Technology

You bought a Raspberry Pi with a head full of plans about how you'd use it, but it's been languishing in your drawer ever since. If your unused Raspberry Pi is making you feel guilty, then there are some relatively simple projects that you can have up and running before you know it.

I get into my car to drive, not to troubleshoot a touchscreen. But since becoming a mom, I’ve found myself driving a lot more than I used to, from taking my daughter to her classes to driving her to vaccination appointments and running errands in between.

The right power tool, like a Ryobi multi-tool, lets you finally tackle that old dresser you've been meaning to fix up, without having to buy an entire garage full of expensive gear. Pair it with something like a handheld orbital sander, and it'll look brand new in no time. Thanks to The Home Depot, you can pick up this 2-tool set, the Ryobi One+ 18V multi-tool and random orbit sander combo, all for the cost you would normally spend on just one alone.

I recently forwarded TCP port 25565 on my home router, so a few friends could join a Minecraft Java server. I didn't think much of it until my home IP address appeared on Shodan with the server's specific details listed.

Aaron Sorkin, famed writer of The West Wing and Academy Award-winning The Social Network, is notoriously verbose. He has a reputation for linguistic flairs that some find awkward, and many find deeply compelling. 

But in The Social Reckoning, a follow-up to the 2010 tale of Facebook's founding, he is uncharacteristically sparing. 

Yes, Sorkin — who wrote and directed the new movie — crams the script with one-liners and existential metaphors, random pop culture references, and cries for change, but it's what he leaves out that viewers should pay attention to. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Social Reckoning' review: Aaron Sorkin's indulgences fail this Facebook follow-up What 'The Social Reckoning' omits

Through The Wall Street Journal's Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), The Social Reckoning recounts the two years of work that made up the publication's explosive 2021 series, The Facebook Files. The birth of the exposé, a series of insider accounts of Facebook's decision to reroute its algorithm in service of polarizing extremism, is presented in two competing timelines.

In one, Huagen and Horwitz attempt to penetrate the Silicon Valley giant's defenses to learn the true scope of its wrongdoing. In the other, CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong) readies himself to testify before Congress — as Jan. 6th insurrectionists storm the Capitol.

So it's strange that it's characters — real-life journalists, brave whistleblowers, and profit-driven tech overlords who had a direct role in the current administration's success — don't say the name "Trump."

Despite a third of the movie set in 2020, COVID-19 is largely referred to as "the novel virus." The movie skirts the rampant medical misinformation, spread by conservative conspiracy groups, that flourished on Meta platforms.

The movie also omits the full details of Facebook's startling algorithmic misconduct that surrounded and informed the events of The Social Reckoning. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Meta IRL

In 2018, the tech giant was implicated in a massive data breach that harvested user profiles to target U.S. voters ahead of President Donald Trump's 2016 election victory. Facebook had already been accused of a host of reported user privacy violations, including conducting an algorithm-based psychological study on unwitting users. Due to Facebook's outsized role in spreading fake news, the company's CEO was given the title "Misinformer of the Year" in 2017 by Media Matters for America. 

Civil rights organizations like GLAAD have long deemed Meta's platforms unsafe for LGBTQ users. Facebook's algorithm has not only helped foster discord on home soil, but is also alleged to have had a role in global cultural genocides by human rights groups like Amnesty International. 

Following Haugen's real-life congressional testimony, used as the final beat of Sorkin's film, the company was accused of exacerbating a youth mental health crisis, multiple deaths by suicide, and an explosion of real and synthetic child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The first point is briefly touched on in the film, while the last is completely sidelined.

Three weeks after Haugen's congressional appearance in 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta. The company then underwent a brief public-image overhaul — until Trump came back into power. Following his reelection, Meta gave $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. 

The Social Reckoning implores someone, anyone, to act. The film posits that the federal government may be able to hold Zuckerberg to account.

It hasn't. 

One character, a member of the company's civic integrity team who helps leak internal reports about Instagram's impact on teen mental health, tells Haugen that something needs to be done before the company proceeds with its plan for "Instagram Kids." 

In 2024, Meta debuted Teen Accounts to address growing unease about young people's online habits. Following studies that concluded the changes featured in Instagram's Teen Accounts were ineffective, the company overhauled them. In the months since the overhaul, advocates have alleged Teen Accounts are still failing to curb online abuse. 

Another real-life whistleblower, Arturo Béjar, has continued to testify to Meta's alleged intentional disregard for teen mental health in court. 

Will Meta change?

In the film's epilogue, Sorkin describes Haugen's disclosure as having "caused some pain" for the company.

"I would not call it a massive pain for Meta," said Christine McComas, founding member of child safety advocacy group Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS). "It was a moment of clarity for people to understand what's going on."

Unlike Sorkin's more timid portrayal, McComas describes Haugen as a person who knew what she needed to do. McComas credits Haugen with galvanizing the work of bereaved parents whose children had died by suicide following abusive social media interactions.

That is an inexcusable failure of leadership. - Ashwin Verghese, Fairplay

As of publishing, more than 3,000 federal lawsuits have been filed against Meta alleging intentional harm to teen users. The film briefly mentions the work of attorneys general in amplifying these claims. Many of these cases are still ongoing or have settled out of court, but a few have resulted in surface level changes to Meta platforms.

Much like Teen Accounts, researchers argue the changes did not do enough to protect young users. 

Concerted pressure from state leaders and child safety advocates has finally pushed Meta to agree to more substantive reform, such as algorithmic guardrails. Still, most argue that comprehensive federal regulation is the only way to truly curb Meta's harm. 

Congressional leaders have "completely failed" to hold Meta and its competitors accountable, says Ashwin Verghese, communications director of child safety nonprofit Fairplay. "In fact, Congress has not passed a bill focused on keeping kids safe online in nearly 30 years. That is an inexcusable failure of leadership," Verghese said.

SEE ALSO: Is Meta finally backing a federal kids safety bill, or is it all PR?

It has been years since the Wall Street Journal published The Facebook Files. To be fair to Sorkin, political change is slow. Courts have their limits when powerful, near monopolistic, companies are involved. 

But there's a lingering question that the movie, given its timeline and broad topics, only mildly addresses through its luddite journalist, Horwitz: If Congress won't act, why won't we, as a society, just stop using Meta's problematic products?

Meta, why can't we quit you?

Compared to Horwitz, who is comedically introduced as someone who can't even use a GPS, Sorkin depicts Haugen as an idealist, clinging to the democratizing potential of Facebook. Her movie self is a firm believer that the platform's ability to foster social connection is a societal good. The character doesn't rally for Meta's shuttering, but for its reform. 

In early 2026, professor and marketing expert Scott Galloway called for an industry-wide boycott of tech platforms with disproportionate political and economic power. Included in that list were Meta platforms WhatsApp and Facebook (Instagram is also in Meta's corporate roster). 

One year earlier, swaths of users threatened to delete their Meta accounts following platform changes that signaled its alignment with the Trump administration, including the erasure of hateful conduct protections for LGBTQ users and the shuttering of its fact checking program. Years before that, users attempted to galvanize change through the 2018 #DeleteFacebook trend.

Yet, even with these calls, Meta has yet to see a mass exodus of users. The company only recently reported a substantial decline in daily users across its platforms. The loss was just 20 million of a reported 3 billion users. After the launch of its new AI agent Muse, Meta regained almost 2 million daily users. 

Too many people are complacent because they don’t know an alternative. - Sam Hiner, Young People's Alliance

"Meta has spent millions of dollars in public relations campaigns to claim their platforms are safe while denying responsibility," said Maurine Molak, advocate and co-founder of ParentsSOS. Molak was one of a group of survivor parents who received an apology from Zuckerberg during his 2024 congressional testimony. 

Molak argues that Meta's billion-dollar PR spin has sowed confusion among parents, users, and even congressional leaders. Without clarity, users are more inclined to stay and avoid the pains of leaving.

"Too many people are complacent because they don’t know an alternative," explained Sam Hiner, executive director of the youth-led advocacy nonprofit Young People's Alliance. Hiner and Molak both argue one of the biggest hurdles to leaving Facebook is the Fear of Missing Out.

"If you’re not online, it feels like you’re missing out on an important cultural space," said Hiner. "It’s also hard for competitors to emerge because of the network effect — all of my friends are on Meta platforms, not whatever competitor may emerge."

Molak links this to Facebook's role as one of the first social media platforms. Millions, perhaps billions of adults, have spent nearly two decades building their accounts on Facebook and more than a decade on Instagram. Recntly, they have merged these accounts onto Meta's X-competitor Threads — a wave of users flocked to Threads after Elon Musk's take over of Twitter. It was the lesser of two evils.

Meta platforms are part of many's daily habit, maybe even their identity. With its foray into general AI and its diversification into massively popular chat platforms, users are getting wrenched deeper into Meta's web. 

"Algorithms aren't visible, so it's understandably been quite difficult for most folks to connect the harms they experience in their communities — more people angry and outraged, more mental health problems, more anxious children — with some computer code designed in a faraway lab," explained Julie Scelfo, founder and executive director of Mothers Against Media Addiction. 

This movie will not move the needle on Meta

Meta has not issued a statement on The Social Reckoning, and it probably never needs to. The film's opening weekend was an unequivocal flop.

The company is shielded by its buying power. In an April earnings call, the tech giant said it brought in $56.3 billion, probably tied to its ongoing generative AI investments.

"The monetary fines imposed on Meta are comparable to parking tickets," said Molak. In August, Meta settled out of a potentially consequential social media addiction lawsuit for the sum of $17 billion dollars — just one percent of its stock value, paid out over a decade. 

During one pivotal moment between Horwitz and Haugen in The Social Reckoning, Haugen ponders if it's possible to push powerful people toward change. 

"When it's about money, it's hard," says Horwitz. "When it's not about money, it's even harder."

There are few things more annoying than being in the middle of a show or a movie and having that spinning buffering icon pop up on your screen to taunt you. This is something that was happening to me quite frequently, and I seriously doubted that it had anything to do with the actual speed of my internet connection.

On Oct. 14, one day after announcing its acquisition, Bumble launched handles as a way for users to connect with each other.

Bumble Handles is meant to be a way to share contact information, but not your phone number or social media account. "Your private and professional networks aren’t necessarily where you want your dating life to begin," Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd shared in a note about the new feature. "That's why we're launching Bumble Handles."

SEE ALSO: The 10 best hookup apps of 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

Verified Bumble users can create a custom handle to easily tell people to "Find them on Bumble." But making one is optional, and users can opt out of being discoverable by their handle at any time.

Exact handle names are required to search, and according to Wolfe Herd, "Discoverable doesn't mean accessible." While another user can express interest after finding someone else's profile, mutual interest is still required to start a conversation. Bumble's moderation guidelines apply when creating a handle, and the app stated it has put additional protections in place to reduce misuse, such as impersonation.

This is the latest in big changes that have come to the app this year, including how men can message women first in heterosexual matches. Yesterday, Bumble announced a deal to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings for $1.3 billion, and co-CEOs Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman have taken over from Wolfe Herd.

Bumble Handles are available to iOS users in the U.S.

Music is a proven stress reliever, and everyone should have a Bluetooth speaker, like the Marshall Action III, to enjoy their favorite songs and lift their mood. Many new Bluetooth speakers feature futuristic designs with gaudy lighting, but the Action III takes a different approach with a timeless, retro-inspired look that turns heads.

RAMageddon is showing no sign of stopping, if the global smartphone market is to be believed.

A new report from Counterpoint, a market research firm, indicates that global smartphone shipments were down 20 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026. According to Counterpoint, they hit the lowest level measured since 2012, which was a time when smartphones were still not quite as prevalent in everyday life as they are now. The explanation, according to Counterpoint, is that "relentless increases" in memory prices have "significantly disrupted" shipments from manufacturers like Samsung and Apple.

SEE ALSO: Apple TV 4K: Where to buy the 4th generation of Apple TV

As a result, those companies have passed rising costs onto consumers, resulting in a 20 percent rise in smartphone retail prices in 2026. Per Counterpoint's research, this has led to customers holding onto older phones for longer and prioritizing high-end devices more than they might otherwise.

Samsung, for what it's worth, seems to have weathered the storm a little bit, with its market share increasing to 23 percent. Counterpoint attributes this to steady demand for the mid-range Galaxy A-series and high demand for premium devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Apple, meanwhile, also saw an increase in market share, while suffering a 22 percent decline in shipments year-over-year. Counterpoint theorizes that this had to do with the lack of a base iPhone 18 model in September; Apple is widely expected to launch that phone in early 2027 instead.

I do my best to keep my files organized, give them sensible names, and place them in project-specific folders. Even so, sometimes I still mess things up. Somehow, when I want to work on a specific version of a design project, I can only find a flattened PNG. All other iterations? Completely editable and ready to use, except the one I need.

I would've never guessed that the 1998 cult-favorite Practical Magic would get a sequel in 2026, but here we are. Practical Magic 2 brings back Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's sister witches, as well as their on-screen aunties played by Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. But it also adds new faces like Joey King and Maisie Williams into the mix.

Whether you're a Practical Magic superfan or you're looking to get into the spirit of the season, the sequel 30 years in the making is now officially available to watch at home.

The best ways to watch 'Practical Magic 2' at home, at a glance: Watch now Buy or rent 'Practical Magic 2' on Prime Video $24.99 or $19.99 Shop Now Watch now Buy or rent 'Practical Magic 2' on Apple TV $24.99 or $19.99 Get Deal Watch now Buy or rent 'Practical Magic 2' on Fandango at Home $24.99 or $19.99 Get Deal Watch later HBO Max (With Ads) $109.99/year (save $21.89) Get Deal Watch later HBO Max Standard $184.99/year (save $36.89) Get Deal Watch later HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months (save 50%) Get Deal Watch later HBO Max Basic With Ads Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month unlimited plan (save $10.99/month) Get Deal Watch later Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle $21.99 per month (with ads), $34.99 per month (no ads) (save up to 43%) Get Deal Watch later Netflix and HBO Max bundle (with ads) $10/month with Verizon myPlan (save $9.98/month) Get Deal Watch later Netflix, Peacock, and HBO Max (with ads) $22/month with Xfinity StreamSaver (save $8.97/month) Get Deal

Directed by Susanne Bier and written by Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett, the sequel is based on the final novel in Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic series, The Book of Magic. In her review, Mashable's entertainment editor calls it "a tale of love, loss, sisterhood, and magic that bounds across genres while being thoroughly entertaining."

Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Practical Magic 2, including when and where it'll be streaming this season.

What is Practical Magic 2 about?

The witchy Owens family is cursed to be loveless for centuries, but when Sally's (Bullock) daughter Kylie (King) falls in love and begins to uncover hidden family secrets, she sets off to break the spell.

The sequel covers a lot of ground and takes a "a wild ride into different genre influences," as Mashable's Kristy Puchko puts it, but ultimately it delivers.

Check out the official trailer for a taste of Practical Magic 2:

How to watch Practical Magic 2 at home Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

As of Oct. 13, you can officially watch the Practical Magic sequel at home. You can either buy it or rent it via digital-on-demand retailers, with a streaming option still to come. We've broken down the details below.

Buy or rent on digital

Practical Magic 2 made its at-home debut via digital-on-demand retailers on Oct. 13, 2026. It costs $24.99 to buy and $19.99 to rent, but here's a pro tip: those prices will likely drop significantly if you wait a few weeks. Another thing to note is if you choose the rental option, you have 30 days to start watching, but only 48 hours once you start.

Quick links to buy/rent Practical Magic 2 on digital:

• Apple TV —  buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Fandango at Home — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Prime Video —  buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• YouTube — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

Stream it on HBO Max

There's no official date yet, but we do know that Practical Magic 2 will make its streaming debut on HBO Max, as Warner Bros. Pictures theatrical releases exclusively stream on HBO Max before anywhere else. If it follows the same schedule as other recent Warner Bros. releases (like Wuthering Heights and The Conjuring: Last Rites), we expect a mid-November streaming release. Stay tuned.

HBO Max subscriptions start at $10.99 per month, but there are a few ways you can save money on your plan. Check out the best HBO Max streaming deals below.

SEE ALSO: HBO Max and Paramount+ are combining into one streaming service The best HBO Max streaming dealsBest for most people: Save up to $45 on HBO Max annual subscriptions Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Basic with ads annual subscription $109.99 per year (save $21.89) Get Deal at HBO Max Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Standard annual subscription $184.99 per year (save $36.89) Get Deal at HBO Max

The best way to save some cash on HBO Max on any given day is by committing to an annual plan. Yes, it'll cost you more up front, but you'll save about 16% over the course of a year — or up to $45.89 in savings.

A monthly plan with ads typically costs $10.99 per month, but a full year costs $109.99, which breaks down the monthly cost to only $9.17. Want to go ad-free? The annual HBO Max Standard or Premium plans will also save you about 16% over their monthly equivalents. Standard subscriptions cost either $18.49 per month or $184.99 per year (which breaks down to $15.42 per month). Premium subscriptions cost $22.99 per month or $229.99 per year (about $19.17 per month). While both are ad-free plans, the Premium option also unlocks 4K Ultra HD video quality, Dolby Atmos, and the ability to download more offline content.

Get HBO Max for free: Switch to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max / Cricket HBO Max (with ads) Free for Cricket customers on the Supreme Unlimited plan Get Deal

While it's not the most convenient option, switching your phone plan to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan for $60 per month will get you HBO Max with ads for free. Once you're a Cricket customer, you can use your provider credentials to log in via the HBO Max app or website.

Best HBO Max deal for students: Save 50% on HBO Max Basic with ads Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months Get Deal

College students can sign up for a whole year of HBO Max with ads for 50% off. Use UNiDAYS to prove your student status and you'll receive a unique discount code to shave the cost per month down from $10.99 to $5.49. The price will jump back to the full cost unless you cancel after 12 months.

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The Disney+ bundle deal, which includes HBO Max and Hulu, remains one of the best streaming deals around — even with its latest price increase. For just $21.99 per month, you'll get all three streaming libraries with ads, which is about $14 cheaper than paying for each one separately. Want to go ad-free? It'll run you $34.99 per month as opposed to $61.47 for all three. That's $26.48 in savings.

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If you're a Verizon customer on the Simplicity, Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plan, you can add the Netflix and HBO Max bundle perk (with ads) to your plan for only $13 per month. A $19.98 per month value, that's about $7 in savings each month. Once you enroll in the promo, you'll have to complete the account setup separately for each service. Check out Verizon's support page for all the eligibility details, terms, and FAQs. You can also upgrade to the ad-free bundle for $7.50 more per month.

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Xfinity Internet and TV customers can also get in on the bundle action with Xfinity StreamSaver packages. The package with Netflix Standard with ads ($8.99 per month), Peacock Premium ($10.99 per month), and HBO Max Basic with Ads ($10.99 per month) can be added to your existing Xfinity service for only $22 per month. It typically costs $30.97 for all three, so that's about $9 in savings monthly.

SAVE $65: As of Oct. 14, the Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camping Stove is on sale for $164.99 on Amazon (normally $229.99) — a 28% savings. You can add a cast-iron grill and griddle for $40 extra.

Opens in a new window Credit: Coleman Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camping Stove $164.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $65   Get Deal at Amazon Opens in a new window Credit: Coleman Coleman Cascade 3-in-1 Camping Stove $204.99 at Amazon
$274.99 Save $70 FYI: Not returnable. Get Deal at Amazon

Tired: waiting around for Lana Del Rey to release her new album, Stove (or whatever it's called these days). Wired: grabbing a new camping stove on sale while end-of-season clearance sales are in full swing.

Right now, Amazon has the top-rated Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camping Stove marked down to $164.99. That's 28% off its usual MSRP of $229.99 and its best price since summer, when it was just $11 cheaper.

For $40 extra, you can upgrade to a slightly more powerful version of this stove with a removable cast-iron grill and griddle. Just know that it's not returnable due to hazardous material regulations unless it arrives with damage or defects.

Credit: Coleman Credit: Coleman

This portable stove runs on propane fuel and offers 22,000 total BTUs of cooking power between its two burners. (The version that ships with those two accessories can hit up to 24,000 total BTUs.) It can fit 12- and 10-inch pans, and there are wind guards on either side of it to protect its flames.

When you're finished cooking, the Coleman Cascade 222 folds up and latches closed. There's a handle built into the bottom of it that makes it easy to carry.

Recently, people have become more cautious about their phone's battery health than about fast charging. For years, my bedtime routine has been to plug my phone in and fall asleep. This way, I stop reaching for my phone frequently at bedtime, which improves my sleep. While my sleep has improved, my Galaxy S25 Ultra's battery life has significantly declined in just a year and a half.

TL;DR: Live stream Roma vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

There are a number of interesting Champions League fixtures taking place this week, including Roma vs. Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico. Real Madrid won their opening game in this competition, whereas Roma had to settle for a draw. Of course, Roma could leapfrog their rivals by winning this clash.

If you want to watch Roma vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Roma vs. Real Madrid?

Roma vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Oct. 14. This fixture takes place at the Stadio Olimpico.

How to watch Roma vs. Real Madrid for free

Roma vs. Real Madrid is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, 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 Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Roma vs. Real Madrid for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend 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 Ireland

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Roma vs. Real Madrid for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 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 the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Roma vs. Real Madrid (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Virgin Media Player?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Ireland

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Roma vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: As of Oct. 14, you can get the Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo 3D Printer for $328.99, down from $461.99. That's a 29% discount or $133 in savings.

Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo 3D Printer $328.99 at Amazon
$461.99 Save $133   Get Deal at Amazon

My nephew has been begging for a 3D printer, and frankly, I haven't felt too comfortable with the prices, and I thought the mechanics might be a little too advanced for a 13-year-old. But according to Mashable reviewer Adam Doud, the Centauri lineup is easy to use and budget-friendly.

In his review of the Centauri Carbon, Adam called it an "idiot-friendly 3D printer that even I could understand". He loved that it's "an entirely self-contained device" — meaning all the moving parts are housed safely inside an enclosure rather than exposed on an open table — and noted that the automated calibration and leveling save you from having to master complicated technical tasks on day one.

SEE ALSO: Find a gift that kids will actually like

So if your little ones have been asking for a more advanced gift this year, this might be the one to get. Right now, you can get the Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo 3D Printer for $328.99, down from $461.99. That's a 29% discount or $133 in savings.

This upgraded Centauri 2 Combo model makes things even easier for beginners with its CANVAS system, which handles four-color printing automatically without requiring anyone to manually pause and swap filaments. It also uses the ElegooSlicer app so they can queue projects and monitor prints right from a phone. Plus, it prints at high speeds (up to 500mm/s), so nobody has to wait all weekend for a single build to finish.

Is Google purposefully serving up false data to AI scrapers?

According to a new report from Nozzle, a search engine results page (SERP) monitoring firm, Google may be deliberately manipulating search results that are visible to rank-tracking tools and other automated services.

SERPs are the pages Google displays in response to a search query. Companies often pay service providers like Nozzle to monitor these results and track how their websites rank for targeted keywords.

While monitoring Google SERPs, Nozzle discovered evidence that the search giant appeared to be deliberately poisoning results pages accessed by rank trackers. Google has little apparent reason to serve misleading data specifically to these tools, suggesting that legitimate SEO services may be caught in the crossfire of Google's efforts to disrupt data scraping by AI bots.

For its report, Nozzle analyzed 27.5 million SERPs and found that more than 660,000 keywords were associated with poisoned results pages. According to the report, approximately 8 percent of SERPs were poisoned. The altered results appeared in both desktop and mobile versions of Google Search.

SEE ALSO: Google upgrades its AI detection tool. How to use SynthID.

What does a poisoned SERP look like? According to Nozzle, it looks much like a normal search results page. However, links that typically rank well in legitimate results may be replaced with less relevant or less accurate results, often from social media platforms.

Google has been battling third-party AI scrapers for some time. These automated bots collect Google's search data, potentially to power competing AI services or reverse-engineer the company's search algorithms. By poisoning search results, Google could undermine the value of the data collected by these bots.

The problem is that legitimate rank trackers and other search engine optimization (SEO) tools may also be receiving this misleading data.

It's also possible that Google's efforts are intended, at least in part, to target rank trackers themselves. Black-hat and gray-hat SEO techniques have evolved in recent years, with some practitioners using AI to manipulate search rankings. Google may have an incentive to make automated tracking and analysis more difficult for those attempting to game its search results.

However, Google could simply block requests from AI scrapers and other automated tools, as it has done in the past. Over the past month, Nozzle's findings suggest Google may have shifted from blocking certain requests to serving misleading results instead.

If so, that would point to a more active effort to poison the data available to AI scrapers.

SAVE $300: As of Oct. 14, get the Hisense C3 Triple Color RGB Smart Laser Projector for $1,699.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,999.99. That's a discount of 15%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Hisense C3 Triple Color RGB Smart Laser Projector $1,699.99 at Amazon
$1,999.99 Save $300   Get Deal at Amazon

Looking for a new way to experience your favorite movies at home? A projector is a good place to start. You can use an investment like this for the foreseeable future to create an at-home theatrical experience without breaking the bank, and Amazon is making that even easier right now with this deal.

As of Oct. 14, get the Hisense C3 Triple Color RGB Smart Laser Projector for $1,699.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,999.99. That's $300 off and a discount of 15%.

SEE ALSO: The ultimate 'GTA 6' upgrade: The TCL 65-inch QM6K Mini LED TV is $152 off at Amazon

This projector can cast a 65-inch image all the way up to a 300-inch picture for the movie night of your dreams. It has support for IMAX Enhanced and Dolby Vision certification as well, so you can host movie night outdoors, show the big game on your wall, or just enjoy some time outdoors with everyone's favorite music videos.

Show off movies and other content in striking 4K UHD resolution with pixel-by-pixel reconstruction with depth and motion clarity like you'd find with a pricey TV. Setup is easy as well, with a 360-degree horizontal and 135-degree vertical gimbal so you can get things situated and get movie night going quickly. You can point it at a fence, ceiling, ramp, or wherever works for your viewing party.

If you've been dreaming about an alternative way to enjoy movies and the like with friends and family, this is the perfect way to do so, and at a significant discount as well. Be sure to grab yours while you can.

Spooky season is here, and my October watchlist wouldn’t be complete without a few good horror movies. But what I feel like watching depends on the day: sometimes it’s an unsettling horror-mystery, and other times, a bloody slasher with a little humor sprinkled in is more my vibe.

Character.AI, the chatbot platform that lets people create and talk to AI characters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company filed a voluntary petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Oct. 12, according to court records. It is using the bankruptcy process to sell itself under court supervision.

SEE ALSO: Ask.com shuts down after 30 years

In a blog post announcing the decision, the company said it had spent the past year trying to sustain its business amid "significant legal, regulatory, and operational headwinds." The company also said that the board reviewed its options and decided a court-supervised sale offered the best chance "to maximize value for all of our stakeholders."

"The Character.ai platform remains up and running," the statement added.

Character.AI estimated both its assets and its liabilities at between $50 million and $100 million, TechCrunch reported. According to the filing, the board formed a restructuring committee on Oct. 8 to weigh its options given the company’s cash flow, liquidity, and potential legal liabilities. The committee approved the bankruptcy filing four days later.

A rocky five years

Former Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas founded Character.AI in late 2021. The startup reached a $1 billion valuation in 2022 after raising $150 million. In Aug. 2024, Google struck a $2.7 billion deal to license its models, and both founders went back to Google.

Usage stayed high afterward. By October 2024, Character.AI had 20 million monthly active users, part of a fast-growing AI companion community, and Sensor Tower data cited by TechCrunch ranks it among the top AI apps by time spent.

Then the lawsuits started to come in.

One came from the mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy who died by suicide; she says he had become obsessed with one of the platform’s chatbots. Texas also opened an investigation into whether Character.AI followed child privacy and safety laws. The company settled some of the lawsuits, added safety features, and banned minors.

In its coverage of the bankruptcy, 404 Media argued that Character.AI’s money problems aren’t unusual. Many AI companies spend heavily on computing power without the revenue to support it. The distinction, though, 404 Media wrote, is that the big companies like Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI are "able to repeatedly get injections of new cash." Meta and Google can also use their advertising businesses to pay for their AI products.

Disney has agreed to buy some of Character.AI’s assets for $20 million, along with a non-exclusive, perpetual license to its technology, TechCrunch reported. Former Character.AI staff who joined Disney last month, including former CEO Karandeep Singh Anand, will help with the transition.

The statement on Character.AI's website said the sale should close in late November or early December. However, if no workable offer comes in, Adams told the outlet, the platform "will be wound down."

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