If you type “free VPN” into any search engine, you’ll get a wall of options. They might even sound good, with promises not to log your traffic, to stop your ISP from snooping on your browsing, and other claims of private browsing.

The appeal of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels has always been the way they make it easier to (re)discover classic films and series. But Roku's latest experiment in the FAST space has less to do with traditionally produced entertainment and is entirely focused on giving viewers access to a constant source of AI-generated content.This week, Roku added four new channels to its library of streamable programming. Along with dedicated feeds for old episodes of Mad TV, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and a variety of Black sitcoms, the platform also debuted a 24/7 stream filled with projects from Colin Petrie-Norris' AI startup, …Read the full story at The Verge.

There's nothing worse than a power outage wrecking your favorite tech products or, even worse, wiping out your data. It's not common, but it can happen, which is why you should protect your products with a battery backup if you can.

That cover art is almost certainly AI too. | Image: Fenix Flexin It took long enough, but now LA rapper Fenix Flexin appears to have admitted using AI for the 80s synth pop-themed song "Rubberz." His comments follow the producer Medasin's videos claiming that an AI tool called Treblo (formerly Sonauto) was used to make the song, and the company releasing an AI detector that identifies it as Treblo AI-created. In a reply to a comment pointing out that Tyga admitted to relying on AI for his own controversial '80s-influenced album $tarface, on one of his Instagram posts, Fenix said:never said I didn't use AI , i said it had nun to do w recording process . I didn't even know what da app was till we mixed …Read the full story at The Verge.

I wanted 10 GbE networking at home. I (probably) didn’t need it, but I wanted 10 GbE and I was going to get it. The first piece of networking equipment with that speed wasn’t a client device, but a managed network switch. Then came a Synology DS1621xs+, with 10 GbE as standard equipment, a rarity for the company. And a vision in my head of my NAS backup strategy zooming along at a full gigabyte per second.

Restart, a games media website launched in late 2024 that was sponsored by Walmart, has laid off its "entire editorial team," according to a Friday post from Brandy Berthelson, the site's former editor-in-chief. Other staffers have also posted about being laid off.Restart is operated by Moonrock, a content marketing agency, though its editorial mission page says it's "powered" by Walmart. That page outlines how Walmart is (or was) involved:When we mention a game, we'll provide purchase links that will take you to Walmart using a partner tracking code. This link provides us with 0% of the sale if you decide to buy the product, but it doe …Read the full story at The Verge.

Obsidian is probably one of the best note-taking apps out there, but it's not open-source, which is fine, there are perfectly good reasons for that. But a part of the Obsidian user base has always wanted a properly open-source alternative, one that isn't half-finished or abandoned. So when SoloMD popped up as MIT-licensed and Markdown-native with a built-in AI panel, it seemed worth a look.

Sony gave up on the PlayStation Vita console in 2019. The homebrew community continues to release new apps and games for the legacy handheld console. The biggest challenge with the PS Vita is the lack of games exclusive to other platforms. The PlayStation Store on Vita has been dead for years and online in name only. Sony’s decision to sunset the PlayStation Store in July 2027 didn’t dampen the homebrew community’s spirits.

The phone in my pocket is the worst computer I own for running a language model, but arguably one of the best any of us own when it comes to what the hardware is capable of. It has sensors, notifications, messages, files, and a touchscreen. What it doesn't have is the memory bandwidth or the thermal headroom to run anything genuinely clever, and it never will, because, well, it's a phone.

Assembling a PC is perhaps the most exciting undertaking an enthusiast looks forward to, right from the moment they buy the first component that goes into it. I've been through that same exhilarating feeling countless times, and each time, the journey has been as rewarding as the first.

Cloud storage subscription prices are steadily increasing, and my free-tier account cannot keep up with the limited space. Google Drive is more generous than any other service, but even the 15GB limit starts to feel restrictive when you start uploading documents, images, and other files. I’ve tried to be selective, but it was more of a temporary solution. Additionally, I’ve looked into some other free alternatives, but as you know, cloud storage doesn’t come cheap, and there’s no way around it.

When I think back to features I really liked about earlier Pixel smartphones, one key feature always comes to mind: Active Edge.