Summary You don’t need a gaming laptop to play games, you just need to make some sensible decisions, careful tweaks, and perhaps a few inexpensive additional purchases. If you’re determined enough you may turn even the most boring work laptop into a gaming machine. The Games You Play Will Determine Your Gaming Experience Before we start looking for problems to fix within the laptop itself, let’s get a baseline reading of your hardware requirements and see how your current or prospective laptop stacks up....

Quick Links When I first started getting into smartphones and mobile photography, I came across a common piece of advice: “Shoot in RAW for the best image quality.” It sounded smart and technical, and a lot of people online seemed to swear by it. So I turned it on in my phone’s camera settings, expecting my pictures to look sharper, richer, and more professional instantly. Spoiler alert: They didn’t. In fact, the photos often looked worse....

Security breaches and vulnerabilities are a daily part of our lives now. After all, there’s always going to be someone poking around in software and hardware to see how they can get in. It’s especially bad when those vulnerabilities affect hardware, and more importantly,yourhardware. A newly-surfaced vulnerability seems to affect basically every popularGPUmodel out there. Researchers from four American universities have uncovered a new security threat dubbed “GPU.zip” that exploits modern graphics cards, including those from major manufacturers like AMD and NVIDIA (as well as others like Apple, ARM, and Qualcomm), to leak sensitive visual data when users visit web pages....

Quick Links Millions of apps have been released for the iPhone and Android devices over the years. In the early days of smartphones, there were some apps and games that were particularly popular and important. Let’s check in on some of them. When the Apple App Store and Android Market (nowthe Google Play Store) were fresh, not as many apps and games were being released. People weren’t just downloading the latest trendy social media app....

There are fantastic deals to be had if you’re happy to buy some pre-loved gadgets. However, there are a few types of gadget that you should avoid buying used most of the time. No, earbuds are too obvious! But, also, don’t buy those used either, gross. VR Headsets VR headsets are no longer the ultra-niche item they were, thanks to the mainstream success of Meta’s Quest series and the presence of PSVR on PlayStation, there’s a relatively small but solid market for VR....

Most people think of Windows or macOS for productivity, but Linux desktops offer powerful customization that can boost your efficiency. From dynamic workspace management to unique desktop tweaks, here’s how Linux can transform your workflow and make it more productive than Windows or Mac. 1Better Virtual Desktop Implementations Most Linux operating systems, including popular ones like Ubuntu, offer a powerful implementation of virtual desktops unmatched by bothWindowsandmacOS. For instance, Ubuntu and similarGNOME-based Linux OS, give you a powerful settings area to specify how many virtual desktops you want or even let the system generate them dynamically based on your needs....

Quick Links Owning a home projector was once a luxury that cost hundreds of dollars, but nowadays, they are more affordable and accessible. With a broader range of retailers offering projectors, setting up a home theater is easier than ever. However, installing a projector differs from setting up a traditional television because you must consider image quality, sound, and overall comfort. To get the best experience, here are five ways to enhance your home projector setup....

Quick Links There are few industries as full of snake oil and false promises as the audio world. Everyone wants your money in the pursuit for audio perfection, and often don’t care how they get it. The good news is that you don’t have to be a chump who falls for things that are too good to be true. Here are six common gimmicks to avoid. Your wallet will thank you....

Quick Links Did you know you can natively adjust the volume of individual apps, minimize blue light emissions, and make Windows automatically lock your screen when you move away? These are some lesser-known Windows features that you might not have explored before. Let’s look at how you can use these features. Adjust the Volume of Individual Apps Windows allows you toadjust the volume of individual apps, a feature that many users rely on third-party apps like EarTrumpet for....

Summary Canonical, the company that develops the Ubuntu Linux distribution, is adding to its release schedule by dropping “snapshots” for upcoming Ubuntu releases every month. It’s the first significant change to Ubuntu’s release cycle in many years, and the goal is to improve testing. Since the mid-2000s, Ubuntu has been dedicated to a strict (by Linux standards) release cycle, holding public releases until April and October of every year.Ubuntu 24.10 came outin October of last year, and we sawthe release of Ubuntu 25....

Summary Your smartwatch is capable of measuring the heart rate, taking an electrocardiogram reading, and even gauging blood pressure. What it can’t do is measure the health status of your skin or track the progress of wound healing. Now, a next-gen non-contact wearable device is promising to do just that, and then some more. A New Breed of Wearable Devices Over the past few years, wearable devices have exploded in popularity and adopted different form factors....

Summary After more than a decade of testing tech products, the June Oven is the smart home device that rose above the rest. Its Wi-Fi connectivity, integrated camera, and AI make it truly special. Here’s what it got right and how other smart appliances need to kick it up a notch. In 2021, Weber GrillsacquiredJune and integrated the tech into its products. Theunofficial wordfrom former employees is that there won’t ever be another June Oven....

Quick Links Apple’sAirPods Pro 2andBose’s QuietComfort Earbuds 2have raised the bar for wireless earbuds thanks to next-gen noise canceling, convenient features, and excellent audio performance. But which pair are thebest earbudsfor you? We’ll break it all down to help you find the perfect pair. Price and Value This category cuts some pretty clear lines right away. While both pairs have relatively similar specs, Apple’s starting price remains at $249, the same as the original AirPods Pro, while Bose’s latest pair raises the cost to a whopping $300....