Despite brutal price hikes on many products, VMWare makes Fusion Pro and Workstation Pro free for all users

Despite severe price hikes to the broader VMWare portfolio, which many companies say are akin to’being held for ransom,‘Broadcomannouncedtoday that its two WorkStation Pro and Fusion Pro editions of its VMWare WorkStation Player software would also pivot to a free model. As such, the division between VMWare versions will be solely based on the functionality you want instead of the features you’re willing to pay for. VMWare Fusion Pro and Workstation Pro are no longer available for purchase....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 481 words · Andre Willis

EK Water Blocks under investigation for late payments to employees — Slovenian labor authorities step in

OC3Dreported that the company laid off several workers in July to improve its financial position. However, sources still claim that EKWB sent a letter to its employees saying they “will most likely not be paid before October.” The Slovenian Labour Inspectorate is investigating the embattled water-cooling company after reports surfaced that its workers weren’t receiving their salaries. This news comes mere months after reports offinancial disarray at EKWB, with suppliers and business partners complaining of delayed payments for as long as four months....

May 15, 2025 · 2 min · 383 words · Emily Marsh

EU protests new US AI chip restrictions — some countries face GPU caps

The White House just released restrictions on the global sale of AI chips and GPUs, which more than limit who can buy these chips but also tell them where to use them. This new rule has gotNvidia and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) up in arms, and now theEuropean Commission(EC) is also protesting it. However, the rule will come into force 60 days after its announcement—well into Trump’s second presidency—giving the EU and other concerned parties time to negotiate with his administration to defer or cancel it....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 443 words · Mrs. Megan Martinez

Even supercomputers can't figure out if you're good enough to beat Mario levels, researchers find

Mathematicians have determined that the world’s most powerful supercomputer, even with several years of time, cannot figure out whether or not certain levels in theSuper Marioseries (especially modified custom stages) can be completed before a human actually plays them, per a report fromNew Scientist.While the testing methodology used to reach this conclusion is certainly much higher-level than your average platforming gameplay, there’s actually existing precedent for this revelation in the official, unmodified Mario series itself....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 454 words · Jessica Pineda

Extreme overclocker recommends heating Arrow Lake CPUs to 165 degrees Celsius before delidding — the CPU has to be hot enough so the indium melts but not too hot to not damage the SMDs

YouTube tech creator and extreme overclockerder8auershared a key tip for safely delidding Intel’s just-launchedCore Ultra 200S(codenamed Arrow Lake) chips. According to his post on theoverlock.netforums, you should heat the chip above 157 degrees Celsius to melt the indium and make delidding easier. They recommend a target temperature of 165 degrees Celsius, as heating too much could make the glue loose and damage some SMDs. “If you try the EK delidder you have to be extremely careful not to remove any SMDs around the IHS....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 461 words · Kathryn Gordon

Finnish investigators discover anchor drag marks of “almost a hundred kilometers” in undersea cable damage case — anchor is allegedly missing from detained tanker

Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) discovered anchor drag marks on the seabed after mapping it from start to finish. However, Finnish news outletHelsingin Sanomatreports that the authorities are still looking for the anchor that caused the damage. NBI Detective Chief Inspector Sami Paila says, “So far, a possible anchor detachment point has not been confirmed.” The investigation focuses on the Eagle S, suspected ofdragging its anchoron Christmas Day to cut the Estlink 2 power cable and several other internet and communications cables connecting Finland and Estonia....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 430 words · Denise Wagner

Fixed: Vizio TV Won’t Turn on, Power Light Fades Off

The latest Vizio TV models come with a power light that fades off once you turn on the TV. This is how your Vizio TV typically works, so there is nothing to worry about. However, you should be concerned if the TV won’t turn on after the power light fades off. Oftentimes, your Vizio TV starts acting this way when there is a power glitch in the power supply board. Power glitches generally arise when the TV encounters a power surge or voltage fluctuations....

May 15, 2025 · 4 min · 699 words · Nicholas Perez

Fixing Windows Update or Upgrade into Black Screen

Every now and then, things might go sideways after applying an update or upgrade to Windows 10 or 11. Instead of booting into a login prompt (or the desktop) you’ll find yourself staring at a black screen. Some quick checks should tell you if it’s just a momentary hiccup, or something more serious. Depending on what’s up, you’ll either be off and running quickly, or have to find ways to undo what’s just been updated or upgraded....

May 15, 2025 · 7 min · 1478 words · Shannon Martin

Galax brings blower-style cooling to new RTX 4070 Super and 4070 Ti Super cards

Galax has unveiled a pair of new RTX 4070 Super graphics cards featuring a blower-style cooling solution. (The news was firstreported by VideoCardz,) The two new cards come in RTX 4070 Super and RTX 4070 TI Super flavors, sporting a matte black finish and a dual-slot form factor featuring a blower-style fan at the rear. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced. Blower-style coolers have lost much of their appeal in the modern GPU era thanks to the ever-increasing power draw of thebest graphics cards for gaming....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 531 words · Kathleen Lee

Global PC shipments grew 3% in Q1 2024 says Counterpoint — with AI expected to continue driving PC sales this year

We have just witnessed a 3% year-on-year growth in global PC shipments, following two years of decline, with the industry returning to pre-pandemic levels. The change – confirmed in a report byCounterpoint Research– is credited to the onset of the AI PC era, shipment recoveries in respective sectors, and end-user upgrade cycles. Counterpoint’s report broadly agreeswith the recent findings of IDC, which detailed 8% growth during Q1 2024. Both research groups reckon Lenovo is enjoying the lion’s share of the global PC market with 23-24%, followed by HP and Dell....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 449 words · Nicolas White DVM

Grab a budget HP gaming laptop for just $449

Depressing news about tariff price rises on your favorite tech, GPU prices through the roof, and the general cost of being a gamer skyrocketing. With all these extra costs and threats of prices increasing further floating about, it’s so lovely to find some actual deals on our favorite tech and hardware. Today, we have a gaming laptop from HP that won’t break any FPS records. However, it will offer you a mobile platform to play your games on and is upgradable, so you can beef up the specs for even better performance....

May 15, 2025 · 3 min · 498 words · Caleb Cooper

Hands-on with Lian Li's Lancool 207 PC case: Rethinking ATX on a budget

It’s a great time to be in the market for an airflow-focused, sub-$80 ATX PC case. Earlier this year, we were impressed by thePhanteks XT Pro Ultrawith its four ARGB fans. Now, Lian Li is taking a run at ourbest PC caseslist with the Lancool 207, which also includes four fans and a more compact layout than the XT Pro Ultra, thanks to the novel placement of the PSU.It’s an intriguing design that also has excellent cable routing and GPU-focused airflow....

May 15, 2025 · 9 min · 1830 words · Caroline Vaughn

How Far Should You Sit From Your Monitor?

Are you experiencing eye strain and headaches after spending hours in front of your monitor? This is probably because of your sitting position and the unmaintained distance between your eyes and the screen. Experts say you should sitat least an arm’s lengthaway from your monitor. But is that enough? Indeed, that’s not the only thing you should consider, as various factors come into play. Well, it doesn’t matter how good your eyesight is; if you’re not going to sit far enough from your PC, there’s a high chance you will face severe consequences....

May 15, 2025 · 5 min · 1049 words · Louis Baxter