Technology

Thunderbird, the desktop and Android email client from Mozilla, just got an update to version 135. This is the start of another transition for Thunderbird: monthly major releases by default, matching the Firefox web browser.

Figure’s latest AI system, Helix, is changing the game for humanoid robots by allowing them to perform complex tasks through simple voice commands—no training required. In a new demo, two robots successfully put away groceries by scanning their environment, adapting in real time, and even working together to complete the job. With plans for home testing in 2025 and new updates improving precision and reliability, Figure is pushing humanoid robots closer to practical, everyday use.

Sometimes I wish that I could grab a game developer by the shoulders and say, "listen, you really screwed this up, here's how to fix it." Now, Sony is kinda-sorta fulfilling my wish with its new PlayStation Beta Program.

For many, the only thing protecting all their personal and financial info is the four-digit PIN on their phone. While this might be enough to stop a nosy friend from snooping on your private life, phone snatchers have figured out a way around it.

Apple rolled out iOS 18 back in September 2024, and with it came the long-awaited arrival of RCS messages–well, for some. Google Fi and other T-Mobile-based carriers were hung out to dry, but that’s finally getting fixed.

"Y'all stuck the landing — we're on the moon."

A Firefly Aerospace mission control engineer confirmed a successful lunar touchdown of its pioneering Blue Ghost robotic spacecraft in the early hours of March 2. It was the first fully successful commercial moon landing, and the company has now released footage of the well-controlled decent into Mare Crisium, a lava-covered basin on the moon's near side.

"Watch Firefly land on the Moon! After identifying surface hazards and selecting a safe landing site, Blue Ghost landed directly over the target in Mare Crisium," the company posted on YouTube. "Our Ghost Riders have since downlinked our landing footage for the world to see — a historic moment on March 2 we'll never forget. We have Moon dust on our boots!"

SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills.

The video shows different views of the approach during the descent of Blue Ghost, a large, squat spacecraft at 6.6 feet tall and 11.5 feet wide. Just after the 2:05 mark, dust kicks up when the thrusters meet the fine lunar regolith. As the dust settles, you can see Blue Ghost's shadow on the ground, with Earth in the distance, currently some 225,000 miles away.

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The lander, funded by NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, is carrying a suite of instruments and experiments for the space agency as NASA prepares to establish a permanent presence on the moon. This includes radiation-tolerant computing tests and sampling of the moon's soil.

But landing on the moon remains daunting, largely because it's a world with virtually no atmosphere to slow spacecraft down. A craft must plummet to the surface perfectly, as thrusters fire to slow its descent onto a surface teeming with pits and craters. Although Chinese and Indian craft have had recent landing successes, the U.S. commercial spacecraft Odysseus sustained damage while landing awkwardly in 2024. The same year, a Japanese craft landed upside down, on its head.

NASA expects the solar-powered Blue Ghost to now operate and collect science data for two weeks. Another private craft, operated by Intuitive Machines, may soon join Blue Ghost on the lunar surface on March 6.

Crucially, human spaceflight is expected to follow these robotic space missions. NASA currently intends to fly astronauts to the moon in mid-2027, wherein they'll spend a week exploring the dark, shadowy craters of the moon's south pole. They hope to spot rich deposits of invaluable water ice.

Nintendo is preparing for MAR10 Day, which celebrates the famous Mario games. The company has a variety of promotions planned, including special deals in stores, online offers, and even a partnership with an airline.

Like any hobby, getting started with a telescope is intimidating when you have no idea how to begin. Now that I've gone through the learning pains, here's what I have to share.

Google released a new AI tool this week, designed to identify animal species to help with wildlife monitoring.

On Monday, the tech giant announced the release of SpeciesNet, an open source model for wildlife biologists. SpeciesNet consists of a model for identifying objects in footage from cameras that monitor wildlife and a second model for classifying those objects into animal species.

Since 2019, wildlife biologists have had access to SpeciesNet though a Google Cloud-based tool called Wildlife Insights. On Monday, SpeciesNet was released to the public as an open source model.

Scientists use motion activated cameras to study wildlife in their habitats. But processing the camera footage is time-consuming because it involves sifting through massive amounts of images. "AI can accelerate that processing, helping conservation practitioners spend more time on conservation, and less time reviewing images," read the SpeciesNet repository hosted on GitHub.

Google says SpeciesNet was trained on a dataset of over 65 million images including camera trap images from Wildlife Insights users and publicly available datasets. SpeciesNet combines data gathered from its underlying models to make a prediction about each animal it identifies and labels the accuracy percentage.

SpeciesNet is 93% sure it's an animal, but we're 100% sure it's a prehistoric tank. Credit: Google / University of Minnesota

According to Google, SpeciesNet can "classify images into one of more than 2000 labels, covering diverse animal species, higher-level taxa (like 'mammalia' or 'felidae'), and non-animal classes ('blank', 'vehicle')."

SpeciesNet is available as an open source model on GitHub.

Ubisoft's Far Cry spin-off, known as the code name Maverick, may not be as dead in the water as was assumed. Ubisoft is reportedly restarting development on the game, which means this could be the next multiplayer extraction shooter.

Starlink, the satellite internet service provided by SpaceX, has quietly launched a more affordable internet package for the United States. The new "Residential Lite" plan is only $80, but it unfortunately comes with a catch or two.

As Elon Musk’s X continues its transformation into a right-wing fever dream, the platform’s dwindling population of irony-poisoned meme enjoyers has found a new reason to be annoyed: an onslaught of Stake gambling ads.

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No matter where you lurk on X, it’s impossible to escape the flood of viral posts stamped with the Stake logo in the bottom right corner. Some of the biggest meme accounts, shamelessly recycling stolen content or churning out their own, have turned into walking billboards for the crypto-backed casino.

What is Stake?

Stake is an online sports betting and casino platform that lets users gamble with cryptocurrency. Founded in Australia in 2017 by Edward Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the company now operates out of Curaçao, a jurisdiction known for its lenient gaming regulations. But if you’ve heard of Stake, it’s probably not because of its product — it’s because of its relentless marketing machine.

The company has embedded itself deep in internet culture, striking lucrative deals with former Twitch stars like xQC and Adin Ross who now stream exclusively on Kick, the Stake-owned streaming platform. Beyond the gaming world, Stake is an official partner with the UFC, the main sponsor of Sauber Motorsport’s Formula One cars, and even has a deal with Drake, who's responsible for this recent Stake ad.

SEE ALSO: X will soon integrate sports gambling stats from BetMGM

In 2022, the company took its ambitions to the Premier League, slapping its name on Everton’s jerseys. That partnership didn’t last — by February 2025, according to The Athletic, Stake had pulled out of the UK entirely after the Gambling Commission launched an investigation into its advertising tactics.

The investigation was sparked by a Stake ad appearing on a video featuring English pornstar Bonnie Blue. A complaint filed with the Advertising Standards Authority argued that the placement violated UK regulations prohibiting gambling ads from being associated with "seduction" or designed to appeal to young audiences.

Why is its logo on all these memes?

First reported in late 2024 by 404 Media and Slate, Stake had struck deals with various content aggregators on X — paying them to slap its logo on all their posts. Thus, it's created a low-effort, high-visibility advertising campaign for the crypto casino as X's algorithm prioritizes content posted by subscribed users.

Making matters worse, Stake managed to squeeze even more free advertising out of X’s Community Notes system. Users attempting to call out the brand inadvertently boosted its visibility, as Notes explaining what Stake is — sometimes even linking directly to its website — spread across the platform.

The entire scheme appears to be a workaround for X’s own content policies, which explicitly ban undisclosed gambling ads and prohibit promotions for offshore casinos.

SEE ALSO: Leftist meme creators are undeterred by Meta’s rightward shift

According to Slate, X user @FearedBuck was “ground zero” for Stake’s latest ad blitz. Once a Milwaukee Bucks fan page, the account pivoted to reposting clips from Kick, before abruptly stopping when it started drawing scrutiny for potential FTC violations. Now, meme accounts still slapping the Stake watermark on their posts have added a thin layer of plausible deniability, tacking on disclaimers like "Gamble Responsibly" or #AD.

In December, Musk took a brief stand, warning and suspending several accounts accused of manipulating the platform to push Stake ads. But the crackdown was more of a speed bump than a deterrent, as new accounts continue to surface, keeping the cycle alive.

And now, it’s getting even worse. Meme pages that first flooded X with Stake-branded content are taking their hustle cross-platform, reposting the same viral images — watermark and all — onto Instagram Reels and Facebook, spreading the crypto casino’s reach far beyond Musk’s already compromised platform.

If you aren’t satisfied with Windows 11’s performance on your slightly older hardware, there are a few tweaks to your system to make it perform better. I’ll show you how to do that.

Ubuntu Touch has a weird history. Previously an attempt at a mainstream mobile operating system, some phones launched with Ubuntu before Canonical eventually gave up, with the project continuing as a community project by UBports. Now, it finally got support for a mainstream smartphone feature—VoLTE.

TL;DR: Get a PDF Converter Pro lifetime license for A$38 with code SAVE20 at checkout for a limited time (reg. A$160). This app works on Windows and Mac.

PDFs are supposed to make life easier, but anyone who’s ever touched one can testify the opposite. Whenever you need to convert a PDF for editing, more often than not the format turns into a jumbled mess, especially if you’re using those free online tools.

We know paying for a PDF tool probably isn’t what you had in mind when becoming an adult, but it’s a necessary evil. PDF Converter Pro keeps your file formats intact and gives you other essential features without recurring fees. Use code SAVE20 at the Mashable Shop to download this tool to your PC or Mac for life for just A$38 (reg. A$160).

No more PDF-related headaches

So, you’re back in the job market and found your old resume, but it’s saved as a PDF. Instead of wrestling with other tools or retyping your job experience in Word, just use PDF Converter Pro to convert the PDF to Word without losing formatting. Then, update your resume in peace.

Another option is to update your resume using the basic PDF editing tools instead of converting the format. You can edit text, add and remove images, and leave annotations.

Or maybe you have a paper resume you don’t feel like typing up. Scan it, upload it to PDF Converter Pro, and extract text using OCR technology. That means AI recognizes the text so you can copy and paste it into Word.

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Freelancing isn’t all sweatpants and snooze buttons.

Well, sometimes it is. But most of the time, it’s cabin fever, caffeine withdrawal, fickle cash flows, and fierce competition for clients.

Being your own boss is really hard work — and no time is that more apparent than during tax season.

Compared to those with a typical 9-to-5 job, freelancers, independent contractors, and other self-employed workers face a unique set of challenges when it comes to filing an annual return. For one thing, you need to maintain year-round business records that are separate from your personal ones to make sure you’re organized once tax season rolls around. You’re also responsible for making and keeping track of estimated tax payments each quarter, since the money isn't automatically deducted from your paychecks throughout the year. Fail to pay enough tax by each payments' due date, and you might be penalized — even if you're owed a refund when you file your return.

SEE ALSO: How to manage quarterly taxes as a solopreneur

Oh, and don’t forget about the whopping 15.3% federal self-employment tax you’re required to pay if you earned at least $400 from your freelance work (maxing out at $168,600). Sure, it goes toward Social Security and Medicare which is cool for Future You — probably, maybe? — but not so fun for Current You.

Since tax evasion is sort of a felony, filing your return every year is in your best interest. However, simply filing your taxes is not enough. If you try to figure it all out on your own, you could still be hit with costly penalties and interest if you make a mistake. On the other hand, you could always go to a CPA and have them take care of your income tax return for you, but their fees could burn a hole in your pocket, too.

For a happy medium between the two, consider picking up some tax software.

What is tax software?

Tax software is a type of software program that’s designed to guide users through the process of preparing and filing their returns, helping them comply with tax laws while identifying any deductions and credits that may be available. Essentially, it’s software that makes it less taxing to do your own taxes.

SEE ALSO: Tax season is here: All the details on IRS Free File

Back in the day, tax software came in the form of a CD-ROM that could be downloaded to your desktop computer. (How retro.) Nowadays, you can just download a program from a trusted tax prep company’s website. Or, even better, some tax preparation tools are available completely online or via mobile app for maximum convenience.

What should you look for in a tax software program?

"Freelancer" is synonymous with "self-employed business owner" in the eyes of the IRS (more specifically, "sole proprietor" or "independent contractor"), so you'll be reporting your business income and expenses on a Schedule C and your self-employment tax on a Schedule SE; include both with your Form 1040, the standard individual tax filing form. The tax software you use will definitely need to support that paperwork along with Form 1099-NEC, the non-employee income document you get from your clients instead of a W-2.

You may also receive a Form 1099-K from a third-party payment network like Venmo or PayPal if your client(s) paid you at least $5,000 that way, though some states' thresholds are lower. Note that this doesn't apply to any transactions between you and your family or friends.

Other good-to-have features include:

• An intuitive e-filing process with straightforward questions and prompts

• Some sort of accuracy and maximum refund guarantees

• Solid customer support, with optional access to a real live tax expert in case of emergency

Don’t forget that you’ll also need to file your state taxes in addition to your federal taxes (unless you live somewhere with no income tax — see Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming). Some tax software providers will include one state for free, but most will charge you per state where you need to file.

Also, keep in mind that the cheapest tax software option isn’t necessarily the best tax software option. The program you choose should be robust enough to handle complicated tax situations and sniff out tons of possible deductions, and also willing to promise a high-ish level of protection in case you’re audited. In other words, now’s not the time to get stingy: You want to get your taxes done, but also done right. That’s not to say you should pay for features you don’t need, but just make sure your bases are covered.

What can freelancers write off on their taxes?

Speaking of deductions: The one big thing freelancers have going for them during tax season is the fact that they can write off way more work-related expenses than the average employee — that includes office supplies, mileage, a chunk of your internet bill, payment processing fees, and the portion of your rent that covers your home office. Don't get too brazen, though: These expenses must be "both ordinary and necessary" to your business, per the IRS. (So you couldn't write off a just-for-fun road trip, for example.)

Is it worth it to have an accountant do your taxes?

If you have a pretty straightforward tax situation, if you already have a few years of filing as a freelancer under your belt, and/or if you make under $84,000 a year, you may be able to get away with a free filing option through the IRS' Free File program. However, many freelancers are going to have complicated-enough tax situations to warrant a paid software solution with premium features and built-in support from seasoned tax professionals. Budget for around $105 for your federal return and about $50 for every state return.

SEE ALSO: These tax deductions for small business owners may surprise you

This is all to say that you probably don't need to splurge on a real, live CPA, but that's always an option if you don't feel great about filing on your own. "I’ve seen [small] business owners save thousands in taxes because a bookkeeper ensures everything is categorized properly and ready for the CPA to review," one financial planner told Mashable.

According to a National Society of Accountants survey, the standard U.S. firm charges an average of $343 for an itemized Form 1040 with a state return and $220 for a non-itemized Form 1040 with a state return, plus $192 for a Schedule C and $41 for a Schedule SE. Most will also bill you for 1099s ($67.72 on average) and disorganized or incomplete files ($165.82 on average).

What’s the best tax software for freelancers?

Here are the software options with Schedule C, Schedule SE, Form 1099-NEC, and Form 1099-K support that we recommend for the 2024 tax season (which gets filed in 2025).

SAVE $180 + FREE GALAXY BUDS3: As of March 3, get the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra tablet for $1439.99, down from its usual price of $1619.99 at Samsung. Plus, get a free pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds3 with purchase.

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No matter which way you slice it, a larger screen will always trump a larger one. And if you're thinking about working or playing with a tablet instead of relying on your phone all the time, it's a good move to make, especially if you can get a new tablet for a great price and with a freebie at that.

As of March 4, get the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra for $1,439.99 at Samsung, down from it usual price of $1,619.99. That's $180 off its normal price. Plus, get a free pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds3 with your purchase. You must add the Galaxy Buds3 to your cart from the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra buy page to take advantage of this deal, as the fine print at the bottom of the page advises. That's a $179.99 value.

Powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 9300+ chip with an octa-core and Cortex-XR CPU, this 14.6-inch tablet is a portable powerhouse that's a significant upgrade for just about anything you might currently be using, save for an iPad. It's lightweight at just 2.35 lbs, and also has a 12 MP front camera with a camera array featuring 13 and 8 MP cameras in the back.

With a battery life of up to 16 hours and expandable storage, it's a fantastic pick for anything you want to do with it, especially if you want to game. Add a pair of extra earbuds to the mix, and you're in for a great deal. Snag it while you can from Samsung.

SAVE $24: As of March 4, get the Anker 9-in-1 Charging Station for $35.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $59.99. That's a discount of 40%.

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Do you find that most of your electronic devices end up completely dead most of the time because you can't be bothered to find a charger? Tired of sifting through all your charging bricks and other items to power up your Kindle or that random USB-A device that really should have shifted to USB-C? You need a universal charger, particularly one that has a lot of options.

As of March 4, you can get the Anker 9-in-1 charging station for $35.99 at Amazon. That's $24 off its usual price and a discount of 40%. This price applies to both the black and white colorways so you can choose which one matches your decor.

This charger is small and manageable but features nine charging options, including four USB-C, two USB-A, and three AC outlets, so you can choose what you need to charge. It also has 300J surge protection, so you don't have to worry about an errant lightning storm destroying it or your devices.

For less than $50, this is a great and convenient way to make sure you've got options when traveling or if you just have a ton of devices that you can't keep up with all the bricks or cables for. You can simply connect them and move on with your life. And we absolutely love a bit of convenience, right?

Civil War director Alex Garland returns to the battlefield in 2025 with Warfare, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Ray Mendoza.

Mendoza, an Iraq War veteran, served as Garland's military advisor for Civil War. During the process of filming Civil War, the two talked about making Warfare, based on Mendoza's own experiences.

SEE ALSO: Every Alex Garland movie, ranked

"It's about a group of young SEALs in Iraq conducting an overwatch mission. In doing so, they came upon contact," Mendoza says in the first look above. "[The film is about] them having to come together and figure out a plan to get to safety."

Warfare plays out in real-time. "Reality doesn't let people off the hook," Garland says of the decision in the first look.

The first look also features interviews from the film's cast, including D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Charles Melton, Joseph Quinn, and Cosmo Jarvis. They discuss the three-week SEAL bootcamp they attended before filming, as well as the film's personal connection to Mendoza, played by Woon-A-Tai in the film.

As Garland, Mendoza, and the actors discuss in the first look, Mendoza made Warfare for fellow veteran Elliot Miller (Jarvis), who was on the operation depicted in the film but does not recall it.

"It's just a love letter from Ray to Elliot," Melton says.

Warfare hits theaters Apr. 11.

GET $25.08 OFF: As of March 4th, the Aerogarden Harvest 2.0 is currently on sale for $45.31. Get it for 36% off and save $25.08.

Opens in a new window Credit: Aerogarden 2.0 Aerogarden Harvest 2.0 $45.31 at Amazon
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Fresh basil, thyme, lettuce, and tomatoes: the Aerogarden Harvest 2.0 is equipped for growth. This simple hydroponic garden is the right size to live on a desk or tabletop, making it easy to grow a host of fresh plants.

Currently, the Aerogarden Harvest 2.0 is on sale at Amazon for only $45.31, saving you $25.08, or 36%.

SEE ALSO: Eyeing a Frame TV? Samsung just slashed prices for all sizes.

An intuitive design ensures that the Aerogarden is approachable for all... even those without the proverbial green thumb. Plugged in, an internal pump aerates the reservoir. The tray has space for six growths.

When the water is low, the Aerogarden logo on the front of the reservoir will turn red, letting you know it's time for a change. When its time for more fertilizer, a light on the top will flash red.

Made of food-grade plastics, the Harvest 2.0 is built for edible plants. But that doesn't mean it's only for food, flowers and house plants are fair game too.

While the Aerogarden is an excellent garden that focuses on simplicity, those who want a more customizable hydroponic garden experience might prefer the LetPot LPH-SE Hydroponics Growing System, which can grow larger plants, or yield up to 12 growths at a time. The LetPot has many more customization options, smart controls, and can even be set up with an automatic mode that draws water from a large jug. Currently it's on sale at Amazon, with a $25 on-screen coupon.

Still, the Harvest 2.0 is fantastic, and as of Mar. 4th, the Aerogarden Harvest 2.0 is on sale for $45.31, or 36% off, saving you $25.08.

Whether you're looking to improve your cooking with fresh herbs and veggies, or you want to cultivate new decorative plants for your garden, the Harvest 2.0 is a great buy.