Windows Hello is one of the best features Microsoft has added to Windows, making it easier to sign in and unlock your PC using biometric data such as facial recognition or a fingerprint sensor. Most premium laptops these days come with Windows Hello support, but for a desktop user, you might need some external hardware, such as a USB fingerprint reader or a a webcam that supports facial recognition with IR.

For some users, the Gmail web client is absolutely perfect. Gmail itself is free, and the features included in the web interface are all they need. In professional use, though, Gmail isnt the most effective desktop email client, and it's probably worthwhile to find a more robust alternative. Here are five reasons why Gmail might not be your best email client anymore.

Illustration: The Verge Amazon has spoiled Apple’s week of Mac announcements by sharing details of the new Mac Mini a bit early. The listing has been pulled but MacRumors managed to grab a few screenshots first.The one tiny image of the new silver Mac Mini shows what appear to be a headphone jack and two front-facing USB-C ports, presumably with at least Thunderbolt 4 support. It’s available with a base or Pro version of the new M4 chipset, with up to 14 CPU cores, 20 GPU cores, 64GB of memory, and 8TB of storage. The backside ports will remain a mystery for now.The M4 will be a significant jump from the M2 found in current Mac Minis, last refreshed in January 2023. That boost in power should help with current and future Apple Intelligence processing, jumping... Continue reading…

Ray tracing has been one of the biggest buzzwords for desktop GPUs since 2018, which is when Nvidia brought it to gamers with its Turing GPUs. We're on the verge of the launch of the fourth generation of Nvidia GPUs, so it's a good time to analyze whether ray tracing has transformed PC gaming or not.

An AMD Radeon GPU. | Image: AMD AMD’s Q3 2024 earnings call today wasn’t bullish on gaming revenue overall, but it did confirm a hot new rumor on GPUs — specifically, the launch of AMD’s next-gen RDNA 4 parts early next year. “We are on track to launch the first RDNA4 GPUs in early 2025,” said AMD CEO Lisa Su, and the company confirmed to PCWorld that it’s the first time it’s shared those plans publicly. “In addition to a strong increase in gaming performance, RDNA 4 delivers significantly higher ray tracing performance and adds new AI capabilities,” Su said on the call.AMD confirming those chips might help lend credibility to other leaks, too. Earlier today, a Chiphell leaker rumored that AMD would announce its RDNA 4 graphics at CES 2025 in January, alongside its l... Continue reading…

“We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with what the customer needs and we work backwards,” Jeff Bezos, previously. | Laura Normand / The Verge The fallout from the non-endorsement of Kamala Harris at The Washington Post is here: more than 200,000 canceled subscriptions, NPR reports. This is about 8 percent of the paid subscriber base, and the number of cancellations is still growing.To put that in perspective, in an Oct. 15th story about Post CEO Will Lewis’s strategy to get more paying subscribers, The New York Times reported that the Post had added 4,000 subscribers since the beginning of 2024 through September. Like, I am actually flabbergasted: that’s fifty times as many cancellations in one weekend as The Post earned in the better part of a year.“This is obviously an effort by Jeff Bezos to curry favor with Donald Trump in the anticipation of his possible victory.”Now,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is expanding “Help me write” to Gmail on the web, allowing users to whip up or tweak emails using Gemini AI. Just like on mobile, users will see a prompt to use the feature when opening a blank draft in Gmail.Google’s “Help me write” feature is only available to users who subscribe to Google One AI Premium or have the Gemini add-on for Workspace. In addition to generating an email draft, “Help me write” can also provide suggestions on how to formalize, elaborate, or shorten a message. GIF: Google Google is also adding a shortcut for the “polish” option available within its “Help me write” toolset, which will appear on drafts with over 12 words. For Gmail on the web, users can click the shortcut or type Ctrl + H... Continue reading…

I've been a PC gamer most of my life, starting before Intel, AMD, and Nvidia were the dominant forces in PC components. Whether I've built a gaming PC, picked up a prebuilt, or decided to chill out on the couch with a PC gaming handheld, picking the right components for your PC is only part of the equation. You still need an operating system to run your games on, and for most, that's Windows. Out-of-the-box, Windows is a lot better than it used to be for gaming, but it's still set up for general use, so there are a number of tweaks you can make for better performance. Whether it's limiting background tasks or making sure your drivers are on the latest version, all of these tweaks together will enhance your PC gaming experience.

We've covered plenty of DIY handhelds here at XDA, including ones made with official hardware (like a PlayStation or an Xbox). However, it never actually crossed my mind that you could use hardware designed for DIY purposes to make a handheld. So, imagine how I felt when someone discovered that, instead of jumping through all the hoops of getting a board into a case, you can just buy one off of Framework and put it into a 3D case. Well, now I feel silly.

If you're looking to expand your current desktop setup, you have a few options, with the most common and affordable option being a USB hub. Of course, if you're already maxing out that solution, and are looking for something more robust, a docking station is going to be your best bet. The only problem is that docking stations are expensive, but sometimes you have no other choice.

Image: Mr.Nelson design for The Verge / Getty Images An endorsement of democracy, solving problems, and Kamala Harris. Continue reading…

Universal Serial Bus (or USB for short) ports on a PC are typically used for connecting input devices, accessories, and storage drives. The standard has been around since the late 1990s, has evolved over generations, and is now used by billions of devices worldwide. There's a good chance you have one or two connected to your PC right now. You may not realize your system providing power through these ports, but this is a great way to add cool and truly whacky objects to your desk. I've rounded up some bonkers USB devices, in case you've wondered "What else could I plug into a USB port?"