I used to view Docker primarily as a sandbox for web servers and basic home lab experiments. I didn’t think a containerized setup could truly compete with the polished, feature-rich productivity apps I have relied on for years.

The concept of a homemade console that supports various systems isn't new, but it's been a few years since I've seen one. Remember Yoshi's Boxx from roughly 2002, a custom-made console that could play the PC, Xbox, PS2, Game Cube, Atari 2600, and NES games?

Stream Decks have been increasing in popularity tenfold over the past few years. They're the icon of a modern desk setup and not just used for streaming, but for a variety of other shortcuts too. A Stream Deck is essentially a small LCD and a USB controller. You're paying for the software ecosystem and the logo rather than the hardware and the device itself.

It's always an exciting time when you're looking to upgrade the hardware for your PC. And while big ticket items like graphics cards and CPUs usually come first, a new gaming monitor can be just as important.

Casio SX-C1 sampler prototype on display at NAMM. Casio showed up to NAMM (CES for music gear nerds) this year with a prototype sampler called the SX-C1 that looks every bit the lovechild of a Game Boy and an SP-404. The top has a directional pad and four buttons just like you'd find on a game controller, flanking a 1.3-inch OLED screen. But at the bottom, there are 16 rubberized pads for triggering samples with crunchy pixelated number labels on them.The device on display on the show floor was not fully finalized, so the specs are subject to change. Casio says that the final version will have 16 voice polyphony and record samples at 16-bit / 48kHz. It will also have 10 banks of samples, …Read the full story at The Verge.

TikTok is officially under new ownership in the US, and that could spell big changes for the video-sharing app. On January 22nd, ByteDance - TikTok's Chinese parent company - and a group of investors closed a $14 billion deal to spin off the platform's US operations, introducing a new slate of American executives.The Silver Lake investment firm, Abu Dhabi's MGX, and the cloud giant Oracle will each have 15 percent stakes in the new TikTok US Data Security (USDS) Joint Venture LLC. ByteDance will still hold a 19.9 percent stake in the company, in line with the divest-or-ban law that went into effect last year - though the deal was pushed th …Read the full story at The Verge.

Since the Intel NUC, I've seen an ever-increasing share of people opt for an all-in-one computer or a mini PC with an assortment of peripherals they prefer. The use cases range from office work to heavy, intensive AI model refinement, and mini PCs today seem adept at handling it all. However, if the mini ITX form factor is any yardstick, a disproportionate increase in pricing typically accompanies a reduction in the PC component size. That's mostly because these small computers and their components aren't exactly flying off the shelves, and it takes considerable engineering effort to shrink mid-tower performance down to palm-sized machines.

If you have a complicated home entertainment and office setup like me, you've probably been in this situation.

TikTok finally closed a deal meant to bring it into compliance with the law that should have banned it a year ago, and the lawmakers who passed that law still don't seem to know what's going on.The company announced Tuesday that its US service is now part of the separate TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with parent company ByteDance holding just a 19.9 percent stake in that new entity. The rest is owned by Oracle and investment firms Silver Lake and MGX, as well as smaller investors including Michael Dell's family investment firm. Oracle will store US data and the joint venture will "retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algor …Read the full story at The Verge.

I’ve been experimenting with graphics tools for years, and over time, you realize you don’t actually need a massive all-in-one suite. Half of the time, I just need something quick and precise to do one simple task, such as getting the HEX values for a color palette or resizing an image. That’s why I’ve started building a “mini” toolkit of open-source graphics apps that let me take care of smaller tasks without slowing me down. They’re not just freebies; they’re very lean and reliable, and in some cases, surprisingly powerful.

Meta is "temporarily pausing" the ability for teens to chat with its AI characters as it develops a "new version" of the characters that will offer a "better experience." The company made the announcement in an update to a blog post from October where the company had detailed more parental controls for teen AI use. The change blocking teens from accessing the characters will go into effect "starting in the coming weeks.""Since we announced our plans to build parental controls for AI characters in October, we started developing a new iteration of AI characters generally (i.e. for both adults and teens)," spokesperson Sophie Vogel tells The …Read the full story at The Verge.

For a long time, it was easy to explain why Linux never broke through on the desktop. Drivers were flaky, Wi-Fi barely worked, GPU acceleration was a dice roll, and installing software felt like trial and error. If you tried Linux ten years ago and bounced off it hard, that reaction makes complete sense. It was good for reviving old systems and servers (and still is), but desktop use was reserved for the hardcore because of its reliance on knowledge.