Microsoft has officially retired the traditional phone-based activation system for Windows and Office that served as a reliable fallback for users for over two decades. Indeed, the "slui 4" command has up until now been served PC builders, privacy advocates, and IT administrators well since the days of XP. It allowed users to activate a

Panic over soaring memory costs in the second half of last year didn't stop the PC market from rebounding in a big way, with global shipments of desktops, laptops, and workstations surging 10.1% to 59 75 million units in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Omdia. The last-quarter surge propelled the full-year tally to 279.5 million units

A massive database purportedly containing the personal information of over 17 million Instagram users has surfaced on a popular hacking forum, sparking widespread concern over the security of the social media giant’s infrastructure. Meta denies this "leak" is anything to be concerned about and says it's merely from a compilation of older data. Forum

Switch 2 owners now have access to Nintendo's first alternate color scheme for its Joy-Con 2 controllers. For those looking to change things up, Nintendo and its retail partners are now offering a set of Joy-Con 2 controllers in light purple (left Joy-Con 2) and light green (right Joy-Con 2). However, like the original red and blue Joy-Con

As far as Micron is concerned, the prevailing narrative about its recent strategy shift to focus more heavily on AI customers gets one *ahem* Crucial detail wrong. Actually more than one, though the biggest misconception from Micron's vantage point is that it's abandoning the consumer market in favor of AI, when in reality it's simply serving

At CES 2026, AMD gave us a hands-on look at its new mini PC, the Ryzen AI Halo. As its name implies, the AMD Ryzen AI Halo is built around AMD's current top-of-the-line APU, the Strix Halo-based Ryzen AI Max+ 395. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395, which we've previously reviewed in the ASUS ROG Flow z13 and the HP Z2 Mini G1a, features 16 AMD Zen 5 CPU

Recently on X/Twitter, user @Clawsomegamer spotted a preliminary listing for the Steam Machine on a Czech retailer's website. On the surface, no pricing information is displayed, but the web page's code does reveal pricing of 19,826 CZK ($950 USD) for the 512GB Steam Machine and 23,305 CZK ($1070 USD) for the 1TB version. Mind you, this price

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas this past week, I finally had the opportunity to go hands on with the Galaxy Z TriFold, Samsung’s first phone that folds twice and transforms from a regular 6.5-inch Android handset into a 10-inch Android tablet. On the surface, the Z TriFold is essentially a thicker Galaxy Z Fold7 with an extra, third panel, but that

Remember back in September when NVIDIA announced the existence of the Rubin CPX processor at the AI Technology Conference? We theorized at that time that Rubin CPX could be the chip destined to eventually appear in next-generation GeForce cards. The theory made sense, but apparently it's incorrect, at least according to long-time NVIDIA leaker

ASRock is entering bold new territory at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products to include six previously-teased AIO liquid coolers. At first glance, these AIOs look similar, due to the common 360mm radiators between them, but there are distinct features for each that set them apart. One of the most interesting is the ASRock WS Series

Google's drive to infuse AI across its portfolio of existing products has seen steady Gemini integration in many areas, and now Gmail is getting the biggest Gemini overhaul yet. Gmail will now include a dedicated AI Inbox, which is meant to isolate the most important emails from across your various categories to rise to the top. Another new

We saw some exciting tech at CES this week, including new monitors leveraging NVIDIA's G-SYNC Pulsar technology. Now it's a waiting game to see when they'll actually be available to purchase. In the meantime, there are great deals to be had on the current crop of OLED panels, including a fantastic discount on an curvy Alienware mode. Alienware

Has it been half a century already? Believe it or not, Apple is turning 50 years old this year, and to celebrate the occasion, auction house RR Auction is hosting a huge 50th anniversary Apple sale with a whole bunch of desirable collectibles, some of which are expected to fetch half a million dollars or more. One of them is an ultra-rare

At CES 2026, we got to go hands on with the Dell Pro Max GB300 desktop. This is the big brother of the Dell Pro Max GB10, which as you could probably guess from the name, is essentially Dell's take on the NVIDIA DGX Spark concept. The GB300 carries something far more potent inside: a Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip. (click for big) If

At its CES 2026 presentation, Intel announced both its Core Ultra Series 3 processors (codenamed "Panther Lake") as well as a forthcoming reference platform for gaming handhelds based on the chips. Looking at the available configurations of the Core Ultra Series 3, it certainly seems like these parts are nearly tailor-made for the handheld

Wearable makers like Apple, Samsung, Garmin, and Google have long chased what might be the holy grail of health tech: non-invasive glucose monitoring. Recent developments suggest that Apple could be closer than ever to turning its decade-long ambition into a reality for the Apple Watch. Blood sugar tracking has been long expected to be

Astronomers peering through images from the Vera C. Rubin Obervatory have discovered an unusual asteroid spinning so fast that it's broken the record for how space rocks of its size are supposed to behave. Designated 2025 MN45, the asteroid was identified by the international team of researchers using data from the recently-commissioned

Razer has made a habit of unveiling concept projects at CES each year, some of which end up becoming shipping products, and others that don't. One that has a better-than-decent shot of falling into the former category is Project Madison. What's hidden behind that project designation is an immersive gaming chair that aims to bombard your senses

An eyewear breakthrough by an Amazon-backed Finnish startup, IXI, is promising to end the era of clunky bifocals and the "head-tilt" struggle of progressive lenses, replacing them with a pair of glasses that focus as naturally as the human eye. Revealed in its latest prototype at CES 2026, the IXI autofocusing glasses specifically target

NVIDIA announced some cool tech at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, including upgrades to both its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service and DLSS upscaling with DLSS 4.5 bringing Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation and a newer transformer model. There was other stuff by NVIDIA as well, though no mention of a GeForce RTX 50 Super series refresh.

Acer is gearing up to launch several gaming handhelds under its Nitro banner, including a supersized Nitro Blaze 11 with a 10.95-inch IPS display and detachable controllers. Or is it? All of the handhelds Acer previously announced were a no-show at CES this week, raising the question of whether they've been delayed or outright canceled. So,

At CES 2026, NVIDIA finally revealed its long-awaited lineup of first-generation G-SYNC Pulsar monitors—and one of them is the MSI MPG 272QRF X36. Like the other new monitors revealed at NVIDIA's conference, the MSI MPG 272QRF X36 is a 27-inch Rapid IPS monitor in 2560×1440 resolution, with full G-SYNC support up to 360 Hz. Where things get

Accessory maker Logitech provides users with an extensive suite of software to manage and customize its lineup of popular mice and innovative keyboards. Unfortunately, the company failed to maintain a necessary certificate on the macOS versions of these apps, leaving users in a lurch as their hardware no longer worked as intended. Thankfully,

Intel's new Core Ultra Series 3 processors (codenamed Panther Lake) offer extremely impressive integrated graphics performance, as we noted in our brief testing yesterday. They're also based on what is arguably the most advanced manufacturing process in the world, Intel's 18A, which boasts exclusive features like RibbonFET and PowerVia. That