I've always looked at 4K as the pinnacle of PC gaming. Even back when I had the GTX 1070 a decade ago, I used Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) just to get a taste of what 4K gaming would look like, even though my monitor was 1080p and the frame rates were horrible. Then, in 2020, when I built a high-end AM4 rig from scratch with an RTX 3090, I finally bought a 4K/160Hz monitor, and it truly felt like I'd reached the endgame. That is, until the performance started bothering me.

Full Release NotesInsider Beta Preview Build 26220.9587Experimental Preview Build 26340.9596Experimental (26H1) Preview Build 28120.3151Beta (26H1) Preview Build 28020.3142Experimental (Future Platforms) Preview Build 29680.1000Microsoft's Windows 11 and Surface event is only a couple of days away. At the event, we expect to hear a recap of improvements made to the operating system as part of the Windows K2 initiative. But why simply watch people talk about updates when you can test them out yourself?Many of the biggest changes to Windows 11 have already shipped through Windows 11 version 26H2. But items that are still in the works are being tested among Windows Insiders. A flurry of five builds shipped recently.👉Don’t miss Microsoft’s October 7 Windows & Surface keynote — here’s how to tune in and follow the biggest revealsMany of the changes are rolling out to multiple builds, such as added support for Unicode 17.0. Below, I've outlined all the updates and improvements rolling out to Windows Insiders. Make sure to check the channels noted below to see what's on the way to your PC.Unicode (Beta, Experimental)We've updated Windows text shaping support for Unicode 17.0, helping Windows correctly display and shape newly encoded characters and scripts. Unicode 17.0 added 4,803 characters, including support for four newly encoded scripts: Beria Erfe, Sidetic, Tai Yo, and Tolong Siki.These updates help keep Windows text support current as the Unicode Standard evolves and improve support for languages and writing systems used by people around the world.Settings (Beta, Experimental)We're making performance improvements to the Settings home page, which should result in reduced loading times in certain scenarios.Settings (Experimental (Future Platforms))Updated Settings > Apps > Installed apps to show the version number at the top level for packaged apps, as it already does for other apps.Recovery (Beta, Experimental We're adding a new entry point for Cloud Rebuild under Settings > System > Recovery, making it easier to access the feature from Settings.Windows Recovery (Beta (26H1))We're introducing Cloud rebuild, a new recovery option that restores a Windows 11 PC to a clean, known-good state by performing a full OS reinstall, even when Windows won't boot. Unlike Reset this PC, Cloud rebuild downloads both the target Windows image and the device's drivers from Windows Update, so the device comes back fully functional without USB media, without a custom image, and without depending on the health of the currently installed OS.In this preview, you can try Cloud rebuild today:Start it directly from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) by selecting Troubleshoot > Recovery and uninstall > Cloud rebuild.Connect over wired Ethernet or a Wi-Fi network from within WinRE.Review the target Windows build, edition, and language, then confirm the data-loss warning before the rebuild begins.File Explorer (Experimental)Address Bar now supports '~' , making it quicker to navigate directly to your user profile folder and subfolders (e.g., "~AppData").File Explorer (Experimental (Future Platforms))This update adjusts how the preview pane handles files downloaded from the web. For HTML files, a new Preview anyway button lets you acknowledge the warning and preview the file. Non-HTML files, such as PDFs, are now previewed automatically.Fixed an issue causing the previews in File Explorer to have an unexpected bar in the middle in recent flights.File Explorer (Experimental (26H1))CustomizationsImproved File Explorer to keep folder view customizations, such as sorting and icon size preferences, consistent across different access paths and apps.Address bar improvementsThe address bar now supports paths containing double backslashes and quotation marks, for example, C:Usersuser or "C:Usersuser", improving compatibility with a wider range of inputs.Improved reliability of the address bar suggestion dropdown so it now consistently closes after an item is selected.Refinements to the rename experienceFixed an issue where text would be repeatedly selected while renaming items in folder views.Fixed an issue where updated names with case-only changes weren't immediately reflected in folder views across local and cloud storage.Windows Magnifier (Experimental (26H1), Beta (26H1))Magnifier now gives you more control over how you zoom. You can type an exact zoom percentage directly in the Magnifier toolbar to land on precisely the level you need.We've also added preset step increments (5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%, 150%, 200%, and 400%) to the Settings dropdown, so you can jump to common levels in a single click. Whether you need a subtle boost or a dramatic close-up, Magnifier adapts to how you want to zoom.Cloud rebuild (Experimental (26H1))We're updating Cloud rebuild, the recovery option that restores a Windows 11 PC to a clean, known-good state by performing a full OS reinstall, with two additions.Cloud rebuild can now sanitize the device's drives as part of the rebuild. When you start a rebuild in WinRE, choose Remove files if you're keeping the PC, or Remove & sanitize files before recycling, returning, or reassigning it. The sanitize option uses the storage hardware's erase capability to securely erase data before Windows is reinstalled and is irreversible.IT administrators can now configure and start a Cloud rebuild remotely through the Recovery CSP, using either the currently installed build or a target build you specify.Windows Share (Experimental (Future Platforms))Added the ability to pin your favorite apps in the Windows share window.Family Safety (Experimental (Future Platforms))Improved family safety messaging when applications are blocked because of age-restricted parental controls.Taskbar (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed a few small visual polish issues when using the taskbar in alternate positions.Audio (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed an issue affecting certain USB Audio Class 1.0 devices, including some multichannel audio headsets, that could prevent the device from working correctly after installing the latest updates.Remote Desktop (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed an issue causing Remote Desktop to not use the correct window size after recent flights.Other (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience extreme lag over time after updating to the last two flights.These changes aren't as substantial as the new features and upgrades in Windows 11 version 26H2, but they help create a smoother computing experience.My favorite improvements are those rolling out to Windows Magnifier. Fine-tune controls make it much easier to create the best experience for your specific screen. The presets make it easy to jump incrementally, but I prefer entering the magnification manually.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Keep content working long after launch with a distribution owner, a repeatable checklist, and a 90-day plan to earn backlinks and AI citations.The post How To Build A Content Distribution System That Compounds appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Microsoft Copilot has changed a lot over the past month. Microsoft recently outlined its broader plan for a unified AI experience across Microsoft 365, but it also shipped several new Copilot features users can try right now.Microsoft rounded up the changes in a recent blog post, highlighting updates across Copilot Chat, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and OneDrive. The updates expand Copilot to more services and add new features across Microsoft's software suite:"New design and functionality for Copilot ChatPlugins, connectors, and Work IQ enhancements to the Copilot AppTeams Phone agent for Copilot in Teams PhoneCitations and image modifications for Copilot in WordSkills and connectors for Copilot in PowerPointGeneral availability for Copilot in SharePointGeneral availability for Copilot in OneDrive"Microsoft outlined several new features, but one stood out to me: citations in Copilot responses.Copilot can be a useful tool, but it has limits. If you've ever asked Copilot to handle a task that depends on current information, you've probably run into those limits. AI tools can also struggle when interpreting historical, legal, or highly specialized material.Now, Microsoft Word can show its sources for specific Copilot answers. You can then click the source to confirm the information provided by Copilot."Citations in Copilot responses in Word let users see the sources behind Copilot’s answers. Users can view citations to relevant web and work content directly in the response," explains Microsoft."This provides greater transparency and helps users understand where Copilot’s information comes from."Hallucinations are one problem, but AI tools can also misinterpret legitimate sources and present incorrect conclusions. In some cases, an AI tool can misread context and produce an incorrect response. I've had Copilot share the exact opposite of the truth before.Citations with links allow you to check the source material and make sure Copilot understood the context of the source and extracted the correct information. Windows Central takeI've found that Copilot (and other AI tools) can make up seemingly authentic sources of information. If you ever use the tool for meaningful work, you need to double-check original sources and assume Copilot will make mistakes.Of course, that fact could be used to argue that you just should not use Copilot for work. But there's probably a middle ground where Copilot helps draft or gather information while a human verifies the final output.In general chats with Copilot, you should ask for a source and press Copilot if it continues to speak in generalities. The new feature in Word simplifies that process and ensures that there's a verifiable source of content generated by Copilot.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

This Asus Googlebook is one of the Intel models that may have issues. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge Google has waited until the day its new Googlebook laptops hit the market to admit that Intel-based models may have issues running some Android apps. Before now, Google has emphasized that the Android-based Googlebooks give owners access to the "entire Play Store library" of apps, along with some clever interactions with Android phones and tablets. Today, in a statement to Android Authority, it admitted that while every app is available, some may not offer smooth performance on every Googlebook.The vast majority of Android apps run smoothly across both Intel and Qualcomm Googlebooks right out of the box. Because many Android apps were o …Read the full story at The Verge.

I use a UGREEN DH4300 Plus NAS to store my files and keep backups, and since those backups run automatically, I don’t have to keep copying things over myself. You still need to check what you’re backing up, though, especially if you’ve moved files around or included folders that contain some of the same data. I recently had ChatGPT Codex audit my NAS, and it found 2TB of duplicate files that I was paying to back up twice.

When I built my PC, I figured a 500GB SSD would be enough. After all, how many games was I actually going to have installed at once? That was a mistake. 500GB is nowhere near enough storage, especially when some games take as much as 226GB on their own (I'm looking at you, Delta Force). I could get my hands on a cheap SSD with a lot more space than an internal SSD, and for a lot less money, too. I gave it a try, and the results surprised me.

Norbert Wiener, godfather of cybernetics, once said, "The thought of every age is reflected in its technique." For the past century, our thought has been reflected in our computers, including by those in the AI industry. Google's Demis Hassabis calls the brain "a biological approximation to a Turing machine." Elon Musk puts it more bluntly, declaring that "people should just think of the brain as a biological computer." (Musk's brain often worries me.)But humans are more complex than a straightforward comparison to computers gives us credit for - and far more than most of the AI industry seems to appreciate. And as their products push e …Read the full story at The Verge.

Google's recent changes provide strong clues about major changes from the next core algorithm update.The post What To Expect From Google’s Next Search Ranking Update appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

I’ve made sure every smart appliance in my house remains usable even when it’s disconnected from Wi-Fi. I don’t want an internet outage to stop me from using something I own, especially when it’s sitting a few feet away. But I recently noticed that quite a few of my home automations still depend on the cloud. I’ve been paying attention to how the devices work without giving the automations the same treatment.

TCL’s P80 Ultra is its first Nxtpaper phone with an OLED screen. | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge I've spent most of the last couple weeks using an otherwise unexceptional midrange Android phone with one amazing feature: a matte OLED display. That screen is by far the best thing about the TCL P80 Ultra, and weirdly, it's made me more excited for the iPhone Duo and its matte inner display.2023's TCL Nxtpaper 40 first brought matte displays to the company's phones, after they appeared on tablets in 2021. Nxtpaper is more than a simple matte finish on a panel: it also includes a paperlike feel and low-power, monochrome modes that create a reasonable facsimile of an E Ink screen. But the matte effect has always been the biggest draw for me …Read the full story at The Verge.

A lot is happening this week in the world of Windows and Surface. Today is the fifth anniversary of Windows 11, a milestone that snuck up on me and plenty of other users. Perhaps it's because I dragged my feet while making the move permanently from Windows 10.On October 7, Microsoft is hosting a Surface event where it's expected that NVIDIA's RTX Spark chip and the Surface Laptop Ultra lineup will be further discussed (and hopefully better explained).This collision of Microsoft-related software and hardware news got me thinking about a quote from the original architect of Microsoft's Surface lineup, Panos Panay:To make a great product, you can't have great software without the hardware; you can't have great hardware without the software.Panos PanayThe quote comes from an interview with TechCentral circa 2020, well before Panay departed Microsoft in 2023 to join Amazon's Devices and Services segment. The quote does a great job capturing the original reason why Surface exists at all.Microsoft originally wanted hardware that showcased the best of Windows software, and it believed its goal could only be achieved with in-house development. Surface became the bridge between software and hardware that Panay alludes to with his quote, and it's had a (mostly) great run.Where is Surface headed in 2026?What has me most confused about the upcoming Surface event is that Microsoft already revealed its new Surface Pro 12-inch (Gen 2) and Surface Laptop 13-inch (Gen 2) devices.They showed up on September 23 as part of Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit, a full two weeks before the Surface event. Sure, it makes some sense due to the new Surface PCs using Snapdragon X2 chips inside, but why not save the juice for the main event?My colleague Sean Endicott attempted to answer this question at the time of the Surface/Qualcomm reveal last month. As he stated, "we can now cross two more items off the list of potential things we will see at the Windows and Surface event," noting that the October 7 Surface event also "falls after many improvements have shipped to Windows 11 or entered testing with Windows Insiders." So what is Microsoft planning to reveal at its Surface event? The Surface Laptop Ultra was already revealed at Computex 2026, but we should get more information. We might also get a glimpse of the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, especially considering NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang is part of the show.Barring the surprise reveal of more new Surface hardware — the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 with Snapdragon X2 chips launched this summer, so I'm not expecting anything new there — the October 7 Surface event is shaping up to be a tad lopsided.Is Surface drifting without Panay's anchoring presence?Panos Panay holding a Surface Laptop at the 2018 Surface event. Good times. It's been six years since Panay dropped his famous Surface quote. It's been three years since he left Microsoft for Amazon. And since then, Surface really hasn't felt the same. Rather than pushing OEMs to improve their own devices by providing a quality benchmark, Surface seems to be fairly stagnant, fragmented, and largely riding on its reputation.For me, someone who agrees with Panay's sentiment, a successful Surface event should include software that really only makes sense on the Surface Laptop Ultra with RTX Spark. If it's just another laptop with the chip inside, well, I won't be very excited.On that note, it'd be great to see some tuning choices that directly benefit Surface with RTX Spark. The hardware-software relationship often shows its cracks in this area, so some assurance will go a long way. Ultimately, the upcoming Surface event should be a defining moment. Will Panay's original vision carry forward as partnerships become more complicated? Will the quote remain relevant?Or will Surface become just another laptop brand alongside OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo? Either way, you can tune in to the livestream on October 7 at 1 PM ET to check it out with the rest of us.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.