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  • Need Microsoft Office on Your Mac? Skip the Fees and Pay Just $42 Up-Front

    Need Microsoft Office on Your Mac? Skip the Fees and Pay Just $42 Up-Front

    TL;DR: Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac is on sale for $42.97 (reg. $219) through July 26.

    Picking up a Mac after years on Windows tends to surface one problem fast: the Office files you already have need software that actually works on macOS, and Microsoft’s default answer is a Microsoft 365 subscription you didn’t ask for. Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac solves the compatibility problem without the recurring bill.

    You don’t need the newest release to open a spreadsheet a coworker sent you or format a resume the way you always have. This gets you the full offline Office lineup built specifically for Mac, so files from a Windows machine open the way they’re supposed to, without hunting for a workaround or a free app that half-renders formatting.

    The license activates with a Microsoft account, and once that’s done, the desktop apps run independently. No active Microsoft 365 plan required to keep using them, no features that quietly stop working if a subscription lapses.

    What’s Included

    • Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more, built for Mac

    • Full offline functionality for school, work, or travel

    • The familiar Office interface, with templates and editing tools intact

    • One-time activation with permanent ownership, no recurring fees

    It’s a practical fix for anyone switching to Mac, running Mac and Windows machines side by side, or just tired of Microsoft steering every option toward a subscription.

    Recommended by Our Editors

    Get Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac for $42.97 (reg. $219) before the offer ends July 26.


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    Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021

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  • Cooler Master Q300L V3 Review: Unbeatable Value for MicroATX Builds

    A 15.2-inch-square by 9-inch-deep box made of 0.80mm steel sheet, the Q300L V3 delivers rigidity that’s amplified by its semi-compact dimensions. (Our sample’s black; you can also get it in white.) A surprising feature in this extreme-budget case is its modular front port panel, which you can move to various other positions (more about that in a moment). It’s reflective of Cooler Master’s FreeForm 2.0 campaign, which allows for case-component swappability and relocation. 

    On the port panel, one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports abide, plus a headset (headphone and mic) combo jack. All are arrayed around a lighted power button that wears a black sticker to take on a lighted-ring appearance when the finished system is powered on. The panel is surrounded by a PVC filter sheet, and repositioning the ports to the top of the front panel requires only that the sheet be rotated 180 degrees.

    The front panel I/O on the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    Flipping the case the other way, you can see that the right side’s panel is held in place by big screws that also can serve as four alternative case feet. That’s right, the case is designed to function in either vertical or horizontal orientation.

    The rear panel features a nicely sized single 140mm exhaust fan on a dual-pattern mount that also supports 120mm replacements (should you want to swap it out). Also back here is a folded-out cardholder tab and a boxed-in power supply mount. That removable box is designed to space the power supply past the bottom panel’s corner radius. (In an elegant design flourish, this panel is curved at both front and back.)

    The rear of the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    As a builder, I’ve made a fairly big deal of the fact that folded-out designs for a case’s PCI Express card mounts are a cheap and inconvenient substitute for a boxed-in slot panel. But it wasn’t until I was reviewing a certain high-end case that I put numbers to that inconvenience. For trouble-free PCIe card insertion, some high-end boards and graphics cards need the gap above the card slots to be at least 0.75 inch high, and removing the slot covers from the Q300L V3 opens its gap to nearly an inch. So not only has Cooler Master addressed the greatest of my concerns regarding this cost-cut, it’s done it in a case that’s way cheaper than some much pricier offenders.

    The PCIe slots on the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    I removed the power supply’s spacer, as well as the card slot access cover, in the photo above. Here’s what those pieces look like (below)…

    The power supply spacer of the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    While the top, front, and bottom panel’s fan mounts all match, their filter sheets differ. The top sheet has only the vent holes; the front sheet adds a wide hole for the port section (as alluded to earlier); and the bottom has four, oh, let’s call them “flovals” (flattened ovals) plus two round holes to fit around the four snap-in feet and the bases of two pushed-in rubber plugs.

    All three sheets stick weakly to the case via magnetic edge strips. The bottom panel’s rubber plugs provide additional support to prevent that filter, at least, from falling off.

    The bottom of the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    The top and front panels have wide mounting holes for the port module, which can be relocated to either the top of the front panel or the front of the top panel and finished simply by swapping the PVC dust covers. (A fourth location, at the back of the top panel, is too close to the rear fan to be useful.)

    As for the fan mounting on the top panel? The fan-mount holes are spaced to support two 120mm fans positioned in the middle or offset 42mm to the left, or a pair of 140mm fans in the middle or 32mm to the left. The offset holes provide additional clearance between motherboard components and any top-mounted cooling devices.

    The top of the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    And you may need that space. You see, there’s only 22mm of clearance between the top of the case and the top of the motherboard, and even most fans alone (without a radiator) are 25mm to 26mm thick. Using the offset mounts with our test-standard 240mm-format cooler gave us 56mm of horizontal clearance between the right edge of our cooler and our motherboard’s top surface. No interference problems there.

    Users who want a more symmetrical appearance might instead mount all their fans to the front panel, where motherboard spacing isn’t a factor.

    The Cooler Master Q300L V3 with side panels removed

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    The Q300L V3’s motherboard tray has no extra holes for motherboards with reverse-facing cable connectors (a la MSI Project Zero or Asus BTF), but two extra holes below the motherboard area, hidden behind the power supply, do wonders for cable management. The tray extends all the way to the front panel, providing space to press-mount two 2.5-inch drives via included grommets and threaded pins.

    Note that the edges of the panel opening have six notches (two top, two front, two bottom) and the same number of panel clip-mounting holes, even though only two of the clips are filled. The design welcomes builders who want to push the limit, attempting an inverted build with the glass-paneled opening on the right side. (Just know that doing so might reduce the performance of gravity-assisted heat-pipe component coolers on your GPU and motherboard chipset, so proceed with caution.)

    The Cooler Master Q300L V3 with side panels removed

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    The space behind the motherboard tray is more than sufficient for stowing excess cable lengths in most builds, and Cooler Master even offers an alternative use for part of that space: drive mounting.

    The Cooler Master Q300L V3 with side panels removed

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

    The mount in question is a removable tray with holes spaced to fit either one 3.5-inch or two 2.5-inch drives. Unlike the mounting points on the motherboard tray, the drive tray’s holes accept ordinary screws (which are also included in the installation kit).

    The SSD trays of the Cooler Master Q300L V3

    (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

  • Europe’s high regulatory bar could spark new crypto industry M&A wave

    Europe’s high regulatory bar could spark new crypto industry M&A wave

    “As it uses existing rules, it’s going to be much less like a standalone framework,” Lightstone said. “A crypto firm will be treated like any normal traditional financial institution,” adding that “it will still be hard to get FCA authorization.”

    For established banks and investment firms already operating under those rules, adapting to crypto may be relatively straightforward. For newer crypto businesses, however, the cost of building governance, capital and custody systems from scratch could prove considerably more burdensome.

    That challenge is particularly evident in the FCA’s proposed client asset regime, applying the Clients Asset Sourcebook (CASS) framework, which would require firms to segregate customer crypto assets from company funds under trust arrangements while introducing crypto-specific operational safeguards around private keys and reconciliations.

    “The CASS requirements are very onerous,” Lightstone said. “That could encourage those newcomers to merge [with], be acquired by, a traditional firm that’s already subject to CASS and has those controls in place.”

    Banking adoption

    The prospect of consolidation comes as banks themselves appear more willing to enter digital assets now that regulatory uncertainty is beginning to lift.

    “As of today, there is less than 20% of all the banks in Europe [that] offer today any type of crypto services, so it’s heavily underserved,” said Simon Schneider, CEO of Sygnum Europe.

  • Box Office: ‘The Odyssey’ Sails to $87 Million in Massive Second Weekend

    Box Office: ‘The Odyssey’ Sails to $87 Million in Massive Second Weekend

    “The Odyssey” continued its epic box office journey, scoring a sensational $87 million in its second weekend of release. That’s a tally that most films, especially of the R-rated variety, would be happy to earn in their opening weekends.

    Ticket sales declined just 30% from its sizable 123.5 million debut, a testament to the box office durability of director Christopher Nolan. Most tentpoles that open above $100 million would decline by 50% or more in subsequent weekends. “The Odyssey” will be tested next weekend with the release of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Sony’s Marvel adventure, starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, could distract audiences. However, exhibitors are positively euphoric about the prospect of two massively popular movies to propel the typically slow month of August.

    After two weekends in theaters, Nolan’s big-budget adaptation of Homer’s epic poem, starring Matt Damon as the Greek king Odysseus, has grossed $286.4 million in North America and $639.6 million globally. With euphoric word-of-mouth and outsized interest in premium large formats like Imax, “The Odyssey” is expected to remain a major draw throughout the summer and into the fall. It’ll wind up among the highest-grossing releases of the year. That, along with the promise of Oscar nominations and the bragging rights of working with Nolan, will easily justify the film’s price tag for Universal. The studio spent a staggering $250 million to produce and around $125 million to promote the movie.

    “The Odyssey” wasn’t the only movie inspired by Greek mythology to land among the top five at the weekend box office. “Hadestown: The Musical,” a filmed version of the very successful Broadway show, had a strong debut with $9.6 million from 1,949 theaters. To compare, a theatrical version of “Hamilton” earned $10.1 million from 1,825 screens while Broadway live-captures of favorites like “Waitress: The Musical” and “Merrily We Roll Along” opened to $2.6 million and $1.3 million, respectively.

    “Hadestown,” a folk-operatic retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus, a musician who ventures to the underworld to rescue his fiancée, Eurydice, was supposed to play in theaters for just five days. Given the demand, though, Crosswalk and LD Entertainment — which released “Hadestown” with Bleecker Street — are extending the run with plans to add additional dates and showtimes.

    More to come…

  • 15 Altcoins Experiencing a Volume Boom in South Korea – Here’s the List

    15 Altcoins Experiencing a Volume Boom in South Korea – Here’s the List

    South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have seen a notable increase in trading volume for some altcoins. Data from the past 24 hours shows a concentration of activity, particularly in Euler ($EUL), DeXe ($DEXE), and Shiba Inu ($SHIB).

    When data from the two exchanges were combined, $EUL topped the list with a total trading volume exceeding $83.1 million. $EUL generated $40.4 million in volume on Upbit and $42.7 million on Bithumb.

    In second place was DeXe, which reached a trading volume of $80.2 million on Bithumb alone. $DEXE, which has recently been in the spotlight due to its sharp price movements, accounted for 25.8% of Bithumb’s total spot trading volume.

    Shiba Inu reached a total trading volume of $77.1 million, with $65.5 million on Upbit and $11.6 million on Bithumb. $SHIB became the most traded cryptocurrency on Upbit in particular.

    Related News Another Crypto Exchange Is Shutting Down After BitMEX—Its Token Plunged

    The total 24-hour altcoin trading volumes on Upbit and Bithumb are listed below:

    1. Euler ($EUL) – $83.12 million
    2. DeXe ($DEXE) – $80.21 million
    3. Shiba Inu ($SHIB) – $77.06 million
    4. Pieverse (PIEVERSE) – $40.95 million
    5. XRP – $27.33 million
    6. Dogecoin (DOGE) – $23.06 million
    7. Perle (PRL) – $22.52 million
    8. RE – $18.66 million
    9. Ondo (ONDO) – $13.70 million
    10. Morpho (MORPHO) – $12.79 million
    11. Lagrange (LA) – $12.72 million
    12. Zama (ZAMA) – $12.18 million
    13. Solstice (SLX) – $10.89 million
    14. Worldcoin (WLD) – $10.78 million
    15. ETHGas (GWEI) – $10.37 million

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Box Office: ‘Toy Story 5’ Crosses $1 Billion, Becomes Highest-Grossing Movie of the Year

    Box Office: ‘Toy Story 5’ Crosses $1 Billion, Becomes Highest-Grossing Movie of the Year

    Who says toys are outdated? Disney and Pixar‘s “Toy Story 5,” which grapples with the reality that kids would rather play with tech than dolls, has surpassed $1 billion globally and now ranks as the highest-grossing release of the year.

    The film has earned $448 million domestically and $573 million internationally for a global tally of $1.022 billion. It’s the third movie of the year to cross the coveted milestone, following “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1.001 billion) and “Michael” ($1.001 billion). Meanwhile “The Odyssey,” which has earned $639.6 million after just two weekends of release, is primed to be the fourth film to notch $1 billion. And that’s before “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” a sequel to 2021’s juggernaut “No Way Home,” opens on July 31.

    This year is tracking to produce the most billion-dollar blockbusters since the pandemic upended the box office in 2020. In 2019, nine movies — including “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Joker,” “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Captain Marvel” — earned over $1 billion. The following year, plagued with months of COVID-related theater closures, not a single film crossed the billion-dollar mark. There was just one in 2021 (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”), three in 2022 (“Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion”), two in 2023 (“Barbie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”), three in 2024 (“Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Moana 2”) and three in 2025 (“Zootopia 2,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Lilo & Stitch”).

    In the coming days, “Toy Story 5” will register as the highest-grossing installment in the beloved franchise, overtaking 2019’s “Toy Story 4” ($1.07 billion). It’s the third “Toy Story” sequel to cross $1 billion after 2010’s “Toy Story 3” ($1.06 billion).

    Directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, the fifth installment follows Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner Bonnie becomes addicted to her new favorite gadget, a kiddie smart tablet known as Lilypad. “Toy Story 5” opened in mid-June to $160 million, marking the biggest debut of the year as well as the best start in the series. With glowing reviews, positive word-of-mouth and general goodwill toward the 31-year-old property, “Toy Story 5” remained the de facto choice for family audiences through the busy summer season. It didn’t hurt that Taylor Swift, whose wedding to Travis Kelce was among the buzziest news of the summer, wrote a new song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the soundtrack.

    Amid the outsized success of “Toy Story 5,” Pixar Animation Studios was hit last week by layoffs at Disney. Although animated sequels have majorly rebounded at the box office, original fare remains challenged. Pixar’s other 2026 release was this spring’s new adventure “Hoppers,” the story of an animal-loving student who transfers her mind into a robotic beaver so she can talk to other critters. Despite a strong opening weekend, “Hoppers” didn’t have the staying power to match the box office heights of prior Pixar greats.

  • U.S. regulator warns prediction markets against cutting corners in event contracts

    U.S. regulator warns prediction markets against cutting corners in event contracts

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has claimed a role as the leading regulator of prediction markets firms run by companies such as Kalshi, Coinbase, Polymarket and Crypto.com, issued an advisory on Friday reminding the businesses that they shouldn’t cut corners with far-ranging contract certifications meant to encompass a wide array of events.

    The agency said that “broad, template-style certifications should not be submitted,” marking the second time in recent months that the regulator has had to warn about overly generalized submissions.

    Many of the “designated contract markets” regulated by the CFTC “continue to self-certify event contracts” (in other words, prediction market contracts) as broad templates “without supplying the terms and conditions of each proposed permutation and a concise explanation and analysis with respect to the product’s terms and conditions, the underlying commodity, and the product’s compliance,” the agency said.

    The regulator said skirting the process can undermine its ability to work out whether the firm “has supplied all information, explanation and analysis required” and has “adequately evaluated the settlement methodology, data sources, and core-principles compliance of all permutations of the contract.”

  • From paradise to ‘pilot zone’ disaster: Returning to destroyed Lebanon home

    From paradise to ‘pilot zone’ disaster: Returning to destroyed Lebanon home

    NewsFeed

    Sumaya Yaghi returns to what’s left of her destroyed home in southern Lebanon after Israeli troops withdrew from her ‘pilot zone’ village under a US-backed agreement.

    Published On 26 Jul 2026

  • Warner Bros. Sues Amazon, Accusing Company of “Seeking to Pirate Away Employees”

    Warner Bros. Sues Amazon, Accusing Company of “Seeking to Pirate Away Employees”

    Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for “hurriedly seeking to pirate away a number of contracted employees,” citing the recent hiring of Pia Barlow as a “better example of Amazon’s lawless employee shopping spree.”

    Warner Bros. alleges intentional interference with contractual relations, breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advance and unfair competition against Amazon in the suit that was filed on Tuesday. In using Barlow, HBO Max’s former EVP originals marketing, as an example, the company notes that her contract was not set to expire until Oct. 31, 2027. Barlow was announced as Amazon MGM Studios‘ new head of original series marketing on Friday, when most outlets began reporting on the suit.

    “Though it was aware of Barlow’s ongoing contractual commitment to WMS, of which WBD is a beneficiary, Amazon has brazenly and deliberately induced Barlow to breach the employment agreement by packing up and decamping to Amazon more than 16 months before its expiration,” the suit reads.

    Warner Bros. also alleges in the filing that “Barlow is not the first (nor, apparently, the last) WBD employee that Amazon has targeted or will target in the future.” The suit alleges that “a few weeks before Amazon’s interference with Barlow’s term employment contract with WMS, Amazon similarly endeavored to tortiously induce another WBD employee to breach their term employment agreement, which was not set to expire until December 2027.”

    “Fortunately, in that instance, Amazon ultimately was unsuccessful in its efforts to raid WBD’s workforce as to that particular executive,” the suit continues.

    Warner Bros. is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief.

  • Winston Duke Trusts David Jonsson to Take On ‘Black Panther’: ‘I Think It’s Going to Be Great’

    Winston Duke Trusts David Jonsson to Take On ‘Black Panther’: ‘I Think It’s Going to Be Great’

    Winston Duke is officially returning to Wakanda for “Black Panther 3”, and David Jonsson is coming along with him.

    Marvel teased the third “Black Panther” at San Diego Comic-Con, which releases Dec. 15, 2028. Jonsson will play T’Challa’s son, Prince T’Challa II, continuing the late Chadwick Boseman’s legacy.

    “I trust him as an artist. I also trust the people who chose him,” Winston told Variety about Jonsson joining the franchise. “I trust Ryan [Coogler]. I trust the entire MCU executive team. I think it’s going to be great.”

    “Black Panther” was Duke’s first film, and he said he hopes to create a similarly welcoming experience for Jonsson. “How I was greeted and received into this world – which was with a lot of grace, being told it’s a safe space to work, to play — that’s what I wanted to extend to him,” he said. “I don’t have any advice. I know what I have to do with him, which is to play with him. I have to trust him. I have to give him the same grace that was extended to me.”

    Ryan Coogler will return to direct the film following “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” with Leticia Wright reprising her role as Shuri.

    Winston will also appear as M’Baku in the highly anticipated “Avengers: Doomsday,” which premieres Dec. 18. The film’s trailer has been viewed 503 million times since being released on Monday.

    “What I know is that we have their attention,” Winston said when asked about fans’ interest in the future of the MCU. “I think we have their attention because of so much trust that they have for the MCU. We’ve created and delivered so many movies over the years, and it’s never about any one director. It’s about the cohort.”

    The first “Black Panther” film released in 2018 and earned $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, also receiving seven Oscar nominations and three wins.