Over the past decade, Microsoft has removed a ton of features from Windows. Some were actually useful at the time, while others, to put it simply, had become redundant. For instance, when Microsoft retired and removed Internet Explorer in 2022, it wasn't anyone's first choice anymore. Users had already moved to newer, better browsers. And there are still some features which, while useful in the days of Windows XP and Windows 7, feel out of place on Windows 11. I don't recall using any of them in the last couple of years.

Open-source NAS software sits at the heart of many home servers and small setups. We trust them with everything from backups and family photos to media libraries and even work data. They are among the primary reasons why many people don’t even need to invest in expensive branded NAS solutions in the first place. Yet, when such projects struggle or slow down over time, we tend to misunderstand the reasons.

It was too cold to take off my mittens and check Google Maps so I put my faith in the trickle of bundled-up people ahead of me. All of them were carrying signs and wearing whistles around their necks on top of layers and layers of winter clothing. At first there were dozens of us walking toward Government Plaza, across the street from Minneapolis City Hall, and within a block it was hundreds. By the time I arrived it was thousands. Some reports said five to ten thousand, but on the ground, it felt like a single vibrating mass that was too large to count. I made my way through the throng, repeating "excuse me" and "pardon me" despite the di …Read the full story at The Verge.

I'd like to think that delaying an upgrade to AM5 is my own free will, but I'm not fooling anyone. DDR5 RAM prices being what they are, it's virtually impossible to jump platforms right now, and might be for another two years. Sticking with my DDR4 rig is the only choice I have, but I'm not going to sit around waiting for it to feel more dated than it does already. To be honest, my Ryzen 7 5700X and 32GB of DDR4 RAM are perfectly fine in 2026, but comparison is the theft of joy. When I see other DDR5 systems leave my PC behind, I feel I need to push it beyond its stock limits. Hence, I've decided to tweak my CPU, RAM, and even GPU to squeeze some more life out of them till I wait for the market to correct.

Productivity tools are supposed to make work easier, but many paid apps end up doing the opposite. Cluttered interfaces, constant upsells, and unnecessary features often slow me down more than they help. Over time, I found myself leaning toward open-source tools, not just for freedom and control, but for better productivity. Many of them focus on clarity, speed, and getting out of the way. Here are the open-source productivity tools that genuinely feel better to use than popular paid apps. These are the tools I use to stay focused, work faster, and avoid UI fatigue, without subscriptions or distractions.

Whether you're building a new PC or adding more storage to your existing one, you might consider saving money by buying a 500GB or 250GB SSD. The thought seems logical at first, but it'll come back to bite you sooner rather than later. The rate at which modern operating systems, games, creative applications, and AI programs are expanding in size makes almost every SSD feel too small. If I'm being realistic, however, most people should have at least 2TB of SSD storage on their PC. Anything less than that is on a pretty fast clock to obsolescence. A tiny SSD doesn't save you money; it forces you to spend more in the long run. It's also more susceptible to slowdown and has a lower lifespan than larger drives.

I've been configuring networks for what feels like forever, and even took a Network+ certification course in the early 2000s. In that time, I've lost track of how many bone-headed mistakes I've made, either through a lack of knowledge, being too sure of my knowledge, and not checking things that I was told were working fine.

Right now, we have lightning-fast RAM and massive NVMe SSDs, yet there is still a massive latency gap between them. For a few years, Intel Optane (3DX) filled that gap, promising the speed of memory with the persistence of a hard drive. However, in 2022, Intel began winding down the Optane, and by 2024, support was officially EOL.

SpaceX filed a request with the FCC on Friday seeking approval to put a constellation of 1 million data center satellites into orbit. While the FCC is unlikely to approve a network that expansive, SpaceX's strategy has been to request approval for unrealistically large numbers of satellites as a starting point for negotiations. The filing proposes establishing a network of solar-powered data centers in low Earth orbit that communicate with one another via lasers. The filling speaks of the constellation in ambitious sci-fi terms, calling it a "first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization - one that can harness the Sun's ful …Read the full story at The Verge.

I’ve been a massive fan of the Kindle Paperwhite since the first model launched. With each new generation, I bought into the hype of color E Ink displays as the next big upgrade in e-readers. That’s why I looked forward to the Kindle Colorsoft. Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t release it worldwide, and other options come with steep price tags.

I use self-hosted tools regularly, and you've probably heard of many of them. But here's the thing: there are loads of hidden gems among the self-hosting community that you probably haven't heard of, but that you should try out for yourself. These tools offer niche functions that you might not even realize you need — but once you find them, you won't want to live without them.

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang denied reports that he was unhappy with OpenAI and said his company still planned to make a "huge" investment in the ChatGPT firm. NVIDIA announced in September that it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, but recently, there have been suggestions that the deal might not happen. While Huang told reporters in Taipei that it was "nonsense" to say he was unhappy with OpenAI, when asked if Nvidia would be investing over $100 billion, he replied, "No, nothing like that."Reuters reported Huang said:"We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI. I believe in OpenAI, the work that they do is incredible, they …Read the full story at The Verge.