IT General

“Could I 3D print that?” It’s a question we’ve all asked. I had the thought while listening to an LP vinyl record one night. Nearly two years later, I finally found a way to make it happen. Get your headphones ready.

Boox has revamped its eReader lineup ahead of the Picco. The company has introduced three new Android 16-based models, including a Palma 3 that upgrades its most iconic device as well as the Note Air6 C and the Note Mini C.

I'm not planning to become a streamer any time soon. But I do enjoy recording retro games and tutorials for my classes. There's some fascinating technology used in modern streaming and screen recording that I like to mess with. I've been using OBS Studio (mostly in default mode) for a long time for my recordings, and I wanted more control. But sometimes, the interface can be a bit complicated for simple things. So I changed a few settings to help me make the most of this powerful software and to find/access them.

When I bought my 3D printer, I didn’t have any great expectations of value for money—but it definitely feels like my Bambu Lab P2S has paid for itself. I’m not just talking about my bank account, either—there are some other pleasing upsides to 3D printer ownership.

SAVE $19.01: As of Sept. 16, preorders for the new Apple Watch Ultra 4 (GPS + Cellular, 49mm Natural Titanium Case with Translucent Gray Ocean Band) are down to $779.99 on Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Ultra 4 $779.99 at Amazon
$799 Save $19.01   Pre-order Here

Amazon just knocked down the preorder price for Apple's ultimate outdoor smartwatch ahead of its official release. The 49mm Natural Titanium Apple Watch Ultra 4 with the Translucent Gray Ocean Band is listed for $799, but you can currently score it for $779.99.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 builds on Apple’s most rugged, high-end wearable with key performance and battery upgrades. Wrapped in a tough titanium case with a sapphire crystal display, it features the new S11 chip and an upgraded Health Sensing System that tracks background heart rate every five seconds and HRV every five minutes.

In her reporting for Mashable, Haley Henschel notes that Apple continues to position the Ultra line as "the ultimate sports and adventure watch" and "the most comprehensive wearable across health, fitness, and safety". While it keeps the same core design as the previous generation, Henschel highlights that you get "faster performance, a longer battery life, and new health and fitness features" at the same starting base price tag as last year.

You also get super-precise dual-frequency GPS, along with off-grid satellite connectivity to text emergency services even without cellular service. Toss in hands-free Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence, Audio Intelligence tools like Live Rewind, and full cellular freedom to take calls or stream music without your iPhone, and it's a powerhouse for your wrist.

SEE ALSO: Apple Watch Ultra 4 announced with no price increase, new features

The real standout here is the massive multi-day battery life, pushing up to 45 hours of Max Extended Workout tracking so you can conquer long trail runs or weekend camping trips without constantly hunting for a charger. If you do run low, a quick 15-minute fast-charge gives you up to 18 hours of normal use.

Preorder your Apple Watch Ultra 4 on Amazon to score launch-day delivery for your next big adventure.

The latest trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping gives fans of Suzanne Collins' novel plenty of emotional devastation to look forward to.

SEE ALSO: Fall movie preview: All the 2026 films you need to know about

The prequel focuses on Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's Hunger Games mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada). He won the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the second Quarter Quell. Because Haymitch's games were a Quarter Quell, they were an even more horrifying spectacle than usual. The Capitol reaped four tributes from every District, making the 50th Hunger Games a supersized battle royale.

Since Haymitch is alive (albeit not at all well) in the main Hunger Games films, you may think you know exactly how his Quarter Quell will play out. However, Collins' novel is full of surprises, and based on the latest trailer, director Francis Lawrence is bringing them all to life. Look no further than a horrifying chariot stampede that ends in rebellious applause from Haymitch, or an apparent plot to destroy the arena. Clearly, there's more to these games than meets the eye, and Haymitch and his fellow tributes may just be participating in the beginnings of the revolution that catches fire with Katniss.

SEE ALSO: 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' trailer teases Haymitch's colorful Quarter Quell

The trailer introduces key characters in Haymitch's orbit, from his love Lenore Dove (Whitney Peak) to fellow tributes Maysilee Donner (Mckenna Grace), Wyatt Callow (Ben Wyatt), and Louella McCoy (Molly McCann). Also present are some familiar faces to any Hunger Games fans: Caesar Flickerman (Kieran Culkin), Wiress (Maya Hawke), Effie Trinket (Elle Fanning), Plutarch Heavensbee (Jesse Plemons), and Beetee Latier (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Presiding over it all is the ever-chilling President Snow (Ralph Fiennes).

To catch all these characters in action, along with an unrecognizable Glenn Close as Capitol escort Drusilla Sickle, check out the full trailer above.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in select theaters on Nov. 20.

A database is a core part of many apps, from full-blown enterprise websites to simple tools like shopping lists and finance trackers. Relational databases driven by SQL are popular, but Linux offers a simpler, more transparent alternative.

I used to keep an AI tool open in a separate tab whenever I needed help with something. It was almost automatic: think of a question, open an AI chatbot, type it in, and boom — you got what you were looking for. After doing those steps a million times a day, I got frustrated. So I did what any person would do: I used AI to ask how I could stop using AI while using AI. Makes sense, right?

There are several power tools and accessories that I want but don't necessarily need. I'm constantly thinking about which new Ryobi tool I might buy next, even though I already own plenty. With that in mind, I started tracking which tools I use the most around the house to help me decide. I figured my trusty drill would top the list, but surprisingly, it came in fourth place.

SAVE OVER $250: As of Sept. 16, the LG 52-inch Ultragear evo G9 curved gaming monitor is on sale for $1,446.99 at Amazon. That's $253 off its full price of $1,699.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 52-inch Ultragear evo G9 5K2K Curved Gaming Monitor $1,446.99 at Amazon
$1,699.99 Save $253   Get Deal

The next Prime Day sale event, Prime Big Deal Days, has officially been announced for Oct. 6-7. While that's still a few weeks away, Amazon isn't waiting until then to drop deals. There are already plenty of excellent savings available at the retailer, including a big price cut on the LG 52-inch Ultragear evo G9 curved gaming monitor.

If your PC setup needs a monitor upgrade, this discount is well worth a look. As of Sept. 16, this monitor has dropped from its list price of $1,699.99 to $1,446.99, making for $253 in savings. It won't be available for long, though, as it's marked as a "limited time deal." So now is the time to make a move if this massive 52-inch 5K2K display has got your attention.

SEE ALSO: How to sign up for Amazon Prime in time for the next Prime Day

With its large 52-inch size and 1,000R curve, this LG monitor offers plenty of screen space for your favorite games. They'll look great thanks to the WUHD (5120×2160) display with VESA DisplayHDR 600, which brings out sharp details, bright colors, and high contrast in on-screen images.

It also boasts a 240Hz refresh rate, so the action stays fluid and smooth on screen, alongside a 1ms (GtG) response time that helps reduce ghosting. On top of that, it comes with AMD FreeSync Premium, which helps prevent screen tearing and stutter from throwing you off.

If it's caught your eye, don't let it pass you by. Act fast to save on the LG 52-inch Ultragear evo G9 curved gaming monitor at Amazon.

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This is an unusual moment for Apple's iPhone Pro. Last year’s model was a big redesign; this year’s is all about refinement. At the same time, the company launched its first-ever foldable, the iPhone Duo. While it doesn’t have all the top features of the Pro models, the Duo is, by virtue of its massive inner display and the novelty of it all, the more intriguing model.

What can the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max do, then, to grab your attention? They don’t look very different, and the new phones lack the types of flashy upgrades that you can point to as must-haves in 2026. Inside, however, the refinement has been substantial. But whether you need the more expensive iPhone 18 Pro Max very much depends on the type of user you are.

Not everyone should upgrade their phone this year.

iPhone 18 Pro Max review: By the numbers

Here are the key specs for the iPhone 18 Pro Max:

• Display: 6.9-inch, Super Retina XDR display with 120Hz refresh rate / 6.3 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro

• Design: Aluminum unibody with Ceramic Shield 2 on the front and Ceramic Shield on the back

• Rear cameras: 48 megapixel triple rear camera array with 8x optical-quality zoom (main camera has variable aperture)

• Front camera: 18-megapixel selfie camera

• Processor: A20 Pro chip (6-core CPU, 7-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engine)

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB

• Battery life: Up to 45 hours of video playback (36 hours for the iPhone 18 Pro)

• Fast charging: Up to 50 percent of charge in 15 minutes with a 60W adapter

• Software: iOS 27

• Water and dust resistance: IP68 rating

• Special features: Improved vapor chamber cooling system, spatial reframing for photos

The new iPhone Pro looks the same, except for the colors Apple says the colors on the back are a little more uniform than before, but it doesn't make a big visual difference compared to last year's design. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Starting with the design, the new Pro-level iPhones are pretty much the same as the 17 Pro. This year you can choose from four colors — black, silver, glacier blue, and burgundy, with silver being a carry-over from last year — and the colors are slightly more uniform on the back. The Dynamic Island is also smaller than before. Oh, and the new model is quite a bit heavier than the last one; we’ll go into reasons for that later.

In a briefing following the launch, Apple showed us just how much work went into reducing the size of the Dynamic Island. The company hid the infrared sensor underneath the display, roughly halving the number of pixels in that area to let the light in, but arranging them in a different way. The image quality is not as good in that little area, but as Apple’s engineers showed us, the difference is essentially imperceptible to the human eye.

In other words, Apple is still working hard to improve its phones, but those improvements don’t always show up very dramatically in the final product. There are physical limitations on just how much tech you can cram into a device that still fits in your pockets and hands. Incremental progress, folks.

The new colors are nice. Apple sent me the iPhone 18 Pro Max in Burgundy and the 18 Pro in Glacier. Burgundy is beautiful, but not as flashy as last year’s cosmic orange. Glacier, on the other hand, is not as subdued as Apple’s colors typically are; it’s an icy blue that really shines through, even in low light, and it’s my favorite color in this lineup.

Mix and match. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

If you want to customize your new phone to your liking, there are already plenty of iPhone 18 Pro cases, not to mention accessories like wallets, grips, and wrist straps. Apple itself launched six new TechWoven cases, six new silicone cases, and new straps and MagSafe wallets for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. So, everyone should be able to find something they like.

The iPhone 18 Pro underwent an overhaul internally

For my review, I've focused my testing on the iPhone 18 Pro Max due to time limits (and the fact that the 18 Pro is identical in most respects). Inside, both smartphones have a new heart, Apple’s A20 Pro chip, which makes them blazing fast. Nothing you’ll notice browsing the web or even playing games, mind you, but the 16-core Neural Engine that powers AI tasks has been doubled, and that makes AI tasks a lot faster — in theory.

In practice, it depends on the task. I asked the Playground to create an image of a “futuristic city with a river running through it" and hit the "Go" button at the same time on my iPhone 17 Pro Max and 18 Pro Max. Both phones completed the task in exactly the same time. Visual Intelligence, on the other hand, was a little faster on the newer phone.

The new burgundy color is fairly subdued. But the Glacier iPhone 18 Pro, which I'm holding in my hand here, is a very nice and striking shade of icy blue. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Another big internal change: Thanks to Apple’s new cooling system, which includes a massive vapor chamber that covers nearly the entirety of the phone, the phone is noticeably cooler than before. I tested this out by playing a few games of PUBG: Battlegrounds on the highest settings for a full hour. The phone barely got warm.

What you will notice is the battery life, and it’s the one new thing most users will feel in daily use. My testing confirms that Apple has significantly improved the battery, now offering up to 43 hours of video playback, up from 37 on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple has rearranged the phone’s internals to put in a massive new battery. I suspect this is the main reason the phone now weighs 249 grams, up from 231 on the 17 Pro Max.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max already delivered a significant leap in battery life compared to its predecessor, making the iPhone 18 Pro Max even more impressive. We’re reaching the point at which battery life doesn’t matter that much; chargers are everywhere, and Apple’s phones have made leaps and bounds in this regard over the past couple of years. But it’s still a big deal, especially for video lovers, photographers/videographers, and creators.

Simply put, with the iPhone 18 Pro Max, you don’t have to worry about battery life at all. That one-hour session of PUBG? It only took my battery from 62 percent to 53 percent.

iPhone 18 Pro Max review: This is the camera for pros The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max both get exactly the same camera system. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The camera improvements mostly have to do with the main, wide camera, which has a new sensor and, for the first time on an iPhone, a physical variable aperture. On top of that, iOS 27 brings crucial new photography and videography tools. New software features include the Pro controls in the camera app and new cinematic mode effects for video. These features are geared more toward photographers and video creators, but new AI photo editing tools like spatial reframing and picture clean-up will appeal to everyone, I think.

Your aperture may vary. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The variable aperture has been made possible by adding six hair-thin blades that open and close to let more or less light into the camera sensor. When you’re shooting in the dark, you want more light in the sensor, but when it’s broad daylight, you’ll get a better result with a higher aperture, meaning less light is hitting the sensor.

This happens automatically, but you can also adjust it manually through one of Apple’s new Pro controls, available if you tap the dot grid icon in the lower right portion of the Camera app (you can only use this for the main camera, though). Other new features, such as manual white balance, focus, and shutter speed settings, used to be available only through third-party camera software; now it’s all there in the Camera app.

Even if you're not a pro, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max take excellent photographs:

Fortunately, you don't have to touch any of the Pro settings to take photos like this. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

I welcome the ability to set the white balance manually; automatic white balance often gets it wrong (not just on the iPhone; on standalone cameras too), resulting in photos that look too cold or too warm. The aperture setting can be used to create certain cool effects, but it’s not something I’ll use regularly, and the same goes for most of the other new settings.

Playing with the new Pro camera coontrols such as aperture and shutter speed can help you capture sharp photos of fast-moving wildlife. This guy wasn't moving very fast, though. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

It’s a recurring theme in Apple’s “Pro” devices, be it Macs, iPads or iPhones: They truly are aimed at pros. That doesn’t mean the regular user won't benefit, but I do bet that the majority of people will try out the manual aperture setting once and then leave it on auto. (You can always hold out for the new iPhone 18 base model, which we expect to arrive in early 2027.)

The telephoto camera doesn't seem to have been upgraded since last year, but it's still very good. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The most important part of Apple’s new main iPhone camera is that it is an entirely new system. The sensor is new, and the maximum aperture now goes to f/1.48 (the iPhone 17 Pro models had an f/1.78 aperture), which, in theory, improves low-light performance. The new A20 Pro chip should also help with image and color quality.

The night photos I got with the iPhone 18 Pro Max were gorgeous. But so were the ones taken with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

It’s definitely true that the iPhone 18 Pro Max cameras take excellent nighttime and low-light photographs, but it’s not immediately apparent unless you dig in. In my camera testing, I was often getting better results on my iPhone 17 Pro Max. But that’s because its Night Mode automatically fired for 3 seconds, whereas the 18 Pro Max only needed 1 second, precisely because the sensor was getting more light. When I manually disabled Night Mode, the results were clearly better on the iPhone 18 Pro Max, with far more details and an overall sharper photo with less noise.

Left: The iPhone 17 Pro Max did a oood job, but when you turn off Night Mode, the differences are obvious. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: The iPhone 18 Pro Max took a sharper, less noisy image. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

That’s a problem modern smartphone manufacturers are facing; the tricks they’ve been using to improve phone photography can overcome the constraints of the physical lens and sensor. Putting a new lens and sensor in might not mean you’ll get better photos, at least not at first glance. But make no mistake, the iPhone 18 Pro Max does have a better main camera.

The telephoto camera and the ultra-wide camera, as well as the 18MP Center Stage selfie camera, produced very similar photos as the ones I took with last year’s models, however. Apple does say all of the cameras' capabilities have been enhanced through software improvements, but the differences are small.

Selfie camera: Unchanged. Face expression: Unchanged. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Apple also launched a feature called Apple Reference Image, and it can be used to verify whether a photo is authentic, as it stores only the data that was captured by the camera sensor at the pixel level, at the moment of capture. You have to manually turn it on in the Camera Settings, as it’s off by default; once it’s on, you can decide to share the reference image together with the regular image to prove your work isn't AI-generated.

I presume this will mostly benefit journalists and media outlets, who will be able to verify whether a photo has actually been taken by someone’s camera or if it’s been visually altered. In the era of omnipresent AI slop, it’s the type of feature that could soon become a must-have.

Other new tricks

There are other improvements, though they really are tiny. The Dynamic Island, for example, can now support three live activities at the same time. Have a workout timer on while waiting for Uber Eats and your favorite team is playing? Great, you can get info on all of those at a glance.

Wired charging is a little faster, too. You can now get up to 50 percent charge in 15 minutes (it was 20 minutes on last year’s model) using a 60W-capable adapter.

Finally, iOS 27 brings a whole new Siri AI experience and various Apple Intelligence upgrades. Mashable will have more to say about Siri AI once we've done a bit more testing, and we didn't want to wait to get readers our initial iPhone 18 Pro review.

Should you buy or wait? It's a tough choice this year. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max start at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively, a $100 price hike over last year’s smartphones. They look and feel largely the same, and while they do bring a few big improvements, including better camera, cooling, and battery life, they don't make this phone a necessary upgrade for folks who already have the 17 Pro. If you have an even older model, the 18 Pro will be a massive upgrade, especially when it comes to battery life.

If you’re a photographer, videographer, creator, or simply an advanced user who runs through battery life at twice the speed of mere mortals, then the new iPhones are pretty amazing, and you should get them despite the higher price.

With the iPhone Duo being held until October, a lot of people will wonder whether they should hold out for that model. I’ve only spent a very short time with the Duo (full review pending), but I can already tell you it’s a completely different beast. It’s almost twice the price, has a less powerful camera, but comes with that gorgeous foldable display. It’s a tough call at this point; if you’re not sure, maybe wait until you can actually try the Duo in person.

SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone Duo vs. iPhone 18 Pro Max: How to decide between them Apple iPhone 18 Pro, 256GB Save up to $1,200 at T-Mobile
  See It at T-Mobile See It at AT&T Wireless See It at Walmart iPhone 18 Pro Max, 256GB Save up to $1,200 at T-Mobile
  See It at T-Mobile See It at Walmart See It at Apple.com

If you're new to Linux, you might wonder whether you really need to use the terminal. While Linux comes with modern desktop environments, you can benefit from knowing the Linux terminal. It's easier than you think. Just a few simple steps, and you'll be a pro in no time.

A little more than a year into its lifespan, the Nintendo Switch 2 has almost everything you could ask for. We've gotten a great 3D platformer from the core Mario team, the triumphant return of Star Fox, a bevy of excellent third-party ports, and a library full of older games that look and run fantastic on the new console.

But one thing it's been lacking is a new, exclusive, original RPG to sink dozens and dozens of hours into. I feel the pain of people who have been begging for this since launch; I put a collective few hundred hours into the Xenoblade Chronicles series on Switch 1, and while The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is not strictly an RPG, it was a huge game you could devote your entire life to right when the older console came out in 2017.

Without beating around the bush, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave fixes that problem. Developer Intelligent Systems' latest entry in the long-running series of tactics RPGs is almost exactly what I wanted out of the true follow-up to 2019's Three Houses: A big, dense tactics game with memorable characters, a setting with lots of cool stories to tell, and multiple ways to experience it all.

While Fortune's Weave falls short of Three Houses in some respects, it outshines its predecessor in others, and gives Switch 2 owners exactly what they've been missing since last June.

SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch 2 is getting a 'Legend of Zelda' makeover Fire Emblem weaves a compelling, if occasionally scattershot, tale

Part of what endeared Three Houses to so many, including myself, was its grandiose story that followed a few dozen characters in a large-scale conflict across a period of years. Fortune's Weave is broadly similar, though it carves its own path, for better and worse.

After a relatively quick prologue, you're asked to choose from one of four protagonists for the first part of the story, which revolves around a large martial tournament in Dagsion, the capital city of the massive Dagdan Empire. The winner of the tournament will have one wish granted, and naturally, each of our heroes has their own motive for being there. Leda is a dancer hell-bent on revenge for the death of her father, Cai is a teenage boy who wants to rescue his father from prison and certain execution, Dietrich is a foreign warrior who live to fight increasingly stronger opponents, and Theodora is the newly crowned queen of a semi-autonomous nation within the empire with distinct cultural needs.

There isn't a dud among the crowd here, which is one of Fortune's Weave's strengths. I like all four protagonists a great deal, and thoroughly enjoyed playing through all four of their campaigns. What makes it work is that each of them gives the player roughly 25 percent of the information they need to piece together what's going on in the grander story, while showing off different parts of the very cool setting. Leda's campaign takes you through Dagda's seedy underworld, Cai's exposes some of the underlying tensions in its system of worship, Dietrich's illuminates the continent's relationship with wider Fire Emblem lore, and Theodora's adeptly sets up the latter half of the story.

Eventually, this is a story about saving the world, and that's a little bit less compelling than where it starts. Credit: Nintendo

Where things get a little jarring is that the tournament only represents a third of the story. Parts two and three almost tell entirely different stories of their own, though the events of each part do lead into the next. My problems begin here, as I found more to chew on and enjoy in the tournament arc than in the arcs that come after it. I became invested in each of the four protagonists' individual struggles, only for those struggles to largely get resolved and fall by the wayside about halfway through the game in favor of something grander and a little more conventional.

In contrast, from beginning to end, Three Houses had a pretty consistent thematic throughline about class stratification and the role of the church in that game's setting from beginning to end. Fortune's Weave touches on a lot of different things, like the relationship between the Dagdan populace and its gods to the way that seemingly minor decisions about imperial land transfers can destroy the lives of regular people. But ultimately, there isn't one single thread carrying you all the way through the story, and it's a slightly lesser experience for it.

You're doing tactics even when you're not doing tactics in Fortune's Weave Battles look like this, which is nothing new for the series. Credit: Nintendo

Of course, Fortune's Weave is a video game, so there's more to it than just watching cutscenes and pondering themes. As with every other Fire Emblem game, it's a turn-based tactics game with a strong emphasis on individual units in your army having their own personalities and relationships with one another that you nurture as you go along. That includes doing things like inviting people out to meals or to theatrical performances in order to increase their bonds with each other, which in turn has benefits in battle.

Battles work about the same as they always have. Each unit has its own class, which dictates what kinds of weapons and abilities they can use, as well as how many spaces they can move on the grid-based map. Different maps will have their own bespoke hazards and objectives, and these become increasingly challenging to work around as the game progresses. I am honestly not much of a tactics game guy, but I found myself consistently engaged with what Fortune's Weave threw at me. Some of the later battles are so large in scale and complex in strategy that I found myself legitimately exhausted by the time they were over, in a good way.

When you're not engaging in these chess-like battle sequences, Fortune's Weave throws almost an entire other game's worth of things to do at you. Aside from the aforementioned character-building activities, there is a board-game-like world map to traverse, and a limited number of turns with which to traverse it, depending on which part of the story you're in.

The world map is great. Credit: Nintendo

I really, really liked this aspect of Fortune's Weave, as it adds a second layer of strategizing on top of the tactical thinking you have to do in battles. It pays off to look at the world map and decide what you want to accomplish before the story deadline, and how you plan on accomplishing it without running out of time. Each protagonist also has unique actions only they can perform on the map, such as Dietrich's ability to conjure powerful opponents and Theodora's ability to recruit soldiers for her army in towns and cities. These serve to make each campaign feel a little different from one another, even when what you're doing is broadly the same across all of them.

All of that expands even more in the third part of the story, as you'll eventually have to command several squads on the map at once. At that point, Fortune's Weave feels like a tactics game on top of another tactics game, and it's absolutely riveting. I love being forced to think strategically outside of battles, and there's plenty of that here.

My only real issue with this aspect of the game is that one of the main activities on the world map becomes a little tiresome over time. I'm talking about dungeons, which are short, little areas you explore in third-person to find treasure and fight enemies. Dungeons are extremely useful for leveling up several units at a time, and the treasures hidden within can be game-changing. But the conventional RPG-style combat in these dungeons is fairly simple, and over time, I found myself opting to just let the game auto-battle my way through all of them.

These dungeons typically don't take longer than about 10 minutes to complete, but you might find yourself doing the same ones multiple times before the story is over, and that's kind of a bummer. I respect the ambition of adding these onto an already very large and experience-rich game, but they're not the best part of it.

The structure fixes the biggest problem with Three Houses

Quickly, I'd like to mention that Fortune's Weave allows you to play through each of the four protagonist campaigns in parallel with one another. You can bookmark and suspend one and go to another at any time with no penalty. This stands in contrast with Three Houses, which had several branching paths in the story, but no real way to see everything in one playthrough.

Fortune's Weave is structured in such a way that playing through each campaign is not only encouraged but also extremely rewarding. Not only do you get the full breadth of the story that way, but you can bring the armies you've recruited in each campaign into the game's exceptionally challenging final act. I sincerely cannot imagine finishing this game without doing all of that. It just wouldn't be a great experience, narratively or mechanically.

Be ready to lock in for the long haul with this one Well, hello, stranger. Credit: Nintendo

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave took me a clean 100 hours to finish. Yes, that says 100. This is a beast of a game, almost as if it's trying to over-compensate for the lack of a big Switch 2 RPG up to this point. Fortune's Weave does earn that length, as you'll get as much out of it as you put into it, but the fact that it's so long means it isn't for the faint of heart.

One minor disappointment I should acknowledge before closing out here is that Fortune's Weave is not exactly a visual showcase for the Switch 2 hardware. Character models are largely excellent, thanks in part to outstanding art direction, but environments are pretty plain. It is also one of the few first-party Nintendo games to be locked to 30 frames per second, despite looking worse than several games that run more smoothly. This is not a particularly huge deal, as frame rate does not impact playability in turn-based tactics games to any real extent, but it does stand out among Nintendo's other Switch 2 titles.

Despite a handful of shortcomings, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is that beefy, juicy Switch 2 RPG you've been looking for. It marries great character work with demanding tactics, battles, and a lot of things to do when you're not engaging in said battles. Even with its somewhat unfocused story and some kinda boring dungeons, this is one of the best Switch 2 games yet, and one of the best games of 2026 so far.

Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave $0 at Amazon
  Pre-order Here at Amazon Pre-order Here at Best Buy Pre-order Here at Nintendo

Need a reminder of the many times Trump has been accused of falling asleep on camera? Jimmy Kimmel has you covered.

Inspired by Trump apparently napping during the recent 9/11 remembrance event at the Pentagon ("He was sleeping so much on camera the White House had to put out a statement that said he wasn't asleep," says Kimmel), the host plays a montage of the president appearing to doze off at various events.

"It's so perfect, the guy who spent four years screaming 'Sleepy Joe, sleepy Joe,' constantly falling asleep on camera," Kimmel says.

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

Those of us who complain about slow Wi-Fi are often left scrambling for answers. And scramble, I have.

TL;DR: Watch Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League for free on CazéTV. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Europa League is calling for Sunderland. After an incredibly impressive return to the Premier League last season, Sunderland now find themselves playing midweek games against Europe's elite. Their campaign starts with a match against AZ Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light.

If you're interested in watching Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar?

Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Sept. 16. This fixture takes place at the Stadium of Light.

How to watch Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar for free

Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League is available to live stream for free on CazéTV.

CazéTV is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

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

4. Visit CazéTV

5. Watch Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar 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 they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus Premier League action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Europa League?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

• 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 usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Sunderland vs. AZ Alkmaar for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Watch Milan vs. Benfica in the Europa League for free on CazéTV. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Europa League is back, and the first round of fixtures includes some really interesting matchups. One of the standout games on the schedule is Milan vs. Benfica, two teams hoping to advance to the knockout rounds of this competition.

All eyes will be on frontman Gonçalo Ramos as he comes up against his old side.

If you're interested in watching Milan vs. Benfica in the Europa League from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Milan vs. Benfica?

Milan vs. Benfica in the Europa League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Sept. 16. This fixture takes place at the San Siro.

How to watch Milan vs. Benfica for free

Milan vs. Benfica in the Europa League is available to live stream for free on CazéTV.

CazéTV is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Milan vs. Benfica for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Milan vs. Benfica for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

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

4. Visit CazéTV

5. Watch Milan vs. Benfica 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 they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Milan vs. Benfica without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus Premier League action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Europa League?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

• 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 usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Milan vs. Benfica for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is arguably one of the most popular text editors and integrated development environments widely used by individual coders and professionals. But the standard setup can make you work harder than necessary for simple tasks. Whether it's catching a syntax error that requires you to squint at the Problems panel at the bottom or scrolling through dozens of lines to find a matching closing tag for your HTML block.

TL;DR: As of Sept. 16, Amazon has discounted every model of Fire TV Stick (4K Max, 4K Select, 4K Plus, and HD) ahead of its Prime Big Deal Days sale event in October.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Deals Best Fire TV Stick HD Deal Fire TV Stick HD 17.99 (save $17) Get Deal Best Fire TV Stick 4K Select Deal Fire TV Stick 4K Select 19.99 (save $20) Get Deal Best Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Deal Fire TV Stick 4K Plus 39.99 (save $10) Get Deal Best Fire TV Stick 4K Max Deal Fire TV Stick 4K Max 49.99 (save $10) Get Deal

Shoppers, ready your wallets: Amazon has officially announced that its Prime Big Deal Days event is returning next month, running from Tuesday, Oct. 6, through Wednesday, Oct. 7. Compared to the summer's four-day-long Prime Day event, that's a shorter 48-hour period to explore what's available, but the good news is there's actually already some solid discounts popping up before the sale even begins.

Fire TV Sticks are some of the discounts that have caught our eye at the retailer, with the 4K Max, 4K Select, 4K Plus, and HD models all on sale right now. And while the discounts may not seem that big at first glance, Amazon actually has the typical price listed on the store pages. These devices were all recently hit with a price hike, so you're actually grabbing them for much less than they're usually priced nowadays.

Below, you can learn a little more about each model's discount and the differences between each model, so you can find the best fit for your streaming plans.

Fire TV Stick HD Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Fire TV Stick HD $17.99 at Amazon
$34.99 Save $17.00   Get Deal Why we like it

If you're not interested in dropping cash on one of the 4K models, the Fire TV Stick HD is also on sale right now, and for just $17.99 (which is a good deal cheaper than its new $39.99 list price). It supports 1080p Full HD picture quality and WiFi 6, plus it comes with 8GB of storage for holding all of your favorite streaming apps.

Fire TV Stick 4K Select Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select $19.99 at Amazon
$39.99 Save $20.00   Get Deal Why we like it

The 4K Select is a great entry-level pick if you're just making the jump from HD streaming. Priced at $19.99 right now, it supports 4K Ultra HD streaming with High Dynamic Range 10+ picture, and WiFi 5 for streaming quality. It also lets you play games through Xbox Game Pass via cloud gaming and comes with 8GB of storage, just like the 4K Plus model.

If you're not looking to spend too much on a streaming device but still want to enjoy 4K picture, this option is well worth a look.

Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus $39.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $10   Get Deal Why we like it

If you don't need that much storage, the 4K Plus model could be the perfect fit for you. Similar to the others, it offers 4K Ultra HD picture quality alongside Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos audio, though it uses WiFi 6 instead of WiFi 6E and comes with 8GB of storage instead of 16GB.

If you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, this model also lets you play games via cloud gaming. So, if you're not looking to splash out on the 4K Max, you can get a lot of the same features with the 4K Plus for $10 less.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max $49.99 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $10   Get Deal Why we like it

The 4K Max recently had its price raised to $84.99, so it's quite a treat to grab it for $49.99 right now. With this streaming stick, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite shows and movies in 4K Ultra HD with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It even supports Dolby Atmos audio, so you can feel fully immersed in the sounds on screen, and WiFi 6E for smooth streaming.

Not to mention, it also comes with the Fire TV Ambient Experience, which lets you display art and photos on your TV when you're not watching anything, and it has 16GB of storage. That's double what the other streaming sticks offer, so this is a great pick if you want to go all out on a streaming device.

Plus, you can play Xbox games on it via Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming (though a Game Pass subscription and a controller are required).