With the spring approaching, it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll file your taxes. Unfortunately, with the recent demise of Direct File, there isn’t a free, government-provided alternative to TurboTax in 2026, and you’ll need to look to other federal programs, including IRS Free File, to file your paperwork. If you don’t qualify for Free File, chances are you’ll need to dish out cash for Intuit’s software. And while we hate to suggest you give money to a company that has spent decades lobbying to ensure America’s tax system remains a nightmare, we can at least save you some…

Pioneering mathematician Dr. Gladys West has passed away at the age of 95. Her name may not be familiar to you, but her contributions certainly are; West’s work laid the foundation for the global positioning system. As you likely know from experience, GPS is now an essential component of industries ranging from aviation and emergency response, as well as ensuring that you get to that dinner date or job interview on time. West was born in 1930 in Virginia. Despite the oppression of Jim Crow laws in the south, she was able to pursue higher education at Virginia State College…

The UK Gambling Commission has raised concerns that Meta is ignoring advertisements by illegal gambling websites on its platforms. At a conference in Barcelona, the commission’s Executive Director Tim Miller criticized Meta’s behavior towards advertisements for online gambling on its Facebook and Instagram social networks. “Companies like Meta will tell you that they don’t tolerate the advertising of illegal sites and will remove them if they are notified about them,” Miller’s speech transcript reads. “But that approach suggests that they don’t know about those ads unless alerted. That is simply false.” Meta’s internal policy is that gambling sites must be…

ASUS appears to be shifting its business operations away from smartphones. According to translations of recent quotes from Chairman Jonney Shih, the company does not plan to release new phone models in the future. The chairman did not confirm whether smartphones would be completely phased out, but he did acknowledge that possibility. Whatever direction ASUS takes, its existing phones will continue to receive software updates and warranty assistance. Shih suggested that its future plans may include a shift into AI-related projects such as robotics or smartglasses. Previous reports hinted that ASUS would not introduce any smartphones in 2026, but Shih’s…

Meta’s Threads is pulling further ahead of Elon Musk’s X on mobile, based on recent estimates from analytics firm Similarweb, reports. In the first stretch of January, Threads averaged roughly 143 million daily active users worldwide on mobile devices, compared with about 126 million for X. Similarweb’s year-over-year snapshot shows , up 37.8 percent year-over-year, while X’s daily mobile audience fell 11.9 percent across the same period. The picture is more mixed in the US, where X still holds a narrow edge on mobile. Similarweb data puts X at about 21.2 million daily active US mobile users in early January…

Marathon, Bungie’s long-awaited extraction shooter, will arrive on March 5, the studio announced today. Alongside a definitive release date, Bungie shared a new gameplay trailer, in addition to details about the game’s forthcoming deluxe edition, which fans can pre-order today on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. All versions of the game will support crossplay, meaning you’ll be able to play with your friends, no matter where they decide to buy Marathon. Sony, Bungie’s parent company, had previously committed to a March release for Marathon, but stopped short of sharing an exact date. News of that date leaked early…