If you haven't given Slime Rancher a try yet, you really owe it to yourself to give it a go. I'm not a huge farming games fan, and even I found the game really delightful to play. It's just something about how it presents itself that scratches an itch that no other game has managed before.

Users who dismiss the ads are taken to Pocket Casts’ subscription page. Pocket Casts is being flogged for showing advertisements to legacy users who were promised an ad-free experience. The first reports started to appear in early September in the Pocket Casts support forum and subreddit. The issue is a bug, according to Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Pocket Casts’ parent company Automattic, and will be corrected. Pocket Casts launched as a purchase-only app in 2010, charging users a one-time download fee of up to $10, depending on the OS and platform. The service later switched to a subscription-based model and made the app available for free in 2019. After backlash from users, the company gave anyone who paid for the web or desktop apps before the pricing changes free lifetime access to Pocket Casts Plus, its ad-free premium subscription service. The app was acquired by Automattic in 2021, and the Pocket Casts Lifetime memberships were rebranded to “Pocket Casts Champion” in August 2024. A support page says the rebrand would “not change anything about your membership” and makes no mention of introducing ads. Some users on these free lifetime subscriptions are now seeing ads, however, and are being directed to pay the $40 yearly fee for Plus to remove them.“I just want the adverts gone – I still don’t need the other Plus features,” said one user on the Pocket Casts forum. “This change makes me feel that you’re trying to increase your conversion rate by making the base product worse.”In the same forum post, a Pocket Casts employee said that the only way to remove the banner ads is to pay for a Plus subscription, and that they were introduced to “sustain the continued work and maintenance of the app.” This conflicts with a statement from Mullenweg, however, who says the ads appearing on lifetime member accounts are a bug, and that the company is working to fix it.“Anyone who has ever paid for Pocket Casts, even before Automattic acquired it, should not see ads,” Mullenweg said in a Hacker News thread. “I don’t believe in ‘lifetime’ purchases, and we don’t create new ones at Automattic, but we have honored the legacy people who paid a one-time fee to Pocket Casts when they were a startup with basically what we call a “Champions” account, which is a lifetime you-get-the-best-of-whatever-we-sell deal.” There are only a few thousand lifetime Pocket Casts members, according to Mullenweg, adding that it “seemed better to try and make it more of a gift than attempt to migrate people to what is actually a sustainable business model.” We have reached out to Pocket Casts for comment.

l | Photo: Disney via Getty Images Jimmy Kimmel made a triumphant return to television (in most, but not all, cities) on Tuesday night, devoting his monologue to his short but shocking removal from the air. The comedian tackled the uproar head-on, directly naming Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair who had instigated Kimmel's censorship. In a later segment, he took aim at Carr during a sketch in which Robert De Niro played an unnamed FCC chair occupying Carr's office.In his opening remarks, Kimmel impressed upon the value of free speech, saying that he had met comedians and talk show hosts from totalitarian countries who had told him that they could "g …Read the full story at The Verge.

Windows 10 will reach end-of-support in October this year, meaning users will no longer be able to install the latest security updates from Microsoft. This has prompted many to finally switch to Windows 11, something that StatCounter's OS market share data from the last few months corroborates.

Google is continuing to slowly tease its rumored plans to bring Android to PCs, merging it with ChromeOS, and now Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is getting in on the action. He says he’s seen a version of the software, and that he “can’t wait to have one.”Amon was speaking on stage with Google’s head of platforms and devices, Rick Osterloh, during the opening keynote for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, where later today the company will reveal its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. Before that though, the two execs teased Google and Qualcomm’s future plans together, from automotive to consumer PCs.“In the past, we’ve always had very different systems between what we’re building on PCs and what we’re building on smartphones, and we’ve embarked on a project to combine that,” Osterloh said. “ We are building together a common technical foundation for our products on PCs and desktop computing systems.”He went on to confirm that Google’s plans involve bringing Gemini and the full Android AI stack, along with “all of our applications and developer community,” into the PC ecosystem. “I think this is another way in which Android is gonna be able to serve everyone in every computing category.”“I’ve seen it, it is incredible,” replied Amon excitedly. “It delivers on the vision of convergence of mobile and PC. I can’t wait to have one.”The last we heard of Google’s plans was this July, when Android head Sameer Samat confirmed Google is “combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform,” following last year’s efforts to begin developing ChromeOS on parts of the Android stack.

Spotify x Algoriddim, is back. After pulling support for third-party DJ apps, Spotify Premium subscribers can once again log in and start streaming their playlists and queueing up requests directly from the Mac and Windows versions of Algoriddim’s popular djay software. Right now Spotify integration is only available on the djay desktop apps. Neither company has commented on the possibility of the feature coming to the mobile apps.When I started DJing at my local community streaming radio station, I relied on a combination of Spotify and Algoriddim’s djay. But, back in 2020 Spotify unceremoniously decided to kill off that integration, reportedly due to licensing issues. The company’s Terms of Service expressly forbid the mixing of Spotify songs. I guess those roadblocks have been sorted out, though, because Spotify is back in the djay app. Thankfully you can enjoy integration even with the free version of the djay app, though paying for a Pro subscription does add hardware integration, some effects, and other features that will be appreciated by more serious DJs. In the years since Spotify pulled support, Algoriddim continued to integrate with Tidal and SoundCloud, and added support for Apple Music. If you were using djay to, you know, DJ, in any serious capacity, chances are that you’ve already jumped to one of those services.

Large L3 cache is one of the standout features of AMD's X3D CPUs, such as the 9800X3D and 9950X3D. It's a big reason why AMD has consistently outperformed Intel in gaming benchmarks. Reviewers usually focus on the average FPS gains, which makes these CPUs look very impressive, but that only scratches the surface of what a larger cache can really do. Once you start using one of these X3D CPUs and monitor your PC closely, you'll realize that the benefits go beyond just average frame rates.

Well, Halloween is just over a month away, and tinkerers far and wide are devising new ways to scare and creep people out. I'm sure our resident SBC enthusiast, Jeff Butts, will find a way to spice up October with a new gadget or two. He always likes a good excuse to solder something.

The solar cell does not light up, contrary to Logitech’s marketing images for the K980. | Image: Logitech Logitech left solar-powered keyboards in the dark for over a decade, but it’s launching a new one today. Just like the K760 before it, its new $99.99 Signature Slim Solar Plus K980 can only be powered with light. There’s no USB port or swappable batteries. Instead, it features a cell that can convert solar or artificial light — 200 lux at minimum — into power to charge its battery, which the company says will last for up to 10 years. Once fully charged, the company says the K980 can be used in complete darkness for up to four months.I asked Logitech if the K980’s battery is user-replaceable, and spokesperson Melvin Dilanchian told The Verge that it is “safely user-replaceable (because it’s encased in a plastic casing), with spare parts supplied by iFixIt.”Beyond its solar charging capabilities, the K980 has a pretty standard full-size layout, with Windows and macOS key labels, directional keys, and a numpad. Its function row is pre-programmed to control media, screen brightness, and volume, although you can customize their secondary features (or turn off secondary features altogether) in the Logi Options Plus app for Mac or Windows. The K980 also includes a mic mute key, a camera on/off toggle, and an Action key along the top row that can be programmed however you’d prefer in the app. It also features a new addition: an AI Launch key.The AI key is what you think it is; it defaults on Windows PCs to launching Copilot (ChromeOS defaults to Gemini), though it can be customized in Logitech’s app to open ChatGPT or an AI prompt builder. Alternatively, you can assign one of Logitech’s Smart Actions to the key to, say, ask Perplexity for an answer to your query in your browser. Or, you can just set it to be right CTRL. The Action Key (the key on the top row that looks like a big O) and several others can be programmed to execute these macros, too, whether you use one of Logitech’s presets or create your own through the app. The graphite-colored version of the K980 is universal (see full image), with key labels for Windows and macOS. However, Mac users in North America can opt for the off-white model that gets rid of Windows labels for the same price (see full image). The K980 supports being paired with up to three Bluetooth devices, letting you swap between them with a press of a button. It can also be connected to a computer that has a Logitech Bolt USB transmitter, although one isn’t included in the box (would have been nice!). A previous Logitech model had playful built-in LED indicators that would warn you when the ambient light wasn’t sufficient to charge the keyboard, but the K980’s power LED simply turns from green to red if it needs more charge. This is how Logitech gets you to install its Options Plus app. The app has an indicator that says whether there’s enough light.2025 seems to be the year when companies decided the sun was cool again, as Lenovo recently launched the $99.99 self-charging wireless keyboard that it first showed off in January at CES 2025. I think I dig it more than the K980, although I haven’t tried it yet and it doesn’t seem to include as much in the way of customization. Still, it has things that I like in a keyboard that the K980 lacks, like adjustable legs that can give it some tilt and a spill-resistant design. Plus, it has a USB-C charging port, just in case.

Samsung subsidiary Harman has completed its acquisition of Sound United, Masimo’s former audio business, adding a sizable expansion to Samsung’s audio brand portfolio. The $350 million deal was first announced in May, and brings Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Definitive Technology, Polk Audio, HEOS, Classé, and Boston Acoustics under the same roof as JBL, Harman Kardon, and other audio brands that Samsung acquired when it purchased Harman for $8 billion in 2016.“Sound United’s impressive roster of brands is rooted in a deep passion for sound, innovation, and commitment to quality that aligns with Harman’s own values,” Harman’s lifestyle lead, Dave Rogers, said in a statement. “This transaction unlocks meaningful growth opportunities for everyone. It bolsters Harman’s strategy to build on its unparalleled success story and scale to unprecedented heights as an audio leader.”Sound United will operate as a standalone business under Harman’s lifestyle division to ensure that each audio brand preserves its identity and customer base. With the sale now completed, Masimo can focus its attention on the Apple Watch lawsuit it launched against US Customs and Border Protection in August.

Mini PCs are great, but for many popular home lab and hobby projects, a Raspberry Pi gets you the same results for far less money. With its low power draw, tiny footprint, and capable hardware in the Pi 4 and Pi 5, it can handle everyday tasks, from streaming to automation, without overspending. The open ecosystem surrounding Raspberry Pi offers mature software, active guides, and affordable accessories that help you build quickly and troubleshoot easily. Below are just a few projects where the Pi shines by delivering real savings without sacrificing the experience.

I have spent years exploring how to build a digital life that’s truly my own, one where my data isn’t a product to be sold. My solution has been a self-hosted setup powered by Docker. By containerizing essential services, I have built a personal, private ecosystem that operates entirely on my own terms.