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Why you should trust me: Here at PCWorld we've been testing computer hardware, software, and services since the 1980s. For my part, I'm continually testing all of the major VPNs on the market and many lesser-known services in order to curate a list of the very best VPNs across a variety of categories. Below you'll find my favorite VPNs, and below those, helpful advice about what to look for when choosing a VPN on your own.
If you're looking to use your VPN for more than streaming, be sure to check out our comprehensive roundup of the best VPNs in all categories, as well.
NordVPN - Best VPN overall for Netflix
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In an ongoing calendar of deprecated features within Windows, Microsoft has targeted Maps for deprecation by April. It will be removed from the Windows Store by July and will no longer be supported, the company said. In July, a new update will turn the Maps app off.
"Any personal data or files you have saved, such as guided navigation or URLs to maps, won't be removed, but they'll no longer function in the Maps app past July 2025," Microsoft said. The Maps app won't come preinstalled on new PCs past the current Windows 11 24H2 release, either.
Maps will still be supported within Windows, however. You'll simply have to visit Bing's own maps page to access them.
Maps is a legacy app that was invaluable on Windows Phones, though that platform died years ago. Now, there's no real reason to hold on to Maps, or to add those few kilobytes to the install size of Windows.
Maps, whose data is credited to both TomTom and Microsoft itself, also previously agreed to change the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America." So if that riles you up, you'll be glad to see Maps go.
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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the rumored look of the iPhone 17 "Air" and iPadOS 19's major productivity update.
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But who would buy it? Unsurprisingly, there are beaucoup business beaus lining up around the block for this browser bachelorette. We've already heard that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is very interested, as testified in court by an executive. And another notable name in the AI space, search engine Perplexity, told a judge much the same thing. Bloomberg reports that Yahoo, which almost feels like legacy media at this point, would also be interested if Chrome becomes available.
That's three potential new homes for the world's most popular browser. But it's important to note that federal judge Amit Mehta hasn't yet made a determination on how Google will be punished for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Just because prosecutors suggest breaking off Chrome doesn't mean that he'll agree it's an appropriate end. And whatever happens, Google will certainly exhaust its legal options with enough money to make Solomon blush. Google losing control of Chrome is not a foregone conclusion, even if it feels that way from recent reports.
But let's proceed under
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Original story from April 16, 2025: If you're still using Microsoft's classic Outlook app for your emailing needs, you may have noticed that your computer hardware behaves a bit strangely when using the app—most notably when typing.
Earlier this week, Microsoft issued a warning and confirmed that the classic Outlook app can cause your computer's CPU usage to skyrocket. Processor usage can spike by 30 to 50 percent when writing an email, and also increase your computer's power consumption. It's implied that this is a bug, but the root cause isn't yet known.
The company says there isn't yet a direct solution to the problem, but notes that the issue only affects versions of classic Outlook on the Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel, and Insider channels, after updating to Version 2406 Build 17726.20126 or later.
If this issue is causing you significant trouble, you can work around it by switching your classic Outlook app to the Semi Annual Channel. Instructions on how to do that can be found in
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 Apple is accelerating its manufacturing shift away from China, with plans to assemble all U.S.-bound iPhones in India by the end of 2026, according to a new Financial Times report.
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Intel chief financial officer David Zinsner told analysts on Thursday that Intel sold more volume in its Raptor Lake chips than Lunar Lake, suggesting that customers preferred the higher-performance Raptor Lake chips that debuted in 2023 versus the latest Lunar Lake chip that launched last September.
Meanwhile, Zinsner suggested that Intel's future is extremely uncertain, due to the Trump administration's varying economic policy. "The very fluid trade policies in the U.S. and beyond, as well as regulatory risks, have increased the chance of an economic slowdown with the probability of a recession growing," Zinsner said. "This makes it more difficult to forecast how we will perform for the quarter and for the year, even as the underlying fundamentals supporting growth I discussed earlier remain intact."
Zinsner also gave an enormous range for the company's spending plans of between $8 billion and $11 billion, because Intel doesn't know what the future of the CHIPS Act might be.
Older, cheaper, higher-performance Intel CPUs are the favorite
The surprise, however, was how Intel's customers are dealing with tariffs — simply buying older products instead. Intel executives said that the Intel 7 process — the foundation of the Raptor Lake chips — was constrained, and so was production of the chip itself. That's because customers
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 Meta today announced that it is adding several new web features to the Threads social network, as well as officially relocating the website to a new domain. Threads is migrating from Threads.net to Threads.com, and Threads.com will be the new default domain name.
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If you're wondering how to plan your workouts, don't worry. We asked trained professionals which exercises they recommend to help you plan a routine.
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