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Apple's MacBook Neo is a $600 (or $500 for students) shot across the bow at affordable Windows laptops, and it seems like Microsoft has ready its first response. The newly announced Microsoft College Offer is a bundle of Microsoft 365 Premium, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, custom Xbox controller and discounted laptop that the company thinks could woo students away from Apple's new deal. With the purchase of a discounted machine directly from Microsoft, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy or PC makers

Live Nation, which operates the Ticketmaster platform, has been determined to be a monopoly . A federal jury handed down its decision today that the company violated federal and state antitrust rules. This finding won't surprise anyone who has used Ticketmaster and been sticker-shocked by their final bill. However, it's unclear what the jurys decision will mean in practice. For starters, the judge overseeing the case hasn't determined what remedies will be applied. The actions could go as far as

For PlayStation Plus subscribers, April is going to be a little bit spooky, a tad sporty and extra squirrelly. PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium players will get access to The Crew Motorfest , Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered , Football Manager 26 Console , Warriors: Abyss , Squirrel with a Gun , The Casting of Frank Stone and Monster Train . Additionally, Wild Arms 4 will be exclusive to Premium libraries. Expect the full lineup to go live on April 21. The Crew Motorfest , Horizon Zero Dawn Remast

A group of researchers from across the US and the UK have conducted a study on what AI does to our brains and the results are, in a word, grim. These results were published in a paper called AI assistance reduces persistence and hurts independent performance which kind of tells you everything you need to know. We find that AI assistance improves immediate performance, but it comes at a heavy cognitive cost, the study declares. Researchers went on to state that just ten minutes of using AI made p

Not content with stuffing Gemini into all of its own apps and services, Google wants you to adopt its AI assistant on desktops and laptops too. The company released a Gemini Windows app on Tuesday and it's following that up a day later with one for Macs. Google says the macOS Gemini app is a native desktop experience that you can access with a keyboard shortcut. By default, pressing option and space will open a mini chat, while a combo of option, shift and space will open the full Gemini chat ex

Occasionally, you really can have it both ways. For the most part, pellet grills are great for smoking and mid-temperature cooking, but youll typically need other grills for high-heat searing and 1,000-degree temperatures(with a few exceptions ). Sure, some pellet grills allow you to move the heat deflector for direct access to the fire pot for searing, but thats still not a cooking experience that will be familiar to gas grill users. With the X-Fire Pro 825 ( $1,550 ), Recteq is putting its pel

Snap is laying off around 1,000 staff, amounting to 16 percent of its workforce, which it will seemingly replace with AI. The cuts were announced in a company-wide memo from CEO Evan Spiegel, who added that more than 300 open roles are also being closed. Spiegel said the incredibly difficult decision would likely save Snap more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, in turn helping it to establish a clearer path to net-income profitability. Impacted staff were notified by email and the co

The shoe company Allbirds, famous for its wool trainers, is pivoting to AI . You read that right. The San Francisco company has plans o pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider. It's also changing its name to NewBird AI. This is subject to shareholder approval, with a vote scheduled for May 18. Once approved, the company will raise $50 million from an unnamed investor to assist w

Traeger gave backyard pit masters something more affordable last year with the Woodridge , but now the company is back with an even more budget-friendly option. With the Westwood series , the company offers very basic pellet grill functionality with a simplified controller and a no-frills design. Youll still get Wi-Fi connectivity that works with the companys app, and the Westwood grills are compatible with Traegers rail-based accessories. As you might expect at the $700 and $800 prices, there a

Chinese phonemaker Vivo has been pushing the limits of smartphone photography in the last few years. However, the availability of its phones like last years X200 Ultra , with its beefy add-on telephoto has been intermittent in the West. The company says the X300 Ultra its first global flagship launch, although theres still no word on a US launch or pricing at the time of writing. Like the latest phones from Xiaomi and Oppo, Vivo is also obsessing over larger camera sensors, peripherals and a d

A collaboration between Spotify and Bookshop.org that allows readers to purchase physical books in the Spotify app is now live in the US and UK. Rather than positioning audiobooks as the hard copy-killer, Spotify is encouraging you to see them as complimentary to one another. First announced back in February, the new partnership with Bookshop.org appears to be an acknowledgement from Spotify that physical still reigns supreme in the book world. Bookshop is a digital marketplace that enables indi

Most teens in the United States say that Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat aren't harming their mental health, though a slightly higher proportion report negative effects on their sleep and productivity, according to a new report from Pew Research. The report offers fresh insights into how teens perceive the effects of social media at a time when there are increasing calls to ban younger teens from social platforms altogether. The report is based on a survey of 1,458 teens between the ages of 13 an

Few creative software companies have embraced AI like Adobe , with the company embedding image , video, audio and vector generation tools into nearly all its apps. Now, Adobe is taking on AI apps like Gemini's Nano Banana with its new prompt-based Firefly AI Assistant. You simply describe the outcome you want and it will execute complex multi-step workflows across Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, Illustrator and other apps to achieve that result, Adobe says. The complexity of apps like Photoshop

When Amazon introduced the Ember Artline TVs in January , it didnt have a specific date of availability to share. Now, the company is ready to supply the details: Pre-orders open today, and units ship on April 22 in the US and Canada, with the UK and Germany to follow. The company also announced a new version of its Fire TV Stick HD this morning, as well as some new features for its Fire TV software. For those who dont remember offhand, the Ember Artline is basically Amazons answer to Samsungs F

After unveiling a 4K version of its Fire TV Stick Select at its hardware event last September , Amazon is launching the latest version of its HD dongle today. The Fire TV Stick HD costs $35, comes with Alexa+ built in and offers the redesigned experience that the company previewed at CES in January . It might be confusing, considering Amazon makes at least five different configurations of its streaming stick , but the model announced today comes in at the entry-level and brings some meaningful u

Japanese entertainment company Toho has released a teaser video for Godzilla Minus Zero , the upcoming sequel to the award-winning film Godzilla Minus One . The teaser shows the famous monster next to the Statue of Liberty as it rampages across New York. Godzilla Minus Zero is set in 1949, two years after the events of the first film, and will be a direct sequel. Youll see familiar faces from Minus One in the short trailer, as well, namely Koichi Shikishima and Noriko Oishi, two of the first mov

Sony is removing some features from its TV guide and program guide displays for channels received by an over the air TV antenna on select models of Bravia televisions from 2023-2025. Cord Cutters News reported on the changes, which will take effect in late May. Channel logos and thumbnail images in program descriptions are going away from the built-in TV Guide for antenna TV channels. Only programs from recently watched channels will be shown in the guide, and depending on the channel, program i

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that Netgear has been given conditional approval that effectively exempts it from a previous ban on foreign-made networking routers . The conditional approval gives the company a de facto though potentially temporary monopoly on the selling and servicing of new consumer routers in the US. We're pleased to share that Netgear is the first retail consumer router company to receive conditional approval from the Federal Communications Commission (

Google has introduced a new app for Windows desktops and, unsurprisingly, it puts AI front at center. If you aren't a big fan of Google's Gemini chatbot, then skip on past this download. For those of you who are heavy Gemini users, though, this could mean a simpler and more integrated experience on Windows machines. Once installed, you can pull up the app's search bar with the Alt + Space shortcut. Queries typed into this open-ended search box can hunt down information from the web like typical

The NAACP is suing xAI and a subsidiary called MZX Tech for allegedly operating unpermitted methane gas turbines to power its Colossus 2 data center in South Memphis. The association is asking the federal district court of the Northern District of Mississippi to declare that the company has violated the Clean Air Act, force it to stop using its unpermitted turbines and assess financial penalties against xAI for violating federal law, among other requests. The lawsuit claims that xAI the Elon Mu

We're sliding into developer conference season and one of the biggest events on the upcoming calendar is Google I/O. This year's edition is taking place on May 19 and 20 . As usual, the in-person element will happen in Mountain View, California, though many of the keynotes and sessions will be livestreamed. Google will surely make its biggest announcements during the opening keynote, which will start at 1PM ET on May 19. A developer keynote will take place later the same day. As ever, the rumor

Riot Games released a pile of updates for its long-running MOBA League of Legends . One of the more noteworthy changes coming to the game is the official launch of WASD controls. This alternate option, allowing players to traverse the rift by keyboard rather than by mouse, is rolling out to ranked matches in patch 26.9. Riot first announced that it was pursuing support for WASD controls last August. The studio said it wanted to ensure that the alternate control scheme wasn't more powerful than p

The RAMpocalypse continues. Microsoft just revealed significant price increases across the entire Surface line of products, according to reporting by Windows Central . The updated pricing has already hit the official Microsoft Store, with other retailers expected to follow suit in the near future. These are fairly significant upticks. For instance, the base model 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 now starts at $1,600. It cost $1,300 when the laptop was first released back in 2024. It did receive a price

Gemini in Chrome is about to get a small but handy upgrade. Starting today, Google is rolling out a feature it calls Skills to Chrome on desktop. Skills allow you to save your favorite Gemini in Chrome prompts for quick access, thereby making it easier and faster to repeat certain tasks. For instance, Google suggests you could use one saved prompt to get Gemini to calculate how much protein there could be in a new recipe you found online. Another Skill can make it easier to do a side-by-side spe

Super fast gaming displays have grown in popularity recently following the release of several new models back at CES . Now Sony is hopping on that bandwagon with its latest display featuring a tandem OLED panel from LG that offers the choice of either 540Hz or 720Hz refresh rates. That said, priced at $1,100, the new 24.5-inch Sony Inzone M10S II is only for the most dedicated and deep-pocketed gamers. In normal use, the monitor offers a 540Hz refresh rate at QHD (2,560 x 1,440). However, in com

Samsung just released its lineup of Micro RGB TVs for 2026, and it includes models that start at 55 inches and go up to 85 inches. These 4K sets feature the company's Micro RGB display technology, which uses thousands of little red, green and blue LEDs to minimize color bleed and enable expanded color with pinpoint accuracy. The display is assisted by a new AI processor that has been specifically designed to calibrate the picture to bring out all of that gorgeous color. The company says this res

Websites that act like a super-chatty colleague who just won't shut up and let you go when a conversation should be over are among the most annoying things on the internet. Google is now doing something about that scourge. Picture the scene: you look up something on Google Search and instead of relying on potentially hallucinating AI Overviews you click through to an actual website for your information. But, when you try to leave the site by hitting the back button, your browser doesnt immedia

OpenAI has acquired Hiro Finance, a startup that offers AI-powered financial planning tools. As first reported by TechCrunch , fiscal terms of the deal, which was announced on Monday, were not disclosed by OpenAI. However, all signs point this to being an acquhire, with Hiro founder Ethan Bloch writing on LinkedIn that the company's product would stop working on April 20. Users have until May 13 to migrate their data off of Hiro's servers before everything is deleted. It's unclear if OpenAI plan

Amazon has today announced it is merging with satellite internet provider Globalstar Inc. to bolster Leo , its Starlink rival. Globalstar isnt a household name but you do know its work, as it provides Apples emergency satellite connectivity for compatible iPhones and Watches. In a statement, Amazon says the deal will grow Leos space-based footprint and enable direct-to-device service for its burgeoning satellite network. An interesting wrinkle is Apple owns 20 percent of Globalstar, which it bou

GoPro has seen its action camera market share diminish due to strong competition from rivals like Insta360 and DJI of late. Now, the company is fighting back with a new line of flagship cameras called Mission 1, designed to greatly improve the video quality offered by its current Hero 13 camera . The company also introduced a new Wireless Mic system similar to DJI's Mic Mini, along with a point-and-shoot grip and other accessories. The combination of our new 50 megapixel one-inch sensor and ultr

The price of nearly every type of gaming gadget has skyrocketed recently. RAMageddon has caused the cost of memory to double or triple in the last six months, with companies like HP saying that RAM now accounts for more than a third of a new PCs bill of materials. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S/X and the PS5 have gotten price hikes, and a similar bump for the Switch 2 is starting to look inevitable. Even mobile devices are not immune, with Samsung jacking up the cost of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 nine

If you love Pokmon and electronic dance music, the Pokmon Company made the perfect event for you. As part of Pokmons 30th anniversary festivities, the company is holding EDM concert experiences called Pokmon Night Out in Los Angeles and London. American DJ Marshmello, known for wearing a marshmallow-like mask on stage, will be headlining the events, with Australian DJ Alison Wonderland as a supporting act. The experiences will feature custom sets and Pokmon-inspired visual storytelling. The even

If you were looking for the worst AI project announced so far this week, try Meta. According to a Financial Times report, the company is developing its own Mark Zuckerberg AI , training it on Zuckerbergs mannerisms, tone and publicly available statements. AKA, the good stuff. ( Will it smoke meats ?) The company has reportedly been working for some time on creating photorealistic, 3D-animated AI characters that can manage interactions. However, it now appears to be focusing on this Zuckerberg AI

An R-rated animated film adaptation of Bloodborne is currently being developed by Sony, according to Variety . Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group held a presentation at CinemaCon, where the divisions president said that the adaptation will be very true to the violent and graphic nature of the game. Bloodborne was created by Japanese studio FromSoftware and was published by Sony back in 2015. The critically acclaimed title is an RPG in the style of Dark Souls , featuring heavy blood

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's house may have been the target of a second attack after San Francisco Police Department arrested two suspects for a reported shooting in the Russian Hill neighborhood. The SFPD said in a press release that police officers responded to a suspicious occurrence of possible shots fired at around 5:56 AM ET / 2:56 AM PT on Sunday, April 12. SFPD's Special Investigation Division took over the case and have since detained both 25-year-old Amanda Tom and 23-year-old Muhamad Tarik

Many creators have already switched from Adobe Premiere to DaVinci Resolve, and now the developer, Blackmagic Design, is going after Lightroom and Photoshop. The Australian company just unveiled DaVinci Resolve 21 in beta at the NAB 2026 broadcast convention with a brand new page called Photo designed to let you do things like crop and color-correct still images. At the same time, the new version introduces video AI tools that can age a subject or reshape their facial features. DaVinci Resolve h

Xbox's new chief exec, Asha Sharma, has only been in charge for a few months but things already seem like they might be changing for the better. Or at the very least, they might be getting cheaper. The Verge reported that the new Xbox CEO wrote a memo to employees addressing the current pricing of the Game Pass subscription service. Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. Its also clear that the current model isnt the final one, Sharma allegedly said. Short term, Game Pass has become too e

Fans of miniature plastic soldiers, rejoice. Games Workshop has brought a host of older Warhammer and Warhammer 40K video games to Steam for the first time , alongside a dozen games that haven't been available on Valve's storefront for a few years. The new to Steam releases consist of three games from the Warhammer fantasy range Shadow of the Horned Rat , Mark of Chaos Gold Edition and Dark Omen and four from its sci-fi 40K universe Chaos Gate , Fire Warrior , Final Liberation and Rites of W

Dozens of civil rights organizations have written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to warn of the dangers in bringing facial recognition technology to the company's smart glasses. More than 70 groups have banded together to form a coalition to urge Zuckerberg to abandon plans to incorporate the tech, on the grounds that it would empower stalkers, sexual predators and other bad actors. This coalition includes organizations like the ACLU, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Fight for th

There are plenty of retro gaming handhelds on the market, but Anbernic is introducing one that offers a unique spin on the square shape. The retro gaming handheld maker revealed the RG Rotate on its YouTube channel, showing off a 1:1 display that swivels out much like the T-Mobile Sidekick of yore. Anbernic often drip feeds details of its upcoming products over time, but so far, we know that the RG Rotate will run on Android, feature an aluminum alloy frame and come in Polar Black and Aurora Sil

Over the past couple of years, Google has found ways to stuff Gemini in nearly every app and service it offers. Whether it's Gmail with its AI inbox or Chrome with its chat sidebar , Gemini is now inescapable inside of Workspace. I don't know about you, but I don't need an AI to tell me how to write a =SUM equation in Sheets or an outline for a first draft. Most of the time, I find Gemini is a distraction. If you feel the same way, this how-to is for you. How to remove Gemini from your personal

Picture this: You're a senior Meta employee looking for feedback from the CEO. But, instead of hearing from the real Mark Zuckerberg, you get a response from a Zuckerberg AI character. As absurd as that sounds, it could eventually be a reality. Meta is reportedly working on such an AI character, training it on Zuckerberg's mannerisms, tone and publicly available statements, according to the Financial Times . The character is also learning about the CEO's thoughts on recent company strategy, with

Roblox is preparing to roll out its biggest change since starting age verification late last year. While that program was initially focused on chat access, todays news is about age-segregating the games on the massive platform. Starting in mid-May, users will be pushed into one of three worlds: Roblox Kids, Roblox Select or Roblox. The exact age ranges of these groups will vary by territory, but in the US they are 5-8 for Kids, 9-15 for Select and 16+ for the regular account. These three account

Apple may be late to the smart glasses market , but it could be covering all its bases with up to four potential styles for its upcoming product. According to Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman, Apple could launch some or all of the four styles it's currently testing for its smart glasses. Gurman reported Apple is testing out a large rectangular frame that's comparable to Ray-Ban Wayfarers, a slimmer rectangular design like the glasses that Apple CEO Tim Cook wears, a larger oval or circular frame and a s

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a certain Redditor in its crosshairs and it's now strong-arming the social media platform to reveal who they are with a grand jury subpoena, according to a report from The Intercept . The nonprofit news outlet was able to obtain the subpoena that ordered Reddit to provide info on one of its users who's been accused of criticizing ICE by April 14. According to the report, ICE has been trying to identify this Redditor for a month without success. More specif

The feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI is getting even more contentious as the two sides get ready for trial later this month. The latest development in the legal back-and-forth saw OpenAI accuse Elon Musk and his latest proposals as a legal ambush, as first reported by Bloomberg . OpenAI filed its response on Friday, which detailed that Musk was sandbagging the defendants and injecting chaos into the proceedings, while trying to recast his public narrative about his lawsuit. The lawsuit dates ba