Tech

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Tech

A $16 alarm clock stopped my morning doomscrolling

I grew up using my smartphone as an alarm and watched both my mornings and evenings devolve into doomscrolling. In September 2024 I bought a $16 analog alarm clock and was surprised by how quickly some habits broke. The hardest hurdle was the fear that the clock would fail; once

Tech

Rust Naval Update adds buildable boats and a walk-the-plank option

The Naval Update for Rust introduces buildable seafaring boats and an option that can be used to make other players walk the plank. It also adds the Deep Sea, a hazardous zone reached from the map's ends where rare pirate loot waits. The area is risky, not always

Tech

RayNeo Air 3s Pro delivers a 201-inch virtual screen

As a train commuter and regular business traveler, I’ve found XR glasses essential for work and entertainment on the go. High prices put many models out of reach, but RayNeo’s Air 3s Pro offers advanced micro-OLED screens, 20 brightness levels and a 201-inch visual experience for $299. Compared

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85-inch Sony Bravia 3 drops below $1,000 at Amazon

Amazon is offering the 85-inch Sony Bravia 3 with a $600 discount, bringing the price to just under $1,000. Positioned as Sony's entry-level LED smart TV compared with its OLED models, the Bravia 3 still promises the brand's picture and audio quality and a suite

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Insignia 55-inch F50 4K Fire TV drops to $180, 49% off

The 55-inch Insignia Class F50 Series 4K LED smart TV is available on Amazon for $180, down 49% from its $350 retail price. This is the lowest it has been in a long while, and the listing shows no delivery charges; such discounts tend to end quickly. For well under

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All Honkai: Star Rail 4.0 livestream codes

Honkai: Star Rail 4.0 livestream codes have arrived, offering extra Stellar Jade ahead of the Planarcadia update. Planarcadia is linked to Aha and the Path of Elation, making it a party destination for the Astral Express crew. Available livestream codes: AHAHAHAHAHAHA — 100 Stellar Jade and 50,000 credits; QWQXDDLOLOMO

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Four games free on Steam for a few days

Steam is offering four games free to play for a limited time: Arabian Gulf, XCOM 2, Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss and Hellcard. Arabian Gulf is a survival game set in a desert where players scavenge levels for treasure and face "intense combat" against zombie-like enemies. A few Steam

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Nintendo Direct partner showcase arrives Feb. 5 for Switch and Switch 2 games

Nintendo will hold a Direct livestream tomorrow, Feb. 5, to discuss upcoming Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 games. The roughly 30-minute partner showcase starts at 6 a.m. Pacific / 9 a.m. Eastern and will emphasize third-party titles rather than Nintendo’s own first-party releases. With more power than the

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Amazon Clears Out Original Nintendo Switch With Joy-Con Controllers

Amazon has reduced the price of the original Nintendo Switch with Joy-Con controllers, cutting $42 off the current retail rate. Nintendo raised the price of its previous-generation Switch after new U.S. tariffs on hardware, so the base model that originally launched at $300 now sells for $340 new. Diving

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Pixel Buds Pro 2 Drop to $179 at Amazon

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are back down to $179 on Amazon, matching the low price seen during an earlier post‑holiday sale and representing a $50 reduction from the original $230 price. These AI-enhanced earbuds were a standout audio release in the second half of 2024, notable as

Tech

Why many Bluetooth devices lack new features — and what matters now

Bluetooth 6.2 introduced features such as Shorter Connection Intervals for ultra-low latency and Channel Sounding Resilience to improve security. Yet many peripherals — headphones, earbuds, smartwatches, gaming mice and keyboards — do not deliver the expected performance because manufacturers choose which new features to include. A device's Bluetooth version

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Steam beta fixes bug that hid Proton games for large libraries

Linux can be cool and surprisingly easy. I've been running Fedora 43 on my main machine for a few months now and, to be honest, it's almost boringly easy: aside from minor tinkering to get proprietary Nvidia drivers and codecs installed, it's been smooth

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Your Android phone feeling slow? A 4-step refresh routine

I cover consumer tech and use dozens of smartphones each year, and many people ask how to make their current phone faster. The short answer is to clear storage and apply a few simple tweaks. If your Android has started feeling slow, try this four-step routine. First, remove unused apps

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Ryzen 7 Mini PC with 24GB RAM Drops to $459 as Mac Mini Alternative

The Beelink SER5 MAX packs full desktop functionality into a very small case that can hide behind a TV or monitor. It runs an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor with eight cores and 16 threads, boosting up to 4.75 GHz, and uses integrated AMD Radeon 680M graphics for 4K

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Expedition quest resets are blocking access to new Arc Raiders quests

The Arc Raiders Expedition system has improved recently — skill points that once cost $1 million were cut to $600k, and missed points can be reclaimed for $300k — but the quest reset mechanic remains frustrating. Sending your Raider on an Expedition wipes all quest progress, and new update quests are increasingly

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How to clear your iPhone cache and improve performance

Cache is a collection of temporary files that apps and websites store locally on your device to speed up loading, browsing, and your overall session. For example, Safari saves images or scripts from sites so they don't have to download again. While helpful, too much cache can slow

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Counter-drone tech dominates Singapore airshow

Singapore hosted its biennial airshow in early February, one of Asia's biggest defense events, where fighter jets and commercial airliners shared space with a flood of uncrewed-aerial-system displays. Roughly 550 organisations were listed as exhibitors, and about a third worked in the UAS business; inside the main hall

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I didn't realize how important headbob was until I played an RPG without it

I watched two short walking clips back to back—one from The Outer Worlds 2 and the other from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2—and the difference, while small, felt huge. In The Outer Worlds 2 I didn't feel like a person moving through the world; I felt like

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Amazon Echo Show 11 Now $180, Down From $220

The Amazon Echo Show 11 is on sale for $180, down from its usual price of $220 — a $40 discount (18% off). The device pairs an eleven-inch Full HD display with Alexa-powered smart home features. Its 11-inch 1920×1200 screen offers about 60% more viewing area than the Echo Show

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How to make dark scenes look better on your TV

Dark scenes that appear murky are a common frustration. The uproar over the Game of Thrones episode "The Long Night" highlighted how viewers can struggle to see what’s on screen; as the cinematographer noted, the content isn’t always at fault—your TV may simply not be

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Apple Music vs Spotify — one user's clear choice

Apple Music and Spotify both offer vast music libraries but highlight different extras. Apple Music adds music videos, in‑studio performances, artist‑focused radio shows and live broadcaster feeds, while Spotify leans into podcasts and audiobooks. Apple Music is available on Android with most features unless a device lacks Dolby

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Everything We Saw At Today’s Nintendo Partner Direct

Nintendo’s Partner Direct dropped a slate of releases and updates across Switch and the new Switch 2. Highlights opened with Orbitals, a co‑op puzzle game with a retro anime look often described as “anime Split Fiction,” coming to Switch 2 this summer with Game Share support. Paranormasight: The

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Hideo Kojima pulls out of GDC keynote at the last minute

Hideo Kojima, the creator behind the Metal Gear series and the Death Stranding games, was due to headline this year’s Game Developers Conference but will no longer attend. The Kojima Productions X account posted a message saying, "We regret to inform you that Hideo Kojima will no longer

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Nioh 3: Try item shortcut sets and control template B

Like the first two games in the series, Nioh 3 can feel a little fiddly out of the box but is easily improved through a bit of settings snooping. If you're diving into Nioh 3, adjust a few controls and UI options to see how they compare to

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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Coming to Switch 2 in 2026

Nintendo’s latest Direct leaned heavily on older ports and included news that Bethesda’s remaster of the 20-year-old The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion—released elsewhere in April 2025—will arrive on the Switch 2 at some point in 2026. Oblivion Remastered was surprise-announced and released on April 22, 2025,