ComputersNews

I tried a tiny astronaut dongle that makes Windows and iPhone play nice

The J5create Aero Drop is a wireless Bluetooth dongle (USB device) that in conjunction with client software creates a link between your desktop/laptop and mobile devices. You can share displays as well as transfer files and leverage your PC’s keyboard and mouse on the mobile devices. The most useful scenario is likely a symbiotic relationship between a desktop/laptop and a tablet, but I found…
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ComputersNews

Microsoft says the Surface gaming laptop dream is dead

For years, consumers have wondered if Microsoft would ship a gaming laptop. We have an answer, at least from the Surface side of the house: No. Brett Ostrum, the corporate vice president of Surface Devices at Microsoft, told PCWorld that Microsoft doesn’t feel obligated to…
ComputersNews

Intel wants cheap Windows laptops to stop feeling cheap

People everywhere are talking about Apple’s cheaper MacBook Neo laptop. Now Windows is preparing to retake the mainstream laptop market with Project Firefly, inspired by smartphone design. Firefly aims to deliver characteristics associated with premium laptops like all-metal construction and a clean underside, free of ventilation. Inside sits Intel’s Core Series 3 series, aka “Wildcat…
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ComputersNews

The AI PC era has a benchmarking problem

I like numbers. Data feels sure. What could be better than measurable progress, a way of quantifying the world to stop arguments before they start? But as we all know, people find plenty of reason still to fight about performance, even in spite of PC benchmarks. (Half the…
ComputersNews

Microsoft tests Windows AI features on RTX GPUs, not just NPUs

An under-the-hood change in Windows seems to signal the further deterioration of Microsoft’s Copilot+ branding, which, at least historically, depended solely on NPUs as the engine of local PC AI. Now, PCs with dedicated GPUs will have access to those features. An experimental release of the Windows App SDK on Github now allows certain AI-specific features to run on Nvidia RTX GPUs, rather than…
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ComputersNews

Your browser is too nosy. Change these 5 settings now

Freshly installed and straight into browsing — that’s how most users start their browser. Consequently, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox remain set to their default settings, which prioritize convenience and data collection over privacy or efficiency. Browsers regularly prompt…
ComputersNews

Mullvad VPN review: The ultimate privacy-first VPN

Sweden-based Mullvad has long been the privacy purist’s VPN. It collects remarkably little information about its users and continues to prioritize anonymity over the convenience features favored by most competitors. When I say that Mullvad takes your privacy seriously, I mean it. Unlike other VPNs, Mullvad goes so far as to disconnect your account from an email by auto-generating an account…
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