For me, the decision to start self-hosting services and apps was gradual, beginning with an innate curiosity about what I could run. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't also partially morbid curiosity about what I could break, which all feeds into my personal risk profile. My big thing? I wanted to cut my reliance on the cloud so that things inside my network still run even when the internet is down.

If you’ve just got your hands on a new NVMe SSD, the first thing you'll want to do is put its speed to the test. You might be a bit disappointed when you realize that it falls short of the specified read and write speeds. When you go on to install big games or edit 4K video, you might see the speeds go even lower (at a certain point). Don't worry, though— this doesn't mean you got scammed (well, in most cases, as long as the drive is brand new). SSD slowdowns under heavy workloads are normal (though the threshold varies with each brand and model).

Dabbling in self-hosting, it's inevitable that you've heard of or come across MinIO. The software has traditionally been the go-to solution for anyone setting up self-hosted, S3-compatible object storage, whether for a web server or for backups. It's been a fast, open-source, and simple solution to integrate with popular backup and file management tools. But every good thing comes to an end, and the developer's recent changes have raised significant concern in the open-source community. Effectively, a recent update has stripped the community edition of a significant amount of utility, including essential admin functions. Predictably, the developers are pointing towards the commercial version as the solution. While that might work for larger teams, this bait and switch has home labbers, small teams, and independent developers worried. Suffice it to say, if you are still running MinIO today, it's worth looking at alternatives.

Modular laptops are a fun theory, and there are plenty of reasons to want a modular laptop like the Framework Laptop. Modular computers very well could be the future of PCs and laptops. However, modular laptops do have a number of difficulties facing them, considering laptops don't have standardized sizing to make building component modules easier.

If you’re an enthusiast trying to get the most performance out of your RAM kit, you might find yourself spending hours tuning for higher frequencies or tighter timings. What you may find, on some occasions, is that even high-end, expensive memory kits fail to reach expected overclock speeds and run into instability or crashes. Normally, you’d point your fingers at the motherboard or the kit itself, but there’s one piece in the puzzle you’re missing: the memory controller in your CPU.

For over a decade, the SATA interface was the backbone of consumer PC storage. Before NVMe drives in M.2 slots became the new norm, every SSD, HDD and optical drive in your system used SATA to communicate with the rest of your computer. It had universal support, and beneath the unassuming spec came a pretty cool feature that I barely saw anyone use. SATA port multiplexers are super neat, and I wish it caught on a bit more.

Gamers have been all about climbing mountains recently. You've got the kinda goofy multiplayer game Peak, and the more infuriating but still kinda goofy Baby Steps. But before both of those ever came out, there was Peaks of Yore, a more serious game set in the year 1887.

As the season of autumn arrives and the leaves begin to change their color, the Halloween vibes begin to cover everyone and everything. It's the perfect time to play games that are related to the horror genre, whether they are terrifying or fit in line with the spirit of the holiday. But some people aren't always in the mood to play something that will scare them straight, especially if they aren't too keen on being scared in a big way. Luckily for everyone, there are still games that one can play to get into the spirit of Halloween, while keeping the frights far away.

The productivity world got a nasty shock when Microsoft announced it would raise the monthly cost of Microsoft 365, especially given that it had cost the exact same for years before. And while some people didn't take the price hike so well, others discovered proof that Microsoft may have deliberately hidden the option to continue paying the old price for Microsoft 365 without any AI features. Now, the company is in hot water in the Land Down Under, as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has sued Microsoft, accusing it of misleading consumers.

In most home networks, a router’s DHCP service automatically assigns IP addresses to the devices, requiring little to no manual setup. That worked fine at first in my home, but over time, I began running into connectivity issues, IP conflicts, and unreliable access to devices across the network. While DHCP's dynamic IP address assignment was convenient, it wasn’t reliable for my setup. So I decided to switch my home network from DHCP to static IPs for devices in my home to gain more control and ensure consistent connectivity across the network.

Next month, Samsung will start displaying ads for Samsung-related products and services on its Family Hub refrigerators in the US. Samsung warned us last month that ads were coming to the giant Android tablets embedded in its Family Hub smart fridges. I've been eyeing mine ever since - and the first ones are about to arrive. Starting November 3rd, the $2,000-plus connected fridges will get a new widget that serves up ads, Shane Higby, head of Home Appliance Business at Samsung Electronics America, confirmed to The Verge.The ads will be part of a new widget on some of the smart fridges' "Cover screen themes" (like a tablet or smartphone's home screen). The widget, which Samsung shared with me ahead of today's announcement, has four rotating screens. One showing news, o …Read the full story at The Verge.

A few days ago, the gaming scene woke up to the news that an age-old console war had finally died. Not only was the original Halo: Combat Evolved getting a remake, but it was also officially confirmed that it would be released on the PS5. The Halo series was a rallying point for Xbox fans when fighting off Sony and Nintendo fans, and after 14 years of angry forum posts, Microsoft's console had lost its crown jewel.