Every so often, I have the same dream. I'm back in high school, and I have to take an exam, usually math or history. The problem is, I've either forgotten to study for it, forgotten where the exam hall is, or forgotten when the exam is. Regardless of the problem, I end up bumbling around the school, trying to figure out how I'm going to fix this mess.

Kodi has a reputation problem. If you mention it online, you will usually hear one of two things — either someone says it is outdated and complicated, or someone associates it with broken streaming add-ons and piracy. Both views miss the point. Kodi was never meant to be a plug-and-play Netflix replacement. It was built as a powerful, flexible media center for people who own and manage their own content. If you judge it by what it is designed to do, Kodi is far from dead. In fact, it still does that job extremely well.

While I don’t quite have an explanation for why it’s taken me this long, I finally gave in and bought a pack of cheap NFC tags. Safe to say, it's one of the best purchases I've made, and they’re now scattered throughout my house. For those unfamiliar, NFC tags are programmable stickers that trigger actions on your phone when you tap it against them.

1Password is increasing its prices on March 27th, 2026. In an email sent to users, the password manager says it will raise the price of its individual plan from $3.99 / month ($35.88 / year) to $4.99 / month ($47.88 / year), and that its family plan is going from $6.95 / month ($59.88 / year) to $7.99 / month ($71.88 / year)."While 1Password has grown substantially in value and capability, our pricing has remained largely unchanged for many years," 1Password's email states. 1Password says that the price increase will help it "continue investing in innovation and the world-class security you expect." The email lists some of the new features …Read the full story at The Verge.

In the PC hardware nexus, the itch to upgrade rarely ever comes as a result of hardware failure. From what you can make around conversations on tech forums, it's almost always driven by four psychological "urges" amongst gamers and power users alike. The first of these is what I refer to as the 'performance plateau effect', where having to drop your graphical presets from 'ultra' to 'medium' starts to feel like surrender. This is closely followed by the resolution trap, which comes into play when you buy a high-resolution display and discover that your GPU is outmatched.

For years, the search bar on the Windows taskbar has been little more than a way to find a lost PDF or quickly check the weather. But after spending a week diving deep into the AI tools tucked away right inside that search field, I realized I was overlooking a powerful productivity suite that’s been sitting under my nose the whole time.

Depending on who you ask, Home Assistant is either a great automation tool for smart homes or a perfect way to rid your smartphone of other smart home apps. Really, it's both, and it depends on what you want to get out of your smart home: easy control or deep customization. There are over 3,000 official integrations to bring your devices into Home Assistant, and many more thousands in the Home Assistant Community Store, adding up to a very powerful platform indeed.

When Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson began uploading a series of short clips created with Seedance 2.0 - TikTok developer ByteDance's newest video generation model - it was hard to deny that the footage was much more impressive than what we've seen from other gen AI outfits. The clips' star (a digital duplicate of Tom Cruise) looked a lot like the real thing as it fought Brad Pitt, humanoid robots, and zombies. And the characters moved with a complex fluidity almost passing for choreography and amplified by kinetic "camerawork."Gen AI enthusiasts love to proclaim that the traditionally produced entertainment industry is cooked, and some of …Read the full story at The Verge.

I handle a lot of sensitive files on a regular basis. Contracts, scans of identification, API keys, financial documents, and others all live somewhere on my devices. Some of them would be inconvenient if exposed, and others would be a serious problem.

Age verification is a reality on a growing number of social media platforms, requiring an ID or facial scan for full access to everything from YouTube to Roblox. The age-gating wave is coming along with calls for stronger child safety measures online, despite concerns about privacy, security, and censorship. In the US, lawmakers are pushing forward bills like the App Store Accountability Act and Parents Over Platforms Act to have app stores themselves verify users’ ages. Discord has delayed plans to roll out age verification globally after user backlash until later in 2026, but it hasn’t completely shelved them, even after a breach of a former vendor last year that leaked some users’ scanned IDs. Meanwhile, other platforms, like ChatGPT and Google, are applying AI models to identify and lock down accounts suspected of being underage until some form of identity verification can prove the user is an adult.Follow along below for the latest updates on age verification for internet services and apps… Discord is delaying its global age verification rollout Discord distances itself from Persona age verification after user backlash America desperately needs new privacy laws Discord says ‘vast majority’ of users won’t see its new age verification setup Discord’s age verification mandate is a leap toward a gated internet Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month ChatGPT is using age prediction to restrict what minors see Will you have to show your ID at the app store? Roblox now requires an age check if you want to chat Meet the new tech laws of 2026 Judge blocks Texas app store age verification law Australia boots kids under 16 off social media: how platforms are responding Welcome to the ‘papers, please’ internet Here’s how Apple is locking down iPhones to comply with Texas’ age verification law Bluesky brings age verification to South Dakota and Wyoming Mastodon can’t comply with Mississippi’s age verification laws. Steam users in the UK will need a credit card to access ‘mature content’ games Bluesky blocks Mississippi under new age verification law Supreme Court opens door to social media age-gating in US Google is using AI age checks to lock down user accounts Ready or not, age verification is rolling out across the internet Microsoft starts rolling out Xbox age verification in the UK Reddit and Discord’s UK age verification can be defeated by Death Stranding’s photo mode Roblox will require a facial scan or government ID to have unfiltered chats The EU is testing a prototype age verification app Reddit is rolling out age verification in the UK Bluesky is rolling out age verification in the UK Google has open sourced its privacy-focused age verification technology. The Supreme Court just upended internet law, and I have questions The EU age verification app will launch in July. Apple is hitting back in the war over internet age-gating Utah governor signs the first app store age verification bill into law. Utah becomes the first state to pass an app store age verification bill How Meta’s global head of safety approaches online age verification Child safety bills are reshaping the internet for everyone Online age verification is coming, and privacy is on the chopping block Instagram is testing an AI tool that verifies your age by scanning your face

Samsung is set to introduce its new Galaxy S26 lineup at its next Unpacked event on February 25th, potentially alongside a new pair of earbuds and other wearables. If you’re thinking about picking up any of the new devices, it’s worth claiming Samsung’s $30 promotional credit before it expires, which you can do by registering your interest on Samsung’s website before 1PM ET / 10AM PT tomorrow.If you’re even remotely considering an upgrade, there’s not much to lose by signing up.  You don’t need to pay anything or even offer your credit card details to take advantage of the offer. You just need to reserve a device by signing up with your name and email address on Samsung’s website or the Shop Samsung app ahead of the event. Once the devices are officially announced and preorders open, you’ll be able to apply the $30 credit at checkout. Sadly, you can’t use the $30 credit to reduce the cost of your phone or any other Samsung device announced during Unpacked; however, you can use it for all kinds of accessories.Alongside the $30 credit, Samsung is offering up to $900 in credit when you trade in your phone at the time of purchase. For instance, trading in an S24 Ultra could net you up to $700 in credit. Your phone will have to meet certain eligibility requirements, though, and can’t exhibit damage beyond normal wear and tear.We don’t know yet exactly what the Galaxy S26 lineup will bring, but early rumors point to a built-in privacy mode that can fully black out content from select apps or parts of the display. Reports also suggest we’ll see more Galaxy AI features — particularly new AI-powered camera tools — along with a brighter camera system.

Discord won't roll out age verification globally on its platform next month as previously announced, and says in a blog post that it's delaying the launch until the second half of 2026. "The way this landed, many of you walked away thinking we're requiring face scans and ID uploads from everyone just to use Discord. That's not what's happening, but the fact that so many people believe it tells us we failed at our most basic job: clearly explaining what we're doing and why," writes Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy.Discord says that before it rolls out age verification globally, it will add more options for users to verify their age (includ …Read the full story at The Verge.