August 2025

There were 1,614 posts published in August 2025 (this is page 108 of 162).

Summary – Tropical Storm Erin (AT5/AL052025)

…ERIN FORECAST TO BECOME A HURRICANE LATER THIS WEEK IN THE CENTRAL TROPICAL ATLANTIC… As of 5:00 PM AST Mon Aug 11 the center of Erin was located near 17.4, -30.3 with movement W at 21 mph. The minimum central pressure was 1004 mb with maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph.

AOL Dial-Up Is Shutting Down After 34 Years

Can you play “Danny Boy” over a phone modem? After 34 years in operation, AOL is finally ending its dial-up service. The news is sure to come as a shock to internet users around the country, plenty of whom are probably asking themselves “AOL still had dial-up?”

But if you live in a rural area, it’s not quite as surprising. As someone who has to resort to DSL whenever I visit my in-laws, and who had to fight to get my mom to swap from an AOL browser to Chrome when I was in college, I can see why AOL’s dial-up lasted so long. According to a 2019 US Census, 265,000 people in the United States are still on dial-up, and AOL’s brand in particular came with a certain veneer of familiarity.

The company was known for making easy-to-use products with an emphasis on personality, so it’s funny how little fanfare the shutdown notice came with. In a 100-word blog posted over the weekend, AOL simply said that its dial-up service will “no longer be available in AOL plans” starting on Sept. 30, 2025. Also joining dial-up in the trash bin are the AOL Dialer software you’d actually use to connect, as well as the AOL Shield browser, a stripped-down version of the company’s current, Chrome-like AOL Shield Pro browser, intended for older operating systems and slower connections.

As for what AOL will still offer, it turns out AOL is more of a data security company now, with a number of ID protection features aimed more at businesses than individual users. That said, you can still sign up for a free AOL plan if you’re hankering for a nostalgic email address, although both paid and free users will have to get their actual internet connections from somewhere else going forward.

Still, there is hope for anyone still clinging to a screeching phone modem for their internet connection. Services like Netzero and Juno still offer dial-up plans in certain zip codes, and Netzero will actually connect you for free if you use fewer than 10 hours a month. Click here to check providers in your area.

Even better, the classic AOL experience isn’t going anywhere. While AOL is ending dial-up service, it will keep offering its AOL Desktop Gold plan, which in addition to including tools to protect you from keyloggers and phishing attempts, also gives you access to the classic AOL browser, as opposed to the more Chrome-ified Shield Pro. It even has the “You’ve got mail” notification.

Yankees’ Gerrit Cole begins throwing program

Gerrit Cole took a big step on his road to recovery on Monday, throwing 20 pitches off of flat ground.

Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the news, which was first reported by YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits.

“He’s done a good job with rehab,” Boone said. “This is one of those cool markers along that way that’s significant to hit, so excited for him.”

The Yankees ace underwent Tommy John surgery on March 11, opting for the internal brace procedure that could potentially shorten his recovery time.

The 34-year-old appeared in two spring training games for the Yankees this year, and it was clear something wasn’t right, as the former Cy Young winner allowed seven earned runs on seven hits over 6.0 innings of work. Cole ended up having season-ending surgery just five days after his final spring start.

“It’s a big one, first day throwing,” Cole told reporters on Monday. “Been building up to it for a few weeks so it’s nice to get outside and get it accomplished and have it go well.”

The right-hander also mentioned that it “felt really good” to be out there and that he was “fairly accurate.”

While it’s great to see Cole throwing again, he still has a long way to go before pitching for New York once again. Nevertheless, he’ll continue his throwing program through the rest of the season before shutting it down again entering the offseason phase.

“This initial progression should take at least a few months so we’re right at the beginning of it,” Cole said.

With Cole missing the entire season, free agent addition Max Fried has stepped into the ace role nicely, pitching to a 2.94 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP. It’s clear, however, that the Yankees have missed Cole, who has pitched to a 3.12 ERA and made three All-Star Games in a Yankees uniform.

The Yankees currently find themselves in third place in the AL East, and hold just a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final Wild Card spot.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait for Apple’s Rumored ‘Affordable’ MacBook

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Apple products have a (deserved) reputation for being expensive. Often you’re paying more than you would for a seemingly similar device from another company. There are perks that come with those premiums, but when you can buy a Chromebook for $200, a $1,000 MacBook might be hard for some to justify.

That persistent sticker shock might be the fuel behind rumors suggesting Apple is working on an “affordable” MacBook that could be priced as low as $599 (the cheapest MacBook Air currently starts at $999 direct from Apple). According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this Chromebook competitor will run on an A18 Pro chip, the same chip that Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro uses. It’d mark the first time Apple has built a MacBook with an iPhone A-series chip, and a departure from the M-series chips critics have lauded during the current Mac era.

The point of this machine isn’t to be a powerhouse; it’s to provide a simplistic macOS experience for a smaller price tag than a typical MacBook. That also includes a smaller footprint: Kuo suggests this new MacBook will have a 12.9-inch display, 0.7 inches smaller than the 13.6-inch display on the existing MacBook Air. DigiTimes also confirms Kuo’s reporting, and broke the story about that $599 price point—the cheapest MSRP ever for a MacBook, as far as I’m aware.

Rumors point to a late 2025 to early 2026 release for this as-yet-unnamed device, so if you’re price-sensitive and your current machine isn’t cutting it, it might seem like this new, cheaper MacBook could be the move.

If you ask me, you don’t need to wait to get a great $600 MacBook.

You can already get a great MacBook for less than $600

M1 MacBook Air

Apple MacBook Air M1 13” Laptop


$599.00
at Walmart
$1,043.99
Save $444.99

The thing is, you don’t need to wait until the “affordable” MacBook launches in order to buy a great MacBook at a reasonable price. It’s possible to buy one today. You wouldn’t think it’s be possible by visiting Apple’s website: The company will happily sell you an M4 MacBook Air for $999 ($899 from the education store), and while that’s a decent price for a great laptop, it’s objectively still on the expensive side. If $599 is the top of your budget, you’re never going to buy a new machine from Apple.

So don’t buy one from Apple. Instead, buy an older (but still new in the box) M-series Mac from a third-party retailer, like Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart. The M4 chip is great, but to be honest, all the M-series Macs are great. Apple really struck gold with this current crop of Macs, to the point where buying a nearly five year old laptop can still be a great decision in 2025.

If you’re tempted by the rumored “affordable” MacBook, I’d strongly recommend taking a look at an M1 MacBook Air. This is one of Apple’s original M-series laptops, and it still holds up today. If you’re looking for a MacBook that can handle basic tasks, like internet browsing, email, messaging, and running work programs, this is that machine. All varieties of M1 are still supported by Apple, and will be compatible with macOS 26 Tahoe when it drops this fall.

Right now, Walmart is selling the M1 new for that same $599. If you’re open to buying refurbished, you can fare even better: Walmart is selling the same M1 Air with double the RAM (16GB as opposed to 8GB) for $550. The 8GB machine will suit most people just fine, but if you can find a refurbished model with 16GB for a comparable price, jump on it, as the more RAM you have, the more processes you can run at the same time, which means the 16GB models will let you do more at once. Plus, as programs and software become more demanding, that additional RAM will come in handy. Someday, 8GB of RAM will hold you back, but there’s no telling when that day will come.

Other great MacBook deals right now

If you can push your budget a bit more, there are two other excellent Mac deals to consider. The M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM is only $699 at Best Buy right now. I’ve previously written about how this might be the best-valued MacBook on the market: It comes with that additional RAM, of course, but also the M2 chip, which is one generation newer than M1. You also get Apple’s latest MacBook Air design with a larger display with the notch, so the machine looks a bit more modern than the M1 Air.

Finally, if you can really push that budget, you can find a refurbished M1 Pro MacBook Pro for under $750 at Amazon right now. Not only does this machine come with 16GB of RAM, you get the M1 Pro chip, which is much more powerful than M1 (and the M2, for that matter). Plus, you get other MacBook Pro perks, like a larger mini-LED display, HDMI and SD card ports, and a dedicated fan for cooling.

Apple’s new budget machine might serve a purpose on paper, but if you aren’t buying new from an Apple Store, you have many more options.