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Microsoft’s latest Secure Boot certificate refresh has turned an already uncomfortable moment for Windows 10 holdouts into a ticking clock: machines that didn’t move to a supported Windows release by October 14, 2025 now face not only the end of monthly security fixes but also the prospect of being excluded from a coordinated, platform-level security update that will begin to matter this June. The upshot is blunt and immediate — if your PC is still on unsupported Windows 10 and is not...

Debenhams Group’s decision to embed a full shopping experience inside the PayPal app marks a defining moment in how British high-street brands will meet customers online: shoppers can now discover items, receive personalised recommendations, and complete payment without ever leaving PayPal’s conversational interface. Background Debenhams Group — the parent company of PrettyLittleThing, boohoo, boohooMAN, Karen Millen and Debenhams — has struck a commercial and technical partnership with...

Amazon’s latest capex call was not a whisper but a cannon blast: the company told investors it expects to invest roughly $200 billion in capital expenditures this year, with the lion’s share directed at AWS infrastructure, custom silicon, and model development — a scale of spending that reshapes the hyperscaler arms race and forces a hard rethink about who will own the underlying rails of enterprise AI. That single figure — $200 billion — underpins every strategic move Andy Jassy described...

Microsoft’s decision to stop distributing new legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers through Windows Update marks a major, multi‑year shift in how Windows will handle printing — one that trades decades of vendor-supplied kernel and Win32 drivers for a standards‑based, inbox model built around the Microsoft IPP Class Driver, Mopria compatibility, and downloadable Print Support Apps. m] Background / Overview Microsoft first signalled the intent to deprecate legacy third‑party printer drivers in...

Insomniac’s terse reply to a fan — “Not likely.” — has reignited a decades‑old conversation about platform exclusivity, commercial incentives, and the future of where we actually play blockbuster single‑player games. The studio’s answer, supplied on X (formerly Twitter) when asked whether Marvel’s Spider‑Man might ever land on Xbox consoles, is simple and blunt. But while the message is clear in the immediate term, the broader story — shaped by past reversals, corporate bargaining, and...

Free alternatives are no longer compromise tools — in 2026 they’ve matured into first‑choice replacements for many paid Windows apps, saving users money while delivering comparable, and sometimes superior, results. cription fatigue, rising prices, and the arrival of accessible AI features have pushed a broad migration toward free and open‑source software on Windows. Multiple consumer surveys and industry reports through 2024–2025 show people cutting non‑essential recurring fees and hunting...

Microsoft’s shift toward a mobile-style, consent-first security model for Windows 11 marks one of the most fundamental changes to the platform’s security posture in years, blending default runtime integrity with smartphone-like permission dialogs and a stronger emphasis on transparency for apps and AI agents. This move—announced by Microsoft on February 9, 2026—introduces two named initiatives: Windows Baseline Security Mode (BSM) and User Transparency and Consent. Together they aim to make...

OpenAI’s decision to put advertisements into ChatGPT conversations for free and lower-cost users has ripped open a fault line across the AI industry — and the effects will be felt by users, brands, regulators and the very architecture of the web itself. Background The era when conversation with an AI felt purely informational is ending. In early 2026, OpenAI began showing clearly labeled sponsored content alongside ChatGPT responses for accounts on the Free and the cheaper Go tier. That move...

The surge of classroom talk about “AI tools” isn’t just a new homework helper — it’s a live experiment in how young people learn, judge information, and protect their privacy. Last week’s opinion in the Minnesota Daily warned students to be cautious when the AI bubble bursts, arguing that overreliance on flashy generative systems can leave learners exposed to misinformation, academic risk, and sudden market corrections. ols across the United States are now moving past panic and prohibition...

The advice industry is at an inflection point: firms are pouring resources into digital advice engines and AI-driven tools, yet multiple surveys show a notable majority of investors still want a human adviser involved in their financial life — a gap that is reshaping product roadmaps, adviser economics, and regulatory priorities. Background The shift from simple robo‑advisers to full‑featured digital advice platforms has accelerated in the last three years. Early robo models focused on...

Corrections has quietly moved from piloting generative tools to policing them: after a small number of staff were found to have used Microsoft Copilot Chat to help draft formal casework — including Extended Supervision Order reports — the department has labelled that behaviour “unacceptable,” launched a privacy risk assessment, and reiterated strict boundaries around what staff may and may not put into AI chat interfaces. Background Corrections’ announcement is the latest example of a...

Your PC’s ability to boot tomorrow depends on digital trust decisions made years ago — and those cryptographic certificates are about to reach their end-of-life in mid‑2026 unless your machine has already been updated. Background: why this matters now Secure Boot is the pre‑OS gatekeeper that prevents unauthorized or tampered code from running before Windows starts. It does that by checking digital signatures against a small set of certificate authorities (CAs) stored in your firmware...

The surge of clearance listings and bargain “shop” pages for the AMD Radeon R9/R7 family — including the widely traded R9 280X — has thrust a simple but urgent question back into the spotlight: can these aging GPUs be trusted on modern Windows 10 systems, and what drivers should buyers and DIYers rely on? The short answer is: yes, they can work, but only if you understand the legacy-driver reality, choose installation paths that prioritize signed, validated packages, and accept the...

Windows 11 quietly ships with a capable video editor most people overlook: Clipchamp is preinstalled, polished for quick edits, and now packs enough AI and workflow-friendly features that many creators can skip installing third-party software for everyday tasks. Background Windows has long included basic media tools—what once was Windows Movie Maker eventually faded, replaced by a mix of store apps and third-party editors. In recent years Microsoft shifted strategy: instead of rebuilding an...

After swapping Windows for a gaming-focused Linux install on a handheld and then on a desktop, I found that Nobara — and its cousin Bazzite — can not only match Windows for many titles but in some cases deliver measurably better frame rates and lower system overhead, making a convincing case that Linux has entered a new era for PC gaming. this feels like a turning point for Linux gaming The story of Linux as a gaming platform used to be one of compromise: fewer supported titles, awkward...

Spiraling portal of time-travel scenes around a suited man.

Windows didn’t win because it was the best idea in an ideal marketplace; it won because it arrived first, gathered partners, and built an engine of compatibility that still drives desktop computing today. The three reasons most writers point to—software and hardware compatibility, familiarity and skill investment, and ecosystem lock‑in by Microsoft—aren’t handwaving talking points; they describe a self‑reinforcing market reality that makes switching costly for most users and organizations...

Microsoft’s February 10 cumulative update for Windows 11 — KB5077181 — was released to close dozens of high‑severity security holes, but within days a growing subset of users reported a far more tangible and immediate problem: systems that enter an infinite restart loop after installing the patch, leaving desktops unusable and recovery a complex, time‑consuming task. Background Microsoft shipped KB5077181 on February 10, 2026 as the monthly cumulative security update for Windows 11 versions...

A fresh Windows installation feels like a clean slate — until you start using it and realize Microsoft’s default choices don’t match how you work; for many enthusiasts and technicians the moment it truly feels like “your” PC comes after a 10–15 minute pass with Winaero Tweaker, the lightweight, portable utility that exposes hundreds of hidden Windows options and makes common tweaks trivial. Background Winaero Tweaker has been quietly maturing for more than a decade under the stewardship of...

If you’re running an ATI/AMD Radeon HD 4250 or HD 4200 on Windows 10 in 2026, the short, unavoidable fact is this: these GPUs are legacy hardware and official vendor support has ended—your safest driver path is the Microsoft‑supplied legacy driver (via Windows Update) or an OEM‑provided package; everything else is an advanced, higher‑risk workaround. Background / Overview The Radeon HD 4200 and HD 4250 are members of the Radeon HD 4000 family, released around 2009–2010 and built on AMD’s...