Nearly five years after discontinuing its Harmony brand of universal remote controls, Logitech is chopping support for the older remotes in the line.  More than two dozen first-generation Harmony remotes are slated to lose support, including the Harmony 670, 720, 880 and 880 Pro, 1100i, and the Harmony for Xbox 360.  Such newer Harmony remotes as the Harmony One, Harmony Elite, and the Harmony Companion aren’t on the list. But the news that Logitech is dropping support for first-generation Harmony remotes begs the question of how much longer other Harmony devices will remain supported. We’ve reached out to Logitech for comment.  The “Harmony Remote Discontinuation Notice” pops up when you open the legacy Logitech Harmony Remote Software, which allows you to reprogram the remote’s buttons as well as configure it to work with different makes and models of TVs, A/V receivers, DVD and Blu-ray players, game consoles, and other home theater components.  “After careful consideration, and more than 10 years of dedicated support, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue support for our Harmony First Generation Remote devices,” the notice reads. “As technology continues to evolve, we recognize the challenges in maintaining our services to the standards we strive for.”  While the affected Harmony remotes will still work, users won’t be able to change the behavior of the buttons anymore, nor will they be able to add or remove devices or activities (that is, a sequence of actions that might turn on your TV and Blu-ray player while setting them to the correct inputs and outputs).  Newer Harmony remotes “will continue to be supported” via the MyHarmony website or the Harmony app, Logitech added. Logitech, which acquired the Harmony brand back in 2004, announced in April 2021 that it was discontinuing the line of universal remotes.  At the time, Logitech said it would “support our Harmony community” with “access to our software and apps to set up and manage your devices,” for “as long as customers are using [them].”  Logitech added that it would “continue to update the [Harmony] platform and add devices to our Harmony database.”   Home theater aficionados prize their Harmony remotes for their ability to control multiple A/V devices with a single controller, perfect for clearing a jumble of remotes from their coffee tables.  But while the Harmony fan base is devoted, it’s also small—too small for Logitech, which stopped making new Harmony remotes in 2021.   Former Logitech CEO Bracken Darrel called Harmony a “small business” in a 2019 interview, noting that “over time, you’ll have fewer and fewer people who feel like they need that universal remote” given the increasingly powerful remotes that ship with newer smart TVs.  Here’s the complete list of Harmony remotes that are losing online support: Harmony 510 Harmony 515 Harmony 520 Harmony 522 Harmony 525 Harmony 550 Harmony 555 Harmony 610 Harmony 620 Harmony 628 Harmony 655 Harmony 659 Harmony 670 Harmony 675 Harmony 676 Harmony 680 Harmony 688 Harmony 720 Harmony 745 Harmony 748 Harmony 768 Harmony 785 Harmony 880 Harmony 880 Pro Harmony 882 Harmony 885 Harmony 890 Harmony 890 Pro Harmony 892 Harmony 895 Harmony 897 Harmony 900 Harmony 1000 Harmony 1000i Harmony 1100 Harmony 1100i Harmony for Xbox 360 Read...

The Eden Park Trust says there are already moves to get a business case in front of the government. Read...

I’ve been using Windows for as long as I can remember. It was on the very first PC I recall using, literally on my father’s knee. But I don’t need it anymore. That’s a weird thing to say as a writer for a site named PCWorld. But it’s been a long time coming, a slow mix of broad tech trends, feeling betrayed by multiple brands, and a little bit of intention on my part.  To be clear, I still use Windows. It’s what I’m using right now to type this, on a beefy gaming desktop I assembled myself, with triple monitors and all sorts of googaws attached. But I don’t need all that anymore, and for the first time in my adult life, I can see myself transitioning to an entirely different operating system.  That’s a big deal for me, and I suspect I’m far from alone. Microsoft might want to make a note of it.  Why I don’t need Windows So here’s what I mean when I say that I don’t need Windows anymore: Every tool, program, and piece of information I rely upon is now essentially separate from whatever machine I’m using at the moment. I’m writing the words you’re reading right now in Google Docs. When I’m done, I’ll edit them in WordPress. Throughout my work day I’m talking with my coworkers and bosses on Slack, I’m chatting with my friends via text, WhatsApp, and some other platforms. I’m managing my own to-do list in Google Keep, updating my work tasks in a tool called Monday, and checking personal and professional email in Gmail and Outlook, respectively. I’m keeping an eye on news and social trends in BlueSky and The Old Reader for RSS.  I still use local files, of course. But they’re all backed up weekly via Backblaze and accessible wherever I go, with whatever hardware I have to hand. Most of the time I don’t even need that. Aside from installed game files, the odd business/tax document, and a huge library of photos, both my own and my family’s, I barely even think about the storage on my PC.  Michael Crider/Foundry Here’s a screenshot of my main Windows taskbar: Vivaldi, Gmail, Outlook, the PCWorld logo for WordPress, a certain green “P” I’ll address shortly, Slack, Explorer, Monday, Google Keep, Google Docs, YouTube. If you haven’t spotted the common thread here: every single one of these experiences is either a web tool or has a web interface. I use my favorite browser, Vivaldi, to access almost all of them, usually in a progressive web app (PWA) or merely a shortcut wrapper without a full browser interface. It’s one of my most essential features of modern browsers, allowing me to separate these tools more easily and focus on them when I need to.  Every one of them is accessible on the web, and on other platforms. I can use all of them on a tablet or even my phone, and most of the time not lose any functionality. In fact even though I work from home, I access a lot of that on my phone during the day, on the same platforms. At this point Windows is basically just a means for accessing the web in a comfortable way, on expensive hardware I’m familiar with. I think a lot of users feel the same way, especially younger folks who grew up post-iPhone. Further reading: The best Chromebooks we’ve tested Photoshop was the last holdout The very last domino to fall in this chain was image editing. I’ve been using Photoshop for over 20 years. Since I learned it in a high school media class, it’s been incredibly difficult to break myself of the reliance on it for creating article header images or editing review photos. Not that I didn’t want to — I’ve had a chip on my shoulder for Adobe for almost as long, especially after it transitioned its extremely expensive Creative Suite software to an even more expensive Creative Cloud subscription setup. It reeked of “you’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.”  I liked owning Photoshop, and I was not and am not happy that the option was taken away. Until a few weeks ago I was still keeping an ancient copy of Creative Suite 6 from 2012 (the last time it was offered as a real purchase) alive and kicking. I’ve tried alternatives many times, including the tastelessly-titled GIMP, Affinity Photo, and Pixlr X. All are pretty good tools, but to my shame, I kept crawling back to the familiarity of Photoshop.  Foundry My memory, both conventional and muscle, made it difficult to use any of these programs, even though each one of them covers the vast majority of Photoshop’s core functions. I’ve spent years of my life using Photoshop, a few of them using it for up to eight hours a day in a print shop. It’s a hard experience for me to quantify if you’re not married to a piece of software like that — imagine it as the feeling you get from wearing someone else’s prescription glasses. It’s that kind of functional discomfort.  I’m fairly certain Adobe banks on this, and that’s why you can access Photoshop and other programs at a huge discount if you’re a student or otherwise working at a school. To paraphrase Aristotle, “Give me a high-schooler until they are 17, and I will show you the foundations of a life-long subscription customer.”  But after a long-overdue Windows reinstallation, I decided to forego the hassle of getting my trusty, rusty copy of CS6 operational. Instead I tried out Photopea, an online raster image editor with a shameless and wonderful clone of the Photoshop interface.  Attack of the Clones I’ve tried Photopea a few times before, with this exact aim in mind. And I couldn’t quite get it to stick. To be honest I can’t recall if it was a lack of performance in the tool, or simply that it wasn’t as capable as CS6 even over a decade later. But whichever part of the equation has changed — the performance in a modern browser on a powerful desktop, the server-side performance, or the image editing options being improved — it just clicked.  Now I’m using Photopea (pronounced “photo-pee” if you’re wondering, but the creators don’t really care) in place of Photoshop for all my work purposes. I don’t even have the latter installed, though I still have my copy just in case. I’m paying $5 a month for the ad-free version of Photopea, which still rankles my “just let me buy it” heart a bit. But the fact that it’s completely free with ads, not to mention far, far cheaper than an Adobe subscription even if you banish them, is a balm to my skinflint soul.  Photopea’s interface apes Photoshop closely enough that I can use it without problems. And yes, I used it to edit this story’s header image, and even this screenshot. Photopea And after all, Photopea is a web tool hosted on a server — it at least has a basic justification for charging a subscription. Nothing stops Adobe from selling a stand-alone, non-subscription version of Photoshop. Except greed. Photopea is a clone of Photoshop, not a perfect replacement. There are things it can’t do, notably load up custom fonts without a lot of extra steps, that would make it unsuitable if I were still doing graphics full time. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not quite as good at it as I used to be with Photoshop. Some of the effects I’d throw together with ease just don’t look as good. That could be equal parts my own unfamiliarity with the deeper tools and the web-based program’s lack of Photoshop’s most powerful, deeply buried options. Maybe I’ll get back to my old expertise in time. But I’m not a graphic designer anymore. I’m a keyboard jockey who needs a lot of cropping for PR images, a bit of background work, clone-stamp and color adjustments for original photos, that sort of thing. And I can do all that, without sacrificing speed or most capability, and without local software. I can do it on any machine, from a laptop or a tablet or even my phone in a pinch (with a mouse and keyboard), and I can log in on all of those to get access to it ad-free.  Samsung Oh, and even if you prefer to pay Adobe’s exorbitant prices, you might still not need a local installation of the program. Photoshop has an online version now, very similar to Photopea, included with the subscription. Everything I need to do my job, and most of whatever else I want, is completely divorced from Windows. Or if not divorced, then at least amicably separated. I realize that a lot of people got to this place before I did, people younger than me, older than me, both more tech-savvy and less. But it still feels like a personal milestone. Gaming still lives on Windows…for now I’m still using Windows 11, warts and all, even while I moan about ever-encroaching advertising in allegedly premium software, not to mention the hard upsell for “AI” tools I don’t want. These are where Microsoft is hoping to get that real (read: recurring) money out of me, and where I refuse to let it go. But Windows is still my personal and professional home, even as I increasingly “live” on my phone, just like everyone else.  Gaming is a big part of this. I own a Switch and a PS5 and a nice tablet and a few other wingdings for games — over a recent vacation I even played through Skies of Arcadia to the end on an Android emulator. But PC gaming is where I really sink my teeth into the medium, and that’s unlikely to change. Not just because I like building desktop PCs (again, check the name of the site up top!), but because Steam is my primary means of acquiring and playing games.  Lenovo/Valve And even that is not a sacred cow I’m unwilling to eat. Valve is making Steam its own OS, spreading into hardware from partners like Lenovo and Asus, and I think it has a legitimate shot at dethroning Windows as the home of PC gaming. To say nothing of trends that let you access your games anywhere, including Nvidia’s cloud-powered GeForce Now (which plays my Steam games!) and Microsoft’s own Xbox Game Pass streaming. I’ve used both of them on the go, enjoyably if far less smoothly than on my fancy-pants desktop at home, and been keenly aware of their platform-agnostic nature.  I played the PC version of Fortnite, complete with mouse and keyboard, by using my Samsung phone’s DeX desktop mode, a USB-C monitor, and GeForce Now. Hey, at least one tiny sliver of the future doesn’t suck.   A new world of options This newfound freedom is liberating, if only in a consumer sense. For the first time I can seriously consider a Mac or a Chromebook laptop, safe in the knowledge that everything I need will be accessible with barely even an adjustment to my routine. An iPad Pro, while not my first choice, would probably be doable. I could even see myself trying out Linux on the desktop, though I confess I’d probably keep it dual-booting at first. And maybe using SteamOS or a derivative like Bazzite, just to satiate my degenerate gaming needs.  I don’t need Windows anymore. There’s a pretty good chance you don’t, either, or at least that it’s easier than ever to work around it. I think you should keep it in mind…especially if you’re a Microsoft executive who wants me to buy a new laptop. Read...

Microsoft is currently testing a pair of new apps — including one that the company previously decided to stop using due to a lack of interest. The two new apps are People and File Search. If “People” rings a bell, it should: People is a decades-old app that Microsoft originally launched for Windows 8, then gave up on. Now, it’s back. Though the new apps appear in Windows, they’re only available for those who also have Microsoft 365 applications installed, such as the Word/Excel/PowerPoint trifecta that accompanies a Microsoft 365 subscription. Right now, Microsoft is testing the new apps as part of the Microsoft 365 Insider program, and for those who have signed up for the Business or Enterprise license. In a blog post describing the new apps, Microsoft calls these “mini-apps,” which may be just an incidental descriptive term or may signal a new wave of smaller, lightweight applications or widgets. “You’ll recognize familiar flows in these apps, but in a lightning-fast and streamlined format,” Microsoft’s Shilpa Patel wrote. “Plus, you can pin both apps to your taskbar so you always know where to access them, no matter how busy your workspace gets.” Both of these applications appear to be twists on existing functionality within Windows and Microsoft 365. Microsoft’s existing Office application, for example, includes a list of files that you’ve worked on and has been shared with you. The new File Search app also focuses exclusively on your Microsoft 365 files, but with various filters to narrow it down, plus the ability to search by contents. It might not be quite the semantic search that Microsoft is readying for Windows, but it sounds similar. Microsoft File Search in action.Microsoft Microsoft says that you can use File Search to preview a document, and then share it. That’s a feature that you should be able to do via other means as well, such as right-clicking the file in File Explorer. People, back from the dead People has also been a function that we’ve seen surface repeatedly in the Microsoft ecosystem. Originally, Microsoft developed it as a standalone Windows app for Windows 8, believing that people needed a contact list to store email addresses, phone numbers, and so on. Then there was Windows 10, and the People app that sat alongside Windows Mail and the Calendar app, too. Microsoft then planned to include a “My People” app in 2016’s Windows 10 Creators Update, killed it, then brought it back in 2017, where I talked more about People at length. People was predicated on the thought that you’d want access to five or so friends in your taskbar, where you could send “shoulder taps” and essentially wave hello with little pop-out emoji from the Taskbar. As it turned out, basically no one (even my colleagues, who I asked to help test) wanted to be part of People, and Microsoft said it would kill off My People in 2019. The new version of Microsoft People allows you to hunt down a colleague in the org chart.Microsoft In the meantime, however, Microsoft was moving more purposefully into business. For a time, Outlook became a hub of business activity, where you could track your contacts and calendars. Over time, that evolved into the need to discover where you fit on the “org chart,” and what colleagues could be used as a source of information for collaboration or just a question. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams became an avenue for business collaboration. It’s that angle that Microsoft’s latest revision of the People app addresses. Again, People presents a list of colleagues, who can be clicked on for more information or just to find out what their responsibilities are. You can also search by job title or department. People’s real purpose is to message colleagues via Teams.Microsoft However, People is designed to be able to select a coworker and to then send them a quick Teams message. The idea is that you’ll prefer to do this from your Taskbar instead of navigating to another dedicated app…like Teams. Will these new mini-apps take off, or will People’s 2025 update fizzle like it did before? History isn’t optimistic. Read...

Two of the most privacy-forward online services are partnering up to help users break free of the hold Big Tech has on your data. Vivaldi and Proton VPN have announced a partnership that will see the ultra-popular VPN integrated directly into the Vivaldi desktop browser. Best Free VPN ProtonVPN Read our review Now, when users open up Vivaldi and log in, they’ll have full access to Proton VPN’s free VPN right in the browser. Proton VPN is our favorite free VPN for a reason: offering access to five servers located across the world with no data limits or speed restrictions. Oh, and it’s completely ad-free. This team-up aims to help internet users take back privacy and control over their digital lives. Vivaldi’s highly-customizable browser provides power and versatility that many other browsers lack. Proton VPN on the other hand, offers exceptional privacy protections, keeping user data secure and hidden from prying eyes. It marks a broader shift away from U.S.-based Big Tech and toward more independent, ethical alternatives. Both Vivaldi and Proton VPN are proud European services that are stepping up to challenge the status-quo; what many see as an undesirable surveillance business model. Tatsuki Tomita, Vivaldi’s COO and Co-founder said, “Proton and Vivaldi demonstrate that powerful products don’t require compromising user privacy. Our partnership represents a principled alternative to big tech, one where your data remains yours, not a commodity to be sold. We believe private and secure browsing isn’t a luxury but a fundamental right for everyone. Together, we’re creating solutions that prioritize users above all else, uphold higher ethical standards, and empower people to break free from tech giants who don’t share these values.” Access to Proton VPN through Vivaldi is now available with the latest version of the desktop browser. Read...

Microsoft may be readying a new wave of smaller Surfaces to launch at or soon after Microsoft’s 50th anniversary next month, according to a report. Windows Central reported earlier this year that Microsoft is prepping a smaller version of Surface Pro tablet and Surface Laptop. Certifications for what could be those devices have popped up in China, indicating that they could be nearing production, the site reported. The new versions would have displays of about 12 inches, the site said. Currently, the Surface Pro 11th Edition boasts a 13-inch display, while the current Surface Laptop 7th Edition is available in both 13.8-inch and 15-inch sizes. Adding a 12-inch screen to the lineup would offer a third option, the first time Microsoft has ever presented three different screen-size Laptop options from which to choose. Windows Central suggests that the new Surface Laptop could be a replacement for the Surface Laptop Go, which sounds like a good guess. Microsoft, of course, hasn’t confirmed that new Surface hardware is planned. Nor has it confirmed whether these new Surfaces would be offered to businesses, either. For now, however, Microsoft seems committed to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X platform for its consumer devices, while offering traditional X86 processors from Intel for its more risk-averse business customers. That seems likely to continue. However, smaller Surfaces probably do not mean updated hardware. Qualcomm showed off its second-generation Oryon CPU core late last year, which the company says can outperform Intel’s Lunar Lake chip under smartphone power levels. Smaller laptops and tablets typically mean less powerful hardware, however, so Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus would seem to be a likelier candidate. In any event, Microsoft celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 4, when the company is expected to reflect on its past and project into the future — which should be heavily based upon AI. Will it announce new Surfaces then, too? We’ll have to wait and see. Read...

If you live in a more populated area, you likely check your doors before bed to make sure they’re locked. The same idea is worthwhile to apply to your vital online accounts, too—verifying that they’re secure. In that vein, a periodic review of devices logged into your Google account is a good idea. If someone’s stolen your password, you should be aware of that unauthorized access to all your email, photos, videos, and other files. A hacker isn’t the only person to be worried about, either. A romantic partner, roommate, family member, or friend could decide to spy on you, too. You should be sure that only the right people have access. To see which devices are logged into your Google account, you can use either on a PC or your phone. If you spot any intruders, remove them—and then also change your password to prevent future unauthorized logins. On a PC The fast way to check is to head directly to google.com/devices. Otherwise you can go the manual route: Open a page for a Google service (search, Gmail, etc) Click your profile icon at the top right of a browser window Choose Manage your Google Account Click Security on the left side of the page Scroll down to Your devices Click on Manage all devices Look over the list of devices logged into your accounts. For any you don’t recognize, click on them, and then choose Sign out button in the top section of this info screen. PCWorld In the Google app On either Android or iOS, open the Google app Click your profile icon at the top right Choose Manage your Google Account Choose Security from the tabs along the top Scroll down to Your devices Tap on Manage all devices Check through the devices logged into your account. If one looks unfamiliar, tap on it for more details. To boot it from access, tap the Sign out button under the device’s information. (It’s toward the top.) Declutter your linked apps and services, too For a Google account, your biggest concern about unauthorized access should be unfamiliar devices logged in. But you should be cautious about third-party services linked to your Google account, too.  Defunct or abandoned third-party apps and services could get taken over by hackers, who can then abuse the permissions you may have granted those other accounts. Or, on the flip side, hackers can take over abandoned Google accounts (like say, for a shuttered business) and reactivate them to gain access to linked third-party apps and services. Either way, cleaning house helps reduce this risk—you can read how in our quick guide for how to wipe those forgotten apps linked to your Google account. Further reading: If you don’t use these PC security essentials, you’re begging to be hacked Read...

You don’t need a satellite dish to watch DirecTV anymore, but before you sign up for a DirecTV streaming plan, make sure you pick the right one. DirecTV offers two streaming services today, one called DirecTV Stream and the other called DirecTV via Internet. They have nearly identical branding and many of the same channel packages, but they’re different in several important ways. The short version: If you want to avoid sneaky fees and long-term contracts, sign up for DirecTV Stream. But if you’re after a more traditional pay TV service with lower up-front costs, DirecTV via Internet might be worth a look. Let’s break down those differences in more detail: Channel lineups are the same, but prices vary If you’re looking for a big bundle of pay TV channels, DirecTV via Internet and DirecTV Stream offer the exact same channel lineups: Entertainment includes local stations, cable news, national sports channels, and entertainment channels. The total, non-promotional price is $87 per month with DirecTV Stream and $90 per month for two years with DirecTV via Internet. Choice adds more sports channels and regional sports networks. The total, non-promotional price is $115 per month with DirecTV Stream and up to $123 per month for two years with DirecTV via Internet (with a $10-per-month discount for new subscribers). Ultimate adds more sports and movie channels. The total, non-promotional price is $130 per month with DirecTV Stream and starts at $153 per month for two years with DirecTV via Internet (with a $10-per-month discount for new subscribers). Premier adds premium networks such as Max and Starz. The total, non-promotional price is $170 per month with DirecTV Stream and starts at $198 per month with DirecTV via Internet (with a $10-per-month discount for new subscribers). For an in-depth comparison of the two services’ channel lineups, consult these PDFs for DirecTV Stream and DirecTV via Internet. DirecTV via Internet has long-term contracts with early termination fees Beware the fine print.Jared Newman / Foundry If you take only one thing away from this article, it’s that DirecTV via Internet has contracts, while DirecTV Stream does not. Read the fine print on DirecTV’s plan selection page, and you’ll see that the advertised price requires a 24-month commitment. Cancelling early invokes an early termination fee of $20 for each month left on your contract, up to $480 in total. By contrast, DirecTV Stream allows you to cancel anytime without penalty, the flip side being that prices aren’t locked in, so they can increase at any time. DirecTV via Internet has extra fees DirecTV via Internet has a couple of notable fees: Advanced Receiver Service: This mandatory $15-per-month fee covers the cost of a DirecTV set-top box for a single TV. Each additional box costs $7 per month, although you can use DirecTV’s streaming apps on third-party set-top boxes like Roku at no extra charge. Regional sports fees: These vary by market but can cost up to $18 per month. With DirecTV Stream, the advertised price is what you get, with no additional fees for equipment or regional sports channels–albeit with no guarantee that prices won’t go up in the next two years. Only DirecTV Stream has cheaper “Genre Packs” DirecTV DirecTV Stream now offers a handful of cheaper TV bundles that are focused on specific genres: MyEntertainment ($35 per month) includes a broad mix of entertainment channels and cable news, but no local or sports channels. Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) are also included, and Max will be added soon at no extra charge. Notable channels include HGTV, History, Discovery, and Bravo. MyNews ($40 per month) has the big three major cable news networks along with local NBC and Fox stations, plus CNBC, CNBC World, Fox Business, CNN International, i24, and Newsmax. MySports ($70 per month) has local ABC, Fox, and NBC channels, plus ESPN channels, Fox Sports channels, Turner channels (TNT, TBS, TruTV), all four league-specific channels, and USA, along with cable news. ESPN+ is included as well. MiEspañol ($35 per month) includes Univision, Telemundo, and dozens of other Spanish-language channels. DirecTV Stream’s bundle picker page has a full channel list for each genre pack, along with some optional add-ons. As of now, these cheaper genre packs aren’t available with DirecTV via Internet. DirecTV via Internet includes a streaming dongle, DirecTV Stream is bring-your-own DirecTV’s Gemini Air dongle and remote provides a more traditional TV experience.DirecTV So far, DirecTV via Internet doesn’t seem to have much going for it. Compared to DirecTV Stream, the service is more expensive, it locks you into a long-term contract, and you can’t take advantage of DirecTV’s more flexible genre packs. The one advantage DirecTV via Internet has is its Gemini Air streaming dongle that you’ll plug into your TV’s HDMI port. It closely mimics the cable TV experience, jumping right into live TV when you turn it on, and its remote is loaded with shortcuts for things like recording, channel-flipping, and the grid guide. It even includes number keys for jumping to your favorite channels. The dongle provides access to streaming apps such as Netflix and Hulu as well. With DirecTV Stream, you supply the hardware. DirecTV offers apps for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV/Google TV, Samsung TVs, iOS, and Android (there is currently no DirecTV Stream app for LG’s WebOS). It also works on the web and supports casting via Google Cast. On these devices, DirecTV Stream will behave like any other streaming app that you’d launch from the home screen. The DirecTV app is available for most streaming devices and works with either DirecTV via Internet or DirecTV Stream.DirecTV Can you buy a Gemini Air box to use with DirecTV Stream? Officially, no. But it is available from SolidSignal for $220, and many eBay sellers offer it for less. Once installed, it will work the same way with DirecTV Stream as it does with DirecTV via Internet, and you can still use it with other streaming apps if you cancel service. Still, the set-top box does represent an additional up-front expense with DirecTV Stream, whereas with DirecTV via Internet it’s rolled into your monthly bill. Depending on your choice of channel package and your level of commitment to DirecTV, you might come out ahead choosing DirecTV via Internet instead of DirecTV Stream. What about satellite? DirecTV still offers satellite service for new subscribers. The costs are mostly the same as DirecTV via Internet, and new subscribers get a Gemini box that’s similar to the Gemini Air model for internet customers. The only notable difference—aside from the delivery mechanism and the need to install a satellite dish—is that DirecTV via Satellite allows you to opt out of local channels for a $12-per-month discount. Which DirecTV should you choose? Most folks who are considering DirecTV should opt for DirecTV Stream. It’s cheaper in most cases, offers more flexible channel packages, and it doesn’t lock you into a long-term commitment. DirecTV via Internet is only worth considering if you don’t plan to change your TV habits for the next couple of years and want to use DirecTV’s own streaming dongle to access the service. Even then, you may still come out ahead choosing DirecTV Stream and buying a Gemini dongle on your own. Of course, there are lots of other ways to get TV these days. Check out our guide to the best live TV streaming services, or consider going bundle-free to maximize your savings. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice. Read...

Some European cloud companies have seen an increase in business. Read...

Lenovo has launched the Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA, aiming to enhance enterprise productivity and streamline AI integration across various business operations. Read...