IT General

I have used Samsung DeX as a PC replacement for much of the past two years. In the process, I learned a lot both to love and not love about Samsung's Android-based desktop. Here are some of the more exciting aspects I wish I had known about sooner.

If you've used a Windows computer, you've likely encountered the NTFS, exFAT, and FAT32 file systems, even if you didn't know it.

When Acura introduced the first MDX in late 2000, it changed what buyers expected from a luxury SUV. Before it arrived, most three-row SUVs were built on truck frames, which made them capable off-road and for towing, but a bit rough on the commute at times. The MDX was different with its car-based unibody platform, which gave it a quieter, smoother ride without sacrificing space for seven passengers.

Even if you have a private DNS set on your router, your Android phone may not be using it. It all comes down to a single setting on your phone. While there isn't a perfect solution to this conflict, resolving it is relatively straightforward and will allow your phone and router to play nice with each other.

In New York, legislators have passed a one-year moratorium on new data center construction, reports The Verge, marking the first statewide ban on a critical component of the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence. 

Governor Kathy Hochul has yet to sign the bill into law, however, so at this stage it is better understood as a proposed framework than actual policy, but the lawmakers behind the bill say it is designed less as an outright ban than as a means of buying time to assess the many impacts of new data center construction — on the environment, on energy prices, and on local jobs.

SEE ALSO: Meta is building AI data centers in tents

If passed into law, the bill would require any company planning to build a "large" data center, defined as having at least 20 megawatts of capacity, to also fund a public hearing into the desirability of the project among local residents. 

Public opinion on data centers has rapidly soured, even since last fall, with 7 in 10 Americans now opposed to the construction of new data centers in their area, and lawmakers are starting to take note. A similar moratorium was attempted in Maine earlier this year, but the proposal was ultimately rejected by Democratic Governor Janet Mills on the grounds that it failed to exempt a previously planned project. 

Unsurprisingly, representatives from companies backing new data center construction oppose the moratoriums, favoring a case-by-case assessment of new builds. Politico spoke with Stacy Sikes, the current president and CEO of the Long Island Association business group, who warned about the economic ramifications of a blanket ban: "We think it would overall be damaging to the state’s economy, because having a blanket moratorium instead of looking at it at a case by case basis would not allow the state to move forward on a data center project that would actually be helpful to our economy." 

When asked about the likelihood of the bill becoming law, Hochul's spokesperson Kristin Devoe was predictably terse: "The Governor will review the bill." 

Have you ever wondered what those little blinking lights on your router actually mean? I'll admit that I haven't given them much thought until not too long ago. The general rule of thumb is that if they're all lit up in green, everything's fine, so what else is there to think about?

Performance enthusiasts have long argued that the best driver's cars need to send power to the rear wheels. Front-wheel-drive vehicles, no matter how powerful, are often dismissed as compromised alternatives that can't match the balance, engagement, and outright pace of traditional sports cars. Yet a handful of modern performance machines continue to challenge that thinking, proving that clever engineering can sometimes overcome conventional wisdom.

Unless you're typing in IP addresses by hand, every single time you visit a website, you perform a DNS lookup first. By default, your network probably points to a public DNS server, like your ISP's server, Google's 8.8.8.8, or Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1. They're convenient and fast, but it also means that a third-party gets an unredacted view of the websites you visit.

In a recently released policy paper entitled "Democratic Governance of Frontier AI: A blueprint for a federal framework," OpenAI put forward its vision of AI regulation, built around five core priorities: promoting transparency, protecting innovation, addressing risks to national security and public safety, advancing democratic governance, and creating "adaptive institutions" capable of keeping up with these rapid technological developments. 

But while those are all laudable goals, there is very little agreement on how to pursue them in practice. And according to reporting by Politico, the timing of this paper is auspicious, coming shortly after the White House released two executive orders on "Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security" that would place AI regulation squarely within the government's remit.

As Politico AI reporter Brendan Bordelon points out, the OpenAI paper is an attempt to "nudge" the federal government towards a different approach, one in which civilian institutions are responsible for AI oversight. Outlining a process they call "reverse federalism," OpenAI proposes that states be allowed to "to develop and refine common legal frameworks first," before Congress adopts them at the national level.  

In their vision, the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) would act as the main point of contact between artificial intelligence companies and the government, working off a precedent set earlier this year when Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI all signed deals with the Commerce Department to allow the federal government to evaluate their AI models for potential national security risks.  

As AI becomes more ubiquitous across the country, regulators are struggling to catch up. Between the potential for massive job losses, even in manufacturing, and the turmoil caused by AI deepfakes and the "crisis of knowing" they precipitate, people everywhere are looking for clarity and structure, and neither AI makers nor politicians seems able to agree on what that should look like.

This push-pull dance between AI's creators and governments has been going on for some time, and it isn't likely to be resolved any time soon, as evidenced by the latest of Sam Altman's visits to Capitol Hill earlier this week, but it's worth paying close attention to all the same, because the balance struck here will have major consequences for the future of, well, everything.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

It's possible to connect Home Assistant to AI services such as Claude. Depending on the connector you use, your AI chatbot can not only read information about your smart home but also write automations, build dashboards, turn things on and off, and more. I'd seen plenty of people rave about it, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Beach season comes early in Florida, and when I started taking inventory of our usual beach gear, I realized we were missing something we use all the time: a decent portable Bluetooth speaker. I could have just bought a new Bluetooth speaker and been done with it, but I wasn't in a rush. I figured I'd keep an eye out and see what turned up.

When Android was fresh and new, it was desperate for someone to take home screens seriously. That person was Federico Carnales, and his app was LauncherPro. It quickly became the darling child of the Android world, but it disappeared just as fast.

Smart bulbs were the first smart home devices I ever bought, and it didn't take long before they started causing complaints in my home. While smart bulbs can be very useful, allowing you to control your lights remotely or with automations, they have some glaring issues that can cause a lot of frustration. Thankfully, a cheap NFC tag was enough to solve the most annoying problems.

Amy Poehler is that fun, easygoing friend who's somehow good at everything she does. With the launch of the Good Hang podcast, the 54-year-old Parks and Recreation star has quickly amassed a devoted audience that continues to climb.

After releasing the first episode in March of 2025, Good Hang has racked up 709,000 subscribers on YouTube, 2 million on Instagram, and 757,300 on TikTok. Plus, it won the inaugural award for Best Podcast at the Golden Globes.

The format of each 60(ish)-minute episode is pretty straightforward: Poehler has a sit-down chat in a question-and-answer style that's at once engaging and delightful. But the power of its success lies with Poehler herself. She is so enjoyable to watch (or listen to, depending on where you get your podcasts) and clearly loves learning about what lights people up.

In its first 52 weeks on the internet, the podcast has featured a parade of convivial, high-profile guests, including Michelle Obama, Ryan Coogler, and Gwyneth Paltrow, plus a steady stable of Poehler’s former co-stars and collaborators.

The Saturday Night Live alum is effervescent in her role as host, giggling with friends about past projects, exploring the power of female friendships, and celebrating other creators and entertainers across a wide range of genres.

For anyone who's missed having a weekly dose of this comedy queen, Good Hang hits all the right spots.

Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage to discover the internet's most exciting voices or see more of this year’s Mashable 101.

It's not often you get two of the most accomplished NFL players of all time in the same family, but that's the Kelce brothers for you. Travis Kelce, 36, is a Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs, while his older brother Jason Kelce, 38, was a Center for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2008 until 2024. Jason is widely regarded as one of the best centers in NFL history, while Travis is considered one of the most accomplished tight ends.

Just in case they weren't busy enough, they co-host a weekly sports podcast, New Heights, which has 3.6 million followers on Instagram (@newheightshow) and 3.16 million subscribers on YouTube. In 2024, the podcast signed a deal with Amazon for over $100 million. The name is a nod to the brothers' upbringing in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and the show pulls in big-name guests such as Jon Hamm, Ryan Gosling, and a certain person named Taylor Swift.

Travis and Taylor are betrothed to be wed and announced their engagement in an internet-breaking post with the caption, "Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married." When Taylor made her New Heights debut in August 2025, the podcast achieved record-breaking viewership. The episode gained almost 20 million views in five days on YouTube, prompting a 3,000 percent surge in new Spotify listeners, and a 618 percent rise in female listenership to the podcast.

Travis has 7.7 million followers on Instagram (@killatrav) and 3 million followers on TikTok (@traviskelce), while Jason has 3.2 million followers on Instagram (@jason.kelce) and 626,200 followers on TikTok (@jasonkelce).

Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage to discover the internet's most exciting voices or see more of this year’s Mashable 101.

If you've ever been in a minor fender bender and wished you had footage to back you up, you'll understand why dashcams have gone from niche accessory to near-essential kit. The VIOFO A329S 3CH takes that logic further than most—it doesn't just cover the front, it covers the front, the cabin, and the rear simultaneously—all in 4K, 2K, and 2K.

The advertising industry presents several major awards, such as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the CLIO Awards. Now, a new awards show honors the best AI-generated ads.

The Generated Awards took place on May 27 in New York City, where the Generated Group presented 9 awards to AI video creators and brands. Many of the nominated ads were "spec ads," unofficial creations by AI hobbyists and creators. However, ads from Google and the Gorilla Glue Company were also considered.

For instance, "Pac-Man Reimagined," winner of the "Best Visual Effects" award, is not actually an advertisement from Bandai Namco Entertainment, which owns Pac-Man.

Still, the event shows just how quickly the advertising agency is adapting to new AI technology. Last year at Google I/O, the company dropped the AI video model Veo 3 like a bomb, and ever since, we've had to question every viral video we've seen. Since then, we've seen rapid advancements in text-to-video models. AI video creators often use multiple video models, including Seeddance 2.0, Kling 3.0, and Luma Ray2, as well as tools to improve the resolution to 4K.

Google has explicitly pitched Veo as a tool for quickly creating advertisements at scale, and multiple ad agencies now specialize in creating low-cost AI ads. Coca-Cola's most recent holiday campaign was centered on a controversial AI video, and Jeep has several AI-generated commercials on the air now.

As I've said before, whether you like it or not, I think artificial intelligence in advertising is a train that can't be stopped.

Over email, I asked Tanya Porquez, the Generated Group CEO, if AI-generated ads should have mandatory disclosure requirements. She said, "I don’t think there should be a required disclosure unless there is a legal requirement."

"We’re going to have a crawl-walk-run situation where 'made with AI' disclosures are present to build public trust. There is a transparency issue where people want to know that they’re not being manipulated by AI tools. For example, in New York they’ve passed legislation to require disclosure of AI-created people, something we welcome. I can understand why they’re asking for it now at this early state."

The Generated Ads: See the winning ads

To see what advertising could look like in the near future, I've gathered all the award winners into this piece. You can watch them for yourself to see if you can tell the difference between what's real and what's not.

Some of the videos are more obvious than others, and feature the tell-tale glossy sheen that's a hallmark of many AI videos. However, as with AI-generated images, the tells are becoming harder and harder to spot.

Though this should be obvious, please note that all of these videos contain AI-generated content.

Best storytelling: "Perfection by Mistake" by Michal Kuzminski Best Direction: "Meet the New Chief Tough Officer at The Gorilla Glue Company" by The Gorilla Glue Company Best Audio Experience: "Instant Grind, Nescafe" by Blackbrightstudio View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Curious Refuge (@curiousrefuge)

Fictional Ad of the Year: "Puppramin" by PJ Accetturo Spec Ad of the Year: "Vans" by Çağlasın Yılmaz and Bilgehan Yoldas Commercial of the Year: "The Watch" by Runway Creative and J. Felipe Orozco

Replacing a polished, multi-billion dollar service like Spotify or Apple Music with self-hosted software seems daunting, but it actually isn't.

At the Summer Games Fest in Los Angeles, Capcom teased the release of the much-anticipated remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, a game that was originally released on the Sega Dreamcast in the year 2000, before many of the franchise's modern fans were even born.  

In classic Capcom fashion, the trailer hints at far more than it reveals, opening with a high-angle night shot of Paris before descending into first-person POV as a woman (Claire Redfield, we assume, the heroine of the original game and of the beloved Resident Evil 2) enters a quaint French hotel where it's heavily hinted that her brother Chris has been staying. We get a brief glimpse of the disheveled hotel room (look closely, and you can see the iconic Resident Evil lighter on the coffee table) before an unknown person knocks on the door and the music turns ominous. 

SEE ALSO: 'Alien: Isolation 2' trailer hints at the terror to come

Our first-person character opens the door only to be accosted by an unseen stranger, and suddenly both the music and the visuals switch up, giving us glimpses of factories, dead insects, gold-encrusted pistols, and a scary-looking island being approached by helicopters before the camera takes us back to Paris in a third-person perspective, showing us Claire Redfield with a knife to her neck. 

When the title screen emerges, we're given another important clue: the new game is going to be called Resident Evil: Veronica rather than Code Veronica, which indicates that Capcom will probably treat this title more like a reimagining rather than a straight remake, which is more or less how they treated the next-gen remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4.

The last thing we see, after a shot of some menacing zombies, is the year 2027, which suggests the game has been in development for some time and that fans still have a wait ahead of them. But given the fan reaction across social media, Capcom might have another hit on its hands.

Most homelabs begin with dashboards because dashboards help manage mess and make things look clear. Most people use things like Grafana panel, Portainer, a Proxmox summary tab, and an uptime monitor to make a bunch of services look like infrastructure until you realize that the system only helps when you are already looking at it. That is where Gotify started to make sense. A dashboard waits for me to check it, but a good alert tells me when something needs a look.