Stories by Mark Hachman

Windows 10 November 2019 Update review: Fewer features now, bigger changes later

Microsoft's goal with its Windows 10 November 2019 Update is to fix bugs, not push features. A Windows Search-powered File Explorer offers one of the few improvements.

Acer Swift 3 (2019) review: This midrange notebook PC hides Nvidia graphics power

Acer's Swift 3 (2019) notebook PC offers excellent performance and satisfactory battery life for an inexpensive clamshell, though the audio and fingerprint reader are noticeably lacking.

Windows 7 pop-up warnings to update to Windows 10 will soon reappear

Microsoft is beginning to use pop-up notifications to warn Windows 7 Pro users that they had better upgrade to Windows 10 by January 2020.

Try out the Google Pixel 4's Recorder transcription tech now, on your own phone

Google's upcoming Recorder technology builds on its free Live Transcribe app for Android, which you can try out right now.

Google Pixelbook Go: the 5 major things you need to know

From what it looks like to what's inside of it, here are the five things that define Google's new Chromebook, the Google Pixelbook Go.

Surface Book 2 firmware fixes Nvidia GPU bug blocking Windows 10 upgrades

Microsoft has apparently patched the longstanding bug that prevented the Surface Book 2 from receiving the Windows 10 May 2019 Update.

Upcoming Microsoft keyboards will include dedicated Office, emoji shortcut keys

In just a few days you'll be able to buy Microsoft's new Ergonomic and Bluetooth keyboards, which included dedicated Office and emoji keys for use with Windows 10.

Microsoft's next Windows 10 feature update gets a name

Microsoft has named its next feature update the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, which is a month or two later than anticipated.

PC market grows again in Q3, as Windows 7 nears end of life

The PC market grew in the third quarter of 2019 year over year, largely due to looming tariffs and the end of the road for Windows 7.

Microsoft rolls out Your Phone's Calls feature: You can use your PC to make calls using your phone

Microsoft is making its Calls feature for Your Phone live to its Windows 10 Insider program, with a far, far larger number of supported phones than previous iterations. You can now leave your phone in your pocket.

Windows, Xbox now allow parents to set per-game screen time limits for kids

Microsoft has made its Windows and Xbox family settings more granular, allowing parents to place more defined limits on their kids' online activity and screen time.

Opera 64 kills trackers for more speed, creates memes for more laughs

Opera's latest Opera 64 desktop browser now blocks trackers, increasing performance by 20 percent. Its Snapshot tool becomes more meme-friendly, too.

Intel shows off the 'Element,' another modular CPU design for servers or workstations

This summer, Intel showed off the NUC Compute Element for laptops. It's now launched a Xeon-based "Element" that could be used for servers or possibly desktops.

Intel slashes prices of 9th-gen desktop 'F' chips without integrated graphics by up to 20 percent

Intel decides to make the prices of its GPU-less "F" chips more "rational," and introduces a cheap Xeon microprocessor alongside it, too.

Microsoft will bring its powerful cloud dictation and transcription services to Word in 2020

Microsoft's potent cloud-powered dictation and transcription services are coming to Microsoft Word in 2020.