Self-hosting has slowly become one of my favorite ways to stay productive. As a freelance tech blogger, I love the control and privacy that come with keeping my data local and managing my own tools. I prefer it!

If you've never done it before, building your first PC can be a little overwhelming, even a tad annoying. Maybe you're switching from consoles, or getting a custom PC after years of using pre-built rigs. As a first-time builder, there are things no one tells you about PC building, no matter how much you research or how many YouTube tutorials you watch. While the learning curve isn't exactly steep, there are numerous skills you should ideally have a handle on before you embark on your first build. The alternative is to learn on the go, and I can't promise that it will be smooth or uneventful.

The first PC that I could claim as "mine" as a kid was a Windows 3.1 device. Because it was mine, the PC was subjected to all the curiosities of my younger self, who wanted to play games, draw stuff, and write an awful journal. I think the said journal is still on a floppy disk somewhere. May it never be found again.

Google is under investigation by the European Union over concerns that it breached competition rules by imposing restrictions on web publishers and YouTube creators to gain an unfair advantage over other AI companies. Concerns outlined by the European Commission include using content from web publishers for features like AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, and feeding YouTube content into Google's generative AI models - all while failing to provide "appropriate compensation" or the ability to refuse such use of their content. These concerns are tied to the existential threat of "Google Zero" - the moment in which Google Search no longer re …Read the full story at The Verge.

I've been a dungeon master for over a decade, and in that time, I've run games in every format imaginable: on forums, tabletop pen and paper with a lot of miniatures, and then once COVID hit, on Roll20. In all that time, I tracked progression and character stats in a lot of different ways. Now? I use Obsidian, and I only wish I'd found it sooner. While Roll20 does boast a few similar features, it's nothing compared to the depth I can achieve with a dedicated Obsidian vault.

Notepad has come a long way over the years, establishing itself as a trusted staple for Windows users. It changed little, remained simple and fast, and offered a user-friendly experience. But things changed quickly. When users began replacing Notepad and switching to alternatives, Microsoft, in the past few years, added a slew of features to Notepad to streamline the experience, with "Autocorrect" and "Spellcheck" being the most talked about introductions.

Although wireless networks dominate most homes, wired networks definitely have an important place still. With a wired network, you get a more reliable connection that's also much faster. In addition, you can also power an entire network of devices using a PoE switch, which makes it possible to route power and data through one cable.

Video games have also included a few dominant genres that are always relevant and popular among players. Shooters are a foundational aspect of modern gaming, especially for those who like to go online and play with others around the world. There's just something fun about locking in to a target with an arsenal of powerful weaponry that never gets old. And between big games with a massive number of players to match up with, to remasters of iconic classics from a bygone era, there was plenty to shoot in 2025.

If you've been thinking about moving on from Windows, this mini PC is going to make the decision pretty easy. The Mac Mini is just one of those devices that delivers so much value. We loved it in our review, praising its impressive performance, compact form factor, and fantastic port selection.

Over two years after Fairphone introduced its first pair of modular and repairable wireless headphones, the company has announced an upgraded version. The new Fairbuds XL look similar to the originals but feature an updated design with more comfortable fabrics and improved sound thanks to new drivers. What's most interesting about these is that thanks to Fairphone's commitment to modular hardware, some of the improvements are backward-compatible. That way, owners of the first-gen Fairbuds XL can upgrade them with better sound without replacing them entirely.The new Fairbuds XL are launching with an updated and sleeker design that now uses …Read the full story at The Verge.

Obsidian is the app I open daily to jot down my ideas, but over time, my vault stopped feeling organized and began to feel cluttered. I had a “main” note for a specific topic, along with stray meeting notes, draft fragments, and random brain dumps that also touched on the same subject.

Microsoft Teams may not be the most loved collaboration tool worldwide, but it keeps getting new features and improvements every month to win over critics, and there are still plenty of them. While you may not see exciting features coming to Teams this month, the software giant has planned to launch several handy new features for its collaboration tool in the first few months of 2026.