…As we've covered before, smart home and IoT hardware can often be among the worst offenders. They're either developed for reliability over control, have a cloud-first design, and offer…
…Power users, however, have always played a different game, and if something exists that can give them more control over their hardware, they will always jump at it, including yours truly. The…
…periodic stability fixes, a pullback on its Copilot AI push, easier update control, and more. At Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC 2026) , the tech giant announced its Cloud-Initiated Driver…
…A small box that can replace your console and desktop at the same time. Plug it into a TV, grab a controller, and you're done. Except you're usually not. You…
…extra hardware in the chain either. And yes, it supports Plex streaming too. There's a significant quality-of-life improvement that's hard to ignore, because everything is essentially controlled with…
Rich Edmonds Apr 9, 2026, 8:01 AM EDT Richard is the PC Hardware Lead at XDA and has been covering the technology industry for almost two decades. He's been building…
…because network hardware is made to work with and build upon other hardware. Ex-enterprise switches fill in that feature gap, with LAGG, VLANs, network monitoring, per-port controls, and more. That…
…it with local control, led by Matter and Home Assistant. This isn't just about privacy; it is also about latency, reliability, and the literal bricking of the hardware you supposedly own…
…The hardware itself was perfectly fine, yet the software kept crashing. After updating the device drivers and management software, the responsiveness improved immediately, and the disconnects stopped. I experienced similar issues with…
…Void Linux Void Linux is a lightweight, independent distro built for speed, simplicity, and control. Its lean design makes it a great fit for older hardware and minimal setups. It’s not…