 or flagship Ryzen 9. There's a processor designed for just about any computing task. When shopping around for an AMD chip, you may wonder what the difference is between the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 9 families for gaming. This guide will run you through everything to make the right decision.

A few days ago, Windows-based systems were rocked due to a bug with CrowdStrike causing BSODs across system-critical computers. 8.5 million computers were hit, which sounds like a lot on paper; however, it's a drop in the pond when compared to the total number of Windows devices there are in the wild. Unfortunately, those 8.5 million computers were more likely to be in charge of keeping important business systems alive, meaning that people saw reduced service and BSODs in public displays around the world. Despite this, it seems that some companies managed to escape...because their systems run on 30-year-old software.

Image: Happiest Baby The Snoo, a very expensive but widely regarded smart bassinet, now has some of the best features of its app locked behind a new $19.99 monthly premium subscription. The change, which went into effect this week, has infuriated many Snoo owners, as the subscription puts some previously free features that new parents rely on behind a pricey paywall.A bunch of threads in the Snoo subreddit have exploded with complaints since the plan was announced last month. “Wild choice,” wrote one user. “It’s actually disgusting to take advantage of parents who are just trying to get their kids to sleep and already paying a large sum for the pleasure of something that a) may not work, b) can only be used for a short period before becoming useless, c)... Continue reading…

In 1976, there was a big race to capitalize on the personal computer market. The main competitors were the Commodore PET, the Apple II, and the TRS-80. And while that early part of the personal computer war is long gone, people still like to replicate the computers of the early days using modern hardware. Now, someone has created the "Faux TRS-80," a project that combines 3D printing with a Raspberry Pi to bring the old into the new.

Gamma supports Dual Shock controls now. | Screenshot: Gamma The Gamma PS1 emulator has gained a number of significant updates since it launched as one of the first console emulators for iPhones in May. Recent updates added a new “Enhance Audio” feature and better multiplayer support, joining other key updates over the last few weeks.Developer Benjamin Stark (aka ZodTTD) told The Verge in an email that the Enhance Audio feature in his most recent update improves audio “using reverb and interpolation effects.” He also “added Multitap emulation” for games that used Sony’s adapter that expanded the PS1’s controller port count from two to four. (That was used for games like Crash Team Racing, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, and more.)Gamma, the PlayStation(tm) 1 emulator for iOS App Store, has been... Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge There are going to be times when you’ve only got one hand free to use your phone. You may be walking the dog, carrying groceries, hanging on to a subway pole, or you just don’t have another hand available. But with just about every modern phone sporting a screen at least six inches corner to corner, using one hand to work your phone could be a difficult balancing act.Luckily, both Android and iOS phones come with integrated features to make one-handed phone use less tricky. There are also some helpful options inside individual apps you can turn to. Methods for Android phonesOne-handed modeAndroid has a dedicated one-handed mode that lets you shrink any app down to the bottom half of the screen to make it easier to reach. The way to... Continue reading…

If youre even remotely into building PCs, you may have heard of the PCIe slot. Designed to offer ultra-high bandwidth and transfer rates when connecting the GPU, Ethernet cards, SSDs, and other components to the motherboard, PCI Express has seen multiple revisions over the years.

How badly were you affected by the CrowdStrike BSOD bug? While you may not have owned a PC that ran CrowdStrike, some people were either out of work or couldn't use their favorite services because of it. However, while people were sharing photos of big screens displaying bluescreens, there was still some news that made it to the presses. As such, if you were too busy checking out what was going on worldwide, here's a top-five collection of the news of the week.