“LYING.” “DISGUSTING.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has made clear what he thinks of journalists and what should happen to us: “sue them and win money,” get them investigated for treason and “taken off the air.” Once he reassuringly noted that “I would never kill them, but I do hate them,” but he’s since clarified that he wouldn’t “mind so much” if someone shot the “fake news.” Ten years ago, some were inclined to shrug this off as hyperbole. Now it is crystal clear that Trump intends to do everything he can to stop journalists from reporting things he doesn’t like, which is most things that are true. The president has banned reporters from press briefings while inviting sycophants and propagandists. He has fantasized about…

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite is once again threatening to upend the PC CPU market. About two years ago, Qualcomm debuted the Snapdragon X1 Elite, an Arm chip that replaced the company’s mediocre 8-series Snapdragon chips and performed impressively. Now it’s the Snapdragon Elite X2’s turn, and the 18-core X2 Elite Extreme is ready for the spotlight. The performance is genuinely impressive. Intel’s Panther Lake and AMD’s successor to its Strix Point chips certainly will have to deliver to keep up with Qualcomm. Qualcomm didn’t allow journalists to “review” the chip in the traditional sense. Like the “tests” that were run on the first Snapdragon X Elite, Qualcomm provided test laptops, loaded them up with benchmark software, and allowed reporters to monitor the results afterwards. Naturally, this setup assumed Qualcomm supplied…

If the storage space on the C drive is running low, every free gigabyte counts. Windows often occupies more than 25 GB of space for things such as updates, restore points, and cache files. Plus, pre-installed bloatware further increases memory utilization. Freeing up memory can quickly become critical on notebooks with 128 GB SSDs or devices with soldered memory. But even on well-equipped systems, it’s worth decluttering Windows as it can lead to fewer processes, a faster startup, and a lower CPU load. Caution: Not every measure is risk-free. If you remove system components or libraries too aggressively, Windows may become unstable, updates may fail or programs may refuse to work. You should therefore always work with a restore point, back up your Windows installation, and choose your methods carefully.…

IN 2013, venture capitalist Tim Draper launched a “Six Californias” ballot initiative. The upshot was that with some 40 million people, more than the population of the 20 smallest states combined, California was too big, too diverse, to be “efficiently” governed. So why not, Draper argued, break it up into six new “startups,” a.k.a. states? Instead of two senators, we erstwhile “Californians” would get 12. Draper’s scheme was part of a long tradition—since California was admitted to the Union as part of the Compromise of 1850, there have been more than 220 proposals for it to divide or secede—but derided as a Silicon Valley ploy to create a libertarian deregulation zone. (Tellingly, the Bay Area state was to be named “Silicon Valley.”) And aside from the feasibility of making…

If you told me 25 years ago that Intel would end up in decline, that Nvidia would buy a chunk of the ailing company, and that the two would partner to build chips that integrate Intel x86 CPU cores with Nvidia’s RTX GPU cores, I would’ve called you crazy. But here we are. Nvidia has acquired a $5 billion stake in Intel—roughly 5 percent of the company. “For personal computing, we’re going to create new Intel x86 SoCs that integrate Nvidia GPU chiplets, fusing the world’s best CPU and GPU, to redefine the PC experience,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on an investor call following the announcement. The announcement made headlines and for good reason. This alliance will create a monster that Intel and Nvidia’s competitors—namely, AMD and Qualcomm—will struggle…

One of the most consequential developments in the history of computing happened 50 years ago. It set Apple on course to becoming one of the most valuable companies on the planet and changed the face of computing in unfathomable ways. Yet you’ve probably never even heard of what went down. It’s an often-overlooked moment that had incredible consequences for years to come. Typing on a computer is something we all take for granted today. One of Apple’s key philosophies has long been to get the technology out of your way—Steve Jobs and Jony Ive have waxed lyrical on that idea—so day to day, we never really think much about how writing on a computer actually works. We can debate the pros and cons of various displays and even build our…

Can you imagine yourself having a conversation with Windows about what your PC is doing? Microsoft’s Windows chief can—and is trying to build a future where those interactions are the norm. In an interview with Microsoft AI product manager Christiaan Brinkhoff, the chief of Microsoft’s Windows + Devices group, Pavan Davuluri, explained that the company is trying to work toward a future where you can access Windows pretty much anywhere via the cloud, then use AI to fine-tune what you’re trying to accomplish. Microsoft described the conversation as “the next chapter of Windows,” with an eye toward delivering the changes within the next few years. Davuluri described what he hoped the Windows team could accomplish from a strategic level, without targeting any future version of Windows with these goals in…

Last year’s NV2 from Kingston delivered great bang-for-your-SSD-buck. This year’s NV3 is still wonderfully affordable, yet massively improved — even setting a record writing our 450GB single file. Who would’ve thought? Editor’s note: This article was edited on September 18, 2025 to correct the TBW ratings and add info about a new 2230 version. FEATURES The NV3 is a PCIe 4.0 x4 (four lane), M.2 NVMe SSD using a DRAM-less (Host Memory Buffer/HMB) design to cut down on costs. The controller is a Silicon Motion SM2268XG and the NAND is Kingston-labeled, stacked QLC. At least that’s my assumption given the performance off cache and TBW rating. The actual type of NAND and the number of layers wasn’t specified by Kingston, and the company says that will vary from capacity to capacity.…

There are few more frustrating iPhone experiences than receiving a spam call. Whether it’s interrupting your work or play, it doesn’t take much for a junk call to take you out of the moment. The problem is that they’re seemingly extremely difficult to stop, and no matter what you try, a few still seem to make it through the net. At least, that was the case before iOS 26’s Call Screening feature came along. Since I installed iOS 26, it’s stopped unwanted calls in their tracks, leaving me in spam-free bliss all day long. The way Call Screening works is extremely simple. When you get a call from an unknown number, the caller will first be put through to an automated voice that asks them to identify themselves and describe…

When Sheffield Lab released The King James Version in 1977, big band music was hardly my thing. A budding audiophile, a child of rock 'n' roll getting into classical music and 50s and 60s jazz, I assumed this would be pretty “square” stuff. Moreover, this was my parents' music. (Hey, I was young. And boy, was I wrong.) Although a few labels today record some of their LPs direct-to-disc—most notably Britain's Chasing the Dragon, Jack White's Third Man Records, Analogue Productions' Blues series, even a one-off of Brahms Symphonies by the Berlin Philharmonic—few today record exclusively D2D the way Sheffield Lab did during its heyday in the 1970s. This is understandable. The process is expensive by nature and fraught with technical as well as musical challenges. But before the advent of…

AutoHotkey (AHK) is a free and simple yet powerful Windows scripting language. It doesn’t get a lot of press these days, but Windows geeks used to love writing and swapping AHK scripts. You can learn AHK and write the scripts yourself if you want to—the AutoHotkey documentation is pretty good—or you could use an AI tool like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and so on to do the work for you. Well, that’s what I did. Months ago, I vibe-coded a script that changes how scrolling works on Windows. (Vibe coding is when you use prompt instructions to generate code via AI.) I still use it every day because it’s a huge help on my desktop PC’s big monitor. With AI, creating the script took less than an hour. All I…

October 14 officially marked the end of full support for Windows 10, a whopping decade after Microsoft debuted the operating system. You’re probably aware of this already, as Microsoft has been begging, pleading, cajoling, and almost demanding that Windows 10 users switch over to Windows 11 by upgrading to a new device or updating their operating system (if their hardware supports it). But if you haven’t done anything about it yet, you probably should. Here’s a quick summary of what you need to know and what to do about it. YOUR OPTIONS FOR WINDOWS 10 You don’t have to leave Windows 10 if you don’t want to. Hundreds of millions of PCs (about half of them, in fact) won’t stop working just because of a specific date on the calendar. This…

Panther Lake, the next generation of Intel’s Core Ultra series of laptop processors, is nearly here. But what is it, exactly? Intel spent several days explaining the fine details of Panther Lake to journalists at a recent press event, including its new compute cores, graphics cores, NPU AI, and wireless. If you’re interested, PCWorld has a deep dive into all of Panther Lake’s technologies. But if you just want the basics, stay here. Here’s what you need to know about Intel’s Panther Lake chip, in brief. 1. EXPECT PANTHER LAKE IN 2026 Intel executives talked about some of the details of Panther Lake themselves. But the details that matter to laptop buyers (speed, price, and which laptops will have them) will have to wait for CES 2026 in Las Vegas…

Phishing is alive and well in 2025, as even with robust antivirus and anti-malware protections, the weakest link in the security chain is often the human element. We all make mistakes, skim an email, and think it’s probably fine to click that link. But wait! Don’t do it! Phishing scammers rely on you not using due diligence to protect yourself, your data, and your devices with good personal security practices. The best way to spot phishing emails is to know what to look for. Here’s a list of some of the big phishing red flags that should send you running when you spot them. ASKING FOR ANYTHING For a scam to be worth doing, the scammers need to make money. For that, they need to get you to send them something…

After months of testing, Apple has released iOS 26 to the public, and it’s a major update. The new version of the iPhone operating system features a new look and feel with Liquid Glass, which will instantly make your iPhone look fresh. But that’s not all. Under the hood, there are a bunch of refinements, utilities, and new APIs worth exploring. Here are the top things you absolutely should try once you update your iPhone to iOS 26. 1. EXPLORE THE NEW LIQUID GLASS INTERFACE Possibly the most notable change in iOS 26 is Liquid Glass, which is what Apple calls its new interface available across its family of operating systems. Liquid Glass simulates the effects of glass on the screen, bringing much more transparency and brightness to elements such as…

Apple’s macOS 26 public betas are now out, marking another major milestone on the road to their release this fall. While all the social-media discourse has been about Apple’s new Liquid Glass design, that talk obscures some of Apple’s other interesting choices in this year’s operating system cycle. While Apple would probably insist (like a proud parent) that it doesn’t have favorites among its platforms, the choices Apple has made in this cycle say an awful lot about the company’s priorities, especially when it comes to the Mac. LIVING IN GLASS HOUSES Let’s start with the Liquid Glass design itself. The entire premise of this design is that Apple’s devices are largely featureless glass slabs, so creating a software interface that plays on the illusion that it’s actually a set of glass…

As an IT expert, I’m used to building digital fortresses. Firewalls, virus scanners, complex passwords, two-factor authentication: My tech life is a high-security zone. I thought my physical home was, too—at least until I went into my garage one morning and realized the brackets for my planned solar-panel installation, which had been stored on a pallet in front of it, were missing. Foil cut, opened, and stolen. In the middle of the night. After the initial anger and the police report, my rage gave way to cool analysis: It was time to invest in more security. But my goal was to spend less than $500. BURGLARS ARE AT THEIR PEAK IN AUTUMN The risk of burglary increases dramatically during the darker months of the year, when dusk can set late…

What’s your malware tally? I’ve had plenty stopped by my antivirus and antimalware software, but the number I’ve had actually infect my PC is, I’m proud to say, a big fat donut (zero). What’s more, it’s been that way for more than 10 years. So what’s my secret? Here’s what I do to prevent malware from infecting my PC. 1. DODGY WEBSITES ARE A NO-GO FOR ME Hackers tend to infect websites that people flock to in droves or where people go to download programs for free. Because of that, I steer clear of torrent sites, unverified download sites, and adult websites, some of which are the worst offenders—teeming with malware. Also, if I get a banner or ad pop-up that I just can’t close, instead of trying to click…

Microsoft’s next Xbox will run Windows, a report says, blurring the line between PCs and consoles and making the latest Xbox Ally X the model of what Microsoft hopes to achieve in gaming. Windows Central, which has established some good sources inside the console space, claims (fave.co/4orEByV) that the next Xbox will run Windows, with an Xbox Full Screen Experience layered on top. Given that Microsoft has already established a close working relationship with AMD, those chips should be inside the console as well, with backward compatibility going all the way back to the Xbox 360, the site says. Microsoft hasn’t explicitly said that the next Xbox would run Windows, though the company hasn’t really tried to hide it, either. In June, Xbox president Sarah Bond said that the Xbox team…

Picking up the Logitech MX Master 4 for the first time, I’m struck by how well it fits in my hand. Its shape is just right, with a slope that allows the wrist to rest naturally and the thumb to fall onto the buttons. It’s a mouse that feels long enough to keep your fingers from hitting the touch buttons—something that has annoyed me on many other models. The MX Master 4 isn’t about speed or RGB lights, it’s about comfort, precision, and getting work done. The surface is solid, the materials feel premium and the clicking sounds are almost nonexistent. The right and left buttons are extremely quiet and very sensitive, which is perfect in open-plan office environments but takes some getting used to. I quickly realize I’m pressing…

MUSTANG VERSUS 911 is not a natural match up. However, thanks to the Balance of Performance measures that race-sanctioning bodies employ to enhance on-track competition among diverse vehicles, Mustang versus 911 became quite contentious this year in IMSA’s GTD Pro class. After the Mustang drew first blood with the class win at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, the two went back and forth in the standings all season long. Rewind a few years. Ford’s designers are shaping a clay model of the Mustang GT3 race car, and in walks CEO Jim Farley—a true Blue Oval fan who currently vintage-races a Shelby Cobra 289 and has campaigned a GT40. The short version of the story is that he took one look at the model and decreed a roadgoing…

“AND THEY GET away with the corruption,” read the subject line. I knew it was from Bill Moyers, because launching right into the point was typical when he sent me news clips and ideas, sometimes several times a day, in the waning months of the first Trump administration. They would ding in at 5 a.m. or earlier—that, too, was typical of a man who, then in his mid-80s, showed no sign of slowing from a pace that his longtime producer, Judy Doctoroff, described to me as that of an “overwhelmingly energetic idea machine.” Moyers died in June, at 91. His life had an incredible arc—born to a dirt farmer in Oklahoma, ordained a Baptist minister at 25, LBJ’s right-hand man and present on Air Force One after the Kennedy assassination,…

Apple has officially released iOS 26 to everyone, and while changes like Liquid Glass make the update impossible to miss, there are plenty of useful new features that aren’t as obvious. Some of them are buried in menus, and others only appear when you know where to look. Here are some of the best hidden features of iOS 26 that are worth trying, and exactly where to find them. USE AIRPODS AS A VIDEO-RECORDING MIC One of the most practical additions in iOS 26 is the ability to use your AirPods as an external microphone when recording videos with the iPhone camera. This means you can capture clearer audio, even if you’re standing a bit away from the iPhone. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Put your AirPods in your…

“WE ALREADY LIVE in a fascist state.” I’ve been hearing that so often these last few months, from friends, pundits, Mother Jones readers. And who can blame them? People have been disappeared to torture prisons overseas and ICE is terrorizing day care centers. The federal workforce is being gutted, the economy is on a razor’s edge, America’s global credibility is in tatters, and kids are going hungry while billionaires cash in. A conspiracy theorist is in charge of our health agencies. Universities, law firms, and nonprofits live in fear of the Eye of Sauron fixing on them. Midterm elections? Will we even have them? To feel grim in the face of all this is to be realistic. But to throw in the towel and declare game over—that’s something else.…

I recently moved to a much more rural area, so getting Starlink set up was one of my top priorities. My area is an internet dead zone where you might get a bit of 4G on a nearby hill, but that’s about it. There’s no cellular for phone calls, and the best I can hope from a landline connection is 3 Mbps. As a modern man with a modern family full of modern devices, I need fast internet—so I readied Starlink even before my kids’ beds. It worked pretty well, too. At first I heard a bunch of buzzing noises that I was not expecting, but that sort of coil whine is apparently pretty typical. A few minutes later, I was online! But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Having Starlink…

Now is a great time to buy a new Apple computer. One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make when buying a new Mac is whether you should buy a desktop model or opt for a laptop instead. Apple’s laptops might seem like the best choice, with a combination of portability and price, but Apple also offers a great selection of desktops, from the teeny-tiny M4 Mac mini to the all-in-one iMac. So the next time you’re shopping for a new Mac, consider joining Team Desktop and opting for one of Apple’s less portable Macs instead of a MacBook. STATIONARY COMFORT Let’s face it, hunching over a MacBook for hours on end does your body no favors. You’ll typically use your laptop on an arm-level surface, whether that’s a desk…

Windows 11 version 25H2 will be officially available in fall 2025 and marks the next major feature update for Microsoft’s current operating system. The new features are already available for Insiders and can be tested in the current Windows 11 25H2 Insider Preview. Though it’s categorized as an “enablement update,” the scope of the changes is considerable. The basic architecture remains identical to version 24H2, which means there are no new hardware requirements. If you don’t already have Windows 11, or just need a new license, you can grab it for 50 percent off on the PCWorld Software store right now. For all systems that are already running on 24H2, the upgrade requires minimal effort. A small enablement package activates the new functions without the need for a complete reinstallation or…

Microsoft’s vision for Windows in 2030 includes a “voice-first” interaction mode that shifts away from the traditional keyboard and mouse, making them feel “alien.” Under the hood, that means handing over control to “AI agents” who perform and handle tasks on our behalf. Hey, Microsoft…can you please stop? I don’t need an agentic AI operating system. Instead of working toward a future no one wants, how about you start delivering the operating system we do want? Here’s the thing. Even AI-loving power users don’t need Windows reimagined as an AI canvas, and they definitely don’t need a low-quality local image generator built into the Photos app. They’re accessing cloud-based AI tools or installing heavy local AI models and running them on high-end GPUs. Here’s what AI enthusiasts need from Windows: an OS…

Given the choice, Apple would have rolled out its first custom-designed Mac chips on its own terms, probably at a high-profile event in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. But given that it was November 2020, the company was forced to release a 45-minute video instead. No amount of in-person theatrics would have upstaged the star of that show, the M1 processor. Five years later, it’s clear that the arrival of Apple silicon has utterly changed the trajectory of the Mac. A CAREFUL START In that first event (which you can relive in this YouTube video), Apple announced its first wave of M1 Macs: the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. The Macs themselves all used the same design as their Intel predecessors, as Apple wrapped potentially scary…

It began with something strange in the woods. On 6 March 2025, a man out hunting in forest near Plymouth, Massachusetts, came across a skull. He was could see it wasn’t animal – there was no mistaking the human curve of it, even sunken in soil. Police were called, and the quiet woods turned into a potential crime scene. Just hours later, across state lines in Connecticut, another body was found. The woman was identified as 35-year-old Paige Fannon. Her body was pulled from the Norwalk River, with no clear sign of what had happened to her, and her belongings left on the riverbank. She had been reported missing in New York the day before her body was recovered by scuba divers, after she was spotted in the local area.…

Keter is the latest manufacturer to take a shot at ending the epidemic of porch piracy plaguing online shoppers. Its Keter Package Delivery Box is the most basic solution I’ve tested—there’s no smart lock, no broadband connectivity, and no delivery notifications. What it lacks in technology, however, Keter’s box makes up in practicality. SPECIFICATIONS Like the garden sheds that Keter is best known for, the Keter Package Delivery Box is fabricated almost entirely from resin, with metal handles on its lid and door, and a hasp for a user-provided padlock. It arrives as a 41-pound flat pack and takes about 45 minutes to assemble (I missed an early step in the illustration-only instructions, so it took me considerably longer because I had to partially disassemble it to fix my error).…

Remember the first laptops? They were weird. Ancient laptops were often as large as desktop computers, but they had tiny screens that could only display a few dozen characters. Over time, progress ironed out the flaws and peculiarities of those first laptops—and the ultrabook trend of the 2010s pushed laptops to their natural conclusion: thin, light, and anonymous. But in 2025, a new trend has emerged. As Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm compete to provide more options, and as experimentation becomes less risky on certain fronts, the PC laptop arena has witnessed an explosion of laptops that are unique, unusual, and (in some cases) just plain odd. And if you ask me? I’m loving it. DUAL-SCREEN, FOLDABLE, AND ROLLABLE LAPTOPS HAVE BECOME A REALITY Laptops have always required compromise when it comes…

Surprise! We woke up this morning to a blockbuster mashup between Intel and Nvidia (see page 84). Team Green invested a cool $5 billion into Intel, and in exchange, the two companies will be co-creating consumer and data center x86 processors interwoven with Nvidia’s RTX graphics. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria! It’s simultaneously a shocking shakeup of the PC chip triumvirate (AMD must be fuming), a much-needed lifeline for struggling Intel, and a recipe for a potentially exciting future—the world’s foremost graphics pioneer joining forces with the company formerly known as Chipzilla. Imagine the possibilities! But I also have to ask myself at the same time: What does this mean for the future of Arc, Intel’s own in-house graphics project? INTEL ARC’S SHORT HISTORY SHOWS PROMISE… Arc…

I know I’m not alone in the frustration that comes from dreaded Windows updates hitting at the worst times. The small, incremental updates aren’t too bad, but the larger updates that turn up every so often can be a real source of stress—that is, until you choose to be proactive and take control of them like I eventually learned to do. To be clear, Windows updates are important. Without them, you leave your PC open to malware, instability, and performance issues. (That’s why the end of Windows 10 support is such a big deal and why you should only stick with Windows 10 if you have extended support.) We recommend keeping your Windows PC updated whenever you can. Fortunately, while Microsoft is in charge of releasing the various Windows updates,…