Blogroll

A flip-style foldable is the “minimalist phone” you’ll actually enjoy

How-To Geek - 54 min 25 sec ago

Some people want a "minimalist" phone without all the distractions of a full-blown smartphone—until they use one. The problem is you're stuck with whichever essential apps the manufacturer chooses. That's why a flip phone with a small outside display might be the perfect compromise.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I spent a week typing on a physical keyboard phone—and it proved my decade-old instinct was right

How-To Geek - 57 min 26 sec ago

My smartphone journey began in the late 2010s. When everyone else was sliding and flipping physical keyboards, I never understood the appeal. Now, physical keyboards are making a small comeback. I wanted to know if they could change my mind over a decade later.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 Microsoft Excel projects to try this weekend (May 29-31)

How-To Geek - 1 hour 27 min ago

You don't need advanced formulas or years of experience to get more out of Excel. With a free afternoon this weekend, you can build practical tools that organize your money, projects, and routines while practicing spreadsheet skills you'll keep using long after Sunday ends.

Categories: IT General, Technology

These 5 Lexus SUVs cost half as much to maintain as German luxury rivals

How-To Geek - 1 hour 42 min ago

Luxury SUVs are usually associated with expensive repairs, complicated technology, and eye-watering ownership costs once the warranty expires. However, a handful of premium brands continue to prove that you don’t need to sacrifice long-term dependability just to enjoy a plush cabin and upscale features. Few automakers have built a stronger reputation in this area than Lexus, whose SUVs consistently rank among the most reliable luxury vehicles on the market.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Your Ethernet port has a built-in diagnostic tool you’re probably ignoring

How-To Geek - 1 hour 56 min ago

Back in the day, massive mainframe computers were equipped with a ton of diagnostic lights, also known as “blinkenlights.” They notified people using those computers about processes happening inside the machine, and they were also used as diagnostic tools when something went wrong.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Your Samsung Galaxy Watch has a hidden touch bezel mode most people never notice

How-To Geek - 2 hours 27 min ago

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Classic has its fans not because of any special software, but due to the rotating bezel that surrounds its screen. While the standard Galaxy Watch does not have the same tactile feedback, it turns out you can control it in much the same way.

Categories: IT General, Technology

How to watch PSG vs. Arsenal in the Champions League final online for free

Mashable - 2 hours 27 min ago

TL;DR: Live stream PSG vs. Arsenal in the Champions League final for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League final is here. The Premier League champions face off against Ligue 1's best side in what promises to be an absolutely epic contest.

PSG have been here before. They come into this final as defending champions, but they know they'll need to be at their absolute best to fend off Mikel Arteta's determined side. After some moments of doubt in recent weeks, it feels like Arsenal are back in their groove and on course to do something truly special this season.

If you want to watch PSG vs. Arsenal in the Champions League final from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is PSG vs. Arsenal?

PSG vs. Arsenal in the Champions League final kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on May 30. This fixture takes place at the Puskás Aréna.

How to watch PSG vs. Arsenal for free

PSG vs. Arsenal is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock RTÉ Player to stream the Champions League final for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream PSG vs. Arsenal for free by following these simple steps:

  1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

  2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

  3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

  4. Visit RTÉ Player

  5. Watch PSG vs. Arsenal for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League final without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream PSG vs. Arsenal before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTÉ Player, for a number of reasons:

  • Servers in 105 countries including Ireland

  • Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

  • Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

  • Fast connection speeds free from throttling

  • Up to 10 simultaneous connections

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream PSG vs. Arsenal in the Champions League final for free with ExpressVPN.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 criminally underrated free, open-source apps to try this weekend (May 29–31)

How-To Geek - 2 hours 42 min ago

Some apps deserve way more attention than they get, and the ones on this list are the perfect examples. They're free, actively maintained, and genuinely better than many of the paid tools popular among the general populace. If you've got a couple of free hours this weekend and want to discover apps you'll actually keep using, these three are worth your time.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Thanks to Flatpak, Linux app stores are actually exciting now

How-To Geek - 2 hours 57 min ago

When I first switched to Linux, I had to wait six months for new Linux apps and updates. This was a buzzkill—but thanks to the Flatpak format and Flathub, the app store on my desktop has become a dynamic and invigorating place to visit.

Categories: IT General, Technology

3 newly released Prime Video shows to watch this weekend (May 29 - May 31)

How-To Geek - 3 hours 12 min ago

Amazon Prime Video has been busy stacking its spring 2026 lineup with bold, genre-bending storytelling in newly released shows in the U.S. that are setting the tone for a wildly diverse streaming slate. From anime rebirths and superhero noir to sweeping literary drama, the shows we’ve chosen for your weekend entertainment prove there’s no single way to grab viewer attention right now. Anything goes.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Ferrari Luce EV is already sold out through 2027—who's buying it?

How-To Geek - 3 hours 16 min ago

The Ferrari Luce EV is a disaster if you ask the internet, but that's not what the company's sales records are saying. The company has taken enough orders for its first fully electric car to be sold out through the end of 2027, or roughly a year after deliveries begin in October.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Chicken Shop Date with Paul McCartney makes beautiful music

Mashable - 3 hours 19 min ago

Chicken Shop Date has seen host Amelia Dimoldenberg flirting with some serious names over the last 10 years, from Billie Eilish to Keke Palmer, SZA to Cher. Her latest illustrious guest? Sir Paul McCartney.

Having recently closed out The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the music legend and Beatle is hitting the press circuit to promote his new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane. On Friday, he headed for the titular chicken shop, where Dimoldenberg asked him the tough questions.

Notably, McCartney's in the same seat where Dimoldenberg previously interviewed Paul Mescal, who's playing the Beatle in Sam Mendes' upcoming biopic.

McCartney's no stranger to buzzy British web series and podcasts, appearing on Jessie Ware's Table Manners, Marina Hyde and Richard Osman's The Rest Is Entertainment, and Tom Holland's The Rest Is History.

Want more of the latest entertainment news, reviews, trailers, and interviews? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I ditched Cloudflare's DNS for a $26 Raspberry Pi, and I caught my devices secretly phoning home

How-To Geek - 3 hours 27 min ago

Cloudflare’s DNS is easy to recommend for most people. It’s fast, their malware-blocking variants provide a decent safety net right out of the box, and they're easily memorized.

Categories: IT General, Technology

We tried 6 killer Acer laptops from Computex: Hyperlights, 18-inch beasts, and everything between!

Mashable - 3 hours 28 min ago

Check out the six most compelling new Acer machines at the show: TravelMates, Predators, Nitros, Aspires, and more! (Spoiler: Hope you like 18-inch laptops...)

Categories: IT General, Technology

Amazon has a bunch of multi-port Anker fast chargers on sale — get up to $30 off this weekend

Mashable - 3 hours 37 min ago
Best Anker chargers you can shop right now: Best budget deal Anker Nano (47W) $19.49 (save $10.50) Get Deal Best desktop charger deal Anker Desktop Charger (112W) $33.99 (save $6) Get Deal Best wall charger deal Anker USB Charger (67W) $34.99 (save $15) Get Deal

If you're still hoarding a drawer full of charging bricks, it's probably time to let them go (I'm a Millennial too, so I get it). There's really no reason to have so many blocks when you can buy one or two do-it-all chargers and just be done with it. Then you can use that drawer for other junk, like old receipts you've kept for no reason and Starbucks straws, because, you know, just in case.

Right now, Amazon's got a ton of Anker fast chargers on sale. Here are the best deals to grab before the weekend's over.

Best budget deal Anker Nano (47W) $19.49 at Amazon
$29.99 Save $10.50   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

This tiny Anker Nano plug has two USB-C ports and folds down flat, so it won't cover the entire outlet or crowd your bag when you travel. It delivers 47W of power, so even though it's tiny, it can still charge your phone and your tablet at the same time.

Right now, you can get it for $19.49, down from $29.99, at Amazon. That’s a 35% discount or about $10.50 in savings.

Best desktop charger deal Anker Desktop Charger (112W) $33.99 at Amazon
$39.99 Save $6   Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

If your desk is covered in wires, this heavy-duty block offers a quick fix. It splits a 112W of power across six separate outlets (three USB-C and three USB-A) so you can power your entire workspace from one wall plug. It even comes with a little silicone cable organizer so everything stays in one spot instead of sliding off the back of your desk.

Right now, you can get it for $33.99, down from $39.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $6 in savings.

Best wall charger deal Anker USB Charger (67W) $34.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $15   Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Walmart Why we like it

This is the one to throw in your laptop bag if you hate carrying around three separate bricks for your computer, phone, and headphones. It gives you two USB-C ports and one classic USB-A port, and it's basically half the size of a standard MacBook charger block.

Right now, you can get it for $34.99, down from $49.99, at Amazon. That’s a 30% discount or $15 in savings.

More Anker charger deals
Categories: IT General, Technology

Casetify has released an actual Tamagotchi device, and it is peak millennial nostalgia

Mashable - 3 hours 41 min ago

TL;DR: The official Casetify x Tamagotchi collection launches on May 29. The collection features phone cases, plush earbud pouches, phone straps, and customizable carry-on luggage, with prices starting at $36.

If you grew up in the '90s, it felt like every single person had a Tamagotchi clipped to their backpack. They were basically Sims, but cuter and pixelated; you had to feed them, clean up after them, and keep them happy 24/7, or they'd die. Everyone who was anyone had one, except me.

I was never allowed to have one. (The childhood trauma is real.) If your parents also denied you a virtual pet, it's time to pull out your wallet because we finally have adult money now.

SEE ALSO: The best '90s movies on Prime Video for when you want to get nostalgic

Casetify just announced a collaboration with Bandai Namco for an actual Tamagotchi collection, and it drops on May 29. And it's not just phone cases — they're releasing an actual, functional Tamagotchi device with a custom Casetify shell.

They're also offering "Chase Cards" with seven different rarity tiers from "Common" up to "Supreme Ultra Rare." Oh, and you can get a 21-inch carry-on suitcase in pink or blue that you can personalize with your initials in the actual Tamagotchi font.

The customizable 21-inch Casetify Travel Tamagotchi carry-on suitcases are available in Cobalt Blue and Primrose Pink. Credit: Casetify | Bandai Namco

If you feel a little silly about buying toys as a fully grown adult, don't. The "kidult" economy is huge right now. According to a market research report from Circana, global toy sales rose 7 percent last year, and collectibles spiked by 32 percent.

The collection officially goes live on May 29 at casetify.com/colab.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Anthropic overtakes OpenAI to become worlds most valuable AI company

Mashable - 3 hours 41 min ago

Move over, OpenAI. There's a new leader in the AI industry.

Anthropic announced on Thursday that it had raised $65 billion in funding from investors led by Altimeter Capital, Greenoaks, Dragoneer, and Sequoia Capital.

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This fundraising round puts Anthropic's valuation at nearly one trillion dollars, or $965 billion to be exact. OpenAI, long seen as the face of the AI industry after its AI chatbot ChatGPT was launched, was last valued at $852 billion back in March. According to the New York Times, the new valuation makes Anthropic the most valuable privately held AI company in the world (companies like NVIDIA and Google have surpassed the $1 trillion mark).

Anthropic has now usurped OpenAI in the AI race when it comes to valuation — and revenue too.

In addition to the fundraising round, Anthropic announced that the company hit a $47 billion revenue run rate earlier this month. 

As CNBC points out, that’s up from Anthropic's $30 billion run rate earlier this year and $10 billion in annual revenue last year.

Earlier this week, The Information reported that OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate is around $30 billion. Anthropic's $47 billion revenue run rate is roughly 35 percent more than OpenAI's. This is certainly not the most ideal news to drop for OpenAI right before the company's planned IPO.

SEE ALSO: Anthropic sues Pentagon as Claude downloads soar

“Claude is increasingly indispensable to our growing global community of customers, and we work tirelessly to make tools like Claude Code and Cowork more helpful, more powerful, and more adaptable to their needs,” said Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao in a statement. “This funding will help us serve the historic demand we are experiencing, stay at the research frontier, and bring Claude to more of the places where work happens.”

So, how did this happen? It appears that OpenAI has had more of a focus on ChatGPT subscriptions from everyday consumers, whereas Anthropic has positioned Claude as a leading developer tool for businesses with products like their agentic coding assistant, Claude Code. Based on Anthropic's revenue and valuation, their business model with its AI assistant Claude seems to be working better than the competitors. 

Are you an Apple superfan? Enter Mashable’s Big Guessing Game to win prizes.

Categories: IT General, Technology

6 classic kids' toys you can 3D print this weekend (May 29 - Jun 1)

How-To Geek - 3 hours 42 min ago

3D printing makes it possible to manufacture items that once required a whole production line. These don’t necessarily have to be functional items, with many of them easy to justify on account of the fun factor alone.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Fitbit Air reviews: Is it time for a fitness tracker upgrade?

Mashable - 3 hours 53 min ago

Google just launched a fascinating-looking new Fitbit health tracker, but it's a little different from the ones you might be used to.

That's because the $99 Fitbit Air doesn't have a screen, instead opting for a combination of a mobile app and an AI coach to meet your health tracking needs. While Mashable's review is still in the works and will be ready soon, reviews for the device from other professional critics came out this week, so let's dive in and see what they had to say. Is it time to upgrade from your old Fitbit, or should you stick with something that has a screen?

Google Fitbit Air screenless fitness tracker $99.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Fitbit Air review roundup: No screen needed

Without dancing around the point, let's establish up front that almost every review of the Fitbit Air is a positive one. Despite some grumbling from long-time Fitbit users on Reddit about the Google Health app, early users really like the Fitbit Air so far.

Critics overall enjoyed the device's sleek form factor and health-tracking capabilities, though a few had nitpicks here and there. One thing to understand right away, though, is that the Fitbit Air at $99 (with an additional $99/yr subscription to unlock every Google Health app feature) is substantially cheaper than the latest Whoop tracker, which is an obvious inspiration for Fitbit's new device.

The Whoop fitness tracker comes as part of a subscription that starts at $149/yr, so Google's option is a definitive win in terms of value, and critics certainly noted that. In addition, Gemini superusers who already subscribe to Google AI Pro or AI Ultra receive complimentary access to the Google Health app, so no additional subscription is required.

SEE ALSO: I ran the NYC Marathon wearing 7 fitness trackers and they all watched me throw up

Beyond price, it sounds like the Fitbit Air mostly nails the crucial things you'd want it to nail, like comfort. Like any other Fitbit device, it offers a wide variety of band styles to choose from, which will mostly come down to personal taste. Andrew Gebhart of PCMag had kind things to say about the polyester-based Performance Loop band.

"The Performance Loop covers the sensor, so I never felt the need to take any precautions when lifting weights, and the device never got in my way," Gebhart wrote. "By contrast, I’d often have to reposition the Oura Ring for comfort, or shift the screen of a smartwatch to protect the display, when lifting weights. The Active Band offers even more protection, but the Performance Loop is durable enough for all everyday activities."

Since the Fitbit Air doesn't have a display, it relies entirely on the Google Health mobile app for tracking health, adjusting settings, or doing literally anything else you'd need a screen for. This has certainly ruffled some feathers online, particularly those belonging to longtime Fitbit users who preferred the older Fitbit app. But critics like Engadget's Cherlynn Low found the Google Health app pretty easy to use, with a home page that does a good job of displaying pertinent information for the user.

Looks comfy. Credit: Google

If you choose to pay the subscription fee, you'll unlock access to an AI coach within the app, which is one of the Fitbit Air's other defining features. It's functionally similar to automatically generated progress reports in other fitness apps, but now you can make requests of it in natural language via a chatbot interface. At Engadget, Low acknowledged that the AI coach can occasionally be a little buggy or insensitive regarding things like disordered eating, but found that it's generally decent at basic tracking and health guidance.

"For example, it used to be nearly impossible to ask an app to log 'the same cup of muesli and milk I had yesterday' and get the desired results. Thanks to its Gemini powers, the AI Coach did exactly what I asked, looking at my log history for the brands I specified and simply adding them to my data for the right day," Low wrote. "Of course, it was not perfect and occasionally I had to correct it. But by and large I found it easy to get the Coach to do basic things like tracking my nutrition and activity."

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

Of course, there are some basic issues with the screenless tracker that are worth addressing. One thing you get if you choose to pay more for a Whoop tracker is better battery life. Contemporary Whoop trackers are rated for about 14 days of life on a charge, but every reviewer I read only managed to get roughly seven or eight days out of the Fitbit Air. It apparently charges quickly, so it shouldn't be a huge issue, but that's worth noting anyway.

One last thing to note, courtesy of CNET's Vanessa Hand Orellana, is that the Fitbit Air is significantly worse at being a watch than any other Fitbit model. Orellana liked the device overall, but made the very important observation that its form factor has real limitations.

"I've lost count of how many times I've glanced down at my wrist expecting to see the time, only to be met with a blank band staring back at me like, 'What?,'" Orellana wrote. "Between that and the fact that it couldn't ping my phone, there were moments the Fitbit Air felt like it was freeloading on my wrist."

If you want a watch, you should probably get something with a screen. If that doesn't matter to you, the Fitbit Air might be worth a try.

The new Google Fitbit Air is available now from Google, Amazon, and other retailers for $99.99.

Disclosure: PCMag, CNET, and Mashable are owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Backrooms review: Does the online creepypasta make a good full-length movie?

Mashable - 3 hours 54 min ago

Horror is ushering in a new breed of filmmakers.

All across the genre, online creators are making the jump from YouTube to the big screen. Danny and Michael Philippou (aka Rackaracka) did it with Talk To Me and Bring Her Back, and Curry Barker is currently doing it with Obsession. Now, 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons joins their ranks.

SEE ALSO: How content creators are redefining Hollywood's power structure

The young creator found fame on YouTube with his series of short films inspired by the Backrooms creepypasta born out of an old 4Chan post. His videos amassed tens of millions of views and a loyal fanbase. The question is: has Parsons, with co-writer Will Soodik, managed to make the challenging jump from short-form content to full-length A24 feature?

The answer is yes. But there is a caveat.

What's Backrooms about? Looks...ominous. Credit: A24

Set in Santa Clara Valley, California in the '90s, Backrooms hinges on wannabe-architect turned furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor). He's in a bad place, spending his days drinking and processing his recent separation with his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve). But one night, while using his store as temporary accomodation, a flickering basement light leads him to the discovery of a hidden doorway, and a seemingly never-ending series of rooms.

The space beyond the door is the titular Backrooms, filled with faulty yellow lights, barely furnished rooms that oscillate between cavernous and claustrophobic, and strange distant noises that suggest the place may not be entirely empty.

Sound creepy? It is. Production designer Danny Vermette, art director Alan Derksen, and set decorator Trevor Johnston have done an amazing job at creating a world that feels both familiar and uncanny — and draws direct aesthetic inspiration from the creepypasta. Parsons, who also designed the lighting, uses this liminal space as his own nightmarish playground.

Featured Video For You Weapons, and the comedian turned horror director Backrooms feels like a new horror subgenre Lukita Maxwell and Finn Bennett play Clark's employees, Kat and Bobby. Credit: A24

Plenty of horror films explore creepy hidden worlds (see Insidious, Get Out, and Annihilation), and characters trapped in unusual spaces is something that's been done before too (see Exit 8, Cube, even Severance). But Backrooms feels like its own "liminal horror" beast. It's an M.C. Escher-inspired realm that plays on the uneasiness of seeing everyday objects slightly distorted: furniture stacked in a jumble in the centre of the floor; a tunnel halfway up the wall; corridors that go on and on and on. As the characters move through this space, composer Edo Van Breemen and Parsons' soundtrack is oppressive, while sound editor Eugenio Battaglia keeps your nerves on edge with ominous background rumbling and the whiny mosquito buzz of fluorescents.

Parsons' direction adds to this unique hellscape. His short films utilise found footage to complement the grainy mystery of the Backrooms, and his feature pays homage to this with a sequence in the second act that sees director of photography Jeremy Cox employing a handheld POV camera to horrifying effect. This is where the film is at its best, with Clark and two of his employees (Lukita Maxwell and Finn Bennett) dashing through a labyrinth of disjointed rooms. You don't know exactly what they're running from, or where they are, and the sequence is horror film-making at its finest.

Does Backrooms have any weaknesses? Renate Reinsve in "Backrooms." Credit: A24

The second act is, unfortunately, Backrooms at its peak. Act three doesn't quite deliver on the promise made by the film's first two thirds. Is it bad? Not at all. The final third hints at the answers to some of the film's bigger questions while also holding things back. It's still tense and scary.

But it's not quite as effective as what came before, and the main reason for that is that we finally see what the characters are running from. Like many horror films, seeing the monster inevitably removes some of the tension.

Despite this, Backrooms is still well worth a watch. The ending isn't enough to spoil what came before.

If anything, Parsons has managed to prove himself as an incredibly talented emerging filmmaker while also establishing the first chapter in what will surely end up becoming a brand new horror franchise.

Backrooms is in theaters now.

Categories: IT General, Technology
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