I used to spend upwards of $10 on cans of compressed air for cleaning my PC and accessories—and every time I bought one, I’d always eye the electric air dusters in envious consideration. I knew it made financial sense to spend $30 up front to never buy compressed air again, but it was tough to justify spending that much just to blow out dust. But eventually I folded. I hated going back to buy yet another can every few months, racking up a bill for basically nothing… so I bit the bullet and bought this 2-in-1 cordless air duster and vacuum. (Actually, mine’s not available anymore, but the one I linked is nearly the same.) Jon Martindale / Foundry And let me tell you: it was $35 well spent. It’s as gloriously over the top as I’d hoped and far more effective than I’d expected. I’ll never have to buy cans of compressed air ever again, and my only regret is that I didn’t buy it sooner. Plus, it’s also a vacuum! What a bonus. It’s better than cans of compressed air Compressed air is great at cleaning inside computers, under keyboard keys, and inside any other nooks and crannies that are either too tight or too sensitive for your typical vacuum cleaner. But compressed air has its quirks. It’s hard to control the strength of each puff, making it feel almost arbitrary—you never know exactly how far you need to hold the can when blowing on certain components. It also has the habit of spitting out liquid propellant if you spray too long, it doesn’t last very long, and you have to keep buying more when it runs out. That’s bad for the environment and your wallet. An electric air duster doesn’t have that problem… and it often comes as a 2-in-1 device with vacuum capabilities. My Whatook air duster and vacuum can blow and suck at an impressive rate, making it useful for not just dusting things off but actively removing dirt and debris. Would you rather blow around the dust inside your PC case or suck it out? Before (left) and after (right). It’s not perfect, but it makes a real difference.Jon Martindale / Foundry The fact that it’s consistent means it can be more useful. You can happily blast away at a huge 480mm radiator with abandon, knowing that if it runs out of battery you can just charge it up again. No need to use quick bursts to avoid condensing propellant on your electronics or to save what little air the can has left for other jobs. You can use it how an air duster is supposed to be used: with all the powah! Yomile 2-in-1 Cordless Duster and Vacuum Best Prices Today: $33.24 at Amazon It’s more effective than expected Seriously, I laughed out loud the first time I used this on my graphics card and CPU AIO radiator. The amount of dust that came out was ridiculous. I wipe them down often and usually do a good job of keeping my dust filters clear enough to keep my PC as dust-free as possible. But with this 2-in-1 electric air duster, I really gave them a good clean. The vacuum attachment is nice. But it’s primarily a blower, not a sucker.Jon Martindale / Foundry It doesn’t remove caked-on dust, so just as you wouldn’t use compressed air to remove that kind of grime, know that this cordless vacuum isn’t going to magically clean it either. But for surfaces that are tricky to clear out, like between heatsink fins and fan shrouds? It’s perfect. I love this thing. It feels like it’d be a one-time-use gimmick, but it’s really the opposite of that. It saves me money, it’s fun to use, and it’s quite effective at its job. I recommend it to all PC owners. Forget the cans. Get this 2-in-1 cordless air duster and vacuum insteadBuy now on Amazon Read...

Greetings from Maryland, where I’m currently visiting family and using one of the best impulse buys I’ve made in recent memory. I’m taking about those cheap portable monitors that go on sale for about $50 on Amazon, available under a variety of unrecognizable brand names. The one I got is made by BIGASUO (a name I can’t stop saying), but you can find seemingly identical models from the likes of FANGOR and MNN. They all serve the same basic purpose as a travel-friendly way to add an extra screen to your laptop, and they all have the same basic features: 15.6-inch 1080p display USB-C or Mini HDMI input Built-in speakers Audio jack for headphones or external speakers A detachable folio stand Some variants, such as this one by the unfortunately named Dopesplay, have actual built-in kickstands instead of folio cases that double as makeshift stands, but otherwise appear identical. Are these monitors great quality-wise? Of course not. But they’re cheap, light, and versatile. They’re also refreshingly free from a lot of modern tech baggage. I’ve had a great time finding ways to use mine. Allow me to convince you why you should get one of these, too. This column first appeared in Advisorator, Jared’s weekly tech advice newsletter. Sign up to get tech advice like this every Tuesday. How does a portable monitor work? These portable screens work a little differently than full-sized monitors, mainly because they don’t have regular HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA inputs. To connect these monitors, you have a couple options: USB-C to USB-C data cable. This provides power and video to the portable monitor through a single cable, but requires your computer to support video output through a USB-C port. (Modern Macs can do this, and many recent Windows laptops are catching up.) Mini HDMI to HDMI. For computers with HDMI outputs, you can send video to the portable monitor via Mini HDMI, but you’ll need a separate USB-C cable to power the monitor as well. A single USB-C data cable can provide video and power, or you can use the Mini HDMI and USB-C power ports instead.Jared Newman / Foundry Note that these travel-friendly displays don’t have built-in batteries, so they must draw power from either your laptop or an outlet. The lack of a battery makes the monitor lighter, but if you’re using the USB-C to USB-C connector, you’ll likely want to keep your laptop plugged into its own power source for lengthy computing sessions. My BIGASUO monitor included all the necessary cables, but they’re on the short side. To lengthen the connection distance, you’ll either need an HDMI extender or a USB-C to USB-C cable with 10 Gbps transfer speeds. (A basic USB-C charging cable won’t suffice for video connections.) What is a portable monitor good for? The most obvious use for a portable monitor is the main one: while using a laptop on the go, you can attach the portable monitor, prop it up with a stand, and have two screens instead of one. If you’ve never used a dual monitor setup before, this can be a revelation in itself. It’s nice being able to reference a document on one screen while writing on the other, or use one screen just for things like email and Slack while freeing up the main screen for more important tasks. I’ve also managed to prop up my BIGASUO monitor in portrait mode, which can be a bit precarious at times but does make my mobile workspace a bit more compact. (You can rotate the monitor orientation in system settings on both Windows PC and Mac.) Beyond the dual-screen setup, I’ve also experimented with: Turning a phone into a computer: Paired with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, your phone can become a makeshift portable desktop. Samsung’s Galaxy phones are especially well-suited with Samsung DeX, which launches a desktop-like environment when the phone connects to an external display. (You can even use the phone screen as a touchpad.) Plugging a separate USB-C charging cable into the monitor will send a charge back to the phone so you don’t waste battery life. A Samsung Galaxy Fold7 running DeX mode on the monitor, with the phone as a touchpad.Jared Newman / Foundry An extra (or alternate) desktop display: You don’t have to use a portable monitor on the road. I’ve been plugging mine into my desktop gaming PC in the basement while my son occupies the TV with the PlayStation 5. (We have plans to play Fortnite together this way but haven’t gotten around to it yet.) A bigger portable video screen: I’ve connected the portable monitor to my Steam Deck for a bigger view of the action, and I can envision plugging it into a phone or tablet to watch movies in bed or on a plane. A portable monitor just works In the past, I’ve written about using a tablet as an external monitor—and that’s still a viable option. Portable monitors are larger than most tablets, though, and they’re also less finnicky to set up. Not to get overly philosophical here, but portable monitors also remind me why I get excited about technology to begin with. Unlike so many other tech products today, a portable monitor is a no-fuss device that just works when you plug it in, asking nothing of you in exchange. There’s no pairing process, no login procedure, and no privacy policy to accept. I often hear folks pining for a dumb alternative to modern smart TVs—if you ask me, that idea is alive and well in portable monitors. But the biggest endorsement I can offer is this: my wife, after borrowing my portable monitor a couple days ago, now wants one of her own. This column first appeared in Advisorator, Jared’s weekly tech advice newsletter. Sign up to get tech advice like this every Tuesday. Read...

TL;DR: For two days only, you can get a lifetime license for Visual Studio Pro for only $15. Writing and testing code can be complex enough without the added friction of limited tools or slow environments. Visual Studio Professional 2022 is a comprehensive development platform built to support modern workflows across web, mobile, and desktop projects. It’s also only $14.97 for a lifetime license (normally $499). As Microsoft’s first 64-bit integrated development environment, this version of Visual Studio is optimized for large, complex solutions that demand more memory and better performance. Developers can build responsive user interfaces with Blazor, create cross-platform apps using .NET MAUI, and write, test, and debug .NET and C++ applications, including those targeting Linux systems. IntelliCode helps reduce repetitive typing by offering context-aware code suggestions, while Live Share enables real-time collaboration with teammates. You can co-edit, debug, and review code without needing to switch platforms or send files. Tools like CodeLens give quick access to commit history, test results, and author information, making it easier to stay focused and make informed changes. Visual Studio also supports hot reload, allowing you to see the effect of code changes immediately during runtime. This helps speed up debugging and shortens the iteration loop during development. With this lifetime license, you get ongoing access to a fully featured IDE used by professionals around the world. For a limited time, you can get a Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2022 Lifetime License on sale for $14.97. No coupon needed. Sale ends September 14 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

According to an announcement post, Anthropic has launched a new feature in Claude that allows you to create and edit files directly in the AI’s chat—including Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs. Previously, only basic file support was offered. Through a private computing environment, Claude can now write code and run programs to generate files and analyses. Anthropic describes it as the AI chatbot becoming an active collaborator, taking care of the technical side while the user (you) provides context and strategy. The file creation and editing feature is currently in preview and available to users with a Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription. Pro users will get access within a few weeks while Free users will have to wait longer. Read...

The council`s latest State of the Environment Report has found that lakes, streams and rivers are worse off. Read...

Auckland Transport is trialling playing classical music to help create a more “chilled-out environment”. Read...

Jeremiah Manele has called for Pacific solidarity in an `evolving global and strategic environment` during the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders` Meeting opening plenary in Honiara. Read...

The tough environment, weather conditions or proving their guile against the cunning geese all add to the occasion for hunters, the organiser says. Read...

Mammotion announced a new robot mower navigation platform ahead of the IFA trade show in Berlin on Thursday: Its Tri-Fusion Positioning System combines LiDAR, Real-Time Kinematic (RTK), and vision capabilities into a single system. Combining two of these technologies is not uncommon. Older mowers have used a combination of LiDAR and RTK for much of the past half-decade, while combining one or the other with vision navigation has gained favor more recently. And while some robot mowers have all three technologies onboard, they aren’t necessarily connected for navigation, and serve other mower operation purposes. Mammotion says Tri-Fusion is the culmination of nine years of development effort, and that it be made available as firmware updates for its recently released Luba Mini AWD LiDAR and the Yuka Mini Vision robot lawn mowers as well as several yet-to-be-announced models. Mammotion “Whether you have a compact city garden or a sprawling countryside lawn, it delivers high-accuracy mowing in any environment, sunlit or shaded, open or obstructed, flat or hilly,” said Mammotion CEO Jayden Wei No positioning technology is perfect Each navigation technology has its own strengths and weaknesses. Vision has given mowers the capability to accurately detect and avoid obstructions, but it’s useless in low-light conditions, which is LiDAR’s strength. Vision combined with LiDAR isn’t perfect either, especially for wide-open lawns. Without any reference objects to help a mower orient itself in the world, navigation will fail. And while RTK is the best solution for precise positioning, a mower has no means of identifying obstacles in its way, and its signal is easily obstructed by trees and buildings (ask Husqvarna about that issue). By combining the three technologies into a single platform, Mammotion claims that true centimeter-level positioning accuracy can be achieved. Such a claim is not new and has been made in marketing for past Vision/RTK-enabled mowers we’ve seen and reviewed. The catch is that you need to set up the mower as closed to the manufacturer’s recommendations as possible, something I’ve yet been able to accomplish in my testing. Available in the U.S. and U.K. later in 2025 The Mammotion Luba Mini AWD LiDAR (€2,299), which can handle lawns up to 1,500 square meters (0.37 acres), was launched in Europe on July 31. The smaller Yuka Mini Vision (€1,199) is also now available in Europe. It can maintain lawns up to 700 square meters (0.17 acres). Both mowers will ship to the U.S. and U.K markets later this year. This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robot lawn mowers. Read...

Rangatahi called upon other young people to protect the environment and preserve te reo Maori. Read...