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Today, we look back on Windows XP with rose-tinted glasses and a half-wish that Windows 11 could be that great. But we've forgotten that Windows XP didn't launch in its final state. Far from it—Windows XP was actually a nightmare when it first appeared.

Where to live stream 2026 March Madness online for free: 5-Day Free Trial DirectTV $84.99 per month (after trial) Shop Now 5-Day Free Trial Fubo $55.99 per month (after trial) Shop Now 3-Day Free Trial Hulu + Live TV $89.99 per month (after trial) Shop Now 7-Day Free Trial Paramount+ $8.99 per month (after trial) Shop Now

While most of the world celebrates the month of March for the coming of spring and the impending summer, college basketball fans know better: The real reason to celebrate is March Madness, the NCAA Division I tournament to determine the college basketball national champion.

Yeah, the regular NBA is awesome. But March Madness delivers a different kind of buzz. There's something special about college basketball and the hype around the next generation of next-level players. It's like a completely different sport — and this much-anticipated single elimination tournament scores a slam dunk every year.

If you want to watch 2026 March Madness for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is March Madness?

March Madness is a tournament played in the United States to determine the college basketball national champion of Division I in the NCAA.

The tournament features 68 teams competing in seven rounds of a single-elimination bracket. Thirty-two teams automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference tournament, and thirty-six teams qualify by receiving an at-large bid based on their performance during the season. It concludes with the Final Four, an event that hosts the semi-final and championship games.

When is 2026 March Madness?

March Madness officially kicked off on March 15 with Selection Sunday. The tournament opens with First Four qualifier games on March 17. The First Round then begins on March 19 and the tournament runs through to the National Championship on April 6. The 2026 Final Four and championship game are held in Indianapolis.

How to watch 2026 March Madness for free

March Madness features 67 games televised across four channels: CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV. It is possible to access these channels with a range of streaming services that offer free trials:

• DirectTV (five-day free trial) — CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV

• Fubo (five-day free trial) — CBS

• Hulu + Live TV (three-day free trial) — CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV

• Paramount+ (seven-day free trial) — CBS

By making the most of these free trials, you can watch select March Madness games without actually spending anything.

How to watch March Madness from anywhere in the world

If you're traveling outside of the U.S. during March Madness, you might need to use a VPN to unblock live streams. VPNs can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the U.S., meaning you can unblock live streams of March Madness from anywhere in the world.

Live stream 2026 March Madness from anywhere in the world 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 U.S.

4. Visit DirectTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, or Paramount+

5. Live stream 2026 March Madness for free from anywhere in the world

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport from anywhere in the world, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the U.S.

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight 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 a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream March Madness 2026 for free from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps.

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Shop Now

TL;DR: Get a Grade A/B refurbished Apple MacBook Air (2017) for $199.97 (reg. $999).

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air 2017 (Refurbished) $199.97
$999 Save $799.03   Get Deal

If you’ve ever wished you had a second laptop for travel, coffee shops, or everyday browsing, you’re not alone. Carrying your primary computer everywhere can feel risky — and buying a brand-new MacBook just to have a backup isn’t exactly budget-friendly.

That’s why refurbished models like this Apple MacBook Air (2017) can be a smart option. It’s available for just $199.97 (reg. $999) for a limited time with free shipping.

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The MacBook Air has long been known for its thin, lightweight design, which makes it especially convenient for working on the go. This model features a 13.3-inch display with a 1440×900 resolution, giving you plenty of space for documents, browsing, and streaming.

It runs on a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 128GB SSD storage, which is well-suited for everyday tasks like email, writing, spreadsheets, video streaming, and web browsing. The SSD storage keeps things running smoothly, while Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity make it easy to stay connected and transfer files. You’ll also get up to 12 hours of battery life, which is helpful for flights, long workdays, or study sessions.

This refurbished model carries a Grade A/B rating, meaning it may show light cosmetic wear but remains fully functional.

At this price, it’s a practical way to add a portable extra computer to your home, travel bag, or workspace. Get this Grade A/B refurbished Apple MacBook Air while it’s $199.97 (reg. $999) for a limited time with free shipping.

Want to see more deals? Visit the shop and use code MARCH15 to save an extra 15% sitewide through March 29. Exclusions apply.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

High-performance sedans have redefined what it means to drive a practical car, blending everyday usability with levels of power once reserved for dedicated sports cars. In today’s market, some four-door models are capable of delivering acceleration and top-end performance that rival far more expensive coupes. One American super sedan takes that formula even further, packing nearly 500 horsepower into a package that looks as comfortable on the school run as it does on a racetrack.

It's easy to make yourself believe that you need one of the best graphics cards in order to run all the latest games, AI workloads, and other resource-heavy stuff.

Matter smart home devices are becoming increasingly popular. If your device offers Matter over Thread, you may assume that you need to buy a special hub before you can use it. However, you may already have some devices in your home that can do the job.

Microsoft PowerToys debuted with Windows 95, evolved during the Windows XP era, but was discontinued until Windows 10. In 2019, Microsoft revived it with a modern UI and made it open source. Even after three decades, it remains my go-to tool for improving Windows with extra features.

TL;DR: On March 19, fans can score a free vanilla soft-serve cone at participating Dairy Queen locations nationwide.

The birds are singing, the temperature is climbing, and yes, that is the sun you can see peeping through the clouds. Spring is here, and so is Free Cone Day.

Dairy Queen's Free Cone Day is making a triumphant return in 2026. On March 19, you can celebrate this special occasion by enjoying a free vanilla soft-serve cone at participating Dairy Queen locations. Simply stop by your local DQ restaurant to score this delicious treat — there's really no catch.

SEE ALSO: Lego is giving away an exclusive Steering Wheel for free. Here’s how to get yours on March 9.

We recommend visiting Dairy Queen or downloading the Dairy Queen App to find a local restaurant that's participating. Now that the day is here, you don't want to be messing around looking for a restaurant. You want to be prepared. On Free Cone Day, the focus should be on free ice cream and nothing else.

The promotion runs all day while supplies last and there's a limit of one free cone per person. This free giveaway is not valid on delivery or mobile orders and it's worth noting that U.S. Mall locations require a purchase to qualify.

Celebrate Dairy Queen's Cone Day with a free vanilla soft-serve cone on March 19.

Adobe Lightroom feels like the boss of digital photography workflows, and it is well-earned. However, over time, the company has made questionable decisions. The shift to a mandatory subscription, combined with it needing more powerful computers and you feeling increasingly locked into its file management, has made it less appealing. Luckily, Darktable, a powerful, open-source raw editor, has also grown over time. This app gives you a budget-friendly way to leave the Adobe world. It gives you the technical control over your photos and true ownership of your files that Lightroom's cloud-focused approach has increasingly pushed aside, and it totally convinced me to finally cancel my Adobe subscription for good.

Apple's AppleCare One is perhaps the best way to keep your Apple gadgets insured, especially if you're deeply invested in Apple's product ecosystem. Unfortunately for Europeans, the feature — which launched in the U.S. in July 2025 — wasn't available to them, but this might change soon.

MacRumors noticed that the AppleCare One trademark was registered with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Thursday. While this doesn't necessarily indicate that Apple is about to launch the product in the EU, it is the sort of thing that typically precedes a launch overseas.

SEE ALSO: Apple launches AirPods Max 2 with improved noise cancelling and smart features

There's no timeline for the launch, and nothing has been officially announced. Also note that Apple filed a similar application with the EUIPO for Apple Pay Cash (now Apple Cash) back in 2017, and that particular service never launched in Europe.

Still, we have our fingers crossed, because AppleCare One is a very good way to protect your Apple gadgets. In the U.S., it costs $19.99 per month, allowing customers to protect up to three products in one plan, with the option to add additional gadgets for $5.99 per month per device.

The cool thing about this plan — which includes all the benefits that come with AppleCare+, and includes theft and loss protection for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch — is that you can remove and add devices into and out of the plan whenever you want.

Smart displays like the Google Nest Hub sound cool, but they’re extremely limited in real life. Ironically, the display is the weakest part. You can make a much more useful “smart display” with any Android phone or tablet.

When it comes to watching movies and TV shows or listening to music, I’m mostly a streamer these days. That said, I always have a Jellyfin server running on my network just in case the internet fails me.

PowerShell is very intimidating, but it has stood the test of time in Windows 11. The command-line interface seems like an arcane realm reserved for IT professionals and developers. However, the core of the operating system is built on an automation engine that handles data as structured objects, giving everyday users the power to execute complex operations instantly. PowerShell is really a universally accessible productivity engine that Windows 11 hides in plain sight. In fact, it has a leg up over the terminal and command prompt.

Like you, I had to sit through years of those "You wouldn't steal a car" anti-piracy videos on DVDs that I had paid for. Ironically, people who actually pirated their DVDs didn't have to see any of that, but that's a conversation for another day.

A year and a half after releasing the Arrow Lake CPU lineup, which earned middling reviews, Intel is slated to launch its Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs (also known as Core Ultra 200S Plus) on March 26, 2026.

The best unlocked phone deals to shop ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale: Best Google deal Google Pixel 10 Pro XL $1,299 (save $250) Get Deal Best Samsung deal Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE $666.89 (save $293.10) Get Deal

From March 25 for a whole week, Amazon will be discounting a wide range of products as part of its Big Spring Sale.

Robot vacuums, drones, TVs, and a whole lot more will be discounted, so it's a great excuse to upgrade your tech for less. The same goes for mobile phones. If you're been hoping to get a great price on a phone you can buy outright, Amazon already has some great deals live on unlocked phones. From Samsung, Google, and Motorola, here are some of the best early deals we've spotted.

Best Google unlocked phone deal Opens in a new window Credit: Google Google Pixel 10 Pro XL $1,299 at Amazon
$1,549 Save $250   Get Deal Why we like it

This is a seriously powerful phone with a 6.8-inch Super Actua display, next-gen Tensor G5 chip, and built-in Gemini AI. It has a pro camera system that gives you sharp 50MP photos and 8K video as well as a 100x zoom. And if you're a regular phone dropper, this one should withstand most bumps and drops thanks to its durable aluminium and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 build.

Best Samsung unlocked phone deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE Cell Phone $666.89 at Amazon
$959.99 Save $293.10   Get Deal Why we like it

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE brings back the era of flip phones in the best way. It's a compact, foldable phone with a 50MP camera and FlexMode functions that let you shoot hands-free without needing a tripod. And despite its size, it’s incredibly powerful, thanks to its strong processor and long-lasting battery.

More unlocked phone deals

• Motorola Moto G Play — $109.99 $149.99 (save $40)

• Samsung Galaxy A17 5G — $179.99 $199.99 (save $20)

• Google Pixel 9a — $439.99 $499 (save $59.01)

• Google Pixel 10 — $549 $799 (save $250)

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 — $1,809.99 $1,999.99 (save $190)

Your homelab is the perfect place to learn about both the good and bad sides of networking and server infrastructure. On the one hand, a homelab is an extremely useful tool for any tinkerer. On the other hand, it’s a security nightmare if not set up properly. Here are four privacy settings that most homelabbers get wrong, and how to fix them.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 is available to preorder at Amazon for under $60. That's close to market value ahead of the March 20 release date.

Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 $59.75 at Amazon
  Get Deal at Amazon

The challenge in the trading card game is finding new products for anything close to market value, and that goes double for Pokémon. It's tough out there, so we'll take what we can get right now.

The good news for collectors is that the Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 is available to preorder at Amazon for under $60. No that's not market value, but it's close and you're getting that sweet convenience of buying from Amazon. For a lot of buyers, that makes all the difference.

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This preorder celebrates the bond between Trainer and Pokémon with a booster pack containing three of nine illustration rare-style promo cards. This consists of first partner Pokémon from the Kanto, Sinnoh, or Alola region. Buyers will also get two more Pokémon TCG booster packs and a fun sticker sheet featuring first partner Pokémon friends. You're getting a lot for around $60.

Score the best Pokémon TCG First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 preorder deal at Amazon. For more Pokémon deals ahead of Amazon's Spring Sale, we've lined up everything on offer in a helpful hub page.

Stephen Colbert may spend the majority of his time unpacking serious stories about politicians' deleted tweets and gratuitous defense department spending, but that doesn't mean he has no time for some occasional monkey news too.

The Late Show host has already embraced Punch, the viral monkey from Japan's Ichikawa City Zoo, purchasing the same IKEA orangutan Punch famously uses for emotional support — and in the clip above, he discusses an intriguing new simian development.

"Rumors are swirling that Punch the monkey has a girlfriend," says Colbert. "Which means this update isn't merely ooh-ooh ahh-ahh, it's ooh-ooh la-la."

"News of the monkey romance started spreading when folks caught Punch and Momo-chan sharing a smooch," continues Colbert. "Boy, I hope somebody taught him how to put a condom on a banana."

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Have you ever heard that ol’ country song “Who gets the family bible when two grownups lose heart?”

Well, we may need a new version for the Gen Z era, because according to a litigation strategist I met at SXSW 2026, it’s actually the family TikTok account creators should be worried about.

That's right, TIL that creators should consider adding TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram accounts to their prenups.

Attorney Michelle May O’Neil said exactly that during a SXSW panel she hosted, “Who Owns Me? Legal War Over Identity in the Creator Economy.” O’Neil is a nationally recognized lawyer and expert on NIL (name, image, likeness) topics, and she warned creators to take proactive steps to protect their identities, including prenuptial agreements.

SEE ALSO: How creators can protect their identity in an age of AI clones

This isn’t a hypothetical situation, either.

O’Neil highlighted the case of Kat and Mike Stickler, married influencers who ended up in a bitter custody feud, not over their children, but over their followers — all 4 million of them. In covering the case, the Wall Street Journal asked, “Who Gets the TikTok in the Divorce?” (FWIW, Kat ultimately retained ownership of the original TikTok account and has gone on to amass an even larger following as @katstickler.)

And if your TikTok or Instagram accounts do become the subjects of a contentious divorce like the Sticklers, don’t expect family court to provide a solution, O’Neil said during her SXSW panel.

“We don't have case law authority. There's no legal doctrine for this. So their individual identity became joint property, and nobody thought about what it looked like to divide it.”

Here’s another worrying scenario: What if you’re romantically involved with a creator and appear occasionally in their content? Eventually, you break up or get divorced. Does your ex then retain the right to keep using your likeness however they see fit?

“I think it's a really good idea to have a clause in prenups that says that each spouse maintains the exclusive right to their name, image, likeness, and does not, by virtue of marriage, transfer their rights over to the other spouse because of marriage. And the reason for that is my experience representing high-profile people."

So, what else can creators and public figures do to protect their digital likeness?

In addition to creating a prenup, O’Neil advised creators to create an LLC or other legal entity to protect their core asset — their identity.

“This is another reason to have an entity structure before marriage, but if you're making money on your image, name, likeness, voice, whatever, before you get into a marriage, it's a pretty good idea to put that in the prenup…And I don't really know of a lot of lawyers that actually do this in prenups,” O’Neil said at SXSW.

Prenups are the kind of safeguard you hope you never have to use. But if you and an ex ever get into a legal battle over social media assets or NIL issues, you might be glad you have it, O'Neil said.

"That one clause in a prenup that says I have license, I have the rights, I own my name, image, likeness, my voice, my writings, everything that comes from me. I still own it, it's my property, and just because I marry you, I'm not giving you license to use it."

This article and the quotes in it are not legal advice. Talk to your own legal representative before making any decisions.