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The latest Nvidia graphics cards are impossible to find at retailers, and you’ll be paying double or triple the already-high price if you try to get one on the secondary market. But Zotac is trying to help out its most loyal customers by selling directly to them in the US, skipping stores altogether and going right to buyers via Discord. It’s a novel approach. ...   PC World

At a GlanceExpert's Rating Pros Very fast Useful free version Easy-to-use app Streaming supported servers Cons Smaller feature set No independent audit Some privacy concerns Our Verdict Hotspot Shield is a solid VPN with some of the fastest speeds I’ve ever seen. It also has a slick desktop app and a large server network. ...   PC World

With all the news about ChatGPT, Copilot, and DeepSeek, you might think that the US and China are the two main players at the head of the AI pack, with everyone else lagging behind. But that’s not necessarily true. Some European alternatives are making waves. ...   PC World

All season long, the Philadelphia Eagles were hounded by the doubters. One running back can’t win a Super Bowl, they said. Jalen Hurts doesn’t pass enough, they said. The Chiefs have it locked up, they said. ...   PC World

While most PC builders are content to rely on an AIO liquid cooling loop or good old-fashioned air, there are always those who will go the extra mile to keep their components frosty. If you’re willing to invest a lot of money and even more electricity, you could just hook a liquid cooling setup into a residential air conditioner. ...   PC World

Whether it’s politics or tech, we live in a polarizing world. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter and renamed it X, the platform has become an increasingly important tool in his political ambitions. This is causing many users to leave the service. ...   PC World

Back in November, Google integrated Imagen 3 into Google Workspace, allowing you to generate AI images directly in Google Docs. Last week, Google announced a new update to Imagen 3, which can now generate images of people within Google Workspace. ...   PC World

Intel’s Core 285H chip, the first member of its Core Ultra 200 or “Arrow Lake-H” family for laptops, has a big crater to fill. Yes, crater: This processor essentially bombed on the desktop. In laptops, however, Intel’s Core 285H chip helps redeem Intel’s reputation, starring in the otherwise pedestrian MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) laptop. ...   PC World

One of the best VPNs on the market is celebrating its 13th birthday this month and inviting everyone to join in with a limited-time deal. For US-based subscribers, NordVPN is offering up to 72 percent off any of its 2-year plans and throwing in a super generous 1 year of extra protection for free depending on the plan you choose. ...   PC World

Yes, AIs can write recipes and sometimes they’re pretty good! (And sometimes not so much.) But for my latest challenge, I wanted to build an AI that would compose recipes from iPhone snapshots and put them in the proper format for my recipe app. Sound easy? Not really, as it turned out. ...   PC World

TL;DR: This week only, you can get Microsoft Office and Windows 11 Pro on sale for $54.97 (normally a $438 value). If your PC feels slower than usual, you’re probably eyeing the latest models. ...   PC World

For a long time, 16GB of RAM was considered the standard for gaming PCs. However, most machines would benefit from 32 GB of RAM or higher, especially if you play more visually demanding games or like to game and stream at the same time–these tasks tend to eat right through the available RAM. ...   PC World

TL;DR: The Kinhank X2 is a retro console with over 70,000 games built-in, and it can even play movies. Pick one up for only $99.99.  Modern gaming consoles cost hundreds, and new games aren’t exactly cheap. If you want a more affordable way to play games you already know you’ll enjoy, check out the Kinhank Super Retro Console X2. ...   PC World

About a month and a half ago, I had to put down my rescue greyhound. It was swift and unexpected, and my day-to-day routine changed drastically. For weeks, the grief sat like a bowling ball in my chest, ever-present. But a light emerged from the darkness and it came in the form of a cozy $4 farming game called Ropuka’s Idle Island. ...   PC World

Have you ever tried ChatGPT? You may want to take a quick moment to freshen up your account’s security. A Russian hacker is claiming to have login data for over 20 million OpenAI users—and the information includes email addresses and passwords. On Friday, samples of OpenAI logins emerged on the dark web, along with an offer to sell the full trove of data. ...   PC World

TL;DR: Turn complex data into appealing visuals with a lifetime license to Microsoft Visio, only $79.97 (reg. $579) until February 3. If you’re not a professional designer, it’s hard to make data look good. Luckily, you don’t have to be a professional designer. Microsoft Visio Pro makes it easy to turn complex data into clear visuals, and a lifetime license just went on sale. ...   PC World

Handheld gaming PCs are great. But they’re not powerful, at least not compared to full-sized gaming desktops. But then again, there’s nothing stopping you from plugging in a desktop GPU — Asus even makes some just for that purpose. But what if you did it with a brand-new RTX 5090 using an external GPU adapter? Adam and Will did just that in the latest PCWorld YouTube video. ...   PC World

The Steam Deck is great. It’s also big and heavy, especially compared to older handheld gaming devices like the Game Boy or Switch. What’s a PC gamer to do to soothe their tired arms? With this new accessory, you could simply strap it to anything that’s made for a GoPro action camera. Like your chest, for example. ...   PC World

I apologize to anyone who happens to be walking by my house at the moment, especially if you have children present. The blue streak of cursing emanating from my office window is not meant for delicate ears. But I’m due for a GPU upgrade, and it’s going to cost a lot of money. That’s probably not a surprise to most of you. ...   PC World

In February 2024, Google removed a practical feature from its search engine: cached web pages. Back then, even when a web page became unavailable, you could browse Google’s cache — essentially a snapshot of what Google last saw when it visited the page. After Google removed cached pages from search results, the only real alternative was to use the Internet Archive. ...   PC World

At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Resolution of 1440 x 1440 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio) 150- x 150-degree field of view shows visitors from head to toe Runs on battery or wired power Priced right, especially when it’s on sale Cons Subscription required for important features, including video recording Doorbell must be detached from its mount to charge its battery Incompatible with Apple ...   PC World

In recent months, Valve has been making moves to ensure more transparency on Steam. The latest move? Introducing a new warning on product pages for Early Access games that haven’t received updates in a long time. It was spotted by SteamDB in a Bluesky post: Steam now warns about Early Access that have not been updated in months.   PC World

When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, we gave it a 4-star rating. We’re pretty positive on it, but one thing bothered us: it was expensive compared to other Snapdragon laptops. But that’s no longer an issue with this sale. Right now, you can get a Galaxy Book4 Edge for $320 off at Best Buy. That brings the cost down to just $1,030 (or 24 percent off its usual price). ...   PC World

Let’s say you want to uninstall Microsoft’s Edge browser. Fair enough, Windows is supposed to allow you at least some control over your programs, and most people use Chrome. So you search Bing for “How to uninstall Edge,” maybe directly from the Start menu (which only offers Bing in Edge as a search). ...   PC World

This super-easy-to-set-up Eufy security camera is on sale right now for an amazing $70 on Amazon. That’s a whopping 46 percent off and close to the best-ever price we’ve seen for it lately. The Eufy SoloCam S220 isn’t just wireless (for easy installation anywhere), but also has a built-in solar panel that keeps it charged day to day. ...   PC World

We love portable SSDs because they’re fast, small, and fulfill all sorts of purposes. But you can do a lot of the same stuff with a flash drive that’s even more compact and portable than an SSD. And right now, the absolutely tiny 256GB Samsung Fit Plus is just $22 on Amazon, a solid 37 percent off its usual $35 price. The Samsung Fit Plus is a USB 3. ...   PC World

Look, I know rich people aren’t uniformly stupid, but there definitely seems to be a subset of luxury goods that assume such. (Luxury fashion made to look like thrift store goods comes to mind.) And Asus apparently wants a piece of that blue-blood pie because it’s making an RTX 5090 graphics card covered in friggin’ gold. ...   PC World

At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Great value Programming options Long battery life Cons No backlighting Our Verdict At less than half of the price of the popular slim keyboards it imitates, while offering better control and programming options, the Keychron B1 Pro is an easy pick for anyone who needs a solid board and a good deal. ...   PC World

USB labeling has long been a mystery for consumers. Terms like “USB 3.2 Gen 2” or “SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps” have caused more confusion than guidance, and shopping for USB accessories can feel like a crapshoot. ...   PC World

I spend way too many hours in my desk chair every day, which gave me all kinds of aches and pains when I used to have a poor quality chair. If you’ve been looking to upgrade your desk chair but can’t stomach the prices, here’s an opportunity worth jumping on. Right now, Staples is selling the Hyken ergonomic desk chair for just $100. ...   PC World

TK Audio has announced the release of Transformer, a harmonic generator and color box. Transformer is designed as a recording and mixing tool that uses several different harmonic... Read More   KVR Audio

VGTrumpet has released VG Harmonica Virtual Instrument as a VST / AU plugin, and standalone application. Features VG Harmonica includes five sets of audio samples played... Read More   KVR Audio

sonicLAB has updated the Oceanic standalone app to 1.1, now with support for MIDI CC learn. Any slider in the Oceanic app can now be assigned to a MIDI CC controller using a quick... Read More   KVR Audio

rncbc.org has announced the Mid-Winter'25 release of Qtractor version 1.5.3 for GNU/Linux. Changes for this release: MIDI clip editor (aka. piano-roll): mouse cursor pointer... Read More   KVR Audio

XRL Records has released KSNXRL Reverb, a free reverb plugin for Windows VST3. Key Features: Studio-Grade Reverb – Get depth & space in your mix.... Read More   KVR Audio

Bela D Media has released V Pad Pro Volume 2 for Kontakt, describing it as 'an inspiring and surprisingly affordable sketchpad tailored specifically for contemporary composers.' V... Read More   KVR Audio

AngelicVibes has released Basshead Mini, a simple and free 808 and bass plugin designed for trap, electronic, and pop music. All presets were crafted from scratch to deliver fresh, original sounds... Read More   KVR Audio

Niu plusplus has updated MidiPhrase to v2.0.23. The harmony function has been extracted from the right-click menu in the piano window and is now provided as a floating panel, making... Read More   KVR Audio

Witech has released version 2.0 of BassMatrix, now available as a 64-bit VST3 for Windows, a standalone executable for Windows, and an AU2 component for macOS. BassMatrix emulates... Read More   KVR Audio

Sound Dust has announced the release of Bad Violin Toolkit for Kontakt, describing it as: a unique violin toolkit that exudes character and charming wrongnesss, and makes violin... Read More   KVR Audio

Boz Digital Labs has released Bark of Dog 3, a new version of the free stereo/M-S low-frequency enhancer that combines a resonant filter and Pultec-style boost-attenuation EQ in a simple, easy... Read More   KVR Audio

OMG Instruments has updated the free BlueARP to v2.8.0, featuring bug fixes and improvements. Change log: Bug Fix: VST3, changing preset (program) from the host wasn't handled... Read More   KVR Audio

GSi has updated VB3-II, the tonewheel organ emulation plugin for macOS, Windows and iOS, to v2.3.1. Changes: All file exporters now select a default file name. Session Recorder... Read More   KVR Audio

Noisebud has released Fräs, a new saturation VST3 plugin that delivers an analog-style character while applying distortion in a uniquely dynamic way. Built on the same framework... Read More   KVR Audio

Imaginando has announced the release of VS 1.8.0, a major update featuring key optimizations: a more synchronized and performant render engine, improved video recording with enhanced audio-visual... Read More   KVR Audio

Techivation has announced the release of M-De-Esser 2, the latest evolution of their M series plug-ins. According to the developer, 'M-De-Esser 2 takes spectral de-essing to the next... Read More   KVR Audio

Tone2 Audio has released the Celestial Garden Soundset for their synthesizer workstation Electra. Genres: Ambient, Chillout, Space Music, Berlin School, Soundtrack, Atmospheric.... Read More   KVR Audio

Nembrini Audio has released Jazz Chorus Guitar Amplifier Plugin. Legendary sound experience with solid-state design, pristine clean tones, and the iconic Space Chorus effect.... Read More   KVR Audio

UVI has announced the release of Mosaiq, an 'innovative music production multitool offering unlimited inspiration for chords, beats, and more, available now with special pricing'.... Read More   KVR Audio