Residents of Memphis and Southaven, Tennessee, are eligible for a 50% discount on Starlink plans, as well as a waiver on hardware rental, as SpaceX’s way of investing in areas close to its data centers. According to the Starlink website, the discount would apply automatically based solely on the subscriber’s address, cutting the cost of a 100 Mbps plan from $55 (plus the $10 Monthly Kit Fee) to just $27.50. Even the most expensive Max plan, which could hit speeds of more than 400+ Mbps and costs $130 monthly (plus the $10 hardware rental), would drop to just $65.

SpaceX SVP for Starlink Michael Nicolls shared the news on X, saying, “The unique capabilities of the Colossus datacenters could not be accomplished without the partnership and support from the local Memphis community. Happy to bring affordable and great @SpaceX @Starlink connectivity to our neighbors.” Elon Musk also said in a post, “Half price Starlink for people in the Memphis region,” while sharing a post that talks about the discount. This is great news for users in the area who are already using Starlink or are planning to switch to it, but critics say that this is simply a PR stunt to help give the company a positive image as it faces lawsuits for air and noise pollution.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has previously sued the company for the alleged “illegal” generators that it used to run the Colossus site, while another class action was filed last month over the “near-constant noise” and vibrations that surrounding areas experience from the data centers, according to PCMag. "Communities in Memphis and North Mississippi aren’t asking for discounted internet service,” SELC Senior Attorney Amanda Garcia told the publication. “They're asking xAI to shut down its illegal, unpermitted power plant that continues to pump out staggering amounts of harmful (sic) pollution, including smog-forming nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, and hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde.”

But even though the EPA itself said that xAI isn’t exempt from securing permits for its gas turbine generators, it seems that the community is on the back foot in this legal battle. This became apparent after the U.S. government asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying in a legal memorandum that shutting down xAI’s generators “threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations.”

The Starlink discount for the community surrounding SpaceXAI’s data centers would make it more affordable for users who have no access to reliable wired internet. However, Memphis and Southaven are both urban areas with no shortage of faster and cheaper wired fiber alternatives. AT&T and Xfinity offer 300 Mbps plans that only cost between $40 and $45 per month — about $20 more affordable than the discounted Starlink Max plan.

Dagupan City, located in northern Philippines and about 100 miles north of Metro Manila, just banned all “Pisonet” computer rental shops in the town. According to the Mayor’s Facebook Post, the city passed an ordinance banning these establishments and others that offer computer rental services “for the safety of the youth.” She alleged that these shops “distract students from their studies, make them waste their time, and even lead a few to situations of abuse and other dangers.” The move comes a week after a school shooting incident in central Philippines resulted in three student deaths and 15 more receiving injuries, two of which were critical, an event that has been linked to video game violence.

“Pisonet,” a portmanteau of “Piso,” which stands for one Peso, and “net” for internet, are affordable computer rental shops that allow anyone, both young and old, to rent a computer to play games and access the internet. These establishments are crucial for many families who still do not have access to a computer inside their home. Many young people also use these services to play online games with their friends. However, the school shooting incident, which was perpetrated by kids aged 14 and 15, put these shops in the limelight, especially as many adults have started to blame violent computer games for the incident.

Senator Risa Hontiveros is spearheading an investigation looking into the shooting, and it was discovered that one of the perpetrators was allegedly addicted to the violent game Gorebox. While the Senator did not blame the title for causing the violence, she was concerned that extremists are using them as platforms to “brainwash and radicalize children.”

Other experts agree with Hontiveros, with cybersecurity analyst Art Samaniego Jr. telling local newspaper PhilStar that the authorities “should look more closely at the online communities and networks that may have urged the young suspects to commit violence.” Unfortunately, many members of the general public have begun concluding that it was the video game that directly caused the perpetrators to become violent, not the other people who are targeting vulnerable youths playing the game.

Because of this investigation, Gorebox has been temporarily banned from the Philippines, with both Google and Steam taking it down from the Philippine versions of the platforms. Despite that, these remain easily accessible through proxy networks and VPNs. Although the Dagupan City council did not directly link the shutdown of Pisonet shops within their jurisdiction, the decision and the move came so close to the incident that one cannot help but think that they are related.

Shipment of new PCs in the U.S. fell to 15.8 million units, dropping by 7% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026. According to research firm Omdia, this was the biggest drop in quarterly deliveries since the third quarter of 2023, and it’s primarily driven by supply shortages as well as the accompanying price increases for memory and storage chips. The threat of tariffs and the Windows 11 refresh cycle — driven by the end of Windows 10 support — has also inflated shipments last year, resulting in reduced orders today.

The research firm forecasts that the entire industry will experience a 14.4% contraction in shipments, with entry-level budget laptops bearing the brunt of the decline. We see this in the first quarter of 2026, with shipments of sub-$500 units declining by 18.7% year-over-year. This tracks with another projection that says that the entry-level PC market would “disappear” by 2028 as memory is set to account for 23% of a computer’s bill of materials — a 7% jump from last year’s 16%.

Apple released the affordable MacBook Neo earlier this year, giving us an entry-level laptop with a premium design for just $599 ($499 if you’re a student, and catching the market by surprise. Even though other manufacturers, including Dell, released a competing budget model powered by Intel Core Series 3 processors, these are often priced above the $500 threshold. Even then, Apple cannot stop the inevitable, and it recently hiked prices on several MacBook, Mac Studio, and iPad models. This pushed the price of the MacBook Neo to $699 — although it’s still relatively affordable, the laptop, which once sat on the edge of affordability for some families, is now likely out of reach.

Although shipments of PCs to consumers are expected to shrink by 11.2% this year, this is actually the best-performing sector when it comes to laptop and desktop. Orders from government units are expected to fall by 12.4%, while commercial and enterprise deliveries will contract by 13.3%. The education segment, which often focuses on entry-level devices, is hardest hit, with a projected 28.8% drop in shipments for this year alone. Despite the challenges, two PC manufacturers came out on top this quarter — both Dell and Lenovo grew by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively, which were largely driven by increasing sales in the consumer market. On the other hand, HP, Acer, and Apple declined in numbers, contracting 21.6%, 5.4%, and 1.6% in deliveries.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink, along with several other startups, have been experimenting with brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for years now, allowing patients who have lost mobility to control computers using their minds alone. However, most of these require invasive surgery to install the sensor needed to detect brain signals. Meta is working to change this with its Brain2Qwerty non-invasive BCI. Instead of relying on implants, this system uses a non-invasive magnetoencephalography (MEG) scanner to read the faint changes in a brain’s magnetic fields due to brain activity and then correlate this to keypresses on a virtual keyboard.

The latest release is actually the second version of the non-invasive BCI, with the first one released last year as proof of concept. This second version has significantly increased accuracy after it was trained on ten times more data for each test subject. The company says that its average accuracy now hits 61%, with the best participant capable of hitting as much as 78% word accuracy. By comparison, the previous version only had an average of 40% accuracy, while the best user only achieved 48%.

While this sounds like a big improvement, Meta concedes that this is still not good enough for clinical testing. The 61% average accuracy still feels hit-and-miss and would be difficult to use in everyday conversation. Nevertheless, the company says that it plans to use more data for training the system, and that it’s continuously getting better results from it so far. Another issue it’s facing is the size of MEG sensors. Current MEG technology requires massive hardware — even larger than the user and the chair they’re sitting in. There are promising advancements in MEG sensors, though, which could result in smaller devices that are more manageable to use in clinical settings.

Meta’s non-invasive BCI alternative to Neuralink and other solutions that require brain surgery is still a long way off from allowing patients to control a webcam and play World of Warcraft. But it is still an important development in neuroprosthetics, and it could eventually result in medical devices that patients could use to restore or improve their quality of life. Meta isn’t the only one working on BCIs that don’t require major surgery — a team from Georgia Tech has also developed a tiny BCI that could be easily slid under the scalp, while Valve founder and superyacht enthusiast Gabe Newell also built a startup intent on creating a BCI that doesn’t require a battery.

The boom in data center construction meant that millions of dollars’ worth of servers, cabling, and other parts and components are on the road at any given time. Because of this, cargo thieves and hijackers have started targeting these high-value items. Business Insider reports that a trailer containing about $300,000 worth of copper wire spool, which can be used for powering data center servers, was recovered last week by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in a truck yard near Chicago. The truck yard owner also said that the same driver dropped off another stolen trailer a week earlier, this time containing about a million dollars’ worth of data center equipment.

Both trailers have been reported stolen — the former taken from Pine Hill, Alabama, and the latter from Jacksonville, Florida. The original locations where these trailers were stolen show the nationwide scale of these theft rings, which had previously mostly targeted retail goods. The trailer that contained the copper wire spools also had its tags replaced with one from Indiana, according to Freight Pulse, probably in an attempt to obfuscate its source. It’s unclear how the data center equipment cargo was discovered, but the trailer carrying the copper wire was located through its GPS tracker.

Data center equipment, especially servers, seems like a lucrative target, especially given how expensive these items are. However, they are also specialized machines that are often only bought by institutions and large companies, so thieves would likely have a hard time selling them on the black market. They also likely have serial numbers, which would make it easier for buyers to check the status of the equipment with the manufacturer. Given the cost required to invest in these things, buyers would most probably demand official receipts and warranties — something that thieves and fences won’t be able to provide.

However, consumer electronics are easier targets, and we’ve seen theft rings hit consumer electronics before. For example, about $1.4 million worth of Switch 2 consoles en route to a GameStop branch in Texas were stolen from the back of a semi-truck last year. Gaming GPUs are popular targets for theft rings, too, with a shipment of EVGA 30-series GPUs stolen from the back of the truck in 2021 appearing in Vietnam a few months later, being sold by a major retailer at a discount. Another set of MSI RTX 3090s was also lifted directly from the company’s China factory in 2020, with the 220 GPUs estimated to amount to $336,500.

There are probably more incidents of theft that have been reported to the police but not publicly known. And although the value of the stolen goods could be staggering for the average person, companies and freighters often have insurance coverage, so they don’t have to worry about paying out of pocket for the entire loss.

Despite Valve’s efforts to prevent scalpers from taking advantage of the Steam Machine’s limited supply, there are still a few opportunists out there who are taking the risk of selling the pre-order slot that they have won. A quick search for “Steam Machine” on eBay would pull up results for pre-order slots sold at a significant premium above Valve’s own $1,049 retail price.

We see various listings for the 512GB version selling between $1,363.70 to $2,800 — a 30% to 167% premium. Scalper prices for the 2TB version are far more egregious, with listings priced between $2,399 and $2,899, making it 93% to 140% more expensive than buying it directly from the Steam Store.

Valve has already anticipated this event, especially given the massive interest in the Steam Machine and limited supply. This has happened multiple times before, especially with the arrival of the PlayStation 5 and every Nvidia GPU launch since the 30 series. To avoid frustration among legitimate gamers who couldn’t score a console during the first run of pre-orders but see several listings from third-party sellers with excruciatingly tall markups, Valve set up a randomized reservation system to make buying the Steam Machine as fair as possible.

“A launch that starts at a specific day and time tends to reward bots, people with fast internet connections, talented gaming fingers for quick F5/refresh reactions, and those who can schedule their life around that moment. By accepting reservation signups over the course of a few days, without any incentive to be first, we're hoping to take away some of that friction,” the company said on the Steam Machine FAQ section. “The longer timeframe also allows us to do some extra validation on the signups to make sure they're real accounts, with only one per household.”

There are some stringent requirements before a Steam account can be considered for the privilege of buying a Steam Machine. This includes: a Steam account in good standing, a Steam purchase on or before April 27, 2026, and only one Steam Machine per household. These criteria will make it quite difficult for professional scalpers to scoop up multiple Steam Machine units and sell them at a premium on the used market. Despite that, it seems a few people are willing to trade their slot for cash and have put their reservations up for sale on eBay.

If you weren’t lucky enough to secure a Steam Machine reservation, you might get tempted to pick one up from these scalpers. However, we strongly advise against that, as you’re taking several risks. For one, there is no guarantee that the seller you’re talking to is legitimate. Even though they may have 100% rating, it’s quite easy to game the system to achieve this. You might end up getting scammed out of your hard-earned cash, especially if they ask for payment first before shipping the item.

While being among the first to get a Steam Machine might bring a good feeling, you shouldn’t let FOMO dictate your spending decisions. In fact, it might even be better to wait a little longer because the first batch of Steam Machines will only have one 16GB stick of RAM, meaning it won’t have the advantages of dual-channel memory. While there’s no guarantee that future releases will use two 8GB sticks instead, Valve said this may change.

An aerospace worker and programmer created a GitHub-hosted program that lets your Steam Controller automatically walk back towards its charging puck as soon as you place it down on your desk. The web app, called the Auto-Charge Vision Tracker, uses a camera and computer vision to determine where your controller is, then it uses its powerful built-in motors to make it creep towards its docking station to top itself up when you’re not using it. The great thing about this web app is that you don’t need to install anything on your PC to use it. Just go to the website, connect your Steam Controller, ensure your camera is directly overhead your desk, click the puck, the front, and the back of your controller, and you should be good to go.

This is an interesting use case for the Steam Controller’s haptic motors, which are primarily designed to give feedback to gamers. Although this app, which you can run in the background on your browser, is designed to make recharging your controller more comfortable, you do need a flat surface without any obstructions to ensure that the Steam Controller can reach the charging puck. Aside from that, the vibration and movement on the desk tends to cause abrasion on the controller’s surface, meaning you’ll soon find flat spots appearing on the surface that contact your desk. Ray Foss, the maker of the GitHub repo, said that adding rubber feet should help prevent this and might also give the controller better acceleration and handling.

Another programmer has created something similar before — a web app that uses the controller’s rumble motor to let it slip and slide on your desk. But what makes this project different is that instead of manually “driving” your Steam Controller, it uses computer vision to automatically guide the controller back towards the charging puck, making it look like a robot vacuum.

These apps have limited usability — after all, the Steam Controller would still be unable to hop from the coffee desk in your living room to the TV console where your charging puck and Steam Machine are likely sitting. Nevertheless, it shows Valve’s commitment to making it easy for gamers to use their devices the way they want to. The company even released the CAD files for the Steam Controller and Puck back in May 2026, just a few days after the controller became widely available. But if you want to give this curiosity a try, you can easily do so by going to the Auto-Charge Vision Tracker website. The program’s files are also readily available on GitHub if you want to play around with the program and make your own version.

The memory chip shortage has caused the prices of consumer electronics to shoot up, meaning everything, from cheap phones to VR headsets, is more expensive now. But if you’re on the market for a Meta Quest 3S, now is your chance as it’s currently 15% off on Amazon. This $53.20 discount means that its price drops to just $296.79, making it close to the original $300 price point it launched at prior to the RAMpocalypse. However, this is a limited-time deal, so if you’re intent on getting that headset, you better get it right now.

• Check out the Meta Quest 3S on Amazon

This VR headset is a more affordable version of the top-of-the-line Meta Quest 3, which was launched about a year earlier, and is originally $250 cheaper. But even though Meta had to make some compromises, like lower-resolution displays and a shallower field-of-view, the Meta Quest 3S is still quite a capable device. It also feels as premium as the more expensive device, although the base version is limited to only 128 GB. If you want more storage, you can get the 256GB version, which is also discounted at 15% on Amazon, cutting its price from $449.99 to just $382.49. A copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow is also bundled with this purchase, making it a great deal for those who want to play a new game on their VR headset.

The Meta Quest 3S is a completely wireless affair, meaning you don’t have to worry about getting tangled when using it. Despite having a smaller battery compared to the Meta Quest 3, this VR headset could still last for a good 2.5 hours of continuous use. The included controllers are also powered by a single alkaline AA battery each, although we recommended in our review that you have at least four rechargeable lithium-ion batteries on hand so that you’ll always have a fresh set of batteries ready when the controllers run out of power.

If you’re looking for a great standalone VR device but want to save as much as you can, the Meta Quest 3S deal is exactly what you’re looking for. But you have to act quick as the discount that brings it down to pre-memory chip shortage pricing is only available today.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during a staff Q&A meeting that its latest model, GPT-5.6, is available in limited preview to only a small group of customers handpicked by the U.S. government. According to The Information, the federal government, specifically the Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, asked the AI tech company to stagger the release of its latest model. While Altman did not mention how long the delay for the general release of GPT-5.6 will be, he said in a memo that he hoped it would happen in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, the U.S. government is granting access to the latest model on a case-by-case basis only.

Despite OpenAI’s agreement to the delay, sources say that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Altman to warn him against releasing GPT-5.6 to the public without prior approval from government agencies. “We’ve made clear to the U.S. government that this is not our preferred long-term model and will work with them and others in industry to achieve a more sustainable approach for future releases,” the OpenAI chief said in the Thursday memo.

This wasn’t the first time that an American AI lab has delayed the release of its frontier model due to security concerns. Back in early April, Anthropic released Claude Mythos Preview to select key institutions first, allowing them to prepare for the general release of the powerful AI model. It eventually built Fable 5, a watered-down version of Mythos with built-in safeguards to prevent misuse, and released it in June 2026. However, the U.S. government disagreed with the company’s belief that it was a safer model and put both Fable 5 and Mythos on an export control list just three days after it dropped. This meant that foreign nationals, even those who work for Anthropic, are banned from accessing the model. Since the company cannot enforce compliance, it just decided to pull the model completely from the market.

The increasing advancement of AI models has the White House scrambling to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. This is especially true as it continues to compete with rival China for supremacy. Although the U.S. has taken steps like export controls to slow Beijing’s progress, many industry leaders believe that it’s only a matter of time before the East Asian country catches up. So, even though the Trump administration initially promised that it would reduce regulations to help AI advance much more quickly in the country, President Donald Trump has changed his tune and signed an executive order earlier this month that asks U.S. AI labs to give the government access to their latest models 30 days before it gets a general release.

However, this move has got some industry experts concerned. “…this escalation of government intervention is nothing to celebrate. It is horrible for the broader AI ecosystem,” Head of AI Policy and think tank Abundance Institute and former FTC Chief Technologist Neil Chilson said in their blog. “Continued arbitrary, unexplained deployment of export control authority will make companies slow-walk new models, depriving the public of powerful new tools. Every AI model, like all software before it, will have vulnerabilities that require patching. The US government should not hang a Sword of Damocles over every lab’s head, with no indication when it might drop or why.”