HP Smart app mysteriously appears on non-HP Windows PCs
Microsoft is investigating
Stable Diffusion XL Turbo can create AI images in real time as you type
A new text-to-image model with single-step image generation capabilities
Path Tracing vs. Ray Tracing, Explained
#TBT Every few years it seems like there's an amazing new technology with the promise of making games look ever more realistic. We've had shaders, tessellation, shadow mapping, ray tracing – and now there's path tracing.
WhatsApp now lets you hide chats behind a secret code
WhatsApp has added a new 'secret code' privacy feature for locked chats. Typing your secret code in the search bar will reveal the otherwise hidden conversations.
PSA: Google Chrome update addresses zero-day exploit
Google has released a critical security update on the Chrome stable channel. According to the notes, an active exploit exists for CVE-2023-6345 that could allow an attacker to steal sensitive data and other cyber attacks.
Microsoft is testing a Windows 11 energy saver mode for laptops and desktops
The new feature is available on all Windows devices
Plex update raises concerns over potential sharing of porn viewing habits
Be careful what you watch
Microsoft had a "Cart of Death" to intentionally crash and debug early Windows USB infrastructure
The crash cart: In a hospital a crash cart could save your life, but Microsoft had a different type of crash cart back in the day that usually spelled the death of a testing PC. In-house developers called it the "Cart of Death" – a repurposed mail cart carrying daisy-chained USB hubs and tons of connected USB devices to test plug-and-play support on Windows PCs.
FFmpeg 6.1 adds numerous codec and filters
FFmpeg 6.1 is a major release that includes Vulkan decoding for H.264, HEVC and AV1, extended support for RivaTuner, Playdate, Microsoft RLE, as well as numerous filters.
Tiny11, a compact custom version of Windows 11, is now even smaller and offers more features
A fully serviceable operating system with just the core Windows experience
GameMaker is now free for non-commercial use on some platforms
GameMaker is a cross-platform 2D game engine that lets you create your own titles with a drag-and-drop visual programming language. It's now free for non-commercial use on all platforms except consoles. And there's a new one-time fee for a commercial license.
Tuning the Linux kernel with AI brings significant performance improvements
ML algorithms can seemingly do a much better job than human code engineers
Steam adds official support for DualSense and DualShock PlayStation controllers
Lots of Steam gamers use controllers
Nothing pulls its Android-to-iOS chat app from Google Play over security concerns
Nothing Chats might not have been end-to-end encrypted
Get Microsoft Office for $39 as a one-time purchase
This lifetime license is over 85% off, no subscription needed
Firefox 120 arrives with new privacy and security features
Firefox is adding new privacy tools, such as "Tell websites not to sell or share my data" and "Copy Link Without Site Tracking" context menus to copy a link without any tracking information.
Microsoft Office deal is down to $59 for a lifetime license
Over 70% off the regular price for Office. Available for Windows and macOS
CoreDirector lets you take full control of P-cores and E-cores on your Intel CPU
CoreDirector allows you to control which processes and applications run on P-cores and which run on E-cores. CoreDirector is a free application, compatible with any 12th-gen Intel CPU and above.
Blender 4 launches, adds AMD RDNA2 and RDNA3 APU support
Blender 4.0 features new Node tools, AgX for better color handling, a new HDR option as well as light and shadow linking for illuminate specific objects
Microsoft will allow Windows 11 users in the EU to uninstall Edge and disable Bing
To comply with the Digital Markets Act
Windows is now an iPhone app, letting you stream a PC in the cloud
New cloud app bundles Azure, Windows 365, Dev Box, and remote desktop access
HandBrake 1.7.0 adds AMD AV1 and Nvidia NVENC AV1 encoders
HandBrake 1.7.0 adds support for AMD VCN AV1 and Nvidia NVENC AV1 encoders, as well as faster HEVC decoding. There are improvements to video conversion speeds, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ dynamic range.
All-new Microsoft .NET 8 brings more performance and enhancements
Microsoft's latest open-source framework just hit version 8, introducing a new code generator (PGO) that promises up to 20% faster app performance, as well as .NET Aspire.
Adobe's new audio AI tool can isolate voices and other sounds in recordings
The "Sneak" preview technology still needs some fine-tuning
Microsoft confirms Windows 10 and 11 activation issues, says it is investigating
The problem cropped up after Microsoft rolled out an update last month to plug an activation loophole