If you wish to make the most out of your smart home device, Home Assistant is certainly the best platform out there. Unlike proprietary apps from OEMs, Home Assistant can connect to pretty much any smart home device — irrespective of what protocol it's based on. Owing to this, I recently migrated my entire smart home to Home Assistant. As I started to connect all my devices and set up automations and a dashboard to control my devices, I figured that the platform also has several integrations I can take advantage of. These Home Assistant integrations are intended to get the best out of your smart home experience by curating smart routines that save time.

Amazon’s new Alexa Plus voice assistant works with most existing Amazon devices. In the week's least surprising news, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed that the company is exploring ways to bring ads to Alexa Plus, its new generative-AI-powered voice assistant. During a conference call following the company's second-quarter earnings report, Jassy said that "there will be opportunities, as people are engaging in more multiturn conversations [with Alexa Plus], to have advertising play a role to help people find discovery, and also as a lever to drive revenue." Basically, people will talk more to Alexa, so there will be more ways to push ads at them. He also hinted that Alexa Plus, which is currently free for Prime members b …Read the full story at The Verge.

Everyone has different needs when it comes to a computer. But if you've been looking for a compact, powerful, and low-power solution, then this mini PC is going to be a great fit. Not only are you getting a powerful Intel N150 processor, but you're also getting plenty of RAM and storage as well. The best part is that the price is now pretty low, with Amazon slashing nearly 40% off, dropping it down to just $142 for a limited time.

I've been self-hosting different apps and services for the past few months, which has been an enlightening experience. I love many of the different services I encountered, with one of my favorites being a tasks app I self-hosted to help me get a better view of my chores.

A federal jury in Florida found Tesla partly liable for a deadly 2019 crash involving Tesla’s Autopilot driver assist software, according to reports from The New York Times and CNBC. Tesla has been ordered to pay $200 million in punitive damages and about $43 million in compensatory damages, CBS News reports.It’s a rare loss in court for Tesla over Autopilot, which has been linked to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths by the ​​National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company won two jury trials in 2023 resulting from lawsuits alleging that Autopilot was to blame for crashes, and last year, a lawsuit challenging Tesla’s claims about Autopilot was dismissed by a federal judge. The loss also comes as Tesla is starting to test its robotaxi service in Austin and Bay Area — though in the latter location, it arguably isn’t a robotaxi service just yet.Tesla’s Autopilot feature is designed to control a vehicle’s steering and brakes; however, some argue that the EV-maker has misled drivers about its cars’ capabilities. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, has accused Tesla of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full-Self Driving capabilities as autonomous driving features.During the trial, which started in July, plaintiffs argued that Tesla’s driver-assist software was at fault for causing a crash that killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides. While driving in Key Largo, Florida, Tesla owner George McGee crashed into Benavides’ vehicle after bending over to grab a phone that he had dropped. McGee told the jury he thought Autopilot “would protect him and prevent a serious crash if he made a mistake,” according to the NYT.“Today’s verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology,” the company said in a statement to the NYT. The company plans to appeal. 

Linux has always been great at holding onto its roots. A lot of the commands from the original Unix days still work just fine today. But just because they still work doesn’t mean they’re the best option anymore. Open source is moving fast and there are newer commands out there that just feel better to use.

So your home lab is starting to look more like a home data center, with a stack of network equipment tying it all together. But while you're thinking about hardware and the effect it will have on your Jellyfin streaming capacity, don't forget that some of the best networking tools are software-based, like running your own DNS server.

Windows 11 is a fine operating system with a lot of new and modern features that make it, in many ways, better than every version that came before it. But there's always some nostalgia at play when it comes to older versions of Windows, plus they had legitimate benefits. If you miss the golden days of Windows 7, there are a few things you can do to make your Windows 11 PC feel just a little more like it.

Bose headphones are some of the most comfortable around. | Image: The Verge Finding peace among the chaos on campus can be more challenging than a midterm. But a quality pair of over-ear headphones can block out distractions when it’s time to lock in. If that sounds like you, we’ve found a deal on the Bose QuietComfort Headphones, which are currently down to $229 ($130 off) at Amazon, Bose, and Best Buy. That’s within $30 of the lowest price we’ve seen all year.Bose QuietComfort HeadphonesWhere to Buy: $359 $229 at Amazon $359 $229 at Best Buy $359 $229 at BoseThe Bose QuietComfort Headphones are part of the company’s revamped lineup of headphones and earbuds, which also includes the pricier QC Ultra Headphones, QC Ultra Earbuds, and entry-level QC Earbuds, the last of which is down to $149 ($30 off) at Amazon, Bose, and Best Buy. The QC Headphones preserve the comfortable design of the QC45s and include Bose’s excellent noise cancellation. Although we haven’t reviewed this specific model, the upgraded QC Headphones Ultra is our favorite noise-canceling headphones for travel, and we’re generally fans of the line’s comfortable earcup cushions.There are two listening modes — Quiet and Aware — that let you quickly toggle between blocking the outside world and letting ambient noise in. Additionally, Bose says the QC headphones offer up to 24 hours of battery life, so you should be able to get through a full day without needing to recharge. The headphones also support multipoint connectivity, making it possible to pair them with two devices simultaneously. And when you’re finally done writing that last-minute term paper, the QC headphones can neatly fold up to make it easier to store them in your bag.More deals to check outThe Bose TV Speaker is currently matching its Prime Day discount of $199 ($80 off) at Amazon, Bose, and Best Buy. The small but mighty soundbar makes it easy to instantly upgrade from your TV’s built-in speakers, featuring two angled full-range drivers and a dialogue mode for clearer speech. It also has Bluetooth, letting you stream your favorite music and podcasts. Meanwhile, the compact design (it’s about two inches tall and 23 inches wide) is easy to integrate into smaller setups, making it a good fit for bedrooms.Planning a trip before school starts? I’ve taken the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel (70L) on a few trips, and found it an excellent companion for weekend getaways. Right now, it’s down to $158.99 at Patagonia. The hefty duffel is made from ripstop polyester and features a number of nooks and crannies to pack your clothes and other essentials. It has removable shoulder straps, a padded base, and reinforced exterior daisy chains to connect extra gear you need accessible at a moment’s notice.The Anker Nano Power Bank (5K, MagGo, Slim) is new to the market, but it’s already down to $46.74 (around $8 off) at Amazon and Anker (with an on-page coupon). The ultra-slim power bank has a 5,000mAh capacity and Qi2 support, allowing it to magnetically attach to your iPhone 12 or newer and provide charging speeds of up to 15W. These types of power banks are typically thick, but Anker’s latest model is roughly the same thickness as an Apple Pencil, making it easy to fit into your pocket.

Fujifilm has raised prices on cameras and lenses across its lineup, with price hikes reaching into the hundreds of dollars. Among the hikes is an increase to the price of Fuji’s ultra-popular X100VI from $1,599 to $1,799. The capable X-T5 has gone from $1,699 to $1,899. And the already very expensive GFX100 II has gone from $7,499 to $8,299 — an $800 increase. Increases to lens prices appear to be somewhat more modest, with bumps in the $50 to $150 range.The price hikes come as President Donald Trump threatens to finally, actually implement his sweeping new round of tariffs on August 7th. Nintendo announced today that it was raising the price on older Switch models, and Apple has said it’s burning well over $1 billion on added costs.“These price increases seem to be here to stay.”For Fuji, the tariffs have been a bit of a disaster. In 2024, the company shifted its supply chain for the X100VI over to China ostensibly to help meet the overwhelming demand it expected after the camera’s predecessor, the X100V, blew up on TikTok and was being resold at huge markups for much of its lifespan. Following the initial round of tariffs on China going into effect, Fuji moved some of the X100VI’s production back to Japan. But even after cutting a deal with the Trump administration, most imports from Japan are still being hit with an additional 15 percent tariff.The new prices are reflected at retailers like B&H and Adorama. Moment, which sells Fuji cameras, writes in a blog post that it’s “no surprise that Fujifilm needed to increase prices this year” as a result of Trump’s tariffs. They don’t appear to be temporary, either. “At this time, these price increases seem to be here to stay,” the company writes. Fuji didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.A number of other camera companies have raised prices at this point, including Leica and Canon. PetaPixel reports that Fuji’s price hikes were actually set before the new tariff rates were announced, which could put the company in a precarious position if the actual rates are higher than expected. Given the ongoing mystery of when Trump’s tariffs will be applied, to whom, at what rate, and for what length of time, this is likely only the start of the price revisions.

Whether you prefer the convenience of Wi-Fi or the stability of a wired connection, Ethernet is the foundational technology behind our advanced networking capabilities today. Often conflated with the physical cables or hardware that it runs on, Ethernet is closer to a driver's ed rulebook for how packets of data can be transmitted across the network so that they don't collide with each other and get to the intended destination safely.

A new Raspberry Pi project recently came across my radar that’s both clever and oddly practical. Built using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and a compact display, it tells you where in the world it’s currently 5:00 p.m. The display updates every 15 minutes, showing a different city and country where it's officially time to unwind.