So you pick up a USB-C cable to charge your laptop, but then use the same-looking cable to transfer 50 GB of 8K video from your camera, only to find out it's moving at speeds you'd expect in the 1990s.

Windows 11 has reached a big milestone | Image: Getty Images Windows 11 now has 1 billion users. Microsoft hit the milestone during the recent holiday quarter, meaning Windows 11 has managed to reach 1 billion users faster than Windows 10 did nearly six years ago."Windows reached a big milestone, 1 billion Windows 11 users," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the company's fiscal Q2, 2026 earnings call. "Up over 45 percent year-over-year." The growth of Windows 11 over the past quarter will be related to Microsoft's end of support for Windows 10, which also helped increase Microsoft's Windows OEM revenues.Microsoft must have had a strong number of Windows 11 users throughout December, as Windows …Read the full story at The Verge.

Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and other mainstream distributions are often recommended for folks looking to break off from Windows’ clutches. But once you mention a low-end system in the argument, you’re bound to hear recommendations about minimalist distributions. Designed to offer a sleek experience with limited bloatware, light system services, and performance-enhancing tweaks, these distros have their perks – and I say that as someone who often uses them to resurrect old laptops and for deploying efficient virtual machines.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse dreams seem to have been replaced by a new vision: an AI-generated social feed. In an earnings call on Wednesday, Zuckerberg reiterated his belief that AI will become the next big media format, making feeds "more immersive and interactive:"We started with text, and then moved to photos when we got phones with cameras, and then moved to video when mobile networks got fast enough. Soon, we'll see an explosion of new media formats that are more immersive and interactive, and only possible because of advances in AI.Zuckerberg added that apps currently "feel like algorithms that recommend content." But t …Read the full story at The Verge.

Among Linux enthusiasts, Arch is commonly used as a yardstick to measure someone's Linux competency. If you manage to install Arch Linux successfully, elitists will claim you're more knowledgeable than, say, a point-and-click Ubuntu user. But is that fair? Arch Linux has a reputation for being one of the most difficult Linux distributions to set up and use, so I wanted to see if my own experience would line up with all the hype I've heard. Spoiler: it's not that hard to use after all.

Tesla will discontinue the Model S and Model X in the second quarter of 2026, Elon Musk said in an earnings call with investors today. Musk said the reasons for cancelling the vehicle programs was to make room at Tesla's Fremont factory for production of its Optimus humanoid robot. "It's time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge, because we're really moving into a future that is based on autonomy," he said. "So if you're interested in buying a Model S and X, now would be the time to order it."The Model S is Tesla's luxury sedan, first released in 2012, while the Model X was its SUV with gu …Read the full story at The Verge.

I’ve never been good at spreadsheets. Still, like practically everyone else, I’ve found myself stuck in situations where I have no choice but to use them. Whether it was building a finance dashboard to track my chaotic spending, creating an assignment and work deadline tracker to stay on top of everything, or analyzing a massive dataset for a course I’m taking, spreadsheets have always been something I’ve had to deal with.

Most people probably don't think about exhausting their SSD's lifespan. The NAND flash used to store data on SSDs has a finite number of write cycles. On most gaming PCs, this isn't a big concern, as you're likely to replace the drive before writing enough terabytes to it to wear it down. That said, some workloads and practices can eat through your SSD's endurance much faster than gaming and browsing. Write-heavy workloads can slash your SSD's lifespan from years to months. Even if you aren't running productivity workloads on your SSD, you might be guilty of a few habits that aren't exactly ideal for your SSD's long life.

Sebastiaan de With, known for his work on apps like Halide, Kino, and Orion as the co-founder of Lux, is joining Apple's design team, he announced today. "So excited to work with the very best team in the world on my favorite products," de With says in his post.Some big personal news: I've joined the Design Team at Apple. So excited to work with the very best team in the world on my favorite products. ✌️- Sebastiaan de With (@sdw.bsky.social) 2026-01-28T21:41:08.819Zde With is well-known for his deep dives on Apple's iPhone cameras - I was a big fan of his post about the iPhone 16e's camera (which he called a "vibe"), and on the other …Read the full story at The Verge.

If you're looking for a laptop that's great for everyday use, this one from HP is going to be it. You get a large 15.6-inch screen and plenty of power from the Intel Core i5 processor that's paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.

The inevitable has officially happened: Chrome, too, is stepping into the world of agentic AI. While there’s a lot of variety in AI software, all the big browser companies have recently focused on agentic browsing — each taking its own approach. Companies like Opera launched entirely new browsers built with AI at their core. Others, like Microsoft, introduced AI modes within their existing browsers instead of creating full-fledged new ones.

I have a weird relationship with Spotify. I appreciate the convenience the music streaming platform offers, alongside its surprisingly competent AI DJ, but I've never been fond of the app's ad-filled UI, or the fact that it's progressively getting more expensive every year.