If you’ve been looking for a reliable and affordable way to host your Jellyfin media server, chances are you’ve considered using a Raspberry Pi or repurposing an old desktop. Both options are popular, but neither is a perfect fit. The Pi often struggles with transcoding and multiple streams, while a power-hungry tower PC is noisy and inefficient. That leaves many people stuck trying to balance performance, cost, and convenience.

There seems to be an increasing desire from many people to ditch Windows 11 in favor of Linux, and I've been caught up in it. I've tried a few Linux distros over the past few months, and I've settled on Arch Linux with KDE Plasma for what I now consider my main laptop.

Even after I moved all my data to my brand-new NAS, I knew that cloud storage would continue to hold importance in my storage setup. The convenience of the cloud remains unmatched, allowing you to access your files from almost anywhere. However, there are still so many areas where a network storage server wipes the floor with cloud storage services like Dropbox. When you have a lot of things to manage, the tools you’re using become quite central to your system, and that’s when having a central server makes sense. Here are seven such moments that made it clear.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO. | Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images ​​On Wednesday evening, I had a profound sense of déjà vu. When I watched Mark Zuckerberg open his Meta Connect keynote by giving the world a live backstage tour from his new glasses, I was transported back to 2012.I was in the live audience at Google I/O when Sergey Brin introduced the world to some friends about to jump out of an airship, high above the event. I watched, agape, as athletes dove through the sky, launched bikes across the roof, rappelled down the side of the Moscone Center in San Francisco, then strode onto the stage right in front of me - all while streaming the whole thing live from their Google Glass headsets.We'd nev …Read the full story at The Verge.

It feels like we’ve reached total saturation when it comes to streaming services, but apparently people are happy to sign up for one (or two) more services if they include live sports. According to Antenna, a firm that tracks the streaming industry, the new ESPN service and Fox One signed up about a million new subscribers in just 10 days. And that number doesn’t include those signing in through a cable subscription or coming over from an existing Disney+ sub. Antenna didn’t specify how many people signed up for ESPN versus Fox One, though according to Front Office Sports, most of the subscribers are for ESPN. With the NFL season just getting underway it’s no surprise that many were eager to sign up for a service that would let them watch live football without cable. Fox One includes Fox News and Fox Business, but the real draw is livestreams from Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, and local Fox affiliates. These are, of course, just early results and it remains to be seen if both services will see continued success when the football season ends.While you can subscribe to ESPN’s new offering for $29.99 a month, or Fox One for $19.99 a month, bundles will continue to be a big part of Disney’s strategy. The company is even planning to offer the two under a single sub for $39.99 starting October 2nd. 

People migrate from Windows to Linux for a multitude of different reasons; for me, it was to give my aging PC a second lease on life after the Windows 10 end-of-life date arrives. Yes, I could force an upgrade to Windows 11. Yes, I could extend my Windows 10 security license another year. But I'm not a fan of Windows 11, and I don't want to be stuck on an operating system that won't receive any new content updates ever again.

Nick Fuentes, the leader of a Christian based extremist white nationalist group speaks to his followers, ‘the Groypers.’ in Washington D.C. on November 14, 2020 The only true surprise about this latest MAGA influencer civil war is how quickly it happened, given the circumstances: Charlie Kirk, an ubiquitous presence, influential political force, and seemingly everyone's best friend, had been dead for barely a week before everyone began fighting each other for a piece of him. The indictment of Tyler Robinson, released Tuesday, cited, among other things, the Discord chats that he sent to his roommate wherein he appeared to confess to the shooting. Its contents were strong enough for the power brokers of MAGA world - all the way up to President Donald Trump himself and his cabinet - to begin a rapid, …Read the full story at The Verge.

amFilm’s OneTouch screen protectors start at $4.49. Happy iPhone Day! If you’re picking up the new iPhone 17 or iPhone Air and want to avoid scratches or cracks on its front glass, we spotted a great deal on a two-pack of amFilm’s OneTouch screen protectors over at Slickdeals. Designed specifically to fit the front of the new 6.3-inch iPhone 17, you can buy a pack on sale starting at a new low price of just $4.49 ($7.50 off) when you apply the promo code EUZWG92J at checkout at Amazon. The promo code also extends to discounts to tempered glass protectors made for other models, including the 6.3-inch iPhone 17 Pro, the 6.5-inch iPhone Air and for the 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max (this one costs $4.99 with the code).The Verge’s own Cameron Faulkner swears by amFilm, which he uses to cover nearly all his devices. Made from tempered glass, they’ll do a good job of protecting your phone’s screen from accidental drops without interfering with touch sensitivity. Each protector has an anti-fingerprint coating that helps keep your display clear and relatively smudge-free, without compromising your phone’s brightness or clarity. What’s more, they’re also super easy to install. The company includes a guide, alignment tool, dust remover, and bubble remover. In the unlikely event of a botched installation, there’s a second protector included as a backup option. Additionally, each set includes rings to go around the rear lenses to keep them free of scratches.amFilm OneTouch screen protectoramFilm’s tempered OneTouch screen protectors will protect your new iPhone 17 or Air from scratches and cracks, and includes a second protector as a backup. Use code EUZWG92J to save.Where to Buy: $11.99 $4.49 at Amazon (iPhone 17) $11.99 $4.49 at Amazon (iPhone Air) $11.99 $4.49 at Amazon (iPhone 17 Pro)Three more deals worth a look Anker’s Nano Travel Adapter is back down to an all-time low price of $19.99 ($6 off) directly from Anker when you apply the code ANKERVOX1. The compact adapter works in over 200 countries and regions, from the UK and most of Europe to Australia, Japan, and more.  It also features a single AC outlet, two USB-C ports (one with up to 20W of power), and two USB-A ports, allowing you to charge up to five devices at once.The 43mm OnePlus Watch 3 is on sale for $267.09 ($32 off) at Amazon, which is its best price to date. OnePlus’ latest wearable is the upgraded version of our favorite alternative to Google and Samsung smartwatches. It’s extremely similar to its predecessor, but offers some welcome improvements, including Google Gemini, a rotating crown, and a 60S Health Check-In, which gives you an overview of your heart rate, blood oxygen, mental wellness, wrist temperature, sleep quality, and vascular age. Best Buy is including a $10 e-gift card when you preorder Battlefield 6 starting at $69.99 for PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The highly-anticipated first-person shooter will hit stores on October 10th, and fans are hoping it will mark a true return to form for the franchise after the release of its disappointing 2021 predecessor, Battlefield 2042. 

Keep tabs on your wallet if you’re an Android user. | Image: Ugreen Ugreen has released a new wallet tracker that’s just as thin as the FineTrack Slim Smart Finder the company debuted earlier this year, but with a massive boost in battery life from 12 months to five years. However, while the previous version was compatible with Apple’s Find My network and recharable, the new FineTrack Slim Smart G only works with Google’s Find Hub network and lacks charging capabilities and a replaceable battery. When it dies, you’re left with a credit card-sized piece of e-waste. You can find it on Amazon for $25.99.At 1.7mm thick – roughly the same thickness of two credit cards – the FineTrack Slim Smart G is thinner than competitor’s wallet trackers including the 2.5mm Tile Slim which also lacks charging capabilities and is limited to three years of use. With 12 months of battery life between top-ups, Ugreen’s older rechargeable FineTrack Slim will definitely outlast this new Android-only version, but every wallet tracker will eventually become e-waste when their non-replaceable batteries stop taking a charge. In five years’ time you’ll probably be eager to upgrade to the latest tracking technology anyways.Other features include IP68 dust and waterproofing so the FineTrack Slim Smart G can survive dunks to up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes, although it will be completely untrackable while submerged. It also has a built-in 80dB alarm that will potentially make it easier to locate the tracker when Google’s Find Hub app tells you it’s nearby but your wallet is in a pair of pants buried in a pile of dirty laundry.

When we consider performance-enhancing techniques outside buying brand-new hardware, most people probably think of things like improving cooling, increasing the power limit or overclocking. While these are absolutely valid ways to squeeze more performance out of a component like your graphics card, there's another, perhaps counterintuative, way to do that, and that's through undervolting.

China and the US have “made progress” on granting permission for ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American consortium, fulfilling a nine-months-overdue legal requirement. After saying a tentative deal had been reached Monday and that approval would come Friday, President Donald Trump’s administration has issued an update that leaves the current status ambiguous and the details bare-bones.“I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump posted on Truth Social, noting he and Xi Jinping would meet at the APEC Summit in Korea in October. “The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”“Appreciate the TikTok approval” makes Xi’s benediction sound like a done deal. “We made progress,” however, does not.TikTok posted an equivocal response on X. “We thank President Xi Jinping and President Donald J. Trump for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States,” it said. “ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”This leaves us in effectively the same place as we were earlier this week, when the Trump administration announced a “framework” agreement had been reached; not long after, it extended the January 2025 sale deadline for the fourth time. Reporting on Tuesday indicated that the deal could actually take 30 to 45 more days.The expected buyers are a consortium that includes Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Susquehanna International Group, with ByteDance reportedly retaining a share just shy of 20 percent, as mandated by a divest-or-ban law Congress passed in 2024. They’re expected to develop a version of the app with a new recommendation algorithm walled off from Chinese control.TikTok users, meanwhile, are still in the dark about the future of their app — hoping another trade war won’t throw a wrench in the agreement, with no hard timeline for resolution in sight.

Microsoft is raising the prices of its Xbox Series S / X consoles in the US next month. The Xbox Series X will be priced at $649.99 in the US starting October 3rd, up from its existing $599.99 price. The Xbox Series S will move to $399.99, up from $379.99.Microsoft blames the price hikes on “changes in the macroeconomic environment,” which is a lot of words to say: tariffs. Xbox console pricing outside the US will remain the same. Thankfully, pricing for controllers and headsets will remain in the same in the US. The price rises mean Xbox Series S consoles will increase by $20, Xbox Series X consoles by $50, and the 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition Xbox Series X is increasing by $70 all the way up to $799.99.Here’s the full list of price increases in the US:ProductNew US price (RRP)Previous US price (RRP)Xbox Series S (512GB)$399.99$379.99Xbox Series S (1TB)$449.99$429.99Xbox Series X$649.99$599.99Xbox Series X Digital$599.99$549.99Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition$799.99$729.99Microsoft only just raised the prices of its Xbox products worldwide in May, with price hikes to the Xbox Series S / X consoles, controllers, and headsets. Those previous price increases already bumped the Xbox Series X up by $100, and the Xbox Series S by $80. Coupled with today’s announcement, that means the Xbox Series X has increased in price in the US by $150 and the Series S by $100 in just six months.Microsoft’s Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition originally debuted nearly a year ago at $599.99, and it’s now about to be $799.99 — a $200 increase in just a year. Microsoft’s latest price increases are the second this year, following initial price hikes in 2023.Microsoft also planned to hike the price of some of its first-party Xbox games to $80 this holiday, but then walked back those changes in July.