Apple's M3 MacBook Air combines Apple's lightest and thinnest laptop design with the impressive horsepower of third-generation Apple silicon. B&H Photo Video has the 2024 laptop on sale for $200 off. Usually $1,299, the variant with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is only $1,099.
The 2024 MacBook Air adds the M3 chip, Apple's silicon with a 3nm process that crams more electronic components into a smaller space compared to its predecessor. Apple's Neural Engine, which will become more crucial with the introduction of Apple Intelligence AI features this fall, is also 15 percent faster in the M3 family than the M2. While the M3 MacBook Air may not provide a dramatic speed boost over the M2 in day-to-day tasks, it has a higher ceiling for intensive work and is more future-proo
As we've seen in years past, once Amazon's Prime Day ends, many of the deals evaporate. But one week after the sale frenzy (both from Amazon and other retailers) we're still seeing quite a few deals that have either stayed true to their event pricing or have come up with a fresh discount after the fact. Right now, the budget pick in our iPad guide is just $1 more than the low it hit last week. Our favorite pair of
X's Grok generative AI product is being integrated into the web and mobile versions of the social network, and training itself on billions of tweets thanks to an automatic opt-in for all users. (All large language model (LLM) AI tools need to be trained on massive amounts of text, which is why ChatGPT periodically releases new versions with an updated core database.)
Well, it seems like a constantly refreshed pool of conversations from some of the web's most active users was simply too much for company xAI to resist, which now automatically scans your "posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and [Grok search] results."
At the moment, X is using Grok as a chatbot for premium users and to replace human-made summaries of late-breaking news stories, with predictable issues resulting. The flippant and "rebellious" tone of the Grok model's responses has been criticized by initial users, and its reliance on constantly updated data from X seems to make it particularly susceptible to deliberate misinformation campaigns.
All X/Twitter users are automatically opted into having their data scanned by Grok, whether they pay for premium features or not. Thankfully, it's possible to opt out manually… though not particula
Microsoft has started beta testing a new feature that lets you "see your Android phone in File Explorer" and "wirelessly browse through all your folders and files, including media that is on your Android phone."
Warner Bros. Discovery followed through on its threat to "take appropriate action" against the NBA for rejecting its broadcasting rights offer. Variety reported on Friday that the media company sued the league in the New York State Supreme Court after the NBA turned down its bid to match Amazon's streaming package that kicks in starting in the 2025-26 season.
The conflict stems from Warner's belief that its current contract gives it the right to match any offer that would replace Warner's TNT as a home for NBA games (and the iconic Inside the NBA) in the upcoming deal. As for the league's stance, The Athletic reported that since the current agreements were signed when streaming was "on the horizon, but not part of the deals," the NBA disagrees with Warner's matching claim.
The lawsuit was expected as soon as the league announced its new broadcasting and streaming package, which also includes Disney (ABC and ESPN) and Comcast (NBC). The NBA reportedly told Warner it rejected its matching offer because it wanted to put all its games on its streaming se
Yesterday's Gran Turismo 7 game update 1.49 introduced all-new physics that have added extra realism and generally improved gameplay. However, the change is also causing some bizarre problems in specific situations, making cars bounce violently or just get hurled into the air.
The physics updates are generally positive, adding "more natural cornering physics and acceleration/deceleration stability levels," according to the developer. Similar changes to tire physics and steering allow a more challenging and rewarding driving experience overall.
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— ??????????? (@AIPhard_T0yota) July 25, 2024
However, some bugs appear to have crept in as well, according to gtplanet and posts on Reddit's r/granturismo. High-horsepower vehicles, often with engine swaps and extreme suspension settings, are literally flying, bouncing or intersecting with the ground, according to multiple (hilarious) videos.
The problem appears to happen when cars try to accelerate from low speeds, and mostly affects cars under AI control. It also happens during dynamic "Scapes Movies" scenes designed to show off landscapes from cars operated at slow speeds by AI. It's even been seen in GT Auto's garages.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with GRID Studio to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 256GB 13-inch M3 MacBook Air from Apple. For those unfamiliar with GRID Studio, it is a company that creates clever art for Apple fans by disassembling old iPhones and Apple products.
Although you might not benefit from net metering, the residential clean energy credit still makes switching to solar an appealing energy alternative in the Great Lake State.
Why you should trust us: PCWorld has been covering PCs since 1983, and reviews more than 70 notebooks a year in our never-ending quest to find the best laptops. Our expert reviewers evaluate every machine using a combination of performance benchmarks and rigorous usability standards, with an eye toward identifying the best laptops for specific needs and at various price points. We also edit lots of videos ourselves, with the results appearing on PCWorld's YouTube channel. Take a look at our top picks for video editing below, followed by buying advice and more details about our testing process.
If you're on a budget or just looking to save some money, you may also want to check out our daily roundup of the best laptop deals to scope out any discounts on content creation notebooks.
Which is why I absolutely love this Bluetooth numpad, which is currently half off and available for just $30 on Amazon. It's a fantastic deal on a sleek accessory that's perfect for smaller laptops and compact keyboards that lack numeric keypads.
The number pad has an ergonomic tilt to ensure comfortable data entry, and it's small enough that you can toss it into your laptop bag and forget about it. It doesn't just feature the number pad, by the way—it also has navigation arrows, page up, page down, and so on.
This numpad connects to your computer via Bluetooth for a convenient, cable-free experience. It also has a rechargeable battery that uses a USB-C input and lasts about two weeks with regular activity. And when you aren't using it, it automatically goes to sleep.
The Lekvey Bluetooth Number Pad is compatible with pretty much any device, including Windows, Macs, and Androids. As long as your device has Bluetooth connectivity or a Bluetooth dongle, you should be good. (The only exception is that it does NOT work with Chromebooks!)
So, if you need a numpad but only sometimes, you really should consider the Lekvey Bluetooth Numpad for just $30 on Amazon. This awesome deal won't last forever so make your decision quick!
OpenAI announced a new AI-powered search engine prototype called SearchGPT. It's described SearchGPT as "a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources." The company plans to test out the product with 10,000 initial users, then roll it into ChatGPT after gathering feedback.
It's a spicy time to launch AI-powered search engines. Last month, Perplexity faced criticism for summarizing stories from Forbes and Wired without adequate attribution or backlinks to the publications. It also ignored robots.txt, a way for websites to tell crawlers that scrape data to back off. Earlier this week, Wired publisher Condé Nast reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity and accused it of plagiarism. Also: see the Reddit drama earlier this week.
SearchGPT categorizes its results with short descriptions and visuals, but according to some early users, just like its chatbot forebears, accuracy is… lacking.
— Mat Smith
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A Washington state judge decided in favor of Amazon in a major workplace safety case, a significant win for the e-commerce giant, which has grappled with allegations that it sets a grueling pace for warehouse workers, exposing them to injury and illness.
How Microsoft is improving Windows updates is a bit technical, but builds off what Microsoft has done before. Beginning in 2021 with the Windows 11 21H2 update, Microsoft trimmed the file size of Windows updates by about 40 percent in basically two ways: separating Windows applications like Mail into their own apps, and not part of Windows; and downloading only what was needed for a Windows update.
Microsoft is taking the same approach for Windows 11 24H2, but more aggressively. Going forward, Microsoft will look at the code it released during the last feature update that was downloaded to your machine, and the code it released during the current update, and try to send over just the code that is the "difference" between them. Between each feature update, Microsoft will issue smaller cumulative updates called "checkpoints." The same technique will apply: Microsoft will send over just what's changed, and not the entire update.
The change in approach should be better for users in several different ways: smaller, quicker downloads, and probably less storage on your PC from older Windows updates that are archived there in case of a problem. The new experience will begin with Windows 11 24H2 later this year.
For now, though, Windows 10 and users running older Windows 11 machines will experience business as usual. "If you are running other versions of Windows 10 or Windows 11 (earlier than version 24H2), the process of updating will be similar to previous monthly updates or annual Windows 11 feature updates," Microsoft
