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We're only midway through September, but as the final days of summer count down, Netflix is just getting ramped up. I cannot wait for the arrival of Party Down on September 22—it's the best comedy show you've never seen; it stars the brilliant Ken Marino, a pre-Severance Adam Scott, and other faces you'll recognize.

The first game with official DLSS 5 support, NBA 2K27, came out recently, and modders quickly took the DLSS 5 DLL file from the game and made it available to gamers around the world who own a newer NVIDIA GPU, allowing them to use DLSS 5 in a bunch of PC games with tools such as OptiScaler and DLSS 5 Swapper. While only the RTX 50 series is officially supported, at least for now, the two aforementioned utilities allow you to use DLSS 5 on older NVIDIA graphics cards as well.

From React Native to Kotlin Multiplatform, cross-platform frameworks are popular for their promise of “write once, run everywhere” software. Google’s Flutter is another such framework, with a few key differences.

Are you also dealing with a particular kind of Android frustration I know too well? You find out your phone can do something, get excited to try it, and then find the feature nowhere. You check Settings, Google it, follow the instructions step by step, and still come up empty-handed. No setting. No toggle. Nothing.

If you use Linux, you'll eventually want to get comfortable with the terminal. It streamlines your workflow and opens up a whole new way of computing that graphical apps simply can't match. This includes writing Bash scripts for system management and automation or administering a remote machine over SSH.

One of the best things you can do with your 3D printer is create items that improve spaces, tools, and pastimes. The best prints don’t just make life easier; they make it more comfortable too.

eReaders are particularly great gadgets because they tend to stay perfectly usable for a long time. However, there will eventually come a time when you want to upgrade. So what should you do with the old one? We have some ideas for you.

If you're not sure how you feel about the AI data center debate yet, seeing news like this may just convince you that those anti-data center folks have a point.

In the first study of its kind since the AI-driven data center discourse began, researchers in Oregon have released a new report detailing the size of the data center industry in the state. In doing so, the researchers have also uncovered just how much energy data centers use up in the state.

SEE ALSO: Every U.S. state that bans data centers

According to the report, there are 111 operational data centers in the state of Oregon, which take up 22.1 million square feet of building space. Those data centers account for a whopping 23 percent of the state's entire retail energy sales in 2025.

The report also details that there are 32 additional data centers under construction or in the planning stages, which will take up an additional 6.9 million square feet.

The researchers behind the report believe that data center energy consumption in Oregon will rise to nearly 25 terawatt hours by 2030. That's around 31 to 32 percent of all electricity demand in the state and the same energy consumption as 2.5 million homes.

"Data center electricity demand is increasing substantially, and regional as well as state-level planning efforts…indicate that accommodating large-load growth will require new electricity resources, transmission capacity, and coordinated infrastructure planning," the report says.

The report also found that these data centers directly employ 2,630 workers.

This new report was released on Thursday by ECOnorthwest and the University of Virginia. It was funded by the entrepreneurship and environmentalist nonprofit Lemelson Foundation, which is based in Portland.

When shopping for HDDs, it's all too easy to focus on the price and nothing else. Sure, the biggest drives tend to have eye-watering price tags, and not everyone needs 20+ terabytes of storage anyway ... but a recent study, based on a massive sample size, reveals that those drives might be well worth the added cost.

Flock cameras don’t look like much: a box on a pole, pointed at the road. But they photograph passing cars and turn where and when they were seen into searchable records. Police say that helps solve crimes. Critics worry about who can really search those records, what they can do with them, and how much of a person’s daily life they might reveal.

So what happens when people find one in their community and want it gone? Quite a bit, it turns out. Residents across the U.S. are mapping cameras, digging up contracts, and filling public meetings. Others have gone after the cameras themselves, stealing or vandalizing them. And this week, 404 Media and WIRED reported that hackers removed one and copied its stored data, giving journalists a rare look inside a device that features software capable of detecting people as well as cars.

Here’s a compilation of what people have done through maps, records requests, petitions, and city hall — and what those efforts have actually changed.

SEE ALSO: What are Flock cameras and why are they so controversial? 1. Putting Flock cameras on the map

One way people are pushing back is by making the cameras easier to see. Volunteers with Deflock Maps, a crowdsourced automated license plate reader (ALPR) resource, document license plate readers and add their locations to OpenStreetMap. The site opens on a map dotted with numbered clusters of reported cameras. Search for a city or ZIP code, zoom in, and those clusters give way to individual locations. It includes readers made by Flock and other companies, though its volunteer-submitted data may be incomplete or out of date.

In San Francisco, 16-year-old Zachary Schwartz noticed there wasn’t a local DeFlock chapter, so he started one. DeFlock SF pairs a city camera map with local news, a calendar of meetings about the technology, and a link for residents to contribute camera locations. Schwartz and fellow student Hugo Zorn have also made videos and spoken at Police Commission meetings. Schwartz has also called for an audit of how the city uses the cameras and what data they collect.

SEE ALSO: This map shows how many Flock cameras are in your neighborhood

DeFlock isn’t the only place people are documenting the technology. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance lets users search by city or police agency to see whether it has documented license plate readers. It answers a different question from DeFlock’s street-level map: which agencies have been identified as using the technology, rather than where each reported camera sits.

Curious what’s been documented near you? Enter your city or ZIP code in DeFlock Maps and zoom in on the numbered clusters to see individual camera locations. If you spot a reader that’s missing or marked incorrectly, DeFlock explains how to add or correct it through its app and OpenStreetMap. Just remember that a pin is a volunteer report, and an empty stretch of map isn’t proof there are no cameras.

2. Following the paper trail

Some people are fighting Flock by checking whether what happens behind the scenes matches what their city agreed to. In Syracuse, New York, Central Current found a gap between the two. The city’s contract said its license plate data wouldn’t be shared outside the police department. But the department had granted access to other agencies, which police said was an accident. Over roughly a year, searches by officers around the country reached Syracuse’s data nearly 4.4 million times. And that wasn’t the only surprise in the paperwork. Central Current also found that Flock could keep using Syracuse data after the contract ended.

When the city approved cameras from Axon to replace Flock’s, Flock said Syracuse couldn’t simply end its agreement early. It warned that the city might have to pay for both systems; so even as officials moved to replace the cameras, they faced questions about what Flock could do with the data and what the city might still owe.

People elsewhere have been looking at the searches themselves. The Electronic Frontier Foundation examined Flock search logs released through public records requests and found that some users entered “LMAO” or “idk” as their reason for searching. And website Have I Been Flocked? puts released logs in one searchable place, though it has only the records it’s been able to obtain.

SEE ALSO: Have you been Flocked? This website lets you find out

Curious what’s on record where you live? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) suggests looking for Flock on city council agendas; you can also check Have I Been Flocked? for your local agency or request its search logs.

3. Showing up and organizing locally

For residents trying to push back against Flock cameras, the first step is often finding out who agreed to install them. From there, neighbors can compare what they’ve learned, organize around the next public meeting, and ask officials to make a decision in front of the people affected.

That’s what happened in Saranac Lake, New York. Cameras began appearing before many residents knew the village had agreed to install them, so they attended board meetings to ask who had approved the deal and why the public hadn’t been consulted. By a March meeting, dozens had filled the room and the hallway. Trustees came prepared to pause the cameras while they wrote a policy. Residents argued for ending the program instead, and the board voted 4–1 to cancel the contract.

An August protest against Flock in Boston, MA. Credit: Barry Chin/Getty Images Protesters rally in Houston during an August protest. Credit: Raquel Natalicchio/Getty Images

Elsewhere, people have kept the pressure on between meetings. In Milford, Connecticut, residents connected through a DeFlock Milford Facebook group, brought signs, and returned to speak as the debate continued. Activists even projected "Flock Out Of CT" onto City Hall before a vote. In Austin, more than 30 community groups joined forces and residents raised concerns at a council work session ahead of a decision on renewing the program.

If you want to find out what’s happening where you live, the ACLU’s toolkit can help you connect with a nearby group and identify which officials are the decision makers.

4. Writing lawmakers and gathering signatures

Not everyone can make it to a meeting. Some people are putting their objections in writing — and gathering thousands of signatures so officials can see how many others agree.

At the national level, the ACLU’s "Get the Flock Out" campaign offers a draft message people can edit and send to members of Congress. It asks lawmakers to ban license plate readers. If they won’t, the message calls for limits on federal funding and use, warrants to access the data, and faster deletion.

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Local petitions can name the people who have the power to remove specific cameras. In Texas, a petition opposing Flock cameras in Boerne and Kendall County asks county commissioners to cancel the agreement, take down the cameras, and delete the data they’ve collected.

Of course, a growing signature count doesn’t guarantee a changed vote. In Conroe, Texas, resident James Fletes started a petition calling for the city to cancel its Flock contract. It had more than 1,200 signatures by July, but the council went on to shelve proposals to review the cameras or put their use to a public vote. (The city kept their Flock program.)

For people writing their own officials, the ACLU’s organizing toolkit has a sample email for state and local representatives, proposed rules for how camera data can be used and shared, and a resolution a city could use to cancel a Flock contract. Want to send something? You can personalize the message to Congress, or use the toolkit to make a specific request of the officials who control cameras where you live.

5. And yes, some people have gone after the cameras themselves

Some people have taken the fight to the cameras. In Houston, Flock readers have been found damaged, painted, and knocked down. In another neighborhood, four Flock cameras were cut down in late July, prompting a law enforcement investigation. And in Winona, Minnesota, all eight of the city’s police-operated Flock cameras were stolen. The people responsible haven’t necessarily explained their motives, but the incidents show how far the backlash has moved beyond public meetings.

Credit: Raquel Natalicchio/Getty Images Credit: Raquel Natalicchio/Getty Images

There are even people who went looking inside a Flock camera. Hackers removed one, copied the data stored on it, and shared the files with 404 Media and WIRED this week. The journalists found software that could detect people as well as vehicles. Logs from the device showed it had generated about 1.6 million images of roughly 50,000 vehicles across 21 days of recoverable activity. Flock said removing and tampering with the camera was illegal.

The findings raise many questions: What can these devices detect? What data do they keep, and who can access it? If you’re wondering about cameras near you, start with the agency operating them and the officials who approved the contract.

SEE ALSO: Someone stole every Flock camera in this Minnesota city

What the hackers found gives people more to ask about at the next public meeting. And those questions won’t disappear if a city swaps Flock for another company’s cameras, as Syracuse plans to do with Axon. We'll see where the fight goes, and how much more the public, and the company, can take.

Netflix’s award-winning catalog has picked up a few interesting additions lately, including two dramas that had strong runs at this year’s awards and an older blockbuster that still holds its charm. If you usually end up circling the same handful of decorated movies, this week’s picks give you a little more variety.

Early October Prime Day Deals at a glance: Best headphone deal Beats Studio Pro $169.95 (Save $180.04) Get Deal Best Apple deal Apple AirPods Pro 3 $199 (Save $50) Get Deal Best Fire tablet deal Amazon Fire HD 10 (32GB) $76.99 (Save $78) Get Deal Best fire stick deal Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select $19.99 (Save $20) Get Deal Best smartwatch deal Garmin Vivoactive 6 $229.99 (Save $70) Get Deal Best for Prime members Audible (standard plan) $0.99 (99 cents/month for 4 months) Get Deal

The holiday shopping season will be here before you know it. This week, Amazon announced the return of Prime Big Deal Days for 2026, its fall savings event for Prime members (aka "October Prime Day"). The sale will run for 48 hours from Oct. 6 to 7 and compete with concurrent festivities at Target and Walmart.

Prime Big Deal Days will be an opportunity to get a head start on your Black Friday wishlist — and to get some relief from the RAMageddon price hikes impacting the tech industry this year. For its part, Amazon increased the prices of nearly two dozen Kindles, Fire TV Sticks, Echo smart speakers, and eero routers this summer because of rising component costs. Its upcoming seasonal deals should cancel out some of those markups.

SEE ALSO: How to sign up for Amazon Prime in time for the next Prime Day

As we gear up for fall, Amazon has already started dropping some early October Prime Day deals, and we've rounded up the best ones below. (Spoiler: So far, the best deals are on Amazon's own devices and services.) Finally, a word of warning: We do expect prices to drop even lower on select Apple products when the sale starts Oct. 6, so you might want to hold out until then. In the meantime, we'll be regularly updating our picks in the lead-up to Prime Big Deal Days.

Products marked with a ✅ were personally tested and recommended by a member of the Mashable team.

Best headphone deal Opens in a new window Credit: Beats Beats Studio Pro ✅ $169.95 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $180.04   Get Deal Why we like it

Ahead of October Prime Day, you can save 51% on the Beats Studio Pro over-ear headphones. Usually, $349.99, the premium headphones are now just $169.95. Beats is all about audio, and these cans provide support for lossless audio. Similar to AirPods, Beats products also offer seamless connectivity to iOS devices.

More headphone deals Opens in a new window Credit: Beats Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 ✅ $199.95 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $50.04   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: JBL JBL Tune 530BT $39.95 at Amazon
$59.95 Save $20   Get Deal

• EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds — $53.16 $79.90 (save $23.30)

• Beats Solo 4 wireless headphones — $129.95 $199.95 (save $70)

• Skullcandy Crusher 720 headphones — $139.99 $209.99 (save $70)

• Beats Powerbeats Fit sports earbuds — $169.99 $199.99 (save $30)

• Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 — $189 $229 (save $40) ✅

• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) — $249 $299 (save $50) ✅

Best early Apple deals Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 3 ✅ $199 at Amazon
$249 Save $50   Get Deal Why we like it

The basic AirPods just got an upgrade with the new AirPods 5, and last year's Apple AirPods Pro 3 are back on sale. Ahead of October Prime Day, shop the Apple AirPods Pro 3 for $199, a $50 discount. The earbuds have ANC, a more comfortable fit, and bring live translation to the AirPods experience. They're perfect for commuters and even measure your heart rate, which is great for athletes who love a good workout playlist.

More early Prime Day Apple deals Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Max 2 ✅ $449 at Amazon
$549 Save $100   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad (A16, 128GB, WiFi) ✅ $399.99 at Amazon
$449 Save $49.01   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Pro (M5 Max, 48GB RAM, 2TB SSD) $4,499 at Amazon
$4,999 Save $500   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirTag 2 (4-pack) ✅ $89 at Amazon
$99 Save $10   Get Deal

• Apple MagSafe Charger — $39.99 $49 (save $9.01) ✅

• Apple Pencil USB-C — $69.97 $79 (save $9.03) ✅

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS 44mm) — $249 $279 (save $30) ✅

• Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M4, 128GB, WiFi) — $649 $749 (save $100) ✅

• Apple MacBook Pro (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,886.99 $1,999 (save $112.01) ✅

Best Fire tablet deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire HD 10 (32GB) $76.99 at Amazon
$154.99 Save $78.00   Get Deal Why we like it

It's no surprise that the best early October Prime Day deals include plenty of Amazon's own gadgets. Case in point: you can grab this HD tablet with 32GB of storage for 50% off. In the midst of a global memory crisis, a $77 tablet sounds pretty appealing to us. This 10-inch tablet has a lightweight design, a decently long battery life, and a crisp, colorful display. According to the Amazon price-tracking site camelcamelcamel, it's never been this cheap before.

More Fire Tablet deals Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (64GB) $94.99 at Amazon
$169.99 Save $75.00 Amazon makes two 8-inch tablets for kids, both of which come with a durable case, built-in parental controls, two-year guarantee, and a free trial of Amazon Kids+. This model has preset filters for little tykes ages 3 to 7. Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire HD 8 (64GB) ✅ $84.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $45.00 Amazon's cheapest Fire tablet is also marked down to an all-time low ahead of Prime Big Deal Days. Our reviewer liked its compact size and speedy performance. Get Deal Best Fire TV Stick deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select ✅ $19.99 at Amazon
$39.99 Save $20.00   Get Deal Why we like it

Amazon's cheapest 4K media player faced a $10 price bump in August. Amazon's pre-Prime Big Deal Days price of $19.99 erases that and then some, saving you 60%. If you want to catch up on all of this year's Emmy award winners, then this is one of the best October Prime Day deals so far.

More Fire TV Stick deals

• Amazon Fire TV Stick HD — $17.99 $39.99 (save $22)

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $39.99 $69.99 (save $30)

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max — $49.99 $84.99 (save $35)

• Amazon Fire TV Cube — $109.99 $199.99 (save $90) ✅

Best fitness tracker and smartwatch deal Opens in a new window Credit: Garmin Garmin Vivoactive 6 $229.99 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $70   Get Deal Why we like it

Many runners believe Garmin is the gold standard of smartwatches and fitness trackers. And ahead of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, you can grab the Garmin Vivoactive 6 for just $229.99. That saves you $70 off its retail price.

The Vivoactive 6 features an AMOLED display and up to 11 days of battery life, so you can wear it around the clock. It provides energy monitoring and a sleep score so you get personalized tips on how to improve your sleep. Plus, it has 80 built-in types of sport tracking.

More fitness tracker and smartwatch deals

• Garmin Lily 2 — $199.99 $249.99 (save $50)

• Garmin Vivoactive 5 Smartwatch — $181.97 $299.99 (save $118.02)

• Garmin Forerunner 70 — $219.99 $249.99 (save $30)

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, 40mm — $259.99 $299.99 (save $40) ✅

Early October Prime Day toys and gaming deals Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Nintendo Switch Pro Controller $55.97 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $24.02   Get Deal Why we like it

The Nintendo Customer Appreciation Sale is a great chance to save on Switch games and accessories, and the sale runs through Sept. 26. Amazon is undercutting Nintendo, Walmart, and Best Buy by a whopping $0.02 cents with this deal, but we're not complaining.

This wireless controller provides better controls for many types of games (both on the Switch 1 and Switch 2) compared to the standard Nintendo Joy-Con controllers, and this is your chance to grab it for its lowest-ever price.

More deals on toys and games Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Classic Creative Suitcase 10713 $11.80 at Amazon
$19.99 Save $8.19 We're expecting a lot more Lego deals as we approach Oct. 6. For now, this is the perfect Lego starter kit for young kids — or anyone who loves brick building. Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Botanicals Succulents 10309 $34.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $15 There are few things we love more than Lego Prime Day deals. We also love the Lego Botanicals line here at Mashable, and this popular cactus-themed building kit is at an all-time low price. Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Nintendo Joy-Con (single) $31.49 at Amazon
$44.99 Save $13.50 If you need an extra Joy-Con for your Switch, both single and dual Joy-Con controllers are on sale for a limited time. Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Metroid Dread Nintendo Switch (Digital Code) $41.97 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $18.02 In this title for the original Switch console, gamers rejoined Samus Aran for the first new 2D Metroid story in almost two decades. If you missed this one the first time around, then you'll love experiencing it for the Switch 2. Get Deal Best streaming and subscription deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Audible $0.99/month for four months Get Deal Why we like it

Right now, Prime members can save 80% on four months of Amazon's audiobook service, paying just $0.99 for their first four months. Your membership lets you download one title per month. including classics, new releases, and BookTok faves like the ACOTAR series. And if 99 cents feels a little high, you can also sign up for a 30-day free trial.

More Amazon subscription deals

• Kindle Unlimited — 3 months free

• Amazon Music Unlimited — 4 months free with Prime

• Save $20 on your next Grubhub+ order with Prime

• Buy or lease a new car, get a $1,500 gift card for free with Prime

Even more early October Prime Day deals Opens in a new window Credit: Skyrover Skyrover X1 Drone with Camera Combo $449 at Amazon
$619 Save $170 Skyrover has developed a reputation as the closest DJI drone dupe on Amazon, and it does look almost like the real thing. Given the DJI drone ban, this may be your best bet for a drone. It offers 4K/60fps video and 8K photography. Get Deal

• Kasa Multicolor Dimmable Wi-Fi Smart Bulb, A19 — $8.99 $11.99 (save $3)

• Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender, 700W — $54.98 $69.99 (save $15.01)

• Life360 Tile, 4-pack — $59.99 $79.99 (save $20)

• Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light Alarm Clock — $76.29 $108.95 (save $32.66)

• Amazon Ember 40-inch 2-Series Fire TV — $209.99 $249.99 (save $40)

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

I've always liked the fact that older versions of Excel had hidden games tucked away inside them. Microsoft stopped doing that years ago, but Excel users never completely stopped having fun with spreadsheets. I recently found an open-source Space Invaders-style game that runs entirely inside Excel.

Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter who turned "Barely Breathing" into an enduring '90s alt-pop hit before finding a second act on Broadway as the Tony-winning composer of Spring Awakening, died Thursday in Manhattan. He was 56.

His mother, Suzanne Sheik, confirmed his death to The New York Times and said the cause was heart failure leading to cardiac arrest.

For many people, Sheik will forever be associated with "Barely Breathing," the deceptively catchy breakup song that became the breakout single from his self-titled 1996 debut. The song reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 55 weeks, earning Sheik a Grammy nomination and turning the soft-spoken musician into an unlikely star.

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For a generation of millennials, however, Sheik's most enduring work wasn't necessarily a song with his voice on it. It was Spring Awakening.

The musical arrived on Broadway in December 2006, just as a new kind of teenage fandom was taking shape online. You didn't necessarily have to live in New York or have the money for a Broadway ticket to become completely consumed by it. Teenagers passed around grainy YouTube clips and shaky, questionably obtained recordings, memorized the cast album, traded photos and interviews, and followed the young cast, which included Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, and John Gallagher Jr., online.

Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard, Steven Sater, Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Duncan Sheik and John Gallagher Jr. at the 2022 the premiere of "Spring Awakening: Those You've Known" in New York City. Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Before Broadway fandom lived on TikTok, Spring Awakening fans were finding one another in the messier corners of the internet. I was one of those teenagers.

In 2007, I was deep in Spring Awakening. I listened to the cast recording obsessively and watched whatever shoddy footage I could find online. Then I moved to New York City that fall and finally got to stand at the stage door, Playbill in hand. Songs like "Mama Who Bore Me," "The Bitch of Living," "Touch Me," "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind," "Totally Fucked" — I knew them all. These were songs built around the particular intensity of being young, when desire can feel catastrophic, anger can feel righteous, and nobody, least of all the adults around you, seems capable of understanding what's happening inside your head.

Sheik's music and score gave those feelings somewhere to go. He made music for young people who felt everything too much.

There was something almost perfectly matched about the material and the way teenagers encountered it. Spring Awakening was a story about young people whose inner lives were misunderstood and suppressed by the adults around them. Online, its young fans found one another and became obsessive about it together.

Nearly 20 years later, many of those same fans are back online mourning the man who wrote the music that soundtracked that period of their lives.

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In the hours after news of Sheik's death, listeners inevitably returned to "Barely Breathing." More than 30 years after its release, it's the kind of song whose opening notes can instantly locate you in another time.

But the Duncan Sheik music I keep returning to isn't sung by him at all. It's a group of teenagers singing at the top of their lungs about everything they haven't yet figured out. I was one of the teenagers listening. And nearly 20 years later, those songs still know exactly where to find me.

Whenever I noticed an Android Auto feature missing in my car, I’d always blame my phone, Android Auto, or even the car’s software. I know these all matter too, but not in my case. I’d look up a feature, follow the exact steps, and still couldn’t find the option on my screen. Finally, I found the real culprit: my car’s small display.

My biggest gripe with Xteink e-readers is their limited file support, as you can only read DRM-free EPUB files on the device. But according to Good E-reader, Xteink is launching an Android e-reader.

Eagle-eyed RedNote users suddenly noticed their feeds were flooded with ads for the Xteink S4, a new tiny e-reader that runs on Android 11. Previously, Xteink's e-readers ran on a proprietary Linux system, but with an Android system, you can now download apps for Kindle and Kobo.

The S4's specs are similar to the X4's. It has a 4.3-inch E Ink touchscreen with 220 ppi resolution. It has 2GB RAM and 32GB SSD. However, it does add a front light with adjustable cool and warm light. It also includes a USB-C port rather than the pogo pin that the X4 Pro e-reader has.

The Xteink X4 e-reader currently runs on an Linux system, but the S4 will run on Android 11. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Running on an Android system might empower the Xteink to its fullest potential. Many users buy an Xteink e-reader as a companion to a traditional e-reader. However, as you're only able to read DRM-free files, it's not compatible with all the books on your Kobo or Kindle. But the addition of an Android system lets you access all your Kindle books on the e-reader, and with WiFi connectivity, it can even sync your progress between devices.

Unfortunately, e-reader users in the United States will have to wait for the Xteink S4 e-reader. It's currently available for preorder in China for around $50 USD. A representative for Xteink confirmed that the S4 is currently in the testing phase and will eventually be released into international markets including the United States.

For now, you can shop other Xteink e-reader models in the US.

Xteink X4 e-reader $69 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Xteink Xteink X3 e-reader $69 at Amazon
$79 Save $10   Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Xteink

Windows 11's Low Latency Profile promises snappier menus and faster launches through short CPU bursts. But does Microsoft's shell-level fix actually rival NVIDIA Reflex, the standard for cutting in-game input lag? Here's how the two really compare.

There’s something satisfying about physical controls, whether that’s a clicky button, chunky dial, or smooth fader. It feels like motorized faders are having a moment in the ESP32 hobbyist community, so today we’re going to look at how you can put them to use.

Thirty years ago, catching Pokémon meant booting up a Game Boy. In 2026, apparently, it means getting to Target before sunrise and hoping the person in front of you doesn't clean out the shelves.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game's highly anticipated 30th Celebration expansion arrived worldwide on Sept. 16, and fans have been extremely normal about it.

By which we mean: not normal at all.

SEE ALSO: 30 years of Pokémon: The memes that made it immortal

Videos of the launch have flooded social media, showing enormous lines of would-be buyers waiting outside retailers and, in some cases, rushing for the cards once doors opened. One video, posted by a Pokémon card collector on X, captured adult shoppers sprinting toward a display and frantically shoving merchandise into their baskets. "It's like wild chickens during feeding times 😭😭," the poster wrote.

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It's the kind of scene that feels ripped from a Black Friday sale in the early 2000s, except everyone is here for Pikachu (and not Elmo).

The viral video is hardly an isolated incident. According to local news reports, fans and resellers lined up for hours outside Targets across the U.S., with some stores selling out shortly after opening. In San Antonio, customers camped outside Best Buy ahead of the launch, while retailers introduced increasingly elaborate rules to keep the drop under control, including purchase limits, staggered entry, and restrictions on when customers could begin lining up.

Pokémon card collectors wait in line outside a Best Buy to purchase the new 30th Celebration set in Pasadena, California.. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The chaos wasn't limited to the U.S. Thousands of collectors reportedly queued overnight in the UK, where fans complained that products disappeared almost immediately after going on sale. In Sydney, video showed a massive line snaking through a shopping center ahead of the Australian launch.

So, why all the pandemonium?

Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration is designed to make longtime collectors lose their minds. The anniversary expansion features foil cards throughout, the return of classic cards, new Mew and Mewtwo Futuristic Rare cards, and, perhaps most dangerously, 30 different Pikachu illustrations to collect.

Then there's the resale market. Pokémon cards have become increasingly valuable collectibles, creating an ecosystem in which major releases attract not just fans but buyers hoping to flip scarce products for a profit. That rare Mew card? It's worth roughly $3,800 on the resale market. Scalping has become an especially sore subject in the Pokémon community, and the 30th anniversary release is pouring gasoline on the fire.

Less than a day after release, ICv2 reported that 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Boxes with an MSRP of $49.99 had sold on eBay for more than $300. That helps explain why retailers are treating a Pokémon card release like a crowd-control exercise.

Of course, there's something beautifully absurd about watching adults camp overnight, navigate virtual queues, and sprint through stores for a trading card game many of them first encountered as kids.

Thirty years later, it turns out you still gotta catch 'em all. You just might have to elbow your way to the display first.

You could soon see more mobile games on Steam. Valve has released Lepton, an open-source tool that brings Android games to Linux and, of course, Steam.