We've covered a lot of security products in the past, and while some people like to build their own systems, others will be more comfortable buying something that's easy to use and setup. If you're looking to get something affordable and easy to use, we can easily recommend this Blink camera bundle that's on sale right now.

Setting up a new smart TV these days means sitting through a barrage of privacy prompts, account-creation screens, and data-collection agreements. I’ve been guilty of just hitting accept and next to get the TV working. But the problems don’t stop there. Declining too many prompts locks features behind sign-ins. Worse, the telemetry quietly got re-enabled after a firmware update, and manufacturers made opting out just a temporary inconvenience.

NotebookLM has set an incredibly high bar for AI-powered research tools. The ability to upload documents, ask questions, generate summaries, and even create podcast-style discussions from your sources feels almost futuristic. For many people, NotebookLM is the first AI tool that genuinely makes it easier to deal with large amounts of information.

It's that time of the year again — a new Call of Duty has just been revealed, and it's Modern Warfare 4. After Modern Warfare III's terrible reception in 2023, the next Modern Warfare game from Infinity Ward is set to be the next globe-trotting FPS that looks cool and polished, all while the entire internet remains ever-aware that it's just the same game, all over again. That observation is true, as each new Call of Duty game tends to feature the bare minimum innovation and improvements, recycling ideas and systems and relying on familiar formulas and story beats.

When it comes to gaming, Linux is still a bit behind Windows. Don't get me wrong; it has come a very long way in the space of a decade, turning the OS from a productivity-only distro to a serious competitor in the gaming scene. But there are a handful of problems that prevent people from making the jump.

As long as I've been working in this field, I've been used to typing everything I need to write. I imagine most people are the same way, especially in a field like mine. I had heard of text expanders, but they didn't seem to make a lot of sense considering creativity is a major part of my writing, and I never intentionally reuse a specific set of words.

It's been a good few years for home theater enthusiasts, and that's partly because of XGIMI and the glut of lifestyle projectors from other brands following their lead. The new push is for triple-laser DLP, which boasts huge brightness numbers while being color accurate, and that's what we see used in the XGIMI Titan Noir Max.

When I recently moved, the process required getting a new ISP, which is actually quite a shame. The ISP I had in my old condo building was superb, and I can't remember ever having a single issue with customer service nor the quality of connection. My new ISP, while similar in price, has unfortunately put me behind CGNAT, which throws a huge wrench into self-hosting services that I wish to expose to the internet. The solution for anything web-based is simple: a tried and true Cloudflare Tunnel will solve for ports 80 and 443, but doesn't do anything for UDP traffic on other ports. To address that, routing through a VPS is the best solution, and despite being rented to solve one group of problems, it keeps paying dividends in solving other issues I didn't even know I had.

Nothing's next budget phone is the latest victim of RAMageddon. As 9to5Google reports, Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis announced in a post on X that a follow-up to the CMF Phone 2 Pro won't be coming this year:We were working on a successor but with memory prices where they are right now, we can't build a phone that feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF. As a result, we've decided not to launch a new CMF phone this year.Last week, Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei also said the RAM shortage has impacted the cost of the company's mid-range phone, stating, "For Phone 4A, memory costs doubled between …Read the full story at The Verge.

Relativity Space’s CEO is former Google executive Eric Schmidt. | Image: Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images Relativity Space, the rocket company led by former Google executive Eric Schmidt, was picked to launch NASA's Aeolus payload to Mars in 2028, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. Under a new public-private partnership, Relativity Space will provide the "spacecraft, rocket, and cruise operations" to fly Aeolus to Mars, where the payload will "provide the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds." The Aeolus payload will have four instruments on board for studying the Martian atmosphere, which NASA says will "directly inform entry, descent, and landing systems and support safer, more predictable mis …Read the full story at The Verge.

The new Wired Wall Switch Modules fit behind existing switches. | Image: Signify Smart lighting company Philips Hue has launched its first wired wall modules. Installed behind existing wall switches, the new devices bring non-smart lights into the Hue ecosystem for the first time. Hue also announced new Play table and floor lamps that are more affordable versions of its Signe series, along with upgrades to its E14 candle bulbs that add a broader white light spectrum and Matter-over-Thread compatibility.The new lights are now available globally; however, the Wired Wall Switch Modules are Europe-only. Signify CTO George Yianni told The Verge that there are currently no plans to launch them in the US, but the company woul …Read the full story at The Verge.