A couple of weeks ago, I was scrolling through Reddit when I stumbled across a developer who had built a Chrome extension for my absolute favorite personalized research assistant, NotebookLM. Naturally, I had to give it a try right away. Ever since, I’ve gone all in on exploring how Chrome extensions can improve my NotebookLM workflow, especially the ones built specifically with NotebookLM in mind.

Of all the tech gadgets I've bought over the years, from programmable keyboards to obscure adapters, none has delivered quite as much utility for such a low price and tiny footprint as a humble HDMI dummy plug. It's a tiny, unassuming dongle that you could easily mistake for a flash drive or a dust cover that your GPU comes with. Tiny as it is, this gadget has helped me solve a very specific set of problems, and it now lives in my USB drawer because it gets about as much use as a flash drive. On countless occasions, it has helped me remote into my PC without hiccups or typical low-resolution display output.

My workspace is probably a bit different from most tech bloggers. You won’t find a fancy ultrawide gaming monitor here. My daily driver is a standard laptop, and I use a huge 4K TV as my main display. It's not for gaming; it's just my ultrawide screen for work.

So I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, Windows 11 25H2 is almost here, as Microsoft has just pushed it to the Release Preview channel, which acts as the final round of testing before it deploys worldwide. The bad news is...it's not very exciting.

We've seen all types of mini PCs, but the more power you can get for the price the better. Plus, it's not a bad option to be able to upgrade the device as well. That's where this Bosgame mini PC comes in, featuring a powerful Ryzen 7 chip and OCuLink port, making it a compact gaming machine that can handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. And while its usual retail price of $640 is quite steep, its new price drop to $480 makes it just right.

“Actual features are subject to the official product release.” | Image: Dangbei Dangbei is bringing its S7 Ultra Max all-in-one projector to Berlin next week for the big IFA tech show. That’s a good indication that the China-only 4K projector with a ridiculously bright 6,200 ISO lumen output is preparing for a global launch.Here’s the teaser Dangbei just sent to my inbox:Experience cinema-grade brilliance with this laser projector, featuring 48 RGB laser units, 6,200 ISO lumens, and Dolby Vision/HDR10+ for unparalleled visuals.When this 4K projector was announced in China back in July, Dangbei said it achieved class-leading brightness by combining 48 laser-light sources. But it claimed “5800 CVIA lumens” back then, and CVIA typically delivers a higher brightness value than the stricter ISO and ANSI standards. So there’s reason to be skeptical of the higher 6,200 ISO lumen claim.Here’s the subtitled launch from a few months ago:And like Anker’s very bright 3500 ANSI lumen Nebula X1 projector I recently reviewed, the S7 Ultra Max is liquid cooled to tame all the heat its projection tech produces while reducing the noise to a very quiet 24dB, according to the company. Other features include dual 15W speakers, a stated 8000:1 native contrast ratio, 0.98 to 1.6:1 optical zoom, and a base that swivels and rotates to find the best image placement, with automatic focus, keystone correction, and screen alignment to dial things in.All this for a price of just 15,999 yuan, which converts to about $2,250. Too good to be true? Possibly, we’ll see what Dangbei has to say next week in Berlin.

Project Pivo lets you swivel the laptop screen to view things in portrait mode. | Image: Evan Blass Lenovo is gearing up to show off its latest products at Europe’s IFA tech tradeshow next week, but leaks may have just given us a first look at what’s being announced. The most notable gadget shared by reputable leaker Evan Blass shows an image of a concept laptop design with a display that rotates between landscape and portrait orientations, which Lenovo has reportedly dubbed “Project Pivo.”Lenovo has a history of making funky laptop concepts — such as the see-through ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop and the rollable display on the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 — but these R&D projects aren’t guaranteed to be released as consumer products. The portrait mode for Project Pivo could be a useful feature for coding and viewing the mobile versions of websites and apps, so we’ll have to see if it turns into something that you can actually buy.According to Blass, Lenovo will also be showing off the Legion Go 2, the second-gen gaming handheld announced during CES that’s expected to launch sometime this year, and a selection of tablets and Motorola phones. I’ll be checking out what Lenovo has to offer during the IFA event, so more information about these products should be available next week if they make an appearance.

Getting ready for a new school year can be stressful and expensive, but 3D printing offers a clever way to cut costs while also creating supplies tailored to your needs. From practical organizers to fun classroom accessories, there are plenty of models available that you can print at home. Here are five valuable back-to-school items you can make on your 3D printer that are not only affordable but also genuinely helpful.

There are a few franchises that are immediately associated with the Xbox brand, mostly due to their exclusivity to Xbox consoles over the years. One of those franchises is Gears of War, a series that began on the Xbox 360 and continued to have more games come out in the years that followed. To many Xbox console owners, Gears of War was a game that was emblematic of everything Xbox in the early 2000s. But so many things have changed since the first Gears of War game came out in 2006, with the biggest one being that more people outside the Xbox ecosystem can now experience the gritty gameplay and story of the first game, including PlayStation console owners.

Smart mirrors have become a popular DIY project, offering a blend of utility and futuristic appeal. The Gemini MagicMirror project takes that concept further by integrating Google Gemini’s AI capabilities, turning your old, boring mirror into one that can converse, answer questions, and offer personalized information. Built around the Raspberry Pi, it’s approachable for hobbyists who want to experiment with both hardware and software.

Apple is just days away from revealing its newest iPhones during its "Awe dropping" event on September 9th. It seems like this year's launch will offer more than just a simple spec bump, as rumors point to an ultra-thin iPhone arriving alongside the rest of Apple's upgraded smartphone lineup.Though the iPhone 17 will undoubtedly be the focal point of the event, the company might throw a couple of other devices our way. Here's what Apple might reveal during its next big launch event.The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max may get even better camerasOne of the first things you'll probably notice about the supposed renderings and dummy models of th …Read the full story at The Verge.

In June, Mark Zuckerberg went for the ultimate Hail Mary in the ever-intensifying AI race: He spun up a brand-new Meta AI lab after making a $14.3 billion acquisition of Scale AI - and then spending billions more hiring some of the industry's preeminent researchers and engineers. Fast-forward a couple of months, and Zuckerberg may have recruited the talent, but now the question is whether he'll be able to keep it from slipping through his fingers. For that, we'll have to wait and see. After all, Meta rebranded its entire AI division as "Meta Superintelligence Labs," a division of thousands of people. One team within that division - the t …Read the full story at The Verge.