Gadgets
A small device, a big reaction More than two decades after Apple introduced a device that changed how we carry music, the iPod is quietly enjoying a second act. Collectors, minimalists, parents and people fed up with constant smartphone interruptions are buying used and refurbished iPods again — not for status,
Games
A major handoff in Microsoft gaming Phil Spencer, synonymous with Xbox for decades, has stepped down after 38 years at Microsoft. He hands leadership of the company's gaming business to Asha Sharma, an executive from Microsoft’s CoreAI organization. The transition marks a clear inflection point for Microsoft:
Games
What happened at Ubisoft Toronto Ubisoft’s Toronto studio recently reduced its headcount by about 40 people. The move was targeted and, according to internal and public statements, did not touch the studio’s ongoing contributions to the Splinter Cell remake nor other co-development work it was handling for global
Games
What Xbox Free Play Days is and why it works Xbox Free Play Days are short windows when full games are made available to play at no extra charge for eligible players on the Xbox platform. Historically tied to membership tiers, these events let people try premium titles with no
Security
Why this debate matters now Passwords have been the default way to protect online accounts for decades. But over the last few years we’ve seen a shift: operating-system password managers, passkeys built on FIDO2/WebAuthn, and biometric unlock (Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello) are becoming the mainstream authentication
Policy
What happened, in short Discord ran a trial in the UK to verify the ages of users, using a third-party identity vendor (Persona). That pilot was later the focus of public criticism about privacy and risk. Persona has since confirmed it deleted the data from the trial. The episode is
Games
Why this matters now Nintendo is bringing Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen — the Game Boy Advance remakes of the original Kanto games — back to current hardware as digital releases. The timing ties directly to Pokémon Day, when a special Pokémon Presents broadcast will air and reveal details. For players, developers and
Why Meta entering smartwatches matters Reports indicate Meta Platforms has revived an internal watch project — currently referred to as "Malibu 2" — and is reportedly aiming to ship a device this year. That matters because Meta already has experience pushing hardware boundaries (think Oculus/Quest and Ray-Ban Stories). A
A small app gets a visual upgrade Microsoft is rolling out image support to the Notepad app on Windows 11. For a tool that has been synonymous with plain text for decades, allowing images inside the app is a notable pivot — and one with practical consequences for everyday users, developers,
What happened Microsoft recently reported and addressed an incident involving Copilot Chat — its AI assistant integrated with Microsoft 365 — in which content from private emails surfaced in responses produced by the tool. The company says the bug has been fixed and that the exposure did not grant any user new
Why a controller-first launch matters When a company like Valve decides to enter hardware, the launch sequencing matters as much as the devices themselves. The Steam Controller isn’t just another gamepad — it’s the user-facing bridge between PC games and the living-room TV. Shipping the controller well ahead of
Why tiny cameras in AirPods aren't as crazy as they sound Apple has progressively turned AirPods from simple wireless earbuds into a sensor-rich wearable platform: from the original AirPods to the AirPods Pro with active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and advanced motion/tracking. The next logical jump — putting
A fast tour: what Microsoft is adding to Windows 11 Microsoft has been pushing Copilot beyond a chat box. The newest demonstrations show AI “agents” appearing directly on the Windows 11 taskbar and inside File Explorer through an optional feature called Ask Copilot. Instead of opening a browser or separate
A quick snapshot Google's Gemini 3.1 Pro has landed attention from the AI community by topping a fresh round of language-model benchmarks. Beyond headline numbers, the model signals where large-model engineering and practical deployment are heading: more capable, more context-aware, and positioned for enterprise workflows that need
Where Olympic Ridge fits in AMD's roadmap AMD's Ryzen 10000 family—branded internally as "Olympic Ridge"—represents the next desktop wave built around the Zen 6 core microarchitecture. After multiple Zen generations that leaned heavily on a chiplet (CCD) plus I/O die model,
A new role for a smartphone assistant Samsung's latest update to One UI — version 8.5 — reframes Bixby from a command-receiving helper into a conversational device agent for Galaxy phones. Rather than simply answering queries, Bixby is positioned to manage device settings and common workflows through natural language,
What Microsoft added and why it matters Windows 11 has quietly gained a convenience many of us have been using third-party apps for: a one-click internet speed test accessible from the taskbar. Instead of launching a browser, hunting for a reputable speed-test site, or opening a separate utility, you can
Why long-term digital archives still matter We create and rely on more digital information than ever: legal records, scientific datasets, cultural heritage, and critical source code. Much of that data must be preserved intact for decades or centuries, sometimes for millennia. Traditional solutions — magnetic tape, hard drives, optical discs — are
Why this matters now Snapseed, Google's long-standing image editor, just turned the tables on the single-purpose photo app model by adding a built-in camera to its iPhone release. For creators and pro hobbyists who already rely on Snapseed's editing toolkit, this removes one of the most