PC gamers hold on to their CPUs far longer than most other components. Lately, however, newer and more demanding games have started to convince many users that their relatively recent CPUs need a replacement. Whether it's the allure of a new platform or a newly crowned "fastest gaming CPU", it is sometimes too easy to fall prey to PC hardware marketing and FOMO. Even if you're gaming at 1080p, where games can get quite CPU-bound, you don't need to upgrade from a CPU that you bought only 3–5 years ago.

For the longest time, the only browsers you'd really hear people talk about were Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, maybe even Microsoft Edge. While new browsers popped up sporadically, either a very small (and silent) pool of people would use them, or they just wouldn’t gain enough traction to make a real dent in anyone’s routine. With AI browsers now in the game like Perplexity's Comet, Opera's Neon, Norton's Neo, and one you've surely heard of, OpenAI's Atlas, this seems to have finally changed this year.

Adobe Lightroom is probably the most esteemed, industry-standard RAW image editor out there, and for good reason. It excels at handling all your RAW image editing needs, such as batch editing, file management, cataloging, culling, color correction, color grading, precise control, and much more. The only problem is, many of us don’t feel like the Adobe subscription fees are worth it, especially since you can get similar functionality elsewhere for free.

With both Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 finally out, gamers are getting a healthy dose of first-person shooter action. Each game has their own take on content like a single-player campaign, as well as online multiplayer modes to keep everyone busy. But one thing about Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 that has everyone divided is how both games step outside their traditional gameplay boxes and introduce new modes that are very different. While Battlefield REDSEC brings the battle royale style of gameplay to the series for the first time, Black Ops 7 takes a more co-op approach with its Endgame mode.

Most journaling apps want you to free-write into the void. They promise mindfulness through blank pages and gentle prompts, but I kept abandoning them after a week. The problem was that I needed structure, not serenity. So I built my own journaling system inside ClickUp, a project management tool designed for teams shipping software, not people tracking their feelings. The free tier gave me enough room to create a "daily wins" tracker that finally made burnout visible before it became a crisis.

A few years ago, a media player, retro console, and a smart TV box were three separate gadgets in my entertainment setup. Each solved its own problem, but they also added clutter and came with their own limitations. I eventually realized that a budget mini PC could handle all of those roles with far more flexibility. It took only a bit of testing for me to understand how much value these machines can deliver when given a clear purpose.

So, GTA VI got delayed again, and it's already old news at this point. However, this news of the delay has certainly ruffled up a lot of feathers for countless gamers. Grand Theft Auto VI, which was previously delayed to a May 2026 release date, will now be even further delayed and come out in November 2026 instead.

There’s gold at the end of those AI travel queries. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge I was starting to doubt it would ever happen, but I finally found a regular, helpful use for AI: vanlife travel planner. I'm not a student and I don't code. I am, however, on day 48 of my van tour through Europe with my wife and dog. We travel without a specific itinerary, chasing the wind and sun while working our 9 to 5 jobs. AI's mastery of travel planning has made it an unexpected but irreplaceable expert. So much so that we've grown increasingly dependent upon the free versions of Gemini and ChatGPT to help choose our next destination. It all started with a simple query. Tired after a 25km hike with only a few hours left of daylight …Read the full story at The Verge.

Windows 11’s File Explorer works, but it lacks the features that would make it easier to use. After using the Files app from the Microsoft Store, I didn’t go back. I was able to do and enjoy things I didn’t with the default one. For example, with the Files app, I could add a “Photos tag” to an image I wanted to access quickly.

As someone who tinkers with home lab projects on a daily basis, I’ve seen the Proxmox setup screen so many times that it practically lives rent-free in my head. Failed networking projects, bootloader misadventures, cluster accidents, and incorrectly set-up permissions often end up with me reinstalling Proxmox from scratch. While there are ways to recover from them, starting from a clean slate is the easiest method – especially for nested server VM and experimental home lab devices.

With their recent announcement of the Steam Machine, Valve looks to further their foothold into consumer gaming hardware, and while essentially everything that they've done so far has ranged from "great" to "not bad", the Steam Machine isn't immune from being a bad product. After taking a quick look at the spec sheet, I wasn't terribly impressed, but if there's anything we've learned from Valve's hardware efforts in the last few years, it's that they're willing to take risks to capture market share. I think that's exactly what they're trying to do with the Steam Machine, and despite the modest specs, I think they've got the right formula to make it work.

With manufacturers introducing new components every passing year, it’s only a matter of time until the most cutting-edge hardware gets obsolete. I often upgrade my PC components one at a time, until I have a Ship of Theseus moment and end up replacing all essential parts. But unless the old components have become completely unusable, I typically grab a new case and turn them into a separate rig.