A Steam Next Fest demo scorecard for October 2026
A practical scorecard for choosing which October 2026 Steam Next Fest demos deserve wishlist space, install time, and post-fest attention.
Games and gadgets
Personal Notebook
The off-duty shelf: games, hardware, cameras, and other technology I find interesting enough to examine closely.
17 articles
A Matter 1.6 buying filter for smart home gear
Matter 1.6 is worth treating as a support-matrix buying signal, not a reason to replace working smart-home gear before platforms catch up.
A Switch 2 buying checklist for game-key cards
Nintendo Switch 2 game-key cards change the physical buying math. Check storage, first launch, sharing, and resale assumptions before you buy.
A Qi2 travel charger checklist for Pixel owners
Pixel 10 made magnetic Qi2 charging practical for Android. This checklist keeps travel chargers honest about speed, heat, cases, and device fit.
Gamescom trailer triage rules for my wishlist
A practical set of rules for watching Gamescom and Future Games Show trailers without turning every good reveal into backlog debt.
7 Predictions for Samsung Unpacked on July 22
Seven pre-event predictions for Samsung’s July 2026 Unpacked, preserved as a record of the foldable rumors and expectations before the event.
How Palworld Got to 1.0: A Timeline of Records, Lawsuits, and Patches
Palworld left early access on July 10, 2026 with 27 pages of patch notes and a patent lawsuit still hanging over it. Here is the full two-and-a-half-year road from meme launch to 1.0.
A Q&A on Pixel 11 launch and price rumors
An archived Q&A on the Pixel 11 launch rumors, storage tiers, and pricing questions discussed ahead of the announced August 2026 event.
5 myths about Gears of War: E-Day and Xbox exclusives
Five questions about Gears of War: E-Day, Xbox exclusivity, linear design, and the horror tone behind a return to the series’ origins.
A timeline of Samsung's wider foldable bet
A pre-event timeline of Samsung’s 2026 foldable teasers, rumored designs, and the questions that shaped expectations for a wider Galaxy Fold.
5 Calls on Palworld 1.0 and the Early Access Endgame
Palworld leaving Early Access on July 10, 2026 is less about one update and more about what players now expect from survival games that spend years in public development.
7 Gadgets From June 2026 Worth Your Money, Ranked
My countdown of the seven June 2026 hardware launches that actually earn a spot in your bag or on your desk, from a benchmark-topping Sony phone to a foldable Logitech mouse.
GTA 6: How We Got to November 19, 2026 (a timeline)
Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI went live on June 25, 2026, and the launch is now locked for November 19. Here is the dated sequence of leaks, trailers, and delays that got us here.
Insta360 Luna Ultra vs DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: the fairer pocket gimbal fight
The original Pocket 3 comparison was the wrong baseline. DJI's new dual-lens Osmo Pocket 4P is the real same-generation rival to Insta360's Luna Ultra, and the verdict gets much tighter.
A field guide to the Steam Summer Sale 2026
An archived guide to the June–July 2026 Steam Summer Sale, with practical rules for wishlists, price checks, budgets, and managing a gaming backlog.
5 gadgets from June 2026 I'd actually spend my own money on
A ranked countdown of the June 2026 hardware worth buying, from a $50 speaker to $849 AR glasses, with the one I keep thinking about at number one.
Alien: Isolation 2 and the AI That Made the First One Work
Creative Assembly just announced Alien: Isolation 2 at Summer Game Fest 2026. The original's two-brain Xenomorph AI is why it worked, and "smarter" is the easiest way to break it.