Do rich people install bowling alleys in their homes anymore? I want to say that it was a huge thing during the 80s and 90s, but I don't really hear much about it these days. Regardless, while us mere mortals can't get a lane installed within our houses, we can make do with miniature bowling alleys instead. They may not be as impressive, but at least you don't have to knock down a wall in your home and set up an entire lane.

If you've spent the last few years in the self-hosting hobby like me, you'll have realized that most apps and services you run on a home server don't make much use of your GPU. The vast majority of tools you'd run in your stack, things like NextCloud or OpenCloud, AdGuard and more are CPU-dependent. Your CPU is the one responsible for handling everything from file sharing, to ad blocking and home automation. Meanwhile, the high-end GPU you added to your rig is just sitting idle.

I've spent a lot of my time recently testing out different AI browsers, and finding different ways to automate repetitive tasks I do every single day that takes a significant chunk of my time. Though I initially thought I'd immediately uninstall the first AI browser I downloaded and vow to never try one again, I surprisingly ended up converting to an AI browser for good.

There used to be tons of sacrifice involved when buying a gaming laptop, but that really isn't the case anymore. With the right amount of money, you can pick up an absolute beast of a machine, packed to the brim with all the hardware you'll ever need. And we get it — spending a ton of money on something you want isn't always possible. But if you can manage to hold out for a little, retailers will start to offer some exciting discounts on just the ones you're looking at.

The Neo 2 adds obstacle avoidance but still features prop guards as a backup. | Image: DJI After launching exclusively in China last month, DJI is announcing wider global availability for its Neo 2 selfie drone, including Japan, Canada, the UK, and other countries where the company sells its drones. But as with the Mavic 4 Pro and 8K Osmo 360 camera, the Neo 2 won’t be available in the US. “DJI remains committed to the US market and serving our US-based customers. Like many global companies, we’ve had to adjust our market strategies as the local conditions and industry environment have evolved,” DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong told The Verge in an emailed statement.The Neo 2’s upgrades include a lidar-based obstacle avoidance system to detect and avoid crash hazards, an improved following speed of nearly 27mph, better wind resistance, and a new gesture control system allowing the drone’s distance and position to be adjusted without a remote. For pilots who prefer a controller, the Neo 2 has an optional antenna that can be installed, but it’s not needed for autonomous flying. Without the DJI Neo 2 Digital Transceiver attached, the drone weighs 151 grams and can fly for up to 19 minutes.Chinese pricing for the Neo 2 started at 1,499 Chinese yuan, or around $211. DJI does not yet have US pricing for the drone since it’s not planning on selling it here through the company’s official website. Canadian pricing is listed in US dollars at $229 without tax, but the company says “this shouldn’t be considered a proxy for an official US price.” In Europe it will start at €239, or £209 in the UK with taxes included, while Japanese pricing starts at ¥38,390, or around $248.Some US stores may sell the Neo 2, as was the case with the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, but DJI’s spokesperson wouldn’t confirm if the company would honor its warranty if the drone were purchased from an authorized US retailer. For warranty claims, the company instead recommends “customers contact DJI Support to determine if their case qualifies for repair.”

Black Friday is still a little ways away, but why wait around for the deals to arrive when you can venture out there and snag some excellent deals before anyone else? While Black Friday is always the main attraction for Amazon, it will sometimes introduce some deals a week or two before to get people warmed up.

Running local LLMs is all the rage these days in the self-hosting circles. And if you've been intrigued, or have dabbled in it, you'd have heard of Koboldcpp and LM Studio both. While I'd previously dabbled in LM Studio, I recently discovered Koboldcpp and decided to give it a whirl to see if there are any notable differences. Turns out, despite running the same LLM, the two apps use fundamentally different approaches that give their own unique strengths. Specifically, if you are someone who cares about narrative workflow, like storytelling or even role playing, Koboldcpp stands out in a few ways over LM Studio. Here's what I discovered.

When starting off with making your own hardware, you can't go wrong with a digital picture frame. The components list is very small; you only need a screen, a power supply, and a board to process everything. Once you've gotten it set up, you can pop it somewhere visually pleasing and have yourself a cool-looking set piece you can look at over the day. Plus, you can impress people who come over by showing off what you made.

Google says that it’s softening its plan to require every Android developer — even outside of the Play Store — to verify their identity, a move which critics warned could kill sideloading for good. The company now says it’s developing a workflow to allow “experienced users” to install apps from unverified developers.Mandatory verification for developers even outside the official Play Store was first announced this August, and would require developers to provide their legal name, address, email, and phone number, and in some cases even upload government ID. It drew criticism from groups like the Keep Android Open campaign and the open source app repository F-Droid, which argued the move “ends the ability for individuals to choose what software they run on the devices they own.”That plan is still going ahead, with early access to the verification scheme launched yesterday, but Google has made an important concession. The company says it is now developing an “advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.” This installation flow will include safeguards to protect people who are being coerced into installing a dangerous app, or tricked by a scammer, along with “clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved.”Google is also working on a new developer account type for students and hobbyists, which won’t have to go through “full verification requirements,” but will only allow app installs on “a limited number of devices.”“Keeping users safe on Android is our top priority,” Android president Sameer Samat wrote on X. “Scammers rely on anonymity to scale their attacks. Right now, if we block a bad app, they can often just create a new app and try again. Verification stops this “whack-a-mole” cycle by requiring a real identity – making it much harder and costlier to repeatedly distribute harmful apps. This is an important change but we announced it early to get input. Some really good feedback received: Students need a path to learn, and users, especially power users, want to take more risk in what they install. We’re making changes to address both.”Developer verification will roll out in 2026 for developers in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, before applying globally in 2027. It’s not the only big change on the horizon for Android: Google has struck a deal with Epic to end their lawsuit, which would see Android lower its developer fees, relax rules on payment methods, and introduce official “Registered” third-party app stores, though that deal is still pending approval from the judge handling the case. 

The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is approaching pretty fast. Many fans of the series are looking forward to diving into the new multiplayer content the game will bring online, as well as the new campaign that will present a new story with futuristic combat. But despite how much Black Ops 7 is set to make a massive splash in the gaming industry, it still will have a lot to live up to in the eyes of Call of Duty players. Just because it bears the Call of Duty name in the title, that doesn't mean fans of the series won't have their expectations for what Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 should deliver upon its release.

Samsung’s trifold phone on display at the K-Tech Showcase exhibition in October. | Photo: SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg via Getty Images Reputable gadget leaker Evan Blass has taken to X with “some confirmed details” on Samsung’s upcoming trifold phone.It’ll be called the “Galaxy Z TriFold,” according to Blass, with a 6.5-inch cover display that maxes out at 2600 nits brightness. It unfurls to produce a 10-inch display on the inside capable of reaching a peak brightness of 1600 nits. The Galaxy Z TriFold is also expected to host a 200-megapixel main camera, 5,437mAh battery, and Snapdragon SoC under the hood. The thicknesses of the three panels varies from 3.9mm to 4.0mm to 4.2mm, according to Blass. That makes for a phone that could be as thin as 12.1mm when folded, or a little thinner than Huawei’s 12.8mm trifold. But nothing will be officially official until Samsung announces it. Rumored dates for the company’s first trifold have come and gone with the latest suggesting a December 5th launch in Korea, priced around $3,000.

PC hardware design has gone through quite an evolution in the last couple of decades. We departed the beige boxes of the 90s and early 2000s for powder-coated black chassis with single-colored lighting, plexiglass panels, and finally to tempered glass side panels and internals lit up brighter than the monitor you game on. Personal expression is great, but in my opinion, there are 5 hardware aesthetics that are beginning to be overdone, and for one reason or another, deserve to be left behind.