Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i PCWorld

For a long time, there’s been a sword of Damocles hanging over the PC users who didn’t want to give up Windows 10, no matter how much Microsoft begged them to upgrade to 11 and/or buy a new laptop. As the countdown to October kept ticking, we were wondering if Microsoft would relent for millions of users in no mood to change. As it turns out, it has…with some quid pro quos. To be clear, this isn’t exactly a reprieve for Windows 10. The operating system, which is approaching its tenth birthday in July, won’t get any significant feature updates after it hits end of life in October. But Microsoft is expanding the Extended Security Updates program, crucially removing the $30 fee for its first year—that is, if you use…

A year ago, Microsoft hyped Copilot+ PCs as the next big thing. Twelve months later, it’s hard not to see them as one of the tech industry’s more significant flops. The question is whether they’ll stay that way. Many Copilot+ PCs began shipping on June 18, 2024, about a month after Microsoft announced the program at the company’s headquarters a month earlier. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Microsoft’s own Surface division committed to shipping Copilot+ PCs, whose centerpiece was a processor with an embedded Neural Processing Unit—the engine of AI—capable of 40 trillion operations per second, or TOPS. A year later, the numbers are beyond grim. They’re abysmal. In 2024, shipments of Windows PCs with 40+ TOPS totaled just 0.5 percent of the total PC market, and 0.6…

If you’ve been using Windows for a long time, you’ve probably been told to periodically reinstall the operating system to keep it fresh. I remember I used to reinstall Windows XP every few months back in the day to keep it zippy. But is this necessary in 2025? Will Smith ran the numbers in a deep dive investigation—and they might just shock you. In short, the answer is no. Based on Will’s personal Windows 11 video editing and gaming desktop, a Ryzen 9800X3D machine with 64GB of RAM, there was almost no difference between a PC that’s heavily customized and running for over a year versus a clean installation. He also tested it on the even more powerful 9950X3D. The benchmarks showed a difference of about 3 percent for single-core…

The Nintendo Switch 2 officially launched on June 5 and aims to win over both longtime fans and newcomers. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Nintendo has opted to modernize the familiar concept of the original Switch. With significantly better hardware and detailed improvements, the Switch 2 feels like a thoughtful upgrade. But much like the PlayStation 5 Pro, the big question remains: Is it worth it, and who is it really for? We break it down in our review. A BIG BOOST IN PERFORMANCE This time around, Nintendo installed more powerful hardware in the Nintendo Switch 2. Together with Nvidia, Nintendo installed a specially customized processor and GPU, which together deliver around ten times more power than the original Nintendo Switch. Both old and new titles benefit from this and…

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x is an ARM-based laptop with the new low-end Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip. Thanks to Snapdragon, this machine has excellent battery life for its class and an NPU for the shiny Copilot+ PC features Microsoft is releasing. It’s the lowest launch price for a Snapdragon X Copilot+ PC I’ve seen yet. The build quality and design are good, too. But the compromises here would feel a lot more justifiable at $599 than $749. Still, this machine beats the Intel variant—no question. The big problem is that this laptop is launching a year after the first Snapdragon X Copilot+ PCs, with slower internals than those in earlier models. At this machine’s initial retail price, it’s competing with Copilot+ PCs with stronger hardware that have been out for months and…

Last week, I secured my lowest price for Spectrum internet in years. All it took was a call to Spectrum’s retention department, which is where you end up after telling the automated system you want to cancel your service. After a mildly tedious conversation with an exceedingly friendly rep, my monthly bill dropped from $68 to $45 per month for the next full year. Not only did I save money, but my speeds increased from 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps. While I can’t guarantee the same results everywhere, in general it’s a great time to threaten to cancel cable internet service. For years, Comcast and Charter (which operates the Spectrum brand) have boasted to shareholders that growth in home internet more than offsets the collapse of cable TV, but now…

Artificial intelligence’s rapidly expanding capabilities include convincing impersonations—that is, audio and video that sounds and looks like you. Sometimes these deepfakes can be harmless, part of a joke or meme that involves a celebrity, politician, or other public figure. But as you might guess, scammers also use them to steal money from the unsuspecting. Most of the time, this style of scheme—often called a “grandparent scam”—catches people off guard. Why? Because they don’t realize how easy and sophisticated this technology has become. For example, over two years ago, Microsoft’s Vall-E model was already able to mimic a specific voice based on audio samples just three seconds long. AI tech has continued to improve since then. Additionally, few people expect to be targeted (or used as bait for their loved ones),…

A new pop-up from Meta Platforms is causing a stir. Facebook users who want to upload stories are prompted to share their photos for “cloud processing,” reports The Verge. But this also allows Meta AI to access images from their smartphones, even ones they haven’t published to Facebook. This raises questions about data privacy. By agreeing to cloud processing, you enable Meta AI to analyze your private photos. Users who activate the feature can have their photos used for collages, photo themes, or AI-generated edits. However, this gives Meta access to all images in the smartphone’s storage. The feature is currently being tested and rolling out in Meta’s apps. Users must actively agree to use it. However, the idea of Meta AI being able to view private photos is a…

Graphics card pricing sucks, and if you’re looking for any kind of midrange or high-end card, it doesn’t resemble those “MSRP” prices announced on the stage in any way. You probably know that already if you’ve shopped for one this year, but an exhaustive statistical analysis proves it. The Gamers Nexus team, which is no stranger to deep dives on PC hardware, decided to take a good, long look at the current graphics card market. The data they collected in a 20-minute video shows that high-end cards, particularly the RTX 5090 and 5080, and the RX 9070 XT, are consistently sold at 45 to 55 percent above the suggested retail price of the base model—the prices that Nvidia and AMD list. Even allegedly midrange cards like the RTX 5070 and…

Last week, worrying news surfaced for millions of printer owners: Over 689 models of Brother printers are open to attack, along with 53 additional models made by Fujifilm, Konica, Minolta, Ricoh, and Toshiba (as if dealing with home printers wasn’t already enough of a headache already). Worse, eight different flaws are exploitable, with one unpatchable. The problem: The default administrator password on Brother printers (and those using Brother components) can be guessed, in part by exploiting other vulnerabilities in these devices. But a firmware update won’t be able to address this issue, as what your printer ships with is already set. Fortunately, you can fix this problem yourself by changing the default administrator password. Also make sure you update your printer to patch the other seven bugs—through them, a bad…

Crucial’s X10 Pro was one of the most impressively small and fast USB SSDs I’ve tested. The new X10 that I review here is cheaper, almost as fast, and available at up to twice the Pro’s 4TB maximum capacity. Yup, 8TB in the same tiny form factor. Color me doubly impressed. Read on to learn more, and then see our roundup of the best external drives for comparison. FEATURES The Crucial X10 is a bluish gray USB 3.2×2, 20Gbps SSD that easily fits into the palm of your hand. Indeed, it measures a mere 2.5 inches long, 2 inches wide and half-inch thick. There’s a lanyard hole on one end, and a Type-C connector on the other. The 2TB version of the X10 that Crucial sent me weighs only 1.4 ounces,…

Sometimes there’s a place for simplicity in and around the home, and pool owners who only need the absolute basics might want to give the affordably priced Airrobo PC10 a look for handling their pool-cleaning duties. Airrobo manufactures robot vacuum cleaners primarily; the PC10 and the similarly priced PC200 Lite are its only forays into pool-cleaning tech. SPECIFICATIONS This robotic pool cleaner certainly looks the part, weighing in at 22 pounds and featuring the tread-based design and central, scrubbing rollers that are typical of higher-end cleaners. Powered by a modest 5200mAh battery, the PC10 offers two hours of running time and a specified maximum coverage area of 1,076 square feet—roughly double the surface area of my pool’s floor (not including its walls). The unit charges via a burly connector on…

Hey, everyone! Today I’m going to show you how to set apps to not load on startup in Windows. App developers usually program their apps to load and open by default when you boot into Windows, which puts them front and center. But in my experience, they often just get in the way and block the view of my desktop. Having a bunch of apps load on startup can also significantly increase boot times, and how long it takes for your computer to feel responsive after loading. They also delay me doing what I want to do immediately. I’m forced to either laboriously close them down or else acknowledge a prompt before I can do anything on my PC. So now I stop loading most of my apps on startup…

Vibe coding is programming by gut feel. You have an idea for a tool, a website, or a repetitive task you want to automate…but instead of enrolling in a coding boot camp or slogging through YouTube tutorials, you fire up an artificial intelligence chatbot and have it write the code for you. This AI-driven approach to creative coding has exploded in popularity over the past year or two—chiefly because it works. People are building genuinely useful stuff without even knowing what a variable is. I’ve been vibe coding my own apps with AI and I’m absolutely loving it, despite being a relative newbie to coding. But most advice about AI-assisted programming still assumes you want to become a “real” programmer eventually. Because of that, the advice tends to steer you toward…

Google recently informed some users that Gemini AI would have access to numerous new apps. This feature went into effect starting on July 7, 2025. The applications affected include messaging apps and messengers such as WhatsApp, and the change applies regardless of whether you actually are using Gemini as an app assistant. In an email shared by Android Authority, Google stated that it has “made it easier for Gemini to interact with your [Android] device” and that Gemini will “help you use” various apps “whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” If you don’t want this, you’ll have to disable the feature in the Apps settings page, but Google hasn’t provided an explanation of how this will work. Due to the vague wording in the email, the associated…

Back in 2019, hackers stole account data for roughly 74 million AT&T landline customers—including social security numbers. AT&T didn’t disclose the discovery until early 2024, when the data leaked on the dark web. Then several months later, AT&T revealed attackers also stole call data records for over 100 million wireless customers between May 1 and October 31, 2022, including those subscribed to its subsidiaries, Cricket Wireless and H2O Wireless. In response, a bunch of people got together, sued AT&T, and won. More importantly, a judge recently granted preliminary approval to settlement terms. As it currently stands, $177 million will be distributed to those caught up in these data breaches. This includes both current and former AT&T customers. For the 2019 breach, $148 million is set aside, while the 2024 breach gets…

I’ve used a lot of Chromebooks over the years, and most of them tend to fall into one of two categories: either very affordable and sometimes forgettable or super premium with a price tag to match. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 wants to land somewhere in the middle. It’s got an OLED display, a brand-new MediaTek chip with AI capabilities, and a design that’s sophisticated and understated. So I spent a week using it for work and play to see if it actually holds up and I’ve got thoughts. Let’s get into it. SPECS The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 comes in two configurations. Both include the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip and UFS storage, but the base model offers 12GB of RAM and a non-touch OLED display, while the upgraded…

The Lorex 2K WiFi Lightbulb Camera is a $69.99 pan-tilt security camera with an integrated, general-purpose, dimmable LED light source designed for homeowners who want a basic, no-hassle path to adding security cameras to their homes. That ease of use comes with a few tradeoffs, but if you’re looking for something simple that can get the job done, Lorex has you covered. INSTALLATION Actually, “installation” seems too complicated a word to describe setup for the Lorex 2K WiFi Lightbulb Camera. Pick a light fixture with a standard E26/E27 socket and screw in the unit just as you would with a standard lightbulb. Most users will want to use a ceiling fixture, but the Lorex app allows you to flip the camera lens’ orientation if you prefer to use a floor…

Renting an apartment or house doesn’t mean you must forgo the convenience of a smart home; in fact, you might be surprised by the possibilities for making your home life easier, all of which can be achieved without drilling or making any lease-breaking modifications to your dwelling. I’ve been a serial renter all my adult life, and I’ve been reviewing smart home devices for more than six years. My Brooklyn rental is decked out with smart lights, a video doorbell, security cameras, smart water leak detectors, and more. Yet I’m confident that when my family picks up stakes for a new abode, we’ll be able to take our smart devices with us, all without leaving a trace. I’ll be ticking off types of smart devices that are decidedly apartment-friendly, from…

Planning a trip takes time and often it’s more of a hassle than you’d like. If you don’t feel like spending hours researching, you can simply outsource the first draft of your holiday plans to ChatGPT. The chatbot suggests travel destinations, creates daily plans, compares means of transport, reminds you about charging devices, and even virtually packs your suitcase. But how reliable are these suggestions? And can it actually save you money? We’ll show you what ChatGPT excels at in vacation planning—and warn you of pitfalls where it stumbles. Let’s dig in. FIND TRAVEL IDEAS If you don’t have any concrete plans yet, ChatGPT is an excellent starting point for finding ideas. Start with a few wishes or questions such as: • I would like to travel with two friends…

‘No AMD!’ We asked Micro Center nerds what’s in their PCs A Micro Center returning to the San Francisco Bay Area is a big deal for local nerds, including a large chunk of the PCWorld team. That’s why Adam Patrick Murray decided to do an informal and impromptu survey of the attendees at the grand opening. What are they putting in their home-built desktop PCs? We found out in our latest YouTube video.     Watch the video at youtu.be/BPMQLMakVjA…