Accidentally raising your hand in an online meeting isn't the most embarrassing thing you can do in Teams, but it's so easy to do and so disruptive to the meeting flow that it sticks with you. Something about halting a 30-attendee strong presentation just really gets to you, especially the part where you have to unmute and sheepishly admit you accidentally hit the wrong button.

Though Tim Cook is shedding his CEO title for the role of Apple's executive chairman, it appears he'll keep one of his most important duties: that of the company's Trump whisperer."As executive chairman, Cook will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world," Apple writes in a press release. Translation: he's sticking around to deal with thorny political relationships - in particular the one with President Donald Trump.Throughout his tenure, Cook has navigated Apple through tricky political terrain. He's had to balance the company's massive business interest in China with US policymak …Read the full story at The Verge.

Ten years ago, Dyson kicked off the hair gadget arms race with its $400 Supersonic hair dryer. Today, it's back with a slightly smaller and cheaper travel-size version.As the name suggests, the $299.99 Supersonic Travel is meant for people on the go - whether that's a business trip or a jaunt to the gym before work. Dyson claims that it's 32 percent smaller, 25 percent lighter, and capable of fitting in purses and carry-on luggage. It uses the same basic tech as the Supersonic, though it now automatically adapts voltage to the country you're in. And folks who already invested in the original Supersonic don't have to worry about buying new …Read the full story at The Verge.

If you've ever had the embarrassing displeasure of interrupting a Microsoft Teams meeting by accidentally hitting the "raise hand" feature, then I have some good news for you. Microsoft is redesigning its online meeting software, which will move the raise hand button from the main toolbar and allow users to personalize the controls displayed there.The update was announced on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap and is expected to roll out sometime in June this year. The changes will group the Raise Hand feature under the Reactions button "to reduce mis-clicks," according to Microsoft, which is handy because the two functions are easy to conflate at a …Read the full story at The Verge.

Sony is starting to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act by notifying PlayStation players of its age verification requirements today. PS4 and PS5 owners in the UK and Ireland won't be able to participate in voice chats, messaging, parties, or other third-party communication services from June unless they verify their age."Beginning June 2026, if you have not completed age verification, you can continue playing on PlayStation, but some features won't be available until you verify your age," says Sony in a support note. Age verification will also be required for broadcasting features or sharing gameplay to YouTube or Twitch from a PlayStat …Read the full story at The Verge.

Running a homelab server sounds like a straightforward task on paper. I have been running my own homelab server on an old PC for over a year now. It often felt like solving one problem just to uncover another. One of the advantages of using a local server is that I can access the services instantly when on the same network. The moment I step outside, that advantage disappears. I have to rely on public domain names through Cloudflare Tunnel to access those services.

Samsung makes Ikea’s lineup feel native inside SmartThings, not like generic Matter devices. | Image: Samsung Ikea's two dozen Matter-over-Thread devices have proved problematic since launch, but Samsung says its SmartThings platform now has it all sorted. If true, it means Ikea's sensors and complex remotes should actually display correctly, function flawlessly, and plug directly into Samsung's advanced home automation routines without any issues. To achieve this, Samsung says it has "built enhanced integrations" with Ikea's scroll wheel remote, bulbs, smart plugs, and sensors for temperature, humidity, air quality, motion, water, and open doors and windows. Furthermore, "Samsung and Ikea conducted multiple rounds of validation to enhance connect …Read the full story at The Verge.

The era of the $20-a-month AI tax is officially over for my workflow. For the last few months, Claude Pro was my co-pilot (not the one from Microsoft) for debugging Python scripts, planning a vacation, and giving me ideas about improving my home lab.

I didn’t expect one of my more entertaining gaming experiments this year to start inside Proxmox. Usually, when I spin up a VM, I’m thinking about services, testing, or something useful for my home lab. I’m not expecting to pass through a GPU, boot Windows 11, and end up benchmarking Cyberpunk 2077 on a mini PC. Yet that’s exactly what happened, and the result was a lot better than I had any right to expect.

A little while ago, we saw one of Valve's contractors, Natalie Vock, release a new tool that prevents Linux from stealing your VRAM. Beforehand, when Linux had to free up room on your GPU's VRAM and move stuff to the RAM, it had zero context over which blocks of data were assigned to which apps. As such, it had a tendency to boot the game you're playing off the VRAM to help keep that one random Google Chrome window you have open on the GPU's RAM, which isn't ideal.

The Apple Sports widget for iOS. | Image: Apple I was disappointed when Apple launched a new Sports iOS widget last year without CarPlay support, but I'm pleased to report that's changing this week. The latest Apple Sports update includes widget support in CarPlay, allowing you to follow live sports scores for your favorite teams or leagues all within the new widgets interface in the iOS 26 version of CarPlay.You can pick between a league widget that shows live scores and schedules for a league or sport you're interested in, or a teams widget, which follows your favorite teams. Both widgets will show live scores, but they don't appear to update in real time. I tested the widget during t …Read the full story at The Verge.

Yelp is giving its chatbot assistant a major upgrade, turning the platform into something closer to a digital concierge with a suite of new features designed for "getting things done." The move, one of several AI-focused updates in recent months, is part of a broader industry push to make AI more relevant and practically useful to consumers while turning huge troves of user-generated data into a competitive edge. In a press release, Yelp says the Yelp Assistant chatbot will be at "the center of the app experience," where it can answer questions, make recommendations, and even handle bookings in a single conversation. The bot will be availa …Read the full story at The Verge.