I spend all day at my PC. These 10 desk gadgets under $50 are actually useful

As a tech journalist, I have a lot of gadgets… not just the ones I research and write about, but the ones that keep me sane and productive day to day. I spend so many hours at my desk and I’ve learned that the right gadgets can turn any cluttered, boring…

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Best laptops for engineering students: Top 4 picks for power and portability

Engineering students are constantly on the move. Lectures, labs, libraries. That’s why you need a laptop that can handle your workload without making you feel like you’re lugging around a block of concrete. That’s why the laptops below strike such a good…

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The best free VPNs: 5 no-cost top picks

VPNs, or virtual private networks, are among the best tools for protecting yourself online. They help keep your browsing anonymous, secure your data from prying eyes, and block invasive trackers from following your activity. On top of that, VPNs can bypass…

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Anker’s USB-C splitter cable charges 2 devices. It’s at its lowest price now

MATCHES ALL-TIME LOW PRICE Anker 140W USB-C splitter cable View Deal What do you do when you need to charge two devices? One option is to use a multi-port charger with multiple cables. Another option is to use a single USB charger with a single cable—like…

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Microsoft Defender is causing slow VLC startups. Here’s the fix

For some time now, there have been complaints across various online forums about how the popular VLC Media Player takes several seconds (sometimes half a minute!) to start up. The problem occurs regardless of size or the type of media file you wish to play…

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Mac Studio (M5 Max) review: Shifting into overdrive

At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Dramatic SSD speed boost Enhanced external display support Cons RAM and SSD are not user upgradeable Our Verdict The Mac Studio’s SSD speed improvement is so dramatic that even if you bought an M4 Max or M3 Ultra Mac…

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The first Googlebooks are here: I tried all 5 from Acer, Dell, HP, Asus, and Lenovo

It’s the official launch day for Google’s refreshed take on laptops. You can read my impressions here — long story short, it seems to be a platform made with phone-first users in mind. But if you’ve decided that you’re interested and want to pick one up, you…

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AMD GPU and motherboard prices could jump 10% soon, Ryzen may follow

According to information from ChannelGate, AMD may be set to raise prices on several of its products, reported by Digital Trends and gathered by @harukaze5719 on social media . Graphics chips for the consumer market, AI accelerators, and motherboard chips…

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The Googlebook’s most compelling AI feature isn’t even AI

Google’s new Googlebooks are finally here! As promised, they come with a bevy of flashy Gemini features, including an AI-enabled mouse pointer, a local dictation tool, and the ability to create desktop widgets with prompts. But the Googlebook AI feature that…

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Google’s new Googlebooks aren’t AI-first. They’re phone-first

How much time do you spend on your phone? Depending on a series of factors, there’s a pretty decent chance that you use it more often than your laptop or desktop PC, especially if you take work out of the equation. If so, you’re the kind of person for whom a…

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Why the dumbest headphones might be the smartest ones

I take it back. I was wrong to scoff at the kids. A few months ago, an article crossed my feeds about wired earbuds. According to my juniors, this retro tech represents elegancy and simplicity—a better time. I was initially appalled at the characterization…

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This free Windows app makes file conversion ridiculously easy

Writing for a living means that I’m constantly converting text between Word documents and PDFs, or images into PNG or JPG files that I can use. Converting these files typically means either opening a separate app, uploading it to a website, or digging through…

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Skip the new computer and upgrade your existing PC to Windows 11 Pro for less than $10

TL;DR: Give your PC a fresh start with a Windows 11 Pro license for $9.97 through September 27, with no ongoing subscription fees. A new computer isn’t always the answer when your current one still has some life left in it. Sometimes, a software upgrade is…

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This 1min.AI plan gives you lifetime GPT-5.5 Pro, Claude, Sonnet & more for just $99.99

TL;DR: Get a 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan Lifetime Subscription with flagship AI models, all product features, and 4 million monthly credits for $99.99 (MSRP $540). AI has gone well beyond asking a chatbot a question. Now tools exist for writing, images…

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Compare rental investments nationwide for a one-time $199.99 payment

TL;DR: Get Mashvisor Standard for $199.99 (MSRP $2,699) and use its nationwide property research, rental comparisons, ROI estimates, AI scoring, and more for life. Real estate research can turn into a small mountain of browser tabs and spreadsheets…

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This Lenovo Chromebook touchscreen drops to $80

TL;DR: This refurbished Lenovo 300e Chromebook has a touchscreen — on sale for $79.99 (reg. $284.99). Chrome OS runs light, so budget hardware from a few years back can still keep up with everyday browsing, docs, and streaming. This refurbished Lenovo 300e…

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Block every ad and tracker for life with AdGuard’s $11 family plan

TL;DR: AdGuard’s Family plan blocks ads, trackers, and malware across nine devices, and a lifetime subscription is on sale for $11 (reg. $169.99). Ads, trackers, and shady pop-ups are on almost every site out there, and free ad blockers rarely catch what’s…

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Microsoft spreads its version of DLSS to more Intel laptops

There’s more than one kind of optimized upscaling for games. Nvidia does it (DLSS), AMD does it (FSR), Intel does it (XeSS). And you might be surprised to hear that Microsoft does it, right there in Windows. Auto Super Resolution has been quietly spreading…

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Understand complex PDFs faster with Adobe Acrobat

Sign up for the Adobe Acrobat 7-day free trial Learn more The demands and pace of modern business can mean that there’s less time than you’d like to work through dense materials and produce insights. It’s not unusual to be given dense, long PDF documents from…

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Best laptops for college on Amazon right now

Finding the right laptop for college can be harder than it sounds. Amazon, for example, has thousands of models to choose from. Once you start comparing processors and screen sizes, it’s easy to get lost in the sauce (as they say). Whether you’re looking for…

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