Between its well-documented nature, beginner-friendly collection of tools, and thousands of first and third-party images, Docker has a large following in the self-hosting and home lab communities. Although I’ve started using Podman as of late, I still rely on Docker and its utilities for many containerization projects – and that’s largely because of Docker Compose.

You can’t make this up. Microsoft shipped a Windows 11 update yesterday that is supposed to make dark mode more consistent, with dialogs in File Explorer finally getting a dark mode for actions like copying, moving, or deleting files and folders. You get all that, but Microsoft will also treat you with a giant white flash every time you open File Explorer.“After installing KB5070311, you might experience issues when opening File Explorer in dark mode,” admits Microsoft in the known issues section of its new Windows 11 update. “The window might briefly display a blank white screen before loading files and folders.”The white flash is like a flash bang if you’re working in the dark with dark mode enabled, and Microsoft says it’s now working on a fix for the problem. If you don’t want to wait for an official fix, you can also use a Windhawk mod to return File Explorer dark mode to normal.It’s odd that Microsoft didn’t catch this very obvious bug in testing, especially as the company has committed to a more “consistent dark mode experience” generally across Windows 11. The Run dialog in Windows 11 is also getting a dark mode soon, as well improvements to progress bars and charts views, and confirmation and error dialogs.

There was a time, just a few years ago, when SSD and RAM chips used to be pretty cheap. You could afford to really max out your system without feeling the strain on your wallet. It felt like something that would last forever, but then things started to change.

I'm used to keeping my home server strategy simple. For things like media hosting, I usually resort to an old laptop, a few shucked hard drives connected over USB, and an installation of OpenMediaVault. It's the definition of a budget NAS setup and is all about minimalism. After all, what more do you need than a reliable way to store files and access them over the network.

There are two types of people who play video games, normal people who play for fun and speedrunners who play for glory. Unlike other forms of competitive gaming, speedrunning has become an aspect of video games that is both exciting to watch and exceptionally difficult to participate in. Most games, including popular Nintendo releases, that have a big community of speedrunners behind them can spend years searching for new speedrunning tricks long after they come out.

Arch Linux is a curious beast. If installing other operating systems is like purchasing a cake from the store, installing Arch Linux is like learning how to go from nothing to creating a completed cake all by yourself. Well, okay, there are YouTube tutorials and a unique, in-depth Cake Wiki you can consult, but you still have to manually go through the steps of making it.

While I was proud of my smart home, it was anything but smart. Devices kept failing, and automations failed to trigger, and I spent more time troubleshooting than enjoying their promised convenience. I was on the verge of abandoning my smart home and dismantling everything until I discovered a $10 ESP32 board.

Once you start adding smart products to your home, it can really start to make the space come alive. And while I love simple solutions from brands like Amazon, Google, Hue — a Power over Ethernet network (PoE) is going to be the way to go if you're looking for something that's a bit more versatile and powerful.

Mobile phone folding technology has come a long way since the humble clamshell design. What used to be a beloved feature has become a major player in the smartphone scene, with tech we couldn't even dream of back in the day. I've only just gotten over the cool dual-screen design that some phones use, and then Samsung revealed its first-ever "TriFold" phone a little while back. And while the company didn't reveal much about the hardware, it wasn't shy about showing off its revolutionary three-screen folding design.

Ever since the new Outlook app arrived on people's computers, it hasn't received the warmest of welcomes. Even when Microsoft tries to tempt people with new features, people still haven't gelled with it. Reports come in that the performance of the new Outlook isn't great, and it fails to add some features that the old version used to have.

People often use the Raspberry Pi Pico for practical projects, but some of the most entertaining ideas come from those who simply want to experiment. These builds stretch the Pico far beyond what anyone would reasonably expect, yet they remain charming because of how unnecessary they are. They also highlight the creativity of a community that enjoys turning simple hardware into something memorable. Once you see how far some makers take their ideas, you start to look at the Pico in a completely different light.

It's no secret that the price of RAM has skyrocketed in recent weeks. If you ask an expert why, they'll likely point to the adoption of AI and the demand for hardware as the primary cause, although not everyone will believe it. Regardless of the reason, the truth is that RAM has gotten expensive, and this has put pressure on companies that sell pre-made hardware to either take the financial hit or up their prices.