All the News that Matters

• Fedora 42 openQA Update for lodash Important Protection CVE-2025-13465
  This update bumps the bundled lodash to 4.17.23 to ensure openQA is protected against CVE-2025-13465. It likely was not vulnerable in any case, though, as I don't believe the vulnerable codepaths were exposed by openQA's use of lodash.

• Fedora 42 yarnpkg Critical Prototype Pollution Fix FEDORA-2026-2809f801f3
  Regenerate vendor tarball. Fixes CVE-2025-13465.

• Fedora 42 pgAdmin 4 CVE-2025-13465 Severe Prototype Pollution Fix
  Regenerate vendor tarball. Fixes CVE-2025-13465.

• Fedora 42 Security Advisory for PHPUnit 12.5.8 - CVE-2026-24765 Risk
  Version 12.5.8 - 2026-01-27 Changed To prevent Poisoned Pipeline Execution (PPE) attacks using prepared .coverage files in pull requests, a PHPT test will no longer be run if the temporary file for writing code coverage information already exists before the test runs

• Fedora 42 phpunit11 Important Arbitrary Code Execution Vulner 2026-24765
  Version 11.5.50 - 2026-01-27 Changed To prevent Poisoned Pipeline Execution (PPE) attacks using prepared .coverage files in pull requests, a PHPT test will no longer be run if the temporary file for writing code coverage information already exists before the test runs

• Fedora 42 phpunit10 Critical Code Exec Fix Advisory FEDORA-2026-1d1c8f5df2
  Version 10.5.63 - 2026-01-27 Fixed Regression introduced in PHPUnit 9.6.33 Version 10.5.62 - 2026-01-27 Changed

• Ardour 9.0 Audio Workstation Released With Multi-Touch GUI, Many New Features
  Ardour 9.0 is out today as the latest major feature release to this leading open-source digital audio workstation (DAW) software for musicians, recording engineers, and other audio editing needs...

• Tech Savvy Meets Principles in Emmabuntüs Debian 6
  Helping those in need while saving old PCs from landfills is no easy task, but this Debian 12 spin paves the way.

• Krita 6.0 Beta Released - Using Qt6 & Wayland Color Management Support
  The first beta release of Krita 6.0 is now available for this featureful digital painting program. Krita 6.0 is re-based against the Qt6 toolkit while Krita 5.3 Beta is also being released at the same time for those sticking to Qt5...

• GNU/Linux or Just Linux? Between Purism and Everyday Usage
  A critical look at the GNU/Linux naming debate and why everyday usage settled on the shorter, simpler term: Linux.

• Darktable 5.4.1 Brings Noise Profiles for Canon EOS 10D and Sony ILCE-7CR Cameras
  Darktable 5.4.1 has been released today as the latest stable version in the Darktable 5.4 series of this open-source, free, and cross-platform RAW image editing software for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows systems.

• Krita 5.3 and 6.0 Enter Beta With Text and Tooling Overhauls
  The first betas of Krita 5.3 and Krita 6.0 are now available, launching a new feature cycle built from a shared Qt5 and Qt6 codebase.

• How to Install and Use Yay on Arch Linux and Manjaro
  In this article, you will learn how to install Yay on your Arch-based systems, how to use it (with practical examples), and when not to use it.

• Microsoft's New Open-Source Project: LiteBox As A Rust-Based Sandboxing Library OS
  Microsoft engineers and other stakeholders have been developing LiteBox as a security-focused library OS written in the Rust programming language and leveraging Linux Virtualization Based Security "LVBS". The design is for LiteBox to operate as a secure kernel protecting the normal guest kernel via virtualization hardware...

• CentOS is coming to RISC-V soon if you have the kit
  The RHELatives are more versatile than you might realizeFOSDEM 2026 CentOS Connect 2026 took place in Brussels last week, over the two days preceding the sprawling FOSDEM festival of FOSS – the nerd world's Glastonbury, complete with the queues and the questionable hygiene.…

• Linux 7.0 Should Fix Nouveau For The Large Pages Support For Better NVK Performance
  The Linux 6.19 merge window had introduced support for larger pages and compression with the Nouveau kernel driver, which ultimately should help provide a performance win to this open-source NVIDIA driver. The Mesa NVK driver was ready to make use of that new kernel driver functionality but then it ended up being disabled due to bugs. Fortunately, for the Linux 6.20~7.0 kernel those issues should be resolved so then the Mesa NVK usage of the larger pages / compression support could be restored...

• Why This Is the Worst Crypto Winter Ever
  Bitcoin has fallen roughly 44% from its October peak, and while the drawdown isn't crypto's deepest ever on a percentage basis, Bloomberg's Odd Lots newsletter lays out a case that this is the industry's worst winter yet. The macro backdrop was supposed to favor Bitcoin: public confidence in the dollar is shaky, the Trump administration has been crypto-friendly, and fiat currencies are under perceived stress globally. Yet gold, not Bitcoin, has been the safe haven of choice. The "we're so early" narrative is dead -- crypto ETFs exist, barriers to entry are zero, and the online community that once rallied holders through downturns has largely hollowed out. Institutional adoption arrived but hasn't lifted existing tokens like ETH or SOL; Wall Street cares about stablecoins and tokenization, not the coins themselves. AI is pulling both talent and miners toward data centers. Quantum computing advances threaten Bitcoin's encryption. And MicroStrategy and other Bitcoin treasury companies, once steady buyers during the bull run, are now large holders who may eventually become forced sellers.
  
  
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• CIA Has Killed Off The World Factbook After Six Decades
  The CIA has shut down The World Factbook, one of its oldest and most recognizable public-facing intelligence publications, ending a run that began as a classified reference document in 1962 and evolved into a freely accessible digital resource that drew millions of views each year. The agency offered no explanation for the decision. Originally titled The National Basic Intelligence Factbook, the publication first went unclassified in 1971, was renamed a decade later, and moved online at CIA.gov in 1997. It served researchers, news organizations, teachers, students and international travelers. The site hosted more than 5,000 copyright-free photographs, some donated by CIA officers from their personal travel. Every page now redirects to a farewell announcement.
  
  
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• Google Confirms AirDrop Sharing is Coming To Android Phones Beyond Pixels
  Google's Quick Share-AirDrop interoperability, which has been exclusive to the Pixel 10 series since its surprise launch last year, is headed to a much broader set of Android devices in 2026. Eric Kay, Google's Vice President of Engineering for the Android platform, confirmed the expansion during a press briefing at the company's Taipei office, saying Google is "working with our partners to expand it into the rest of the ecosystem" and that announcements are coming "very soon." Nothing is the only OEM to have publicly confirmed it's working on support, though Qualcomm has also hinted at enabling the feature on Snapdragon-powered phones.
  
  
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• The European Commission Is Testing an Open Source Alternative To Microsoft Teams
  The European Commission is preparing to trial a communications platform built on Matrix, the open source messaging protocol already used by the French government, German healthcare providers and European armed forces, as a sovereign backup to Microsoft Teams. Signal currently serves as the backup tool but has proven too inflexible for an organization the Commission's size, it said. The Matrix-based solution could also eventually connect the Commission to other EU bodies like the Parliament.
  
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Court Rules That Ripping YouTube Clips Can Violate the DMCA
  A federal court in California has ruled that YouTube creators who use stream-ripping tools to download clips for reaction and commentary videos may face liability under the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions -- a decision that could reshape how one of the platform's most popular content genres operates. U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi of the Northern District of California denied a motion to dismiss in Cordova v. Huneault, a creator-versus-creator dispute, finding that YouTube's "rolling cipher" technology qualifies as an access control measure under section 1201(a) even though the underlying videos are freely viewable by the public. The distinction matters because it separates the act of watching a video from the act of downloading it. The defense had argued that no ripping tools were actually used and that screen recording could account for the copied footage. Judge DeMarchi allowed the claim to proceed to discovery regardless, noting that the plaintiff had adequately pled the circumvention allegation. The ruling opens a legal avenue beyond standard copyright infringement for creators who want to go after rivals. Reaction channels have long leaned on fair use as a blanket defense, but plaintiff's attorney Randall S. Newman told TorrentFreak that circumventing copy protections under section 1201 is a separate violation unaffected by any fair use finding.
  
  
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• NASA Will Finally Let Its Astronauts Bring iPhones To the Moon
  NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has announced that astronauts on the upcoming Crew-12 and Artemis II missions will be allowed to carry iPhones and other modern smartphones into orbit and to the Moon -- a reversal of long-standing agency rules that had left crews relying on a 2016 Nikon DSLR and decade-old GoPros for the historic lunar flyby. Isaacman framed the move as part of a broader push to challenge what he called bloated qualification requirements, where hardware approvals get mired in radiation characterization, battery thermal tests, outgassing reviews and vibration testing. "That operational urgency will serve NASA well as we pursue the highest-value science and research in orbit and on the lunar surface," he wrote.
  
  
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• Musk Predicts SpaceX Will Launch More AI Compute Per Year Than the Cumulative Total on Earth
  Elon Musk told podcast host Dwarkesh Patel and Stripe co-founder John Collison that space will become the most economically compelling location for AI data centers in less than 36 months, a prediction rooted not in some exotic technical breakthrough but in the basic math of electricity supply: chip output is growing exponentially, and electrical output outside China is essentially flat. Solar panels in orbit generate roughly five times the power they do on the ground because there is no day-night cycle, no cloud cover, no atmospheric loss, and no atmosphere-related energy reduction. The system economics are even more favorable because space-based operations eliminate the need for batteries entirely, making the effective cost roughly 10 times cheaper than terrestrial solar, Musk said. The terrestrial bottleneck is already real. Musk said powering 330,000 Nvidia GB300 chips -- once you account for networking hardware, storage, peak cooling on the hottest day of the year, and reserve margin for generator servicing -- requires roughly a gigawatt at the generation level. Gas turbines are sold out through 2030, and the limiting factor is the casting of turbine vanes and blades, a process handled by just three companies worldwide. Five years from now, Musk predicted, SpaceX will launch and operate more AI compute annually than the cumulative total on Earth, expecting at least a few hundred gigawatts per year in space. Patel estimated that 100 gigawatts alone would require on the order of 10,000 Starship launches per year, a figure Musk affirmed. SpaceX is gearing up for 10,000 launches a year, Musk said, and possibly 20,000 to 30,000.
  
  
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• Automattic and the Internet Archive Team Up To Fight Link Rot
  Automattic and the Internet Archive have released a free, open-source WordPress plugin that automatically detects broken outbound links on a site and redirects visitors to archived Wayback Machine copies instead of serving them a 404 error. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer, which launched last fall and is available on WordPress.org, runs in the background scanning posts for dead links, checking for existing archived versions, and requesting new snapshots when none exist. It also archives a site's own posts whenever they are updated. If the original link comes back online, the plugin stops redirecting. Pew Research has found that 38% of the web has disappeared over the past decade, and WordPress powers more than 40% of websites online.
  
  
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• Anthropic Launches Claude Opus 4.6 as Its AI Tools Rattle Software Markets
  Anthropic on Thursday released Claude Opus 4.6, its most capable model yet, at a moment when the company's AI tools have already spooked markets over fears that they are disrupting traditional software development and other sectors. The new model improves on Opus 4.5's coding abilities, the company said -- it plans more carefully, sustains longer agentic tasks, handles larger codebases more reliably, and catches its own mistakes through better debugging. It is also the first Opus-class model to feature a 1M token context window, currently in beta. On GDPval-AA, an independent benchmark measuring performance on knowledge-work tasks in finance, legal and other domains, Opus 4.6 outperformed OpenAI's GPT-5.2 by roughly 144 Elo points. Anthropic also introduced agent teams in Claude Code, allowing multiple agents to work in parallel on tasks like codebase reviews. Pricing remains at $5/$25 per million input/output tokens.
  
  
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• Western Digital Plots a Path To 140 TB Hard Drives Using Vertical Lasers and 14-Platter Designs
  Western Digital this week laid out a roadmap that stretches its 3.5-inch hard drive platform to 14 platters and pairs it with a new vertical-emitting laser for heat-assisted magnetic recording, a combination the company says will push individual drive capacities beyond 140 TB in the 2030s. The vertical laser, developed over six years and already working in WD's labs, emits light straight down onto the disk rather than from the edge, delivering more thermal energy while occupying less vertical space -- enabling areal densities up to 10 TB per platter, up from today's 4 TB, and room for additional platters in the same enclosure. WD's first commercial HAMR drives arrive in late 2026 at 40-44 TB on an 11-platter design, ramping into volume production in 2027. A 12-platter platform follows in 2028 at 60 TB, and WD expects to hit 100 TB by around 2030.
  
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Celebrating the Second Year of Linux Man-Pages Maintenance Sponsorship
  Sustaining a Core Part of the Linux Ecosystem The Linux Foundation has announced a second year of sponsorship for the ongoing maintenance of the Linux manual pages (man-pages) project, led by Alejandro (Alex) Colomar. This critical initiative is made possible through the continued support of Google, Hudson River Trading, and Meta, who have renewed their [0]
  
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• Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Lab Demo and Performance Insights  Part Two
  In Part One of this series, we examined how the SONiC control plane and the VPP data plane form a cohesive, software-defined routing stack through the Switch Abstraction Interface.` We outlined how SONiC’s Redis-based orchestration and VPP’s user-space packet engine come together to create a high-performance, open router architecture. In this second part, we’ll turn [0]
  
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• Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Architecture and Integration  Part One
  The networking industry is undergoing a fundamental architectural transformation, driven by the relentless demands of cloud-scale data centers and the rise of software-defined infrastructure. At the heart of this evolution is the principle of disaggregation: the systematic unbundling of components that were once tightly integrated within proprietary, monolithic systems.` This movement began with the separation [0]
  
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• Kubernetes on Bare Metal for Maximum Performance
  When teams consider deploying Kubernetes, one of the first questions that arises is: where should it run? The default answer is often the public cloud, thanks to its flexibility and ease of use. However, a growing number of organizations are revisiting the advantages of running Kubernetes directly on bare metal servers. For workloads that demand [0]
  
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• How to Deploy Lightweight Language Models on Embedded Linux with LiteLLM
  This article was contributed by Vedrana Vidulin, Head of Responsible AI Unit at Intellias (LinkedIn). As AI becomes central to smart devices, embedded systems, and edge computing, the ability to run language models locally — without relying on the cloud — is essential. Whether its for reducing latency, improving data privacy, or enabling offline functionality, local AI [0]
  
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• Automating Compliance Management with UTMStacks Open Source SIEM 8 XDR
  Achieving and maintaining compliance with regulatory frameworks can be challenging for many organizations. Managing security controls manually often leads to excessive use of time and resources, leaving less available for strategic initiatives and business growth. Standards such as CMMC, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC2 and GDPR demand ongoing monitoring, detailed documentation, and rigorous evidence collection. Solutions [0]
  
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• A Simple Way to Install Talos Linux on Any Machine, with Any Provider
  Talos Linux is a specialized operating system designed for running Kubernetes. First and foremost it handles full lifecycle management for Kubernetes control-plane components. On the other hand, Talos Linux focuses on security, minimizing the user’s ability to influence the system. A distinctive feature of this OS is the near-complete absence of executables, including the absence [0]
  
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• Using OpenTelemetry and the OTel Collector for Logs, Metrics, and Traces
  OpenTelemetry (fondly known as OTel) is an open-source project that provides a unified set of APIs, libraries, agents, and instrumentation to capture and export logs, metrics, and traces from applications. The project’s goal is to standardize observability across various services and applications, enabling better monitoring and troubleshooting. Read More at Causely
  
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• Project Tazama, A Project Hosted by LF Charities With Support From the Gates Foundation, Receives Digital Public Good Designation.
  Exciting news! The Tazama project is officially a Digital Public Good having met the criteria to be accepted to the Digital Public Goods Alliance ! Tazama is a groundbreaking open source software solution for real-time fraud prevention, and offers the first-ever open source platform dedicated to enhancing fraud management in digital payments. Historically, the financial [0]
  
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• Xen 4.19 is released
  Xen Project 4.19 has been officially out since July 31st, 2024, and it brings significant updates. With enhancements in performance, security, and versatility across various architectures like Arm, PPC, RISC-V, and x86, this release is an important milestone for the Xen community. Read more at XCP-ng Blog
  
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Engadget"Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics"

• The best mesh Wi-Fi systems of 2026
  If your Wi-Fi struggles to reach every corner of your house, it’s probably not your internet plan that’s the problem. A single router can only do so much, especially in larger spaces or homes with thick walls. That’s where the best mesh Wi-Fi system comes in, replacing one overworked router with a Wi-Fi mesh network designed to deliver high-speed coverage across your entire home.
  
  A whole home mesh Wi-Fi setup uses multiple nodes that act as shared access points, spreading your connection more evenly and reducing slowdowns as you move from room to room. Compared to basic range extenders, mesh systems handle traffic more intelligently, balance bandwidth between devices and usually offer easy setup through companion apps. Many support dual-band Wi-Fi and newer standards, making them better suited for households full of phones, laptops, TVs and smart home devices.
  
  We’ve tested today’s leading mesh systems to see which ones actually deliver consistent speeds and reliable coverage. Whether you’re trying to eliminate dead zones in a small apartment or blanket a large, multi-floor house with fast, stable Wi-Fi, these are the mesh systems worth considering.
  Best mesh Wi-Fi systems for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  What to look for in a mesh Wi-Fi system
  Linksys’ CEO Jonathan Bettino told Engadget why mesh systems are an “advancement in Wi-Fi technology” over buying a single point router. With one transmitter, the signal can degrade the further away from the router you go, or the local environment isn’t ideal. “You can have a small [home], but there’s thick walls [...] or things in the way that just interfere with your wireless signal,” he said.
  
  Historically, the solution to a home’s Wi-Fi dead zone was to buy Wi-Fi range extenders but Bettino said the hardware has both a “terrible user experience” and one of the highest return rates of any consumer electronics product. Mesh Wi-Fi, by comparison, offers “multiple nodes that can be placed anywhere in your home,” says Bettino, each acting as an access point that works together as part of a whole home mesh Wi-Fi system.
  
  Rather than having one main router in your home, having a “router in every room” is the biggest selling point for mesh Wi-Fi given how reliant we all are on the internet. Each node is in constant contact with each other, broadcasting a single, seamless network to all of your connected devices. There’s no separate network for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, just a single name that you connect to.
  
  It’s a good time to buy a mesh Wi-Fi system since the latest standard, Wi-Fi 6E, represents a big leap in the technology. Matt MacPherson, Cisco9s Chief Technology Officer for Wireless, said Wi-Fi 6E is a big “inflection point,” using much more of the wireless spectrum than its predecessors. “If you’re using that spectrum with a Wi-Fi 6 [device],” he said, “you’re going to get significant gains [in speed.]”
  
  MacPherson added Wi-Fi 6E will likely “carry you for a long time” thanks to the fact its “top throughputs now typically exceed what people can actually connect their home to.” In short, with a top theoretical per-stream speed of 1.2 Gbps, Wi-Fi 6E is fast enough to outrun all but the fastest internet service.
  What do all these Wi-Fi numbers and letters mean?
  I’m sorry folks, we need to get boringly technical for one paragraph, but I promise you it’s worth it.
  
  Wi-Fi is governed by International Standard IEEE 802.11, and every few years a letter gets added onto that name when the technology evolves and improves. Until 2019, routers were sold under their IEEE name, leaving users to pick through the word soup of a product labeled 802.11 b/g/a/n/ac and so on.
  
  Mercifully, wiser heads opted to rebrand the letters as numbers, so rather than 802.11 b/g/a/n/ac, we have Wi-Fi 1, 2, 3 4 and 5. Right now, we’re in the middle of one of those Wi-Fi generations, with most of the gear on sale right now supporting either Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E.
  What’s the difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E?
  Wi-Fi uses chunks of the radio frequency spectrum, with Wi-Fi 6 using the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands to pump data around. In fact, back in the old days, it was likely your home router would offer you the choice of the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz network, as separate bands to access. These days, all of the spectrums are tied together as one thing, and Wi-Fi 6E has the added ability to use the 6GHz band as well. That’s a big chunk of extra wireless real estate that isn’t as cluttered up as the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.
  You’re going to talk about wireless frequencies now, aren’t you.
  Each Wi-Fi band had tradeoffs, because the slower radio frequencies have greater range but less speed. 2.4GHz signals will travel a long way in your home but aren’t quick, while 6GHz is blisteringly fast but can be defeated by a sturdy brick wall. A lot of Wi-Fi-enabled gear you own, like smart home products, only use the 2.4GHz band because the range is better and it’s a lot cheaper. But it means that the band is also overcrowded and slow, making it great for your doorbell and robovac, but lackluster for Twitch streaming.
  So, what am I looking for?
  Right now, the market is full of mature Wi-Fi 6 and 6E devices, and most new systems available to buy are capable of taking advantage of the faster speeds they offer. This guide focuses on Wi-Fi 6E gear since it’s what we think it’s more than enough to satisfy almost everyone’s at-home Wi-Fi needs.
  What about Wi-Fi 7?
  We’re now seeing the first generation of Wi-Fi 7 devices available to buy, but we don’t recommend you do so immediately. The Wi-Fi 7 standard is still so new that there’s little to no reason for you to rush out and buy one for your home. The hardware is tremendously expensive and while Wi-Fi 7 will, eventually, offer some great benefits over 6E, it’s not as transformative an upgrade as 6E. Not to mention, Wi-Fi 7 is so new that almost none of your home’s devices will be able to take advantage of its big-ticket features. I’d estimate you won’t need to worry about upgrading to Wi-Fi 7 for at least five years, if not longer.
  Range and speed
  All Wi-Fi routers boast a theoretical broadcast range and a theoretical top speed, and in some cases external antennas to boost signal directionality — but these figures don’t mean much. After all, manufacturers can’t control your ISP’s real speed, the materials and layout of your home or where you put your Wi-Fi gear. Raw speed isn’t everything, either, and you likely need less peak speed than your provider advertises. What matters more is consistent bandwidth and stable performance throughout your entire home. After all, Netflix needs just 15 Mbps to push a single 4K video stream to your home. As cool as it is to say you’ve got all these hundreds of Mbps, factors like latency and reliability are far more crucial to a happy internet life. And unless you have Gigabit internet that can reach speeds of up to 1 Gbps, you won’t need a mesh router that offers that spec.
  Backhaul
  Mesh Wi-Fi systems work by connecting every hardware node to a single wireless network, letting them all communicate with each other. Imagine four people in a busy, noisy restaurant all trying to order their dinner from a weary staff member, all at once. Now imagine, while this is going on, that four more people at that same table are also trying to tell a funny anecdote. It’s no surprise that it might take a long time for the right information to reach its intended destination.
  
  To combat this, higher-end mesh routers offer dedicated wireless backhaul, allowing nodes to communicate without eating into the high-speed bandwidth your devices rely on. So rather than everyone talking at once in the same space, the conversations are essentially separated, reducing the invisible clutter in the air. Because there’s less confusing cross-chatter, everything moves faster, offering a significant performance boost to those systems.
  Connectivity
  These days, even your washing machine can have a wireless connection, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the joys of wired internet. No matter how fast Wi-Fi is, a hard line will always be faster, and wired connections can significantly improve Wi-Fi mesh network performance when used for backhaul. Plenty of routers can also use these hard connections as backhaul, eliminating further wireless clutter.
  
  It’s convenient for spread-out systems and power users, but it will mean running more wires through your home. The most common standard is Cat 5e, or gigabit ethernet which, unsurprisingly, has a top speed of 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). Since Ethernet cables are backward compatible, you should be able to easily find one that works with your system. However, to get the most out of your mesh routers, it’s worth investing in an Ethernet cable that meets the standard your router uses — if it’s Cat 5e, use a Cat 5e cable. You can check your router’s specs via the manufacturer’s website to be sure.
  Flexibility and scalability
  Mesh routers enable you to add (or subtract) modules from your home network to suit your needs. D-Link’s Alan Jones said users should “check how scalable the prospective product is” before you buy. This sense of scale doesn’t just apply to the number of nodes on the network, but how many simultaneous connections it can handle.
  
  It’s also worth looking at ASUS’ AiMesh products, which can combine mesh Wi-Fi gear and its standard “spider” Wi-Fi routers. If you’ve got a tricky part of your home, you can bolt on an ultra-power standalone Wi-Fi router to a compatible mesh.
  Placement
  Mesh networks replace one big piece of hardware with a series of identical nodes that you scatter around your home, each acting as a shared access point to maintain coverage throughout the entire home. You connect one to your modem (usually over ethernet), and then scatter the rest around the place for the best coverage. A good rule of thumb is to place each node no more than two rooms away from the last one, rather than sticking them at the far ends of your home.
  
  Bear in mind, every physical obstacle between a Wi-Fi node, its siblings and your devices will hurt your overall performance. You should aim to place them, at the very least, at waist height on furniture in open air, without too many obstructions. The reason many mesh Wi-Fi products are designed to look like an inoffensive white doodad is so you don’t feel compelled to hide them behind your TV.
  Other mesh Wi-Fi router systems we tested Amazon Eero Pro 7
  Eero built its reputation on easy to use yet powerful mesh systems that offer a lot of good in a relatively small and affordable package. Setup is effortless, the app running things is clean and simple, and you get the added benefit of backwards compatibility with older hardware. Sadly, the issue with every Eero system is that so many basic management features, like parental controls, are paywalled behind the company’s Eero Plus subscription for $100 a year.
  Amazon Eero 6E
  Eero Pro 6E is an “easy” device, the sort a total novice can set up on their own and thrive with for years on end. There’s little brainwork required to get things set up, and the app has a clean UI with plenty of hand-holding. But, as with the Eero Pro 7, the fact that so many basic management tools are paywalled irks me, especially since you can get plenty of them for free with Google’s rival offering.
  Netgear Orbi 960
  The Orbi 96T0 (RBKE963) is Netgear’s flagship mesh Wi-Fi product, which the company calls the “world’s most powerful Wi-Fi 6E system.” It’s also one of the most expensive consumer-level kits on the market, setting you back $1,499.99 for a three pack. It9s a fantastic piece of gear, but it9s worth saying that the subset of people who could, would or should buy it remains far smaller than you might expect. Ultimately, I feel that if you’re paying luxury prices, you should expect a luxury product. There were plenty of times during testing that I went looking for a feature that was either only available via the web client, or behind a paywall. While, yes, much of your cash is going to the superlative hardware, but for this sort of money, the fact you have to pay extra for some table-stakes features is insulting. If you’re looking for a new Wi-Fi system and aren’t prepared to spend almost $1,500, it’s worth considering our other top picks for the best Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems.
  How we test Wi-Fi routers
  My home covers around 2,200 square feet across three stories with the office on the third floor. It’s relatively long and thin, with the living room at the front of the house, the kitchen at the back and the three bedrooms on the first floor. Its age means there are a lot of solid brick walls, old-school lathe and plaster as well as aluminum foil-backed insulation boards to help with energy efficiency. There are two major Wi-Fi dead zones in the house: The bathroom and the third bedroom behind it, since there’s lots of old and new pipework in the walls and floors.
  
  For mesh routers with two nodes, I place the first in my living room, connected via ethernet to my cable modem with the second on the first floor landing in the (ostensible) center of the house. For three-node sets, the third goes in my kitchen, which I’ve found is the optimal layout to get the bulk of my house covered in Wi-Fi. Fundamentally, my home poses enough challenges that if it succeeds here, it stands a very good chance of succeeding in your place.
  
  Each mesh is judged on ease of setup, Wi-Fi coverage, reliability, speed and any additional features that it advertises. I look at how user-friendly each companion app is from the perspective of a novice rather than an expert given you shouldn’t need to be a network engineer to do this sort of thing. Tests I do include checking for dead zones, moving from room to room to measure consistency of connectivity and streaming multiple videos at once to replicate common usage patterns.
  Mesh Wi-Fi system FAQs
  This is the section of our mesh Wi-Fi buyer’s guide where we talk about the stuff that most people just glide past. If you’re not familiar with technology, it can be intimidating if people talk about these things as if you’re expected to already know. So here’s a very simple, very basic rundown of some of the stuff you might have missed in very basic terms.
  What’s the difference between a Wi-Fi router and a mesh router?
  A Wi-Fi router is a box that usually sits close to wherever the internet comes into your home and pumps out information over radio waves. A mesh router, meanwhile, is a set of smaller devices, one of which sits next to your internet connection while the rest are scattered around your home. A single Wi-Fi router is great if your home is small, your needs aren’t too demanding, or if your home doesn’t have many radio-blocking obstructions that mean those signals can’t reach every corner of your home. But, much like standing next to a radio transmitter and then walking away from it in a straight line, after a while, the signal will degrade.
  
  That’s the problem a mesh system is designed to solve, since it will take the signal from your modem and pump to the other mesh devices, known as nodes, in your home. That way, instead of having one big router in one part of your home, you have several small ones that ensure you have good Wi-Fi connectivity all over. It also helps ensure that there’s no risk of dropping your connection as you move around — a mesh router system makes it easy to, for instance, walk from room to room watching Netflix and know you won’t miss a single frame.
  What9s the difference between a Wi-Fi extender and a mesh system?
  Oh boy. Wi-Fi extenders, or repeaters, are small devices designed to push Wi-Fi a little further than your Wi-Fi router can stretch. They’re cheap, compact and often come in the form of little boxes that sit on your plug sockets with the hope of pushing Wi-Fi to a signal-sparse corner of your home. They are, and I can’t put this delicately enough, often a big pile of rubbish and are often not worth your time. Especially since the price of mesh routers has fallen to within most people’s budgets.
  What is a wireless backhaul?
  As we explained above, mesh Wi-Fi systems work by connecting every hardware node to a single wireless network, letting them all communicate with each other. Imagine four people in a busy, noisy restaurant all trying to order their dinner from a weary staff member, all at once. Now imagine, while this is going on, that four more people at that same table are also trying to tell a funny anecdote. It’s no surprise that it might take a long time for the right information to reach its intended destination.
  
  To combat this, higher-end mesh routers offer dedicated wireless backhaul; a slice of the spectrum for node-to-node communication. So rather than everyone talking at once in the same space, the conversations are essentially separated, reducing the invisible clutter in the air. Because there’s less confusing cross-chatter, everything moves faster, offering a significant performance boost to those systems.
  Is it better to hard wire instead of using a mesh Wi-Fi system?
  This is a great question that doesn’t have a simple answer.
  
  It is (almost) always preferable to connect devices with a wire, in this case Ethernet, than to use Wi-Fi. The speeds are faster, it’s more reliable and your data is less vulnerable to the slings and arrows of the laws of physics. Hell, I spent about a year trying to work out how to build an iPhone to Ethernet connector back in the bad old days of Wi-Fi.
  
  But your ability to do so depends on your level of DIY skills and / or how much money you want to spend on contractors. Wiring your home for Ethernet if you don’t have the infrastructure already can be a costly and time-consuming process. Particularly if you don’t want ugly wires running along your baseboards and under your carpets or across your hardwood floors.
  
  If you’re building your own home or can do some serious DIY, then hard wiring is a fantastic thing to have. It goes wonderfully hand-in-glove with mesh networks too, since you’ll be able to hook up your nodes to the network for even better speeds.
  
  But if I’m honest, advances in Wi-Fi technology mean I’d only go for hard wiring if I really believed I needed the sort of speed it offers. Unless you’re a Twitch streamer running your own 24/7 content studio, it’s probably overkill.
  
  When we started renovating our 140-year-old home, I had Ethernet installed in the living room, the master and second bedroom and in my office, all at the front of the house. I can’t use it for my mesh since I’d need to put the wiring through the middle of the house. If I ever had the wiring done again, I would do so as I know I’ll instantly see a meaningful improvement in both my connection speed and reliability. But I wouldn’t spend several thousand pounds to have it done just for the sake of it.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-mesh-wifi-system-130028701.html?src=rss

• X's latest Community Notes experiment allows AI to write the first draft
  X is experimenting with a new way for AI to write Community Notes. The company is testing a new "collaborative notes" feature that allows human writers to request an AI-written Community Note. 
  
  It9s not the first time the platform has experimented with AI in Community Notes. The company started a pilot program last year to allow developers to create dedicated AI note writers.  X’s Keith Coleman tells me that AI writers are “prolific” and that one has contributed more than 1,000 notes that were rates as helpful by other contributors. But the latest experiment sounds like a more streamlined process.
  
  According to the company, when an existing Community Note contributor requests a note on a post, the request "now also kicks off creation of a Collaborative Note." Contributors can then rate the note or suggest improvements. "Collaborative Notes can update over time as suggestions and ratings come in," X says. "When considering an update, the system reviews new input from contributors to make the note as helpful as possible, then decides whether the new version is a meaningful improvement."
  We9re launching something new: Collaborative Notes
  
  The idea: when you request a note, AI drafts one — then the community refines it together through ratings and suggestions. You can watch it get better in real time.
  
  It’s a whole new way for the public to work with AI — and each… pic.twitter.com/U7eBOLdsh7
  — Community Notes (@CommunityNotes) February 5, 2026
  According to Coleman, who oversees Community Notes, the AI writer for collaborative notes will be Grok. That would be in-line with how a lot of X users currently invoke the AI on threads with replies like "@grok is this true?" But Coleman says that “if it works well, it could make sense to bring the suggestion-feedback loop to the AI note writer API as well.”
  
  losing touch with reality or worse. 
  
  According to X, only Community Note Contributors with a "top writer" status will be able to initiate a collaborative note to start, though it expects to expand availability "over time."
  
  Update, February 5, 2026, 2:42PM PT: This post was updated to reflect additional information from X’s Keith Coleman.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/xs-latest-community-notes-experiment-allows-ai-to-write-the-first-draft-210605597.html?src=rss

• NordVPN review 2025: Innovative features, a few missteps
  When we say that NordVPN is a good VPN that9s not quite great, it9s important to put that in perspective. Building a good VPN is hard, as evidenced by all the shovelware VPNs flooding the market. NordVPN may not be perfect, but it9s easily top-five caliber and excels in certain use cases.
  First, the bad: NordVPN9s apps could all stand to undergo a little more quality control, with elements distracting from other elements and inconsistent designs from platform to platform. At least one of its FAQ pages directly contradicts itself. And while all the server locations could unblock Netflix, the one in Nigeria still showed U.S. content, indicating that our real location might have leaked.
  However, there9s a lot of good to balance that out. Speeds are fantastic and we saw no other hint of any kind of leak. Its server network is expansive and not overly reliant on virtual locations. The vast majority of servers are ideal for unblocking foreign websites. The real draw, though, is the extra features, including the innovative and flexible Meshnet, plus a malware blocker that acts more like a full antivirus and forward-looking quantum resistant encryption.
  
  Editor9s note (9/24/25): We9ve overhauled our VPN coverage to provide more detailed, actionable buying advice. Going forward, we9ll continue to update both our Findings at a glance?
  
  Installing, configuring and using NordVPN?
  
  NordVPN speed test?
  
  NordVPN security test?
  
  How much does NordVPN cost??
  
  NordVPN side apps and bundles?
  
  Close-reading NordVPN9s privacy policy?
  
  Can NordVPN change your virtual location??
  
  Investigating NordVPN9s server network?
  
  Extra features of NordVPN?
  
  NordVPN customer support options?
  
  NordVPN background check?
  
  Final verdict?
  Findings at a glance Check out a summary of our NordVPN review in the table below.
  
  Category
  
  Notes
  
  Installation and UI
  
  Connections happen quickly and features are easy to use on all platforms
  
  UI sometimes gets in the way; map screens can be clunky and apps come with unnecessary notifications
  
  Surprisingly, the best UI may be in the browser extension
  
  Speed
  
  Extremely fast download speeds with only a 6.4-percent average drop
  
  Good latencies on nearby servers, but farther ones have some lag
  
  Fast upload speeds, but losses spiked in a few locations
  
  Security
  
  Uses acceptable protocols with uncracked encryption
  
  NordWhisper obfuscated protocol recently implemented on Windows, Android and Linux
  
  No DNS, WebRTC or IPv6 leaks on five test servers
  
  Pricing
  
  Best plan is the 2-year Basic for $81.36, or $3.39 per month
  
  Basic gives you the complete VPN
  
  If you get a multi-year plan, be sure to manually renew in order to keep the promotional rates
  
  Bundles
  
  Plus tier adds advanced malware protection and NordPass password manager
  
  Complete plan adds NordLocker cloud storage
  
  Prime tier adds ID theft protection and insurance features
  
  Privacy policy
  
  NordVPN does not log user activity on the VPN, a policy backed up by several third-party audits
  
  However, it does log potentially identifiable device information unless you opt out in settings
  
  Some concerning liberties taken in the overall Nord policy, but no documented malfeasance
  
  Virtual location change
  
  Four out of five test servers unblocked Netflix three times running, including virtual India location
  
  Location in Nigeria got into Netflix, but didn9t change available titles
  
  Server network
  
  153 server locations in 117 countries and territories
  
  Server network is about 40 percent virtual, including all locations in Africa
  
  Features
  
  Extra servers grant additional privacy (double VPN, Onion over VPN, obfuscation) or specific optimizations (P2P, dedicated IP)
  
  Threat Protection blocks dangerous domains and the Pro upgrade has some antivirus capability
  
  Dark Web Monitor reports to you when any sensitive information has appeared on clandestine leak sites
  
  Presets let you activate several settings with one click
  
  Post-quantum encryption is nice, but not necessary yet
  
  Kill switch is a useful safety feature on all apps
  
  Split tunneling by app on Windows and Android, and by URL on browser extensions
  
  Customer support
  
  Written FAQs, live chat and email support
  
  Live chat connected to an expert human within a minute
  
  FAQs are poorly organized and contain some conflicts, but well-written on average
  
  Background check
  
  NordVPN is headquartered in Panama, while its parent company Nord Security is based in the Netherlands
  
  2018 theft of public keys was a mistake, but NordVPN did almost everything right in response
  
  Claims of law enforcement collaboration are overblown — NordVPN will comply with requests, but that doesn9t mean they9ll have information to provide
  Installing, configuring and using NordVPN NordVPN9s biggest strengths are its speeds and the range of options it puts at your fingertips. User experience is important, but it9s not quite as front-and-center as it is with ExpressVPN and Proton VPN. Here9s how the apps run on all the major platforms.
  Windows The Windows app is the first instance of NordVPN9s UI being not bad enough to complain about, but not good enough to be considered excellent. The initial connection process is a little slow, and it9s far easier to connect than it is to disconnect (click the power button while connected to shut the VPN off). The map takes up space that would have been better allocated to the server list.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget The minor problems continue in the settings list, which makes the mistake of not keeping all its tabs visible in the window — if you open one, you have to click back to the main menu to reach another page. The pages themselves are easy to use; it9s just a bit clunkier than it could have been.
  Mac Setup is swift and easy on Mac, but the full NordVPN interface is a little awkward. The vast majority of the main window is taken up by a large map, which is mostly useless. There9s no way to zoom out to see the whole world, and you can9t choose between servers in each country unless you zoom way in. The server list on the left-hand side is almost always more useful.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget The preferences panel is better. All the tabs come with clear explanations of their function, and are laid out so the menu is always visible, unlike the Windows app. The gear icon at the bottom includes its own set of tabs that encompass most of the common functions, including changing your VPN protocol, activating the kill switch and setting the VPN to automatically connect on untrusted networks.
  Android NordVPN on mobile can be described in much the same way as its desktop apps: generally great, occasionally getting in its own way. On Android, the map screen is much more helpful. It9s expandable to the entire world and allows you to choose between servers within a country. On the other hand, the important settings are buried in the Profile tab, and the app notifies you about your "security score" to pressure you into activating certain settings.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget To find the general settings page on Android, tap the bottom-right Profile tab and scroll down. Except for Threat Protection, which has its own tab on the main window, every feature is located here. It9s probably necessary to keep the main app from getting cluttered, but still mildly frustrating.
  iOS The NordVPN iOS app resembles a compressed version of the macOS client, for better or worse. As with Android, most of its features are in the bottom-right Profile tab. It works well most of the time, but often feels slightly cumbersome. There9s a bit too much on the screen, and a bit too much of the stuff has nothing to do with the VPN9s core function.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget As an example, you can9t log into your account within the app — you have to load your Nord account page in a web browser. Forced app switching is a design choice that truly needs to die. That said, VPN connections happen quickly. If you tend to simply leave your VPN active, you probably won9t notice any of this stuff.
  Browser extensions Most VPN browser extensions consist of the same features on a smaller scale, and NordVPN9s — on Chrome, Firefox and Edge — are no exception. They are important for one reason, though: they9re the only way to split tunnels by URL and the only split tunneling at all on macOS and iOS. Despite being more compact, they9re also easy to use, making for an excellent quick-start VPN solution.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget NordVPN speed test All VPNs slow down your average browsing speeds by adding extra steps into the connection process. When we test speed, we9re looking for the VPN to drag as little as possible on your unprotected speeds. Download speed will be the most important stat for most users, since that determines how fast web pages load and how quickly videos can buffer.
  Latency is important for live connections like video chats, games and live streaming. Latency increases with distance — in the test below, data packets were sent to the remote server, then back to our home network. Upload speeds likewise influence your live two-way communications and are also vital for torrenting. Let9s see how NordVPN performs on all three metrics.
  Server location Latency (ms) Increase factor Download speed (Mbps) Percentage drop Upload speed (Mbps) Percentage drop Unprotected (Portland, OR, USA) 22 -- 59.20 -- 5.86 -- Seattle, WA, USA (Fastest) 44 2x 57.21 3.4 5.62 4.1 New York, NY, USA 177 8x 56.90 3.9 5.60 4.4 Stockholm, Sweden 371 16.9x 55.94 5.5 5.63 3.9 Istanbul, Turkey 411 18.7x 53.02 10.4 5.78 5.9 Hong Kong 350 15.9x 56.18 5.1 5.72 2.4 Johannesburg, South Africa 602 27.4x 53.26 10.0 5.67 3.3 Average 326 14.8x 55.42 6.4 5.54 4.0 To summarize: NordVPN9s download speeds are the fastest we9ve seen and its upload speeds and latency tie with the best. Downloads only dropped by an average of 6.4 percent across the globe and readings were mostly consistent — the servers in question performed much the same in each test. We even threw in Turkey and South Africa, two locations that commonly cause problems, but NordVPN still kept the drop to 10 percent.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget Latency is more a product of physical distance than VPN infrastructure, but you can still see differences between services. When tested on a similar range of locations, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN both kept average latencies under 300 ms. NordVPN9s average came out to 326 milliseconds, though we should note that its latency increased less than Proton9s on the closest server.
  Upload speeds declined an average of four percent, but there were a few anomalously high readings in Istanbul that skewed those numbers up. Without that location, NordVPN9s upload rates would also have been the industry9s current best.
  NordVPN security test No matter how well-built a VPN looks from the outside, there are several ways its security can fail. The most common problems are outdated protocols with weak encryption, failing to block IPv6 traffic or inadvertent leaks from sending DNS requests outside the encrypted tunnel. We9ll start by looking for those common leak sources, then check whether NordVPN9s encryption might be failing in less traceable ways.
  VPN protocols A VPN protocol is a set of rules used to get data quickly and safely from your device to a VPN server and back, even while that data is encrypted. Different protocols are connected with different encryption algorithms and can impact the speed, security and stability of your connection.
  When testing VPN security, the first step is to see if it9s using any protocols like PPTP that are outdated and crackable, or homebrewed protocols with unclear security. NordVPN users have four options for protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2 (not available on Mac or iOS), NordLynx and NordWhisper (available on Windows, Android and Linux only). 
  Sam Chapman for Engadget OpenVPN and IKEv2 are both standard protocols you9ll find on most VPN providers. Both use various strengths of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), with OpenVPN defaulting to AES-256 and IKEv2 to AES-128. OpenVPN can be set to UDP (faster but less stable) or TCP (more reliable but slower). So far, so secure.
  NordLynx is unique to NordVPN, but it9s not that far off the beaten track — it9s just WireGuard with extra security. WireGuard normally works by saving a stable IP address for each connection, which raises the very slight risk of exposing a user. NordLynx adds a second layer of abstraction that means those stable addresses are never revealed. Since NordVPN strongly recommends it for most situations, we used it for all our tests in this review.
  Finally, there9s NordWhisper, a new protocol introduced in early 2025 that disguises your VPN traffic as normal web traffic to evade blanket web blocks. It9s likely to be slower than the other protocols, so don9t use it unless everything else has been blocked. We also don9t recommend counting on it too much in general — large-scale censorship technology, like the Great Firewall of China, tends to rely on blocklists of known VPN servers, whose identity NordWhisper can9t disguise.
  Leak test Our first order of business was to check five test servers to see if they leaked our real IP address — staying away from the ones in the speed test in order to get as comprehensive a picture of NordVPN9s security as possible. With help from ipleak.net, we found all five to be free of the three major types of leaks.
  
  DNS leaks occur when a VPN sends DNS requests (in short, how your browser knows which websites to show you) outside its encrypted tunnel. By default, NordVPN uses its own private DNS servers, which our tests showed to effectively prevent leaks.
  
  WebRTC leaks are caused by real-time communication protocols sending information outside the VPN, which may reveal your real IP address. NordVPN is consistently successful at keeping WebRTC inside the tunnel, but you can have your browser block it if you9re still worried.
  
  IPv6 leaks happen when a VPN only blocks IPv4 traffic and lets v6 through. NordVPN automatically blocks IPv6 traffic while it9s active, so an IPv6 leak is all but impossible.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget Although that9s all great news, it is still possible for leaks to occur without a clear explanation, so we ran one final test on NordVPN.
  Encryption test Wireshark is a program that captures detailed images of information sent over a device9s internet connection. Even though our tests showed NordVPN to be free of leaks, we wanted to inspect it at the most granular level. Using WireShark, we recorded the traffic sent to an unencrypted HTTP site, before and after connecting to each NordVPN test server.
  Every server showed the same pattern: readable plaintext before, encrypted ciphertext after. If there is a security flaw remaining in NordVPN, it9s unlikely to be relevant to the overwhelming majority of users.
  How much does NordVPN cost? NordVPN9s pricing structure looks convoluted at first, but it9s much simpler than it appears. A Basic subscription gets you full VPN functionality, and all the other tiers just add more features. If all you need is a VPN, you only need to concern yourself with the left side of the table below.
  The best deal for a Basic NordVPN subscription, which lets you connect to NordVPN with up to 10 devices at once, costs $81.36 for two years when you pay upfront ($3.39 per month). One year of the same plan costs $59.88 in advance ($4.99 per month) or $12.99 for one month at a time. The table below shows the complete cost; for more information on plans above Basic, see "side apps and bundles" in the next section.
  Plan 1-month cost 1-year cost 2-year cost Basic $12.99 $59.88 ($4.99/month) $81.36 ($3.39/month) Plus $13.99 $71.88 ($5.99/month) $105.36 ($4.39/month) Complete $14.99 $83.88 ($6.99/month) $129.36 ($5.39/month) Prime $17.99 $107.88 ($8.99/month) $177.36 ($7.39/month)
  The longer plans save money, but be careful: if you let them expire, you9ll automatically renew at the more expensive one-year plan. Enough customers claim to have been auto-renewed at the higher rate that they9ve launched a class-action lawsuit against NordVPN, accusing the company of deceptive pricing practices and making renewals too difficult to cancel. A NordVPN PR rep said they could not comment on ongoing legal action, "other than to state that we are and always have been very clear about the recurring nature of our services." No court date has been set so far.
  
  That said, there9s a fairly straightforward workaround in the meantime: To prevent the auto renewal, log out of your NordVPN account, then sign up for a discounted plan again using the same email. As long as you do this before your subscription expires, your new account should link to your old one, keeping you subscribed at the introductory rate.
  Free trials and refunds Every NordVPN plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you cancel and request a refund before 30 days are up, you9ll get the full cost back. The only way to try it for free without paying is to get the app on Android, where there9s a seven-day trial through the Google Play Store.
  NordVPN side apps and bundles NordVPN is part of a larger family of Nord Security products, which you can save money on if you need more than one. We won9t review all of them here, but for reference, here9s everything you9ll get from the higher subscription tiers. 
  
  Basic: VPN on 10 devices, specialty servers, DNS ad-blocking, Meshnet
  
  Plus: All Basic features, plus malware scanning, extra scam blocking, tracker blocking, NordPass password manager, data breach scanner
  
  Complete: All Plus features, along with 1TB of NordLocker encrypted cloud storage
  
  Prime: All Complete features, plus NordProtect features like dark web monitoring, credit monitoring, ID theft insurance and extortion insurance
  Another tier called Ultra includes a subscription to Incogni, a data removal service run by Nord9s partner Surfshark. The Ultra bundle is only available in certain countries, since NordVPN is still testing it; users outside the test countries can still add Incogni service at checkout. There also used to be a NordVPN family plan, but it seems to have been eliminated after Nord expanded the devices per subscription to 10.
  You can get a dedicated IP address on NordVPN to ensure you have the same IP every time you connect. This lets you configure remote firewalls to let you through while you9re connected to the VPN. A dedicated IP costs $8.99 per month, $70.68 for a year ($5.89 per month) or $100.56 for two years ($4.19 per month).
  The NordVPN pricing page lists access to a Saily eSIM plan as a perk, though mysteriously, none of the existing plans seem to include it yet. A lot of VPNs are expanding into the eSIM space, so this may change soon.
  Close-reading NordVPN9s privacy policy A VPN privacy policy isn9t just empty words — it9s a contract between the provider and its users. If a service openly defied its own policy, it could be sued for false advertising. VPNs tend to sneak loopholes into their privacy policies instead of flouting them outright; these loopholes can shed light on how the provider actually views your privacy.
  We combed through NordVPN9s privacy policy to see whether it tries to take any such liberties. The policy has two parts: the general Nord Security policy and an addendum specific to NordVPN.
  General Nord privacy policy This policy applies to all Nord Security apps. It9s impossible to create an account without a valid email address, but you can use a separate email masking service to make that anonymous. The policy also explicitly says that your email address will be added to a marketing mailing list, though you can opt out. Irritating, but not a privacy risk in itself.
  We9re more concerned about the later statement that it may process data without the user9s consent "under the legal basis of our or third parties9 legitimate interest." This clause covers some cases we9d agree are legitimate, such as identifying people who launch cyberattacks from NordVPN servers. But Nord also considers it "legitimate interest" to process your personal data "to improve or maintain our services and provide new products and features."
  Reached for comment, a NordVPN representative said that using personal data in this way "generally involves aggregated, depersonalized or technical information." That9s somewhat reassuring, but the "generally" leaves a bit too much wiggle room. Ideally, we9d prefer that personal data exist wholly in the "consent only" section.
  The section on sharing your data with third parties only lists "some of" the service providers who may receive your information. Among these are Google Analytics, which is known to store personal data on U.S. servers — all of which are potential security risks in the age of DOGE. Other unnamed "third parties" are involved in targeting ads at users of Nord websites.
  The NordVPN representative said that "since some partners, such as payment processors, can vary by region or specific service and may change over time depending on our operational needs, we do not publish a fixed list." They added that all third parties are "contractually required to handle personal data in accordance with applicable laws and industry standards."
  We aren9t using this to condemn Nord; many of these practices are fairly standard in the VPN industry. But it9s important to know about all the potential leakage points before trusting your deepest secrets to any company.
  NordVPN specific policies The NordVPN privacy policy doesn9t add much atop the general Nord notice. It does track session activity connected to your username to make sure you9re staying within the 10-device limit, but it automatically deletes these logs 15 minutes after you disconnect. The logs also don9t include your IP address or the addresses of VPN servers you used.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget The only real problem we found is that NordVPN apps collect information about your activity on the app by default. This doesn9t include information about your browsing habits, but it does include unique traits that could conceivably be used for "device fingerprinting" — in which a third party can deduce a user9s identity through clues about their device. You can turn this off in the General settings.
  A NordVPN spokesperson told us that the data collected is "not personally identifiable," and that the company takes "deliberate steps to strip out anything that could be linked back to a specific person." This presumably means the data is aggregated so it only shows general trends, not any one device9s activity. That9s a lot less risky, but we still recommend switching the setting off.
  Third-party privacy audits NordVPN has passed five independent audits of its privacy policy so far, most recently from Deloitte in late 2024. Annoyingly, you can only read the entire report by logging into a Nord account, but it at least doesn9t have to be a paid account.
  The audit found that NordVPN was following its own no-logs policy. Specifically, the Deloitte Lithuania investigators concluded that "the configuration of IT systems and management of the supporting IT operations is properly prepared, in all material respects in accordance with the NordVPN9s description set out in the Appendix I." (Appendix I of the report is identical to NordVPN9s privacy policy.)
  Can NordVPN change your virtual location? You9ll be most interested in this section if you mainly use a VPN to change their location for streaming. To see if NordVPN could unlock new streaming libraries, we picked a new batch of five test servers, then logged onto Netflix. Since Netflix tries to block all VPN servers to prevent copyright issues, our first question was whether we9d get through at all.
  Our second question: would connecting to a NordVPN server actually change what Netflix library we saw? It should, given that NordVPN seems leak-proof, but thoroughness demands we check anyway. Here9s what we found.
  Server location Netflix unblocked? Content changed? Canada Yes Yes Argentina Yes Yes Germany Yes Yes India Yes Yes Nigeria Yes No Four out of five locations worked perfectly. On a Canadian server, we were able to stream Star Trek: The Next Generation, which left American Netflix years ago. The Argentine server gave us access to something called Pasion de Gavilanes, which we9d never heard of but sounds great.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget The only problem was Nigeria. We tested it several times, connected to multiple different Nigerian locations, but saw our American Netflix library every time. We then ran a leak test on Nigeria, which wasn9t one of our security test locations, and found it to be working normally. It9s hard to say what happened, especially since the Nigeria server doesn9t appear to be virtual, but we can confirm that it wasn9t working.
  Investigating NordVPN9s server network NordVPN has servers in 153 cities in 117 countries. Out of all total options, 62 are virtual locations (about 40 percent), where the server is really located somewhere else. This makes it possible to get servers into more places, but depending on your actual location relative to the server, it may perform differently than you expect.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget Virtual locations have allowed NordVPN9s server network to grow quite extensive, with lots more locations in South America, Africa and Asia than the industry standard. Check out the distribution in the table.
  Region Countries and territories with servers Total server locations Total virtual server locations North America 15 36 12 South America 10 10 6 Europe 48 57 11 Africa 10 10 10 Middle East 7 7 4 Asia 24 26 18 Oceania 3 7 1 Total 117 153 62 (40.5 percent) The relatively low proportion of virtual locations (nearly identical to that of ExpressVPN) is a good sign, as it means NordVPN has been growing its server network thoughtfully. Some VPNs — looking at you, HMA — inflate their server lists as a marketing point without seriously considering what it takes to maintain such a large network. That thankfully doesn9t seem to be the case here.
  Extra features of NordVPN Here9s everything you get with a NordVPN app other than the VPN itself. There9s a lot going on here, so we9ll limit ourselves to a sketch of each feature.
  Specialty servers As soon as you load NordVPN, you9ll see a list of special servers near the top of the right-hand column. We9ll go over each of them in order.
  
  Dedicated IP: As discussed in the bundles section, a dedicated IP address costs extra. With this, you9ll always connect with the same IP, which is private to you alone. It may be worth the price if you find yourself getting asked for CAPTCHAs a lot more while connected to NordVPN — though for what it9s worth, that didn9t happen to us.
  
  Double VPN: This sends your connection through a second VPN server before it reaches your ISP. The second server is your apparent location. There are 10 endpoints to choose from. As you might imagine, your internet will run slower with two VPN servers in the mix, so only use this if you seriously need security.
  
  Obfuscated servers: These are only available on OpenVPN. Obfuscation can help you get around firewalls that seek out and block VPN traffic. If you can9t get online with NordVPN when you9re on a certain network, obfuscated servers might work.
  
  Onion Over VPN: After encrypting your data as normal, these servers send it through several nodes of the Tor network, granting you the total anonymity of onion routing while keeping you safe from malicious relays. It9s available in two locations, Netherlands and Switzerland, and — like double VPN — is best used only when you need the utmost privacy.
  
  P2P: NordVPN only allows torrenting on its peer-to-peer servers, but fortunately, it9s got P2P servers in 114 countries — only three fewer than it has in total. NordVPN keeps your download and upload speeds very fast on average, so you shouldn9t have trouble torrenting from any location.
  Meshnet Meshnet is NordVPN9s most unique and exciting feature by a long shot. By logging into the same NordVPN account on multiple devices, you can connect those devices directly through a NordLynx tunnel without needing a NordVPN server in between.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget Essentially, you9re using your own devices as VPN servers — obviously not great for privacy, but amazing for accessing web services in other countries. While two devices are connected, you can transfer files between them through the NordLynx tunnel. You can even invite friends and use their devices.
  Threat Protection NordVPN has two levels of antivirus: Threat Protection and Threat Protection Pro. The former is a simple DNS filter that stops your browsing from loading unsafe web pages while NordVPN is active. It9s the highest level available on Android, iOS and Linux, or on any Basic subscription.
  Sam Chapman for Engadget Threat Protection Pro, which Plus subscribers or higher can set up on Windows and Mac, can work even when you aren9t connected to a NordVPN server. It acts more like a standalone antivirus by scanning downloaded files for malware, and can even block trackers. Basic Threat Protection (without Pro) can block some trackers by filtering out domains known to use them, but doesn9t block the trackers directly.
  Dark Web Monitor While active, Dark Web Monitor continually searches known data breach dump sites on the dark web and notifies you if it ever finds your account email address. If you get that notification, change any passwords associated with the address. With a Prime subscription, you can also have it search for your phone number, social security number or other financial information.
  Presets Presets let you set up one-click VPN connections with a desired group of settings, a lot like Proton VPN9s Profiles. NordVPN comes pre-loaded with presets that optimize for "Downloads," "Speed" and "Browsing," which sounds to us like the same thing three times.
  More usefully, you can create presets for particular countries, then add website shortcuts that will appear once you9ve connected. You could, for example, set one that connects to a specific location, then add a shortcut to a streaming site available in that location.
  Post-Quantum encryption Experts widely believe that quantum computers will eventually make our current encryption algorithms obsolete, but there9s almost no consensus on when that will actually happen — except that it hasn9t happened yet. Knowing that, NordVPN9s "post-quantum encryption" feature comes across as a bit premature, but it9s reassuring that someone is thinking about it.
  Having said that, we don9t recommend using post-quantum encryption yet. It works by layering one of the known quantum-proof encryption standards on top of a standard NordLynx session, which makes your VPN connection slower and more erratic. Until we can verify a real quantum cyberattack, post-quantum encryption is a needless precaution.
  Kill switch A kill switch cuts off your internet the instant you lose your connection to a NordVPN server. This protects you in case a server unexpectedly fails, and as a side benefit, prevents you from connecting to any fake VPN servers. You should keep the kill switch on at all times.
  Split tunneling Split tunneling is available on NordVPN9s Windows and Android apps (and Android TV by extension), along with its browser extensions. On Windows and Android, it splits by app: you can determine which apps get online through the VPN and which go unprotected. The browser extensions let you split by URL, so the VPN only protects certain sites.
  NordVPN customer support options NordVPN9s apps link directly to its online help center. As always, we went in with a specific question in mind: whether the basic level of Threat Protection could block trackers, and if so, what kind. We found the categories on the written support page difficult to parse, especially the troubleshooting section — would the average user appreciate the difference between "app issues," "connection issues" and "errors"?
  We correctly guessed that our question would be under "Using NordVPN -> Features," but the introductory article on Threat Protection and Threat Protection Pro was buried at the bottom of the list. Unfortunately, that made things more confusing, as this article says that Threat Protection (not Pro) both does and doesn9t block trackers. In NordVPN9s favor, however, using the search bar brought us instantly back to that article without any confusion.
  The live support experience Using NordVPN9s live chat was a smooth and reassuring experience. From the time we decided to ask directly, it took us less than a minute to connect with a real person, who quickly cleared up the confusion and promised to update the confusing support page (we9ll check back to see if they actually do).
  Sam Chapman for Engadget One other option is an email support form, which can be found both on the website and in the help sections of NordVPN apps. This is best for complex problems that require screenshots to explain, and promises a response within 24 hours.
  NordVPN background check NordVPN was founded in 2012. Launching with its desktop apps, it moved to iOS and Android in 2016, then added apps for browser extensions and smart TVs. Its developer, Nord Security, has no parent company, and its history is relatively uncontroversial. We9ve documented two notable incidents below, plus more about Nord Security9s operations.
  Headquarters and ownership Nord Security was founded in Lithuania, and maintains offices there. Although Nord Security is registered in Amsterdam, NordVPN operates under a separate license in Panama, which makes any data requests subject to Panama9s courts.
  Finland server breach The first serious incident in NordVPN9s history began in March 2018, when unidentified hackers managed to steal three private keys from one of Nord9s data centers in Finland. Researchers didn9t notice the leak until October 2019, well after the stolen keys had expired, but NordVPN9s encryption was still technically vulnerable for several months.
  We say "technically," because it was really only the outer layer of encryption — and even if they9d broken through it all, the hackers would only have seen browsing activity, not usernames, passwords or anything else sensitive. If anything, NordVPN9s response actually makes us trust it more. It ended its relationship with the contractor who ran the Finnish data center and revamped its policies to eliminate the kind of negligence that led to the breach.
  Arguably, its only real error was not immediately disclosing the breach. NordVPN learned about the leak and started addressing it in May 2018, but the news didn9t break until more than a year later. That timing probably made it look more suspicious than any actual mishandling did.
  Law enforcement compliance Another minor controversy erupted in 2022, when PCMag and other outlets reported that NordVPN had edited its website to say that it would comply with data requests from law enforcement. NordVPN responded with a new post that said nothing had changed: their policy was always to comply with lawful requests, which — provided the requests were lawfully submitted through a Panamanian court — is literally their only option.
  We9re inclined to agree. VPNs are legal companies. They wouldn9t last long if they openly declared their intent to break the law. The key is that when law enforcement comes calling, there shouldn9t be anything to show them, as with the Turkish seizure of ExpressVPN. That9s why verifiable no-logging policies are so important.
  Final verdict NordVPN is a great service on its own merits. It only suffers from having to be compared with the likes of ExpressVPN and Proton VPN. For example, its P2P servers are good for torrenting, but not as useful without Proton9s port forwarding. It9s fast, but speed tests fluctuated just a little more than Express.
  NordVPN9s extra features are the best reason to pick it over its rivals. With Meshnet, you can theoretically set up a VPN connection anywhere in the world, and no other VPN has anything close to Meshnet9s file transfer powers. Threat Protection Pro is also great if you can get it, adding file scanning to bolster the typical approach of just blocking suspicious DNS addresses. Specialty servers round out the offering, with double VPN maintaining good speeds with extra safety and Onion over VPN being among the safest ways to use Tor.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/nordvpn-review-2025-innovative-features-a-few-missteps-163000578.html?src=rss

• How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl: Patriots vs. Seahawks channel, where to stream, start time, and more
  The New England Patriots are headed to the 2026 Super Bowl. (Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images) Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images
  The countdown is on, and Super Bowl LX, between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, is less than a week away. This year9s game will be held at Levi9s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, and the Bay Area will be host to loads of other football events this week, too, including Thursday9s NFL Honors, where we9ll learn who this season9s MVP is. (That event, which will be held in San Francisco, will air live on NBC and the NFL Network on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.) While we9re curious to see who will snag the most prestigious awards at the NFL Honors, we9re more excited for the championship game itself, which airs on Sunday, Feb. 8, with a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff, and there will be pre-game coverage airing from 12 p.m. ET on. 
  
  Like all other Sunday Night Football games this season, the championship game will be broadcast on NBC, and will stream live on Peacock. Here9s everything you need to know to tune in to Super Bowl LX on February 8, including the game channel, where to stream, and who9s performing at halftime.
  How to watch Super Bowl LX
  
  
  
  
  Date: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026
  
  Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
  
  TV channel: NBC, Telemundo
  
  Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NFL+ and more
  2026 Super Bowl game time
  The 2026 Super Bowl is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Feb. 8, 2026.
  2026 Super Bowl game channel
  The 2026 Super Bowl will air on NBC, with a Spanish-language broadcast available on Telemundo. 
  2026 Super Bowl teams:
  The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will play in the 2026 Super Bowl.
  Where is the 2026 Super Bowl being played?
  The 2026 Super Bowl will be held at Levi9s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
  What teams are playing in the 2026 Super Bowl?
  The teams for the 2026 Super Bowl will be determined after the AFC and NFC Championship games are played on Sunday, Jan. 25. You can keep tabs on the post-season playoff bracket here.
  How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl without cable
  You can stream NBC and Telemundo on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV, both of which are among Engadget9s choices for best streaming services for live TV. (Note that Fubo and NBC are currently in the midst of a contract dispute and NBC channels are not available on the platform.) The game will also be streaming on Peacock and on NFL+, though with an NFL+ subscription, you9re limited to watching the game on mobile devices. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Who is performing at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?
  Bad Bunny, who holds the title as the most-streamed artist in the world, will be headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance. You can expect that show to begin after the second quarter, likely between 8-8:30 p.m. ET. Singer Charlie Puth will also be at the game to perform the National Anthem, Brandi Carlile is scheduled to sing "America The Beautiful," and Coco Jones will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
  Where to buy tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl: 
  Tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl are available on third-party resale platforms like StubHub and Gametime. 
  Find tickets on Stubhub Find tickets on Gametime More ways to watch Super Bowl LX
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-watch-the-2026-super-bowl-patriots-vs-seahawks-channel-where-to-stream-start-time-and-more-175759112.html?src=rss

• Everything we know about Valve's new Steam Machine
  The Steam Machine is back from the dead. Not as a Valve-supported program for manufacturers to create living room PCs, but instead a home console sibling to the Steam Deck. Valve introduced its second attempt at ruling the living room in a surprise hardware announcement in November 2025, and paired the new Steam Machine with a new Steam Controller and a wireless VR headset it calls the Steam Frame. Since the announcement, as is often the case with Valve, some details remain elusive, however.
  
  While we wait for the release of the company9s new hardware lineup in 2026, and more information straight from the horse9s mouth, here9s everything we know about the hardware, software and price of the Steam Machine.
  What9s the Steam Machine9s hardware like?Valve
  Like the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine is utilitarian and bespoke. The PC is a black, 5.98 x 6.39 x 6.14 inch (152 x 162.4 x 156mm) box, with ports and a grille for a fan in the back and a removable faceplate and customizable LED light strip in the front. Inside, Valve says the Steam Machine features a "semi-custom" AMD Zen 4 CPU with six cores and up to 4.8GHz clock speeds, and a "semi-custom" RDNA3 AMD GPU, along with 16GB DDR RAM, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM and either 512GB or 2TB of storage.
  
  While these specs make the Steam Machine more powerful than the aging Steam Deck (which shipped in 2022 with its own custom AMD chip) Valve has been careful not to oversell the capabilities of the box. In a blog post, the company said that "the majority of Steam titles play great at 4K 60FPS" using AMD9s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) frame generation and upscaling technology, but some titles require more upscaling than others, and it "may be preferable to play at a lower framerate with [variable refresh rate] to maintain a 1080p internal resolution."
  
  In a hands-on preview of the Steam Machine, CrossOver. Valve9s compatibility layer translates a game9s API calls and other software features into something Linux understands, essentially tricking the game into thinking it9s running on Windows when it isn9t. Proton has worked remarkably well so far, in some cases helping some PC games run more efficiently on Linux than they do on Windows, but it does have some limitations. Because some anti-cheat software doesn9t support Linux, many competitive multiplayer games aren9t playable on SteamOS. Valve hopes the Steam Machine will help change that. 
  
  "While [the] Steam Machine also requires dev participation to enable anti-cheat, we think the incentives for enabling anti-cheat on Machine to be higher than on Deck as we expect more people to play multiplayer games on it," Valve an announcement Valve sent to developers, games that were Verified for the Steam Deck will automatically be verified for the Steam Machine. The system is helpful, but far from definitive — some Unplayable games are in fact playable — which is why online, community-run databases like ProtonDB fill in the gaps with more granular information.
  How much will the Steam Machine cost and when will it launch?Valve
  Valve hasn9t announced a price or a release date for the Steam Machine or any of its new hardware. In terms of price, however, the company has suggested it might not be a deal in quite the same way the $399 Steam Deck LCD was. Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais told the company said that it was delaying the launch of its hardware (though it still hopes to ship in the first half of 2026) and rethinking pricing, particularly around the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, because of the "limited availability and growing prices" of critical components like RAM.
  
  The changes Framework had to make to the pricing of the Framework Desktop are an illustrative example of the position Valve is in. Framework pitched its compact desktop PC as being great for gaming, with an AMD Ryzen AI Max chip (originally meant for gaming laptops) and a minimum of 32GB of RAM that lets it run games at 1440p. The company originally sold the base configuration of the Framework Desktop for $1,099, but announced in January 2026 that it would now cost $1,139 due to the rising cost of RAM. The price situation got even worse for configurations with more RAM. A Framework Desktop with 128GB of RAM now costs $2,459.
  
  The blame for rising costs lies squarely with the AI industry, whose demand for RAM has led to the collapse of consumer RAM brands and a dearth of true deals on the in-demand component. At this point, PC makers have no solution to the problem other than riding the shortage out and raising prices. Valve clearly isn9t immune to those same issues.
  
  That doesn9t rule out the company offering its Linux PC at multiple different price points, or in some kind of bundle deal with multiple pieces of new Steam hardware. But it does mean that the Steam Machine will likely be priced like a premium device. Same for the Steam Controller and Steam Frame. In the case of the Frame, Meta Quest 3S.
  What accessories will work with the Steam Machine?Valve
  The Steam Machine is designed to work with a variety of different Bluetooth controllers and other wireless accessories, and also whatever you can plug into its multiple USB-A ports and single USB-C port. With a built-in 2.4GHz Steam Controller dongle inside the Steam Machine, Valve9s controller should be an ideal option for controlling games, particularly because of its multiple control options, like touchpads and gyroscopes. Support for Steam Link, Valve9s tech for streaming PC games over local wireless, means you can also send games from a Steam Machine to the Steam Deck, Steam Frame or the Steam Link app and play them there.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/everything-we-know-about-valves-new-steam-machine-200458817.html?src=rss

• Prime members can play Alan Wake 2 for free on Luna
  If you haven9t yet played Alan Wake 2, here9s your chance to immerse yourself in its terrors for free. Prime members can play it this month on Amazon9s Luna cloud gaming service at no additional charge.
  
  The "fantastic" Alan Wake 2 oozes "psychedelic terror," as Engadget9s Jessica Conditt put it in our review. The 2023 horror-survival game uses a dual-protagonist motif, alternating between the lost author Wake and the stoic FBI agent Saga Anderson. It "tells a twisted, serpentine story of paranormal murder, shifting realities and demonic possession, with two brooding investigators at its core." Not a bad way to sublimate the all-too-real horrors of life in 2026.
  
  The Order of Giants DLC for Amazon9s announcement post for the complete list.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/prime-members-can-play-alan-wake-2-for-free-on-luna-193509728.html?src=rss

• Meta is giving its AI slop feed an app of its own
  Meta is developing a standalone app for Vibes, its feed of AI-generated videos, according to reports from a feature in the Meta AI app in September 2025. Similar to OpenAI9s Sora app, Vibes lets users prompt Meta AI to create TikTok-style vertical videos.
  
  "Following the strong early traction of Vibes within Meta AI, we are testing a standalone app to build on that momentum," Meta said in a statement. "We’ve seen that users are increasingly leaning into the format to create, discover, and share AI-generated video with friends. This standalone app provides a dedicated home for that experience, offering people a more focused and immersive environment. We will look to expand the app further based on what we learn from the community."
  
  Meta has yet to share specific numbers for how many people actually use Vibes, but the company does claim that Meta AI usage has continued to grow since Vibes launched. Breaking the feature out into its own app could allow Meta to add more functionality without cluttering the existing Meta AI app. The company believes AI-generated content will be the next big source of engagement on platforms, and said in an October 2025 earnings call that it planned to push more AI images and videos into its recommendation algorithm. A dedicated app for creating videos like Vibes could be one way Meta hopes to do that.
  
  As Meta9s main competitor in the burgeoning field of AI-first social media, OpenAI has continued to iterate on its Sora app, adding ways for characters and pets to cameo in videos, and signing a deal with Disney to allow users to generate content with Disney characters. Considering the company has licensed celebrity likenesses in the past, it doesn9t seem impossible that Meta could pursue similar deals. Whatever happens, AI-generated videos appear like they9ll be increasingly inescapable.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-is-giving-its-ai-slop-feed-an-app-of-its-own-192208200.html?src=rss

• Project Hail Mary is getting its own LEGO set
  The upcoming science fiction film Project Hail Mary is getting a LEGO set. This is fascinating because LEGO typically makes sets based on long-standing franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter. Project Hail Mary doesn9t even hit theaters until March 20.
  
  It9s not an entirely new IP. The movie is based on a 2021 book written by Andy Weir, the same author behind The Martian. It9s cool to see a LEGO set based on something more contemporary than its usual fare.
  
  The 830-piece set looks pretty nifty. It includes a replica of The Hail Mary spaceship in all of its glory, complete with minifigures of teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace and his ultra-cute alien buddy that the whole world will likely fall in love with once the film hits.
  LEGO
  The set also comes with a functional display stand and a crank that moves the components around to simulate centrifugal gravity. The minifigures can even be arranged to recreate an iconic scene from the book and, likely, the movie.
  
  LEGO9s Project Hail Mary set is available for preorder right now and costs $100. It ships on March 1, giving fans around 20 days to build it before the movie hits theaters.
  
  The film involves a reluctant astronaut attempting to solve a mystery as to why the sun is dying. It stars Ryan Gosling and is directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind the Spiderverse films and, incidentally, The LEGO Movie.
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/project-hail-mary-is-getting-its-own-lego-set-191106809.html?src=rss

• The CIA stops publishing The World Factbook
  The US Central Intelligence Agency is ending one of its popular services, The World Factbook. Over the decades, this reference has provided readers with information about different countries and communities around the world. The post from the CIA announcing the news didn9t provide any information about why it will stop offering The World Factbook. The agency was subject to the same buyouts and job cuts that decimated much of the federal workforce in 2025, so maybe this type of public-facing tool is no longer a priority. 
  
  This reference guide was first published in 1962 as The National Basic Intelligence Factbook. That original tome was classified, but as other government departments began using it, an unclassified version for the public was released in 1971. It became a digital resource on the CIA website in 1997.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-cia-stops-publishing-the-world-factbook-184419024.html?src=rss

• How to stream the 2026 Super Bowl for free: Patriots vs. Seahawks time, where to watch and more
  
  The 2026 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will air on NBC this Sunday, Feb. 8. The game will also stream on Peacock. If you don9t have NBC over the air and don9t subscribe to Peacock, there are still ways to watch Super Bowl LX — and Bad Bunny9s history-making halftime show — for free. Here9s how to tune in. 
  How to watch Super Bowl LX free:
  
  
  
  
  Date: Sunday, Feb. 8
  
  Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
  
  Location: Levi9s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
  
  TV channel: NBC, Telemundo
  
  Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NFL+ and more
  2026 Super Bowl game channel
  Super Bowl LX will air on NBC. A Spanish-language broadcast is available on Telemundo. 
  How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl for free
  You can stream NBC and Telemundo on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV; both offer free trials and are among Engadget9s choices for best streaming services for live TV. (Note that Fubo and NBC are currently in the midst of a contract dispute and NBC channels are not available on the platform.)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What time is the 2026 Super Bowl?
  The 2026 Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 8. Green Day will be performing a pre-game special starting at 6 p.m. ET.
  Who is playing in the Super Bowl?
  The AFC champions, the New England Patriots, will play the NFC champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
  Where is the 2026 Super Bowl being played?
  The 2026 Super Bowl will be held at Levi9s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., home of the San Francisco 49ers.
  Who is performing at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?
  Bad Bunny is headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance. You can expect that show to begin after the second quarter, likely between 8-8:30 p.m. ET. Green Day will perform a pre-game show starting at 6 p.m. ET. If you9re tuning in before the game, singer Charlie Puth will perform the National Anthem, Brandi Carlile is scheduled to sing "America the Beautiful," and Grammy winner Coco Jones will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing." 
  More ways to watch Super Bowl LX
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-stream-the-2026-super-bowl-for-free-patriots-vs-seahawks-time-where-to-watch-and-more-124512202.html?src=rss

• EU OS: A Bold Step Toward Digital Sovereignty for Europe
  Image
  A new initiative, called "EU OS," has been launched to develop a Linux-based operating system tailored specifically for the public sector organizations of the European Union (EU). This community-driven project aims to address the EU's unique needs and challenges, focusing on fostering digital sovereignty, reducing dependency on external vendors, and building a secure, self-sufficient digital ecosystem.
  What Is EU OS?
  EU OS is not an entirely novel operating system. Instead, it builds upon a Linux foundation derived from Fedora, with the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It draws inspiration from previous efforts such as France's GendBuntu and Munich's LiMux, which aimed to provide Linux-based systems for public sector use. The goal remains the same: to create a standardized Linux distribution that can be adapted to different regional, national, and sector-specific needs within the EU.
  
  Rather than reinventing the wheel, EU OS focuses on standardization, offering a solid Linux foundation that can be customized according to the unique requirements of various organizations. This approach makes EU OS a practical choice for the public sector, ensuring broad compatibility and ease of implementation across diverse environments.
  The Vision Behind EU OS
  The guiding principle of EU OS is the concept of "public money – public code," ensuring that taxpayer money is used transparently and effectively. By adopting an open-source model, EU OS eliminates licensing fees, which not only lowers costs but also reduces the dependency on a select group of software vendors. This provides the EU’s public sector organizations with greater flexibility and control over their IT infrastructure, free from the constraints of vendor lock-in.
  
  Additionally, EU OS offers flexibility in terms of software migration and hardware upgrades. Organizations can adapt to new technologies and manage their IT evolution at a manageable cost, both in terms of finances and time.
  
  However, there are some concerns about the choice of Fedora as the base for EU OS. While Fedora is a solid and reliable distribution, it is backed by the United States-based Red Hat. Some argue that using European-backed projects such as openSUSE or KDE's upcoming distribution might have aligned better with the EU's goal of strengthening digital sovereignty.
  Conclusion
  EU OS marks a significant step towards Europe's digital independence by providing a robust, standardized Linux distribution for the public sector. By reducing reliance on proprietary software and vendors, it paves the way for a more flexible, cost-effective, and secure digital ecosystem. While the choice of Fedora as the base for the project has raised some questions, the overall vision of EU OS offers a promising future for Europe's public sector in the digital age.
  
  Source: It's FOSS
  European Union

• Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight
  
  Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight
  
  Linux kernel lead developer Linus Torvalds has admitted to forgetting to release version 6.14, attributing the oversight to his own lapse in memory. Torvalds is known for releasing new Linux kernel candidates and final versions on Sunday afternoons, typically accompanied by a post detailing the release. If he is unavailable due to travel or other commitments, he usually informs the community ahead of time, so users don’t worry if there’s a delay.
  
  In his post on March 16, Torvalds gave no indication that the release might be delayed, instead stating, “I expect to release the final 6.14 next weekend unless something very surprising happens.” However, Sunday, March 23rd passed without any announcement.
  
  On March 24th, Torvalds wrote in a follow-up message, “I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon schedule,” adding, “But no. It’s just pure incompetence.” He further explained that while he had been clearing up unrelated tasks, he simply forgot to finalize the release. “D'oh,” he joked.
  
  Despite this minor delay, Torvalds’ track record of successfully managing the Linux kernel’s development process over the years remains strong. A single day’s delay is not critical, especially since most Linux users don't urgently need the very latest version.
  
  The new 6.14 release introduces several important features, including enhanced support for writing drivers in Rust—an ongoing topic of discussion among developers—support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chip, a fix for the GhostWrite vulnerability in certain RISC-V processors from Alibaba’s T-Head Semiconductor, and a completed NTSYNC driver update that improves the WINE emulator’s ability to run Windows applications, particularly games, on Linux.
  
  Although the 6.14 release went smoothly aside from the delay, Torvalds expressed that version 6.15 may present more challenges due to the volume of pending pull requests. “Judging by my pending pile of pull requests, 6.15 will be much busier,” he noted.
  
  You can download the latest kernel here.
  Linus Torvalds kernel

• AerynOS 2025.03 Alpha Released with GNOME 48, Mesa 25, and Linux Kernel 6.13.8
  Image
  AerynOS 2025.03 has officially been released, introducing a variety of exciting features for Linux users. The release includes the highly anticipated GNOME 48 desktop environment, which comes with significant improvements like HDR support, dynamic triple buffering, and a Wayland color management protocol. Other updates include a battery charge limiting feature and a Wellbeing option aimed at improving user experience.
  
  This release, while still in alpha, incorporates Linux kernel 6.13.8 and the updated Mesa 25.0.2 graphics stack, alongside tools like LLVM 19.1.7 and Vulkan SDK 1.4.309.0. Additionally, the Moss package manager now integrates os-info to generate more detailed OS metadata via a JSON file.
  
  Future plans for AerynOS include automated package updates, easier rollback management, improved disk handling with Rust, and fractional scaling enabled by default. The installer has also been revamped to support full disk wipes and dynamic partitioning.
  
  Although still considered an alpha release, AerynOS 2025.03 can be downloaded and tested right now from its official website.
  
  Source: 9to5Linux
  AerynOS

• Xojo 2025r1: Big Updates for Developers with Linux ARM Support, Web Drag and Drop, and Direct App Store Publishing
  Image
  Xojo has just rolled out its latest release, Xojo 2025 Release 1, and it’s packed with features that developers have been eagerly waiting for. This major update introduces support for running Xojo on Linux ARM, including Raspberry Pi, brings drag-and-drop functionality to the Web framework, and simplifies app deployment with the ability to directly submit apps to the macOS and iOS App Stores.
  
  Here’s a quick overview of what’s new in Xojo 2025r1:
  1. Linux ARM IDE Support
  Xojo 2025r1 now allows developers to run the Xojo IDE on Linux ARM devices, including popular platforms like Raspberry Pi. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for developers who want to create apps for ARM-based devices without the usual complexity. Whether you’re building for a Raspberry Pi or other ARM devices, this update makes it easier than ever to get started.
  2. Web Drag and Drop
  One of the standout features in this release is the addition of drag-and-drop support for web applications. Now, developers can easily drag and drop visual controls in their web projects, making it simpler to create interactive, user-friendly web applications. Plus, the WebListBox has been enhanced with support for editable cells, checkboxes, and row reordering via dragging. No JavaScript required!
  3. Direct App Store Publishing
  Xojo has also streamlined the process of publishing apps. With this update, developers can now directly submit macOS and iOS apps to App Store Connect right from the Xojo IDE. This eliminates the need for multiple steps and makes it much easier to get apps into the App Store, saving valuable time during the development process.
  4. New Desktop and Mobile Features
  This release isn’t just about web and Linux updates. Xojo 2025r1 brings some great improvements for desktop and mobile apps as well. On the desktop side, all projects now include a default window menu for macOS apps. On the mobile side, Xojo has introduced new features for Android and iOS, including support for ColorGroup and Dark Mode on Android, and a new MobileColorPicker for iOS to simplify color selection.
  5. Performance and IDE Enhancements
  Xojo’s IDE has also been improved in several key areas. There’s now an option to hide toolbar captions, and the toolbar has been made smaller on Windows. The IDE on Windows and Linux now features modern Bootstrap icons, and the Documentation window toolbar is more compact. In the code editor, developers can now quickly navigate to variable declarations with a simple Cmd/Ctrl + Double-click. Plus, performance for complex container layouts in the Layout Editor has been enhanced.
  What Does This Mean for Developers?
  Xojo 2025r1 brings significant improvements across all the platforms that Xojo supports, from desktop and mobile to web and Linux. The added Linux ARM support opens up new opportunities for Raspberry Pi and ARM-based device development, while the drag-and-drop functionality for web projects will make it easier to create modern, interactive web apps. The ability to publish directly to the App Store is a game-changer for macOS and iOS developers, reducing the friction of app distribution.
  How to Get Started
  Xojo is free for learning and development, as well as for building apps for Linux and Raspberry Pi. If you’re ready to dive into cross-platform development, paid licenses start at $99 for a single-platform desktop license, and $399 for cross-platform desktop, mobile, or web development. For professional developers who need additional resources and support, Xojo Pro and Pro Plus licenses start at $799. You can also find special pricing for educators and students.
  
  Download Xojo 2025r1 today at xojo.com.
  Final Thoughts
  With each new release, Xojo continues to make cross-platform development more accessible and efficient. The 2025r1 release is no exception, delivering key updates that simplify the development process and open up new possibilities for developers working on a variety of platforms. Whether you’re a Raspberry Pi enthusiast or a mobile app developer, Xojo 2025r1 has something for you.
  Xojo ARM

• New 'Mirrored' Network Mode Introduced in Windows Subsystem for Linux
  
  Microsoft's Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) continues to evolve with the release of WSL 2 version 0.0.2. This update introduces a set of opt-in preview features designed to enhance performance and compatibility.
  
  Key additions include "Automatic memory reclaim" which dynamically optimizes WSL's memory footprint, and "Sparse VHD" to shrink the size of the virtual hard disk file. These improvements aim to streamline resource usage.
  
  Additionally, a new "mirrored networking mode" brings expanded networking capabilities like IPv6 and multicast support. Microsoft claims this will improve VPN and LAN connectivity from both the Windows host and Linux guest. 
  
  Complementing this is a new "DNS Tunneling" feature that changes how DNS queries are resolved to avoid compatibility issues with certain network setups. According to Microsoft, this should reduce problems connecting to the internet or local network resources within WSL.
  
  Advanced firewall configuration options are also now available through Hyper-V integration. The new "autoProxy" feature ensures WSL seamlessly utilizes the Windows system proxy configuration.
  
  Microsoft states these features are currently rolling out to Windows Insiders running Windows 11 22H2 Build 22621.2359 or later. They remain opt-in previews to allow testing before final integration into WSL.
  
  By expanding WSL 2 with compelling new capabilities in areas like resource efficiency, networking, and security, Microsoft aims to make Linux on Windows more performant and compatible. This evolutionary approach based on user feedback highlights Microsoft's commitment to WSL as a key part of the Windows ecosystem.
  Windows

• Linux Threat Report: Earth Lusca Deploys Novel SprySOCKS Backdoor in Attacks on Government Entities
  
  The threat actor Earth Lusca, linked to Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups, has been observed utilizing a new Linux backdoor dubbed SprySOCKS to target government organizations globally. 
  
  As initially reported in January 2022 by Trend Micro, Earth Lusca has been active since at least 2021 conducting cyber espionage campaigns against public and private sector targets in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Their tactics include spear-phishing and watering hole attacks to gain initial access. Some of Earth Lusca's activities overlap with another Chinese threat cluster known as RedHotel.
  
  In new research, Trend Micro reveals Earth Lusca remains highly active, even expanding operations in the first half of 2023. Primary victims are government departments focused on foreign affairs, technology, and telecommunications. Attacks concentrate in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Balkans regions. 
  
  After breaching internet-facing systems by exploiting flaws in Fortinet, GitLab, Microsoft Exchange, Telerik UI, and Zimbra software, Earth Lusca uses web shells and Cobalt Strike to move laterally. Their goal is exfiltrating documents and credentials, while also installing additional backdoors like ShadowPad and Winnti for long-term spying.
  
  The Command and Control server delivering Cobalt Strike was also found hosting SprySOCKS - an advanced backdoor not previously publicly reported. With roots in the Windows malware Trochilus, SprySOCKS contains reconnaissance, remote shell, proxy, and file operation capabilities. It communicates over TCP mimicking patterns used by a Windows trojan called RedLeaves, itself built on Trochilus.
  
  At least two SprySOCKS versions have been identified, indicating ongoing development. This novel Linux backdoor deployed by Earth Lusca highlights the increasing sophistication of Chinese state-sponsored threats. Robust patching, access controls, monitoring for unusual activities, and other proactive defenses remain essential to counter this advanced malware.
  
  The Trend Micro researchers emphasize that organizations must minimize attack surfaces, regularly update systems, and ensure robust security hygiene to interrupt the tactics, techniques, and procedures of relentless threat groups like Earth Lusca.
  Security

• Linux Kernel Faces Reduction in Long-Term Support Due to Maintenance Challenges
  
  The Linux kernel is undergoing major changes that will shape its future development and adoption, according to Jonathan Corbet, Linux kernel developer and executive editor of Linux Weekly News. Speaking at the Open Source Summit Europe, Corbet provided an update on the latest Linux kernel developments and a glimpse of what's to come.
  
  A major change on the horizon is a reduction in long-term support (LTS) for kernel versions from six years to just two years. Corbet explained that maintaining old kernel branches indefinitely is unsustainable and most users have migrated to newer versions, so there's little point in continuing six years of support. While some may grumble about shortened support lifecycles, the reality is that constantly backporting fixes to ancient kernels strains maintainers.
  
  This maintainer burnout poses a serious threat, as Corbet highlighted. Maintaining Linux is largely a volunteer effort, with only about 200 of the 2,000+ developers paid for their contributions. The endless demands on maintainers' time from fuzz testing, fixing minor bugs, and reviewing contributions takes a toll. Prominent maintainers have warned they need help to avoid collapse. Companies relying on Linux must realize giving back financially is in their interest to sustain this vital ecosystem. 
  
  The Linux kernel is also wading into waters new with the introduction of Rust code. While Rust solves many problems, it also introduces new complexities around language integration, evolving standards, and maintainer expertise. Corbet believes Rust will pass the point of no return when core features depend on it, which may occur soon with additions like Apple M1 GPU drivers. Despite skepticism in some corners, Rust's benefits likely outweigh any transition costs.
  
  On the distro front, Red Hat's decision to restrict RHEL cloning sparked community backlash. While business considerations were at play, Corbet noted technical factors too. Using older kernels with backported fixes, as RHEL does, risks creating divergent, vendor-specific branches. The Android model of tracking mainline kernel dev more closely has shown security benefits. Ultimately, Linux works best when aligned with the broader community.
  
  In closing, Corbet recalled the saying "Linux is free like a puppy is free." Using open source seems easy at first, but sustaining it long-term requires significant care and feeding. As Linux is incorporated into more critical systems, that maintenance becomes ever more crucial. The kernel changes ahead are aimed at keeping Linux healthy and vibrant for the next generation of users, businesses, and developers.
  kernel

• Linux Celebrates 32 Years with the Release of 6.6-rc2 Version
  
  Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Linus Torvalds introducing the inaugural Linux 0.01 kernel version, and celebrating this milestone, Torvalds has launched the Linux 6.6-rc2. Among the noteworthy updates are the inclusion of a feature catering to the ASUS ROG Flow X16 tablet's mode handling and the renaming of the new GenPD subsystem to pmdomain.
  
  The Linux 6.6 edition is progressing well, brimming with exciting new features that promise to enhance user experience. Early benchmarks are indicating promising results, especially on high-core-count servers, pointing to a potentially robust and efficient update in the Linux series.
  
  Here is what Linus Torvalds had to say in today's announcement:
  Another week, another -rc.I think the most notable thing about 6.6-rc2 is simply that it'sexactly 32 years to the day since the 0.01 release. And that's a roundnumber if you are a computer person.Because other than the random date, I don't see anything that reallystands out here. We've got random fixes all over, and none of it looksparticularly strange. The genpd -> pmdomain rename shows up in thediffstat, but there's no actual code changes involved (make sure touse "git diff -M" to see them as zero-line renames).And other than that, things look very normal. Sure, the architecturefixes happen to be mostly parisc this week, which isn't exactly theusual pattern, but it's also not exactly a huge amount of changes.Most of the (small) changes here are in drivers, with some tracingfixes and just random things. The shortlog below is short enough toscroll through and get a taste of what's been going on. Linus Torvalds

• Introducing Bavarder: A User-Friendly Linux Desktop App for Quick ChatGPT Interaction
  
  Want to interact with ChatGPT from your Linux desktop without using a web browser?
  
  Bavarder, a new app, allows you to do just that.
  
  Developed with Python and GTK4/libadwaita, Bavarder offers a simple concept: pose a question to ChatGPT, receive a response, and promptly copy the answer (or your inquiry) to the clipboard for pasting elsewhere.
  
  With an incredibly user-friendly interface, you won't require AI expertise (or a novice blogger) to comprehend it. Type your question in the top box, click the blue send button, and wait for a generated response to appear at the bottom. You can edit or modify your message and repeat the process as needed.
  
  During our evaluation, Bavarder employed BAI Chat, a GPT-3.5/ChatGPT API-based chatbot that's free and doesn't require signups or API keys. Future app versions will incorporate support for alternative backends, such as ChatGPT 4 and Hugging Chat, and allow users to input an API key to utilize ChatGPT3.
  
  At present, there's no option to regenerate a response (though you can resend the same question for a potentially different answer). Due to the lack of a "conversation" view, tracking a dialogue or following up on answers can be challenging — but Bavarder excels for rapid-fire questions.
  
  As with any AI, standard disclaimers apply. Responses might seem plausible but could contain inaccurate or false information. Additionally, it's relatively easy to lead these models into irrational loops, like convincing them that 2 + 2 equals 106 — so stay alert!
  
  Overall, Bavarder is an attractive app with a well-defined purpose. If you enjoy ChatGPT and similar technologies, it's worth exploring.
  ChatGPT AI

• LibreOffice 7.5.3 Released: Third Maintenance Update Brings 119 Bug Fixes to Popular Open-Source Office Suite
  
  Today, The Document Foundation unveiled the release and widespread availability of LibreOffice 7.5.3, which serves as the third maintenance update to the current LibreOffice 7.5 open-source and complimentary office suite series.
  
  Approximately five weeks after the launch of LibreOffice 7.5.2, LibreOffice 7.5.3 arrives with a new set of bug fixes for those who have successfully updated their GNU/Linux system to the LibreOffice 7.5 series.
  
  LibreOffice 7.5.3 addresses a total of 119 bugs identified by users or uncovered by LibreOffice developers. For a more comprehensive understanding of these bug fixes, consult the RC1 and RC2 changelogs.
  
  You can download LibreOffice 7.5.3 directly from the LibreOffice website��or from SourceForge as binary installers for DEB or RPM-based GNU/Linux distributions. A source tarball is also accessible for individuals who prefer to compile the software from sources or for system integrators.
  
  All users operating the LibreOffice 7.5 office suite series should promptly update their installations to the new point release, which will soon appear in the stable software repositories of your GNU/Linux distributions.
  
  In early February 2023, LibreOffice 7.5 debuted as a substantial upgrade to the widely-used open-source office suite, introducing numerous features and improvements. These enhancements encompass major upgrades to dark mode support, new application and MIME-type icons, a refined Single Toolbar UI, enhanced PDF Export, and more.
  
  Seven maintenance updates will support LibreOffice 7.5 until November 30th, 2023. The next point release, LibreOffice 7.5.4, is scheduled for early June and will include additional bug fixes.
  
  The Document Foundation once again emphasizes that the LibreOffice office suite's "Community" edition is maintained by volunteers and members of the Open Source community. For enterprise implementations, they suggest using the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners.
  LibreOffice