Blogroll

Every homeowner and DIYer likely has a decent selection of cordless power tools, myself included, and they're always the basics. A drill or driver, impact wrench, screwdrivers, saws, and things of that nature. If you're a fan of Ryobi, you know the company makes all sorts of oddball tools, including these 4 outdoor products you'll probably want to buy.

Cyberattacks targeted several European countries this week, including grocery stores across the UK and the European Union, as well as three cold storage facilities in France that house some of the nation's blood supply.

The blood facilities were targeted on Sunday and Monday, with the temperature of the remotely controlled containers raised to "very high levels," according to EFS, France's public blood, plasma, and platelets service. Technicians were alerted to the attack by alarms and moved the blood before the supplies were rendered unusable.

SEE ALSO: Iran-linked hackers launch cyberattack against U.S. medtech company Stryker

Not long after, supermarket freezers and refrigerators in the UK, Italy, Germany, Romania, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Holland, and Sweden reportedly malfunctioned, with some machines going into defrost mode. Temperatures in some of the cooling units soared to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, causing millions of euros in spoiled food, the Guardian reported.

The grocery store malfunctions were reminiscent of cyber-enabled attacks that hit hundreds of French grocery stores last month, which not only ruined food but sparked fires. Similarly, in August, commissaries at half a dozen US military bases reported that their freezers were remotely set to defrost overnight, ruining food supplies. An investigation into the incidents by the Defense Department is ongoing.

No individual or group has taken responsibility for the blood and grocery store incidents this week or earlier this year. Intelligence experts in Europe have posited that Russian officials are possibly recruiting people to commit sabotage in NATO nations.

As someone who loves foldable phones, I’m happy the iPhone Duo exists. Apple’s first foldable phone has brought a lot of excitement and attention to a device category that, despite being around for nearly a decade, most people haven’t experienced. There are many now asking themselves if the iPhone Duo should be their first foldable phone — that answer, sadly, is no.

Three of the biggest social media companies want to block a California law designed to reduce youth social media addiction from going into law.

On Wednesday, Google, Meta, and TikTok each filed lawsuits against California's attorney general, Rob Bonta.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, the bill (AB 1709) would prohibit platforms including Google, Meta, and TikTok from providing "an addictive feature" to users under 16. The law describes such features as "psychologically exploitative" and intended to maximize engagement in a way that leads to compulsive use. This includes infinite scroll, autoplay, and an "addictive" feed.

SEE ALSO: Google’s new opt-in policy for AI presents a problem for schools

The law also requires platforms to "implement reasonable measures" so that young users aren't offered such features.

The companies argue that the law infringes on their free speech rights, as well as Section 230, a provision of a 1996 federal law designed to shield online platforms from liability related to user content. Critics of Section 230 say it wrongly provides online platforms with broad immunity.

Google claimed in its lawsuit that its subsidiary, YouTube, personalizes recommendations to ensure that young users receive content relevant to their interests and appropriate for their age and developmental needs. The company defended autoplay as helping users enjoy content uninterrupted and sequentially, like a playlist for educational videos.

"AB 1709's bans on personalized recommendations and autoplay would therefore frustrate YouTube's efforts to provide under-16 users with safe, responsible, and enriching experiences on the platform," the lawsuit said.

Meta said that its services "collectively enable billions of people around the world to share ideas, offer support, discuss important topics." Prohibiting personalized feeds and autoplay, would "make it unlawful for Meta to disseminate speech to minors altogether," the company argued.

Lennon Torres, director of movement partnerships at the advocacy organization Heat Initiative, rejected the companies' arguments. Torres, a former child influencer, worked with the bill's author to address First Amendment concerns.

"They're framing this as a free speech fight, but what's really at stake is a business model that profits from keeping kids scrolling, even when it puts them at risk," Torres said. (Torres is a Mashable contributor.)

California's Attorney General's office told Reuters that it was reviewing the filings.

"Our office is committed to defending California's commonsense laws to protect kids online," the office said in a statement to Reuters.

In August, Meta settled a youth social media safety and addiction case for $17 billion, though the company did not admit guilt or liability. As part of that settlement, Meta agreed to limit teens' daily time spent on Instagram and Facebook to two hours; block access to both platforms overnight and during school hours; give teens the option to create a default non-algorithmic feed; and allow teens to turn off autoplay.

Meta also issued a "call to action" to YouTube and TikTok to adopt what the company describes as a new "industry standard." Neither company joined the settlement terms.

My first Pi Pico purchase was on a whim. I didn't have any particular project in mind at the time, but after a bit of experimenting, I decided to try and build a motion-activated light that was situated under my bed so I could see at night without lighting up the entire room.

With so many new and returning shows arriving this week, it's difficult to keep track of them all. This pattern always emerges at the beginning of each month, as streaming services want to start off with a bang. It's a good problem to have, even if the shows follow binge models instead of weekly releases.

Meta has a hit on its hands, and it knows it. The social media giant's new AI agent Muse quickly reached more than five million app downloads after its launch in September, and the Jolly mascot has become a common sight in Meta's branding lately.

On Thursday, the company announced it now offers voice support for Muse. That means users can talk to their agent to give instructions or ask questions. Muse users will also be able to customize the voice, with hundreds of options available.

"Starting today in the US, we’re rolling out voice and expressive avatars in the Muse app across mobile app, web and Mac app, giving you a new, natural way to interact with your Muse. Want New Yorker energy? Pirate flair? Pick from hundreds of voices and switch it up whenever your mood does."

In an announcement blog post, the company outlined potential use cases. "Some things are better rehearsed out loud. Prepare for a job interview, run through a presentation, or talk through a pitch — hearing a response and answering in the moment makes it feel more like the real thing."

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also teased the new update on X.

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In addition to voice support, Muse now offers expressive avatars. That means users' Muse mascots will match facial expressions to match what they're saying.

Lately, the AI industry has learned that a cute little guy is a great way to anthropomorphize AI, making it seem cutesy rather than intimidating, for better or worse.

Of course, voice mode can quickly go sideways, as OpenAI learned when the online creator Husk repeatedly went viral for his videos showing ChatGPT's voice mode acting very, very dumb.

We'll have to see if Muse fares any better.

To Meta's credit, the company's latest AI models have caught up to the frontier, as its massive AI spending spree continues.

U.S. users can experiment with Muse's voices and expressive avatars starting today.

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Are you tired of your unstable Wi-Fi connection? So was I, so I took a bunch of devices off my Wi-Fi and saw great improvements in network stability. But I get that wiring up every single room in the house isn't feasible, no matter how much you might want to.

In 2024, Microsoft announced Copilot+ PCs, the "fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built." Copilot+ PCs were announced with a handful of new features, like the much-derided Recall, AI-powered image editing, and a few other things.

Whether you're looking to download a GPU-specific driver, trying to determine whether you'll be able to play a new game at a reasonable frame rate, or checking the specs on an unfamiliar PC, knowing exactly what GPU you're dealing with is an important piece of information. Here are a few ways you can do it.

When you get a new phone, everything seems to run faster. Apps launch quicker, menus appear snappier, and the whole experience feels less congested.

We're only a few days into November, and Netflix in the U.S. has already announced its slate of new and returning shows this month. Later this month, The Hunting Wives returns for a second season. As for this weekend, one of my recommendations comes from Hallmark Channel, which is particularly appropriate during the holiday season.

The 1990s was the decade when Windows conquered the world. By the end of it, Windows was the most popular desktop operating system, far ahead of every one of its competitors. But one rival could've taken its spoils at the very beginning of the decade, and the reason why it didn't wasn't because it was an inferior product.

Integrated bracelet sports watches are effortlessly stylish with a timeless vintage vibe. However, they can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the brand. The good news is you don't need to pay that much and can get the reliable, high-quality Casio Edifice EFB-730D for just over $100 with a limited-time Amazon deal.

TikTok has spent years making it easier to buy the products that appear in makeup tutorials, cooking videos, and creator recommendations in TikTok Shop. Now, it’s giving shoppers a separate app to open when they're in the mood to spend on a new lip gloss, a milk frother, or another pair of sneakers.

The company has (rather quietly) released a standalone TikTok Shop app in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines on iOS and Android, as social media consultant Matt Navarra first spotted on X. The launch gives TikTok's growing shopping business its own place on a phone's home screen.

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According to its Apple App Store listing, the app offers personalized product recommendations, livestreams and short videos showing products in action, checkout, order tracking, and 24/7 customer support. Shoppers are also being offered app-exclusive deals, free shipping promotions, and first-order perks.

The Google Play listing shows more than 50,000 downloads, while the Singapore Apple App Store lists it at No. 71 in the shopping category, with a single five-star rating. Its latest iOS update, version 45.5.5, arrived just 13 hours before publication (at 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 5).

Credit: Screenshot: Apple's App Store

The app's Singapore App Store listing names TikTok Pte. Ltd. as its provider, a separate company from TikTok USDS Joint Venture, which operates TikTok in the U.S. The majority-American-owned joint venture handles U.S. data security, recommendation algorithms, and content moderation, while TikTok's global business still manages commercial activities, including e-commerce.

It's unclear whether the standalone shopping app will launch in the U.S. TikTok has not yet responded to Mashable's request for comment.

Why is TikTok testing a shopping app?

Giving Shop a dedicated app could help TikTok compete for the moments when someone opens Amazon or Temu intending to browse or buy. Videos and livestreams remain part of the experience, according to the listings, but shopping becomes the reason to open the app in the first place.

That fits into a broader expansion Mashable has been following, as TikTok builds more services around the recommendations people encounter on its platform.

In May, TikTok launched TikTok GO's hotel-booking features, which let U.S. adults book accommodations, tours, and attractions through partners including Booking.com, Expedia, and Viator. Creators can also earn commissions through eligible content, giving a travel recommendation a more direct connection to a reservation.

TikTok's announcement describes a process that takes people from discovering a place in a video to checking availability and booking it. As CEO of TikTok USDS Joint Venture Adam Presser said at the time, the platform is "good for creators, good for local businesses, and good for communities."

And more recently, TikTok launched Must Eat, TikTok's restaurant guide for the areas around New York City, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Built from more than 40 million posts, reviews, and comments, it organizes food recommendations into searchable lists, with OpenTable reservations available for select restaurants. A video of a particularly good dinner can influence choosing and booking a future reservation.

SEE ALSO: TikTok taps food creators for its new Must Eat restaurant guide

TikTok has also been experimenting with giving specific kinds of entertainment their own apps. Its PineDrama service, launched earlier this year, puts short dramas into a separate app with personalized recommendations and tools for browsing series and episodes.

Taken together, those products suggest TikTok sees room to build entire services around habits that started in the feed. The standalone Shop app puts that idea to another test, asking whether people who discover products on TikTok will also choose it when shopping is what they came to do.

From YouTubers and TikTok stars to streamers and podcasters, Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage, sign up for our Trending Now and Top Stories newsletters or get Mashable push alerts to discover the internet's most exciting voices. 

If your Chrome address bar keeps auto-filling Yahoo instead of the search engine you prefer, your settings have been overridden. This almost always happens after installing a free utility or a shady browser extension, but it can also stem from corporate policies or even your own security suite.

I keep waiting for a new GTA to arrive, and every delay has made me more protective of the day it finally does. Big launches have a way of going sideways, but that won't happen for me. I've made sure nothing messes with the experience I've waited years for. Do what I did and start dealing with the small problems now, while it doesn't matter yet.

Android has come a long way over the years, and these days, no matter what brand you choose, your phone is filled with a wealth of features and controls. Some are well-known, plenty are underrated or forgotten, and many of us use our phones on pure muscle memory, using the same few things all day. But hiding right under your nose are a few helpful features that'll change how you get things done.

Finding love isn't for the weak. Dating app exhaustion is realer than ever, and while people want to branch out and meet in person, they're finding it difficult. 

One reason is that dating apps are a legitimate way to find a partner, not just a short-term one. Nearly 44 percent of adults say they use dating apps to find a long-term partner rather than just casual dating or hookups, according to the Pew Research Center. One in 10 partnered adults met their current partner through a dating app, and for younger adults and LGBTQ people, that number rises. 

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

Dating apps aren't going away, despite fatigue. And it is possible to make them work for you if you want to find your special someone.

Are dating apps worth it?

Even using the "right" app for you may still bring moments of uncertainty and frustration (you're dating, after all), but finding the app with features that most closely align with your dating style and the type of partnership you're looking for can still make online dating worth it.

If you've been using apps for a while and are experiencing serious burnout, it's always fair to take some time off and come back to them when you feel ready. Our guide will be here for you! Even the best app can feel exceptionally tedious when you simply don't have the energy.

Which dating app is best for serious relationships?

There are so many dating apps, but not all of them are created equal when it comes to finding a serious, committed relationship.

Some free dating apps are better suited for casual flings or hookups (e.g., Tinder, Grindr, etc.), while others have matching algorithms and profile features specifically designed to help users find meaningful connections (e.g., eharmony, OkCupid, Hinge, and Coffee Meets Bagel).

The good news is that we've done the research (and hands-on testing) to figure out which apps work best for long-term relationships, and Match Group isn't the only player in the game. Plus, all of these platforms are available via Google Play and the App Store, so having an Android or iPhone won't limit your options. Some old-school dating sites still maintain desktop versions.

To find your match, here are the best dating apps for serious relationships in 2026:

Everyone needs a multi-tool for small household jobs and other tasks, like cutting fruit or opening bottles. They are also essential if you love the outdoors and often go fishing or camping, and I can't do without one in my tackle box. Multi-tool sets can be pricey, but now anyone can afford one with the TaskTamer 3-Piece EDC Tool Set going for just $15 on Amazon.