PCWorldOctober 2025的目錄

Can you imagine yourself having a conversation with Windows about what your PC is doing? Microsoft’s Windows chief can—and is trying to build a future where those interactions are the norm. In an interview with Microsoft AI product manager Christiaan Brinkhoff, the chief of Microsoft’s Windows + Devices group, Pavan Davuluri, explained that the company is trying to work toward a future where you can access Windows pretty much anywhere via the cloud, then use AI to fine-tune what you’re trying to accomplish. Microsoft described the conversation as “the next chapter of Windows,” with an eye toward delivering the changes within the next few years. Davuluri described what he hoped the Windows team could accomplish from a strategic level, without targeting any future version of Windows with these goals in…

After years of hinting at better sound quality, music streaming service Spotify has finally launched lossless audio. And the cherry on top is that lossless audio will be available to all Spotify Premium subscribers and won’t be locked behind a higher-tier plan as some expected. It will now be possible to play music in 24 bits and 44.1 kHz with Spotify’s free lossless audio codec on mobile phones, computers, and tablets. It will also be possible to play lossless music on speakers from Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser, and Sony via Spotify Connect, with support for Amazon and Sonos speakers coming next month. You can instruct Spotify to play lossless audio only on downloaded songs, when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, or when you’re on a mobile network. However, Spotify recommends that you…

Nvidia’s GeForce Now service is offering its Ultimate tier subscribers an enormous upgrade today: GeForce RTX 5080 servers, cinematic visual upgrades, and a new “install to play” service that will “download” new games directly to the cloud, making them instantly ready to play. Nvidia is leaving the price of the GeForce Now Ultimate tier unchanged at $19.99 per month, $99.99 for six months, Nvidia said at the Gamescom show. Nvidia is also adding an annual GeForce Now Ultimate subscription for $199.99. A GeForce Now Ultimate daily membership will be available at launch, Nvidia said, presumably for the current price of $7.99. Session lengths will remain at eight hours for Ultimate subscribers. The point of Nvidia’s GeForce Now service has always been to deliver a cloud gaming experience that’s as close as possible…

Surfshark continues the trend of other mega-VPN services as a one-stop shop for all things related to personal online privacy and security. The company offers a top-tier VPN product that continues to expand and improve with each new iteration. And since its merger with NordVPN under the parent company Cyberspace, Surfshark is now developing cutting-edge personal security features via its Nexus network technology. This all sounds great, but are all of these features really worth it in a VPN service? I took a deep dive with Surfshark to find out. Hide.me VPN in brief: P2P allowed: Yes Simultaneous device connections: Unlimited Business location: Netherlands Number of servers: 3,200-plus Number of country locations: 100 Cost: $17.95 per month, $50.85 for one year, or $67.23 for two years FEATURES AND SERVICES What’s…

The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is Acer’s newest addition to the Plus lineup, and it’s trying to carve out a spot in a sea of similar-looking midrange laptops. First impressions? This is an amazing Chromebook. You get peppy performance, a flexible 2-in-1 design, and a 120Hz touchscreen that feels more premium than the price tag suggests. Inside it’s running MediaTek’s Kompanio Ultra 910 chip, which promises solid performance without totally killing the battery. Sprinkle in the latest batch of Chromebook Plus AI extras, and on paper, it’s got all the basics covered. But the real question is—does it actually excel? Let’s find out. SPECS There are two configurations I’m aware of. The unit I tried out was running MediaTek’s new Kompanio Ultra 910, with 12GB of RAM (odd number, right?)…

I recently moved to a much more rural area, so getting Starlink set up was one of my top priorities. My area is an internet dead zone where you might get a bit of 4G on a nearby hill, but that’s about it. There’s no cellular for phone calls, and the best I can hope from a landline connection is 3 Mbps. As a modern man with a modern family full of modern devices, I need fast internet—so I readied Starlink even before my kids’ beds. It worked pretty well, too. At first I heard a bunch of buzzing noises that I was not expecting, but that sort of coil whine is apparently pretty typical. A few minutes later, I was online! But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Having Starlink…

What’s your malware tally? I’ve had plenty stopped by my antivirus and antimalware software, but the number I’ve had actually infect my PC is, I’m proud to say, a big fat donut (zero). What’s more, it’s been that way for more than 10 years. So what’s my secret? Here’s what I do to prevent malware from infecting my PC. 1. DODGY WEBSITES ARE A NO-GO FOR ME Hackers tend to infect websites that people flock to in droves or where people go to download programs for free. Because of that, I steer clear of torrent sites, unverified download sites, and adult websites, some of which are the worst offenders—teeming with malware. Also, if I get a banner or ad pop-up that I just can’t close, instead of trying to click…

Microsoft’s vision for Windows in 2030 includes a “voice-first” interaction mode that shifts away from the traditional keyboard and mouse, making them feel “alien.” Under the hood, that means handing over control to “AI agents” who perform and handle tasks on our behalf. Hey, Microsoft…can you please stop? I don’t need an agentic AI operating system. Instead of working toward a future no one wants, how about you start delivering the operating system we do want? Here’s the thing. Even AI-loving power users don’t need Windows reimagined as an AI canvas, and they definitely don’t need a low-quality local image generator built into the Photos app. They’re accessing cloud-based AI tools or installing heavy local AI models and running them on high-end GPUs. Here’s what AI enthusiasts need from Windows: an OS…

You probably already know that a password like 123456 is bad. It’s so simple and predictable that even other humans can easily guess it. But do you know all the other passwords that are just as weak? AI search analytics firm Peec AI recently looked at a small portion of stolen password data, dating from 2019 until now. And while its analysis yielded similar results to what security researchers have already uncovered from far larger amounts of data, the findings proved the point: People really suck at creating their own passwords. In Peec AI’s slim data set of about 100 million unique passwords, common themes we’ve seen time and time again popped up once more: Simple number strings: 123456 is always a top weak password—about 6.6 million in this data slice. Trailing…

Windows 11 version 25H2 will be officially available in fall 2025 and marks the next major feature update for Microsoft’s current operating system. The new features are already available for Insiders and can be tested in the current Windows 11 25H2 Insider Preview. Though it’s categorized as an “enablement update,” the scope of the changes is considerable. The basic architecture remains identical to version 24H2, which means there are no new hardware requirements. If you don’t already have Windows 11, or just need a new license, you can grab it for 50 percent off on the PCWorld Software store right now. For all systems that are already running on 24H2, the upgrade requires minimal effort. A small enablement package activates the new functions without the need for a complete reinstallation or…

At a list price of $40—and often on sale for less—the Roku Streaming Stick Plus hits a sweet spot. It’s not the cheapest streaming dongle Roku sells, but it’s the least expensive option with 4K HDR video, and it sports slightly better performance than the $30 Roku Streaming Stick. Its portable design is also an improvement over the Roku Express 4K+, which Roku previously sold at the same price. I still have some misgivings about Roku’s software, which is gradually getting more complicated and bloated. But if you enjoy the Roku experience as it is, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus is a solid option. WHAT’S INCLUDED WITH THE STREAMING STICK PLUS The Roku Streaming Stick Plus has the same finger-size design as the cheaper Roku Streaming Stick I reviewed in July,…

The Teamgroup X2 Max took me by surprise. I was expecting a slowish commodity drive, as it’s as small as any thumb drive in my collection. However, when push came to shove, the X2 Max delivered superlative 10Gbps USB performance across nearly all of our tests—rivaling that of many significantly larger 10Gbps SSDs. In short, it’s a gem. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best external drives. FEATURES At just under 3 inches long by 0.75 inches wide by 0.25 inches thick—and including both a captive Type-C port and a Type-A port—the X2 Max is outstandingly demure, even for a thumb drive. It’s so svelte it makes most of its ilk look chunky in comparison. The dual-ports also make it easy to use with virtually…

You might have played around with God modes in PC games before, where you type in a code to get supernatural powers that defy the normal physics of the game or make you invincible. Surprise! Windows 10 and 11 has one of those too. In Windows’ case, though, you don’t get supernatural powers. What you get is access to a whole heap of commands you’d normally have to dig deep to find in menus, submenus, and tabs. I use Windows God mode to find and manage Windows administrative tools quicker than I normally would be able to, to adjust and check things like my PC’s power plan, and to view my devices. Suffice it to say that it saves me a bunch of time by cutting down the time I…

Earlier this summer, Instagram launched a new feature called Maps. You and other friends can share your location in real time: Meta calls it a “new, lightweight way to connect.” (Having lived through the era of Foursquare and Yelp check-ins, I’m cynical about companies wanting people to share their locations for social purposes—it’s just a data treasure trove for monetization.) Maps is an optional feature—you have to choose to turn it on. You also can only share with friends (defined as “followers you follow back”), Close Friends, Only Selected Friends, or no one. But I nearly turned on location sharing through Maps by accident at launch, and it seems like I wasn’t the only one. A friend recently mentioned not knowing it was enabled. We both also have “friends” on…

Like most of you, I’ve been using Windows for basically my entire life. And I’ve only briefly been tempted by the alternatives…but with Microsoft’s behavior as of late, those temptations are becoming less brief. If you feel the same way, you might want to check out PCWorld’s new podcast, “Dual Boot Diaries.” This new ongoing show with Adam Patrick Murray and Will Smith is all about the experience of switching from Windows to Linux as a long-time Windows stan. There are tons of new user-friendly options (well, more user-friendly than before), like System76 and Framework, the Linux-based SteamOS on the Steam Deck and others, and various flavors of projects like Raspberry Pi. Adam and the rest of us aren’t about to become full-time Linux users, but there’s never been…

Say what you will about America’s tech titans cozying up to the current administration—at least the kids are benefiting. As part of a Thursday meeting with the White House’s AI Education Task Force—chaired by Melania Trump—Microsoft said it would provide a free Microsoft 365 Personal subscription to college students for a year’s time. Microsoft normally charges $99.99 annually for that Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, so that’s a fairly substantial savings for a college student. Students will need to sign up for the (free) subscription using a college ID email address. The subscription includes everything the Personal subscription already does, including access to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and more, plus Copilot and 1 TB of online storage. There is a catch, of course: The first year’s free, but after that, students will be…

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips are often a solid choice for a budget laptop, as they deliver good-enough performance and solid battery life at a low price. Most systems, though, have smaller displays. The Acer Aspire 16 AI adds an appealing big-screen option that is packed with features including USB4, Windows Hello facial recognition, and a plus-size touchpad, among other things. SPECS AND FEATURES The Acer Aspire 16 AI has Qualcomm’s entry-level Snapdragon X chip with eight cores and a maximum multicore speed of 3GHz. It also ships with 16GB of memory and a 512GB solid-state drive. These are typical specifications for an entry-level Snapdragon X laptop. Model number: A16-11MT-X669 CPU: Snapdragon X1P-26-100 Memory: 16GB LPDDR5X-8448 Graphics/GPU: Qualcomm Adreno NPU: Qualcomm NPU up to 45 TOPs Display: 16-inch 1920×1200 120Hz IPS-LCD…

The Corsair Xeneon Edge 14.5 is the most versatile PC display I’ve ever reviewed. It can be used as a secondary display, which is how I used it. However, it can also be mounted to a 1/4-inch-20 tripod mount, or attached to a 360mm radiator mount in a PC desktop. You could use it as part of a streaming setup, attach it to a flight- or driving-simulator rig, or mount it inside a desktop PC to add flair or provide a performance monitoring dashboard. That makes it a fun and useful peripheral. Plus, at an MSRP of $249.99, it’s reasonably priced. SPECS AND FEATURES The Corsair Xeneon Edge 14.5 is best summarized as a small super-ultrawide touchscreen. It measures 14.5 inches diagonally, as its name implies, but it has a…

Remember the first laptops? They were weird. Ancient laptops were often as large as desktop computers, but they had tiny screens that could only display a few dozen characters. Over time, progress ironed out the flaws and peculiarities of those first laptops—and the ultrabook trend of the 2010s pushed laptops to their natural conclusion: thin, light, and anonymous. But in 2025, a new trend has emerged. As Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm compete to provide more options, and as experimentation becomes less risky on certain fronts, the PC laptop arena has witnessed an explosion of laptops that are unique, unusual, and (in some cases) just plain odd. And if you ask me? I’m loving it. DUAL-SCREEN, FOLDABLE, AND ROLLABLE LAPTOPS HAVE BECOME A REALITY Laptops have always required compromise when it comes…

Having Wi-Fi troubles? That sounds familiar. I’ve had so many problems with Wi-Fi networks that it’s hard to count them. Despite that, I’ve probably only managed to work out what the problem is once or twice. That’s why I now enlist the help of an app to find out what’s going on. There are a bunch of apps you can use, but one I’ve come across recently is called WifiDiagnosticsView. This free app monitors your Wi-Fi network’s key parameters—from the time that changes occur on your network, to when connection failure is detected. When problems do occur, you get error codes that you can then look up online. You can also see information like when there’s a change in signal quality, whether you have security enabled on your Wi-Fi network,…