The Windows Forecast is a look at the future of Windows that comments on the latest news for Windows Insiders, as well as other major announcements in the Windows space each and every week. My name is João Carrasqueira, and I've been covering the world of Windows professionally since 2018. If there's something you'd like to see covered, you can reach me at [email protected].

Wireless connectivity is a big part of our modern lives, making it convenient to work from multiple locations and use portable devices that are connected to the internet at all times. But while it's convenient, even the fastest Wi-Fi standards used on Wi-Fi 7 routers suck. Don't get me wrong, I love wireless connectivity and the freedom it allows.

Illustration: The Verge In the latest version of the Files by Google app, summoning Gemini while looking at a PDF gives you the option to ask about the file, writes Android Police. You’ll need to be a Gemini Advanced subscriber to use the feature though, according to Mishaal Rahman, who reported on Friday that it had started rolling out.If you have the feature, when you summon Gemini while looking at a PDF in the Files app, you’ll see an “Ask about this PDF” button appear. Tapping that lets you ask questions about the file, the same way you might ask ChatGPT about a PDF. Google first announced this screen-aware feature during its I/O developer conference in May.Rahman posted a screenshot of what it looks like in action:Other context-aware Gemini features include the ability to ask about web pages and YouTube videos. For apps or file types without Gemini’s context-aware support, the assistant instead offers to answer questions about your screen, using a screenshot it takes when you tap “Ask about this screen.”

As a power Excel user, I am always on the lookout for ways to streamline my workflow. After all, nobody prefers spending hours on repetitive tasks in Excel. That’s how I stumbled upon the world of macros. These code snippets have become my secret weapon for automating everything from data entry and formatting to complex report generation. In this post, I will share some of the practical examples to take control of your spreadsheets like never before.

We tend to take Wi-Fi coverage for granted these days, but it wasn't always like that, with many consumer routers leaving a lot to be desired. Things like quality of service and mesh capability were features only found on enterprise gear, even if the Wi-Fi routers you owned could technically support these. To improve the feature set of these routers, you could install custom firmware like DD-WRT or OpenWrt, which would give you tons of advanced features that home routers just didn't have at the time.

Thermal throttling can be one of the biggest frustrations when using a PC or laptop. In its simplest form, thermal throttling is when a component in your PC or laptop gets too hot, and it dials down the performance so that it can cool down. Once it is cool, it will start to operate optimally again. However, if you have inadequate cooling, it will keep thermal throttling, and you will be running in circles until you find the root cause and fix it.

I'm willing to bet that anyone who has been a PC user for over 10 years has one or more hard drives gathering dust somewhere in their home. What was once the only storage medium for desktops and laptops has now been superseded in almost all areas by the best SSDs. You might not reminisce about the terribly slow speeds or weird sounds of your old hard drives, but their years of loyal service are worth remembering.

Image: Asus Asus has announced the Asus NUC 14 Pro AI, the first Copilot Plus-capable AI mini PC that crams an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor into a form factor resembling a black M4 Mac Mini. First introduced at IFA in September, Asus is providing a little more detail about the mini PC’s specs than it did before, but still isn’t saying it will become available or how much it will cost.The NUC 14 Pro AI will come in five CPU configurations, from the Core Ultra 5 226V processor with 16GB of integrated RAM to a Core Ultra 9 288V processor with 32GB of RAM. The company says it has up to 67 TOPS of GPU performance and 48 NPU TOPS, and that its M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 x 4 slot supports 256GB to 2TB NVMe SSDs. All of that is packed into a PC that measures 130mm deep and wide and just 34mm tall; comparatively, the Mac Mini is 127mm deep and wide and 50mm tall. Here are some pictures from Asus’ website:The Asus NUC 14 Pro AI features a fingerprint sensor on top and a Copilot button on the front for speaking voice commands to Microsoft’s AI assistant. Also on the front are two USB-A ports, a Thunderbolt 4 port, a headphone jack, and a power button. Around the back, you’ll find a 2.5Gbps ethernet jack, another Thunderbolt 4 port, two more USB-A ports, and an HDMI port. For connectivity, it features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.Asus still hasn’t said when the NUC 14 Pro AI will be available, nor how much it will cost.

Stellar hardware from a controversial figure. Read the full story at The Verge.

If you have a home lab and you want to remotely connect to it, there are countless ways to do that. While OpenVPN and Tailscale are ways to do it, one of the simplest ways to do it is WireGuard. It's efficient, it's free, it's open-source, and it's miles better than most of the competition. If you're weighing up WireGuard versus OpenVPN specifically, here's why you should use WireGuard instead.

Buffebloat is a lesser-known but still critical networking issue that can cause numerous problems. It's caused by excessive buffering in network devices like routers and modems, creating latency and making your internet feel sluggish even if you should have high speeds. If you've ever experienced lag while gaming, on a video call, or in other scenarios, and you're not sure why that might be the case, then bufferbloat might be the reason why.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US Commerce Department has awarded Samsung and Texas Instruments with a combined over $6 billion in “direct funding under the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication,” according to a pair of announcements published on Friday.Samsung will get the larger of the two awards at $4.745 billion. The Commerce Department says the company will use this as part of its planned $37 billion investment in Texas chip facilities that include two new “leading-edge logic fabs and an R&D fab” in Taylor, Texas, and the expansion of its plant in Austin. The company was originally slated to receive $6.4 billion. In a statement reported by Bloomberg, the company said that its “mid-to-long-term investment plan has been partially revised to optimize overall investment efficiency,” which suggests the company has dialed back its plans, according to the outlet. Texas Instruments will receive $1.61 billion to bolster the $18 billion it plans to spend on projects like constructing two wafer fabs in Texas and a third in Utah. The Commerce Department announced smaller awards this week too, including $407 million in funding for Amkor Technology, a US-based company that... Read the full story at The Verge.