For years, running virtual machines inside Type-2 hypervisors was the least exhausting solution for Windows users who wanted to tinker with Linux tools and services. But with the arrival of the original Windows Subsystem for Linux, it became a lot easier to integrate the FOSS operating system’s app suite into Microsoft’s flagship OS. Building on its predecessor, WSL2 leverages the Virtual Machine Platform component of the bare-metal Hyper-V platform to run a VM that’s ultra-light as well as deeply integrated into your Windows setup.

Star Wars is a franchise that has connected with people across multiple generations. And because of that, there have been many different video games that take place in a galaxy far, far away. But over the past 50 years that Star Wars has entertained fans around the world, there was a period of time that was considered a golden age of Star Wars game releases, which showcased an immense level of passion and creativity.

Kia’s most popular electric vehicle is getting a bit more expensive in the US for the 2025 model year. The automaker’s re-styled EV6, announced in November, will start at $42,900 — a $300 increase from the 2024 “Light” rear-wheel drive version, with bigger hikes on the higher-end models.The GT model is getting the biggest price hike of the bunch, going from $61,600 to $63,800, an increase of $2,200. And the GT-Line AWD is $1,300 more expensive than in 2024. Not included are the $1,475 destination fees for each model, which is an $80 increase over the previous year. Left: 2025 Kia EV6. Right: 2024 Kia EV6. The auto industry is currently scrambling to figure out what changes to make to weather the Trump administration’s unpredictable tariffs, though Kia hasn’t said whether these increases are a response to the recent policy changes. The new EV6 models (except the GT version) are now being assembled in the US at Kia’s plant in West Point, Georgia, alongside the EV9.The 2025 Kia EV6 adds new geometry to the front “Star Map” grille styling and includes daytime running light lines shaped like a scribbly triangle, replacing the original winky-faced ones. The EV6 lights really fit with the styling of the EV9 and EV3, the latter of which just won another Red Dot design award for Kia. The new EV6 also has larger battery packs: from 58- to 63 kWh for the standard, and from 77.4- to 84 kWh on the long range. Kia says the bigger one goes 319 miles with RWD models, although that’s not an official EPA estimate. Comparatively, the 2024 EV6 RWD Light Long Range has an EPA estimated range of 310 miles per charge.

Sony has published a new teardown of the PlayStation 5 Pro, highlighting improvements that it made to the cooling apparatus of the machine. They include tweaks to the PS5’s liquid metal cooling design aimed to give the console “more stable” cooling.  The changes follow unproven claims that the liquid metal used in the first PS5 can leak and damage the console. Some sites even recommended against keeping the PS5 vertical after a repair shop owner and YouTuber was partially misquoted by jailbreak site Wololo.net. Wololo later followed up, saying its original story contained a “critical misunderstanding” — ultimately, it doesn’t seem like this was ever a widespread issue.Even so, Sony writes that it changed the design for the PS5 Pro, quoting Shinya Tsuchida, PS5 Pro Mechanical Design Lead:We spent quite some time conducting research on insulation when we were designing the original PS5. The basic structure remains the same in the PS5 Pro, but we made some improvements by adding fine grooves where the liquid metal is applied, so that the cooling effect is more stable. When we were doing research for the original PS5, we anticipated that semiconductors would continue to advance and become much denser, so we believed liquid metal technology would become crucial. It turns out we were right, and it was integral when designing the PS5 Pro.The rest of the blog post and its images may be familiar to you if you already saw iFixit’s teardown of Sony’s very expensive console, in which it noted that the inside of the PS5 Pro contains more thermal management than electronics.Some of that includes a larger cooling fan that the company says has redesigned fan blades, including “smaller blades in between” them. The blog also explains why it’s so hard to see the traces on the PS5 Pro’s motherboard: the board hides extra electrical layers beneath, to speed up memory access.

It's hard to ignore how large tech companies have become over the years. We've seen Google rise from a strangely-named search engine with a policy to "do no evil" to a giant corporation with a finger in every tech-based pie imaginable. However, it seems the company has overstepped its mark and has drawn the ire of the US court. At the start of the hearing of an antitrust case against Google, a judge has put forward the idea of Google breaking up and selling parts of its business, including the Chrome browser.

Anker’s newest Qi2-compatible chargers might be faster, but if you’re looking for a reliable — and relatively inexpensive — charger to keep you powered on the go, Anker’s last-gen 622 Magnetic Battery (MagGo) is still a solid choice. Thankfully, it’s on sale through April 25th as part of Woot’s Anker Power Mania sale for a mere $22.99 ($25 off), which is about $3 shy of the power bank’s best price to date. Before Anker’s pricier 6,600mAh Qi2 power bank took its place, the 5,000mAh Anker 622 was our favorite MagSafe-compatible battery pack. It can deliver a respectable 7.5 watts of power to MagSafe-compatible phones, which isn’t as fast as the newer model’s 15W output but still enough to achieve about an 80 percent charge on an iPhone 16 or 16 Pro (or slightly less if you’re using a power-hungry iPhone 16 Pro Max or a beefier last-gen model) within a couple of hours.What’s more, the power bank features a foldable kickstand, allowing you to stream video, take video calls, or read recipes hands-free (it also works great if you’re a fan of Apple’s handy StandBy mode). Thanks to a USB-C port on the side that offers passthrough charging, the power bank can even charge itself and your phone simultaneously.Three more deals we’re diggingThe Nothing Ear (a) have returned to their all-time low price of $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon.  These water-resistant earbuds deliver great sound, comfort, and solid active noise cancellation, making them our top pick for earbuds under $100. Plus, they feature a low-latency gaming mode and ChatGPT integration for Nothing phone users, both of which are nice bonuses at this price.Best Buy is offering the second-gen Hatch Restore 2 sunrise lamp on clearance for $101.99 ($68 off), which is a new low price. It isn’t as customizable as the third-gen Hatch Restore, but the color-changing sleep gadget can still gradually wake you with the light of a simulated sunrise and peaceful alarms. It also comes with a library of sounds — including white noise and meditation exercises — to help you build good sleeping habits. That said, if you want more than just sunrise alarms and sleep sounds, you’ll have to pay $4.99 a month to access the full content library. Read our review.Woot is selling the second-gen Theragun Mini in refurbished condition for just $99.99 through May 10th, which is half the price of buying it new. The portable massage gun features three speed settings and three interchangeable attachments, allowing you to target specific muscles that require extra attention. The device also features USB-C charging and Bluetooth, enabling you to access personalized guided exercises through Therabody’s app.

Uber is being accused of using a “deceptive billing and cancellation process” for its Uber One subscription service, according to a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission Monday. The ridehailing company would enroll people in its subscription service and then charge them without consent, making it more difficult to eventually cancel the service, the agency alleges in its lawsuit. The FTC is asking the court to file a permanent injunction blocking Uber from continuing to enroll people in its subscription program, as well as unspecified monetary relief for victims of the alleged policy. “Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. “The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people. Today, we’re alleging that Uber not only deceived consumers about their subscriptions, but also made it unreasonably difficult for customers to cancel.”Uber used difficult-to-read text and deceptive savings promises to lure people into its subscription service.According to the FTC, Uber used difficult-to-read text and deceptive savings promises to lure people into its subscription service. When signing up for Uber, customers are “wrongly promised” savings of $25 a month, which doesn’t account for the $9.99 a month for the cost of the subscription. The company also “obscures material information about the subscription,” including “using small, greyed out text which consumers can easily miss.” Many customers told the FTC they were enrolled without consent, with one customer saying they were charged despite not even having an Uber account. After sign-up, Uber allegedly would charge customers before their billing date, and occasionally before the free trial period ended. And when customers would try to cancel, Uber made it “extremely difficult,” the FTC says. “Some users are told they have to contact customer support to cancel but are given no way to contact them,” the agency says, “others claim that Uber charged them for another billing cycle after they requested cancellation and were waiting to hear back from customer support.”Uber contends that the allegations are erroneous, and that customers are able to cancel subscriptions with little friction. The company also denies signing up and charging customers without their consent. “We are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action, but are confident that the courts will agree with what we already know: Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law,” Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said in a statement. “Uber does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent, and cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less.”The company also provided statements from former FTC officials echoing similar sentiments. “I am disappointed that the FTC chose to bring this case without a full investigation and to base its complaint on misunderstandings of both the facts and the law,” said Tim Muris, former FTC Chair, Director of Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Director of Bureau of Competition; now senior counsel at Sidley, who represented Uber during this case’s investigation period.

Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of CATL, on stage during the company’s Tech Day event in Shanghai, China, on Monday, April 21, 2025.CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, previewed several breakthroughs in electric vehicle battery tech that is sure to wow EV makers across the world — even if the tech never makes it to the US. The company teased the innovations at an event in Shanghai timed to precede the city’s auto show. According to local reports, CATL presented three new announcements designed to shake-up the battery world. The first was an upgraded version of its Shenxing battery designed to add more range when fast charging. CATL said the battery can now offer 520 kilometers (323 miles) of range from just five minutes of charging time — a marked improvement over BYD’s promise to add 400km (249 miles) of range in the same amount of time. CATL said its system could provide a maximum charging speed of 1.3 megawatts. Even at -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), when charging speeds tend to slow to a crawl, CATL’s Shenxing battery can go from 5 percent to 80 percent in just 15 minutes.Another major announcement was the reveal of a new sodium-ion battery called Naxtra. According to Bloomberg, the new cells are already ready for commercialization and have been tested in a number of extreme settings, including very cold and hot temperatures. The new batteries are promised to delivery around 200km of range for hybrid vehicles, and 500km for an EV. Sodium is seen by some as an improvement over lithium, both in terms of availability and stability. The material is more cost effective to obtain and isn’t subject to the same safety hazards as lithium, which can catch fire under certain circumstances. CATL believes that sodium-ion batteries could potentially replace up to half the market for lithium iron phosphate batteries that now dominates the field. CATL also unveiled a new dual-power battery that can offer a maximum range of 1,500km (932 miles) on a single charge. The company likened the super-powered battery to a dual engine aircraft, with a regular fast-charging cell combined with a separate auxiliary pack for enhanced performance and range. But thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, US residents are unlikely to see any of these benefits anytime soon. CATL’s batteries are found in a wide range of EVs, including Tesla and Ford. And while the company could license its tech to American automakers, rising tensions are likely to make it difficult in the near term. China has recently halted export of rare earth minerals and magnets, and seems likely to want to keep all the best innovations to itself as the US walls itself off from the rest of the world. And the US Department of Defense has recently added CATL to its list of Chinese military companies, which could make it more difficult for the company to do business in the US.

Sony has been giving Nintendo a run for their money regarding game prices and increases. Not to be outdone by the controversial Nintendo Switch 2 retail price, Sony has moved to make another price increase with this one aimed at their beloved PlayStation Plus subscription, which appeared to have gone into effect on Wednesday (April 16).

For 22 years (till 2022), I only used air coolers. Stock Intel and AMD coolers and a cheap Cooler Master air cooler were enough to keep each of my processors (up to the Ryzen 5 1600) cool enough. When I got a new PC in 2022, I had the option to stay with air coolers or finally "upgrade" to an AIO liquid cooler. Since I had won this PC in a PC building competition, I decided to splurge a little by picking a 240mm liquid cooler from Cooler Master.

Near the beginning of his opening arguments, David Dahlquist, a lawyer for the US Department of Justice, showed a slide that he described as Google’s “vicious cycle.” It goes like this: Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine practically everywhere, thus it gets more search queries, thus it gets better data, thus it is able to improve its results, thus it makes more money, thus it can afford more defaults. Google doesn’t really disagree with this assessment — but in it’s telling, that’s a virtuous cycle. Another way to describe it is as the virtuous cycle that makes Google Search so powerful: Google believes it’s created a perfect system; the DOJ thinks it’s a nightmare. A judge will make the final call.Dahlquist’s remarks were the opening salvo of the remedies phase of US v. Google, a landmark antitrust case that ended with judge Amit Mehta finding last year that Google’s search engine is a monopoly. The question in the courtroom this time, to be litigated over the next two weeks, is what to do to fix it. And according to Dahlquist, the process has to start by stopping every part of the cycle from spinning.The DOJ is asking for three broad …Read the full story at The Verge.

Back in the day, ESXi was all the craze in the home lab community, as it provided several enterprise-grade virtualization features without forcing users to pay a dime. However, the free version of the platform was discontinued after Broadcom took over VMware, forcing server enthusiasts to seek greener, open-source pastures for their home lab workloads.