IT General

I'm not a huge fan of laptops, and while there are many reasons for that, perhaps my biggest problem is the lack of screen real estate. Even 18-inch laptops just don't give me enough space to work efficiently.

As Google Drive fills up, finding the file you need can get frustrating. Basic search either misses what you’re looking for or throws back too many results, making it hard to narrow things down. I used to struggle with this, too, but after learning a few search tricks, I can now find files in seconds.

When smart bulbs first hit the market, I wanted in. However, the prices made that hard to justify. If you wanted something that works with Google Home, you had to pay around $30 a piece for something like the Philips Hue, and that was (and still is) a tough pill to swallow.

It's been years since flagship phones ditched the headphone jack, yet I can't stop thinking how nice it'd be if they'd replace that old jack with a second USB-C port. Some gaming phones already offer this feature, and it's a standard thing for handheld PCs, but mainstream smartphones from brands like Apple and Samsung need to adopt the dual-port design.

This isn't a story I expected to write. As a longtime eReader owner, I never saw the appeal of reading books on a phone. Yet I've slowly transformed into someone who reads books on their phone almost every day (and my wife does, too). Here's why I ditched by eReader and decided my smartphone was the better option.

While you might think you need a high-powered machine to learn to code, your current machine or even an older laptop will likely be all you need to get started. Here's why.

Maintenance and repair costs are one of the biggest factors that affect long-term vehicle ownership, but few shoppers research them until it’s too late. In 2025, one SUV stands out above the rest for having the lowest average maintenance costs in its class, making it an ideal choice for buyers who want peace of mind and minimal expense over years of ownership. Whether you’re commuting daily, shuttling families, or hauling gear on weekend trips, lower upkeep means more savings down the road.

Netflix has released the trailer for the last episode in Stranger Things' fifth and final season, teasing the end of the Duffer Brothers' hit series after a decade-long run. We've come a long way since the vanishing of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) in November 1983. 

It's been four years since Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) first encountered Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and the Upside Down, and now their battle against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) is finally coming to a head. 

Having learned more about the Upside Down's true nature and Venca's ultimate plan, the Hawkins teens are on a mission to stop him once and for all, fighting alongside allies Joyce (Winona Ryder), Hopper (David Harbour), Max (Sadie Sink), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Steve (Joe Keery), and Robin (Maya Hawke). It won't be an easy task though, and victory may require painful sacrifices.

The series finale of Stranger Things premieres Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Netflix.

TCL just unveiled its latest tablet — the Note A1 NXTPAPER. The e-note tablet delivers a distraction-free workspace powered by AI so you can focus more on taking notes and less on organizing them.

Launching on Kickstarter first, the TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER is a tablet resembling the likes of ReMarkable's Paper Pro or the Kindle Scribe. It won't be the device for streaming or gaming, as it aims to keep you focused on note-taking or reading.

The TCL Note AI NXTPAPER comes with an 11.5-inch NXTPAPER Pure display, which delivers flicker-free visuals and paper-like clarity that's gentler on the eyes. TCL claims that the e-note tablet doesn't ghost (leaving remnants of erased pen marks or text on a previous page). It features color displays with a 16.7 million color range.

Record and transcribe meetings on the TCL A1 NXTPAPER. Credit: TCL

Where the tablet goes above and beyond is with its AI productivity tools. Wish your handwriting were neater? It'll "beautify" it. Plus, it can convert handwriting to text, do real-time transcription and translation with its included eight microphones.

The TCL Note AI NXTPAPER launches in late February of 2026, retailing for $549. Early access will be available through Kickstarter.

Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL Note AI NXTPAPER $549 at Kickstarter
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The idea of using your Android phone as a mouse or keyboard might sound gimmicky, but it actually works pretty well. With the right software, your phone becomes a wireless trackpad that's always on hand when you need to deal with awkward setups or when your regular devices let you down.

The most dangerous thing you do every day is getting behind the wheel of a car, and that's true even if it's just your econobox on the commute to work or on the way to the grocery store. But some cars, especially those designed for performance, are notorious for setting your GPS destination to "Valhalla" in the blink of an eye.

A smart home device without power is just an expensive paperweight. The trouble is, getting power to your smart home devices isn't always easy, depending on where you want to locate them. The good news is that there's a relatively simple way to supply both power and connectivity to many smart home devices.

A smart home device without power is just an expensive paperweight. The trouble is, getting power to your smart home devices isn't always easy, depending on where you want to locate them. The good news is that there's a relatively simple way to supply both power and connectivity to many smart home devices.

Are you getting ready to start a server using Linux? You have tons of distribution options to choose from, but I can show you which ones I prefer. Soon enough, you'll be running services on your computer like best of them.

Are you getting ready to start a server using Linux? You have tons of distribution options to choose from, but I can show you which ones I prefer. Soon enough, you'll be running services on your computer like best of them.

When I bought the original Raspberry Pi all those years ago, it never even crossed my mind that it would need some form of active cooling, or that it would make any difference. However, as every generation of Pi gains more powerful CPU and GPU cores, and increases the total number of those cores, physics inevitably catches up.

When I bought the original Raspberry Pi all those years ago, it never even crossed my mind that it would need some form of active cooling, or that it would make any difference. However, as every generation of Pi gains more powerful CPU and GPU cores, and increases the total number of those cores, physics inevitably catches up.

Cell notes are the clutter of the Excel world—they block your view and get in the way of formulas. That's why you should adopt the developer mindset by tucking notes inside your formulas, keeping your logic clean, your data visible, and your spreadsheets professional.

Throughout the years, my job has had me bouncing between project management tools like Asana, Trello, and Basecamp, and to be fair, they all do certain things well. Trello is great for simple visual boards. Asana shines once tasks and dependencies start piling up. Basecamp keeps communication tidy. The problem is that none of them stay lightweight for long, and the moment you need anything beyond the basics, you likley hit a paywall. What starts as a helpful tool quickly turns into another monthly expense, with your projects and data living entirely on someone else’s servers.

Samsung's next journey into the foldable frontier is underway in the form of the Galaxy Z TriFold, a foldable smartphone featuring two folds instead of just one. 

Just a few months after launching the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 foldables, Samsung has officially announced the TriFold, a smartphone that has two folding screens, resulting in three panels of usable phone. The internal screen measures a whopping 10 inches, comparable in size to a Galaxy Tab, while it folds down into a normal-sized 6.5-inch phone once fully closed. 

SEE ALSO: Did the foldable iPhone just get leaked? Seems like it.

So, what exactly do we know about the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold? Let's get into it.

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold: Specs Credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images

According to the official announcement, here are the specs coming on the Galaxy Z TriFold:

• Cover screen: 6.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

• Interior screen: 10-inch QXGA (2160 x 1584)  Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

• CPU: Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy 

• RAM and Storage: 16GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage

• Rear cameras: 12 MP ultra-wide / 200 MP wide-angle / 10 MP telephoto

• Front cameras: 10 MP selfie camera (cover screen) / 10 MP selfie camera (main screen)

• Battery size: 5,600 mAh three-cell battery

• Dimensions (folded): 159.2 x 75.0 x 12.9mm

• Dimensions (unfolded): 159.2 x 214.1 x 3.9mm / 4.2mm / 4.0mm (screen with SIM tray, center screen, and screen with side button, respectively)

• Weight: 309 grams

In terms of processors, cameras, RAM, and all that other fun stuff, these specs are pretty similar to what you'd find in a Z Fold 7. The 6.5-inch cover display stands out especially, as the one on the Z Fold 7 is the exact same size. The 10-inch interior display, however, will be significantly larger than the 8-inch equivalent in the Z Fold 7. That's the big selling point here: When it's folded, this is sized like a bigger traditional smartphone, but when you unfold it, you're unlikely to find any phone with a bigger display.

Initially, thickness was a potential issue, as a trifold smartphone was bound to be a hair bit thicker than anything else on the market. At 12.9mm, it is a thick smartphone. For reference, the super-thin Galaxy Z Fold 7 is just 8.9mm when folded, which makes the Galaxy X TriFold about a third thicker than its closest sibling. Whether or not that’s a dealbreaker depends exclusively on how thick or thin you want your smartphone to be. 

That’s about the only complaint in an otherwise stellar spec sheet. The battery is nice and big, with Samsung stuffing 5,600 mAh into its three-cell system we first saw in a Korean phone patent. Each cell is hidden in each screen of the display, and it's a 1,200 mAh improvement over the Galaxy Z Fold 7. 

SEE ALSO: Samsung and LG preview new Micro RGB TVs. OK, but what are Micro RGB TVs? Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold: Pricing

In terms of price, be prepared for this. Samsung announced that the price would be 3,594,000 won. This translates to roughly $2,450 (which Samsung will likely round up to $2,500). That’s quite a lot higher than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 at $1,999.99. For availability, Samsung states that it will be first introduced in South Korea, followed by China, Taiwan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and then eventually the United States. Per Bloomberg, Samsung is expected to ship a very limited volume, so it won’t be widely available everywhere.

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold: U.S. release date

Samsung officially released the Galaxy Z TriFold on Dec. 12 in South Korea, so it is in the wild now. The other regions where the phone is expected to launch, including the United States, are most likely going to see a launch in Q1 2026. That’s also when the Samsung Galaxy S26 is expected to launch, so the two may be released in tandem at an upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event.

If you can’t wait, there are plenty of unboxing videos on YouTube from the usual suspects, such as Mr. Who's the Boss and SuperSaf. The videos showcase the phone, including what it looks like when folded and unfolded, and demonstrate its general functionality, along with some other cool features. 

What do people think of the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold?

Despite the high price tag, the Galaxy Z TriFold quite literally sold out in minutes. In South Korea, at least, the hype train is real, and Samsung can barely put these things on the shelves fast enough. The next batch is scheduled for Dec. 17th on Samsung’s website, and after that, we don’t know if they’ll have to continue rationing these out like they are now. 

Impressions online have been generally positive, with the few people who have actually had the opportunity to play with the smartphone stating that it’s certainly one of the most interesting smartphones in a while. Online and written impressions from publications are generally very positive, with complaints being fairly mild and often related to refinement, which is understandable given that this is a first-generation product. 

Here's what tech YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss said after trying out the phone: "So, honestly, I don't think the Trifold is this experimental quirky phone option. I actually think that this phone has immediately become the definitive Samsung foldable. You will have to handle it with care and you'll definitely have to pay for the privilege."

Social impressions were mixed, with some folks saying that this is the coolest new smartphone in years, while others are a little more guarded. 

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"This is the true tablet killer," said one Redditor. Another stated that they were pleased to see Samsung innovating, and pontificated on when Apple would eventually release its first foldable. "Sign me up for one," another Redditor said. "[I’m] bored of my Folds." The most common sentiment among the excited was how absurd it would feel to be able to put a 10-inch tablet in your pocket. 

In terms of complaints, they fell into two camps. Excited people from Europe who are currently experiencing difficulties measuring their disappointment at not receiving a release there, and those wondering how the first-generation device will hold up over the long term. Some expressed worry about screen durability, especially since Samsung is offering a 50 percent discount on the first screen repair. Others are concerned with battery life, believing that the 10-inch display will chew through the 5,600 mAh battery rather quickly. 

With that said, very few people have gotten their hands on a Z TriFold, so we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to hear first-hand accounts on how it feels to use it day-to-day.