The next big release of Kodi, the open-source media center application, is one step closer to reality. The second alpha build for Kodi 22 'Piers' is now available, with another FFmpeg version jump and a few new features.

The Samsung SmartThings platform now supports Matter 1.5, bringing it up to the latest version of the smart home industry standard. That means you can now connect cameras over Matter.

Meta previously announced plans to develop VR and XR headsets with ASUS and Lenovo, using the same software as Meta's own Quest headsets. Those plans are now cancelled, but the headsets could be reworked as Android XR hardware.

Google Reader was a fantastic way to keep up with your favorite blogs and news sources with RSS feeds, but it was discontinued years ago. Now, Google has remembered that RSS feeds still exist, but this is unfortunately not a return for Reader.

Docker containers often contain hundreds or thousands of utilities and libraries, which is great for quickly building and deploying server software, but can make security audits and vulnerability patches more difficult. Docker Hardened Images were created to help solve this problem, and now they are available to everyone for free.

Homey's smart home hubs are a great way to run a private and local smart home from one box. Now, the company is taking on Home Assistant with Homey Self-Hosted Server, an operating system you can run on your own hardware.

The free and open-source media center application Kodi just received another update. Kodi 21.3 is rolling out with some great improvements for Xbox consoles and Linux systems, as well as a pile of bug fixes for other platforms.

Jellyfin, the self-hosted media server software, just revamped its official desktop client. The Jellyfin Media Player is now Jellyfin Desktop, with an update to Qt 6, multi-profile support, and other new features.

Google is shutting down its dark web report feature, which was intended to scan the dark web for your personal information. The company said it wasn't useful enough, and starting in February 2026, dark web reports will no longer be accessible.

iRobot, maker of Roomba robot vacuums, is making some big changes to stay in business. The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and it plans to be fully acquired by Picea Robotics.

If you own a large collection of physical media, be it movies, TV shows, games, or music, you've probably made at least a few double purchases. Or, maybe you've missed out buying something rare because you assumed it was already in your collection. There’s an easy way to solve this problem: make a list of your stuff.

This was another busy week in tech, with a major update for Visual Studio Code rolling out, Amazon changing its DRM for Kindle books, changes to Plex servers, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

This was a quieter week in the Linux ecosystem, but there's still some exciting news, especially if you're a fan of Pop!_OS and the COSMIC desktop. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

Kali Linux, a popular Linux distribution for cybersecurity research and penetration testing, just revealed the Kali Linux 2025.4 release. This new build has updates to GNOME, KDE, and Xfce desktop environments, improvements for virtual machines, and much more.

System76 has been working on its own desktop environment for Linux, called COSMIC, intended to fully replace GNOME Shell on the company's Pop!_OS distribution. Now, the COSMIC desktop environment has finally reached stable status.