Software | TechSpot

ValiDrive tests the true storage capacity of any USB drive

Think that bargain USB drive is 1TB? Think again. ValiDrive uncovers the real storage capacity of USB drives that promise terabytes but deliver far less. It also reports read and write speeds for a quick performance check.

By Julio Franco, July 20, 2025, 2:32 PM

Software Gaming

Steam and AAA games now run on RISC-V thanks to emulator breakthrough

felix86 emulator makes gaming possible on open hardware architecture

By Skye Jacobs, July 20, 2025, 12:10 PM 8 comments

Download of the Week Software

HWMonitor is a free tool for real-time hardware monitoring

HWMonitor provides real-time data about your system's components, including CPU and GPU temperatures, fan speeds, voltages, and power usage. It's a popular choice for diagnostics, overclocking, and checking system stability. See more recommendations in our Essential Apps feature.

By Ivan Franco, July 19, 2025, 10:47 AM

Gaming Software

Rockstar's GTA VI poised to become the biggest gaming release of all time

Analyst predicts GTA VI could generate $7.6 billion in two months

By Alfonso Maruccia, July 18, 2025, 3:27 PM 28 comments

Software AI

ChatGPT's new AI agent can fill out online forms and generate PowerPoint presentations

It can also navigate websites to book flights and hotel rooms

By Kishalaya Kundu, July 18, 2025, 2:16 PM

Software Tech Culture

FFmpeg gets 100x faster with AVX-512 and handwritten assembly code

What just happened? FFmpeg developers keep on crunching "handwritten" assembly code to make the multimedia project faster than ever before. Thanks to newer vector-based instructions included in modern x86 processors, FFmpeg can truly provide a massive speedup in media transcoding workloads – if you are lucky enough.

Full story By Alfonso Maruccia, July 18, 2025, 8:22 AM 12 comments

Software Hardware

Windows bug brings back the option to "eject your GPU"

No hardware component should suffer any permanent damage during the ejection process

By Alfonso Maruccia, July 17, 2025, 5:20 PM

Download of the Week Software

FanControl gives you full control over system cooling

FanControl lets you create custom fan curves and temperature sensors on Windows. It supports dynamic speed control for case, GPU, and some PSU fans, and includes a plugin system for third-party sensors. Check out more in our Essential Apps feature.

By Ivan Franco, July 17, 2025, 11:49 AM

Software Industry

Linux surpasses 5% market share on US desktops for the first time

Linux's momentum is largely driven by user dissatisfaction with Microsoft's ecosystem

By Skye Jacobs, July 17, 2025, 7:03 AM 48 comments

Gaming AI

Candy Crush studio hit by layoffs as AI takes over design and writing work

King staff laid off after building the AI tools that replaced them

By Skye Jacobs, July 16, 2025, 11:16 AM 12 comments

Tech Culture Software

Robot umpires to debut at today's MLB All-Star game, regular season use planned for 2026

Cameras determine strike zone differently from human umpires

By Daniel Sims, July 15, 2025, 6:07 PM

Security Software

US rail industry still exposed to decade-old hacking threat, experts warn

"The railway industry treats cybersecurity issues with the same playbook as the insurance industry's 'delay, deny, defend' mantra"

By Skye Jacobs, July 15, 2025, 5:18 PM

Download of the Week Software

Blender 4.5 launches with major performance improvements

Blender 4.5 introduces GPU-accelerated shader compilation, faster simulations, and full Vulkan support. Key updates include expanded Geometry Nodes tools, enhanced GPU compositor performance, improved UV editing, and broader import/export compatibility.

By Ivan Franco, July 15, 2025, 11:42 AM

Software Microsoft

Microsoft tests adaptive energy saver to extend battery life on Windows laptops

Power savings without dimming

By Rob Thubron, July 15, 2025, 9:58 AM 7 comments

Software Mobile

Google is merging ChromeOS and Android into a single platform

The great ChromeOS-Android merger is happening, now comes the hard part

By Alfonso Maruccia, July 14, 2025, 4:13 PM

Download of the Week Software

Amazon takes on structured vibe coding with Kiro, built on VS Code

Kiro is an AI-powered IDE built on VS Code that streamlines development with a "spec-driven" workflow. Kiro transforms prompts into structured specs, diagrams, and tasks to streamline complex coding. Kiro is now in public preview and is free to use.

By Ivan Franco, July 14, 2025, 2:16 PM

Hardware Software

Intel Raptor Lake CPUs are crashing more frequently due to summer heatwaves, Firefox dev says

Crash logs reveal a clear link between hot regions and Intel CPU failures

By Alfonso Maruccia, July 14, 2025, 12:39 PM 22 comments

Download of the Week Software

DLSS Swapper 1.2 improves DLL handling, adds presets and FSR version fixes

DLSS Swapper now manages DLL versions more efficiently by automatically removing outdated backups after game updates and improving the version history display. FSR DLLs now show clearer internal version names and are sorted correctly. Additional updates include new DLSS presets and a reload game button.

By Ivan Franco, July 14, 2025, 12:25 PM

Software AI

Study shows AI coding assistants actually slow down experienced developers

Developers took 19% longer to finish tasks using AI tools

By Skye Jacobs, July 13, 2025, 12:41 PM 17 comments

Microsoft Software

Windows 11 preview adds "quick machine recovery" for automatic PC repairs

New recovery feature taps into cloud services to fix boot issues

By Skye Jacobs, July 13, 2025, 7:08 AM 10 comments

AI Google

Google hires Windsurf founders, derailing OpenAI's $3 billion acquisition

Google pays $2.4 billion to hire Windsurf's founders and researchers for DeepMind and Gemini

By Daniel Sims, July 12, 2025, 12:18 PM

Download of the Week Software

Android Studio gets AI upgrades with Gemini and new cloud features

The latest Android Studio update adds Gemini AI and introduces Studio Labs for testing experimental AI tools. It also debuts Android Studio Cloud, allowing developers to launch browser-based workspaces and code from anywhere.

By Ivan Franco, July 11, 2025, 4:39 PM