Featured content

Microsoft's latest Windows 11 cumulative update—delivered as a mandatory security roll on April 11—triggered a fresh wave of user complaints about sluggish performance, disappearing icons, taskbar and Task Manager oddities, stalled updates and other core-function regressions; frustrated users linked the problems to Microsoft's recent push to bake AI into the OS, and for many the immediate priority became one thing: how to get their systems back to normal. Background Microsoft released...

Microsoft has quietly turned one of the last truly offline ways to activate Windows into an online-only process: the decades‑old telephone activation path now redirects callers to a web portal that requires internet access and a signed‑in Microsoft identity, while recent servicing updates and build changes have also neutralized several popular offline workarounds such as KMS38 and certain OOBE bypasses. This is a consequential shift for hobbyists, privacy‑conscious users and organizations...

Lenovo used CES 2026 to introduce Qira, a cross-device, agentic AI that the company says will act on users’ behalf across PCs, phones and wearable prototypes—promising continuous context, task execution, and hands-free interactions that move with the user from device to device. Background Lenovo framed its CES presentation around a broad “Smarter AI for All” vision, packaging software, hardware and cloud services into a single narrative that stretches from consumer laptops to enterprise...

HP used CES 2026 to push a clear new thesis: the PC is no longer just a screen and a keyboard—it's an intelligent, Copilot‑enabled endpoint that can live in unexpected form factors, run substantive AI workloads locally, and even bring Microsoft Copilot into the printer room. Background / Overview HP’s CES 2026 announcements knit together four interlocking threads: on‑device AI acceleration, endpoint manageability, expanded Copilot integrations, and consolidation of gaming and peripherals...

Microsoft is reportedly preparing another round of workforce reductions in January 2026, a development that — if confirmed — would extend a year-long cycle of restructuring that has already seen Microsoft cut thousands of roles while simultaneously pouring unprecedented capital into AI infrastructure. Background Microsoft’s workforce and spending context matters when assessing any new layoff rumor. As of June 30, 2025, Microsoft’s global headcount was approximately 228,000 employees, a...

Microsoft’s Copilot is already baked into Windows and Microsoft 365, but most people still treat it like a search box — typing one-off questions and walking away. In practice, Copilot can automate workflows, act on your behalf, and surface contextual insights across documents, mail, and the desktop — if you know the right prompts, permission settings, and limits. The practical tips below expand on commonly circulated shortcuts and hidden tricks, verified against Microsoft’s documentation and...

IO Interactive has published the first official PC system requirements for 007 First Light and confirmed full DLSS 4 support — including NVIDIA’s multi‑frame generation — at launch, while the game’s release has moved to May 27, 2026, giving PC players a clear (if sometimes puzzling) roadmap for hardware planning. Background / Overview IO Interactive’s James Bond origin story, 007 First Light, is being positioned as the studio’s most ambitious single‑player project since its Hitman work...

Microsoft’s basic troubleshooting guidance for a print job stuck in the queue really works — but only if you understand what the steps do, why they sometimes fail, and how to safely extend them when a stubborn spooler or driver problem refuses to go away. The Microsoft method — cancel jobs from Settings, restart the Print Spooler service, and, if necessary, stop the spooler and delete files from C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS — is the correct starting point for most users and resolves...

If your printed pages look blurry, faded, or show banding and streaks, the fix is usually a methodical combination of hardware checks, software updates, and simple maintenance — not an immediate trip to the repair shop. This practical guide consolidates Microsoft’s troubleshooting steps for poor print quality with printer‑maker best practices and community-tested diagnostics so you can restore crisp, reliable output from Windows 11 devices quickly and with minimal risk. Background Printing...

If printing suddenly stops, jobs freeze, or apps hang when you press Ctrl+P, the Print Spooler service may have crashed — this feature guide explains what the spooler does, why it fails, and how to restore reliable printing on Windows 10 and Windows 11 using safe, verifiable steps you can follow right now. Background / Overview The Print Spooler is the Windows service that queues and manages print jobs between applications and your physical or networked printers. When the spooler crashes...

Microsoft’s Work Folders documentation makes a short but important point that trips up administrators and power users alike: some folders on a Windows PC simply cannot host Work Folders because they are reserved by the operating system or are already protected by file encryption. The official guidance lists system locations (Windows, Program Files, the root of a drive, the top of the user profile, redirected Documents) and Encrypting File System (EFS)-protected folders as places that will...

Microsoft’s official troubleshooting checklist for situations where Windows can print but specific apps — notably Word or Excel — cannot, is short, pragmatic and layered: start by proving the problem is app-specific, confirm the app’s selected printer and internal print settings, test Windows-level printing, repair or update Office, restart the print spooler, and update or reinstall drivers before escalating to automated troubleshooters or vendor support. Background Printing in Windows is...

Microsoft’s step‑by‑step guidance for resolving printer driver compatibility problems is a short, practical checklist—but applied in the real world those seven steps expose friction points that every Windows user and IT administrator should understand, from driver signing and Windows Update behavior to the real risks of installing legacy or unsigned drivers on machines that may already be past end‑of‑support. Background Printer driver compatibility problems commonly appear after a Windows...

If a shared printer on your local network suddenly refuses to connect, or your colleagues can’t print from the Windows PC that hosts the device, the fix is usually a mix of configuration, network, and driver work — but it’s rarely one single action. Microsoft’s official guidance walks through the basics — confirm the printer is shared on the host PC, verify both machines are on the same network, supply correct credentials, enable Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing, and add the...

Printer paper‑jam errors are one of the most common causes of an abrupt printing stop in Windows, and they’re almost always fixable with a few mechanical checks and a short sequence of Windows‑side troubleshooting steps that get you back to printing quickly. Background Paper jams are fundamentally a hardware issue — a physical sheet that didn’t feed correctly, a torn corner left behind, or a misaligned tray — but the way Windows interacts with your printer can magnify the problem. A single...

If your Windows PC reports “Printer not found” or “Printer not recognized,” the fault usually lies somewhere between a physical connection, the print spooler, or the driver stack — and most of those failure modes can be fixed with a systematic checklist and a few minutes of careful work. The troubleshooting steps that follow are a distilled, practical playbook drawn from Microsoft’s guidance and community-tested techniques so you can restore printing quickly without guesswork. Background...

If your Windows PC is suddenly printing at a crawl, the fix is often a handful of settings and housekeeping tasks rather than throwing away your printer or calling in expensive support; Microsoft’s guidance and the Windows community converge on a short checklist you can run through in 10–30 minutes to restore reasonable print speeds. The most common culprits are overly high print-quality settings, network latency on Wi‑Fi printers, driver or firmware mismatches, and spooler congestion — and...

The coming year will not be quiet for end‑user IT: agentic AI, baked‑in browser intelligence, and new classes of endpoint controls will reshape how knowledge workers interact with applications, how IT governs data, and where security investments land. Background The desktop as a passive container is giving way to an active runtime: browsers and cloud‑streamed desktops are becoming assistant‑aware platforms, and AI agents are beginning to act on behalf of users inside managed environments...

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is no longer just a browser tab — it’s a native desktop presence on both Windows and macOS, with feature sets that are starting to split by platform and subscription tier. The Windows release brings a compact, fast-access companion window (invoked with Alt + Space) plus file and screenshot handling, while macOS builds on months of updates that add deep developer-tool integrations and agent-style features. Behind both releases sits OpenAI’s new reasoning-focused model series...

Microsoft is finally giving Sticky Notes — the lightweight, Post‑It‑style app bundled with Windows — a visible refresh and expanded reach after years of relative neglect, and the rollout is exposing important tradeoffs for everyday users and IT administrators alike. Background Sticky Notes started as a tiny convenience: fast, local, and ideal for jotting reminders without opening a full note‑taking app. Over the years Microsoft added incremental improvements — basic formatting, keyboard...