It’s not just your class, Google Classroom is down in apparent outage

9to5google.com Sep 17, 2026

It’s not just your class, Google Classroom is down in apparent outage

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Sep 17, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Google Classroom experienced a sudden outage on Tuesday, with Downdetector reporting more than 500 user reports within an hour after the issue surfaced at 12:33 p.m. ET. The disruption appears isolated to Classroom; other Google Workspace services such as Drive and Gmail remain operational. The spike suggests a widespread problem rather than isolated connectivity failures. Google has not issued a statement, but the service is expected to be restored promptly. Classroom, which continues to receive feature updates and third‑party add‑on integrations after its pandemic‑era expansion, is a core tool for educators and students worldwide. The incident follows a minor Drive hiccup the previous day, highlighting the platform’s occasional reliability challenges. Schools across several time zones reported being unable to assign work.

💡 Why It Matters

· When a single classroom hub goes dark, teachers lose real‑time assignment flow, exposing how tightly curricula depend on Google’s ecosystem.

Read full article on 9to5google.com

Web apps are freezing in Microsoft Edge, and the fix is a…

The article intended to report that web applications are experiencing freezing issues in Microsoft Edge and that the recommended remediation steps are cumbersome. However, the provided content consists solely of a biographical profile of Sean Endicott, a Windows Central news writer, detailing his professional background, areas of coverage, and extracurricular achievements. No information about the Edge freezing problem, its scope, technical cause, or the specific fix is included in the text.

💡 Without substantive details on the Edge issue, readers cannot assess the impact on their browsing experience or evaluate the proposed solution.

9to5google.com · Sep 17

Google Home app brings battery-efficient widget, reduces gray device tiles

Google rolled out updates to its Home app, adding a battery‑saving homescreen widget that pauses background updates and polling when the phone’s screen is off, locked, or displaying a screensaver, then refreshes instantly upon unlock. The change also reduces power draw on connected cameras. In the same release, Google fixed a visual glitch that left sensor, camera, smoke and carbon‑monoxide detector tiles gray after users returned from device controller screens, eliminating the need to reload those pages. Additionally, three camera‑related bugs were resolved, and five Gemini for Home voice‑assistant enhancements were introduced. The updates were announced alongside Home MCP improvements and are now available to users of the Google Home ecosystem.

💡 By cutting unnecessary background activity, the widget extends device battery life while keeping smart‑home status current, addressing a common user complaint about power drain.

ign.com · Sep 15

Sydney Sweeney Criticized by Female Athletes as Nude Sports Trading App Ad…

Sydney Sweeney sparked controversy after appearing nude in promotional videos for sports trading app Novig, using footballs and basketballs to cover her body. The ads, aimed at emphasizing the app’s focus on sports, drew criticism from female athletes, including boxer Skye Nicolson, gymnast Gracie Kramer, water‑polo Olympian Tilly Kearns, and sprinter Amy Hunt, who condemned the portrayal as disrespectful to women in sport. Sweeney responded via Instagram, citing her own sports background, but the backlash has cost her over 200,000 followers.

💡 The incident underscores how advertising can perpetuate objectification, prompting athletes to demand respectful representation. It also highlights the growing influence of athlete voices in holding brands accountable for cultural sensitivity.

9to5google.com · Sep 15

Google Wallet for Android getting vertically stacked card list

Google Wallet has begun a trial of a vertically stacked card list, replacing the current horizontal carousel that shows only partial cards. The new layout mirrors the iPhone Wallet, displaying full card designs and allowing users to reorder and set defaults. It is designed to improve one‑handed usability, especially for those with many saved cards, and to better integrate passes on the homepage. Early reports of the rollout come mainly from international users.

💡 The shift signals Google’s push to match iOS’s user‑friendly design, potentially reshaping how mobile payments are accessed worldwide.

gizmodo.com · Sep 14

ExpressVPN Review 2026: What You Get for $2.99 a Month

ExpressVPN’s 2026 review highlights its consistent speed performance, with Lightway Turbo delivering 186.19 Mbps on a British server—only 0.5 % faster than standard Lightway and WireGuard. Across three server locations, the service lost 7.8 % of a 190.36 Mbps baseline, a loss matched solely by NordVPN. All major streaming platforms tested, including Netflix and iPlayer, opened without issue, and the kill‑switch function succeeded in both simulated failure scenarios. A PayPal refund request was processed in 15 minutes, demonstrating responsive customer service. Advanced Protection, the built‑in ad and tracker blocker, filtered 71 % of test domains (96 of 135). The review notes strengths such as fast distant‑server speeds, default obfuscation, post‑quantum encryption, and simple apps, while citing the absence of multi‑hop routing, port forwarding, and a comparatively weak ad‑blocking feature.

💡 ExpressVPN’s ability to maintain near‑baseline speeds on distant servers and unblock every major streaming service positions it as a reliable choice for users seeking high‑quality, hassle‑free VPN performance.

windowslatest.com · Sep 14

Microsoft tried to kill Paint in Windows for a successor nobody wanted,…

Microsoft’s classic Paint survived two attempts to replace it, first by declaring it deprecated in 2017 and promoting Paint 3D as a “3D for everyone” successor. User backlash forced a rapid reversal, keeping Paint alive and moving it to the Microsoft Store, while Paint 3D lingered until its deprecation in August 2024 and removal from the Store in November 2024. The final vestige of the 3D push, 3D Viewer, was announced for removal in July 2026, ending the Creators Update’s 3D ambitions. Meanwhile, Paint received substantial upgrades, including layers, background removal, a project file format, and AI tools such as Generative Erase, Image Creator, and Copilot‑powered features, turning the legacy app into an AI‑enhanced graphics hub.

💡 The shift shows Microsoft can revive legacy software by integrating AI, turning a nostalgic utility into a modern creative platform.