What Is a BAT File, and How Do You Open One?

Quick Links Summary You’ll frequently see references to batch or “bat” files if you use Windows. Sometimes they’re used to start another program, whereas other times they might do something on their own. But what exactly is a batch file, and how do you use one? What is a BAT File? A bat file, otherwise called a batch file, is a script file that contains commands. The file itself iswritten in plain textand has a “....

June 16, 2025 · 4 min · 737 words · Brenda Parker

What is Windows 11 "Government Edition" And Why Should You Avoid It?

Quick Links Windows 11 has a lot of things we don’t want in it, from telemetry to ads. However, the “Government Edition” proposes to remove all that and leave a bloat-free Windows 11 experience. Unfortunately, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What is the Windows 11 Government Edition? The “Government Edition” Windows 11 is not really made by Microsoft, nor was it licensed by the Chinese Government, as some have alleged....

June 16, 2025 · 5 min · 897 words · Jessica Malone

What to Watch Before 'Star Trek: Picard' Season Three

Read update Quick Links The final season of Star Trek: Picard starts streaming on Paramount+ on February 16th, 2023. And it sees the long-awaited reunion of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But before you rejoin your long-lost friends, take a few hours to revisit their best moments from years gone by. UPDATE: 1/30/23 Paramount+ premiered the final trailer for Star Trek: Picard season three during the AFC Championship game on January 29th....

June 16, 2025 · 8 min · 1625 words · Kevin Lee

What's Next For Smart Rings

Summary Smart Rings seem like they’re everywhere these days, and the technology is advancing far faster than we’d expected. What’s on the horizon for smart rings, and what can we expect to see in the next decade? Health, Fitness, and Smart Monitoring Health and fitness monitoring is easy with the sheer amount of apps we have to connect to these days. Android and iOS devicescome with a built-in step tracker, but for more granular information, we’ll need other things....

June 16, 2025 · 5 min · 879 words · Todd Brooks

Why Carriers Are Desperate to Buy Your Old Phone

Quick Links Summary Carriers use trade-in deals to attract new customers and keep old customers around. A carrier may also resell or recycle your old phone. Carriers “Overpay” for Used Phones Let’s pretend that you own an iPhone 11. You know that it’s probably time for an upgrade, but you don’t have enough money to buy the latest iPhone. So, you go on Facebook Marketplace and attempt to sell your iPhone 11—realistically, you’ll only make about $200....

June 16, 2025 · 6 min · 1145 words · Tracy Robinson

Why I Buy Samsung's Mid-Range Phones, Even Though They Don't Offer the Best Value

Quick Links I like to get the most bang for my buck, and there are plenty of Android brands that offer near-flagship specs at an affordable price. Yet, I’m inclined to buy and recommend Samsung’s Galaxy A series phones, which often don’t deliver the best value in the mid-range segment. 8Longer Software Support There aren’t many companies other than Samsung that offer more than four years of major Android updates on their flagship phones, let alone mid-range ones....

June 16, 2025 · 7 min · 1281 words · Kelly Berry

Why I Switched From Grammarly to Microsoft Editor

Summary Grammarly is a tool that you’ll often see installed on every serious writer or academic’s PC. It’s an AI editor who can check your work and offer suggestions for improvements. I’ve used it for years, but I’ve now replaced it with a better alternative—Microsoft Editor. Microsoft Editor’s Premium Features Are Included With Microsoft 365 While Grammarly can be used for free, it very heavily pushes users towards its paid subscription service....

June 16, 2025 · 4 min · 852 words · Manuel Carson

Why Is Texting in no caps So Trendy?

Quick Links Whenever we notice someone texting or emailing in all lowercase letters, some react as if this is the most casual badass to ever grace these parts. They must be texting while jumping their flaming motorcycle over a pool of piranhas with a cigarette in their mouth and a wink for all the cheering ladies in the crowd. “Who’s that man?” a chorus of background singers swoon with every lowercase letter that’s supposed to be capitalized....

June 16, 2025 · 4 min · 767 words · Angela Carter

Why The Switch 2 Should Embrace These Nintendo Mobile Games

Summary Do you remember Nintendo’s mobile games initiative? It’s mostly dead except for the stalwartFire Emblem Heroes, but that doesn’t mean Nintendo shouldn’t consider bringing some form of these games to the Switch 2. Gacha Games Could Be Important for the Switch 2 Before you grab your pitchforks, let me get this out of the way immediately: yes,gacha gameshave inherently predatory monetization models. That’s not to condemn them, asI’ve played my fair share....

June 16, 2025 · 6 min · 1114 words · Julie Johnson

Why You Should Play "Palate Cleanser" Games In Between Big Campaigns

Summary Finishing a big, modern AAA title can be daunting and take a lot out of you, especially when it’s full of side content in an expansive world to explore. Take a break from epic adventures to sample some smaller, more concise games before you start another big journey. Appreciate the Finer Details After finishing a big, sometimes arduoustriple-A game, it can be a nice change of pace to play something with a stronger focus on considered, moment-to-moment gameplay....

June 16, 2025 · 4 min · 800 words · Michael Rodriguez

X’s Encrypted Messaging Is Not as Good as You Might Think

Quick Links Like many other social media apps these days, X (Twitter) offers an encrypted messaging option for users. However, the way it was implemented has some major limitations and barriers, making it a lot less useful than other apps with encrypted messaging. The stated goal of X in implementing encrypted messaging is to increase the security of messages, with theHelp Center postabout it quoting X owner Elon Musk saying that “the standard should be, if someone puts a gun to our heads, we still can’t access your messages....

June 16, 2025 · 5 min · 1040 words · Zachary Owens

You Can Overclock Your Monitor, But Should You?

Quick Links Summary Overclocking a PC monitor is like getting a free upgrade, but it has several significant drawbacks, such as image artifacts and potential hardware damage, that you need to accept before attempting it. PC enthusiasts love making things go faster than the product manufacturer says it should, and there are clear benefits tooverclocking, say, a CPU. you’re able to also overclock a monitor, but it might not be obvious why anyone would do that....

June 16, 2025 · 4 min · 643 words · Aaron Kelley

You Have A Limited Time to Get These Retired LEGO Sets on Amazon

Quick Links If you know anything about LEGO, you know kits go up in price after they are retired. The longer they’re retired, the more expensive they become. These amazing kits have only been retired recently, meaning now is probably the cheapest you’ll be able to get them ever again. TheStar WarsR2-D2 LEGO Model You may have plenty of R2-D2 minifigs, but this is the much larger collectible display model that’s over a foot tall and requires 2,315 pieces to build....

June 16, 2025 · 8 min · 1580 words · Linda Willis