I've always hated static public IP addresses and the workaround that DDNS enables. They weren't a smart idea decades ago, and now that threat actors are mostly running automated scans on powerful hardware, they really need to be left in the past. There's a good reason that so much of the internet uses Cloudflare to keep its services safe, and the good news is that you can use it too.

On Friday, Encyclopedia Britannica and dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging that it used their copyrighted content to train its AI, then generated responses that were "substantially similar" to their content, as previously reported by Reuters. According to Britannica, OpenAI repeatedly copied its content without permission, stating, "GPT-4 itself has 'memorized' much of Britannica's copyrighted content and will output near-verbatim copies of significant portions on demand. The memorized examples are unauthorized copies that [OpenAI] used to train their models, including GPT-4." The lawsuit goes on …Read the full story at The Verge.

Since Amazon rolled out its redesigned Fire TV OS, Amazon’s latest streaming sticks are even better than ever. And right now, both the Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Stick 4K Plus are back at their best prices yet during Amazon’s early Big Spring Sale event. You can buy the Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $34.99 ($25 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, while the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus is down to $24.99 ($25 off) at the same retailers (Amazon, Best Buy, and Target).Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023)Where to Buy: $59.99 $34.99 at Amazon $59.99 $34.99 at Best Buy $59.99 $34.99 at TargetAmazon Fire TV Stick 4K PlusWhere to Buy: $49.99 $24.99 at Target $49.99 $24.99 at Amazon $49.99 $24.99 at Best BuyThe updated Fire TV OS makes it easier to find something to watch no matter which model you choose. It pulls recommendations from your subscriptions and adds tabs across the top of your screen for categories like TV shows, news, sports, and live content, so you can quickly jump to what you want to watch. There’s also a redesigned apps row that lets you pin up to 20 favorites instead of just six, making it quicker to jump between services. You can also navigate with your voice thanks to support for Alexa Plus, which lets you issue specific commands like asking it to open ESPN on Sling TV, search for particular scenes or content, check sports scores, or control compatible smart home devices. You even use the remote to quickly view feeds from devices like Ring cameras. The biggest differences between the two sticks mainly come down to hardware. As the higher-end option, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max comes with a few extra features. Both models support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, but the Fire TV Stick 4K Max offers double the storage at 16GB along with support for Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6 for faster connectivity. It also comes with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced, which adds extra shortcuts like a button for quick access to live TV channel listings.

Arielle Duhaime-Ross does a bike tune-up. | Photo by Evan Ortiz / The Verge One of the first major crashes I experienced as a chronically ill person happened on an unusually sunny January day in New York City. It was 2023, and I was riding my bike with a friend, flying high from the exercise. We'd covered just over 40 miles on mostly flat ground, a longish ride, but not out of ordinary for me. And that's when it started. About 15 minutes from my apartment, my body gave out. At first it was just my head - it grew hot, and within minutes, my brain felt like it was on fire. Pretty soon, the rest of my insides were burning up, too. As the skin on my arms and face turned red, and my limbs grew heavy, I felt bewildered. …Read the full story at The Verge.

I don't mean to make you feel old, but the Nvidia GTX 1080 based on Pascal is approaching its tenth birthday. Back in May 2026, gamers were putting the new card in their desktop PCs and pushing the card to its limits using games like Fallout 4 and GTA 5. GPU tech has come a long way since then, and now people are running GTA 5 on their integrated graphics chips. Maybe not the best experience, but it does work, apparently.

Sony's upgraded PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) technology is rolling out to several titles on the PS5 Pro, including Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Silent Hill 2, and more. Digital Foundry got a chance to test some of them and found that the "new upscaler delivers the kind of upgrade we were looking for from PS5 Pro." Problems with shimmering, flickering, and other visual artifacts have been addressed, and they said it now delivers crisper and more consistent in-game graphics. This is the first upgrade we've seen from AMD and Sony's combined Project Amethyst work on improving the effect of rendering a game at a lo …Read the full story at The Verge.

NotebookLM is my favorite AI tool by a long shot, but this doesn't mean it doesn't have flaws. While I think that NotebookLM is at risk of losing what made it special, I still enjoy experimenting with its new features and using it to summarize large amounts of information.

If you really want to make sure that nobody is spying on you through your home security camera, the best way is to make one yourself. Unfortunately, going from nothing to creating a full privacy-first camera system is no easy feat. The good news is, there are plenty of tinkerers out there who have done all the hard work for you, and you just need to follow in their footsteps.

So when exactly is smut considered porn? | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images OpenAI's delayed "adult mode" for ChatGPT is expected to support saucy text conversations at launch, but not the chatbot's ability to generate images, voice, or video. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, an unnamed OpenAI spokesperson described content that will be provided by the upcoming feature as smut rather than pornography, allowing ChatGPT users to generate textual chats with adult themes.The feature was initially announced in October, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claiming that the company had managed to mitigate enough of the "serious mental health issues" with its AI model to relax safety restrictions and introduce "erotica for ver …Read the full story at The Verge.

If you've already given your iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max a retro '80s facelift with Spigen's Macintosh 128K and Apple Lisa-inspired Classic LS cases, you might as well make your wireless earbuds match. But instead of making the AirPods Pro 3 look like a decades-old desktop computer, Spigen's case turns them into a replica of the Macintosh's iconic single-button mouse.The $29.99 case is available through Amazon and comes in two parts that attach to the bottom and hinged lid of the AirPods Pro 3's charging case. Even wrapped in its vintage disguise the case can still open as designed, and its USB-C port and status LED are still accessible. Spi …Read the full story at The Verge.

Whether it’s ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot, or Gemini, I have tried them all. They all have their fair share of strengths and weaknesses. ChatGPT is ideal for brainstorming, Claude for long-form analysis, and Perplexity for my deep-dive research.

The 3D printing hobby starts off feeling like a bottomless pit of money and possibilities, but once you've figured out the perfect hardened steel nozzle for your printer, dialed in retraction settings and E-steps, and calibrated profiles for smooth prints in your favorite filaments, you hit another limitation. I've noticed that besides the unique ornamental models and print-in-place designs, most 3D printable solutions exist for problems rooted in products used worldwide. Things like the Gridfinity system built around IKEA drawers and shelving solves problems many people face.