Controversial as it may be, artificial intelligence (AI) tools can offer tremendous gains in productivity. Your AI assistant and other tools can help expedite those everyday tasks that consume so much of your time, like juggling your calendar, email, and to-do list.

World of Warcraft, or WoW, is like the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre: not only is it still going strong but it’s also somehow even bigger than you thought. World of Warcraft’s current numbers aren’t public, but one recent educated guess came in at 7 million paying subscribers, which, at $15 / month, would make the game a billion-dollar earner by itself. Its developer, Blizzard, merged with Activision in 2008, and Microsoft gobbled up both companies in 2022, but World of Warcraft remains a load-bearing spine of the newly formed corporate turducken. The game that redefined gold mining for the 21st century is still a 19th-century gold mine for its landlords. It’s also thriving in a subscription... Continue reading…

Image: The Verge OpenAI is testing a ChatGPT app for Windows — but it’s only available to paid users for now. You can download an early version of the app from the Microsoft Store.Just like the Mac version of the app, ChatGPT on Windows lets you ask the AI-powered chatbot questions in a dedicated window that you can keep open alongside your apps. You can quickly access the app by using the Alt + Space shortcut.Today, ChatGPT Plus, Enterprise, Team, and Edu users can start testing an early version of the Windows desktop app.Get faster access to ChatGPT on your PC with the Alt + Space shortcut.https://t.co/mv4ACwIhzA https://t.co/Ww6QvBfMnB pic.twitter.com/tkyodezZhv— OpenAI (@OpenAI) October 17, 2024It also lets you upload files and photos to... Continue reading…

Image: Qualcomm Qualcomm has canceled its Snapdragon Dev Kit, the miniature Windows on Arm PC that was originally supposed to ship in June. In an email to customers, Qualcomm said the mini PC “has not met our usual standards of excellence” and orders will now be refunded.Qualcomm has been struggling to ship the mini PC for months now, after originally planning to release it in June alongside the chips that powered the first wave of Copilot Plus PCs. Beyond the mention of not meeting standards, Qualcomm doesn’t explain why it took months to reach the conclusion of canceling the hardware before it shipped to most people.Some developers, like Jeff Geerling, already received their Snapdragon Dev Kit before Qualcomm’s cancelation. Greeling even performed a... Continue reading…

PC cases are one of the most crucial components of a build. And while they may not look all that different, there are a lot of variables that come into play if you're looking to get the best performance from your rig. Of course, finding one for a good price is always a challenge, but we think this Corsair 4000D Airflow is going to offer the best bang for your buck at the moment.

The best Macs recently received a free upgrade to macOS Sequoia, but what about all the unsupported Macs out there? While Apple is generally heralded for its solid software support, Mac hardware can quickly become obsolete when it stops receiving modern OS upgrades. Apps quickly become no longer supported, websites may fail to load properly on older versions of Safari, and more issues could pop up over time. That's why the average user often starts to look at buying a new Mac when their current one slows down and stops receiving newer macOS versions.

If you're just getting started with your home lab, the process can feel overwhelming. You may still be deciding whether to buy new, second-hand, or pick up some cheap ex-enterprise hardware. Or maybe you will want to get a basic mini-PC, or even start on a Raspberry Pi, to avoid a big commitment upfront. It is common to make decisions about hardware that you'll regret later, like poorly sizing your machines, picking up noisy or power-hungry hardware, or starting with overly complex network hardware when all you needed was a 10/100 switch.

What's the weirdest device you've seen running Windows 95? While the aging operating system we all love has found itself on all kinds of hardware, there's something about it being on a double-screened games console that's really interesting. Someone managed to get Windows 95 running on a Nintendo 3DS, and it was more of a struggle than a feasible way to run the retro software on newer hardware.

Hey buddy, maybe take a look around? | Image: Bluetti Bluetti has taken portable power to absurd levels with its new Handsfree Backpack Power Stations. They’re available in big or bigger versions depending on how long — and how much gear — you want to keep powered in the great outdoors. They’re primarily aimed at outdoor photographers, but Bluetti also thinks they’ll appeal to hikers, rock climbers, campers, adventurers, bikepackers, and motorcyclists... any nerd that wants to move beyond the cubicle with their gadgets. A side panel in the backpacks provides access to all the inputs and outputs without having to first remove the solar generator. Those ports can also be managed and monitored over Bluetooth from the Bluetti app. GIF: Bluetti You can carry a ton of gear... Continue reading…

Image: Amazon Amazon wants Prime Video to be the place you watch coverage of election night. The company announced today that it will be streaming a live election night special on Prime Video hosted by former NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. The show will kick off on November 5th at 5PM ET.“Brian Williams will be joined live by guests including prominent contributors across news and traditional media, representing a range of backgrounds and perspectives, to share real-time poll results and commentary while also referencing third-party news sources across all political affiliations,” Amazon writes in a blog post. The company adds that it will be an “informative, accessible and non-partisan presentation.” Amazon will announce the guests in “the... Continue reading…

Image: Activision Activision says it has “disabled a workaround to a detection system” in Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone that led to legitimate players getting banned by the Ricochet anti-cheat system. The company says the problem “impacted a small number of legitimate player accounts,” and all accounts affected were restored.However, zebleer, who runs the Phantom Overlay store selling cheats, claims the problem is much bigger than Activision’s post makes it seem. In a detailed post on X, they write that when Ricochet scanned the memory of a player’s computer to find known cheat software, one of the signatures it scanned for was a plaintext string reading:54 72 69 67 67 65 72 20 42 6f 74 (Trigger Bot)As a result, zebleer says that “for... Continue reading…

I love music, and I practically always have music playing at all hours of the day. Either on my headphones, earphones, or over speakers, I'm constantly playing something. I'm big into music, I go to a lot of concerts, and I'm constantly looking for new artists, too. That's why I decided to build my own program to list my most recently played music and then grab some new recommendations for me that I can listen to in the hopes of discovering something new that I like.