The Acer Swift X packs impressive power inside an ultraportable case and is a great pick if you want a high-performance, highly portable laptop. Where most ultraportables prize efficiency and rely on integrated graphics, the Swift X serves up Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU for an added punch. With the RTX graphics and a powerful AMD CPU, the Swift X is able to handle content-creation tasks and some gaming in addition to the basic office chores for which most ultraportables are built.The Swi
When Google announced it would guarantee Pixel phones three years of security updates, the news reports were largely positive. At the time, the reaction made sense. For years and years, Google left it up to smartphone makers to decide update releases—and they chose to do so very erratically. Setting a standard of three years seemed like a big step.Well, my Pixel 3 is coming up on its three year mark, and instead of feeling gratitude for that time, I’m extremely annoyed about the end of its se
Microsoft is warning of a new Office vulnerability that can probably be avoided by continuing to use smart Internet practices. Namely, don’t open untrusted documents.Researcher EXPMON reported a new vulnerability to Microsoft on Sunday, the company said, and Microsoft confirmed the vulnerability in a security update on Monday. Microsoft has yet to issue a patch, though Microsoft said it will “take the appropriate action to help protect our customers.”The vulnerability takes advantage of the
The Command Prompt app has been around since December 1987, providing Windows users with a command-line interface from which to execute operating systems tasks, many of which are very useful. Due to its popularity, Microsoft has made the app easily accessible on Windows 10, in more ways than one.Here are 11 ways to open Command Prompt.[ Further reading: Our best Windows 10 tricks, tips and tweaks ] Open Command Prompt from the search bar You can search for any app using the Windows search bar
Major changes to the PC’s RAM subsystem typically occur once in blue moon, but mere years after DDR4’s delayed rollout, that time is upon us yet again.With the imminent release of DDR5 support in Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs next month (and potentially AMD’s Zen 4 chips next year), we’ll soon be entering a junction where you’ll need to decide what memory is right for you—DDR4 or DDR5.How fast is DDR5? What will I need to run what? What even is DDR5? By the end of this guide, you’ll know everything
At PCWorld, we’ve been covering the PC ecosystem literally from the very beginning of PC history. Hardware, software, all of it. The PCWorld name has a storied past, but perhaps even a brighter future—because we’re looking to add new blood to our editorial staff with the additions of a Staff Writer and Associate Editor.Think you have what it takes to kick-start your career in tech journalism? You can read more about (and apply for) the two jobs here: Staff Writer, PCWorld Associate Editor, PC
Lenovo will ring in the arrival of Windows 11 with a pair of premium AMD Ryzen-based laptops.The IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon will feature a carbon lid and aluminum body to go with its drop-dead gorgeous 14-inch OLED screen. Besides the infinite contrast an OLED provides, Lenovo will use a fast 90Hz, 2880x1800 panel with an aspect ratio of 16:10 on the Slim 7 Carbon. That’s just over 5 megapixels with a density of 243 pixels-per-inch. This is one smoking screen.But this beauty goes deeper than the s
Windows 11 contains an unexpected new feature: a separate set of quieter, more mellow audio cues that accompany the operating system’s Dark Mode.Microsoft confirmed the new Windows 11 dark mode sounds to BleepingComputer, which also posted samples of the audio if you haven’t discovered them yourself. Essentially, they’re the aural equivalent of the “rounded corners” aesthetic that is part and parcel of Windows 11.“Windows 10 sounds were sharp, literally created with sharp wave lengths. In Win
Microsoft now has a Start menu and a Start feed, within both Windows 10 and Windows 11.Microsoft’s ongoing new efforts took a new turn on Tuesday, as Microsoft rebranded its news feed to Microsoft Start. You’ll see the new name appear where Microsoft’s news appears: on Windows 10’s News & Interests popup, within Windows 11’s Widgets, and on a standalone website, MicrosoftStart.com. The “new tab” page within Microsoft Edge will also show headlines from the Microsoft Start news feed, if you hav
The P5 Plus is the follow-on to Crucial’s affordable and surprisingly fast P5 NVMe SSD. It’s a worthy encore, at least in terms of performance. Not only is this new version slightly faster, it offers the PCIe 4 support the older drive lacks.Alas, that slight uptick in performance and the PCIe 4 support also come with a significant price bump, putting it in direct competition with Samsung’s excellent 980 Pro. Design and features The Crucial P5 Plus comes in at $108 for 500GB, $180 for 1TB (tes