ESP32 projects come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they revolutionise our smart devices and how we interact with them, sometimes they do something we've never seen before, and sometimes they're just a really cool gadget. And while people can sit around and debate about the 'value' of different kinds of projects, the truth is that all projects are cool, no matter how life-changing they are.

A Raspberry Pi is great at feeling “fine” right up until it starts wasting your time. Services stay up, the status lights blink like everything’s normal, and you chalk the occasional lag up to a cheap SD card or a noisy container update. Under the hood, though, the Pi can quietly reduce its clock speed to keep temperatures under control. That’s thermal throttling, and it often manifests as small annoyances rather than a dramatic failure.

I never knew how easy it was to die in an orgy. But that's just one of the many threats facing Geralt of Rivia in his latest adventure. The studio behind the Reigns series of Tinder-like choose-your-own-adventure games has now adapted The Witcher, following a handful of original titles and a take on Game of Thrones. And for Francois Alliot, creative director at Reigns studio Nerial, the series' structure actually makes it an ideal way to ease players into sprawling fantasies like this. "There's something about the way you can bring really complex universes, lore, and storylines to simple actions," he says. "It can work in a lot of contexts." …Read the full story at The Verge.

Most people pay for an AI subscription because they want access to features that help them get work done. But when those same features start trickling down to free users, you start to doubt if paying the monthly subscription is worth it. A handful of tools that were once paywalled are now free, and collectively they make Claude a much more serious competitor to ChatGPT than it was even a few months ago.

I used to think that being good at Excel was all about memorizing complex formulas and mastering Pivot tables. But recently, I realized I was overlooking the foundation of the entire experience: the settings.

It seems the US government is having a big shake-up over which AI models it wants to use. Earlier today, Trump confirmed on his Truth Social account that he was banning Anthropic products from government agencies due to the AI company preventing some actions due to its Terms of Service. Trump declared that he would allow six months for the changeover from Anthropic to happen.

If you're a KDE Plasma user, there's a good chance you've already begun checking out the brand new KDE Plasma 6.6 update and everything it has to offer. However, as good as 6.6 is, the KDE team isn't resting yet. In fact, it seems like it's full steam ahead on making 6.7 the best that it can be.

The CGO Compact electric bike twists and folds to create a wall-hugging profile. Good electric bikes are expensive. So why not buy one and share it? That's the idea behind the Tenways CGO Compact e-bike I've been sharing with my wife and teenage daughter for the last two weeks. It adapts in seconds without any tools to comfortably fit riders of varying heights thanks to its low-entry frame, quick-release seat post, and height-adjustable handlebar.It also takes up less space than an ordinary bike with its 20-inch wheels, folding pedals, and a handlebar that twists to create a slim, wall-hugging profile that goes flat inside a car or train. The CGO Compact's geometry puts riders into a comfortable upright body positi …Read the full story at The Verge.

I used to think “functional print” was just a category tag, like it magically turned a model into something that behaved. Then I started trying to print things I’d actually touch every day, and the bar shot up overnight. A useful print has to fit real objects, survive real handling, and live in a real space without becoming annoying. That’s a lot of responsibility for a strand of melted plastic.

We all love upgrading our PCs. Even after finishing a dream rig or wrapping up a full build, it rarely takes long before the brain starts wandering towards what comes next. What can be improved? What can be optimized? That itch just never really goes away. The truth, however, is that in 2026, upgrading PCs is a downright brutal affair. Upgrading PCs has been challenging due to supply issues and high GPU/SSD/RAM prices, making enthusiasts collectively shelve any serious upgrade plans.

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 117, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, please send Android tips, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about Eileen Gu and Ozempic and fancy grocery stores, trying out the beautiful Shiori bookmarking app, trying to temper my expectations for the Scrubs reboot, continuing my test of the Pixel 10 Pro, building my dream to-do list app with Claude Code (it's almost done!), enjoying the beginnings of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, recording the next season of Version History, watching a …Read the full story at The Verge.

We're huge fans of Hyprland here at XDA. In fact, one of our most grizzled Linux veterans in the XDA labs, Rich Edmonds, has taken pen to paper to discuss how Arch Linux and Hyprland transformed their laptop and how they feel Hyprland is the best window manager for Linux.