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It’s that time of the week again—time to break out the terminal and upgrade your homelab with some new projects! This weekend, I’ll show you how to deploy a self-hosted certificate authority, a recursive DNS platform, and a Notion replacement with real-time collaboration.

Open-source apps can have a mixed reputation. They're often seen as being very powerful but lack the polish of their closed-source counterparts. But it doesn't have to be like that. Some of the best apps I use every day on my Android phone are open-source.

I'm getting tired of the narrative that paints AMD as this forever underdog. It used to be true, and in some ways, it still is true, but AMD isn't the weak non-entity some people keep treating it as, and it's important that we let go of that mindset completely.

Hyundai has used the New York International Auto Show to unveil the Boulder Concept, a rugged SUV that previews the automaker's first "fully-boxed" body-on-frame platform and a production midsize pickup that will use the architecture by 2030. The off-roader is targeted at the US and will be designed and built in the country using American steel.

For a long time, I treated incognito mode like a privacy shield. Open a private window, browse freely, close it, and everything just disappears. No history, no tracking, no trace. It feels clean, almost anonymous, and that's exactly why it's so easy to misunderstand what it's doing.

Are you still using Thingiverse to find models for your 3D printer? It’s time to upgrade your 3D model search engine with these three sites that are better in just about every way.

Your router can do more than provide a Wi-Fi signal or an Ethernet connection to your devices. It is a miniature computer, and most of them allow you to run extra services that can improve functionality and security.

People love to share their Home Assistant dashboards on chat groups and forums. A lot of these dashboards look really impressive, but so many I see seem to be making the exact same mistake.

SAVE $101.99: As of April 2, the Sony ULT Wear headphones are on sale for just $148 at Amazon. That's 41% off the list price of $249.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony ULT Wear $148 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $101.99   Get Deal

If you've got expensive taste, but a more moderate budget, the Sony ULT Wear headphones were made for you. And two days after Amazon's Big Spring Sale officially came to a close, they're still on sale for over 40% off.

As of April 2, you can pick up a pair of Sony ULT Wear noise-cancelling headphones at Amazon for just $148 instead of their list price of $249.99. That's over $100 in savings, although not quite their lowest price on record.

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Mashable Deputy Shopping Editor Miller Kern tested the ULT Wear headphones when they launched in 2024 and was "genuinely shocked" by how great they were. "We try not to make sweeping claims in our reviews at Mashable," she writes, "but these honestly might be my favorite pair of headphones I’ve tried — especially when you consider the price."

With comparable sound to Sony's flagship headphones and heavy bass that can be bumped up two levels, these noise-cancellers earned the title of Mashable's favorite headphones for bass heads. "The booming sound makes other (decidedly good) headphones sound flat," Kern says.

Admittedly, they are slightly bulky compared to Sony's much more expensive XM6s, but they do fold down for easier portability and come with a carrying case. Not to mention, on sale, the ULT Wears are less than half the price of the XM6s. They're an excellent choice if you want a new pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but you're balling on a budget.

RAID is typically the go-to method for redundancy in servers, and it definitely has stood the test of time. What if I told you I intentionally stopped using RAID on my Plex server? Here’s why.

There's a lot to enjoy with an Amazon Prime membership: a plentiful streaming service full of acclaimed originals, same-day shipping, and Grubhub+. But that's just a sampling of the extensive benefits for members. Prime members who also happen to be bookworms can maximize their monthly reading with the Amazon First Reads program.

Similar to Book of the Month, every month, Amazon First Reads drops a new collection of discounted titles. However, unlike Book of the Month, these books are totally free for Prime Members. Here's everything you need to know about Amazon First Reads.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon First Reads   Learn More What is Amazon First Reads?

Amazon First Reads is a monthly program in which eight editor-selected books are offered free to Prime members. Members are allowed to choose one book per month, which is then added to their library. Non-Prime members can still join in on the fun, but they have to pay $1.99 per book.

Featured Amazon First Reads books are totally free at checkout for Prime members. Credit: Screenshot: Amazon / Mashable composite

Some months, like Prime Day's July and Black Friday's November, offer two free books. And in others, you can select a free short story with your one free e-book.

To select your book, visit the Amazon First Reads home page to browse the options. As a Prime Member, you'll see the option to "read now for free " when you go to purchase the titles. Once you make your selection, it'll automatically be added to your Kindle library.

Which books are featured in Amazon First Reads?

Among the eight books selected each month, the book editors at Amazon provide a variety of genres for every reader. The books are typically new or soon-to-be-released books — many of the books are published under one of Amazon's publishing imprints, so they're exclusive to Amazon's shelves.

In addition to the eight full-length books offered each month, there's typically a short story available, too, exclusive to read through the Kindle Store. You'll find familiar names in the First Reads collections. Past authors include Abby Jimenez, Rebecca Yarros, Lee Child, Fredrik Backman, Alice Hoffman, and Dean Koontz.

Kindle Unlimited members are able to read most of the previous First Reads picks for free, so if there are multiple each month that you want to add to your digital bookshelf, consider a Kindle Unlimited membership.

April 2026 Amazon First Reads books The April 2026 First Reads collection includes the children's book 'Kimi the BALLerina', illustrated by a former Pixar artist. Credit: Amazon / Mashable

April's First Reads line-up feature eight novels, one children's picture book, and one short read. This month's short read, Lift Me Up, comes from Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson. The enemies-to-lovers workplace romance is described as "A pitch-perfect love story for fans of Jenny Colgan, Debbie Macomber, and Katie Fforde," by Maisie Lawrence, an Amazon book editor.

This month's titles also includes a children's picture book, Kimi the BALLerina, written by Korey Watari and illustrated by her husband Mike Wu, a former Pixar artist.

Here are all of the First Reads picks for April 2026:

• Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson

• When The Storm Passes by Manel Loureiro

• Where the Sea Lavender Grows by Kitty Johnson

• The Dead Room by Catriona McPherson

• Wake-Up Calls by Mariah Stewart

• The Roaring Ridleys by K.M. Colley

• The Last Sunday in May by Kate Clark Stone

• The Final System by Anthony Tardiff

• Ways to Find Yourself by Angela Brown

• Kimi the BALLerina by Korey Watari

Do you need a Kindle for Amazon First Reads?

All of the books selected are technically purchased through the Kindle Store. But does that mean you need a Kindle to read them?

Nope! No Kindle e-reader is necessary to read books collected through First Reads. All books purchased through the Kindle Store are available in the Kindle app, which can be read on a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

However, if you're asking if you should get a Kindle, that's a different question. While a Kindle is not required to enjoy the bounty of the Kindle store, it is our favorite e-reader brand if you're in the market.

Kindle Paperwhite $134.99 at Amazon
$159.99 Save $25   Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy

Have you been wanting to launch a website, but were turned off by the cost and difficulty required? Those two elements of website building are a thing of the past now! It’s easier than ever before to launch your website with modern tools, and it doesn’t even have to cost you a dime.

When Samsung released the One UI 7 update and the Galaxy S25, the company also debuted the Now Bar and Now Brief, among other things. Samsung's Now Bar was supposed to be Galaxy's answer to the Dynamic Island, a sleek pill-shaped hub that promised to turn your home and lock screen into an information command center.

If your wired internet speeds aren't what you expect, or you find that your Wi-Fi network doesn't work as well as it should, your router might not be responsible—it could be something else. Old network switches, damaged or low-quality Ethernet cables, and unreliable transmission methods could all be at fault.

Between the 2026 Winter Olympics and March Madness, it’s been a big year for sports already, and Paramount+ is making sure you continue to get your fill in April. While the streamer will see exclusive streaming debuts of a couple of recently released movies, it will also see debuts of three new original docuseries, one of which is a doozie for all the true-crime fans out there. Additionally, you can also catch the Masters live and UFC Fight Night.

I have been in the homelabbing game for over five years at this point, and I have tried out, quite literally, hundreds of services to self-host. These days, I have around 30 to 40 services running in my homelab at any given time, but these five are the ones I can’t live without.

For many drivers, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have become essential parts of the in-car experience. Navigation, music, calls, and messaging all run through the vehicle’s infotainment system, so phones don’t have to be handled while driving. The problem is that many cars produced between 2016 and 2023 still require a wired USB connection to use those features.

Buying a NAS for one specific thing is probably the main reason why a lot of people end up with a NAS in the first place. But what if you end up not being that into the very thing you bought it for? Here are 5 more reasons and ways to put that NAS to use.

Most homeowners have a power tool or two, and chances are Ryobi, Milwaukee, Makita, or DeWALT make it. All the major brands manufacture a wide range of options. And while your go-to brand likely offers the usual essential tools, each also makes a few unique items tailored to specific professions or tasks.

The once-speedy Windows PC you bought will eventually turn into a slow, unresponsive machine, suffering from long boot times and application delays. Many users blame this on aging hardware, the unavoidable decay of technology over time and in some ways it is, leading some to give up. However, the truth is much more subtle and fixable. Your computer wears out because of the digital clutter you install and the natural outcome of long-term operating system use. This systemic clutter exhausts available memory and storage space, severely reducing disk read/write speeds and slowing down your computer's overall responsiveness.