Technology

A few years ago, running low on storage for a laptop meant a ten-minute fix with a screwdriver. Now it means either buying a new machine or paying a premium to have more storage configured. Neither option feels reasonable when the laptop itself works fine. I've dealt with this across multiple machines, and the workaround I've landed on costs almost nothing to start and scales as you need it. If you can't upgrade your laptop easily, use my method instead.

If you've bought a Framework PC, you'll want to keep an eye out for identity thieves. The modular computer maker informed all its customers on August 6 that a data breach compromised their sensitive information.

August has a ton in store for Netflix subscribers in the U.S., particularly if you're a fan of thrillers (The Last House, The Whisper Man), insane documentaries (Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy), and Shane Gillis (Tires, season 3). But the streaming gods do like to tease us, so unfortunately, it's not all available just yet. But what is available isn't too shabby either, and I've got some new and new-to-Netflix shows you can binge all weekend long, below.

The Xbox Kinect was Microsoft’s big push into motion and gesture-controlled gaming, debuting right around the same time as the PlayStation Move and the up-on-your-feet console that started the craze, the Nintendo Wii. The only issue is the latter hardware had a head-start over the competition by about four years. Microsoft never really knew how to market the Kinect, which is too bad because—for 2010—it was pretty cutting-edge.

A Raspberry Pi is a great way to get started in the world of self-hosting. Some models are still relatively inexpensive; they use very little power, and you can run a surprising number of self-hosted services. Some services, such as Pi-hole, can run well on a Raspberry Pi indefinitely, but there are other services that can soon grow beyond what the single-board computer can handle.

Meta has been ordered to pay $567 million to fund youth mental health services in New Mexico in the final phase of a child safety trial.

Meta lost the lawsuit in March when a New Mexico jury found the social media company liable for misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and endangering children.

At the time, Meta was ordered to pay the maximum penalties for each violation of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws, amounting to $375 million.

SEE ALSO: Digging into Gen Z's love/hate relationship with AI

On Thursday, a New Mexico judge assessed the new financial penalty after deciding Meta was liable for causing a teen mental health epidemic in the state. The penalty will fund treatment for young people harmed by Meta's platforms, as well as pay for mental health prevention and awareness services.

“For years, Meta knew its platforms were harming New Mexico’s kids, from feeding a youth mental health crisis to connecting predators with children, and it chose engagement and profit over their safety," said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. "Today, Meta is paying for that choice."

In total, Meta is required to pay nearly $942 million.

Andy Stone, vice president of communications for Meta, shared in a statement on X that the company disagrees with the ruling and will appeal it.

"We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content," the statement said. "We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts."

In addition to creating an abatement fund to address harms, Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid also required the company to implement certain safety features, such as ensuring that no account for a user under 18 is recommended to an adult and preventing minors from engaging in romantic or sexual interactions with Meta's AI chatbots.

Last year, Reuters found that Meta's policies had allowed chatbots to "engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual." Such guidelines were removed from the company's policies. In January, Meta made its AI characters temporarily inaccessible to teens pending an "updated" experience for them.

Netflix's library is full of acclaimed movies that can often get buried under the rubble of trending titles that turn up every week. Whenever I can't decide what to watch on Netflix, I like browsing through older award-winners. And more often than not, I end up finding some real winners.

The problem with high-performance cars is that the version at the top of the lineup isn't always the one that makes the most sense. Manufacturers spend years perfecting their flagship models, adding sharper handling, more power, and track-focused upgrades, but those improvements often come with compromises that make them harder to live with every day.

I've been using an M4 Mac mini as my main workhorse since December 2024, and for most of that time, its lack of USB-A ports was a major limitation, as I noted in my review. For more than a year and a half, I had to make do with USB-A adapters, using them to connect all kinds of peripherals, and they genuinely limited how I used the tiny Mac desktop. Recently, however, I got my hands on a Thunderbolt dock, which allowed me to finally start using the Mac mini as a proper desktop PC.

I never realized that 3D printing could be used in so many ways. Recently, I wanted to mount an LED strip in a way that I would normally have to either buy a special light kit for or a custom LED channel. However, with some translucent filament and a few clicks, I printed my own LED channel for a fraction of the cost.

If you've ever put too much faith in a storage device, you're not alone. We've all been there. It doesn't matter if you're buying a portable SSD, an NVMe drive that goes inside your PC, or even a good old HDD—the risk of data loss is always real, and always mildly scary.

Reddit's legacy experience may be under threat.

The internet's home page is constantly undergoing little changes here and there, but as Engadget reported, there's reason to believe Old Reddit might not be long for this world in its current state.

The legacy version of the message board website, which some users prefer to the modern interface, will see unspecified "changes" over time, according to an official blog post. The idea is to combat AI scraping, which has been rampant on Reddit over the last few years.

SEE ALSO: Reddit is ramping up its AI moderation tools. Moderators aren't happy.

Reddit has already made some changes to Old Reddit in this regard, as you currently can't use Old Reddit without being logged into a real account.

One Reddit admin admitted recently that the company "can't promise it will be around forever." However, that doesn't necessarily mean a total shutdown; CEO Steve Huffman also recently said Reddit is looking into limiting access or rebuilding it with modern tech rather than getting rid of it wholesale.

So, not only is AI making everything more expensive, but it's also making it harder for older websites to exist. At a certain point, one has to wonder if it's all worth it.

I have several security cameras in my smart home, both inside and out. I wanted to use a security camera for another project, but I didn't have one spare. Instead, I used a free app to turn my old Samsung Galaxy S8 into a dedicated smart camera.

My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with 256GB of storage. While that doesn't sound like much, thanks to a 2TB cloud Google One subscription, it's never been an issue. My photos, videos, and other files are just offloaded to the cloud.

Another solar eclipse is coming. If you're ready to look up to the sky for the special event, don't forget to protect your eyes. As Europe gears up to witness a total eclipse, parts of North America will enjoy a partial eclipse.

The solar eclipse is taking place on Wednesday, Aug. 12. According to NASA, a total solar eclipse will be seen in Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. However, partial eclipses can be seen in the northern U.S. (from Alaska to North Carolina), most of Canada, much of Europe, and northwestern Africa.

If you're planning on watching the eclipse, you'll need a pair of solar eclipse glasses. Be wary, there are plenty of solar eclipse glasses available, especially on Amazon, but you must make sure they're ISO 12312-2 Certified for the safest eye protection. The American Astronomical Society has a list of approved manufacturers you can verify too.

Since the glasses are delicate, make sure to check them before use, making sure there are no punctures or tears. To test them, wear them inside your home, and you shouldn't be able to see any light fixtures besides a small filament.

To prepare for the upcoming solar eclipse, here's a list of all the options available at Amazon. All the options on this list are either CE, ISO, or AAS-certified to protect your eyes during the eclipse. Plus, they all arrive before Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Solar Eclipse Glasses in the UK

• Absolute Eclipse Solar Eclipse Glasses — £4.79

• Soluna Solar Eclipse Glasses — £5.99

• Solar Optics Solar Eclipse Glasses 5-pack with Phone Filters — £14.99

• Lunt Solar Eclipse Glasses 5-pack — £15.99

• Kesseph Solar Eclipse Glasses — £17.99

Solar Eclipse Glasses in the US and North America

• PNJ Solar Eclipse Glasses — $9.85

• Lunt Solar Eclipse Glasses — $9.95

• Soluna Solar Eclipse Glasses — $14.99

• AAA Eclipse Solar Glasses — $17.95

With the economy in shambles, I'm a fan of repurposing the hardware you already own. I've even found uses for my tiny 120GB SATA drives, so it shouldn't surprise you that I believe a 250GB SSD can be just as useful.

SAVE 8%: As of Aug. 7, you can get the 11-inch Apple iPad Air (M4) for $689 at Amazon, down from $749. That's an 8% discount or $60 in savings.

11-inch Apple iPad Air (M4) $689 at Amazon
$749 Save $60   Get Deal at Amazon

With back-to-school shopping in full swing, finding a deal on a brand-new iPad is tough — especially after recent price hikes across Apple's lineup. But if you're looking for a powerful tablet for classes, note-taking, or general productivity before the semester starts, any markdown on their latest tech is worth jumping on.

SEE ALSO: Tax-free weekend: The best deals on laptops, power stations, and more you can get right now

Right now, the 11-inch Apple iPad Air (M4) is on sale at Amazon for $689. While it did hit an all-time low of $519 back in June, this is still a great way to save. While it did hit an all-time low of $519 back in June, this is still the best price you'll find on an M4 model right now. It's also worth noting that Amazon's pricing varies by color: if you choose space gray, you'll pay $709.

This deal is for the 128GB WiFi model in Starlight. It comes equipped with an 11-inch Liquid Retina display, Touch ID, WiFi 7, and all-day battery life. It also features 12MP front and rear cameras, which are ideal if you have a lot of virtual classes or video calls on your schedule. Plus, the new M4 chip keeps everything running fast, even with heavy multitasking, and you can pair it with a Magic Keyboard or Apple Pencil Pro if you need it for typing up papers or drawing.

Documentary fans have been treated to some pretty great stuff on Netflix lately, with a couple of chilling true-crime titles burning up the Top 10 charts in the U.S. recently—The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare and A Toxic Love Story—both of which we've covered in this weekly recommendation list. With August now upon us, though, the streaming giant isn't letting you off the hook just yet.

Luxury sedans aren't exactly known for being cheap, but there's a big difference between an expensive car and an expensive car that keeps getting more expensive as you add the features you actually want. That's where the BMW 5 Series can start to sting.

WLED lets you control multiple LED strips at a time using a single microcontroller. It’s accessible in that you can flash the firmware with a web browser, and minimal soldering is necessary. WLED can be controlled with a browser or a web app, and it even integrates natively with Home Assistant.