VMware customers want out from under Broadcom's pricing, but few are ready to leave
Higher licensing costs drove 90% of survey respondents to explore alternatives
Microsoft Office is down to $29 for a lifetime license
TL;DR: If you're looking for a powerful productivity suite without recurring subscription fees, Microsoft Office 2021 is available for just $29, an incredible deal. This offer provides all the essential tools you need for work or personal projects at over 85% off the regular price. You may also want to consider the latest Office 2024 suite for $49, only for a limited time.
PSA: Google Chrome 155 update patches 247 security flaws, some critical
Chrome 155.0.8059.40 fixes 247 security vulnerabilities, including four rated Critical and dozens rated High. The most serious are use-after-free flaws affecting Chromecast, Browser, Navigation, and Track, with additional fixes across V8, WebRTC, PDF, WebGL, Media, and ANGLE. Given their severity, users should update Chrome as soon as possible.
This script removes Apple Intelligence from macOS 27 and frees up 12 GB of storage
RemoveMacAI disables built-in AI features, deletes the models, and blocks redownloads
RevPDF is a free Adobe Acrobat alternative that works offline
RevPDF is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, offering PDF editing, OCR, conversion, forms, compression, and more, with all processing done on your device. Version 5.0 adds WYSIWYG text editing, PDF-to-Excel conversion, and improved Word exports.
This open-source tool aims to eliminate shader compilation stutter in PC games
SCSKiller pre-compiles shaders for DirectX 11 and 12 games on AMD and Nvidia GPUs
Steam is on track to top $20 billion in revenue for the first time
Free-to-play games made Steam almost $168 million in September, without a single new release
Bottom line: Steam is on course to generate more than $20 billion in gross revenue in 2026, a first for the platform, after posting record results for September and the third quarter, according to estimates from Alinea Analytics. The gains came from a mix of new releases, established franchises and free-to-play games that keep drawing spending long after launch. With one quarter left, Valve's PC gaming platform needs roughly $3.5 billion to reach the milestone.
RuneScape 4 is officially in the works, and it started as a Dragonwilds expansion
The MMO has its own dedicated team and is likely several years from release
The base PlayStation 5 can now do AI upscaling, and it actually looks great
QSSR arrives via a free update to Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei, with more games expected to follow
A hack of Pentagon personnel data went undetected for nine months, exposing 3 million people
Social Security numbers and job information were exposed before the flaw was patched
AI is getting cheaper faster than almost any technology in history
One AI task went from $0.30 to $0.0004 per question in a year and a half
Bottom line: AI models are getting cheaper to use at a pace that could reshape the advanced software market. A report from research firm Epoch AI finds that the cost of reaching a given level of AI performance has fallen by nearly 50% per quarter, or about 13 times per year. That is a faster rate of decline than the cost curves seen in lithium-ion batteries, DNA sequencing and computing hardware.
QR Codes Explained: How They Work and Why They're Everywhere
QR codes were built to track car parts, written off as a gimmick, then rescued by phone cameras. Now they're everywhere. Here's how they work, what's changed, and what to watch out for.
Windows 11 26H2 is rolling out, but it doesn't add anything new, it just turns on what was already there
Windows 11 26H2 extends Home and Pro support to October 2028, two years beyond 24H2
The takeaway: Microsoft has officially released Windows 11 26H2 to the stable channel, rolling it out to all eligible users. The update is described as an "enablement package" that simply switches on dormant features delivered with previous monthly updates. It's a tiny 174 KB download for devices that are already up to date with all cumulative updates.
WhatsApp adds new parental controls without giving access to teen's chats
WhatsApp is introducing new parental controls for teen accounts, giving parents more control without access to private conversations. Parents can restrict who sees a teen's profile photo or adds them to groups, receive group activity alerts, and more. Messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted.
You can now play the original Halo in your browser, 128-player multiplayer included
The fan-made port includes the full single-player campaign
PlayStation 5 emulation is evolving rapidly, and a native PS5-to-PC compatibility layer is now in development
PS5 emulation has apparently gone from unthinkable to playable in just a few months
The Netherlands is building its own Linux OS to break free from Microsoft
The Dutch government wants to replace US software with Linux and open-source alternatives
Firefox 157 rolls out Mozilla's biggest visual refresh in years
The latest Firefox release introduces a visual refresh across toolbars, menus, and the sidebar, alongside new themes and a compact mode with tighter tabs and toolbar spacing. The update also adds hardware AV1 decoding for WebRTC video calls.
Southwest and United don't want Boeing's newest 737 MAX software on their new planes
A navigation glitch can leave pilots without some autopilot functions until they restore the system
The latest Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus suite is $49 in this limited-time deal
Skip the Microsoft 365 monthly fees and buy the latest Word, Excel, and Outlook once
Modders are turning Android handhelds into "mini" Steam Decks
SteamOS for Arm used in the Steam Frame is giving devs a head start on Ayn, Ayaneo, and Retroid devices
Connecting the dots: Valve recently released an official port of SteamOS for Arm devices alongside the Steam Frame headset. Now, modders and open-source developers are turning the company's work into a renaissance of "Steam-like" experiences across a growing number of handheld devices.
Kalmuri combines screenshots, screen recording, and OCR in a simple Windows app
Kalmuri is a free tool for screenshots and screen recording, with OCR and full-page web capture. The latest release improves WebP saving and OCR captures, also enhances image upload security.
Nvidia launches safety platform to stop AI agents going rogue, with over 100 organizations on board
In context: Every day brings another story of an AI agent going rogue, hacking another organization, or generally doing something it's not supposed to do. Nvidia hopes to address this increasingly concerning trend with the launch of the Open Agent Safety Platform. Team Green has a lot of faith in the system: it says the platform could have prevented the infamous hack by OpenAI's agents on Hugging Face.
After 40 years, Excel is breaking one of its oldest rules: one cell, one value
Excel Beta adds lists, arrays, and nested arrays inside a single cell
First look: Microsoft is testing a version of Excel that allows users to put more than one value inside a cell, a break from the spreadsheet program's longstanding one-cell, one-value model. The new capability includes lists, arrays in cells and nested arrays. It is available on an opt-in basis to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Excel Beta Channel for Windows and Mac.
Microsoft wants Copilot to become an "OS" that writes your documents and manages your work
The new Autopilot tool works 24/7 across Teams, Outlook, and Office documents without human input