Compared to the feature-laden Kubernetes, K3s may seem rather inadequate. However, its lower resource consumption and simpler deployment make it a solid way to tinker with container orchestration facilities without jumping straight into the deep end of the Kubernetes pool. While the default SQLite database doesn’t support high-availability setups, you can even deploy a solid HA K3s cluster using other database tools.

ESP32 microcontrollers come in all shapes and sizes, varying in capabilities and features from model to model. The ESP32-S3 is on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to performance and capabilities, and I recently picked one up for playing with and testing. Thanks to its USB On The Go (OTG) support, I turned it into a computer mouse, and it's both amazing that it works and the most impractical way that I think I've ever used a computer.

Recommending Morrowind in today's day and age is a tough sell. While I am perfectly happy to play an RPG system where you can see an enemy, walk up to them so you're touching toes with one another, swing your sword directly at their torso, and miss because an invisible dice roll told you that you missed, I can't really see the people who were raised on Skyrim and Oblivion Remastered putting up with it. Which is totally legitimate; while Morrowind won over my heart, it's still a product of its time and lacks the quality of life features that modern gaming brought to us.

Replicating video game items and costumes using a 3D printer is definitely one of my favorite uses of the tech. And while I love it when people create static replicas of in-game objects (like the time someone made a full Doom Guy suit, which was awesome), it's even better when the project actually achieves the same effect as it does in-game.

Peek is one of the best PowerToys tools you can use to make your Windows 11 File Explorer better and take it one step closer to feature parity with macOS' Finder. However, that doesn't mean PowerToys Peek is as good as Finder's Quick Look function, which also has support for macOS' command line.

What do you gift somebody who loves books? The obvious answer is "a book," but since true bibliophiles are probably sitting on a stack already, it's worth getting a little more creative. Luckily for you, many of us at The Verge are big bookworms ourselves, which is why we rounded up a bunch of clever, useful gifts our staff can vouch for.Below, you'll find a handful of thoughtful presents fit for any literature-crazed loved one, including personalized book embossers, adjustable bookends, and tote bags. And because we're also gadget nerds, we've sprinkled in plenty of tech, from color ebook readers and book lights to a smart mug that's desi …Read the full story at The Verge.

What's better than free stuff? Free stuff that would usually set you back at least two grand if you bought it off of the shelf. There have been a handful of times where Nvidia has held a contest where the prize is an RTX 5090. Some of those contests include a special GPU themed after the contest in some way; for instance, there was that time they rekindled a decade-long nerd feud, with the winner scoring their choice of either a Star Wars or a Star Trek-branded RTX 5090.

FTL: Faster Than Light was an iconic game that really defined a whole genre of ship manager games. However, the developer didn't stop there. Once they were finished with FTL, they went on to make a second game called Into the Breach. This one kept the sci-fi theme but ditched the ships as you now control mechs and tanks to protect people from nasty bug-like creatures emerging from underground.

Meta is changing some of the rules governing its chatbots two weeks after a Reuters investigation revealed disturbing ways in which they could, potentially, interact with minors. Now the company has told TechCrunch that its chatbots are being trained not to engage in conversations with minors around self-harm, suicide, or disordered eating, and to avoid inappropriate romantic banter. These changes are interim measures, however, put in place while the company works on new permanent guidelines. The updates follow some rather damning revelations about Meta’s AI policies and enforcement over the last several weeks, including that it would be permitted to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” that it would generate shirtless images of underage celebrities when asked, and Reuters even reported that a man died after pursuing one to an address it gave him in New York.Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway acknowledged to TechCrunch that the company had made a mistake in allowing chatbots to engage with minors this way. Otway went on to say that, in addition to “training our AIs not to engage with teens on these topics, but to guide them to expert resources” it would also limit access to certain AI characters, including heavily sexualized ones like “Russian Girl”. Of course, the policies put in place are only as good as their enforcement, and revelations from Reuters that it has allowed chatbots that impersonate celebrities to run rampant on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp call into question just how effective the company can be. AI fakes of Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, and Walker Scobell were discovered on the platform. These bots not only used the likeness of the celebrities, but insisted they were the real person, generated risque images (including of the 16-year-old Scobell), and engaged in sexually suggestive dialog. Many of the bots were removed after they were brought to the attention of Meta by Reuters, and some were generated by third-parties. But many remain, and some were created by Meta  employees, including the Taylor Swift bot that invited a Reuters reporter to visit them on their tour bus for a romantic fling, which was made by a product lead in Meta’s generative AI division. This is despite the company acknowledging that it’s own policies prohibit the creation of “nude, intimate, or sexually suggestive imagery” as well as “direct impersonation.”This isn’t some relatively harmless inconvenience that just targets celebrities, either. These bots often insist they’re real people and will even offer physical locations for a user to meet up with them. That’s how a 76-year-old New Jersey man ended up dead after he fell while rushing to meet up with “Big sis Billie,” a chatbot that insisted it “had feelings” for him and invited him to its non-existent apartment.Meta is at least attempting to address the concerns around how its chatbots interact with minors, especially now that the Senate and 44 state attorneys general are raising starting to probe its practices. But the company has been silent on updating many of its other alarming policies Reuters discovered around acceptable AI behavior, such as suggesting that cancer can be treated with quartz crystals and writing racist missives. We’ve reached out to Meta for comment and will update if they respond.

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things AI, follow Hayden Field. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.How it startedIt all started with J.A.R.V.I.S. Yes, that J.A.R.V.I.S. The one from the Marvel movies. Well, maybe it didn't start with Iron Man's AI assistant, but the fictional system definitely helped the concept of an AI agent along. Whenever I've interviewed AI industry folks about agentic AI, they often point to J.A.R.V.I.S. as an example of the ideal AI tool in many ways - one that knows what you nee …Read the full story at The Verge.

Though Adobe has tools for every imaginable workflow, the last thing I expected was the Creativity giant launching a feature that felt like a competitor to one of my favorite productivity tools, NotebookLM. If you aren’t familiar with NotebookLM, it’s Google’s AI-powered research assistant, a tool I’ve been using daily since Google first tested it as an experimental project in Labs.

A couple of years ago, I gifted myself a 3D printer on my birthday — primarily because I got an excellent deal on an Ender 3 S1 Pro. While it was a basic FDM printer, it was all I needed to dip my toes into the world of 3D printing. At that point, I didn't even know of the different types of 3D printers one could buy. I just knew there were ones with an enclosure and ones without. Since ones with an enclosure were way more expensive, I decided to stick to the Ender 3 S1 Pro — my first "bed slinger" 3D printer. While it had its limitations, it turned out to be one of my best purchases to date. I learned so much about printing everyday objects, fixing broken stuff around the house, and even making my own laptop accessories instead of purchasing them.