A little while ago, we got some excellent news from the people over at Good Old Games (GOG). After one of the co-founders of GOG managed to bring the GOG website back from its former owners, CD Projekt Red, a job posting for the service claimed that GOG saw Linux as the "next frontier" of PC gaming, and would be taking it more seriously moving forward.

Something you'll catch me writing about a lot is pairing productivity tools with each other. The reason I like doing that is simple: if a tool is incredibly powerful on its own, imagine what it can do when paired with other tools you already use every day. One AI tool I've been absolutely obsessed with lately is Anthropic's Claude. It's packed with unique features, far better at coding and reasoning than most other LLMs, and integrates seamlessly with other tools.

I'm an awful rock climber. Being scared of heights probably doesn't help. But when I've tried it, I've loved the slow, methodical work of moving from one ledge to the next. It reminds me a lot of why I love running; in both sports, you achieve goals that seem insurmountable by taking them one step at a time. Cairn, a new game from The Game Bakers, is one of the few games I've played that truly captures that feeling.You play as Aava, a famous climber obsessed with summiting a mountain called Kami. You climb by moving all four of Aava's limbs, one by one, to find safe cracks, bumps, and ledges to let you inch your way higher, all while manag …Read the full story at The Verge.

Not every device needs a screen. The latest Anker 45-watt Nano charger, announced in January, which remains one of the smallest 45-watt chargers on the market, adds a full color screen displaying an animated character and a smattering of details about the device you're charging. Anker Nano 45W charger with displayAnker Nano 45W charger with a built-in screenWhere to Buy: $39.99 $29.98 at AmazonThe display is occasionally useful if you like to keep tabs on how much power your device is drawing, but the screen feels more like a marketing gimmick than a feature most consumers will actually benefit from. But it's not the only upgrade that makes the charger worth considerin …Read the full story at The Verge.

I'm also a late convert to Obsidian, not because I don't need to take copious notes for future reference, but because I'm terrible at taking notes and using productivity apps in general. They're just more executive function noise that I can often do without, until, of course, I forget something important and things go crashing down. But then I started wondering if I could outsource the note-taking to AI, and gears started whirring in my brain.

Okay, I'm going to need you to temper your expectations for this one. Microsoft has released a new operating system, and it's open-source. However, before you start celebrating that the company has finally taken the Linux route for Windows 12, it's worth noting that this operating system is something different from the Windows brand. In fact, it's not even for you. That being said, it's still a really interesting system that's worth knowing about, even if it's not something you'll be booting into on your PC.

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 115, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, go Seahawks I guess, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about The Washington Post and the Murdochs and Polymarket and whatever a "Soho House for creators" is, watching Independence Day for the first time and Jurassic Park for roughly the 50th, bailing on everything for the next few weeks so I can watch the Olympics full-time, loving the timeline-task-manager look of Paso, learning more about Furby than I ever expected for the upcoming season of Ve …Read the full story at The Verge.

Sometimes you just need something in order to get the job done. That's the best way we can describe this Dell monitor, featuring good specifications that don't cost a lot of money.

It’s the first weekend of February, which can only mean one thing: The Super Bowl (or “Benito Bowl,” if you’re mainly tuning in for the Bad Bunny-led halftime show) is upon us. The game is Sunday, February 8th, at 6:30PM ET on Peacock, NFL Plus, and on live services that include NBC. With that out of the way, I’m here to surface this week’s best deals. There were plenty of good ones, from cheap yet extremely handy two-headed USB-C cables and a $20 sci-fi first-person shooter PC game bundle to steep discounts on big OLED TVs that will impress people at your Super Bowl watch party.If you happen to be in the market for a 65-inch OLED 4K TV (can I come over?), the LG C5 is almost half off its original asking price of $2,699. Whether you buy one through Amazon for $1,397 or from Best Buy at $1399.99, there’s a good chance that you can have it installed by kickoff on Sunday. Amazon currently has fast shipping for this TV, and many Best Buy brick-and-mortar locations are likely to have this model in stock.LG’s C-series TVs are some of the most popular OLED models each year. With pixel-level brightness control, they boast excellent black levels and color accuracy, and are an incredible value for movie lovers, gamers, sports fans, and everyone in between. However, if you’re looking for the best of the best when it comes to brightness, Samsung’s pricier S95F beats the C5. And, while LG’s glossy screen looks fantastic, it’ll show more reflections than the S95F’s matte finish.LG C5 OLED TVLG’s midrange C5 TV is an excellent way to get OLED performance without paying top dollar. It has a good amount of brightness, excellent color accuracy out of the box, and great gaming features including 4K @ 144Hz.Where to Buy: $2699.99 $1396.99 at Amazon (65-inch) $2699.99 $1399.99 at Best Buy (65-inch)It’s been a while since we featured a good deal on Anker’s Laptop Power Bank, its 25,000mAh / 90Wh powerhouse that peaks at 100W when charging a single device (or up to 165W with two USB-C devices). Now, we’re featuring its best-ever price that’s currently happening at Newegg and through Anker itself. You can buy the black model at its all-time low price of $89.99 ($45 off) directly from Anker with code VergeYWP0QJDE.This power bank’s output speed, capacity, and selection of four ports (three USB-C, one USB-A) are good and all, but it’s the small details that make this one stand out. Notably, it comes with two built-in USB-C cables, one of which retracts while the other doubles as handle.Anker Laptop Power BankAnker’s 25,000mAh power bank sports two built-in USB-C cables (one of which is retractable), plus one USB-C and USB-A port. It tops out at 165W when charging two devices simultaneously, or 130W when charging three or four.Where to Buy: $119.99 $89.99 at Anker (black, with code VergeYWP0QJDE)For those who own an iPhone 12 or newer, or a Google Pixel 10, Belkin’s Stage Powergrip is exactly the accessory you may not have realized you wanted. It’s a 9,300mAh battery-equipped gadget that adds a camera grip to your phone, snapping on snugly with MagSafe or Pixelsnap magnets, depending on the device you have. It lets you snap photos with its dedicated shutter button, and the grip can swivel to let you get the types of shots you want without feeling like you’re endangering your precious phone. There’s been a deal happening all week on the black model, which costs $68.39 at Amazon (originally $79.99, the current cost of the blue and sand-colored options).Belkin Stage PowerGripWhere to Buy: $79.99 $68.39 at AmazonMore ways to save this weekendIf you have a gaming PC, or a handheld gaming PC like a Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally, I highly recommend buying a $20 game bundle currently available at Humble. The “Sci-Fi Shooters 2.0” bundle of Steam PC games includes Black Mesa (the fan-made, Valve-approved Half-Life remake), Doom Eternal, Prey Deluxe Edition, and a few other great titles. They’re all fun in their own ways, and none require a cutting-edge machine to run well. Some proceeds for your purchase will go to nonprofit organizations, including One Tree Planted and Cool Effect.I have one of Anker’s two-in-one USB-C cables in my home. Being able to charge two devices through one cable is very convenient, even if you aren’t constantly battling your partner for a turn at the charger. Most of us likely have more than one USB-C device we want to charge at any given time, and this cable lets you do just that. You can get the 6-foot braided cable at Amazon for $15.99, down from its original $19.99 price. The cable tops out at 140W passthrough for a single device, allowing for sufficient power to quickly charge a laptop, assuming your wall adapter is powerful enough.The last-gen AirTag Bluetooth tracker dropped to its lowest price yet. Granted, it’s not a huge price drop, but compared to their original $29, $17 a pop —their current price at Amazon and Walmart — is pretty good. AirTags are the best Bluetooth trackers for iPhone users. They provide accurate tracking through the Find My app, no matter what you attach them to. Many people stick them in luggage to be able to find bags more easily after a flight, but you can put them in any tote or container that you fear losing.

Okay, hands up; how many of you have ever used the 3D Viewer on Windows? I don't think I've ever deliberately opened it in my entire life, because if I wanted to view a 3D model, there are often third-party alternatives that are better for whatever tasks I'm looking at a 3D model for.

The biggest con is this so-called Midnight Purple keyring is barely purple. It’s the iPhone 14 Pro Max Deep Purple all over again. In a somewhat controversial Vergecast episode, I declared that AirTags are a superior product to iPads. The iPad lovers roasted me across social media. I have heard and respect their opinions. But, I'm sorry - the second-gen AirTag has only deepened my conviction that the humble, $29 item tracker is one of Apple's most helpful gizmos.The new updates focus more on making a good thing better. There are upgraded ultra-wideband and Bluetooth chips that help extend the range by about 1.5 times. The chime has a new, higher pitch and is 50 percent louder thanks to a redesigned speaker. And you can now use Precision Finding for AirTags on an Apple …Read the full story at The Verge.

While I am a huge fan of KDE Plasma, I'll also admit that it's not perfect on every front, as much as I want it to be. For every 10 things it gets right, there's one problem that causes frustration, and some are so severe that they may cause someone trying out the desktop environment to consider a different one.