IT General

For decades, desktop Linux distributions primarily used the X Window System (X11) for rendering displays and graphics, but Wayland is slowly taking over as the modern replacement. There are a few efforts to keep X alive, though, including a new project called Phoenix.

Spoilers ahead for the season one finale of HBO Max's Heated Rivalry:

That's a wrap for the first season of Heated Rivalry, the come-from-nowhere Canadian romance that quickly leapfrogged to the top of HBO Max's streaming series list. There is not yet a critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes for episode six, but the ultra-romantic, (mostly) languid finale certainly captured hearts on social media, with plenty of meme-able moments between NHL lovebirds, Shane and Ilya.

After their fellow player Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) very publicly came out, Ilya decides that he will accept Shane's offer to spend a few weeks at the latter's secluded Canadian cottage (this cottage is more like a mansion in the woods, but it's good to be a professional athlete). Once at their private compound, some initial awkwardness between the besotted duo gives way to lovemaking, meal prep, barbecues, and numerous heartfelt confessions, delivered perfectly by Hudson Williams (Shane) and Connor Storrie (Ilya).

Some of the most affecting conversations include Ilya discussing his mother's suicide — he found her body when he was 12 — and a wonderful moment where Shane expresses to Ilya that their relationship is no longer just about the thrill of the forbidden, or even just about lust, but something much more. Then, Ilya, discussing his residency issues, admits he may marry his best friend/occasional lover Svetlana in order to obtain a green card. This elicits a wounded response from Shane, who quietly pleads with his betrothed not to marry someone who's not him (Williams's eye acting here is beautiful).

It's Shane's solution to Ilya's problem — his desire to never return to Russia — that serves as the impetus to what the whole season has built up to. Shane has stayed up all night, working on a solution, one that could keep them in each other's proximity. Shane proposed that Ilya abandon the Boston team that drafted him and join Ottawa, only two hours from Shane's home in Montreal. Shane also wants to start a charity with Ilya, giving them a reason to work together off the ice; a prelude to them being together, which Shane admits is what he wants so much it scares him. Shane's devotion to building a future for them together is catnip to Ilya, who starts smothering Shane with kisses, whispering words to him in Russian. Those words: "I love you."

A moment later, crying and shaking, Ilya gathers to courage to tell Shane those words in English. Seeing this tougher-than-nails Russian hockey beast quivering over his love for Shane is a TV moment for the ages. Shane, gobsmacked, waits a beat to respond, which almost makes Ilya waver, until Shane responds in kind. "I love you so fucking much," Shane says. The oceans parted and the skies wept.

Hours later, Ilya watches the sunrise as Shane brings him coffee and a blanket; they soon embrace and sit in profound silence. It's a direct contrast to the previous episode, where the men watched the sun set over Tampa Bay, while barely scraping each other's pinkie fingers.

There is also a sunrise, toe-touching, sex, cheeseburgers, and swimming before the episode's biggest detour occurs — Shane's father (Dylan Walsh) catches his son making out with Ilya when he stops by the cottage to pick up a phone charger. The men, now seemingly a couple, drive to Shane's parents' house for a coming-out discussion that is as harrowing (mostly for Shane) as it is cathartic. The "talk" features the guys reassuring each other by touching toes under the kitchen table, a call back to their flirty press conference from earlier in the season. After a beautiful moment between Shane and his mother (a lovely Christina Chang), the boyfriends (not "lovers!") drive back to the cottage as the credits roll. Their intimacy, finally settling into something comfortable, is on display as they laugh, hold hands, admire each other, touch each other gently, and then in the last moment of the show, Shane playfully grabs Ilya's cheek while making a loony face himself. It was a rare demonstration of levity for Shane.

Some on X speculated that the final shot of the show was more Williams and Storrie than Shane and Ilya. In an interview with EW, Williams and Heated Rivalry show creator (the series is based on the books by author Rachel Reid) and writer Jacob Tierney explained the exchange in the car was intentional and about the characters, not the actors.

"[Tierney] left that sweet exchange in to show how Shane is capable of breaking his guarded facade. 'I think Shane does have a playful side that is stifled...Under every scene in season 1, there's not much room for super goofy play,' Williams says. 'There's a tentative nature to episode 6. Although it's calm, it's still like, 'Can this work, when we're left alone to our own devices?'"

"It does feel like a puppy learning to play," Tierney adds.

One of the many things Heated Rivalry does well is showcase thoughtful details like the face-holding and the sentiments of love in Russian. Other notable examples include Shane's blood pressure dropping when Ilya enters his hospital room, Shane's period-appropriate boat shoes from the finale, and all the accurate Russian dialogue delivered brilliantly by Storrie.

Supercharged performance cars were once a staple of the enthusiast world, prized for their instant throttle response and unmistakable mechanical character. Unlike turbocharged engines that build boost gradually, superchargers deliver power the moment you press the accelerator. But in 2025, that experience is rapidly disappearing. As automakers chase efficiency targets and electrification, superchargers have been pushed aside in favor of turbos and electric motors.

Technically, you can start using the Termux console right away, but there is a checklist I follow after a fresh installation. It streamlines everything, so you can avoid configuring the app down the road.

Whether you're coming down off the high of Christmas or still couch-bound from all the food and libations, there's nothing quite like a good documentary or docuseries you can sink into, and Prime Video has a gravy boat full of them to choose from.

Copying around a couple of small files, like screenshots or documents, is, for the most part, normally fine. They’re normally small files, and you won’t have much trouble moving them around. The problem, however, comes when you actually have to move around a file that’s several gigabytes in size, or worse, several of them—using the regular tools meant for that purpose, your PC will be struggling.

I love folding phones. Seriously. I love mine so much that I ditched my laptop entirely. But the sad truth is that the inner screen, as durable as it is, can’t last as long as the outer one. It will, eventually, fail—it’s only a matter of time.

Researchers are making headway in the "terrifying robot apocalypse" department.

Yicaiglobal reported (via Interesting Engineering) that specialists from the Chinese cybersecurity research group Darknavy recently showed off a method of compromising commercial humanoid robots that has somewhat terrifying implications if used in a real-world setting. At GEEKcon in Shangai, the researchers took a commercially available Unitree robot and demonstrated that it could be hacked with voice commands and, if that wasn't bad enough, used to infect other nearby units.

The robot in question ran off an internal AI agent. By exploiting a flaw in the software, the researchers were able to take over the robot while it was connected to a network, at which point the researchers had the robot use local wireless communication to spread the hack to another nearby robot that actually wasn't even connected to the network at the time. Spreading the hack from one robot to another only took a matter of minutes. Even worse, the researchers were able to issue a command for the robot to physically strike a mannequin on stage.

The implications here are as obvious as they are scary. For decades, cybersecurity risks have largely involved stealing money or information from people. If humanoid robots become commonplace in homes (for use in elder care or things like that), it suddenly opens up a whole new world of horrible possibilities for hackers to commit legitimate physical harm to innocent people. Beyond that, it could disrupt robotic labor operations or critical infrastructure.

For now, let's just be glad all of this was done in a safe environment, with the intent of finding ways to fix these problems rather than propagate them.

As we head into the final weekend of 2025, whether you're still coming down from Christmas or already decorating and getting your dancing shoes ready for the ball drop, put these three excellent Netflix documentaries on standby for when you want to relax this weekend.

Even though JavaScript was originally built for scripts in web pages, it is now used to write desktop applications, server software, and everything in between. Now, it might become an option for software on low-memory embedded systems and microcontrollers, thanks to the MicroQuickJS project.

If there's one kind of app where the GUI gets in the way of functionality, it's a VPN interface. That's why the command-line interface is my favorite way of launching and interacting with a VPN app. It's always faster, and doesn't take up any extra resources. I started using a command-line VPN about a year ago, and I have not gone back to the GUI for VPN since.

A clean Linux install doesn’t come with many pre-configured apps, and that can leave new users wondering where to start—unsure of what they actually need for a smooth, functional system. To remove that guesswork, here are five essential Linux apps you should install on day one.

On Christmas day this week, the team behind the popular CachyOS Linux distribution published a "2025 recap" blog post looking back how the distro has changed over the year, and also previewing what's to come. One thing previewed was CachyOS for NAS and other server devices.

You have it way easier these days, but back in the day, when you wanted to play a game on your PC, you had to take a similar approach to consoles. Go to a physical store, get a disc, then pop it into your PC. Chances are, though, that nowadays your PC doesn't have a CD drive. So what do you do when you want to play your old games on your new PC?

I've used a lot of open-source software over the years, and much of it has passed through my Windows machines at one point or another. Some tools stick around because they are free, others because they avoid the bloat and unnecessary features that often come with commercial software. Open source tends to focus on doing one job well, and that alone is usually enough to earn a spot on my system.

In this week’s roundup of Raspberry Pi projects that I want to do but haven’t yet, it’s time to take a look at some sensor-based projects. From building a DIY thermal camera to help you hunt down the air leak in your house to assembling an outdoor weather or air quality station, here are three Raspberry Pi projects to try this weekend.

Your Linux distro comes pre-packaged with a wealth of powerful networking tools, including some that can diagnose common problems or help you monitor suspicious connections. But as with all things Linux, it's hard to know where to start. So, here are some essential networking commands you need to know.

For families shopping for a midsize SUV, efficiency has become just as important as space, comfort, and safety. Fuel prices remain unpredictable, and with the average new vehicle now costing over $50,000, buyers want something that keeps long-term ownership costs in check. That’s where this standout hybrid SUV separates itself from the pack, delivering class-leading fuel economy without sacrificing the room and versatility families rely on every day.

During this post-Christmas long weekend, you’re probably looking for some homelab projects to tackle. Well, I have your back! Today, I’m showing you three ways you can sever your dependence on big tech and save money while taking privacy into your own hands.

Every week I hunt down useful software that runs on Linux computers, and while I don't end up using all of them full-time, there are some that have stayed in my normal workflow. These are the apps that, looking back over the past year, were my favorite to write about and use myself.