Technology

Do you have Raspberry Pis sitting around not being used for anything? By the end of this weekend, you shouldn't! Here are three fun projects to do with your Raspberry Pis to keep them from rotting away in a drawer.

I love building things in the physical world, but when it comes to software, I have a hard time getting ideas out of my head. Coding is the big barrier—it’s just not something I’ve ever been good at. Recently, however, I’ve been using Gemini in Android Studio, and I’ve made my very first app.

One of the strongest arguments for buying physical media in a digital world is the unwritten rule that "the disc is always the true version." It's long been the case that buying DVDs or Blu-rays allows access to original edits or missing episodes that aren't available on any streaming service. However, for one of my favorite shows, streaming has now become the version that's more faithful to the original.

FREE $100 GIFT CARD: As of July 23, Amazon is offering a $100 gift card for free when you pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. This offer lasts until Aug. 6.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 + $100 Gift Card $699.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $100   Pre-order Here

Samsung's latest Unpacked event was full of exciting announcements, including the reveal of the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. If you've got your eye on this smartwatch, it's worth considering pre-ordering it on Amazon.

You can get a $100 gift card for free when you pre-order the smartwatch at Amazon (priced at $699.99).

This bundle offer won't last for long. According to the Amazon store page, it's only running until Aug. 6 — a day before the watch's release on Aug. 7 — so the countdown has officially started.

SEE ALSO: How to preorder Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Flip 8: See preorder offers

In the announcement post for the Ultra 2, Mashable's Alex Perry wrote that Samsung "packed in a bunch of outdoor sports tracking features in the Ultra 2. Trail Run will track stats like terrain impact and elevation for hiking, while Nutrition Alert adds onto the old Sweat Loss tracker to tell you when to hydrate, and by how much."

If you're big into diving, the Ultra 2 is also EN13319-certified and features real-time indicators, including ascent and descent monitoring, depth limit notifications, and more. Plus, there's also a "slew of new AI health features", according to Perry's post, which will "use on-board trackers to deliver personalized insights".

If you're hoping to preorder the Ultra 2, don't miss out on this chance to get a $100 Amazon gift card for free.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

If you haven't used Excel in a while, you may be surprised by how much it has changed. Whether you switched to Google Sheets, moved to open-source software, stayed with an older version, or simply stopped following updates, Microsoft has added features that could dramatically change how you work with spreadsheets.

The Perseid meteor shower has returned to the skies this summer, giving stargazers the chance to see one of the year’s most popular celestial displays. Known for its bright streaks of light and high number of visible meteors, the Perseids are a highlight of the annual stargazing calendar.

Planning to head outside and look for shooting stars? We’ve rounded up everything you need to know, including when the meteor shower will peak and the best ways to improve your chances of seeing it.

What is the Perseid meteor shower?

There’s a reason the Perseids are one of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year. The spectacular display is created by debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which leaves behind a trail of particles as it travels through space on its long journey around the Sun, according to NASA. Earth passes through this trail every year, giving us the chance to see the fragments light up the atmosphere.

The glowing streaks we spot in the sky are created when these tiny pieces of rock and dust enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds and burn up. The Perseids are also known for producing impressive fireballs, brighter, longer-lasting flashes caused by larger pieces of comet material entering the atmosphere, according to NASA.

When is the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseid meteor shower is already underway, with the shower active from July 17 until Aug. 24.

When will the Perseid meteor shower peak?

The Perseids will be visible throughout their active period, but the peak is expected on Aug. 12–13, according to NASA.

How to see the Perseid meteor shower

NASA recommends heading out after midnight and before dawn for the best chance of spotting the Perseids. For the clearest view, choose a dark spot away from city lights and give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness.

The good news for 2026 is that the peak is around the time of the New Moon, meaning there will be minimal moonlight to compete with the meteor shower.

The Moon is still in its Waxing Gibbous phase, with more than half of its surface now lit up. This means we're getting closer to the Full Moon, which is now less than a week away.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Thursday, July 23, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon phase is in Waxing Gibbous phase, with 58% of its surface visible.

You won't need any visual aids to be able to spot the Mares Crisium, Fecunditatis, and Tranquillitatis. Binoculars will also help you to see the Mare Nectaris, Alphonsus Crater, and the Alps Mountains. A telescope widens your view further, bringing the Apollo 17 landing spot, Caucasus Mountains, and Descartes Highlands into view.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on July 29.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon takes roughly 29.5 days to complete its journey around Earth, passing through eight distinct phases during each lunar cycle, according to NASA. While the Moon’s same side is always visible from our planet, the portion of its surface lit by the Sun changes as it moves along its orbit. These shifting levels of illumination are what create the different appearances we see throughout the month, from a slender crescent shape to a half-lit Moon and finally a bright Full Moon, before the cycle begins once again.

The eight phases are:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

My phone is constantly bombarded with notifications. I try to limit them as much as possible, but even so, they quickly become easy to ignore. Sometimes, Home Assistant needs to alert me about something important, such as a water leak being detected, and these are notifications I really don't want to miss. There are several methods I use to make notifications almost impossible to miss.

Tinder is expanding its in-app Events feature to nine cities beyond the original test case in Los Angeles, with more coming by the end of Sept. It sounds like Partiful or Facebook Events infused in the dating app.

Tinder piloted Events in Los Angeles earlier this year as a way for singles to get off the app and meet people IRL. It coincides with an influx of offline dating events and the trend of trying to find a date anywhere but on one's phone — say, a run club.

SEE ALSO: The best hookup apps for 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

Now, in the U.S., Events is also available in New York City, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, and Phoenix. In Europe, it's launching in Berlin, Munich, Zurich, and Geneva. The app plans to launch Events in 26 more cities over the next couple of months. While Tinder isn't sharing the full list, it told Mashable that San Jose and Baltimore are among them.

Those in eligible cities can access the Events tab in your Tinder app, where you can browse local events, mark yourself interested, see who else is interested in attending, RSVP, purchase tickets, and check-in and receive an "Attended" badge on your profile. You can also match with other attendees.

During the Los Angeles pilot, Events drew engagement from 66 percent of all eligible active users in the market — meaning they opened the Events tab and interacted with the experience, such as browsing events. (Only Photo Verified users can fully access Events.)

Most adoption in the test was from Gen Z users; 71 percent of 18-24 year olds engaged with Events, which was more than users 25 and older (63 percent), according to Tinder.

More than half of users (53 percent) who interacted with the Events tab returned the following week, indicating they were interested in what it had to offer. Another indication was the success of at least one event: A 60-person candlelight ceramics class sold out within a day of the event partner promoting it, according to a press release shared with Mashable.

Users also wanted to attend DJ nights, game nights, creative classes, hikes, and group runs. More than 60 events were held in Los Angeles during the pilot.

Accessing the Events tab is free on Tinder. Individual events may be free or require a ticket purchase from the event organizer, depending on the event.

The Events tab comes at a time when Tinder and another major dating app, Bumble, are capitalizing on the IRL event craze while simultaneously boosting AI. When Tinder announced the Los Angeles Events pilot in March, it also launched its AI matchmaker, Chemistry.

Bumble, meanwhile, is throwing its own events in New York City this summer. But the app upset some users when founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd announced it was ditching the swipe and ushering in an AI experience.

TL;DR: De'Longhi has launched the Magnifica Duo, a $999.95 automatic espresso and coffee machine with two dedicated milk carafes for making hot and cold drinks from a single machine.

Opens in a new window Credit: De'Longhi De'Longhi Magnifica Duo Automatic Espresso Machine $999.95 at Amazon
  Shop Now

De'Longhi just launched a new coffee machine, and it's built for people who can't decide between a hot cappuccino and an iced latte.

The Magnifica Duo is the newest addition to De'Longhi's Magnifica line, and it can whip up authentic espresso, drip coffee, cold brew, and both hot and iced milk drinks, all from one machine. It's available now for $999.95 at DeLonghi and Amazon.

Magnifica Duo comes with two separate milk carafes — one for hot and one for cold. That means it can make perfectly textured hot foam for your cappuccino and cold foam for your iced latte without you having to swap anything out between drinks. It's also got three separate brewing methods built in — one for espresso, one for regular drip coffee, and one specifically for cold brew.

Making the cold brew skips the usual 12-hour steep and delivers the same smooth flavor in under three minutes, according to De'Longhi. There's also a built-in grinder with 13 different grind settings, so you're getting freshly ground beans for every cup instead of relying on pre-ground beans.

You get 20 preset recipes covering everything from cappuccinos and flat whites to iced lattes and cold brew, and it supports three different user profiles, meaning everyone in the house can save their own preferred size, strength, and temperature settings, and there's a color touchscreen that makes picking a drink pretty much a one-tap process.

Credit: De'Longhi Credit: De'Longhi

Two milk carafes, zero decisions to make — grab the Magnifica Duo for $999.95 at Amazon.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 3 is available to pre-order at Amazon for $80.86, down from its typical $84.99 price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 3 $80.86 at Amazon
$84.99 Save $4.13   Pre-order Here

The Pokémon TCG’s popular Partner Collections are back with another Series, and you can already pre-order the third installment on sale.

As of July 23, the Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 3 can be pre-ordered at Amazon for as low as $80.86 through third-party seller Collectors Expedition. Compared with Amazon’s usual $84.99 price, that removes $4.13 from the total and gives you a 5% discount before the box launches. 

Free delivery is currently scheduled for Aug. 11-12, several days after its official Aug. 7 release. Amazon itself is not handling the order. If you want yours a day earlier, another preorder for $80.88 through Kings Games is set to arrive by Aug. 11 at the time of writing. 

TCGplayer’s latest market price is $84.01. You can actually save even more money at TCGplayer, with the trading card selling platform offering listings for the Partner Illustration Collection Series 3 box for as low as $68.94. 

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Series 3 moves the collection’s 30th-anniversary celebration to partner Pokémon from Hoenn, Kalos, and Paldea. Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly make up the nine possible style special illustration rare promo cards. 

Each box contains one special pack that holds three of those nine promos, so you will not receive the complete set from a single collection. Two standard Pokémon TCG booster packs are also included, with product imagery showing those packs to be Pitch Black and Chaos Rising, alongside a sticker sheet featuring first partner Pokémon. 

Samsung just unveiled its latest smartwatches at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. Dive into everything you need to know about the all-new mainline Galaxy Watch 9 and the rugged, premium Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

Lego is releasing an exciting new set that's an absolute treat for retro gaming fans: the Donkey Kong Arcade (72051).

This incredible build, which comes with 1,367 pieces, is now available to pre-order from the Lego Store for $199.99. The release date is listed for Aug. 1. Not only is it an awesome display piece that's modeled after the original arcade cabinet game, but it's also very interactive.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Super Mario Donkey Kong Arcade (72051) $199.99 at Lego
  Pre-order Here

The coolest part about this set is that you can operate it like an actual arcade game once it's fully assembled. It features a lever you can pull that releases barrels, and then you can use the joystick and button to move Jumpman and have him hop over them, just like you would in an original Donkey Kong arcade level.

Alongside Jumpman, this set also features Donkey Kong, of course, and Lady. It's also full of fun extra details that really bring everything together, like scaffolds, ladders, and hammers.

Credit: Lego

Given these more mechanical elements that need to be constructed as part of the set, it makes sense that it's recommended for adult builders ages 18 and up. But as with every Lego build age recommendation, if you know someone younger who's interested, just work on it with them.

Credit: Lego

Preorders are live right now at the Lego Store, so you can secure it for launch day (Aug. 1). There's every chance it could sell out, so it's worth making a move sooner rather than later.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, July 23, 2026:

AcrossInstrument in the bluegrass classic "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"

• The answer is Banjo.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Smart ___ (wise guy)

• The answer is Aleck.

Compete in a contest that's lost by blinking

• The answer is Stare.

Strongly disliked

• The answer is Hated.

One of eight on a chessboard, or five in a Mini crossword

• The answer is Row.

DownCriticize harshly

• The answer is Bash.

Where wedding rings are exchanged

• The answer is Altar.

"Cool beans!"

• The answer is Neato.

Preppy clothing brand

• The answer is J Crew.

Gave the green light

• The answer is OKed.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event revealed a new lineup of foldable phones, upgrades to the Galaxy Watches, including a new rugged Ultra watch and intelligent eyewear. See everything Samsung announced in 13 minutes.

Anyone on the hunt for online hookups will inevitably come across AdultFriendFinder. And for good reason: It's one of the longest-running, most popular adult dating sites around, with a massive three decades of experience when it comes to hooking up and adult content. AFF has over 80 million registered users across the globe, with some two million users active every week. It's essentially an adult site with a huge social network built in — a playground for horny adults everywhere who want to make a connection or quite simply get it on.

But once you're set up with your own account and profile, it doesn't take long to realize the free version is limited. The real fun is locked behind the paywall, so you'll need to upgrade your account to get the best out of the AFF experience. Here's a look at everything you should know about AdultFriendFinder's premium membership from a cost and billing perspective:

Opens in a new window Credit: AdultFriendFinder AdultFriendFinder   Learn More AFF membership tiers and costs

The good news about AFF's premium membership is that it gives you access to a stack of useful features, many of which you won't find on other dating sites. These features include unlimited one-on-one messaging, more detailed search functionality, and higher-res photos and videos. AdultFriendFinder actually offers two premium memberships, Gold and VIP, but to become a VIP, you need to opt into a Gold membership first, so it's worth exploring the Gold tier before upgrading all the way.

SEE ALSO: Is Hinge really 'designed to be deleted'? I tested it to find out.

A Gold membership will set you back $35.95 per month if you sign up for a single month, $26.95 per month if you commit to a three-month membership, or $19.95 per month if you commit to an entire year. VIP members don't gain any additional on-site functionality, but they do unlock exclusive perks that make them more visible to others, including a special VIP badge, access to a VIP lounge, and priority placement in search results.

Multiple payment options

AdultFriendFinder offers a wide variety of payment methods, far more than the typical online dating site. You can, of course, opt to pay with credit card (Visa, Mastercard, and Discover — sorry AmEX users), or with a bank transfer/direct debit payment, but you can also pay with a gift card or cash/check/money order (in the United States only), while residents of the United Kingdom can even pay via SMS order on their smartphones.

If you're especially cautious or privacy-minded, you might be interested in the gift card, money order, or SMS payment options. This withholds more of your personal data.

Watch out for the auto-renewal feature

One key thing to be aware of is that your premium AdultFriendFinder membership will automatically renew at the end of your billing cycle unless you disable this feature or use a one-time payment method, such as a gift card.

SEE ALSO: All your Tinder questions, answered

To disable the auto-renewal feature and prevent unwanted credit card billing, navigate to the My Stuff tab, scroll down to My Account, and then click Billing History & Credit Card Info. Under the Subscription and Product Status menu, you will see your premium memberships and an On/Off toggle for the Auto-Renew feature. Note that if you have more than one paid membership, such as both the Gold and VIP tiers, you need to toggle off the auto-renewal button for both memberships to prevent further charges.

Billing statement

Because discretion matters, especially to a lot of AdultFriendFinder users, it's worth knowing that the AFF billing statement is reasonably anonymous. The only wording that will appear on your bank or credit card statement is "FFNHelp.com*FRIENDF." 

Troubleshooting

If you have a question or concern about your bill that wasn't answered by any of the above, you can always reach out to the AdultFriendFinder support line toll-free at 888-575-8383.  

If you have ever worked with two or three monitors, you have probably run into the same problem. You arrange your workspace exactly the way you like it. Your editor sits on the main display, documentation is open on another monitor, and Slack, Discord, or a terminal stays visible on a third. Everything feels organized until you switch to another virtual desktop.

SAVE $20: As of July 23, the Nothing Ear (3) earbuds are on sale for $129 at Amazon. That's $20 off their list price of $149.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nothing Nothing Ear (3) $129 at Amazon
$149 Save $20   Get Deal

If you're shopping around for noise-canceling earbuds, but don't want to drop a ton of cash on some of the more high-end models, the Nothing Ear (3) earbuds are worth a look. These earbuds, released last year, feature smart hybrid Active Noise Cancellation at a much more approachable price. That's even more true now, as Amazon has them on sale.

As of July 23, the Nothing Ear (3) earbuds are marked down from $149 to $129, allowing you to pocket $20. It's a deal that applies to both the white and black variants, so you can save on your preferred color.

SEE ALSO: 16 summer hosting essentials that cost under $25 at Amazon

In terms of how much these earbuds will block out, the store page states that they provide up to 45 dB of Active Noise Cancellation. They also have a Transparency Mode that you can switch to if you'd prefer to be more aware of your surroundings while listening. On top of that, the battery on these earbuds can last up to 5.5 hours with ANC on during a single charge, or up to 22 hours with the charging case.

Speaking of the case, these earbuds also come with a cool integrated Super Mic feature. The store page notes that this is a dual-microphone system powered by specialized ambient-filtering mics, which allow voice messages and calls to be delivered clearly without busy background noise getting in the way. It can cut through up to 95 dB of noise.

If they've caught your eye, now is a great time to save on the Nothing Ear (3) earbuds at Amazon.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Multiple U.S. government departments launched official TikTok accounts this week, posting videos promoting the Trump administration to users on the popular video sharing app.

SEE ALSO: The White House has an official TikTok, and it's already getting dragged

Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that the ban against having TikTok on federal government devices is no longer in force due to the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to a U.S.-government approved, majority-U.S. owned company earlier this year. 

In a memorandum of opinion to President Donald Trump, the Office of Legal Council's Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser noted that the president had "instructed that employees of Executive Branch agencies may download TikTok onto their official devices, subject to the agency's discretion and consistent with all applicable workplace policies."

Said agencies have wasted no time in signing up to the app now that the ban has been removed, with the official White House TikTok (@whitehouse) following 17 new accounts this week. These accounts joined the White House's short preexisting follow list of Trump (@realdonaldtrump), Vice President J.D. Vance (@jd), and the Trump administration's Cabinet in general (@cabinet), all of which were already on TikTok despite the ban.

The new official U.S. government TikTok accounts the White House is now following are:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (@hhsgov)

• The U.S. Department of Labor (@usdol)

• The U.S. Small Business Administration (@sbagov)

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (@usdagov)

• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (@dhsgov)

• The U.S. Department of Energy (@energy)

• The U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov)

• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (@deptvetaffairs)

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (@nasa)

• The U.S. Department of Transportation (@usdot)

• The U.S. Department of the Interior (@interior)

• The U.S. Trade Representative (@ustraderep)

• The U.S. Department of Justice (@justicedepartment)

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (@fbi)

• U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (@seckennedy)

• U.S. Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Oz (@drozcms)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is also listed in the White House's follow list (@hudgov), however this TikTok page does not appear to be live at time of writing. 

Though these accounts have not yet posted many videos, the few that have been published largely take on the same grandiose tone and rhetoric that is the Trump administration's preferred form of communication. The Department of Education's first TikTok proclaims it will "make education great again," and features Trump climbing into a wrestling ring to AC/DC's "Back in Black." Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security's debut video is a montage of apparent immigration agents with blurred faces detaining people, set to Christopher Cross' "Ride Like The Wind." The video's description reads: "Deportations all day, all night."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

U.S. lawmakers have claimed that TikTok is a tool for the Chinese government to spy on American users (though there is no evidence of this occurring), and accused it of stoking support for Palestine. In 2022, former president Joe Biden signed a law prohibiting TikTok on U.S. federal government devices, before banning it from the country entirely in 2024. Despite this, Biden still continued to operate a TikTok account himself.

However, though this TikTok ban had been scheduled to go into effect one day prior to Trump's 2025 inauguration, the new president repeatedly delayed its enforcement in hopes of negotiating a deal allowing it to stay. The U.S. government ultimately forced TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations to a new, majority-U.S. owned company earlier this year in order to keep it operating in the country.

Trump says he's "number one" on TikTok, and he's not about to let anything as inconvenient as the truth stop him from banging on about it — or stop him from pronouncing TikTok completely wrong.

"Ooh, number one on 'TicTac'?" says Daily Show host Desi Lydic in the monologue above, after playing a clip of the president flubbing the app's name. "Not to mention on 'Facebark' and 'Instagorp'. Let's see the master at work."

Cue a TikTok of Trump cheerfully talking about his TikTok numbers and the influence he has before randomly saying "stop communism" right at the end.

"What? Stop communism? Where did that come from? That TikTok was directed by M. Night Shyamalan," says Lydic. "Look, I know that doesn't seem like that would be very popular on TikTok, but don't forget, they love messy bitches."

It's not just Trump, either. Various US government departments are now on Tiktok, including the FBI.

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