Microsoft tests redesigned Windows 11 Run menu with dark mode and more
Microsoft is testing its much-needed refresh for the Windows 11 Run menu, offering a modern interface that the company says is faster and comes with support for dark mode. The redesign is rolling out now to Windows 11 Insiders in the new Experimental Channel.
In a blog post explaining the changes, Microsoft says it decided to drop the Run menu's "Browse" button - a shortcut to user files - after finding "very low usage." Instead, Microsoft added support for a new "~\" command, which leads to your user directory.
Microsoft says it built the new Run menu using code from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you t …
Apple raises the Mac Mini’s starting price
Apple's Mac Mini now starts at $799 after the company pulled the $599 option with 256GB of storage from its online store, as spotted earlier by MacRumors. The model's discontinuation comes just one day after Apple CEO Tim Cook said during an earnings call that a chip shortage will impact its Mac products in the coming months.
"If you look forward to June, the majority of our supply constraints will be on several Mac models," Cook said. "We think looking forward that the Mac Mini and the Mac Studio may take several months to reach supply-demand balance." He added that both devices saw "higher-than-expected demand" as well, with many people b …
All the evidence revealed so far in Musk v. Altman
The Musk v. Altman trial is underway, and that means exhibits, or the evidence to be presented in court, are being revealed piece by piece. So far, email exchanges, photos, and corporate documents are circulating from the earliest days of OpenAI - and from before the AI lab even had a name. Some high-level takeaways: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gave OpenAI an in-demand supercomputer, Musk largely drafted OpenAI's mission and heavily influenced its early structure, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared to want to lean heavily on Y Combinator for early support for OpenAI, OpenAI president Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever worried about Musk's level of con …
Birdfy’s smart bird feeder is down to its best-ever price for Mother’s Day
From crafting machines to smart calendars, a number of unique gifts are already on sale in the run-up to Mother’s Day, May 10th. Birdfy smart feeders are another discounted option to consider, particularly the new Birdfy Feeder Metal 2 (4K), which is on sale for $259.99 ($50 off). If you’re looking to spend less, you can also grab the basic Birdfy Feeder for just $99.99 ($100 off) from Amazon or Birdfy, with the latter retailer throwing in a free botanical gift bag and greeting card.
Birdfy Feeder
Where to Buy:
Birdfy’s standard bird feeder uses a 1080p camera with a 155-degree field of view and color night vision to capture birds in clear detail as they stop by. It then sends real-time alerts to the Birdfy mobile app for Android and iOS, where you can watch live feeds or browse recorded clips, whether you’re at home or away. Birdfy saves 20-second clips in the cloud for free for up to 30 days, too, so you can revisit old footage or share your newfound observations with friends later.
The app also includes a handful of AI-powered features, which are free for a week, after which they require a premium Birdfy subscription ($4.99 a month or $69.99 for lifetime access). The tools allow you to identify more than 6,000 bird species, share fun facts, and receive daily highlights and monthly summaries. You can also set alerts for specific bird species, just in case you’re trying to capture that elusive summer tanager or the occasional gray flycatcher that happens to pass by.
What’s more, the Feeder is relatively easy to set up and maintain, given that it comes with a flip-up roof and all the mounting attachments you need for affixing it to a pole, wall, or tree. It offers an IP65 weather-resistant rating and features a large 50-ounce seed container, so you don’t need to refill it as often as some other models. It also runs on a 5,200mAh rechargeable battery that can last up to three months, or indefinitely with the optional solar panel, which starts at $29.99.
If you’re willing to spend more, the higher-end Birdfy Feeder Metal 2 (4K) takes things a step further with a sharper 4K camera and a more durable metal design. It also comes with a built-in solar cell and AI bird recognition, so you don’t need to pay extra for a subscription. It’s one of the first models to support Birdfy’s forthcoming advanced OrniSense AI system, too, which will provide additional information about visiting birds, including health insights and details such as gender.
Other Birdfy Mother’s Day deals
Birdfy Bath Pro with Stand
The Birdfy Bath Pro is a solar-powered smart birdbath with a built-in fountain and dual-lens camera system. It features a 1080p wide-angle lens, a 2K portrait lens, and AI-powered recognition software that can identify more than 6,000 species. Additional features include color night vision, two-way audio, and an IP66 waterproof rating.
Where to Buy:
Birdfy Feeder Rookie
The Birdfy Feeder Rookie is an entry-level feeder with a built-in 1080p camera that sends real-time alerts to your phone and displays live feeds. It can capture HD video in slow motion with color night vision, while a paid subscription lets you identify visiting bird species via AI. The feeder also holds up to 1.3 liters of seed and offers an IP66 rating.
Where to Buy:
Amazon’s built-in AI price history expands to show the entire last year
Amazon's built-in price tracking feature now allows you to see how much a product's price has changed over the past year. To use the feature, open the Amazon app and select the "Price history" button next to the item's price, or ask Amazon's AI assistant Rufus.
The expansion comes just weeks ahead of Amazon's annual Prime Day event, which California Attorney General mentioned in his "price fixing" lawsuit against the retail giant. In the lawsuit, Bonta accuses Amazon of pushing other companies to raise the price of their products at other retailers in the days leading up to its annual deals event. Bonta also claims Amazon "bullied vendors t …
Dreame — the vacuum company — just ‘launched’ its own phones
Dreame, a Chinese manufacturer best known for its robot vacuums but with ambitions to do much more, says it's making smartphones now. I'm not sure I believe it.
The company showed off two phones at its own Next event, which took place in California this week, though both had previously been revealed in China in March. Neither phone has actually launched though - in China, the US, or elsewhere - and the company has revealed only a handful of specs about either.
Aurora Nex LS1 is the more interesting of the two, but also the less plausible. It's a modular smartphone with a magnetic attachment point where the rear camera would normally be. Dr …
This accessory can snap a Steam Controller to your phone — or almost anything else
Valve's new Steam Controller goes on sale on Monday for $99, and accessories-maker Mechanism will be ready. As far as we know, Mechanism's new Basegrip is the very first way to attach a Steam Controller to your phone - as well as Mechanism's lineup of accessories, including mounts for hanging handhelds and gamepads on the Ikea Skadis pegboard or just about anywhere else. The Steam Controller mount will go on sale the same day as the controller, since Valve gave Mechanism early access to the design.
When the Basegrip is paired with Mechanism's phone mount, the company suggests that you can use the Steam Controller to remote-control your PC u …
Players from the NBA, NFL, and MLB call for a ban on betting ‘unders’
The unions backing professional NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS players are calling on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to ban prediction market platforms from allowing users to bet on a player's underperformance or injury, Sports Business Journal reports. In their letter, the unions cite the need for "appropriate regulations" to protect athletes and their families from "abusive and harassing behavior."
The unions wrote the letter in response to the CFTC's request for comment on the regulation of prediction markets, such as those operated by Kalshi and Polymarket. In addition to asking for a ban on "under" bets, the unions also w …
Severe Linux Copy Fail security flaw uncovered using AI scanning help
Nearly every Linux distribution released since 2017 is currently vulnerable to a security bug called "Copy Fail" that allows any user to give themselves administrator privileges. The exploit, publicly disclosed as CVE-2026-31431 on Wednesday, uses a Python script that works across all of the vulnerable Linux distributions, requiring "no per-distro offsets, no version checks, no recompilation," according to Theori, the security firm that uncovered it.
Ars Technica points out this blog post where DevOps engineer Jorijn Schrijvershof explains that what makes Copy Fail "unusually nasty" is the likelihood for it to go unnoticed by monitoring t …
Dreame’s rocket-powered car can do 0–60 in 0.9 seconds because you can just say things now
When I first heard that a vacuum company had released a rocket-powered electric vehicle with physically impossible-sounding performance specs, I immediately thought James Dyson was up to his old tricks again.
Fortunately, I was wrong. This time the household appliance company trying its hand at super car design is Dreame (pronounced like "dreamy"), a little-known Chinese firm that has grand ambitions to become a global consumer electronics giant. The company held an expo of sorts in San Francisco this week that resulted in a flurry of product announcements. And because we live in an attention economy, and one of the best ways to grab people …