If you're looking for an alternative to storing your data in the cloud, then a NAS is going to be a fantastic option. While there are plenty of different options to choose from, you might want to check out the Synology DS124.

When Xbox unveiled its new generation of subscription services with Xbox Game Pass in 2017, the appeal for players was immediately apparent. Pay a monthly fee and get an ever-growing library of games right at your fingertips. Even brand-new releases from Xbox's first-party studios, at no extra cost. Like Netflix, but for games, and with limited-time promotions that made the cost of a Game Pass subscription as low as $1, Game Pass colloquially earned the title, 'the best deal in gaming.'

Illustration by Haein Jeong / The Verge Microsoft is rolling back a model upgrade to its AI-powered Bing Image Creator, reports TechCrunch. The rollback came after weeks of complaints by users that the tool just didn’t work as well after Microsoft “upgraded” to a new version of the DALL-E 3 model on December 18th.Microsoft declined to comment on its decision to roll things back or offer specifics on what may be causing the gap between user’s expectations and its output.Today, Microsoft’s head of search, Jordi Ribas, tweeted that they could reproduce “some of the issues reported” and are reverting to an older version of the DALL-E model for now, although it could take a few weeks until it’s complete.Since the launch of Bing Image Creator last spring, users have generated billions of images with text prompts. I'm pleased to share our latest updates to enhance your creative experience. Starting today, we’re rolling out the latest DALL-E 3 model PR16, which will create images… pic.twitter.com/3p9HsYMlr6— Jordi Ribas (@JordiRib1) December 18, 2024Thanks again for the feedback and patience. We've been able to repro some of the issues reported and plan to revert to PR13 until we can fix them. All Pro users and about 25% of the requests using boosts are now on PR13. The deployment process is very slow unfortunately. It…— Jordi Ribas (@JordiRib1) January 8, 2025As soon as Ribas posted about the change in December, there were complaints that Bing Image Creator was producing less-detailed results or images that didn’t accurately reflect their prompts. In his initial replies, Ribas said the model’s output quality “should be a bit better on average” than before. It was the same story in posts and comments on Reddit and OpenAI’s community forums. On OpenAI’s forums, a person complained about the model’s handling of fabric on an anime-style character’s dress. The person who posted the below images says the one on the left is “perfect quality” while the one on the right is “over-lit.” Screenshot: OpenAI community forum Another didn’t like the way Bing placed starburst effects: Screenshot: OpenAI community forum All of these things are subjective, and I can’t claim to think any of them look better than any others. If anything, it feels like an indication that Microsoft doesn’t just have to deal with complaints about bugs or people upset about feature changes — now it has to deal with AI art critics comparing the machine’s output to what they imagine it should create. Perhaps they should ask the artists whose work the generators were trained on for tips about managing a client’s expectations?

Upgrading any part of your computer setup is always a fun time. Even if you're not a gamer, getting that little bit of extra comfort or quality can go a long way toward making your experience better. It could make it easier to win games, but it could also help you get work done faster, and that's no different with computer mice.

Desktop PCs take up so much space that most people have moved on to alternate solutions. And if you're not looking at a laptop, then a mini PC is going to be a fantastic option. With that said, this one from GMKtec is now on sale for a discounted price, coming in at just $123 for a limited time. Not only are you getting something that's ultra-compact, but there is also plenty of power here, making it great for a wide variety of applications.

At one point or another, you may have noticed that Windows labels your Wi-Fi networks as either private or public networks in the Wi-Fi settings. In fact, by default, they're all public networks, even if you're using it at home.

The DNS servers from your ISP turn an easy-to-remember xda-developers.com address into its unique IP address. There are multiple reasons for using a different DNS service. You may want something that improves performance while browsing, you might want to host your own DNS server at home, or you want site-blocking capability. Getting the most out of your DNS service takes trial and error, but this list should help you choose an alternate that works for you.

A Kanban board helps visualize all the tasks in your projects. It helps you see everything clearly, prioritize tasks, and track progress. Each task is represented by a card that moves along a path, usually labeled “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” This way, you can quickly see what’s happening, who’s doing what, and how the project is progressing.

One of the most annoying things about Windows laptops these days is the sheer amount of bloatware, not to mention straight-up ads, littered throughout the OS. Microsoft has been steadily increasing the number of ads appearing in places like the Start Menu and even Settings (gotta pay off that OpenAI acquisition investment somehow), and every time I review another laptop, it seems like there are more and more pre-installed apps that I didn’t ask for or want.

Gaming is a visual medium, hence graphics are naturally a huge part of the experience. Since the 1990s and the widespread adoption of 3D graphics, the race to photorealism has been well underway. You can argue that we already achieved it years ago — for some, it was in Red Dead Redemption 2; for others, maybe in Crysis or even Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

CES 2025 is buzzing with the latest hardware from NVIDIA, AMD, Lenovo, and plenty of other tech giants — all of which were expected, but unexpectedly, it's also buzzing with news about the new Nintendo Switch that's slated to arrive this year. The latest being a report from Numerama (thanks, VGC) where accessory maker Genki has potentially spilled the beans that Nintendo's next generation of hardware will arrive sometime in April 2025.

The Surface Laptop 7 with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processor. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Microsoft is preparing for a “major” Surface announcement later this month. The software giant has started teasing “a major announcement from Surface for Business” this week in a LinkedIn post spotted by Windows Central. The announcement will be made during Microsoft’s AI tour in New York City on January 30th.Microsoft is rumored to be launching Intel-powered variants of its Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 devices soon, and a prototype of a Surface Laptop 7 with Intel’s Lunar Lake chips appeared on a Chinese second-hand marketplace in October. It’s likely that Microsoft will announce Lunar Lake versions of the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 that are designed for businesses.The Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 both shipped with Intel’s Meteor Lake processors earlier in 2024, before Microsoft went on to launch refreshed Surface Copilot Plus devices with new designs and Qualcomm chips. The Surface Laptop Studio is also due for an upgrade from the current model’s 13th Gen Intel chips, but that’s less of a business-focused device so it’s unlikely to be part of this event. There are also rumors of an 11-inch Surface Go / Surface Laptop Go hybrid device powered by a Snapdragon X Plus processor, but again that’s unlikely to be targeted to businesses.We’ll be following Microsoft’s AI tour live later this month, so stay tuned for details on the Surface “major announcement.”