When you get used to the way things work in the modern day, it can be easy to forget the work and time it took to get here. We're all accustomed to certain paradigms when using a computer nowadays, like the desktop icons, taskbar, and Start menu (or equivalent), but those things weren't always a part of Windows.

Mesh Wi-Fi seems to be the most preferred solution to address poor Wi-Fi these days. Mesh systems claim to cover your entire house in a seamless "mesh" of wireless connectivity, eliminating the dreaded dead zones. While they're perfectly capable of doing so, most people don't make the most of their mesh nodes. They continue to use wireless backhaul between the nodes and the main router, bottlenecking their Wi-Fi speeds. This is the default way of using a mesh network, but it's also the worst. Unless you have an expensive, tri-band mesh system for dedicated wireless backhaul, you can achieve maximum Wi-Fi speeds only by connecting your nodes to the router with Ethernet. This wired connection handles the backhaul traffic between the nodes and the router, while the nodes themselves are free to maintain a fast and reliable connection with your devices. You no longer need to settle for half of your Wi-Fi bandwidth just because your mesh Wi-Fi doesn't have a third band.

In case you haven't looked at PC hardware prices in the last eight months, let me be the harbinger of bad news. When unprecedented demand from AI companies drove memory and storage prices to record levels, everyone thought that was where the crisis would end. However, even graphics cards have become way more expensive due to rapidly rising VRAM prices, which now account for the bulk of manufacturing costs. The first signs of distress were seen in the high-end and low-end segments, as manufacturers prioritized the high-margin SKUs, dealing a double blow to the market. Mid-range GPUs remained largely unscathed for many months, but they won't remain so any longer. You can already see significant price hikes for GPUs like the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 XT. It may sound counterintuitive, but for those looking to upgrade, it might be prudent to buy sooner rather than later.

Good ol' games? | Image: GOG GOG sent a newsletter about the game The End of the Sun on June 5th that included symbols associated with the Nazi SS. The Steam competitor issued a statement attributing the inclusion to a "series of mistakes," including miscommunication with the German QA team, inconsistent font rendering, and being understaffed during a bank holiday, among other things.The game is a fantasy title set in a universe based on Slavic mythology and culture. So GOG included Slavic runes in its email promoting the title, including the Sowilō symbol, which means "sun." According to one of GOG's multiple explanations, some platforms, including mobile phones, ren …Read the full story at The Verge.

Windows Search has always been a hit or miss, and on a busy workday, a "miss" is the last thing you want to deal with. The search bar works well enough when you know exactly what you're looking for, but if you're trying to locate a file you half-remember, like the one you were editing last Thursday or the image file with "Xbox" somewhere in the name from a few weeks ago, you need all the luck and perseverance in the world to find it.

Every year at Summer Game Fest, nestled in between the splashy blockbuster showcases, the Wholesome Direct provides a nice change of pace. It's similarly packed with games - this year's edition had more than 50 - but the vibe is more chill and, well, wholesome. As in years past, I've pulled out some of the more intriguing reveals and announcements, though you can watch the whole thing for yourself right here. And if you're interested in checking out some of the games - a few are available now, and a bunch have demos - there's a dedicated Steam page.Hidden Folks 2Way back in 2017, Hidden Folks helped usher in a new genre of seek-and-find …Read the full story at The Verge.

Claude Code and Cursor can be used together. You don't need to choose one over the other. I tried using only Cursor, but kept going back to Claude Code because of its capabilities. It's not just about the model. You can always use Opus or other high-end models in Cursor, but the flexibility Claude Code offers through the terminal is something you don't get from Cursor alone. I also think using Claude Code through the CLI consumes fewer credits than repeatedly using a model like Opus 4.7 inside Cursor.

Fellow Traveller, the publisher behind games like Titanium Court and 1000xResist, just wrapped up its Story-Rich Showcase, which featured a bunch of narrative-driven indie games. With more than 20 games on display, there was a lot to follow, but we've pulled together some of the most notable announcements below. You can also catch the full show on Fellow Traveller's YouTube channel.Ambrosia Sky is getting its second and final episodeAmbrosia Sky, a sci-fi game about death where you have to clean up alien fungi, will be getting its second act as a free update on August 6th. The game was originally planned to have three acts, but developer …Read the full story at The Verge.

Google's attempt at the stock flavor of Android found on Pixel phones has a unique charm since it is utterly devoid of bloat, perhaps except for the recently added AI bits.

Our first glimpse of the new AI Siri came all the way back at WWDC 2024. Apple has been on its back foot, AI-wise, for the past few years. But in a strange way, playing from behind might not be such a bad move.At WWDC on Monday, Apple appears to be getting ready to reintroduce us to the new Siri. Again. As a reminder, we met the new Siri in 2024 when Apple "launched" Apple Intelligence. Siri came with a new glowing border, different voice options, and the ability to punt questions to ChatGPT. The whole "Intelligence" bit of the Siri redesign was coming soon, Apple promised. It didn't. In fact, its promotion around Apple Intelligence was so misleading that the company is settling a class-action lawsuit and has t …Read the full story at The Verge.

When I find myself stuck on a lengthy drive, the last thing I want to do is mess around with my in-car infotainment system.

PC hardware brands have come and gone, and the vast majority of the time, they don't go defunct due to bad products. They die from strategy errors, mismanagement, reputations that curdle, or simply getting swallowed by a bigger fish and never resurfacing. These 5 brands in the PC space are long gone; some of which live on after being rebranded, while others are totally defunct and left behind for good.