IT General

We all have certain icks with our favorite apps—a bug, subpar display, long navigation, or even core features that we want to change to our liking. With streaming platforms like Spotify, you can get annoyed quickly when these issues manifest every day.

There are plenty of Home Assistant automations that look impressive but are really just showing off what the smart home software can do. Having an AI generate a snarky description of the person at the front door when the doorbell rings is fun but not really necessary. There are some automations that are genuinely useful, however.

I'm a recovering Windows user. From Windows 3.11 to earlier this year, I've always had a love-hate relationship with Microsoft's flagship OS.

When I updated my iPhone to the latest version of iOS, I was greeted with an unexpected demand: verify my age in order to continue to have access to some features. Currently, this only applies to people in the UK, but it's likely coming to your neighborhood, too.

GNOME aims to be simple to use, with a minimal interface, a small set of core apps, and basic customization available by default. But GNOME extensions can offer almost anything you might miss from a fuller-featured desktop environment.

In 1986, Jim Henson joined forces with talented fellow filmmakers and a musical icon to tell the story of Labyrinth, resulting in an everlasting cult classic that has endured for 40 years. While he may be best-known for the charming characters of The Muppets, Henson and his company have either been involved in projects with darker tones or crafted them themselves, such as The Dark Crystal. Features such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth retain the careful, practical work behind Henson's creatures with more mature and riskier storytelling.

Notion is one of the most popular note-taking apps out there, and for good reason—it has a ton of well-developed features. However, I wanted something that was a bit simpler and more private. That's why I started using Joplin.

There’s plenty to say about how a smart home can make day-to-day tasks easier, but some devices can have positive health effects too. By automating these devices, you can reap the benefits without having to remember or manually trigger a thing.

When it comes to homelabbing, there are a lot of services and apps you might want to run. While installing them individually is an option, I chose to go the Docker route instead—and there's no going back.

When a vehicle is recalled, the owner never has to pay for repairs out of pocket; the manufacturer picks up the tab. But that doesn’t mean owners don’t pay a price.

After having printed in a single filament color for years, I found the idea of a multicolor 3D printer extremely appealing. There's no arguing with the results either. Multicolor prints are a big step up aesthetically, and there are big practical upshots too for functional prints.

Excel formulas are great until you need to stack 10 of them inside each other—one wrong bracket can ruin your entire afternoon. You can skip the headache by moving that logic into Power Query. Conditional columns let you build "if/then" rules visually, keeping your data clean and easier to manage.

RAID 6 is the best form of RAID to run in a homelab, right? I don’t think so. RAID 6 might offer slightly more protection than RAID 5, but I prefer RAID 5 for my NAS systems—here’s why

Android in 2014 was a playground for innovation. The ecosystem was much simpler, and everyone was kind of doing their own thing. This led to more frequent fresh ideas compared to what we have today. Here's some of the stuff we thought was groundbreaking back then—and I would really love it if a lot of these things were still around.

Windows 11 reworked many of the fundamental interfaces that we use day in and day out, and only a few changes were more controversial was the right-click context menu. It is difficult to customize, harder to declutter, and changes elements we'd been familiar with for decades.

TL;DR: Stream the 2026 Paris-Roubaix for free on SBS on Demand, RTBF, FranceTV, or RaiPlay. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Hardcore cyclists really love to suffer, for some reason. We're not exactly sure what's so appealing about taking on a steep incline, but there must be something that keeps this dedicated group coming back for more torture.

What's easier to understand is the appeal of watching the best cyclists in the world do battle over one of the most challenging routes imaginable. That's what's on offer from Paris-Roubaix.

If you're interested in watching the 2026 Paris-Roubaix for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is Paris-Roubaix?

Paris–Roubaix is a single-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting just north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix. The race is nicknamed the "Hell of the North," and it's clear to see why. The route is 259.9 kilometres long with 29 cobblestone road sections totalling 55.7 kilometres.

Mathieu van der Poel won the 2025 Paris-Roubaix.

When is the 2026 Paris-Roubaix?

The 2026 Paris-Roubaix takes place on April 12.

Can you livestream the 2026 Paris-Roubaix for free?

The 2026 Paris-Roubaix is available to live stream for free on a number of services:

• Australia — SBS On Demand

• Belgium — RTBF

• France — France TV

• Italy — RaiPlay

These free streaming platforms are geo-restricted, but anyone can access with a VPN. These powerful tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other locations, meaning you can access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 Paris-Roubaix 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 Australia, Belgium, France, or Italy

4. Visit SBS on Demand, RTBF, FranceTV, or RaiPlay

5. Stream the 2026 Paris-Roubaix for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free streaming sites without committing with your cash. This is not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the 2026 Paris-Roubaix before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Paris-Roubaix?

ExpressVPN is the best service for unblocking free streaming sites to watch sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• 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).

Watch the 2026 Paris-Roubaix for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 Masters Tournament for free on Masters.com. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The wait for the first major golf championship of the year is over.

The Masters is here to deliver top-quality action from the Augusta National Golf Club. Expect the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rory McIlroy to be battling it out for the green jacket at the end of the weekend. It's always a special occasion with a number of incredible storylines to follow.

If you want to watch the 2026 Masters Tournament for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the Masters?

The Masters is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. The tournament takes place in the first full week in April, making the Masters the first major golf tournament of the year.

The Masters is always held at the Augusta National Golf Club, a private course in the city of Augusta, Georgia.

When is the 2026 Masters Tournament?

The 2026 Masters Tournament will take place from April 9-12. Practice rounds began on April 6.

How to watch the 2026 Masters Tournament for free

The 2026 Masters Tournament is available to live stream for free on Masters.com.

This free live stream is geo-restricted to the U.S., but anyone can access for free with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the U.S., meaning you can unblock this free live stream from anywhere in the world.

Access free Masters live streams 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 the U.S.

4. Visit Masters.com

5. Live stream the 2026 Masters Tournament for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the 2026 Masters before recovering your investment.

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

What is the best VPN for live sport?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the U.S.

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• 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).

Watch the 2026 Masters Tournament for free with ExpressVPN.

All modern TVs come with at least one USB port, but aside from powering a Roku stick, what is it any good for? One option—streaming media off a storage drive—is hardly a secret, but life finally gave me a reason to put this feature to use.

TL;DR: Score a free iPhone 17e when signing up for a T-Mobile plan with no trade-in required. Alternatively, you can get the iPhone 17 for free from T-Mobile when signing up for an Experience More plan and trading in an eligible device.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple T-Mobile: Apple iPhone 17 for free   Get Deal

In the mobile world, the word "free" is usually followed by a list of caveats that make you wish you never started looking for a deal. You usually need to sign up for the most expensive plan or trade-in a premium phone to get your hands on what you really want. But that's not the case with the latest T-Mobile offer.

T-Mobile is offering a rare deal on the newly-released Apple iPhone 17e. For a limited time, you can pick up this A19-powered device for free by simply opening a new line.

You’ll need to activate a new line on T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond or Experience More plans to get the iPhone 17e. The phone’s full retail price is covered via 24 monthly bill credits, and since you aren't trading in your old phone, you can keep it as a backup, give it to a kid, or sell it on a third-party site to actually make money on this deal. We did say this was a rare opportunity to save.

Mashable's Stan Shroeder got his hands on the iPhone 17e and said "The combination of having Apple's latest chip and a decent amount of storage means this phone will be relevant for at least four to five years." That's an impressive lifespan for a budget-friendly phone, particularly when it's free.

SEE ALSO: Apple's iPhone Fold launch might happen later than we thought (updated)

If you need something a little more powerful, you can also pick up the iPhone 17 for free from T-Mobile when signing on for 24 months of an Experience More plan and trading in an eligible phone. That gets you unthrottled 5G data, 4K streaming, and enough international roaming for even the most adventurous of travellers.

It's important to note that T-Mobile will charge taxes on these free deals and a $35 device connection fee. Is this really "free" when you need to sign up to something or pay an upfront fee? It's a gray area, OK? We're doing our best.

Score an iPhone 17 for free this weekend with T-Mobile.

Moisture sensors are usually intended for specific purposes, but there's nothing to stop you from using them however you want. I've tried placing moisture sensors in some unusual places, and the results have been excellent.