Technology

Changing your DNS server is one of those simple networking tweaks that can make browsing safer, but DNS privacy is easy to misunderstand. Changing your DNS provider does not make your browsing history invisible. Your ISP, employer, school, or network administrator may still have other ways to determine which services you are connecting to.

Raspberry Pi users should be familiar with a program called Scratch. I've been doing more and more work with it lately, and I realized that, as I've moved away from spending time with streaming and doomscrolling, I've gotten more into making things with my various devices. Scratch is quite fun to use, and I wanted to share a few easy projects/mini apps you can make with it in less than a few hours.

For the past couple of days, I noticed that my Windows 11 laptop has been having some hiccups. Browsing feels slow. Navigating the file system causes lag. Opening a file takes twice as long as before. So I had to hunt for the reasons that were eating up my computer resources.

Why are Windows laptops so expensive right now?

The ongoing memory crisis, aka "RAMageddon," is the main reason why Windows laptop prices have skyrocketed this year. But it also doesn't help that Microsoft reportedly raised its Windows 11 licensing fees by abnormally high rates. In other words, PC makers are spending more on both hardware and software right now, so they're making consumers eat the extra costs.

Some of our current picks have faced price hikes in recent months, including the Asus Zenbook A16, the Dell XPS 14, XPS 13, and 14S, and the Framework Laptop 13. We've re-evaluated them and decided that they're still worth recommending at their higher prices, but will remove them from this guide if we find better-value alternatives or if their prices keep climbing to exorbitant levels.

What's new this month

I made several updates to this guide in late September 2026:

• I added the Asus ProArt PZ14 as a new pick following our latest round of testing. It's now our favorite Windows laptop for creators.

• I added the Dell XPS 13's results from our battery life test. It lasted 18 hours and 56 minutes — more than four hours longer than its Apple counterpart, the MacBook Neo.

• I added some information about a new Surface Laptop that Microsoft just announced (see below under "What to look forward to").

I'm currently monitoring the availability of two of our existing picks: the Acer Swift Edge 14 AI and the Intel-powered Acer Swift X 14. Both were out of stock at the time of writing but could return, so I'm keeping them on this guide for now. If it turns out they've been fully discontinued, I'll replace them with other models. (As things stand, the Dell 14S would become my top choice for college students, and the AMD-powered Acer Swift X 14 AI would be my new pick for photo and video editing.)

SEE ALSO: Acer CEO says PC prices could drop in 2027

As a quick note before we get into the picks, Mashable tests laptops on the basis of performance, battery life, design/build quality, and value. We do so using a combination of synthetic benchmarking and real-world usage. You can read more about our testing process in the "How We Tested" section.

A note about ARM-based Windows laptops Asus' Zenbook A-series laptops are two of the best ARM-based laptops I've tried. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips use ARM-based architecture, not traditional x86 architecture like Intel and AMD chips. As such, their compatibility differs. ARM-based laptops don't work natively with certain specialty software (like AutoCAD), nor can they run as many PC games.

ARM compatibility issues are a non-concern for the majority of general-purpose Windows users, but they'll be dealbreakers for some demographics — PC gamers being an obvious one.

College students should also steer clear of ARM laptops. When I examined the 10 top public universities' hardware recommendations for the 2026 fall semester, I found that a couple schools explicitly advised their students against getting ARM-based laptops to make sure they can run all of their necessary coursework without emulation. (This is one big reason why I recommend the Acer Swift Edge 14 AI and Dell 14S for college students, in particular: They have x86-based Intel chips.)

The good news is that ARM compatibility has gotten better over the past couple years, and it will definitely continue to do so now that Nvidia is coming out with its own RTX Spark "superchips," which run on ARM.

What we're testing right now

The Mashable team has a bunch of other Windows laptops in hand for testing right now, including the Alienware 16 Area-51, Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i, Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1, Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition, Lenovo LOQ Essential 15, Lenovo Legion 5i, Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, MSI Prestige 16 AI+, Framework Laptop 13 Pro, Asus Zenbook Duo, and Acer Swift Air 14. Stay tuned to see if any of them make the cut for a future update to this guide.

What to look forward to

On Sept. 23, Microsoft announced a second-generation Surface Laptop 13-inch with the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip and a brighter display. It's a slightly cheaper and more portable version of the company's flagship Surface Laptop 8, which comes in two sizes and with Snapdragon X2 Plus or Elite chips.

Now available for preorder, the Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $1,199.99 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS storage. It launches Oct. 13 alongside the Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd edition), a detachable tablet that starts at $1,149.99 with the same specs.

Earlier in September, several other PC makers announced new laptops at IFA, a tech trade show in Berlin. The models confirmed for an eventual U.S. release are:

• Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe, a budget laptop that comes in two sizes and seven colors

• Lenovo Yoga Pro 5n and Yoga 9n 2-in-1, two creator laptops powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark platform

• Lenovo ThinkBook 14 Gen 9 and ThinkBook 14x Gen 2, two fresh business laptops

• Acer Swift Air 16, a slim 16-incher

• Another version of the Dell 14S with more colors, less powerful processors, and a cheaper price tag

America has a new generative AI chatbot. Well, not really, but President Trump is pushing for citizens to stop clicking through government websites and just ask a chatbot.

On Tuesday, the White House launched a revamped America.gov, an AI-powered portal meant to be a single front door to the federal government. Trump signed an executive order establishing America.gov during the event, describing the site as "a restoration of America's founding promise."

It works like most AI chatbots. You enter a query (strictly related to the federal government), and the chatbot searches it up. According to the site, America.gov searches information across roughly 29,000 government websites and returns answers based on official federal sources.

Ask America.gov what powers it has, and you won't get far. When Mashable asked which language models it runs on, the chatbot replied: "I do not publish which language models power America." (Yes, it calls itself "America.")

U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia was more forthcoming on TV. He told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the site is powered by artificial intelligence from Google's Gemini and Elon Musk's Grok.

How does America work?

While an ambitious search engine, there's not much you can do with it. The site's About page describes the launch as Phase 1, focused on making it faster to access government information. Phase 2 is slated for 2027 and will add the ability to apply, enroll and track progress directly in the chat. Every answer, the site says, links back to the official government page it came from.

Credit: Mashable screenshot

The administration plans to expand the tool so people can begin or complete tasks such as renewing passports, enrolling in Medicare, checking student-loan information and reserving federal campsites. The site also says it will eventually help users find federal jobs, and a mobile app is on the roadmap. Those features are all promised for next year.

For now, the site advertises a handful of features:

• Answers in English, Spanish, or French.

• Voice input through a microphone icon.

• Step-by-step guidance on tasks like passport renewals.

• Help reading government documents. Users can upload a PDF of a form or letter, and the site says personal information will be automatically removed.

Naturally, one might have privacy concerns with a Trump-admin-backed AI chatbot. The site's "Why you can trust" section on the About page says it doesn't retain conversations, though some answers may be cached for up to 2 hours. Additionally, you don't need an account, and it says that it doesn't save names or IP addresses.

Those privacy features are well and good. How safe the website will be when users can eventually input personal, identifiable information for passport and medicare applications remains to be seen. The Guardian found in June that sites already deployed by the team behind America.gov were using commercial tools to track user behavior and data. Those tools did not appear to comply with the Privacy Act.

What is America?

Speaking of who designed the website, America.gov is the flagship product of the National Design Studio (NDS). The studio was created by Executive Order 14338, which Trump signed on Aug. 21, 2025, to redesign how the public interacts with government online. The site itself is operated by the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that handles much of the federal government's technology.

Both organizations have deep ties to Elon Musk's controversial "Department of Government Efficiency." That endeavor was quietly dissolved in May after Musk departed the executive office during a feud with Trump.

The GSA was one of DOGE's earliest and hardest-hit targets. The agency dismissed more than 1,000 employees and set a goal of cutting staff by 63 percent in its Public Buildings Service division. DOGE also shut down 18F, a technology consulting unit within the GSA. Ironically, 18F was a team of government technologists focused on making federal websites easier to use.

AI chatbots have been part of the GSA's story ever since. In early 2025, DOGE rolled out a custom AI-powered chatbot, GSAi, to around 1,500 government workers as it continued to slash the federal workforce. One employee at the time told WIRED the tool gave "generic and guessable answers."

NDS, meanwhile, has become what WIRED called a landing pad for DOGE veterans. The studio is led by Gebbia, the Airbnb cofounder and longtime Musk associate who joined DOGE in February 2025. Like DOGE, it sits inside the Executive Office of the President.

According to WIRED, NDS's head of engineering is Edward Coristine, the DOGE staffer known as "Big Balls," who was 19 when he joined the government. Akash Bobba, another young engineer from DOGE's early core, moved over as well. WIRED also reported that NDS jobs don't appear on USAJobs, the federal government's hiring portal.

One engineer interviewed by Coristine told WIRED the process felt like it had no real structure. According to the engineer, Coristine pitched the job as a search for "hardcore engineers who can ship." At the time, the engineer said, Coristine told them the roughly 30-person NDS team didn't include a machine-learning engineer.

What can America talk about?

The administration says Americans can trust America because every answer comes "straight from the source." But on its first day, the answers tend to avoid anything politically inconvenient.

In Mashable's testing, it declined to answer questions that weren't directly related to federal government topics.

When Mashable asked who won the 2020 election, the chatbot said Joe Biden did. When asked whether Trump is in the Epstein files, the answer was yes. PBS NewsHour got the same results, finding that the site confirmed Trump's name is in the Epstein files and that Biden beat him in 2020. Appearing in the files is not itself evidence of wrongdoing, and Trump has denied any. The chatbot declined to comment on the U.S. stance on Israel and Palestine.

What utter woke nonsense. Credit: Mashable screenshot

The AP notes that when Trump spoke at the launch event on Tuesday, the site was changing its answers. When asked again by the AP about the 2020 election, America replied that it couldn't answer "political questions."

PBS News wrote that America said Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration drew more people than Trump's first inauguration in 2017. On the election question, Mashable can confirm that the America chatbot still says Biden won the 2020 election. Regarding the inauguration attendance claim, America told Mashable that Obama drew 1.8 million people to his 2009 swearing-in, but would not provide an attendance figure for either of Trump's. "Trump’s January 20, 2025, swearing-in was held in the Capitol Rotunda, not on the Mall, so it is not comparable as an outdoor crowd," the chatbot said.

On abortion, the chatbot gave a detailed response pertaining to laws in Texas. When asked for websites to access abortion drugs — legal to mail to Texas under its "shield laws" — the chatbot refused, stating that it can't give legal advice.

With Phase 2 set to launch in 2027, the America chatbot's ambitions include handling Americans' personal information and documents, such as Social Security numbers and birth certificates, to help them apply for passports and medical care. Whether Americans hand that information to a chatbot built by DOGE alumni and powered in part by Musk's AI may depend on who they trust to run it.

When I mention that solar panels blanket the roof of my house, the first thing people ask is whether I have an electric bill. Well, yes and no — but that's only part of the story. Here's what I've truly gained from rooftop solar.

Some workdays end in flames. Thankfully, most just end. For the dumpster-fire days, I've already rounded up some great Netflix miniseries for a bad day at work—twice. These four comedies, all on Netflix in the U.S., are funny regardless, but are perfect when you just want a laugh before bed.

TL;DR: Get a one-year Autodesk AutoCAD subscription for $338.97 (reg. $2,095) through Sept. 29. That’s a savings of more than $1,700.

Opens in a new window Credit: Autodesk Autodesk AutoCAD: 1-Year Subscription $338.97
$2,095 Save $1,756.03   Get Deal

AutoCAD doesn’t usually come cheap, which is why this flash sale is worth a look. For a limited time, a one-year subscription costs $338.97 (reg. $2,095). At 83% off, it’s a lot easier to justify, whether you’re a working architect, an engineering student, or someone who finally wants to draft that deck addition properly.

AutoCAD does both precise 2D drafting and 3D modeling. You get professional tools for dimensions, annotations, layers, and layouts, plus solid, surface, and mesh modeling for product, architecture, and engineering work. Native DWG support means you can open, edit, and share the file format most CAD teams already use.

SEE ALSO: 30+ early October Prime Day deals: We found live offers on Apple, Nintendo, and Garmin this weekend

The newer AI features are where it gets interesting. Smart Blocks detect, create, and replace reusable blocks, so you’re not redrawing the same elements over and over. Markup Assist interprets markups, and Activity Insights tracks drawing history. Both help when several people are revising the same project.

What else is included?

• Specialized toolsets for architecture, mechanical, electrical, MEP, Plant 3D, Map 3D, and Raster Design

• AutoLISP, scripts, APIs, and macros for automating repetitive tasks

• Cloud collaboration through Autodesk Docs

• Customizable tool palettes, workspaces, templates, and shortcuts

There are a few things to know before you buy.

This is a one-year subscription, not lifetime access, and it covers one device. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, and on Macs with macOS Ventura, Sonoma or Sequoia, so check the full system requirements first. It’s open to new and existing Autodesk users, and you’ll need to redeem your code within 30 days of purchase.

Get a one-year Autodesk AutoCAD subscription for $338.97 (reg. $2,095) through Sept. 29.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

First Meta gave us Jolly. Now, OpenAI is letting you name your own little AI guy.

Less than a week after Meta introduced the cheerful mascot for its Muse AI assistant, OpenAI introduced Dots at its 2026 DevDay conference. Dots is an always-on AI agent represented by your choice of various colorful little characters.

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"Dots are frontier intelligence that have your back," OpenAI wrote in its announcement. "Powered by GPT‑6 Astra, they have their own cloud computer, learn from feedback over time, and can work towards your goals 24/7."

SEE ALSO: OpenAI introduces Dots, a new always-on AI agent, at Dev Day 2026 Meet the little guys doing the big jobs Credit: OpenAI

OpenAI’s launch materials show Dots in pink, blue, green, yellow, and purple, with different appearances. One dot wears glasses, while another headphones, and another a bow-tie. The examples are named Iggy, Felipe, Todd, Alfred, and Jojo, but you can give your own Dot whatever name you like.

The company calls Dots "an extension of you" and describes agents learning how you think and what good work looks like to you. Users can message them in ChatGPT, Slack, and Teams, or hop on a voice call.

For anyone juggling deadlines and unfinished projects, the appeal of having something that remembers the context and keeps the work moving. A familiar character gives that promise a cute face you can return to...and trust.

It also raises a question for the person connecting their accounts: How much confidence are they placing in the agent’s abilities, and how much comes from the feeling of familiarity? A name and a colorful avatar can make an interaction feel far more comfortable before a user has much experience actually judging the work.

SEE ALSO: From Clippy to Jolly: Why tech keeps putting a cute face on its products Dots still needs supervision Credit: OpenAI

OpenAI says users choose which apps their Dots can access and can set rules governing when they act independently or ask for approval. Users can inspect a Dot’s computer and follow its progress. The company says background "proactive research" uses read-only tools, and certain sensitive tasks, such as changing a password, remain with the user.

"Dots can still make mistakes, so always review consequential work," OpenAI writes.

Altman and OpenAI are pulling from a familiar strategy. After all, it’s a lot easier to ask users to trust an AI agent with their life when it looks like a little guy in a beret.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Minecraft Dungeons II is now out for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and on Steam.

Unfortunately, based on Reddit posts and Google Search trends, some gamers trying to play the latest Minecraft action-RPG adventure are reportedly running into some issues on launch day. Specifically, error code 0064 may appear when attempting to boot up the game.

Users have speculated that it could be due to launch-day server overload or a Microsoft authentication issue. The good news? Google Search trends for the error code only spiked for a brief period of time on Sept. 29, so the issue may be resolved.

What could cause this type of error? As of now, it's unclear exactly what the cause of error 0064 is, but we can safely rule out some possibilities.

Gamers have reported the error 0064 issue across platforms, so it's likely not a bug specific to any one console.

Error 0064 is also reportedly hitting users as they attempt to sign in, so if you're already in the game, you should be safe.

However, if you're seeing the Error 0064 message, some gamers have shared that restarting the game or simply spamming the login button eventually worked for them.

Other potential fixes include logging in and out of your Microsoft account, or if you're on a PC, you can try repairing the Minecraft Launcher.

To repair the Minecraft Launcher on a Windows PC, follow these steps:

• Go to Windows Search and type in Minecraft Launcher

• Right-click on Minecraft Launcher when it shows up and select App Settings

• Press Terminate to close the launcher and then click on the Repair option

• When that's complete, reopen the Minecraft Launcher and select Minecraft Dungeons II

Users can also try uninstalling the game and reinstalling it, or contacting Minecraft Technical Support, if nothing else works.

If you've ever browsed a torrent website (it's OK to just look, right?) you've surely seen movies listed with a retail UHD Blu-ray as the source. Logically, the only way this could happen is if someone used a computer Blu-ray drive to make a digital copy of the original.

Anthropic, one of the biggest AI companies in the world, is currently gearing up to go public. As the Claude-maker prepares for a potential blockbuster IPO later this year, Reuters has got its hands on the company's prospectus, which lays out Anthropic's financials and risks for investors.

According to the prospectus obtained by Reuters, Anthropic made $4.6 billion in revenue in 2025. That's twelve times its growth in the previous year.

But there's bad news, too: The AI company lost more than it brought in last year, Reuters reported. A lot more.

Anthropic reportedly lost a whopping $42 billion in 2025. Of that net loss, $8.06 billion was spent on operating costs in 2025, far higher than its 2024 operating costs of $2.98 billion, according to Reuters. In addition, the documents Reuters reviewed stated that compute and infrastructure costs from Anthropic's AI lab amounted to an additional $7.33 billion. 

Anthropic is hardly alone in spending more than it takes in, however. In July, after pouring money into AI development, Google reported its first quarter of negative cash flow since the company went public.

The AI industry is in the midst of a massive infrastructure build-out, with an estimated trillion dollars being spent on AI data centers, energy, and other resources in 2026 alone. Axios recently reported that the industry as a whole is expected to spend $10 trillion through 2032.

So, it's hardly surprising that Reuters reported that Anthropic's capital expenditures will only balloon in the years ahead. The IPO prospectus seen by Reuters stated that the company plans to spend $518 billion on "cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations" over the next few years. To make matters even more concerning for potential investors, about 80 percent of that $518 billion is allocated to non-cancelable deals.

Anthropic is currently eyeing a public offering that would put the company at a $2 trillion valuation.

You probably don't think much about privacy when you're sending someone an Excel file. After all, it's just a spreadsheet, and you can see what's on the sheets before you send it. The thing is, a workbook can actually contain more than the cells you can see. It might still have your name in its metadata, a hidden worksheet you forgot about, or a file path pointing to a folder on your computer.

SAVE $110: As of Sept. 29, the Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 is available for $169.99 at Amazon. That's a 39% saving on the regular list price of $179.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 27-Inch Odyssey G5 $169.99 at Amazon
$279.99 Save $110   Get Deal

There's no better time to stock up on gaming hardware than one of the major sale events — one of the few times you'll find discounts on top-quality gaming gear. And you don't have to wait long for the next moment to shop, as Amazon launches its October Prime Day on Oct. 6.

In fact, you don't have to wait at all because we're seeing gaming deals crop up already, including a generous discount on a Samsung monitor.

As of Sept. 29, the Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 is priced at $169.99. That's $110 off the regular list price of $279.99.

At 27 inches, this monitor is designed for modestly sized gaming setups. And it promises to bring that gaming space to life with plenty of visual-enhancing specs, including a QHD resolution, G-Sync compatibility for smooth gameplay, a Fast IPS panel, and an 180Hz refresh rate with a 1ms response time. It's also designed to improve your performance with its Virtual Aim Point feature — a crosshairs target that appears on the screen, allowing you to shoot with pinpoint accuracy.

If you're aiming for a gaming monitor upgrade, don't miss your chance to save $110 on the Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 — now priced at just $169.99 ahead of Prime Day.

The best deals this week, hand-picked by our shopping experts

• Apple iPhone 18 Pro — free at T-Mobile 

• Paramount+ — $0.99 for 2 months with code p2mcs26prem

• Pokémon 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box — $89.99 (save vs. market price)

• Apple iPad Pro — $1,899 $2,099 (save $200)

• TCL 85-Inch Class QM8L Series TV — $2,497.99 $3,999.99 (save $1,502)

Your Google account is one of the most important keys to your digital life. It can hold a significant amount of information about what you search for, places you visit, your personal information, contacts, and more. Yet, people often overlook these Google account settings when it comes to maintaining their account privacy. As a result, you may leave some default settings enabled, allowing Google to save your activity and use it to personalize your experience, recommendations, and ads.

Streaming is becoming an expensive ordeal. In the past year, it feels like almost every streaming service has raised its prices. In March, Netflix increased its subscription costs for the second time in less than two years. Unfortunately, I don't see those prices coming down anytime soon.

The Brick is a trendy app-blocking device that makes it easier to stay off your phone; one Mashable writer used it to cut her screen time in half. It's a rather plain little gadget that's gray and blocky — pretty brick-like, some might say — but now, you can change that.

Brick has just launched Brick Cases, some colorful snap-on shells for its eponymous device. They're priced at $39 each and sold exclusively in the U.S. through Brick's website, the company announced on Instagram Sept. 22.

View this post on Instagram

There are four Brick Case styles available, each with names that reference activities you should be doing instead of staring at a screen:

• Catch Rays (butter yellow)

• Unwind (brick red)

• Look Up (a cloudy sky pattern)

• Get Outside (a mossy green color with a grass-textured surface)

According to an FAQ on Brick's website, the Brick Case is merely an aesthetic upgrade for the Brick and doesn't change how it functions. "Swap colors and textures to match your space or your style — because Bricking is personal and now it looks like it," it reads.

Personalize your screen time companion. Credit: Brick

Note that the Brick Case only works with the latest version of the Brick, not the original model. The device got a minor redesign with rounder edges and a new logo this summer. (Any Brick purchased from getbrick.com after July 30 of this year is considered an "upgraded Brick.")

The Brick contains an NFC chip that can block certain apps when you tap your phone to its surface. To "unbrick" your phone, you must tap it against the Brick again. Compared to traditional screen-time apps, "the physical limitation of the Brick adds an extra barrier," writes Mashable's Samantha Mangino, "making it especially effective at preventing you from overriding your screen time and staying truly distraction-free."

The Brick works with iPhones running iOS 17 or later and Android phones running Android 12 or newer. It's pricey for what it is at $59 — adding a case makes it almost $100 (!) — but sharing it between multiple users ups its value. Read Mangino's full review of the Brick for more.

Opens in a new window Credit: Brick Brick Case $39 at getbrick.com
  Shop Now

When it comes to watching sports, the playoffs are the best part of any season. That's also true for the WNBA, which kicked off with its first round on Sunday, with some star-studded Game 1 bouts. And even though the playoffs have only just begun, it's only taken 1 game for things to get weird already.

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Three of the four higher seeds won as expected. The fourth result was the biggest upset the first round can produce: the No. 8 seed beating the No. 1 seed on its home floor. Add a historic performance from 4-time league MVP A'ja Wilson, a franchise-first win in the Bay, and a fresh round of league awards, and there's a lot to catch up on before the Game 2s tip off tonight.

Here's what happened on day one, and what to watch this week.

No. 8 Liberty makes history

The New York Liberty went into Minneapolis and beat the Minnesota Lynx 91-75 in a shocking blowout of the championship favorites. Per BK Reader, New York is now the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to win a playoff game against a No. 1 seed. Before Sunday, the eighth seeds were 0-11 against the top seeds in the postseason.

Liberty Forward Breanna Stewart finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, marking her third career 30-point playoff double-double, per ESPN. Stewart was given plenty of room to work as Lynx players Napheesa Collier, Natasha Howard, and Nia Brodie had each picked up four fouls. Plus, New York shooting 52 percent from three didn't hurt either.

On the other side, newly minted Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles had a rough playoff debut, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

To be clear, the Liberty's win is not a case of the Lynx just having a bad day. The Liberty won the 2024 title (beating, yes, the Lynx in the Finals), and the roster is stacked with All-Stars and a former MVP in Stewart. With first-time head coach Chris DeMarco at the helm, the team had a bumpy year, plagued by injuries early in the season. In mid-July, with the team sitting at 13-12, the Liberty would finish the season 13-6, for an overall 26-18 record, to grab the W's final playoff spot. It was a crowded playoff race, too, with just four games separating the Liberty from fourth-place Atlanta.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. A'ja Wilson absolutely cooked the Fever

If you needed a reminder about who the real star of the WNBA is, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces delivered just that. Vegas beat the Indiana Fever 102-85 behind a performance from A'ja Wilson that, per ESPN, had never been done before in the league.

"The four-time MVP is the first player in WNBA postseason history to have 20-plus points, three-plus blocks and two-plus steals in a half, and the first player in WNBA history — regular season or postseason — with 35 points, 15 rebounds and a 75% FG." - ESPN's Kareem Copeland

Wilson finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks, including 22 points in the first half, where she won one-on-one matchups against Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston. Wilson's co-stars Jackie Young (21 points, 10 assists) and Chelsea Gray (14 points, eight assists) made sure Indiana couldn't just let Wilson get hers and lock down everyone else. The Aces dropped 62 points in the first half alone.

Indiana, despite its name, just couldn't find a rhythm. The Fever's backcourt — Clark with 15 and Mitchell with 12 — shot for a combined 10-for-33 from the field. Boston, listed as questionable with a lower leg injury, still put up 18 points and eight rebounds.

Fever fans, understandably, are not having a good week.

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But a vocal chunk of the wider WNBA fandom is openly rooting for an Indiana exit, less out of dislike for the team than out of exhaustion with the Caitlin Clark discourse that has dominated the league's online conversation for three seasons running.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. The rest of Day 1:

(4) Atlanta Dream 92, (5) Washington Mystics 77: Atlanta won thanks to a lopsided third quarter, DeWanna Bonner's veteran scoring, and 26 points from Rhyne Howard. The Dream trailed 41-36 at the half, then outscored Washington 29-12 in the third, with Bonner scoring 11 of those. Washington also turned it over 22 times to Atlanta's seven, which undercut a 25-point night from Sonia Citron.

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(2) Golden State Valkyries 104, (7) Dallas Wings 80: Golden State won thanks to hot three-point shooting, a balanced attack, and defense that kept everyone not named Paige Bueckers quiet. The Valkyries hit 16 threes at a 48.5 percent clip, led by four from Cecilia Zandalasini. Bueckers scored 21 in her playoff debut, but no other Wings player topped 11. It's the first playoff win in Valkyries history.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. How to watch the WNBA playoffs Game 2 matchups

Tuesday, Sept. 29

• Las Vegas Aces at Indiana Fever (Aces lead 1-0), 6:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video

• Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty (Liberty lead 1-0), 8:30 p.m. ET, USA Network and CNBC

Wednesday, Sept. 30

• Atlanta Dream at Washington Mystics (Dream lead 1-0), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

• Golden State Valkyries at Dallas Wings (Valkyries lead 1-0), 9 p.m., ET ESPN

Any necessary Game 3 matchups shift back to the higher seed's home court: Liberty-Lynx and Fever-Aces on Thursday, Oct. 1, and Mystics-Dream and Wings-Valkyries on Friday, Oct. 2, with times still to be announced. ESPN-network games stream on the ESPN app, and live TV services like YouTube TV, Fubo, and DirecTV carry ESPN, USA, and CNBC.

The semifinals start Sunday, Oct. 4, and the Finals tip off Saturday, Oct. 17, on NBC and Peacock.

How the WNBA playoffs work

New to the W, or just here because of the Liberty upset? Here's the quick version.

The top eight teams in the league make the playoffs, regardless of conference, and are seeded one through eight by record. The first round is a best-of-three series in a 1-1-1 format: the higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3, and the lower seed hosts Game 2. That's why the Liberty, despite being the 8-seed, gets to play at home on Tuesday.

The semifinals are best-of-five, and the Finals are best-of-seven. This will be the second year of the newly expanded WNBA Finals as a best-of-seven series, with 2025's Finals ending in a 4-0 sweep by the Las Vegas Aces over the Phoenix Mercury.

It's a different setup from the NBA, which sends eight teams from each conference (sorted in part by its play-in tournament) and plays every round as a best-of-seven series. The NBA did once have a shorter first round, though. From 1984 to 2002, the first round was best-of-five, then went to seven games in 2003. The change was seen as beneficial for higher-seeded teams as it decreased the likelihood of an upset.

A short series means there's very little room for a bad night, which is exactly why a single Game 1 like Sunday's can flip an entire bracket.

You do some tasks in the Linux terminal so often that you never even bother to look for easier ways to do them. While looking for Linux tricks for time-saving and productivity, I found some hidden gems that I'm sure you'll find useful every day in your terminal sessions.

September is a big month for Big Tech events, where companies showcase their latest products. And now, OpenAI has just joined the party with DevDay 2026 in San Francisco.

The AI giant held its annual DevDay event on Tuesday and had a slew of announcements to make. OpenAI recently released GPT-6 Astra, an advanced new model, but it's also facing demands for much stricter regulation after its AI agents hacked third-party systems.

The biggest news of the day was the launch of Dots, a new AI agent to rival Meta's Muse AI.

Here are all the biggest announcements from OpenAI DevDay 2026.

Dots Credit: OpenAI

Apparently, every AI company needs cartoon mascots nowadays.

OpenAI is taking a page out of Meta's book, and it's not just the animated characters. Dots are OpenAI's always-on AI personal assistant product, a la Meta's Muse.

According to OpenAI, Dots work and complete tasks across existing context and connected applications. As users work with their Dots assistant, it will learn from user feedback and improve on said tasks over time. Being an always-on AI agent, Dots work in the background via a secure cloud computer as users go about their day, OpenAI said.

For now, Dots are available to users on the Pro and Business Premium enterprise plans. The new AI agents began rolling out to eligible users today.

GPT-6.1 Sol

OpenAI also announced an upgraded version of GPT-6 Sol, the model that can be viewed as a more cost-efficient version of GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI's most powerful model.

OpenAI says GPT-6.1 Sol has "exceptionally strong performance on agentic coding, computer use and professional work." It's nearly as intelligence as Astra but costs less than a quarter the price.

Here's how the pricing breaks down:

• GPT 6.1 Sol costs $2 per million input tokens

• $0.10 per million cached input tokens

• $10 per million output tokens

Pro 500 plan and Ultrafast

If you thought OpenAI's $200 per month plan was expensive, wait until you hear about Ultrafast.

OpenAI announced a new $500 per month plan called Pro 500. The new plan includes access to Ultrafast, a feature that allows OpenAI's Codex and Work apps to work on tasks faster. Ultrafast allows Codex and Work to generate up to 300 tokens per second, or 8 times faster.

"Ultrafast is our premium speed tier for workloads where speed matters most," OpenAI said.

The feature is also coming to the API, which will provide 6 times the standard speed.

ChatGPT Space

AI collaboration will now happen in a new dedicated space, aptly called ChatGPT Space. Colleagues can work together on ChatGPT Space, sharing context, and their Dot AI assistants can access this shared knowledge.

More of OpenAI's DevDay announcements can be found at the DevDay 2026 website.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.