IT General

NVIDIA has now released its RTX 5000 range of graphics cards, and while it hasn't been smooth sailing, they are still probably the best GPUs money can buy. If you want to look at AMD's new offerings before making a decision, you'll be able to do so next week.

I was an adult with kids of my own before I camped outside for the first time. But when the time came, thanks to a tent with a transparent mesh top, I learned quite a bit as I lay there looking up at the night sky.

Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3291 for users in the Dev and Beta Channels. This update includes a number of improvements, particularly for the Snipping Tool.

Microsoft is rolling out some helpful improvements for the search in File Explorer and Start Menu in Windows 11. The changes are coming first to Insider Preview Build 26120.3291 for both the Dev and Beta Channels.

If you've ever wiped your browsing history clean, thinking it was gone for good, think again. Deleting your local history reduces your digital footprint, but doesn't eliminate it entirely.

It's always annoying when your hardware fails, but it's even more annoying when your extremely scarce hardware fails. This is exactly what's happening to some NVIDIA RTX 5090 buyers, sadly.

Computer mice should smell nice. That's the basic idea behind ASUS' newly-announced Fragrance Mouse MD101—yes, a mouse that radiates aromatic essential oils. You can't stop progress, I guess.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, architecture studio Balbek Bureau has been creating a series of social initiatives under the flagship RE:Ukraine.Their different installments focus on the building of a temporary housing system, the creation of a social support and rehabilitation centre, and a series of cultural heritage preservation projects. One of them is RE:Ukraine Villages – an initiative that uses a digital constructor to preserve Ukraine's rural architecture. To gather data about the specifics of each region, volunteers have been travelling around, and using online tools such a Google Maps, to research this unique material culture. As there was no prior written knowledge on village houses in Ukraine, their destruction by shelling could mean that they are lost forever.

To fill the gaps in academic interest on the subject, RE:Ukraine Villages are bringing their findings to higher education. They have partnered with Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture (KNUCA), giving students the opportunity to design 3D models of rural houses (khatas) and settlements.

All photographs featured in this video, unless credited otherwise, are curtesy of old khata project – a documentary project about Ukrainian rural architecture.

The RTX 5090 is a fantastic graphics card—so long as you're ready to rely on DLSS 4's multi-frame generation to make games playable. For nearly $2,000, the RTX 5090 should be way more powerful than it is, and DLSS 4 is the limiting factor.

Your work laptop should be for professional use, not personal storage. Keeping your sensitive data and unauthorized applications on it can jeopardize security, compromise your privacy, and even put your job at risk. Here are a few things you should never keep on your work laptop.

Your iPhone already does a ton of stuff, but have you had it suggest you recipes? It's something you probably didn't think you needed until now, but if you want to let your phone take over and decide what you should eat, this new feature on Apple News+ might be what you're looking for.

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For a limited time, Mashable readers can get lifetime device licenses for this Microsoft Office 2019 software suite. What apps are included in this Microsoft Office package?

You’ll get access to all the core tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, and OneNote — everything needed for productivity, whether at work or home. Licenses for Windows and Mac devices are available.

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Perplexity also has a Deep Research tool now, and it's powered by a version of DeepSeek R1.

According to the announcement, the AI search engine's new tool does "in-depth research and analysis on your behalf," by crawling the web and compiles a comprehensive report of its findings. If Deep Research sounds familiar, that's because Google and OpenAI both have their own versions of the research tool for Gemini and ChatGPT respectively — yes, they're both also called Deep Research. XAI's new Grok 3 took some creative liberties and called its research tool Deepsearch.

But while Google, OpenAI and xAI's research tools rely on their own proprietary models, Perplexity uses a customized version of the open-source DeepSeek R1. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas confirmed this in a follow-up to a Feb. 3 post on X saying, "can easily enable something like Deep Research at 10-100x lower pricing, using a custom version of R1." About a week later Srinivas indicated that this is what Perplexity did by reposting replying, "done" with a checkmark emoji.

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Perplexity is offering Deep Research free of charge for its users — with limitations. Non-paying Perplexity users get free access to "limited number of answers per day," and paying subscribers get unlimited access as part of the $20 a month Pro plan. This is different from Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Grok 3 which only offer their research tools to paying users.

While Perplexity based its Deep Research off of DeepSeek's R1 model, because R1 is open-source, it means that programmers can tweak and customize it for their own purposes. Last week, Perplexity introduced its own open-source version of R1, called R1 1776, "that has been post-trained to provide uncensored, unbiased, and factual information." This is a direct response to claims that the original R1 censors responses criticizing the Chinese government.

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But Perplexity Deep Research is not without flaws. Decoder discovered that the tool inaccurately attributed the term "stochastic parrots" to AI researcher Gary Marcus, when in fact it was coined by Emily M. Bender in a research paper. Users have also noted that Perplexity Deep Research gives outdated and inaccurate data, which is a problem since the company has touted it as tool for investment and market analysis. Srinivas said in an X post that they're addressing the issues, adding "for finance specifically, data accuracy is a must and high stakes."

But it just goes to show that hallucination for all LLMs is a persistent problem that might not ever go away, so use with caution.

Younger readers may not remember this, but Google Maps wasn't always the default way to look up how to get places.

Way back in the day, people would use paper maps, but there was an interim period for a while where a lot of people used a website called MapQuest. Well, MapQuest is not only still around, but we've actually got a reason to use it in 2025. Sort of. If you go to a special Gulf of Mexico-themed part of MapQuest, you can type in anything you want, and it'll generate a map that renames the Gulf of Mexico after whatever you typed in. For example:

SEE ALSO: Google Maps is adding weather incident reporting I had to, sorry. Credit: Screenshot: MapQuest

There's not really a lot more to say about this. You can name it whatever you want, which is also official U.S. government policy these days. All of this was brought on by the fact that some people have apparently decided the Gulf of Mexico is called something else now, and Google Maps actually complied and changed the name in that app. Apple did the same thing, too.

Have fun, folks.

Meta's top executives may see huge bonuses in the coming years, despite the company's forceful trimming of its workforce amid what CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects to be a more challenging year for the company.

According to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Meta is proposing a new target bonus percentage that could see certain corporate executives receiving a bonus of 200 percent of their base salary. The number is more than double the 75 percent figure under the company's previous plan. Zuckerberg, for what its worth, isn't included in the new bonus structure.

SEE ALSO: Smooth, silent, strange: What it's really like to hail a robotaxi

Meta recently recently reduced its employee stock options by 10 percent, Business Insider reported, as its market value has gone up.

On Feb. 10, Meta released an internal memo to its workforce announcing the company would begin notifying "low-performing" employees that they were being laid off, part of a sweeping 5 percent cut to teams across the U.S., Europe, and Asia that would see up to 4,000 Meta workers lose their jobs. A previously leaked memo from Zuckerberg explained the cuts were an efficiency effort ahead of what would be an "intense year" for the tech giant. Meanwhile, the company has increased the number of employees working on generative AI.

Shortly after the layoffs, affected employees took to business social networking platform LinkedIn to share their experiences at Meta and push back against the corporation's "low-performing" characterization, harnessing the platform's #OpenToWork tag in their own defense. Last year, amid even larger workforce cuts, Meta employees took to platforms like TikTok to fight the company's "efficiency" moves.

Do you have a computer or smartphone that's easy to repair? Or, when your laptop or phone needs service, will you be forced to buy a whole new device?

A new report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund takes a look at just how repairable laptops and smartphones are from some of the biggest computer companies in the world and graded them with a repairability score.

One notable stat from the report is that while most smartphones have become easier to repair compared to last year's report, laptops have moved in the opposite direction. HP laptops, for example, are harder to repair than they were in previous years.

Asus tops the laptop repairability list

Only one computer company received a grade in the A's for laptop repairability and that's Asus with an A- score. 

Acer was close behind with a B+, followed by Dell, Microsoft, and Samsung, with each receiving a grade of B-. HP received a C, followed by Apple with a C-.

SEE ALSO: Take $300 off the Asus ProArt PZ13 laptop at Best Buy and unleash your creativity

While this is an improvement for Apple when compared to previous reports, the company still falls into last place when it comes to laptop repairability.

Lenovo received a failing grade of F. However, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund noted that it failed Lenovo because it was only able to test one device due to the fact that the company did not provide the "full French repairability index for 12 of the 13 models available in both the U.S. and France."

France requires companies to make repairability scores and information available to the general public. A survey found that 86 percent of French consumers utilize the repair score when making purchasing decisions. The report could not properly grade Lenovo without this information. For what its worth, Lenovo received a C grade in the 2024 repairability report

A tie on the smartphone repairability list

When it comes to the smartphone repairability rankings, Apple and Google are both tied at the top of the field with a B- grade.

Motorola comes in with a C+. Samsung is in last with a C-.

Right to Repair

On the smartphone end of things, it appears that the Right to Repair movement has had an effect. Longtime iPhone users might recall just how difficult it used to be to repair Apple's smartphone device. 

Right to Repair is a legal right for consumers to be able to modify and repair products that they purchase and requires tech companies to provide access to service information and affordable replacement parts.

However, while the Right to Repair has been successful in changing how smartphone manufacturers operate, it appears the movement needs to shift focus towards laptops where repairability appears to be lagging if not outright regressing.

Academy Award–winning director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War) turns his eye toward cult leader Charles Manson in the upcoming true crime Netflix documentary CHAOS: The Manson Murders.

SEE ALSO: The 30 best true crime documentaries on Max right now

Based on the nonfiction book by journalist Tom O'Neill with Dan Piepenbring, CHAOS reexamines the Manson family's 1969 killing spree with input from O'Neill himself. O'Neill began researching the case in 1999 for an assignment, uncovering over the ensuing decades a sprawling conspiracy that includes CIA mind control experiments like MK-Ultra, LSD, and even Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. With these findings in mind, CHAOS looks to answer whether the official story of the Manson murders is actually the whole truth.

"It was managed and manipulated," O'Neill says of the Manson story. "I know that what we were told isn't what happened."

Later in the trailer, O'Neill claims, "Manson became exactly what the CIA was trying to create."

To dive deeper into the story, watch the full trailer above.

CHAOS: The Manson Murders hits Netflix March 7.

SAVE 15%: As of Feb. 21, you can snag the Logitech POP ICON keyboard and mouse combo for just $59.49 at Amazon.

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Buying new accessories is the quickest (and easiest) way to transform your gaming setup. I had a friend in college who did this so often that she ended up going viral on social media. She now designs her own controllers and works as a Senior Internal Communications and Experience Specialist at Electronic Arts.

If your aesthetic is more on the cute and playful side, the Logitech POP ICON keyboard and mouse combo makes for the perfect addition to your gaming battle station. And right now, you can get it for 15% off.

SEE ALSO: The best keyboard for upgrading your PC gaming experience

This Bluetooth-compatible keyboard and mouse come with customizable action keys and buttons and are made with recycled plastic materials. With a quiet mechanical feel, you can type comfortably without disturbing your housemates or streaming audience. Plus, the shortcuts and hotkeys built into the POP ICON make managing system volume, play/pause media, and open applications easy.

You can connect up to three devices and switch between them with the push of a button. And, with a two-year battery life for the mouse and a three-year battery life for the keyboard, you won't have to worry about constantly swapping out batteries.

In recent days, the anglerfish has become a symbol of hope and light for the extremely online — which is very nice but not exactly based on truth.

Last week, scientists spotted an anglerfish near the surface of the water off the coast of Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands, far from the depths of its usual home. Anglerfish typically live in the deep sea and are famous for using a bright little orb at the end of its lure to attract prey and eat them with razor-like teeth. You might remember this guy from Finding Nemo.

The fish aren't as big as you might think, and the specific fish that was spotted off the Islands was only about six inches long. A little baby, one might say. The internet saw this little baby leaving the depths of its home and floating toward the sun and gave it a bit of its own story — albeit one that's likely pretty far from the truth. One post on X said, "She finally saw a light she didn’t create." (Anglerfish don't really create their own light, another user pointed out; it's produced by tiny glowing bacteria called photobacterium on its lure).

People created fan art, poems, and TikTok videos and even got tattoos depicting the anglerfish's "search for the sun." One of the most-liked images shows a painting of an anglerfish rising to the surface with the words, "And for my last day, I will go see the sun."

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

It's all a very sweet message. But, as many scientists and anglerfish aficionados online have pointed out, the likely reasons this little fish went to the surface are far less romantic than a final, life-long dream to see the sun.

"It’s possible that the anglerfish ate a fish with a swim bladder or gas gland, and as that gas kept expanding, it drew the predator upward in the water column," Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, told National Geographic. "It’s the sort of thing that, once you get started, it’s hard to control it."

Ben Frable, the senior collection manager of marine vertebrates at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in Southern California, told the New York Times that the anglerfish in the video seemed to be sick, stressed, or injured.

"A lot of things could be going on," Frable told the Times. "The animal could have been in distress, or worked its way into shallow water accidentally, or was being pursued by a predator."

There's no reason to believe this animal was moving toward the surface because it wanted to see the sun or because it spent its life with some unbelievable drive for warmth. But, hey, the art is good.

A new Avatar series is in production, and I've already got several items on my wish list for the show.

SEE ALSO: An 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' sequel series is on the way, and we've already got theories

Titled Avatar: Seven Havens, the new entry into the Avatar universe introduces us to the Earth Avatar who comes after Korra. But the world she lives in will look nothing like the world we last saw in The Legend of Korra. Instead, according to the show's official logline, Seven Havens takes place in a world rocked by a major calamity, where the Avatar is viewed as humanity's destroyer.

Seven Havens' post-apocalyptic setting is ripe for exploration, as is the revelation that the new Avatar has a long-lost twin sister. With these facts in mind, here are six things I'd love to see in Avatar: Seven Havens.

1. Korra as a mentor figure.

Korra may be gone by the time Seven Havens takes place, but I hope she won't be forgotten.

Given that dark spirit Vaatu broke the Avatar cycle in Season 2 of The Legend of Korra, Seven Havens' Avatar will only have Korra's spirit to guide her through her journey. Seeing Korra in mentor mode would be a great way to understand how she's grown beyond the show and the comics. Plus, it will offer up a passing of the torch from one Avatar show to the next.

There's just one substantial wrinkle here: the matter of the apocalypse. If the calamity of Seven Havens took place while Korra was still the Avatar, that means she was unable to stop it. How would her failure to save the world impact her mentorship? Would her successor even want to listen? (Please, I need Korra to catch a break.)

2. More bending subclasses and more gnarly fights.

Avatar: The Last Airbender introduced us to bending subclasses like lightningbending, bloodbending, and metalbending. The Legend of Korra built on those, while also bringing lavabending, spiritbending, and straight-up flight into the fray. What new bending subclasses could we see in Seven Havens?

SEE ALSO: It's a great time to channel your fighting spirit with 'The Legend of Korra'

Whatever they are, I'm excited to see how bending adapts to a post-apocalyptic world — especially when it comes to fight scenes. Neither The Last Airbender nor The Legend of Korra shied away from brutality in their combat, with The Legend of Korra raising the bar in Season 3. Remember the suffocation of the Earth Queen? Or P'Li blowing her own head up? Can Seven Havens top that? Its post-apocalyptic setting certainly primes us for darker, more violent fight scenes.

3. Will we get twin Avatars?

Seven Havens' earthbending Avatar having a twin opens up an intriguing possibility: that of twin Avatars. Yes, the idea may sound like something straight out of fan fiction, but hear me out!

Korra and the light spirit Raava defeated Vaatu in Season 2, but since Raava was reborn within Vaatu, there's still a bit of him left in the Avatar spirit. What if that bit split off when the Avatar and her twin were born, so one sister inherited the Avatar spirit and the other inherited the Dark Avatar spirit? Twins with diametrically opposed power sets could help Seven Havens further explore the Avatar franchise's broader themes of balance. Plus, think of the delicious potential for sibling conflict and their dynamic during fight scenes! The cool factor is off the charts.

4. Big cultural shifts in the Four Nations.

It's highly likely that the Four Nations have dissolved in the wake of calamity, and that the "Seven Havens" refers to new states within the world of Avatar. So, how has culture in these Havens evolved since disaster? Are the Havens divided based on bending? Is there any resemblance to the world we once knew in earlier Avatar series, or are we essentially starting over?

SEE ALSO: The 10 best 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' episodes to binge right now 5. A flashback to the apocalypse.

What triggered the calamity that shattered the world of Avatar? A collapse between the spirit and material realms? Some kind of spirit energy nuke? I'm going to need a flashback to find out, even if it hurts.

6. New Avatar critters!

Both Avatar series have given us the gift of sweet new critters, from flying bison and badgermoles to fire ferrets and polar bear dogs. What creatures will Seven Havens bring to the table?

Of course, I'm hoping for a cute animal companion for our Earth Avatar, as is tradition. But given the show's post-apocalyptic setting, I'd also love some gnarly new apocalyptic beasts. Let's take full advantage of the apocalypse, people!