Microsoft announced that the world's most popular PC operating system, Windows 10, will attain EOS (end of support) on October 14, 2025. From that date forward, the company will no longer release regular security updates for the OS, or the so-called "patch-Tuesday" updates for Windows 10. This announcement only covers the client Windows 10 editions, and not Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC (long-term servicing channel), or special editions of Windows 10 for large organizations and government agencies. Organizations on the client editions, such as Windows 10 Pro, can avail the ESU (extended security update) program, which will give them access to critical security updates, but no new OS or software features. Microsoft took the opportunity to urge those on Windows 10 to upgrade to the latest Windows 11 operating system. The company plans to launch its next-generation Windows 12 some time in 2024.

AMD over the past months has been releasing periodic updates to its Fluid Motion Frames preview drivers. These are off-trunk drivers that serve to demonstrate the capabilities of Fluid Motion Frames (FMF), a technology that enables near-doubling of frame-rates for every game, through interpolation techniques, similar to what you find in consumer televisions. The tech works on DirectX 12 and DirectX 11 games, on Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines, and for Radeon RX 7000 series and RX 6000 series GPUs. The December 7th update is based on the Adrenalin 23.12.1 drivers (i.e. includes all changes and improvements AMD introduced with those drivers), plus enablement for FMF, although the driver isn't WHQL certified. With this release, AMD says that it introduced several application stability improvements for FMF. The company also reduced stutter and improved frame-pacing. Grab the driver from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Fluid Motion Frames Preview Driver—December 7 Update

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 7.00 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Engineer 7.00 software, a professional diagnostic and benchmarking solution for corporate IT technicians and engineers; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business 7.00 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Network Audit 7.00 software, a dedicated network audit toolset to collect and manage corporate network inventories.

The new AIDA64 update introduces a revamped user interface with a configurable toolbar, as well as AVX-512 accelerated benchmarks for AMD Threadripper 7000 processors, AVX2 optimized benchmarks for Intel Meteor Lake processors, and supports the latest AMD and Intel CPU platforms as well as the new graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by AMD, Intel and NVIDIA.

DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 Extreme v7.0

In collaboration with Microsoft, Durabook today announced the availability of Windows 11 Secured-core PCs for its mobile rugged computing portfolio. The Durabook S15 Rugged Laptop and U11 Rugged Tablet with advanced Windows 11 security are immediately available to protect sensitive data for professionals on the move.

Mobile, Rugged, Secure for a Perilous World
Executives, military officers, and other professionals who work in potentially hazardous environments are often responsible for highly sensitive data such as financial information, classified intelligence, and intellectual property. They are also often on the road where their computing devices are exposed to abundant cybersecurity threats, including malware and firmware attacks. These attacks are in addition to the physical perils such as being dropped, exposed to dust and potentially combustible fine particulate in the air, extreme temperatures, high humidity and water intrusion.

Today, Lenovo announced the new ThinkStation P8 tower workstation powered by AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processors and NVIDIA RTX GPUs. Designed to deliver unparalleled performance, reliability and flexibility for professionals who demand the best from their workstations, the bold new ThinkStation P8 builds on the success of the award-winning P620, the world's first workstation powered by AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors. Featuring an optimized thermal design in a versatile Aston Martin inspired chassis, the ThinkStation P8 combines Lenovo's legendary reliability, customer experience and innovation with breakthrough compute architecture courtesy of AMD and NVIDIA. ThinkStation P8 raises the bar for intense workloads across multiple segments focused on outcome-based workflow agility.

"At Lenovo, we understand that our customers need high-quality workstations that can adapt to their changing and diverse needs. That's why we collaborated with AMD and NVIDIA to create the ThinkStation P8, a workstation that combines power, flexibility and enterprise-grade features," said Rob Herman, vice president and general manager, Workstation and Client AI Business Unit, Lenovo. "Designed to offer unparalleled performance and scalability, whether to run complex simulations, render stunning visuals, or develop cutting-edge AI applications, the ThinkStation P8 can handle it all. And with Lenovo's certifications, security and support, you can trust that the ThinkStation P8 will exceed expectations."

WEROCK Technologies GmbH, innovative manufacturer of industrial computer technology, continues its innovative Rocksmart model series and introduces the latest member: the Rocksmart RSC612. The powerful industrial panel PC builds on the success of the Rocksmart RSC610 and expands the possibilities for machine and plant construction as well as the automation industry.

The demands placed on modern technological applications are constantly increasing. The new Rocksmart RSC612 Industrial Panel PC has been specially developed to meet these requirements and offers a wide range of functions. Like the recently introduced Rocksmart RSC610, the new model offers a slim aluminium housing for a modern aesthetic and IP65 protection on the front. The completely passive cooling and the wide operating temperature range ensure a wide range of applications. The Panel PC can be mounted in control cabinets or positioned anywhere thanks to VESA mounting points.

Microsoft on Tuesday began rolling out Windows 11 23H2, the year's major update to its PC operating system. This release sees a major integration of AI into several features across the OS. To begin with, Microsoft Copilot, which made its debut with 365 and Office, is getting integrated with Windows. Powered by Bing Chat, Copilot is a GPT-based chatbot that not just gathers information from web-search, but can also be made to do a variety of OS level functions. For example, you can ask it to pair a Bluetooth device, or find something on your machine, find stuff within the files of your machine. The WIN+C key now brings up Copilot. Next up, Microsoft Paint gets its biggest feature update, with the generative AI-based Paint Cocreator feature. Not only will Paint assist your brush-strokes, in getting the shapes and contents right, but much like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, Paint now has a prompt-based image generation feature. For now, Paint Cocreator is being released as a preview feature.

Microsoft Clipchamp, the video editor included with Windows, now has a set of generative AI enhancements of its own, with tools such as Auto Compose, which assists in building a movie with scenes, getting the sequence of clips and transitions right, getting the effects and filters right; and audio features such as narration and background score. Clipchamp also has integration with social platforms including Tik Tok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Snipping Tool, the screengrab application of Windows, now gets a couple of AI enhancements too, such as scanning an image to extract and redact information. Photos gets AI-accelerated image recognition and categorization. Much like Google Photos, you can look for a picture by describing what you're looking for. As with each such annual major release, Microsoft will be releasing 23H2 in a phased manner through Windows Update, but if you're impatient and want to immediately update, or perform a clean installation, visit the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Windows 11 23H2 (Installation Assistant, Media Creator, ISOs)

Qualcomm Snapdragon X is out to change the thin-and-light notebook market, and is out to eat the lunches of U-segment and possibly P-segment processors from Intel and AMD. The Arm based processor promises to be a competitor to Apple's M2 and M2 Max SoCs powering the latest generation of Macbooks, so Windows 11 and Chrome OS-based thin-and-lights could offer similar levels of performance and battery life. Geekerwan put the Adreno iGPU of the Snapdragon X Elite through a couple of benchmarks to show how they compare to the iGPUs of contemporary 15 W to 28 W class SoCs across Arm and x64 machine architectures, and a discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU.

In the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme benchmark, designed for graphics solutions of this class, the Snapdragon X Elite scored 39.2 FPS (average), compared to 60 FPS of the Apple M2 Max, 40 FPS of the Apple M2. The Core i7-13700H "Raptor Lake" is a 45 W mobile processor with an Intel Xe-LP based iGPU that has 96 EU. This chip scored just 22.5 FPS in this test. The surprise here is the Radeon 780M, the iGPU of the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, based on the latest RDNA3 architecture, with 12 compute units (768 stream processors). This chip did just 28 FPS, falling behind even the M2. The other benchmark is "Control" at 1080p with its lowest graphics settings, and here the results are fundamentally different. With "Control," we see the Snapdragon X Elite post a respectable 53 FPS, which is almost as fast as the 56 FPS by the Radeon 780M powering the Ryzen 7 7740HS, but ahead of the 43 FPS put by the Apple M2, and a whopping 145 FPS by the M2 Max.

Microsoft just released a transformative new update to Windows Ink for Windows 11, the component that includes applications and features based on pen/stylus based input. With this latest update, you can input text into the text input box or form of any modern UI application by simply writing over it using a pen/stylus, on a device with a touchscreen sensitive enough for pen-based input methods. Windows Ink does the handwriting-to-text input conversions for Windows 11. This should come especially handy when you're trying to input text with special characters, Math input, or Chemistry input. The update to Windows Ink is part of a non-security Update Preview Microsoft released for Windows 11, which is documented under KB5031455. To get it, simply make Windows 11 check for updates.

Eurocom is launching the highly upgradeable and customizable Nightsky RX415 Superlaptop with 15.6" display, Intel Core i7-13900HX processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or 4060 graphics, up to 64 GB DDR5-5600 memory and up to 16 TB of solid state storage.

"The EUROCOM Nightsky RX415 offers high level of customization and user upgradeability as part of Eurocom's design principles. It is heavy duty, yet lightweight with aluminium alloy chassis." Mark Bialic, Eurocom President said. "The EUROCOM Nightsky RX415 is designed for both professional users as well as gamers. Unlike any other laptop on the market it comes loaded with 10 physical ports providing unprecedented connectivity.M Mark Bialic, Eurocom President said. "With the Eurocom Trade in Program Customers can now get up to 25% off a brand new EUROCOM Nightsky RX415 with an eligible Trade-In."

Microsoft put up the latest Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 on Windows Update (retail channel). Referenced in KB5030310, this update to Windows 11 has been found to break the usability of the AMD Software application, or the main control panel utility of AMD Software Adrenalin drivers. The latest Windows 11 cumulative update preview causes AMD Software to reset custom user settings upon each system reboot (hard reboot, which reloads drivers and starts a new user session, not fast startup). The bug does not, however, affect the core display driver functionality. It's more likely that this issue will be addressed by an AMD Software update, than having to wait for the next Windows 11 Patch Tuesday.

Lenovo has unveiled the ThinkCentre M90a Pro Gen 4, setting a new standard for all-in-one (AIO) business desktop computers. Designed to address the needs of modern workplaces and content creators, this powerhouse Windows 11 PC wows with a massive 27-inch QHD display and is equipped with smart features that enhance connectivity, privacy, and usability.

"Modern businesses require more than just a high-performing PC, they need solutions that are smart and intuitive, reliable and efficient, and empowers them to create a multi-device ecosystem seamlessly," said Sanjeev Menon, vice president and general manager, Worldwide Desktop Business in Intelligent Devices Group, Lenovo. "In this evolving hybrid environment, employees use an average of 2.5 devices for work and would like to be provided with both desktops and laptops to allow them to be more productive. Lenovo's ThinkCentre M90a Pro Gen 4 is the answer for businesses looking for synergy and to make workspaces more flexible, streamlined, and productive."

The NVIDIA Studio laptop lineup is expanding with the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2, powered by GeForce RTX 4060, GeForce RTX 4050 or NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPUs, providing powerful performance and versatility for creators.

Backed by the NVIDIA Studio platform, the Surface Laptop Studio 2, announced yesterday, offers maximum stability with preinstalled Studio Drivers, plus exclusive tools to accelerate professional and creative workflows. NVIDIA also launched DLSS 3.5, adding Ray Reconstruction to the suite of AI-powered DLSS technologies. The latest feature puts a powerful new AI neural network at the fingertips of creators on RTX PCs, producing higher-quality, lifelike ray-traced images in real time before generating a full render.

Microsoft has quietly added WordPad to their list of "Deprecated features for Windows client," as of September 1—this classic word processor application has been part of their operating systems stretching back in time to Windows 95—when it debuted as Microsoft Write's successor. The announcement stated: "WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like.doc and.rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like.txt." Updates for the bundled rich-text editing program ceased following UI tweaks introduced around the Windows 8 era.

Microsoft presents two alternative paths for the near future—naturally, one involves a paid 365 subscription—you can opt for Word. An online version is available at no cost, but it involves registration (with MS) and only functions as a web app. Notepad is the next best free-to-use native word processor—it has been modernized with new features, albeit via Windows 11. HotHardware has hyped it up: "One major update that users have been asking for was recently added to Notepad, that being the ability to open multiple tabs within the same session. Future updates include an autosave feature and the ability to restore previously open tabs as well as unsaved content and edits across those open tabs." Microsoft will be adding a snipping tool at some point, with the introduction of a: "combined capture bar, making it easier to switch between capturing screenshots and screen recordings without having to open the app."

MSI has received several reports of users encountering a Blue Screen of Death that has an error message that reads "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR" with MSI's 600/700 series motherboards after installing the Windows 11 update, KB5029351 Preview. Both MSI and Microsoft are aware of the "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR" error and have begun investigating the root cause. While the investigation is underway, we recommend that all users temporarily refrain from installing the KB5029351 Preview update in Windows. We will keep you updated on the progress of our investigation.

ECS Industrial Computer Co., Ltd., also known as ECSIPC, the subsidiary of leading motherboard and computer manufacturer Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), introduces its latest generation of mini PCs, the LIVA Q3D and Q3H series. With versatile functionality, these mini computers empower users to seamlessly adapt to diverse environments. Designed not only for home theater experiences, the Q3 Series are also suitable for smart offices, educational settings, digital signage, and various retail solutions, including traffic information displays, mall advertising, and digital signage for medical fields.

The LIVA Q3D and Q3H feature built-in Intel Pentium /Celeron processors that offer 32 GB/64 GB/128 GB eMMC storage and micro SD expansion up to 128 GB. With wireless transmission systems of 802.11ac, these mini PCs also support Intel UHD Graphics for an immersive 4K visual experience. Enhancing stability, the LIVA Q3 series includes a cooling fan system within its pocket-sized device, ensuring smooth operation even in confined spaces. The LIVA Q3D offers both HDMI and DP dual outputs, amplifying work efficiency across various applications. At the same time, the LIVA Q3H boasts HDMI IN and HDMI OUT functionalities, making it an ideal partner for conference scenarios. The LIVA Q3 series suits versatile work environments with its design.

After a couple of speculations, rumors, and leaks, the latest one confirms that Lenovo is indeed working on a handheld gaming console, the Legion Go, and it could be launching pretty soon. The latest leak shows it powered by AMD Ryzen Z1 APU and featuring detachable JoyCon-like controllers. It will run on Windows 11 OS and could be paired up with the Legion AR Glasses.

Unfortunately, the leak over at Windowsreport.com show does not include specifications, but according to pictures, it will feature dual speakers, two mics, microSD card reader, a couple of USB-C ports, dedicated FPS switch, a mouse wheel, integrated kickstand, and AMD Ryzen Z1 APU, same as the ASUS ROG Ally. Unfortunately, it is not clear if it will be the Ryzen Z1 or the Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU.

Juniper Systems, Inc. is excited to announce that the all-new Mesa Pro Rugged Tablet is now available featuring an IP68 rating for ingress protection. The Mesa Pro is the first IP68-rated rugged tablet that uses an active cooling fan to cool the system's processor.

'This is a big moment for Juniper Systems', said Darren Hellstern, Mesa Pro product manager at Juniper Systems. 'We have a long history of offering IP68 on our rugged products. A lot of time and hard work has gone into securing the rating for Mesa Pro. Achieving this rating of ingress protection against water and dust in a tablet with a fan is an engineering challenge. Our team was up for that challenge and delivered for our customers'.

Today, Lenovo unveiled the newest additions to its ThinkPad mobile workstation portfolio. Powered by the latest AMD Ryzen PRO 7040 Series Mobile processors with optional NVIDIA RTX professional graphics, the new ThinkPad P16v, P16s Gen 2 and P14s Gen 4 complement the models announced in May 2023, offering customers a broad choice in mobile workstation PC solutions. ThinkPad P Series devices deliver breakthrough performance, premium design, and durability for demanding workflows across a variety of price points and include support for Windows 11 and several flavors of Linux. Bringing advanced and power-efficient processors with AMD PRO technologies and Ryzen AI on select models opens up an enhanced world of AI-driven features for advanced collaboration on ThinkPad mobile workstations.

"Our latest workstations are designed to help our customers make a difference and drive a positive long-lasting impact in their fields, whether it's research and design, engineering and finance, media and entertainment, healthcare and education, or anything else. We are committed to delivering human-centric innovations that empower our customers to unleash their potential with ThinkPad mobile workstations," said Rob Herman, VP and GM, Worldwide Workstation and Client AI Business at Lenovo.

The latest update for Windows 11 appears to bring good news for gamers, as Microsoft is said to have fixed an issue related to stuttering in games that's related to certain gaming mice. The mice in question are mice that support a "high gaming report rate" which is pretty much all higher-end gaming mice today, regardless of manufacturer. What's worse, we're not talking 8000 Hz mice here, but a polling rate of 1000 Hz was enough to trigger the stuttering in some games.

It's unclear if this affected all games, or only some games, but according to Windows Latest, Microsoft has optimised the Windows input stack to be able to handle high report rate mice which is said to have been done by improving "the performance by throttling and coalescing background raw mouse listeners and capping their message rate." As such, the 23H2 update for Windows 11 will become something of a must install for anyone that's gaming on Windows 11, at least if you haven't lowered the polling rate on your mouse.

There appears to be a faction of hardcore PC gamers within the Microsoft Windows software engineering team—as evidenced in a developer blog post from late May. The section relating to "Reduced game stutter with high report rate mice" provided an early preview for improvements recently rolled out in a Windows 11 update (KB5028185 issued on July 11th). This week's fix "improves your computer's performance when you use a mouse that has a high report rate for gaming." Gamers running PCs on Windows 10 (or earlier) are—unfortunately—missing out on this latest and greatest feature.

Microsoft's blog stated: We know gamers hate stutter, and we're fixing issues throughout Windows so that an untimely frame-freeze won't take gamers out of their immersive experiences. Gamers love to push their systems to the limit in search of the best experiences in-game. Many also use sensitive, high DPI, high report rate mice to shave milliseconds off their response times and increase precision. At the same time, the world of gaming is more connected than ever with gamers relying on an increasing number of background apps while playing, like voice chat, streaming, apps for configuring your keyboard, mouse, or graphics card, and more. The Windows input stack was being pushed to its limits with high report rate mice and their input being delivered to not just the game, but also multiple background processes. In turn, that caused a significant amount of time processing input rather than providing as many cycles as possible for rendering the game experience."

Microsoft published its Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23481 a few weeks ago. However, the latest build preview came with a big change, primarily targeting the File Explorer. Microsoft's File Explorer for Windows 11 serves as an interactive tool to explore files and access their locations. However, Microsoft developers have released a preview build for insiders that removes some folder options from File Explorer. The following will no longer appear under "Folder Options": Hide Folder Merge conflict; Always show icons, never thumbnails; Display file icon on thumbnails; Display file type information on Folder tips; Hide protected OS files; Show drive letters; Show popup description for Folder and Desktop items; Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color; Use sharing wizard.

The company explains the reason for these changes: "We are removing a handful of old settings under Folder Options in File Explorer as part of an effort to clean up the number of settings for File Explorer. Many of these are legacy settings that have been around for ages and are not being regularly used by people on Windows 11." However, there are some promising signs, as these settings can still be accessed via registry keys. It is not entirely gone, just much more difficult to enable.

Microsoft has announced some major changes for a selection of integrated Windows 11 productivity apps—yesterday's preview piece declared that: "The new Outlook for Windows brings the latest features with a modern and simplified design to your Windows 11 PC. You can tailor it to your style and do more with the new Outlook for Windows! Learn more about the new Outlook for Windows here." Many W11 users are not fans of the current and very neglected set of Mail, Calendar & People applications, but forthcoming updates will provide some joy since the next version of Outlook is set to replace this messy arrangement entirely. A longer and more in-depth Insider article demonstrates the shape of things to come, including a dark mode! A trial version can be accessed via a toggle within the Windows 11 Mail & Calendar app.

Microsoft's roadmap/timeline indicates that new devices running Windows 11 will have the brand new Outlook app pre-installed, starting in early 2024: "The new Outlook for Windows (will be available) as the default mailbox application free for all to use. The Mail and Calendar applications will continue to be available via download in the Microsoft Store through the end of 2024. On existing devices, users can switch to the new Outlook for Windows from a toggle in the Mail and Calendar applications." The company's software engineers are alleged to be working on a project dubbed "Hudson Valley," which is rumored to be the next major version of Windows - aka 12 - arriving September 2024, which coincides with the removal of the improved Outlook app from Microsoft's store. The updated web-based client could be built into Windows 12, and positioned as the default email handling program.

Dynabook Americas, Inc., a leading provider of professional-grade laptops, today introduced its refreshed ultralight Portégé X30L-K which includes the new hybrid-architecture 13th Gen Intel Core P-Series 28 W processors. Weighing a mere 904 grams1, this professional grade laptop is configurable with 14 core CPUs, up to 32 GB of LPDDR5 memory, ultra-fast SSD, Wi-Fi 6E and choice of a vivid IGZO or multitouch 13.3-inch displays driven by Intel Iris Xe graphics, the Portégé X30L-K delivers uncompromising performance all day long.

The Portégé X30L-K comes standard with Windows 11 Pro to provide enhanced productivity features that deliver users a more personalized and intuitive user experience than previous generations of the operating system. The Portégé X30L-K is among the most secure laptops in the world and meets Microsoft's strict Secured-core PC requirements and addresses the security and manageability challenges posed by the accelerated shift towards flexible working patterns.

YEYIAN Gaming, a leading global designer and manufacturer of innovative pre-built gaming PCs, peripherals, and computer components, is thrilled to announce the launch of four new RTX 4060 Ti GPU gaming desktop PC models: YARI II 27F0B-46T1N, YARI II 24F0B-46T1N, SHOGE 560XB-46T1U, and SHOGE 240FOB-46T1U. These models are part of the YARI II and SHOGE series, designed to deliver unparalleled gaming performance and reliability for content creators and pro gamers.

Four gaming desktops are powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics cards, which are based on the ultra-efficient NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture and offer an immersive, AI-accelerated gaming experience, including upgraded ray tracing and DLSS 3 technologies. The gaming desktops also feature the best-in-class components for both Intel and AMD platforms, as well as Core i7 and AMD Ryzen 5 processors, the NVMe M.2 SSDs, the DDR5/DDR4 memory modules, and come with Windows 11 Home pre-installed. Cooling performance is enhanced by RGB illuminated system fans and CPU AIO water-cooling for excellent system thermal performance under the most demanding of system loads.