Technology

Excel tables don't exactly sound exciting. You select some data, press Ctrl+T, and Excel gives you a nicely formatted block with distinct headers and banded rows. Very professional; very Excel. If that's all you think tables are for, I wouldn't blame you. I've been using Excel for decades, and even I sometimes take tables for granted. But the real benefit is what happens next.

Samsung Galaxy phones are packed with exclusive features, controls, and a slew of pre-installed apps. So many, in fact, that they're sometimes all categorized as bloatware. It's easy to ignore the dozens of apps on your phone right out of the box, but many of Samsung's apps are great alternatives to Google's.

If you have multiple PCs or consoles at home or host LAN gaming parties like me, LanCache might be the magical setup you didn’t know you needed. I’ve recommended LanCache to small offices, gaming cafés, and even to friends who gave each of their kids a separate Xbox.

Keeping your home or dwelling safe and protected is easier than ever with the massive popularity of smart doorbells and indoor cameras. Ring continues to be one of the industry leaders and as tech and AI evolve, these units are becoming more and more affordable, and right now, you can pick up one of the brand's bestselling bundles from Best Buy for some insane savings—and its $80 off, too.

Plex is simple to install and use, and it performs marvelously. One thing that drives new users crazy though, is trying to access media on external USB drives. Here’s the easy way.

Anthropic just released Claude Sonnet 5.5, the second model in its Claude 5.5 family. It arrives less than a week after the company launched Claude Opus 5.5.

According to Anthropic's announcement, Sonnet 5.5 runs more than 30 percent faster than Sonnet 5 and costs up to 30 percent less for most work. The company describes it as a lower-cost complement to Opus 5.5, and that Sonnet 5.5 is best suited to well-scoped everyday tasks, such as fixing bugs and producing documents, slides, and spreadsheets. Anthropic said Claude Haiku 5.5 will arrive in the coming weeks.

SEE ALSO: Judge allows most of Reddit's lawsuit against Anthropic to proceed Anthropic benchmarks show big gains over Sonnet 5

Anthropic reported that Sonnet 5.5's top score edges out Opus 5.5's, though Opus 5.5 scored higher at every other effort level the company charted. On GDPval-AA v2.1, which measures real-world work across 44 occupations, Sonnet 5.5 scored 1,844. That is two points behind Opus 5.5 and about 400 points ahead of Sonnet 5. The company also said it is the first Sonnet model to beat Pokémon Red, working only from screenshots.

Credit: Anthropic / Mashable screenshot

Anthropic cautioned that benchmarks capture only part of a model's abilities. The company said its own testing and outside testing both found Opus 5.5 still clearly stronger at complex, open-ended work.

Early testers cited efficiency gains. In the press release, Slack principal engineer Curtis Allen said Sonnet 5.5 beat Sonnet 5 on nearly all of Slack's offline Slackbot evaluations, finishing "in fewer steps and with about 14% fewer output tokens."

Pricing and availability

Pricing is the same as Sonnet 5:

• $2 per million input tokens

• $10 per million output tokens

• $0.20 per million tokens for cache reads

The input and output rates are half of Opus 5.5's. Anthropic says the lower per-task cost stems from the model requiring fewer tokens to complete the same work.

Sonnet 5.5 is available now on all of Anthropic's platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Developers can access it via the API as claude-sonnet-5-5, with zero data retention. Developers who run Sonnet with thinking off must switch to a new between_tools setting before migrating.

New safeguards

Anthropic said Sonnet 5.5's cybersecurity capabilities are comparable to Opus 5's. For that reason, it is the first Sonnet model to ship with cyber safeguards similar to those on Opus 5.5. Higher-risk cybersecurity requests will visibly fall back to Sonnet 5, while routine bug-fixing is unaffected. Biology safeguards are unchanged from Sonnet 5. Organizations can apply to the Life Sciences Verification Program for broader access. Sonnet 5.5 is also the first Sonnet model to launch with classifiers designed to block distillation attacks, in which bad actors extract a model's capabilities at scale.

On Anthropic's automated behavioral audit of roughly 1,850 scenarios, Sonnet 5.5 matched or improved on Sonnet 5 on most alignment measures. Opus 5.5 still performed slightly better overall. The company acknowledged that no set of evaluations catches every failure.

Flock CEO Garrett Langley is avoiding the public. Last week, as individuals testified to Flock's flaws in front of the U.S. Senate's Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, Langley stayed home. He sent a letter in his stead.

But a group of ignited internet users believes the CEO, who runs an $8 billion surveillance technology company advertised as a security solution, should be put on display — and perhaps given a metaphorical swirly.

Using a previously circulated address that reportedly belonged to Langley and was shared online in an effort to doxx the CEO, a new group of anti-Flock users allegedly labeled his home as a public toilet. The reported listing is still unverified.

Others called on each other to share Langley's personal information en masse, including the unconfirmed address, to show what "endless surveillance for no good reason feels like."

SEE ALSO: Three takeaways from the Senate hearing on Flock's camera network

"This internet backlash against the Flock CEO hiding his own house while selling surveillance to everyone else is honestly poetic justice. why do tech executives think privacy rules only apply to them," wrote one user on X.

People on social media also noticed images of the address on Google Maps' Street View had been blurred from public view. A privacy feature offered at a homeowner's request, many found the anonymity ironic and began circulating unverified images of the home in response.

"Shame if he gets egged and TP'd on halloween," wrote a different X prankster.

In response to the purported doxxing, a recent thread on the r/AskConservatives subreddit asked, "Does the Flock CEO deserve privacy?"

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Flock is now synonymous with a nationwide surveillance apparatus enabled by the proliferation of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), used by law enforcement to document, profile, and track drivers regardless of their participation in actual crimes. The anti-ALPR movement has grown exponentially in the last year, culminating in a new bipartisan effort to cancel Flock contracts, regulate their use, or even ban them outright.

Legislators are largely responding to an online movement that has united communities to force Flock out of their towns, often turning to public protest and guerilla tactics to physically remove Flock devices. Over the weekend, for example, the DeFlock America Facebook group — an online gathering place for surveillance opponents — reached a milestone of more than 820,000 members.

Samsung Galaxy Watches are pretty capable devices with good hardware. With Wear OS, they also have solid software support. Google Play Store access makes customization and functionality virtually limitless. Samsung has done a good job giving users plenty of solid apps by default, but if you are like me, you won’t settle for the default offerings.

The allegations detailed in a former Cornell University student's lawsuit are horrifying. The student, identified in the suit as Jane Doe, alleges that seven fraternity members drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2024, ultimately prompting her to leave the university. Since she filed the lawsuit, students at Cornell and others beyond the campus have spoken out.

Among them is actress Florence Pugh, who had a message for men in particular:

"This is really the moment where we need our men to be as horrified and as sickened as us. You need to be leading conversations about how we change the allowance and complicity of this behavior as much as we are. How can you expect us to trust that it’s 'not all men' when in moments like this, many of you stay quiet?... Colleges/schools/universities repeatedly fail women around the world. You build men that get taught through time and time again that they can do extreme harm and that they won’t be harmed in return. I’m no longer tired — I'm enraged by schools protecting boys, in fear of their futures being wrecked..."

But after Pugh shared the message with her 10.7 million Instagram followers, some of her anger shifted toward the platform carrying it.

According to Pugh, Instagram placed a "sensitive-content" warning over the post, preventing some followers from swiping through the carousel to read it. In other words, Pugh says Instagram restricted access to the very post she was using to call attention to the allegations.

Screenshot of Florence Pugh's Instagram profile grid, where you can see the grey grid post flagged as sensitive content. Credit: Screenshot: Instagram/@florencepugh

"Am I being censored for talking about rape?" she asked. When she tried sharing her statement again, Pugh said Instagram was "blocking me from reaching people."

Meta confirmed to TMZ that Instagram initially placed a sensitive-content label on Pugh's post. "We removed this label upon further review after we determined that it qualified for a newsworthy allowance," a spokesperson said. The post is now visible to adults without restrictions. It is, however, considered "age-restricted content" on the platform.

Instagram does have recommendation rules that can limit how widely certain content is recommended to people who don't already follow an account, even when that content is allowed to remain on the platform. But Meta did not say whether those rules affected the reach of Pugh's post.

Pugh, for her part, had already drawn her own conclusion: "Instagram, at least we can see what side you're on."

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So why did the post receive a warning in the first place? Meta hasn't explained exactly what triggered it. The company's sexual exploitation policy allows victims to share their experiences, while prohibiting content that "depicts, threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual exploitation." In Pugh's case, Instagram ultimately determined that the post could remain unrestricted under its newsworthy allowance.

SEE ALSO: How to filter sensitive content on Instagram

And while the Instagram warning has drawn attention of its own, Pugh's original post was about what happened at Cornell and how the university responded.

The lawsuit alleges that some of the accused students received disciplinary measures that included writing essays. Cornell has pushed back on the suggestion that essays were anyone's sole punishment, saying it expelled and suspended students and barred the fraternity from campus.

The allegations are now getting another look beyond the university. After the former student filed her lawsuit, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the criminal investigation and said he intends to present the case to a grand jury. No criminal charges have been filed.

Pugh isn't the first person to question what happens when Meta's moderation rules get between users and conversations about safety and health, particularly those involving women and marginalized communities. Last year, The Guardian reported that more than 50 organizations focused on abortion access, reproductive health, and LGBTQ+ issues had experienced restrictions or account removals across Meta's platforms.

Fatma Ibrahim of Sex Talk Arabic, for example, said Instagram repeatedly told the organization that posts about sexual health violated its rules and that its page would no longer be recommended to other users. Meta denied targeting the groups because of their advocacy and said it had reinstated more than half of the accounts flagged by campaigners.

People who report sexual assault can already face significant barriers to being heard. As attention around the Cornell allegations continues to grow, Pugh's experience raises a broader question about how Instagram handles those conversations and what its moderation systems deem too sensitive to show.

I knew this day would come, but my GPU is finally struggling to run new games within its 8GB of VRAM, even at lower settings and resolutions. This is not inherently a problem, things do move on after all. But, it couldn't have happened at a worse time.

October is barreling toward us and will arrive at the end of the week, and with it comes a brand new swath of catalog movies on October 1, including all five Twilight movies, three Psycho films, The Devil Wears Prada, and a couple of great ones I'll fill you in on below, so keep reading.

Professional wrestler Benjamin Satterley, who went by the ring name PAC, passed away at the age of 40 over the weekend, according to All Elite Wrestling.

News of Satterley's death was quite sudden, as he had previously wrestled the opening match of AEW's All Out pay-per-view on Sept. 26, and AEW announced his passing the following day. Satterley's passing also coincided with the celebration of life ceremony for fellow AEW wrestler "The Butcher" Andy Williams, who tragically passed on Sept. 5, 2026.

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Satterley, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, started his wrestling career in 2004, traveling across the world and making his name in promotions such as Ring of Honor, CHIKARA, and Dragongate. Known for his high-flying style, raw athleticism, and technical in-ring ability, Satterley was often called "the man that gravity forgot." He was one of the best to ever do it.

Before signing with AEW in 2019, Satterley joined WWE's developmental program NXT in 2012 under the ring name Adrian Neville, where he would become one-half of the company's inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions and a one-time NXT Champion. In 2015, he was called up to WWE's main roster, shortening his name to Neville and becoming a two-time Cruiserweight Champion.

After leaving WWE, Satterley would join AEW under his original ring name, PAC. Nicknamed "The Bastard," Satterley became the company's inaugural International Champion (originally called the All-Atlantic Championship), a two-time World Trios Champion, and at one point held both titles to become AEW's first double champion.

Outside of his achievements in WWE, AEW, and beyond, Satterley was a beloved figure in pro wrestling, both by fans and his fellow wrestlers.

His Death Riders stablemate Marina Shafir shared an emotional, heartbreaking tribute to Satterley at an indie event. "Listen. He was our bastard. I was just holding this man yesterday," she said. "He was the best. He was the fucking best. You know why? Because he knew himself. He was just so modest about how fascinating he was."

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Wrestlers from various promotions, fans, and even his hometown team Newcastle United have mourned Satterley's passing on social media:

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Apple's plans for the Vision Pro are shifting again as Meta's lightweight VR glasses shape the expectations of future VR headsets.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is exploring a redesigned headset that follows the same core philosophy as Meta's, i.e., moving the compute components out of the headset and into an external puck. But the project, code-named N224, is reportedly on life support. It's facing pushback from some senior executives and is unlikely to ship before late 2028, if it ships at all. For now, Apple's attention has moved toward simpler smart glasses without displays.

SEE ALSO: Apple to fix iPhone 18 Pro Face ID bug

The shift comes days after Meta unveiled its VR Glasses at Meta Connect 2026. The $1,299 headset, due in spring 2027, weighs about 100 grams. That's roughly a fifth of Meta's own Quest 3 and a small fraction of the Vision Pro. Gurman, who has used the Vision Pro since launch, argued in his Power On newsletter that Meta's glasses are what Apple's headset should have been.

When the Vision Pro launched in February 2024, it drew attention for its impressive displays and eye-and-hand controls. It also drew complaints about its weight, its price, and a shortage of reasons to wear it beyond watching videos. It was a striking proof of concept, much like Samsung's Galaxy Z TriFold, but more a showcase for enthusiasts than a device for everyday people.

Meta's ability to make their VR headset lighter was simply to move the heavy parts off your face. The processor and battery live in a separate module that clips onto your clothing and connects to the glasses by cable. Gurman reports that the module is about the size and weight of the Vision Pro's external battery pack.

The Vision Pro started at $3,499 and can weigh up to about 800 grams, depending on the headband. Meta chose comfort and price over high-end quality, which is always a winner for consumer buy-in.

Apple saw the problem coming, according to Gurman. Early in development, there was consideration in moving processing to a separate home device, but the team rejected the idea. Since launch, Apple has shelved at least three projects meant to fix the Vision Pro's biggest flaws:

• N107: a headset that would have offloaded computing to a Mac or another device.

• N100: a "Vision Air" that would have moved more components into an external pack.

• N109: a lighter, cheaper model with a less powerful chip.

Gurman reports that some senior Apple leaders believe a separate puck leads to a poor experience and prefer an all-in-one design. However, as Gurman writes, new CEO John Ternus has long been privately skeptical of a headset this heavy and expensive, though he has spoken optimistically about it in public. The Vision hardware team has also been moved lower in Apple's org chart, its former hardware chief left for OpenAI, and the team recently went through layoffs.

Even if Apple does commit, a new headset likely wouldn't arrive before late 2028 or early 2029.

Wired earbuds are suddenly trendy, and Bose wants to seize the moment by launching its Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds. In theory, they offer the best features of true wireless earbuds without the hassles of Bluetooth connections or charging.

Ubuntu's minimum system requirements—6GB of RAM and 25GB of storage space—are modest compared to Windows, but if you're working with an older PC, even that may be too much. If you've ever tried running the current release of Ubuntu on an old netbook or Optiplex, you've experienced it first hand.

I love to drive. Driving is my safe place when I want to disconnect from the world for a while. No one asking me where something is, no one asking what’s for dinner, just me, my car, and whatever playlist I’ve decided to play for the hundredth time. So, of course, I use Google Maps more than I’d like to admit.

Adaptations are a tricky endeavor. Many filmmakers and showrunners run into problems when adapting source material from, say, a book. While it can be helpful to have a blueprint for a movie or show, adaptations create numerous problems, especially when it comes to satisfying fans loyal to the book. One minor change to the book can cause an uproar. Just ask Benioff and Weiss about how fans reacted to their decisions in Game of Thrones.

Once every hour, the Raspberry Pi sitting on my desk checks the weather and then plays a song about it. It is a bit like a cuckoo clock, except it tells me the weather instead of the time.

PREORDER NOW: As of Sept. 28, preorder the Boox Picco, a 3.97-inch e-reader. You can purchase the tiny e-reader for $109.99 and get it as soon as it's released in November.

Opens in a new window Credit: Boox Boox Picco E-reader $109.99 at Boox
  Pre-order Here

For months, Boox has been teasing its new tiny e-reader. The Boox Picco was first unveiled in July with an in-person debut at IFA 2026 in Berlin. Now, the device is officially available for preorder.

The Boox Picco is a 3.97-inch e-reader. It's part of the brand's new Tile collection. While Boox's other e-readers like the Palma and Go 6 are classified as tablets, the Picco is a Tile, likely to differentiate between operating systems.

Unlike Boox's tablets, the Picco Tile doesn't have an Android operating system, meaning you can't access any additional apps since there's no Google Play Store. Instead, you'll read from the Picco's native library. It does have some extra apps, including a Pomodoro timer and Todo (a to-do list app). We suspect it'll operate similarly to Xteink e-readers, which are best for DRM-free files. To get files on the Picco, upload them either with a USB-C cable or with the new Boox Tile app.

It's about the size of a deck of cards and can even attach to the back of an iPhone with MagSafe. It has a dual-tone front light so you can adjust both the warmth and brightness. It has a power button plus a page-turning button on the side. There's also a function switch on the side that swaps the device between front light and dark mode.

The Boox Picco retails for $109.99. It's now available for preorder on Boox's site. No exact ship date has been provided, but according to Boox's site, the device will ship in October. However, a Boox representative said it will ship by November.

If you're ready to extend your Boox e-reader collection, preorder the Boox Picco now for $109.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Boox Boox Picco E-reader $109.99 at Boox
  Pre-order Here

G2A.COM may be best known for video games, but the marketplace offers much more than gaming. Alongside games, users can find a wide range of digital software offers, often at competitive prices across different platforms.