Blogroll

The Google backup ecosystem is undeniably convenient, as long as you are willing to pay for a Google One subscription. The default 15GB isn't enough for most purposes. I was tired of manually selecting and sending batches of pictures via Quick Share to free up space on my phone, and I didn't want to pay a monthly subscription fee to secure my growing media library.

Over the years, we've seen vast improvements in eReaders and E Ink tablets. In a world where Kindle and Kobo eReaders used to reign supreme, the market is now delightfully diverse. The E Ink Corporation takes a lot of credit for this progress. Without the display maker's modern E Ink display tech, Android tablets with ePaper screens would not exist.

On Nov. 6, Fox closed a $22 billion deal to acquire streaming device giant Roku, and the merger already has an unforeseen casualty: The end of the Aquatic Life screensaver.

SEE ALSO: European Commission advises TikTok to redesign FYP or risk fines

Last week, fans of Aquatic Life — a relaxing aquarium filled with swimming fish — noticed an alert popping up on their Roku devices, warning that their fish would soon be gone. Because it was such a fan favorite, users took to social media to mourn the screensaver's end or plead for its future. Many wrote that Aquatic Life had become an essential part of their lives.

"Before my father passed I gifted him a Roku and one of the last conversations we had was him telling me he loved these fish so much," wrote one Reddit user.

"This screensaver has been a comfort to me for about ten years or more I can't remember. My wife picked it out and she loved it. Pancreatic cancer took her from me 7 years ago," wrote another.

Why is Aquatic Life leaving Roku TVs?

Some theorized the popular, ad-free screensaver was losing the company potential revenue money. Roku's annual earnings reports over the last several years have positively cited the "high-visibility placements" of device advertising, including on its screensavers.

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

Others suggested Roku's new ownership may have been the nail in the coffin, with rumors circulating that the screensaver's developer had ended its licensing deal following Fox's entry. In an interview with ArsTechnica, Jim Sachs, the artist behind the screensaver, confirmed he chose not to renew his annual $80,000 licensing agreement after learning of the $22 billion deal. The deal was his primary form of income, Sachs told ArsTechnica.

"I can’t be part of the Fox world," Sachs told the publication, alluding to the controversial reputation of Fox News. "It seems that Fox simply wants another venue for spreading their philosophy, which I consider repugnant. I can’t stand the idea of my artwork being used to lure even one person down that rabbit hole."

When will Aquatic Life leave Roku?

Users who currently have their screens set to the serene aquarium will be moved into Roku City on Dec. 1. Roku City — the company's default screensaver and native ad placement spot — has garnered its own cult following and meme status over the years. The company has leaned into the popularity heavily, adding viral easter eggs and pop culture references intended to stir online conversation.

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

But not everyone is a fan of the streaming metropolis.

"Likely because we live in a corporate dystopian hellscape and it's hard for them to shove advertisements into fish. This fucking sucks. No reason given. We just can't have nice things. Fuck Roku City," wrote one X user.

Roku has not publicly commented on customer demands to bring back Aquatic Life. Sachs said the company has asked him to renew the license, but that he wasn't willing to do so until Fox reverses its "rage-based business model" and chooses to "take responsibility for all the harm it has caused."

In the meantime, aquarium lovers can download the screensaver for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, or find an alternative on Roku.

Two years ago, Logitech got into the LCD-based macro keypad game with the MX Creative Console after buying Loupedeck in 2023. Recently, Logitech released a more affordable macro keypad than the MX Creative Console with the MX Keypad. I’ve spent the past few weeks using Logitech’s latest release and I have to say, I like it a lot more than I thought I would.

China's plan to land people on the moon by 2030 mirrors NASA's on paper but skips crewed lunar test flights, trusting robotic rehearsals for its first human landing instead.

Chinese space officials laid out their approach at the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing on Oct. 31, according to Xinhua, the Chinese government's wire service. A slide reportedly from the presentation posted by CNSpaceflight, an independent outlet that tracks the Chinese space program, shows two of the initial missions with nobody aboard. A crew flies the Mengzhou, or "Dream Vessel," capsule to Earth orbit in 2027. Then the robots take over. The Lanyue, or "Embracing the Moon," lander touches down on its own in 2028, and an uncrewed mission rehearses the full landing sequence in 2029.

"For any crewed mission, we will try to fly it in an unmanned state first," said Wang Xiang, chief designer of the Chinese lunar exploration program, in the English captions of a CCTV report, China's state-run broadcaster.

The split cuts to the heart of a heated new space race and reveals two different institutional cultures. China's tight-lipped, military-run program trusts machines to prove its lunar hardware works. NASA's civilian program, working in public view to land astronauts first in 2028, leverages human test pilots. U.S. leaders say they're reviving the Apollo playbook that beat the Soviet Union to the moon: put crews on key test flights, launch often, and build on each mission.

"It's not entrepreneurial thinking or tech industry pixie dust or some new management philosophy," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman at a news conference on Oct. 23. "It's a playbook this agency knows really well — the same playbook that went from Apollo 7 splashdown to Apollo 11 in just nine months."

SEE ALSO: New photo reveals an asteroid view that a NASA spacecraft never saw

NASA has already flown one of those crewed test flights. Artemis II sent four astronauts around the moon in April. Next year, the four-person Artemis III crew will spend about two weeks in Earth orbit practicing maneuvers to dock the Orion spaceship with test versions of two commercial landers. 

One lander is from Blue Origin, and the other is from SpaceX. Astronauts will climb into Blue Origin's lander to check its air and life-support systems, but will only briefly dock with Starship.

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

Earlier this year, NASA decided to do that test as a separate mission, shoehorned between Artemis II and the first crewed moon landing. If something goes wrong, "we can come home much more quickly," explained Jeremy Parsons, who manages NASA's Artemis program.

Apollo followed roughly the same script. Four crewed test flights came before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in July 1969. China's first crew to head for the moon will be the one that lands.

Despite this major difference between the plans, NASA will lean on some robotics, too. SpaceX aims to land an uncrewed Starship on the moon by the end of 2027, and Blue Origin is working on its own uncrewed demonstration after Artemis III. NASA will keep both landers in the running as long as possible before picking one for its first crew, while China is building a single lander.

In other ways, the two plans look alike. Two Long March-10 rockets will launch China's capsule and lander separately, and the pair will link up in orbit around the moon. Two of the three crew members will then ride the lander to the surface and back. NASA's Orion carries four astronauts but also sends just two down. Blue Origin's lander even follows China's route, flying to lunar orbit on its own to meet the crew. SpaceX breaks the pattern, docking its Starship with Orion near Earth and pushing the spaceship to the moon.

Left: Blue Origin A schematic of what Artemis IV's flight would look like with Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander. Credit: NASA infographic Right: SpaceX A schematic of Artemis IV paired with SpaceX's Starship moon lander. Credit: NASA infographic

Want more science and tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter today.

China says its uncrewed flights will make the first crewed landing safer. Its robotic lander also will gather some scientific data, measuring how hot the lunar surface gets and how the dust behaves. Its 2029 rehearsal will run every step, from docking in lunar orbit to landing, lifting off and docking again. The program has already completed early tests of its rocket, capsule, and lander.

The race, Isaacman warned, "will be much closer than it ever needed to be," emphasizing that China has the spacecraft, landers, and a "credible two-launch architecture" to put taikonauts, the Chinese term for astronauts, on the moon within three years. 

NASA's own deadlines have slipped repeatedly. Artemis first aimed for a 2024 landing, and Isaacman recently acknowledged that Artemis III was running about three months behind schedule. 

He conceded that urgency has its limits: "No amount of my enthusiasm or schedule pressure changes the laws of physics."

2026 might be winding down, but Netflix is bolstering its movie slate to close the year. With a mix of holiday adventures and prestige plays, there is something for everyone on this eclectic list. The first film features a dog and Christmas, so naturally, families will love it. The next movie is the first film from an award-winning director since 2018.

European regulators warn TikTok's "rabbit hole"-inducing FYP might be breaking EU law.

Preliminary findings from an investigation by the European Commission accuse the social media giant of failing to mitigate the potential mental health risks of its personalized algorithmic feed in violation of the Digital Services Act.

In particular, the regulatory body takes issue with the platform's "continuous stream of personalized videos" and the ways in which its algorithm determines user interest. Repeated interaction with triggering content, the report says, is interpreted as positive interest, leading to a "rabbit hole effect."

SEE ALSO: A teen used her school Chromebook and Google AI Mode to plan her suicide, lawsuit alleges

"This design can be harmful when such endless and repeated exposure involves, for example, content about sadness, isolation or body image," the Commission writes. "These ‘rabbit holes' can have a detrimental impact on users' mental health, especially that of vulnerable adults and minors."

The early findings urged TikTok redesign its For Your Page. "TikTok should rely more on users' explicit preferences, disable viewing time as an indicator to recommend content, increase the accessibility and usability of user controls, and regularly test its algorithm," advise regulators.

If TikTok fails to comply with the commission's final report and recommendations, the company may be fined up to 6 percent of its global revenue.

Studies of TikTok's content recommendation algorithm have found that the platform's content moderation and personalization options frequently fail to keep harmful content off of users' feeds. The company has previously been accused of knowingly proceeding with ineffective measures to reduce excessive screen time and harmful content, including the tendency of users to fall into "bubbles" of harmful content via their For Your Page.

This past week, TikTok, Meta, and Google each filed lawsuits against California attorney general Rob Banta, seeking to block a new state law that prohibits "addictive" and "psychologically exploitative" design features on social media platforms. Such features include infinite scroll, autoplay, and personalized recommendations.

I get comfortable with things a little too easily. Once I find something that works for me, I rarely feel the need to try something new. Google isn’t making that any easier with Gemini, though. It keeps introducing new models, each promising to be better at something, and I’m starting to lose track of which one I should be using.

Millions of homeowners and DIYers have Ryobi tools in their garages or workshops, and with the cold winter months fast approaching, it's time to start preparing accordingly. That means rearranging your tools, choosing a safe place for storage, and managing freezing temperatures.

Microsoft's "Ultimate Performance" power scheme — introduced in Windows 10 Creators Update — is built upon the High-Performance power scheme but strips away fine-grained power management to reduce latency. Here's why you probably don't need it, and how to turn it on anyway.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is available for $59.99 at Amazon. That's under TCGplayer's $108.42 market price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box $59.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon

After weeks of building excitement and preorder wars, the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is out in the wild. And Amazon has marked the occasion by bringing back its stunning $59.99 deal.

As of Nov. 6, the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is on sale for just $59.99 on Amazon. Everything is handled directly by Amazon, but Amazon is still routing orders through its "request invite" system. We can see these are selling fast, so it's clearly a system that's working for many shoppers. Don't be discouraged by the invitation process.

Amazon’s deal is way under TCGplayer’s $108 market price. We rarely see deals this far below market price, so we understand the hype.

The 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box contains nine 30th Celebration booster packs, an exclusive full-art foil Nidorina promo card, 16 foil Basic Energy cards, 65 custom card sleeves, damage-counter dice, a condition marker, card dividers, a collector’s player guide, and a code card for Pokémon TCG Live.

Shop the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration ETB for $59.99 at Amazon, while supplies last.

TL;DR: Sign up for a 7-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels to watch select F1 races for free. Watch the Brazil GP for free with the Prime Video app.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Apple TV Prime Video Channel Watch the Brazil GP for free with a 7-day trial Shop Now

Kimi Antonelli was crowned the 2026 F1 champion last weekend in Mexico, so where does that leave us now? We still have four race weekends this season, and nothing is really decided except the actual winner. Reputations are on the line, so we can expect more thrilling racing from the best of the best.

The action heads to São Paulo this weekend. Can Verstappen win again to cement his place in second? Or will Hamilton bounce back from a frustrating weekend in Mexico to leapfrog his old rival?

SEE ALSO: ExpressVPN review: A stylish VPN service with proven privacy and a large U.S. presence

If you want to watch F1 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is the Brazil GP?

The Brazil GP is the 20th race of the 2026 F1 season. Here's the full schedule from the Autódromo José Carlos Pace:

• Practice 1 — 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 6

• Practice 2 — 2-3 p.m. ET on Nov. 6

• Practice 3 — 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 7

• Qualifying — 1-2 p.m. ET on Nov. 7

• Race — 12 p.m. ET on Nov. 8

Fans can follow all the action from this race weekend without spending anything.

How to watch the Brazil GP for free

Apple TV holds exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights for F1, and you can now sign up for a seven-day free trial of Apple TV directly through Prime Video Channels. That free trial gives you access to select races for free, including this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

The subscription rolls over to $12.99 per month after the seven-day trial, but you can disable the automatic renewal and still stream the entire race weekend for free. It's a sneaky hack, but it works.

If you're already paying for Amazon Prime, calling it "free" is a stretch. But if you don't have an active membership, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial for new users. Stacking that Prime trial with the seven-day Apple TV channel trial means you're truly spending nothing to stream this weekend's race.

If you've already made use of this hack, you still have a few workarounds:

• Apple TV: New standalone subscribers qualify for a direct seven-day free trial through Apple's app.

• Apple One: If you want more than just streaming, the Apple One tier packages Apple TV alongside Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, and 50GB of iCloud storage — and it comes with a full one-month free trial ($19.95 per month after the promotional period).

• Apple: The most generous Apple TV offer is tied to new hardware purchases. Buying an eligible iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV grants new subscribers three months of free service. You obviously have to spend money on hardware, but if you were already planning an upgrade, it effectively unlocks a massive chunk of the F1 season for free.

NotebookLM doesn’t get enough credit for how much it helps you with daily life. While it can help you learn, it could also be the assistant you’ve been waiting for since AI first started getting popular.

Like the other popular streaming services, HBO Max added many new shows and movies to its service. The Gilded Age made its triumphant return for its fourth season last weekend. As for movies, HBO Max loaded up its holiday hits collection with Elf, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and The Polar Express.

We're entering a new smartphone jailbreaking renaissance that may rival (or surpass) the jailbreaks that we experienced over a decade ago. It's a perfect storm; consumers are bored of ever-increasing iOS and Android restrictions, they're sick of having their privacy violated, and they now have access to powerful LLMs that rapidly accelerate the process of discovering and leveraging exploits.

Much of the time, opening the Command Prompt as a regular user is all you need. Sometimes, though, you will need to open the Command Prompt as an administrator to run system-level commands. Whether you are repairing a corrupted Windows installation with sfc /scannow, managing disk partitions, or configuring deep network settings, you need elevated privileges.

It's a sad fact of life that perfectly usable hardware often becomes unusable when the manufacturer stops supporting it. My fourth-generation Kindle has served me well for more than a decade, but Amazon decided to drop support for older models, and I lost access to some of the most useful features. By jailbreaking my Kindle, I've managed to bring a lot of them back.

Years ago, I was excited to try Bottles and finally run Windows applications on Linux. That excitement didn't last long. I got disappointed pretty quickly and eventually switched to open-source alternatives for my Windows apps. I haven't really looked back since.

PC components cost a small fortune these days, which means putting together a new build can set you back considerably.

Docker's explosive adoption and dominance over the tech industry is incredible, to say the least. But because Docker's rise was so meteoric, a lot of people tend to mistake it for some kind of mystical, groundbreaking, all-new way of doing things. But the reality is much more simple: Linux set the groundwork for containers decades ago, and Docker found an appealing way to use it.