Vibe coding is programming by gut feel. You have an idea for a tool, a website, or a repetitive task you want to automate… but instead of enrolling in a coding boot camp or slogging through YouTube tutorials, you fire up an AI chatbot and have it write the code for you. This AI-driven approach to creative coding has exploded in popularity over the past year or two—chiefly because it works. People are building genuinely useful stuff without even knowing what a variable is. I’ve been vibe coding my own apps with AI and I’m absolutely loving it, despite being a relative newbie to coding. But most advice about AI-assisted programming still assumes you want to become a “real” programmer eventually. Because of that, the advice tends to steer you towards professional tools that are overkill for simple projects. You need a different—easier—approach. PROMOTIONLaunch in minutes by vibe coding Turn your ideas into reality with Hostinger Horizons. Build web apps, websites, and custom tools by chatting with the AI – no coding required. Get everything you need to launch and grow including web hosting, domain management and email. Start now Here’s what you really need to start vibe coding your own stuff right now, without any of the BS that only complicates matters. Use an AI chatbot, not an AI-assisted IDE Your first instinct might be to use an AI-assisted integrated development environment (IDE), one that you’ve heard is good for vibe coding, like Windsurf, Cursor, or even Claude Code (which technically isn’t an IDE, but that’s besides the point). All of these tools are built for AI coding, so they’re the best place to start, right? Well… no. These tools are designed to make highly productive programmers even more productive, and that means they assume a level of knowledge that amateur coders—like you and me—lack. Diving into these programs straight away is likely to leave you confused and discouraged. An AI-driven code editor can be powerful, but it’s overkill for an amateur vibe coder. This one starts at $15 per month after a two-week trial.Windsurf Not to mention that AI-powered IDEs are pretty darn expensive, too. While most offer a bit of free use, it’s easy for even uber-casual vibe coders to find themselves in need of a paid plan. Many such IDEs charge based on usage instead of a flat monthly rate, too. As an amateur vibe coder, you’re better off using an AI chatbot. The downside here is that you’ll need to copy-paste code back and forth between the chatbot and your code editor. It’s a bit of a nuisance, but it’s not too bad if your project is small. Choose your AI chatbot carefully When it comes to AI chatbots with programming proficiency, there are several you can choose from. All of the popular ones are good enough to get started, but even so, I have a couple recommendations. Don’t want to spend a dime? Try Google’s AI Studio. This chronically under-appreciated AI tool provides free and effectively unlimited access to Google’s latest Gemini Pro models, which many consider the best in the business without paying a cent. Google AI Studio does have a few downsides. Google will train on your data (most paid services promise they don’t), the interface isn’t the best, and there’s no desktop or mobile version. None of these are serious obstacles for amateur vibe coding, though. A screenshot of a quick data visualization tool I created using Claude.Matt Smith / Foundry But if you’re willing to pay a bit and want an attractive interface with desktop and mobile apps, I recommend Anthropic’s Claude Opus. I like Claude’s Artifacts feature, which breaks code out in a separate interface pane. It can even execute some code (like HTML or JavaScript) to provide a preview in Claude itself, and you can download code to your PC from this pane. Competitors have emulated it with similar features, but I think Anthropic’s implementation remains the best. Stick to popular programming languages Choosing a programming language is a major obstacle for both amateur and experienced programmers. There are hundreds to choose from, dozens of them are mature, and promoters of each tend to have strong opinions, so it’s easy to fall into analysis paralysis. When it comes to vibe coding, though, I recommend that you stick with languages that are both popular and forgiving. That means the usual suspects of JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, HTML, and perhaps C# if you’re feeling saucy. AI does best with these languages because AI models are trained on data from across the web. The more popular the language, the more examples there are to train on—and the more source data to work with, the better the generative results. As for how forgiving a particular language is, it’s an important aspect to consider because you’ll be quicker to get a program up and running even when it has bugs. Some languages, like Rust and C++, have strict syntax and architectural demands that can be a nightmare to debug. Veteran coders are likely to recoil at the idea of willingly accepting bugs in a program, but for beginners, it’s better to have a buggy-yet-functional program than a program that was abandoned because it never worked. Alternatively, you could let the AI choose your language for you. Describe the program you want to create and ask the chatbot to make it in whatever language seems most appropriate. Choose a simple code editor Once you have a chatbot and coding language picked, you’ll need to choose the software you use to edit code. You may feel pushed towards a full-blown programming IDE like Visual Studio, which is admittedly powerful but, again, designed for people who have some knowledge of programming. For casual vibe coding, I recommend a simpler code editor like Notepad++, Sublime Text, or UltraEdit. (My bias is towards Notepad++.) A screenshot of my vibe coded personal website in Notepad++.Matt Smith / Foundry Code editors lack the comprehensive terminal, debugging, and remote development features found in many IDEs. However, code editors still provide a fast, functional, and approachable interface that looks more like the barebones text editors you’ve likely used (e.g., Notepad), and they still provide handy features like code auto-completion. Think small (and reinvent the wheel) Scope creep is a common problem that all programmers face, and it can stop you cold. Big projects are more difficult than small projects, and vibe coding grows more difficult as the size of a project increases. So while it might be tempting to try vibe coding your way to a full-blown 3D game or world-class accounting software, you might want to hold your horses and start small. Very small.  A screenshot of me asking Claude about some enhancements to my tabletop game web app, which is relatively simple and small in scope.Matt Smith / Foundry Here are some great entry-level project examples for vibe coding: Python scripts that automate specific tasks, like scraping web pages for data or filtering documents by various criteria. A single-page personal website or app in HTML and JavaScript. A single-feature app programmed in Python or C#. My first vibe-coded project was a dice-rolling tool with text-to-speech capability for the tabletop strategy game Battletech. It can roll dice and announce the results of a roll, speeding up play. I also vibe-coded my own personal website, a single page of HTML with some JavaScript. Use AI to troubleshoot issues, answer questions, and generate documentation You might be surprised by how quickly AI can help you vibe code basic tools and programs. It’s so easy to pop out a quick Python script, you may find yourself doing it several times a day at one point. However, heavy reliance on vibe-coded projects can lead to another problem: losing track of how each script and program works, and becoming confused by dependencies. For example, Python programs typically don’t work right out of the box. You’ll need to install Python as well as the various libraries that are used to accomplish different things in a script. Not only do you have to figure that out, but if you ever move to another computer, you’ll also have to set up Python and those dependencies on that computer as well. Fortunately, AI is great at solving this problem. Just ask and it’ll provide you with instructions on how to install a new programming language and any related libraries on your computer. This will typically involve a handful of command-line prompts. I also recommend ending every vibe coding session by asking the AI to create documentation that teaches new users how to use the generated program. And when you use AI to modify existing scripts or programs, it’s a good idea to ask for a changelog of everything it does. Documentation will help you remember how your program works and help you get it working when you switch computers. Pick up Arduino and/or Raspberry Pi Python scripts and web pages can be useful, but they lack pizzazz… and that can be discouraging for any new vibe coder. If you want to try programming something that feels more tangible and exciting, then I recommend picking up an Arduino and/or Raspberry Pi. Going this route is likely to increase your starting costs and will make your vibe coding journey more complicated. You’ll need to buy some hardware and most likely a soldering iron. You’re also going to need to pick up some skills that AI can’t help with, like soldering. A Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W hooked up and ready to tinker with.Raspberry Pi While you can use AI to suggest Arduino and/or Raspberry Pi projects, I recommend picking a tutorial that already exists, like this Raspberry Pi Pico W weather station by ExplainingComputers. The tutorial explains the basics, of course, but the AI chatbot can further explain concepts that you don’t quite understand and handle edge cases. For example, I had a different temperature sensor than the one in the tutorial, so I had to wire it differently than how it was shown and make changes to the code to identify my sensor. With the help of AI, I was able to make the required changes in just 15 minutes. Further reading: Practical Raspberry Pi projects anyone can do PROMOTIONLaunch in minutes by vibe coding Turn your ideas into reality with Hostinger Horizons. Build web apps, websites, and custom tools by chatting with the AI – no coding required. Get everything you need to launch and grow including web hosting, domain management and email. Start now Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Outstanding cleaning ability given ample time Attractive pricing assuming coupons and discounts hold Amazing styling Cons Ineffective shorter cleaning cycles Overly complex controls Cleanup is more difficult than it needs to be Water gets into its charging port Our Verdict Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today This is a review of two pool robots, one which is the most exceptional cleaning device I’ve tested to date, and one that’s maddeningly frustrating and overly complex. You’ve probably already figured out the twist: Yes, they are same device, the iGarden Pool Cleaner K60. Specifications To start things off, just look at the thing: With its jet-black chassis and orange-trimmed wheels, the machine looks more like a sports car than a glorified leaf sweeper. Despite the evocative look, it still moves about courtesy of large wheels and treads that abut a pair of spinning scrubber. It’s a fairly classic, standard design. The control panel on the iGarden Pool Cleaner K60.Christopher Null/Foundry Its biggest selling point is under the hood: A fairly beefy 7500mAh battery powers the 30-pound robot to an epic running time of up to 6 hours, according to iGarden. (My testing achieved an even better maximum operating time of about 6.5 hours.) That’s so long that iGarden says it has a Guinness World Record for robotic pool cleaning longevity – though a quick search doesn’t quite bear that out, with Guinness noting a prototype robot from the same manufacturer hit the 40-hour mark in 2023. The iGarden Pool Cleaner K60 cleaned up 100% of the synthetic leaves in my first test. No matter though, 6 hours is mightily impressive, and what’s even more notable is that the robot achieved a feat that no other has done in my years of testing these devices: It cleaned up 100 percent of the material in my first synthetic leaf test, leaving behind absolutely no debris—even on steps, which few robots ever manage to clean properly. Even the very best pool robots tend to leave behind a few scraps during their run, but the iGarden scooped up everything on its inaugural run, a monumental first. (Subsequent runs did leave behind two or three tidbits, though that is still impressive.) Performance The rubber plug protecting recharging the iGarden Pool Cleaner K60’s battery repeatedly failed to prevent water getting into the port.Christopher Null/Foundry So, what’s the catch? Well, there are quite a few, starting with the fact that the iGarden K60 really needs those six hours to do all that work. The unit can be set to operate for shorter cleaning times (60-, 90-, or 120 minutes), and even the 120-minute mode wasn’t effective at picking up more than about 70 percent of my test debris, leaving large parts of the pool untouched. Even a second 120-minute run didn’t pick up what was left behind, and it was only when I set the robot to run on its undisturbed, run-until-the-battery-dies schedule that I was able to achieve that 100 percent pickup performance. That presents users with a quandary: Would you rather have a robot that picks up about 95 percent of debris in two hours, or one that gets 100 percent in six hours? I think it’s a fair compromise to select the former, as no one wants to drop a robot in the pool in the morning, only for it not to finish until the end of the day—especially if you’re planning on swimming that day. The iGarden Pool Cleaner K60 features a 4-liter debris basket.Christopher Null/Foundry The K60 is also marred by a wildly complex interface, both on its chassis and in its half-baked mobile app. The app’s control panel is a touchscreen festooned with icons, many of which are difficult to parse. A clock icon seems self-explanatory, but you’ll need to understand what the three lights next to that icon mean to use it properly. One light equals a one-hour cleaning time, two lights is 90 minutes, and three lights is two hours. No lights means it runs until the battery dies. An “AI timer” has a similar three-light system, corresponding to auto-cleaning cycle of every 24-, 48-, or 72 hours, presuming you leave the robot in the pool after each run. Additional controls are built for cleaning mode (floor-only or floor/wall/waterline) and “turbo mode” (which speeds up the robot considerably). Alas, none of this is intuitive, and even after a week of use I found myself referring to the manual to refresh my memory about what icon was what. Even turning the robot on is tricky. First, you’ll find a knob on the underside of the robot that must be turned as a sort of master power switch. Then the power icon on the touchscreen must be held down for three seconds until it starts flashing. At this point you can change your operating selections via the other buttons, and then you must push the power button again. Wait too long on any step and the robot will go to sleep and you’ll need to start over. When I attempted to run the robot on its inaugural run, I had to fish it out of the water with a hook twice because I’d messed something up. Frustrating. The iGarden app iGarden’s barebones app doesn’t log cleaning sessions or include a battery-life indicator.Christopher Null/Foundry iGarden’s mobile app is somehow no better. While it recreates most of the hardware experience, it lacks anything in the way of extras—including a battery monitor or a log of operations. I also found that my selections in the app didn’t always transition to the robot, requiring me to double-check the control panel before each run. I encountered other problematic, if less-severe issues as well. The iGarden’s filter basket is large but strangely designed, with multiple chambers and a relatively small access hatch that together make it difficult to clean out. You’ll charge the unit via a standard plug-in cable, and the charging port is covered via a thick rubber gasket when it’s in the pool. The problem is this gasket isn’t 100 percent waterproof, and each time I ran the robot, water got into the charging port, which in turn necessitated attempting to drain it by placing the robot at an angle with the port facing down, often overnight. Even the hook provided to retrieve the robot is non-standard in size. Retreival is doable with a more typical hook, but not as easy as it should be. And for that matter, a robot this expensive should be able to dock at the waterline when it’s finished running. The multi-chambered debris basket proved difficult to clean out.Christopher Null/Foundry The perhaps optimistically named turbo mode helps the robot get its job done slightly faster, but it’s also a little less effective. It runs out of battery life after five hours while collecting a bit less debris. A bigger issue is that while in turbo mode, the robot twice beached itself on a high step, unable to get back to deeper water without a push. It’s unclear if this is an anomaly of turbo mode or just bad luck during those test runs. Should you buy the iGarden Pool Cleaner K60? The iGarden K60 is billed at a heady $1,498 MSRP, but it’s currently on deep discount (with a coupon) if purchased directly from the manufacturer. You should also be aware that this robot is listed on Amazon as the model GT60. We checked with the manufacturer and verified that the G60 and the K60 are the same product. Finally, the iGarden model K40 and K20 are essentially the same robot, but they offer 4- and 2.5-hour maximum running times respectively. With the discount applied, the K60’s discounted price puts it within striking distance of some midrange robots, a price that merits consideration. While it’s an exceptional cleaner (given enough time in the water), its numerous quirks and foibles mean it’s ultimately an exercise in compromise that will require some serious thinking to justify buying. Read...

An OLED display, a speedy Snapdragon X Elite processor, and 32GB of RAM? That’s a fantastic recipe for a portable productivity machine with lots of battery life, and you can find it in this Asus Vivobook S 15 that’s only $900 at Best Buy right now with a stellar $500 discount. The Asus Vivobook S 15 is a superb daily driver laptop that’ll do a great job when you’re researching things online with a million tabs open, when you need to juggle a ton of apps for work, or when you simply want to chill out with Netflix or some other streaming service. Running on a Snapdragon X Elite CPU paired up with 32GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM, this is a laptop that doesn’t mess around when it comes to speed. It’s fitted with a 15.6-inch 2880×1620 OLED screen that’s perfect for vibrant colors and deep contrast, and the 120Hz refresh rate is great for smooth motion and some light gaming. There are loads of ports on this laptop, too, so you can hook it up to just about any accessory you need. It comes with a full-sized HDMI, two USB-C (USB4), and two high-speed USB-A 3.2 ports. It also has a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm audio jack. Between the Snapdragon processor and 75 watt-hour battery, this laptop delivers tons of battery life—up to 18 hours on a full charge. That processor also qualifies this as a Copilot+ laptop, so you get access to all the fun new AI features in Windows 11. It’s rounded out with a 1TB SSD that comes loaded with Windows 11 Home. When we reviewed the Asus Vivobook S 15, we loved the strong battery life. After running a 4K film on a loop, we got over 15 hours of playtime. The other performance bits are great, too. What are you waiting for? With a massive discount like this, you’ll want to jump on it soon before stock runs out. The Asus Vivobook S 15 is a steal for $900! Save $500 on this stellar OLED laptop with 32GB RAMBuy now at Best Buy Read...

The latest Firefox update brings the browser up to version 140 with various new features and improvements. For example, the internal translation feature is more resource-efficient and pinned tabs are more flexible. The developers have also fixed several security vulnerabilities. Firefox ESR and Tor Browser also received security updates. Mozilla plans to release versions Firefox 141 and Firefox ESR 140.1, ESR 128.13, and ESR 115.26 on July 22nd, 2025. What’s new in Firefox 140? Firefox’s local translation feature initially only translates content that’s currently visible in the browser window. Only when you scroll to previously unseen sections of a page will it then translate that content. This reduces resource consumption and improves performance. If you use the vertical tabs introduced with Firefox 136 in combination with pinned tabs, you can now keep more (or fewer) pinned tabs in view. All you have to do is move the separator line. Firefox now also supports even more search engines that you can add. To do this, right-click in the search field of a (supported) website and select “Add search engine” from the context menu. For Firefox users in the US on version 139 and higher, Mozilla added the AI-based search engine Perplexity to the standard selection in mid-June at the request of users. Security updates in Firefox 140 Mozilla’s 2025-51 Security Advisory shows 17 vulnerabilities fixed for Firefox 140. Mozilla categorizes one of the externally reported vulnerabilities as high risk. It’s a use-after-free vulnerability (CVE-2025-6424) in the FontFaceSet API. An attacker could exploit it by provoking a crash that would execute injected code. Five internally discovered vulnerabilities, summarized under CVE-2025-6436, are also considered high risk. All other vulnerabilities that Mozilla’s developers have fixed in Firefox 140 are categorized as medium or low risk. One of them, CVE-2025-6431, only affects Firefox for Android. Updates for Firefox ESR and Tor Browser Firefox 140 is the newest standard version for Firefox ESR. Firefox ESR 140 will initially be identical to the regular Firefox 140, but it will only receive security updates and important bug fixes, not new features. Mozilla will support Firefox ESR 128 and ESR 140 in parallel until August 19th, when this transition phase will end. Firefox ESR 115 is also planned to end support with the August update, unless Mozilla decides to extend the deadline again (to be announced in August). Mozilla has updated its long-term versions Firefox ESR 128 and ESR 115 and also fixed some vulnerabilities, namely the FontFaceSet flaw mentioned above. Five vulnerabilities have been fixed in Firefox ESR 128.12.0 and two in Firefox ESR 115.25.0. The updated Tor Browser 14.5.4 is based on Firefox ESR 128.12.0 and comes with the new NoScript version 13.0.8. The Tor developers state that they have also ported security fixes from Firefox 140. An update for Tor Browser 13.5 to version 13.5.19 is also available if you are using Windows 7 / 8.1 or macOS 10.12 to 10.14. Tor Browser 13.5.19 is based on Firefox ESR 115.25.0 and also includes NoScript 13.0.8. Read...

Google has released Chrome 138, the latest edition of the browser that fixes several vulnerabilities, now in versions 138.0.7204.49/50 for Windows and macOS and 138.0.7204.49 for Linux. According to Google, none of the vulnerabilities have been exploited in the wild yet. What’s new in Chrome 138? On the “What’s New” page in Chrome, Google advertises the ability to use tab groups on the go. With Chrome, you can now synchronize not only passwords but also tab groups between your desktop and mobile devices. Google is also raising awareness of Chrome’s ability to search, select, and copy text in scanned PDF documents, but Google doesn’t mention that this first requires text recognition (OCR) and whether this takes place locally or in the cloud. Meanwhile, Google is continuing to expand AI integration, but a Gemini subscription is required to use it. Several interfaces (APIs) enable access to AI functions: the Summarizer API summarizes longer texts, the Language Detector API determines which language the text is written in, and the Translator API translates the text into the target language. Chrome extensions can access AI models via the Prompt API. Security issues fixed in Chrome 138 In the Chrome Releases blog post, Srinivas Sista names three security vulnerabilities (of the 11 that have been fixed) that were discovered by external security researchers and reported to Google. Google classifies one of these vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-6555) as medium risk, which is a use-after-free vulnerability in the animation component. The other two vulnerabilities are only considered low risk. Google doesn’t comment in detail on the internally discovered vulnerabilities. As a rule, Chrome updates itself automatically when a new version is available. You can manually initiate the update check using the menu item Help > About Google Chrome (alternatively, Settings > About Google Chrome). Google has also released Chrome for Android 138.0.7204.45 and Chrome for iOS 138.0.7204.53. The same vulnerabilities have been fixed in the Android version as in the desktop versions. Google plans to release Chrome 139 at the end of July. Chrome 139 for Android will require at least Android 10. Chrome 138 is the last browser version that still runs on Android 8 (Oreo) and 9 (Pie). Other Chromium-based browsers The manufacturers of other Chromium-based browsers are now required to follow suit with their own updates. Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Vivaldi are currently at the security level prior to this Chrome update. All three will switch to Chromium 138 in the next step, including Vivaldi. However, Vivaldi is likely to take a little longer than Brave and Microsoft. Opera’s browser version 119 is still stuck with the outdated Chromium version 134, for which Google has not provided any updates since the end of April. In order to catch up with the others, Opera would have to take a big step as soon as possible and skip at least two, preferably three, Chromium generations. However, the current beta version Opera 120, which could soon be promoted to the stable channel, only contains Chromium 135 instead of 138. Read...

Beginning on June 30 of this year, residents in Georgia are going to lose access to the adult site Pornhub. Earlier this year the Georgia state legislature passed SB 351, which will require all public websites with “a substantial portion of material that is harmful to minors” to use an age-verification system—and porn sites fall under this category. The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, and Pornhub’s parent company Aylo will begin restricting access to its adult sites for residents in Georgia in protest on June 30, 2025. Aylo and other privacy advocates claim that these laws not only violate free speech, but will infringe on personal privacy protections. By forcing individuals to hand over personally identifiable information to third parties, it creates the potential for government overreach and data misuse. This is following a trend that has seen more than 19 states lose access to the incredibly popular NSFW site. Similar bans occurred throughout last year for residents in Texas and Florida, among others. Both Wyoming and South Dakota are also set to lose access beginning this July, with North Dakota following shortly thereafter. For legal-age Georgians looking to access the site, this is disruptive to say the least. Fortunately, there’s an easy workaround: using a VPN. Simply download and install your preferred VPN, connect to a server in a state that isn’t blocked, and enjoy the content. Below are my top picks for VPNs to access Pornhub (or other Aylo owned adult content) if you’re in Georgia where access will be blocked. And for even more great options, check out my list of the best VPNs overall. NordVPN – Best overall NordVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $3.39 at NordVPN (Monthly) NordVPN is my overall top pick for VPNs. It comes with a ton of great features including wide device support, ad- and tracker-blocking, and plenty of domestic and international servers—with coverage in most U.S. states. It also boasts the fastest connection speeds, meaning you won’t need to lower your video quality to a resolution that makes it look like the important bits are blurred on purpose. NordVPN has one of the widest platform support networks as well, so you’ll be able to view content no matter the device. ExpressVPN – Runner-up ExpressVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $4.99 at ExpressVPN ExpressVPN is a close second to NordVPN, only losing out due to the fact that it isn’t quite as fast and comes with a few less extra features. Those are just minor issues, though, and shouldn’t take away from ExpressVPN still being one of the best VPN services on the market. It also consistently has great speeds, so you can stream in HD to your heart’s content. Plus, it works with nearly every device and has one of the best user-privacy records around. Mullvad – Best for privacy Mullvad Read our review Depending on what you’re looking for from a VPN, Mullvad might actually be your best option. Not only is it in my top five services for overall speed, it’s among the best for privacy. Mullvad takes every effort to know as little about you as possible. The service won’t ask for an email address or name and you can even send cash payment if you prefer. Plus, it costs a mere $5 per month regardless of the plan you choose. Proton VPN – Best free VPN ProtonVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $9.99 at Proton VPN While I don’t usually recommend that anyone use a free VPN due to their proven security and privacy risks, Proton VPN is one of the exceptions. This service from the well-known Swiss-based Proton brand has a spotless track record for user privacy. It’s also ad-free. Just like all free VPNs, there are limitations, but thankfully Proton VPN keeps them relatively manageable. For no cost whatsoever you’ll get a one-device connection limit and access to five servers located in different countries around the world (including the U.S.). There are no speed or data limitations on these free servers either—something that’s not typical of other free VPNs. Read...

Ring is bringing generative AI to its family of home security cameras and video doorbells with a new feature called Video Descriptions. Once this feature is enabled, the motion alerts triggered by Ring cameras will be accompanied by an AI-generated analysis of the motion that triggered the camera to record. In a blog post earlier today, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff described how the push notifications Ring users receive on their smartphones when motion is detected will be enhanced with text descriptions of what that motion was. “This new generative AI feature,” Siminoff said, “helps you quickly distinguish between urgent and everyday activity with a quick glance at your phone.” Ring will use genereative AI to deliver descriptions of the events its security cameras and video doorbells capture on video.Ring Once you’ve enabled the feature, Ring’s notifications will be accompanied by text descriptions of what triggered the camera to record a clip, along with whatever action the people in the camera’s view are taking. Ring provided two examples: “A person is walking up the steps with a black dog,” and “Two people are peering into a white car in the driveway.” Siminoff says Ring “also designed the feature so the descriptions are intentionally concise, allowing you to quickly discern if something needs your attention.” Ring aims to increase its use of generative AI to add more features designed to improve your home security profile, such as intelligently combining multiple motion activities happening around your home into a single alert. Siminoff described another new feature in development—anomaly alerts—that are generated only when something that happens on your property is a deviation from the ordinary at your specific property. The AI will learn your home’s routines and alert you when something happens that doesn’t fit the usual pattern.   This news is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras. “We are just starting to scratch the surface of AI,” said Siminoff. “I feel like we are back to the very early days of Ring again—I see unlimited potential for new experiences we can invent for our neighbors.” Ring says Video Descriptions will be to roll out in beta today, but you’ll need to have an active Ring Home Premium subscription to receive them. Ring Home Premium plans cost $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year. Professional monitoring of a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro home security system costs an additional $10 per month. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Very fast over USB 3.2×2 Tiny, light, and IP65-rated Good looking Relatively affordable Cons Opts for 20Gbps USB 3.2×2 instead of USB4 Slows dramatically off secondary cache Our Verdict We applaud the tiny form-factor, light weight, and performance of the Crucial X10, and we love that it offers up to 8TB of capacity. It’s also reasonably priced given the speed and capacity. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Crucial X10 USB SSD Retailer Price $99.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Crucial’s X10 Pro was one of the most impressively small and fast USB SSDs I’ve tested. The new X10 that I review here is cheaper, almost as fast, and is available at up to twice the Pro’s 4TB maximum capacity. Yup, 8TB in same tiny form-factor. Color me doubly impressed. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best external drives for comparison. What are the Crucial X10’s features? The Crucial X10 is a bluish gray USB 3.2×2, 20Gbps SSD that easily fits into the palm of your hand. Indeed, it measures a mere 2.5-inches long, 2-inches wide and a half-an-inch thick. There’s a lanyard hole on one end, and a Type-C connector on the other. The 2TB version of the X10 that Crucial sent me weighs only 1.4 ounces and I wouldn’t expect the higher capacities to weigh much more. NAND isn’t that heavy. That feather-light feel belies the drive’s IP65 rating. That rating means the X10 is dust-proof and can stand up to a little bit of rain or sprinkler spray. If you are not familiar with the ingress protection rating system, you can read up on it here. Crucial wasn’t forthcoming about the controller inside. However, from the performance when the drive runs out of secondary cache, it’s obvious that the NAND is QLC. Given that it’s available in capacities up to 8TB, it’s also obvious that it’s layered/stacked/3-D NAND. I have two minor gripes about the X10. First off, it’s USB 3.2×2 instead of the far more compatible USB4. In other words, it generally will function at half-speed 10Gbps on USB4 and Thunderbolt ports, and 20Gbps only on the rarer USB3.2×2 port. Then there’s something I don’t often complain about… But, geez Louise, the drive comes sitting in a plastic tray, enclosed in a plastic bag, followed with an adhesive plastic protective sheet? I know this is tech — an ecological nightmare to begin with — but do we really need to squander resources and litter the planet with useless plastic simply to mollify overly picky customers? How much does the Crucial X10 cost? Crucial sells the X10 in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, and 8TB capacities for $140, $250, $396, $559, and $780 respectively. At least that’s what we saw for retail pricing on Amazon at the time of this writing. Those prices are roughly on par, if not a little lower than those of competing 20Gbps external SSDs. These were the prices at the time this review was written. However, as you can see above, the 1TB drive was on sale for $100, and the 8TB model for a paltry $440. That makes the 8TB model a steal, and the 6TB model a very bad deal. How fast is the Crucial X10? If not for a comparatively weak performance in our 450GB write, the new X10 would likely have ranked almost as high as the older X10 Pro. As it stands, it’s still the 8th fastest out of 18 20Gbps SSDs I’ve tested and the 24th fastest out of 58 external SSDs of all types. Sequential performance under CrystalDiskMark 8 was neck and neck between the new X10 and the older X10 Pro. The newer drive took two wins and the older one the other two. Performance-wise the X10 is about as good as it gets with normal amounts of data. Sequential performance under CrystalDiskMark 8 was neck and neck between the new X10 and the older X10 Pro. The newer drive took two wins and the older one the other two. Random performance from the new X10 was a bit weaker than that of the older X10 Pro, but still very good for an external SSD. Random performance from the new X10 was a bit weaker than from the old X10 Pro. The X10 was aces in our 48GB copies. Shaving 24 seconds off of its predecessor’s very good performance. The X10 was aces in our 48GB copies. The main reason the new X10 ranked lower than the X10 Pro is shown below — a relatively slow 450GB write time. However… A relatively slow 450GB write time ranked the X10 far below its predecessor in this test. …there’s a caveat to that. Look below and you’ll see that the X10 was doing quite well until the 85 percent mark when it dropped to its native write rate of around 200MBps (occasionally fluctuating up to nearly 500MBps). Proof positive that this is a QLC NAND SSD. The 4TB, 6TB, or 8TB versions of the X10 would’ve aced this test due to more plentiful secondary cache. Bear in mind that this is a stress test, and that most users will never write this amount of contiguous data. The X10 is speedy until it runs out of secondary cache. Performance-wise the X10 is about as good as it gets with normal amounts of data. Just be aware that the slow native write rate will kick in if you exceed the relatively generous amount of secondary cache. Don’t do that. Should you buy the Crucial X10? To this question I say yea. (Yea, as in not nay.) If you are looking for an SSD that is tiny, fast, rugged, weatherproof, capacious, and fairly affordable, it simply doesn’t get any better than the X10. Unless of course you regularly write huge amounts of data. Then opt for the X10 Pro. Read...

If you’re still using an older model monitor, it’s high time you upgrade because 1080p just doesn’t cut it anymore. Especially not when you can get this 27-inch Samsung 4K monitor for a mere $235, which is a whopping 48% off its original $450 price. At 27 inches, Samsung’s ViewFinity S8 monitor is sized just right for the usual home office—not too large to hurt your neck, not too small to feel cramped. You can also easily put two of these next to each other on your desk to create a massive workspace in 4K without paying over $1,000 like you would with an ultrawide option. With its 3940×2160 resolution and IPS panel, you’ll enjoy crisp 4K visuals that are color accurate, with a wide viewing angle and overall great image quality. It’s not the best choice for gaming with its 60Hz refresh rate, unless you’re okay with low-capped frame rates. Otherwise, it’s great for office work, creative work, and general leisure. The ViewFinity S8 monitor features a USB-C port with 90W of power delivery, so it’s great to use with a laptop. That same USB-C port serves triple duty, also handling the video output to the monitor itself, plus also able to handle data transfer needs. There are other USB ports available too, plus HDMI and DisplayPort, as well as an audio jack. It’s a fantastic monitor for everyday use, and it’s currently available at a fantastic price. Get it now for just $235 while this limited-time deal lasts on Amazon! This is the lowest price it’s ever been, after all. Samsung`s 27-inch 4K monitor has never been cheaperBuy now at Amazon Read...

Come October 14th, Microsoft is officially ending support for Windows 10. That means no more new features or improvements, no more security fixes (though you can extend those another year by using Microsoft services), and the gradual loss of apps as they also stop supporting Windows 10. Microsoft wants you to upgrade to Windows 11—and if your PC doesn’t meet the requirements, then Microsoft wants you to trade it in or recycle it and get a brand-new Windows 11 machine. But maybe you don’t have the money for that. Or maybe you’re repelled by Windows 11. Or maybe you just don’t want to waste a perfectly good PC that still works fine. In that case, you might be interested in KDE’s latest campaign that encourages Windows 10 holdouts to try switching to Linux with the user-friendly Plasma Desktop (spotted by Windows Latest). The campaign is called KDE for Windows 10 Exiles, which highlights the fact that while many older PCs can’t be upgraded to Windows 11, there’s no need to create unnecessary e-waste. The smarter and more eco-friendly move is to switch to Linux—and KDE is, of course, flying the flag for its own Plasma solution. Plasma Desktop is a free, simple, and easy-to-use desktop environment that’s meant to be an accessible Windows alternative. It includes an app launcher, system tray, notifications, and software repositories, plus lots of customization options to make it as comfortable as you like. Plasma isn’t itself a Linux distribution. It’s a user interface for the OS that works with most popular KDE-compatible Linux distributions, including OpenSUSE, Fedora, Manjaro, and Kubuntu. If you don’t want to give up your machine and want to try switching to Linux, consider installing OpenSUSE with Plasma. The OpenSUSE Installation Quick Start Guide walks you through the process. Otherwise, learn more about how to save your Windows 10 PC after end of life. Read...