External USB/Thunderbolt SSDs and/or hard drives (aka direct-attached storage, or DAS) are a super-convenient way to add storage capacity to your system as well as back it up. External drives are also extremely handy for transporting data between locations and devices in what used to be known as sneaker-net.
Your particular needs will determine whether your choice for external storage should…
I don’t want a thinner laptop. I want a better one
April 28, 2026
I used to think thinner laptops were the better option. I don’t anymore.
Thinner just seemed like the natural direction for laptops, especially given how they first started out (big and boxy!). I get the appeal, too. A featherlight laptop is seriously impressive…
Sync.com review: Superb online device sync and backup
April 28, 2026
Where online storage services such as Dropbox, iCloud, and others only allow you to sync data across devices, Sync.com adds discrete unsynced storage to the mix via its Vault folder. This makes it particularly well-suited for backup. I like the approach, and I think the…
It was fun while it lasted, but it’s starting to look like the end for flat-rate AI plans as we know them, with GitHub being the first to turn out the lights.
Just a week after announcing it was halting signups for its flat-rate Copilot Pro and Pro+ plans, Github has announced that starting in June, those plans will switch over to usage-based pricing.
Both GitHub Copilot Pro and Pro+ will…
In the past, Microsoft has repeatedly pointed out that key security certificates in Windows 11 are due to expire as early as June 2026. These are required for Secure Boot, the security feature that prevents malicious software from loading during system startup.
Until now…
Framework has had a big week, announcing a brand new “Pro” variant of its excellent Laptop 13 design. Rebuilt from the ground up and featuring top-of-the-line Intel and AMD options, the 13 Pro still has the company’s fully repairable, upgradeable ethos at its core.
Investigation: RAM prices are falling. Don’t fall for it
April 27, 2026
Rising prices are the biggest tech story of 2026. Well, the biggest consumer tech story, anyway — the biggest story in a broader sense is “AI” in general. And that’s the answer to why prices are going up.
AI data centers are gobbling up memory manufacturing capacity. The trend is expected to continue for quite a while, and there’s almost no capacity left for consumer-level RAM and…
AMD’s V-Cache-infused X3D series of processors has been an absolute smash hit in the PC gaming space, pushing AMD to the forefront of the performance discussion after years of Intel dominance. But after three generations of success, fans were probably wondering when AMD…
If you’ve been shopping SSD prices recently, you may be suffering a severe case of sticker shock. 1TB external SSDs are around $200 — more than twice what they cost just six months ago. And forget 8TB SSDs — $1,300 and climbing.
What if I told you you could get 8TB of…
The antivirus feature I skip on every SSD-powered PC
April 24, 2026
Antivirus software is so much more than it used to be. In addition to blocking viruses, malware, and nasty tricks like phishing, today’s security suites also include tools that don’t just protect your local files, but can tune up your PC, too. But there’s one of these extra utilities I never use… and you probably shouldn’t, either.
It’s the file shredder.
Sometimes called a Data…
