Technology

Seeing your real-time location on a map isn’t very useful if the map doesn’t show you where to go. This is especially true when it comes to walking and hiking trails, which aren’t usually visible in Google Maps. Matchy Maps fixes this by bringing physical maps into the digital world.

What's better than a fresh watch list for your upcoming long weekend? How about a watch list filled with Oscar-winning films across the years? I love finding new and old award-winning films, which has led me to niche winners that fly under the Big Five radar.

Subaru expanded its rugged lineup at the 2026 New York International Auto Show with the debut of the 2027 Forester Wilderness Hybrid. This marks the first time Subaru’s rugged Wilderness treatment has been paired with a hybrid powertrain, offering a 25% boost in fuel economy without sacrificing the brand’s signature off-pavement performance.

The weekend is a good time to poke around your Linux setup without any real agenda—and that's exactly how I end up finding apps worth keeping. This week I have three picks that cover very different ground: there's a task manager with a surprisingly deep feature set, a network monitor that shows you exactly which servers your apps are talking to, and a system resource tool that looks like it was ripped straight out of Windows. None of these are brand new, but they're all genuinely impressive and criminally underrated.

Ethernet cables are about as simple as they get. They're the easiest, most reliable way to connect a desktop PC to the internet. In the vast majority of cases, you just have to plug the cable into your PC, and just like that, your computer is connected, no configuration necessary.

A lot of new graphics cards and monitors benefit from DP connections, leaving a vacant HDMI slot on many a motherboard. But it doesn't have to remain unused. There are tons of neat things you can connect to that HDMI slot, including projectors, VR headsets, and second displays.

By no means am I a betting man, but I’d wager most readers haven’t heard of Changan. The brand hails from China and has been making vehicles for 40 years.

What makes a great documentary? Is it just an amalgam of facts and images? Or should they have to use those to pull you into worlds you didn't know existed or cared about? My favorite docs are the ones that make their topics an experience, bring in catharsis, pressure, sometimes anxiety, and joy. And it's all true.

While Linux has long been associated with lightweight performance and breathing life into aging machines, Canonical’s release notes for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS signal a clear evolution towards modern computing workloads. The company is quietly bumping its minimum memory requirements for the Linux distro—a widely-used open-source operating system and a beginner-friendly gateway into the Linux world.

As Earth's 8 billion inhabitants beam well wishes up to the sky, the crew of NASA's Artemis II mission is looking back at us with just as much hope.

The mission's Orion spacecraft sent back its first image of Earth yesterday, a beautiful shot of a crescent Earth peeking out through the dark expanse of space, and the crew has gifted us even more stunning high-quality images today.

This black-and-white picture of planet Earth was taken by an optical navigation sensor on the exterior of the Orion spacecraft. Credit: NASA

The new Artemis II images — coupled with initial shots of the spacecraft hurtling through Earth's orbit, surrounded by glittering, galactic ice — have rendered much of the public awestruck, feeds flooding over with an overwhelming sense of emotion as the astronauts look back at our home.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: Artemis II just reached a point of no return. Next stop: The moon.

Artemis II's crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and pilot Victor Glover — includes the first woman and first Black astronaut to go to the moon. For many, the diverse team represents the best of what humanity has to offer, the pinnacle of human ingenuity and bravery.

"Trust us: You look amazing, you look beautiful, and from up here, you also look like one thing," Glover said during a broadcast on Flight Day 2. "We're all one people."

The historic, awe-inspiring mission to the moon will take them farther than any humans have gone in space. It will hopefully be the first of a series of efforts to get us back on the lunar surface — and back to the age of Apollo. And it's just getting started.

NASA is sharing images on its website, where you can check out more of the new Artemis II images:

Wave hello! Artemis II is watching us. Credit: NASA / Reid Wiseman

Well, there we all are. The blue marble. For those who need a little orientation: The large landmass you see in the center-left is Africa. The thin line of glowing green light on the top right and bottom left? The aurora borealis, hovering above us earthbound humans and lighting up our sky as Artemis II sails away.

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. Credit: NASA / Reid Wiseman

Take a look at this incredible shot of the Earth through the Orion capsule window, which NASA posted with a cheery "Good Morning" to the spacecraft's inhabitants and the mission's stateside teams.

Stay safe, Orion crew. That's all of us cheering you on.

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.

Curious where the Artemis II mission is right now? Check out NASA's live mission tracker.

Of all the streaming services, Netflix has built an impressive catalog of documentaries—especially if true crime is your thing. Harking back to the iconic Making a Murderer, the streaming giant knows a compelling crime story when they see one.

TL;DR: Live stream Chelsea vs. Port Vale in the FA Cup for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The latest round of FA Cup fixtures includes some really interesting matchups, including Chelsea vs. Port Vale.

Chelsea will be expected to progress into the semi finals without too much trouble, but Port Vale have been the story of this year's competition. They've already beaten Premier League opposition to reach this round, so why couldn't they do it again? All eyes will be on Stamford Bridge for a potential giant killing, and you can follow all the action without spending anything.

If you want to watch Chelsea vs. Port Vale in the FA Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Chelsea vs. Port Vale?

Chelsea vs. Port Vale in the FA Cup kicks off at 12:15 p.m. ET on April 4. This fixture takes place at Stamford Bridge.

How to watch Chelsea vs. Port Vale for free

Chelsea vs. Port Vale in the FA Cup is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Chelsea vs. Port Vale for free by following these simple steps:

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

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

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

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Live stream Chelsea vs. Port Vale for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Chelsea vs. Port Vale without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the FA Cup before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

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

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• 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 a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Chelsea vs. Port Vale in the FA Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

Normally, when you see a tool marked as being "for developers," your first instinct is to keep away because it's either too complicated, too niche, or it doesn't really apply to you. It turns out, however, that some of them can genuinely be useful, even if you're not a developer.

I self-host a lot of apps in my homelab. Some are just for fun and I spin up and down as needed, and others are crucial parts of my homelab’s infrastructure that I can’t live without. Here are the seven services I make sure are always running.

We've all had that moment when we're standing in the middle of the Home Depot aisle, looking at a glowing neon-green Ryobi tool at a great price and thinking, "I might as well buy one." I have a growing selection of Ryobi tools and battery packs throughout my garage, and I'm a huge fan because they handle everything I need. However, among them is one that's just sitting there collecting dust—literally.

SAVE 42%: As of April 3, you can get the Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Drying System in the Blossom Bliss colorway (with a storage bag) for $219.99, down from $379.99, at Amazon. That's a 42% discount or a $160 price cut.

Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Drying System in the Blossom Bliss colorway (with a storage bag) $219.99 at Amazon
$379.99 Save $160   Get Deal at Amazon

I honestly hate doing my hair, which is exactly why I rely on my Drybar brush to get me out the door in under 10 minutes. But if you're someone who wants a little more versatility to do real curls and bouncy blowouts without spending an hour in the bathroom, you might want to check out the Shark FlexStyle.

Right now, you can get the Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Drying System in the limited-edition Blossom Bliss colorway for just $219.99 at Amazon. That's 42% off the list price and a new record-low price as of March 29.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Dyson Airwrap dupes under $300: The Shark FlexStyle isn't your only option

The FlexStyle goes from a traditional hair dryer to a styler in seconds and comes with auto-wrap curlers that basically do the work for you, plus a concentrator and a storage bag, so you aren't leaving attachments all over the bathroom sink.

But you don't just have to take my word for it: Mashable's Lead Shopping Reporter and beauty tech expert, Bethany Allard, officially named it the "best Dyson Airwrap dupe." She gave it a Mashable Choice Award because the performance is "nearly indistinguishable" from the $600 Dyson, but pointed out that the Shark's unique twisting base and travel-friendly design make it "the superior hair tool."

Earlier this week, Apple released the iOS 26.5 beta for developers, and now we know what changes are included in the release.

Most of the changes are pretty minor, but here's everything Apple's early adopters have spotted so far.

iOS 26.5 beta: A notable absence

As Apple readies the long-awaited AI version of Siri (which will be powered by Google Gemini), developers and journalists are keeping a very close eye on every new iOS update.

However, there's no sign of the new Gemini-powered Siri in this particular beta.

In all likelihood, Apple will debut the new and hopefully improved Siri with iOS 27.

iOS 26.5 beta: What's new

So, what is new with this release?

The most notable changes is visible within Apple Maps. As we reported previously, rumor has it that advertisements will soon be coming to Apple Maps, and Apple appears to be laying the groundwork for these ads in the iOS 26.5 beta.

Within Apple Maps searches, you'll now see a Suggested Places tab (as spotted by MacRumors). Presumably, this is where the future Apple Maps ads will live.

Other changes include:

• You can more eaily pair "Magic" Apple accessories with your iPhone (as reported by our colleagues at Lifehacker)

• MacRumors reports that Apple brought back end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iOS and Android devices

• Updates to StoreKit for developers

• EU-specific changes for third-party wearables and accessories (read more at 9to5mac)

• Wallpaper bug fixes

How to try iOS 26.5 beta

To try iOS 26.5 beta (and the iPadOS 26.5 beta), you'll need to sign up for the Apple beta software program. This will allow you to try out pre-release versions of upcoming iOS updates. As a best practice, always back up your device before installing a beta version of a new OS update.

You can also review the iOS 26.5 beta release notes.

There are lots of steps to complete when setting up a new phone. You add your accounts, install apps, change the sounds and colors, and so on. For me, there's one more step that I always do. I change the DNS settings. And it's one of the most important steps of all.

SAVE $29:54: As of April 3, the Beats Flex earbuds are on sale for only $40.41 at Amazon. That's 42% off their list price of $69.95 and only a dollar away from their best-ever price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Beats Beats Flex wireless earbuds $40.41 at Amazon
$69.95 Save $29.54   Get Deal

While true wireless earbuds have dominated the market for years now, there's still a case to be made for the neckband-style earbuds connected by a wire. They're much harder to lose. You can leave them dangling around your neck like a pendant. You can just slip them out of your ears without worrying about finding a place to put them. And you can find them for pretty dang cheap.

The Beats Flex offer this convenient neckband style and as of April 3, they're on sale for only $40.41 at Amazon. That's 42% off the list price of $69.95 and only about a dollar away from their lowest price to date.

Now quite a few years old, the Beats Flex don't have all the bells and whistles you might expect from brand-new AirPods. But some folks don't care for all of those added features anyway. If you want some earbuds that'll remain in your ears, are comfortable and lightweight, sound good, and are hard to lose, these should do the trick.

They magnetically clasp together when you're not using them and automatically unpause your music when you pull them apart. You'll get about 12 hours of battery life per charge and a quick 10-minute USB-C charging session will give you an extra 1.5 hours of playback. While the Flex have Apple's W1 chip for easy pairing with Apple gadgets, they're also surprisingly Android-friendly, making them a great choice for just about anyone looking for cheap earbuds with the Beats logo.

I used to avoid the command line as much as possible. PowerShell, especially, felt like one of those things you only touched if something had gone very wrong. It looks outdated, it’s not exactly welcoming, and at first glance it feels like you need to memorize a bunch of cryptic commands just to get anything done. But after spending some time with it, I realized it's not nearly as complicated as it seems. Once you get past the interface, PowerShell is just a faster, more direct way to interact with Windows, and in some cases, it gives you access to things the normal interface simply doesn't.