Subaru’s Forgotten BRAT Might Be the Answer to America’s Truck Problem
Subaru’s 1978‑87 BRAT, a quirky compact pickup, sold about 100,000 units in North America and used rear‑facing jump seats to avoid the 25% “Chicken Tax.” The compact pickup segment is booming, with Ford’s Maverick hitting a record 155,051 sales in 2025 and rivals like Hyundai’s Santa Cruz gaining traction. Toyota, which owns roughly 20% of Subaru, could supply a shared unibody platform, allowing a modern hybrid or electric BRAT to launch in the $30,000‑$40,000 price band. Reviving the BRAT would give consumers an affordable, fuel‑efficient alternative to costly full‑size trucks.
These Are My 10 Favorite Open-Source Android Apps
Andy Betts highlights ten open‑source Android apps he uses daily, ranging from Bitwarden password manager to Windscribe VPN. Each app delivers feature‑rich performance, strong privacy controls, and minimal permissions compared with many proprietary alternatives. Betts emphasizes the transparency of open‑source...
Why I Stopped Using RAID on My Plex Media Server
The author abandoned traditional RAID on his Plex media server in favor of Unraid’s parity‑based architecture. RAID’s requirement for identical drive sizes and dependence on a single OS/controller limited usable capacity and introduced single points of failure. Unraid allows mixed‑size...
Razer's First Split Ergonomic Keyboard Is Here
Razer has launched the Pro Type Ergo, its first split ergonomic keyboard, aimed at reducing strain and boosting productivity for office users. The device features a split QWERTY layout, a cushioned wrist rest, dual B keys, and a mini space‑bar...
Does Your Next SUV Have Enough Cargo Space? 3 Things the Specs Don’t Tell You
Choosing an SUV involves more than horsepower; real-world cargo capacity often falls short of brochure figures. Automakers calculate space using the SAE J1100 standard, which fills every nook with standardized blocks, ignoring the shape of strollers, groceries, or sports gear....
This American SUV Drives Like an Alfa Romeo—And Costs Just $25,000
The Dodge Hornet, a performance‑focused compact SUV built on the Alfa Romeo Tonale platform, was discontinued after only three model years, leaving a large inventory of used vehicles. Original pricing ranged from $31,000 for the GT to $45,000 for the...
The Truth About Your Oil Life Monitor: How It Works and when to Really Change Your Oil
Synthetic lubricants have extended oil‑change intervals from the historic 3,000 miles to typically 7,500‑15,000 miles, making oil‑life monitors a standard feature in new vehicles. Most monitors use algorithmic calculations based on engine revolutions, idle time, temperature and load rather than...
I've Used Google Fi for 8 Years—Here's Why I've Stuck Around for so Long
Joe Fedewa, a veteran tech journalist, has relied on Google Fi for eight years, citing its hassle‑free number porting, flexible pricing and seamless device activation. The carrier’s original $35 base fee plus $10 per gigabyte model remains unchanged, while newer...
The Japanese Hybrid SUV Making Luxury Brands Nervous
Honda’s 2026 CR‑V Hybrid offers a premium‑grade SUV experience at a sub‑luxury price point, starting at $35,630 before destination fees. The model combines a 204‑horsepower series‑parallel hybrid powertrain with eCVT, delivering 0‑60 mph times around eight seconds and fuel economy...
The American SUV Beating the RAV4 on Tech, Value, and Versatility
The 2026 GMC Terrain receives a full refresh, adding three distinct trims and a suite of premium tech at a lower starting price than the Toyota RAV4. Standard equipment now includes a 15‑inch touchscreen with Google Assistant, heated seats and...
The Ultimate Guide to Android Keyboards (2026 Edition)
Joe Fedewa’s 2026 guide reviews the top Android keyboard apps, highlighting mainstream choices like Gboard, SwiftKey, and Samsung Keyboard, as well as niche options for privacy, customization, power typing, and voice input. He recommends HeliBoard as an open‑source, offline alternative...
Your Nearly Full SSD Is Tanking Your Performance—Here's Why
A nearly full NVMe SSD dramatically slows down as free space dwindles, especially beyond the 80%‑filled mark. The author’s tests on a 2 TB drive showed performance throttling at 95% and 89% capacity, with a sharp recovery once usage fell to...
Creating a DIY Homelab: Fast, Free, and Beginner-Friendly
Dibakar Ghosh shows how to convert a spare PC into a fully functional homelab using ZimaOS, a free, GUI‑driven NAS and home‑server platform. The installation, from downloading the ISO to configuring services, takes about 45 minutes and requires no terminal...
Stop Overpaying for Car Stereos: Budget Android Auto Units Now Rival the Expensive Ones
Budget Android Auto head units priced $90‑$200 now match features of premium models. The author upgraded a 2000s BMW with a $100 unit, gaining wireless Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a 7‑inch touchscreen, backup camera, and steering‑wheel control. These units act...
Android's Hidden Notification History Saves Everything You Swiped Away by Accident
Android includes a hidden Notification History feature that records every alert received in the last 24 hours. Users can view the list through Settings > Notifications > Notification history on devices such as Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Google Pixel. Tapping an entry reopens the originating...
How Nvidia Locked AMD Out of the GPU Market (Even when AMD Wins on Paper)
Nvidia continues to dominate the discrete graphics market, commanding roughly 95 % of shipments and enjoying overwhelming brand mindshare. Its proprietary technologies—DLSS, NVENC, and CUDA—remain unavailable to rivals, creating a developer lock‑in that amplifies the advantage. Meanwhile AMD’s Radeon cards, such...
2026 Acura ADX Proves Luxury SUVs Don't Have to Cost $50K
Acura’s 2026 ADX keeps its base MSRP at $36,450, unchanged from the 2025 model, positioning it about $13,500 below the U.S. average new‑car price of $50,000. The compact luxury SUV offers a 1.5‑liter turbocharged engine with 190 hp, a sport‑tuned CVT,...
Stop Accepting Smart Home Downtime—Here's How I Built Mine to Never Fail
Patrick Campanale details how his smart home suffered frequent outages whenever his single Home Assistant server required maintenance. He resolved the issue by deploying a three‑node Proxmox high‑availability (HA) cluster, allowing the Home Assistant VM to migrate automatically if a...
Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra Has a Screen that Blacks Out when Someone Looks over Your Shoulder
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 Ultra with a new "Flex Magic Pixel" privacy display that physically narrows OLED pixels, turning the screen black to anyone viewing from the side. The feature can be toggled manually or set to activate automatically...
I've Used Waze for 10 Years—Here's Why I Refuse to Switch to Google Maps
Cory Gunther, senior author at Valnet, argues that Waze outperforms Google Maps by leveraging a crowdsourced network that reports police, accidents, potholes and other hazards in real time. He recounts a 2016 cross‑country trip where Waze rerouted him around a...
This Is the Best Home Assistant Project You Can Do in an Hour
The article outlines a quick Home Assistant project that pairs a PIR motion sensor with a 24 GHz mmWave presence sensor—specifically the Everything Presence One device—to create room‑by‑room lighting that turns on when you enter and off when you leave. By...
Intel Is Artificially Boosting CPU Benchmark Tests, Says Geekbench
Intel has introduced a Binary Optimization Tool that modifies instruction sequences to boost performance in specific benchmarks. When run through Geekbench 6, the tool can increase workload scores by up to 40% and overall scores by as much as 8%, but...
Linux-Powered PinePhone Might Not Get a Sequel, and postmarketOS Is One Reason
The PinePhone and PinePhone Pro, pioneering Linux‑based smartphones, are unlikely to see a successor as Pine64 cites chip shortages and high financial risk. The mobile Linux community is increasingly focusing on porting Linux to inexpensive Android devices through projects like...
Skip the RTX 50-Series: This $7 App Does What DLSS 4.5 Promises
Nvidia's DLSS 4.5 introduces a second‑generation transformer model and dynamic multi‑frame generation, promising near‑RTX 4090 performance on lower‑end cards. A $7 Steam app called Lossless Scaling can replicate many of DLSS’s upscaling and frame‑generation benefits across any GPU, extending the life of...
Buying a Used Hybrid? 5 Critical Checks that Could Save You Thousands
Buying a pre‑owned hybrid requires more than checking mileage; five critical inspections can prevent costly surprises. First, verify the battery’s state of health, aiming for above 70% capacity to avoid premature replacement. Second, target vehicles four to six years old,...
Firefox 149 Now Available with Multitasking Upgrades and New Visuals
Mozilla rolled out Firefox 149 a day early, introducing a built‑in split‑screen mode that lets users browse two tabs side‑by‑side. The update also adds faster PDF rendering via enhanced hardware acceleration and a new Share button for quick content distribution. Security...
3 Additives that Protect High-Mileage Engines (and when to Use Them)
The article outlines three engine additives—Zinc Dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP), Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS₂), and Polyetheramine (PEA)—that can extend the life of high‑mileage engines. It explains how each compound forms protective films, reduces friction, or stabilizes combustion under demanding conditions. Practical product recommendations...
DietPi Just Made It Easy to Host Your Own Google Photos on a Raspberry Pi
DietPi released version 10.2, adding Immich—a self‑hosted Google Photos alternative—as an optional package for 64‑bit x86 and ARMv8 devices. The update also includes a separate machine‑learning server for facial recognition, which can run on a different Raspberry Pi to preserve resources. Additional new...
Nvidia Quietly Moved the Legendary GTX 1080 Ti and 4 Other Classic GPUs to Legacy Status
Nvidia announced that the GTX 1060, 750 Ti, 970, 980 Ti and 1080 Ti have been moved to legacy status, ending regular Game Ready driver updates after October 2025. The cards will receive only quarterly security patches through October 2028, signaling that Nvidia will no longer...
This Is the Fastest and Cheapest Way to Build a Fully Offline Home Assistant Smart Home
Building a fully offline Home Assistant smart home can be done on a budget by repurposing a used PC for $50‑$60 or opting for the Home Assistant Green hub. A Raspberry Pi 5 offers a plug‑and‑play alternative at about $125,...
Eco Mode Doesn’t Always Save Gas: 5 Reasons to Reconsider Using It
Gas prices have surged past $3.80 per gallon, prompting drivers to seek fuel‑saving tricks. Eco Mode, marketed as an economy feature, reduces throttle response, shifts earlier, and limits climate‑control power. Independent testing shows it rarely improves mileage and can even increase...
Subaru's Small Hybrid SUV Blends Efficiency with Adventure-Ready Capability
Subaru launched the 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid, a subcompact SUV that pairs its 2.5‑liter boxer‑hybrid powertrain with standard symmetrical all‑wheel drive. Priced from $30,625, it offers 194 hp, 8.7 inches of ground clearance, and a suite of premium tech, positioning it as one...
3 Hard-to-Find Classic TV Shows You Can Finally Stream
The article highlights three once‑hard‑to‑find sitcoms—*The Dana Carvey Show*, *The Drew Carey Show*, and *Mama’s Family*—that are now streaming legally. *The Dana Carvey Show* is on Apple TV, *The Drew Carey Show* is free on Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex and The Roku Channel, and *Mama’s Family* streams on Apple TV and Pluto TV. Licensing hurdles, especially...
Like Chuck Norris, These 5 Off-Road Trucks Defy the Laws of Physics
Chuck Norris died on March 19, 2026, prompting a tribute that spotlights five ultra‑capable off‑road trucks. The list features the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, Rezvani Hercules 6x6 Military Edition, Mercedes‑Benz Unimog U 5023, Hennessey Mammoth 1000 TRX, and INKAS Sentry, each boasting extreme...
This French Porsche Cayman Rival Could Finally Come to the U.S.
Alpine is actively preparing its A110 sports car for a U.S. debut, having begun crash‑testing the model on American roads. CEO Philippe Krief has publicly stated that the A110 is the brand’s core offering and that a launch is under consideration,...
Why Western Digital Completely Embarrassed Seagate in the 2025 Backblaze Reliability Report
Backblaze’s 2025 HDD reliability report shows Western Digital (WD) leading with an overall failure rate of 0.86%, the lowest among major vendors. Toshiba follows at 1.86%, HGST at 2.26%, and Seagate trails at 2.41%. WD’s WUH722222ALE6L4 22 TB model posted the...
Not a Fan of Plex’s Apps? The Plezy Client Is Even Better Now on Desktop, Mobile, and TV
Plezy, an open‑source Plex client built with Flutter, has expanded its reach across desktop, mobile, and TV platforms. The latest 1.28 release introduces Live TV channel favorites, Picture‑in‑Picture on iOS/macOS, and a redesigned TV player UI. Additional improvements include a universal...
These 5 Luxury Cars Guzzle Way More Gas than a Ford Maverick
The 2026 Ford Maverick compact pickup achieves 26 MPG combined, far surpassing the fuel economy of five ultra‑luxury models. Compared with the BMW M8 Competition, Audi RS 7, Mercedes‑AMG G 63, Cadillac CT5‑V Blackwing and Rolls‑Royce Cullinan, the Maverick is 52‑85 % more efficient...
Homelab Projects to Try This Weekend (March 20 - 22)
Weekend homelab enthusiasts can boost productivity by deploying three open‑source Docker containers: Stirring PDF for free PDF editing, Planka for a self‑hosted Kanban board, and Glances for real‑time server monitoring. Each service runs locally, can be accessed via reverse proxy or...
Linux Phones Could Get Even Better with postmarketOS ‘Duranium’
postmarketOS announced Duranium, an immutable variant that stores the core system on read‑only partitions and rolls back failed updates automatically. The new model swaps the traditional apk package manager for Flatpak as the primary app installer, while also supporting coldbrew,...
The System76 Thelio Mira Is the New Linux Desktop Workstation to Beat
System76 unveiled the Thelio Mira, a high‑performance Linux‑focused desktop featuring AMD Ryzen 9000 series CPUs and a redesigned, service‑oriented chassis. The workstation ships with Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and offers GPU options ranging from an RTX 3050 to an RTX 5090, plus an AMD...
I 3D Printed My Own Smart Display because Google's Wasn't Good Enough
A maker dissatisfied with Google Nest Hub's limited media support built a custom smart display using a 3D‑printed enclosure. The enclosure houses a Google Home Mini and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, linked via Bluetooth and an $8 USB‑C splitter. By...
My Samsung Galaxy's Camera Instantly Got Better After I Tweaked These Settings
Samsung Galaxy phones ship with powerful cameras, but default settings often limit their potential. By enabling the composition guide, selecting the sensor’s maximum resolution, reassigning volume keys to zoom, and manually adjusting exposure, users can extract noticeably better images without...
This Porsche SUV Is Shockingly Reliable—And Cheaper Used than You Think
The 2020 Porsche Macan blends sports‑car dynamics with compact SUV practicality, offering a turbocharged 2.0‑liter engine that delivers 248 hp and a 0‑60 time of 5.3 seconds. Reliability scores are strong—J.D. Power 80/100 and iSeeCars 8.1/10—and the model averages a 14‑year,...
Lincoln’s $100K Spa on Wheels: Inside the Redesigned 2026 Navigator
The 2026 Lincoln Navigator builds on its 2025 redesign with a refreshed exterior, a 3.5 L V6 powertrain and a tech‑heavy cabin marketed as a “spa on wheels.” Lincoln reintroduces the entry‑level Premiere trim, now starting around $92,000, while offering Black...
Why Your Expensive New Router Feels Slow: 5 Next-Gen Features Disabled by Default
Many new Wi‑Fi 7 routers ship with key performance features turned off, causing users to experience slower speeds despite premium hardware. By default, routers often restrict channel width and disable OFDMA, MU‑MIMO, Target Wake Time, and Multi‑Link Operation. Enabling these settings...
6 Reasons the 2026 Subaru Outback Is Still the Ultimate Adventure Wagon
The 2026 Subaru Outback launches its seventh generation with a starting MSRP of $36,445, undercutting most midsize crossovers while retaining standard all‑wheel drive. Two Boxer engine options, including a turbo‑charged 2.4‑liter, pair with a Lineartronic CVT and Subaru’s Symmetrical AWD...
When Storage Hijacked the Motherboard: The Forgotten History of the RAM-Slot SSD
DIMM SSDs are storage devices that occupy standard DDR memory slots, but they operate either as conventional SATA drives or as persistent‑memory modules directly attached to the memory bus. Products such as Viking’s SATADIMM and Dell’s NVDIMM‑N demonstrate the two...
Don't Panic over New Linux Exploits: How to Check if Your PC Is Affected in Under 5 Minutes
The article guides Linux users on quickly confirming whether a newly reported CVE affects their system. It outlines step‑by‑step checks for Debian, Ubuntu, and RHEL, including package version comparison and kernel verification. The author emphasizes that most distro teams release...
How to Make ChatGPT Work Like a Project Management System
Dibakar Ghosh demonstrates how OpenAI’s new Projects, Tasks, Canvas, and collaboration features let users repurpose ChatGPT into a full‑featured project‑management system. By embedding custom instructions and leveraging memory, users can create projects that store tasks with name, priority, due date,...