PCWorld April 2022

Move over, Wi-Fi 6E! Chip vendors like Qualcomm are making plans for Wi-Fi 7, the next generation of Wi-Fi technology. Qualcomm said at Mobile World Congress 2022 that it plans to launch the world’s first Wi-Fi 7 chip, the FastConnect 7800, as part of its new premium Snapdragon Connect specification by the end of 2022. The Wi-Fi 7 specification, also known as 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (or just 802.11be), isn’t even close to being completed — the IEEE’s current paper on the current status of 802.11be calls for the standard’s ratification sometime in 2024. But as with previous Wi-Fi standards, that isn’t stopping vendors from developing silicon based upon draft releases, tweaking them via firmware or other updates as the specification moves through its final approval process. Yes, Wi-Fi 7 will…

Valve’s Steam Deck is finally here. If you’re still on the fence or wondering what all the fuss is about, we’ve corralled just about everything you could possibly want to know about the hottest PC game machine of 2022. WHAT IS THE STEAM DECK? The Steam Deck is Valve’s foray into the world of portable gaming, a machine broadly modeled after Nintendo’s excellent Switch console design, but running on conventional PC hardware. That means it runs a full desktop operating system and in theory can play more games than any portable game machine ever built. This is far from the first portable game machine with full PC parts. But with Valve baking the incredibly popular Steam platform right into the hardware, and introducing it at an unprecedented low price, its introduction…

If history is any guide, your next notebook’s new processor has now launched, as Intel recently unveiled a fresh lineup of 12th-gen Core CPUs for laptops—specifically speaking, the chips codenamed Alder Lake-P for mainstream notebooks, and Alder Lake-U for ultraportable PCs and tablets. Intel ships about 80 percent of all notebook PC processors each year, meaning that you’ll probably end up buying a notebook PC with one of these new chips inside. In January, Intel announced the Alder Lake-H, Alder Lake-P, and Alder Lake-U series as part of Intel’s notebook processor plans for 2022. Because of the way in which Intel rolls out its new chips, we already have our first review of the 12th-gen Core i9-12900HK, a fire-breathing, gaming-class processor that crushed the (older) laptop competition. It’s less likely,…

Google has released Chrome OS Flex, a way to take older Windows and Mac hardware and replace the operating system, turning them into Chromebooks. It’s an interesting development given Windows 11’s strict hardware requirements, which could leave legions of older PCs stranded when Windows 10 goes end-of-life in 2025. Although Google is calling Chrome OS Flex an “early access” and “unstable” project, the concept is intriguing: Instead of disposing an old PC that’s nearing the end of its life, you can turn it into a Chromebook instead. Google has launched the new operating system on its dedicated Chrome OS Flex site, though you’ll have to sign up with an email to receive download instructions. Google appears to be positioning Chrome OS Flex for a dual purpose: a way for consumers…

Apple’s new Mac Studio not only includes what could be the most powerful processor in the PC landscape, but also exposes (and solves) many of the weaknesses of its direct rival, Microsoft’s Surface Studio. If Microsoft takes these lessons to heart, however, imagine what a Surface Studio 3 could look like. Microsoft’s gorgeous all-in-one hasn’t been refreshed in years, but its iconic swiveling 28-inch PixelSense touch display captured both hearts and minds when the $4,100 Surface Studio first debuted in 2017. Now Apple’s Mac Studio, a $3,999 small-form-factor Mac, has stepped in to fill the void, with the $1,599 Apple Studio Display sitting alongside. Microsoft’s hardware division has held its head high throughout the last decade or so, shipping everything from tablets to laptops to unique combinations of the two. Apple, meanwhile,…

Last week Nvidia confirmed that it had been the victim of an internal hack, though it claimed no customer information was compromised. While the hackers have made some very strange demands, threatening to release sensitive corporate data if Nvidia doesn’t unlock some of its most powerful graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining, regular users didn’t need to worry much. Today we’re seeing one of the first effects of the hack on end users: Nvidia GPU driver packages with malware hidden inside. While it was always possible for malefactors to host links pretending to be drivers in the hopes of installing viruses, Trojans, and other nasty stuff on a user’s PC, this situation is more concerning. The hackers appear to have leaked Nvidia’s official code-signing certificates, a means by which users (and…