I’ve installed plenty of productivity apps over the years, and most of them promise to help me work faster, stay organized, or save time. This year, though, the app that made the biggest difference was one I almost overlooked. It isn’t a task manager, note-taking app, or AI assistant. It’s a small Windows utility that sits quietly in the background and solves a problem I didn’t realize was slowing me down. After using it regularly, I started wondering how something this simple had become one of the most useful tools in my workflow.

Apple is set to introduce a new MacBook Pro with a touchscreen and an updated iPad Mini "on or around" October 27th, Bloomberg reports. If true, that would put the event just two weeks after the October 13th event Apple announced today, which is rumored to focus on smart home products.Bloomberg says that the late October event will include an "online video presentation" and an "in-person component for the press," which it reports is similar to what Apple is planning for the October 13th event.At this Mac and iPad event, Bloomberg reports that Apple will announce new MacBook Pros that are lighter than what's available now, have touchscree …Read the full story at The Verge.

I've used the Alienware AW3423DW OLED for the last four years, and though I bought it for gaming, I now mostly use it as a secondary monitor that gives me plenty of room to multitask. That 21:9 aspect ratio gives me extra width to keep multiple windows open side by side without making any of them feel too cramped. And since I'm usually juggling Discord, Chrome, and TradingView, even while gaming, Snap Layouts were a no-brainer for quickly organizing everything.

Anthropic's offering to help open-source projects track down security vulnerabilities with a new service called OSS Scanner. It says open-source projects that opt-in will get "thorough, periodic security scans by our strongest models at no cost." That could mean open-source projects get alerted about possible security issues sooner, but the trade-off is that OSS Scanner's reports don't come with human review:The outputs of this opt-in vulnerability scanner will be fully model-generated, without human review or triage. This will enable faster and more frequent scanning, but means that it is possible reports will be incorrect or invalid. Th …Read the full story at The Verge.

Back in May of this year, we reported that Flathub banned AI-generated submissions because people were being a little rude about it. Now, as more and more Linux distros have declared acceptance of LLM-created code (as long as it's of high quality, of course), it seems that Flathub has had a change of heart. Fortunately, while the new rules do allow AI content if it's properly disclosed, it doesn't open the door for people to flood the repository with poorly-made apps.

I’ve used VS Code for years, and much of my workflow now lives inside it. I use it for coding, connect it to local AI models, and access my desktop remotely through its tunnel feature. I’ve also tried other editors, including Zed, but VSCodium interests me because it lets me keep the VS Code environment without Microsoft’s telemetry.

This UGREEN DXP4800 Plus NAS is perfect for beginners and suitable for advanced users. The $730 price tag is steep, but the Amazon discount that knocks 20% off makes it easier on the wallet. The UGREEN DXP4800 Plus is still pricey, but this is the lowest price we've seen in quite some time.

It's already possible to get AMD's framerate-enhancing FSR 4 boost on handhelds as old as the Steam Deck - but in June, AMD reserved the right to disappoint handheld gamers by not officially bringing FSR 4 to older handhelds. Now, AMD consumer chip boss Jack Huynh says he will bring the tech to some handhelds by the end of the year.Which handhelds? It's still not clear if it will come to existing handhelds, or if you'll need a new one to get it - because it comes alongside news that AMD is releasing a new FSR4-capable chip."We will expand the machine learning AI-based FSR4 technology, which was first introduced to existing external graph …Read the full story at The Verge.

The United States' execution of the Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed, anonymous officials from the Defense Department told the BBC and Associated Press. The planned execution of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army major convicted of killing 13 people at the Texas military base, was announced this week. He is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3rd at 2PM ET.The Verge contacted YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Meta, Rumble, and Kick to ask if they plan to allow the livestream to be aired on their platforms. None responded before publication."We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public, because people need …Read the full story at The Verge.

After driving about 10,000 miles with Google Maps on my phone and Android Auto, I have figured out which tools genuinely make a difference and which I can happily ignore. A few of my favorites are buried deep in menus, while others are right in front of you but easy to overlook.

SpaceX has acquired a portfolio of low-band spectrum licenses - a move the company says "will pave the way" for its Starlink Mobile service to become a "major" US carrier. When the Federal Communications Commission signs off on the deal, SpaceX says it will deploy its new architecture that combines its satellite-to-mobile constellation with a terrestrial mobile network, directly competing with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.The licenses include up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band, which SpaceX says will allow Starlink Mobile's signal to penetrate through walls and buildings. SpaceX previously acquired 2GHz spectrum from …Read the full story at The Verge.

Back when AMD brought FSR 4 to GPUs (including retroactively adding it to older models), AMD said it was a little skeptical about squeezing the same tech onto handhelds. It never explicitly stated it would never bring FSR 4 to devices such as handhelds, but it never outright confirmed that it would, either.