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.

Good motion graphics editors that are also free are very hard to come by. There is DaVinci Resolve, but the trade-off is that it demands RAM like it’s charging rent, and there's also a steep learning curve for new users. I came across Pikimov this year and found it to be a very decent motion graphics and video editor. It was actually designed specifically to be a free Adobe After Effects alternative, so if you’re coming from Adobe, the UI will feel very familiar. But even for new users, it’s not that hard to get the hang of.

A girl can dream. | Image: Redfin / The Verge Look, I'm as fed up as the next guy with AI chatbots stuffed into every app. I don't want to brainstorm coverage options with an LLM every time I renew my car insurance. I'd much rather message a human than a robot to pester FedEx about my missing package. But I have found one scenario where AI is actually pretty great: real estate.I need to confess something: I'm a Redfin looky-loo. A Zillow zealot. Not because I am actually shopping for a new home. With these interest rates? God, no. But I am perpetually window-shopping for a new home - partly out of nosiness, and partly because I like imagining what life might look like in a different a …Read the full story at The Verge.

Nvidia has received White House approval to start exporting its H200 AI GPU chips to "approved customers" in China and other countries, according to President Donald Trump. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said the deal comes with "conditions that allow for continued strong national security," and that the US will take a 25 percent cut of the GPU sales - higher than the 15 percent cut that was demanded in August.Nvidia's H200 chips are an upgrade to the scaled-down H20 chips that Nvidia is already permitted to sell in China, but are less powerful than its latest flagship Blackwell GPUs."This policy will support American jobs, stre …Read the full story at The Verge.

As he called the House Judiciary Committee into session on a cold and snowy February day in Washington, DC, Chairman Jim Jordan was ready to take a victory lap. American free speech had been critically threatened, and now it was saved - in large part thanks to him and his committee."What a difference a few years make," the Republican congressman for Ohio's 4th district told those present. "Four years ago, President Trump was banned from all platforms: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. Today, he has his own platform. He's back on all the others. And of course, he's president of the United States."Donald Trump was expelled from the major social …Read the full story at The Verge.

Google’s Pixel Buds 2a come in a stylish purple shade that stands out. Google just launched its holiday sale, and it’s basically Black Friday and Cyber Monday revived. From smartphones to smart security devices, plenty of great gifts have returned to their Black Friday prices, with some third-party retailers in some cases offering better deals than Google. Prices for a few of our favorite gadgets are even matching their all-time lows, including the Pixel 9a, Pixel Watch 4, Pixel Buds 2a, and the latest Nest Doorbell. So if you’re still holiday shopping, here are the deals that genuinely stand out.Google Pixel 9AThe Pixel 9A adds more robust water resistance and a brighter, bigger screen to what was already a winning formula for a good midrange phone. Read our review.Where to Buy: $499 $349 at Amazon $499 $399 at Best Buy $499 $399 at GoogleFirst up, the unlocked base Pixel 9a is one of the best smartphone deals we saw on Black Friday, and it’s back at its all-time low of $349 ($150 off) at Amazon. It’s our favorite midrange phone, offering a 6.3-inch OLED screen and a great camera for the price, even if it lacks the Pixel 10’s telephoto lens or Pixel 9’s low-light performance. It’s powered by the older but still snappy Tensor G4 chip and the battery can easily last a full day, even with the always-on display enabled. You also get wireless charging, a robust IP68 rating, and seven years of software updates, which matches the support Google offers on its pricier phones.Pixel Buds 2aGoogle’s latest pair of wireless earbuds feature crisp sound quality, a comfortable design, and solid active noise cancellation, which is great considering the budget-friendly price tag. They even offer built-in support for Gemini and, unlike the entry-level AirPods, a purple option! Read our review.Where to Buy: $129 $99 at Amazon $129 $99 at Best Buy $129 $99 at TargetSpeaking of cheap gadgets that offer a lot of value, Black Friday brought the first meaningful discount on Google’s Pixel Buds 2a before the deal disappeared. Now, once again, though, you can snag them at their all-time low of $99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store. Even at full price, the buds are impressive, offering a useful active noise cancellation that reduces most background noise, along with a natural transparency mode. They deliver crisp, pleasant sound for the price and include built-in Gemini support. Plus, they come in a unique purple color option that looks fabulous, making them an overall great pick for Android users on a budget. Read our review.Google Pixel Watch 4The Pixel Watch 4 has a bigger display, longer battery life, more repairable design, and new Satellite SOS mode. It also leverages Google Gemini, and introduces an AI Health Coach. Read our review.Where to Buy: $349.99 $299.99 at Amazon (41mm, Wi-Fi) $349.99 $299.99 at Best Buy (41mm, Wi-Fi) $349.99 $299.99 at Target (41mm, Wi-Fi)Smartwatches make for popular gifts, and the Pixel Watch 4 is one of the best on the market particularly for Android owners. Right now, you can buy the Wi-Fi-enabled version of the 41mm Pixel Watch 4 from Amazon, Google, and Best Buy starting at $299.99 ($50 off).The wearable brings a number of impressive improvements over the Pixel Watch 3. Along with full support for Gemini, it’s faster, lasts longer, and is twice as bright thanks to its new domed Actua 360 display with slimmer bezels for more screen real estate. Both the display and battery are now replaceable and repairable, and Google added thoughtful perks like a side-mounted charger that turns your watch into a small at-a-glance display for things like battery percentage. On the health and fitness side, you get dual-frequency GPS, retroactive AI activity recognition, and improved sleep tracking. Plus, LTE models get a new Satellite SOS mode that lets you call for emergency services even without cellular service. Read our review.Google Nest Doorbell (third-gen)With 2K video, support for the Gemini for Home AI assistant, 24/7 recording, and some free smart alerts, Google’s third-generation wired doorbell is a great option for home monitoring.Where to Buy: $179.99 $139.99 at Amazon $179.99 $139.99 at Best BuyThe latest Google Nest Wired Doorbell is ideal if you want to keep an eye on packages, and it’s down to $139.99 ($40 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Released in October, the wired model is the upgraded version of our top pick for a video doorbell. It adds noticeably sharper 2K video along with a wider and taller field of view, letting you see more of your porch. It’s also built to work with the new Gemini for Home AI assistant, which can handle more complex tasks than the older Google Assistant. And it still offers the perks that made its predecessor stand out, like free smart notifications that tell you whether it’s a person, package, animal, or vehicle outside of your door. And, if you pay extra for a subscription to Google Home Premium, you can get facial recognition along with 24/7 recording.

Handheld gaming holds a special place in my heart. I've always been a PC gamer, but my secondary console of choice has generally always been the likes of the Nintendo DS, 3DS, or the more recent Switch and Switch 2. The proliferation of PC gaming handhelds has managed to bridge that gap somewhat, but when it comes to retro gaming, nothing comes close. The Anbernic RG35XXSP is one of the best retro gaming handhelds out there, and it's a better experience than even a Raspberry Pi can give.

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.

Memory suppliers just blew a hole in the PC gaming industry - and they're about to do the same to everything else. For weeks, PC enthusiasts have borne the brunt of skyrocketing memory prices, but the shockwaves will soon impact a wider range of products as suppliers pour resources into a far bigger and more lucrative endeavor: AI.The biggest names in the AI industry are buying up DRAM memory for their sprawling data centers, and memory makers are prioritizing their demands over everyone else's. DRAM is embedded "in every part of our digital society today," Jeff Janukowicz, research VP at IDC, tells The Verge. That's everything from laptop …Read the full story at The Verge.

Home labs are versatile enough to accommodate different permutations and combinations of hardware, and the same holds true for the underlying virtualization platform. If you’re in the home server community (or have read my articles here on XDA), you’ve probably heard of Proxmox and its collection of server-centric tools. ESXi is another big name that, despite taking some questionable and anti-consumer stances in the last couple of years, is still a common name in the tinkering community. On the NAS side, you’ve got TrueNAS and Unraid, with each distro featuring its own perks and quirks.

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.

Building a PC is a major feat, and everyone’s experience will be different. With so many PC component options, it can be hard to decide which pieces are worth picking up or are compatible with one another. You also have to consider what your PC looks like, whether that's having a flashy GPU or a large tower with a clear panel so you can see inside.