Mini PC deals are already live before Black Friday, and these are the best
Deals Some of the best mini PCs we've ever tested at Windows Central are on sale early, before Black Friday.
Features
What are silicon-carbon batteries, and why should you care about them?
Hardware Silicon-carbon batteries are becoming a big deal when it comes to improving the endurance of your technology, so here's everything you need to know.
Valve's Steam Machine is just a mini gaming PC; why not build your own?
PC Gaming The Steam Machine looks like a console, but it's a true PC inside. This begs the question — can't you just build your own?
Valve already gambled on Steam Machine mini PCs a decade ago
PC Gaming The Steam Machine concept isn't new, and OEMs already tried Valve's vision in 2014. Could it be different this time around?
Will SteamOS ever have better anti-cheat support?
PC Gaming Playing some of the most popular multiplayer games on SteamOS isn't possible thanks to the anti-cheat software. But will it ever get better with the Steam Machine on the way?
Windows & Software
Windows 10 ESU bug fixed — free security updates enrollment now works
Windows 10 Two Windows 10 bugs caused headaches for users enrolling in the ESU program. Microsoft has now fixed both, restoring peace to PCs everywhere.
X goes down hard with a security ‘YubiKey’ error affecting millions of Twitter users
A global issue with re-enrolling security keys for users’ X accounts is locking them out
Windows 26 concept reimagines Aero with sleek dark mode and modern design
WINDOWS Designer Abdi (AR 4789 on YouTube) has shared an interesting concept about Windows 26, possibly envisioning what a future Windows version could look like if Microsoft embraces some of these ideas.
PC Hardware
What are silicon-carbon batteries, and why should you care about them?
Hardware Silicon-carbon batteries are becoming a big deal when it comes to improving the endurance of your technology, so here's everything you need to know.
Valve sets up an Arm-based gaming future with its new VR headset
PC Gaming The new Steam Frame is coming next year and is Valve's first all-in-one headset running SteamOS, powered by a Snapdragon chip.
Can Valve's Steam Machine undercut the cost of consoles and mini PCs?
PC Gaming Can Valve's new Steam Machine avoid the rising costs of memory and storage, or will it launch with a higher price than expected?
Buying a mini PC? Avoid these 7 common pitfalls
Mini PC Unfortunately, there are several common mistakes people make when buying a mini PC. Here are the seven things you should avoid to ensure you get a reliable and safe device.
Deals
The fastest microSD card just got a huge price drop
Deals The 256GB variant of the Lexar Professional Gold microSD card is having a stupendous 31% early Black Friday sale at Amazon for a limited time.
Never pay full price for Microsoft 365 — grab these deals
Deal Microsoft 365 is on sale ahead of Black Friday. Right now you can save 30% on Microsoft 365 Personal or get a big discount on Microsoft 365 Family.
There are few mini PCs as powerful as this winner from Geekom
Deals Amazon has netted an exclusive bargain for its Amazon Prime Members that has chopped the critically-acclaimed Geekom A8 Mini-PC's MSRP by 13% for a limited time.
Forget Fallout 4's Anniversary Edition and buy these deals instead
Deal The Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition is here, but you shouldn't buy it. Instead, get all of its content for under half its price with these special discounts.
Handheld Gaming PCs
This one trick makes Xbox Ally game art look way better
Gaming Your Xbox Ally finally looks like a real storefront powered by proper artwork.
Gaming
Minecraft and Candy Crush had a baby — here's the result
Minecraft Xbox has revealed Minecraft Blast, an upcoming match puzzle mobile game developed by Mojang Studios and King, and early playtests are kicking off soon.
All the Dark Ops challenges in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Gaming Dark Ops challenges aren't listed in Black Ops 7's Calling Cards menu, as, like previous games, they're secretive. But here's a list of every known Dark Ops so far and how to get it.
Red Dead Redemption hits 4K, 60 fps on current-gen consoles this December
Gaming Get ready for one last ride with John Marshton.
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft AI CEO says superintelligence shouldn't replace our species
AI Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, says that superintelligence AIs shouldn't be developed to replace humanity, but to serve them and drive significant scientific breakthroughs and innovation.
How to use Click to Do on Windows 11 with your new Copilot+ PC
Windows 11 On Windows 11, you can use Click to Do to perform quick tasks with AI from anything that appears on the screen, and here's how to use the feature inside and outside of Windows Recall.
Microsoft pours $9.7B into AI cloud power to keep pace with demand
News The $9.7B deal highlights how AI demand is outpacing compute supply — and why Microsoft keeps signing billion‑dollar contracts.
Microsoft's quiet breakaway from OpenAI to become "self sufficient"
AI Microsoft was seemingly restricted from pursuing AGI on its own through 2030. But under the new definitive agreement, the tech giant is going after the company's wildest dreams.
Microsoft
Agentic AI takes center stage as Microsoft and NVIDIA back UK startup hub
News The new Agentic Launchpad program offers UK startups Azure credits, NVIDIA tools, and direct engineering support to scale autonomous AI systems.
Microsoft’s $15.2B UAE AI bet supercharges NVIDIA’s GPU dominance
AI Microsoft says it plans to spend another $7.9 billion in the UAE's AI buildout from 2026 until 2029, and NVIDIA's specialized AI GPUs are at the heart of the expenses.
Here are the differences between Copilot and Copilot+
AI Microsoft's AI assistant, Copilot, can help generate text and imagery. Meanwhile, Copilot+ offers even more AI features. Here's how they differ from each other.
Azure outage causes widespread issues across Microsoft services
News Microsoft's widely used Azure cloud computing platform is experiencing an outage, leading to Office 365, Teams, Xbox, and more going down.
Peripherals & Accessories
This USB-C flash drive has 1TB of storage and 400MB/s for just $120
News SanDisk has recently launched the SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive, a new storage device that can reach up to 1TB of storage and 400MB/s transfer speeds for a somewhat modest price.
Razer's Kiyo V2 webcam is a great deal, even if Camo Studio wasn't included
Review The Razer Kiyo V2 delivers a fair amount of value for just $150, undercutting a lot of the competition. Razer's deal with Camo is the icing on the cake.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite (Xbox, PC) headset — The apex of headset luxury
Review This is a gaming headset that can literally do it all. Simultaneous USB-C source mixing, support for every platform on Earth, next-level audio quality, and endless battery life. Serious specs come with a serious price tag, though.