Technology

TL;DR: Upgrade an old PC with this Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows license, on sale now for just $34.97 (reg. $219.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License $34.97
$219.99 Save $185.02   Get Deal

The holiday season isn’t a great time to need a new laptop. If you have an older device, getting a Microsoft Office license for it is the next best thing. It gives you some essential tools that can give your productivity a much-needed boost during this busy time of the year.

Right now, you can refresh your computer with this Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows license for only $34.97 (reg. $219.99).

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If you’ve been living without Microsoft Office, it’s time to make life a little easier. Whether you counted on some of the classic ones to get you through school or you’re totally new to these tools, these apps can help you tackle professional and personal tasks, and this license gives you eight of them.

For just $5 each, you can create documents in Word, build a budget in Excel, manage your emails in Outlook, and design eye-catching presentations in PowerPoint. Teams can keep you connected to coworkers, Access helps you manage large databases, OneNote organizes your digital notes, and Publisher can help you design professional documents.

Don’t worry about this edition hailing from 2021; all the apps have been redesigned. They’re ready to improve your daily workflow, whether you’re a data analyst or designer. Purchases come with an instant delivery and download, so you can install them directly on your device without the need for a cloud connection.

Note: Make sure your device is running Windows 10 or 11 before you purchase. Get a Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows license for only $34.97 (reg. $219.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

When it comes to tackling the inevitable spills and messes of modern life, the convenience and power of a wet/dry vacuum cleaner are unparalleled. This category has completely revolutionised the way we approach general cleaning, allowing users to handle everything from dust to thick liquids in one go. Rendering the traditional mop obsolete, one machine that can clean up any household accident is the way of the future. So, if you are searching for a high-performance cleaning tool, a hybrid vacuum should be at the top of your list. And when it comes to leading the pack with next-generation cleaning technology, you can’t go past the Eureka Floorshine 880.

Opens in a new window Credit: Eureka Eureka FloorShine 880 AU$799 at Amazon Australia
AU$1,099 Save AU$300   Get Deal Key SpecsIndustry-Exclusive Odour Removal

The feature that sets the Floorshine 880 apart is its Industry-Exclusive Odour Removal Technology. Anyone who has used a hybrid vacuum before, knows the frustrating and unpleasant issue of the lingering odour from the dirty-water tank. Because these machines are designed to tackle anything, at any viscosity, that life throws at it, that tank can get smelly – fast! And with fast-paced modern life, cleaning the machine after every use is just not always feasible. There is nothing worse than reaching for your wet-dry vac to tackle a mess and realise the machine itself needs cleaning, or where you house your machine has a lingering smell.

Recognising the issues, Eureka engineered a first-of-its-kind solution for modern life. The Floorshine 880 goes beyond standard cleaning by incorporating a built-in deodouriser that actively targets and neutralises odours at the source, ensuring the machine itself stays fresh.

Innovative Machine Design for Effortless Cleaning

Beyond solving the odour problem, the Eureka Floorshine 880 is designed to make cleaning effortless. Unlike most upright wet-dry vacs on the market, the Floorshine 880 boasts an impressive 180-degree lie-flat capability. Ensuring you can tackle dirt in all those hard-to-reach places, users no longer have to change machines or strain their backs as the unit provides effortless access to clean under low-lying furniture, beds and right spaces.

Complementing this flexibility is the Anti-Tangle 4.0 brush-roller design. Pet owners, this one is for you. Featuring a new stainless steel design, 104 comb teeth, this newly designed brush roll ensures seamless continuous cleaning performance without the constant need for manual hair removal and maintenance.

Triple-Side Edge Cleaning

The Eureka Floorshine 880 is the ultimate all-in-one cleaning tool, eliminating the need for secondary cleaning items. While traditional wet/dry vacuums often struggle to clean flush against baseboards and into corners, the Floorshine 880 triple-side edge cleaning removes the hassle of bending down on your hands and knees to scrub corners manually.

This innovative system ensures the brush roller actively cleans along all three edges of the unit, left, right, and front, allowing the machine to tackle dirt right up against walls and into tight spots where dirt and debris commonly accumulate. Providing a true edge-to-edge clean.

Smart DualDrive for Effortless Movement

The core of the Floorshine 880’s convenience stems from its Smart DualDrive for effortless movement. No longer do you have to physically lug a machine around your home. The powerful Smart DualDrive offers forward and reverse assistance, effectively turning the weight of the machine into an advantage and making manoeuvring across large spaces feel almost self-propelled.

Smart Dirt Detection

This easy movement is paired with Smart Dirt Detection, as the machine glides along your floor, the machine will automatically sense the level of debris and stains, adjusting water flow and suction required to tackle the mess. This means you no longer have to fiddle with buttons as you move from carpet to tiles or adjust settings when you roll over spillages. The machine does it all for you. Not only does this save you time, but it also always ensures optimal resource use, so you don't waste water or battery life on light messes, while still delivering maximum scrubbing power exactly where you need it. All in real-time. Paired with the automatic detergent dispenser, you never have to guess how much cleaning fluid you need – and you only need to top up every 45 days. 

Finally, its innovative design is rounded out by Triple-Side Edge Cleaning, which ensures that tight corners and baseboards are just as clean as the open floor, guaranteeing that no spot is missed.

One-Step Self-Cleaning & Hot-Air Drying

The Floorshine 880's commitment to low-effort cleaning doesn't end when the floors are spotless, it extends to the machine's maintenance itself.

Alongside the odour removing technology, after every use, the unit simplifies cleanup with a comprehensive One-Step Self-Cleaning and Hot-Air Drying system.

Instead of dismantling and hand-washing dirty components, you simply place the unit on its charging base, hit the pedal with your foot and let the machine do the heavy lifting. Automatically deep-cleaning the brush roller and internal tubing, the machine flushes out dirt and debris.

Crucially, the system then uses hot air to thoroughly dry the brush roller. This hot-air drying function not only prevents lingering moisture but also works in conjunction with the industry-exclusive odour reducing technology to stop the growth of mildew and bacteria. This final step guarantees that the Floorshine 880 is completely clean, fresh, and ready for the next use.

Is this vacuum right for me?

The Eureka Floorshine 880 is certainly a top contender for modern, multi textile households. It’s bringing truly impressive industry-leading features into a consumer-friendly package.

Busy mums will particularly like the self-cleaning function and the leading technology in odour reduction. The ability to effortlessly mop up your toddlers' spilt yoghurt in the kitchen and glide over the rug to suck up dog hair in one swoop is the ultimate cleaning hack. 

How Much Does it Cost?

The Eureka Floorshine 880 retails at A$1,099, but right now (between December 24 – December 30) you can pick up the wet/dry vacuum discounted on Amazon, 27% off down to just $799. See it here.

For most people, the story of graphics cards starts with Nvidia and AMD. The reality is quite different.

When it comes to anime, your watch list will always be well-fed. There's a show and trope out there for all your moods and curiosities, whether you're into fast-paced action and adventure or mellow stories that focus on romance or friendship.

Grocery delivery service Instacart will pay $60 million in consumer refunds to settle a lawsuit over unlawful tactics, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared on Thursday.

The FTC lawsuit claimed that Instacart engaged in several deceptive methods, including:

• Falsely advertising "free delivery" to customers' first order when they actually needed to pay a service fee as much as 15 percent

• Falsely advertising a "100 percent satisfaction guarantee," implying full refunds that Instacart didn't offer

• Failing to disclose the terms of Instacart+ membership enrollment, such as that consumers would be charged at the end of their free trials

SEE ALSO: You can now buy groceries in ChatGPT

"Instacart misled consumers by advertising free delivery services — and then charging consumers to have groceries delivered — and failing to disclose to consumers that signed up for a free trial that they would be automatically enrolled into its subscription program," director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Christopher Mufarrige, stated in the FTC's press release. "The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms."

On Thursday, Instacart released its own press release concerning the FTC lawsuit. In it, the company states that although it reached this settlement, "We flatly deny any allegations of wrongdoing by the agency, and we believe the foundation of the FTC's inquiry was fundamentally flawed. And to avoid potential confusion, we want to clarify that, as of this settlement announcement, we are not aware of any other pending FTC investigations. We stand firmly behind the integrity, transparency, and value of our programs."

Instacart shared that:

• It clearly displays all fees before checkout, and is clear on what "$0 delivery" means

• The Instacart+ membership complies with regulatory standards and is one of the most "clear, straightforward, affordability-focused, ad consumer-friendly subscription programs on the market"

• It's easy to try and cancel the Instacart+ membership

In addition to the $60 million settlement, Instacart agreed to stop the practices alleged in the FTC's lawsuit, including misrepresenting delivery costs. The company must also clearly outline its subscription terms and obtain express consent for transactions of its subscriptions.

If you're trying to get into the terminal app on your Ubuntu computer, why not start with some lighthearted fun? There are some command line Easter eggs that won't do anything but entertain you, and I've gathered some of the best.

Netflix is bidding farewell to a popular TV series in the new year, meaning subscribers don't have much time to watch it. You will have to take advantage of the show's finite availability on the streaming platform. So, whether it's to start the series for the first time or to rewatch favorite episodes, the clock is running out on access to Lost via Netflix.

Waymo suspended service of its driverless robotaxis in San Francisco during a blackout that hit many of the city's residents on Saturday night.

Around a third of San Francisco residents were without power for hours due to a fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric substation, The San Francisco Standard reported. During the blackout, people noticed that Waymo vehicles appeared to be blocking intersections and causing traffic congestion. Waymo announced that evening that it had suspended service in the city due to the power outages, Mission Local reported.

SEE ALSO: Los Angeles woman discovers man hiding in Waymo trunk

San Franciscians shared photos and videos on X:

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Autonomous Waymo vehicles are designed to treat non-functional signals as four-way stops, but the scale of the blackout led to instances of cars stalling for longer than usual to confirm the state of affected intersections, according to Waymo. The majority of active trips were successfully completed before the cars pulled over or returned to depots.

The company didn't share with Mashable what percentage of the self-driving fleet was impacted, or why the driverless vehicles stopped working during the blackout.

Waymo's spokesperson, Suzanne Philion, told Mashable in an emailed statement that, "We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area due to the widespread power outage. Our teams are working diligently and in close coordination with city officials, and we are hopeful to bring our services back online soon."

While power began to be restored around 9:10 p.m. last night, some outages remain early Sunday morning according to PG&E's map.

Around 4 p.m. PT Sunday, a Waymo spokesperson updated Mashable and stated, "We are resuming ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yesterday's power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events."

"Throughout the outage, we closely coordinated with San Francisco city officials," the spokesperson continued. "We are focused on rapidly integrating the lessons learned from this event, and are committed to earning and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve every day."

This is the latest in a recent series of Waymo incidents. Just this month, a viral video showed a driverless Waymo seemingly driving straight into traffic, a Los Angeles woman discovered a stranger in the trunk of her Waymo, and Waymo issued a software recall following reports of the cars illegally passing school buses in Austin.

Back in November, Waymo was hit with a wave of criticism in San Francisco after an autonomous car struck a beloved neighborhood cat.

UPDATE: Dec. 22, 2025, 9:26 a.m. EST This article has been updated with further information and an updated statement from Waymo.

The year is drawing to an end, which means Apple's 2025 App Store Awards have recognized the best apps for all your Apple devices. The contenders for iPhone's App of the Year were strong, but I was not surprised at which app emerged as the winner.

All the popular power tool brands produce a ton of excellent tools, and that means you have endless options to choose from. And sure, Milwaukee, Ryobi, DeWALT, and others all make many similar items, but Milwaukee also offers some rather obscure items you've probably never seen or heard of. Here are a few that you'll likely want to buy once you're aware of them.

Christmas and nostalgia go hand in hand, and this year I’m overdosing on both with the help of my Raspberry Pi. One thing I remember fondly from childhood is playing Christmas-themed games and demos on my Amiga, so I figured now is the perfect time to relive the classics.

Are you still using gigabit Ethernet as the backbone of your homelab? It’s time to stop. As we get ready to enter 2026, it’s time to leave 1998 in the past and embrace a multi-gig future.

It’s easy to forget that the Android Auto display in your car is literally your phone. So, if you’re out of cell signal range, the maps you need to navigate aren’t going to be very useful. That is, unless you’ve planned ahead—I’ll give you two options.

For most Americans, the idea of owning a $130,000 sedan sounds ridiculous. Even if you could swing it, there are better ways to spend that kind of cash, and waiting for depreciation can feel like a gamble.

Last night's episode of SNL was Bowen Yang's last as a cast member. He announced his departure from the show on Instagram just a day before the show, after the release of a teaser with him and host Ariana Grande, and musical guest Cher.

Yang's final sketch featured him as an employee of the Delta One Lounge, pouring eggnog for flyers for one final shift.

SEE ALSO: 'SNL' Weekend Update goes after redacted Epstein files

"I'm going to miss everything about this place. The way it smells. Celebrities would come through. Just last week, Josh O'Connor was here," he said, referring to the actor and last week's host.

He gets a call from an elderly-looking Ariana Grande who tells Yang she's proud of him for everything he's done (with eggnog, of course) over the years — even when the eggnog was rotten. He and Grande then sing a rendition of "Please Come Home for Christmas," and he's eventually joined by Grande in the lounge.

"I just feel so lucky that I ever got to work here," Yang said, definitely not referring to the Delta One Lounge. "And I just wanted to enjoy it for a little bit longer. Especially the people. I've loved every single person who works here because they've done so much for me, especially my boss."

But within the sketch, Yang wasn't referring to Lorne Michaels but Cher, who emerges as the "CEO of Eggnog at Delta." The three of them close out the song and the sketch with a teary farewell to Yang.

The last SNL of the year kept making jabs at the redacted Epstein files that dropped on Friday (followed by a disappearance of some of them by Saturday). First, an Epstein-heavy cold open with James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump, and then a Weekend Update filled with references to the disgraced financier.

Anchor Colin Jost joked that it's the time of year when we're all talking about "the man who flies through the air to visit children all over the world"...Jeffrey Epstein. Fellow anchor Michael Che then assumed that the Department of Justice couldn't release all the files on Friday because they "ran out of black ink."

SEE ALSO: Seth Meyers on Trump's primetime address: 'Stop yelling at us, grandpa!'

Weekend Update stayed on politics this week, taking aim at RFK's move to ban transgender affirming care, Marjorie Taylor Greene's engagement, and Trump's apparent health problems. They also made fun of Vanity Fair's interview with White House officials, like Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who said Trump had an "alcoholic's personality."

"Hey, don't you dare compare him to my friend, Michael Che," Jost said.

USB-C is finally making its way into everything, and I’m in no position to complain. After spending much of my life lamenting the design decisions that went into USB-A, mini USB, and the dreaded micro USB connectors, I for one welcome USB-C ubiquity.

I write about tech every day, which means taking a lot of screenshots. The built-in Windows Snipping tool works for the occasional screenshot, but it doesn't work for my regular workflow. I can't configure the hotkeys, the annotation tools are limited, and there are no tabs or autosave features. If you want something better than the snipping tool, try any of these screenshot tools.

The superhero genre may consist mostly of multiverse mayhem and larger-than-life battles, but there have also been occasions where heroes have embraced the holiday spirit. Sometimes our beloved heroes are dragged into a villain's scheme while their worlds celebrate, while others have focused on their own efforts to take a break with their loved ones during the festive period.

For the last SNL of the year, President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) got into a festive mood — by talking about Jeffrey Epstein for the umpteenth time.

The cold open wasn't the first time SNL mentioned Epstein, even in cold opens. But it was the first episode since the recent release of new files pertaining to Epstein on Friday, followed by the quick removal of some of them on Saturday.

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump's primetime speech as '18 straight minutes of him yelling'

Referencing Trump's Wednesday night primetime address to the nation, Johnson's Trump showed up to the podium surrounded by Christmas decorations by an ornate fireplace. He discussed the recent renaming of the Kennedy Center to include his own name, and ribbed that it'll also happen to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. He said he's putting his name on so many buildings "because we had to take it off of so many files," referencing the heavily redacted Epstein files.

"We had so many Trumps in there, we had to put them somewhere," SNL's Trump said.

The rambling cold open also mentions Trump's announcement of the Hunger Games-like Patriot Games, Venezuela, and somehow, the Indigo Girls. But there was time to celebrate the season, too. "I'm doing my own version of Nativity now," Johnson's Trump said. "Where kings from the Middle East bring gifts for me like gold and airplane and casino deal in Dubai."