Setting up a home network can be boring or nerve-wracking, depending on which route you take. If you let your ISP handle the setup and don't change a thing, it's mostly frictionless. Enthusiasts, however, prefer much more control and privacy over their network, not to mention the greater performance that comes with it. That said, aftermarket gear alone doesn't guarantee a seamless, low-latency connection across your networking stack. Even experienced users aren't immune to common mistakes that can easily kneecap the fastest internet plans. From planning to execution and maintenance, there's a lot that you might overlook, introducing avoidable bottlenecks into your network.

Sonos isn’t exactly synonymous with the Super Bowl, although the brand discounts its gear every year around this time like clockwork. It’s knocking 20 percent off many of its marquee products, including soundbars and standalone speakers — all of which can be paired together to improve sound quality and to put audio in more places at home.Through February 16th, the company is keeping its prices in place on the Era 100 and the larger Era 300 speakers, the Beam and Arc Ultra soundbars, as well as its selection of wireless subwoofers. To put the prices in context, some of these discounts match — or beat — the current costs of Sonos’ certified refurbished gear.The Era 100 very well may be the best, most feature-packed smart speaker around in its price range. In our 2023 review, we praised its stereo sound playback and improved bass response over its predecessor, the Sonos One. Notably, it supports Bluetooth playback (in addition to Wi-Fi connectivity) as well as line-in audio via USB-C, in case you’d rather plug in a wired audio source. While this model typically sells for $219, it’s currently available for $179 through Sonos, as well as Amazon and Best Buy.Sonos Era 100Where to Buy: $219 $179 at Amazon $219 $179 at Sonos $219 $179.99 at Best BuyThe Era 300 is Sonos’ modern spin on the Sonos Five, offering bigger sound than the Era 100. Its specialty is spatial audio, which sounds incredible when you find a song that’s been mixed just right (the thing is, not all Dolby Atmos tunes are mixed equally). Like the Era 100, this model offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless connections, as well as line-in via USB-C. Our review notes, however, that stereo playback is an area where the Era 300 actually falters compared to its predecessor. But given its improvements overall (and since the Five that launched in 2020 is no longer on sale), the 300 is a great speaker to consider if you really want to feel immersed in your music. It’s $379 during the sale period at Sonos and Best Buy, down from $479.Sonos Era 300Where to Buy: $479 $379 at Amazon $479 $379 at Best Buy $479 $379 at SonosJumping to soundbars, the second-gen Beam is down to $369 from its original $499 price. While it’s definitely not the most feature-packed soundbar that you can get at around this price, its ability to tie-in with other Sonos products, plus its improved soundstage over the first-gen model might make it worth considering for you. The inclusion of Dolby Atmos is its marquee feature, although we noted in our review that it’s a virtualized effect since it lacks upward firing speakers that truly enable the vertical sound effects to shine. Note that it’s lacking in physical connectivity compared to most other models, with just a power plug, an HDMI eARC port, and an ethernet jack. In the event that you wish to connect the Beam to your TV or receiver via optical audio, you’ll need to purchase this $25 HDMI-to-optical adapter.Sonos Beam (Gen 2)Where to Buy: $469 $369.99 at Amazon $499 $369.99 at Best Buy $499 $369 at SonosThe Arc Ultra is a much better soundbar than the Beam, and carriers a larger $899 price (down from $1,099). Our reviewer noted that the bass improvements in this model are such that it can stand on its own without the purchase of a wireless subwoofer. It also boasts more immersive sound quality, plus Bluetooth connectivity, which was missing in the original Arc. The Arc Ultra’s sound can be further enhanced by connecting other Sonos speakers to the mix, although its older Play:1 and Play:3 speakers are ineligible to join the speaker family for surround sound.Sonos Arc UltraWhere to Buy: $1099 $899 at Amazon $1099 $899 at Best Buy $1099 $899 at SonosIf you’re considering either the Bean or the Arc Ultra (or if you already own one of its soundbars), their performance will benefit greatly with the addition of a Sonos subwoofer, of which the company makes two models. The Sub 4 is its high-end option, which is $759 during the sale period (down from $899). Anything this close to $1,000 is extremely expensive for a subwoofer, especially considering that most companies include one with their surround sound systems. The Sub 4 is able to lay horizontally or sit vertically — however suits your room best.Sonos Sub 4Where to Buy: $899 $759 at SonosFor almost half the cost of the Sub 4, you can get the Sub Mini. It’s $399, down from $499. You may be thinking that even this one is still pretty costly, and I agree. Although, it’s a product that Sonos loyalists were begging for, as before it there was no other choice than to spring for its more expensive subwoofer. In our review, we deemed it unworthy for filling large rooms with bass, but totally sufficient in most other ways. Something cool about its design is the force-canceling effect that reduces floor vibrations, which could be great if you’re worried about disturbing neighbors or other people in the house. Sonos Sub MiniWhere to Buy: $499 $399 at Amazon $499 $399 at Best Buy $499 $399 at Sonos

It's not uncommon to hear complaints about how bloated Windows 11 is, with all the apps Microsoft bundles in, intrusive ads and upsells for various Microsoft services, and of course, all the AI "features" that have been flooding the interface in recent years. Some, including myself, might suggest switching to Linux as an alternative, but that solution really isn't feasible for everyone.

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. As usual, we're still waiting for a response. In the meantime, I finally got a reply from a company exec.After months - months - of emailing various official Trump Mobile accounts and press addresses, last week someone answered back. Don Hendrickson, a member of the company's executive team, finally replied to one of my emails and offered to talk, but he's ignored me ever since.Last week I reported on the unexpected news that Trump Mobile is working on a second Trump phone, a more powerful T1 …Read the full story at The Verge.

Adobe seems to be one of those services people either love or hate. I’d like to think I fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t appreciate its sneaky cancellation fees or that data collection is turned on by default, requiring you to locate the opt-out function - plus, nobody likes the high prices. But I can also appreciate the quality of their products overall and the effort the developers and designers put into them. For anyone who does professional or even hobbyist image editing, you’re kind of cornered if you don’t get an Adobe subscription, but also cornered if you do.

I have been a NixOS user for almost a year. I started by dual-booting alongside Windows on my secondary laptop, then ditched Windows altogether. It’s hands down the best Linux distro I have ever used. NixOS is one of those ideas that looks like the right future for operating systems. It treats the entire system as code, providing atomic upgrades, bulletproof rollbacks, and bit-for-bit reproducibility. It helped me make my homelab immutable and also made me realize what Linux is truly capable of.

Yes, you read that right. "Moltbook" is a social network of sorts for AI agents, particularly ones offered by OpenClaw (a viral AI assistant project that was formerly known as Moltbot, and before that, known as Clawdbot - until a legal dispute with Anthropic). Moltbook, which is set up similarly to Reddit and was built by Octane AI CEO Matt Schlicht, allows bots to post, comment, create sub-categories, and more. More than 30,000 agents are currently using the platform, per the site. "The way that a bot would most likely learn about it, at least right now, is if their human counterpart sent them a message and said 'Hey, there's this thing c …Read the full story at The Verge.

One of the Amazon Fire TV Stick's most significant issues is how full of ads it is.

If you're looking for an affordable gaming monitor that delivers on performance and features, the Samsung Odyssey G3 monitor is going to be it. While it's small in size, coming in at just 24 inches, it still provides an excellent experience.

Fitbit users who are holding out on moving their data over to a Google account now have until May 19th, 2026 to make the switch. The previous deadline was just days away on February 2nd, but that date has been updated on Google's help page for Fitbit account migration. The post also now specifies that, "You can still download or delete your data any time before we begin processing data deletions on July 15, 2026." Google had already noted that Fitbit account data would be deleted, but now users have a specific timeframe for when that's happening - and it looks like they'll have a couple extra months to download their Fitbit data even after …Read the full story at The Verge.

There are many things that upgrading to a new router could improve on your network, whether that's to replace the rubbish ISP router and regain control, or if you want new Wi-Fi capabilities. But not every networking feature you might want is available on routers, and you might find you're still missing some.

I have always treated OneNote like a digital dumping ground where notes went to be forgotten rather than used. I was frustrated by the clutter and convinced the app just wasn’t smart enough for my workflow. But the truth was simpler: I was using it all wrong.