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Open Hardware: Modding, Repairability, and More
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CNX Software ☛ GEEKOM A5 Pro 2026 Edition Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 25.10 on an AMD Ryzen 5 7530U mini PC
After checking out the hardware with an unboxing and a teardown of the GEEKOM A5 Pro 2026 Edition mini PC, and testing it with the pre-installed backdoored Windows 11 Pro OS in the second part of the review, we will now report our experience with Ubuntu 25.10 to show how the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U mini PC performs under Linux. The Ubuntu 25.10 review includes an overview of the system, benchmarks, storage and networking (2.5GbE and WiFi 6) performance testing, and measurements of CPU temperature under stress, fan noise levels, and power consumption of the mini PC under various workloads.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Linux hacked onto a PS5 to turn Sony's console into a Steam Machine — GTA V Enhanced Edition runs at 60 FPS on 1440pwith ray tracing
As the video below shows, that's a PS5 Slim running full-fat Linux with no illusions. Now that it's a PC, it can do anything a standard computer can, which includes running GTA V Enhanced Edition via Steam. It's set to 1440p resolution, with ray tracing enabled as denoted by the "High RT" preset in settings. The gameplay is steady at a smooth 60 FPS with barely any fluctuation, and even the sound is working.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Engineer receives $30,000 for exposing a vulnerability affecting 7,000 robot vacuum cleaners — tinkerer just wanted to drive his robot vacuum with a PS5 controller
It all started earlier this year, when Sammy Azdoufal wanted to control his robotic hoover with something more convenient than a smartphone screen. To control his DJI Romo using his PS5 gamepad, Azdoufal had to develop a custom controller app that used his security token to verify to his vacuum cleaner that he was the owner of the device. To extract that token, he needed to work with DJI's cloud servers to reverse-engineer the authorization process, which he successfully did using the assistance of an AI coding tool. As it turned out, instead of verifying a single robot, DJI’s backend granted broad access rights to some 7,000 robot vacuum cleaners located in 24 countries, along with their sensor and data stored in the cloud.
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iFixit ☛ Lenovo’s New T-Series ThinkPads Score 10/10 for Repairability - iFixit
There are “repairable” laptops, and then there are ThinkPad T-series laptops: the ones corporate IT buys by the pallet, images by the thousands, and expects to survive years of all-day use. During their lives they’ll weather countless commutes, on-the-go presentations, and inevitable splashes of coffee.
That’s why Lenovo’s newest ThinkPads are such a big deal: the new T14 Gen 7 and T16 Gen 5 score an eye-popping 10 out of 10 on our repairability scale. It’s the first time the T-series has ever earned our top rating. (The score is provisional, for now—we’ll finalize it when official parts and instructions become available through Lenovo’s support site, which we fully expect will happen in the near future.)
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iFixit ☛ Macbook Neo Shows how far Apple’s repairability design has fallen - iFixit
Apple’s MacBooks haven’t always been monolithic, barely repairable slabs of aluminum, glass, and glue. They used to be almost delightful in their repairable features, from their batteries to their Wi-Fi cards. Powerbooks, iBooks, and especially early MacBooks showed what happens when Apple applies its design skills directly to repairability and maintenance, instead of to thinness above all. Today we’re going to take a look at the best repairability features that Apple has ditched.