The de minimis exception, which has allowed businesses to import low-value goods without duties from China and Hong Kong, has expired as of 12:01AM ET today as part of President Trump’s executive order signed last month.Many businesses in the US rely on the de minimis loophole. Any package valued under $800 — including electronics, toys, and clothing from companies like Shein — can come to the US duty-free under the exception, leaving the products supercheap for buyers. In 2024, about 1.4 billion packages entering the US claimed exemption from duties under de minimis. Retailers Shein and Temu have already raised prices to account for tariffs.The Trump Administration’s new rules will add either a 30 percent fee to the value of every package shipped to the US, or $25 (with an increase to $50 starting June 1st) — a choice every postal carrier must make and apply to all parcels. The new fees are being implemented after Trump hit most Chinese goods with high tariffs last month, launching an escalating trade war that ended with a 145 percent import tax increase. In retaliation, China has added a 125 percent fee on US goods.

Apple has updated its App Store Guidelines around external payments and links in response to the injunction issued this week in the Epic v. Apple case. The changes, spotted by 9to5Mac, allow developers to steer users outside Apple’s App Store to make external purchases in compliance with the ruling.Language has been updated in the following sections of the App Store Guidelines, which all focus on acceptable purchase methods:3.1.1 In-App Purchase: Apps may allow users to browse NFT collections owned by others, provided that, except for apps on the United States storefront, the apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.3.1.1(a) Link to Other Purchase Methods: Developers may apply for entitlements to provide a link in their app to a website the developer owns or maintains responsibility for in order to purchase digital content or services. These entitlements are not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or others calls to action in their United States storefront apps.3.1.3 Other Purchase Methods: Apps in this section cannot, within the app, encourage users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, except for apps on the United States storefront and as set forth in 3.1.1(a) and 3.1.3(a).3.1.3(a) “Reader” Apps: Reader app developers may apply for the External Link Account Entitlement to provide an informational link in their app to a web site the developer owns or maintains responsibility for in order to create or manage an account. This entitlement is not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their United States storefront apps.On Wednesday, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers emphatically ruled that Apple cannot restrict app developers from including links or buttons for external purchases, interfere with app users’ choice to go to third-party sites, or impose “any commission or any fee on purchases that consumers make outside an app.” Apple said it will comply with the court order while it appeals the decision.“The App Review Guidelines have been updated for compliance with a United States court decision regarding buttons, external links, and other calls to action in apps,” Apple said in an email sent to developers, seen by 9to5Mac. “These changes affect apps distributed on the United States storefront of the App Store.”

Far Cry 4 has finally stepped into the modern generation of gaming—well, at least for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S port of the game. Ubisoft released Far Cry 4 back in 2014 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and the PC.

The Cast 150 looks an awful lot like a Chromecast.When Google killed its diminutive Chromecast line to replace the dongles with the TV Streamer set-top box, not everyone was happy about the change. Fortunately, if you’re hankering after a new version of Google’s old streamer, the Thomson Cast 150 might just fit the bill — but only if you live in Europe.The Cast 150 looks suspiciously similar to Google’s discontinued Chromecast, with a wide, flat white dongle including a built-in HDMI cable. Even the software’s the same: this runs on Google TV and supports Google’s video casting tech too, so the day-to-day experience should be about the same.The Cast 150 includes support for 4K, along with the HDR10 standard and Dolby Atmos audio. The only worrying spec is the 8GB of storage, which might be limiting if you intend to install a lot of apps. A few come preinstalled, including Netflix and Disney Plus, and it includes Google’s newly mandated “Live TV” button on the remote for quick access to free and live streaming channels.We thought the Google TV Streamer was “an upgrade in every way” over the Chromecast, but it also just about doubled the price, and not everyone wants a set-top box on display next to their TV. At €69 (around $78) the Cast 150 costs the same as Google’s 4K Chromecast used to, but it’s only going on sale in Europe, where it launches on May 28th. A UK launch will follow “eventually,” but a US release isn’t on the cards.

Getting your family to adopt new technology is a double-edged sword, especially when they use passwords that are easy to guess. That's scary since the internet is rife with scams and hacks, making password management paramount. To safeguard my family's technology, I explored options for an open-source password manager that encourages setting stronger passwords and easily sharing them without sending anything outside my home network.

Windows 11 has gotten progressively more bloated over the years, on top of more aggressively promoting features users don't actually want. With that, we've also seen an increasingly larger number of tools crop up to help you get rid of all the things you don't want or care about. These days, there are plenty of solutions out there, but a particularly notable one that launched recently is called TidyOS.

TikTok has been ordered to pay €530 million (around $600 million) for sending European users’ data to servers in China, a breach of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). TikTok has six months to bring its data processing into compliance, pending any possible appeal.The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) found that TikTok violated GDPR laws because it couldn’t guarantee that data transferred to China would be protected to a standard equivalent to the EU’s. The court singled out China’s anti-terrorism and counter-espionage laws as potential risks that Chinese authorities could access European users’ data.The video app was fined €485 million for sending the data to China, and €45 million for its privacy policy failing to adequately explain the data transfers. TikTok updated its privacy policy in 2022, and the court deemed that new policy “compliant.” The company has also promised to invest €12 billion (about $13.6 billion) in data centers in the EU, but that wasn’t enough to sway the court.Throughout the inquiry TikTok insisted that user data was only remotely accessed from China, and not stored on servers there. Last month the company informed the court that it had discovered that “limited” European data had in fact been stored in China, and has since been deleted. DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle warned that “further regulatory action” may be required for that additional breach.This is the third-largest GDPR fine yet, with only Meta and Amazon ordered to pay more. TikTok, which has its European headquarters in Ireland, has already been given a hefty GDPR penalty from the Irish court before, receiving a $367 million bill in 2023 for how it processes children’s data.The ruling comes as TikTok’s US business remains in limbo. The app was banned in the US  over fears surrounding its data security and possible control by Chinese authorities, and will have to find a US buyer to continue operating. Last month Donald Trump signed a second 75-day pause on the ban, as his ongoing trade war with China appears to have delayed efforts to negotiate a sale of the app’s US arm with Chinese owner ByteDance.

The Xbox 360 was the defining era of the Xbox brand, with the console dominating the space for most of the generation. While Xbox eventually fell from grace, that era of gaming features tons of iconic games, from multiplayer shooters to some Japanese titles coming exclusively to the Xbox 360.

Up until now, I've been using a sticky note in Google Keep to keep track of my medication. But as more medications have been added to my treatment regimen, while others have been discontinued, this method has proved insufficient.

If you're in the mood for something a little more challenging than the average game, you can't go wrong with Dark Souls. The series helped define an entire genre of games that continues to see titles to this day. And while it wasn't technically the first ever game of its kind (looking at you, Demon's Souls), it definitely helped catapult the genre to where it is today.

NotebookLM is Google's AI-powered notetaking tool, powered by Gemini, and is filled with incredible student and research-centric features like AI-generated podcasts (which Google refers to as Audio Overviews), Mind Maps, content generation features, and more. Given the tool's success, Google has been working tirelessly to improve the app by adding new features, such as the ability to search the web and curate up to 10 recommended sources, and expanding NotebookLM's iconic features, like Audio Overviews, to Google's other services like Google Docs.

A Network Attached Storage (NAS) system is often the central hub for home and enterprise users to store and manage their data. But what happens when disaster strikes — when data itself is at stake? Whether it’s ransomware, hardware failure, or an internal breach, the event could turn into a catastrophe if you are unprepared. While no storage system is entirely foolproof, you can mix prevention measures with rapid response and the right tools to make recovery faster and far less painful.