Technology

TL;DR: Live stream Tanzania vs. Tunisia in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free on Channel 4 Sport YouTube. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stage is almost done and dusted, but there are a handful of games left to see out the year and set up the Round of 16.

Today's action sees Tanzania and Tunisia competing in Group C. Tunisia are a decent side, with Premier League player Hannibal Mejri in the squad, so Tanzania enter this final group game as a relative underdog. Be sure to keep your eyes on these final group games as the tournament rolls on in Morocco.

If you want to watch Tanzania vs. Tunisia in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Tanzania vs. Tunisia?

Tanzania vs. Tunisia in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off at 11 a.m. ET on Dec. 30. This fixture takes place at Stade Olympique de Rabat.

How to watch Tanzania vs. Tunisia for free

Tanzania vs. Tunisia in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is available to live stream for free on Channel 4 Sport YouTube.

Channel 4 Sport YouTube is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock Channel 4 Sport YouTube to stream AFCON for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Tanzania vs. Tunisia 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 Channel 4 Sport YouTube

5. Watch Tanzania vs. Tunisia 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 access free live streams of AFCON without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Tanzania vs. Tunisia (plus more 2025 Africa Cup of Nations fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Channel 4 Sport YouTube?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Channel 4 Sport YouTube, 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 eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Tanzania vs. Tunisia in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Benin vs. Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free on Channel 4. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Group D has been one to watch in the early stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations thanks to the presence of the impressive DR Congo and Senegal. Both teams are potential contenders to win the whole tournament.

With superstar player Sadio Mané in the fold, Senegal now have one final test in the group stage — Benin, a team that's not as highly rated but are capable of causing an upset on any given day. However it plays out, this should prove to be an exciting contest.

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If you want to watch Benin vs. Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Benin vs. Senegal?

Benin vs. Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 30. This fixture takes place at Stade Ibn-Batouta.

How to watch Benin vs. Senegal for free

Benin vs. Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is available to live stream for free on Channel 4.

Channel 4 is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock Channel 4 to stream AFCON for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Benin vs. Senegal 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 Channel 4

5. Watch Benin vs. Senegal 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 access free live streams of AFCON without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Benin vs. Senegal (plus more 2025 Africa Cup of Nations fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Channel 4?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Channel 4, 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 eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Benin vs. Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free with ExpressVPN.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier if you think outside the box a bit.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Green ball

• Green: To play cricket

• Blue: World champions

• Purple: Gymnasts

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Make a Shot, In Basketball

• Green: Cricket Equipment

• Blue: Last Four Winners of The Men's World Cup

• Purple: Famous Gymnasts, Minus A Letter

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #461 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Make a Shot, In Basketball - DRAIN, DRILL, SINK, SWISH

• Cricket Equipment - BAIL, BALL, BAT, STUMP

• Last Four Winners of The Men's World Cup - ARGENTINA, FRANCE, GERMANY, SPAIN

• Famous Gymnasts, Minus A Letter - BILE, CHILE, LE, MILLE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 30, 2025

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 30, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 30 Pips

Number (2): Everything in this orange space must add up to 2. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this green space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this orange space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 30 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add up to 6. The answer is 16-1, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this purple space must add up to 4. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this orange space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this green space must add up to 6. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 30 Pips

Equal (6): Everything in this purple space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed vertically; 6-4, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this red space must be equal to 5. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically; 5-3, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this green space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this green space must be equal to 2. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically; 2-2, placed vertically; 4-2, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you're a frequent flyer.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for December 30, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Purpose

• Green: Counting instruments

• Blue: Plane intervals

• Purple: Found on a two-wheeler

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Intention

• Green: Measuring devices

• Blue: Parts of a flight

• Purple: Bike accessories

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #933 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Intention: AIM, GOAL, OBJECT, POINT

• Measuring devices: CLOCK, COMPASS, RULER, SCALE

• Parts of a flight: CLIMB, TAKEOFF, TAXI, TOUCHDOWN

• Bike accessories: BASKET, BELL, RACK, REFLECTOR

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 30, 2025

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you keep up with the latest music.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 30, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 30, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: 2025 Top Twenty

The words are related to music.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe popular tunes.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is diagonal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Hit Songs.

NYT Strands word list for December 30

• Daisies

• Abracadabra

• Golden

• Hit Songs

• Manchild

• Ordinary

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you love interior design.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 30, 2025 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for December 30, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Interior garnishes.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter E appears twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter D.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

DECOR

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 30, 2025

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

A leg.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

SHANK

Hurdle Word 2 hint

To dodge.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 30, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

ELUDE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A hand covering.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 30 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 30, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

GLOVE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A shack.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 30 Hurdle Word 4 answer

HOVEL

Final Hurdle hint

Spoken words.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

QUOTE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

TL;DR: PromptBuilder is an AI tool that creates, refines, and organizes prompts for all sorts of AI tools, and a lifetime subscription is now on sale.

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Getting useful output from AI tools often depends more on the prompt than the model. PromptBuilder is a browser-based prompt assistant that takes short ideas and turns them into structured prompts for chat and image models, so you spend less time tinkering with wording. With support for 10 AI models, including options like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, it sits in front of the tools you already use instead of replacing them. It’s also only $199 for a lifetime subscription (reg. $1,764) during this limited-time sale.

Using PromptBuilder is easy. First, start by describing what you want in plain language. PromptBuilder turns that into a formatted prompt in seconds, or lets you pick from more than 1,000 templates for writing, coding, marketing, support messages, data work, and more. There’s also a prompt optimizer, so if you already have something that works, you can paste it in and refine it instead of starting from scratch every time.

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Prompts can be organized in a private library with tags, so you can keep separate sets for clients, projects, or channels and reuse them as needed. The same workspace can generate text prompts for chat models, social posts tailored to Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok, and detailed image prompts for tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion.

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China is drafting new, stricter AI regulations that could set the country on its way to becoming the first to regulate the emotional repercussions of chatbot companions.

SEE ALSO: ChatGPT is changing the abortion landscape

Detailed in a new draft proposal written by China's Cyberspace Administration and translated by CNBC, the policy would require guardian consent for minors to engage with chatbot companions as well as sweeping age verification. AI chatbots would not be allowed to generate gambling-related, obscene, or violent content, or engage in conversations about suicide, self-harm, or other topics that could harm a user's mental health. In addition, tech "providers" must institute escalation protocols that connect human moderators to users in distress and flag risky conversations to guardians.

Chinese regulators say the aim is to focus not only on content safety but emotional safety, including monitoring chats for emotional dependency and addiction.

It's one of the first set of laws designed to control anthropomorphic AI tools specifically, experts say. To that end, the rules will apply to any AI tool designed to "simulate human personality and engage users emotionally through text, images, audio or video," CNBC reports.

SEE ALSO: Make 2026 the year your kid gets off their device

China's proposed rules mirror several provisions in a recently passed California AI law, known as SB 243, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October. The law requires stronger content restrictions, reminders to users that they are speaking to a non-human AI, as well as emergency protocols for discussions of suicide. Some experts have critiqued the bill for not going far enough to protect minor users, leaving room for tech companies to dodge oversight.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has stalled further AI regulation at the state level in favor of a "national framework on AI safety." The executive order withholds federal infrastructure funding from states that strengthen AI oversight. Federal leaders argue that increased regulation of AI will stall domestic innovation and put the U.S. behind China in the perceived global AI race.

If it feels like there's a lot of AI slop on YouTube, that's because there is a lot of AI slop on YouTube.

That's according to new research from video-editing company Kapwing (as reported by the Guardian), which found that more than one in every five videos that the YouTube Shorts algorithm shows new users is low-quality, AI-generated content, also known as AI slop.

SEE ALSO: Merriam-Webster names "slop" the word of the year, and boy was 2025 sloppy

One of the most interesting parts of the Kapwing study is that of the first 500 YouTube Shorts videos in a brand-new, untouched YouTube Shorts algorithm, 104 were AI-generated, and 165 were "brainrot" — a whopping 21 percent and 33 percent, respectfully. (Combined, that's 54% of content in total.) Per Kapwing, brainrot content refers to "nonsensical, low-quality video content that creates the effect of corroding the viewer’s mental or intellectual state." Brainrot content is often AI-generated, too.

Of course, the love of AI slop differs depending on the country. Kapwing found that AI slop channels in Spain have a combined 20.22 million subscribers, more than any other country, but has fewer AI slop channels among its top 100 channels than other countries. The U.S. has nine channels among its top 100 channels, and the third-most slop subscribers at 14.47 million.

YouTube isn't the only social media beast whose content is falling to the depths of AI slop despair, but the Kapwing study makes it clear that AI slop isn't going anywhere. As Mashable's Tim Marcin reported earlier this month, AI slop is taking over our feeds, from fake animals on surveillance tapes to heavy machinery cleaning barnacles off whales.

It seems certain at this point that laptop and smartphone prices are going to go up even more in 2026.

Case in point: modular PC maker Framework just announced yet another price hike on DDR5 RAM components. Framework says that it's charging customers "as close as possible to the actual purchase prices we have with our suppliers," and that it will now be charging roughly $10 per gigabyte.

Why? Demand for memory hardware, as a result of the AI boom, has led to a global memory shortage, which has in turn forced companies like Framework to raise their prices. Earlier this month, we reported that Samsung had warned its manufacturing partners that it was doubling prices on DDRM RAM, and laptop makers like Lenovo, Dell, and HP have all warned of looming price increases in the new year.

The most recent price hike from Framework adds $10 per GB for the 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB options, with prices going up even higher for RAM modules 48GB and up. And, again, this is yet another price increase on top of previous "price adjustments."

The Verge provided some examples of Framework's new memory pricing, with 8GB of RAM increasing from $60 to $80. Consumers will now pay $160 for the 16GB option instead of the previous price of $120. And 32GB of RAM now costs $320, up from $240.

The price increase really becomes substantial when you get to the larger memory options. In June, for example, 48GB of RAM cost $240. Now? A whopping $620. 

And, as Framework itself says, it doesn't look like the memory shortage is getting better next year.

"All indications we’ve received from suppliers is that prices will continue to increase going into early 2026," the company wrote in a blog post on its website. "We have absorbed and continue to absorb some of the price increases to be able to offer this new pricing, but it is very likely we’ll need to adjust module prices again within the next month."

In fact, without a major disruption, the AI industry will continue to affect the global memory supply well into 2027. Unfortunately for laptop and smartphone shoppers, in many cases, these memory-related price increases follow inflation and tariff-related price hikes from earlier in 2025.

So, if you've been wondering when is the best time to buy a new laptop, you probably don't want to wait too long.

Open-source software development is driven by global communities, and, in accordance with human nature, those communities will disagree, form factions, and push their own agendas. When two or more groups have a difference of opinion on something, they're going to compete to become the solution everyone accepts, and sometimes things get messy,

Software is an amazing thing. Without changing the hardware of your computer at all, new software holds the potential to provide better performance, quality, or both by being more efficient or implementing newer methods of achieving the same goal.

Do you constantly get less speed from your internet connection than you're paying for? It's normal for a connection to be a little slower than advertised, but I expect (and usually get) at least 90% of the rated speed on my own connection under ideal conditions. So, if you're getting less than that, there may be a few bad habits we all have sometimes holding you back.

When you're wandering through Home Depot you'll see all sorts of power tool brands, from Milwaukee to DeWALT, but Ryobi's bright tools are the most prominent. And while Ryobi's 18V ONE+ line is everywhere, fans have likely noticed similar tools that take a larger 40V battery, massive 80V packs, and more.

How much life should you expect from a laptop? This is a harder question to answer than you might think. At one point, the generational improvements in computer hardware were so drastic, that keeping a laptop for more than a year or two didn't make sense. Today, even entry-level laptops are powerful enough to effectively serve your needs indefinitely for normal day-to-day computing.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Dr. Lisa Su will help get CES 2026 underway on Monday, Jan. 5 by delivering a keynote address.

AMD is a major player in the tech world, if perhaps not a household name like Apple or Samsung. It's one of the preeminent chipmakers on the globe, making it increasingly powerful and important in the AI era. OpenAI, in fact, just announced a massive partnership with AMD in an effort to build out AI infrastructure.

AMD wrote on its site that Su will take the "CES stage in Las Vegas to highlight, alongside partners and customers, the AMD vision for delivering future AI solutions – from cloud to enterprise, edge and devices."

You can watch the keynote address on YouTube. It's scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 5. We've also embedded the livestream below.

Mashable will be on the ground reporting at CES 2026 — make sure to follow our coverage. You can expect lots of news from the big stories to the weird gadgets.

The GOG PC game storefront is officially splitting from its parent company, CD Projekt, after its co-founder, Michal Kicinski, bought the platform for $25.2 million. This move includes the GOG Galaxy online gaming platform, so the company is losing GOG entirely.

LibreOffice might be a great way to view and edit documents on any platform, but it has never crossed into the realm of virtual reality. That's now changing, as LibreOffice is officially available on Meta Quest VR headsets.