Technology

I've been building Excel dashboards for years, and my method has changed almost as much as Excel itself. One day I'll build one with formulas, the next I'll use only refined PivotTables, and increasingly, I'll ask AI to do the heavy lifting. But recently, I've found myself getting into a bit of an AI prompt trap. Is it better to give it more information and direction? Should I get into a back-and-forth conversation? Or should I just keep things simple?

Termux is one of the most underrated tools you can put on your Android phone. It turns an ordinary Android phone into a capable Linux workstation without rooting or flashing anything. And these are just three Linux things you can do on your Android phone, all thanks to Termux.

Milwaukee is known for making some of the best power tools and has hundreds of products to choose from. Sure, the drills, impact wrench, and Sawzall are some of the most popular, but tons of items fall into other categories and are just as good.

Google Lens is a powerful tool, and it always has been. However, the push towards an AI-focused ecosystem has taken some core Lens features and blatantly made them worse. Artificial intelligence is meant to take burdens off the user, but in many ways, Lens has become far too bloated, loaded with AI-centric features that make its overall experience more cluttered and more complicated.

DLSS has been a game-changer. NVIDIA's decision to sacrifice space in its GPUs for dedicated AI-acceleration hardware has turned out to be a visionary move. DLSS solves a serious problem created by high-resolution flat panels and the frustration of having to target an arbitrary panel resolution because scaling methods looked awful.

The AirPods Max 2 are among the best headphones if you consider their overall feature set, and they're even status symbols. They stand out from the latest Bose or Sony headphones and are clearly a flex that shows you have $549 to spend on audio. Even so, they have limitations. They sound good enough, but they're heavy, lack gym-friendly sweat resistance, and lose some of their features if you use Android.

Pete Davidson has a lot to get off his chest. And, no, not just the tattoos.

In a new Variety cover story and accompanying videos published Sept. 30, the comedian opened up about famous exes Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, discussed Ye's harassment, took aim at influencer culture, and defended AI filmmaking. And, naturally, the internet had plenty to say about all of it.

He reflected on dating Kim Kardashian — and offered Ye some sympathy

Davidson revisited one of his most scrutinized relationships: his time with Kim Kardashian.

The two began dating after sharing a kiss in an October 2021 Saturday Night Live sketch, while she was divorcing Ye (formerly Kanye West). They split in August 2022, but Davidson says there's still love there. "I’m one of the survivors — the few and the proud. We’re like the Marines," he joked about men who have dated Kardashians.

He said Kardashian respected his boundaries, but the constant attention and security became overwhelming while he was dealing with mental health and substance use issues. His comments drew criticism online, with some users accusing him of portraying himself as a victim. "There he goes crying again, nobody made you date her," said one user.

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As for Ye, who targeted Davidson on Instagram in 2022 and released an "Eazy" music video depicting a claymation version of the comedian being kidnapped and beheaded, Davidson gave a look into what exactly he faced at the time: "What tripped me out is I was super open about mental stuff — everyone knows this about me — and it's like he was [saying], 'Kill yourself.' And he did push me," Davidson said.

He added a joke that whoever Kardashian dated first would have faced Ye’s wrath: "I cleared the path for her to get back into the dating pool."

Despite that history, Davidson expressed a surprising amount of sympathy. "He’s also lost a parent and has mental stuff, and I don't know how he deals with it or who he has around him," he said. Davidson added that Ye was trying to push people away, concluding: "There's zero way he really feels like that."

He defended Ariana Grande against comments about her appearance

Davidson had kind words for Grande, whom he dated and was briefly engaged to in 2018. "I think Ariana’s fuckin’ cool and immensely talented and an awesome girl," he said. "We’re not texting or whatever, but we’re cool."

Asked about the scrutiny surrounding her appearance, he was considerably less fond of the people doing the commenting. "I don’t like it at all. It’s not cool. She’s a really strong person — I’ve witnessed it — and I don’t understand it," Davidson said. "She knows how to handle this stuff, though. She’s been around. So she’ll be OK, but I think it’s fucked up."

He also joked that there should be a support group for men like him and Jake Gyllenhaal, who have become the subjects of famous breakup songs. (Gyllenhal is thought to be the inspiration for Taylor Swift's song, All Too Well.)

SEE ALSO: We're having the wrong conversation about Ariana Grande He had something to say about influencers, too

In Variety’s accompanying "Ask a Local" video, Davidson mocked "get ready with me" videos and TikTok dances.

"Girls are just talking to themselves on there, and they’re like, 'OK, come get ready with me,' and I’m like, 'Who the fuck are you? What do you do?' Nothing. What the fuck is this?" He claimed creators make "$40 million a year," (without naming anyone), and declared that "the world’s broken."

Creators had responses. Hayley Kalil wrote: "Mind you, he does the same thing, just for a TV camera instead of a phone camera." In Variety’s Instagram comments, Claudia Oshry, known as @girlwithnojob, wrote: "But he literally does nothing and also makes $40M....??"

"Imagine dating the biggest influencer of all time and still having these thoughts?" added Oti Mabuse. Creator @wellwithraele questioned why his criticism focused on women: "If the influencer industry was dominated by men, no one would care or have any qualms about a single thing."

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Other responses were more supportive of Davidson’s criticism. "Pete Davidson said what everyone else was thinking," said one user. Another called it the "right message, wrong messenger."

He explained the AI behind his upcoming movie

Davidson also defended the use of AI for locations in Doug Liman's upcoming thriller Bitcoin, saying it allowed the production to avoid extensive travel. "We were trying to shoot a $250 million movie," he said. TheWrap reported that the film actually cost $70 million and used AI for settings and lighting.

Davidson stressed that the production still employed a full crew and extras, adding: "None of our performances are AI or being altered or anything."

The cost-saving argument wasn’t winning over everyone online. "This might just be the least appealing movie of all time," wrote one user. "Oh, they used AI? Well, guess I won't be seeing the Gal Gadot/Pete Davidson Bitcoin movie after all," wrote another.

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FogCam is a long-running project at San Francisco State University. It began in 1994 and has shown live views from different parts of the campus over the years. What makes it special is that it’s the world's oldest continuously operating webcam.

My routine is pretty simple once I get in the car. I connect to Android Auto, hit play, and I get on with my drive. It’s one of those little things I’ve gotten used to—until Google Messages started messing with it.

HP is taking its turn at challenging the MacBook Neo. It's releasing a new OmniBook 5 14 that promises similarly fun colors, but with key upgrades over its main challenger — including potentially gigantic battery life.

Over the last year, I've been using Linux more consistently. What originally started as a way to breathe life into my tired old Windows PCs has become something that could replace Windows for me. Like many people who switched to Linux, one of the biggest things holding me back is the software. There are apps I’ve used for years that simply aren’t available on Linux.

Trends among teenagers are an ever-changing hellscape, and finding the best gifts for teen girls (that they'll actually use for longer than a month) is a coveted skill. Even millennials — people who are not that old, thank you very much — can have trouble keeping up with the world predominantly ruled by TikTok and content creators.

An important reminder: Don't just wing it. Gen Z girls are clearly loyal to a defined handful of brands and have very specific aesthetic goals. Goals that could be torched by the honest mistake of grabbing generic white earbuds instead of the best AirPods or not realizing that Owala has eclipsed Stanley in the hierarchy of trendy water bottles.

SEE ALSO: Claire's is betting Gen Alpha wants creators, not celebrities

But you know who does know what teenage girls want this year? Other teenage girls. I'm regularly tracking viral TikTok products and compiling the most popular stuff with items that the high schoolers in my own life have mentioned. So even if you don't know what terms like whimsymaxxing mean, you're definitely in the right place to find a gift that a teenager thinks is cool. Whether it's for a birthday, holiday, high school graduation, or just because, here are 35+ unique gifts for teenage girls in 2026.

20 years of How-To Geek. It is hard to believe, but our publication first launched in 2006, covering technology that looks almost prehistoric compared to the current landscape. Today, it's a new world of AI agents and vibe coding. When HTG started out, iPhones weren't even announced. Heck, Windows Vista wasn't even out yet.

Some people just have a natural talent for finding gifts on a budget, whether it's Christmas, an anniversary, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or birthdays. Some people nail it every time, getting the "best gift-giver" award among those who are lucky to know them — wife, husband, boyfriend, teens, in-laws, and everyone else.

If you're not one of those people, don't fret. We're here to help no matter the occasion. We've put together a list of the best gift ideas for under $50, from expected-but-useful trinkets to cool items they definitely don't have yet. These unique, budget-friendly gift ideas come from a variety of categories, so you're sure to find something they'll love.

TL;DR: Watch Denmark vs. Portugal in the Nations League for free on RTP. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The UEFA Nations League continues this week with Denmark vs. Portugal, a potentially tricky fixture for the visitors. Portugal are top of the group standings after two games, but Denmark in front of a packed Parken is arguably going to be their toughest test.

Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature, but Portugal are not short of talent.

If you're interested in watching Denmark vs. Portugal in the Nations League from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Denmark vs. Portugal?

Denmark vs. Portugal in the Nations League kicks off at 2.45 p.m. ET on Oct. 1. This fixture takes place at Parken.

How to watch Denmark vs. Portugal for free

Denmark vs. Portugal in the Nations League is available to live stream for free on RTP.

RTP is geo-restricted to Portugal, 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 Portugal, meaning you can live stream Denmark vs. Portugal for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Denmark vs. Portugal for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for 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 Portugal

4. Visit ITVX

5. Watch Denmark vs. Portugal for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only 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 Denmark vs. Portugal without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for RTP?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTP, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries, including Portugal

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is 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 Denmark vs. Portugal for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

If you're a Reddit user who prefers the old Reddit platform, colloquially referred to as "Old Reddit," over the newly designed one, then you're going to want to pay attention to this.

According to Reddit, the company will start blocking Old Reddit for Redditors that haven't used Old Reddit in the previous six months.

Reddit previously limited Old Reddit only to users who are logged into their account.

"In the next few months, we'll further limit access for logged-in users to only those who have used Old Reddit in the last six months (which covers the vast majority of all Old Reddit users)," Reddit posted in r/modnews. 

The Reddit employee who posted this news added that this change will not apply to logged-in platform mods. They can continue to use Old Reddit without any usage requirements.

This latest move appears to point to the company eventually moving away from the old version of the platform, although Reddit has not yet committed to that publicly, at least.

"We’re still working on the future of Old Reddit," the employee posted alongside the usage announcement.

These changes over at Reddit, including the recently announced shutdown of RSS feeds and its public API, have been attributed to the rise of AI bots, according to the company.

SEE ALSO: Reddit is ending RSS feeds — with no replacement. You can blame AI bots.

"Earlier this year, we required people to log in to use Old Reddit, addressing its largest source of abusive scraping and automated traffic: unauthenticated access," Reddit said in its latest update. "That change helped reduce scraping and automated abuse, but still allowed any logged-in account to access Old Reddit, including accounts with no prior Old Reddit use."

This six-month usage requirement will be introduced to "close the gap," according to the company.

Reddit is not shutting the door on AI. The company has become a favorite source for many AI chatbots. As a result, Reddit has discovered that licensing deals with AI companies can be quite lucrative for the social platform. These latest moves are intended to shut out the AI bots that are scraping the platform's content for free.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Tech Sticker Collection (Lucario) is on sale for $49.98 at Amazon, saving you $20.01 from the regular list price of $69.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company TCG 30th Celebration Tech Sticker Collection (Lucario) $49.98 at Amazon
$69.99 Save $20.01   Get Deal

The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration continues with more packs from this new expansion — and we're seeing price cuts already, which is a good incentive for trading card collectors to get started on this particular line.

As of Oct. 1, the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Tech Sticker Collection (Lucario) is $49.98 at Amazon, a reduction of $20.01 from the regular list price of $69.99. 

SEE ALSO: Shop the best early Prime Day deals on Pokémon, including 30th Celebration trading cards for under market price

This Tech Sticker Collection includes three Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration booster packs, a Lucario foil promo card, and a matching tech sticker sheet. And there's an Alolan Exeggutor variant of this collection, also marked down to $49.98 right now — not to mention plenty more Pokémon deals as Amazon gets ready to launch October Prime Day.

Alternatively, you can grab single 30th Celebration cards on TCGplayer if you're looking for something specific.

It's a new fact of life in 2026: If a gadget has memory, it's going to get a price increase eventually.

And on the first day of October, PhoneArena noticed that Samsung had raised prices by $100 or more on its latest-generation flagship smartphones in the U.S., the Galaxy S26 line. Samsung opened the new phone release season when it released the Galaxy S26 in March, and since then, we've documented price increases from Apple, Acer, Google, HP, Motorola, Lenovo, Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox.

Because of a multi-trillion-dollar AI infrastructure spending spree, the memory components that are necessary for laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and other tech products are in short supply.

The Galaxy S26 price hikes hurt even more because the S26 and S26 Plus were already more expensive at launch than their S25 counterparts.

The new prices are:

• Galaxy S26, 256GB — $999.99

• Galaxy S26 Plus, 256GB — $1,199.99

• Galaxy S26 Ultra, 256GB — $1,399.99

Prices vary depending on the storage option you choose, but in general, all the S26 phones are now $100 more expensive. As PhoneArena noted, the 1TB version of the S26 Ultra received a $200 increase.

We do have some good news, however.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE, announced on Sept. 3, is unaffected by the price increases; you can still preorder that phone for a starting price of $699, and it's set to be released on Oct. 5.

In addition, you can still find some deals on the Galaxy S26. Amazon is selling the Galaxy S26 Ultra in the white colorway for over $100 off, letting you cancel out the price increase; you can also buy the base model S26 for its original price in select colors, also at Amazon. Finally, mobile carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile will often offer up to $1,000 off new phones if you switch, trade in an old device, or sign up for a specific plan.

SEE ALSO: Is Samsung's Galaxy S26 FE still a good value at $700? Top deals of the day:

• Save up to 50% on Amazon devices

• Shop Amazon deals on cell phones and accessories

• Best early October Prime Day deals

• Shop the latest TV deals at Amazon

The Galaxy S26 line might be half a year old, but its official price is going up. Samsung has raised prices across the core series by at least $100, with steeper increases at the high end.

Sometimes I wonder: Am I just a big fan of Ethernet, or do I dislike Wi-Fi? The answer is probably "yes." My home is full of various devices, and I try to wire them up as often as possible, as I find that ditching Wi-Fi for Ethernet brings great results 99% of the time.