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Alienware’s surprise push into radically thinner and more affordable gaming laptops marks a clear pivot: the company is broadening the definition of what an Alienware PC can be, and doing so at a time when Windows 11’s refresh cycle and the end of Windows 10 support are nudging many users toward new hardware. Overview Dell’s Alienware brand used CES 2026 to preview two important expansions to its laptop lineup: an ultra‑slim gaming family offered in 14‑ and 16‑inch sizes, and a new...

Elon Musk’s latest legal salvo has unspooled a new layer of irony into the long, tangled story of OpenAI and Microsoft: court exhibits unsealed in a high‑profile lawsuit show Musk not only criticized the Microsoft–OpenAI alliance in public, but privately urged OpenAI to move its compute from Amazon to Microsoft back in 2016 — even referring to Jeff Bezos in dismissive terms — and later helped arrange Azure access that became central to OpenAI’s rise. What was once a friendly nudge now sits...

Amazon's Prime Video arriving as a native app on Windows 10 — and the resurfacing of legacy GPU driver updates like Nvidia's GeForce Game Ready 382.53 for Windows 8.1 — represent two very different but intersecting threads in the PC ecosystem: one is about modern platform convenience and content delivery, the other about maintaining compatibility and stability for older hardware. Both stories matter to Windows users because they touch on where we consume media and how we keep our systems...

Amazon’s latest sprint to be seen as a front‑rank AI company isn’t a publicity stunt; it’s a full corporate reorientation that stitches together custom silicon, massive data‑center builds, strategic partnerships and product packaging — and the market is beginning to reward that bet even as the scale of the gamble makes the risks starkly visible. Background / Overview The past 18 months have been a turning point for Amazon. Once defined in headlines by Prime shipping and marketplace scale...

Microsoft Edge’s Immersive Reader — long prized as a minimalist, distraction‑free reading surface — is being reimagined so Copilot’s AI sits front and center, and the change matters more than a visual tweak: it reframes reading as an interactive AI experience rather than a pure comfort mode. Overview Microsoft is testing a redesigned Immersive Reader layout in Edge Canary that places Copilot actions — Summarize, Explain, and Chat with Copilot — directly in the reader toolbar, pushing...

Backblaze’s recent quarters make a simple, high‑stakes claim: double down on B2 Cloud Storage growth to offset slower momentum in legacy backup, and use improving margins to bridge the firm to positive free cash flow. The evidence is unambiguous — B2 is accelerating and management is pushing product and go‑to‑market moves (including B2 Overdrive) to capture AI and data‑intensive workloads — but the calculus isn’t purely technical. Backblaze must defend price-sensitive customers against...

Microsoft’s denial that it “killed” the Office brand landed fast and blunt: the company says nothing fundamental changed for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — what changed was a hub and the way Microsoft is slapping Copilot branding across entry points. That clarification follows a week of viral screenshots, social noise and one-liners that mistook an app-level rename for the end of a 30‑year brand, and it exposes a recurring problem: Microsoft’s naming and packaging have become a liability as...

Microsoft is quietly turning File Explorer from a passive file manager into an active, AI-powered assistant inside Windows 11, embedding Copilot capabilities, contextual “AI actions,” and even a system-wide writing assistant into the shell that millions of users open dozens of times a day. Background File Explorer has long been the workhorse of Windows — fast, functional, and intentionally simple. Over the past two years Microsoft has been steadily layering AI into Windows: first with the...

Sony Honda Mobility used CES 2026 to push the AFEELA program further into product reality, revealing a pre-production AFEELA 1 sedan that will begin U.S. deliveries in 2026 and — crucially for buyers and industry watchers — teasing a larger, production-intent SUV expected to land in the U.S. as early as 2028. The move signals that Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) intends to broaden the AFEELA lineup beyond an entertainment-first, software-defined sedan into a more conventional, higher-volume body...

Someone actually rebuilt Windows 8.1’s tiled Start menu as a standalone launcher for Linux — a small, earnest piece of open‑source nostalgia that has briefly lit up a corner of Reddit and the Linux customisation scene. Background Windows 8’s Start screen and 8.1’s tiled Start menu remain design lightning rods in Microsoft’s history: loved by a small cohort for its bold, touch‑first grid and loathed by many desktop users who preferred the classic Start menu. The conversation about Start menu...

Microsoft has opened the year with a small but consequential reminder for the Windows 11 Insider community: a new Insider Preview — Windows 11 Build 26220.7535 (KB5072046) — is rolling out to the Dev and Beta channels, and the limited window to move from the Dev Channel to the Beta Channel is closing soon. This release brings accessibility and management updates (notably Copilot-powered image descriptions in Narrator and a new RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp policy for admins), plus...

Surreal winter scene of a collapsing barn and house among twisted, snowbound trees.

I used a tiny, open‑source tweak to turn my chaotic Windows system tray into something calm, usable, and—most importantly—predictable, and the change felt disproportionately big compared with the small amount of time it took to apply. The author at MakeUseOf described that same revelation after wrestling with a crowded tray and finally using ExplorerPatcher to tame it; the utility allowed selective pinning, a configurable overflow, and a few small UX improvements that made daily interactions...

For Windows 10 x64 users hunting a working driver for the ATI ES1000 (Rage-series) graphics — especially those trying to resurrect older desktops or embedded systems — the practical reality is plain: official modern support no longer exists, and the safest, most reliable path is to accept the Microsoft‑supplied legacy driver or follow a cautious, advanced manual install workflow drawn from community experience. Background The ATI ES1000 is a member of ATI’s older Rage/legacy embedded...

Microsoft is retiring the Windows desktop version of Sway — the lightweight, free presentation/storytelling app that has lived mostly in browsers for years — and will move the experience entirely to the web on June 1, 2026, a change Microsoft says will simplify development and keep all existing content accessible through the browser interface. Background Sway launched as a modern, cloud-first addition to Microsoft's Office family designed for fast, visually appealing presentations...

Microsoft appears to be testing a deeper Copilot integration inside Windows 11’s File Explorer — not merely a context‑menu shortcut but a docked, chat‑style Copilot experience that could open directly in the file manager and be detached into its own pane or window. Background Microsoft’s Copilot strategy has been plainly visible across Windows for more than a year: the assistant has been folded into the taskbar, the Copilot app, Microsoft 365 apps, and a growing set of “AI actions” in File...

Using a PlayStation 4 DualShock controller on a Windows 10 PC is simpler than many users expect: you can connect it wirelessly over Bluetooth, plug it in with USB for plug‑and‑play reliability, use Steam’s Input layer for game mapping, or run a small wrapper like DS4Windows to expose the DualShock as an XInput device for legacy games — each method has clear trade‑offs in latency, feature support, and compatibility. Background / Overview The DualShock 4 (PS4 controller) uses Sony’s...

Microsoft’s latest Insider preview (Build 26220.7535 / KB5072046) broadens Windows 11’s Cross‑Device Resume by adding a Windows Notification System (WNS) integration path, while also delivering practical enterprise controls for Copilot and expanding Narrator’s ability to request Copilot‑powered image descriptions—changes that signal Microsoft is pushing continuity, accessibility, and manageability simultaneously into the Windows shell. Background Cross‑device continuity has been a...

Windows hides a surprising number of usability options behind the Settings app that, when enabled, remove daily friction and make Windows 11 far more pleasant to use without installing any third‑party tools. Background / Overview Many users accept Windows’ out‑of‑the‑box behavior—single‑slot clipboard, small cursor, and default window behavior—because those defaults are what they see first. That’s a missed opportunity: Windows exposes several low‑risk, reversible settings that materially...

PayPal’s dual announcements this week accelerate a clear industry shift: AI is moving beyond product discovery into the payment lane itself, and PayPal intends to be at the center of that shift—powering Microsoft’s new Copilot Checkout while offering advertisers a cross‑merchant measurement engine built on its Transaction Graph. Background The commerce landscape in early 2026 is defined by "agentic commerce"—AI agents that not only recommend products but also act on purchase intent and...