Max Will Now Charge for "Extra Members" Like Netflix

Sharing your Max account with someone outside of your household? You’re not alone, and Max has a new way to handle it that looks awfully familiar. Just like Netflix, Max is now letting you add an “Extra Member” to your account, but it’ll cost you. For an extra $7.99 a month, the primary account holder can invite someone outside their home to create their own separate profile under the existing subscription....

July 31, 2025 · 3 min · 460 words · Barbara Smith

nano vs. vim: Linux Terminal-Based Text Editors Compared

Summary Unless you’re willing to learn emacs, there are really only two options for editing text in the Linux terminal: vim or nano. But does the choice matter much and, if so, why? These 2 Tools Are Command-Line Editors Let’s begin by explaining what nano and vim are not. Although they let you edit text, they are not word processors like LibreOffice Writer or Google Docs. A text editor allows you to work with unformatted, plain text like configuration files, program source code, orMarkdown....

July 31, 2025 · 6 min · 1118 words · Christopher Hensley Jr.

Narwal Freo Robot Vacuum Review: An Advanced Cleaning Assistant

Quick Links Summary There are plenty of premiumrobot vacuumsthat can mop and empty their own dirt into a docking station, but theNarwal Freoputs a fresh polish on the whole experience with advanced features and solid cleaning performance. It’s a combination that makes its high price slightly easier to swallow. Design: A Fancy Cleaning Solution Even high-end vacuum assistants are mostly utilitarian in nature. They suck up dirt, scrub away grime, and empty all the filth into a station that also serves to recharge their battery....

July 31, 2025 · 7 min · 1300 words · Diana Miller

PlayStation Stars Is Shutting Down

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced that it will soon shut down its PlayStation Stars loyalty program. This ends a fairly brief attempt to reward players for playing and buying games. The program, which started in 2022, was designed to build a stronger relationship with players by offering a tiered system where they could earn points and digital collectibles. Being discontinued after less than three years is a really bad sign for it....

July 31, 2025 · 3 min · 545 words · Corey Bartlett MD

Rivian Is Opening Up Its EV Charging Stations

Rivian is opening up its network of EV chargers. This makes the chargers available for non-Rivian vehicles for the first time. Rivian’s first intercompatible charging station is located in Joshua Tree National Park, California, and it can be used by all compatible electric vehicles in North America. This is a big change from Rivian’s earlier approach,similar to Tesla, which used to only allow its own customers to use their chargers. This new direction is partly due to federal requirements for getting funding for EV charging stations, which state that the chargers must be accessible to all electric vehicle brands....

July 31, 2025 · 2 min · 382 words · Edward Jackson

Roku's New Smart Device Is a Home Monitoring System

Roku has been slowly expanding its smart home products, from security cameras tolight bulbs. The company’s latest offering is a home monitoring system, with optional 24/7 professional monitoring. The Roku Home Monitoring System SE, as it’s called, is a system with two entry sensors, a motion sensor, a wire-free keypad, and a hub with a built-in siren. It doesn’t require any tools to set up and get running, and you can configure the Home, Away, and Off modes from the Roku Smart Home app....

July 31, 2025 · 2 min · 333 words · Christopher Delgado

Satellite Texting Is Now a Reality, But Only For Some Verizon Users

Quick Links Imagine a world where your cell coverage isn’t determined by a tower that a mountain can easily block. A world where your connection to the world is upheld by satellites. Well, that world exists today, at least for a select number of Verizon users with certain phones in their possession. Who Has Access to Satellite Texting Now? A handful of Verizon users have become the first people in the United States to have access tosatellite texting to any device, even if they don’t have any coverage from a terrestrial cell tower....

July 31, 2025 · 4 min · 812 words · Alexandra Bell

Serious About Lowering Your Electric Bill? You Need a Watt Meter

Quick Links If rising energy prices have you wincing when it comes time to pay your electric bill, you might be interested in investigating how much power all the gadgets and appliances in your home use. For that, you need a watt meter. What’s a Watt Meter and Why Do I Need One? A watt meter is a device that allows you to measure the number of watts a given device pulls down from your home’s electrical system....

July 31, 2025 · 4 min · 742 words · Bethany Saunders

T-Mobile's Overhaul, a Better Windows 11, and More: Weekly Roundup

This was a quieter week for tech news after all the excitement around WWDC, but there’s still a lot to talk about. T-Mobile announced an overhaul for its prepaid phone plans, more changes are coming to Windows 11, and much more—here are the biggest stories you might have missed. The Big News T-Mobile Is Overhauling Its Prepaid Plans T-Mobile is overhauling its prepaid plans with more data and international access at more competitive prices....

July 31, 2025 · 8 min · 1645 words · Timothy Garcia

The Best Smart Notebooks of 2024

Read update Easily digitalize your notes, store them in the cloud, and share them with others when you invest in a smart notebook. Remove the stress of finding a pen or losing paper and replace it with a more eco-friendly option. UPDATE: 04-06-2025 We’ve reviewed our recommendations and updated our pick for the best smart notebook overall. Moleskine Smart Writing Set What to Look For in a Smart Notebook in 2024 While there are plenty of ways you can collaborate with others to share digital notes, projects, and more, there are occasions when nothing beats being able to put pen to paper....

July 31, 2025 · 10 min · 1957 words · Samantha Cox

The Hidden Costs of Owning a MacBook

Quick Links You don’t have to worry about too many hidden costs when buying an already-expensive MacBook. However, there are still a few extra purchases you’ll likely need to make to get everything you want out of your Apple laptop. Here are six vital add-ons to keep in mind. 1Adapters for USB-A TheThunderbolt portsinstalled in MacBooks are top-of-the-line connectors, especially as they’re compatible with themore commonly used USB-C format. Yet if you’re still rocking devices that use USB-A—and you almost certainly are—then you’ll need to buy USB-C to USB-A adapters....

July 31, 2025 · 6 min · 1229 words · Cassandra Watson

The New Linux Mint, Home Assistant Hardware, and More: News Roundup

This was another busy week in tech news, with new hardware from Razer and HyperX, a Linux Mint beta release, another upgrade for Home Assistant, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed. The Big News Verizon’s Visible Carrier Finally Has Group Plans, With a Twist Verizon’s budget pre-paid carrier Visible has never offered family plans, so the potential price savings slowly evaporates as you add more phone lines....

July 31, 2025 · 12 min · 2554 words · Lauren Clark

These 9 Games Taught Me More Than My College Degree

Quick Links When non-gamers think about video games, they often see them as a fun pastime rather than a source of knowledge and education. While this is true for some titles, I’ve found that video games have taught me a surprising amount about life. Formal education is still important, and I was a good student who did my homework on time. Still, some video games went well beyond entertainment—they taught me valuable life lessons and sparked my curiosity about subjects like chemistry, history, and geography....

July 31, 2025 · 10 min · 1960 words · Brooke Miller