Samsung makes some of the best SSD storage that you can buy right now. Of course, that means paying top dollar for the best performance you'll find, but sometimes, you just don't need that when you're looking to upgrade for cheap. That's where Samsung's 990 Evo Plus series comes in, providing a more affordable line of M.2 SSDs that still deliver great performance.

Gone are the days of spending countless hours perfecting a specific configuration for my CPU, GPU, RAM, and motherboard to achieve maximum performance from my system. It's hard to believe a decade has passed since I was more into the custom water cooling scene, with overclocking at the forefront of my main rig. I even kept hold of a trusty AMD FX 4100 to see how hard I could push it on a dedicated test bench. Toying around with components was my jam, and I appreciated the delicate balance of power and stability, mixing in undervolting for good measure. Those days are long behind me now, and I don't feel like I'm losing out on anything, as modern components have smarter algorithms that enable them to boost much higher for longer.

I didn’t pay much attention to power consumption when I first set up my Synology NAS at home. I was more excited by the possibilities the NAS enabled in my workflow and personal life with file management and photo backups. But over time, as I started considering power backup solutions for my unit, I realized how much of an impact the NAS has been causing on my power bill. While the NAS itself isn’t rated to eat up a lot of electricity, I could still use some frugality to make it much more efficient — and even cut my NAS power bill almost in half. These are the changes I made to my setup to hit that goal.

Not to be upstaged by all the Nintendo Switch 2 shenanigans, PlayStation decided to steal some of that attention back in the form of a major, nostalgia-fueled announcement: Final Fantasy Tactics is getting a remake and it’s coming in September.Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will take players back to a time when Final Fantasy wasn’t an action RPG or even a turn-based RPG but an isometric strategy game. Take control of Ramza Beoulve as he fights in the Lion War and build an army of powerful fighters utilizing the game’s job system. But don’t expect just the standard RPG classes, like Fighter, Black Mage, or Summoner. Final Fantasy Tactics has a host of unique, often arcane, and never-seen-again job types, like Geomancer, Chemist, and Oracle. For this new edition, players will be able to choose between the classic version of the 1998 original PlayStation game or an enhanced version with fully voiced dialogue and other quality-of-life improvements.The original Final Fantasy Tactics was released in the US in 1998 and is considered by some to be the best game in the Final Fantasy oeuvre. I myself have never played the game, though have heard tales of its legendary storyline and utterly busted job classes, like the Arithmatician (seriously). And because of the Final Fantasy franchise’s 30-year history, there are some newer and younger fans who probably didn’t know this game existed before today. I look forward to finding out what it’s all about when Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles launches September 30th.

Sony’s showcase had a pleasant surprise: the debut trailer for 007 First Light. The James Bond game — which has some definite Uncharted vibes — doesn’t have a release date, but is slated to launch sometime in 2026. And while it was announced at a PlayStation event, the debut trailer confirms it’s coming to Xbox, PC, and the Switch 2 in addition to the PS5.The game appears to be an origin story, as players will follow a much younger version of Bond, at least compared to the films. Hitman developer IO Interactive announced that it was working on the franchise way back in 2020, so it’s been a long wait to see the actual game in action. The announcement also comes at an interesting time for the franchise overall, which is now under the Amazon umbrella.You’ll also be able to see more of the game very soon. IO is holding a showcase event on June 6th at 9PM ET, which will include an appearance from First Light.

I have been watching, with some grim amusement, Elon Musk discovering the limits of being just another political donor. While he was at DOGE, he literally could control the Treasury and DOD - he effectively had the IT reins of the entire country, and could simply gut things he hated at will. There was a price for that: it destroyed what was left of his reputation. But it was real, true power - being able to stop payments at will makes you more powerful than the president.So much for that. These days, Musk is reduced to begging his followers on X to call their senators and congressmen [sic, obviously] to vote down the Big Beautiful Bill. His nominal reason is that Donald Trump's budget plan will increase the deficit, but reports indicate that Musk is annoyed an EV credit is getting cut. That makes it harder to sell Teslas in an environment where it's already hard to sell Teslas. Also, Musk may be annoyed that he didn't get to stay past his statutory limit as an unpaid advisor and that the FAA isn't using Starlink, according to Axios.Even less powerful enemies can lead to political problems, which is why Musk doesn't get his pet boy in NASAThe cracks have been showing in the M …Read the full story at The Verge.

PlayStation has announced Project Defiant, an arcade-style fighting stick that looks like it’ll be perfect to use with the newly announced Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. Sony teased the device during the State of Play on Wednesday before revealing more details in a blog post, which says the controller will let you wirelessly connect it to your PS5 or PC with PlayStation Link technology.Sony says PlayStation Link offers “ultra-low latency” connectivity, allowing for precise responses to button inputs and stick movement. There’s also an option to plug the controller into your device with a USB-C cable.The controller comes with a digital stick that’s custom-designed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, along with buttons that have mechanical switches, a touchpad similar to the one on a DualSense wireless controller, and interchangeable restrictor gates (square, circle, and octagon) for the stick.Project Defiant comes with a carrying case with a lever gap “to keep the digital stick safe during transport.” Sony plans to release the controller in 2026 and will share more details about the device, including its official name, in the “months ahead.”

2025 has already had some massive hits in the AAA games space, with titles like Doom: The Dark Ages, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Avowed making up some of the biggest releases so far. The indie space hasn't been quite either. In fact, it's been where some of the best games so far this year have come from. Indie games have the ability to be more innovative than AAA games, which need to have broad appeal to succeed. The indie games on the list feel like new evolutions in specific genres, like turn-based RPGs and puzzle games, while others feel so unique in what they are doing that it becomes innovation by default.

“Loma” could be an AR headset akin to the Meta Ray-Bans (pictured)The Wall Street Journal reports Meta is in talks with Disney and A24 to try and secure exclusive streaming content for a new headset it’s developing. WSJ says Meta’s new device is a glasses-like headset codenamed “Loma,” with an external puck you slip into your pocket. Meta is reportedly seeking new and existing licensed content that would be exclusive to its platform on VR or as timed exclusives. That puck design sounds like Meta’s recently rumored “Puffin” headset, which is reportedly in development and could succeed the Quest 3 and Quest 3S VR headsets. UploadVR described Puffin as an extremely light open-periphery headset with a tethered compute puck, and Loma could very well be Puffin, or become it at some point.Meta’s own Andrew “Boz” Bosworth has said publicly that Meta has various prototypes in development at all times, including ones that never see the light of day, and after the WSJ published its report Wednesday, he reposted his statement about prototypes from last fall that adds “…stories based on chatter about one individual decision will never give the real picture.”  Puffin, Loma, or other similar options could be in one of the prototyping stages Bosworth discussed with The Verge’s own Alex Heath last October. Either way, WSJ mentions Meta’s plan for Loma would set a price that’s “more than the $300 starting price for a Quest, but less than the $3,500 base price of a Vision Pro, according to some of the people.”

In the crowded landscape of note-taking applications, finding a tool that strikes the perfect balance between simplicity, power, and user control can be a challenge. Many solutions offer extensive features but often come with proprietary formats, vendor lock-in, or a steep learning curve. This is where Many Notes, an open-source Markdown-based web app, truly shines.

Portable SSDs are going to be the preferred way to go when it comes to external storage. But if you're not looking for speed, and all you care about is an affordable way to store tons of data, then an external HDD is going to be a far better option. This 14TB external HDD from Western Digital is now down to its lowest price yet at just $200, making it an absolute bargain. Get it now before the deal's gone.

Apple will have to continue allowing web links and external payment options in the App Store after its request to halt a judge’s order was rejected today by a higher court.In April, a federal judge demanded that Apple begin allowing web links, cease restricting how links are formatted, and enable developers to offer external payment options without giving the company a cut of their revenue. Apple promptly appealed and requested that the order be put on hold until the legal proceedings were finished.But an appeals court has now denied Apple’s emergency request to block the order. The court said it was “not persuaded” that blocking the order was appropriate after weighing Apple’s chances to succeed on appeal, whether Apple would be irreparably harmed, whether other parties would be hurt if the order is halted, and what supports the public interest.Spotify, Kindle, and other big apps have quickly added options for web purchasesThe rejection bodes poorly for Apple’s chance of overturning the order, which stems from a lawsuit by Epic Games. Epic sued Apple over its App Store restrictions back in 2020. Epic notched only a narrow win in the case, with the court ordering Apple to allow developers to communicate with their users about better pricing.Then, in April, in a scathing ruling, the court said that Apple had repeatedly failed to comply. The judge then gave Apple a more explicit order about how the App Store must be opened up.In the weeks since, major apps like Spotify and Kindle have taken advantage of the ruling by adding links in their apps to make purchases on the web. Fortnite has returned, too, offering an option between Apple’s in-app payment system and Epic’s own payment and rewards program. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told The Verge this week that there’s currently a 60-40 split in usage between the two systems, with Apple’s still winning out.“We are disappointed with the decision not to stay the district court’s order, and we’ll continue to argue our case during the appeals process,” says Apple spokesperson Olivia Dalton. “As we’ve said before, we strongly disagree with the district court’s opinion. Our goal is to ensure the App Store remains an incredible opportunity for developers and a safe and trusted experience for our users.”