If you're looking for a laptop that's great for everyday use, this one from HP is going to be it. You get a large 15.6-inch screen and plenty of power from the Intel Core i5 processor that's paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse dreams seem to have been replaced by a new vision: an AI-generated social feed. In an earnings call on Wednesday, Zuckerberg reiterated his belief that AI will become the next big media format, making feeds "more immersive and interactive:"We started with text, and then moved to photos when we got phones with cameras, and then moved to video when mobile networks got fast enough. Soon, we'll see an explosion of new media formats that are more immersive and interactive, and only possible because of advances in AI.Zuckerberg added that apps currently "feel like algorithms that recommend content." But t …Read the full story at The Verge.

While I'm glad that I got started self-hosting using Docker Desktop, there are times I wish that the software were more intuitive. I've considered Docker container management platforms like Portainer, but I have always been a bit intimidated by the tools since I'm still learning a lot about self-hosting.

While I'd love to crow about how 2026 is going to become "the year of Linux," I feel that it won't be the year for some people. Not because Linux is slacking, but because it can't quite check every single tickbox just yet. While I personally find Linux suitable as a replacement for my Windows workflow, others may find Linux lacking in some areas.

Vivaldi is already one of the most powerful and versatile browsers you can get, but today, the team has delivered another major update that takes things to another level. Vivaldi has now reached version 7.8, and it comes with big improvements that take multitasking even further.

Take a Message and next-gen Call Screen features are being disabled on Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 devices. Google is disabling some Phone app features on older Pixel devices after acknowledging a bug that inadvertently leaked audio to callers. The issue has specifically been linked to the Take a Message feature released last year, which automatically answers and transcribes voicemails when you miss a call, with a handful of Pixel 4 and 5 owners reporting that their microphones were activating when callers were leaving messages."We've investigated this issue, which we've confirmed affects a very small subset of Pixel 4 and 5 devices under very specific and rare circumstances," said Google community manager Siri Tejaswini on a support page. "Out …Read the full story at The Verge.

Sometimes you just need a good pair of earbuds that doesn't cost a fortune. That's where the Nothing Ear(a) earbuds come in, delivering exceptional performance for the price. While they were good at MSRP, you can now grab them for even less, coming in at just $59. That's 46% off the usual retail price, which makes them an absolute steal.

Sebastiaan de With, known for his work on apps like Halide, Kino, and Orion as the co-founder of Lux, is joining Apple's design team, he announced today. "So excited to work with the very best team in the world on my favorite products," de With says in his post.Some big personal news: I've joined the Design Team at Apple. So excited to work with the very best team in the world on my favorite products. ✌️- Sebastiaan de With (@sdw.bsky.social) 2026-01-28T21:41:08.819Zde With is well-known for his deep dives on Apple's iPhone cameras - I was a big fan of his post about the iPhone 16e's camera (which he called a "vibe"), and on the other …Read the full story at The Verge.

So you pick up a USB-C cable to charge your laptop, but then use the same-looking cable to transfer 50 GB of 8K video from your camera, only to find out it's moving at speeds you'd expect in the 1990s.

You know, I love how game demos have come back with a vengeance. There was a time between now and when I got PlayStation 2 demo disks free with a magazine, where the bite-sized versions of games seemingly dried up. However, with game devs rediscovering the power of demos (especially during Steam Next Fests), we're seeing the appetiser-sized games back on the menu, and I couldn't be happier.

Microsoft has had some real issues getting people onto Windows 11. Its older brother, Windows 10, held onto its userbase for as long as it possibly could, and recently lost its first-place spot to Windows 11. It's impossible to tell for sure what caused this—it could be people warming to Windows 11, people leaving Windows 10 as it reached the end of non-security support, or a helping of both—but the truth is, Windows 11 is now king.

Most people working with RAW images have probably considered getting a Lightroom subscription if they don’t already have one. It’s the standard for handling RAW files and for good reason. Adobe has some of the best editing software on the market, but its products aren’t the most accessible. Luckily, Affinity is now free, and it includes everything from the old graphics trio - Photo, Designer, and Publisher.