Windows 11 is known for many things. It's still the standard issue for most corporate computing systems, the most familiar OS for many users, and often the first choice for anyone building or buying a new PC. However, it's also established its reputation for a growing number of unwanted features that hog system resources.

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, speaks during a 2024 conference. | Bloomberg via Getty Images Bill Gates has been reflecting a lot on AI lately, and the process has triggered a stark awakening. Once a staunch AI optimist, the Microsoft cofounder is now deeply pessimistic about what AI means for our collective future. Having been conspicuously quiet on AI issues recently, Gates is back with a nearly 6,000-word essay seeking to reclaim a central role in shaping the technology globally. Titled "The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical," Gates warns the world is not remotely ready for what is coming. Worse still, he notes, "we are not preparing for it." Gates attempts to chart a path forward, but the essay l …Read the full story at The Verge.

The memory economy has not been kind to PC builders over the past year. Those hit hardest by the DRAM crisis include the users who have been eyeing a platform jump from DDR4 to DDR5 systems, and of course, the ones who were looking to assemble a build from scratch.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD (2nd Gen) streaming stick is a reliable, compact, and affordable way to add streaming to your display. The retail price is $40, but you can get it 55% off on Amazon, bringing it down to $18. It's a cheap way to upgrade a TV or even a monitor.

If you ever beat yourself up after forgetting something at home, you can take solace in the fact that you didn't forget to actually upload a game when releasing a title on Steam. After Ubisoft revealed a remake for the classic title Heroes of Might and Magic III, the company released the original version on Valve's platform. Unfortunately, anyone buying the game was given an executable that led to a Command Prompt message and nothing else.

It’s 2026, and any modern AI can generate code in seconds, but creating a production-ready complex application requires a different skill set. Instead of relying on benchmark numbers, I gave Claude Opus 5, GPT-5.6, and Grok 4.6 the exact same complex web development project from scratch.

An all-too-familiar scenario is when you are on a wired connection or even high-spec Wi-Fi with a 500Mbps+ speed. Yet in fast-paced tactical shooters, you suffer from intermittent micro-rubber banding and hit registration delays. Unfortunately, when you run a speed test, you'll still see your high speeds and low idle ping, which might leave you completely baffled as to why your actual gaming sessions feel inconsistent.

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones Gen 2 look a lot like all other Bose headphones from the past few years. Bose QuietComfort headphones used to be innovative. Bose's noise-canceling research is the reason the technology is where it is today, and its headphones set the standard. They were the ubiquitous traveler's accessory. But over the past few years, it's felt like Bose has rested on that reputation, as other companies have caught up. Sony and Apple have both surpassed Bose in noise-canceling performance, and even midrange headphones like the $130 Soundcore Space 2 are close for much less money. That means the $359 Bose QuietComfort Headphones 2nd Gen need to stand out in other ways - and I don't think they do. Bose QuietComfort Headphones Gen …Read the full story at The Verge.

On paper, e-ink displays are amazing for hanging up on a wall. They have a paper-like texture to them that lets them sit alongside posters and photos on your wall without looking too tacky. But doing so creates a problem: how do you keep it powered without having cables dangling everywhere? Well, one tinkerer got to work squeezing the Pimoroni Inky Impression driver into a Pi Pico Plus 2 W so they could run it off battery, and the source code is available for all to grab.

Obsidian sits at the center of my workflow, and I use it mostly for taking notes. But while it's largely marketed as a personal knowledge management platform, once you start to factor in the plugins, themes, and other features, it becomes more like a personal operating system of sorts. There are so many features I use Obsidian for that have nothing to do with note-taking, at least not in any productive sense of the word.

Some pieces in the Yxstaby collection are more obviously Xbox-inspired than others. | Image: Ikea Ikea has teamed up with Microsoft to launch a new assortment of gaming-inspired furniture and home accessories, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the first Xbox console. The nine-piece Yxstaby collection (good luck pronouncing that) includes a TV stand, laptop stand, side table, lounge chair, and multi-functional toolbox, with standout products like a stool, cushion, decorative platter, and mirrored display box being specifically designed around recognizable Xbox controller motifs.The Yxstaby range makes it easier to "bring play into a room and tuck everything away afterwards," according to Ikea's press release, with each piece creat …Read the full story at The Verge.

Rockstar Games has released its first official statement following days of sustained leaks of footage from Grand Theft Auto VI, calling the period "heartbreaking for our team.""It would be an understatement to say that having videos of Grand Theft Auto VI gameplay leak in this way has been heartbreaking for our team, and this is obviously not how we intended for you to see the game after all this time," the studio said in a statement published today on social media. "We are very sorry that everything has taken as long as it has - from getting the game finished (nearly there!) to sharing more details and official gameplay, and providing the …Read the full story at The Verge.