The issues may not be resolved for everyone, however.Google Messages has been updated to address slowdowns, failures, and other issues that are preventing some users from receiving images and videos. Some users have reported RCS issues related to incoming media files, saying the Messages app slows down or freezes while loading attachments, photos cannot be clicked on or interacted with, and that images and videos appear blurry, load slowly, or refuse to load entirely.Google has now acknowledged the issues and “has been actively working on” a solution to fix them according to a new support page entry. “We’ve recently rolled out updates aimed at significantly improving media receiving performance,” said Google community manager Monika Y. “We’re hoping you’ll see a noticeable difference now. However, we also know that issues can be complex, and we’re committed to getting this right.”Google hasn’t specified which media issues these Messages updates are addressing, but it’s likely making backend server changes as users aren’t required to download or install anything new. The fix also may not fully resolve the issues for everyone as Google is asking people to submit feedback if they’re “still seeing problems.” At least one impacted user has reportedly “noticed a difference recently in received RCS photos” since the updates started rolling out.

When I got my Photoshop subscription, I was excited about the creative possibilities and thought it would be the ultimate tool for my visual projects. But over time, the subscription model, cost, and learning curve made me start to regret getting a subscription.

New games are released almost every day, and while I enjoy the thrill of modern titles like Fortnite, League of Legends, and Warzone, I often find myself missing the rush that older games used to provide. With each new release, classics like Street Fighter II, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros. feel more and more like relics of the past, only accessible through emulators. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of emulators and operating systems dedicated to retro gaming. Popular options like Batocera and RetroPie are well-known, but there are plenty of other great choices for the task.

Security cameras are great for protecting your home, but sometimes, you need a video feed for a specific area for a set amount of time. For instance, if you've set some food out to cool but don't want your cat to leap up on the counter and get a mouthful, there's now a solution: ripping out the innards of an IKEA lamp and stuffing a webcam inside.

As a PC enthusiast, you probably get the itch to tweak or optimize your PC every once in a while. Whether it's about higher clock speeds, lower temperatures, or more FPS, the work is never really over. In this race to outperform yourself, you might inadvertently find yourself believing several myths or lies about PC hardware tweaking that are only holding you back from achieving a more performant, stable, and cooler machine.

Niantic Labs has announced that it’s selling its video game division to Saudi Arabia-owned mobile developer Scopely for $3.5 billion after struggling to replicate the success of Pokémon Go across its other AR games. The newly inked agreement includes Niantic’s Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, and Pikmin Bloom mobile gaming titles.“Niantic games have always been a bridge to connect people and inspire exploration, and I am confident they will continue to do both as part of Scopely,” said Niantic CEO John Hanke. “I firmly believe this partnership is great for our players and is the best way to ensure that our games have the long-term support and investment needed to be ‘forever games’ that will endure for future generations.”The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions. Should the deal go through, it will also bring Niantic’s social companion apps for Pokémon Go — Campfire and Wayfarer — under Scopely ownership. Scopely says it will gain “Niantic’s entire team of exceptional gamemakers and category-leading games.” However, the Peridot and Ingress AR gaming titles, the latter of which is also supported by the Wayfarer mapping app, will remain under the ownership and development of Niantic Spatial.Pokémon Go attracted more than 500 million players in its first year, but its popularity was impacted in 2020 when global covid lockdowns kept people inside their homes. The company has since canceled multiple projects and laid off at least 310 employees between 2022-2023 in an attempt to “weather the current challenges in the market.”Today’s announcement is Saudi Arabia’s latest attempt to muscle its way into the gaming industry, having used its Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to acquire stakes in Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, and EA. The PIF was also used to establish Esports and gaming company Savvy Games Group in 2021, which later acquired Monopoly Go! developer Scopely for $4.9 billion in 2023.The announcement appears to be the 2025 “megadeal” that Scopely’s chief revenue officer Tim O’Brien teased last year, saying during a Q&A that it would involve “a scaled global franchise doing hopefully at least a billion dollars in revenue.” Niantic Labs doesn’t disclose its earnings to the public, but Scopely said in its announcement that Niantic’s gaming business drove $1 billion in revenue last year, and Pokémon Go alone is estimated to have brought in $7.9 billion in revenue since launching in 2016.

Spotlight is one of the best features of macOS, providing a search tool and app launcher that handily outclasses the built-in search on Windows 11. But that's not to say you can't get that same great experience on a Windows PC, and even provided by Microsoft itself.

Whether you’re a productivity enthusiast looking to track your projects or a business owner on the prowl for a workflow organization utility, relational database management apps can solve your task management woes. Among them, Airtable is often considered the king of the hill with its automation facilities, multiple view types, and tons of integrations with professional platforms.

A little over a year after releasing two “open” Gemma AI models built from the same technology behind its Gemini AI, Google is updating the family with Gemma 3. According to the blog post, these models are intended for use by developers creating AI applications capable of running wherever they’re needed, on anything from a phone to a workstation with support for over 35 languages, as well as the ability to analyze text, images, and short videos. The company claims that it’s the “world’s best single-accelerator model,” outperforming competition from Facebook’s Llama, DeepSeek, and OpenAI for performance on a host with a single GPU, as well as optimized capabilities for running on Nvidia’s GPUs and dedicated AI hardware. Gemma 3’s vision encoder is also upgraded, with support for high-res and non-square images, while the new ShieldGemma 2 image safety classifier is available for use to filter both image input and output for content classified as sexually explicit, dangerous, or violent.To go deeper into those claims, you can check out the 26-page technical report.Last year it was unclear how much interest there would be in a model like Gemma, however, the popularity of DeepSeek and others shows there is interest in AI tech with lower hardware requirements. Despite its claims of advanced capabilities, Google also says, “Gemma 3’s enhanced STEM performance prompted specific evaluations focused on its potential for misuse in creating harmful substances; their results indicate a low risk level.”What exactly constitutes an “open” or “open source” AI model remains a topic of debate, and with Google’s Gemma, that has focused on the company’s license that restricts what people are allowed to use it for, which has not changed with this new release. Google is continuing to promote Gemma with Google Cloud credits, and the Gemma 3 Academic program will allow academic researchers to apply for $10,000 worth of credits to accelerate their research.

Congratulations! You've decided to enter the wonderful world of PC building with hopes of crafting your very own battlestation. As a first-time builder, if you have your eyes on a small form factor (SFF) build, that's commendable, but I would advise you to reconsider. SFF PCs have a unique set of challenges that aren't worth tackling on your first rodeo. The advantages of the compact size, unique aesthetic, and portability are real, but for the PC newbie, the downsides outweigh them easily.

It's easy to find a cheap laptop on Amazon or Best Buy. But what about one that you can really use every day and not have it feel like it's obsolete a year or two from now? That's where this Asus Vivobook 14 comes in, featuring an Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage.

When interacting with windows displayed on your monitor, you're using a Windows Manager (WM). All major operating systems have one, whether it's macOS or Windows. Many Linux distros will ship with a WM, depending on the Desktop Environment (DE). It's easier than you think to move between WMs on Linux, but that's the beauty of this open-source platform. You can customize just about any aspect of your PC. There are a few WMs available for Linux alone, many of which can be installed within a few minutes.