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If you’re judging a soundbar against a surround sound system and money is no object, surround sound is the easy winner. If you’re considering cost, the discussion becomes more nuanced. Price, space, and ease of use may sway you toward a soundbar, which is a notable replacement for TV audio. But a soundbar is simply not in the same league as a surround sound speaker system when it comes to home theater audio.

A surround sound system has separation and precision that soundbars can’t reproduce because they can only simulate multiple speakers. While some soundbars can simulate the sound well, it will never be the same — there is only one speaker, after all. Picture a scene in the woods at night. A whisper comes through clearly on a center channel speaker. In the left and right speakers, you hear a light piano and matching footsteps. Then a stick snaps behind you through the rear left speaker. You jump. That same sound coming through a soundbar sounds more artificial. It doesn’t actually come from behind you; rather it’s bounced off your walls to emulate the directional audio of that left rear speaker. You hear the stick snap, but it’s not precise. You don’t jump.

Then there’s the subwoofer. Many soundbars now come paired with a subwoofer. But it’s not always a true powered subwoofer, which can deliver low frequencies that shake you while maintaining layered tonal sounds and pivoting to new low frequencies. Think about the opening scene of “Top Gun” as the low boom of jets syncs with the synthesized bass of “Danger Zone.” A soundbar’s subwoofer is more likely to muffle or distort it than a powered subwoofer.

Why a soundbar can be better for you than surround sound

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Despite the positives of surround sound systems, the soundbar market is booming. It’s expected to double in the next decade, according to Renub Research. The benefits tell you why. First off, there’s the ease. Setting up a surround system will take hours. You have to run wires under furniture or through walls, place speakers, and calibrate audio for your space. With a soundbar, you take it out of the box, plug it into the wall and your TV, and do a quick setup. It takes about ten minutes.

You’re also more likely to get better value for money. Surround sound systems can cost more than $1,000 for 5.1 surround or more than $3,000 for a Dolby Atmos system, which layers in audio above and around you. Some systems can cost as much as tens of thousands. The best soundbars with Dolby Atmos will cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500. The cost-to-quality ratio leans toward soundbars.

You also have to take into account where you live. If you rent your home, you’re probably not able to drill into walls to mount speakers. The average renter lives in a 1,089-square-foot home, which makes it nearly impossible to properly set up a surround system. Even in owned homes, which average twice the square footage, only a fraction of your space is used for watching movies. One bar under your screen and a hidden subwoofer take up considerably less space than a multi-speaker surround sound system.

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William Shatner has some very strange opinions on “Star Trek,” a show he helped make a household name. Despite being best known as Captain James T. Kirk, the rhythmically talking actor hasn’t really engaged with the franchise since he left. However, in a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shatner claimed that “Star Trek”s successor show, “The Next Generation”, missed the mark on one aspect of creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision.

The first “Star Trek” movie, “The Motion Picture”, failed critically due to its slow, plodding pace. It didn’t help that it was released two years after the original “Star Wars,” which changed the sci-fi game with its flashy effects and speedy progression. It was still commercially successful at the box office, with a $139 million gross against a $44 million budget, but wasn’t to the audience’s or critics’ evolving tastes. After this, Roddenberry lost control of the franchise for a while, as the rest of the original Enterprise crew’s movies went to different creative teams.

When Roddenberry got “The Next Generation” onto TV, it came with a far stricter hand in control. Roddenberry was notorious for scrapping scripts and placing rules that no ’80s show looking for success could operate under. The ill-fated Season 1 of “The Next Generation” (TNG) is seen as a bizarre start to the show and was poorly received by fans. One episode is Michael Dorn’s, who played Worf, pick for worst episode. Among the rules that Roddenberry imposed was no conflicts between characters, and no romance between those aboard the Enterprise D. Watching season one of “TNG” feels like a weird transitional phase between the original series and what “TNG” would eventually become. Shatner, in another interview with Cinema Blend, expressed that “TNG” having romance between the crew was against Roddenberry’s vision and would have him “turn in his grave.”

The Next Generation wasn’t for Shatner

“Star Trek: The Next Generation” is set in the 24th century, with the idea that the characters were far beyond the present day idea of a human. An episode that highlights this is from the first season, “The Neutral Zone”, wherein people from the past are revived. One of those is an ex-financier, who’s shocked to learn that money has no meaning in the 24th century. 

“TNG’s” action was also different to other shows, with episodes dealing with diplomacy and discovery, with most violence confined to Captain Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, threatening to do something. Once Roddenberry took a major step back after the second season, storylines about romantic entanglements between “Number One”, Commander William Riker, and Counselor Deanna Troi, started to become more prominent. Even the crew itself began to butt heads at times over certain situations as the show progressed.

This is what Shatner takes umbrage with. In the Hollywood Reporter interview, he states that as Roddenberry was part of the military and a policeman before entering TV, he knew how officers aboard a military vessel should behave. Shatner said, “There was this militaristic vision of ‘You don’t make out with a fellow soldier’ … There are strict rules, and you abide by the rules.” He also added that the “ethos has been forgotten … what I’ve seen with glimpses of ‘The Next Generation’ is yes, the difficulty in the beginning, between management, was all about Gene’s rules and obeying or not obeying those rules.”

Shatner’s interpretation of Roddenberry’s feelings is debatable

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When Shatner clarified his claims in the Cinema Blend interview, he doubled down on this thought: “I don’t know about the latest things, but the couple of things I’ve noted is that there are relationships, sexual relations, relationships going on between the people that would make Gene Roddenberry turn in his grave.” It’s ironic then, that despite Shatner’s claims of intimately knowing the man, he seems to forget about “The Motion Picture’s” heavy sexual imagery with V’Ger and the entire character of Ilia.

One of the first things she mentions in the movie is that she has an “oath of celibacy,” and this is directed at Captain Kirk. When she’s scanned by doctors after being killed and replaced with an android copy, they explicitly mention that even the “smallest body functions are duplicated.” Shatner himself even famously participated in prime time TV’s first scripted interracial kiss, when Kirk locked lips with Nichelle Nichols’ Lt. Uhura, although the crewmates weren’t romantically involved, and were forced into the kiss by aliens. Even in “TNG”, when under direct control from Roddenberry, his own decisions may have made him turn in his grave, according to Shatner. 

Its third episode was “The Naked Now”, wherein all the crew onboard are overcome with lust after being infected. He also said that season one character, Tasha Yar, was directly inspired by “Aliens'” Vasquez, who he claimed had “created a whole new style of feminine beauty.” Sometimes watching what you’re critical of can unveil new information, even when you’re a legendary pop culture figure.

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Many people rely on streaming services for entertainment, so much so that streaming apps are often built into smart TVs. However, don’t count out devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick just yet, as they generally load apps faster than smart TVs. If you’re looking for the best streaming device on the market though, you might be surprised to learn that it’s not a product from Amazon, or even Apple.

According to Consumer Reports, the best streaming device you can purchase is the Android OS-powered Nvidia Shield TV Pro. This device is frequently marketed as a cloud gaming platform that lets users play PC games on a TV with 4K HDR visuals, Dolby ATMOS audio, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080-level performance. Of course, you need your own controller, a library of games on platforms such as Steam or GOG, a solid internet connection, and a GeForce NOW membership. You can join for free, but if you want to play for more than an hour at resolutions above 1080p — and avoid ads — you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription fee.

So what makes the Nvidia Shield TV Pro a great streaming device and not simply a cloud gaming powerhouse? Access to streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV, that’s what. Some of these apps are included with the Shield TV Pro, but you’ll have to download others through the built-in app store. Like game streaming functionalities, you need an active subscription to each service to watch their respective programs. And that’s on top of the Shield TV Pro’s $200 price tag through the official Nvidia store.

What makes the Nvidia Shield TV Pro so special

While Consumer Reports’ top recommendations for “4K streaming media devices” include the Roku Ultra, the Amazon Fire TV Cube, and the Onn 4K Pro, the outlet’s highest rating goes to Nvidia Shield TV Pro. How did that device come out on top despite being more expensive than the competition? What does it have that others don’t, aside from gaming? Nothing; it’s just a tighter package.

In Consumer Reports’ review of the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, the device got top marks in multiple categories, including “Features” and “Picture quality.” The outlet praised the Shield TV Pro’s responsive interface and stunning picture quality, although the latter is dependent on your TV — the device supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, but you need a TV that outputs pictures in those formats to use them. The same is mostly true for the other highly-rated streaming setups, but the Fire TV Cube and Onn 4K lost points for being more finicky.

The true deciding factors in the contest between streaming devices were “Data privacy” and “Data Security.” These were the only metrics the Nvidia Shield TV Pro didn’t ace, but the others were even less lucky; the Roku Ultra had worse privacy and security across the board, and while the Fire TV Cube matched the Shield TV Pro in privacy and security, the Onn 4K lagged behind in privacy. These issues weren’t huge, but they were enough to let the Nvidia Shield TV Pro emerge as Consumer Reports’ top recommended streaming device.

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Columbia Pictures

Josh Hartnett has had his fair share of run-ins with otherworldly beings, and almost every encounter hasn’t received the attention it deserved. Back in 1998, he appeared alongside “The Pitt’s” Shawn Hatosy in one of the best alien-invasion movies ever made, “The Faculty,” and in 2014, he starred in the grossly overlooked horror series, “Penny Dreadful,” opposite Eva Green. In between those two horror outings, though, he took the lead in an exceptionally bloody and deeply terrifying vampire movie, “30 Days of Night.”

Directed by David Slade and adapted from a comic book of the same name, Hartnett played Eben Oleson, the sheriff of the forgotten town of Barrow, Alaska, which every year is plunged into total darkness when the sun sets and doesn’t rise for another 30 days. Living in such harsh conditions is bad enough, but to make matters worse, an unhinged stranger (Ben Foster) arrives in the town, sending Barrow into disarray just in time for his vampire masters to arrive for a month-long buffet, with all the locals on the menu.

Surprisingly, the film has gained mixed reviews from critics, earning only 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, even though it took an impressive bite out of the box office, earning $75 million against a budget of $30 million. But while the “30 Days of Night” might’ve had a few naysayers in its time, there’s a lot on show from a competent director paying homage to another master of horror who has spent decades giving audiences the chills via more interplanetary means.

30 Days of Night is The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13 with fangs

Columbia Pictures

With its chilling atmosphere and grumpy, isolated inhabitants slowly being torn to shreds, it’s hard not to feel “The Thing” lurking in its shadows while watching “30 Days of Night.” John Carpenter’s classic cult movie infects every frame, not just in the town’s growing dread but in the monstrous ways the undead and those soon to be just plain dead are dispatched. Heads don’t necessarily roll, but they take a long, ludicrously grim time to be separated from their bodies, echoing the horrors of Outpost 31.

Also, if the vampires weren’t bad enough, something about their dead-eyed facial features looks incredibly off, which actor Danny Huston relishes as the head fanged fiend, Marlow. Another Carpenter favorite that the movie clearly draws on is his high-pressure thriller, “Assault on Precinct 13.” Hartnett, joined by Melissa George (a scream queen in her own right) and “Sons of Anarchy” star Mark Boone Jr., are a motley crew hiding out against the horrors befalling their town, where no one is safe, just like Carpenter’s 1976 film.

All of them play impressive roles in trying to turn the tide against their intruders, with particular praise going to Boone, who has a great showdown with the suckers while operating a tractor. Honestly, if you’re thirsty for another vampire movie after the success of “Sinners,” swap the sweat-soaked atmosphere of the Smoke Stack twins’ juke joint for the chilling town of Barrow and kiss the sun goodbye.

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In the era of the gig economy, streaming video games online has become a fun and, for some, profitable side line. It’s a way to share your passions or build a social platform while potentially generating a little income, but for many, it’s hard to justify the initial investment in gear and software necessary to create a reasonably professional setup. If you don’t already have a reasonably powerful PC, you’ll need to invest in one, or upgrade some components, and you’ll also likely need a camera and a supporting suite of software. Perhaps most importantly of all, you’ll need a capture card to record your screen, especially if you plan to stream console games (or use your laptop as a monitor for your Xbox).

Luckily, there’s a solution on Amazon from a manufacturer called BENFEI that’s not only garnering great reviews from users, but is available for a very reasonable $10 as of this writing (the listing says it’s on sale for 38% off its normal MSRP of $16). It’s an easy-to-use, plug-and-play card capable of capturing source footage from an HDMI input at 4K 30Hz and outputting over USB at 1080p at a 60Hz refresh rate with audio up to 48 kHz.

A tiny card with big utility

One of the BENFEI card’s advantages is how compact it is — it weighs in at a mere 0.03 kilograms and can easily tuck into a pocket or bag if you plan on streaming IRL footage or from an internet cafe or friend’s apartment. It’s flexible enough to handle streaming from Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles, along with Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android devices; anything with an extra HDMI port you’re looking to find a use for. It’ll also work with any camera with an appropriate HDMI output.

Apple users should take note, however, that the iPhone isn’t supported, which BENFEI says is due to the lack of USB Video Class support for video output. It is compatible with iPadOS devices, but they need to be updated to version 17 before use. With compatible devices, it doesn’t require any tech expertise and can be put to use moments after you unbox it. There’s no driver installation required on the receiving PC, and the card will work with common apps and workflows like OBS and XSplit. The built-in chip ensures extremely low latency, critical for avoiding screen artifacts, tearing, flickering, and other visual issues common with slower streaming pipelines.

Why buyers are impressed

The main reason Amazon shoppers are so impressed with the BENFEI capture card is that it does what it says on the tin while asking for very little in return. At a low entry price, it delivers all the core functionality and quality you need to get streaming right away, and its plug-and-play functionality means it’s suitable even for complete novices, allowing you to get started without navigating a complicated installation process.

According to one Amazon review from a user looking to stream from a Raspberry Pi to a PC via OBS, the card “was perfect for my needs and works flawlessly.” It also worked well for another user who was looking to transfer content on old VHS tapes from a VCR to a PC, which they were able to do without issue (though they note that the converter requires a separate USB power source). The main caveat is that this is still a budget device, so it won’t replace high-end capture gear with advanced features or with wider ecosystem support. That said, it’s one of the rare, cheap Amazon gadgets that delivers on its promised functionality at a fraction of the price of its “premium” competition.

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Robot vacuums have become commonplace, now available at a range of price ranges and with excellent high-end features. It makes sense that the tech could be put to use elsewhere though. The likes of Ecovacs, for example, are turning to new appliances — the latest of which is the new Ecovacs GOAT A3000 LiDAR Pro. 

I’ve actually been using the last-generation model, the standard GOAT A3000, for around a year now. It’s performed pretty well, but it has one big missing feature — the ability to get all the way to the edge of the grass. The result is that while it dramatically cuts down on mowing time, it doesn’t handle everything. That’s what the new Pro model aims to solve — with a new rotor on its side that spins to trim the edge of your grass, all the way to any walls or sidewalks that border the grass.

That said, there are trade-offs. The price is steep at $2,500. The trimmer is loud. And in yards with complex layouts or tall weeds, the mapping and obstacle detection can trip up in ways that require manual intervention. So, is the Ecovacs GOAT A3000 LiDAR Pro worth that high price?

Design

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The Ecovacs GOAT A3000 LiDAR Pro is, as you might assume, built to be in the same family as the standard A3000 — and it looks like it. In fact, the new model looks more or less exactly the same as the old one, except for one thing — it has rotor on its side that uses nylon string to cut the edges of your lawn. It measures 27.8 x 23 x 12.2 inches and weighs roughly 40 pounds, so it’s not small, and it’s not light. It’s built with handles, so you can lift it if you need, but it’s certainly awkward to carry given its size and weight.

The chassis is heavy-duty, injection-molded polymer, and it feels built for years of outdoor abuse. Ecovacs gave it an IPX6 waterproof rating, which means you can hose the whole thing down like you’re washing a car when grass and dirt inevitably build up underneath. That’s exactly what I did after a few weeks of testing, and it held up fine.

The wheel setup is smart. Smooth front casters handle steering and precision, while tread-patterned rear drive wheels do the actual work. The combination gets the mower up inclines as steep as 27 degrees, or a 50% grade. My yard is pretty flat, so this isn’t something that I really needed, but it never struggled to get across my yard. There’s also a carry handle on the back, which can come in handy if the unit gets stuck — sometimes you just need to pick the thing up and move it.

On top of the mower sits a 360-degree rotating LiDAR sensor. Next to it are the physical controls, including a large, prominent emergency stop button that’s easy to hit if anything goes sideways. The other controls can do things like return the mower back to the station and control other aspects as needed, as well as when guided by the app.

The charging dock is included in the box with a base plate and dock structure that you set up in a flat, open area. There’s no separate RTK antenna to position, no wire to bury, and no complicated alignment to fuss over. Just find a flat spot near a power outlet and you’re done. The mower also comes with anchor screws to install the station in grass or soil. I set mine up on concrete, so I didn’t use these.

Features

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Navigation is the headline here, and it works the way you wish all robot mowers worked. The 360-degree rotating LiDAR on top pairs with the 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor on the front to map and navigate without needing a GPS signal. That’s a big deal. If you have big trees, covered patios, or narrow passages between structures, GPS and RTK systems can get lost easily. LiDAR doesn’t care. It just reads the environment.

The AIVI 3D system layers AI object recognition on top of that, using a fisheye camera to identify more than 200 different object types. Honestly, I wasn’t really able to verify this — my lawn is pretty well separated from anything I’d need the mower to avoid, and our cat stays indoors. According to Ecovacs, for static objects like trees, planters, or garden edging, it’ll navigate as close as possible. For unpredictable obstacles like pets or humans, it stops completely. That’s what you’d want, especially if it’s using the more accident-prone edge trimmer.

Where the system stumbles is in distinguishing tall grass from actual obstacles. More than once, I watched the mower treat a patch of taller grass or a weed stem as something it needed to avoid, leaving a small, uncut area behind. I had to manually direct the mower to go back and trim it, which is easy enough to do using the app.

Rain sensing is built in, and it’s effective. If it starts raining, the mower heads back to the dock and waits. It won’t resume until roughly three hours of dry conditions have passed.

For maintenance, the package includes backup multi-blade sets, which is a nice touch. You’ll need to swap blades roughly every four to six weeks depending on how much you’re running it and what you’re cutting. The trimmer line needs replacing on a similar schedule. None of this requires special tools or expertise — it’s a few-minute job.

App and setup

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Setup happens entirely through the Ecovacs Home app, available on iOS and Android. It’s as easy as downloading the app, scanning a QR code on the mower, and following the prompts. This is easily the best setup experience I’ve had with a robotic mower.

The auto-mapping is the part that actually impressed me most. You initiate the mapping, and the mower does a perimeter trek of your property on its own, generating a fully interactive 3D holographic map in about five minutes. The result is super cool to look at — you can see trees, boundary features, structures, and even neighboring properties rendered in the visualization. It’s more detail than you strictly need, but it gives you real confidence that the mower actually understands the yard.

From there, the app handles everything else. You can set up schedules, define multiple zones with different parameters, and drop no-go areas right onto the map. There are “mark flush” and “not flush” boundary options that tell the trimmer whether the grass ends exactly at the mapped line or extends beyond it, which controls how aggressively the edge trimmer engages. It’s a smart system once you understand it, but the distinction isn’t obvious at first and took me a minute to wrap my head around.

One annoyance is that you have to schedule mowing and edge trimming as separate tasks. I’d much rather set one schedule and have the mower handle both. Instead, you’re managing two sets of schedules. There’s also a live touchscreen joystick for manual control, which is handy for pushing the mower into tight spots it doesn’t want to tackle on its own.

Mowing performance

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The cutting hardware is a dual-disc setup with six independent blades across a 13-inch cutting width. That’s wider than most competing robotic mowers and it shows up in coverage speed. The 32-volt power platform is the other half of the equation — it maintains blade RPMs through dense grass without any issue. Cuts are clean and tear-free, which is the kind of thing you care about if you’ve spent weeks landscaping.

Cutting heights adjust electronically from 1.2 inches up to 3.5 inches, and you can change them remotely from the app. This also means you can set different heights for different zones, which is useful if your front and back yards have different needs.

The TrueEdge side trimmer is the main feature that sets this model apart from its predecessor and, for the most part, it delivers. In my testing, it replaced about 75-90% of the manual trimming I’d otherwise do. That’s significant. But it’s not perfect — I still had to touch up certain spots after the mower was done, particularly around corners. If your yard has a lot of steep vertical edging, you’ll still be spending some quality time with a weed whacker.

At top speed, the mower moves at 0.7 meters per second and processes up to 4,305 square feet of grass per hour. The so-called pathing algorithm tries to emulate how a human would mow, laying down overlapping, systematic stripe patterns. The result looks clean. You can also tell the app to change direction each week, which varies the pattern and is better for the grass.

The limits show up with tall weeds or heavy thatch. The mower can misread those conditions as obstacles and either slow down significantly or leave uncut patches. If you’re using this as your sole mowing solution on a lawn that occasionally gets out of control, you’ll want to plan for a manual pass before the first mow, or expect a second manual cycle to clean things up.

Battery and charging

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The battery is a 32-volt, 7,500 mAh lithium-ion pack, which is a meaningful upgrade over the 5 Ah unit in the previous generation. Rated runtime is up to 160 minutes per charge, and I never got close to hitting the limit. To be fair, my yard is relatively small, so it was more than enough battery to mow and edge-trim both the back and front yards without needing a charge. That said, different terrains and denser grass can impact battery life.

Charging is fast. The included 189-watt system takes the mower from empty to full in roughly 70 minutes, which is quick enough that even on larger properties, you can expect complete coverage within a day without any manual intervention.

Conclusions

The Ecovacs GOAT A3000 LiDAR Pro is easily one of the best robotic lawn mowers out there. The LiDAR navigation is better than the GPS and RTK alternatives in complex yards. The cut quality is very good. The edge trimmer eliminates much of the manual edging that used to be the dealbreaker for robotic mowers. Taken together, this thing eliminates the vast majority of mowing work for most residential properties.

It’s expensive, though. At $2,499, this is a serious investment. But if you’re paying for professional lawn service, it might pay for itself in a few years. If you’re doing the work yourself, the calculation is about how much you value your weekends.

The competition

It outperforms basically every other robot mower I’ve used, and for anything other than edge trimming, it performs identically to the non-Pro A3000 — so if edging isn’t a priority for your yard, you can save some money by going with the standard model.

There are cheaper alternatives worth considering too, especially if you don’t need edge trimming. Where the A3000 Pro is less sensible is on massive, wide-open acreage without meaningful border features. For that kind of property, you’re better off with a less expensive unit or a GPS-focused system designed for open expanses.

Should I buy the Ecovacs GOAT A3000 LiDAR Pro?

Yes, if you want a high-end robotic mower and don’t mind paying a lot for it.

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Just like many other tech products, browsers too can be a gateway for companies to collect your data and monitor your online habits. Browser cookies are a common culprit, but those are far from being the only ways you can risk your privacy while browsing online. Take browser fingerprinting, for example, which is a form of data tracking used to identify and quantify behaviors based on browser and device specifications. It essentially allows websites to track you even when cookies are cleared.

Fortunately, there are some ways to better protect yourself, especially if you use Google Chrome. While privacy protection has never been Chrome’s forte — which is why many users have ditched the browser in the past — it still has some privacy settings baked in that can let you take back some semblance of your personal privacy. Some of these settings relate to your Google account and Google’s services as a whole, such as experiences on Android, the Google Play Store, Google Maps, and so on. Nevertheless, here are some Google Chrome settings you’ll want to fiddle with to improve your privacy as much as possible.

1. Turn off Web & App Activity

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This one is tied to your Google Account, not just Google Chrome, but it’s a big one. Web & App Activity is a master privacy control of sorts and when it’s enabled it allows Google to track, well, pretty much everything about you, including your search history, Chrome browser usage, Android habits, Google Assistant queries and usage, and much, much more. Personal information is tracked, as well, including your location history, browsing history and websites you’ve visited, apps you use frequently on your phone, and that’s just the start. The good news is you can delete most of this data and turn off this setting.

Open a Google website like Gmail on Chrome browser and click your profile icon in the top right and select Manage Your Google Account. In the menu on the left-hand side, select Data & Privacy and you’ll see the Web & App Activity toggle. Usually, it’s on by default. If you click on it in the list, it will bring you to another page called Activity Controls. Here, you can turn off Web & App Tracking, adjust individual settings, and see what information Google has by selecting Manage All Web & App Activity. Make sure to turn off the Chrome activity tracking. You can also delete any saved data on the management screen and set up an auto-delete schedule.

Google says this activity helps improve your experiences by making searches faster, enabling more helpful apps and personalized recommendations. So, if you turn it off, you may run into some changes when you use Chrome and your devices.

2. Turn off location tracking for good

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If you weren’t aware, Google knows where you are even if you have GPS off through approximated data. Moreover, reports have shown Google tracks your location even with the setting off. But there is a way to stop that once and for all. It requires two steps, the first is that you need to disable Web & App Activity — which you may have already done. The second is to disable your Timeline or Location Tracking, and it may be under either name in the settings.

To do this, from any Google site or service, click your profile in the top right, then find Manage Your Google Account > Data & Privacy > Timeline. If it’s “on,” click the named option in the list, and it will take you to the Activity Controls screen. Here, you should be able to turn off location tracking, disable data backups, and change sub-settings, like personalizing Google Opinion Rewards surveys with location history. Timeline, too, is an account-wide setting, but disabling it ensures you get fewer localized ads and recommendations when browsing on Chrome.

Google says Timeline is off by default, and you can review the related data at any time. It also explains how Google can estimate your location, using wireless signals like Wi-Fi or cellular, GPS, and sensor information when the setting is turned on.

3. Disable automatic sign-in for Chrome

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With most browsers, you can log in for a personalized experience, and the same is true of Google Chrome. But when you sign in to a Google site or service, like Gmail, it automatically signs you into the browser as well. This might not seem like a big deal at first, but when you consider how much data is being scooped up and shared as you browse, you might change your mind. Location history, browsing habits, searches and queries, you name it. And when Chrome signs in automatically and associates this data to your account right under your nose, which definitely encroaches on your privacy.

To sign out of Chrome, if you’re already logged in, simply click your profile icon in the top right and choose Sign Out. If you’re logged into more than one account, you can sign out of all of them at once. To disable automatic sign-in, go to menu (three dots in the top right) > Settings > Sync and Google Services > and click the toggle next to Allow Chrome Sign-in to turn it off.

You can still use your browser while logged out normally, you just won’t be presented with personalized experiences, most of all, those pesky personalized ads. Google even recommends doing this when you’re using a public computer or borrowing someone else’s.

4. Enable DNT or Do Not Track for cookies

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DNT, which stands for Do Not Track, is a browser-wide setting you can enable that tells websites and apps you visit you do not want your information collected or tracked. The downside is that not every website or service provider adheres to this request, but it still cuts down on the amount of data being collected by third-parties for the sites that do honor it. Google says, “Most websites and web services, including Google’s, don’t change their behavior when they receive a Do Not Track request.”

Nevertheless, to turn it on, click the menu in the top right > Settings > Privacy and Security > Third-Party Cookies and enable the setting Send a “Do not track” request with your browsing traffic.

Moreover, there’s no way to know for sure which websites or services adhere to the request, so it’s still a good idea to clear browsing data whenever available across services, including in Chrome. To do this, go to menu > Delete browsing data, and make sure to select All Time to delete all your browsing history versus a set period. Check the boxes next to the data types you want Chrome to delete — checking everything is a good idea — then select Delete Data. Apart from these settings, carefully accept or reject cookie requests and avoid shady websites to help protect your privacy while browsing online.

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In November of 2006 at a Boston, Massachusetts bus stop, Drew Houston first coded what would become a cloud storage service, Dropbox. Released just two years later with Houston as the co-founder and CEO, Dropbox was one of the earliest cloud-based platforms available. It allows users to store photos, videos, and files all in one convenient place and download them from another device, Smartphone, tablet, or web browser through the Internet. While it stood out in the early days of cloud-based storage, it’s completely understandable to question if there’s a need for Dropbox anymore as rival services make it look like a dinosaur.

Dropbox is a handy tool for storing and retrieving various documents and files without having to use an external hard drive. In today’s age of remote work, having a place to store just about anything digital in the cloud makes for increased versatility and convenience. The problem is that it feels outdated compared to all-in-one platforms like Google Drive, Apple iCloud, and Microsoft OneDrive. These other cloud-based services function similarly to Dropbox, but offer more integrated features that link them with other apps. Dropbox focuses on storing your data, unlike other platforms that are linked with email, operating systems, and additional documents. For a more in-depth look at other digital storage check out the 5 best cloud storage apps, according to Consumer Reports

How Dropbox is losing to the competition

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Dropbox is a useful tool for uploading and sharing documents with other people. However, there are some drawbacks to the service when it comes to storage and price. The cost of the service can make a difference in who will use it and how it will be used with Dropbox costing a bit more for the service.

Google Drive offers an individual plan for $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year for the Basic account with 100 GB of storage. The iCloud service is $0.99 a month for 50 GB. Whereas Dropbox’s Plus plan for one person is $11.99 per month or $119.88 a year for 2 TB of storage. Dropbox is the best option if you want more storage per month but is a higher entry point for those with a tighter budget. With all that storage you’ll want to know how to avoid a serious Dropbox bug that could delete your files. If you go the free Dropbox route, you’re only getting 2GB of storage, which is barely anything if you need room for large files.

Alternative storage options

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During the service’s launch days, there was little direct competition when it comes to digital storage sites, but today, that is most definitely not the case.  Google Drive, for example, allows multiple users access to documents on a dedicated workstation, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Gmail. These files are stored all in one place and can be shared between anyone or made private. They don’t need to be moved around or transferred to a different platform like Dropbox, as they are all linked to Google Drive.

The problem is that Dropbox isn’t directly built into operating systems like iCloud or Google Drive, which come pre-installed on iPhone and Android phones, respectively. As a third-party app that must be downloaded to a phone, it’s no longer a must-have app, unlike the 14 of the best free apps you should download in 2026. Services like iCloud are connected to the main hub of Mac and iOS as well.

Dropbox may have been a widely used service when it first launched 20 years ago, but technology has come a long way since. Platforms like Google Drive, iCloud, and Microsoft OneDrive offer bundled options that make them a more viable option for team-based access, leaving Dropbox as an app there may no longer be a need for.

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The must-watch HBO Max shows in the service’s catalog are among the biggest draws for anyone interested in watching the streaming platform. HBO productions are well known for their investment in writing, direction, and cast, which often results in some of the best works ever. In addition, every new year, the platform keeps strengthening its reputation with new releases. In fact, what makes HBO one of the best streaming services out there is its catalog, which includes some of the most iconic TV shows and movies ever made.

That means that with one subscription, you get access to decades of Emmy-awarded productions in one place. Even though the options in the catalog aren’t as varied as Netflix’s, HBO’s originals have some works that few studios in the world can match. That variety also makes it hard to know which series to start with among so many options. That is why we selected some of the best options available on HBO Max, bringing together varied productions for viewers who enjoy not only fantasy shows, but other genres too.

Game of Thrones

Anyone who missed “Game of Thrones” during the hype the series had over the past decade, now is one of the best times to watch it. With new works from the universe created by George R. R. Martin reaching the HBO Max catalog, the franchise keeps expanding. Among them are “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” and “House of the Dragon”, which makes the original story look even more interesting.

In “Game of Thrones”, then, we follow the story from the point of view of several characters who fight for power over the Iron Throne and, as a result, all of Westeros. The political dynamic between the families and how each main character develops across the seasons is one of the most interesting parts of the show. In the end, you will almost certainly choose one character to root for to sit on the Iron Throne next.

At the same time, you must remember that “Game of Thrones” is famous for its plot twists and shocking moments. So, before watching, you need to prepare to say goodbye to some characters, even your favorite ones. Finally, even though the show drops in quality in its final seasons, it still stands as a must-watch HBO Max show because of the above average quality of its best moments.

Succession

Few series in television history have portrayed the corporate and family world with as much precision and cruelty as “Succession.” The production follows the Roy family, owner of one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, as its members wage relentless battles for control of patriarch Logan Roy’s empire. The result is a drama that mixes biting comedy and Shakespearean tragedy in a way few television scripts have ever balanced with such skill.

The great strength of “Succession” lies in its cast, delivering performances among the best ever seen on a TV Show. Brian Cox plays Logan Roy with complete mastery, but the children, played by Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin, steal the show every season. The dynamic between the characters feels so well built that you can’t help but connect emotionally with every political and family twist the series presents.

With four seasons and a total of 39 episodes, “Succession” is one of the best concluded series of recent years, with an ending that still divides and captivates the audience. Each season deepens the characters and raises the narrative stakes, which makes the binge harder to pause each time. For anyone looking for a dense, smart series packed with memorable moments, “Succession” ranks, without question, among the biggest reasons to subscribe to HBO Max.

The Last of Us

“The Last of Us” is one of the best video game adaptations ever made and a must-watch HBO Max show, mainly because of the way it adapts Naughty Dog’s PlayStation story for TV. The first season succeeds by understanding Joel and Ellie’s relationship, telling their journey while also expanding the universe. The result is an excellent series both for fans of the game and for people experiencing it for the first time. Another major strength of “The Last of Us” lies in the way the production expands the story without moving too far away from the original material.

Some characters gain more space and development throughout the narrative without changing too much of what the game established. In addition, the series also expands on some details related to the origin of the virus, giving the story more context. Even though the games still exist as the original source material, the series offers a great way to experience the story of “The Last of Us” for those who do not have a PlayStation or PC. The second season, on the other hand, avoids condensing everything into just one season, adapting only part of the large narrative from the second game.

The Pitt

For fans of medical dramas, “The Pitt” is one of the must-watch shows on HBO Max. The show follows a different structure from other works in the genre, since each episode represents one hour of a 15-hour shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. So, in that short period, the characters always need to deal with new problems that arise while keeping that sense of emergency alive. “The Pitt’s” strength also lies in the way the series manages to portray the hospital environment.

To produce this show for HBO Max, the production consulted several doctors to ensure that the characters’ own behavior felt authentic. This preparation, together with the actors’ performances, especially Noah Wyle’s as Dr. Robby, creates an excellent setting. The second season of “The Pitt” maintained the quality of the first, breaking several audience records on the platform and also establishing itself as one of HBO Max’s best works. So, for fans of the medical drama genre, definitely catch up on “The Pitt.”

The White Lotus

“The White Lotus” is an anthology series created by Mike White that follows guests and employees at a luxury resort of the same name, with each season set in a different country: Hawaii, Sicily, and Thailand so far. The starting point always comes from an unidentified corpse that opens the narrative. From there, the series reveals, with irony and precision, who these people are behind the paradise facade. “The White Lotus” is a sharp social satire that exposes the characters’ dysfunctions as they try to relax in their vacation destinations.

What makes this so effective is Mike White’s writing, which mixes biting comedy and human drama without weakening either one. The series has won 16 Emmys, including Best Limited Series, and that recognition reflects the level of what it delivers on screen. One of the smartest elements of the format is the almost complete cast change each season, allowing each new group of characters to be introduced, and that lets you watch every season as a miniseries on HBO Max. Even so, the series keeps its identity and quality consistent. So, for anyone who liked the premise, “The White Lotus” is one of the best series on HBO Max.

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The Flipper Zero is so feature-rich that if you’re wondering what it’s actually used for, well, that’s a tough question to answer. You can run scripts and interact with existing devices, deploy or interact with wireless technologies like NFC, spoof Apple AirTags or even spam iPhones with pop-up notifications. There’s no single use case for it, and that’s the point. You can do whatever you want, based on what the internal components allow. You can even add accessories to expand its capabilities. As some resourceful users have discovered, you can also use it to change the electronic shelf labels in various retail stores. That would allow you, theoretically, to change prices.

It’s all made possible thanks to a Flipper Zero app called TagTinker, developed by i12bp8. The app was created to communicate with infrared electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the standout pricing labels you might find on grocery store or retail store shelves. They receive commands via infrared, which the Flipper Zero can obviously handle, to send images, scan tags via NFC and make some adjustments. Although the developer expressly forbids using the app for anything illegal, you could always upload a bitmap of your favorite silly meme to a device you own. TagTinker is “an independent project intended strictly for educational research, security curiosity, and displaying digital art on hardware that you legally own.”

What’s the big deal with TagTinker and why is it news-worthy?

The key takeaway here is really how vulnerable the e-paper-style price tags are. You can use NFC and infrared transceivers to change or upload data without many roadblocks. There’s nothing inherently headline-grabbing about the application, but those little tag devices with an e-paper-like screen are pretty neat as-is. Not to mention, it’s always cool to see how the Flipper Zero can be used in new ways and how developers are continually expanding its capabilities.

TagTinker allows you to “display text,” show “test patterns,” and, if you have a Wi-Fi dev board for your Flipper Zero, “unlock live, network-rendered tag designs.” You can do some really neat stuff if you have one of those ESLs lying around. It’s also surprising how vulnerable they are. Anyone could change them in the real world. 

Despite how it may seem, neither the Flipper Zero nor this app is necessarily intended for nefarious purposes, and as a whole, it can be quite a handy little setup. What’s more surprising is that you can travel with a Flipper Zero in your carry-on luggage, as the TSA doesn’t explicitly prohibit it. You could take yours all over the world with you, program it to open the garage doors on your rental while visiting, or tinker while you’re away from home. One thing is certain: you should unequivocally not use this tool or this app to do anything untoward, like putting risqué bitmaps on public devices.

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