TechSpot

What was the first OS you ever used?

Julio Franco — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:04 -0500

Before clean installs, dual-boot menus, and cloud everything, there was that first encounter, the moment you realized a computer wasn't just hardware, it was a system with a personality.

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SNK revives NeoGeo AES with modern upgrades and HDMI support

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:43 -0500

Set to launch on November 12, the NeoGeo AES+ will be available in Standard and 35th Anniversary editions priced at $249.99 / £179.99 / €199.99, with an Ultimate Edition bundle already listed through Plaion's storefront. The exterior closely mirrors the 1990 model, but the internal changes are aimed at aligning...

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Valve's Proton 11 beta boosts Linux gaming with better performance and classic game support

Alfonso Maruccia — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:17 -0500

Valve has released a new beta version of Proton, the company's official compatibility layer for improving Linux gaming. Proton 11.0-beta1 is a notable update for several reasons, including improved support for running classic games from the 90s. The release also lays the groundwork for further improvements expected in the near...

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Researchers warn Microsoft Defender vulnerability is already being exploited

Alfonso Maruccia — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:34 -0500

A security researcher known as Chaotic Eclipse recently disclosed a vulnerability dubbed "Red Sun" affecting Microsoft Defender Antivirus. While criticizing Microsoft's handling of the issue, Chaotic Eclipse explained that their proof-of-concept code could potentially be used to bypass Defender's protections. The researcher also claimed that malicious actors have already begun...

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A four-day Steam freebie turned into $250,000 for an indie game

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:51 -0500

Nichiporchik said the increase came from new players who tried the game for free and then paid for additional content. The strategy relies less on the free offer itself and more on whether the game can retain players long enough for them to make a purchase. In this case, Graveyard...

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AMD may relaunch Ryzen 7 5800X3D for AM4's 10th anniversary

Daniel Sims — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:08 -0500

Prominent leaker HXL recently shared a photo of AMD marketing material advertising a 10th-anniversary edition of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU, planned for the second quarter of this year. While celebrating the 10th anniversary of the company's popular socket platform is a fitting pretext, the well-regarded chip would likely also...

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This humanoid robot can almost run as fast as a human sprinter

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:27 -0500

The demonstration centers on a controlled track test in which the robot passes a speed-measurement device at peak velocity. Unitree says the measurement may not be exact, but the result still suggests a sharp increase in how fast humanoid robots can move. The company describes the robot as achieving "world...

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Two New Jersey men jailed for helping North Korean IT workers infiltrate 100+ companies

Kishalaya Kundu — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:01 -0500

According to an official DoJ press release, 42-year-old Kejia "Tony" Wang of Edison, NJ, has been sentenced to nine years in prison, while 39-year-old Zhenxing "Danny" Wang of New Brunswick, NJ, has been sentenced to seven years and nine months in a federal penitentiary for his role in the scheme.

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A $7,000 DIY radar project is taking on hardware that usually costs over $100,000

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:36 -0500

Rather than presenting a stripped-down proof of concept, Motii has published a complete, buildable system. The Aeris-10 repository includes schematics, PCB layouts, firmware, and a graphical control interface, effectively exposing the entire stack – from signal processing to user interaction. The project is available on GitHub.

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Metro 2039 is going darker than ever, launching this winter on PC and consoles

Daniel Sims — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 06:28 -0500

The follow up to 2020's Metro Exodus returns to the subway tunnels beneath post apocalyptic Moscow. Although most of the trailer is pre rendered CGI, a brief segment at the end shows real time gameplay with visuals that appear far more detailed than those in Exodus.

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Gemini arrives on macOS with a dedicated desktop app

Julio Franco — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 06:14 -0500

The Gemini app for macOS gives Google's AI a native home on Apple desktops, with quick access via keyboard shortcuts, tight system integration, and the ability to work with on-screen content, local files, and Google services like Drive and Photos.

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AI infrastructure boom pushes AMD, Intel and Arm to new valuation heights

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 05:10 -0500

Those gains point to a broader realignment toward infrastructure built for emerging AI workloads, particularly agentic systems and retrieval augmented generation. Both lean heavily on sustained compute performance and memory throughput, putting renewed weight on CPU design, especially in systems where orchestration, preprocessing, and data movement remain CPU-bound even when...

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New self-healing material can repair itself over 1,000 times, extend the lifespan of cars and aircraft

Kishalaya Kundu — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:01 -0500

The breakthrough addresses a critical structural failure known as delamination, where layers in fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials begin to separate over time. The new composite looks similar to traditional FRPs but is designed to be tougher, making it less prone to cracking or breaking.

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Japan's bullet train to debut high-tech private cabins, for an added fee

Alfonso Maruccia — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:22 -0500

A recently introduced Shinkansen high-speed train is set to add several exclusive private cabins over the next few months. According to a local report, these "private rooms" will include high-tech services designed to improve remote working conditions and internet performance. Travelers visiting Japan may also find the option appealing, although...

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Memory card and flash drive pricing surges 120%, with some models spiking 260%

Shawn Knight — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:40 -0500

Take flash-based memory cards, for example. Building on data from a PCWorld investigation, Tom's Hardware recently found that memory card and USB drive prices have increased by an average of 123% compared to last year. And that's just the median – in one extreme example, a 256GB Lexar Blue microSDXC...

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Open-source tool decrypts all private data collected by Windows Recall on Copilot PCs

Alfonso Maruccia — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:32 -0500

Alexander Hagenah previously exposed issues affecting Windows Recall with his TotalRecall tool, prompting Microsoft to redesign the feature around stronger architectural principles. Now, the security researcher is once again highlighting Recall's weaknesses with TotalRecall Reloaded. The updated tool can reportedly bypass protections in Recall and access private user data stored...

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The 2026 PC and Console Gaming Report shows most revenue now comes from games outside the Top 20

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:49 -0500

In Western PC markets, titles ranked 21 and below accounted for 56% of spending in 2025, up from 48% in 2022. Most PC revenue now comes from games outside the Top 20. Over the same period, total PC playtime rose 14%. Games below the Top 20 increased their share of...

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PureMac is a new open-source macOS cleanup and app removal tool

Ivan Franco — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:43 -0500

PureMac strips system cleanup back to basics, offering full app uninstallation with leftover file removal alongside tools for clearing caches, logs, and other clutter. It's positioned as a free, open-source alternative to CleanMyMac, it runs on-device with no telemetry or subscriptions.

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Your Airbnb host might actually be AI

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:56 -0500

The scale of this shift came into focus after an exchange at an Airbnb property near New York City, where an AI system speaking for hosts named Alexis and Peter responded to a guest message that appeared to test its system instructions.

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Steam might soon display 30-day price history for game deals

Daniel Sims — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:23 -0500

Data miners recently unearthed Steam code suggesting the storefront could soon compare each game's current price with prices from the previous 30 days, likely to warn users if developers recently raised prices ahead of a sale. Steam and other stores have offered similar warnings in Europe since 2023, but the...

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Intel brings 18A process to budget laptops with new Core Series 3 CPUs

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:42 -0500

Intel describes Core Series 3 as an upgrade path for small businesses and home users following a typical five-year refresh cycle, offering performance gains over five-year-old PCs and previous-generation low-power Core processors such as Core 7 150U.

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How Intel Got Into Trouble: We Test the Last Decade of Intel Flagship CPUs

Steven Walton — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:03 -0500

From Kaby Lake to Core Ultra, we revisit Intel's flagship CPUs to see how a decade of design choices shaped performance, power, and ultimately, how the company lost its lead.

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Microsoft counters MacBook Neo with free Game Pass and Office bundle on Windows laptops

Daniel Sims — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:28 -0500

College students who purchase eligible Windows laptops before July 31 can receive a free year of Microsoft 365 Premium, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and a customized Xbox controller. Retailers including Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, and Dell are leaning into the promotion, surfacing models designed to rival the MacBook Neo on...

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Popular WordPress plugins backdoored after ownership change, putting thousands of websites at risk

Alfonso Maruccia — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:18 -0500

A popular brand of WordPress plugins was recently weaponized to download and spread malicious code. The new, potentially massive supply chain attack was unveiled by Austin Ginder, a WordPress developer and founder of the WP hosting service Anchor. The entrepreneur found that the threat was already affecting some Anchor customers,...

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Spotify launches physical book sales, expands audiobook features

Shawn Knight — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:35 -0500

Physical books may seem like an odd market for a tech-first company, but it is perhaps not as far-fetched once you dig in a bit. Spotify already offers audiobooks, and has grown its library from 150,000 titles to over 700,000 in just two years. Offering another way into books complements...

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Intel Nova Lake-S is coming after Ryzen APUs with a 16-core iGPU for gamers on a budget

Kishalaya Kundu — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:47 -0500

According to well-known tipster Jaykihn, Intel's upcoming Nova Lake-S desktop CPU lineup will include at least one SKU featuring an integrated graphics chip with 12 Xe3P cores. Preliminary information from the tipster suggests the chip will feature 16 CPU cores, including four Coyote Cove performance cores, eight Arctic Wolf efficiency...

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Alienware launches $350 QD-OLED monitor with lower brightness to cut costs

Alfonso Maruccia — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:03 -0500

Alienware makes some of the best gaming monitors on the market, though they are not necessarily the cheapest. Now, the Dell-owned brand is taking a different approach by introducing a more affordable QD-OLED monitor with some unusual trade-offs in its hardware specifications. Getting a modern OLED panel for under $500...

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Recordly brings Screen Studio-style recordings to a free, open-source app

Julio Franco — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:45 -0500

Recordly is a desktop app for recording and editing screen captures with motion-driven presentation tools built in. Recordly has emerged as one of the most compelling free alternatives to paid tools like Screen Studio, offering smooth cursor tracking, automatic zoom effects, and clean motion.

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Meta doubles down on custom AI chips with Broadcom deal through 2029

Skye Jacobs — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:17 -0500

Under the deal, Meta has committed to an initial deployment of 1 gigawatt of MTIA capacity and plans to ramp to multiple gigawatts of Broadcom-based accelerators as its AI footprint grows. Broadcom said that the chips will be the first AI silicon manufactured on a 2-nanometer process.

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Someone finally got an RTX 5090 running on a Mac – no hacks required

Zo Ahmed — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:29 -0500

Tiny Corp, the same company that built the tinybox AI accelerator, has written its own Nvidia GPU driver completely from scratch. It's called TinyGPU, and it's an open-source macOS kernel extension. Better yet, Apple has signed off on it. That means you don't need workarounds like setting up a virtual...

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