A former Netflix subscriber who canceled the service a year ago tried several alternatives before unexpectedly settling on Apple TV+. The writer had long avoided the platform due to its high price, limited content library, and lack of perks like free trials or Family Sharing for non-Apple device owners.
A Reddit user reported finding a PNY GeForce RTX 5080 OC graphics card marked down to $702.56 at a local Walmart, well below its $1,249 listed price and Nvidia's $999 MSRP. The buyer verified the box contents matched the correct model and found the card in good condition before purchase.
A technology explainer walks through the history of the transistor, starting with the electric relay invented in 1835 for telegraph systems. It explains how relays used a small current to control a larger one, solving signal-loss problems over long telegraph wires, laying groundwork for the switching logic that transistors would later perform electronically.
With Jane Schoenbrun's new film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma drawing theater crowds, critics are revisiting the director's 2021 debut We're All Going to the World's Fair. The film follows Casey, an isolated teenager who takes part in an online horror ritual called the World's Fair Challenge and documents her supposed transformation for an internet audience. Her only real connection forms with JLB, an older stranger who insists she's in danger.
WIRED's laptop docking station roundup adds several alternative picks beyond its main recommendations, including the $200 Baseus Spacemate Air 12-in-1, the $300 Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock, and the $200 Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Pro Hub. Each option targets a different need, from dual 4K display support on older MacBooks to a minimalist three-port Thunderbolt 4 setup for decluttered desks.
Google has carried its Qi2-based Pixelsnap magnetic charging system over to the new Pixel 11 phones, refreshing the accessory lineup with new cases from Google and third-party makers like dbrand, Spigen, Mous, Case-Mate and Bellroy. The Ring Stand accessory also returns in colors matching the new phones, though the Pixelsnap Charger Stand no longer matches the new Fog color option.
Local officials overseeing data center projects in Marshall, Michigan, Salix, Iowa, and Box Elder County, Utah, have reported credible death threats and safety concerns tied to their votes. Marshall's council faced threats after passing a building moratorium, Salix's leaders were threatened over a land annexation for a possible Google site, and a Utah commissioner now has police stationed at his home. NBC News reports this pattern is spreading nationally, with officials targeted regardless of how they vote on data center proposals.
Ed Brady, CEO of the Home Builders Institute, says the rush to build AI data centers is pulling scarce skilled tradespeople away from residential construction. He notes the US already faces a shortage of roughly 300,000 skilled trades workers, and many of those still available are opting for data center jobs instead of homebuilding.
Between late 2016 and August 2026, China brought 27 new nuclear reactors online, while the United States added only two in the same period. MIT nuclear engineering professor Jacopo Buongiorno notes that China has become the global leader in building nuclear power plants, part of a broader strategy to support its shift toward a fully renewable grid.
YouTuber TrashBench cut apart the stock coolers on Nvidia GTX 1060, 1070 and 1080 Ti cards and bolted on a dual-tower CPU cooler with extra fans instead. The frankenstein setup dropped GPU temperatures by as much as 32°C, cut power draw by roughly 30W, and boosted overclocked frame rates by about 9% in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Disk Union, in collaboration with Maxell, has released a special-edition run of UD-60U cassette tapes in Japan, reviving the original 1970s ferric oxide formula. The companies are marketing the tapes toward nostalgic buyers who remember the original UD series, suggesting uses like dubbing vinyl records and making mix tapes.
A study led by Dr. Ian Hughes at Texas A&M University found that employees who compulsively browse distressing news during work hours tend to dwell on what they've read, and that lingering rumination reduces their engagement with work. The findings, drawn from two studies of workers in the US and UK, show the effect is strongest among people high in neuroticism, a trait tied to anxiety and worry.