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How to Build a Smart Home Without Internet Connectivity

the finest smart light bulbs that can adjust brightness and hue to nearly undetectable home security devices that notify you when someone is at your front door, there’s hardly anything you can’t accomplish with the newest and most advanced technology — that is, unless your internet connection drops.

Numerous smart home devices necessitate a Wi-Fi connection to operate, and without this essential link to the internet, your tech capabilities diminish significantly. Fortunately, you can establish a strong smart home that operates independently of an internet connection altogether. If you’ve explored the realm of smart devices, you may have encountered the terms Zigbee and Z-Wave: These represent local protocols that form a closed network for your smart technology to reside within.

A primary advantage is improved security, as your devices won’t need to transmit and receive information from outside servers. If this sounds attractive, one of the initial components to think about for your internet-less smart home is a Zigbee or Z-Wave hub. You can view this as the core of your alternate smart home that enables your devices to interact with one another and perform automations.

Considerations for your internet-less smart home

Three Cost-Effective Options to Spotify Premium You Might Want to Switch To

Spotify will be raising its subscription fees shortly, so it’s time to consider a change. Don’t feel obligated to stick with the service when numerous viable alternatives to Spotify are available and recommended by other users.

While there is a variety of music streaming platforms you could transition to, not every choice is less expensive. Some may exceed Spotify Premium’s $11.99/month, making them impractical for those aiming to reduce their monthly subscription expenses. Fortunately, we’ve conducted thorough research to identify the most affordable alternatives to Spotify Premium that you can utilize.

Bandcamp

Jennifer Lawrence Looks Back on the Difficulties of Her 2016 Science Fiction Movie

Box Office Mojo). Nevertheless, it was a contentious film; the reviews from critics were decidedly harsh, and the movie currently holds a 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audience feedback is more favorable, with 63% positive ratings from over 50,000 reviews, which is decent, but consensus agrees on one issue: the story required additional suspense, especially by incorporating a twist. It had the potential to be surprising, but we discover it quite early on instead.

In a discussion with Vogue, Lawrence remarked, “I’m let down by myself for not recognizing it.” She indicated that the storyline could have been more thrilling. “I found the script to be gorgeous–it presented a flawed, intricate love tale.” She also mentioned that she doesn’t regret the film, but wishes she had contemplated the script further. In another conversation with The New York Times, Lawrence revealed that maybe she laments the film more than she admits. She noted that Adele — yes, the singer — advised her against starring in it because “space movies are the new vampire movies.”

Years after “Passengers,” Jennifer Lawrence felt that her performances had not been her best since that project. She told Vanity Fair in 2021 that due to her numerous film appearances, people were tired of her. “It had reached a stage where I couldn’t do anything correctly. If I stepped onto a red carpet, it was, ‘Why didn’t she sprint?'” Despite her sentiments, “Passengers” remains polarizing. You either adore it or enjoy disliking it.

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Cost-effective and Premium Cooling Pad Stops Laptop from Overheating

one of the top accessories for enhancing laptop productivity. A stand allows ample space underneath for warm air to flow out and cool air to flow in.

If you’re engaged in activities that rapidly heat up the laptop, such as gaming, you may require additional assistance. Check out the KeiBn laptop cooling pad, a stand designed for laptops ranging from 10 to 15.6 inches, equipped with two large, robust fans to enhance airflow. It also features an integrated foldable phone holder and two USB 2.0 ports for additional connectivity, all priced at just $16. Despite its low cost, it boasts impressive quality, with numerous reviewers expressing their satisfaction. It has garnered over 3,100 reviews on Amazon, with 71% of them rating it five stars.

How effective is this cooling pad in preventing overheating?

Essentially, it functions as a laptop stand featuring two built-in fans for enhanced cooling. Allegedly, the fans generate less than 28 decibels of sound, and there’s a dial to modify the speed from slow to fast. As for its performance, users have noted that “you receive exactly what you require for a very low price,” indicating that the pad effectively cools and lowers laptop temperatures. Other favorable remarks describe it as an “affordable investment,” an “excellent cooler,” and noting that it’s “quiet with a sturdy design.” However, there are some reviewers who mention longevity issues, such as the frame breaking or one of the fans ceasing to function. It’s often challenging to determine how these defective units were handled, though.

Overall, we can conclude that it is a dependable cooling pad for most laptops within the 10 to 15-inch size range, featuring some additional conveniences like the phone stand and extra USB ports. At this price point, it might be worth considering any minor drawbacks for many users. USB devices like this cooling pad are truly among the best ways to enhance the usability of your gaming laptop or desktop. Just ensure that you’re using the correct USB port, as some USB ports provide faster transfer speeds and more power – especially for powered devices, of course.

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How to Rearrange Apps and Channels on Your Roku Home Screen

accessing your Roku’s hidden menus.

Simply highlight the tile you wish to relocate on your Roku’s Home Screen. Next, press the star button on your Roku remote to bring up the options menu. Utilize the directional pad to choose the Move app option, and then use the remote to place the tile in its new position. Once finished, hit OK. It’s that simple.

You’ll need to apply these adjustments for each Roku device you are signed into

User-Suggested Long-lasting and Budget-friendly TV Brands

We may earn a commission on purchases made via links.

Televisions can be rather pricey. While top-tier models often carry hefty price tags that can reach $5,000 or beyond, numerous choices exist for those seeking an affordable set under $300. Nonetheless, opting for lower-priced TVs can lead to poor decisions if purchasing from a brand that lacks stringent quality controls.

Choosing a lesser-known or less-trustworthy brand can turn out to be expensive, as your TV might require replacement sooner than desired due to various issues. Thus, while opting for a budget model might entail sacrificing quality and even dependability, certain brands offer TVs that can reliably last for several years without problems, as reported by users online.

Inexpensive smart TVs can endure for many years, but one vital aspect to consider while shopping is the brand. We’ve dedicated time to review user feedback about the leading brands recognized for budget-friendly TV sets, assessing them primarily based on a range of quality criteria. If you’re in the market for a low-cost TV for your living space, bedroom, or kitchen, ensure you stick with these brands according to user feedback — otherwise, you might find yourself regretting your choice.

TCL

Details Regarding the Possible Merger of Netflix and HBO Max Applications

fans are curious if this implies that HBO Max content will be integrated into the Netflix app for streaming, necessitating a single subscription, likely at a higher cost, to access all content.

The brief response is no, at least for the time being. Netflix has reassured its users that the two streaming platforms will keep operating separately for the foreseeable future, despite both being part of Netflix’s ownership. Thus, Netflix original series will remain on Netflix while HBO Max productions will stay on HBO Max, with some existing overlap. However, this does not guarantee that conditions won’t evolve later on.

What we know so far

Causes for the Cessation of Android Auto in Vehicles

moving away from CarPlay. There are several reasons behind this — though different individuals might offer varying perspectives.

Generally, it is thought that automakers are eliminating Android Auto support primarily to enhance their control over user information. Since Android Auto relies on your phone’s connection, all data transmitted through it goes directly to Android and the phone maker. Consequently, by adopting integrated systems, car manufacturers can indeed gather more insights into how you interact with the systems in place, while potentially extracting additional revenue from you via subscriptions.

Naturally, the overall intricacies behind it are considerably more complicated, particularly as companies like GM — which has revealed intentions to substitute CarPlay and Android Auto support with its proprietary Gemini-based AI system — aim to centralize more functions than they have in the past. The firm has already removed Android Auto from its electric vehicles, giving it a lead on this concept.

Some vehicles have never been compatible with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay

Nvidia’s Choice to Cease Support for Well-Known Graphics Cards in 2025

discontinued assistance for Windows 10, Nvidia is phasing out support for certain older graphics cards, despite their continued popularity. In 2018, Nvidia revealed its schedule for UNIX graphics depreciation. The firm clarified that Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta architecture GPUs like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and 1050 TI would no longer receive updates following the 580 series drivers, with the final official update, 590.44.01, rolled out on December 2, 2025. Although the announcement was directed at UNIX and Linux systems, driver branches are interconnected, meaning Windows updates will also halt.

In the end, the associated cards are considered outdated — the Pascal GTX 10 Series is nearing a decade old, whereas the other architectures are aged between eight and 11 years. Concluding support for outdated products could allow the allocation of resources to focus on next-gen items, including an increased emphasis on AI. While the GTX line (which means Giga Texel Shader eXtreme) is no longer manufactured, some may be surprised that Nvidia provided support for the cards for such an extended period. Nonetheless, the termination of support for older products is not a new phenomenon; Nvidia has previously ended support for Fermi and Kepler architecture cards, which included GeForce 400, 500, 600, and 700 Series GPUs.

What is even more unexpected is that Valve recently released the findings of a November 2025 hardware survey it conducted with users, revealing that the GTX 1060 and GTX 1050 Ti rank among the top 25 video cards for Steam users. Specifically, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 was the 15th most popular card, representing 1.86% of Steam users. Even

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Top 3 RSS Reader Applications to Utilize in 2026

the enjoyment of engaging with Google Discover while sifting through its advertisements and AI-generated clickbait headlines highlights why Google Reader and its conventional use of RSS continue to be highly valued. 

Numerous AI-powered readers that customize outcomes like Discover often display content you’d rather not encounter, while a standard RSS reader exclusively presents material from the sites to which you’ve subscribed. It appears that entrusting bots with the labor of curating your preferences isn’t always beneficial for you. This is the reason why RSS applications offering a balanced selection of recommended content, curated specifically from your selected RSS feeds, provide a far more reliable method for news consumption.

Rather than depending on bots to deliver your news, you can begin utilizing a standard RSS reader that gives you greater control over your content, which is why we’ve put together a list of the leading RSS readers to help you embark on this journey in 2026. Start the new year with less clutter in your life by taking advantage of these three excellent RSS reading applications.

Inoreader