Life Style

Google has released its April 2025 Android Security Bulletin, which includes patches for 62 vulnerabilities affecting Android devices. Two of the fixes address critical zero-day flaws that may have been exploited in "limited, targeted" attacks, according to Google. Zero-days are security vulnerabilities that are exploited before the software developer can identify the flaw and issue a patch. The security update for April includes fixes for a range of issues, many of which elevation of privilege flaws, as well as vulnerabilities with Qualcomm, MediaTek, Arm, and Imagination Technologies components. Two serious exploitsOne of the zero-day exploits (labeled CVE-2024-53197) is an elevation of privilege flaw in the Linux kernel's USB-audio driver for ALSA Devices. According to Bleeping Computer...

We may earn a commission from links on this page.Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve ever tried dragging a too-large speaker—or worse, relied on your phone’s tiny audio for sound projection—you should appreciate this sale on the Skullcandy Terrain Mini: It's palm-sized, no-frills, and currently on sale for $34.99 down from $39.99 on StackSocial, with free shipping in the U.S. That price drop isn’t jaw-dropping, but for under $35, you’re looking at a IPX7-rated waterproof speaker that won’t be damaged if it's dropped in the pool this summer.The Skullcandy Terrain Mini has Bluetooth 5.3, so the connection holds steady within a 33-foot range. The battery is said to give you 14 hours of playtime, which should cover most...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’ve heard new parents say things like “I can’t even remember what my life was like before the birth of my child.” Well, I don’t have children, but I’m pretty sure I can relate: I can’t remember my life before my Instant Vortex air fryer. I’ve been using this helpful appliance for three years now, and things have only gotten better since. In my kitchen, anyway. I originally got the Instant Vortex 5.7-quart so I could write more recipes for Thanksgiving food coverage. I didn’t particularly want an air fryer—how much could a small countertop oven possibly help with Thanksgiving, I thought, let alone day-to-day cooking? Why would anyone even use this thing? I judged it endlessly—until I did start using it. The basics...

Good news for TikTok fans: the ban won't be banned on Saturday.On Friday, President Trump announced on Truth Social his intentions to sign an executive order to "keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days." That gives the government and TikTok until June 18 to find a buyer, or else kick the can down the rode another time. This is the second time Trump has delayed the effects of the so-called TikTok ban—officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. That act required TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to find a United States-based buyer, or else face a ban in the country entirely. ByteDance did not sell, and, as such, the app went dark in the U.S. shortly before the deadline. TikTok brought its services back online the next day, f...

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the first Nintendo console to be a direct successor to a predecessor, number and all. Sure, everyone knew what “Super Nintendo” meant, but now more than ever, Nintendo is looking to competitors like Sony for cues, aiming for a simpler and more straightforward next-gen upgrade this time around. It makes sense—the Switch was its most successful home console yet, and when Nintendo tried to follow up the Wii with the more out-of-left-field Wii U, it flopped. So why mess with success? But that strategy does leave the Switch 2 in a precarious position, especially given its hefty $450 price point (which, it turns out, might not even be final, as the company has delayed pre-orders to attempt to come up with a response to the US' recent global tariffs, which could result in...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When my cheap Amazon spin bike broke, I wanted to upgrade to something better. But even though I was already following along with Peloton videos on the company's app, I thought getting an actual Peloton was out of reach. Yet as I shopped, I began to change my mind: Even a good off-brand spin bike will start in the high triple digits, and it turns out Pelotons can be rented, or even purchased used. Thus began my quest for a cheaper Peloton, and in the end, I bought a used model I’m very happy with.Mine cost $950 through a Facebook Marketplace sale in 2022. If I had taken the time to shop around and negotiate more, I likely could have found one for less. (Used Pelotons are also a lot cheaper now than they were then.)...

There’s the egg price problem for sure, but whether you’re trying to save grocery money or you have an aversion to eggs for dietary or health restrictions—you too deserve cake. Cake for a birthday or cake on a whim, there should be nothing holding you back from achieving your sugary dreams of the moment, least of all a lack of eggless cake recipes. I tested out five common and accessible egg replacement options to see which one produced the best eggless cake.The batterI decided to test a basic yellow cake recipe I’ve used before. It uses a combination of butter and oil, sugar, milk, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, and usually eggs. It’s a good layering cake since when it’s prepared as-written (with eggs), it produces a sturdy, level (not domed), vanilla scented cake. In the in...

If I told you that your TV watches everything you do in the name of data collection and advertising, it likely wouldn’t shock you. It’s 2025, after all; we're used to a general lack of privacy. Still, it’s not cool, and it turns out you can stop it (even if your TV manufacturer has opted you into it). So, how do you stop your smart TV from tracking what you watch, so you can go back to the days of watching Netflix or playing video games in peace? You need to turn off ACR.How does your TV track what you watch?Meet ACR: This technology, short for automatic content recognition, allows your smart TV to watch what you watch, identify what you watch, and use that information to both recommend new content and serve you more relevant ads. Your TV observes moments in a show or movie (sometimes incl...

Around November of last year, when readers were certainly not paying attention to anything else, Nintendo briefly shared that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be backwards compatible with games for the original Nintendo Switch. Fast forward to this year, and it turns out that’s not so clear cut. According to Nintendo, the Switch 2 can play the vast majority of Nintendo Switch 1 games, but there are some caveats to keep in mind.The Switch 2 uses emulation to play Switch 1 gamesAs Nintendo posted to its site yesterday and confirmed in a developer roundtable I attended, the Switch 2 does not have any Switch 1 hardware inside. This means that, unlike the Nintendo DS did with the Game Boy Advance, it can’t play Switch games “natively,” meaning it’s not able to run them exactly as they might work on ...

Google is planning a new update for its upcoming Pixel 9a which includes a new feature dedicated to protecting and prolonging the phone's battery. While the goal is longevity, this new battery management feature will actually end up reducing the battery capacity of the Pixel 9a over time. It won't just be the Pixel 9a, as other Pixel series phones will eventually receive the feature too. The kicker, though, is Pixel 9a users can't turn this feature off.Why do Lithium-ion batteries need management?All lithium-ion batteries degrade over time. As you use your smartphone, and as you continue to charge it, the total battery capacity goes down. Eventually, charging your phone to 100% doesn't last as long as it used to: maybe 100% battery today really gets you 80% of the battery capacity of the b...