Healthcare company Kaiser Permanente is dealing with a system outage that is forcing its hospitals and pharmacies to fill out prescriptions with pen and paper — and is slowing down services at other parts of the company, too.“Kaiser Permanente is currently experiencing network interruptions, at one of our data centers, which is impacting some of our applications,” Kaiser Permanente spokesperson Kathleen Campini Chambers says in a statement to The Verge. “All of our clinical facilities are operational. However, members may be facing delays in certain services such as lab, radiology, and pharmacy online and in our facilities. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience. Our technical teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Members can go to kp.org for updates.“The company is also showing alerts on its regional websites, including for Northern California and Oregon / SW Washington. “At this time, you may not be able to access some features on our site, including e-visits, billing, message center, and records,” Kaiser Permanente says.One Verge staffer saw the problems firsthand today while trying to get a prescription filled at a Kaiser hospital pharmacy. They said all the pharmacy’s systems were down, including payment terminals, and that the pharmacists had to fill out a point-of-sale form to fill the prescription. Staffers at the pharmacy warned about long wait times, saying it could take an hour to fill a simple prescription.A thread on Reddit also includes reports of issues from places like Southern California and Maryland. Kaiser Permanente has also been replying to users on X, saying that it is “aware of the system outages” and that it is “working to restore services as soon as possible.”Update, May 28th: Added statement from Kaiser Permanente.

Smart devices seem good until you buy them and realize each needs a separate app to function and monitor. In my case, I have a few security cameras from one brand, and I intend to add a few Wi-Fi bulbs in some spots. Home Assistant was a perfect fit for this use case because it would let me connect and manage multiple devices, irrespective of brands, in a single dashboard. While there are multiple ways to use Home Assistant, including an old laptop, a VM, and more, I wanted to put my tiny Raspberry Pi Zero 2W to the test.

I really like it when people take older tech and give it a modern-day remix with some new hardware. There's something about preserving the "spirit" of a piece of retro electronics while also giving it some nice quality of life features for the modern day that really pleases me. As such, when I saw that someone had constructed an HP bubble display clock and added Wi-Fi capabilities to it, I knew I had to check it out further.

Cloud storage is an incredibly useful technology that makes it easier than ever to keep copies of your files forever. But it also has a few downsides, including cost, the potential for someone to gain access to your account, or the simple fact that you're trusting a major corporation like Google or Microsoft to keep your data away from prying eyes. And when Microsoft has a list of file types that aren't allowed on OneDrive, you know the company has at least some access to that information.

Modern productivity workflows often revolve around getting your work done within the conglomerate of some big-tech company's ecosystem. You'll often be forced into using it if your company does, but for personal use, you have more control over where you store your data and collect your ideas. Google is one of the most pervasive companies in this regard, housing personal email, web browsing, document editing, photo storage, and not to mention the Android ecosystem. I use Google's products in many facets of my personal life, and once I realized just how tight their grip was on such a big portion of my online activity, I wanted to make a concerted attempt to de-Google my life.

As an industry, video games are pretty young. However, within the short time that gaming has been around, it has given birth to characters that have significantly impacted entertainment. Whether it was during the heyday of arcades or the excitement of home console wars, gaming has always resonated with people through its colorful characters on full display. Some characters have grown to become iconic, turning into symbols of nostalgia or clear ideas that players connect with on a personal level. They aren't just characters within their own games, but rather mainstays of gaming culture.

The Steam Deck has long been a popular handheld gaming device thanks to its affordability and the SteamOS platform. Yet its hardware, while impressive for the price, can struggle with demanding AAA titles at smooth frame rates. A new free plugin for Decky Loader called FrameGen offers Steam Deck users a way to boost performance by using upscaling and frame generation for a growing list of games.

For some people, a new PC build isn't done until all the wires and plugs are hidden away. That way, you just have the computer, the screen, and any peripherals; a very clean, sleek look. But what if you wanted to go one step further and hide the PC itself?

When you use something all your life, it can be easy to overlook some of the problems it has. You grow so accustomed to things that they just work how you expect, even if it's not the most technically efficient. I suspect many people go through this with Windows 11, and to help address that, I've compiled a few utilities that can make your Windows experience that much better.

I'm an avid photographer who clicks using both my smartphone and camera. Since I use different devices, I prefer shooting in RAW so that I can match the colors later on when editing the photos. I've been using Lightroom for all my color grading needs over the years, and it has fared well. However, the subscription costs started bothering me, especially since I don't click or edit photos as often anymore. So, it didn't make sense to continue paying for a service I didn't use regularly. So, I canceled my subscription and started looking for free alternatives. While several options don't need a subscription, I settled on Darktable.

The PC has always been a tool of expression for PC builders. It's not just made up of parts containing transistors, capacitors, and circuits. It's a canvas that tech enthusiasts use to tell a personal story, and this naturally opens the door for aesthetically-minded parts and technologies. This is why PC mods like CCFL tubes, UV lighting, and EL wires were a thing, and why RGB lighting became such a big hit with PC builders.

There are just so many things about a mini PC that are alluring. Not only do you get excellent power, but it also comes in a compact size that's perfect for any workspace. We've seen a lot of great models roll out over the past year, but Apple's Mac Mini really has to be at the top of the list, really excellent bang for your buck.