Transparency is one of the most appealing parts of modern software development. When a company says its product is “open” or that the source code is available, many people assume that means open-source. It’s an easy mistake to make, since all three terms imply that the code is visible. The problem is that visibility alone doesn’t equal freedom, and that’s where the distinction truly lies.

Steam sales are a fantastic way to save money on PC games, but the lesser-known Steam bundles are just as juicy at times. These package up a few games into a single bundle and sell it for a lower price than purchasing each game piecemeal. However, finding every bundle your desired game is in on Steam can be pretty tough. Fortunately, Valve has added a new feature where you can see every bundle that your chosen game is in, albeit with a few caveats.

A little while ago, we reported on a bug that caused USB devices to stop working in the Windows Recovery Environment. This bug in particular was especially nasty, because it didn't let you use your mouse or keyboard on the WRE screen.

When the first 3D Ninja Gaiden came out on Xbox in 2004, I really wanted to play it; though the game looks a little antiquated now, at the time, teenage me thought that ninja protagonist Ryu Hayabusa was cool as hell. But alas, I didn't have an Xbox, and I don't think I could have convinced my parents to let me get such a (for the time) violent game. Even as an adult that could buy whatever game I wanted, I never got around to playing the franchise. Twenty-one years later, I've finally scratched that itch.Ninja Gaiden 4 stars a new character named Yakumo instead of Ryu. Yakumo is a total punk; imagine someone with the short, unaffected per …Read the full story at The Verge.

Actors, studios, agents, and the actors union SAG-AFTRA have all expressed their concerns about appearing in Sora 2’s AI-generated videos ever since the deepfake machine was released last month. Now a joint statement from actor Bryan Cranston, OpenAI, the union, and others says that after videos of him appeared on Sora — one even showed him taking a selfie with Michael Jackson — the company has “strengthened guardrails” around its opt-in policy for likeness and voice.The joint statement said that OpenAI “expressed regret for these unintentional generations.” It also carried cosigns from talent agencies United Talent Agency, the Association of Talent Agents, and the Creative Artists Agency, which had criticized the company’s lack of protections for artists in the past. OpenAI did not give specifics on how it would change the app, or reply to The Verge’s request for comment in time for publication. OpenAI appeared to reaffirm its commitment to stronger protections for those who do not opt in: “All artists, performers, and individuals will have the right to determine how and whether they can be simulated.” It also said it would “expeditiously” review complaints about breaches of the policy. Cranston said he is “grateful to OpenAI for its policy and for improving its guardrails.” While Cranston’s case came to a positive resolution, SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said in the joint statement that performers need a law to protect them from “massive misappropriation by replication technology,” and pointed to the proposed Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, or NO FAKES Act. OpenAI launched Sora 2 with an opt-out policy for copyright holders, before reversing course following public outcry and videos of Nazi SpongeBob, promising to “give rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls.”

It's not easy finding a really cheap Windows laptop. But this Lenovo IdeaPad 1i checks all the boxes, running Windows 11 and also comes with a 12-month subscription to Microsoft 365. Best of all, it's now priced down to just $129 from Walmart. This is the cheapest modern Windows laptop that we've seen, making it a great option if you need something at an affordable price. Grab it now while it's still on sale before you miss it.

In the past couple of years, I've had the chance to test many a keyboard, the majority of which came from Keychron, and most of them have been fantastic. One of the things that typically stands out the most is the build quality, with the all-metal chassis making for a heavy, sturdy-feeling keyboard.

Home Assistant is a powerful self-hosting platform for connecting all your smart home devices. I'm talking about speakers, light fixtures, temperature sensors, movement detection, and much more. Think of it as your all-in-one hub for all Internet of Things (IoT) hardware. I was able to use Home Assistant and Proxmox to effectively remove all proprietary equipment from my home, creating a much more friendly ecosystem for adding any device we wished. It's possible to add countless USB devices, and here are a few examples we've used right here at XDA.

Two days from today, October 22nd, was Google’s deadline to begin opening up its app store, stop forcing developers to use Google Play Billing, let them set their own prices, and more, following Epic’s repeated wins in Epic v. Google. But both Epic and Google have just successfully and mysteriously argued for one final week’s delay.US District Court Judge James Donato has just agreed to push back enforcement of his permanent injunction until October 29th instead. Here’s the text of the order. It’s brief! ORDER. At the joint request of the parties, MDL Dkt. No. 1110, the upcoming October 22, 2025 deadline on which certain provisions of the Injunction, MDL Dkt No. 1017, in this case are scheduled to take effect is vacated and extended to October 29th, 2025. Signed by Judge James Donato on 10/20/2025.It’s also not clear why Google argued for the extension, or why Epic agreed to it, after Epic CEO Tim Sweeney previously celebrated the October 22nd deadline as the day “developers will be legally entitled to steer US Google Play users to out-of-app payments without fees, scare screens, and friction – same as Apple App Store users in the US!” Public documents filed by both parties don’t mention a reason for the delay.So… October 29th. Google previously told The Verge that it would comply with its legal obligations while it continues its appeal, so that’s the day we expect to see Google pages like this one stop stating that Google Play Billing is required for developers who distribute apps via Google Play.Unless, of course, the Supreme Court grants a stay by then… Google previously stated it would file its Supreme Court appeal by October 27th.

We've seen Microsoft try a few tricks when encouraging users to use its products. One of its favorites is detecting when you start looking around for its competitor's products and begins slowly slipping ads for its own services in there. If you've ever installed a brand new copy of Windows 11 and used Microsoft Edge to download Chrome, you'll know how much both the browser and Bing will put up a fight to convince you to stick with Microsoft's defaults.

Between my Single-Board Computer, mini-PCs, and Network-Attached Storage rigs, I’ve got quite a few budget-friendly devices in my arsenal. Having tinkered with them for the last couple of months, I’ve realized that even the most inexpensive hardware can be used for everything from daily tasks to containerized workloads. Capable of running Linux and Android apps, Chromebooks also fall under this category, and the same holds true for their lesser-known Chromebox siblings.

The first real roadblock I faced in Ninja Gaiden 4 was a boss fight against a god-like creature named the Kitsune Courtesan. While I'd breezed through my playthrough up until that point, this boss was more aggressive than any enemy I faced before, punishing and heavily damaging me if I missed a single, critical block or dodge. To overcome the boss, I found myself going to the game's training mode to learn some useful attack combos and practice my dodge timing. Eventually, I was able to make my way back to the boss fight and overcome that challenge.