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Summary Windows 11 was the first time in a while Microsoft increased the minimum requirements for its OS, but you probably still shouldn’t use Windows 11 on a PC that barely meets the requirements. If your computer is slow because of entry-level specs, Windows 11 might soon make sure you’re at least aware of the fact. Microsoft is reportedly developing a new feature for Windows 11 that aims to provide users with clearer explanations about how their PC’s hardware, specifically RAM and GPU, impacts overall performance....

Summary Obsidian is a powerful note-taking app that I love, but it charges $5 a month for the ability to sync between your devices. If, like me, you feel that’s a bit too much, here’s a guide on syncing your Obsidian notes between your phone and PC for free. Your Options for Syncing Obsidian Between Devices When youuse Obsidian, you need to create a vault—a fancy term for a folder. This folder contains all your Obsidian notes asMD or markdown files....

Summary Are your holiday lights connected to one of those old-fashioned timer switches or, worse still, manually operated? you’re able to do better with one of the cheapest smart home upgrades available. Your Festive Decorations Need a Smart Plug Smart plugsadd remote on-off functionality to any “dumb” device. This makes them especially useful for lighting, particularly the sort of holiday lights you see at Christmas or Halloween. When you add a smart plug to your setup, you don’t lose any functionality....

Most smartwatches struggle to last 24 hours on a single charge. But the newly-releasedOnePlus Watch 2boasts a maximum 100-hour battery life. This shocking accomplishment comes courtesy of the “hybrid interface” inWear OS 4, meaning that a 100-hour battery may become commonplace in new Android smartwatches. The Wear OS platform, which is co-developed by Google and Samsung, was overhauled in 2021 to better compete with Apple’s watchOS. One major change was the introduction of a dual-chipset architecture....

Nintendo is cracking down hard on game piracy, but this is accidentally affecting people who own legitimate, secondhand Switch 1 game cartridges. So if you bought a secondhand cartridge, even from GameStop, you might want to read this before you put it on your Switch. The main issue isn’t just about obvious illegal copies: it’s buying official, secondhand Switch 1 cartridges that Nintendo made. You can get a console ban if the previous owner of your game has “ripped” the game’s data for use on another system....

Quick Links Summary For two of my last three phones, I’ve gone out of my way to select one that comes with a stylus. The same is true of my last two tablets. Like gaming with a wireless gamepad, there are certain tasks that are just more pleasant with the right kit. you’re able to get some use of aphone-agnostic passive stylus, but for the best experience, you want a device thatsupports an active stylus(or has one available as an official accessory) like many Samsung devices or the Moto G Stylus....

Summary AI-powered search is going to be the next big step in how we search for things online. I find it faster and easier than Google results—and you might too. Here are some AI search engines that I’ve been using. Imagine you’re tasked with inventing a way to search the internet. There are billions of webpages to sift through scattered all over the web, and you only want to surface the ones relevant to the query at hand....

Summary Looking for a compact office machine, media center, file, and media server, or even something on which to play a few games and edit some video? Look no further than Apple’s Mac Mini. A Lot of Computer for the Money Starting at $599, few Windows or Linux mini PCs can rival the Mac Mini’s raw performance at this price point. For your money, you’ll get anM4 Apple silicon chipwith an 10-coreCPU, 10-coreGPU, 16GB ofunified RAM, and a 256GB solid-state drive....

Quick Links Haven’t got enough space for a full desktop but don’t need the portability of a laptop? Want something small and cheap to use as a server or dedicated emulation machine? A mini PC might be just what you’re looking for. What Is a Mini PC? Also known as tiny PCs, tiny desktops, or nano PCs; a mini PC packs in the functionality of a standard PC in a very small form factor....

Grammarly has taken the writing world by storm, but it’s not the only grammar checker, proofreader, and readability tool in town. If you’re not convinced by Grammarly, there are some alternatives you’re able to try instead. Why is Grammarly So Popular? Grammarlyis by and far the most popular grammar checker you’re able to use. Not only does it look for grammatical errors, but it checks your spelling and aims to improve readability too....

Quick Links Got a spare graphics card lying around that you’d like to use as an eGPU, but don’t own a Windows laptop, the prime eGPU candidate? No worries, there’s a good number of devices you can plug an eGPU into. 1Handheld Gaming PCs If you own a PC gaming handheld equipped withUSB 4orThunderboltports, you can plug an eGPU into it and make games run faster than ever, as long as theGPUin question has enough horsepower to run modern games at playable frame rates, of course....

Contact from unwanted numbers has become more common in the modern era of smartphones. Many people receive at least a few text messages or spam phone calls every week, with some people receiving calls daily. I have been lucky in that I have not received as many of these calls recently. This is thanks to some steps I’ve taken to prevent unwanted callers from reaching me. Of course, I still receive some calls to this day, but I do not get as many as friends and co-workers who have yet to take similar measures....

Android 15 now supports the Wi-Fi Ranging feature for precise indoor tracking and navigation of less than one meter (about forty inches), but that doesn’t mean you can use it today. Also known as the IEEE 802.11az protocol, Wi-Fi Ranging has the potential to replace indoor GPS tracking, which uses satellites orbiting the Earth to pinpoint our location. But the problem with GPS tracking is that it doesn’t work reliably in places that obstruct the signal, like malls....