Wachiwit/Getty Images We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. You don’t have to be a gamer to appreciate a mechanical keyboard, quite the contrary, as cards intended for gaming are often too expensive for what you get in return. This is how brands like Royal Kludge, Ducky, NuPhy, and Keychron manage to make boards loved by enthusiasts in the mechanical keyboard community: not only are these commercially available boards much cheaper, but they are usually built to a higher quality using more premium materials like double-injected keycaps…
Author: Amelia Scott
AlexanDior/Shutterstock If you plan to use HDMI to connect your desktop or laptop computer to a monitor, a good HDMI cable is essential. Pulling an old, forgotten HDMI cable out of a drawer isn’t a good idea, as you risk poor performance or no video output at all. Despite their almost identical physical appearance, not all HDMI cables are equal. Their capabilities and performance depend entirely on the HDMI generation at the time of manufacture. Monitor brands often forget to include an HDMI cable to reduce electronic waste, or if…
Harry Howitt/Shutterstock CarPlay is one of the favorite infotainment systems among drivers, especially iPhone users. Over the past few years, Apple has improved the experience by adding several new features. Just with iOS 26, the company redesigned the experience, started offering AI chatbots and other benefits like widgets, live activities, etc. However, if you are looking for ways to improve your CarPlay experience, you should try audiobook apps, as this could be the perfect time to get addicted to a new saga, the book everyone is commenting on, or simply…
Mediaenlab/Getty Images The 45 degree rule is both a blessing and a curse for 3D printers everywhere. If you’ve spent much time with fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers, you’ve probably encountered this cruel intersection of geometry and physics, with drooping or ruined prints the unfortunate fruit of your negligence. Of course, if you are a novice, you may have never encountered the 45 degree rule and its consequences, even if you have already reviewed what to know before purchasing a 3D printer. The 45 degree rule comes about because your…
Piksel/Getty Images Social media usage is at an all-time high. According to Meltwater’s 2026 Global Digital Report, 5.66 billion people use social media, an increase of almost 5% from the previous year, and Gen Z continues to drive these numbers. Deloitte says 54% consume user-generated content on social media rather than watching TV and movies. Yet, if you look around you, you may have also realized that people are trying to abandon this digital consumption. The reasons include declining mental health, online burnout, and the allure of analog technology –…
Rosshelen/Getty Images Starting a smart home can seem complicated because of the many options you have, but several upgrades work great for beginners. In effect, they help make your home smarter without the complicated process required by some automations. So the ideal approach is to focus on the basic things at first to improve your routine. For example, instead of trying to automate your lights, temperature control, and security devices all at once, it’s best to start simple. The simplest upgrades for anyone starting a smart home aim to make…
Apple is now selling refurbished versions of the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 at discounted prices. This is the first time the Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3 have been available in Apple’s online refurbished store since the devices launched last September. Refurbished Apple Watch Series 11 GPS 46mm pricing starts at $369, down from $429, while Apple Watch Ultra 3 pricing starts at $699, down from $799. Apple Watch SE 3 40mm models start at $209, which is $40 less than the standard price of $249. Apple offers limited colors…
Nguyenducquang/Getty Images When it comes to operating systems, Windows 11 has a larger market share than macOS. But that doesn’t mean it’s a superior operating system. Windows 11 is still missing several macOS features, features that actually help users streamline their workflow. One of the biggest benefits of the Apple ecosystem, and something missing in Windows, is AirDrop, or a similar feature, for quickly sharing files between devices. Some users are also asking for the inclusion of Spotlight, a feature that lets you quickly find anything on your Mac and…
Studio Prostock/Getty Images A new generation of color e-readers is arriving, adding a host of new features and improved image quality. The technology is the byproduct of e-paper developer E Ink’s extensive partnership with Taiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek to integrate the “world’s first generative AI-enabled e-reader system-on-chip (SoC) with an integrated hardware timing controller (Hardware TCON)” on its color ePaper platforms. E Ink announced that the system will support E Ink’s Gallery and Kaleido e-papers, which are found in many popular e-readers and color tablets. MediaTek’s upcoming ePaper SoCs will…
Google’s Chrome browser has reached new records thanks to browser benchmarking tools Speedometer 3.1 and JetStream 3, Google announced today. Chrome scored 61 on the speedometer, a 5% improvement over last year. It scored a 469 on JetStream 3, a 10% improvement since the start of 2026. Testing was done on a MacBook Pro M5 running macOS 26.0.1. Google claims to hold a double record across all browsers, beating all other Mac browsers, including Safari. Google reworked JavaScript handling to improve its benchmarking scores, skipping unnecessary execution steps and integrating asynchronous operations. The integration of “fast paths” for common operations…