Posts

Microsoftis updating bothWindows 11and Copilot today, announcing a slew of new features for both the operating system and the virtual assistant. Some are limited to Copilot+ PCs (whether that’s just Qualcomm or also Intel and AMD is a bit muddled at the moment), such as the debut of the controversial Recall feature, whichhas gotten a security upgrade. The Windows features are rolling out broadly, starting with PCs that are eligible devices running Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 and those who opted in settings to get updates first, and then through Microsoft’s typical phased approach....

For a short time in college, I went to a school in an unsavory neighborhood. And there was this one panhandler who was very aggressive; he’d follow you around asking for change, and if you gave him change, it only encouraged him to stalk you more. That guy was far less annoying thanMicrosoftWindows, which keeps trying to extract money from me by hawking its XBox Game Pass subscription service over and over again....

Today,Hacker Newsbrought an interesting newMinecraftworld-generation tool to our attention.Arnisuses free geospatial data from OpenStreetMap to generate detailed Minecraft maps based on a specified real-world location. As the developer notes, this tool was initially written in Python. However, the project has since converted to the Rust programming language to learn more about it and utilize its optimization potential. Rust apparently allows for “even better performance and efficiency” than Python. The name “Arnis” is also derived from the city of the same name in Germany....

The MNT Reform Next open-source modular laptop crowdfunding campaign is now live.MNT promisesa new device that is “faster, lighter, and more modular than ever.” This flexible machine is designed to run Debian GNU/Linux. Key attractions of MNT’s 12.5-inch portable include customizability, mod-ability, and reparability, as well as the fact that it comes with a mechanical keyboard as standard. However, it is an Arm (Rockchip RK3588) device, with crowdfunding participants expected to part with at least $1,099 for a machine that isn’t due to ship until September 2025....

MSI has seemingly introduced a new performance enhancer for its X870E motherboards, improving DDR5 memory latency.Uniko’s Hardware on Xfound that the Latency Killer feature can reduce memory latency by up to 8ns. This feature was introduced to combat purported memory latency degradation that started withAGESA 1.2.0.2aon AM5 motherboards—1.2.0.2a was the microcode update that added support forRyzen 9000X3DCPUs. An AIDA64 benchmark run comparing the latency booster to default operating reveals an 8ns improvement in latency when turned on....

Tom’s Hardware Verdict Noctua’s NH-D15 G2 is an improvement compared to the original NH-D15, but it isn’t worth $150 USD. Improved thermal performance over NH-D15 Industry-leading warranty support and customer service Not worth $150 USD Rattlegate and inconsistency/variance in noise levels Requires (included) Torx T20 screwdriver Why you can trust Tom’s HardwareOur expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test....

Nvidia is being accused of scraping millions of videos online to train its own AI products. Sources say the videos weren’t just intended for research but were supposed to be used for the company’s products, including Omniverse 3D world generator, self-driving car systems, and its Digital Humans avatar generator. These reports allegedly came from an anonymous former Nvidia employee who shared the data with404 Media. According to the outlet, several employees were instructed to download videos to train Nvidia’s AI....

Despite their impressive capabilities in generating content, large language models (LLMs) are not so great at designing hardware. Believing this weakness is due to a lack of hardware design data to train the models, Nvidia, Georgia Institute of Technology, and others have organized a contest to help create the needed open-source public dataset. Nvidia’s director of design automation research, Haoxing (Mark) Ren, recently announced the collaboration on X (formerly known as Twitter)....

It looks like the writing is on the wall for the Nvidia Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPU architectures. According to an official NvidiaUnix graphics feature deprecation schedule, driver branch 580 will be the last to include support for these architectures (h/tLonghornon X). For consumers, that means the 580 drivers will be the last to deliver updates that address the GeForce GTX 900 and legendary GTX 1000 series of graphics cards. As Nvidia maintains a unified driver codebase, it looks pretty certain that this Unix schedule will also apply to Windows drivers....

Nvidia made a big splash with the official announcement of itsupcoming GeForce RTX 50-series Blackwell GPUsduring theCES2025 keynote. And while the halo RTX 5090 certainly looks like an absolute monster, for a lot of people, it’s the mainstream (-ish) RTX 5070 at $549 that will be the star of the show. The RTX 4070 has been one of thebest graphics cardssince it launched, and now its replacement is on the way....

If you like putting together and building your own computers, then you know that one of the most essential parts of the PC build apart from the CPU and GPU is the motherboard. Today’s deal is a modern motherboard from Asus that uses the AM5 (LGA 1718 socket) platform that supports AMD Ryzen 7000-series processors and should support the very latest Ryzen 9000-series processors, although there may be a BIOS update needed for optimal performance and compatibility....

If you’re a fan of massively multiplayer online games or multiplayer online battle arenas then large multi-button mice are the way to go to make casting your abilities that much easier. Corsair’s answer to MMO players is the Scimitar, with its 12-button side panel and a total of 17 programmable buttons for all your in-game abilities. At Best Buy you can save $30 off the total price of theCorsair Scimitar RGB Elite and pick it up for just $49- that’s an impressive price for a premium brand gaming mouse from a reputable gaming peripheral maker....

Hong Kong-based electronics firm InnLead has launched a 15.6-inch 4K Edge OLED 5D portable monitor that offers some unique features. It has a magnetic back that allows you to attach accessories to the display à la MagSafe. Some of these accessories include a magnetic cover stand, a snap stand, a wireless RGB monitor light bar, and a magnetic phone mount, making it downright convenient to use as a portable workstation. The portable monitor is currently available onIndiegogo, starting at $339....