I gave up my Perplexity subscription after a month yet my Claude subscription is going on its third month now. That probably says something about where I actually get value. Claude is genuinely the most AI tool I've had in my rotation - it handles my design coursework, Cowork helps me manage files and tasks on my PC, and recently I've been using Claude Design that lets me prototype and visualize ideas.

I have been using Windows as my primary operating system for around two decades, and for the most part, I rarely relied on Terminal-based commands. Frankly, it felt confusing. When Windows already had troubleshooters and dedicated settings for everything, using commands seemed unnecessary. But once I moved to terminal commands, there was no going back.

With most x86 devices in my arsenal already engaged in DIY projects, I’ve gone back to experimenting with ARM boards. In fact, I've been running a bunch of lightweight LLMs on my single-board computers, and they’re surprisingly decent at running sub-4B models. Toss them in a cluster, and they can even handle the likes of 9B LLMs (provided you’re willing to overlook the abysmally low token generation rates).

Microsoft's latest Windows 11 test will allow you to reposition the taskbar and change the size of the Start menu. The update, which is rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders in the Experimental channel, lets you place the taskbar on the bottom, top, left, or right side of the screen.Microsoft first teased its movable taskbar in March as part of efforts to rebuild trust among users. You can adjust the alignment of the icons inside the taskbar, as well as open the Start menu drawer from wherever you placed it. Windows 11 Insiders can access a shorter taskbar, too, which could come in handy for devices with smaller displays. There's also an opti …Read the full story at The Verge.

Xbox just allcapsmaxxed: Meet XBOX. This isn't a joke; Microsoft appears to be actually rebranding Xbox to XBOX. Asha Sharma, Xbox CEO, ran a poll on X earlier this week, asking fans whether Microsoft should use Xbox or XBOX. The results were in favor of XBOX, and the company has now renamed its X account.Curiously, the Threads and Bluesky accounts for Xbox haven't been renamed yet, but if Microsoft is going ahead with a rebranding then I expect those will change soon. I asked Microsoft to comment on this potential Xbox rebranding and the company simply referred me to Sharma's post.The use of all caps for Xbox is a return to original for …Read the full story at The Verge.

For a long time, I dismissed Gemini Gems as just another AI feature that I didn't need. But when tinkering with some projects, I actually discovered how useful the feature can be. I moved from ignoring it as just more bloat to treating it as an AI toolI could use for both productivity and entertainment.

YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection program to all users over the age of 18 - meaning just about anyone can have the platform hunt for potential deepfakes of themselves.The likeness detection feature uses a selfie-style scan of a person's face to monitor YouTube for lookalikes. If there is a match, YouTube alerts the user; the person then has the option to request that YouTube remove the content. YouTube has said in the past that it has found the number of removal requests to be "very small."YouTube began testing the feature with content creators, and then expanded it to government officials, politicians, journalists, and fina …Read the full story at The Verge.

Look, I love ragging on Microsoft as much as the next guy (especially given my recent move to Linux), but even curmudgeons like myself need to admit defeat when Microsoft does something right. So, when I read that Microsoft was fixing two of my biggest gripes with Windows, I realised I needed to start eating humble pie, and fast. The company has announced that it's re-adding some key Taskbar and Start menu customization options, and it's honestly about time.

According to OpenAI, 200 million people visit ChatGPT with money-related issues every month. People want to learn how to save, how to earn more, and how to manage their investments, and when the human world fails to deliver what they're looking for, they turn to AI. However, for an AI to have a good idea of someone's financial situation, it needs details about their accounts so it can better render judgment.

Covering really big, ambitious ESP32 projects is always a ton of fun, but we also need to take some time to check out the little things, too. After all, some people may not want to learn how an ESP32 works by creating a full-blown map of their local subway or building a life-size arcade cabinet; some people want something easy and practical. And what better way to get started with a clock?

The problems surrounding insufficient VRAM rear their head whenever a new and demanding game fails to run properly on older or lower-end graphics cards. We blame everything from game optimization issues to Nvidia's habit of skimping on VRAM before going back to the status quo. The reason companies like Nvidia can keep selling GPUs with 8GB of VRAM is that gamers are forced to buy whatever they can in a terrible market. Another reason is that upscaling continues to improve, reducing the VRAM dependency on budget and mid-range cards. The latest reason 8GB VRAM GPUs aren't going anywhere is Neural Texture Compression, Nvidia's latest trick to drastically reduce VRAM usage in games. It promises astounding results, but only on Nvidia's most powerful GPUs. Older graphics cards don't have the hardware chops to adequately support this new technology, making it meaningless for the vast majority of RTX owners.

Nothing lasts forever in the tech world. Whether it's hardware or software, the industry is bound to move on at some point, and after a very long time looking roughly the same, RAM is undergoing a big shift, specifically in the low-profile space. The classic SO-DIMM modules are becoming less prominent and in its place is a world of soldered memory that many tinkerers hate.