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Unless you run a massive rack-mounted Xeon server, your networking gear probably doesn't draw a lot of power. I can't think of a situation where someone I know plugged their router into the wall and tripped a breaker or shorted out their home.

Buying a two-year-old hybrid crossover can be a smart way to get better value without taking on the uncertainty that can come with an older used vehicle. But if reliability is high on your list, one Japanese crossover stands out from the crowd.

When I worked at a university in the area of educational technology, I was a major advocate for open-source software. I took every chance I got to evangelize Linux and open-source apps to the student body. Part of it had to do with helping cash-strapped college students eat less instant ramen, but the other part was philosophical.

I believe that physical media will always have the best quality compared to streaming from an online service, and that’s why I collected so many Blu-ray and DVD discs. Eventually, though, I switched to watching my media on Plex instead, and I won’t go back.

I love using tech to solve real-life problems. After getting parking tickets for staying too long in a parking lot, I decided to see if I could solve this problem using just my phone and a cheap NFC tag. The solution works even better than I expected.

Being a student is hard. You have to manage and organize piles of notes and study materials, somehow keep it all in your head, and on top of that juggle classes, assignments, and chores that never seem to let up. And so, to help you out, here are three brilliant free and open-source apps that can take some of that pressure off your shoulders and make student life a little easier.

Wake up to a message saying your iPhone may be a target for mercenary hackers? It may not have been as noisily in your face as other emergency alerts, but you still need to take it seriously.

The direct-to-device threat notification, which appears as a banner on your iPhone's lock screen and atop the home screen, is a recent expansion of Apple's existing threat detection features, designed to alert users of mercenary spyware attacks. The banner only appears on a device if Apple detects activity "consistent with a mercenary spyware attack," the company explains.

SEE ALSO: White House signing deals with private hackers to combat cybercrime

It reads: "Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone. There are actions you can take now to protect your data and device."

What does the spyware alert mean?

Mercenary spyware attacks are highly resourced, individualized attempts to penetrate devices in order to install surveillance programs. Often associated with state-sanctioned espionage and enabled by private tech companies, these attacks typically target individuals with political affiliations, including journalists, activists, politicians, and diplomats.

Apple uses internal threat intelligence technology to detect activity associated with the intrusions.

If you get an alert, it doesn't necessarily mean spyware has successfully been installed on your device, but it does mean Apple has "high-confidence" you are a target. And that means you need to act fast to protect your information.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple confirmed it sent threat notifications to users in more than 110 countries late Thursday (Aug. 13) and more than 150 countries to date.

How can I verify the alert is real?

Apple's threat notifications will never include clickable links or ask users to open attachments, log into accounts, or install apps. If your alert includes any of these, it is fake.

In addition to on-screen alerts, iPhone users will receive a threat detection notification in their device's account settings, which appears under their Apple Account information. If your device is potentially being targeted, you will see a new menu option titled "Apple Threat Notifications." It should have a red notification badge next to it.

Credit: Apple Credit: Apple

Apple will also send a message with additional threat information to the email address associated with your account. If you feel like you can't trust an email, log into your account via a desktop computer or laptop. You should see an additional threat notification banner at the top of the page.

Got all three? You're the lucky spyware winner.

What do I do if I get a spyware alert?

Users should immediately take steps to lock down their accounts and protect their personally identifiable information, Apple advises. The company suggests soliciting help from experts and directs users to partner organization Access Now and its 24/7 helpline.

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Users can also switch their devices to Lockdown Mode, which walls off specific apps, websites, and other features that are susceptible to such attacks. When an iPhone is in Lockdown Mode, users can't access message attachments, click links, or continue sharing photo albums with contacts. Users can't FaceTime contacts that haven't been called within the last 30 days. Certain web browsing features and automatic WiFi joining are disabled. And other devices are automatically disconnected from your phone.

As a lifelong renter (I move around too much to justify buying a house), I am more than familiar with the many rules you have to abide by when you pay to live in someone else's home. The golden rule is that you aren't allowed to make any permanent changes without permission. That includes hammering in picture hooks or drilling holes.

Netflix has got it going on in the documentary space in August, with the chilling The Idaho Murders: College Nightmares still holding strong in the streamer's top 3 TV shows on the U.S. charts, which says a lot about where subscriber attention is pointed right now. But the month is just getting warmed up, with three more documentary titles landing in the last few days.

If you're looking for a new way to record your vlogs, tutorials, or other content types, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo is the upgrade you need. The small, lightweight camera has a 1-inch sensor, built-in stabilization, and more, so you can get the shots you need without a heavy or complex setup (which is especially handy if you’re recording solo). The bundle even offers additional accessories like the DJI Mic 2 for better sound alongside the clear 4K image capture.

We've come a long way from that simple volume slider in Windows 3.1 and later Windows 95. Back then, there was no guarantee every PC would even have a soundcard in it, so sophisticated sound mixing and volume control were limited to the purview of professional audio workstations.

TV is no stranger to odd-couple investigators. Scully and Mulder from The X Files. Cohle and Hart from True Detective. Any iteration of Holmes and Watson. Now, HBO's Lanterns adds its own twist to this tried-and-true formula, asking, "what if these investigators... were space cops?"

SEE ALSO: 'Lanterns' trailer: Hal Jordan and John Stewart team up for a Manhunter murder mystery

The space cops in question are Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his trainee John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). Like the rest of the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps, they're able to manifest glowing green constructs with the help of a Power Ring. However, Lanterns takes a more minimalist approach to these abilities, molding the sci-fi elements of Green Lantern into an earthbound mystery with an irresistible duo at its heart.

Lanterns is a thoughtful mystery by way of DC. Aaron Pierre in "Lanterns." Credit: HBO Max

Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, Lanterns charts the growing pains in the mentor-mentee relationship between Hal and John. Smart-mouthed Hal constantly belittles John, calling him "junior" and often failing to loop him in on key Lantern information. A former Marine, John does his best to stay stoic and not snap at Hal, but by the time the show picks up, the cracks in his resolve are starting to show. Yet as his father (J. Alphonse Nicholson) reminds him over the phone in Lanterns' premiere, as a Black man, John doesn't get the luxury of acting out. He's going to have to work twice as hard to be Green Lantern, and once he has the position, he's going to be held to a different, tougher standard than his white predecessor.

Lindelof brought racism to the forefront of his 2019 "remix" of Watchmen, which centered the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, police brutality, and the pervasiveness of white supremacy today. He, Mundy, and King similarly make race a focal point in Lanterns, albeit to a far lesser extent. Here, the focus is less on America's history of racial violence and more on the impossible benchmarks John and his family know he must hit in order to succeed as a Lantern, the pressures of which Lanterns explores in its most compelling hour.

SEE ALSO: What's new to streaming this week? (Aug. 14, 2026)

Issues of race also linger as Hal and John make their way to the small town of Rushville, Nebraska to investigate possible alien involvement in a shooting. During their snooping, they get to know local bigwig William Macon (Garret Dillahunt), whose anti-alien anxieties echo anti-immigrant talking points. Oh, and he has a personal militia, because of course he does.

Lanterns complicates our perception of Rushville and its inhabitants as its central mystery unravels. (It hits great on rewatch.) It also packs in several key Green Lantern elements, from constructs to aliens. However, the show does reshape them in order to fit its grittier, more grounded mystery tone. Aliens in Lanterns are almost always disguised as humans, while constructs are often limited to shields. While the lack of more flashy sci-fi visuals can feel a bit removed from the intergalactic shenanigans of Green Lantern, it does make the moments when the show truly lets loose feel more monumental.

Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre have impeccable chemistry in Lanterns. Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler in "Lanterns." Credit: John Johnson / HBO Max

Carrying us through this mystery is the dynamic duo of Chandler and Pierre, whose performances mesh perfectly, even if their characters don't.

Chandler's Hal is as grating as he is charming. He waltzes into rooms knowing he pushes everyone's buttons, and more importantly, knowing exactly which ones will get what he wants. But while his cockiness could risk being constantly infuriating, Chandler tempers it with an affable sweetness that gives Hal an endearing quality. He'll still piss you off, along with everyone in Rushville, but you'll have a fun time with it.

Where Hal is all smooth talking and impulsive schemes, Pierre's John is a brick wall of restraint. He's buttoned-up, but Pierre masterfully lets that facade of control slip to highlight John's frustration with his so-called mentor. His annoyance at Hal results in some of the show's funniest moments, yet it's all tinged with the thorny reminder of his rigorous journey to become a Green Lantern. Pierre has already proven himself to be a star, especially in 2024's Rebel Ridge, and he continues to prove that here with his commanding sense of gravitas.

Pierre and Chandler's performances are perfect foils, with each scene feeling like a sparring match, usually capped off with the verbal equivalent of a big brother noogie from Hal. Between their chemistry, an intriguing puzzle box, and its ever-relevant themes, Lanterns bursts onto the scene as a thrilling new entry to the DC Universe.

Lanterns premieres Sunday, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

A minority investor in adult creator platform OnlyFans just said in an interview that it's "probably the least-likely platform to be disrupted by AI."

Following OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky's death in March, investment firm Architect Capital bought a minority stake (16 percent) in the company in May for $535 million, Variety reported. In an interview with The Information's editor-in-chief Jessica Lessin posted this week, Architect Capital founder James Sagan said that people pay OnlyFans creators for connection, not content quality. (Lessin shared that her husband, Sam Lessin, was a co-investor alongside Sagan in the OnlyFans deal.)

SEE ALSO: OnlyFans star Sophie Rain dreams of homesteading

"People are not coming to OnlyFans for the quality of the content, which AI might be able to faithfully replicate, but in fact for human connection," Sagan said. He invoked the loneliness epidemic and said, "This is the only place on the internet where you can authentically communicate with a human. And that's why people pay for this content."

"People pay upon the dimension of authenticity." Most creator revenue comes from messages between creators and fans, not generic pictures, he said. When Mashable has viewed earnings of OnlyFans creators, messaging is typically the highest line on the invoice. But some creators' use of "chatters" to message fans has been well-documented online. In Dec. 2025, a federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit about OnlyFans chatter "scams." Subscribers filed it, claiming they'd been misled into thinking they were talking to the actual creator.

"We will never use AI in any capacity to disrupt creators," Sagan said, "and they're not disruptable anyways." He did say AI will benefit the platform only to "empower" creators, though he didn't want to get into specifics. He did mention LLMs and how they're useful in capturing personality, but when Lessin pushed him — isn't that a bot? — he said that AI would be useful tools but not to disintermediate the creators or automate chats.

Creators are already way ahead of this. Mashable reported that sex workers are "cloning" themselves with AI to make sexy chatbots in 2023, and a 2024 survey found that most adult creators were already using AI in their work.

He reiterated that OnlyFans would only build tools to "empower" creators, "to help them make more money and help them scale their authentic brand."

"In a world in which you have a lot of AI slop, in a world in which everything is AI-generated, the scarce asset is authenticity, the scarce asset is human connection, and I think that will be more and more important on a forward-looking basis," he said.

Sagan and Lessin discussed more in the wide-ranging interview. Back in Feb., when rumors swirled that Architect Capital would buy a majority stake in OnlyFans, the firm also discussed the company going public. Sagan discussed this again now, that there's a "world in which we could go public." He also discussed the destigmatization of the platform, due to cultural moments like the recent TV show Margo's Got Money Troubles.

Samsung seemed all set to bring back a cool camera feature on the Galaxy S27 line, but it seems like those plans have been scuttled.

Korean outlet ETNews (per 9to5google) reported that Samsung has opted against reintroducing variable aperture to the Galaxy S27 series, set to launch early next year. Rumors and reports had indicated that Samsung wanted to bring the tech back after it had briefly been part of the Galaxy series in the S9 and S10 days, but it sounds like that's not going to happen now because of manufacturing costs and the burden of a thicker camera bump.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S26 FE specs reportedly leak. What they are, how much it might cost

For those who aren't into photography, variable aperture would let the phone's camera physically change shape to bring in more or less light depending on the situation at hand, like a real camera. Samsung had included this in its phones for a couple of years starting around 2018, but opted for a software solution in more recent devices. We've been hearing that Apple is planning to add the feature to the upcoming iPhone 18, so Samsung probably wanted to add it to the S27 for competition's sake.

Unfortunately, for the time being, it seems like that won't happen.

For weeks, Gemini sat on my phone doing very little. Then I turned on its extensions, and suddenly it stopped being a chatbot and started being the thing that actually runs my day. Now that you just got that "Google Assistant is being retired" email, you might as well take full advantage of its replacement, too.

SAVE 13% OFF: As of Aug. 14, save $4 on the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolutions Perfect Order 3-Pack. That saves you 13% off its $29.99 list price. Get three packs in one, plus a special Chikorita card.

Opens in a new window Credit: Pokemon Pokemon TCG Mega Evolutions Perfect Order 3-Pack $24.95 at Amazon
$29.99 Save $5.04   Get Deal

If you're looking for value, Pokémon's Perfect Order expansion has reliably been an affordable option. That continues to be true with its multi-deck packs that even feature special promo cards. And right now, the savings are even more significant.

As of Aug. 14, get the Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolutions Perfect Order 3-Pack for just $24.95. That takes $4.05 off the set's original price of $29.99 for 13% savings. Plus, with this discount, each booster pack is about $8.32 each.

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The Mega Evolution Perfect Order collection features over 120 cards with new Mega Evolution Pokemon and over 25 Trainer cards. Plus, these cards feature over 30 new special illustrations. Some of the best cards inside the Perfect Order set include Mega Clefable ex, Mega Starmie ex, and Meowth ex.

Will you get lucky and pull one of these sought-after cards? Grab this three-pack now from Amazon and find out.

You now have an easier time playing games on your Linux PC without turning to code translation or emulators. Nvidia's native GeForce Now app for Linux has officially left beta, giving the open-source OS a major, refined cloud streaming option beyond the web browser.

The best TV deals to shop this weekend: Best Hisense TV deal Hisense 85-inch U6 Pro Hi-QLED Mini LED 4K TV $1,099.99 (save $900) Get Deal Best LG TV deal LG 65-Inch C6 OLED 4K TV $1,799.99 (save $900 + get free $149.01 Amazon credit) Get Deal Best Samsung TV deal Samsung 65-inch S90H OLED 4K TV $1,799.99 (save $900) Get Deal

It may not be the best time to buy a TV traditionally, but TVs don't tend to ask for your permission before kicking the bucket. If you need a new one, then you need a new one. Fortunately, there are still plenty of TVs from our favorite brands, like Hisense, Samsung, and LG, on sale for much less than usual this weekend.

With a new NFL season kicking off and an epic fall movie lineup coming in hot, you'll be glad you made the investment into something better. I did some digging and found a few noteworthy options to consider if you're in dire need of a TV upgrade. And if you need a few pointers for your TV-buying journey, check out our simple TV specs guide.

Best Hisense deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 85-inch U6 Pro Hi-QLED Mini LED 4K TV $1,099.99 at Amazon
$1,999.99 Save $900   Get Deal Why we like it

Our favorite budget TV of 2026, the Hisense U6 Pro, falls in the sweet spot of performance and value.

It packs an impressive full-array local dimming setup, vibrant quantum-dot color, and deep black levels, an anti-glare coating for minimal reflections, and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. Considering it's not an OLED TV, these are nice touches. It also boasts a native 144Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and two HDMI 2.1 ports, making it a solid choice for gamers seeking a big screen on a budget. It comes in a wide range of sizes, but the 85-inch model is currently down to a record-low $1,099.99 at Amazon. That's 45% off a TV that's been out for under six months.

Best LG TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 65-Inch C6 OLED 4K TV $1,799.99 at Amazon
$2,699.99 Save $900.00   Get Deal Why we like it

"Budget OLED TVs aren't really a thing, but the LG C6 is the best affordable OLED TV given its competitors' prices," Mashable's TV expert Leah Stodart writes. She named it the best OLED TV for most people last month, calling out its brilliant picture, excellent contrast in dark rooms, upgraded audio over the C5, and refresh rate boost from 144Hz to 165Hz. The 65-inch model is down to just $1,799.99 at Amazon and Best Buy, from its usual $2,699.99 price. But if you choose Amazon, you'll also get a $149.01 Amazon credit with your purchase. That's 33% in savings and free money.

Best Samsung TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 65-inch S90H OLED 4K TV $1,799.99 at Best Buy
$2,699.99 Save $900.00   Get Deal Why we like it

The S90H is the mid-range OLED from Samsung's 2026 lineup — and just a step down from our favorite OLED of the year (so far). OLED TVs are much more expensive due to their superior contrast, but like the LG TV above, you can get the 65-inch model for just $1,799.99 this weekend, down from $2,699.99. The stock at Amazon is running pretty low, but fortunately, Best Buy is offering a similar discount. Compared to last year's model, the S90H gets a brightness increase and an upgraded anti-reflection display. It supports 4K at 165Hz, NVIDIA G-SYNC, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, making it another great choice for gamers.

More of the best TV deals this weekend

• LG 55-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $379.99 $599.99 (save $220)

• Hisense 65-inch E7 Mini LED Hi-QLED 4K TV — $547.97 $999.99 (save $452.02)

• Insignia 85-inch Class F50 Series 4K Fire TV — $599.99 $899.99 (save $300)

• LG 55-inch LX7B Gallery Mini LED 4K TV — $899.99 $1,299.99 (save $400)

• Hisense 65-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV — $999.99 $1,999.99 (save $1,000)

• LG 65-inch LX7B Gallery Mini LED 4K TV — $999.99 $1,799.99 (save $800)

• Samsung 85-inch M80H Mini LED 4K TV — $1,299.99 $1,799.99 (save $500)

• Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,499.99 $1,999.99 (save $500)

• LG 65-Inch B6 OLED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $1,999.99 (save $300)

• Samsung 75-inch R85H Micro RGB 4K TV — $1,999.99 $2,799.99 (save $800)

Ambient lighting doesn’t need to stop at static LED strips or color-changing smart bulbs. Reactive ambient lighting, or the “Ambilight” as Philips calls it, can enhance immersion with dynamic bias lighting on the back of a TV or monitor.

College is expensive. So is the software you need to get through your classes, including science, math, or video production, even with academic discounts. There are open-source alternatives to popular proprietary apps that can help you survive college without spending too much money.