Fans of survival horror and classic shooters now have a unique way to experience the latest Resident Evil title. A fresh mod called Requiem for Ravenholm arrived in early access and it transforms Resident Evil Requiem using assets pulled straight from the Half-Life series. Created by FlamingosPeak Workshop the project replaces key elements throughout the game.

Weapons, props, and even the enemies are all given a Half-Life makeover, which means you’re now walking through places that were once populated with standard infected who are now stumbling around with Headcrabs clinging to their heads. Meanwhile, Combine soldiers wait in the shadows, just as they did in Half-Life 2. The Ravenholm name is a dead giveaway, as this mod recreates the desperate, isolated mood that made Half-Life 2 so unforgettable, but set within Requiem’s lovingly constructed locales.

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The gameplay remains the same as in the original, with alternating perspectives between the characters and careful resource management, but every time you pick up a crowbar to whack some zombies instead of using your standard melee option, or find yourself creeping through a dark corridor feeling that familiar (and a little creepy) sci-fi dread creeping over you, it feels completely new.

The mod is still in early access, so expect some rough edges, especially in the opening scene, where it first interacts with the source game’s code. The team is working on an earlier version of Requiem, so anticipate the occasional issue to appear, but they invite you to report them on the Nexus page so they can be corrected, and yes, updates will be released over time to iron out the bugs. This mod is simple to download and install; simply navigate to the Resident Evil Requiem Nexus Mods page and you’re ready to go.
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I’ve been into cycling for decades—riding with grade-school buddies, kicking around in college, then city commuting in Boston, Paris, Barcelona, New York, and now Seattle. Somehow only in the last 10 years, when I became a volunteer mechanic at a bike-centric Seattle nonprofit, did I think about adjusting anything more than the seat height. Now I’m diligent about making sure I have the right bike and that it’s fit for my body and my riding style.

I wish I could have figured that stuff out sooner, so for this story, I wanted to gather expert advice on the basics of what people should look for and what questions to ask when buying a bike. (My colleague Michael Venutolo-Mantovani has more advice if you’re going that route.) After that, I’d take my own bike to a professional fitter and go deep into the nitty-gritty of bike fit to find out what it means to have a tailored ride.

I start with no bike at all. I walk to meet Rebekah Ko, the community resources director at Seattle’s Bike Works, the nonprofit where I volunteer. Ko previously ran the sales floor as general manager at the city’s Mend Bicycles, and for the purposes of this story we pretend like I am in the market for a bike that I’d use for transportation and general kicking-around fun. We make sure it’s unlike my own bike, so I won’t be comparing the two in the back of my mind.

Bike Works sells new bikes and refurbished older bikes, and after a round of questions about what I was looking for, particularly about how and how often I planned to use it, Ko wheels out a Trek Multitrack 7200, a sturdy hybrid likely from the late aughts. This Trek is upright and handsome and silver and blue, with a short wheelbase, flat bars, grip shifters, and a big, squishy seat, all of which are very different from what I’m used to.

“Hybrids are a soft landing ground for many people looking to get into cycling,” she explains.

She checks for about two inches of standover clearance between me and the top of the frame. She then has me put a thumb on top of my left hip and extend my hand out flat in the air next to it, setting the initial seat height just beneath it. With Ko bracing the bike, I hop on, so she can fine-tune the saddle height, making sure I have a slight bend in my knee with the pedal at its lowest point.

“That slight bend helps make sure we are engaging the larger muscles—the glutes and the thighs—where the power comes from,” she says. “It also helps keep pressure off of the knees.”

From there, it’s time to grab the bars, which can typically be raised, lowered, and pivoted. We then adjust the brake lever angle to make sure my hands rest on them in a relaxed position.

Ko makes sure I look comfortable, not overreached, without locked elbows or a pinched neck, not scrunched into what some call “meerkat position,” with a straight back and the wrists and elbows very bent like you’re peering over the top of them.

After these adjustments, it’s generally a good time for some preliminary stock-taking, as you’ll hopefully be spending a lot of time on this bike. So how’s your keister feel? If the saddle feels wonky, consider a different one. If it feels good, it’s time for a test drive.

I hop on the Trek and pedal around a parking lot, first noticing that giant squishy seat, which is kind of weird … but kinda fun! It fits the bike’s vibe, and I like it. The brakes are nice and grabby. The whole thing feels surprisingly nimble.

Students everywhere once pulled the same trusty graphing calculator from their backpacks for every math class. Texas Instruments just released the TI-84 Evo, a direct update that keeps everything people already know and like while fixing the slow spots that frustrated users for years.

You can see the color selections straight away: a pure clean white, a gentle raspberry, mint, lavender, teal, silver, pink, and a bright yellow. Each one includes a matching slide cover and a compact USB-C cable, all neatly bundled together. It still feels substantial in the hand, same like the earlier TI-84 Plus CE models, but it now has a nicer keypad layout with much clearer labeling, making it a lot easier to use.

The TI-84 Evo is powered by an ARM Cortex CPU that runs at 156 megahertz. This single adjustment provides you three times the speed of the old devices. No more waiting for graphs to load; they are now drawn quickly. Complex equations are solved faster, and you can switch between panels without detecting any pauses.

The screen still boasts 320 by 240 pixels, but Texas Instruments has managed to shoehorn in a larger graphing window to make the most of the display. The result is an additional 50% of area to play with, and it truly makes a difference: curves appear nicer, labels are lot simpler to read at a glance, and kids can discover patterns faster because nothing is packed in and butchered anymore.

You get a much smoother experience from the moment you switch it on. A pleasant, large icon-based home screen welcomes you with clear tiles for the most common functions. Menus now have smaller wording and shorter explanations, requiring fewer button pushes to get to your desired destination. The graphing menu has been completely overhauled, and helpful status notes are now displayed at the top of each screen, right where you need them.

There are some fresh new math features included in, such as the points of interest trace, which automatically follows any curve and highlights critical areas. The Lines and Conics app has also been updated to make it easier to navigate those difficult themes. Both of these modifications save time by eliminating the need to browse through menus the old way.

Python is now included alongside the classic TI-BASIC language. Students can build basic scripts and connect them directly to the calculator’s math engine, allowing coding lessons to be completed without leaving the device. Furthermore, because the operating system enables USB upgrades, new features and fixes will be available long after your purchase.

The TI-84 Evo remains eligible for the SAT, ACT, AP examinations, IB programs, and all other important standardized assessments. Teachers like a tool that is purely focused on math and does not try to lure pupils with social media or games. It’s priced at $160, but schools can contact the company to negotiate a bulk sale at a cheaper rate. Availability began immediately following the April announcement, so the new units are currently available at major shops including Amazon.

I won’t lie, I got addicted to Instagram. And for a long time, I didn’t even realize how much it was messing with my head. It sounds dramatic when you say it out loud, but it really crept up on me. I got so used to watching Instagram reels all the time that my brain just stopped having patience for anything longer. A full YouTube video felt like a commitment, and reading something without checking my phone in between felt impossible. And the worst part was, I knew exactly why it was happening.

I tried fixing it the usual ways — set app timers, try apps that stop you from doomscrolling, and tell myself I’d cut down. Some days it worked, most days it didn’t. I’d still find myself opening Instagram without even thinking about it. So one day, I stopped trying to control it and just deleted the app from my iPhone. And honestly, that one small decision did more for me than everything else I had tried.

The first few days were strangely uncomfortable

I thought I’d feel relieved right away, but that’s not how it went. The first thing I noticed was how often I reached for it without thinking. I’d unlock my phone and instinctively swipe to where Instagram used to be — my thumb just knew the spot. It made me realize how deeply the habit had settled in. I kept picking up my phone for no reason, opening it, finding nothing to scroll, and putting it back down. It felt like something was missing, even though I knew I hadn’t lost anything important.

There was this low, constant restlessness. But that phase didn’t last as long as I expected. After a few days, the urge started to weaken. I still had the habit, but it didn’t pull me in the same way. And slowly, that restlessness turned into something quieter. My phone stopped feeling like something I needed to check all the time.

I didn’t realize how much it was affecting how I saw my own life

This part took a little longer to sink in. Instagram has a way of making you feel like you’re just keeping up with people. That’s what I used to tell myself. I’m just scrolling, catching up, passing time, but it really wasn’t that simple.

Every time I opened the app, I saw people traveling, celebrating, looking their best, living what looked like better versions of their lives. And even if I wasn’t consciously comparing, it still affected me. It created this constant background feeling that I was somehow behind. That other people had figured things out better than I had. I didn’t actively think about it, but it was always there, shaping how I felt. Once Instagram was gone, that feeling didn’t have anything to feed on anymore. And slowly, it faded.

My attention span came back, and I actually noticed it

This is something I didn’t expect at all. A couple of weeks in, I sat down to watch a 20-minute video and didn’t feel the urge to skip through it. I just watched it. This sounds like a small thing, but it didn’t feel small to me. Before that, my brain needed constant stimulation. If something didn’t grab me instantly, I’d lose interest. That’s what reels had trained me to expect.

Without that constant loop, things started to change. I could sit with something a little longer. Then a little longer than that. I started reading again, properly reading. Not jumping between paragraphs, not getting distracted every few minutes. It felt like getting a part of my focus back that I didn’t even realize I had lost.

I stopped comparing my life without even trying to

When Instagram was part of my daily routine, I was constantly exposed to other people’s best moments. Trips, milestones, perfect photos, everything looking effortless. I told myself it didn’t affect me that much. But once it was gone, I realized it had been affecting me all along. Because suddenly, there was nothing to compare against.

No constant reminders of what I should be doing or how my life should look. No silent pressure to measure up. And in that space, something changed — I felt more at ease with my own life. Not because anything big had happened, but because I wasn’t constantly looking at someone else’s version of “better.” It was just a steady sense of being okay with where I am.

The quiet I didn’t know I was missing

Deleting Instagram didn’t suddenly turn my life around. I didn’t wake up the next day feeling more productive, more focused, or completely at peace. That kind of overnight change is a myth. What actually happened was much simpler. At first, it just felt like there was less happening. Fewer distractions, fewer impulses to pick up my phone, fewer moments where my attention got pulled away without me realizing it. My days didn’t become perfect, but they became easier to sit through. I wasn’t constantly interrupting myself. Over time, that started to add up.

I noticed I could stay with a thought a little longer. I didn’t feel the need to fill every gap with something to watch. Even boredom felt different; it wasn’t something I needed to escape immediately. Sometimes I just let it be, and that in itself felt new. There was also this unexpected sense of relief. Not loud or overwhelming, just a steady feeling in the background. Like I had stopped carrying something heavy without realizing I was carrying it in the first place. And maybe that’s what changed the most. It wasn’t about gaining something extraordinary; it was actually about losing something unnecessary. The constant noise, the low-level comparison, the habit of reaching for my phone without thinking. All of it slowly faded out. My life didn’t become more exciting. It just became more mine — clearer, calmer, and a lot less crowded in my head.

• Norton VPN has launched “first truly AI native” VPN for Agents
• It is fundamentally integrated with AI agent activities
• It offers multi-tunnel support

Norton VPN has launched VPN for Agents, its AI-native VPN built for autonomous AI.

Traditionally, the best VPNs have been designed for users browsing the web, forcing AI agents to share your VPN and internet settings. The setup so far hasn’t been ideal, with AI Agents performing tasks on your behalf, either not being able to utilise VPNs when necessary or, at best, necessarily dictating your host’s entire VPN settings.

ASUS is clearly going all-in on Snapdragon-powered creator machines, and its latest launch might be one of the most interesting yet. The new ProArt PZ14 is here, and it’s not just another 2-in-1. It’s ASUS trying to blend AI, portability, and serious creator-grade hardware into one compact device.

What makes the new ProArt PZ14 stand out?

The new ProArt PZ14 is a 14-inch detachable 2-in-1 built around the latest Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) chip, and that alone sets the tone. This is the successor to the ProArt PZ13, and it isn’t your typical thin-and-light. It’s an 18-core processor with up to 80 TOPS of AI performance, which means it’s built for tasks like on-device AI editing, rendering, and multitasking without relying heavily on the cloud.

Then there’s the display, which honestly steals the show. ASUS has packed in a 14-inch Lumina OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, 3K resolution, and excellent color accuracy aimed squarely at creators. The form factor is equally important here. It’s a detachable design with a stylus, keyboard, and stand, making it equally usable as a tablet or a laptop, depending on the workflow.

Is this the best creator laptop?

This device feels like ASUS positioning itself right in the middle of the AI PC transition. With Snapdragon chips gaining traction thanks to efficiency and AI capabilities, the ProArt PZ14 is clearly built to take advantage of that shift. It also checks all the boxes for creators on the move. It’s lightweight at around 0.79 kg, packs up to 32GB RAM and 1TB storage, and includes a fairly large 75Wh battery for a device this thin. The inclusion of Wi-Fi 7, USB4, and stylus support further reinforces that this is meant to be a flexible, all-in-one creative machine rather than just a secondary device.

Right now, the ProArt PZ14 has launched in China, with ASUS confirming that a global rollout is coming soon. While exact timelines vary, earlier announcements suggest broader availability could follow in the coming months as part of ASUS’s wider 2026 lineup.

Apple will reveal more Apple Intelligence features than ever before during WWDC, but they will continue to stay out of the user’s way. Those that don’t want AI can just ignore it or turn it off.

We’re only a few weeks away from WWDC 2026, so the internal leaks have begun in earnest. While I’m sure Apple Intelligence and AI will play a major role at the event, I also expect Apple to respect its user base.

Unless something dramatic has changed at Apple, and no, I’m not talking about a CEO transition, I doubt Apple’s stance on AI has shifted. Ever since its first big AI event at WWDC 2024, Apple has made it clear that it views AI as a tool that should be in the background and on device.

Of course, Apple did want to emphasize that it had AI at all, so that’s where the rainbow Siri interface and various elements in features like Writing Tools came from. This approach is what earned Apple the “behind” label from pundits.

That label carries a lot of weight, especially when it isn’t properly defined. Apple definitely doesn’t have a competitive tool for image or video generation, nor does it have a chatbot. It also doesn’t have a can opener on the iPhone, so I could also say Apple is behind in that department as well.

The reality is that Apple’s hardware ecosystem is above and beyond what most other companies are offering in the AI space today. If rumors are correct about what is coming in iOS 27, Apple will be a powerhouse in the space that can’t be ignored.

But the AI itself? It can be ignored.

It’ll be there, but not in your face

AI is and should have always been treated as a background task that users have no business knowing about or interacting with directly. Imagine if the industry had the same reaction to the first successful machine learning decision tree.

Sure, the Photos editing tools will get some new AI features like extending beyond the frame, changing the perspective of a Spatial Photo, or an AI-powered enhance tool. Most iPhone users don’t even open the edit pane or even know that it is there, but know that some of the tools will have an AI backend with iOS 27.

Visual Intelligence is apparently moving to the Camera app as a toggle. I’m willing to bet that the toggle can be hidden, especially since the feature can still be launched by long-pressing Camera Control. Either way, don’t want it? Don’t use it.

Siri is being revamped with a new backend powered by Apple Foundation Models, but users don’t need to know that. They’ll still be able to play music, set timers, or make calls with the assistant as usual. Those that want to can go further by entering into longer chatbot-like conversations, but it isn’t a requirement.

I could go on, but I believe I’ve made my point.

Apple is the only company doing AI right. It is a background tool that can do some very interesting things, but it isn’t meant to be the product itself.

Apple doesn’t need AI to succeed

What is most interesting about Apple’s place in the AI race is that it has proven it doesn’t need AI at all. The iPhone’s growing popularity is the key indicator. So, seeing Apple slowly grow its AI feature set even if it doesn’t really need it is very interesting.

Apple’s position in the AI race may soon become irrelevant as it hosts all of its rivals

If anything, AI needs Apple to succeed.

One of the more significant features of iOS 27, that yes, can still be ignored, will be the ability to call out to any third-party tool. For example, if a user wants to have a query go through Claude, it could designate the Claude app as an endpoint. Anthropic would support this action through an API.

It means that Apple Foundation Models powering Apple Intelligence could drive on-device functions and Private Cloud Compute, but where needed, users could choose to target other models on their own. This would also mean not needing some kind of partnership with other companies like OpenAI to pull it off.

While I wish we had some of these AI features to play with today, I’m excited for what the summer beta cycle might provide. WWDC 2026 is nearly a month away, so we don’t have long to wait.

Relive the magic of the 1980s by stepping inside a classic Japanese arcade and playing “Tetris” on the Apple Vision Pro.

Tetris may not be the first video game, but it’s hard to think of any other franchise that is as iconic. In fact, Tetris ranks number two on the best-selling video game franchise list, seconded only to everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario.

And now you can relive the magic of classic Tetris on the Apple Vision Pro, thanks to Retrocade.

This isn’t technically Tetris’ first appearance on Retrocade. Initially, the classic title featured as an Easter egg in the in-game back office.

But now it’s joined the growing list of classic titles showing up on Retrocade. Currently, Tetris is exclusive to Retrocade for the Apple Vision Pro, and comes with a brand new Japanese arcade environment.

Resolution Games’ Retrocade was added to Apple Arcade in February. As the name implies, it’s an app that aims to give the arcade experience to a modern audience by including a selection of classic titles to play.

Currently the list of games available for Retrocade include:

• Asteroids
• Bubble Bobble
• Breakout
• Centipede
• Dig Dug
• Frogger
• Galaga
• Haunted Castle
• Pac-Man
• Space Invaders
• Tempest
• Tetris
• Track & Field

While most games are also available for iPhone and iPad, Tetris is exclusively available for the Apple Vision Pro. Retrocade is available via an Apple Arcade subscription, which costs $6.99 per month or $49.99per year.

Apple Arcade can be shared with up to six family members. It is also included in every Apple One tier.