Tuesday, May 19, 2026
System Engineer
Tech CENTRAL
No commentsTuesday, May 19, 2026System EngineerregisterNo commentsTuesday, May 19, 2026System EngineerbleepingcomputerNo commentsWe may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.
The new Google Fitbit Air is almost available to the public, and our Senior Health Editor, Beth Skwarecki, is already impressed with it. It costs $99.99, but if you preorder by May 25, you can choose either a $35 Google Store credit after your order ships if you get it through Google;, or a free Active Band if you preorder through Amazon. The watch also comes with three months of Google Health Premium regardless of where you preorder from, which unlocks a wide range of Gemini-powered AI coaching features. Compared to Whoop, this is an especially appealing offer since Whoop’s premium plans start at $199 a year, depending on the region.
The Google Fitbit Air is essentially a Whoop alternative with its minimalist, screenless design, built to be worn discreetly while quietly tracking metrics like health, fitness, sleep, and recovery. The screenless design is also a perk if you’re not a fan of bulky wearables and want something you can wear during workouts, at work, or while sleeping without it being a distraction.
That said, it won’t automatically reduce screentime. Although having no display is the point, it means you’ll need your phone to check stats and progress. It doesn’t come with true smartwatch features like accessing calls, texts, apps, or maps on a watch face. Additionally, many of the best features rely on a paid subscription to Google Health Premium. Still, the three free months are a nice bonus, and with optional plans starting at $99 per year, it’s half the cost of a yearly mandatory Whoop subscription. (It’s worth noting that the Google credit comes after your order ships, so you’re still required to pay the $99.99 upfront.)
Still, this is a great choice for people who want screen-free tracking like that offered by Whoop but at a more budget-friendly price point (both upfront and over the long term with the subscription), and for those who want to track their daily activity and get insights without wearing a full smartwatch. However, if you want features like a built-in screen, music controls, and notifications available on your wrist, you’re better off with a more traditional smartwatch.
Monday, May 18, 2026System EngineerregisterNo commentsMonday, May 18, 2026System EngineerregisterNo commentsMonday, May 18, 2026System EngineerregisterNo commentsMonday, May 18, 2026System EngineerbleepingcomputerNo commentsSunday, May 17, 2026System EngineerregisterNo commentsSunday, May 17, 2026System EngineerbleepingcomputerNo commentsSunday, May 17, 2026LiveStreamTechNo commentsSunday, May 17, 2026System EngineerTech CENTRALNo commentsWe may earn a commission from links on this page.
XReal and ASUS Republic of Gamers announced this morning that pre-orders are open for the ROG XREAL R1, a pair of augmented reality smart glasses designed for high-frame-rate gaming paired with a ROG control dock. First shown at CES 2026, the R1s are a wearable monitor that projects a virtual 171-inch monitor with a 0.01ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate—the fastest available in AR glasses. XReal R1s are bundled with the ROG Control Dock, and are selling for $849 at Best Buy, with a release on the XReal store to follow on May 17.
The R1 is built on the architecture of XReal One glasses (see my full XReal One review here) and is powered by the same X1 chip for three degrees of freedom (3DoF) tracking. That means you can pin your gaming display anywhere in augmented reality and it won't move when you turn your head.
The ROG Control Dock lets you connect these smart glasses to consoles (Xbox, PS5) and PCs with the dock's HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, but they are being positioned as the ultimate companion for the ROG Ally handheld gaming PC. With these glasses, the Ally doesn't need a separate monitor to deliver a high-end PC gaming experience. The R1 and ROG Ally together are aimed at delivering a high-end PC gaming experience that's also fully portable and viewable in high definition through a pair of sunglasses.
Saturday, May 16, 2026LiveStreamTechnical storiesNo commentsOpenAI is reportedly exploring legal options after Apple's ChatGPT integration into its products didn't live up to the AI firm's expectations.
When the deal was announced, Apple likened features linking Siri to ChatGPT to its now-infamous deal embedding Google search in the Safari browser, insiders granted anonymity to discuss the "strained" partnership told Bloomberg. And the promise of that excited OpenAI, which expected the deal "could generate billions of dollars per year in subscriptions," an OpenAI executive granted anonymity to discuss the partnership told Bloomberg.
Instead, OpenAI suspects Apple intentionally failed to promote the integration and fears that the deal may have damaged the ChatGPT brand, sources said.
Saturday, May 16, 2026LiveStreamTechnical storiesNo commentsWhen Volkswagen introduced the first Golf GTI in Europe in 1976, it might not have been the first hot hatchback, but it quickly became the gold standard version. Unlike in America, where big cars were cheap and fuel even cheaper, small European streets and even smaller car-buying budgets necessitated vehicles a little more economical in both size and fuel consumption. Small, front-wheel-drive hatchbacks were the answer, but they weren't particularly exciting. The GTI changed that perception with a more powerful engine, sharper handling, and subtle styling tweaks, creating a recipe for the next 50 years. And today, VW showed off its first electric GTI.
While the new EV might be inspired by the original Golf GTI, it's one segment smaller than the current Golf—meet the VW ID. Polo GTI. VW has given some of its ID EVs GTX branding until now, but this is the first to get the GTI badge.
Like the 1976 original, the new car has front-wheel drive, but the ID. Polo GTI's electric motor generates 222 hp (166 kW)—just over twice the output of the 1.6 L engine in the old car. There's a 52 kWh battery pack that provides a WLTP range estimate of 236 miles (424 km), with DC fast charging up to 105 kW with a 10–80 percent charge time of 24 minutes.
Friday, May 15, 2026System EngineerosnewsNo commentsInterest in classic user interface design is spiking, and today we’ve got another great example, highlighted yesterday by Micheal MJD. Classic 7 combined Windows 10 LTSC with a whole slew of themes and deep modifications to deliver Windows 10, but made to look, feel, and even act like Windows 7.
Classic 7 is a Windows 10 (IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021) modification made to look 1:1 to Windows 7. It has all of the goodies that Windows 7 had along with some extras included! Classic 7 features a 1:1 OOBE recreation, meaning it’ll feel just like your PC simplified once more.
↫ Classic 7 website
As Micheal MJD’s video shows, this is much more than a mere theme, and extends far deeper into the operating system than these kinds of projects generally do. I have no idea how stable this really is, or if it’s even remotely legal to do something like this, but who the hell cares – this is incredibly fun, and seems quite well done.
Friday, May 15, 2026System EngineerregisterNo commentsFriday, May 15, 2026LiveStream10 Shows Like 'Margo's Got Money Troubles' You Should Watch Next, LifehackerNo commentsWe may earn a commission from links on this page.
Just renewed for a second season, Margo's Got Money Troubles stars Elle Fanning as the title's Margo, an 20-year-old aspiring writer who becomes pregnant following a brief an affair with her married English professor. Her mom, Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), is supportive but pretty negative about Margo's future prospects, while her estranged father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), is willing to pitch in and help out now that he's out of rehab. Still, she needs money if she's going to manage it all, and so takes to OnlyFans (and, at this point, who amongst us hasn't?). Stream Margo's Got Money Troubles on Apple TV, and then check out these other shows following women who make bold choices in the face of upheaval.
There’s a fair bit of sex on TV (having migrated from the now largely sexless big screen), but that’s not the same thing as sex positivity. In this British comedy-drama, Asa Butterfield and Gillian Anderson star as an insecure, shy teenager named Otis and his mother, Jean, a frank and sometimes painfully honest sex therapist. When a school bully needs some sex advice, Otis dispenses some of the wisdom he’s picked up from mom, eventually making a name for himself around school by selling his knowledge as expertise. It’s a funny and charmingly raunchy show, treating sex with humor and positivity, and it features a great will-they-or-won't they couple in awkward Otis and the more fearless Maeve (Emma Mackey). The tone is similar to that of Margo, as is the sense that sex is simultaneously funny and fine. Stream Sex Education on Netflix.
Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is a 28-year-old alcoholic who hits absolute rock bottom in the form of an embarrassing public meltdown. Committing to sobriety, she moves back to Boston with her strict and controlling mother (Ally Sheedy) and reconnects with her best friend, Brit (Sasha Compère). Of course, for all of that sounding like a good idea, it also puts her right back in the environment that contributed to her drinking in the first place. Funny and humane, this is another show about a messy, complicated young woman trying to get a fresh start following a life-changing event. Stream Single Drunk Female on Tubi.
A classic of the crime-in-the-suburbs genre, Weeds finds a single mom making herself a success in a business that the broader society might frown upon. Mary-Louise Parker stars as Nancy Botwin, a recently widowed mom who's desperate to maintain the upper-middle-class lifestyle once provided by her husband. She can't really handle the idea of giving up the conspicuous consumption to which she's become accustomed, so she decides to make some bank for herself. And what better way to do that, particularly in the LA 'burbs, than by selling weed? (Obviously, the show was made and is set before the drug was legalized for recreational use in 2016.) Like Jon Hamm's Coop, Nancy is just not ready for her family to give up on nice things. Stream Weeds on Prime Video.
This critical favorite stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the title character (she's only ever referred to as "Fleabag") in a comedy-drama about a free-spirited, deeply angry single young woman living in London and sharing her romantic ups and downs via confessional asides to us, the audience. She falls, rather reluctantly, for "The Priest" (Andrew Scott)—she's a confirmed atheist and he's, obviously, not, so the relationship is appropriately messy. Like Margo, Fleabag definitely has money troubles, going from art theft to running a struggling (you won't be surprised to learn) Guinea pig-themed café. Waller-Bridge won separate Emmys as the star, creator, and writer of the series. Stream Fleabag on Prime Video.
Mrs. Maisel was one of Prime’s first and buzziest original series, a comedy-drama from Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) about the title’s Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a New York housewife of the late 1950s who discovers a talent for stand-up comedy. Inspired by the real-life careers of comedians like Totie Fields and Joan Rivers, the show is both warm and funny, with great performances and dialogue; it also achieves something rare in being a show about comedy that’s actually funny. Mrs. Maisel and her milieu are obviously far different from that of Margo, but there are similar themes involving funny, complicated women saying "fuck it" to life and career expectations. Stream The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Prime Video.
This charming South Korean comedy-drama show takes us to a rural village in the impossibly long-ago 1990s, where four women from different backgrounds decide to make a go of selling sex toys and other adult-type products door-to-door. None of the women is in a particularly desperate situation, which, here, makes things even more interesting: They're all engaged in an entirely taboo (certainly at the time) industry to make a few extra dollars, or for a bit of fun on the side—a solid reminder that sex-adjacent work isn't only for those in dire straits. Stream A Virtuous Business on Netflix.
A soap opera in southern-gothic style set at a strip club in a Mississippi backwater? In terms of tone, this drama is leagues away from Margo. And yet, there's connective tissue in the stories of women who have strayed well outside the confines of polite society, and don't much care if you like it or not. P-Valley follows the lives (and dramas) of the people working at the titular strip club in the Mississippi Delta, the secret ingredient being creator and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall, who very deftly blends juicy soap opera elements with an appreciation for the talents of these dancers, as well as deft commentary on the struggles of poor and Black Americans in the South. A long-awaited third season is coming later this year. Stream P-Valley on Prime Video and Starz.
Two very different Mexican-American sisters move back to their childhood home in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles following the death of their mother (the "Vida" of the title)—who they soon discover had been married to a woman. Mom left the daughters controlling shares of the bar she owned, but also a big chunk to her wife, forcing Lyn and Emma (Melissa Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada) to make nice with a woman they didn't know existed. The comedy-drama explores the intersections of queer and Latinx identities from the perspective of women, with a not-disproportionate emphasis on the importance of sexuality (the show is as horny as it is smart). Stream Vida on Hulu and Prime Video.
Series creator/writer/co-director and star Michaela Cole plays a social media influencer turned novelist struggling to reclaim and rebuild her life after she is raped. It’s a meaningful, but frequently very funny comedy-drama about the darkness that threatens to overwhelm a woman’s life, and the long road back. Stream I May Destroy You on HBO Max.
Valerie Meyers (Michaela Watkins) is recently divorced, so she takes her daughter and moves in with her single brother, Alex (Tommy Dewey). Reconnecting with family is always fun so, ya know...definitely uncomplicated. He's the founder of a dating site, and helps her get back into the dating scene while she helps him find some meaning in his relatively untethered life. Like Margo, Valerie is picking up her life after a significant upheaval and figuring out what she wants from life. Stream Casual on Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, and Tubi.
