All the News that Matters

• Fedora 42: singularity-ce 4.3.6 Upgrade Security Advisory 2025-3ff2f4efe3
  Upgrade to 4.3.6 upstream version.

• Fedora 43: singularity-ce Upgrade for CVE-2025-67499 Security Issue
  Upgrade to 4.3.6 upstream version.

• openSUSE: duc Moderate Buffer Logic Error Patch CVE-2025-13654
  An update that fixes one vulnerability is now available.

• Mageia 9: nvidia-current Display Corruption Bug Fix MGAA-2025-0106
  MGAA-2025-0106 - Updated nvidia-current & ldetect-lst packages fix bug

• openSUSE: gnutls Moderate Buffer Overflow Security Fix SUSE-SU-2025:4525-1
  An update that solves one vulnerability can now be installed.

• SUSE: gnutls Moderate Update CVE-2025-9820 Buffer Overflow Alert
  An update that solves one vulnerability can now be installed.

• QNX Introduces a Self-Hosted Developer Desktop
  QNX has released a self-hosted Developer Desktop for QNX 8.0, featuring an XFCE desktop on Wayland with native compilation support.

• Ubuntu's Rust Infatuation, New Optimizations & Other Ubuntu Linux 2025 Highlights
  It was a very interesting year for Ubuntu Linux. Ahead of the important Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release due out this coming April, Ubuntu Linux this year was expeditiously migrating to new Rust-based system tools like sudo-rs and Rust Coreutils, new performance optimizations continued to be explored for bettering the out-of-the-box Ubuntu performance, better ARM64 support with its desktop ISO, and enhancing the Snapdragon X Elite laptop support were among the Ubuntu highlights in 2025...

• PorteuX 2.5 Is Out with Flatpak Support, Cinnamon 6.6, COSMIC 1.0, and Linux 6.18
  The Slackware-based PorteuX 2.5 distribution, inspired by Slax and Porteus and designed to be super fast, small, portable, modular, and immutable, is out today with various updates and changes.

• New Linux Patches Improve exFAT Read Performance Via Multi-Cluster Mapping
  For those using Microsoft's exFAT file-system under Linux for the likes of flash drives and SD cards, a new patch series posted today aims to enhance the read performance. The new patches are shown to improve performance by about 10% while also having lower overhead...

• GStreamer 1.26.10 Released with Support for FLAC Audio in DASH Manifests
  The GStreamer project released GStreamer 1.26.10 as the tenth maintenance update to the latest GStreamer 1.26 series of this popular and powerful open-source, free, and cross-platform multimedia framework.

• AMD RDNA3/RDNA4 Go Down Hard On Linux 6.19, But Here's How The Older AMD GPUs End Out 2025
  As part of the various end-of-year benchmarking comparisons on Phoronix and with Linux 6.19 switching older AMD GCN 1.0/1.1 graphics cards to the AMDGPU driver by default, I planned for a very large AMD Radeon graphics card comparison on the latest open-source Linux driver for ending out 2025. In the end though I was thwarted by newer AMD RDNA3 / RDNA4 graphics cards regressing hard on Linux 6.19 that led to ending this testing prematurely due to a show-stopping bug. In any case in this article offers a fresh look at older GCN and RDNA graphics cards on Linux 6.19 + Mesa 26.0-devel.

• Inkscape 1.4.3 Open-Source SVG Editor Improves PDF Import and Text on Path
  Inkscape 1.4.3 has been released today as the second maintenance update to the Inkscape 1.4 series of this open-source, cross-platform, and free SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) editor for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

• Wine 11.0-rc4 Brings 22 Bug Fixes
  Wine 11.0-rc4 is out today as the latest weekly release candidate in working toward the stable Wine 11.0 release in January...

• Postgresus Renamed to Databasus as Backup Tool Expands Beyond PostgreSQL
  Postgresus has been renamed to Databasus as the project evolves into a full backup management system with multi-database support.

• Phoenix Emerges as a Modern X Server Written From Scratch in Zig
  Phoenix is a new X server written from scratch in Zig, aiming to modernize X11 without relying on Xorg code.

• Google Looks To Upstream Its Propeller Tool To LLVM For More Performance
  Google's Propeller is a profile-guided, reflinking optimizer for large codebases. Propeller is built atop LLVM and can allow for whole-program optimizations. Google compiler engineers are now hoping to bring the Propeller tool into the upstream LLVM codebase...

• Super Simple KDE Plasma Customization (Nostrum Theme)
  n this video, I’m sharing a super simple KDE Plasma customization focused on a clean and minimal look. No overcomplicated tweaks, no heavy ricing , just a simple, clean KDE Plasma setup that looks good and stays practical for daily use

• Beginners Guide for Diff Command in Linux
  In this article, you will learn to use the diff command with its different options to compare differences in files and directory structures.

• LeafKVM is a Rockchip-based self-contained KVM with touchscreen and browser access
  Crowd Supply recently featured LeafKVM, a compact wireless KVM-over-IP device that provides remote access to computers, servers, and HDMI video sources without requiring software on the target system. It captures HDMI video and audio, emulates USB keyboard, mouse, and storage devices, and streams output directly to a web browser. The hardware platform is based on […]

• From Great to Greater: Our 5 Favorite ‘Distro of the Week’ Picks
  Forget arguing about Ubuntu vs. Debian. This roundup sticks to the distros that actually crossed our test bench in this year’s Distro of the Week column, and the five that rose above the rest.

• CamThink NeoEyes NE301 is an open-source STM32N6-based edge AI camera
  The NeoEyes NE301 by CamThink is described as a low-power edge AI camera built around STMicroelectronics’ STM32N6 microcontroller. The camera combines on-device neural network inference, a built-in web interface, and modular hardware design aimed at battery-powered and outdoor deployments. The camera is based on the STM32N6570 MCU, which integrates an Arm Cortex-M55 core with Helium […]

• Fix On The Way For One Of The Linux 6.19 Regressions: 52.4% Scheduler Regression
  The Linux 6.19 kernel has been a bit bumpy in the scheduler department but at least one fix is on the way for addressing fallout...

• CachyOS Plans New Server Edition With Hardened Defaults
  Arch-based CachyOS is working on a new Server Edition aimed at NAS, workstations, and hosting providers, featuring hardened defaults and optimized packages.

• NVIDIA CUDA Tile IR Open-Sourced
  As a wonderful Christmas gift to open-source fans, NVIDIA dropped their proprietary license on the CUDA Tile intermediate representation and has now made the IR open-source software...

• QEMU 10.2 Officially Released with Live Update Support and Improvements
  QEMU 10.2 has been released today as the latest stable version of this open-source machine emulator and virtualization software, a release that brings new features and improvements for next-generation emulation.

• Should Physicists Study the Question: What is Life?
  An astrophysicist at the University of Rochester writes that "many" of his colleagues in physics "have come to believe that a mystery is unfolding in every microbe, animal, and human." And it's a mystery that: - "Challenges basic assumptions physicists have held for centuries"- "May even help redefine the field for the next generation"- "Could answer essential questions about AI." In short, while physicists have favored a "reductionist" philosophy about the fundamental laws controlling the universe (energy, mattery, space, and time), "long-promised 'theories of everything' such as string theory, have not borne significant fruit:There are, however, ways other than reductionism to think about what's fundamental in the universe. Beginning in the 1980s, physicists (along with researchers in other fields) began developing new mathematical tools to study what's called "complexity" — systems in which the whole is far more than the sum of its parts. The end goal of reductionism was to explain everything in the universe as the result of particles and their interactions. Complexity, by contrast, recognizes that once lots of particles come together to produce macroscopic things — such as organisms — knowing everything about particles isn't enough to understand reality... Physicists have always been good at capturing the essential aspects of a system and casting those essentials in the language of mathematics... Now those skills must be brought to bear on an age-old question that is only just getting its proper due: What is life? Using these skills, physicists — working together with representatives of all the other disciplines that make up complexity science — may crack open the question of how life formed on Earth billions of years ago and how it might have formed on the distant alien worlds we can now explore with cutting-edge telescopes. Just as important, understanding why life, as an organized system, is different at a fundamental level from all the other stuff in the universe may help astronomers design new strategies for finding it in places bearing little resemblance to Earth. Analyzing life — no matter how alien — as a self-organizing information-driven system may provide the key to detecting biosignatures on planets hundreds of light-years away. Closer to home, studying the nature of life is likely essential to fully understanding intelligence — and building artificial versions. Throughout the current AI boom, researchers and philosophers have debated whether and when large language models might achieve general intelligence or even become conscious — or whether, in fact, some already have. The only way to properly assess such claims is to study, by any means possible, the sole agreed-upon source of general intelligence: life. Bringing the new physics of life to problems of AI may not only help researchers predict what software engineers can build; it may also reveal the limits of trying to capture life's essential character in silicon.
  
  
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• Free Software Foundation Receives 'Historic' Donations Worth Nearly $900K - in Monero
  On Wednesday (Christmas Eve), the Free Software Foundation announced it had received two major contributions totaling around $900,000 USD — in the cryptocurrency Monero. The two donations "are among some of the largest private gifts ever made to the organization," the FSF said in a statement. "The donors wish to remain anonymous," according to the FSF's statement:The organization is in its annual winter fundraising drive, currently at three-quarters of its $400,000 USD winter goal, and will now switch its focus to a member drive thanks in part to these donations...The donation will support the organization's technical team and infrastructure capacity, as well as strengthen its campaigns, education, licensing, and advocacy initiatives, and future opportunities. The FSF is seeking donations until year-end after which they aim to gain 100 associate members through its year-end fundraising ending January 16. The FSF's executive director said the donations prove "that software freedom is recognized more and more as a principal issue today, at the core of several other social movements people care about like privacy, ownership, and the right to repair... "We are proudly supported by a large variety of contributors who care about digital rights. All donations matter, whether $5 or $500,000."
  
  
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• Video Call Glitches Evoke Uncanniness, Damage Consequential Life Outcomes
  Those brief freezes and audio hiccups that plague video calls are not the benign nuisances that most people assume them to be, according to a new study published in Nature that found glitches during virtual interactions can meaningfully damage hiring prospects, reduce trust in healthcare providers and even correlate with lower chances of being granted parole. Researchers from Columbia, Cornell, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City conducted ten studies examining glitches across thousands of participants and real-world parole hearing transcripts. The core finding is that glitches harm interpersonal judgments because they break the illusion of face-to-face contact, triggering what psychologists call "uncanniness" -- a strange, creepy, or eerie feeling typically associated with humanoid robots or CGI characters that look almost but not quite human. In one experiment, participants watching a telehealth pitch chose to work with a health professional 77% of the time when no glitches occurred, but only 61% when brief freezes were present. The job interview studies found similar patterns, and when researchers examined 472 Kentucky parole hearings conducted over Zoom, they found that inmates were granted parole 60% of the time in glitch-free hearings versus 48% when transcripts indicated technical problems had occurred. The researchers ruled out simpler explanations like mere disruption or comprehension difficulties. Glitches inserted during natural pauses in speech -- where no information was lost -- still damaged evaluations. And critically, when participants watched presentations where a shared screen froze rather than a human face, glitches had no effect on judgments at all. The uncanniness only emerged when the technology broke the simulation of sitting across from another person.
  
  
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• Taiwan's iPass Releases Floppy Disk Pre-Paid Cash Card
  Taiwan's iPass has released a limited-edition prepaid payment card shaped exactly like a 3.5-inch floppy disk. The company, perhaps rightly so, felt the need to include a warning on the product listing: "This product only has a card function and does not have a 3.5mm [sic] disk function, please note before purchasing." The NFC-enabled novelty card went on sale starting Christmas Eve and comes in black or yellow finishes at 1:1 scale. It works across Taiwan's public transport network -- buses, trains, subways, taxis, and bike rentals -- as well as convenience stores like 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, supermarkets, pharmacies, and fast-food chains including McDonald's and Burger King. The floppy disk joins an increasingly absurd lineup of iPass form factors. Previous releases have included, Tom's Hardware reports, a Motorola DynaTAC replica, model trains, a flip-flop, an LED-lit Godzilla snow globe, and a blood bag. Taiwan's PCHome24 online store currently lists 838 different iPass card designs. A standard card costs NT$100 (about $3.20) and comes without stored value.
  
  
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• Toll Roads Are Spreading in America
  Toll roads are expanding across the U.S. as the traditional gas tax funding model for highways collapses. Indiana became the first state to authorize tolls on all of its existing interstate highways when Governor Mike Braun signed legislation in June. The federal gas tax hasn't been raised since 1993. In fiscal 2024, the federal government spent $27 billion more on road maintenance than it collected from fuel taxes, and at state and local levels, fuel taxes covered barely a quarter of road spending. Drivers currently pay to access just 6,300 miles of America's roughly 160,000 miles of highway. Most tolling projects have enjoyed bipartisan support -- Florida has more toll roads by distance than any other state, and Texas is second. But as Republicans embrace populism, the politics are shifting. In New York, almost all state Republicans fought congestion pricing, and President Donald Trump attempted to shut it down after taking office. Some Republicans now want to buy back pay-to-drive roads and make them free.
  
  
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• Rocket Crashes in Brazil's First Commercial Launch
  The first-ever commercial rocket launched at Brazil's Alcantara Space Center crashed soon after liftoff late earlier this week, dealing a blow to Brazilian aerospace ambitions and shares of South Korean satellite launch company Innospace. From a report: The rocket began its vertical trajectory as planned after liftoff [Monday] at 10:13 p.m. local time (0113 GMT) but fell to the ground after something went wrong 30 seconds into its flight, Innospace CEO Kim Soo-jong said in a letter to shareholders. The craft crashed within a pre-designated safety zone and did not harm anyone, he said. Brazil's air force said firefighters were sent to analyze the wreckage and impact zone. "We are deeply sorry that we failed to meet the expectations of our shareholders who supported our first commercial launch," the CEO wrote in the letter, which was posted on the company's website on December 23.Innospace shares plunged nearly 29% in Seoul in its biggest daily drop and heaviest daily trading volume since its July 2024 listing.
  
  
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• Mesh Networks Are About To Escape Apple, Amazon and Google Silos
  After more than two decades of promises and false starts in the mesh networking space, the smart home standards that Apple, Amazon and Google have each championed are finally set to escape their respective brand silos and work together in a single unified network. Starting January 1, 2026, Thread 1.4 becomes the Thread Group's only certified standard, bringing a crucial new capability called credential sharing. Devices from different manufacturers can now securely join the same mesh network -- an Amazon Echo Show and an Apple HomePod mini in the same house will both be able to control the same Nanoleaf lightbulb. This marks a significant departure from Thread 1.3, released in 2022, where each brand's mesh network connected only to devices from that same brand. The Thread Group launched in 2014 as a coalition led by Arm, Google's Nest Labs, and Samsung, later welcoming Apple and Amazon into the fold. Thread 1.4 handles low-power smart home devices and sensors, but homes also need high-bandwidth connections for laptops and phones. Wi-Fi 7 mesh serves that purpose and the Matter protocol acts as a translation layer between the two different mesh networks. Both Wi-Fi 7 and Matter arrived in products on store shelves in 2025.
  
  
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• Driverless Future Gains Momentum With Global Robotaxi Deployments
  The global push to put autonomous taxis on public roads is accelerating as ride-hailing companies and technology firms advance from pilot programs toward limited commercial rollouts in cities across China, the United States, Europe and the Middle East. WeRide and Uber launched Level 4 fully driverless robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi in November and began offering robotaxi passenger rides on Uber's platform in Dubai the following month. Amazon's Zoox started offering free rides to select early users in parts of San Francisco in November after launching its autonomous ride-hailing service on the Las Vegas Strip in September. Alphabet's Waymo now operates services in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles -- the latter two having launched in June and November 2024 respectively. Baidu's Apollo Go has been operating without safety drivers in Chongqing and Wuhan since securing permits in August 2022 and has since expanded to Shenzhen and Beijing. Pony.ai launched paid robotaxi services in Guangzhou in February and Shanghai in August. Tesla began a limited paid robotaxi rollout in Austin, Texas in June using Model Y SUVs, though the vehicles still require a safety monitor onboard. The expansion will continue in 2026: Waymo plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in London, and Momenta is preparing a luxury robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi through a partnership with Mercedes-Benz and UAE taxi operator Lumo.
  
  
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• NASA Chief Says US Will Return To Moon Within Trump's Second Term
  NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who was confirmed by the Senate just last week after a turbulent nomination process that stretched across most of 2025, said Friday that the United States will return to the moon within President Donald Trump's second term. Isaacman made the comments during an interview on CNBC, calling Trump's recommitment to lunar exploration key to unlocking what he described as an "orbital economy." He said: "We want to have that opportunity to explore and realize the scientific, economic and national security potential on the moon," he said. The potential opportunities include establishing space data centers and infrastructure on the moon, as well as mining Helium-3, a rare gas embedded in the lunar surface that could serve as fuel for fusion power. NASA is currently working on its Artemis campaign alongside SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $9.9 billion to the agency earlier this year. The Artemis II mission, NASA's first crewed test flight using the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, is expected to launch in the near future. SpaceX is contracted to build the lunar landing system for the subsequent Artemis III mission. Isaacman was first nominated by Trump in December 2024 but had his nomination pulled in May over unspecified "prior associations." Trump renominated him in November.
  
  
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• New York To Require Social Media Platforms To Display Mental Health Warnings
  Social media platforms with infinite scrolling, auto-play and algorithmic feeds will be required to display warning labels about their potential harm to young users' mental health under a new law, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Friday. From a report: "Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since taking office, and that includes protecting our kids from the potential harms of social media features that encourage excessive use," Hochul said in a statement. This month Australia imposed a social media ban for children under 16. New York joins states like California and Minnesota that have similar social media laws. The New York law includes platforms that offer "addictive feeds," auto play or infinite scroll, according to the legislation. The law applies to conduct occurring partly or wholly in New York but not when the platform is accessed by users physically outside the state.
  
  
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• FFmpeg Developer Files DMCA Against Rockchip After Two-Year Wait for License Fix
  GitHub has disabled Rockchip's Media Process Platform repository after an FFmpeg developer filed a DMCA takedown notice, nearly two years after the open-source project first publicly accused the Chinese chipmaker of license violations. The notice, filed December 18, claims Rockchip copied thousands of lines of code from FFmpeg's libavcodec library -- including decoders for H.265, AV1, and VP9 formats -- stripped the original copyright notices, falsely claimed authorship and redistributed the code under Apache's permissive license rather than the original LGPL. FFmpeg first called out Rockchip in February 2024 for "blatantly copy and pasting FFmpeg code" into its driver, but the chipmaker's last response suggested no intention to resolve the matter. The DMCA notice requests either removal of the infringing files or restoration of proper attribution and an LGPL-compatible license.
  
  
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• Indian IT Was Supposed To Die From AI. Instead It's Billing for the Cleanup.
  Two years after generative AI was supposed to render India's $250 billion IT services industry obsolete, the sector is finding that enterprises still need someone to handle the unglamorous plumbing work that large-scale AI deployment demands. Less than 15% of organizations are meaningfully deploying the new technology, according to investment bank UBS, and Indian IT firms are positioning themselves to capture the preparatory work -- data cleanup, cloud migration, system integration -- that channel checks suggest could take two to three years before enterprise-wide AI becomes feasible. The financials have held up better than the doomsday predictions suggested. Infosys now calls AI-led volume opportunities a bigger tailwind than the deflation threat, a reversal from 2024, and orderbooks held steady in the third quarter even as pricing pressure filtered through renewals. Infosys expects its orderbook to grow more than 50% this quarter, anchored by an NHS deal worth $1.6 billion over 15 years. The companies have been restructuring accordingly. TCS cut headcount by 2% and invested in a 1GW data-centre network while acquiring Salesforce advisory firm Coastal Cloud. HCLTech reduced margins by 100 basis points and became one of the first large systems integrators to partner with OpenAI; this week it announced acquisitions of Jaspersoft for $240 million and Belgian firm Wobby to expand agentic AI capabilities. The bear case for the Indian IT sector assumed that AI would work out of the box. Two years in, it does not.
  
  
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• As AI Companies Borrow Billions, Debt Investors Grow Wary
  While stock investors have pushed AI-related shares to repeated highs this year, debt markets are telling a more cautious story as newer AI infrastructure companies find themselves paying significantly elevated interest rates to borrow money. Applied Digital, a data center builder, sold $2.35 billion of debt in November at a 9.25% coupon -- roughly 3.75% above similarly rated companies, or about 70% more in interest costs. The pattern has repeated across several deals. Wulf Compute, a subsidiary of Bitcoin-miner-turned-data-center-operator Terawulf, raised $3.2 billion in mid-October at 7.75%, well above the 5.5% average yield for similarly rated issuers. Cipher Compute sold $1.7 billion in early November at just over 7%. CoreWeave, which rents data centers and installs computing systems for companies like OpenAI and Meta, raised $1.75 billion in July at 9%. The company's bonds have since fallen to around 90 cents on the dollar, pushing the effective yield above 12% -- nearly double the average for companies at its single-B rating level. "We just have to be much more pessimistic and not buy into the hype," said Will Smith, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein. Construction delays and uncertain demand for AI computing power remain key concerns for lenders who, unlike equity investors, have no upside beyond getting their principal back.
  
  
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• The Economic Divide Between Big and Small Companies Is Growing
  While America's largest corporations are riding a wave of surging profits and AI-fueled stock market enthusiasm to record highs, small businesses across the country are cutting staff and scaling back operations as years of high inflation, cautious consumers and tariff confusion take their toll. Private firms with fewer than 50 workers have steadily shed jobs over the past six months, according to payroll processor ADP, cutting 120,000 positions in November alone. Midsize and large firms continued adding jobs during the same period. The divergence mirrors what's happening among American consumers. The Federal Reserve's latest beige book noted that overall consumer spending declined further even as higher-end retail spending remained resilient. Workers at small businesses tend to earn less than those at large companies, and stock market gains from large public company shares flow mostly to wealthier Americans. Small businesses -- those with up to 500 workers -- employ nearly half the American workforce and represent more than 40% of GDP, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But their profits are slightly lower than a year ago, per a Bank of America Institute analysis. Net income at S&P 500 companies rose 12.9% from a year earlier in the third quarter.
  
  
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• Retreating From EVs Could Be Hazardous For Western Carmakers
  Western carmakers retreating from electric vehicles amid softening government mandates could find themselves in a precarious position as Chinese rivals continue gaining ground in the EV market they're choosing to de-prioritize. The EU on December 16th dropped its earlier plan to ban petrol car sales outright from 2035, instead requiring carmakers to cut emissions from new vehicles by 90% from 2021 levels. The day before, Ford announced a $19.5 billion asset writedown as it rethinks its EV strategy and ends sales of the all-electric F-150 pickup. In the U.S., the Trump administration has rolled back incentives and other measures that supported EVs. But Chinese brands controlled 10.7% of the all-electric car market in western Europe in the first ten months of 2025, up a percentage point from a year earlier, despite EU tariffs on Chinese EVs imposed in October 2024. Sales of Chinese hybrids, which aren't subject to those tariffs, have surged. EVs will eventually become the cheaper option as production expands and costs fall, meaning Western carmakers that slow down now risk giving competitors an unassailable lead.
  
  
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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]
  
  The post Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Lab Demo and Performance Insights  Part Two appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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]
  
  The post Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Architecture and Integration  Part One appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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]
  
  The post Kubernetes on Bare Metal for Maximum Performance appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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]
  
  The post Automating Compliance Management with UTMStacks Open Source SIEM & XDR appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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]
  
  The post A Simple Way to Install Talos Linux on Any Machine, with Any Provider appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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
  
  The post Using OpenTelemetry and the OTel Collector for Logs, Metrics, and Traces appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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]
  
  The post Project Tazama, A Project Hosted by LF Charities With Support From the Gates Foundation, Receives Digital Public Good Designation. appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• 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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• Advancing Xen on RISC-V: key updates
  At Vates, we are heavily invested in the advancement of Xen and the RISC-V architecture. RISC-V, a rapidly emerging open-source hardware architecture, is gaining traction due to its flexibility, scalability and openness, which align perfectly with our ethos of fostering open development ecosystems. Although the upstream version of Xen for RISC-V is not yet fully [0]
  
  The post Advancing Xen on RISC-V: key updates appeared first on Linux.com.
  

Engadget"Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics"

• New York State will require warning labels on social media platforms
  The State of New York will signed two bills into law last year aimed at protecting kids from social media.
  
  Concerns over the mental health effects of social media platforms on younger users have been mounting and government bodies have been increasingly taking action. A bill similar to the one in New York has been proposed in California. This year Australia became the first nation to ban social media for children, with Denmark soon to follow.
  
  Last year the US surgeon general said social media should come with warning labels and highlighted data associating social media use with increased anxiety and depression in youth. The risks of social media use on children9s mental health are multifactorial and are still being studied.
  
  We9ve reached out to Meta, Snap and TikTok for comment and will update if we hear back. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/new-york-state-will-require-warning-labels-on-social-media-platforms-210306716.html?src=rss

• What we listened to in 2025
  If streaming services’ year-in-review campaigns have shown us anything, it’s that we’ve spent a staggering amount of time drowning out the hum of everyday life with music, podcasts and audio series. And with some incredible new releases this year, we were really eatin’ good. Here are some of the Engadget team’s favorite things we listened to in 2025.
  Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea
  I became aware of Spiritbox in late 2024 shortly before the band dropped its latest album, Tsunami Sea. At the time, I was in a deep Sleep Token phase, and I don’t remember how I stumbled upon Spiritbox, but I’m sure glad I did. Not knowing anything about the band, I initially thought it had two singers: one for clean vocals and another for the harsh, guttural screams. 
  
  Well, I was wrong. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante handles it all, and she is a force of nature. After learning of a new band, I do what any self-respecting music nerd does: I looked up live videos of them on YouTube. The way LaPlante seamlessly transitions from airy, ambient singing to some of the best growls you’ll hear in metal music is effortless. And after seeing Spiritbox live in person earlier in December, I can attest to her ability to consistently nail both vocal styles for the entirety of an hour-long set. 
  
  My infatuation with Spiritbox isn’t just with the vocalist though. Guitarist Mike Stringer, LaPlante’s husband, also has a lot of unique abilities to offer. Stringer’s use of noise and whammy effects in his riffs create a signature style, not to mention his mix of nu-metal, djent and metalcore sensibilities. He also has some of the thickest guitar tones I’ve ever heard live, and I was mesmerized for the full set. Stringer’s guitar work on Tsunami Sea is a prime example of a  unique musician at the height of his powers. 
  
  Tsunami Sea takes you on a ride. The first two tracks are all-out ragers, and after a slight respite in “Perfect Soul” and “Keep Sweet,” the album’s best song comes fifth. I’ve heard LaPlante dedicate it to “all the people I love to fucking hate,” and it’s clearly written about her enemies. It’s also the perfect example of what this band is capable of. It’s three minutes of LaPlante’s screams interlaced with plenty of Stringer’s trademark guitar work. 
  
  The rest of the album showcases the band’s ability to blend dynamics, with “No Loss, No Love” and “Ride The Wave” providing the highlights on the back half of the record. The album’s title track is a great vehicle for LaPlante’s clean vocals, serving as the introduction to the album’s second act. If you’ve been enamored with Sleep Token this year like I have, give Spiritbox a go — you won’t be sorry you did. — Billy Steele, Deputy Editor, Reviews
  Bandsplain
  I didn’t discover Bandsplain in 2025, but I definitely listened to it more than any other podcast in terms of total time spent. Sure, that’s because most episodes are over three hours long, but I digress. Host Yasi Salek does a deep dive on “cult bands and iconic artists” to… ahem, bandsplain why people love them. There’s a deep catalog of back episodes, so there’s sure to be an in-depth analysis of a band you’re familiar with. But even if you think you know an artist, I’m willing to bet Salek will divulge parts of the story you weren’t aware of. 
  
  Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity is a top 5 all-timer for me, and Salek had plenty to offer about the narrative around that album I didn’t know. Her grunge series from 2024 was a history lesson I wish I’d had in middle school when I first discovered Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and the rest of the lot. An older episode about Nine Inch Nails served as the primer for me seeing the band live for the first time in September. And that’s the thing about the show: the back catalog holds up. If you’re waiting for the next installment to drop, there’s certainly something in the archives you’ll enjoy. 
  
  No shade to Salek’s colleagues at The Ringer, but the best episodes of Bandsplain are when the guest is a musician. Thursday front man Geoff Rickly was excellent on that Nine Inch Nails episode, and Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard had me on the edge of my seat when he was on to discuss The La’s — a band I’d never heard of before. I’d also highly recommend the episodes on Oasis and the more recent one on Alanis Morissette. But, really, you can’t go wrong starting from anywhere on the episode list. — B.S.
  Lucy Dacus - Forever is a Feeling 
  I remember being a teenager and hearing from an adult that they did not religiously seek out, research, evaluate and introduce new bands and songs into their lives as if all existence would cease without the life-sustaining energy of new music. I was confused, concerned and damn sure that wouldn’t happen to me. 
  
  You know where this story goes: Job. Kid. House. Spouse. Pets that will die if I don’t feed, walk, play with and/or medicate them. I allow the algorithm to feed me new songs but rarely does something stick, so I end up listening to tracks I bonded with in my teens and twenties. 
  
  This year, Blossom & Bones, a three-day music festival in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, managed to push through the churn and lodge new music into my brain. Along with my kid and some friends, I camped among some of the most beautiful landscapes imaginable and ambled over to the stage each evening for performances by Santigold, Ani DiFranco and about a dozen more. 
  
  Lucy Dacus, one third of the indie group Boygenius, did a one-hour set with plenty of songs from her latest album Forever is a Feeling. Hearing the songs for the first time, I felt like I’d been listening to them for years. Lilting harmonies and layered strings create a lovely backdrop for Dacus’s velvet voice, but there’s a sharpness to her observations about relationships, rejection and sex. I’ve been looping the album ever since. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter, Buying Advice
  Blanco White - “So Certain” (single)
  Early on the last concert of the day at that same festival, Blanco White took the stage. People were aimlessly milling about and the sun hadn’t yet set. Kids were playing on the lawn and the smell from the food trucks was intense, but I was enrapt by the four people on stage. The sad violin and strummy guitars floated with the hand-beat drum out into the red hills. The music sounded like I felt: rooted and wrapped in the harsh beauty of the desert and I was really glad to take that home with me. — A.S.
  Martian Revolution 
  If you9re as big a nerd as I am, you might know that Leo Tolstoy didn9t consider War and Peace to be a novel. The story is what most people read for, but in the author9s mind, all the drama was a parable to illustrate his grand theory of history.
  
  Over the last year, history podcaster Mike Duncan has accomplished a similar feat using a medium Tolstoy never imagined. Duncan9s Revolutions podcast has covered ten different revolutionary upheavals across history, starting with the English Civil War and ending with the Russian Revolution. After wrapping up the Bolsheviks, Duncan took a few episodes to suggest a grand theory of how revolutions unfold. For a while, it seemed like that was all we9d get. Then, in the middle of 2024, he started posting original sci-fi — without any indication that this tale, which followed future Martians revolting against their corporate overlords on Earth, was in any way different from the previous ten seasons.
  
  Part of what makes the Martian Revolution so excellent is Duncan9s deadpan delivery. He never once breaks character. He rattles off lists of fictional sources, apologizes for inaccuracies in prior episodes, and introduces made-up historical figures with the same gravity he once used to mention George Washington or Simon Bolivar. If you9re a fan of Revolutions, you9ll have a blast recognizing character archetypes. (Mabel Dore is the Liberal Noble! Timothy Werner is the Man of Blood!)
  
  But the podcast is great even if you9ve never listened to an episode of Revolutions. It has an excellent grasp of character and a sense of inevitable tragedy, but with moments of joy leavened throughout. I certainly hope we don9t wind up in the megacorp-ruled future of the podcast, but if we do, it9ll be a great consolation if it eventually turns out the way Duncan imagines. — Sam Chapman, Senior Writer
  Ron Gallo - Checkmate 
  My favorite artists are ones that surprise me, and Ron Gallo is a master of reinvention. He9s dabbled in absurdist punk, psychedelia, garage rock, Beatles-tinged pop and, now, stripped-down acoustic music. This is not a genre I am typically a fan of, Elliott Smith withstanding, but Checkmate is something special. His lyrical prowess is off the charts here, trading his usual wordplay for simple and emotionally-gutting truisms about life, love and, well, the end of the world. 
  
  Of course, the lyrics wouldn9t work if the songs weren9t good. The songs are very good. The title track is just about the perfect love song, with a primary hook that gets lost in your head for weeks. Other tracks offer hints of Mac DeMarco, Dan Fogelberg, Kevin Morby and just about everyone else who has crafted great songs on an acoustic guitar. It9s fitting that Gallo has found a home on the label Kill Rock Stars, which released so much of Elliott Smith9s work back in the day. As an aside, Gallo regularly posts songs about current events on TikTok and other social media platforms, which are worth checking out if you like stuff like Jesse Welles. — Lawrence Bonk, Contributing Reporter
  De La Soul - Cabin in the Sky
  There have been hip-hop albums that explored the finality and tragedy of death, but not many that truly tackled spirituality and long-term grief. De La Soul has done just that, following the passing of founding member Trugoy the Dove. This album serves as a final testament of sorts for Trugoy, as he9s heavily featured throughout. In that way, Cabin in the Sky is reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest9s 2016 masterpiece We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, which followed the death of rapper Phife Dawg. 
  
  Like Tribe9s modern classic, Cabin in the Sky is filled with absolute bangers. It features standout beats by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Trugoy, Jake One and others. The rhymes are great and all three primary De La members are given time to shine. Guest rappers like Common and Nas got the memo, delivering some of their most memorable verses in years. Heck, even Giancarlo Esposito is on board as the narrator. Some reviewers have dinged this album for being too long but, come on, that9s like complaining there9s too much pizza. It9s De La Soul. — L.B.
  FKA twigs - Eusexua
  This was a really good year for new music IMO, so much that I9ve been finding it pretty difficult to think back and settle on my favorite releases. But, FKA twigs9 Eusexua undeniably did some heavy lifting for me, pretty much carrying me through the first six or so months of the year without much competition, and I9ve circled right back to it as the year closes. It9s an album that somehow seems to meet every vibe. It9ll have you in club mode and ready for a night of sweaty, filthy dancing in under three minutes, or feeling bright and upbeat like a midday walk on the first day of spring — yet it still hits when you9re having a good ol9 car cry. 
  
  "Girl Feels Good" is for sure one of my most-played songs of the year, followed closely by "Eusexua," "Perfect Stranger," "Keep It, Hold It" and "Striptease." If ever I can9t decide what I9m in the mood to listen to, I throw this album on and it doesn9t disappoint. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor
  Faetooth - Labyrinthine 
  Faetooth9s sophomore album, Labyrinthine, is face-melting, melancholic perfection. The band describes its sound as "fairy doom," but don9t let that first word fool you into thinking it isn9t heavy as hell. Labyrinthine goes unbelievably hard, and will have you feeling like you9re eternally wandering a cursed bog, surrounded by the wailing of the unfortunate souls who came before you. Don9t believe me? Put on "White Noise." This is really an album that should be enjoyed in its entirety, though, and I can9t individually name half the songs on it because I tend to just keep the whole thing playing on rotation. — C.M. 
  Orville Peck - Appaloosa 
  This EP is truly a testament to my ability to run my obsessions into the ground, because it only came out in mid-November and somehow landed on my most-listened wrapup for the end of the year… which was released some two weeks later. It9s front-loaded with its strongest songs, a powerful and kind of haunting trio that just flows beautifully from one into the other: "Dreaded Sundown," to "Drift Away" into "Atchafalaya" (ft. Noah Cyrus). As a fan of musicals, I also loved the inclusion of "Maybe This Time," a cover from Cabaret, especially since I was pretty bummed to have missed Peck9s stint as the Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway this summer. — C.M.
  Case 63 
  I got into an audio series kick this year, and dove into shows like Unicorn Girl, Stalked! and more. But none of the dramatized fiction I listened to in 2025 had me hooked like Case 63. Setting aside that it’s voice-acted by A-listers Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, which is a phenomenal pairing that won me over on star power alone. The best thing about Case 63 is its storytelling. 
  
  Moore stars as a psychologist, meeting Isaac for the first time in a prison interview. Isaac has been claiming to be a traveler of sorts, and through recorded sessions and voice notes, we hear his side of the story, as well as her reactions and ultimate involvement in the adventures. Every step of the way, particularly in the beginning, there is clear explanation as to why the exchange is being recorded. It isn’t necessary, but it’s helpful in my buying into the realism of the story. 
  
  It isn’t just the method and technical aspects of the storytelling, of course. Narratively, Case 63 is a gripping ride, and thanks to its short episodes, it’s easy to binge really quickly. There is certainly a generous use of cliffhangers to help speed things along, but I found myself eager to devour the entire series in one commute. The story continued to linger in my mind days after I finished both existing seasons, and I’m hoping the new one drops soon. If you’re looking for a quick and easy sci-fi audio series, do not miss Case 63. — Cherlynn Low, Managing Editor
  Secure Love 
  I spent a lot of time this year trying to learn more about my attachment style and how it shows up in all the relationships in my life. Between Stephanie Rigg’s On Attachment podcast, the TV show Couples Therapy and all the books on the topic of attachment styles, trauma and more, I’ve consumed them all. And while they’ve all been helpful in different ways, one podcast stuck out to me this year. It’s hosted by Julie Menanno, MA, LMFT, LCPC, creator of the @TheSecureRelationship account on Instagram and the author of Secure Love: Create a relationship that lasts a lifetime. 
  
  You can probably tell from that introduction what Menanno’s work is all about. Relationships, from the lens of attachment styles. The Secure Love Podcast doesn’t just re-deliver the same information we’ve seen published across various media and platforms, though. Each season of the podcast (it’s partway through the second as of this writing) sees Menanno work with one couple through their negative cycles, using somatic practices to help each partner understand their emotions, triggers and reactions. Because we’re listening to real people talk about real-life happenings, it’s not only easy to relate, but listeners often see themselves in these scenarios. At the start of each episode, too, Menanno reads out or plays notes from the audience, and you can see how fellow listeners have reacted. 
  
  This season, for example, my friend and some other listeners seemed to really dislike Brian, the anxious male partner in this season’s pair. While I’ve certainly found some of Brian’s ways of speaking borderline offensive, I had a lot more sympathy for him as I started seeing his traits in my loved ones. I also started to identify with his partner Bethany, who Menanno typed as having an avoidant attachment style. 
  
  As I listened to Bethany and Brian describe the reasons they got into fights and explain where they were coming from, suddenly it felt like the world made sense. I saw similar patterns and reasonings in my own relationship, as well as those of my parents, relatives and friends. 
  
  It is slightly voyeuristic to listen to something so intimate, of course, but Menanno makes it all educational rather than just entertaining. She gently interrupts parts of each episode to tell the audience why she asks certain questions or what she’s attempting to achieve by asking Brian or Bethany to sit with their difficult feelings. 
  
  I found her method familiar, as I recently started working with a somatic coach whose approach is similar to Menanno’s, which is rooted in emotion-focused therapy (EFT). Staying with uncomfortable feelings makes me want to jump out of my skin, but being able to endure them, question why they arise and then understand where they come from is crucial to helping uncover the thinking that causes them. Sometimes they’re the result of flawed logic, catastrophic thinking or a simple lack of context, but often they’re very reasonable reactions. 
  
  If you’re looking to understand yourself and your emotions a bit better, or just want to get an idea of what EFT or couples therapy sounds like, I can’t recommend The Secure Love Podcast highly enough. — C.L.
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/what-we-listened-to-in-2025-201308584.html?src=rss

• The best iPad accessories for 2026
  The best iPad accessories can make an aging tablet feel like new again, or give you additional ways to use that new slab you just bought. Whether it9s a slim folio case, an Apple Pencil, a docking station or a paper-like screen protector, there are so many iPad accessories out there that can transform how you use your tablet on a regular basis — and make your iPad last longer, too. We9ve tested a plethora of accessories over the years, and these are the best iPad accessories you can get right now.
  Table of contents
  Which iPad generation do you own??
  
  iPad cases?
  
  iPad stands and docks?
  
  iPad keyboards and mice?
  
  iPad stylus?
  
  iPad chargers?
  
  iPad screen protectors?
  Which iPad generation do you own?
  Before you splurge on a bunch of accessories, you should double check which iPad generation you own. There are a couple of ways to do this: first, you can check the back of your tablet for its model number, which will start with an “A” and end with a series of numbers. You can also go into Settings on your iPad, then General and look up the model number in the top section. If you see a series of letters and numbers with a slash (“/“) in it, just tap that to reveal the iPad’s true model number.
  
  The most important iPad details to consider before buying accessories are the charging port, screen size and Apple Pencil compatibility. Most iPads now have USB-C charging, save for the now discontinued 9th-gen iPad that still requires a Lightning cable. Make sure to double check your iPad’s screen size before buying a folio for iPad or a screen protector — especially if you have the new iPad Air 11-inch. As for the Apple Pencil, check out this guide to how to choose the right Apple Pencil (and even replacement pencil tips) to make sure you9re getting the right one for the tablet you have.
  Best iPad accessories for 2026 iPad cases
  
  
  
  iPad stands and docks
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  iPad keyboards and mice
  
  
  
  iPad stylus
  
  
  
  iPad chargers
  
  
  
  iPad screen protectors
  If you’re a heavy user of the Apple Pencil or some other stylus, you should consider getting a screen protector for your new iPad. They pull double-duty: Not only do they act as a first line of defense if your iPad goes careening onto concrete, but they can also enhance the digital drawing and writing experience. Using a stylus on an iPad is strange at first because gliding the stylus nib over a glass surface feels nothing like “normal” writing. Matte screen protectors can get closer to replicating the pen-on-paper experience, and they also prevent the stylus nib from wearing down as quickly.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-ipad-accessories-130018595.html?src=rss

• You may soon be able to change your Gmail address
  A Google support page in Hindi says the ability to change your Gmail address is on the way. The feature would allow you to replace your current @support page (translated) says that "the ability to change your Google Account email address is gradually rolling out to all users." The change was first spotted on a Google Pixel forum on Telegram and was first reported in the press by 9to5Google.
  
  Google hasn9t made a formal announcement about the change. The English version of the support page still says you usually can9t change your @gmail.com address. Up to this point, Google has only allowed address changes for non-gmail.com addresses.
  
  Engadget reached out to Google for confirmation. We9ll update this story if we hear back.
  
  When the feature (presumably) rolls out broadly, you9ll change it through your account settings. Sign in to your Google account, then go to Manage your Google account > Personal info > Google Account email. If you don9t see the option to change it, then you9ll have to wait.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/you-may-soon-be-able-to-change-your-gmail-address-165633905.html?src=rss

• LG announces line of premium gaming monitors that offer 5K visuals
  LG has revealed a new lineup of gaming monitors just ahead of CES. The UltraGear evo displays offer 5K visuals. Many incorporate on-device AI upscaling, taking some of the burden away from the GPU. 
  
  LG says the tech will let consumers skip out on some card upgrades. This could end up being extremely beneficial because the AI boom has been impacting GPU prices.
  LG
  There are three displays in the lineup so far, with more to come down the line. There9s a 39-inch OLED (39GX950B) that includes the aforementioned AI upscaling to 5K, but also algorithms for scene optimization and sound. The company says this will "refine images and audio performance for a more immersive audiovisual experience."
  
  This monitor can easily switch from the standard resolution with a refresh rate of 165Hz to a much zippier WFHD resolution with a refresh rate of 330Hz. This is supported by a 0.03ms response time. It9s curved with a 21:9 aspect ratio.
  LG
  There9s also a 27-inch MiniLED (27GM950B) in the lineup. This display has been "designed to dramatically improve blooming control", which is done by minimizing halo effects and stuffing in 2,304 local dimming zones. LG promises it "preserves fine details across bright and dark scenes alike."
  
  This one features AI algorithms for upscaling to 5K, scene optimization and sound. It can also switch between 165Hz at 5K and 330Hz at QHD, with a 1ms response time. The screen boasts a peak brightness of 1,250 nits.
  LG
  Finally, there9s the beastly 52-inch (52G930B) large-format gaming display. You didn9t read that wrong. This is a 52-inch gaming monitor. This 5K display offers a speedy 240Hz refresh rate. The 1000R curvature wraps around the peripheral, which should be great for flying sims and stuff like that.
  
  LG hasn9t released any information as to when we9ll be able to get our mitts on these displays, or how much they will cost. With all the tech on offer, it9s likely they9ll cost a pretty penny.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/lg-announces-line-of-premium-gaming-monitors-that-offer-5k-visuals-165224945.html?src=rss

• Our favorite books we read in 2025
  This was the kind of year that felt 100 years long, so who could blame us for leaning into a bit of escapism? Some of us buried our noses in books in 2025, and thankfully, there were plenty of good reads to get lost in. Here are some of the Engadget team’s top picks from the year.
  Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
  formulas, but mon dieu, I was not prepared for how rough things would be for Marguerite. 
  
  Her troubles began long before she found herself fighting for survival on a wild uninhabited island with brutal winters. From birth, nearly every happiness was undercut by more dominant forces, yet the woman never stopped moving forward. Thankfully, Goodman draws Marguerite’s character not as some tired brand of plucky heroine with grit and a wink, but as a perceptive, pragmatic being who also gives in to impulse and doesn’t have everything figured out. 
  
  Isola is beautifully rendered, from the stone chateaus to creaking ships and rough abundance of the island. Despite being set over 400 years ago, nothing feels dated. Human versus universe is an unfair battle, but I rooted for Marguerite on every page — and those pages turned quickly. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter, Buying Advice
  Old Soul by Susan Barker
  This was one of the first books I read this year, and it's really stuck with me. Old Soul travels through time and all over the world, across multiple storylines to trace the devastating impact of one mysterious woman who seems to defy the rules of mortality and always leave tragedy in her wake. Barker's writing in Old Soul pulls the reader in and doesn't let go. It's an unsettling slow burn that did a great job of getting under my skin.  — C.M.
  Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings
  If a door appeared out of nowhere, would you go through it not knowing what lies beyond or if you'd be able to return? In Meet Me at the Crossroads, seven doors pop up one day around the world, and people are unsurprisingly captivated by them. Regular people tempt fate, the ultra-wealthy plan exclusive excursions through them, religions form around their mystique. Ayanna is a teenager who was brought up in one of these religions. She's also a twin, with a sister named Olivia who she's been separated from after their parents' split. When it comes time for Ayanna to go through one of the doors as part of a ceremony, Olivia makes a last-second decision to go with her. What follows is the aftermath of that decision. Meet Me at the Crossroads is a haunting and emotional journey.  — C.M.
  Woodworking by Emily St. James
  I am a cisgender, white middle-aged man, so the experience of learning and accepting a different gender identity is something I will never fully understand. But Woodworking, the debut novel by Emily St. James, is a hilarious, tragic and ultimately hopeful look at two trans women navigating different moments of acceptance in their lives. Erica is a mid-30s high school teacher who is recently divorced and just figuring out that she’s trans, something no one else knows about her at the start. Her student, 17-year-old Abigail, is her opposite: proudly out about her identity in a way that’s uncommon and dangerous in her small, conversative town in South Dakota.
  
  Their paths intersect, and Abigail ends up in the uncomfortable and somewhat unethical role of helping Erica find herself. After all she’s confident and not afraid of who she is — but she’s also still a teenager, one dealing with massive trauma of her own. The dual look into these two protagonists, each with sections of the book narrated from their own points of view, gave me a vivid picture of the different challenges, emotions and dangers trans people face. But the unexpected community that develops around both characters plainly shows the value of living as your true self in a way that (hopefully) anyone should be able to relate to. — N.I.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/our-favorite-books-we-read-in-2025-160000704.html?src=rss

• LG will show off a humanoid robot for household chores at CES 2026
  LG will present a home robot named CLOiD at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. With humanoid robotics sure to feature heavily at this year9s tech conference, LG has teased its home assistant before a full unveiling in January.
  
  The company says CLOiD9s two articulated arms with five individually actuated fingers are designed to help with a variety of household tasks. However, LG has not yet given a specific example of a task CLOiD can handle. We9re also not sure what it looks like, because aside from a couple of very close-up images of CLOiD9s hands, LG is keeping what the robot looks like under wraps until the show. 
  
  LG said CLOiD is part of the company9s vision that “Zero Labor Home, Makes Quality Time.” It said its robot is a step toward a company goal of "freeing customers from the time-consuming demands of housework." 
  
  CLOiD9s chipset is housed in its head, which also sports a display, speaker, camera and a bevy of sensors meant to enable expressive communication. LG says its new robot is powered by its "Affectionate Intelligence" technology and is designed to interact in a neutral, user-friendly way. It9s also designed to refine its responses through repeated interactions with a user.
  
  CES often plays host to proof-of-concept products that offer a window into the future but may not make it to market. It remains to be seen if CLOiD is simply a booth-side attention-getter or something with real potential. Visitors can see CLOiD handle some real-life scenarios at LG9s booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/lg-will-show-off-a-humanoid-robot-for-household-chores-at-ces-2026-145411218.html?src=rss

• Apple will allow third-party app stores and payment processing in Brazil
  Brazilian regulators have reached a settlement with Apple after a yearslong investigation into the company9s App Store fee practices as well as its policies against third-party app stores. As first reported by Brazilian tech site tecnoblog, the nation9s Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) said it has accepted Apple9s proposed agreement that will address claims of anticompetitive practices.
  
  The agreement will allow for third-party payment processing methods for in-app purchases and reins in Apple9s anti-steering efforts by allowing links to external websites for transactions. The settlement requires that these payment options be shown next to Apple9s own. Apple must also allow third-party app stores to be installed on its devices, though the company is allowed to display warnings to users if they are written in a neutral and objective way.
  
  A new fee structure has also been agreed to, with Apple applying no fee if users are directed to outside payment methods in a text-only way. The use of a clickable link or button for an external payment option will incur a 15 percent fee. Purchases made within Apple9s App Store will still be subject to a 10 percent or 20 percent commission. Developers using Apple’s payment system would also be subject to a 5 percent transaction fee.
  
  Additionally a 5 percent "Core Technology Fee" would be levied against all app downloads from third-party app stores. This new structure bears similarities to policy and fee changes made after the EU passed its Digital Markets Act, with Apple allowing third-party app stores and external purchases subject to varying fees.
  
  Apple will have 105 days to comply under the new agreement and could face fines of up to $27 million for failure to implement the changes. The iPhone maker has been facing mounting pressure from regulators worldwide over its anti-steering practices and was recently handed a $587 million fine by the EU for violating its Digital Markets Act. Apple is appealing the fine. In the US, Apple has been embroiled in a court battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games over commissions on purchases that take place on third-party payment platforms.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-will-allow-third-party-app-stores-and-payment-processing-in-brazil-135114824.html?src=rss

• How to find lost AirPods
  Losing AirPods happens to the best of us. They’re small, they slide into couch cushions and they love disappearing into bags or pockets when you least expect it. Luckily, Apple’s Find My system makes it easy to track down misplaced AirPods, whether you dropped the case somewhere or can’t find one of the individual earbuds. With the right settings enabled, your iPhone can show the last place they were connected, play a sound to help you hunt them down or even guide you with on-screen directions. Here’s how to use Find My to locate lost AirPods and how to track down the left or right earbud if only one has gone missing.
  How to use Find My to locate AirPods
  If your AirPods are paired with an Apple device linked to your Apple ID, they automatically appear in the Find My app. You don’t need to enable this manually, but you do need Bluetooth turned on during regular use so the system can refresh their location.
  
  Open the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac and go to the Devices tab. Your AirPods should appear in the list. If they’re online or recently connected to your device, Find My will show their current location on a map. If they’re offline, the app will show the last place they were detected, which can help narrow down where to start searching.
  
  For many people, this alone is enough to jog a memory. Find My might show your gym, a friend’s house or the bus stop where they slipped out of your pocket. If the location seems familiar, head there first and refresh the app once you arrive so it can update if the AirPods reconnect.
  
  If Find My says your AirPods are nearby but you still can’t see them, you can make them play a locating sound. Tap Play Sound in the device menu and the earbuds will emit a rising chirp that gets louder over a few seconds. This is especially helpful for finding AirPods hiding under blankets, inside bags or behind furniture.
  
  Keep in mind that AirPods need enough battery to make noise, and the charging case itself cannot play sound unless you have AirPods 4 (ANC), AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3 that support that feature. If nothing plays, try refreshing the app or checking the last location again.
  
  AirPods models, like the AirPods Pro (2nd gen) and AirPods Pro (3rd gen) with MagSafe charging cases support Precision Finding. This feature uses the U1 chip inside your iPhone to show a directional arrow, distance estimate and haptic feedback as you get closer. Not all models have this feature, but if yours do, the Find My app will display a Find Nearby button.
  
  Follow the on-screen prompts and slowly rotate your phone. The iPhone will show when you’re walking in the right direction and tell you when you’re close enough to start looking under cushions or inside drawers.
  How to locate individual AirPods
  AirPods have a habit of separating from each other, and losing only the left or right earbud may happen as frequently as misplacing the entire case. One of the most useful features in Find My is the ability to track each earbud individually. Here’s how to do it:
  
  Locate your AirPods in the Find My app and select the option to locate the Left or Right earbud.
  
  Select the earbud that’s missing. The map will update to show its location. 
  
  If the missing bud has nearby location support, you can use Find Nearby to get directional guidance. If not, you can still use Play Sound, as long as it has enough battery.
  
  If Find My shows your lost earbud as Offline, you’ll still see its last known location. This can be enough to help you retrace your steps. Once you get within Bluetooth range again, the status may change to Online and let you use Play Sound.
  
  If you think the earbud is still somewhere in your home, try refreshing Find My while walking slowly from room to room. The device may reconnect once you get close enough.
  How to find a missing AirPods case
  Finding the AirPods case is a little trickier because only newer models have support for sound playback or Precision Finding. If your case supports Find My, you’ll see options similar to locating the earbuds themselves. If it doesn’t, the app will only show the last place the case was connected.
  
  If your earbuds are in the case but the case is not supported by Find My, you may not be able to play sound until you open it or pull one of the earbuds out.
  
  Find My is a powerful tool for tracking down misplaced AirPods, and knowing how to use all of its features makes the search much easier. Whether you’re trying to find the entire set, one stray earbud or a case that wandered off, the app can lead you back to them with sound alerts, location markers and even directional guidance on supported models. With a few minutes of searching, you’ll usually have your AirPods back in your ears and your music playing again.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-to-find-lost-airpods-120000144.html?src=rss

• The best SSDs for PS5 in 2026
  Storage fills up fast on a PS5, especially when a single game can take up as much space as an entire last-gen library. Adding moreSSD space is the easiest way to stop playing Tetris with your installs, and once it is set up, your console loads games just as quickly as it does from the built-in drive. It is a small upgrade that makes a big difference if you jump between several titles at once.
  
  The tricky part is knowing which SSDs actually work with the PS5. You need a drive that meets Sony’s speed requirements and stays cool under long play sessions. Some models include a heatsink, while others let you use your own to save a little money. We tested the top options and picked the best SSDs for PS5 to help you upgrade without hassle.
  
  Read more: These are the best SSDs in 2026
  Table of contents
  Best SSDs for PS5 in 2026?
  
  How we test PS5 SSDs?
  
  PS5 SSD FAQs?
  Best SSDs for PS5 in 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  How we test PS5 SSDs
  I’ve tested most of the SSDs recommended on this list, either for PS5 or computer use. I also bought and used our top pick in my own PS5.
  PS5 SSD FAQs How much PS5 storage do I need?
  The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro can accept internal drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capacity. If you already own a PS5, chances are you have a reasonable idea of how much storage you need ​​for your game library. If you’re buying an SSD with a new PS5 or PS5 Pro, or buying for someone else, it’s more difficult to tell what you might need for a high-performance experience.
  
  PS5 games are smaller on average than their PS4 equivalents, typically taking up between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and very popular) exceptions. If you’re a fan of the Call of Duty series, installing official answer to this question is an “M.2 Socket 3 (Key M) Gen4 x4 NVME SSD.” But even within that seemingly specific description, there are additional factors to consider. The main requirements Sony has laid out for compatibility come down to speed, cooling and physical dimensions.
  
  For speed, Sony says drives should be able to handle sequential reads at 5,500MB/s. Early testing showed that the PS5 would accept drives as slow as 4,800MB/s, and that games that tap into the SSD regularly — such as $6 copper heatsink, which attaches to the PS5 SSD with sticky thermal interface material. It works just fine, and in performing stress tests on a PC, we couldn’t find anything metal that didn’t keep temperatures under control. When you’re searching, just make sure the solution you go for measures no more than 25mm wide or 8mm tall (including the thermal interface material) and has a simple method of installation that’s not going to cause any headaches.
  
  One last thing: When shopping for a PS5 NVMe, there’s no reason to buy a Gen5 model over a more affordable Gen4 model. As things stand, Sony’s console can’t take advantage of the new standard, and though Gen5 drives are backward compatible, they’re more expensive than their Gen4 counterparts. Just buy the fastest and highest-capacity Gen4 model you can afford.
  How to install an SSD into your PS5
  If you need guidance on how to install your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Pro, we have a separate guide detailing all the steps here. Installation is pretty straightforward, but our how-to can help you if you9re stuck. Just make note: Before attempting to add more storage via a PS5 SSD, ensure that you have Sony’s latest software installed.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/best-ssd-for-ps5-130004175.html?src=rss

• Xiaomi's 17 Ultra Leica Edition smartphone comes with a manual zoom ring
  Xiaomi just launched its flagship 17 Ultra by Leica phone that may make you feel bad about your current device's cameras. Naturally it's a spec monster, with a 1-inch sensor 50MP f/1.67 main camera and 1/1.4-inch 200MP periscope telephoto camera. But it also offers an interesting new mechanical feature: a manual zoom ring that also activates the camera automatically when you rotate it.
  
  Both the regular Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Leica edition come with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage, along with a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED display that can hit up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness. On top of the impressive main and telephoto lenses, they also offer a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP selfie camera. And battery life shouldn't be an issue, thanks to the 6,800mAh silicon-carbon battery that supports 90 watt wired and 50 watt wireless charging.
  Xiaomi
  The 17 Ultra by Leica adds some very, well Leica touches. Those include a two-tone finish, red dot status symbol on front, textured edges and film simulations like Leica's Monopan 50 black and white. As for the zoom ring, Xiaomi says "its rotation [eliminates] the need for tedious screen taps... and can detect displacements as small as 0.03mm." It can also be reprogrammed for functions like exposure compensation and manual focus. 
  
  Other features unique to that model include a "Leica Moments" 3:2 aspect ratio, special encryption chip, and dual-satellite connection. And as befits a special edition, it comes in a custom box with a lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case and branded cleaning cloth.
  
  The one caveat is the price. Where phones for the Chinese market are often cheaper than North American models, Xiaomi's 17 Ultra by Leica and the regular 17 Ultra start at CNY 7,999 ($1,140) and CNY 6,999 ($995) respectively with 512GB or storage and 16GB of RAM — right up there with the latest high-end Pixel 10 and Galaxy 25 models. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/xiaomis-17-ultra-leica-edition-smartphone-comes-with-a-manual-zoom-ring-093502893.html?src=rss

• The best microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch 2
  If you want to expand the storage of your Nintendo Switch 2, you’ll need a microSD Express card. This is not the same as the more traditional microSD cards you may have bought for the original Switch or other gaming handhelds; Express cards are newer, faster and significantly more expensive on average. But they’re your only choice, and given how much space certain Switch 2 games chew up, you’ll probably have no choice but to get one eventually. Which to buy, though? If you’re looking for the best microSD card for the Switch 2 today, we’ve broken down what you should know before taking the plunge.
  The best microSD cards for the Switch 2 (aren9t all that important) Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  The Switch 2 is the first mainstream device to require microSD Express for storage expansion, so there aren’t many options available to buy just yet. Of the handful of compatible models released thus far, we’ve now tested seven: the SanDisk microSD Express Card (aka the “SanDisk GamePlay microSD Express Card��� at Walmart), the Lexar Play Pro, the Samsung microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2, the Samsung P9 Express, the PNY microSD Express Card, the GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 and the Onn microSD Express Card. The first five are made by genuine storage manufacturers, while the GameStop and Onn cards appear to be rebadged versions of other models. We used the 256GB version of every card except for Lexar Play Pro, which was 1TB.
  
  After timing these microSD Express cards across a range of Switch 2 games, our advice is simple: Get whichever one is in stock for the lowest price in the capacity you want. They aren’t identically fast, especially if you want to move a game to the card from the console’s internal storage (or vice versa). But the differences in load times and overall performance within actual games are tough to notice unless you have a stopwatch handy.
  
  All five cards loaded up the digital version of Jig-Jig Street) then took between 26 and 29 seconds, depending on the card. (The one exception was with the Onn card, which averaged closer to 31 seconds with that particular task, though that’s also the cheapest choice.)
  
  With Kakariko Village and Korok Forest, and so on. We saw no significant issues with in-game loads when playing each game, either.
  The SanDisk microSD Express Card and Lexar Play Pro. Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  All of this suggests that the Switch 2 has a relatively specific target for these cards to hit, and that there may not be much room for one model to leap too far out in front of the others. We’ll also note that the console’s built-in storage was consistently faster than any external option: The gap wasn’t always big, but no card truly outpaced it in any of our tests. Loading that demanding area in Cyberpunk, for example, took about 22.5 seconds on average. So if you want the absolute fastest load times, don’t put your game on a card at all.
  
  If you need the mental comfort of knowing you technically have the best card available, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers across our many game loading tests, and it was consistently right near the top when it came to moving games to and from system storage, which means it offers strong sequential read and write performance. Benchmark testing on PC with tools like CrystalDiskMark backed this up, as noted in our broader microSD card buying guide.
  
  
  
  Putting Mario Kart (a 21.9GB file) on that card took four minutes and 39 seconds on average, which was only second to the Lexar Play Pro by six seconds. It was the fastest to write Fast Fusion (3.5GB), taking an average of 27 seconds across three runs. Only PNY’s card was faster to move games back to the console’s storage, but that one was far slower at writing games to the card — getting Mario Kart on there took seven minutes and 11 seconds on average. Just note that the 128GB version of SanDisk’s card has slower sequential writes than the larger versions, including much slower sustained write speeds (100 MB/s vs 210-220 MB/s). So transferring a game to that particular model will take much longer. The Onn card was also slower to move games back to system storage, taking about 50 seconds more than the SanDisk with Mario Kart and nearly three minutes longer with Cyberpunk.
  
  Practically speaking, though, speed differences aren’t as important in this case as having lots of space to hold games at a price you can live with. To make things easy, we’ve listed every Express card we’ve seen at retailers at the time of writing below. Remember: You want microSD Express, not “Extreme,” like the branding SanDisk uses for some conventional microSD cards. A microSD Express card will have a big “EX” logo printed on it.
  128GB
  SanDisk microSD Express Card ($64 MSRP)
  
  PNY microSD Express Card ($48 MSRP)
  256GB
  Samsung microSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2 ($60 MSRP)
  
  Samsung P9 Express ($55 MSRP)
  
  SanDisk microSD Express Card ($78 MSRP)
  
  Lexar Play Pro ($60 MSRP)
  
  PNY microSD Express Card ($62 MSRP)
  
  GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 ($60 MSRP)
  
  Onn microSD Express Card ($47 MSRP)
  512GB
  Samsung P9 Express ($100 MSRP)
  
  SanDisk microSD Express Card ($128 MSRP)
  
  Lexar Play Pro ($120 MSRP)
  
  PNY microSD Express Card ($124 MSRP)
  
  GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 ($100 MSRP)
  
  Onn microSD Express Card ($85 MSRP)
  1TB
  Lexar Play Pro ($220 MSRP)
  
  GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 ($190 MSRP)
  All microSD Express cards will have this "EX" logo printed on them. Nintendo/Engadget
  As you can see, while the SanDisk card is fast, it’s also the most expensive of an already-pricey bunch. Is it worth an extra $10-20 to shave a couple seconds off certain loads in certain games, or a couple minutes when moving a game to external storage? Probably not for most people.
  
  But stock for all of these cards has been a bit patchy since the Switch 2 landed, particularly for the Walmart Onn model, which has typically been the cheapest choice. More recently, the GameStop-branded cards seem to have sold out too. If only one card is actually available by the time you read this — and you must have it today — it’s safe to just get it. You won’t lose or gain all that much when it comes to real-world performance.
  
  We’ve recommended holding off on buying a microSD Express card for as long as possible in previous updates to this guide, and ultimately each model above should still come down in price over time. We saw multiple Express card discounts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, for instance. 
  
  But between President Trump’s tariff hikes and the ongoing AI-driven shortages for memory and high-capacity storage, you’d be justified if you wanted to grab the largest card you can reasonably afford sooner rather than later. These things are still pricey compared to traditional microSD cards: The Samsung Pro Plus, for example, costs $17 for 128GB, $27 for 256GB, $50 for 512GB and $95 for 1TB as of this writing. And ideally, we’ll see more high-capacity options down the road: Nintendo says the Switch 2 technically supports cards up to 2TB, but so far only a couple even go up to 1TB. You should still try to use all 256GB baked into the Switch 2 first, even if it means having to delete a game or two. But if you absolutely need more space right away, the cards above should be fine today.
  What are microSD Express cards? A microSD Express card like the one on the right has a second row of pins on the back. Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  Most microSD cards are based on a standard called Ultra High Speed (UHS), of which there are three versions: UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III. The vast majority of cards you may have bought in the past utilize UHS-I. These have one row of pins in the back and a theoretical maximum data transfer speed of 104 megabytes per second (MB/s). (Though many cards are able to surpass that limit with proprietary tech and card readers.) The original Switch has a UHS-I microSD slot, as do most other gaming handhelds like Valve’s Steam Deck.
  
  UHS-II cards add a second row of pins and can reach up to 312 MB/s. These are pricier and much less common than cards based on UHS-I, but they’re supported by some cameras and higher-power handhelds like the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X. UHS-III, meanwhile, is twice as fast as UHS-II in theory (624 MB/s), but no microSD cards have actually used it.
  
  UHS-I cards have held on over the years because they’re cheap, widely supported and fast enough for the things most people need them to do: record 4K video, stash photos and so on. But with the Switch 2, Nintendo needs more. The new console is dramatically more powerful, which allows it to run demanding games that may have originally been built for stronger hardware like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or gaming PCs. The device also uses UFS 3.1 storage internally, which is much speedier than the eMMC storage used by the original Switch. (A custom file decompression engine helps improve load times as well.) So if the Switch 2 is going to accept microSD cards, it needs ones that won’t bring a serious drop-off in performance and can hold up with modern games.
  The Nintendo Switch 2. Sam Rutherford for Engadget
  Hence, SD Express. This standard has technically been around since 2018 but mostly went nowhere until the Switch 2 came along. It also uses a second row of pins, but it lets microSD cards take advantage of the PCI Express (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is the same underlying tech used by modern SSDs. As a result, it can produce considerably faster read and write speeds, with a current theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s.
  
  As noted above, real-world performance won’t be quite that fast. Even if it was, the best microSD Express cards would still be much slower than the NVMe SSDs used by the PS5 and Xbox. (Sony recommends SSDs with sequential read speeds of at least 5,500 MB/s.) And they’ll fall well below their peak speeds under sustained loads: SanDisk, for instance, says sustained write speeds for its 128GB Express card can drop as low as 100 MB/s.
  
  But they’re still a marked improvement over old UHS-I cards, and in theory, they should be quicker than some older SATA-based SSDs when it comes loading game levels, asset streaming, retrieving saves or copying games to external storage. Whereas SanDisk’s microSD Express card can produce sequential read speeds around 900 MB/s, Lexar’s Professional Silver Plus — the top UHS-I pick in our general microSD card guide — topped out just over 200 MB/s, and that’s with a proprietary reader. (On the first Switch, it’d be closer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds were three to four times better as well, and sometimes even more depending on the benchmark we used.
  
  It remains to be seen how well these Express cards will hold up with years of use, and there’s no way to know exactly when their sky-high prices will drop. Non-Switch 2 devices that support microSD Express are still exceedingly rare, and the standard itself isn’t backwards compatible with UHS-II, so you’ll be limited to UHS-I speeds if you want to use your card with another device (unless you buy a pricey external reader). Still, while the increased costs and limited selection are annoying, the tech itself is worthy of a next-gen Switch.
  How we test microSD Express cards Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  We put our microSD Express cards through a series of tests meant to simulate how people would use each card on the Switch 2 in the real world. We mainly worked with four games: a mid-sized title in Mario Kart World, a small one in Fast Fusion, a relatively large one in Cyberpunk 2077 and a hybrid in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which ran off a Switch 1 cartridge but used a roughly 10GB Switch 2 upgrade pack that was downloaded and installed digitally.
  
  We first timed how long it took to move each game from the system’s internal storage to the card in question, and vice versa. We then timed how long it took to load each game when installed to a given card. After that, we measured how quickly the cards could load certain in-game scenarios: the first Grand Prix race in Mario Kart; the first championship race in Fast Fusion; fast traveling between the Jig-Jig Street, Embers and Downtown Central areas in Cyberpunk and fast traveling between the Kakariko Village, Korok Forest and the Hyrule Castle Town Ruins areas in Zelda. (We chose those places in the latter two games because they’re more taxing than other regions.) With Cyberpunk and Zelda, we also timed how long it took to load up different save files in those locations.
  
  With each test, we completed three to five runs to account for any irregularities and marked down the average time taken between them. We did each test in airplane mode, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, to minimize any performance drain that could arise from background downloads. Between each test, we also spent at least an hour playing the games off each card to ensure there were no significant drop-offs compared to the console’s built-in storage.
  Recent updates
  December 2025: We’ve tested Samsung’s P9 Express card, though our general shopping advice for this market remains the same.
  
  November 2025: We’ve tested the 256GB version of Walmart’s Onn microSD Express card and edited our guide accordingly. It’s generally slower than most of the other options we’ve tried, especially when moving games to and from system storage, and in synthetic benchmark tests on a PC. But the performance drop-off isn’t particularly noticeable in actual Switch 2 games, so if you see it in stock and just want to pay as little as possible, it’s a decent buy.
  
  September 2025: We’ve taken another pass through this guide to confirm our advice is still accurate. We’ve also noted a new 512GB version of PNY’s microSD Express card and confirmed that a “SanDisk GamePlay��� Express card sold at Walmart has the same performance as the standard SanDisk model we recommend above, just with a different name.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/best-microsd-cards-for-nintendo-switch-2-160052947.html?src=rss

• The best PS5 accessories for 2026
  Sony9s latest console may be a few years old at this point, but it9s still got plenty to offer — including some of the best games of this generation. Whether you just got a new PS5 or PS5 Pro, or you9ve had yours for a little while, you may want to give it a refresh of sorts by investing in some new accessories. Luckily, there are tons to choose from. These are the best PS5 accessories we9ve come across, plus some of the best games you should try out if you haven9t already.
  Best PS5 accessories
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/best-playstation-5-accessories-140018902.html?src=rss

• How to set up a PS5 for a child
  Setting up a PS5 for a child means you can offer an age-appropriate and safe platform for them to play. Sony made its parental control tools more comprehensive in recent years and they allow families to manage screen time, block unsuitable content, guide online interactions and approve purchases. The process is straightforward once the right menus are in view, but it helps to understand how each feature works before handing over the controller.
  
  The system uses individual accounts for each family member, and these accounts determine what a child can access. A parent or guardian assigns restrictions to the child’s profile and the console enforces them more consistently than earlier PlayStation systems. The process begins with creating a child account, then linking it to the Family Management section of the adult account, and finally adjusting controls on the console itself.
  Create a child account through Family Management
  A child account is required before you can use any parental controls. This account is linked to the family manager’s PlayStation account and cannot be converted into an adult account until the child reaches the appropriate age under local regulations.
  
  From the PS5 Home screen, navigate to Settings, Family and Parental Controls then choose Family Management. The system will request the family manager’s password before any changes can be made. Select Add Family Member and choose Add a Child. The console generates a QR code that opens a secure PlayStation webpage on a phone or browser. This page guides the setup process and ties the new account to the family group.
  
  The form asks for the child’s date of birth first. Sony uses this to assign default age restrictions and to determine which features are allowed. A small credit card charge may be requested to verify the adult’s identity. The next steps involve entering an email address for the child, creating a password and selecting basic settings for content access, communication and spending. The child account must then be verified through a link sent to the provided email address. This ensures the account can use PlayStation Network features including any future purchases through the PlayStation Store.
  
  Once complete, the new profile appears in the Family Management list on the PS5. This profile is now ready for fine-tuning.
  Manage parental controls on the console
  The PS5 keeps all parental controls in Family and Parental Controls within the main Settings menu. This section is organized into Playtime Settings, Content Restrictions, Communication and User-Generated Content and Spending controls. Each area can be adjusted separately for every child account in the family group.
  How to set limits on playtime
  Playtime controls help set boundaries for gaming sessions. Select the child’s profile, then open Playtime Settings. Limits can be set by total daily hours or by specific time windows. The console can be configured to notify the child when time is nearly up, or to log them out automatically once the limit is reached. These settings apply across the child’s account, so they remain active even if the child switches between PS5 consoles in the same household.
  
  Parents can choose how strictly the system enforces these rules. For example, the console can continue to display warnings without blocking gameplay or it can stop activity when the allotted time ends. Playtime reports can also be viewed through the family manager’s PlayStation account or the PS App.
  How to restrict content based on age ratings
  Sony’s content filters are based on age ratings from the ESRB in the United States and equivalent regional boards in other countries. In Family Management, select the child’s profile and then select Parental Controls. Here, parents can set an age level for games. Titles above this level will not launch without approval from the family manager.
  
  Blu-ray and DVD content can also be restricted and the system browser can be disabled entirely. If the family uses services that stream movies or TV shows through the console, those apps often apply their own content filters, but the PS5 can serve as a first line of control.
  EngadgetHow to manage communication and online interactions
  Online communication can be limited to prevent unwanted contact. In Parental Controls, select Communication and User-Generated Content. This area controls messaging, voice chat, profile sharing and the ability to see or share player-created media such as screenshots and video clips.
  
  Online play can also be adjusted. For younger kids, it may be helpful to block online multiplayer entirely until they better understand online etiquette and safety. For older children, communication can be limited to friends only. The PS5 respects these limits across all supported games.
  How to set spending limits for purchases
  A child account cannot use payment cards directly, but it can spend funds from the family manager’s wallet. Spending limits can be set in the child’s profile under Family Management. Parents can choose a monthly spending cap or block purchases altogether. Any attempt to exceed the limit requires approval from the family manager.
  
  This feature covers games, add-ons, subscriptions and in-game currency. It ensures surprises on the credit card are less likely, especially in titles that promote quick digital purchases.
  How to sign your child into the PS5
  Once controls are set, the child can be added as a user on the console. Return to the home screen and select the user icon to switch users. Choose Add User, then select Get Started. Sign in using the child account’s email address and password.
  
  The console guides the profile setup process and prompts for an online ID, avatar and privacy preferences. These steps help personalise the child’s space on the PS5. The system may request a locally created passcode that prevents access to parental controls without the family manager’s approval. This passcode should be unique and not shared with the child.
  
  After setup is complete, the child will see a version of the PS5 tailored to the restrictions applied. Games that exceed the assigned age rating will appear with a lock icon and the console will block any actions that the family manager has limited.
  Use the PS App and PlayStation’s online tools for ongoing management
  Playtime and permissions can be managed remotely through Sony’s PS App or the PlayStation website. This makes it easier to adjust rules without taking over the TV. The app also provides notifications when playtime is running low or when the child attempts to access restricted content.
  
  Sony’s Family Management tools synchronise across devices. Changes made from a phone appear on the PS5 within seconds. This helps maintain consistent rules, especially in homes with more than one console.
  
  A child-ready PS5 is more than a restriction tool. It creates a safer environment for learning how to navigate digital spaces, interact with friends and handle screen time. Sony’s updated controls take much of the pressure off parents by enforcing rules in predictable ways that are difficult to bypass. Once everything is configured, the child can enjoy the console’s library while staying within the boundaries that support healthy gaming habits.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/how-to-set-up-a-ps5-for-a-child-160039866.html?src=rss

• How to transfer your games to the Nintendo Switch 2
  Upgrading to the Switch 2 is a big step forward, thanks to the larger screen, new features and improved performance. But shifting to a new console naturally raises the question of what happens to all your games and save data on the one you already have. Thankfully, Nintendo has built a clear System Transfer process that lets you move your account, digital purchases, save files and other key data from your original Switch to the Switch 2. If you prepare ahead of time, you can be back to playing your favorite titles on new hardware in minutes.
  
  We’ll walk you through everything you need to know, including what transfers, how to start the process and what to check once you’re set up. 
  Before you transfer: A quick checklist
  Running through these steps first will save you time later:
  
  Charge your original Switch and your Switch 2, and keep them near each other.
  
  Connect to a stable Wi-Fi connection, as this is required to verify your Nintendo Account and manage redownloads.
  
  Update your original Switch by installing the latest system software so the transfer can run without interruptions.
  
  Confirm your Nintendo Account is linked, and each user you want to move is tied to a Nintendo Account.
  
  Most Switch titles work on Switch 2, but a few may have issues, so it’s worth checking Nintendo’s compatibility list ahead of time.
  
  Back up screenshots and videos if needed. These should transfer, but it never hurts to have your own copy.
  How to start the transfer of data from your old Switch to the Switch 2
  With your original Nintendo Switch to hand, navigate to System Settings, select Users then select Transfer Your User & Save Data. Pick the user profile you want to move, confirm your Nintendo Account information and follow the on-screen prompts.
  
  Power on your Switch 2 and go through the initial setup. When the console asks if you want to transfer data from another system, select Start System Transfer. Make sure both consoles are connected to the same Wi-Fi network and remain powered on during the process.
  
  Once the Switch 2 detects your original console, it will guide you through pairing the systems for the transfer. After the connection is established the original Switch will begin sending your user information, save data and settings.
  
  When the transfer is complete, your new console will automatically log in using your Nintendo Account. Your digital games will appear in the Redownload section of the eShop so you can pull them onto your Switch 2 as needed.
  What to do after your transfer is complete
  Once everything has moved to the Switch 2, there are a few final steps that help round out the process. You can redownload your digital games from the eShop and start reinstalling your favorites. Any controllers, Joy-Con or Bluetooth accessories you used with your original console will need to be paired again (provided they are Switch 2-compatible accessories), which only takes a minute. It’s also a good time to update your games to their latest versions and restore any parental controls or family group settings you had before. 
  
  When you’re confident that all your data has transferred and everything is working as expected, you can then decide whether to keep your old console, hand it down or perform a factory reset if you plan to sell it.
  What data transfers to the Switch 2
  Nintendo’s System Transfer moves everything tied to your Nintendo Account, including digital games you’ve purchased, save data, user profiles, parental controls, system settings and screenshots and video captures. 
  
  Your Nintendo Switch Online membership moves as well, and you’ll be able to immediately re-download your digital games on the Switch 2 once the transfer completes. Physical Switch game cards also work on the new console, though some titles may require patches or updates for the best performance. Nintendo has noted that a small number of older games may have temporary compatibility issues, but these are being reviewed.
  What data doesn’t transfer automatically
  A few settings won’t carry over on their own, so you may need to handle them manually once your Switch 2 is set up. Bluetooth pairing for controllers or headphones will need to be reconnected, since those device links stay tied to the original console. Your Wi-Fi passwords also won’t transfer, so you’ll have to sign in to your home network again. 
  
  Some game-specific preferences, as well as language or region settings, may require another quick adjustment on the Switch 2, but these are simple to reconfigure and only take a few moments.
  Troubleshooting and other things to consider
  If you run into issues while getting settled, a few common scenarios are worth keeping in mind. Some older titles may have temporary compatibility problems on the new console, so if a game behaves unexpectedly, check Nintendo’s updated compatibility list for known issues. 
  
  You may also notice slower download speeds as the Switch 2 queues up your full library after the transfer. It helps to prioritize the games you want to play first so they can download ahead of the rest. Storage can also play a role. If you use a microSD card, wait until the system transfer is complete before inserting it into the new console, since the Switch 2 may need to reformat the card. 
  
  And finally, don’t reset your old Switch right away. Keeping it powered on and accessible ensures you can confirm that all your saves and data made it across safely.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/how-to-transfer-your-games-to-the-nintendo-switch-2-130000702.html?src=rss

• 2025 Christmas Day NFL games: How to watch today, full streaming schedule and more
  
  Christmas Day famously belongs to football. This Dec. 25, there are three NFL games to watch: the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions vs. the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs. Here9s what you need to know about Thursday9s football slate, and the rest of the Week 17 schedule. 
  How to watch the NFL Christmas Day games: 
  
  
  
  
  Date: Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025
  
  Start times: 1 PM ET, 4:30 PM ET, 8:15 PM ET
  
  TV channels: N/A
  
  Streaming:Netflix, Prime Video 
  2025 Christmas Day NFL game slate:  Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025
  Cowboys vs. Commanders: 1 p.m. (Netflix)
  
  Lions vs. Vikings: 4:30 p.m. (Netflix)
  
  Broncos vs. Chiefs: 8:15 p.m. (Prime Video)
  Where to stream football this Christmas: 
  
  
  
  NFL Week 17 schedule:
  All times Eastern.
  Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025
  Cowboys vs. Commanders: 1 p.m. (Netflix)
  
  Lions vs. Vikings: 4:30 p.m. (Netflix)
  
  Broncos vs. Chiefs: 8:15 p.m. (Prime Video)
  Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025
  Texans vs. Chargers: 4:30 p.m. (NFL Net, NFL+)
  
  Ravens vs. Packers: 8:00 p.m. (Peacock)
  Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025
  Steelers vs. Browns: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
  
  Patriots vs. Jets: 1:00 p.m.(FOX)
  
  Seahawks vs. Panthers: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
  
  Cardinals vs. Bengals: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
  
  Jaguars vs. Colts: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
  
  Buccaneers vs. Dolphins: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
  
  Saints vs. Titans: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
  
  Eagles vs. Bills: 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
  
  Giants vs. Raiders: 4:05 p.m. (CBS)
  
  Bears vs. 49ers: 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
  Monday, Dec. 29, 2025
  Rams vs. Falcons: 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/2025-christmas-day-nfl-games-how-to-watch-today-full-streaming-schedule-and-more-233022063.html?src=rss

• The best Nintendo Switch 2 games for 2026
  One of the best things about the Switch 2 is how familiar it feels if you have used any previous Switch console. You can still move between handheld and TV play without thinking about it, and most of your favorite games come along for the ride. Nintendo’s compatibility page highlights the rare titles with quirks, while its transfer guide helps you bring over your data so you can pick up right where you left off.
  
  Once you are set up, the Switch 2’s library opens up fast. From cozy indie adventures to sprawling open-world games and couch-co-op staples, the system has something for every kind of player. We pulled together the best Nintendo Switch 2 games to help you figure out what to play first, whether you are replaying old favorites or diving into something completely new.
  Best Nintendo Switch 2 games for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Check out our entire Best Games series including the best Nintendo Switch games, the best PS5 games, the best Xbox games, the best PC games and the best free games you can play today.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/best-nintendo-switch-2-games-070007467.html?src=rss

• Steam and Valve's online games are partially down
  Starting at around 1PM ET on December 24, Steam experienced an outage that impacted users ability to access the game store and play games online. Valve didn’t acknowledge the outage publicly, but SteamDB’s unofficial Steam Status page reported that the Steam Store, Steam Community, and Steam Web APIs were all offline.
  
  DownDetector received over 6,000 outage reports around 1:15PM ET, and Steam was also inaccessible from Valve’s mobile apps. The outage appears to have affected APIs for Valve’s online games, like Team Fortress 2, Dota 2 and Counterstrike 2, as well.
  
  By around 4PM ET, Steam itself had begun to rebound, and as of 6PM ET, the platform had largely recovered, with the main PC, mobile and Mac clients broadly fully functional, but ocassionally erroring out. There are still parts of the service that are extremely sluggish and, according to SteamDB, many of Valve’s online games are down or only partially functional. Upon checking at 4AM on December 25, all services seem to have been restored. The Steam Web API, Store and Community are working normally, and all games are running as usual.
  
  Steam’s last major outage was in October, when the store and online services were unavailable for an hour. Earlier in September, the launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong temporarily took down Steam, the Xbox Store and Nintendo’s eShop due to how many people tried to download the game at the same time.
  
  Update, December 25, 2026 4:23AM ET: This story has been updated to noted that Steam services have been restored.
  
  Update, December 24, 6PM ET: This story has been updated to note which Valve offerings are currently functional and when they recovered.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/steam-and-valves-online-games-are-partially-down-191033988.html?src=rss

• The best microSD cards in 2026
  Most microSD cards are fast enough for stashing photos, recording video and transferring files, but some will get you a little more bang for your buck than others. If you’re looking to boost the storage of your Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, GoPro or any other device that still accepts microSD cards, we can help. We’ve thoroughly researched the market and several cards through a suite of benchmark tests. Here are the best that we’ve tested, along with some general advice on what to look for when buying a new card.
  Table of contents
  Best microSD cards of 2026?
  
  Best microSD Express cards for the Nintendo Switch 2?
  
  Other notable microSD cards?
  
  What to look for in a microSD card?
  
  How we test microSD cards?
  
  Recent updates?
  Best microSD cards of 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  Best microSD Express cards for the Nintendo Switch 2 Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  Read our full guide to the Nintendo Switch 2 in the near future, you do not need a high-speed microSD Express card just yet. Nintendo’s gaming handheld is the only popular device that natively supports this standard right now, and microSD Express cards themselves are highly expensive compared to more traditional options.
  
  Still, if you do want to increase a Switch 2’s storage, they’re your only choice. Fortunately, determining exactly which model to buy for the console is pretty straightforward: Get whichever one you can find in stock, in the capacity you want, at a price you can stomach.
  
  We benchmarked several microSD Express cards for a separate Switch 2 guide, and for the most part, the performance differences between them weren’t great enough to justify paying extra for any particular model. Loading times weren’t quite identical with every test we ran, but the cards were extremely close in most games and common scenarios. The few times when there was a notable gap — fast-traveling to a particularly resource-heavy region in Cyberpunk 2077, for instance — the gulf between the slowest and fastest card was only ever about four or five seconds at most. That’s not nothing, but it’s also not something most people are likely to fret over unless they have a stopwatch handy.
  The SanDisk microSD Express Card and Lexar Play Pro. Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  The only time you’d notice a major speed difference is if you transfer games to your Express card from the Switch 2’s internal storage (and vice versa). In that case, the SanDisk microSD Express Card and Lexar Play Pro were generally the quickest, while PNY’s microSD Express Flash Memory Card had particularly slow write speeds.
  
  Moving Mario Kart World to the SanDisk and Lexar models, for example, took around four minutes and 35 seconds on average; with the PNY card, it took a little over seven minutes. That said, the PNY model was the fastest when it came to moving games back to the system storage. Walmart’s Onn microSD Express Card was significantly slower to move games from the card to system storage, but it’s also the most affordable card we’ve seen by a good distance. Either way, most people aren’t constantly shuffling their games back and forth like this. Performance in actual games is more important, and in that regard the results were consistently much tighter.
  
  What matters most is getting the most space for your budget. Unfortunately, stock for all microSD Express cards has been spotty since the Switch 2’s launch. For your convenience, we’ll list out all of the models we’ve tested thus far and their respective list prices below. Note that some lower-capacity versions — the 128GB SanDisk card, for one — advertise slower speeds than their more spacious counterparts.
  
  SanDisk microSD Express Card: 128GB ($64), 256GB ($78), 512GB ($128)
  
  Lexar Play Pro: 256GB ($60), 512GB ($120), 1TB ($220)
  
  PNY microSD Express Flash Memory Card: 128GB ($48), 256GB ($62), 512GB ($124)
  
  Samsung microSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2: 256GB ($60)
  
  Samsung P9 Express: 256GB ($55), 512GB ($100)
  
  GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2: 256GB ($60), 512GB ($100), 1TB ($190)
  
  Walmart Onn microSDXC Express Card: 256GB ($47), 512GB ($85)
  The Lexar Play Pro on top of Lexar9s RW540 microSD Express card reader. Jeff Dunn for Engadget
  Broadly speaking, we recommend getting at least 256GB of storage, as Switch 2 games tend to have much larger file sizes than games for Nintendo’s previous handheld. But we also recommend holding off upgrading for as long as you can, if only because all of these cards should (tariff shenanigans aside) come down in price as time goes on.
  
  There’s no point in buying a microSD Express card for anything besides the Switch 2, but we did run the models above through our usual PC benchmarks as well. Unsurprisingly, they are miles faster than any traditional card on the market.
  
  With the 256GB SanDisk card, for instance, sequential read speeds checked in just under 900 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark and ATTO, while sequential writes topped out around 650 MB/s. Sustained writes speeds were slower (around 210 MB/s), but that was still fast enough to move our 12GB test file to the card in 52 seconds on average. It took a mere 20 seconds to read the file back to our PC. The write test with our smaller 1.15GB test folder, meanwhile, averaged just 4.5 seconds.
  
  It all adds up to performance that9s at least twice as fast as the best UHS-I models we’ve tested in terms of sequential reads and writes, with three or four times the speeds in some cases. The gulf in random reads and writes is similar, and in some benchmarks even greater. But you need a pricey SD card reader to even see those increases on a PC, so only those with a Switch 2 in hand or serious cash to burn should consider one of these things.
  Other notable microSD cards Samsung Pro Ultimate
  The Samsung Pro Ultimate was the closest competitor to the Lexar Professional Silver Plus across our benchmark tests, but it9s tangibly worse in terms of sequential write speeds, typically costs more and doesn’t offer a 1TB option. The Samsung Pro Plus is a bit slower for sequential reads, but it’s close enough otherwise and usually easier to find at a lower price.
  Lexar Professional Gold
  We haven9t used it ourselves, but if you’re willing to pay for a more powerful UHS-II card built for heavy-duty video recording, the Lexar Professional Gold has tested well elsewhere and should deliver significantly faster sequential write speeds than our UHS-I picks above. It’s one of the few UHS-II cards we could actually find in stock, but it’s pricey, with a 128GB model normally priced in the $35 to $40 range.
  SanDisk Extreme
  TheSanDisk Extreme effectively matched the Pro Plus in a few of our sequential tests, but that was partly due to us only being able to secure the 256GB model, which is higher-rated than the 128GB version. It’s a fine choice if you see it on sale at a reputable seller, but it’s broadly slower than our top pick and often costs more.
  SanDisk GamePlay
  The SanDisk GamePlay performs similarly to the SanDisk Extreme but costs a good bit extra as of our latest update. We couldn’t get it to reach its advertised speeds with the company’s own “Pro” card reader or other third-party options, so it fell short of our top picks.
  SanDisk Pokémon
  The SanDisk Pokémon does outperform its advertised read and write speeds, but not by enough to outpace the Lexar Silver Plus or Samsung Pro Plus. It essentially charges extra for having a picture of Pikachu (or Gengar, or Snorlax) on a product you’ll never look at.
  SanDisk Extreme Pro
  The SanDisk Extreme Pro is a close analog to the Samsung Pro Ultimate but, as of this writing, is either unavailable at most trusted retailers or priced too high by comparison. The Lexar Professional Silver Plus has faster sequential write speeds as well.
  PNY XLR8 Gaming
  The PNY XLR8 is an affordable card that comes with up to 512GB of space. Its sequential and random writes speeds checked in a little bit above those of Samsung’s Evo Select, plus it comes with a lifetime warranty. But its sequential reads were much, much slower, putting it out of contention.
  PNY Elite-X
  ThePNY Elite-X often goes for cheap and wasn’t too far off the random read/write performance of Samsung9s Pro Plus in CrystalDiskMark. Like the XLR8, it’s also slightly above the Evo Select in write speeds. But its sequential reads were too far behind all of our top picks, and it no longer appears to be available in capacities above 256GB.
  What to look for in a microSD card Capacity
  The first thing to figure out when buying a microSD card is how much storage space you need. Modern cards are commonly available in sizes ranging from 32GB to 512GB, with several models now available in 1TB or 1.5TB capacities as well. The first 2TB cards from major brands have started to arrive as well, which is exciting, but those are still fairly rare (and very expensive) by comparison.
  
  For many, a 128GB or 256GB model should be a sweet spot between price and storage space. But if you need more room — say, for stashing a bunch of games on a Steam Deck — a 512GB card or greater could make more sense and often provides a better cost-per-GB ratio. 
  
  Pricing and stock levels are all over the place as of our most recent update thanks to ongoing AI-driven shortages, but you can typically still find a decent 128GB card for around $15, a good 256GB card for less than $30 and a solid 512GB card for around $40 (with faster models priced a little higher). There’s a starker increase when you go up to 1TB cards, which often cost closer to $100, though we’ve seen some fall into the $70 to $80 range over the last year. The first 2TB cards are a bigger leap: the 2TB SanDisk Extreme, for example, currently has a list price around $290, which is way up from what we saw in 2025.
  
  Note that a microSD card’s performance may differ depending on what capacity you buy. SanDisk says its 128GB Extreme card delivers sequential write speeds up to 90 MB/s, for example, while the higher-capacity models in the same line offer up to 130 MB/s.
  
  When we talk about microSD cards today, we mostly refer to cards that use the microSDXC (eXtended Capacity) standard, which have a capacity between 32GB and 2TB. Your device needs to support this for it to work with a microSDXC card. This will almost never be an issue these days, but some older devices (a Nintendo 3DS, for instance) are only compatible with microSDHC (High Capacity) cards, which range from 2GB to 32GB.
  Read and write speeds
  MicroSD cards are primarily judged on their read and write speeds, which are usually measured in megabytes per second (MB/s). Generally, most microSD cards have faster read speeds than write speeds.
  
  These metrics can then be broken down into sequential and random performance. Sequential read and write speeds matter when you’re trying to access (read) or save (write) long, constant streams of data, such as opening a large video or copying a big batch of files from a PC. If you want to use a microSD card for media storage, this is particularly important. Random performance, meanwhile, is about how quickly a card can read and write small files scattered throughout the device.
  
  Since random read/write speeds are much lower than sequential ones, storage device makers tend not to advertise them as loudly. But they’re important if you use a card with a gaming device or a single-board computer like the Raspberry Pi, where it often has to rapidly save and access small bits of data in random locations.
  Speed ratings
  If you look at a microSD card, you’ll see a buffet of numbers, letters and symbols. Most of these refer to the card’s speed class and performance ratings, which are determined by the SD Association.
  
  A card’s Video Speed Class, or V-rating, details its minimum sequential write speed, which is especially important when recording video from a camera. It ranges from V6 to V90. Most of the cards we tested had a V30 rating, so they have a sequential write speed of at least 30 MB/s. This should be enough to support up to 4K video at lower bitrates. Higher-rated V60 and V90 cards are usually better for capturing 8K, but they come at a much higher cost.
  
  The UHS Speed Class, or U-rating, also refers to a card’s minimum sequential write speed. It comes in two varieties: U3, which mandates a minimum of 30 MB/s, and U1, which is rated for 10 MB/s.
  
  The older Speed Class rating overlaps with the other two systems. It’s signified by a C symbol and goes from Class 2 to Class 10, with the number (again) indicating minimum sequential write speed. This rating is less relevant nowadays, but you may still see a “C10” logo on some cards.
  
  The Application Performance spec, marked by an A symbol, is an indicator of random read/write speeds. This is measured in IOPS, or input/output operations per second, rather than MB/s. There are two categories here: A1 cards offer a minimum random read speed of 1,500 IOPS and a minimum random write speed of 500 IOPS, while A2 cards bump those up to 4,000 IOPS and 2,000 IOPS, respectively. Both ratings also guarantee sequential write speeds of at least 10 MB/s.
  
  To keep it simple, most people should look for a card with V30, U3 and A2 ratings. It’s totally possible to get a solid card without those: A U1 card might be worth it if you just need a cheap, high-capacity option, for example. V60 and V90 cards are worth a look if you’re serious about shooting high-resolution photos and video as well. But overall, cards with the certifications above should provide the best blend of price and performance today.
  
  It’s important to emphasize that these ratings are baselines. Most V30 cards offer significantly higher write speeds than 30 MB/s, for instance, and some A1 cards can outperform some A2 models in practice. The speeds advertised by manufacturers aren’t always 100 percent accurate, either: Sometimes the card will be slower in real-world use, other times it may actually be a bit faster.
  Samsung UHS bus speeds
  The other spec to note is the card’s bus interface. Most microSD cards available today are UHS-I, which has a theoretical maximum speed of 104 MB/s. There are also UHS-II cards, which have an extra row of pins on the back and can reach up to 312 MB/s. (A UHS-III standard technically exists as well but hasn’t seen wide adoption.) These are labeled on the card with a Roman numeral I or II.
  
  UHS-II cards are typically the ones with those higher V60 or V90 ratings. If you shoot lots of 4K to 8K video or frequently use burst mode to capture ultra high-res photos, the performance gains of a good UHS-II card can save you time.
  
  However, these are typically much more expensive than UHS-I cards: This 128GB Lexar Professional Gold model, for instance, is a relative bargain at $35. While that9s less than many UHS-II models we’ve seen in the past, it9s still more than double the common street price of our top pick above. You need a device that’s compatible with the UHS-II interface to see any benefits, too, and stock for UHS-II cards is often spottier. For now, the higher speeds aren’t worth the price premium for most people, so we stuck mostly to UHS-I cards with our recommendations.
  Unlike traditional UHS-I cards, a microSD Express card like the SanDisk model on the right comes with a second row of pins to enable its improved performance. Jeff Dunn for Engadget microSD Express and the Nintendo Switch 2
  The absolute fastest microSD cards you can buy, however, are based on a different interface calledSD Express. This hastechnically been around for several years andnow includes its own subset ofspeed classes, but the gist is that it9s much faster than UHS-I or UHS-II: SanDisk’s recently releasedmicroSD Express card, one of the first commercially available models, advertises sequential read speeds up to 880MB/s. That’s quicker than some older SSDs.
  
  It’s a substantial upgrade that has largely held up in our testing, but very few popular devices natively support SD Express today. The first major exception is the Nintendo Switch 2, which is dedicated buying guide just for Nintendo9s console. 
  A note on card readers and reaching advertised speeds
  While the UHS-I interface has a theoretical maximum of 104 MB/s, some UHS-I cards can exceed that speed through proprietary extensions. However, you need a compatible card reader and host device to take advantage of that extra performance. If you find a UHS-I card advertising speeds higher than 104 MB/s, this is what’s going on. You can see these limits in action with an original Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck: Both of those gaming devices support the UHS-I interface but don’t go beyond its official speed, flattening any sequential gains some cards may have elsewhere. (Differences in random read and write speeds can still matter, though.) The same thing will happen if you plug a more powerful UHS-II or SD Express card into a device that doesn’t accept those interfaces.
  
  The takeaway: Your microSD card will only be as fast as the slowest link in your chain.
  Warranty
  Many microSD cards are designed to be durable, with protection from water, extreme temperatures, X-rays and drops. Still, in case of catastrophe, a long warranty is always good to have. Many manufacturers offer lifetime or 10-year limited warranties, though we’ve noticed that “endurance” cards marketed to withstand more hours of writing are usually covered for a shorter period of time. For example, Samsung9s Pro Endurance, a model aimed at security cameras and other monitoring devices, comes with a five-year warranty.
  Avoiding counterfeits
  The memory card market has had a particular problem with scammers selling fake products. To guard against this, only buy from a known brand and a reputable retailer such as Best Buy, B&H Photo or Adorama. If you shop at Amazon, only buy if the shipper and seller is Amazon.com. (That said, a handful of users have reported receiving counterfeits even from Amazon directly in the past, so exercise caution.) Remember: If a price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of any retailer offering a significantly lower price than everyone else.
  
  Once you receive a card, check its packaging for any irregularities. You can run benchmark tests like CrystalDiskMark or BlackMagic Disk Speed Test to verify its speeds aren’t drastically lower than what’s advertised (or possible, given its specs). You can also use software that’s designed to verify the true capacity and performance of your card, such as H2testw and FakeFlashTest.
  A few of the microSD card readers we9ve used for testing. Jeff Dunn for Engadget How we test microSD cards
  We9ve put about 20 microSD cards through a series of tests to verify their sequential and random performance. These included benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark, BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, ATTO Disk Benchmark and AJA System Test, as well as a few “real-world” tests. We copied and pasted a small folder of photos about 1.15GB in size to and from each card, then did the same with a larger 12.2GB folder containing multiple file types and subfolders, timing the process each time. We also checked how each card performed on the Steam Deck, downloading games of varying sizes — including Kingston USB 3.2 UHS-II reader to test each card on both Windows 11 and macOS Sequoia. However, if a card could be bundled with (or is specifically advertised to use) a proprietary reader, we mainly tested with that, since we figure that’s the one most interested buyers will end up using. For Windows testing, we used an Alienware gaming PC with an Intel Core i9-10900F, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. For macOS, we used a 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro with an Apple M1 Pro chip, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. If a reader couldn’t connect over USB-C, we used CalDigit’s TS4 dock to test the corresponding card on the MacBook.
  
  We tested the 128GB version of each card whenever we could, though we were only able to test higher-capacity models for a few options. We also reformatted each card before testing with the SD Association’s Memory Card Formatter tool.
  
  For microSD Express cards, we ran each model through a series of tests specific to the Switch 2, since that is the only popular device that actually supports the tech. You can read more about that process in our separate buying guide linked above.
  Recent updates
  December 2025: We’ve tested the Samsung P9 Express microSD Express card and noted it in our Switch 2 section above. We’ve also made a few edits to highlight recent price increases and stock shortages driven by the ongoing AI boom.
  
  November 2025: We’ve tested Walmart’s Onn microSD Express Card and edited our notes on the best cards for the Nintendo Switch 2 accordingly.
  
  September 2025: We’ve fleshed out our advice on buying a microSD Express card for the Nintendo Switch 2. 
  
  May 2025: We’ve updated this guide to ensure our advice is accurate and to reflect the new Nintendo Switch 2’s use of microSD Express cards. We’ve also added testing notes for the Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card and the more standard PNY XLR8. We’ve removed mentions of a few cards that have seemingly been discontinued, including the original Kingston Canvas Go Plus, the Lexar Professional 1066x and the 2021 Samsung Evo Select. We plan to test more new microSD Express cards for a future update.
  
  February 2025: We’ve updated this guide with a new top pick: the Lexar Professional Silver Plus. The Samsung Pro Plus, our previous recommendation, stays as a runner-up. We’ve also added SanDisk’s recently released microSD Express card as a pick for those who want the absolute fastest card possible, albeit with heavy caveats. This is one of the first microSD cards to use the SD Express bus interface, so we’ve included more details on what that entails in our “what to look for in a microSD card” section. Lastly, we’ve removed our write-up for SanDisk’s Apex Legends card, as it appears to have been discontinued, and included testing notes for a couple of the company’s more recent releases.
  
  November 2024: We9ve checked back with this guide to ensure our recommendations are still accurate and made light edits for clarity. 
  
  August 2024: We’ve updated this guide to note the recently released 1TB models for three of our top picks: the Samsung Pro Plus, the Kingston Canvas Go Plus and the Samsung Evo Select. We’ve also made sure all pricing details are as up to date as they can be. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-microsd-card-130038282.html?src=rss

• Today's the last day to get $100 off the PS5 and PS5 Pro
  Back in November, Sony started selling PS5 consoles at a $100 discount as part of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion. The deal officially sunsets at 3AM ET, so now is a good time to bite the bullet on a gaming console given that prices aren9t likely to go down anytime soon.
  
  You can pick up a regular disc-based PS5 for $450 and a digital model for $400. The beefy PS5 Pro is available for $650. All of these deals are active on Amazon, but also directly from Sony.
  
  If the costs here still sound a bit high, that9s because Sony raised console prices by $50 back in August. In other words, these $100 discounts are pretty much $50 discounts when factoring in that recent increase. Still, cheaper is cheaper. This puts the digital PS5 at the same price as an Xbox Series S and the disc-based version at the same price as a Switch 2.
  
  Both standard PS5 configurations won9t arrive until December 28. The PS5 Pro, however, is available for same-day shipping if you9re jonesing for one last holiday gift.
  
  The PS5 has a fairly large stable of exclusive titles made by Sony-owned studios. These include games like Horizon Forbidden West, Astro Bot, Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei.
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/todays-the-last-day-to-get-100-off-the-ps5-and-ps5-pro-181454333.html?src=rss

• The best live TV streaming services to cut cable in 2026
  Price hikes, media consolidation and contract disputes that turn channels dark have made live TV streaming services feel a lot more like cable. But, for most people it’s still a better deal to cut the cord. For sports fans and news junkies, there’s still no better option than one of the best live TV streaming services. We tried all the major players and currently recommend YouTube TV for most people. But we also spelled out just what you get from other providers (along with what we think about them) so you can decide for yourself.
  
  Editor’s note: YouTube TV will start offering genre-specific plans in early 2026. We don’t have word on the pricing or specifics yet, but will update this guide when we do. Fans looking to watch Christmas football games will need access to Netflix as well as Prime Video. We’ve detailed the schedule in the NFL streaming section below.
  Table of contents
  Best live TV streaming services for 2026?
  
  How to stream live NFL games?
  
  Best free live TV streaming services for 2026?
  
  What to look for in a live TV streaming service?
  
  How we tested?
  
  Live TV Streaming FAQs?
  
  Recent updates?
  Best live TV streaming services for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  How to stream live NFL games
  The rights to air regular-season NFL games belong to a number of networks. Around 200 games are scheduled to appear Sundays on CBS/Paramount+ and Fox/Fox One. NBC/Peacock will host one Sunday night competition each week while Prime Video will air Thursday night contests (except for Thanksgiving week) and ABC/ESPN will show Monday night matchups. A few games will be exclusive to the NFL Network and Christmas-day games will air live on Netflix. YouTube aired a single week-one game. You can see the complete NFL schedule here (the airing network appears just below the game time on the list).
  
  On many Sundays, multiple games are scheduled to air at the same time by the same broadcaster. That means Fox and CBS will broadcast regional games through the associated local affiliate station. Select national games will air through Fox One and Paramount+. To see all Sunday (daytime) matchups, you’ll need the NFL Sunday Ticket that’s now exclusive to YouTube TV and costs between $35 and $115 per month depending on the type of subscription you choose (YouTube recently announced monthly options for the Sunday Ticket). Note that the subscription doesn’t include Sunday night games — for that, you’ll need Peacock and/or local NBC station access through YouTube TV or elsewhere.
  
  Most of the paid live TV streaming services we recommend here include the stations you’ll need to see most of the games. YouTube TV, Fubo TV (including the new, cheaper Fubo Sports package), Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV (Signature packages and MySports Genre packs) offer local Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC stations in most (but not all areas). They also carry sports-focused channels from those networks, like Fox Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN. Sling’s Orange plan includes access to a few local channels (varying by area), and also carries ESPN, but you’ll need the combined Orange and Blue plan to also get the Fox Sports channel — but neither plan carries CBS Sports.
  How to watch Christmas pro football
  Viewers looking to watch games on Christmas day and the weekend after will need more than just a live TV streaming service. Two games on December 25 will air on Netflix. You can catch the Dallas Cowboys play the Washington Commanders at 1PM ET, followed by the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings at 4:30PM ET. The third game will air on Prime Video as part of its regular Thursday Night Football programming and will showcase the Denver Broncos versus the Kansas City Chiefs at 8:15PM ET.
  
  Friday is football-free, but the following Saturday, the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers game will air on the NFL Network — which is carried by YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV, Fubo, DirectTV and Sling Blue and Select.
  How can I stream NFL games for free?
  If you have a digital antenna hooked up to your TV, you can grab games that are broadcast over the airways for your region by tuning into your local CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC stations. You can buy a digital antenna for between $20 and $60. Of course, that won’t get you the games that are exclusive to the NFL Network, Prime Video or Netflix, and you won’t be able to watch games broadcast outside your area.
  
  Nearly all paid live TV streaming services are currently offering free trials ranging from a few days to a week. You could hop from service to service, catching a few games before cancelling and not pay anything, but with 18 weeks in the regular season, you’ll obviously not be able to watch all games for free.
  
  Alternatively, you can check out your local sports bar and watch a game for the price of a soda and maybe some nachos. As it turns out, bars and restaurants that provide those games to customers have to pay a ton of cash to do so, so you may as well take advantage of the opportunity.
  Does Paramount Plus stream live NFL games?
  Yes. Paramount owns CBS, which has historically held the rights to air many NFL games each season. This year, NFL on CBS includes more than 100 regular-season games, most of them Sunday matchups. You can see which NFL games will air on CBS/Paramount + here. Note that to watch your local CBS station you need Paramount+ Premium (formerly Paramount+ with Showtime) for $13 per month.
  Can you stream live football on YouTube?
  September 5, 2025 marked the first time YouTube was an official live NFL broadcaster when it aired a Friday night, week-one game of the 2025 NFL season from São Paulo, Brazil. It pit the Los Angeles Chargers against the Kansas City Chiefs (LA won 21-27) and aired worldwide on YouTube for free as well as for subscribers to YouTube TV.
  
  There are no other plans for YouTube to air live NFL games for the 2025 season for free, but paid YouTube TV customers will be able to watch many live matchups on their local CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC stations as part of their subscription. Both YouTube TV subscribers and anyone with the YouTube app can subscribe to the NFL Sunday Ticket add-on for $35 to $60 monthly, depending on promotions. Through the YouTube app, you can also purchase access to other Primetime Channels including Paramount+, but it costs the same as paying for those accounts directly.
  
  Back to top�?�
  Best free live TV streaming services for 2026
  There are loads of ways to get free TV these days. To start, many standard streaming apps have added live components to their lineups — even Netflix. Peacock Premium Plus subscriptions include regional NBC stations. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can watch on-air CBS programming. The new Fox One service includes multiple live Fox stations. True, if you’re already paying for a service it’s not technically “free” but at least the live content isn’t extra.
  
  The smart TV operating system (OS) you use likely provides free live content too: Amazon’s Fire TV, Google/Android TV, Roku’s built-in Roku Channel and Samsung’s TV Plus all have hundreds of live channels and original programming. Some of the paid services we recommend above have a free version — namely Sling Freestream, Fubo Free (available after you cancel) and DirecTV’s MyFree. But if you’re looking for more, here are the best free ad-supported TV (FAST) apps with live TV that we tried:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  What to look for in a live TV streaming service How to stream live TV
  Streaming live TV is a lot like using Netflix. You get access through apps on your phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device and the signal arrives over the internet. A faster and more stable connection tends to give you a better experience. Most live TV apps require you to sign up and pay via a web browser. After that, you can activate the app on all of your devices.
  Monthly Price
  When I started testing these cord-cutting alternatives, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard video streaming app. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, most live TV services hit the $80 mark and can go higher than $200 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras. The higher starting price is mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks — particularly sports and local stations. And, in the past year or so, every service has raised base plan prices.
  Local channels
  Only two of the services I tried don’t include full local channel coverage for subscribers and one of those makes no effort to carry sports at all. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it’s the cheapest. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations — and only in larger markets — but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels.
  
  When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you’ll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area’s broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you’ll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC. And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era.
  
  But local channel access is another area where traditional streaming services, like Netflix, are bleeding into broadcast territory. For example, you can watch your local NBC station with a Peacock subscription and you can tune into your area’s CBS station through your Paramount+ subscription. Netflix is even getting into the mix with a recently announced deal with one of France’s broadcast companies, TF1. The streaming service will now air TF19s live TV channels and on-demand content inside the Netflix app. No word if the concept will expand to other regions, but it’s an interesting move to anyone interested in the future of streaming.
  Live sports coverage
  One reality that spun my head was the sheer number and iterations of sports networks in existence. Trying to figure out which network will carry the match-up you want to see can be tricky. I found that Google makes it a little easier for sports fans by listing out upcoming games (just swap in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and so on in the search bar). When you click an event, the “TV & streaming” button will tell you which network is covering it.
  
  That just leaves figuring out if your chosen service carries the RSNs (regional sports networks) you want. Unfortunately, even with add-ons and extra packages, some providers simply don’t have certain channels in their lineups. It would take a lawyer to understand the ins and outs of streaming rights negotiations, and networks leave and return to live TV carriers all the time. That said, most major sporting events in the US are covered by ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT, USA and local affiliates.
  
  I should also point out that traditional streaming services have started adding live sports to their lineups. Peacock carries live Premier League matches, Sunday Night Football games and aired the 2024 Olympic Games from Paris. Thursday Night Football as well as NBA and WNBA games are on Amazon Prime and Christmas Day Football airs on Netflix. HBO Max (formerly, er, HBO Max) now airs select, regular season games from the NHL, MLB, NCAA and NBA with a $10-per-month add-on. 
  
  You can watch MLS games with an add-on through the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ (now just calledApple TV) includes some MLB games. Roku users can watch the just-added free sports channel and those who subscribe to Paramount Plus can see many of the matches aired on CBS Sports, including live NFL games. In 2025, January9s Super Bowl was live-streamed for free on Tubi. While all of these alternatives may not cover as much ground as live TV streamers, they could end up being cheaper avenues to the sports you want.
  
  And if sports is all you’re after, there are sports-only plans that are a touch cheaper, too. The promised sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. called Venu was cancelled early this year. But on August 21, ESPN launched its own streaming service that includes all ESPN channels and costs $30 per month. Fubo Sports is $56 monthly and includes local broadcast stations from ABC, CBS and FOX plus a slew of sports networks (CBS Sport and FS1 among them) as well as all networks included with ESPN Unlimited.  
  
  Fox launched its own standalone service in August as well and it includes Fox Sports and all other Fox properties (News, Business, Weather) for $20 monthly. DirecTV also has a $70-per-month, sports-only streaming package called MySports and Comcast has a sports and news bundle for that same price (as long as you9re an Xfinity customer with auto-pay, otherwise it9s more expensive).
  
  Traditional cable networks
  
  Dozens of linear programming networks were once only available with cable TV, like Bravo, BET, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Lifetime, SYFY and MTV. If you only subscribe to, say, Netflix or Apple TV+, you won’t have access to those. But as with sports, standard streamers are starting to incorporate this content into their offerings. After the Warner Bros. merger, Max incorporated some content from HGTV, Discovery and TLC. Peacock has Bravo and Hallmark shows, and Paramount+ has material from Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.
  
  Other entertainment channels like AMC+ have stand-alone apps. The Discovery+ app gives you 15 channels ad-free for $10 per month (or with ads for $6 monthly). And a service called Frndly TV starts at a mere $7 per month and streams A&E, Lifetime, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel and about 35 others. Of course, most live TV streaming options will deliver more sizable lists of cable networks, but just note that you may already be paying for some of them — and if all you need is a certain channel, you could get it cheaper by subscribing directly.
  On-demand streaming
  Most live TV subscriptions include access to a selection of video-on-demand (VOD) content, like you would get with a traditional streaming service. Much of this content is made up of the movies and TV series that have recently aired on your subscribed networks. This typically doesn’t cover live events and news programming, but I was able to watch specific episodes of ongoing shows like Top Chef or BET’s Diarra from Detroit. Just search the on-demand library for the program, pick an episode and hit play.
  
  Partnerships, like Hulu’s relationship with Disney, and add-ons, such as bundling Max with your YouTube TV subscription or Starz with your Sling plan, will let you watch even larger libraries of on-demand content. But again, if VOD is all you’re after, paying for those networks directly instead of through a live TV plan will be far cheaper.
  Digital video recordings (DVR) limits
  Every option I tried offers some cloud DVR storage without needing a separate physical device. You’ll either get unlimited storage for recordings that expires after nine months or a year, or you’ll get a set number of hours (between 50 and 1,000) that you can keep indefinitely. Typically, all you need to do is designate what ongoing TV series you want to record and the DVR component will do all the hard work of saving subsequent episodes for you to watch later. You can do the same thing with sports events.
  
  Aside from being able to watch whenever it’s most convenient, you can also fast-forward through commercials in recorded content. In contrast, you can’t skip them on live TV or VOD.
  Simultaneous streams and profiles per account
  Each plan gives you a certain number of simultaneous streams, aka how many screens can play content at the same time. And while most providers will let you travel with your subscription, there are usually location restrictions that require you to sign in from your home IP address periodically. Stream allowances range from one at a time to unlimited screens (or as many as your ISP’s bandwidth can handle). Some plans require add-ons to get more screens.
  
  Most services also let you set up a few profiles so I was able to give different people in my family the ability to build their own watch histories and libraries, set their favorite channels and get individual recommendations.
  Picture-in-picture mode and multiview
  Picture-in-picture (PiP) usually refers to shrinking a video window on a mobile device or computer browser so you can watch it while using other apps. Sling, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all have PiP modes on computers and mobile devices. 
  
  Another feature, multiview, lets you view multiple (usually four) sports matches or other live content at once on your TV screen. YouTube TV, FuboTV and now DirecTV all let you do this. With YouTube TV, you can select up to four views from a few preset selection of streams. FuboTV offers the same feature, but only if you9re using an Apple TV or Roku streaming device. DirecTV lets you do so through “mixes” which include sports, news, business and kids variants with a set four channels in each mix.
  4K live streams
  Right now, just FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream offer 4K live streams — but with caveats. YouTube TV requires a $20-per-month add-on, after which you’ll only be able to watch certain live content in 4K. DirecTV Stream has three channels that show live 4K content — one with shows and original series, and two with occasional sporting events. You don’t have to pay extra for these but you do need to have either DirecTV’s Gemini receiver, or a device from Fire TV, Apple TV or Roku. You’ll need those same streaming devices to watch the select 4K programming on Sling as well. FuboTV shows certain live events in 4K but access is limited to the Elite and Premier packages, not the base-level Pro plan.
  
  Of course, watching any 4K content also requires equipment that can handle it: a 4K smart TV or 4K streaming device paired with a cord and screen that can handle 4K resolution.
  Tiers, packages and add-ons
  Comparing price-to-offering ratios is a task for a spreadsheet. I… made three. The base plans range from $28 to $85 per month. From there, you can add packages, which are usually groups of live TV channels bundled by themes like news, sports, entertainment or international content. Premium VOD extras like Max, AMC+ and Starz are also available. Add-ons cost an extra $5 to $20 each per month and simply show up in the guide where you find the rest of your live TV. This is where streaming can quickly get expensive, pushing an $80 subscription to $200 monthly, depending on what you choose.
  How to stream live TV for free
  I also downloaded and tried out a few apps that offer free ad-supported TV (FAST) including Freevee, Tubi, PlutoTV and Sling Freestream. These let you drop in and watch a more limited selection of live networks at zero cost. Most don’t even require an email address, let alone a credit card. And if you have a Roku device, an Amazon Fire TV or Stick, a Samsung TV, a Chromecast device or a Google TV, you already have access to hundreds of live channels via the Roku Channel, the live tab in Fire TV, through the Samsung TV Plus app or through Google TV.
  
  Back to top?
  How we tested live TV streaming services
  When I begin testing for a guide, I research the most popular and well-reviewed players in the category and narrow down which are worth trying. For the paid plans, just six services dominate so I tried them all. There are considerably more free live TV contenders so I tested the four most popular. After getting accounts set up using my laptop, I downloaded the apps on a Samsung smart TV running the latest version of Tizen OS. I counted the local stations and regional sports coverage, and noted how many of the top cable networks were available. I then weighed the prices, base packages and available add-ons.
  
  I then looked at how the programming was organized in each app’s UI and judged how easy everything was to navigate, from the top navigation to the settings. To test the search function, I searched for the same few TV shows on BET, Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central, since all six providers carry those channels. I noted how helpful the searches were and how quickly they got me to season 6, episode 13 of Home Town.
  
  I used DVR to record entire series and single movies and watched VOD shows, making sure to test the pause and scan functions. On each service with sports, I searched for the same four upcoming NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA basketball matches and used the record option to save the games and play them back a day or two later. Finally, I noted any extra perks or irritating quirks.
  
  All live TV streaming services we’ve tested:
  
  Philo
  
  Sling
  
  YouTube TV
  
  Hulu + Live TV
  
  DirecTV Stream
  
  FuboTV
  
  Freevee
  
  Tubi
  
  PlutoTV
  
  Sling Freestream
  
  Plex
  
  Back to top?
  Live TV Streaming FAQs What is live streaming?
  Streaming simply refers to video content that is delivered to your screen over the internet. Live streaming can be split into two categories: linear programming and simultaneous transmission. That first one is similar to what you get with cable or broadcast TV, with channels that play a constant flow of movies and shows (sort of what TV looked like before Netflix). Simultaneous streaming lets you watch live events (like a basketball game) or a program (like the evening news) as they happen.
  What is the difference between streaming and live streaming?
  Standard streaming, the most popular example being Netflix, lets you pick what you want to watch from a menu of choices. It’s also referred to as “video on demand.” Live streaming refers to sports and news events that you can stream as they happen in real time. It also refers to channels that show a continuous, linear flow of programming.
  What streaming service is best for live TV?
  FuboTV does the best job of letting you organize live channels to help you find just what you want to watch. The interface is uncluttered and when you search for something, the UI clearly tells you whether something is live now or on-demand. YouTube TV also does a good job making that info clear. Both have just over 100 live channels on offer.
  What is the most cost effective TV streaming service?
  Free TV streaming services like PlutoTV, Plex, Tubi and FreeVee show plenty of ad-supported TV shows and movies without charging you anything. Of course, they won’t have the same channels or content that more premium subscriptions have. Ultimately it depends on what you want to watch and finding the service that can supply that to you in the most streamlined form so you’re not paying for stuff you don’t need.
  Is it cheaper to have cable or streaming?
  A basic cable package used to be more expensive than the base-level live TV streaming service. But now that nearly all major providers have raised their prices to over $75 per month, that’s no longer the case. And with add-ons and other premiums, you can easily pay over $200 a month for either cable or a live TV streaming service. But those who want to cut the cord will appreciate that streaming services don9t have contracts. 
  What streaming service has all the TV channels?
  No service that we tested had every available channel. Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream carry the the highest number of the top rated channels, according to Neilsen. Hulu’s service also gets you Disney+ fare, which you can’t get elsewhere. FuboTV has the most sports channels and YouTube TV gives you the widest selection of add-ons.
  What is the most popular live TV streaming platform?
  YouTube TV has the most paying customers. According to 20249s letter from the CEO, the service has over eight million subscribers. Disney’s 2024 third quarter earnings put the Hulu + Live TV viewer count at 4.6 million. Sling’s customer count dipped from two million to about 1.9 million in 2024 and FuboTV grew its subscriber list to 1.6 million.
  How safe are free streaming services and websites?
  You may have heard certain sites that provide free content can be dangerous, leading to stolen info and/or exposing you to malware. That’s likely in reference to certain peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and file-sharing sites that let people download free movies and series — which can come bundled with malicious code.
  
  But if you’re talking about the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services listed here, from providers like PlutoTV, Tubi and Plex, they are just as safe as any other streaming service. Since you sometimes don’t even have to provide your email address or credit card info, they can even be more anonymous for cord cutters than apps that require login credentials.
  
  Back to top?
  Recent updates
  December 2025: Included Fubo9s channel and price adjustments. Confirmed pricing for all services. 
  
  Back to top?
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming-service-133000410.html?src=rss

• The best VPN deals: Up to 88 percent off ProtonVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, NordVPN and more
  It's the night before Christmas, and holiday VPN deals are going strong. It's a great time to grab a last-minute subscription for yourself or a loved one. With access to a virtual private network (VPN), you can stream TV shows and events from all over the world, protect your information from hackers and thwart online trackers. It might be cute that Santa sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake, but Russian hacker collectives and the Amazon marketing department don't really share St. Nick's charm.
  
  Although we strongly recommend using a VPN, jumping on the first deal that comes along might get you stuck with a substandard app. Beyond that, even otherwise respectable VPNs sometimes frame their prices in misleading ways, with advertised deals not always as available as they seem to be.
  
  Even so, there are some great bargains on the table. For the holiday season, plenty of the best VPNs — including our top pick, Proton VPN — have end-of-year deals live that can save you anywhere from 67 to 88 percent on annual subscriptions. Most of these discounts only apply if you sign up for a year or more, but as long as you're comfortable with a service before you take the plunge, committing actually makes sense. You pay more at the start, but if you divide the cost by the months of subscription, it's much cheaper over time.
  Best VPN deals
  
  
  
  
  ExpressVPN review, it dropped my download speeds by less than 7 percent and successfully changed my virtual location 14 out of 15 times. In short, it's an all-around excellent service that only suffers from being a little overpriced — which is why I'm so excited whenever I find it offering a decent deal. This discount, which gets you 28 months of ExpressVPN service, represents a 73 percent savings. Be aware, though, that it'll renew at the $99.95 per year price.
  
  split its pricing into multiple tiers, but they all still come with similar discounts for going long. In addition to top-tier VPN service, advanced users get two additional simultaneous connections (for a total of 12), the ExpressVPN Keys password manager, advanced ad and tracker blocking, ID protection features and a 50 percent discount on an AirCove router. As above, note that it renews at $119.95 annually.
  
  NordVPN review that it always connects quickly and includes a support page that makes it easy to get live help. NordVPN includes a lot of cool features, like servers that instantly connect you to Tor. This holiday deal gives you 74 percent off the two-year plan, which also comes with three extra months.
  
  Surfshark, but it includes the entire VPN; everything on Surfshark One is an extra perk. With this subscription, you'll get some of the most envelope-pushing features in the VPN world right now. Surfshark can rotate your IP constantly to help you evade detection — it even lets you choose your own entry and exit nodes for a double-hop connection. That all comes with a near-invisible impact on download speeds. With this year-round deal, you can save 87 percent on 27 months of Surfshark.
  
  EventVPN and the free version of Proton VPN as competition. If you do want to upgrade to its paid plan, though, the two-year subscription offers great savings. Hide.me works well as a no-frills beginner VPN, with apps and a server network it should frankly be charging more for.
  
  Private Internet Access (PIA) for a little bit under $2 per month — an 83 percent discount on its monthly price. Despite being so cheap, PIA has plenty of features, coming with its own DNS servers, a built-in ad blocker and automation powers to rival CyberGhost. However, internet speeds can fluctuate while you're connected.
  What makes a good VPN deal
  Practically every VPN heavily discounts its long-term subscriptions year-round, with even sharper discounts around occasions like the holidays. The only noteworthy exception is Mullvad, the Costco hot dog of VPNs (that's a compliment, to be clear). When there's constantly a huge discount going on, it can be hard to tell when you're actually getting a good deal. The best way to squeeze out more savings is to look for seasonal deals, student discounts or exclusive sales like Proton VPN's coupon for Engadget readers.
  
  One trick VPNs often use is to add extra months onto an introductory deal, pushing the average monthly price even lower. When it comes time to renew, you usually can't get these extra months again. You often can't even renew for the same basic period of time — for example, you may only be able to renew a two-year subscription for one year. If you're planning to hold onto a VPN indefinitely, check the fine print to see how much it will cost per month after the first renewal, and ensure that fits into your budget.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-vpn-deals-up-to-88-percent-off-protonvpn-surfshark-expressvpn-nordvpn-and-more-120056445.html?src=rss

• How to set up an iPad for a child
  Creating a child-friendly iPad takes a few extra steps, but Apple’s tools make the process relatively straightforward. From creating a child’s Apple ID to adjusting Screen Time and privacy settings, you can shape how your child uses the device and protect them from inappropriate content. The process varies slightly depending on whether the iPad is new or already in use, but the principles are the same: set up a managed account, connect it to Family Sharing and fine-tune the controls that keep your child’s digital space safe.
  Create an Apple ID for your child
  Every kid using an iPad should have their own Apple ID. This allows you to manage their account through Family Sharing and gives them access to features like iCloud, the App Store and Messages under your supervision. Apple requires parents to create accounts for children under 13, which can be done directly from your own device.
  
  Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap your name at the top and select Family. Tap Add Member, then Create Child Account, and follow the onscreen prompts. You’ll need to provide your child’s name and birth date, along with parental consent using your own Apple ID password. Once created, the account is automatically added to your Family Sharing group.
  
  If your kid already has an account, you can invite them to join your Family Sharing setup instead. On the iPad, go to Settings > Family > Add Member, then select Invite People to send a request to their existing Apple ID email address. When they accept, you’ll be able to manage parental controls from your own device.
  Add your child to Family Sharing
  Family Sharing brings all your family’s Apple devices together under one umbrella. It lets you share subscriptions, purchases and iCloud storage, while giving you oversight of your child’s activity. The Ask to Buy feature, for example, requires your approval before your child can download apps or make in-app purchases, helping to avoid surprise charges.
  
  To enable Family Sharing on your iPad, go to Settings > [your name] > Family, then tap Add Member if your child isn’t already added. You can manage shared purchases, location sharing and Screen Time settings from here. Linking devices through Family Sharing also makes it easier to locate a lost iPad and maintain consistent restrictions across all your family’s devices. For broader setup advice, see Engadget’s guide onhow to set up a phone or tablet for a child.
  Set up Screen Time and parental controls
  Once your child’s account is linked, you can use Screen Time to manage how the iPad is used. Screen Time is found under Settings > Screen Time, and it lets you set time limits, restrict certain apps, and monitor usage reports.
  
  When first opening Screen Time on your child’s iPad, tap This is My Child’s iPad. You’ll be prompted to create a unique Screen Time passcode. This passcode is different from the iPad’s unlock code and prevents your child from changing settings without permission, so make sure you remember it. From here, you can configure several key features.
  
  Downtime allows you to block all but essential apps and calls during certain hours, such as bedtime or homework time. App Limits sets daily time limits for categories such as games, entertainment or social networking. You can also set Communication Limits to control who your child can contact throughout the day and during Downtime, which is useful for if you only want them to message family members or trusted friends. The Always Allowed section lets you choose essential apps, such as Messages or educational tools, that remain accessible at all times.
  
  You can adjust these settings from your own device if your child is part of your Family Sharing group. Screen Time reports provide detailed insight into how the iPad is used, so you can see which apps are used the most and make adjustments as needed.
  Enable Content and Privacy Restrictions
  Content and Privacy Restrictions offer finer control over what your kid can and cannot do with their iPad. To enable them, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, and toggle them on.
  
  Within this menu, you can manage App Store purchases and downloads, disabling in-app purchases or preventing your child from installing or deleting apps. You can also filter explicit content in Apple Music, TV, and Books, and apply web restrictions in Safari to limit adult content. Under Web Content, choose Limit Adult Websites or specify certain sites that are allowed or blocked.
  
  Privacy controls extend beyond content. You can manage location services, camera and microphone access and other sensitive permissions. For example, turning off location sharing in certain apps can help safeguard your child’s privacy. You can also prevent changes to accounts, passcodes and cellular settings, ensuring that restrictions remain consistent.
  Fine-tune privacy and safety settings
  Beyond Screen Time, Apple includes additional tools to make iPads safer for children. In Safari, you can enable SafeSearch to filter explicit results in search engines. Restrict AirDrop under Settings > General > AirDrop to limit sharing to Contacts Only or turn it off completely, reducing the potential for exposure to unsolicited files.
  
  Messages includes a Communication Safety feature that uses on-device machine learning to detect sensitive images. When enabled, the iPad will blur images that contain nudity and offer guidance before the child can view them. You’ll find this under Settings > Screen Time > Communication Safety. It works entirely on the device and doesn’t send data to Apple, preserving privacy while offering extra protection.
  
  If your child uses Game Center, you can limit multiplayer games, profile visibility and the ability to add friends. These small adjustments can prevent unwanted social interactions or exposure to inappropriate content in online games.
  Use Guided Access for younger children
  For younger children or toddlers, Guided Access can keep them focused on a single app and prevent them from accidentally navigating elsewhere. To enable it, open Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, then toggle it on and set a passcode.
  
  Once it’s active, open the app you want your child to use and triple-click the top button (or the Home button on older models). Guided Access locks the iPad to that app until you end the session with your passcode. You can disable hardware buttons or touch input areas to avoid navigating elsewhere in the app or accessing playback controls. This feature is ideal when you want your child to watch a video or use an educational app without interruption.
  Keep everything up to date
  After initial setup, it’s important to revisit these settings occasionally. Children’s needs change as they grow, and Apple regularly adds new parental features with each iPadOS update. Keep the iPad updated by going to Settings > General > Software Update, and review restrictions periodically to ensure they still fit your child’s age and usage patterns.
  
  Setting up an iPad for your child isn’t just about managing screen time or blocking certain apps. It’s about creating a space that encourages safe exploration while maintaining healthy boundaries. With Apple’s parental tools, you can find the right balance between freedom and supervision, making the iPad a secure and educational part of your child’s digital world.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/how-to-set-up-an-ipad-for-a-child-160001671.html?src=rss

• Pro-Russian hacker group claims responsibility for DDoS attack on French postal service
  A pro-Russian hacker group has come forward as the perpetrator of a DDoS attack on the French national postal service La Poste that took place on December 22, according to Reuters. The distributed denial-of-service attack took central computer systems at La Poste entirely offline and caused major disruptions in package deliveries just days before Christmas.
  
  Reuters reported that the cyberattack on La Poste was still not fully resolved as of Wednesday morning. While regular letters were not affected, postal workers were unable to track packages and online payments through La Banque Postale, the service9s banking division, were also disrupted.
  
  The group, known as Noname057, has taken responsibility for or been accused of cyberattacks across the globe. Though attacks have occurred in over a dozen nations, the group has mostly targeted Ukraine as well as Ukraine-friendly nations.
  
  Europol, the EU9s law enforcement agency, launched an extensive operation against the group this summer. The US Justice Department has also been involved in actions against the hacker group.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/pro-russian-hacker-group-claims-responsibility-for-ddos-attack-on-french-postal-service-140015323.html?src=rss

• Toyota's Prius Prime saved me gas money but probably not the environment
  I’ve always wondered what it would be like to own a plug-in hybrid, and recently, fate handed me that opportunity. On a recent trip to Vancouver, I rented a 2024 Toyota Prius Prime for nearly two months — the ideal scenario to try out North America’s most popular PHEV.
  My experience with the Prius Prime
  Previously, the words "Prius" and "sexy" were rarely used in the same sentence. However, I think the wedge-shaped Prius Prime introduced for 2023 is much sexier than its frumpy predecessors. The sleek shape also pierces the wind better to improve efficiency. It’s lower to the ground than before, though, which can make entry tough for taller or older people.
  
  I was comfortable in the Prius Prime once seated, even though the materials and options aren’t quite as luxurious as other PHEVs sold in the US. On two 10-hour highway drives from Vancouver up to northern Canada I never felt sore (or cold) in the well-bolstered, heated seats. However, visibility wasn’t the greatest due to the low seating position and thick front pillars that occasionally blocked my view of traffic.
  Steve Dent for Engadget
  With its wraparound dash and 8-inch touchscreen, the interior is reasonably high-tech but not to the standard of some EVs I’ve tried recently. It came with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto support that gave me seamless streaming entertainment on long highway stretches. The driver safety features (lanekeeping, adaptive cruise, automatic braking and more) also boosted my confidence in Vancouver’s gnarly traffic. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer true one-pedal implementation, but it has a mode that’s close to that.
  
  With a two-liter 150 HP gas motor and 161 HP electric motor (net 220 HP combined), the 2024 (fifth generation) Prius Prime has a whopping 100 more horsepower than the previous model. The electric drivetrain is supplied by a 13.6kWh battery (10.9kWH usable) that takes four hours to charge at 240 volts, or double that with 120-volt household electricity. That means you can juice it fully overnight, but it doesn’t have DC fast-charging for speedy power-ups on longer trips. The EPA electric range is 44 miles, 19 more than the fourth-gen Prius.
  
  It accelerated surprisingly well (from 0 to 60mph in 6.7 seconds) and was agile, but had a fair amount of body roll since it’s not designed for the race track. Still, considering the Prius’s reputation as a staid hippie econobox, the new model was downright sporty. I enjoyed driving in the all-electric mode much more than the hybrid mode, though — it was quieter and smoother, with lower noise levels and vibration.
  
  So, how far was I able to drive on that electric motor alone? On the highway at about 65 MPH, I eked out 30 miles and just over 40 miles in the city. On one trip, I drove from the city center to a suburb 30 miles away and made it there and partially back on a full charge. On another voyage, I was able to drive back and forth between the east- and west-most points of Vancouver (13 miles) — a typical commute for many city-dwellers — with about a quarter charge to spare.
  Steve Dent for Engadget
  With consistent charging, my fuel consumption over a two week period (averaging 25 miles per day) was about a quarter of a tank or around $7.50. In terms of electricity, I used nearly 70.5kWh during that time at $.085/kWh, for a total of $6. All told, I spent $13.50 for gas and electricity over 350 miles of mixed driving, so the Prius Prime was clearly cheap to operate.
  
  For longer trips, it’s still as inexpensive as it gets for a gasoline-powered vehicle, thanks to the efficient ICE motor and hybrid system that’s among the best in the industry. With a full battery charge and tank, I set out on a 547-mile drive and travelled 470 miles before stopping for gas, with a quarter tank to spare. That fill-up cost around $25.
  The true savings and the problem with plug-in hybrids
  The timing for my test of this car was ideal. In October, I spotted a European study concluding that PHEVs aren’t as economical as expected over a large sample size. Engadget’s article about that stirred up some passion among owners and potential buyers, so I wanted to compare my experience with points in the study.
  
  First, let’s see if a PHEV is worth the extra money compared to a regular hybrid. My calculations are for the average US buyer and don’t take state or federal clean air rebates into account.
  
  When I chose to rent a "compact" car, Avis assigned me a mid-range Prius Prime XSE — a model that lists at $37,320 but typically sells for $34,590, according to Edmunds. That suited me well as it only lacked a few features of the high-end XSE Premium, notably the larger 13.2-inch infotainment display and solar roof option. A fully equipped 2026 XSE Premium model with those features costs $41,665.
  Steve Dent for Engadget
  Since Toyota also makes a regular hybrid Prius, that vehicle offers an ideal comparison. The equivalent Prius XTE model has a list price of $31,995 in a similar configuration, making it $5,325 cheaper than the Prius Prime XSE.
  
  The average US driver covers 13,662 miles per year and gasoline currently has a median $3 per gallon price. Over that distance, a non-PHEV Prius driver could expect to burn 273 gallons at 50 MPG (EPA combined) in a year, spending $819 on fuel.
  
  A Prius Prime driver, on the other hand, would use 70 to 85 percent less fuel by current EPA or WLPT estimates. If we generously take the high end of those numbers at 85 percent, that cuts fuel costs to $160. That would require using about 2,500 kWh of electricity, though, so at an average US price of $0.18/kWh, that amounts to $450, for a total of $610 (gas plus electricity). That means you’d save just $209 in a year, or $2,090.00 over 10 years — not enough to justify the extra price. (Fuel and electricity prices, usage and other factors vary by region and can have a big impact on those figures.)
  
  It could be even worse than that, according to a European automotive thinktank called Transport & Environment (T&E). After gathering real-world OBFCM data from 800,000 vehicles, they determined that PHEVs only run in all-electric mode 27 percent of the time, rather than 84 percent as estimated by Europe’s WLPT standard. As a result, plug-in hybrids in Europe emit five times more emissions and cost users €500 ($586) more per year than previously thought. Those figures are likely similar in the US.
  Steve Dent for Engadget
  How could regulators be so wrong about this key data? The first, obvious reason is that they underestimated how often people charge their vehicles. With their relatively short range, plug-in hybrids often need a full charge to get through the day in electric-only mode — but many people aren’t doing that.
  
  Why? One reason may be a lack of easy charger access away from home. I found them to be difficult to find and use, often requiring a sign-up or app rather than just letting me tap a credit card (I’m looking at you, ChargePoint, Flo and Switch Energy). It can also be more expensive than just buying gasoline, since many companies charge triple or more the market rate for electricity. Another factor is that drivers of company or fleet PHEVs charge their vehicles less often than private owners.
  
  There9s one additional and especially pernicious reason: The ICE engine often kicks in when PHEVs are supposedly running in all-electric mode, particularly with heavier sedans or SUVs. That’s because the electric motors alone aren’t powerful enough for maneuvers like passing.
  
  Larger batteries can boost all-electric usage, but only to a point. Beyond 45 miles of range, emissions actually increase. The reason is simple: "Long-range PHEVs are the heaviest in the dataset, averaging 28 percent more mass and 33 percent more engine power than the group just below," T&E wrote.
  Steve Dent for Engadget
  Overall, I enjoyed my time with the Prius Prime and found it to be fun, practical and cheap to drive. It’s the most economical PHEV because it has excellent electric range and enough power that the ICE engine rarely needs to kick in. At the same time, it offers the highest EPA mileage rating of any non-EV sold in North America. If I were in the market for a new vehicle, the Prius Prime would be high on my list.
  
  However, I also learned that PHEVs aren’t reducing emissions or saving buyers as much as regulators and manufacturers have promised. Governments are to blame for much of that, as they overestimated all-electric use in PHEVs and failed to support the charging infrastructure needed to make them practical.
  
  Responsibility also falls to automakers and buyers. Consumers want SUVs, but manufacturers aren’t making the electric motors in PHEVs powerful enough to run all the time in EV mode or offering fast DC charging. At the same time, drivers are failing to charge their vehicles consistently. Until those issues are solved, in my experience plug-in hybrids are a poor substitute for EVs in terms of emissions and a less economical choice than regular hybrids.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/toyotas-prius-prime-saved-me-gas-money-but-probably-not-the-environment-133027378.html?src=rss

• How to redeem game codes on the Nintendo Switch 2
  Digital game codes remain one of the simplest ways to add new titles to a Nintendo library. The Nintendo Switch 2 handles code redemption in a familiar way, building on the same process used on the original Switch. You can redeem a download code directly from the eShop on the console, or through a browser on a phone or desktop. Both routes link the purchase to the same Nintendo Account so the redeemed title appears on any compatible device tied to that account. The process is quick once you know where to look. Here is how to redeem game codes on Switch 2 through the console and online.
  Things to know before you start
  A Nintendo Account is required and the Switch 2 must be connected to the internet for on-device redemption. Most codes contain sixteen characters made up of letters and numbers. The characters are displayed on a physical card, on a receipt or in a confirmation email from a retailer. The characters should be entered exactly as supplied. Each code can only be redeemed once and becomes linked to the Nintendo Account used during the process.
  How to redeem a game code on the Switch 2 via the eShop
  Redeeming a code through the Switch 2 itself is the most direct approach because the download begins as soon as the code is accepted.
  
  Start on the Switch 2 home screen and open the Nintendo eShop icon. The console will prompt you to choose the user profile that should receive the content. Each user profile has a separate eShop purchase history, so pick the correct one before moving on.
  
  Once the eShop loads, look for the Redeem Code option in the main menu. On the Switch 2, this appears in the left navigation panel alongside the store’s standard browsing categories. Select Redeem Code to open a screen with an input field and the on-screen keyboard.
  
  Enter the sixteen-character code carefully. Codes may contain similar-looking characters particularly when numbers and letters appear in the same sequence. After entering the full set of characters select OK to move forward. The system checks the code and shows a confirmation page with the game or content tied to it.
  
  If the code is valid, select Redeem to finish the process. The game will appear on the home screen as soon as the redemption is complete. A progress bar shows the download status until the installation finishes. If the game includes a Switch and Switch 2 version, the system will prompt you to choose which version to download.
  
  If the game does not begin downloading head to the All Software view or the Download Management screen to confirm the status. The redeemed title should be visible with either a queued or active download.
  How to redeem a Switch 2 code online
  Nintendo also supports online redemption through its digital store, which is useful if you are away from the console or prefer to type the code on a full keyboard. The redeemed title will still appear in your account’s purchase history and can be downloaded later from the Switch 2.
  
  Open a browser on a phone, tablet or computer and go to the Nintendo Account login page. Sign in using the account linked to your Switch 2. Once logged in navigate to the code redemption page for the Nintendo eShop. This page contains a text box where you can paste or type the code.
  
  Enter the code exactly as provided and select Next. A confirmation screen appears with the game details. Select Redeem to finalize the action. The content is now tied to your account and ready to download on your console.
  
  If the console is in sleep mode and has auto downloads enabled, the game may start downloading immediately. Otherwise open the eShop on the Switch 2 later and check the Download Management section for your queued title.
  What to expect after redeeming a code
  Every redeemed game becomes part of your Nintendo Account’s digital library. This applies across devices tied to the same account, which means that games purchased on a Switch or a browser will still appear when you sign in on a Switch 2. If the game supports cloud backup through Nintendo Switch Online, save data will sync once the game is installed.
  
  Some games offer separate versions for the original Switch and Switch 2. When this applies, you’ll be asked to pick which version you want to download. The choice does not usually affect your ownership but it determines which software build is installed on the device.
  
  If a code fails, Nintendo advises checking that the characters are entered correctly and confirming that you are using a download code rather than a control number, which often appears on the same card. Codes for DLC downloads require the base game on the destination console. Region restrictions also apply so the code must match the region of your Nintendo Account’s eShop.
  Why Switch 2 uses the same redemption system as the original Switch
  The Switch 2 keeps the familiar eShop structure that users have relied on since the original console. Keeping this process consistent simplifies the transition for families with multiple consoles and reduces the friction of carrying existing purchases forward. Nintendo Accounts continue to serve as the backbone for digital ownership which makes it easy to claim a code on one device and access the game on another.
  
  The updated interface on the Switch 2 adds clarity to navigation but code redemption still works the same way on both platforms. This continuity ensures that retailers can distribute standard sixteen-character download codes and users can rely on simple steps to activate them.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/how-to-redeem-game-codes-on-the-nintendo-switch-2-130059847.html?src=rss

• Samsung's latest Odyssey gaming monitor has a 32-inch 6K screen with glasses-free 3D
  Ahead of CES 2026, Samsung has unveiled a number of impressive gaming monitors that flaunt 3D and very high refresh rates. The headliner is the 32-inch Odyssey 3D, "the world9s first 6K display with glasses free 3D," according to Samsung. Along with the high resolution, it offers a 165Hz refresh rate (boosted to 330Hz through Dual Mode), along with a 1ms GtG response time. Optimized 3D effects that enhance terrain, distance and object separation "beyond 2D" will work with featured games like Stellar Blade and The First Berserker: Khazan," according to Samsung.
  
  Another model, the 27-inch Odyssey G6, brings refresh rates to a new level. It9s the world9s first 1,040 Hz monitor through Dual Mode and offers native QHD support up to 600Hz "to help players track targets and see fine details during high-speed movement," Samsung claims. It can provide instant performance boosts and is AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync compatible. 
  Samsung
  If it9s OLED you want, Samsung has that covered as well with the 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8. It pairs a 4K QD-OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, while offering glare-free viewing and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, though brightness is limited to 300 nits. It9s DisplayPort 2.1 and HDMI 2.1 compatible with up to 80Gbps bandwidth, while supporting both AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-Sync. 
  
  Finally, Samsung introduced two other new high-resolution Odyssey G8 models as well. The first is the 32-inch G80HS model with 6K resolution at up to 165Hz and the other is the 5K, 27-inch Odyssey G8 with native support up to 180Hz and Dual Mode boosting that to 360Hz in QHD. There9s no word on pricing yet for any of these models, but we9ll likely learn that early next year. 
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/samsungs-latest-odyssey-gaming-monitor-has-a-32-inch-6k-screen-with-glasses-free-3d-130051748.html?src=rss

• US bans former EU Commissioner and others over social media rules
  The Trump administration has issued travel bans that prohibit five European tech researchers, including one former EU Commissioner, from entering the United States. “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
  
  That official is Thierry Breton, the former European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Digital Services, who Sarah Rogers called the “mastermind” of the Digital Services Act. Rogers, the Under Secretary of State, said Breton threatened Elon Musk about ongoing formal proceedings for X’s noncompliance with “illegal content” and “disinformation” under the DSA just before his meeting with President Trump. The administration has also banned Imran Ahmed from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), who apparently called for American anti-vaxxers to be deplatformed. One of those people is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who’s now the US Secretary of Health.
  
  Clare Melford from the UK-based Global Disinformation Index has also been banned. Her group monitors online platforms for hate speech. Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from German organization HateAid, have been banned, as well. HateAid flags hate speech online for the EU under DSA rules.
  
  As The New York Times notes, these travel bans emphasize the administration’s close relationship with internet and tech companies, which would benefit from having DSA rules loosened or abolished. The Global Disinformation Index called the travel bans “an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship.” Meanwhile, von Hodenberg and Ballon said the bans mark a new escalation. “The US government is clearly questioning European sovereignty,” they said. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-bans-former-eu-commissioner-and-others-over-social-media-rules-121804097.html?src=rss

• The best streaming deals: Get 50 percent off MasterClass subscriptions, plus save on Starz, Audible, Crunchyroll and others
  If you’ve been shocked by how much you spend on streaming services lately, you’re not alone. Companies like Netflix, Disney, HBO Max and others have been consistently raising prices to the point where you may question if streaming is even worth it anymore. We at Engadget still think it is, but we also think you should be smart with your money — and that’s where streaming deals come in.
  
  Yes, it is possible to get discounts on services like Peacock and Paramount+, even if those deals aren’t as common as a sale on AirPods. If you’re looking to save money and still stream all of the content you want, Engadget can help by laying out the best streaming deals you can get right now, how you can save with bundles and everything you should know before paying for yet another streaming service.
  Best streaming deals
  True streaming deals can be hard to come by. Most often, they’ll pop up during the Black Friday shopping period. On occasion, we’ll see them sparingly throughout the year and they usually take the form of a discounted monthly or annual rate for a limited period of time. Also, true streaming deals are typically on the ad-supported versions of a service, but once in a while you’ll find a unicorn of a deal on a tier that has ad-free viewing.
  
  If you’re able to wait for a deal before subscribing to a streaming service, we recommend doing so. You’ll save money upfront and in the long run, and you also have the option to cancel your subscription before the price goes back up to the normal rate.
  
  
  
  live TV streaming service, Philo offers more than 70 channels in its Core tier, plus access to HBO Max (with ads), AMC+ and Discovery+. After your first month, the subscription will auto-renew at the standard $33-per-month rate.
  
  literally $1 per month, you can get access to Audible9s enormous library of published audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals (which can be anything from never-before-heard books to live performances). It9s only three months, after which you9ll have to cancel or renew at the regular price, but an audiobibliophile can cram a lot of listening into 90 days.
  
  favorite music streaming service for podcasts and social features. The Premium Individual plan lets you listen ad-free and skip songs at will. You can also organize your listening queue and download content for offline listening. Just be aware, your subscription will auto-renew at the end of the trial period. So if you don9t want to be on the hook for the $12 monthly fee, set a reminder to cancel and go back to the free version.
  
  who Pepe Silvia is when you look at Disney9s streaming prices chart, you9re not alone. The confusion comes from the fact that Disney owns, or has a hand in, many streaming services including Hulu and ESPN. Throw in a partnership with HBO Max and you have a ton of options to consider and, probably, whiplash to match. Here9s a quick overview of popular Disney+ bundle pricing.
  
  Disney+ and Hulu bundle (with ads) — $13/month
  
  Disney+ and Hulu bundle (without ads) — $20/month
  
  Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Select (with ads) — $20/month
  
  Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Select (without ads on Disney+ and Hulu only) — $30/month
  
  Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max (with ads) — $20/month
  
  Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max (without ads) — $33/month
  Peacock TV
  Peacock doesn9t have any streaming bundles available all year round, but you can save if you pay for one year upfront.
  
  Peacock Select (with ads) — $8/month or $80/year
  
  Peacock Premium (with ads)��� $11/month or $110/year
  
  Peacock Premium Plus (without ads) — $17/month or $170/year
  Paramount+
  Paramount+ used to bill its tier with Showtime as a sort of bundle, but it has since renamed its plans and focused the Showtime inclusion in its premium tier as just another bonus of paying for the higher priced plan.
  
  Paramount+ Essential (with ads) —$8/month or $60/year
  
  Paramount Premium (without ads) — $13/month or $120/year
  Student discounts on streaming services
  It pays to be a student — sometimes, at least. A number of streaming services have student discounts you can take advantage of as long as you9re actively studying. What that translates to most of the time is being able to verify your student status and signing up with your .edu email address.
  
  Unidays, and make note that this offer is only good for up to 12 months of service.
  
  The best live TV streaming services to cut cable
  
  The best streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and more
  
  The best streaming devices
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-streaming-deals-get-50-percent-off-masterclass-subscriptions-plus-save-on-starz-audible-crunchyroll-and-others-133028536.html?src=rss

• The best streaming services in 2026
  With so many streaming platforms out there, it is easy to feel like you are constantly sorting through menus instead of watching something you enjoy. Every service has its own vibe, whether it is big cinematic releases, long documentary deep dives or shows you put on in the background while you unwind. Some people even swap cable for live TV streaming.
  
  Here, we are looking at the on-demand services that deliver the most value for everyday use. Whether you are settling in for a weekend binge, watching with family or catching up on a favorite series during your commute, these are the best streaming services to keep in your rotation.
  Best streaming services for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-streaming-services-154527042.html?src=rss

• Nintendo has huge discounts on Switch 2 games in its holiday sale
  Nintendo is in a giving state of mind this season, offering some holiday deals on games in the eShop, including a few recent Switch 2 titles. For instance, the Switch 2 version of Ball x Pit, which was one of our staff9s favorite games of 2025, is 20 percent off at $12. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is $40, down from the usual $50 on Switch 2, which is about as good a deal as you’ll get for a current-year game release.
  
  There are also a few older games that have gotten even steeper discounts. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2 is a whopping 75 percent off, so load it onto your new console for $15.Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2 is down to $40. At about $33, Cult of the Lamb: Unholy Edition is half off for the original Switch. No Man9s Sky is also 50 percent off, so you can grab it for either Switch console for just $24. Star Wars: Outlaws is down to $40, which is $20 off, and Nier: Automata is $16, compared with its usual $40 price tag.
  
  Those are just a few that caught our eye. The discounts will run until January 4, so you can make purchases as a last-minute gift or load up your own Switch in case nobody gifts you with a game you9ve been eyeing.
  
  Update, December 23, 6:50PM ET: CD Projekt RED has adjusted the price of Cyberpunk 2077 up from $17.49 to $39.99 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt down from $34.49 to $14.49. The company said the discounts were “a result of an error we made when submitting,” the error clearly being that they attached the “75 percent off” and “42 percent off” to the wrong games. Congratulations if you were able to buy Cyberpunk 2077 for $17.49. Commiserations if you just paid $34.49 for The Witcher 3. We updated the article after publish to reflect the above changes.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-has-huge-discounts-on-switch-2-games-in-its-holiday-sale-220058951.html?src=rss

• IO Interactive's 007 First Light has been delayed until May 27
  IO Interactive9s James Bond simulator 007 First Light has been delayed until May 27, 2026. It was supposed to come out in March. The company says two-month delay is for polish and refinement, which is fine by me. I9d always rather wait a bit longer for a better end product.
  
  IO says the game is already "fully playable from beginning to end" but still needs a bit of attention to ensure "the strongest possible version at launch." The developer promises to share more updates at the beginning of next year.
  
  For the uninitiated, 007 First Light is the first James Bond game in over a decade. The developer is the same organization behind the renowned Hitman franchise, so this could potentially be the best Bond game since Goldeneye.
  
  The gameplay looks fast-paced, frenetic and filled with spycraft. It features an original story that pulls from all over the decades-long franchise. We got a chance to speak to narrative director Martin Emborg and he noted that the game stars a young and inexperienced Bond, which seems to be the direction Amazon is taking with its upcoming film.
  
  The game also boasts a pretty stacked cast. Patrick Gibson, from The OA and Dexter: Original Sin, plays the famous lothario spy and Lenny Kravitz has been cast as the primary villain. Other cast members include Lennie James, Kiera Lester, Alastair Mackenzie and Priyanga Burford.
  
  Who knows when the next Bond film will actually come out, so this should be a nice little stopgap for fans.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/io-interactives-007-first-light-has-been-delayed-until-may-27-194809718.html?src=rss

• Engadget Podcast: Why is the Nex Playground 'AI console' such a hit?
  Over the past two years, the Nex Playground has carved out a niche for itself with kids and parents alike. It9s a small box that sits in front of your TV and uses a camera, along with computer vision AI processing, to track your movement for interactive games. Think of it like a simplified version of Microsoft9s Kinect (RIP), with a bit of the local multiplayer we see from the original Wii. In this bonus episode, we chat with David Lee, Nex9s CEO and co-founder, about how he went from building a basketball tracking app to one of the most intriguing gaming console alternatives on the market. (The Nex Playground even managed to outsell Xbox in November!)
  Subscribe!
  iTunes
  
  Spotify
  
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  Stitcher
  
  Google Podcasts
  Topics
  What led to the development of the Nex Playground? — 2:04
  
  Who helped design and build the console? — 8:36
  
  Questions about the Nex PlayPass subscription and other ways to get new games — 13:23
  
  How did Nex convince major brands to build for Nex Playground? — 19:10
  Credits
  Host: Devindra Hardawar
  Guest: David Lee, CEO and co-founder of Nex
  Producer: Devindra Hardawar
  Music: Dale North
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/engadget-podcast-why-is-the-nex-playground-ai-console-such-a-hit-181151201.html?src=rss

• Xbox cloud gaming comes to newer Amazon Fire TV models
  Xbox has brought cloud gaming gaming to some Amazon Fire TV models. These include the Fire TV 4-Series and the Fire TV Omni QLED Series. This lets people play Xbox games directly on the television, without needing a bulky console or even something like a Fire TV stick. 
  
  Gamers do need a couple of things. First and foremost, this service requires a subscription to Game Pass. Plans start at $10 a month and shoot all the way up to $30 per month. They9ll also need a compatible wireless controller, though most Bluetooth-enabled gamepads should work.
  Amazon
  The feature works for every game on the Game Pass platform and will also stream many titles that people own outright via the "stream your own game" feature. This won9t work with everything, but hundreds of titles are supported. 
  
  Amazon says this is just the beginning and that more TV models will receive the functionality in the future. Xbox Game Pass became available on select Amazon streaming devices earlier this year. Today9s move makes sense, given that Fire TVs and the company9s streaming sticks use the same OS. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-cloud-gaming-comes-to-newer-amazon-fire-tv-models-163517432.html?src=rss

• New York Times reporter files lawsuit against AI companies
  Investigative reporter John Carreyrou of the New York Times filed a lawsuit against xAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta and Perplexity on Monday for allegedly training their AI models on copyrighted books without permission. Carreyrou is perhaps best known for exposing the Theranos fraudulent blood test scandal.
  
  According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed alongside five other writers who all claim big tech companies have been violating their intellectual property rights in the name of building large language models.
  
  This comes after a banner year for IP lawsuits against AI companies brought by rights holders. Just about every type of entity that deals in protected content has gone to court against AI companies this year, from movie studios like Disney and Warner Bros. to papers like the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Some of these cases have led to settlements in the form of partnerships, such as the licensing deal between Disney and OpenAI.
  
  It9s notable that this case is being brought by a small group of individuals instead of as a class action, something the authors involved say is no accident. "LLM companies should not be able to so easily extinguish thousands upon thousands of high-value claims at bargain-basement rates," the complaint reads. This is also the first case of its kind to list xAI as a defendant.
  
  A spokesperson for Perplexity told Reuters that the company "doesn9t index books." Anthropic, for its part, is no stranger to lawsuits from book publishers, having recently settled a class-action lawsuit brought by half a million authors for $1.5 billion. Apple was also sued earlier this year amid similar allegations. This latest complaint mentions the Anthropic settlement specifically, saying that class members in that case will only receive "a tiny fraction (just 2 percent) of the Copyright Act’s statutory ceiling of $150,000."
  
  Engadget has reached out to xAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta and Perplexity for comment and will update with any response.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/new-york-times-reporter-files-lawsuit-against-ai-companies-161624268.html?src=rss

• Apple's iOS 26.3 will introduce proximity pairing to third-party devices in the EU
  Apple is making it a little easier to use third-party devices with iPhones in order to comply with Europe9s Digital Market Act (DMA), iPhone or iPad to initiate a simple, one-tap pairing process. Pairing third-party devices will no longer require multiple steps.
  
  Notifications - Third-party accessories like smart watches will be able to receive notifications from the ‌iPhone‌. Users will be able to view and react to incoming notifications, which is functionality normally limited to the Apple Watch. Notifications can only be forwarded to one connected device at a time, and turning on notifications for a third-party device disables notifications to an Apple Watch.
  
  Proximity pairing is a relatively minor quality-of-life upgrade, allowing you to connect with a tap via NFC rather than diving into the Bluetooth settings. However, there9s no indication that it will allow seamless switching between devices as you can do with Apple9s iPods, for instance. Notifications, however, will finally make third-party watches feasible with iOS devices. 
  
  Apple9s DMA compliance efforts are interesting to watch, as it appears to be doing the bare minimum required, often for what it calls privacy reasons. In some cases, the company is removing features in Europe that are available elsewhere, like iPhone mirroring on Mac — meaning it doesn9t have to implement the same feature on Android devices or PCs. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/apples-ios-263-will-introduce-proximity-pairing-to-third-party-devices-in-the-eu-133037696.html?src=rss

• The best gifts cards to give this holiday season: Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and others
  This late in the game, it’s not possible to ship gifts to friends and family and have them arrive before the holidays. But that’s ok because it’s never been easier to give a digital gift that will arrive basically whenever you want it to. If you’re looking for more creativedigital gift ideas, we’ve got you covered. But right now, you may just be looking for the best gift card ideas that you can buy online and digitally send to the people you love. We’ve got you covered: these are the best gift cards to send as last-minute gifts this year.
  Best gift cards to give for the holidays
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-gifts-cards-to-give-this-holiday-season-amazon-apple-best-buy-and-others-110032592.html?src=rss

• 2025 was the year Xbox died
  Want to see a dead body? I present to you the Xbox. After a subdued launch at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Xbox Series X quickly lost the fight against the PlayStation 5. Microsoft simply couldn9t deliver enough compelling games, despite some huge acquisitions, while Sony leaned on its goodwill from the PS4 era and a handful of desirable exclusives. As prices rose due to supply chain issues and the Trump administration9s volatile tariff scheme, there was even less of a reason to get an Xbox (even the cheaper Series S). When I re-reviewed the Series X last year, it was clear that it never lived up to its potential. Anyone in their right mind would be better off buying a PlayStation 5.
  
  Xbox didn9t enter 2025 in a great state, and it9s leaving the year grasping for help, like an Arc Raider player desperate for a revival after being knocked out. Microsoft brought titles like Forza Horizon 5 over to the PlayStation 5, which prompted Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham to declare he no longer needed an Xbox. 
  Xbox Series X controllerEngadget
  Making things worse this year, Microsoft raised prices across the board, with the Xbox Series S starting at $400 and the cheapest Series X going for a whopping $600. And slow sales prompted Costco to stop selling Xbox consoles entirely. Microsoft didn9t even try to push systems during Black Friday — why go through the trouble of having sales if nobody is buying the hardware in the first place? 
  
  Even Game Pass, which was once renowned as one of the best deals in gaming, almost doubled in price over the last year, reaching up to $30 a month (or $360 a year) for the Ultimate tier. Sure, Microsoft tried to add more value to its cheaper Game Pass tiers, and finally upgraded its cloud streaming platform, but the lack of consistent must-play exclusive titles has devalued the service (and Xbox as a whole). will hit PS5 and Switch 2 next year. There9s no word on Avowed reaching other consoles yet, but given Microsoft9s current trajectory (and the fact that it9s a genuinely great game), I wouldn9t be surprised if it becomes available elsewhere.
  
  There was a chance for Microsoft to reinvigorate the Xbox brand with the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X gaming handhelds, but the $600 and $1,000 launch prices placed them out of reach for most gamers. It also doesn9t help that Windows still isn9t well-optimized for portable devices with touchscreens, and those systems also aren9t compatible with older Xbox titles like the consoles. At the very least, Microsoft now has a handheld foothold. But a future portable Xbox console would need to be significantly cheaper to compete with the likes of the Steam Deck, which starts at $549 (following the discontinuation of the $400 LCD model).
  
  And speaking of Valve, the company9s recently announced Steam Machine has also stolen a lot of potential thunder from Xbox. The Steam Machine is basically a tiny gaming desktop for your TV, running the Steam Deck9s SteamOS. That platform is a Linux distribution optimized for emulating Windows titles. But unlike an Xbox console, it9s not closed off in any way. You9re free to install whatever you9d like on a Steam Machine — even Windows!
  
  While we still haven9t seen the Steam Machine in action, the Steam Deck9s excellent performance and game compatibility makes me think its desktop sibling could be genuinely compelling to console players looking for something new. And it will likely directly compete with the next Xbox, which is rumored to arrive in 2027 as a PC in a TV-friendly case (according to Microsoft9s recent partnership deal with AMD also hints at a more PC-like experience — Xbox President Sarah Bond noted that the Xbox team is "working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming."
  
  It9s worth remembering that only a single generation of the Xbox — the Xbox 360 — was successful enough to truly compete with Sony9s PlayStation. The original Xbox reportedly cost Microsoft $4 billion over the course of four years, leading the company to quickly jump ship and move to its successor. The Xbox 360 was genuinely innovative, thanks to Xbox Live and smarter online integration, and it had a healthy amount of third-party support. In comparison, Sony9s PlayStation 3 was $100 to $200 more expensive than the Xbox 360 at launch, it had far worse online support and developers found it hard to program for.
  Xbox Series XDevindra Hardawar for Engadget
  Unfortunately, Microsoft squandered most of its good will with the Xbox One. That console was first announced as an "always online" device with restrictive DRM features that limited how you could share and sell games; it was bundled with a Kinect camera that could potentially surveil you; and at $499, it was $100 more than the PlayStation 4. Microsoft quickly reversed many of its DRM-heavy plans for the Xbox One, but by that point the damage was done. Sony ultimately sold more than twice as many PS4 units as the entirety of the Xbox One family (which included the cheaper One S and more powerful One X), according to data from Ampere Research. 
  
  Things are looking worse this generation: The Xbox Series S and X reportedly only sold around 33 million units as of July, according to Statista estimates, while Sony confirmed it sold 84.2 million PS5s as of November. If this trend continues (and it doesn’t appear as if Xbox sales will be increasing any time soon), Sony could end up selling three times as many consoles this generation, compared to Microsoft. Xbox sales have been so slow that the family-focused Nex Playground managed to outsell it in November, according to data from Circana.  
  
  Given Xbox9s inability to compete with the PlayStation 5, it9s no wonder Microsoft could be changing things up entirely for its next system. Its partnership with AMD could easily lead to new handhelds, and it also gives Microsoft a leg up in producing a compact and powerful Xbox PC. After all, why should the company keep trying to go toe-to-toe with Sony9s closed PlayStation platform? Why shouldn9t Microsoft embrace its PC roots to give us a gaming desktop under our TVs? The company has already committed to bringing new Xbox games to PCs immediately, so the line between the two is already blurring. 
  
  It may be a risk, but evolving into a PC proves there’s still life in the Xbox brand. And crucially, it’s also something Sony can’t easily replicate.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/2025-was-the-year-xbox-died-130000467.html?src=rss

• CES 2026: Everything we're expecting from tech's biggest conference in January
  As we hurtle towards the end of the year, the shadow of CES hovers on the horizon. Tech’s biggest annual conference is starting in just under two weeks, and we already know some of the products and announcements that could be in store. The CES 2026 show floor is officially open from January 6 through 9, but the fun kicks off with events on Sunday January 4 and a host of press conferences on Monday. As always, product demos, announcements and networking will be happening at the Las Vegas Convention Center and other hotels all over the city. As usual, Engadget will be covering the event in-person and remotely, bringing you news and hands-ons straight from the show floor.
  
  More specific details and pre-announcements are already trickling out as CES approaches, and thanks to the CTA’s schedule we also do know what companies will be hosting press conferences. We’re also using our experience and expertise to predict what tech trends could rear their heads at the show.
  What we already know about
  Press conferences and show floor booths are the bread and butter of CES. The Consumer Technology Association has already published a searchable directory of who will have a presence at the show, along with a schedule of every official panel and presentation.
  
  On Sunday, January 4, Samsung will kick-off CES with "The First Look," a presentation hosted by TM Roh, the CEO of Samsung's DX Division, on the company's "vision for the DX (Device eXperience) Division in 2026, along with new AI-driven customer experiences." 
  
  That'll be followed by multiple press conferences throughout Monday, January 5. LG is hosting its "Innovation in Tune with You" presentation to share "its vision for elevating daily life through Affectionate Intelligence" at the start of the day, Intel is launching its new Core Ultra Series 3 processors in the afternoon, Sony Honda Mobility is holding a press conference on its first car and AMD CEO Lisa Su will cover AMD's upcoming chip announcements at a keynote address that closes out the day.
  
  On the week of December 15, the CTA added a keynote by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to its schedule. The event will take place on January 5 at 1PM PT and, according to the website, will last about 90 minutes. Based on the description on the listing, the presentation will “showcase the latest NVIDIA solutions driving innovation and productivity across industries.”
  
  Finally, on Tuesday, January 6, Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang will host Lenovo's Tech World Conference at Sphere, using the large and decidedly curved screen to share the company's "commitment to delivering smarter AI for all by constantly redefining how technology can engage, inspire, and empower." It’s worth noting that Lenovo is the parent company of Motorola, which still makes phones and foldables that feature AI tools, so it’s possible those devices feature in the presentation as well.
  
  As they typically do, some companies have already gotten a headstart on the CES news by publicly sharing their announcements in the weeks leading up to January. LG, for example, has said it will debut its first Micro RGB television at CES. While details are scarce, the company’s press release for the LG Micro RGB evo did confirm it has received certifications by Intertek for 100 percent color gamut coverage in DCI-P3 an Adobe RGB, and that it has more than a thousand dimming zones for brightness control.
  
  Not to be forgotten, Samsung also announced it will be launching a whole lineup of Micro RGB TVs at CES. The company already introduced its first Micro RGB TV at CES 2025, which was a 115-inch model available for a cool $30,000. Next year, Samsung is expanding the range with 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-, 100- and 115-inch models that use the next evolution of the company’s Micro RGB technology.
  
  Outside of the formal introduction of new products and initiatives, reading the tea leaves of what was announced last year and what companies are reportedly working on, we can make some educated guesses at what we could see at CES 2026.
  New chips from AMD, Intel and Qualcomm
  CES is frequently the start of a cascade of new chip announcements for a given year, and one of the first places new silicon appears in real consumer products. AMD will likely use its keynote to introduce new versions of its Ryzen chips, including the recently spotted Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which is expected to offer better single-threaded performance, and the Ryzen 9000G series, which could be built with AMD's Zen 5 architecture. The company might also use its CES stage to go over its new FSR Redstone AI upscaling tech.
  
  Intel has already publicly announced that it'll launch its Panther Lake chips at CES 2026. The officially titled Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips fit into Intel's overall "AI PC" push, but are specifically meant for premium laptops. Based on a preview from October 2025, Intel says the first chip made with its 2-nanometer 18A process will offer 50 percent more processing performance than previous generations and for the chip's Arc GPU, a 50 percent performance bump from last generation.
  
  Qualcomm is also rumored to be targeting laptops at the show, building on the work it's done moving its Snapdragon chips out of phones and tablets and into other types of computers. The company's Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Premium chips should start appearing in laptops at CES 2026, offering a look at the improved speed and AI performance the company promised in 2025.
  Brighter, "truer" screens
  Sony announced a collection of new Bravia TVs in April 2025, replacing the company's flagship, filling in its midrange options and adding a new budget model to the mix. The star of this updated Bravia lineup is the Bravia 9, which features a QD-OLED panel, but Sony appears to be prepping entirely new display tech for 2026. In March 2025, Sony introduced a new RGB LED panel that uses individual Mini LED backlights colored in red, green and blue to produce even brighter, more accurate colors. In contrast to a QD-OLED, which filters a layer of blue organic light emitting diodes through quantum dots that change color, Sony's "General RGB LED Backlight Technology" can get as bright as a Mini LED panel without needing an extra filter layer or worrying about OLED's problems with burn-in. 
  
  The company has already trademarked the name "True RGB," which could end up being what Sony calls this new flavor of display if it decides to show them off at CES. It seems entirely likely, because CES is nothing if not a TV show — it’s a sure bet that we’ll see new TVs from the likes of LG and Samsung in addition to Sony. If the company doesn't introduce new display tech for its TVs, it does have a new 240Hz PlayStation monitor coming in 2026 that it could show off at CES instead.
  
  Sony isn't the only company hyped on bright screens. Samsung is reportedly pushing an updated version of the HDR10 and HDR10+ standards that could be ready to demo at CES 2026. The new HDR10+ Advanced standard would be Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, which includes support for things bi-directional tone mapping and intelligent features that automatically adapt sports and gaming content. Samsung's take will reportedly offer improved brightness, genre-based tone mapping and intelligent motion smoothing options, among other improvements.
  Ballie Watch 2026
  The ball-shaped yellow robot lovingly known as "Ballie" has been announced twice, first in 2020 and then again in 2024 with a projector in tow. Samsung said Ballie would go on sale in 2025 at CES last year and then shared in April 2025 that Ballie would ship this summer with Google's Gemini onboard. But it's nearly 2026, and Ballie is nowhere to be seen. It's possible Samsung could make a third attempt at announcing its robot at CES 2026, but whether or not it does, robotics will still be a big part of the show.
  
  Robot vacuums and mops were a major highlight of CES 2025, and it's safe to expect notable improvements from the new models that are announced at CES 2026. Not every company will adopt the retractable arm of the Roborock Saros Z70, but robot vacuums with legs for rising over small ledges like the Dreame X50 seem like they could become the norm. Roborock could also show off its new Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow, the first of its robot vacuums to feature a retractable roller mop.
  
  Beyond just traversing spaces more efficiently, improving robots' navigation could also be a major concern at the show. Prominent members of the AI industry are turning their attention from large language models to world models, which aim to give AI a deep understanding of physical space. Those world models could be the key to making robots, bipedal or otherwise, competent at navigating homes and workplaces, and will likely be a significant talking point at CES 2026.
  
  We’ll be updating this article throughout the month as more rumors surface and new products are confirmed — stay tuned for future updates!
  
  Update, December 11 2025, 11:03AM ET: This story has been updated to include detail on Lenovo being Motorola’s parent company and how the latter might have a part in the Tuesday presentation.
  
  Update, December 16 2025, 1:33PM ET: This story has been updated to include the NVIDIA press conference, which was added to the CTA schedule within the last two days.
  
  Update, December 23 2025, 7:28AM ET: This story has been updated to include LG and Samsung’s Micro RGB TV announcements, which were made public in the past seven days. The intro was also tweaked to reflect how soon CES is at this point.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ces-2026-everything-were-expecting-from-techs-biggest-conference-in-january-120000106.html?src=rss

• The Morning After: The best games of 2025
  As many of us hunker down for the holidays, you might want to tackle some of the best games we’ve seen this year: the long-time-coming Silksong, the critically acclaimed (and sumptuous) Expedition 33 and the bizarre world of Baby Steps.
  US bans new foreign-made drones and componentsPreviously sold drones will not be affected.Engadget
  The Federal Communications Commission has assigned foreign-made drones and their critical components as prohibited to import into the US. The FCC said several national security agencies have determined that unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their critical components produced in foreign countries pose an unacceptable risk to the United States’ national security.
  
  FCC Chair Brendan Carr clarified on X the ban does not affect old drones. People can continue using the devices they’ve already purchased, and retailers can keep selling models already approved by the agency. One of the most well-known brands affected by the ban is Chinese company DJI, which told Engadget it was disappointed by the agency’s decision. “While DJI was not singled out, no information has been released regarding what information was used by the Executive Branch in reaching its determination,” a spokesperson said.
  
  Pirate group Anna’s Archive says it has scraped Spotify in its entiretyThe group says it has over 86 million tracks.
  Anna’s Archive, the open-source search engine for shadow libraries, claims to have scraped Spotify’s entire music library. The group acquired metadata for approximately 256 million tracks, including 86 million songs, and the total size is just under 300 TB.
  
  “A while ago, we discovered a way to scrape Spotify at scale. We saw a role for us here to build a music archive primarily aimed at preservation,” the group said in a blog post. In response, the streamer said: “Spotify has identified and disabled the nefarious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping. We’ve implemented new safeguards for these types of anti-copyright attacks and are actively monitoring for suspicious behavior.”
  
  Foldable phone makers have solved every issue except oneThe only issue is price.Everything you need to know about Amazon’s newest Echo feature: Alexa Home TheaterSpatial surround is here.
  Amazon’s Alexa Home Theater feature has gradually become a legitimate surround sound option. You can link up to five Echo speakers and a subwoofer for a wireless cinematic experience. While the automatic room calibration and easy setup are great, the high price tag of a full Echo Studio array and limited EQ controls mean it’s best for people already juggling multiple Amazon speakers.
  
  Continue reading.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121545111.html?src=rss

• How to set up an Apple Watch for a child
  Giving a child an Apple Watch can offer extra peace of mind and tools that promote independence in a controlled way. Apple’s Family Setup feature makes it possible for a kid to use an Apple Watch without owning an iPhone, and the feature set has expanded thanks to recent watchOS updates. It supports communication controls, location tools, Schooltime limits and privacy protections that allow a parent or guardian to manage how the device is used throughout the day.
  
  The setup process begins with creating or signing in with a child’s Apple ID. It continues with adding them to your Family Sharing group on an iPhone and pairing a compatible Apple Watch through the Apple Watch app. Once the watch is linked, you can adjust a range of parental controls that shape how the watch works at home, at school and when the child is out and about.
  Confirm device compatibility
  Family Setup requires a cellular-capable Apple Watch such as the Apple Watch SE or Series 6 or later. A cellular connection allows the watch to operate independently without an iPhone nearby. The watch must be running a recent version of watchOS and the iPhone used for setup must be running the latest iOS version.
  
  If the watch is not new, it needs to be erased before it can pair with a new user. This can be done directly on the watch through the Settings menu by choosing the general reset option. Once the device is reset it can be paired again from the Apple Watch app.
  Create or prepare your child9s Apple ID
  Family Setup relies on each child having their own Apple ID. This allows their data, messages, activity goals and device settings to remain separate from other people in the household. If your kid already has an Apple ID, it can be used during setup. If they do not have one, the Apple Watch app will prompt you to create one as you go through the pairing process.
  
  A child’s Apple ID is linked to Family Sharing, which lets the organizer manage permissions from a single iPhone. A parent or guardian can approve contacts, handle screen time requests and view location updates without needing to touch the watch itself. Setting this up first ensures that the watch can be paired smoothly later.
  Add the child to Family Sharing
  Family Sharing is the foundation for managing the watch, and it’s all controlled through the Settings app on your iPhone. Once Family Sharing is open you can tap the option to add a family member then follow the prompts to link the child’s Apple ID to the group. This also makes you the family organizer, which gives you control of purchase approvals, communication limits and other shared features.
  
  Once the child is added to Family Sharing their information becomes available when you begin pairing the Apple Watch. This makes the process faster since the watch can immediately associate itself with the correct Apple ID.
  Pair the watch using Family Setup
  Turn on the Apple Watch and place it near your iPhone. A prompt should appear directing you to use your iPhone for setup. If the prompt does not appear, you can open the Apple Watch app, go to All Watches and choose Add Watch. The app will then ask if the device is being set up for you or for a family member. Choose the family member option and continue.
  
  The camera on your iPhone is used to pair the devices. Align the Apple Watch face inside the frame on your screen until the pairing animation is recognized. Once the connection is made the app will ask which family member the watch is for. Select the child’s profile to continue through the remaining steps.
  
  The app will guide you through choosing which wrist the watch will be worn on, setting a passcode, signing in with the child’s Apple ID and enabling services such as Siri and location tracking. You can also set up activity goals tailored to the child’s age and fitness level.
  Manage the watch from your iPhone
  Once the Apple Watch is paired, the Watch app becomes the main place to manage how it works. The Family Setup interface is designed to give parents and guardians control without needing to handle the watch directly. Most adjustments can be made at any time from the iPhone used for setup.
  
  Screen Time controls allow you to set limits for communication and app use. You can restrict access to certain features during specific times of day, create downtime schedules and manage content restrictions for websites and apps. These settings mirror the Screen Time system used on other Apple devices which makes it easier to keep rules consistent across the household.
  
  Approved contacts can be managed through the communication limits menu. This ensures that the child can send messages and make calls only with approved people. If you add or remove contacts, they are updated instantly on the watch.
  
  Location sharing is handled through the Find My app. You can view the child’s location and set notifications that alert you when they arrive at or leave a particular place. This is useful for school pickups or after-school activities. The watch uses on-device processing for location and messages which helps maintain privacy.
  Configure Schooltime and Focus modes
  School time is one of the most important parental controls for younger users. It limits interaction with the watch during school hours by locking access to most apps and features. Only the time and a simple yellow icon appear on the screen while Schooltime is active. You can schedule Schooltime from the Apple Watch app so that it automatically turns on and off at the right times each day.
  
  Focus modes offer another layer of control. These modes can reduce distractions during homework, bedtime or other family routines. Each Focus mode can limit notifications and activity alerts so the child is not interrupted when they need to concentrate.
  Set up safety features
  Emergency SOS is enabled during setup and can be managed afterward in the Apple Watch app. It allows the child to contact emergency services by holding the side button. You can also assign an emergency contact who will receive a notification if SOS is triggered.
  
  The Medical ID should include relevant details such as allergies or medical conditions. This information can be accessed by emergency responders if needed.
  Adjust privacy and communication settings
  The watch uses on-device processing for messages, location and Siri requests which helps protect your child’s data. Location sharing can be turned on or off at any time and you can manage which apps are allowed to use location services. Communication permissions can also be updated as the child’s needs change.
  
  Apps installed on the watch can be controlled from the Apple Watch app. You can remove apps, restrict access or hide notifications at any time to maintain a balanced experience.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/how-to-set-up-an-apple-watch-for-a-child-120051230.html?src=rss

• The best SSDs in 2026
  Upgrading to a good SSD can make your computer feel brand new again. Apps open faster, files move in a blink and even older machines start to feel a lot more responsive. It is one of the easiest ways to breathe life into a laptop or desktop without replacing the whole system, and the performance boost is something you notice right away.
  
  There are plenty of SSDs to choose from, though, and the naming alone can be confusing if you are not already familiar with the specs. Some drives are built for simple upgrades, while others offer speeds that benefit creators or gamers. To help you sort through it, we tested a wide mix of options and pulled together the best SSDs you can buy right now.
  Table of contents
  Best SSDs in 2026?
  
  How we test SSDs?
  
  What to look for in a PC SSD?
  
  What to look for in portable and USB flash drives?
  
  A note on console storage?
  
  SSD FAQs?
  Best SSDs in 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  How we test SSDs
  I’ve either tested or personally use daily every storage drive recommended on this list. Out of our top picks, I bought four with my own money after doing about a dozen hours of research. Separately, Engadget Senior Reporter Jeff Dunn has also tested a handful of our recommendations, including the Crucial X9 Pro listed above.
  What to look for in a PC SSD
  The most affordable way to add fast storage space to a computer is with a 2.5-inch SATA drive. It’s also one of the easiest if you don’t want to worry about compatibility since almost every computer made in the last two decades will include a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that reason, the best SATA SSDs are an excellent choice if you want to extend the life of an older PC build. Installation is straightforward, too. Once you’ve secured the internal SSD in a drive cage, all you need to do is to connect it to your motherboard and power supply.
  
  The one downside of SATA drives is that, in terms of responsiveness, they’re slower than their high-performance NVMe counterparts, with SATA III limiting data transfers to 600MB/s. But even the slowest SSD will be significantly faster than the best mechanical drives. And with high-capacity, 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re a good bulk-storage option.
  
  If your PC is newer, there’s a good chance it includes space for one or more M.2 SSDs. The form factor represents your ticket to the fastest SSDs on the market, but the tricky part is navigating all the different standards and specs involved.
  
  M.2 drives can feature either a SATA or PCIe connection. SSDs with the latter are known as Non-Volatile Memory or NVMe drives and are significantly faster than their SATA counterparts, with Gen3 models offering sequential write speeds of up to 3,000MB/s. These drives rely on NVMe NAND technology for their superior performance and durability. You can get twice the performance with a Gen4 SSD, but you’ll need a motherboard and processor that supports the standard.
  
  If you’re running an AMD system, that means at least a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 CPU and an X570 or B550 motherboard. With Intel, meanwhile, you’ll need at least an 11th or 12th Gen processor and a Z490, Z590 or Z690 motherboard. Keep in mind that Gen4 SSDs typically cost more than their Gen3 counterparts as well.
  
  More expensive still are the latest Gen5 models, which offer sequential read speeds of up to 16,000MB/s. However, even if your computer supports the standard, you’re better off buying a more affordable Gen4 or Gen3 drive. At the moment, very few games and applications can take advantage of Gen3 NVMe speeds, let alone Gen4 and Gen5 speeds. What’s more, Gen5 NVMe drives can run hot, which can lead to performance and longevity issues. Your money is better spent on other components, like upgrading your GPU, for now.
  
  As for why you would buy an M.2 SATA drive over a similarly specced 2.5-inch drive, it comes down to ease of installation. You add M.2 storage to your computer by installing the SSD directly onto the motherboard. That may sound intimidating, but in practice the process involves a single screw that you first remove to connect the drive to your computer and then retighten to secure the SSD in place. As an added bonus, there aren’t any wires involved, making cable management easier.
  
  Note that you can install a SATA M.2 SSD into an M.2 slot with a PCIe connection, but you can’t insert an NVMe M.2 SSD into a M.2 slot with a SATA connection. Unless you want to continue using an old M.2 drive, there’s little reason to take advantage of that feature. Speaking of backward compatibility, it’s also possible to use a Gen4 drive through a PCIe 3 connection, but you won’t get any of the speed benefits of the faster NVMe.
  
  One last thing to consider is that M.2 drives come in different physical sizes. From shortest to longest, the common options are 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110. (The first two numbers represent width in millimeters and the latter denote the length.) For the most part, you don’t have to worry about that since 2280 is the default for many motherboards and manufacturers. Some boards can accommodate more than one size of NVMe SSD thanks to multiple standoffs. That said, check your computer’s documentation or firmware before buying a drive to ensure you’re picking up a compatible size.
  
  If you’re buying a replacement SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, things are less complicated. For Valve’s handheld, you will need a 2230 size NVMe. Simple. If you don’t want to open your Steam Deck, it’s also possible to expand its storage by installing a microSD card. Engadget has a separate guide dedicated to SD card storage, so check that out for additional buying advice.
  
  I alluded to this earlier, but the best buying advice I can offer is don’t get too caught up about being on the bleeding edge of storage tech. The sequential read and write speeds you see manufacturers list on their drives are theoretical and real-world performance benchmark tests vary less than you think.
  
  If your budget forces you to choose between a 1TB Gen3 NVMe and a 512GB Gen4 model, go for the higher-capacity one. From a practical standpoint, the worst thing you can do is buy a type of SSD that’s too small for needs. Drives can slow dramatically as they approach capacity, and you will probably end up purchasing one with a higher gigabyte capacity in the future.
  What to look for in portable and USB flash drives
  Portable SSDs are a somewhat different beast to their internal siblings. While read and write speeds are important, they are almost secondary to how an external drive connects to your PC. You won’t get the most out of a model like the SanDisk Extreme Pro V2 without a USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 connection. Even among newer PCs, that’s something of a premium feature. For that reason, most people are best off buying a portable drive with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt connection. The former offers transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps. The best external hard drives also allow you to transfer data from your Windows PC to a Mac, or other device, if compatible. Be sure to consider this beforehand if you plan to use your portable drive across multiple devices.
  
  Additionally, if you plan to take your drive on trips and commutes, it’s worthwhile to buy a model with IP-certified water and dust proofing. Some companies like Samsung offer rugged versions of their most popular drives, including the Samsung SSD T7 Shield, with a high endurance rating. For additional peace of mind, 256-bit AES hardware encryption will help prevent someone from accessing your data if you ever lose or misplace your external SSD.
  
  Some of the same features contribute to a great thumbstick drive. Our favorite picks for best budget external SSD models feature USB 3.0 connections and some form of hardware encryption.
  A note on console storage Seagate
  If PC gaming isn’t your thing and you own an Xbox Series X|S or PS5, outfitting your fancy new console with the fastest possible storage is far more straightforward than doing the same on PC. With a Series X or Series S, your options are limited to options from Seagate and Western Digital. The former offers 512GB, 1TB and 2TB models, with the most affordable starting at a not-so-trivial $90. Western Digital’s Expansion Cards are less expensive, with pricing starting at $80 for the 512GB model. The good news is that both options are frequently on sale. Your best bet is to set an alert for the model you want by using a price tracker like CamelCamelCamel.
  
  With Sony’s PlayStation 5, upgrading the console’s internal storage is slightly more involved. Instead of employing a proprietary solution, the PS5 uses NVMe storage. Thankfully, there aren’t as many potential configurations as you would find on a PC. Engadget maintains a comprehensive guide to the best SSDs for PS5; in short, your best bet is a high-capacity Gen4 drive with a built-in heatsink. Check out that guide for a full list of gaming SSD recommendations, but for a quick go-to, consider the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX I recommend above. It meets all the memory specifications for Sony’s latest console and you won’t run into any clearance issues with the heatsink. Corsair offers 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB versions of the drive. Expect to pay about $110 for the 1TB variant and about $200 for 2TB.
  
  For those still playing on a previous generation console, you can get slightly faster game load times from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included hard drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, but going out of your way to do so probably isn’t worth it at this point and you’re better off saving your money for one of the new consoles and updating your operating system instead.
  SSD FAQs What size SSD is best?
  There is no one size fits all rule for SSDs, but we generally recommend getting at least a 1TB SSD if you’re looking to upgrade PC or game console storage, or looking to add an external drive to your toolkit. A 1TB drive will be plenty for most people who need extra storage space for photos, documents and programs. If you’re a hardcore gamer, you may want to invest in even more storage considering many high-profile titles today can take up a ton of space.
  Is a 256GB SSD better than a 1TB hard drive?
  The short answer is that it depends on what you need your drive for. In general, SSDs are faster and more efficient than HDDs, but HDDs are usually cheaper. We recommend springing for an SSD for most use cases today — upgrading a PC, saving important photos and documents, storing games long term, etc. But if you’re focused on getting the most amount of extra space possible (and sticking to a budget), an HDD could be a good option for you.
  Does bigger SSD mean faster?
  Getting a bigger SSD doesn’t always translate into a faster drive overall. A bigger SSD will provide a higher storage capacity, which means more space for storing digital files and programs. To understand how fast an SSD will be, you’ll want to look at its read/write speeds: read speeds measure how fast a drive can access information, while write speeds measure how fast the drive can save information. Most SSDs list their approximate read/write speeds in their specs, so be sure to check out those numbers before you make a purchase.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-ssds-140014262.html?src=rss

• The best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories for 2026
  Whether you just got a Switch 2 or you9ve had yours for a while, you may want to grab some key accessories to make it fit your gaming style even more than it already does. Not only can the right accessories make it easier and more fun to play all of the games you love, but they can also make your gaming experience better in different environments, be it on the couch, in an airplane or in the car. We9ve got to try out some of the latest Switch 2 accessories, and some of our old favorites are also compatible with the new console. These are our current favorite Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, and we9ll add to this list over time as we test out new gear.
  Best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  More Nintendo Switch 2 accessories
  Nintendo announced a bunch of new accessories when it revealed the Switch 2 earlier this year. Key among them are a new Switch 2 Pro controller, Switch 2 camera, an all-in-one carrying case and more. Our staff will be testing out a bunch of these accessories, and we9ll keep our favorites list up to date as we do so. If you9re interested in picking any of those new Switch 2 accessories up, you can find them at a variety of retailers:
  
  Joy-Con 2 bundle
  
  Nintendo
  
  Walmart
  
  GameStop
  
  Best Buy
  
  Target
  
  Amazon
  
  Hori Nintendo Switch 2 Piranha Plant Camera
  
  Best Buy
  
  Target
  
  Amazon
  
  Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip
  
  Nintendo
  
  Walmart
  
  GameStop
  
  Best Buy
  
  Target
  
  Amazon
  
  Joy-Con 2 Wheels (set of 2)
  
  Nintendo
  
  Walmart
  
  GameStop
  
  Best Buy
  
  Target
  
  Amazon
  
  Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case
  
  Nintendo
  
  Walmart
  
  GameStop
  
  Best Buy
  
  Target
  
  Amazon
  
  Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector
  
  Nintendo
  
  Walmart
  
  GameStop
  
  Best Buy
  
  Target
  
  Amazon
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/best-nintendo-switch-2-accessories-070011952.html?src=rss

• US bans new foreign-made drones and components
  The Federal Communications Commission has added foreign-made drones and their critical components to the agency’s “Covered List,” making them prohibited to import into the US. In a public notice published by the FCC, it said several national security agencies have determined that umanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their critical components produced in foreign countries pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. 
  
  “UAS and UAS critical components must be produced in the United States,” the agency said. “UAS are inherently dual-use: they are both commercial platforms and potentially military or paramilitary sensors and weapons. UAS and UAS critical components, including data transmission devices, communications systems, flight controllers, ground control stations, controllers, navigation systems, batteries, smart batteries, and motors produced in a foreign country could enable persistent surveillance, data exfiltration, and destructive operations over U.S. territory, including over World Cup and Olympic venues and other mass gathering events.”
  
  FCC Chair Brendan Carr clarified on X that the ban does not affect old drones. People can continue using the devices they’ve already purchased, and retailers can keep selling models that have already been approved by the agency. The new rule only applies to upcoming models. He also said that the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security can allow specific new models, a certain class of drones or particular components to be sold in the US. 
  Today, based on an Executive Branch national security determination, the FCC has added foreign-produced UAS (drones) and foreign-produced UAS critical component parts to the FCC’s Covered List on a going forward basis.
   
  President Trump has been clear that his Administration will… pic.twitter.com/tVLlsBeOfw
  — Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 22, 2025
  The FCC didn’t name any manufacturers in particular, but one of the most well-known brands that will be affected by the ban is Chinese company DJI, which told Engadget that it was disappointed by the agency’s decision. “While DJI was not singled out, no information has been released regarding what information was used by the Executive Branch in reaching its determination,” a spokesperson said. DJI has long been in the US government’s crosshairs and has been trying to prove that its products aren’t a national security threat.
  
  “DJI products are among the safest and most secure on the market, supported by years of reviews conducted by US government agencies and independent third parties,” they added. “Concerns about DJI’s data security have not been grounded in evidence and instead reflect protectionism, contrary to the principles of an open market.”
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-bans-new-foreign-made-drones-and-components-053201854.html?src=rss

• Pirate group Anna's Archive says it has scraped Spotify in its entirety
  Anna9s Archive, the open-source search engine for shadow libraries, says it scraped Spotify9s entire library of music. The group acquired metadata for around 256 million tracks, with 86 million actual songs, and is just under 300TB in total size.
  
  "A while ago, we discovered a way to scrape Spotify at scale. We saw a role for us here to build a music archive primarily aimed at preservation," the group said in a blog post. The pirated treasure trove of music represents over 15 million artists with over 58 million albums.
  
  The group intends to make all files available for download for anyone with the available disk space. "This Spotify scrape is our humble attempt to start such a “preservation archive” for music. Of course Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start," the group wrote. The 86 million songs that the group has archived so far represent about 99.6 percent of listens on the platform. This only represents about 37 percent of the total and the group still has millions left to be archived.
  
  The open-source site is normally focused on text like books and papers, which it says offers the highest information density. The group says its goal of "preserving humanity9s knowledge and culture" doesn9t distinguish between media types. Of course none of this is exactly legal, and the sharing or downloading of all these files is flagrantly in violation of IP protection laws.
  
  Anna9s Archive contends that current collections of music, both physical and digital, are over-indexed to the most popular artists or composed of unnecessarily large file sizes due to collectors9 focus on fidelity. The group says that what it9s amassed is by far the largest music metadata database publicly available. The music files will be released in order of popularity in stages.
  
  “Spotify has identified and disabled the nefarious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping,” a spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. “We9ve implemented new safeguards for these types of anti-copyright attacks and are actively monitoring for suspicious behavior. Since day one, we have stood with the artist community against piracy, and we are actively working with our industry partners to protect creators and defend their rights.”
  
  Update, December 22, 2025, 10:45PM ET: This story has been updated to add Spotify’s statement.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/pirate-group-annas-archive-says-it-has-scraped-spotify-in-its-entirety-211914755.html?src=rss

• Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella killed in a car crash
  Game developer Vince Zampella, known for his work on many popular first-person shooter franchises, has died. According to Los Angeles news channel NBC4, Zampella was killed in a single-vehicle car crash on Sunday along with one other unnamed person. He was 55.
  
  Zampella has helmed several well-known first-person shooter titles. He was a founder of Infinity Ward, where he was a creator of the Call of Duty series. Zampella remained at the company for the launch of the hugely popular franchise9s first few installments. In 2010, he co-founded Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall, Titanfall 2 and Apex Legends. Respawn was acquired by EA, and most recently, Zampella was leading DICE9s studio in Los Angeles and headed up the Battlefield franchise, another FPS series that just saw the launch of Battlefield 6 earlier this year.
  
  EA shared the following statement about Zampella9s death: “This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones and all those touched by his work. Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching. A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world. His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come.”
  
  Update, December 22, 2025, 3:53PM ET: Added statement from EA.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/call-of-duty-co-creator-vince-zampella-killed-in-a-car-crash-204046354.html?src=rss

• The Indie Game Awards snatches back two trophies from Clair Obscur over its use of generative AI
  The Indie Game Awards has stripped Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of two major awards, including Game of the Year and Debut Game. This is due to developer Sandfall Interactive9s use of generative AI, pic.twitter.com/V6mtdG8bUx
  — Nyanomancer (@nyanomancer) April 26, 2025
  The company says it was only for placeholder textures that were later removed, but a few squeezed past the QA process and made their way to the final game and, as such, the internet. The Indie Game Awards is clear about disallowing any use of generative AI and, so, here we are.
  
  "In light of Sandfall Interactive confirming the use of gen AI art in production on the day of the Indie Game Awards 2025 premiere, this does disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination," the organization wrote. "While the assets in question were patched out and it is a wonderful game, it does go against the regulations we have in place."
  
  Six One Indie, the company behind the ceremony, deserves a smidge of the blame here. These awards were initially handed out last week and we9ve known about the whole Clair Obscur AI thing for months. It says it didn9t discover Sandfall9s use of AI until December 18, the day the winners were announced. A Google search on December 17 likely would9ve helped. It is worth noting, however, that Sandfall did previously agree that no generative AI was used during development as part of the submission process. 
  
  In any event, the second-highest scoring titles in each category now gets the award. This means that Blue Prince is now Game of the Year and Sorry We9re Closed snags Debut Game.
  
  Despite this AI controversy, Clair Obscur had a record-setting night at this month9s The Game Awards. It won just about everything it was put up for, including Game of the Year. It also made our list of the best games of 2025. The developer announced that it had sold 5 million copies back in October. That number is surely much higher by now.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-indie-game-awards-snatches-back-two-trophies-from-clair-obscur-over-its-use-of-generative-ai-164730842.html?src=rss

• Uber allows violent felons to drive on its platform, investigation finds
  An investigation by the New York Times into Uber9s background checks and safety procedures for its drivers found a patchwork approach that opens the door for violent felons to drive for the ride-hailing platform.
  
  Uber outright rejects applicants convicted of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and terrorism. However, in 22 states, the Times found Uber can approve applicants convicted of many other offenses including child abuse, assault and stalking, if the convictions are at least seven years old. The extensive investigation also found that in 35 states, these checks are based largely on where someone has lived in those seven years, meaning convictions from other locations could be missed.
  
  In 2017, Massachusetts conducted an audit of ride-hailing drivers in the state and ended up banning more than 8,000 drivers (about 11 percent) who were previously approved. Lyft, for its part, does not allow drivers with previous violent felony convictions regardless of how long ago the conviction was.
  
  In a document from 2015 reviewed by the Times, Uber executives discussed a strategy to "shift the conversation about safety from background checks to [less costly] initiatives proven to reduce incidents." A 2018 email from Uber’s then head of safety communications described the company9s background check policy as "a bare minimum."
  
  The Times compiled half a dozen examples of serious cases where Uber drivers with past violent convictions were later accused by passengers of sexual assault or rape. Two of those cases resulted in criminal convictions.
  
  Between 2017 and 2022, Uber9s US operations received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct among almost every eight minutes, according to the company9s own internal data. Uber said 75 percent of these reports were for "less serious" incidents such as flirting or making comments about a rider9s appearance, and claimed that 99.9 percent of its rides take place without incident.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uber-allows-violent-felons-to-drive-on-its-platform-investigation-finds-162721155.html?src=rss

• Paramount has an updated Warner Bros. Discovery bid
  Paramount Skydance isn9t giving up on obtaining Warner Bros. Discovery just yet. The company has amended its $108 billion offer to include Larry Ellison9s "irrevocable personal guarantee" equaling $40.4 billion. Ellison is the founder or Oracle and a backer of Skydance, created by his son David Ellison, Paramount Skydance9s CEO. 
  
  On December 17, WBD formally recommended shareholders reject Paramount9s offer. WBD had already accepted an $82.7 billion offer from Netflix, set to close some time next year following regulatory approval. "[The board] has unanimously determined that the tender offer launched by Paramount Skydance on December 8, 2025 is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders and does not meet the criteria of a 9Superior Proposal9 under the terms of WBD9s merger agreement with Netflix announced on December 5, 2025," WBD stated. 
  
  The Paramount deal included backing by sovereign wealth funds in places like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But the Ellisons previously said that, if the other funders dropped out, they would "backstop the full amount of the bid." That wasn9t enough of a guarantee for WBD. 
  
  Now, Paramount has returned with the irrevocable personal guarantee and an agreement that the senior Ellison won9t "revoke" or "adversely transfer" the Ellison family trust9s assets while the transaction is pending. WBD had stated that a personal guarantee was the only fix to Paramount9s inadequate offer. 
  
  Paramount might have taken this step, but not with a smile on its face: "None of these concerns, nor the demand for a personal guarantee, were raised by WBD or its advisors to Paramount in the 12-week period leading up to WBD agreeing to the inferior transaction with Netflix, Inc.," the company stated about its updated offer. 
  
  "Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice," David Ellison stated. "We expect the board of directors of WBD to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future."
  
  Paramount9s updated offer also includes publishing the trust9s assets, more flexible transaction terms and an increase from $5 billion to $5.8 billion of its "regulatory reverse termination fee" — in line with Netflix9s. 
  
  Paramount9s offer will expire on January 21, 2026. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/paramount-has-an-updated-warner-bros-discovery-bid-144348321.html?src=rss

• Instacart is ending its controversial price tests
  Instacart has announced it will be ending price testing on its platform. This comes after a study published earlier this month revealed pricing experiments that led to some customers seeing higher prices than others and the FTC saying last week it would be investigating the grocery delivery app.
  
  "Effective immediately, Instacart is ending all item price tests on our platform. Retailers will no longer be able to use Eversight technology to run item price tests on Instacart," an Instacart spokesperson shared with Engadget. The blog post called out "misconceptions and misinformation," maintaining that these price experiments were never the result of dynamic pricing and were never based on any personal or behavioral information about shoppers.
  
  In an earlier blog post responding to the study9s allegations, Instacart said pricing changes were a "form of short-term, randomized A/B testing." The post referred to this process as "common in the grocery industry" and continued to paint the practice as a way to "invest in lower prices." It also highlighted that Instacart does not set the prices on its platform, which are set by retailers listed on the app.
  
  The company made clear that its retail partners will continue to set their own prices on the platform, which may vary by location just as they do in brick-and-mortar stores, but that Instacart will no longer support any item price testing services.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/instacart-is-ending-its-controversial-price-tests-134552152.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
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  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
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  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