Technology

I’ve had my cordless drill for years, and I’ve loved using it for all my projects. It’s reliable, easy to use, and gets the job done without constantly plugging it in.

The world of portable power stations is expanding.

Anker Solix has a new model that showcases some of the brand's strongest suits, like being as lightweight and compact as possible while packing in the power. But this isn't a model you'll take camping. Instead, the Anker Solix S5000 is a model designed for whole-home backup when the grid fails.

Key features of the Anker Solix S5000

Right off the bat, the Solix S5000 comes with a massive 5,024Wh capacity and supports both 120V and 240V. The rated power output sits at 4,500W with 8,000 peak output. The capacity makes it the largest portable option in the Anker Solix lineup, if we're limiting this to models you can easily carry or roll around.

Of course, that amount of battery power is heavy. It's 96.8 pounds, to be exact, which means Anker added durable wheels and a telescoping handle to this model, so you'll be able to roll it from the garage into the house when the power cuts out.

Stack up the expansion batteries to reach up to 30kWh. Credit: Anker Solix

In addition to these performance specs, it's worth noting that the S5000 offers major expansion capabilities. If you decide you need more power, you can add extra Anker batteries to get up to 30kWh.

How the Anker Solix S5000 performs in real life

We haven't started testing the new Solix S5000 yet, but Anker has some preliminary numbers worth checking out. In real-life testing, Anker says the new station will keep a refrigerator running for 86 hours, or about 3.5 days.

In real-life testing, Anker found the S5000 to keep the fridge, lights, and WiFi router online for two days. Credit: Anker Solix

Anker also ran tests that included powering a refrigerator, WiFi router, coffee maker, and lights with the S5000 and found the station lasted for 48 hours while powering all of the above. If you use the S5000 to power a window air-conditioner, it'll last for 25 hours, according to Anker's testing.

Recharging the Solix S5000

If using standard wall power to recharge the S5000, Anker says we can expect to get up to 80% in a smidge over an hour and a full charge in 1.6 hours. If you have solar on your roof, you can use up to 3,000W of solar input to recharge the S5000. Other recharging methods include car charging, generators, and mixed charging, such as combining solar input with standard AC power.

The S5000 is compatible with up to 3,000W of solar input. Credit: Anker Solix How to buy the Anker Solix S5000

The Anker Solix S5000 is live for preorders on Anker's site. The list price is set at $3,599.99, but Anker is offering an initial price of $2,499.99 for preorders placed between Oct. 9 and Oct. 26.

Orders at Anker between Oct. 27 and Nov. 9 will come with a bonus two-year warranty extension, an Anker Prime Charging Station, and a Solix DC Charging Cable. In total, the extras are listed as a savings of $699.

The S5000 officially launches on Oct. 27.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Solix Anker Solix S5000 $2,499.99 at Anker
$3,599.99 Save $1,100   Pre-order Here

Are you ready to ditch Google Photos and self-host your own photo server? There are a number of ways to go about doing that, allowing you to store your pictures without giving Google the rights to crawl through them all.

We’re used to hearing about GPUs overheating or power connectors melting. But this time, the threat comes from software that monitors NVIDIA’s GPUs and could have allowed attackers to disrupt vulnerable servers.

Android's default home screens are good enough that most of us no longer feel compelled to swap them out, but I still do. Hear me out — if you want a launcher that's willing to try something different and that you know isn't tracking what you do, here are some of the cream of the crop on F-Droid today.

Why did I end up buying soundbars for my TV? That's the question I've been asking myself recently. The obvious answer is that the sound that's built into my TVs was awful. But that's not a problem I created. That's a problem TV makers created when they got into a "mine's flatter than yours" race, which left no room for decent audio.

You'd expect a man of Andrew Garfield's celebrity status to have a fairly stacked contact list, and the video above – in which Garfield phones famous friends and has to guess whether they're sitting down or standing up for a BBC Radio One game – does not disappoint.

In the clip Garfield speaks to Ayo Edebiri, Traitors UK star Jazz – who he apparently bumped into at a train station and became friends with – and comedian James Acaster.

The result is as chaotic and fun as you'd expect.

If you're using Windows 11, you've probably seen the recent backlash over Memory integrity. The alarmist voices say Windows is forcing this feature on everyone, and people are paying for it with loss of performance, driver incompatibilities, and games refusing to work.

Apple has a 'Welcome Home' event on Tuesday, and we’re expecting big changes coming to smart home products, including a new countertop Hub, HomePod mini speakers and Apple TV 4K box. Bridget Carey breaks down the rumors and what has her excited. 

Read more about Apple's smart home gear and leaks: Apple is reportedly preparing a big smart home launch: New smart display, HomePod on the way
New Apple HomePods with AI are coming. Everything we know.

Timecode chapters
0:00 A new HomePod is coming
1:05 Hidden Apple code shows new HomePod mini
1:36 HomePod mini 2 chip upgrades
1:49 Living in a world with 2 Siris
2:02 Smarter Siri for new Apple HomePods
2:25 Apple brings HomePod mini surround sound into the home theater
2:36 Could a new Apple TV 4K box be on the way?
2:48 New Apple TV 4K box details
2:54 Apple TV 4K hardware upgrades
3:26 Are we getting a new Apple TV remote?
3:42 Here comes the HomeHub speaker with a screen
3:53 HomeHub details from Bloomberg's reporting
4:11 HomeHub screen could mimic iPhone Duo
4:24 How will a HomeHub contribute to the smart home?
4:36 Possible HomeHub versions
4:52 Countertop HomeHub design
5:05 More smart home devices expected from Apple
5:23 Snoopy and the HomeHub
5:54 Are you ready for Apple's new smart home products?

Video credits
Host: Bridget Carey
Scripted by: Bridget Carey
Producer: Carly Marsh
Camera: Carly Marsh, Celso Bulgatti, Bridget Carey, CNET Archive
Video editor: Carly Marsh
Thumbnail designer: Zooey Liao

Top 'GTA 6' merch picks to buy: Grand Theft Auto VI Baseball Cap: Blue and Pink $29.99 at Rockstar Games Shop Now White Grand Theft Auto VI Macca the Gator Tee $29.99 at Rockstar Games Shop Now Pink and Blue Grand Theft Auto VI Canvas Tote $39.99 at Rockstar Games Shop Now Grand Theft Auto VI – Vice City Zippo Lighter $39.99 at Rockstar Games Shop Now Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album – Exclusive Vinyl $49.98 at Rockstar Games Shop Now Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection $399.99 at Rockstar Games Shop Now

While we all count down the days until we can finally hit the streets of Vice City, Rockstar Games is letting us dress the part right now. The official Grand Theft Auto VI merch collection is live on the Rockstar Store, packing the iconic neon pink, ocean blue, and palm-tree aesthetic of Leonida into apparel, accessories, and heavy-duty collectibles.

Whether you want to rep the game subtly with low-key Vice City logos or go all-in with a $400 collector's box, Rockstar dropped something for every budget level. To help you skip the fluff and grab the best pieces before they sell out, we rounded up the standout items from the new collection.

SEE ALSO: Jason from 'GTA 6' feuds with Link from 'The Legend of Zelda' on 'SNL's Weekend Update

The White Grand Theft Auto VI Macca the Gator Tee leans right into Leonida's absurd pop-culture lore, plastering the hit in-universe TV show's character, Macca the Gator, across a heavyweight, 100% white cotton shirt inspired by the fits worn by Jason and Lucia.

If you prefer keeping the sun out of your eyes in pure Vice City style, the Grand Theft Auto VI Baseball Cap features a bright blue stretch-fitted cotton build accented by an embroidered pink VI palm tree logo up front and a matching Rockstar logo along the side.

Moving over to carry gear, the Pink and Blue Tote features heavy-duty canvas in custom Vice City pink, pairing iconic franchise logos with built-in interior organization, including a laptop sleeve and three dedicated bottle slots. For a smaller accessory that packs pure retro crime-boss energy, the Vice City Zippo Lighter delivers a classic, refillable, polished-chrome body laser-etched with Vice City and Rockstar logos on opposing sides.

Audiophiles looking to soundtrack their room setup can lock in the Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album – Exclusive Vinyl, a two-disc set pressed on transparent magenta vinyl with blue splatter, featuring 34 original tracks from heavy hitters like Travis Scott, Yung Lean, and Morgan Wallen.

And finally, for the hardcore fans wanting to go all out, the Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection serves up the ultimate physical box set loaded with an official Macca the Gator figure, custom Oakley Frogskins, a New Era snapback, a double-sided souvenir map poster, and a mountain of exclusive Vice City display pieces.

If you want to scope out more of the drop, here is a breakdown of other cool items sitting on the Rockstar Store right now:

• Grand Theft Auto VI and Rockstar Games Holographic Sticker Collection — $4.99

• Grand Theft Auto VI Keychain — $14.99

• Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album – Exclusive CD — Preorder for $19.98

• Grand Theft Auto VI – Vice City Money Clip — $24.99

• Blue Rockstar Games Logo Tee — $29.99

• Pink Grand Theft Auto VI Goodtime State Tee — $29.99

• Black Grand Theft Auto VI Logo Tee — $29.99

• Pink Grand Theft Auto VI Women’s Cropped Baby Logo Tee — $29.99

• Rockstar Baseball Cap (Blue/Pink) — $29.99

• Grand Theft Auto VI Baseball Cap (Pink/Blue) — $29.99

• Blue and Pink Grand Theft Auto VI Canvas Tote — $39.99

• Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album – Standard Vinyl — Preorder for $49.98

Head over to the Rockstar Store to check out the full drop and grab your Vice City gear before it sells out.

If you're looking for a large-capacity NAS for your home or small business, there aren't a ton of choices out there. Ugreen recently upgraded its DXP8800 series with an all-new Ultra model, featuring a new processor and a higher RAM capacity. Is it worth the upgrade? It might be difficult to tell.

Watch Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the Windows team introduce the next era for the OS, including more trustworthy AI agents, the Surface Laptop Ultra and Nvidia-powered laptops and PCs for creators and developers.

Read more about Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra: Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra is an AI supercomputer dressed as a laptop
Microsoft created a magnetic USB-C port, and you need to see it for yourself

Timecode chapters
0:00 Introduction: Agent 365, Microsoft IQ and Copilot
1:22 Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC) and agent containment
2:32 Agent identity, observability and enterprise management
3:32 Microsoft Defender agent security and risk containment
4:58 Hybrid intelligence and local model execution
5:45 MAI Code 1.1 Flash and local model compression
6:34 New Windows 11 taskbar search and quick actions
7:45 Copilot app integration and native app creation
9:10 Copilot Autopilot: Autonomous file and email workflows
11:00 Surface Laptop Ultra announcement and performance
11:56 NVIDIA RTX Spark and gaming announcements
12:20 Surface Laptop Ultra hardware specs and magnetic USB-C
13:48 Surface RTX Spark DevBox and pre-orders
14:13 RTX Spark laptop ecosystem (Lenovo, ASUS, Dell, MSI, HP)
15:10 NVIDIA DGX Station for Windows and desk-side AI performance

Video credits
Producer: Stephen Beacham
Video editor: Stephen Beacham
Thumbnail designer: Jeffrey Hazelwood

Trump wants to make it clear to you that he's still filling stadiums when he does his rallies — but Seth Meyers thinks the evidence suggests otherwise.

In the Late Night clip above, Meyers plays footage of Trump speaking to a stadium with empty seats dotted throughout the upper rows, telling the crowd "there's never been anything like it."

"I'm sorry, there's never been anything like totally average?" asks Meyers. "We can see the empty seats and it's fine, it's still a decent crowd, but don't oversell it. You can't say there's 'never been anything like it', because there has. It's in fact the most like an arena audience that I've ever seen."

And as for Trump's explanation that the upper rows are half empty because people "migrate downward"?

"Sure, but the upper deck only comes down when there are empty seats closer to the stage," says Meyers. "You can't move down if the arena is full. You would never say to a friend in the upper deck, 'Hey, check it out. Should we go down there and sit in their laps?'"

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

An advertiser paid for editorial consideration of this deal. Our editorial experts vetted the deal based on our independent expertise. Because we determined that the deal will save money for our readers, we wrote the content.

The Amazon Basics lineup at Woot: Best monitor deal Amazon Basics 27-Inch Gaming Monitor $74.99 (save $65) Get Deal Best laptop bag deal Amazon Basics 14-Inch Laptop Bag $29.99 (save $142.01) Get Deal Best paper shredder deal Amazon Basics 6 Sheet Paper Shredder $23.99 (save $10) Get Deal Best HDMI adapter deal Amazon Basics DisplayPort to HDMI adapter $5.99 (Save $3) Get Deal Best mouse deal Amazon Basics 6-Button Vertical Wireless Mouse $9.99 (Save $13) Get Deal Best keyboard deal Amazon Basics Matte Black Wired Keyboard £13.99 (Save $2.38) Get Deal Best pens deal Amazon Basics Ballpoint Pens $199.99 (Save $130) Get Deal Best notebook deal Amazon Basics Executive Notebook $7.99 (Save $4) Get Deal Best extra long HDMI adapter Amazon Basics 3ft DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter $5.49 (Save $7.70) Get Deal

The excitement of Amazon's October Prime Day is pretty much over, with a few post-sale deals hanging on. But if you're looking to restock your home office or workstation, you can find markdowns at Woot this weekend. The online retailer has reduced prices on a range of Amazon office basics, with savings of a few dollars on smaller items to well over $100 on pricier products.

Whether you're after hardware — a new monitor, keyboard, or mouse — or decent quality stationery, Woot has all the office essentials covered.

Check out the best Woot deals on Amazon office basics below.

The best Amazon Basics deal at Woot Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Basics 27-inch Gaming Monitor $74.99 at Amazon
$139.99 Save $65.00   Get Deal Why we like it

No office workstation is complete without a dependable monitor. That's exactly what you get with this Amazon-made monitor, which doubles up as a gaming monitor — handy if you have your console nearby and want to take a break from work. The monitor has Full HD resolution, a competitive 165Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms response time. In terms of connectivity, it's compatible with both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0. It's already good value at the list price of $139.99, so grab it now while it's available for $74.99 — an overall saving of $65.

More Amazon Basics office deals

• Amazon Basics 3ft DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter — $5.49 $13.19 (save $7.70)

• Amazon Basics DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter — $5.99 $9.99 (save $3)

• Amazon Basics Executive Notebook — $7.99 $11.99 (save $4)

• Amazon Basics 6-Button Vertical Wireless Mouse — $9.99 $22.99 (save $13)

• Amazon Basics Matte Black Wired Keyboard — $13.99 $16.37 (save $2.38)

• Amazon Basics 6 Sheet Paper Shredder — $22.99 $32.99 (save $10)

• Amazon Basics 14-Inch Laptop Bag — $29.99 $172 (save $142.01)

• Amazon Basics Ballpoint Pens — $199.99 $329.99 (save $120)

SAVE OVER $1,000: As of Oct. 9, the Sony 100-inch Bravia 3 II LED 4K TV has hit its lowest-ever price of $1,998 at Amazon. That's $1,101.99 off its full price of $3,099.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony 100-Inch Bravia 3 II LED 4K HDR Smart Google TV $1,998 at Amazon
$3,099.99 Save $1,101.99   Get Deal

Sony's 100-inch Bravia 3 II LED 4K TV is an impressive upgrade if you've been shopping around for a new screen. While it normally comes with a hefty price tag of $3,099.99, Amazon is offering a huge discount right now, dropping it down to $1,998 for a limited time.

This saves you a whopping $1,101.99 overall, which is very exciting, but it also marks the lowest-ever price at Amazon. If this Sony screen's sleek 100-inch 4K display feels like a must-have addition to your home, this is the perfect time to pick it up.

SEE ALSO: What's new to streaming this week? (Oct. 9, 2026)

Alongside the aforementioned massive screen size and crisp 4K resolution, this Sony TV has plenty of other exciting specs to shout about. When it comes to picture and sound quality, it supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, which enhance colors and audio on-screen, creating a more immersive feel while you watch. Its XR Processor can also optimize color, contrast, and clarity thanks to AI scene recognition.

Since it's a Sony TV, PlayStation users also get to enjoy exclusive features called Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode, which help optimize picture quality in the games you play. Plus, the 120Hz refresh rate ensures you experience smooth, fluid action without blur or lag dragging you down. And on top of all that, it's also a smart Google TV, which is great news for those who love to stream.

This Sony 100-inch Bravia 3 II LED 4K TV may not be on sale for long, so act fast to save at Amazon.

Excel has a funny habit of giving you useful little tools and then making you work to find them. That can be frustrating, but you can fix a lot of Excel annoyances with a few small tweaks until it works the way you want. That's where I landed with table names. I wanted them to be easier to see, and it turns out Excel gives you a couple of ways to make that happen. That small change has made life far easier than I'd imagined.

TL;DR: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Oct. 8-10. Halloween Hauntfest, hosted by Indie Visible, is offering free spooky books in all genres.

We've been firmly focused on Prime Day for some time, and even though some deals are still live, we're glad to switch our attention to shopping events that don't require any spend. We like finding good deals, and it doesn't get any better than free.

Stuff Your Kindle Day is the ultimate opportunity to stock up on reading material without spending anything, and a new giveaway has dropped.

Halloween Hauntfest, hosted by Indie Visible, is offering free books until Oct. 10. Everything you download is yours to keep forever, so don't hold back.

SEE ALSO: T-Mobile is giving away the 2026 Motorola Razr for free — how to qualify

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Halloween Hauntfest takes place from Oct. 8-10. This three-day giveaway gives you ample time to peruse all the options and seriously stock up ahead of the winter months. You're not going to be leaving the house anyway. You might as well start working through that TBR pile.

Which books are free?

Halloween Hauntfest promises to offer books in all genres, but naturally, there's an emphasis on spooky reads. You can filter by genre and tag on the helpful event hub page. We suggest filtering for "free books" to exclude all $0.99 options. A $0.99 book is still a real win, but it's the free reads that make these events so special.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep forever, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time.

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $103.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $46.00   Shop Now Why we like it

These popular e-readers let you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase for a limited time.

Let me be clear about something — I've been looking for a way to desperately cut down on my screen time. Not just for an article, but like, actually. I think it's a problem. Turns out, actively integrating your smartwatch into attempts to curb that is actually a great idea.

TL;DR: Dyson officially launched the Dyson W1 PencilWash + Dok for $349.99 at Dyson and Dyson Demo Stores. The updated machine features an 84,000-filament hybrid roller, a free-standing magnetic charging dock, and an automatic roller self-cleaning cycle.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson W1 PencilWash Cleaner + Dok $349.99 at Dyson
  Shop Now

Dyson is taking another crack at making hard-floor mopping way less tedious. The brand just officially unveiled the Dyson W1 PencilWash + Dok, updating its slimmest and lightest wet cleaner with better scrubbing power, smarter waste separation, and a dedicated home base. It brings a handful of quality-of-life upgrades to help you tackle spills, pet hair, and dried-on floor gunk without wrestling with a heavy machine.

The star of this refresh is the overhauled cleaner head setup. Dyson packed in a new 84,000-filament microfiber hybrid roller that holds 16% more fibers than the original version, making it the most absorbent wet roller Dyson has built to date. It hydrates the floor across 12 continuous points to wipe away sticky messes while leaving floors 30% drier to prevent streaking.

Dyson also overhauled how the machine handles dirty waste, so you don't have to touch nasty slurry after cleaning. The reengineered cleaner head physically separates dry debris from dirty water directly at the head level — bypassing internal suction pipes to eliminate potential clogs. Because it runs on a hygienic, filter-free setup without standard air-exhaust filters, maintenance between uses is pretty much nonexistent.

Once you finish wiping down your floors, you simply park the machine on its new free-standing magnetic charging dock and hit the automatic self-cleaning cycle, which flushes dirt and stain residue from the roller.

Ergonomics is where this machine really shines over traditional floor scrubbers. The unit features a pencil-thin 1.5-inch handle that twists easily around table legs. It can lie 100% flat to a clearance height of just 2.95 inches, allowing you to slide it all the way under low couches and bed frames without losing contact with the surface.

The new Dyson W1 PencilWash + Dok is available to order directly from Dyson's online store or at your nearest Dyson Demo Store for $349.99.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection is on sale for $50.37 at Amazon, down from its $62.97 typical price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection $50.37 at Amazon
$62.97 Save $12.60   Get Deal

The Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection has been no stranger to discounts since its July release, but Amazon's latest offer is putting the eight-pack Pokémon TCG box close to its best-ever price. It's a few dollars less than the last deal we covered in September.

As of Oct. 9, the Pokémon TCG Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection is available for $50.37 at Amazon, down from its $62.97 typical price. That's $12.60 saved in your pocket with 20% off, through third-party seller reVend.

This is not only $4.15 cheaper than the $54.52 Amazon price we spotted back on Sept. 9, but is also only 50 cents above its record-low price of $49.87 (confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel) — which also happens to be its exact market price currently estimated on TCGplayer. 

SEE ALSO: Pokémon TCG Delta Reign Booster Bundle preorders are live on Amazon — and they're under market price

With eight booster packs of trading cards included, you're now paying the equivalent of around $6.30 per pack before considering the other fun extras in the box. 

Those boosters consist of four Perfect Order packs, two Chaos Rising, and two Phantasmal Flames. There's also a playable foil Mega Greninja ex promo card, a larger lenticular version for collectors to display, and a reusable tech sticker.