Thunderbolt 5 fixes many of the issues that held back last-gen Thunderbolt eGPUs. The new interface offers better stability and, most importantly, a higher bandwidth rating, with the bidirectional rating much higher than PCIe 4.0x4 OCuLink. However, bandwidth figures alone don't tell the whole story.

I didn’t necessarily set out to self-host my productivity stack; I initially didn’t know much about running apps on my own server, plus I don’t have a home lab or additional hardware beyond my primary PC. But I wanted to learn how to self-host because I was getting uncomfortable with how much of my personal notes and projects were in the cloud. All of it was also tied to services that could change, lock their features, disappear, or even access my data in some cases.

I recently installed Windows 11 on a 12-year-old, unsupported laptop. While the first few days went fine, the OS soon started taking a toll on the outdated hardware. I wasn't running any resource-intensive software, nor did I install a lot of programs. I knew its implications early on and had planned my usage accordingly. So, I spent the next few hours trying to figure out what was causing the slowdown. As it turns out, it wasn't an app at all, but something that made Windows 11 appealing in the first place: the visual effects and animations.

Gas turbines at the on-site natural gas plant under construction during a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Photo: Getty Images The US is now leading a global surge in new gas power plants being built in large part to satisfy growing energy demand for data centers. And more gas means more planet-heating pollution.Gas-fired power generation in development globally rose by 31 percent in 2025. Almost a quarter of that added capacity is slated for the US, which has surpassed China with the biggest increase of any country. More than a third of that growth in the US is expected to directly power data centers, according to a recent analysis by the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor (GEM).More gas means more planet-heating pollutionThe rush to install more powerful hardwa …Read the full story at The Verge.

iPhone 17 Pro Apple says the iPhone had its "best-ever" quarter, with revenue hitting more than $85.3 billion over the past few months. The company announced the news as part of its Q1 2026 earnings report, which also revealed record-breaking revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16 percent when compared to the same time last year."The demand for iPhone was simply staggering, with revenue growing 23 percent year over year," Apple CEO Tim Cook says during a call with investors. "This is the strongest iPhone lineup we've ever had, and by far the most popular."iPhone sales surged despite delays surrounding an AI-upgraded Siri, with the base iPhone 17 model offer …Read the full story at The Verge.

There are plenty of different keyboard options out there if you're looking to upgrade to something new. Now, if you're looking for something within a reasonable budget, that's when things get a bit more difficult when it comes to options.

In case you didn't notice, it's not a great time for PC upgrades right now. The latest PC hardware crisis started with consumer memory but quickly engulfed graphics cards, too. The GPUs that were selling close to their MSRPs only four months ago are now too overpriced to consider. I was looking for a new RTX 50 series GPU for my second PC, but all things considered, a pre-owned RTX 3080 is looking increasingly better. It will save me a lot of money without sacrificing too much performance, and I can work with the 10GB of VRAM if I tweak the in-game settings. Until the market corrects and I can get a new GPU at a reasonable price, this used RTX 3080 will have justified the investment many times over.

To kick off 2026, Google-owned YouTube has deleted over 4.7 billion views worth of AI slop videos, according to a new report from online video editing platform Kapwing.

There's never a shortage of weird tech debuting at CES every year. A new company called Tomorrow Doesn't Matter, or TDM, announced a peculiar pair of headphones at the show earlier this month with a feature no one has tried before. The Neo headphones can be rolled up like a hedgehog which turns them into a compact Bluetooth speaker for those times when you want to share a real banger with those around you. They were expected to launch through a Kickstarter slated for this month, but TDM now says the crowdfunding campaign will officially open on February 10th, 2026.Pricing for the Neo is set to be $249 when they eventually launch in July 20 …Read the full story at The Verge.

You may not have realized, but Windows 10 and 11 have a ton of ads built into them. Microsoft doesn't formally classify them as ads; instead, it labels them as suggestions, recommendations, tips, and offers. Though they serve the same purpose: to draw attention to services and features such as Microsoft Store apps, OneDrive cloud services, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

An ultrawide monitor can be a big upgrade for your gaming experience. Not only are you getting extended screen real estate, but the curved panel also provides a sense of immersion. Of course, grabbing an ultrawide monitor with an OLED panel takes things to another level, but you usually also have to pay the price.

Self-hosting has never been easier. Docker, one-click installs, and detailed guides make running your own apps feel almost effortless. You spin something up, log in, and it just works. That early success builds confidence.