I'm 41, and I thought I'd always be child-free. I decided to have kids so my parents could be grandparents.

Tech Insider
Courtney Kocak with her parents and husband standing in a living room and smiling at the camera.
Courtney Kocak and her husband recently decided they want to have kids.

Courtesy of Courtney Kocak

  • My husband and I always thought we'd stay child-free.
  • But recently, my mom told me she wanted to be a grandparent.
  • Now, we've decided to have kids, and we're excited about our decision.

I'm 41, and until very recently, I thought I would remain child-free. I'm the oldest of four, but we've all held off on

Business, Travel

How to check Google's free dark web report to see if your personal info was exposed in a data breach

Tech Insider
Google Cloud logo
Google is making its dark web report free. The feature monitors the dark web for leaked personal information.

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  • Google started offering its dark web report for free in late July.
  • The report looks for data tied to you from past data breaches or hacks.
  • Users can access the report via Google's "Results about you" tool to monitor and remove data.

Google's dark web report, whic

Business

Warmer-than-expected fall weather is hurting retailers that sell coats and boots

Tech Insider
Mom and kid shopping for Christmas. Winter holidays.
Shoppers were waiting for the mercury to drop before spending big.

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  • Apparel retailers are saying the late start to colder weather has impacted their quarterly results.
  • Kohl's, Burlington, and Nordstrom each mentioned in their earnings a pronounced drop in winter clothes sales.
  • The trend follows last year's weirdly warm winter, which posed its own challenges for retailers.

Wit

Business

The hottest luxury fashion brands that customers should buy before everyone else does, according to The RealReal

Tech Insider
Bally models walking down the runway
Secondhand luxury execs have a heads-up on which brands will be on-trend next year.

Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

  • Secondhand luxury platform The RealReal has a trove of data about the hottest brands.
  • Demand for trendy items influences how they're priced on The RealReal.
  • These are the brands that two executives from The RealReal say you should buy now.

It's the most wonderful time of the

Business, Style

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would depend on seizing its ports. That won't be easy.

Tech Insider
The fate of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would turn on their effort to seize a port facility like Keelung harbor.
The fate of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would turn on their effort to seize a port facility like Keelung harbor.

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  • A Chinese invasion of Taiwan must focus on seizing a port to bring in tanks and supplies.
  • Commercial or industrial ports are prime targets that would allow for rapid offloading.
  • Taiwan may have the weapons and obstacles to turn its ports into fortresses.

There

Business

The best video games of 2024

Mashable
A collage of images from video games on a blue background.

I had a great time playing video games in 2024 — and I hope you did too. Let's talk about it.

This past year was challenging for some, including myself, but the silver lining is that 2024 produced a bunch of excellent games to play. The RPG genre, in particular, saw a modern renaissance, with an overwhelming number of releases from studios big and small.

Of course, there were plenty of other games

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