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4 Apr 2025

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This mini PC is stacked with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD for under $330
The adorable mini PC form factor—cramming laptop guts into an itty-bitty, super-efficient desktop design—is getting popular for those who want to save space and money. Today, Walmart is offering a GMKtec model with an impressive 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for just $327.99. That’s over $70 off the retail price. Walmart’s listing calls the GMKtec NucBox M5 a “gaming mini PC,” which seems a little generous to me since it’s using a rather dated Ryzen 7 5825U laptop processor with an integrated RX Vega graphics system. Sure, it’ll handle some 2D indie games fine, but it’s not going to give you blistering frame rates on any newer 3D title. That said, the rest of this device is pretty great for a budget desktop. The memory is maxed out for this processor at a roomy 32GB, even if it’s a little slower on the DDR4 standard. And if 1TB of storage out of the box isn’t enough for you, there’s an open M.2 2280 slot for you to slide in even more, for a maximum capacity of 4TB. The mini PC comes loaded with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, ensuring speedy connections to both your local network and wireless devices. And it’s running Windows 11 out of the box, not always a given with these devices. Port selection is generous, too. On the front you get easy access to USB-C, double USB-A, and a headphone/microphone port. Around back are two more USB-A ports, plus dual display support with one HDMI and one DisplayPort. (The front USB-C port also supports display-out for triple screens, albeit a little awkwardly.) Two Ethernet ports can handle 2.5Gbps speeds each for speedy local networking. You can also mount it to the back of your monitor with the included VESA adapter. Note that Walmart is only offering this discount on the brighter blue model of the GMKtec mini PC, as the black version is going for the full $400 list price. That seems like a more-than-fair trade to me. Get a mini PC with 32GB RAM and 1TB of storage for just $328Buy now from Walmart

Televes Innova Boss Mix review: Good TV reception, retro vibe
TechHive Editors Choice At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Good reception of local channels Built-in signal amplifier Cool retro vibe thanks to rabbit ears Cons Needs to be placed near a window for best performance Integrated amplifier must be powered through a micro-USB cable and AC adapter or a TV’s USB port Our Verdict The Televes Innova Boss mixes great reception with a cool retro vibe. It provided sensitive and stable reception of local channels in our tests and should be a good choice for anyone who cannot install an outdoor or attic antenna. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Do you remember rabbit ears? If you grew up in the 1960s or 70s or without cable TV, there’s a good chance you do. Rabbit ears were an indoor TV antenna that sat on top of your TV set and invariably required repositioning for different channels. They have very much fallen out of fashion these days in favor of sleeker and smaller antennas with a more modern aesthetic. While they might look a bit old-fashioned, rabbit ears aren’t useless. In fact, they can deliver better reception of VHF TV stations, those broadcasting on channels 2 through 13, so it’s interesting to see them featured on the Televes Innova Boss Mix indoor TV antenna. If you can’t install an outdoor or attic antenna, the Innova Boss Mix is a top choice. The Televes Innova Boss Mix is in the foreground, the Televes Bexia is in the background in this shot.Martyn Williams This is an amplified indoor TV antenna that has a wonderful retro vibe, but is it any good? I gave it a thorough test. To review reception, I compared the Innova Boss Mix with another Televes indoor antenna, the Televes Bexia, which is our current top pick in amplified indoor TV antennas. I put them in the same location and measured reception across the TV broadcast band with each antenna three times. Power for the Televes Innova Boss Mix’s signal amplifier comes through this micro-USB port on its back panel. Martyn Williams The results were favorable in side-by-side tests. The Innova Boss Mix recorded slightly better signals in the VHF portion of the band and slightly worse signals on UHF stations. On VHF, the better results were enough to pull in an additional channel, while on UHF the results were not bad enough to lose any channels. In fact, while signal levels were lower overall, it also managed to receive an additional station. So, that’s a win all around. The Innova Boss Mix and the Bexia both feature signal amplifiers with power delivered via a USB connection, either from a wall adapter or the USB port on a television. Did the logo really need to be this prominent?Martyn Williams Further reading: This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best TV antennas. That amplifier helps reception, but I always recommend installing an external or attic antenna, if at possible, before considering an indoor model. An antenna mounted outdoors or in your attic, where’s it closer to being outdoors, will deliver more stable reception, and probably a few extra channels compared to an indoor model. Should you buy a Televes Innova Boss Mix indoor TV antenna? If you can’t install an outdoor or attic TV antenna, the Innova Boss Mix is a top choice and is at least on par with the Televes Bexia. It will work well in areas with good to strong signals for reception of local TV stations. If you don’t like the rabbit-ears aesthetic, go with the Bexia, instead.

Homey smart home hubs gain energy monitoring features
Dutch smart home hub manufacturer Athom has added new energy-monitoring capabilities to the app for its Homey series of smart home hubs and Homey cloud services. The company also announced the new Homey Energy Dongle for European smart meters. The energy-monitoring feature appears in a new Energy tab in the Homey app. It tracks data from whole-home energy meters, solar panel inverters, and energy-measuring devices—including the Emporia Home Energy Monitor, the Shelly Pro 3EM, and Athom’s own Homey Energy Dongle and displays that information in easy-to-read charts. Provide your utilities’ rates and the app will show you how much it costs to operate your home. Euopean consumers can opt to plug Athom’s Homey Energy Dongle into their utility-provided smart meters to track their home’s energy consumptions. U.S. customers can use any of several alternative energy monitors from third-party manufacturers. Athom Used in conjunction with these and similar energy monitoring devices, Homey’s app can also identify which devices are consuming the most energy, and if you have solar panels, how much energy that system is generating. The app can track electrical (in kilowatt hours), natural gas, and even water consumption with a compatible meter (gas and water consumption are measured in square meters). Armed with this information, Homey users can schedule events such as EV charging to occur during off-peak hours, when the electrical utility’s rates are the lowest. Users will also be able to automatically turn off high-consumption devices at peak times. The current version of the app uses manually entered utility rates, but Athom says an update that will support rates that vary by the hour—or even in 15-minute increments—will follow shortly after launch. Athom’s own Homey Energy Dongle, for European smart meters outfitted with a standard P1 port, streams real-time energy consumption and production data over Wi-Fi to the Home Pro locally, or through the cloud to both the free and Premium tiers of Athom’s Homey Cloud. The Homey Energy Dongle supports electricity, gas, and, in select markets, water metering. Priced at €39, the Homey Energy Dongle is available now.