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I love reading, but I always find it hard to find the time these days. I read non-stop as a kid, but now I have kids of my own, life seems to get in the way. I'd seen people raving about how a tiny eReader had helped them read far more, and I was skeptical but decided to give it a try.

Plex is the ideal starting point for anyone who wants to build their own media server with minimal setup. But it isn't perfect. Some features you might want are missing, while others are locked behind a paywall. I use a few companion apps to add these features and upgrade my Plex experience in the process.

Earlier this month, we reported on the disturbing trend of AI companies using and then destroying physical copies of books to train their agentic AI, in a practice so eerily reminiscent of book burning that it's spooking even devotees of artificial intelligence.

Well, according to Axios, the FTC is now being urged to investigate the practice, not, as we might like, for crimes against humanity, but for violations of antitrust law, since every book destroyed is one less book available for competing AI agents to use. 

Axios reports that "[m]ore than a dozen civil society groups," including Demand Progress Education Fund, the Consumer Federation of America, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, are urging the FTC to investigate these practices, particularly those involving rare books. In their letter, they "urge the FTC to view this practice not in isolation but rather as the latest escalation in a documented pattern of anticompetitive conduct designed to create an insurmountable systemic moat around AI incumbents." 

The problem is all the more acute because these companies are allegedly targeting older books — especially those published before 2022 — since those books are guaranteed not to have been written by AI and are far more likely to have been well edited.

The letter continues:

"Unlike a standard data acquisition strategy, this hoard-and-destroy practice could serve as yet another structural mechanism to raise rival companies' costs and deny start-ups and fledgling competitors a key source material essential to competing in the AI marketplace."

Recall OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's description of knowledge as a utility that could be sold to you "like electricity and water"? That business proposition looks a lot less wholesome when it involves the wholesale destruction of books, our first and still-unsurpassed repository for human knowledge, most of which can still be acquired cheaply or freely loaned from a local library.

Sadder still is the fact that our best practical defense against this modern book burning isn't an ethical one but a legal one: that it would be bad for other businesses.

Part of owning a smartphone is knowing that apps track where I go more than I'd like to admit. That doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it. I started spoofing my location on purpose: here's what happened, why it's worth trying, and what else you can layer on top of it.

Windows comes with a built-in firewall, and right out of the gate, I have to say that it is adequate. If you've never thought about the word "firewall" and don't have any interest in managing your Windows computer's network activity or security, then the default firewall is great.

Like many Linux users, I came to appreciate Linux through beginner-friendly distros like Linux Mint and Zorin OS. They make the transition from Windows much easier, and in Mint's case, a big part of the appeal is how little it asks of you. It's stable and familiar to Windows users. You can install it and use your PC without spending much time thinking about what's happening underneath.

You can do a lot of cool stuff with an older Rapsberry Pi. I use mine for a few things: development, home lab experiments, and some light writing and programming. But, like many Pi enthusiasts, I also use it for various retro projects. Lately, I've been using optical media for storage and retrieval for very specific reasons.

Who needs more cordless power tools? DeWALT tools are extremely popular among homeowners and professionals, partly thanks to their constant stream of exciting new products, and the company isn't slowing down anytime soon. Recently, DeWALT unveiled several new tools for the second half of 2026, and they'll be worth the wait.

When Nissan engineers borrowed NASA's research on neutral body posture to design the seats in the Infiniti QX60, they wanted to keep drivers and passengers comfortable on long trips. Believe it or not, that same engineering mindset extends to something a lot less glamorous than astronaut ergonomics. Cupholders.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced that its legal actions against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, over alleged violations of children's online privacy laws had concluded with a $400 million settlement. The settlement now ranks among the "largest recoveries ever obtained" under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The initial lawsuit was brought against TikTok under the Biden administration, with allegations including "massive-scale invasions of children's privacy" and repeated failure to "comply with parents' requests to delete their children's accounts and information," according to the initial complaint. 

Though the dollar amount of the settlement is certainly steep, the terms of the deal allow TikTok to vacate all charges, avoid further litigation arising from the initial complaint, and admit no wrongdoing.

In fact, the Department of Justice's own press release acknowledges that "TikTok has undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices," giving the company a much-needed PR win going forward. The DOJ, on the other hand, is portraying this as a victory for online privacy.

"This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents," according to Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. "The Department's priority is ensuring that children are protected online and that companies entrusted with their personal information meet their legal obligations. This resolution secures a substantial recovery while reinforcing the protections that families expect and deserve."

Considering that prior litigation targeting TikTok put it under constant threat of being banned under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed by Congress in 2024, and eventually forced its corporate restructuring, the $400 million settlement will likely look, in hindsight, like a small price to pay for a company generating billions of dollars in advertising revenue each year. 

I’m not one to simply buy power tools on a whim; I usually need a good excuse. Recently I decided to take the plunge on an impact driver to see me through a weekend project and into the future. I ended up with a relatively cheap Ryobi model, and I love it.

Back when Android phones were still establishing their core identity, and Google was still a bright-eyed company mostly focused on software, Google came up with a brilliant idea, and, surprisingly, its partners played along. It was called "Google Play Edition" phones.

Sometimes a Windows bug is too small to carefully fix but too annoying to ignore. For years, my sound card has had its output mode switched from stereo to 5.1 after every reboot. Fixing it manually isn't difficult or all that time-consuming, but over the thousands of reboots since I purchased the card years ago, it adds up to several hours just changing audio device configurations.

The one thing that makes it easier for me to get up at 6 am for a training session or video call with someone on the other side of the world is the guarantee that my first cup of coffee will be a good one.

I make heavy use of voice dictation—I'm actually speaking the words you're reading right now. But I'm squeamish about the privacy concerns of Gboard and the connectivity requirements of Wispr Flow. Fortunately, I've found a private, offline-only option that is just as good—if not better.

Unfortunately, the end of August means the end of summer is near. It's the last chance to get that last-minute trip in before the school year starts, and the weather starts to cool down. As one of those people taking a trip, I've started to realize that the most important tool in my suitcase is an Amazon Fire TV Stick.

A NAS is a simple way to add a miniature cloud storage setup to your home network. Most of them are even versatile enough that they can host some basic open-source services as well, like a Navidrome music server or a WireGuard VPN. However, if you have an old PC lying around, you probably don't need to buy a dedicated NAS—you can repurpose the old PC instead.

The compact luxury SUV segment is dominated by familiar German badges, but a newer challenger is making it increasingly difficult to justify paying extra for them. It offers a genuinely upscale interior, strong performance, generous standard equipment, and a driving experience that feels more engaging than you might expect from a luxury crossover. Better still, it manages all of this while costing roughly the same as its most obvious rivals.

There's a long-standing debate over which web browser you should use. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and plenty of others all have their fans, and most of us eventually settle on whichever one fits our particular needs. For me, Edge Drop makes Microsoft's browser considerably more useful—but now that's being taken away.

Do you love making things and getting your hands dirty? Whether you’re into arts, crafts, or both, a 3D printer could be a good investment. You don’t need model design skills to benefit either, since there’s a whole world of models out there just waiting to be discovered.