IT General

SSD over-provisioning used to be a common practice for pretty much anyone who remotely cared about the long-term performance and longevity of their SSDs. These days, though, it has fallen out of practice. And there's a pretty good reason for this.

March Madness is here. The field is set for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, and Selection Sunday did exactly what Selection Sunday always does — gave 68 fanbases a reason to either celebrate or lose their minds on social media. The discourse was, as tradition demands, extremely annoying.

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The biggest flashpoint was the treatment of the Miami Redhawks — Miami, Ohio, not the other one — who were begrudgingly admitted into the tournament as a play-in team despite finishing with the first undefeated regular season since the 2020-21 Gonzaga Bulldogs. For months, pundits and fans spent an exhausting amount of energy debating whether the Redhawks would even deserve an at-large bid if they so much as dropped a single game. They finally did, falling in the MAC Championship quarterfinals, and apparently, going 31-1 still wasn't enough to earn any respect from the committee.

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Instead of a clean Round of 64 berth, Miami (OH) now has to survive the First Four — the tournament's opening round play-in bracket featuring the four lowest-seeded at-large teams and the four weakest conference champions. Even still, people are not happy.

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The selection committee's decision to keep Auburn out, however, was met with widespread approval from pretty much everyone who isn't an Auburn fan. The War Eagles' omission was made all the more satisfying by the weeks of national airtime eaten up by former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl — father of current Auburn coach Steven Pearl — passionately lobbying for a team with 16 losses to leapfrog a squad that went 31-1. The college basketball world heard the argument, considered it, and was very glad the committee did not.

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Outside of the Miami (OH) and Auburn discourse, Selection Sunday and the return of March Madness this year mean a great collection of really good tweets.

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If you like to keep things old school, there are several places to find printable, color brackets for this year's Men's and Women's tournaments.

They can be found, linked here, over at the websites of ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, The Athletic, USA Today, and, of course, the NCAA's official website. They can also be found on most local news sites as well.

We are now living in a post-Oscars world. One Battle After Another winning Best Picture closed the book on 2025 movies. Now, it's time to set our sights on the new movies coming this year. As for now, the best new movie to watch this week is the continuation of a famous crime series with an acclaimed actor leading the way.

GIMP has been one of the most popular alternatives to Adobe Photoshop over the years, even though it still has some lingering usability problems. The latest GIMP 3.2 update is fixing some of those issues, along with a few other new features.

For years, the premium compact SUV segment has belonged to Germany. Shoppers looking for a small luxury SUV almost automatically considered models like the BMW X3, the Mercedes-Benz GLC, and the Audi Q5, thanks to their polish and prestige.

Do you use the Chrome extension "Save image as Type?"

If so, you are one of more than one million users who woke up this morning to find out that Google has disabled the extension in your Chrome web browser. Why? According to the prompt informing users that the extension has been disabled, Chrome found that Save image as Type contained malware.

The extension has also been removed from the Chrome Web Store.

Save image as Type was a simple yet popular tool that allowed Chrome users to simply right-click any web image and immediately choose whether to save it as a PNG, JPG, or WebP file.

It's unclear at this time exactly what nefarious activity the Save image as Type Chrome extension was engaged in. As Android Authority points out, a few Reddit threads popped up over the last few days discussing issues with the extension. 

SEE ALSO: 3 new Google Chrome features to make your work day easier

It does seem like "Save image as Type" users don't have to worry about any of their sensitive data being stolen by the extension. According to Reddit users who looked into the extension's code, it appears Save image as Type swapped out affiliate codes for sites like Amazon and Best Buy to steal commissions from its users.

"I dumped the data the extension stored and found the sites it was accessing," said Redditor AdamConwayIE. "It was using karmanow with over 578 sites ready to go. It would load a site in that hidden iFrame with the affiliate code, and this would replace an existing one in your browser."

The same extension on the Microsoft Edge browser was flagged for similar behavior more than a year ago on Reddit as well. According to XDA Developers, the Chrome extension appears to have been documented as having the issue for just as long, despite Google previously featuring it on the Chrome Web Store.

An archived page for the since-removed Chrome extension shows that "Save image as Type" had more than one million users. The extension also received more than 1,700 reviews, and had a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars.

We'll see if Google allows it back in the Chrome Web Store if the issue is fixed.

You’ve probably seen a slew of “AI laptops” advertised over the last few months, and perhaps even years at this point. “AI” is the hot buzzword, and everyone wants to catch some of that hype. The problem is that not every laptop that calls itself an “AI” laptop is really what it claims to be. But what makes an AI laptop worthy of the name?

I was using a generic Text-to-Speech (TTS) voice for spoken announcements in my smart home for ages. It allowed me to generate audio without having to use the default Alexa voice, but it's still fairly bland. Now my Echo announcements use far more interesting voices—those of my family and me.

Best early Amazon Big Spring Sale portable power stations deals at a glance Best overall deal Bluetti Elite 100 V2 $394.98 at Amazon (save $404.02) Get Deal Best bundle deal Anker Soloix F3800 Portable Power Station, BP3800 Expansion Battery, and 400W Solar Panel $4,098.99 at Amazon (save $3,298.01) Get Deal

A portable power station has become a must-have tech item. It's like your favorite noise-cancelling earbuds — no idea how we survived without them. A portable power station will be a savior during power outages, keeping the refrigerator running, phones charged up, and the WiFi router giving off a connection. A portable power station is also well worth packing along on upcoming camping trips. Think of movie nights under the stars thanks to a powered-up portable projector and with fresh popcorn.

The one snag here is that batteries aren't cheap, and that's especially true of high-tech and long-lasting batteries found in portable power stations. Because of this, shopping for a power station during major sales like the Amazon Big Spring Sale is a wise move. Here are some of our favorite models that are already seeing steep discounts before the sale officially begins.

Best overall deal Opens in a new window Credit: Bluetti Bluetti Elite 100 V2 $394.98 at Amazon
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If you're hoping to keep phones and small devices charged up during a power outage or while camping, the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 comes with 1,024Wh of battery power. Bluetti mentions this battery power will recharge a phone about 52 times or keep the WiFi router on for nearly 50 hours. Its compact size and weight of about 25 pounds makes it especially easy to pack along on the camping trip or carry around the house during a power outage.

The early Amazon Big Spring Sale price brings the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 down to $394.98, which is a 51% discount compared to its list price of $799.

If you're a new homeowner getting ready to start a project, or finally ready to buy your first power tools, you'll notice all sorts of brands at your local hardware store. You have plenty of options, and Milwaukee is one of the most popular. The company has a vast selection perfect for beginners to pros, so once you get started, you'll have room to expand, learn, and grow.

Pokémon Pokopia for Nintendo Switch 2 is officially the biggest game in the universe, or at least it feels like it if you look at social media. But not everyone is having a friction-free time navigating its Minecraft-inspired mechanics.

For example, some players online have gotten stuck when it comes to learning the Suck ability. This is one of the protagonist Ditto's powers it can learn over the course of the game's story, each of which is crucial to building the Pokémon island of your dreams. Progressing in Pokopia can occasionally be a little confusing, so allow us to help out. Here is how to learn Suck in Pokémon Pokopia.

SEE ALSO: 'Pokémon Pokopia' is the cozy escape the internet needed How suck up water in Pokopia

In case you aren't aware, Suck is an ability that allows Ditto to vacuum up water and displace it somewhere else. This can be useful for clearing flooded areas or creating creeks or ponds of your own, which can either be useful for aesthetic purposes or for summoning new Pokémon via habitats that require water.

If you really want to move water around but don't have Suck yet, don't fret. The solution, according to the internet, is to just keep playing through the story. Specifically, per Reddit, the first thing you need to do is progress far enough in the Rocky Ridges area to build the Pokémon center there. This will take some time, as building a Pokémon center is usually the culmination of lots of other smaller questlines in a given area.

Once that's done, you should be able to get a request from Piplup in the Bleak Beach area to create a waterfall. In order to create said waterfall, you'll need to get a Paldean Wooper to come help out. This can be done by creating a "marshy tall grass" habitat, which consists of four yellow tall grass tiles near a body of muddy water.

Put those components down, wait a bit, and eventually, Paldean Wooper should show up and kickstart the process of teaching Ditto how to use Suck.

Whatever happened to baby Jane?

No, I'm not just naming Joan Crawford movies. I'm wondering what in the world is going on with Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom) in Paradise Season 2. Specifically, what was the deal with episode 6's cold open, focused on Jane's birth?

SEE ALSO: 'Paradise' Season 2: Who is Alex?

The episode, fittingly titled "Jane," flashes back to May 29, 1997, when Circuit City employee Don (Francois Battiste) receives a strange email from someone named AlexQ.

"A KILLER WILL BE BORN ON JUNE 6 AT 12:01," the message reads. "SHE CAN BE STOPPED WHEN IT MATTERS IF YOU DELIVER A MESSAGE TO HER."

AlexQ continues to send Don these messages over email, instant messenger, phone, and pager. Instead of ignoring them as bizarre messages, Don takes them seriously and heads over to the hospital in June. There, he accosts newborn Jane and her mother (Laura Campbell) on their way out, ranting that baby Jane will be a killer, and that he has a message that will stop her. (Side question: Did Don just ask every mother leaving the hospital about their baby's birth time? Or was he lucky on the first try?)

Do we ever find out what the message is? Unfortunately not. Don is too busy yelling that he has a message to actually deliver it. Nor do we see what the message is on any of the many, many emails and texts Don receives. Very tricky, Paradise! Still, the whole message debacle feeds into some of the biggest questions of the season.

Paradise has to be doing time travel, right?

Ever since the first batch of Season 2 episodes, I've been convinced that Paradise is pulling some time travel or multiversal shenanigans. Episode 6 basically confirms this, because how else would someone be able to tell Don Jane's exact birth date and time? How else would they know she would grow up to be a killer? And how else would they have figured out how to stop her?

SEE ALSO: Wait, is 'Paradise' Season 2 doing time travel?

It feels like something large will play out with Jane in the continuing episodes, and that whoever is present for that will somehow be able to message Don in the past.

Paradise Season 2, I ask again, who is Alex?

Who might that someone be? Based on the username, it will be someone by the name of AlexQ, which brings us right back to the biggest question of Season 2: Who in the world is Alex? So far, the only Alex we've met is the deceased wife (Gwen Holloway) of professor and Vestige Quantum owner Henry Miller (Patrick Fischler). However, in 1997, Alex would still be alive, so she would be able to send Don the information about Jane. (If so, maybe the Q in her username stands for Quantum?) Of course, the biggest question after that remains: How did she get the Jane intel in the first place?

Alex is also the name of someone (or something?) tied to the top-secret project Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) is working on. Maybe Sinatra, feeling threatened by Jane, sent the message back in time to stop Jane from eventually killing her?

While we're on the subject of worrying about who Alex is, we also need to ask, who is Don? I refuse to believe that Alex (whoever they are) would demand that just anyone tell a newborn baby that she's a killer. Don has to be linked to this scheme in some broader way, but it seems like Paradise will keep us begging for answers for at least another episode.

Paradise is now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes every Monday.

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It's on the calendar in pen — the Amazon Big Spring Sale is set to take place from March 25 through March 31, 2026. Getting more specific, Amazon says the sale kicks off at 12:01 a.m. PT on Wed., March 25 and runs until 11:59 p.m. on Tues., March 31. These dates match perfectly with the 2025 Spring Sale.

SEE ALSO: Get 2 free months of unlimited listening when you sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited

However, Amazon loves to tease a big sale, and some early Big Spring Sale deals have already sprung up at Amazon, so you could start shopping today if you see something you fancy. Keep in mind, it's worth checking camelcamelcamel, our favorite Amazon price-checking tool to make sure you're actually getting a good deal.

What are the best deals at Amazon's Spring Sale?

Amazon's Spring Sale may not be quite as big as Prime Day in July or October, but it's still up there with Amazon's biggest sales of the year. Far more than spring-themed items are on sale, though outdoor equipment, fitness gear, mattresses and lightweight bedding, robot vacuums, and anything else that screams "spring reset" is a huge focus. You'll likely also find deals on tech like TVs, noise-cancelling headphones, and of course, Kindles and other Amazon devices.

In the spirit of the spring season, take a quick second to learn how to recycle Amazon packaging. It's easier than you think.

Do you need a Prime membership for Amazon's Spring Sale?

Amazon's Big Spring Sale deals are open to anyone, even if you don't have a Prime membership. However, Amazon said the sale will include some special Prime-member exclusive deals, which we often see with Prime Day events. Non-Prime members may still need to meet order minimums (often $35) to unlock free shipping, and it probably won't be as quick as Prime shipping. If you're interested, you could sign up for one month of Amazon Prime for $14.99.

Real estate agents may have more competition arriving on the block, as one Florida man — yes, we're still getting "Florida Man" headlines in 2026 — says he relied entirely on an AI chatbot to sell his home. The seller says he turned the listing around in less than a week, with the AI's help.

Robert Levine used OpenAI's ChatGPT to prep, list, and advise him on the sale of his home, reported Florida affiliate NBC 6. He even asked ChatGPT to create marketing materials, coordinate showings with prospective buyers, and eventually draft the contract of sale, although Levin says he had a human review it afterward.

SEE ALSO: Why you shouldn't use ChatGPT to do your taxes

Levine told NBC 6 that he received five offers in the first 72 hours after listing the property, which sold within five days. He explained he chose to use ChatGPT to save costs on human help, resulting in an estimated 3 percent in savings, Levine said.

It's just the kind of story that AI developers and tech evangelists drool over: One man and one bot, saving time and money with the help of the ever expanding multi modal LLMs offered by companies like OpenAI.

But for curious folk who may be getting grand real estate ideas from Levine's story: Tread carefully.

Users have understandably turned to chatbots to help navigate confusing bureaucratic processes and wade through complex information landscapes, and many experts say that AI chatbots can serve as really useful guides.

But privacy experts and industry professionals generally caution users against giving ChatGPT any personally identifiable information (PII), including full names, account details, and — in this case — home addresses. Data given to chatbots is still at risk from the same malicious attacks as any other site, and your personal chats are, at the end of the day, at the discretion of the AI's developers. Make sure to read through the bot's privacy policies and disable your chat history when possible.

As for legal documents, professionals say using chatbots is merely a first step in what should be a human-driven process, as bots are prone to hallucinations that have landed users and even lawyers in hot water.

AI may have the world at its fingertips, but it doesn't have access to years of experience and human nuance needed to truly be an expert in most fields — even if it can help sell your house.

Most prominent politicians get the John Oliver treatment at least once or twice, and on Sunday it was the vice president's turn.

In the clip above, the Last Week Tonight host spends almost half an hour tearing into JD Vance, breaking down everything from the way he's completely reversed his position on Donald Trump to his views on immigration and people who don't have children.

"It is so important to remember who JD Vance actually is, because he'll present himself as an anti-elitist man of the people, but much of his career has been bankrolled by tech billionaires," says Oliver in the clip above. "He'll go to bat for Alex Jones, arguing we should show grace to those who are 40 percent right, but he'll happily co-sign on childless people being sociopaths and the left being un-humans. He'll offer empathy and understanding when it comes to non-conventional thinkers, but has no problem deriding immigrants as a net negative on society — and it's not hard to see what the difference between those two groups are.

"The point is, I know Vance is easy to write off as a charisma-less arsehole, but scratch even one inch under the surface, peel back the beard, and you'll find something far worse: His batshit views and his bare f***ing face."

Every developer has a setup ritual before they start their day. Mine went unquestioned for almost two years – they were four terminal commands, typed in the same order every morning. It didn't feel like a problem until I recently measured it; the time, missed steps and debugging that followed all added up. So I wrote a python script to replace them, and it became the most useful thing in my development environment.

Following the latest round of cumulative updates to Windows 11, some people lost the ability to open the C: drive on their PCs. This time, it's not actually Microsoft's fault—a Samsung app seems to be the cause of the problems.

Last year, Apple caused a stir on the internet by introducing Liquid Glass to iOS 26. According to a new report, nothing is going to change on that front in 2026.

In his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, prominent Apple reporter Mark Gurman said that Apple will not be dropping Liquid Glass with iOS 27, set to release later this year. According to Gurman, "the latest internal versions of iOS 27 and macOS 27 don’t reflect major design changes," so you shouldn't expect anything on that front in the coming months.

SEE ALSO: Apple launches AirPods Max 2 with improved noise cancelling and smart features

Apple isn't just doing this out of stubbornness or lack of regard for customer concerns, of course. Gurman said that going away from Liquid Glass isn't feasible right now considering how long it took to put together.

"The interface was the result of a multiyear effort that started with visionOS, which itself had been in development for several years before shipping in 2024," Gurman reported. "Because of the timelines involved, any major reversal away from Liquid Glass would likely take years to materialize."

While there are certainly plenty of Apple device owners out there who are either happy with Liquid Glass or are neutral about it, lots of folks were very vocal online about troubles with readability and icons looking indistinct from one another when the update launched last September. The company quickly provided a way to "tint" Liquid Glass, which helps a bit. Gurman also reported in his newsletter that Apple might add a Liquid Glass slider to control the intensity of the effect in iOS 27, which might help even more.

But it sounds like Liquid Glass is here to stay, in one form or another. Instead of another UI overhaul, you can look forward to Siri getting a bunch of AI enhancements in iOS 27.

JetBrains has several integrated development environments (IDEs) for various programming languages, including IDEA for Java/Python, PhpStorm for PHP, PyCharm for Python, and others. Soon, they’re all going to lose ‘Code With Me,’ a feature that allowed collaborative editing in shared workspaces.

As good as Google Maps is, I've long found it cluttered and bloated, offering features that I never use. And since I'm also becoming increasingly aware of how much data Google has on me, I decided to find an alternative. After testing out six of the best, with hundreds of millions of downloads between them, there's one that I really recommend.