Last year, Microsoft announced that the classic Teams app, which is the original version of Microsoft Teams, would reach the end of support on July 1, 2024, and the end of availability this year, on July 1, 2025. Ever since, the company has made it its mission to encourage customers to switch over to the new Teams app.

For far too long, I've been navigating the ever-growing mountain of research notes and documents in a somewhat disorganized and inefficient way. I did hear about AI note-taking tools, but for one reason or another, I hesitated. That all changed when I finally decided to explore NotebookLM. The immediate clarity and efficiency that Google’s AI note-taking tool has brought to my research workflow has left me with one thought: I should have tried this sooner.

Protesters in Washington, DC on April 5th.More protests against President Donald Trump are taking place today as part of “A National Day of Action” largely spearheaded by the decentralized 50501 movement. Events are scheduled in all 50 states, two weeks after millions of people attended more than 1,300 “Hands Off!” protests across the US and the world. This time, over 700 rallies and community events are planned. A post on the official 50501 website describes some of the other efforts underway today:Yes, there are marches, rallies, and courthouse demonstrations. But there are also diaper drives, skill shares, free community meals, and teach-ins happening all over the country. This is intentional. Because real change doesn’t just come from loud chants — it comes from deep connections.“No one single march wins demands or ends injustice,” Ben Zinevich, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, which is participating in the protests, told The Washington Post yesterday, “It’s really about building a sustained movement that can show itself as a political force.”Today’s actions, like those earlier “Hands Off!” demonstrations, are broadly aimed against the actions of President Donald Trump since his inauguration in January. That includes the rapid dismantling of the US administrative state at the hands of Elon Musk’s DOGE, chaotic tariffs, and apparent defiance of court orders, including one from the Supreme Court. Notably, today is the 250th anniversary of the first two major battles at the start of the American Revolutionary War. People are generally posting about the protests under the same “#handsoff” hashtag that was used earlier in the month. Below are scenes from some of the most visible protest actions taking place today, starting with what looks like hundreds preparing for a march from New York City’s Bryant Park:The April 19 NYC March has not even begun yet and there are SO many people gathered!Mass mobilization is the way!#50501 #FightForDemocracy#HandsOff— Postcards for America (@postcards4usa.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T16:21:07.424ZProtesters also gathered in Chicago’s Daley Plaza:#chicago #peotest #handsoff— Liam Hayden (@liamhayden.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T17:00:12.314ZA large crowd showed up early this morning at Piatt Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, where protesters in the video below can be heard chanting “bring him home:”“Bring him home!” (Garcia)Demonstrators are seen as they participate in the  ‘Hands Off!’ national day of protest and march in Cincinnati, Ohio. Saturday, April 19, 2025. #50501movement #50501 #HandsOff pic.twitter.com/IwILVgM6Ku— Jason Whitman (@jason_whitman) April 19, 2025They seem to be referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who the Trump administration initially admitted was sent to an El Salvador prison by mistake. In the wake of a unanimous Supreme Court order to “facilitate” his return, the administration has been attempting to retroactively justify Abrego Garcia’s deportation while doing “nothing,” as a federal judge said this week, to try to get him back.Nice crowd building in Cincinnati. #handsoff— David Pepper (@davidpepperoh.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T14:00:32.182ZDemonstrators also turned out at Halifax Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina:We out here #50501protest #handsoff #raleigh— Young Democrats of Johnston County (@youngdemsjoconc.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T15:29:29.542ZIn Buffalo, New York’s Niagara Square: Buffalo strong..50501 #handsoff— Bonnie (@bonniefitz.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T15:42:18.758ZAnd Brittlebank Park in Charleston, South Carolina:#SOUTHCAROLINA ! Charleston represented this morning with a THOUSAND people in attendance! Lemme see your pictures from around the state! (Other states welcome too😉)— Madelyne (@madelynerants.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T16:44:22.398Z

I promise: you’ll rarely be standing still like this. | Image: LandfallHaste: Broken Worlds takes the relaxing loop of sliding down and leaping off hills from iOS classic Tiny Wings and turns it into a thrilling, high-speed, and 3D roguelike.In Haste, you play as Zoe, a girl who typically delivers letters but has found herself mysteriously transported to the new worlds you run through. When I say run, I mean it: Zoe cannons through the game.Levels are filled with rolling hills, and your goal is to leap off the upslopes and land on the downslopes. The better your landings, the more you’ll increase your speed and build a boost meter that can be used for things like a burst forward or a grappling hook.You’re incentivized to keep your speed up. The faster you complete a level, the higher grade you’ll get; higher grades give you better bonuses of things like “sparks,” which you can use to buy items.Throughout the vibrant, procedurally generated levels, you’ll also have to avoid obstacles like rocks, giant Sarlacc-like pits, and machines that shoot lasers and bullets at you. If you crash into an object, you’ll lose health and slow down. If you’re too slow, a crackling, damaging energy will sneak up behind you. If you run out of heal …Read the full story at The Verge.

I don't care if you call this a PSA, an explainer, or even a hot take. If you leave this article and decide it's time to update your BIOS, I've done my job. Despite how useful new BIOS releases can be for your system overall, there's still a reluctance to update unless something has gone seriously wrong with your system. That's outdated advice, and it's high time to address it.

Synology is preparing to roll out new restrictions on third-party hard drives in its future network attached storage (NAS) devices later this year, the company confirmed to Ars Technica. The changes could make it much harder to use third-party drives in Synology’s devices for typical use cases, like backing up household computers or as local media servers. The good news is that if you already own a Synology NAS, the company says the change won’t affect you.Synology says in an EU press release that “starting with Plus Series models released in 2025,” only Synology-branded drives and those the company has certified to meet its specifications will “offer the full range of features and support.” According to Ars, Synology plans to update its compatibility lists to reflect which third-party drives that it has certified. The new restrictions mean that without Synology-approved drives, you might not be able to do things like pool storage between disks or take advantage of drive lifespan analysis offered by the company’s software. The change doesn’t apply to Synology J- and- Value-series devices, and won’t affect consumer-grade Synology Plus devices that were released in 2024 and earlier. Nor will it affect hard drives that are migrated to this year’s devices from its existing NAS systems, according to Synology’s press release.As for why it’s making this change, a Synology spokesperson told Ars, “Extensive internal testing has shown that drives that follow a rigorous validation process when paired with Synology systems are at less risk of drive failure and ongoing compatibility issues.” The company says similar things in its press release, writing that the restrictions will “reduce compatibility issues and increase system reliability and performance.” Synology did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment. Restrictions like this are irritating. To Synology’s credit, it’s introducing them in a way that’s less egregious than something like a printer company blocking third-party ink with a software update. But that doesn’t fix the fact that owners of its future NAS devices will have fewer choices — and therefore fewer chances to save money — when it comes to buying the drives to stick into them.

Capable of controlling a myriad of smart devices and IoT gizmos, Home Assistant is one of the best services you can self-host on your workstation. If you’re as much of a fan of Proxmox as I am, you may already have configured a HASS virtual machine on top of your PVE host.

Have you seen how many PowerToys tools there are? There's an absolute ton. I mean, it makes sense; it started its life during Windows 95, and even then, it still had a generous 15 tools you could play with. In its 30-year lifespan, it has seen a lot of cool additions. As such, here are some of the tools that were added in the past year and probably slipped your radar.

I wired three Raspberry Pi 5 boards into a shoebox‑sized rack, each Pi sporting 8GB of RAM, an NVMe drive on the PCIe lane, and the official active cooler. K3s went on top, giving me “real” Kubernetes in a footprint smaller than a paperback. This write‑up isn’t a step‑by‑step how‑to; it’s a candid look at what I actually run, the perks I’ve enjoyed, and the gremlins I had to tame.

It can be devastating when I accidentally delete an important document or file. We’ve all done it. Sometimes, it’s just irksome because you deleted a photo, podcast, or music file. On the other hand, it can be big trouble. Maybe you deleted an important presentation for Monday’s company meeting or a spreadsheet full of essential data for your boss. But what do you do when in that type of emergency?

Unlike some promos, today’s discount applies to both the 42mm and 46mm configurations.If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger on the Apple Watch Series 10, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better time than now. That’s because Apple’s latest flagship is on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy right now in its 42mm base configuration starting at $299 ($100 off), matching its lowest price to date. You can also purchase the 46mm model with Wi-Fi at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for just $329 ($100 off), which remains the best price we’ve seen for the larger configuration since its debut in September.Overall, the Series 10 is a relatively minor upgrade over the Series 9 — though, that’s not a bad thing. The last-gen model was an excellent smartwatch, and the Series 10 primarily builds upon it with a bigger, brighter wide-angle OLED display that makes reading texts and notifications that much easier. What’s more it does so without adding any unwanted bulk; in fact, the Series 10 is actually 10 percent thinner than the Series 9 and a whopping 30 percent thinner than the Apple Watch Ultra, ensuring it will likely never catch on your sleeves.As for other changes, the Series 10 charges significantly faster than the last-gen model, allowing your watch to go from zero to 80 percent in just 30 minutes. It features Apple’s newest S10 SiP (System in Package), as well as FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection and a range of fitness-centric features. Some of those — such as the new Vitals app and the ability to pause your Activity Rings — come courtesy of watchOS 11 as opposed to the new hardware, though they’re welcome all the same.Read our full Apple Watch Series 10 review.More ways to save this weekendIf you’re looking to outfit your home with some brick-ified, faux greenery, Lego’s Lucky Bamboo set is on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Target for an all-time low of $23.99 ($6 off). It’s not quite as intricate as Lego’s Wildflower Bouquet or some of the other models in the Botanicals Collection, but the excellent 325-piece kit includes three stems, pebbles, and a pot with a wood-effect plenth.We’re big fans of Elgato’s macro controllers here at The Verge, so much so we’ve written an entire article rounding up our favorite hacks. Thankfully, if you don’t own one, the Stream Deck MK.2 is down to $129.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The MK.2 is essentially the midrange model; it comes with a detachable stand, a swappable faceplate, and 15 programmable LCD keys, which you can use to carry out shortcuts across Windows and macOS.8BitDo’s Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller is receiving its first discount at Amazon, where you can pick it up for $53.99 ($6 off) thanks to an on-page coupon. It’s not a vast departure from the original model 8BitDo launched in 2022, though the updated version adds color-changing LED lighting and an extra pair of customizable shoulder buttons. Best of all, it’s equipped with tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) joysticks, which draw less power and are even more durable than Hall effect sticks.

Star Wars Outlaws will get its next story DLC, called A Pirate’s Fortune on May 15th, Ubisoft announced during Star Wars Celebration Japan yesterday. The company also revealed that the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game will come out on September 4th. The expansion, free for Outlaws Season Pass holders and $14.99 otherwise, picks up after the base game’s main storyline. In the trailer, Vess breaks Hondo Ohnaka, a space pirate who first showed up in The Clone Wars animated series, out of jail and the two team up against an outfit called the Rokana Raiders and their leader, Stinger Tash. The DLC also adds the Miyuki Trade League, a new group that offers smuggling contracts that pay out in rewards for Vess’s ship, the Trailblazer. A Pirate’s Fortune also adds cosmetic items inspired by Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, including a speeder trophy and a new outfit for Nix, the adorable pet that accompanies main character Kay Vess throughout the game. And those who own the Ultimate and Deluxe Editions of the game will get Naboo Nobility and Desert Nomad cosmetic packs.This is the second story expansion for Outlaws since the game came out last year. Ubisoft brought smooth-talking smuggler Lando Calrissian into the game with its first DLC, Wild Card, back in November.