Technology

I switched to Jellyfin from Plex some time ago, and I haven't looked back. While Jellyfin gives me control over my media collection, its clients don't always feel designed for people who run their own servers. The free and open-source Moonfin client supports Jellyfin and Emby and was built specifically with homelabbers in mind.

Microsoft has spent what feels like years pushing Copilot updates into Excel, but for me, it's the little usability improvements that make the biggest difference when you use the app every day. A small change to a dialog box can save you a few clicks, remove an annoying extra step, or make a good habit easier to stick to. One recent change to the way Excel creates tables is a good example, and it's something I've wanted for years.

I regularly need to move files between my Linux PC and my Android phone, but there are surprisingly few good options. You can manually attach your phone to the PC, email the files to yourself, or use a cloud storage service, but those options are either clunky or involve more steps than I'd like. KDE Connect is great for transferring a few files now and then, but it isn't designed as a sync program.

Want to 3D print items that live outside? One option is to throw caution to the wind, print with whatever material you like, and seal everything up with an aftercoat. Unfortunately, this requires time and money, and things can still wear with time.

Android users, listen up: Google is quietly verifying and attaching your phone number across all your signed-in Google accounts, according to reporting from Android Authority. The policy change happened between August and October of 2025, under the "Verify phone numbers automatically" setting, which must now be opted out of rather than opted into.

What does this mean in practice? All Google accounts used on your phone are going to be associated with your phone number, whether you want them to be or not, including accounts you add in the future. Furthermore, because Google periodically attempts to re-verify phone numbers, you could incur carrier charges associated with that verification process.

SEE ALSO: Anthropic’s Claude can now send Gmail emails without asking first

It might seem like a shady practice, especially because it was set to function by default, but there's also a good rationale for allowing Google to do this, as it improves the sharing functionality across your Google accounts, and makes things like phone recovery much easier, in the event that you lose your phone and want to restore a new phone to the old one's settings. There's also a slew of quality-of-life features, from faster sign-ins to emergency location services, that work better or faster with this feature enabled. 

Of course, there's also an incentive for Google as well, since connecting all your Google accounts via phone number helps to optimize their ad performance, allowing them to show you more targeted advertisements across your devices or accounts. 

If you do decide you would rather opt out of this functionality on your Android phone, navigate to Settings, select Google then All Services and choose Privacy & Security. Once here, you need to select the "Phone number verification" page and de-select "Verify phone numbers automatically" to disable this feature.

When people think of homelabbing, they often picture endless racks of servers and tangled cables. In reality, a $50 refurbished office PC can be all you really need to start self-hosting apps on a home server. But before spending your money on one, run through this checklist to make sure you're actually getting a good deal rather than buying e-waste.

Spooky season has officially kicked off, and this month, there are a lot of scares in store for Netflix viewers. From classic horror hits to new-age thrillers, the platform's horror collection is extensive enough to keep your watch list loaded until Halloween.

I don't know about you, but I have more bills, invoices, bank statements, and healthcare documents than I know what to do with. Finding a specific detail, understanding a complicated term, or comparing this month's charges with last month's can take up more time than I'd like, not to mention the frustration involved. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can make this much easier, but I'm not particularly comfortable with the idea of handing my financial, medical, or other sensitive information over to big tech companies just to get a few questions answered. I have enough concerns about how much data these companies collect without voluntarily giving them more.

When it comes to wireless technologies, most people are aware of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the various cellular standards. However, when you want to send messages or information, there are actually tons of alternative radio-based digital technologies that can get the job done.

We're less than a month away from the release of a new iteration of the Apple TV, packed with the kind of computing power once reserved for desktops, so it only makes sense that it should learn some new tricks.  

Yesterday, we learned about one of those new tricks when Instagram was re-listed on the Apple App Store as available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. But this isn't the first time Instagram has flirted with the big screen. Initial testing of the new form factor began in late 2025 on Amazon Fire TVs and rolled out to Samsung TVs in mid-2026, so Apple is actually the last to adopt the new TV app.

SEE ALSO: An AI image of Mia Goth sparks Instagram fan account controversy

The most visible change as part of this new TV adoption is Instagram having to offer not only the portrait-style videos common to most phone and tablet designs but also horizontal, landscape videos to accommodate TV aspect ratios. As part of its migration to streaming services and smart TVs, Instagram is also exploring new video form factors, including longer-form video, episodic videos, live streaming, and even subscriptions, which would bring it into closer competition with YouTube, the internet's premier video content service. 

Meta, parent company of Instagram, is betting that its famously addictive short-form video content will translate well to the big screen, where it can be enjoyed more communally, and it's working closely with creators to make the experience of uploading or streaming on Instagram as painless as possible. 

It might seem like a risky bet, but if Meta can grab even a fraction of YouTube's massive audience, it will more than pay off.

Some of the best software in the world is produced entirely by volunteers and released for free. Over the years, I’ve come to rely on many of these tools to stay productive and in control of my Mac.

As a long-term Android user, MagSafe was the biggest source of envy for me when looking at iPhones. Built-in magnets inside smartphones open the door to a million creative accessories, eliminating the need for 3M adhesive or annoying clamps. It is a beautiful solution to a hundred different accessory-related problems.

Did you know that 3D printing and woodworking are very similar? They're actually way more similar than you might think. I've woodworked for longer than I've 3D printed, and these are the tricks that I think you should steal to take your 3D printing to the next level.

File systems are something we rarely think about anymore, but in the early days of Windows, they could make a surprisingly big difference in how much of your pricey hard drive you actually got to use. FAT16 had one incredibly frustrating quirk with how it handled cluster sizes. Its inefficiency effectively punished you for buying a bigger hard drive, as it could leave you wasting much of the storage you paid for.

I wasn't particularly satisfied with the Googlebook launch. As a tech writer and product reviewer, I was basically obligated to spend two weeks with a product that felt grossly unfinished and super confused about its identity. But one feature, the Glowbar, just can't escape my mind.

Finding a good alternative app is the easy part. The hard part is deciding what to do with everything you're leaving behind. Years of OneNote notebooks can hold everything from recipes and saved links to work notes you still need. The good news is that moving them into Joplin is easier than you might expect.

Do our phone cameras really record what they see, or do they embellish? We're living in the age of computational photography, after all, and with modern AI technology, it's possible to take a raw photo and turn it into anything. It's like applying an Instagram AI filter to your memories.

A custom-built home is all about designing elements that feel perfectly adapted to your space and routine. With a 3D printer, you can retroactively apply this concept to the objects inside your home, to great effect.

TL;DR: Live stream Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions for free on TVNZ. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions game is one of the most exciting NFL games scheduled for today.

The Packers (4-2) are on a hot streak, winning three in a row. And while the Lions (3-2) have been up-and-down — they currently sit at the bottom of the NFC North — they're coming off a bye week and have reinforced their faulty defense with the returning safety Brian Branch. The Lions' offense is also in good shape. This is a Week 7 showdown not to miss.

If you want to watch Packers vs. Lions in the NFL for free from anywhere in the world, here's all the information you need.

When is Packers vs. Lions?

Packers vs. Lions starts at 4.25 p.m. ET on Oct. 25. This fixture takes place at Ford Field.

How to watch Packers vs. Lions for free

Packers vs. Lions in the NFL is available to live stream for free on TVNZ.

TVNZ is geo-restricted to New Zealand only, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in New Zealand, meaning you can live stream Packers vs. Lions for free from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the NFL by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in New Zealand

4. Visit TVNZ

5. Watch Packers vs. Lions for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Packers vs. Lions without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus more NFL action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the NFL?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the NFL, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries, including New Zealand

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: AdGuard Family Plan lifetime access is just $14.97 (reg. $169.99) through Nov. 1, combining ad blocking, anti-tracking tools, malware and phishing protection, and parental controls in one purchase.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription $14.97
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For just $14.97, you’ll get lifetime protection for up to nine devices. Whether it’s your phone, tablet, or laptop, AdGuard blocks intrusive ads, prevents trackers from snooping on your data, and shields your family from possible malicious websites.

Ads aren’t just annoying; they slow down your browsing, eat up your data, and sometimes even carry malware. And if you’ve got kids online, you want to make sure they’re safe from inappropriate content. The AdGuard Family Plan does all that and more. With built-in parental controls, you can filter out harmful sites and ensure your family’s online experience is both secure and enjoyable.

With up to 9 devices covered, the AdGuard Family Plan is ideal for households where everyone’s connected. And because it’s a one-time payment for lifetime access, you’ll never have to worry about recurring fees or annoying subscription renewals.

So, whether you’re protecting your own devices or your whole family’s, AdGuard makes it easy to have a more peaceful online experience. Say goodbye to annoying ads and hello to a safer, faster internet.

Don’t miss the opportunity to save on a lifetime of AdGuard Family Plan protection while it’s just $14.97 (reg. $169.99) through Nov. 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.