In a 68-30 vote on Tuesday evening, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support. Eighteen Democrats joined the majority of Republicans in passing the bill, which is the first to establish a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, crypto tokens that are pegged to the value of the US dollar. In the past year, and after the crypto industry funneled over $131 million into Donald Trump's presidential campaign, the Republican Party has embraced the crypto industry with enthusiasm, voting overwhelmingly for the bill's passage. There were two GOP holdouts: Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri, both ardent critics of Big Tech. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, which is working on its own companion legislation, the STABLE Act. Its passage had not always been assured. Back in May, nine Democrats who'd previously supported the GENIUS Act suddenly reversed course, asking to revise the bill's text, and days later, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-WA) successfully killed an attempt to bring the bill to a floor vote by citing several current events involving the Trump family's crypto ventures, including …Read the full story at The Verge.

I’ve used Microsoft 365 and Google One for years, and now I'm more convinced than ever that I should cancel my Microsoft 365 subscription. For a while, I kept both subscriptions, one out of habit and the other out of necessity. However, over time, I found myself using Google’s apps for almost everything, while Microsoft's apps sat there collecting dust.

There's a big war going on right now between Microsoft and the Linux community. While neither side is making direct blows at the other, both of them are fighting to win over the hearts and minds of Windows 10 users. Despite its end-of-life date rapidly approaching in mid-October, Windows 10 is still the most dominant Microsoft operating system, with Windows 11 lagging slightly behind. As such, a lot of people are going to be left high and dry in terms of security updates in four months time, and both sides wants to convince you that either Windows 11 or Linux is the way to go.

I often call Windows 11 the "latest and greatest" operating system from Microsoft. It's a cliché phrase to refer to the newest version of something, but I also use it because I generally believe that Microsoft does deliver some good with new versions of its OS. But as positive as I like to be when talking about Windows, it's hard to overlook the fact that many aspects of the Windows experience seem to get worse with every other update. Microsoft can't go a few months without trying to shove something annoying down users' throats, and it gets frustrating.

Even though NotebookLM is new to the productivity market, it has quickly become a crucial tool for managing information, sparking ideas, and building a deeper understanding of complex topics. But simply dropping a few documents and weblinks into it isn’t enough to truly unlock its power. Over dozens of projects, I have refined my workflow and discovered specific techniques that make my NotebookLM notebooks genuinely effective.

Despite being an older game, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the big launch games for the Nintendo Switch 2. That's for one major reason: it's received a paid Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade, which brings graphics and performance improvements, on top of some gameplay additions. That means that one of the best games in the Zelda series now runs at 60 FPS and a higher resolution, improving performance over the Switch 1 version, which ran at 30 FPS and a lower resolution. There are also gameplay additions, including a second screen experience called Zelda Notes, a function in the Nintendo Switch App for smartphones.

Looking to expand your current laptop setup on a budget? Well, this Anker USB-C hub is going to be the way to go. Not only is it ultra-compact, but it also features plenty of port options, which can be vital for a device that doesn't quite have all the options you need. With that said, this popular USB-C hub is now down to its best price thanks to a steep discount from Amazon that drops it down to just $50. This is the lowest price we've seen on this model since we've been tracking, which makes it the perfect time to pick one up.

Nvidia and AMD haven't stopped pushing 8GB VRAM GPUs to the masses, but at least there's more awareness than before about the pitfalls of insufficient VRAM. While many users might know what running out of VRAM looks like, something that people with older PCs will ignore is the impact of insufficient VRAM on GPUs running on PCIe 3.0. If you have an AMD Ryzen 2000, Intel Core 10th Gen, or older CPU, buying a brand-new 8GB VRAM GPU should be the last thing you should be thinking about.

Mario Kart World is an excellent evolution of the series, with exciting new modes like Knockout Tour and drastic changes to the formula, like doubling the number of racers in each race. While it took some time for me to acclimate to these big changes, partially because it's been over a decade since the last time a new Mario Kart was released, some choices don't work as well. The Free Roam mode is a complete miss, between lackluster activities and terrible tracking for those activities. Some of the interconnected races from the Grand Prix feel more like driving on the highway than racing around a Mario Kart track, but every track can be played in the traditional lap-based mode. While it's not the single-player epic I wanted with the Switch 2 launch line-up, Mario Kart World is an essential purchase for the new Nintendo console.

If you've been thinking about expanding your data storage, and need something that's portable, quick, and durable, then you can't go wrong with a portable SSD. These drives are incredibly versatile, making them perfect for PCs, mobile devices, and even game consoles. With that said, this portable SSD from SSK is going to be a top choice right now, thanks to its low price, which now comes in at just $67. So get it while you can because this discount won't be around for long.

Once you start using a 3D printer for practical projects, it changes how you view everyday objects. Many items that once seemed like automatic purchases are now easy to create at home. Over time, I have found that printing these small things saves money and gives me exactly what I want. Here are seven everyday items I now 3D print instead of buying.

A few weeks back, I took my annual trip to Taipei to attend Computex, which is on the other side of the world from where I live. It's a 13-hour time difference for me and around a 20-hour travel day. The goal is always to pack light, powerful, and comfortable, particularly when it comes to the tech I bring. I need something to work, something to play, and something that won't break my back or leave me red in the face at a TSA checkpoint. So, when the Asus ROG Flow Z13 showed up at my doorstep a few weeks before my trip, it was almost literally a godsend.