Blogroll

It's increasingly hard to use 4GB of RAM these days. But RAM is expensive now, in case you haven't heard. In the case of Linux, mainstream desktops have grown hungrier, and Ubuntu now recommends 6GB. Two lightweight options still run comfortably on 4GB laptops, though, and each suits a different kind of user.

Your Fire TV has some great diagnostic tools that you probably didn't know about. They answer pretty much every question you have about why your Fire TV isn't working well. Being able to see developer settings and tools is one of the features you really should already be using.

The Linux diff3 command detects differences between three text files. This helps you identify versions, understand their differences, and merge the changes. diff3's great for source code, scripts, or any plain text file.

Today marks the start of the first full week of October. In case you missed it, many new movies have been added to Netflix, including Tyler Perry's tear-jerker Doing Life. The three movies listed below won't make you cry because of their sincerity. In fact, you might look away due to the thrills and scares!

TL;DR: Give little ones a gentle screen time option with this lifetime subscription to Pok Pok, now only $59.99 (reg. $250).

Opens in a new window Credit: Pok Pok Pok Pok: Lifetime Subscription $59.99
$250 Save $190.01   Get Deal

Early learning experiences don’t have to be boring. If you’re looking for a way to infuse a little education and fun into your little one’s life, it’s time to check out Pok Pok. This educational app serves as a guilt-free screen option that offers open-ended play and learning for kids ages 2-8.

Right now, you can lock in a lifetime subscription to Pok Pok for only $59.99.

Whether you have a reluctant learner or you’re looking for a better screen-time option, Pok Pok is an award-winning educational app that offers beneficial, calming screen time that is non-addictive for children.

Pok Pok takes a Montessori approach to learning, so kids can open the app and navigate it independently. There are no rules, levels, or objectives — and there’s no winning or losing. Your little ones can just tap a toy to start exploring categories like shapes, numbers, dinosaurs, space, and more.

Unlike many busy, bold apps geared toward kids, Pok Pok was developed in collaboration with early childhood experts and designed to be calming and non-addictive. Animations are all hand-drawn, and even the sound effects were made thoughtfully in-house. You can also rest easy knowing Pok Pok is COPPA-certified, ad-free, and GDPR-compliant, so kids won’t be tricked into making purchases.

This lifetime subscription includes access to regular updates, so it will never feel stale and can stay exciting. You’ll also receive an exclusive surprise gift with purchase.

Lock in this lifetime subscription to Pok Pok for just $59.99 (reg. $250).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

The best and worst thing about tech is just how fast it moves on. You buy a CPU today, then a year later, the socket's changed and your upgrade path is over. Nothing is permanent in tech, and with yearly release cycles for many components, it's easy for things to get left behind.

Building a home media setup used to be a no-brainer because you owned the hardware and files, and you didn't have to pay just to listen to music you already bought. Plex used to be that easy, but now it feels like you have to pay a third party to reach files on drives you bought, on a network you maintain. It's time to stop giving away money to a middleman and pick an alternative.

Old Wi-Fi routers get thrown out long before they stop being useful. Before you toss yours, three projects can give it a second life, and they cost little more than time and a spare Ethernet cable.

For years, downloading an ISO was the first step to running Linux. Today, most installations begin elsewhere: in virtual machines, cloud platforms and automated pipelines. Here's why the good ol' installer image is losing ground, how cloud-ready images are threatening to replace it, and where the ISO still earns its place.

Nowadays, we're using just a handful of data storage media. Flash memory is arguably king, found in SSDs, memory cards, and the storage chips of countless devices all across the world. HDDs are still very important; they aren't as common in the consumer market as they used to be, but they're still the most widely used storage medium in data centers and homelabs. Lastly, there are Blu-ray discs and CDs, which aren't as popular as they were a decade ago but are still used to store movies, games, and music.

It's no secret that Android phones are great for DIY smart home projects. They're essentially an all-in-one Raspberry Pi. However, there's always one big looming question: Is it safe to keep a phone plugged in 24/7? Well, it depends.

I'm not ashamed to admit that for me, every day starts with booting my PC first, everything else second. But the one time I had to rush out instead of sitting down at the computer, my PC refused to boot. This resulted in a stressful couple of hours, hours during which I ran a checklist in my mind, wondering what was wrong with it.

The calendar has flipped to October, and Hulu has an eclectic list of new shows and movies hitting the service. Anyone up for some "Wonderwall?" One of the most talked-about reunions finally comes to streaming in a new documentary this month. Another movie to watch is an intriguing horror featuring one of the stars of Severance.

We've all experienced that moment when something about your internet connection feels off. Maybe you're on a video call, and it is intermittently choppy, or maybe you're gaming and something is slightly weird about the way you're moving, so you launch into your usual troubleshooting procedure.

I built my first PC over 20 years ago, and since that first one, I've basically never stopped. But of course, in that time, I've probably made just about every PC building mistake imaginable, too.

Lenovo's latest premium laptop, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14, boasts a lot of premium features. From its all-metal chassis (with polished edges around the bottom case) to the extremely nice OLED panel, here's why I think this is the Windows laptop to get in the sub-$2,500 price range.

An old TV remote is easy to overlook. Once the device it came with is gone, the remote usually ends up in a drawer with a pile of other forgotten electronics, destined to sit there indefinitely or eventually become e-waste. But just because you no longer need it for its original purpose doesn't mean the hardware itself is useless.

It's official: Digger couldn't strike gold at the box office.

The Tom Cruise climate change satire, directed by Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, made $8 million at the domestic box office over its opening weekend, Variety reports. Its international earnings totaled $12 million, bringing Digger's opening weekend total to $20 million.

SEE ALSO: 'Digger' review: Tom Cruise swings big for Oscar gold, and dear God, does he miss

According to Variety, the film cost between $160 and $180 million to make, meaning Digger is officially a massive box-office bomb. It is also the last Warner Bros. film released before Warner Bros. Discovery merges with Paramount to become Skydance, marking a rough end to this era for the historic film studio.

Warner Bros. banked on Cruise's star power to deliver success for Digger, but the film's box office is shaping up to be one of the worst of the famed actor's career. (Yes, potentially worse than 2017's The Mummy, which stopped Universal's Dark Universe franchise plans outright.) Digger has the lowest box-office opening for Cruise since 2007's war drama Lions for Lambs, which earned $6.7 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. However, with a $35 million budget, that film cost markedly less to make.

Following Digger's catastrophic opening and underwhelming critical response, Warner Bros. has leaned into the film's divisiveness with a new campaign that pits negative American reviews against positive international ones. Cruise posted a tribute to the film's cast and crew on Instagram, saying that he was "so proud of what we created."

Topping the box office this weekend was Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity, which picked up $32.6 million domestically and an extra $30 million internationally. It is Anne Hathaway's third number-one opening of the year, after The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Odyssey.

Fresh Windows installs often ship with apps most people never open, and some quietly keep running in the background. You can clean up much of this using only built-in tools, with no third-party debloaters or modified ISOs. Here is how to do it safely.

xTool has long been a big player in the personalization space, focusing primarily on lasers. Eventually, xTool released some lasers with CMYK inkjet print heads on them. However, earlier this summer, xTool launched the O1 Omni, its first UV printer, and I've spent the past few months with it. Here's why I think the xTool O1 Omni is a complete game-changer for small businesses.