Tech Boys

To further push the limits of consumerism , Google has launched a new open standard for agentic commerce that's called Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). In brief, it's a framework that combines the power of AI agents and online shopping platforms to help customers buy more things. Thanks to the introduction of UCP, Google is offering three new online shopping features. To start, Google's AI mode will have a new checkout feature that allows customers to buy eligible products from certain US retailers within Google Search. Currently, this feature works with Google Pay, but it will soon add PayPal compatibility and incorporate more capabilities, like related product discovery and using loyalty points. On the merchant side, the UCP also established the Business Agent feature, which Google said will be "a virtual sales associate that can answer product questions in a brand’s voice." The Business Agent will launch tomorrow with early adopters including Lowe’s, Mic...

Walmart is building out its on-demand drone delivery service to an additional 150 stores across the country in another major partnership with Wing. SEE ALSO: NASA preparing for its first crewed Moon mission in 50 years The drone company is owned by Google parent Alphabet and first partnered with Walmart in 2023. Since then, Wing has made an aggressive push to service additional retail locations and scale its operations across the country. With the new drone offerings, the company will operate its autonomous delivery drones in 270 locations and service about 10 percent of the U.S. population, or around 40 million Americans, TechCrunch reported . The company has referred to it as the "largest residential drone delivery service." Building off of infrastructure in the Dallas-Forth Worth and Atlanta areas, customers will see drone delivery options roll out gradually throughout 2026 and into 2027, pushing into major metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinna...

TL;DR: Get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows as a one-time purchase, lifetime license for just $34.97 (reg. $219.99) for a limited time. Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License $34.97 $219.99 Save $185.02   Get Deal Microsoft Office 2021 Professional is back in the spotlight this year — especially if you’re tired of watching subscription fees add up. For $34.97, you get a lifetime license to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams , OneNote, Publisher, and Access. Eight essential apps, one upfront payment, no recurring charges, and nothing renewing behind your back. We know what you’re thinking, but rest assured, this isn’t some stripped-down lite version either. It’s the real deal. Whether you’re writing reports, crunching numbers, building presentations, managing emails, or wrangling databases, this suite has you covered. Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get edit...

X may soon provide more insight into how its algorithm works. On Saturday, Elon Musk posted on the platform to say that the company "will make the new X algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days."  X's recommendation algorithm has been the subject of investigations by France and the European Commission , the latter of which recently extended through 2026 a retention order that it sent to the company at the beginning of last year. And scrutiny into the platform, along with demands for accountability, have only increased after its chatbot, Grok, was caught generating CSAM at users' requests and continues to be used to digitally undress women nonconsensually.  Elon Musk's X post about open-sourcing the algorithm. Screenshot/X Musk has been making promises of open-sourcing the algorithm since his takeover of Twitter, and in 2023 published the code for the site's ...

Your neighborhood GameStop might be on the chopping block, along with more than 400 other retail locations across the US. As first reported by Polygon , the retailer is pursuing a severe cost-saving measure by closing up several hundred physical locations. According to a blog that keeps track of GameStop closures, there are 410 locations that are confirmed to be closing or are already closed, along with another 11 that are reportedly also on their way, as of January 10.  As Polygon indicated, these closings aren't much of a surprise considering GameStop's SEC filing for December 2025 indicated that it would "anticipate closing a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025," which ends on January 31, 2026. The same filing detailed that the company's board would pay out the GameStop CEO, Ryan Cohen, up to $35 billion in stock options, given that he increases the retailer's market cap to $100 billion. While the blog covers only closures in the US...

If you get an unexpected password reset email that appears to be sent by Instagram, it's likely a good idea to ignore it. Users on social media have reported an uptick in a scam relying on fake — but very convincing — password reset emails from Instagram. The cybersecurity-focused TikTok account @ohhackno posted a helpful explainer about the apparent scam, which has racked up some 4 million views. A thread on the cybersecurity help subreddit has garnered hundreds of upvotes and comments, too. The scam is particularly frightening because the emails do appear to be quite convincing. Folks have reported that the email appears to come from a legit Instagram address and the design looks good, too. Forbes reported that the sudden uptick in the scam is "related to a breaking story about a leak of 17.5 million Instagram user accounts by a threat actor on BreachForums." The outlet itself reported getting the scam email. Mashable reached out to Meta for further informatio...

There's a second acronym constantly looming above the floor of any CES: TBD. That's the most info we have about a good chunk of products announced at CES 2026 so far . "Coming soon" could mean next month to some brands and next year to others. Sometimes, we don't even know if these debuted products will ever make it out of the prototype phase. SEE ALSO: CES 2026: This AI bartender called me old, but it makes one hell of a drink While no one is asking for LG's laundry-folding robot to be sold at Target or anything, a few more tangible gadgets with no waiting period would be nice. As of Jan. 9, the last official day of CES, several of our favorite new gadgets are already available to buy (or at least preorder). More recent announcements could go live for purchase in the days following the event, so we'll be updating this list through the weekend. 1. TCL X11L SQD-Mini LED TV TCL's big TV announcement wasn't just another RGB TV like we were...

Amazon is making a return, of sorts, to physical retail via plans to build a big-box retail store in the Chicago suburbs, The Information reports . The 225,000-square foot retail space will open in Orland Park, Illinois, and give the company the opportunity to sell more than just groceries after it closed most of its physical bookstores and gift shops in 2022. The new store will offer in-store shopping, but also act as a fulfillment center for online orders, which could make it similar to competitors like Target and Walmart, and some of Amazon's existing Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh locations. "The proposed development will offer a wide selection of products, including groceries and general merchandise, with accessory services and potentially dining locations for prepared food sold onsite," Amazon wrote in a planning document The Information viewed. While best known as an online marketplace, Amazon has made multiple attempts to have a physical retail presence. Amazon...

Last year Razer showed off Project Ava as a digital assistant that lived inside your computer to help adjust settings or provide gaming tips. But now at CES 2026, the company’s AI companion platform has gotten a major glow-up while moving into some new digs.  Now, in lieu of being constrained entirely to your PC’s screen, Razer has given Project Ava a real home in the form of a small tube that can display a 5.5-inch animated hologram of the AI’s avatar. You’ll still need to connect it to your computer via USB-C to provide Ava with the power and data it needs. However, all of your companion’s other components are built into its abode, including dual far-field mics so you can talk to it, a down-firing full-range speaker so it can talk and an HD camera with an ambient light sensor so the AI can see and react to its surroundings.    View this post on Instagram But perhaps the biggest upgrade to the project is that instead of jus...