Magazine

What might be the world's most popular forum appears to have rather hostile policies towards new users, with support basically unreachable and rules on what exactly newly created accounts can or can't do unclear at best.

Shindash's upcoming Shadow Generations level pack has been showcased in full, featuring "Skyward Castle", "Ark Rush", "White Citadel", "Steampunk Canyon", "Digital Circuit", and "Fog Forest". These levels feature new assets, high difficulty, and epic length with several branching paths.

Two things can be true: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a largely solitary masterpiece, and you’ve always wanted to bump into your friends in Novigrad. The new Witcher Online mod aims to do exactly that, adding multiplayer to CDPR’s RPG while still letting you run your own saves and story progress.

CheckMag Jailbreaking your Kindle with WinterBreak or AdBreak is easier than you might think, and when combined with KOReader and KindleForge, Amazon's e-reader can be made far better than Amazon would want.

Many generative AI detection programs have failed to recognize whether an image of a woman holding a banana is indeed AI generated. But if you look closely at the image, you will see enough clues that suggest it is not a real photo. We show you what to look for when you suspect an AI photo.

Digital Foundry, Hardware Unboxed, and other reputable sources are singing the praises of Nvidia's latest & greatest gaming monitor advancement and its elimination of sample-and-hold blur. It's not perfect, but motion has reportedly never been clearer on a flat panel.

CheckMag After years of owning Google's latest flagships and getting bored with the minor iterations, I decided to make the jump to my first foldable. While on paper, the extra screen real estate was its biggest selling point, the reality of owning a foldable is to compromise in almost every way.

CheckMag Lenovo used to have a design feature called the roll cage in ThinkPads, a Magnesium frame that strengthened the chassis stability and protected the internals. This feature is back in a new iteration called "Space Frame" on the new ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 G11 and X1 Carbon G14. We were able to take a look at both at CES 2026.

CheckMag With multiple new Macs expected to arrive in 2026, questions around when to buy have become increasingly relevant. This article outlines upcoming Mac and MacBook models and explains what expected updates mean for buyers considering a new Apple computer in the near term.

After Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro caused serious ear infections in numerous customers, a Galaxy Ring with a swollen battery has crushed a user's finger. Samsung's response is the same as it was back then: the health and safety of customers is clearly not a priority.

CheckMag With the growing number of users jumping from Windows to Linux, I decided to fully take the plunge and dive deep into the Open Source ocean. A few months and several headaches later, it has proved to be the best computer-related decision I've made in over a decade (and perhaps in my entire life).

There's always a color that manufacturers veer towards in a year, launching several of their products in the same or similar hue. For 2025, Blue seems to have been that color as several brands including Google, OnePlus, Motorola, Samsung, and Xiaomi launched at least one blue phone.

Modder Kongmeng brings Yami Yugi, main character of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, to Dragon Ball FighterZ via PC game modding. But this is no common cosmetic mod—a fully-custom moveset, including monster summons, spell cards, and even the ability to lose by running out of cards, are all present.

YouTuber The Greatest Developer has made a strong debut onto the platform. In his video released on Nov 27, 2025, The Greatest Developer unveils Real War (Not Fake), a take on one of the many fake ad games that's surprisingly fun and addictive. The content creator has 2 videos listed as of Dec 18.

CheckMag When a bored student discovered a mysterious device on the school's Wi-Fi network, questions arose about the hidden IoT infrastructure in public service buildings. Unsurprisingly, the true nature of these devices raises privacy concerns and, ironically, questions their safety.

CheckMag Android adaptive icons theme every icon on your device for that consistent look. However, unlike iOS, there is always at least one stubborn icon that doesn't support it. This icon pack supports dynamic colours and does a way better job than Google's tinted, or adaptive icons.

CheckMag Apple’s iOS 26.2 is positioned as a refinement update following the uneven rollout of earlier versions. In testing, the update focuses on improving overall system responsiveness and day-to-day stability rather than introducing new features. While some inconsistencies remain, iOS 26.2 delivers a more polished experience than its immediate predecessors, making it a notable step forward for the iOS 26 cycle.

Not sure which portable power station is right for you? We’ve curated a list of the best portable power stations, which helps you to pick the best power station for any budget.

I put my Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Aura Edition's touchscreen to the ultimate test: using it exclusively for a week. Can it really replace your traditional mouse? Find out the pros, cons, and surprising results.

I find the idea of self-hosting fascinating. I read about it regularly, and as someone who reviews PC hardware, I’m practically surrounded by ideal conditions—and gear—to finally get started. I’ve even tested devices that would be perfect for it. Yet despite thinking about it constantly, I still haven’t fully committed. Why?

No, I’m not talking about the social consequences. Our electric sonic toothbrush simply died after about 18 months. The replacement quit even sooner. Both units ended up with the exact same issue, which likely has to do with the fact that my partner and I share one toothbrush body—though of course not the brush heads.

CheckMag Early leaks point to notable design and hardware changes for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17e, including a more modern front layout and upgrades borrowed from the latest flagship models. With Apple expected to keep the starting price the same, the 17e is positioned as a more ambitious entry in the company’s budget line. A launch is rumoured for early 2026.

Need to create a Windows rescue boot stick? Or a USB for Linux Mint, another for Kali Linux, or Tails? Finding the right boot sticks used to be a hassle for me—but now I can handle Windows, Linux, and more with a single USB stick, thanks to Ventoy.

When you look at modern graphics cards, there is always the question about VRAM. Is 8 GB of mainstream GPUs like the GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 really sufficient, or are you going to have problems? We tested it with a couple of modern games.

Chatbots come with built-in safeguards designed to prevent them from producing harmful, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate content. But researchers and hackers have shown that, even with multiple patches, AIs can still be vulnerable to certain inputs that bypass those guardrails. One way to explore the basics is through an online game called Gandalf.

CheckMag GrapheneOS, the privacy and security focused aftermarket operating system, has received an experimental build for the Pixel 10 series, marking the first custom ROM available for the range.

As a laptop reviewer, I take countless screenshots during every test—benchmark results, control-center settings, and more. I need a tool that’s lightweight, captures screenshots quickly, and automatically saves them to a predefined folder in the format I want so I don’t have to convert anything afterward. This tool checks all those boxes and runs on every PC I use.

Copying text from a Word document is easy. But how many times have I watched a YouTube video and wished for a tool that could extract the text shown on screen? Well, the open source app Text Grab can do exactly that — and more.

Google’s Project Suncatcher aims to build AI data centers in space. The company's pitch is near-limitless solar energy. But experts say cooling in a vacuum is difficult, and the plan could worsen space debris and light pollution already troubling scientists.

What kind of storage is faster than any SSD? Your system memory. With an open-source tool, you can spin up a virtual drive directly in RAM — and it’s ridiculously fast. It’s not just useful for testing, either. With a bit of experimentation, it can be handy in everyday work, too.

In my hunt for an affordable but reliable smartwatch (around €50) with basic features and long battery life, I came across the Amazfit Active 2—listed as “Like New” for €51.70 through Amazon Warehouse Deals. Is this finally the one?

CheckMag November saw a heavy wave of watch releases from Casio, Seiko and Citizen, including new full-metal models, compact automatics, collaborative drops and several limited editions. Many pieces launched in regional batches and are already seeing fast sell-through.

I wanted a round smartwatch with long battery life and a vibration alarm that I can set directly on the watch — without annoying smartphone pairing. It basically didn’t need to do much at all, but it should be inexpensive. So I ordered one of those €20 models from Aliexpress. Here’s what I got.

CheckMag Moon phase watches are gaining ground for their charm and appeal. Given this is the 100th anniversary of the first moonphase complication, this list rounds up 5 of the best moonphase watches under $200, including picks from Casio, Timex, Fossil, and Citizen.

My old Amazfit Bip didn’t exactly die, but over the years it started looking pretty rough. So I went looking for a simple smartwatch with minimal features at a similar price — turns out that hardly exists anymore. Most smartwatches are stuffed with functions I don’t need. That not only costs more money than I’m willing to spend but usually eats into the battery life I actually care about.

Microsoft Surface keyboards covered with Alcantara and polymers are an example of a poor design choice due to their durability and cleaning issues, which result in thousands upon thousands of non-recyclable, worn-out keyboards entering landfills each year.

It’s a rare opportunity to take a closer look inside the usually very secretive production facilities of smartphone manufacturers and then take a new flagship phone home. Honor invited us to do exactly that on a factory tour that truly had something to show. Afterward, we tested the camera of the Honor Magic8 Pro in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Inside the high-tech world of smartphone tracking: A real-world demonstration of how Google and Samsung’s location systems can help mobile users to claw back their stolen devices... and the essential features every phone owner should activate to protect their device and data.

CheckMag The Neo Geo offered a home experience that most could only find at the local diner, eatery or arcade, and few could afford. Here are the best games for it you may have missed in every genre.

It will be a while before the first notebooks with the new Snapdragon X2 chipsets are available. However, Qualcomm has invited us to learn more about the new SoCs for Windows on ARM, including further benchmarks.

The MX Master 4 is the latest mouse in Logitech’s long-running MX Master range. A direct successor to the MX Master 3S brings some notable upgrades, which surely keep it in the race for the best mouse on the market. The highly customizable mouse now comes with exceptional battery life and a comfortable ergonomic shape.

CheckMag Fans are already reimagining Valve’s new Steam Machine with creative, funny and throwback concept skins. From dynamic displays to meme cubes, these community-made designs are an indicator of how anticipation for the Steam Machine is high and live.

CheckMag Leaks indicate that Apple is preparing three iPad updates for release in the coming months, including a major refresh for the iPad mini, a new budget model, and an updated iPad Air. The changes are expected to focus on performance and display improvements, with a launch window reportedly set for spring 2026.

Sora 2 builds on OpenAI’s text-to-video foundation but adds sharper motion tracking, more coherent lighting, and stronger “world simulation.” In simpler terms: it’s much better at making objects behave as if they belong in the same physical space.

Anno 117 is a new, challenging and quite diverse city-building strategy game that introduces some notable changes but feels more like an evolution than a revolution overall. It’s certainly a worthy entry in the series.

CheckMag Octopi Launcher is essential for those looking to set different home screen layouts between the inside and outside screens on foldable phones. However, this could also be the go-to launcher for anyone looking to replace Nova.