The government is creating a buffer zone around polling stations where free food, drink and entertainment is banned. Read...

World Wrestling Entertainment has paid tribute to the iconic face who helped turn pro-wrestling into billion-dollar spectacle. Read...

From pivots to presidential blunders, here`s the series you need to watch before you die. Read...

If you’re old enough to remember the original, brick-like Game Boy, you’ll want to check out LEGO’s newest play for adult brickheads. The officially licensed Game Boy building set comes with 421 pieces, including two cartridges for Zelda and Mario games. While you can’t actually play them, you can swap out the simulated screens to match. At 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9 centimeters, for those who live in civilized countries), the set is a near-perfect match for the original handheld from 1989, though the real thing is ever-so-slightly taller. The set includes a display stand for both the main body itself and the Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Super Mario Land cartridges. You get a choice of three swappable screens with lenticular black-and-white screenshots of the games or the boot screen, which simulate a bit of screen motion based on how you look at them. LEGO Check out the serial number on the back of the battery bay. The Game Boy was first released in Japan on April 21st, 1989. Considering that it’s a relatively small set, it’s impressive how faithfully the original hardware has been reproduced — even the slanted Start and Select buttons are accounted for with some clever use of ramped pieces. And at $60, it’s surprisingly cheap for a licensed Nintendo set. The far larger and more complex LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System, over 2500 pieces, cost $230 when it debuted in 2020. LEGO is currently making a big play for nostalgia sets for adult builders. In addition to the Game Boy and NES, there’s an officially licensed Atari 2600, a Pac-Man arcade cabinet, and 80s cartoon staples like Transformers and Voltron. The new Game Boy set is up for pre-order now, shipping in October. Read...

WiZ has launched the HDMI Sync Box with TV Backlight, alongside the new Gradient Light Bars and Gradient Floor Light enhancing entertainment with vibrant, real-time lighting effects. Read...

Microsoft said today that it’s shutting down its Movies & TV storefront on Windows and Xbox, though you’ll still be able to play the movies and TV shows you’ve previously purchased. Microsoft’s newly published support document (found by Windows Central) is significant in that Microsoft is no longer selling video content via the Microsoft Store. It follows Microsoft’s decision to stop selling music as part of its Groove Music services, which was shuttered in 2017. But Microsoft’s decision to stop providing movies and TV shows to rent or buy probably should be met with a shrug. Several streaming movie services already show movies just weeks after they’re released in the box office, with rumors that the recent Superman release might be opened to streaming services just 45 days after first appearing in movie theaters. Microsoft doesn’t offer a streaming service; instead, it provides direct sales and rentals to consumers. Plenty of services already do that. So what will happen to movies and TV shows that you’ve already purchased? For now, they’ll remain on Microsoft’s servers. Microsoft’s support document indicates that you’ll be able to continue playing them via the Movies & TV app on either Xbox or Windows PC, and they’ll play back in high resolution. Microsoft’s “Entertainment” page on the Microsoft Store is still technically active, although if you try to buy a movie you’ll see an error message. If you don’t feel like launching a dedicated app for all this, services like Movies Anywhere (which is like GOG Galaxy 2.0 but for movies) can aggregate all the titles you’ve purchased elsewhere. If you’re still suspicious, I can’t really blame you. Previously, Microsoft pushed consumers to Spotify and eventually shifted all of the licensed music purchased by consumers on to that streaming platform. Unfortunately, you can’t download the movies you’ve already purchased from Microsoft, so they’ll be left hanging for the time being. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Compact but functional stand Excellent SDR color gamut and contrast Bright in HDR Great motion clarity with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible Very attractive price Cons Design isn’t much to look at No USB-C input with DisplayPort and Power Delivery Our Verdict The Alienware AW2725D is a great OLED monitor with an MSRP of just $550, with SDR and HDR image quality that often rivals more expensive alternatives. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Alienware AW2725D Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices There’s no denying that a flood of OLED monitors hit the market in 2025, and Dell (which owns Alienware) is among the companies most responsible. It now has a total of five OLED monitors in its catalog of 14 current displays. The Alienware AW2725D sits at the bottom of the OLED ladder. It’s a 27-inch QD-OLED monitor with 1440p resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 280Hz, and it retails at an MSRP of just $549.99. That makes it an easy choice if you want an OLED gaming monitor at a mid-range price. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparison. Alienware AW2725D specs and features The Alienware AW2725D’s specifications are entry-level for a modern QD-OLED monitor, though that might surprise you if you don’t keep up with the latest displays. Though entry-level, the AW2725D still provides a respectable QD-OLED panel with 2560×1440 resolution and a speedy 280Hz refresh rate. Display size: 27-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 2560×1440 Panel type: OLED Refresh rate: Up to 280Hz Adaptive Sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Certified Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B 5Gbps upstream, 1x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream with 15 watts charging Audio: None Price: $549.99 MSRP It also supports Adaptive Sync, with official support for both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. HDR support, meanwhile, comes with VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification. The price, though, is the real reason to buy the AW2725D. Its retail MSRP of just $549.99 is among the lowest for any QD-OLED monitor. It matches or beats Amazon Prime Day deals on competitors like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q2, which are older QD-OLED monitors with a 240Hz refresh rate. Alienware AW2725D design Alienware redesigned its entire monitor lineup for 2025, but not for the better. The retro-futuristic look the brand relied on for the past five years is gone, replaced by a curved, organic design. The plastics used don’t look or feel as premium as before and, strangely, all Alienware monitors come in one color: a dark navy-blue hue. It’s not all bad news, though. The change in design comes with a new stand that’s more compact than the dramatic wing-like stands that shipped with many older Alienware monitors (and still ship with the Alienware AW3225QF which, despite the name, was released in early 2024). Alienware’s entire 2025 monitor line-up takes up little space on a desktop. Matthew Smith / Foundry The stand provides a decent range of ergonomic adjustment, too. It adjusts 40 degrees of swivel, 25 degrees for tilt, and 110mm in height. It can rotate 90 degrees into portrait orientation, too. This is typical for a 27-inch gaming monitor in this price bracket but still appreciated. A 100x100mm VESA mount is available for use with third-party stands, as well. Alienware AW2725D connectivity I’ve often raged against gaming monitors that fail to include important ports, like USB-C with DisplayPort and Power Delivery. But this year, Alienware called my bluff. They decided to skip USB-C video input and power across the Alienware range—and dropped their prices. That means the Alienware AW2725D isn’t a great choice for use with a USB-C laptop or tablet. You’ll have to stick to HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort for video input. The monitor does act as a USB hub with a couple downstream ports (one USB-A and one USB-C), but it only provides one USB-B upstream port. So, you can only connect one device to the monitor’s USB hub at a time. Whether that works for you depends on your needs. It’s not a problem for most gaming desktops, of course, as USB-C is rarely used for video input. But if you were hoping to connect a thin-and-light laptop that’s easy to power over USB-C, perhaps because you use one alongside your gaming PC, you’ll likely want to look elsewhere. On the other hand, this choice seems to help Alienware reach an extremely competitive price. The AW2725D’s $549.99 MSRP is in league with older QD-OLED monitors with 1440p resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate. Alienware AW2725D menus and features The Alienware AW2725D is also light on features. It has a joystick hidden under the center of the lower bezel that provides quick access to the monitor’s menu system. Alternatively, owners can use Alienware’s Command Center software to tweak monitor settings within Windows. However, there’s not a lot to change. The monitor doesn’t have color temperature modes that target specific values. It does provide gamma adjustment, but only in a couple specific modes, such as Creator. The most significant color adjustments are limited to Custom Color mode. Limitations like this are common for gaming monitors. Still, content creators who know what they want may find the monitor a hassle to tune and calibrate. Matthew Smith / Foundry It does provide a few gaming features. You’ll find common features like an on-screen crosshair and timer, as well as a dark stabilizer that can elevate the brightness of dark scenes (to make foes easier to see). It also has Alienvision, which further tweaks the image to improve contrast and clarity at the expense of image quality. The AW2725D doesn’t include speakers. Though a small disappointment, it’s to be expected given the price. Most gaming monitors don’t include speakers. Monitors that have good built-in audio, like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE-B, are much more expensive. Alienware AW2725D SDR image quality The Alienware AW2725D is less expensive than most OLED monitors but has a Samsung QD-OLED panel that’s at least as good as the 27-inch 1440p panels that were in most flagship OLED gaming monitors sold a year or two ago. As a result, the monitor’s SDR image quality doesn’t at all reflect its inexpensive price. Matthew Smith / Foundry The AW2725D starts off with a win in brightness. It achieved a maximum sustained SDR brightness of 272 nits which, as the graph shows, is among the highest figures recorded from recent OLED monitors. Brightness can still be an issue in bright rooms. While 272 nits is a lot for an OLED monitor in SDR, it can look dim when forced to compete with sunlit windows. The AW2725D also has a highly reflective display coat that amps up reflections. Still, if you want to go OLED and SDR brightness is a concern, the AW2725D is better than most. Matthew Smith / Foundry There’s not much to say about contrast, though only because it’s precisely as excellent as expected. OLED monitors achieve an effectively infinite contrast ratio thanks to their ability to reach a minimum luminance of zero nits. That’s why OLED monitors look richer, deeper, and more immersive than LCD monitors with an LED backlight. Once again, price works in the AW2725D’s favor. All OLED monitors are effectively identical in this respect. Spending twice as much on a high-end competitor won’t net you any improvement in contrast. Matthew Smith / Foundry Samsung’s QD-OLED panels are among the most color-rich in the industry, and the AW2725D is no exception. It delivers a color gamut that spans 100 percent of sRGB, 98 percent of DCI-P3, and 95 percent of AdobeRGB. As the graph shows, this is top-notch performance for an OLED, and it’s close to record performance overall. The only monitors I’ve tested that have a wider gamut are rare QD-IPS displays with Mini-LED backlights, like the Xiaomi G Pro 27i. Matthew Smith / Foundry I wasn’t completely shocked by the AW2725D’s outstanding color accuracy, as recent Alienware OLED monitors have proved uniformly excellent in this test. Still, it’s remarkable to see a $550 OLED monitor deliver color accuracy with an average error below one, and to see it beat more expensive competitors. This level of color accuracy means color errors are generally unnoticeable. It’s not perfect, but the flaws come from other aspects of the display’s image quality, not color accuracy. One of those flaws is color temperature. The AW2725D reached a default color temperature of 6200K, which is a bit off the target of 6500K and indicates a warmer image than the target. I don’t mind it, but you’ll need to adjust it to achieve a more neutral look. Also, as mentioned, the AW2725D lacks precise color temperature adjustment options, so adjusting the color temperature is a bit difficult. Gamma, on the other hand, was spot-on the target gamma value of 2.2. Sharpness is mediocre, at least by the standards of 2025. The AW2725D’s 27-inch (technically, 26.7-inch) 1440p panel squeezes in about 110 pixels per inch. By comparison, a 4K QD-OLED monitor like the Alienware AW2725Q or Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM can deliver around 166 pixels per inch. That’s a big gap, and it’s made more noticeable by the irregular sub-pixel layout of QD-OLED displays, which makes them look coarser than the specifications suggest. I find it hard to notice on a 4K QD-OLED, because it’s so sharp to begin with. With a 1440p display, though, QD-OLED does look a bit less sharp than a 27-inch 1440p monitor with an IPS-LCD panel. Still, I have no issue with the AW2725D’s overall image quality. This monitor delivers performance that was flagship-caliber in early 2024, and it remains top-notch today. The monitor’s image quality is ideal for gaming, as the anti-aliasing techniques available in modern games can make up for some of the sharpness gap between a 1440p and 4K monitor. Factor in the AW2725D’s great SDR brightness, contrast, and color performance, and you’ve got a winner for all sorts of entertainment. It’s remarkable to see a $550 OLED monitor deliver color accuracy that beats more expensive competitors. Alienware AW2725D HDR image quality The Alienware AW2725D doesn’t give up much in SDR image quality to achieve its low price. But what about SDR? After all, monitor makers often boast of their unique heatsinks and cooling solutions that boost maximum HDR brightness. Surely the budget-oriented AW2725 is worse. Right? …Right? Matthew Smith / Foundry Wrong. As the graph shows, the Alienware AW2725D ranks among the strongest HDR gaming monitors that PCWorld has ever tested. To be clear, the margin between it and the alternatives is often slim. I don’t think most people will notice the difference between a peak HDR brightness of 834 nits and a peak of 938 nits (I certainly can’t). Still, the results made it clear that the less expensive AW2725D performs just as well as more expensive QD-OLED and LG WOLED panels, and it’s a great choice for HDR games. Alienware AW2725D motion performance The Alienware AW2725D’s refresh rate is arguably among its less attractive features and a key reason for its low price, but given that it still provides a refresh rate of 280Hz, that feels a bit absurd. It’s slower than more expensive 1440p QD-OLED monitors, which typically hit at least 360Hz. But 280Hz is still more than many people will need. Remember: You only receive the full benefit of an enhanced refresh rate if the game you’re playing can achieve that frame rate, or higher. Otherwise, the display will refresh at a lower rate to match the frame rate of the game (when Adaptive Sync is turned on). The AW2725D delivers buttery-smooth gameplay with great motion clarity. Fast-moving objects are easy to see and scrolling text is generally readable, though low-contrast examples can still be hard to make out. Don’t get me wrong: the benefit of a higher refresh rate is noticeable. But 280Hz still looks great. The AW2725D supports Adaptive Sync with official compatibility with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. Most monitors that list compatibility with any of these standards will work with all three, but it’s still preferable to see official support. It’s welcome added assurance that Adaptive Sync should work with your video card, and that you can complain to Alienware if it doesn’t. Should you buy the Alienware AW2725D? The Alienware AW2725D reiterates a point that I made earlier this year: Tt doesn’t really matter what OLED you buy. All QD-OLED panels are sourced from Samsung, and while there’re minor differences in refresh rates and HDR brightness, they’re broadly much more similar than they are different. That’s good news for the AW2725D. Priced at just $549.99, it provides most of the benefits of more expensive QD-OLED monitors at an alluring price. The monitor’s only serious downside is its lack of USB-C and somewhat limited image quality adjustment options, which make the AW2725D less appealing if you want a gaming monitor that can also serve as a productivity display. The AW2725D’s price helps to excuse that, though, which makes it an easy monitor to recommend. Read...

The fixture is primarily predicated on the AFL as an entertainment product rather than fairness. But this change could help level the playing field. Read...

What’s worse, being stuck in traffic or on another interminable Microsoft Teams call? ¿Por qué no los dos? Mercedes is teaming up with Microsoft to allow you to take Teams calls while on the go — and is talking about adding Microsoft Copilot to its suite of luxury cars, too. Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz said Wednesday that the new Mercedes CLA will be able to tap into an in-vehicle camera and give drivers access to a Meetings for Teams application. Somehow, Mercedes is also including Microsoft Intune inside the car, so business workers will be able to access private business data, too. Mercedes is making this part of what it calls MBUX, the Mercedes-Benz user experience. Microsoft and Mercedes plan to implement the new Intune and Teams enhancements as part of an MBUX 4.0 upgrade this summer. The integration of Microsoft Teams, however, might be either the most useful or the most dystopian upgrade. Microsoft and Mercedes say that you can use the in-car camera for talking to partners or underlings, letting them see you as you cruise down the highway in comfort. Fortunately, the technology is being rolled out with an eye toward safety. “To minimize distraction and maximize safety while driving, the meeting video stream turns off automatically as soon as the camera is activated,” the companies said. “As a result, the driver will never see any shared screens or slides — and the camera can be turned off at any time.” Is this the future of commuting to the office?Mercedes-Benz Mercedes is also integrating chat into its driver interface, so you’ll be able to dictate chats to contacts, and view your upcoming calendar through a “Next Meetings” function. Copilot is coming to cars Microsoft and Mercedes are also working together to bring Copilot to vehicles, though the two aren’t saying when. “Mercedes-Benz and Microsoft are also working together to integrate Microsoft 365 Copilot into the latest vehicles,” both companies said. “This will be one of the world’s first application of its kind in a car and will help users prepare for upcoming meetings with the aid of advanced AI. Using voice prompts, drivers can summarize emails, retrieve or query client preferences and details, and manage daily tasks without distraction. Microsoft 365 Copilot has the potential to transform the vehicle into a third workspace, complementing the office and the home office.” Microsoft has previously struggled to bring its services into the car, with Microsoft Sync powering the early versions of the Ford Sync entertainment and communications system. Since then Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay have provided alternatives to Ford’s own entertainment systems. The 2025 CLA starts at $45,550 and goes up to $54,350, according to Car and Driver. To enable the new MBUX features, you’ll need an Active Entertainment Package Plus subscription, which apparently varies by region and location. Read...

We all think of wireless when it comes to smart home and home entertainment—Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth, Thread, Z-Wave, and what have you—but a surprising number of smart devices depend on good, old-fashioned wired ethernet for the best performance.  The Philips Hue Bridge? Needs an ethernet cable. Got an Apple TV streaming box? It does Wi-Fi, but ethernet makes it better. That smart hub? An ethernet cable would certainly boost its reliability. Running a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X? A respectable K/D ratio demands ethernet.  All those ethernet cables and ports will add up, though, and most Wi-Fi and mesh routers only serve up a handful of ethernet connections—or, most likely, only a single extra port.   That’s why I’ve been investing in ethernet switches, and my favorite—this unmanaged 5-port gigabit ethernet bridge from TP-Link—is just $13, good for a 35% savings. Plenty of other configurations are also available, including an 8-port gigabit switch for $27.99 (30% off), 16 ports for $59.99 (33% off), and even 48 ports for $179.99 (25% off).  I have three of the 5-port TP-Link bridges in my smart home: one sits under my desk, connected to my PC, my Philips Hue Bridge, and my HDHomeRun over-the-air TV tuner. The link port is connected to my mesh Wi-Fi router, and the fifth port is connecting to… yes, another ethernet bridge.  My second bridge lives in a steel cabinet in the corner of the office, and it’s all about the Raspberry Pi’s–four of them, to be exact. Those Raspberry Pi boards run a series of locally hosted applications, including HomeBridge, an app that lets me bring non-HomeKit smart devices into the Apple Home app; Home Assistant, an open-source smart home platform I’ve been tinkering with; and Plex, a self-hosted media server and DVR that works with my HDHomeRun TV tuner. My Raspberry Pi systems will work just fine over Wi-Fi, but a rock-solid ethernet connection makes them far more reliable, especially for streaming media.  Finally, my third TP-Link ethernet switch sits in the living room behind my TV, where it’s connected to my Apple TV 4K, my PlayStation 5, and my Denon AVR-x1600H, ensuring perfectly smooth streaming video, cutting down on gaming latency, and preventing audio dropouts when streaming tunes via AirPlay.  Setting up these TP-Link ethernet bridges is a snap; because they’re unmanaged (meaning they can’t assign IP addresses on their own), it’s really just a matter of connecting the link port to a nearby Wi-Fi router or mesh hub and then plugging in your ethernet devices. You can have multiple ethernet switches downstream, meaning you can daisy-chain them if necessary. An AC adapter with a small wall wart supplies the power.  I’ve been rocking these particular TP-Link switches for years now and have never had any problems; I highly recommend them if you’re running out of ethernet ports in your smart home or home theater setup—the more the merrier.  Snag a TP-Link TL-SG105 5-port gigabit ethernet switch for $12.99Buy on Amazon Read...