It is one of our favorite times of year again when, on April 18, 2026, Record Store Day pulls us out of bed far too early and into 5 a.m. lines in the rain with fellow vinyl obsessives and the occasional flipper already eyeing eBay and Discogs. This year, Craft Recordings makes the soggy wait worthwhile with a tightly focused lineup of nine limited edition LPs that spans jazz, soul, indie, and serious crate digging, including a mono reissue of Abbey Lincoln’s That’s Him!, a seventy fifth anniversary ten inch pressing of Miles Davis’ The New Sounds, cult favorites like Markolino Dimond’s Brujería, and two smart compilations led by Stax Killer Bs. That Stax release lands with added resonance following the late 2025 passing of Steve Cropper, whose work with Booker T. & The M.G.’s helped define the label’s sound and still echoes through every soul bin worth flipping through.

Abbey Lincoln – That’s Him! (1 LP Mono 180 gram vinyl)

Known for her expressive vocals and uncompromising artistic voice, Abbey Lincoln (1930 to 2010) was a singular force in jazz and American culture. She launched her recording and acting careers in parallel during the mid 1950s, appearing as herself in The Girl Can’t Help It before releasing her debut album. In 1957, Lincoln signed with Riverside Records, a move that marked a decisive turning point as she emerged as one of the most distinctive vocal stylists of her generation.

Where her debut placed her in a more traditional orchestral setting, That’s Him! revealed Lincoln as a commanding and deeply personal interpreter of song. She was joined by an extraordinary lineup that included Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and her then husband Max Roach on drums. Taking full creative control, Lincoln selected a set of standards and blues tinged ballads that played to her strengths, including “I Must Have That Man!” and “Don’t Explain,” both closely associated with her artistic hero Billie Holiday. Other highlights include the Oscar Brown Jr. composition “Strong Man” and a striking a cappella performance of Phil Moore’s “Tender as a Rose.” That’s Him! stands as a defining statement from an artist coming fully into her own.

Limited to 4,200 copies, this mono reissue of That’s Him! features all analog mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and was pressed on 180 gram vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing. A period correct tip on jacket that faithfully reproduces the original artwork completes the package.

Miles Davis – The New Sounds (10 inch LP Mono)

Trailblazing trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis (1926-1991) remains one of the most influential artists in jazz history, with a restless and exploratory spirit evident from his earliest recordings. In 1951, after establishing himself as a first call sideman for Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Coleman Hawkins, Davis signed with Prestige Records, where he released his debut solo album, The New Sounds.

The first in a series of 10 inch LPs for the label, The New Sounds took full advantage of the then new long play format, giving Davis room to stretch out and refine his musical ideas. He was joined by a remarkable lineup that included Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Art Blakey on drums, Walter Bishop Jr. on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and Jackie McLean, just 19 years old and making his recorded debut, on alto saxophone.

A confident opening chapter in an inimitable career, The New Sounds finds Davis staking his claim on a set of standards, including George Shearing’s “Conception,” Harold Arlen’s “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and a relaxed reading of Arthur Johnston’s “My Old Flame.” The session also introduced Davis’ original composition “Dig,” a piece that would soon take on a life of its own as a jazz standard.

This 75th anniversary pressing celebrates Davis’ centennial with all analog mastering from the original mono tapes by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl. Limited to 4,900 copies, The New Sounds is pressed on 10 inch vinyl and housed in a period correct tip on jacket.

Mayday Parade – Tales Told By Dead Friends (10 inch EP Translucent Orange vinyl)

Long before they were headlining stages around the world, Mayday Parade were a group of young rockers from Tallahassee, Florida, bound by a shared obsession with writing songs that hit hard and linger. Formed in 2005 when members of 2 local acts joined forces, the band quickly self released a 6 track EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends. Momentum came fast, and after winning a battle of the bands, Mayday Parade earned a coveted slot on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour.

Driven by word of mouth and relentless touring, Tales Told By Dead Friends sold more than 10,000 copies in its first year. Built on anthemic pop punk hooks like “When I Get Home You’re So Dead” and “Three Cheers for Five Years,” balanced by emotionally direct ballads such as “The Last Something That Meant Anything,” the EP caught the attention of Fearless Records, which signed the band in late 2006 and reissued the release to a much wider audience. Several tracks would later reappear on subsequent releases, including “When I Get Home You’re So Dead” on the band’s debut album, A Lesson in Romantics.

The EP marked a clear starting point for a career that would soon take off in earnest. A 10 year anniversary reissue of Tales Told By Dead Friends later reached No. 12 on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart, underscoring its long tail appeal with fans who grew up alongside the band.

Now, Tales Told By Dead Friends returns to vinyl to mark its 20th anniversary and celebrate Mayday Parade’s enduring legacy. Limited to 2,500 copies, this collectible 10 inch edition is pressed on Translucent Orange vinyl.

Various Artists – Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (2 LP Translucent Sea Blue vinyl)

In 2012, more than 20 of indie rock’s most recognizable artists came together to honor one of the most influential bands of all time with Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac. Produced by GRAMMY Award winning music supervisor Randall Poster alongside Gelya Robb, the album reimagines 19 songs from Fleetwood Mac, spanning chart defining hits and deeper catalog cuts. Contributors include HAIM, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, and MGMT, each bringing a distinct voice to the material.

The collection opens with a graceful reading of Peter Green’s “Albatross” by Lee Ranaldo Band featuring J Mascis, setting the tone for a set that traces Fleetwood Mac’s full evolution, from their early blues roots through their 1970s and 1980s peak. Standout moments include Anohni delivering an intimate “Landslide,” Lykke Li reimagining “Silver Springs,” Best Coast giving “Rhiannon” a sun soaked twist, and The Kills offering a shadowy take on “Dreams.”

The album was embraced by both critics and listeners upon release, earning praise for its thoughtful and imaginative approach to tribute albums and proving that Fleetwood Mac’s songwriting could thrive well outside its original context. Commercially, the set landed in the Billboard 200 Top 50 and peaked at No. 15 on the Top Rock Albums chart, underscoring its broad appeal beyond the indie faithful.

Now available on vinyl for the first time, Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac arrives as a limited edition 2 LP set pressed on Translucent Sea Blue vinyl. Limited to 3,700 copies, this long awaited pressing finally gives the collection the analog presentation it has deserved from the start.

Various Artists – Jazz Dispensary: Magia Brasileira (1 LP “Brazilian Shimmer” vinyl)

This Record Store Day, Jazz Dispensary heads south for Magia Brasileira, a vibrant excursion into mid century Brazilian grooves that blends samba, soul jazz, and funk with effortless swagger. Curated with the series’ usual crate digging precision, the collection pulls from deep catalog gems by some of Brazil’s most influential and style defining artists, delivering a set that is as danceable as it is historically rich.

Side A opens with the joyful floor ready “Shake (Ginga Gingou)” from percussionist Dom Um Romão, originally released on his 1975 album Spirit of the Times. Guitarist Bola Sete brings laid back elegance to “Soul Samba,” taken from 1966’s Bola Sete and His New Brazilian Trio, while trombonist Raul de Souza adds a funkier edge on “Dr. Honoris Causa” from his 1975 album Colors. The side closes with “Samba de Oneida,” a buoyant collaboration between vibraphonist Cal Tjader and guitarist Charlie Byrd, drawn from their 1973 LP Tambu.

Side B keeps the energy high with two piano driven standouts, beginning with João Donato and his irresistibly funky “Whistle Stop” from Donato Deodato (1973), followed by the sunny groove of “Suddenly” from Dom Salvador’s 1976 album My Family (Minha Familia). The set closes on a lush vocal note with “Carnival of Colors” by percussionist and bandleader Paulinho da Costa, featuring vocalist Deborah Thomas, and “Butterfly Dreams,” the title track from celebrated jazz singer Flora Purim’s 1973 fusion landmark.

Limited to 6,000 copies, Magia Brasileira is pressed on “Brazilian Shimmer” vinyl, a striking blend of green, yellow, and gold, and housed in a jacket featuring original artwork by São Paulo based artist Fernanda Peralta.

Markolino Dimond – Brujería (1 LP 180 gram vinyl)

Mark “Markolino” Dimond (1950-1986) was a virtuosic pianist, composer, and arranger whose influence runs deep through Latin music of the 1960s and 1970s. Raised on New York City’s Lower East Side, Dimond began performing professionally as a teenager, working alongside the legendary Latin duo of Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe. His early impact included contributing the song “Te Están Buscando” to their 1969 album Guisando Doing a Job, signaling the arrival of a formidable new talent.

In 1971, Dimond stepped out on his own, forming Conjunto Sabor and releasing his debut album Brujería. Produced by salsa powerhouses Harvey Averne, Larry Harlow, and Johnny Pacheco, the album showcases 8 original compositions that fuse progressive jazz sensibilities with Afro Cuban rhythms. Standout tracks include “Brujería,” “Mi Irmita,” and “El Barrio,” all driven by Dimond’s explosive piano work and sharp arranging.

The session features a formidable lineup, including vocalist Angel Canales making his recorded debut, trombonists Juan Torres and Richie Montanez, trumpeter Danny Reyes, bassists Andy Gonzalez and Eddie “Gua Gua” Rivera, and a powerhouse percussion section with Louis Rivera on bongos and Antonio Tapia on congas. Adding further weight is a coro that includes Lavoe, Ismael Quintana, and Justo Betancourt.

A defining statement of salsa dura, Brujería was tragically one of only 2 albums Dimond released during his lifetime, as chronic struggles with addiction curtailed a brilliant career. He followed with the 1975 cult favorite Beethoven’s V and appeared on recordings by Quintana and Lavoe, including Lavoe’s landmark debut La Voz, before withdrawing from the industry altogether.

Now, Dimond’s legacy is reaffirmed as Brujería, long out of print and highly sought after, returns to vinyl for the first time in more than 50 years. Limited to 1,500 copies, this edition is pressed on 180 gram vinyl and features all analog mastering.

Violent Femmes – The Blind Leading the Naked (1 LP “Candlelight Swirl” vinyl)

Born out of the Milwaukee underground, Violent Femmes formed in the early 1980s when Gordon Gano on vocals and guitar, Brian Ritchie on bass, and Victor DeLorenzo joined forces. Blending nervous folk rock with punk energy and emotional tension, the trio built a fiercely loyal following on the strength of songs like “Blister in the Sun” and “Please Do Not Go,” both drawn from their self titled 1983 debut, now widely regarded as one of the most influential alternative albums of the decade. After pushing into darker and more roots driven territory on Hallowed Ground in 1984, the band pivoted sharply with The Blind Leading the Naked.

Released in 1986, The Blind Leading the Naked finds the Violent Femmes leaning into a brighter, more pop oriented sound without abandoning their sharp lyrical edge. Produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, the album expands the band’s sonic palette with richer arrangements and a more polished studio approach. Tracks like “Children of the Revolution,” “Love Love Love Love Love,” and “Old Mother Reagan” balance catchy hooks with pointed social commentary, while the addition of horns, keyboards, and layered textures gives the record a distinctly different feel from its predecessors.

Notably, the album features saxophone contributions from Steve Mackay, adding a raw, muscular edge that complements the band’s evolving sound. While initially divisive among longtime fans, The Blind Leading the Naked has since earned recognition as a bold and transitional chapter in the Violent Femmes catalog, capturing a band willing to take risks at the height of its influence.

Now reissued on vinyl, The Blind Leading the Naked returns as a limited edition pressing on “Candlelight Swirl” vinyl, offering a fresh look at one of the band’s most adventurous and underrated releases.

The Tears – Here Come the Tears (1 LP Ultra Clear vinyl)

Formed by former Suede collaborators Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler, The Tears released Here Come the Tearsin 2005 to widespread acclaim. Reuniting a creative partnership last heard on Dog Man Star, the album blends sweeping arrangements with sharply observed lyricism, pairing politically charged songs like “Refugees” with enduring fan favorites such as “Lovers,” which reached the UK Top 25, and “Apollo 13.”

The album peaked at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart and resonated far beyond the Suede faithful, earning strong praise across the British music press. Its emotional directness and cinematic scope marked it as a fully realized statement rather than a side project, capturing Anderson and Butler at a moment of renewed artistic focus. Despite the positive reception, Here Come the Tears would ultimately stand as the band’s only album.

This edition marks the first ever vinyl reissue of Here Come the Tears. Pressed on ultra clear vinyl and limited to 5,500 copies worldwide, it finally brings a modern classic of post Britpop songwriting back to the format it always deserved.

Various Artists – Stax: Killer B’s (1 LP Red Smoke vinyl)

Stax Records built its reputation on legendary A sides, placing more than 167 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and an astonishing 243 tracks in the R and B Top 10. But as anyone who has spent time digging through original Stax 45s knows, the B sides often carried just as much grit, groove, and soul. Stax: Killer B’s shines a long overdue spotlight on that overlooked side of the label’s history.

This newly curated compilation brings together 14 rare and underappreciated B sides that reveal the depth of Stax’s roster beyond the hits. The set opens with The Bar Kays and the hard hitting instrumental “A.J. the House Fly,” originally released in 1969 as the flip side to their cover of “Midnight Cowboy.” Another standout comes from Booker T. & The M.G.’s with the laid back groove “Soul Clap 69,” first issued opposite their version of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.” Johnnie Taylor appears with the silky “Love in the Streets (Ain’t Good as the Love at Home),” which originally backed his 1971 single “Hijackin’ Love.”

The collection continues with powerful and deeply felt performances, including The Soul Children on “Poem on the School House Door,” Eddie Floyd’s emotionally charged 1969 ballad “Consider Me,” and Inez Foxx delivering the infectious “One Woman Man.” Together, these tracks underline how much soul, experimentation, and feeling often lived on the flip side of Stax’s biggest releases.

Making its vinyl debut for Record Store Day, Stax: Killer B’s is pressed on Red Smoke vinyl and limited to 3,700 copies worldwide, offering a fresh way to hear the deeper cuts that helped define the Stax sound.

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NASA’s Perseverance rover rolled across the rim of Jezero Crater for 700 feet on December 8, 2025, and another 800 feet a few days later, but these were no ordinary journeys. In fact, this was the first time on another planet that artificial intelligence handled route planning on its own, selecting safe courses without the assistance of human specialists on Earth.

For years, human teams at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have completed all of this work. They study orbital images, inspection maps, and rover status updates before meticulously mapping a set of fixed locations spaced approximately 330 feet apart. Commands are then sent all the way to Mars, a 140 million-mile journey, where we must wait for the signal to bounce back before sending the next set of instructions.

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Perseverance then goes about its business, carefully performing each stage of the mission, pausing to relay back data, and hanging out to await the next bit of direction from Earth. It keeps the missions safe but restricts how much progress we can make in a day and necessitates hours of meticulous study by engineers back on Earth.

So the engineers decided to try a new approach and resorted to generative AI, beginning with vision-language models from Anthropic’s Claude family. The machine examined all of the same data that human planners do, including high-resolution photos from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera, as well as comprehensive slope information from digital elevation models. From that information, the AI identified all of the major features, such as bedrock exposures, rocky outcrops, boulder clusters ripe for trouble, and moving sand ripples. Then it generated a continuous itinerary, marked by waypoints where the rover might get new directions.

Safety remained a key issue, as the team ran the entire plan through a digital twin, a virtual copy of Perseverance that we had created at JPL, before sending any instructions to the rover. The simulation went through almost 500 000 telemetry points to ensure that the plan matched the rover’s actual flight software and that we wouldn’t run into any trouble. Only after this was completed will the instructions be sent over the Deep Space Network.

On Martian day 1707, the initial drive covered a total distance of 689 feet. The second journey on sol 1709 was a bit longer, 807 feet, and took around 2 and a half hours. The navigation cameras captured everything in real time, showing the rover moving steadily over the crater rim. Later on, we were able to review the footage and observe how closely the AI’s plan matched the real trail that the rover took.

Vandi Verma, one of the space roboticists working on these systems at JPL, stated that the real big deal here is that generative AI can make off-world driving a lot easier because it clearly shows what the terrain looks like, knows exactly where the rover is, and chooses the safest path forward.

On Friday, New York State Senators Liz Krueger and Kristen Gonzales introduced a bill that would stop the issuance of permits for new data centers for at least three years and ninety days to give time for impact assessments and to update regulations. The bill would require the Department of Environmental Conservation and Public Service Commissions to issue impact statements and reports during the pause, along with any new orders or regulations that they deem necessary to minimize data centers’ impacts on the environment and consumers in New York.

The bill would require these departments to study data centers’ water, electricity and gas usage, and their impact on the rates of these resources, among other things. The bill, citing a Bloomberg analysis, notes that, “Nationally, household electricity rates increased 13 percent in 2025, largely driven by the development of data centers.” New York is the sixth state this year to introduce a bill aiming to put the brakes on data centers, following in the footsteps of Georgia, Maryland, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia, according to Wired. It’s still very much in the early stages, and is now with the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee for consideration.

Most enterprise work now happens in the browser. SaaS applications, identity providers, admin consoles, and AI tools have made it the primary interface for accessing data and getting work done.

Yet the browser remains peripheral to most security architectures. Detection and investigation still focus on endpoints, networks, and email, layers that sit around the browser, not inside it.

The result is a growing disconnect. When employee-facing threats occur, security teams often struggle to answer a basic question: what actually happens in the browser?

That gap defines an entire class of modern attacks.

At Keep Aware, we’ve called this a “safe haven” problem for attackers, where the target has now become this central point of failure

Browser Attacks Seen in 2026 Leaving Little Traditional Evidence

What makes browser-only attacks hard to deal with isn’t a single technique. It’s that multiple attack types all collapse into the same visibility gap. We continue to see these attacks into 2026:

ClickFix and UI-Driven Social Engineering

Possibly the largest browser-driven attack vector in 2025, users are guided by fake browser messages or prompts to copy, paste, or submit sensitive information themselves. No payload is delivered, no exploit fires, just normal user actions that leave almost no investigation trail.

Malicious Extensions

Seemingly legitimate extensions are installed intentionally and then quietly observe page content, intercept form input, or exfiltrate data. From an endpoint or network perspective, everything appears to be normal browser behavior. When questions arise later, there’s little record of what the extension actually did.

Man-in-the-Browser (and AitB, BitB, …) Attacks

These attacks abuse valid browser sessions rather than exploiting systems. Credentials are entered correctly, MFA is approved, and activity appears authorized. Logs confirm a real user and a real session, but not whether the browser interaction was manipulated or replayed.

HTML Smuggling

Malicious content is assembled directly inside the browser using JavaScript, bypassing traditional download and inspection points. The browser renders content as expected, while the most critical steps never become first-class security events.

Why EDR, Email, and SASE Miss These Attacks by Design

This isn’t a failure of tools or teams. It’s a consequence of what these systems were designed to see, and what they were not.

EDR focuses on processes, files, and memory on the endpoint. Email security tracks delivery, links, and attachments. SASE and proxy technologies enforce policy on traffic moving across the network. Each can block known bad activity, but none are built to understand user interaction inside the browser itself.

When the browser becomes the execution environment, where users click, paste, upload, and authorize, both prevention and detection lose context. Actions may be allowed or denied, but without visibility into what actually happened, controls become blunt and investigations incomplete.

What Our Own the Browser Research Reveals

This gap isn’t limited to one browser or deployment model.

As part of Own the Browser, a vendor-neutral research effort evaluating more than 20 mainstream, enterprise, and AI-native browsers, we examined how browsers are actually secured and governed in practice.

What stood out wasn’t a lack of controls; it was a lack of observable behavior that those controls could learn from.

Across consumer, enterprise, and emerging AI-native browsers, policies are widely deployed. What’s missing is structured visibility into how those policies actually play out in real user behavior. Without that insight, prevention stays blunt, and policies rarely evolve or improve.

AI Tools and AI-Native Browsers Are Widening the Gap

AI is accelerating this problem by increasing both the volume and subtlety of browser-based data movement.

Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini normalize copying, pasting, uploading, and summarizing sensitive information directly in the browser. AI-native browsers, built-in assistants, and extensions streamline these actions even further.

From a control standpoint, much of this activity appears legitimate. From a prevention standpoint, it’s difficult to evaluate risk without context.

Policies can allow or block actions, but without observability into how data is being used, teams can’t adapt controls to match reality.

As AI-driven workflows become routine, prevention that isn’t informed by browser-level behavior quickly falls behind.

What Browser-Level Observability Changes: Before and After Incidents

When browser activity becomes observable, security teams don’t just investigate better; they prevent more effectively.

Seeing how data actually moves through the browser allows teams to set smarter, more targeted controls: preventing risky actions at the moment they occur, while preserving evidence when something does go wrong.

Detection improves because behavior can be evaluated in context. Response improves because incidents are reconstructable. Policies improve because they’re informed by real usage, not assumptions.

This creates a feedback loop: observability informs prevention, prevention reduces risk, and every incident, blocked, paused, or allowed, sharpens policy over time.

That leads to a simple question: if this class of attack happened in your environment today, could you both prevent it and explain it? If not, that’s the gap Keep Aware is built to close. See what browser-level visibility enables across prevention and response.

Request a demo. →

Written by Ryan Boerner, CEO of Keep Aware

Boerner, a computer engineer turned cybersecurity practitioner, began as a SOC analyst tackling network threats across Texas agencies. Specializing in network and email security, he later honed his expertise at IBM and Darktrace, working with organizations of all sizes. Seeing a critical gap between security teams and employees—where strong defenses still let threats through—he founded Keep Aware to make the browser a cornerstone of enterprise security.

Sponsored and written by Keep Aware.

This project takes regular door sensors and amps them up a few notches, providing a brilliant way to keep your smart house smart without having a single gadget attached to the frame. Dillan Stock of The Stock Pot got his hands on those cheap Aqara T1 touch sensors and decided to rebuild their housings from scratch, effectively stuffing everything inside the door and frame.

Aqara T1s already have some fantastic specs: they run on Zigbee, have a long battery life from a single CR2 battery, and cost $8 apiece when purchased in bulk. Not awful at all, but the issue arises when you consider how they look, as people just do not want to overload every door with these things. Stock discovered that by stripping the sensor down to its bare circuit board, which contained the reed switch and battery, and then creating a new enclosure for that board, he could make it all disappear.

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Reed switches do the detecting because they work with a tiny bit of glass and metal; if there is no magnetic field, the two metal bits stay apart and the circuit remains open; however, if a magnet is nearby, it snaps those bits together, closing the circuit and informing you of the status of the door. In this design, the reed switch is hidden inside the door, while the magnet is located just above the door frame on the opposite side. The door closes, the magnet aligns perfectly, and the switch activates. When the door opens, the magnet no longer aligns, and the system immediately begins the change process.

To get things started, Stock was inspired by the Aeotec Recessed Door Sensor 7, but he had to avoid it due to its high cost and dependability difficulties. So he measured the Aqara board after he disassembled it, turned it 90 degrees to fit in the available area, and created a 3D model in Fusion 360. He designed a tubular shape that fits into a hole he drills in the door, as well as a separate cap and little bit for the magnet to sit in.

Printing takes place on a standard 3D printer, and the files are free to use on Printables, or you may download your own enclosures from Stock’s website if you don’t want to make them yourself. Once printed, there are only a few pieces to assemble, usually an M2 screw to fasten the cap and several small wood screws to hold the unit in place within the door hole once it’s all put together.

To ensure proper alignment, begin by marking the center point on the top of the door, preferably a reasonable distance away from the hinges. Grab a 20- or 21-mm spade drill bit and drill a hole around 35 to 40 mm deep; the same bit will work for the frame, but only go 20 mm deep. The downloadable files include a centering tool that will help you get everything perfectly aligned. Pop the magnet enclosure into the frame hole; it should fit tightly, but a dab of glue can help set it in place if necessary. Next, slip the sensor body into the door hole, screw it in, and insert the battery. Don’t worry about the bind button getting in the way; there’s enough space for a pin tool to get in there and do its thing when it’s time to couple up with a Zigbee hub.

Once you’ve completed the setup, the sensors will begin relaying information about your doors to your smart home system. Open the patio door, and the lights turn on. As you enter the children’s bedroom, the lamps will dim gradually. Every door in the house is monitored, without having to change the appearance of any of the rooms. Plus, the battery life is amazing, lasting a year or more depending on how much traffic your doors see. Best of all, the entire setup will be significantly less expensive than any of the commercial recessed systems you’re used to seeing, and you won’t have to worry with the connectivity dropouts that caused so much trouble in Stock’s previous Aeotec efforts.
[Source]

Top Website Builders

Best for Most People

Squarespace Core

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Best Cheap Website Builder

Hostinger Business Website Builder

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Best Free Website Builder

Strikingly Website Builder

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Publishing a website is still more complicated than it has any right to be, but the best website builders streamline the process. Instead of juggling a bunch of files on a server and learning the ins and outs of networking, website builders do exactly what’s written on the tin. Piece by piece, using a drag-and-drop interface, you can design your website the way you want with immediate feedback rather than spending time buried in code and hoping it comes out on the other end.

There are dozens of website builders, and most of them range from decent to straight-up bad. Any web host with a bit of ambition has a website builder floating around, even if it’s slow, clunky, and lacking features. I focused on finding the best tools for building your website that go beyond just an add-on, and these are my favorites. If you’re after something simpler than a full-blown website, check out our list of the Best Portfolio Websites.

Updated February 2026: We’ve added details on new AI features in existing picks like Squarespace and Wix, and also added Webflow, Framer, GoDaddy, Shopify, and WordPress.

Best Website Builder for Most

Squarespace via Jacob Roach

You’ve heard of Squarespace over and over again, I’m sure, and that’s not an accident. It’s an inviting website builder that made a name for itself with bold, striking templates. Beneath the veneer of attractive, but seemingly simple, websites, you’ll find one of the most capable website builders on the market. That balance of power and usability is what sets Squarespace apart.

It feels like a creative tool. Where other website builders lag and stutter to get a new element on your page, Squarespace feels fluid. Your dashboard gives you quick access to edit your site, and around every corner, Squarespace feels designed so you never have to look up a tutorial. I started a simple photography website, and within an hour, I had a custom course page set up, an appointment schedule with automated confirmation emails, and services (with pricing and the ability to accept payments) configured.

Like many companies, Squarespace recently took a dive into AI with several new features, including Blueprint, an AI website design tool, and Squarespace GPT, which allows website design through an AI chat interface. These tools are arguably over-ambitious, as it’s possible to generate designs, images, and video backgrounds, which can leave you with a website detached from reality. Still, these tools can be useful if you have a vague idea of what you want but no idea how to implement it.

Squarespace isn’t cheap, but it also doesn’t meddle in restrictive, low-cost plans. Even on the Basic plan, you have access to ecommerce tools, AI design aids, and space for multiple contributors.

Sometimes you have this project idea in your mind that seems so simple and straightforward, and which feels just so right that you have to roll with it. Then, years later you stumble across the sad remnants of the tearful saga and the dismal failure that it portrays. Do you put it away again, like an unpleasant memory, or write it up in an article, as a tearful confession of past sins? After some coaxing by a friend, [Alessandro] worked up the courage to detail how he set about making a hardware-only password keeper, and why it failed.

The idea was so simple: the device would pretend to be a keyboard and type the passwords for you. This is not that unusual, as hardware devices like the Mooltipass do something similar. Even better, it’d be constructed only out of parts lying around, including an ATtiny85 and an HD44780 display, with bit-banged USB connectivity.

Overcoming the challenge of driving the LC display with one pin on the MCU required adding a 74HC595 demultiplexer and careful timing, which sort of worked when the stars aligned just right. Good enough, but what about adding new passwords?

This is where things quickly skidded off the tracks in the most slapstick way possible, as [Alessandro] solved the problem of USB keyboard HID devices being technically ‘output-only’, by abusing the indicator statuses for Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock. By driving these from the host PC in just the right way you can use them as a sort of serial protocol. This incidentally turned out to be the most reliable part of the project.

Where the project finally tripped and fell down the proverbial flight of stairs was when it came to making the bit-banged USB work reliably. As it turns out, USB is very unforgiving with its timing unlike PS/2, making for an infuriating user experience. After tossing the prototype hardware into a box, this is where the project gathered dust for the past years.

If you want to give it a try yourself, maybe using an MCU that has more GPIO and perhaps even a USB hardware peripheral like the STM32F103, ESP32-S3 or something fruit-flavored, you can take a gander at the project files in the GitHub repository.

We’re always happy to see projects that (ab)use the Lock status indicators, it’s always been one of our favorite keyboard hacks.