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[snip] Intel Panther Lake is finally here -- Intel Core Ultra 300 gets a massive iGPU upgrade. I tested the Core Ultra X9 388H + Arc B390 iGPU in real benchmarks and real games (including Cyberpunk). In this hands-on performance test, I'm putting Intel's new Panther Lake (Core Ultra 300) through weeks of benchmarks, creator tests, AI workloads, and gaming -- using a Lenovo reference laptop to focus purely on the chip. The big headline is the Intel Arc B390 iGPU with XeSS features (including multi-frame generation) delivering surprisingly high frame rates -- even in demanding titles. [/snip] Intel Panther...

As I was typing in a contribution to Free Republic and ready to hit the Enter Key, it all disappeared. Yep all that I had typed had simply disappeared. No warning message, nothing. Has it happened to anyone else? Then it hit me,

Installing Windows used to be a simple process back in the days of Windows 7 and 8, but Microsoft has made it a terrible experience in Windows 11. Linux, which had a reputation for being hard to install, takes 5 minutes to set up and install. Windows 11 takes ten times as long and forces you to jump through countless hoops just to collect more data. ... Linux installers don't have a thousand telemetry toggles to disable Instead of walking you through the setup after the installation, popular Linux graphical installers complete the setup first. Usually it's a few screens...

A simple software setup has become another checkpoint in Microsoft’s expanding web of identity and control.Microsoft’s removal of phone activation for Windows and Office is another signal that the company is locking users into a fully connected, account-bound environment where privacy and ownership steadily fade.In the past, activating Windows could be done privately without linking the computer to any online profile. Users could install the system, call an automated number, and receive a confirmation code. No internet, no account, no tracking.That layer of independence is gone. Today, activation demands a Microsoft account and an active connection to the company’s servers.The...

It has been a troublesome week or two for Microsoft, for sure. Earlier today, the company fixed a Microsoft 365 outage that made files unusable; downtimes like this seem to happen on a fairly regular basis. Meanwhile on the Windows side, it has probably been worse. The tech giant got blamed by Nvidia today as the latest Patch Tuesday is leading to performance issues in games. The GPU maker has released an emergency hotfix driver to resolve the problems. This comes hot on the heels of the massive backlash that the company's Windows boss recently faced due to the evolution...

Microsoft released a new insider preview build to the developer and beta channels of Windows 11. The new build 26220.7262 introduces several new features and changes, including a new "experimental agentic features" toggle in the Settings. If you recall, Microsoft announced this month that it is turning Windows into an agentic operating system. The post, by Windows-chief Pavan Davuluri on X, faced heavy criticism. To the point that Davuluri limited the commenting ability. The new AI component setting in the development edition of Windows 11 is a major step towards that goal. First, the good news. Microsoft is shipping the...

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Many of you now think that the best option is just to stick with Windows 10, even though it is classified as end-of-life by Microsoft. End-of-life means you will not get security updates. I know that for $30 you can get an extra year of security updates from Microsoft, but after that, zero. So regardless of short-term solutions, in the end you will have an unsafe OS. Also, the reality is that many of you cannot upgrade to Windows 11, and even if you could, my recent videos show that...

Microsoft has officially ended Windows 10, marking the end of an era, but what comes next might completely change how we use Windows. In this video, we break down what’s happening behind the scenes with Microsoft’s next move, how Windows is shifting toward cloud-based systems, and what that means for you. You’ll learn: Why Windows 10’s end signals a major shift for Microsoft What’s next with Windows 11, Windows 365, and AI integration How this could reshape the future of PCs and business technology What users and organizations should do to prepare (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove...

If you're running Windows 11, your computer has a TPM Chip Version 2.0. This is one of the requirements to using Windows 11 and of course Windows 10 has been declared as "End-Of-Life". While you think that Windows 11 is an improvement, wait till you find out what this TPM chip is all about. It is such a giant invasion of privacy that I turned mine off. (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) If you're using Windows 11, your computer has a TPM chip, Trusted Platform Module Version 2. This thing is required now to run Windows...

Like you, I see those flashy headlines and articles every day trying to convince Windows users to switch to Linux—how it’s supposedly better in every possible way, how you can use all your favorite apps, and so on. But honestly, most of that is just talk. It sounds great on paper, but it doesn’t match up with reality. Still, I guess those kinds of articles do their job pretty well.Here, though, I want to take a slightly different approach. Right from the start, let me be clear: I’m not here to persuade anyone to jump on the Linux bandwagon. Instead,...

Take this with a grain of salt, but users have reported another privacy transgression by Microsoft. According to the report by users from the Resetera forum and elsewhere, Copilot Gaming, an AI specially for gaming-related AI tasks, is taking screen captures of your gameplay for training. While that would be fine if the user knew about it and enabled it willingly, it appears to be turned on automatically and without informing users about the data collecting and use of the data. According to the user who noticed it first by monitoring network traffic, the AI is using OCR technology to...

As many of us have seen, Windows 11 is introducing AI into PCs programmed with that O/S. Granted, there are methods of removing it. Installing W11 with Rufus software is a common way of doing it. Using Flyoobe is another option. There is also software out there to remove unwanted components once W11 is installed. Regardless, I, and I'm sure many others, are trying to find ways of running Windows software on a Linux system. I've run across a few software packages in Linux that try to accomplish this. Bottles, Wine, Winapps and PlayonLinux are just a few things I've...

I own four computers. Two desktops. One laptop. One Microsoft notebook. Three have Win 11. One has 10. Lately, on a desktop w/11, frequently, when I'm searching google for data, when I type in the phrase or business or topic, I'll get a captcha test. It's becoming more frequent. I always clear my cache, run ccleaner, clear history, etc. It's still happening. And none of my other computers are doing it. When it happens, it starts with the "I'm not a robot" box which I check. Directly underneath it has some computer lingo with the word "google" in it. And...

Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 10, all but forcing users to either upgrade or pay more money to keep getting essential security updates for the OS they already own. No matter that its replacement, Windows 11, can’t be run on nearly half a billion machines, meaning it’ll create mountains of e-waste as those old, perfectly usable PCs get thrown out for new ones. If possible, things are getting even worse. This week, Microsoft is launching a suite of artificial intelligence features that basically turns existing Windows 11 systems into full-blown “AI PCs” which are controlled by Copilot, the...

And Copilot is coming for your Windows 11 Search Bar ================================================================= Microsoft is pushing to make every Windows 11 PC an AI PC. In new updates, the company is focusing on further integrating AI into Windows 11 apps and experiences (not just chatbots), and making voice as much of an input option as the keyboard and mouse. The idea, Microsoft says, is that AI on a PC should be easy and natural to interact with in either text or voice; that it should be able to see your screen and information and help; and that it should be able, with...

ZDNET's key takeawaysWindows 10 support has ended, making Linux a possible alternative.It's a good time to consider switching from Windows to Linux.Switching to Linux can extend your computer's life and performance.I can still remember when I decided to install Linux on my very first computer (a Pentium 75). I'd been using Windows 95 and found myself more frustrated than not. I was experiencing constant blue screens of death, couldn't make the OS behave how I wanted, the software was expensive, and I hated the way it looked.So, I installed Linux over Windows, and the rest is history. I've been using...

Microsoft is closing a popular loophole that allowed users to install Windows 11 without a Microsoft account. The change has appeared in recent Insider builds of Windows 11, indicating it is likely to be included in the production version soon. Microsoft refers to these loopholes as "known mechanisms" and is talking about local commands in this instance. You can learn all about these in our piece for getting Windows 11 installed with a local account, but suffice to say start ms-cxh:localonly is no more. "While these mechanisms were often used to bypass Microsoft account setup, they also inadvertently skip critical...

Next month sees Windows 10 finally reaching the end of (mainstream) support. Microsoft has been pushing people towards Windows 11 for what feels like forever, and it worked – for a while. The latest market figures show that this is changing. The statistics for August 2025 from statcounter Global Stats show a marked drop in Windows 11’s share of the desktop market. Rewinding a little bit through time, June 2025 was a significant month because it marked the point at which Windows 11 finally caught up (well, very nearly) with Windows 10. Windows 11 managed to reach a market share...

Choose wisely. Your PC could end up vulnerable to online threats otherwise. This fall, Windows 10 will reach its end of life—at least, as defined by Microsoft. On October 14, the company ends feature updates to the operating system. Security and stability updates also become restricted—a potential liability, depending on the choices you make now. To help users successfully navigate Windows 10’s extinction event, Adam Patrick Murray sat down with ethical hacker Mike Danseglio to talk options. The goal: To find the best option for your PC to stay current with security updates and patches, no matter the age of...

No Copilot, no ads, no bloat, no AI — and seven extra years of official support. It sounds too good to be true, but there's a reason most haven't heard of it. Microsoft won't advertise it, and you're highly unlikely to stumble across it by accident, but there's a version of Windows 10 that drops the ads, the AI, and will be officially supported for years to come — long after most are forced to upgrade to Windows 11. For those unaware, Windows 10 is due to be retired by Microsoft on October 14, 2025. Beyond this date, the operating...