Honestly, I think USB-C is the absolute winner, and I am so glad the tech world is finally leaving Lightning in the past.

Here is how I see the big differences:

One. This is my favorite part. With USB-C, I can use the exact same cable to charge a laptop, a modern phone, headphones, and a gaming console. Lightning forces you into that exclusive “Apple-only” club where you need a special cord just for older iPhones.

Two. Ironically, USB-C is much faster than Lightning. It charges your battery way quicker and moves files (like photos or videos) to a computer in seconds. Lightning uses decade-old tech, so it transfers data at a turtle’s pace.

Three. I wouldn’t invest in Lightning anymore. Apple completely abandoned it starting with the iPhone 15, so it’s officially a dead-end cable.

For me, it’s a total no-brainer. USB-C wins on everything because carrying just one cable in your bag makes life so much simpler!

Before you assume the hardware is completely dead, it is usually down to one of three things:

One. Mice are absolute magnets for lint, dust, and pocket debris. A shockingly high number of people fix this with a weird but effective trick: flip your mouse upside down on your desk or mousepad, press down firmly, and vigorously roll the wheel back and forth against the surface for about 10 seconds.

Two. : If you are using a wireless mouse, low juice doesn’t always kill the main cursor right away. It often causes erratic scrolling behavior first or disables the wheel entirely to save power. Try swapping in a completely fresh battery. If it is a wired mouse or uses a USB dongle, unplug it and move it to a completely different USB port to rule out a glitchy connection.

Three. Sometimes an operating system update subtly breaks your mouse settings. Head into your PC’s Control Panel or Mac’s System Settings, look for the Mouse menu, and check the scrolling options. Ensure the “number of lines to scroll at a time” didn’t somehow get set to zero or turned off entirely.

A dead console is a fast track to an existential crisis. Before you accept defeat and start pricing out a replacement, try these two quick fixes to see if you can shock it back to life:

One. Unplug the power cord completely from the back of the console (not just the wall) and leave it alone for a full minute. While it’s unplugged, press and hold the power button for 15–20 seconds. It sounds like a gaming myth, but this actually drains any residual electricity trapped in the system’s capacitors that might be blocking it from booting up.

Two. Is the console actually dead, or is it just giving you the silent treatment? If the console lights up or makes a beep, but the screen stays black, your HDMI cable or port is just acting up. If there are absolutely zero signs of life, plug it directly into a completely different wall outlet. Those cheap, overloaded power strips under desks love to silently trip and kill your power.

If it still won’t wake up after that, its internal power supply might have officially gone to the great arcade in the sky.