A Fijian politics expert says the ongoing political instability in Suva will have some bearing on the national general election next year. Read...

Minisforum, a manufacturer of desktop mini PCs, said that it’s raising prices due to an increase in “raw material” component costs. The culprits appear to be rising DRAM and flash memory prices, where the market is beginning to worry and act upon possible shortages. Last night, Minisforum posted a notice on X (via Tom’s Hardware) stating the company would implement a “slight price adjustment due to rising global material costs.” Notably, the company stated that the “barebone (bare system) models and products without DDR5 memory and/or SSD will not be affected by this adjustment currently.” The company did not say how much prices would be affected, and whether the price hikes were a short-term adjustment or simply an overall increase. For now, other mini PC makers (as well as laptop and desktop PC makers) haven’t followed suit, leaving open the question of whether or not Minisforum’s decision was an isolated one or whether it’s the proverbial canary in the coal mine, signaling disaster. There’s evidence to believe that the latter might be the case. Memory and storage makers began sounding alarm bells earlier this year, and the volatile component market has responded. Growth rates in the PC market have stuttered throughout 2025, but the demand for additional memory and storage by AI companies has been insatiable, driving prices higher and faster. For example, TrendForce, which watches the short-term “spot” market in Asia, recently reported that the price of a 16Gbit DDR4-3200 DRAM chip has spiked by 15.9 percent in just a week. That isn’t helped by the fact that DDR4 memory production is winding down, limiting the available supply. Simple economics says that prices will increase as a result. “Module houses with inventory are now holding back, further pushing prices up rapidly,” the firm said. “From the buyers’ perspective, even though the demand for consumer electronics has not notably recovered, there is a strong incentive to maintain safe inventory levels due to expectations of large and ongoing price hikes.” Flash memory for SSDs hasn’t escaped, either — the market appears to be panicking a bit, grabbing available flash memory just to have it on hand, which further deteriorates market conditions. “Due to low availability of spots, as well as the general market consensus on further room for increment in 4Q25, buyers are now leaning towards seizing products to preserve their inventory, which further intensified the constraints of spots,” TrendForce wrote. Spots of 512Gb TLC wafers rose by 27.96 percent this week, arriving at $4.576, the firm found. (Remember, these are 512Gbit chips, so eight of them would be needed to create a 512GB flash drive. And with flash drives now easily topping two terabytes and more, all of these price increases add up.) It’s all a little unnerving, especially as we look ahead into the holidays and traditional Black Friday sales. Will other PC makers follow Minisforum’s lead? Between the shortages caused by hyperscalers and other AI companies, it’s starting to look like holiday deals may be harder to find in 2025. Read...

No one who assembles a PC or sets up a new computer can avoid the BIOS or UEFI. That’s where you define the basics, from the boot sequence and memory profiles to security features like Secure Boot. Modern UEFI interfaces are graphical, can be operated using a mouse, and are much more convenient than legacy BIOS text menus… but they can still be daunting for first-time users. If you’re reluctant to dive into your PC’s BIOS/UEFI, have no fear! These tips will get you familiar and comfortable in no time. How to boot into BIOS/UEFI settings Mark Hachman / Foundry In order to boot into BIOS/UEFI, you have to press a key (or a combination of keys) during the startup process. If you aren’t quick enough, or if you press the wrong keys, you’ll end up in Windows. The exact key(s) you need to press depend on your motherboard’s manufacturer, but most of them use one of the following standardized keys: Delete, F2, F10, or F12. The correct key is often displayed on the screen for a brief moment with the motherboard logo, and it’s best to press the key several times as soon as you see it. However, there’s also an alternative way in Windows 11: open Settings > System > Recovery, scroll down to the Recovery options and look for “Advanced startup,” then click the button labeled Restart now. There you can directly call up the UEFI firmware settings. Step 1: Update your BIOS/UEFI Before you even start fine-tuning, you should update your BIOS/UEFI to the latest version. New versions often bring better RAM compatibility, extend CPU support, and/or fix security vulnerabilities. Download the update from the manufacturer’s website. (Pay attention to the exact model of your motherboard.) It will usually come as a ZIP file, which you can unzip and copy to a USB flash drive. Then, you should be able to find the update function in the BIOS under “EZ Flash,” “M-Flash,” or similar. (If you can’t find it, run a web search for instructions on how to update your particular motherboard.) Important: Make sure your PC doesn’t crash, restart, or shut down during a BIOS/UEFI update. Also, refrain from experimenting with overclocking or unstable power supplies while updating. Also, avoid the update if there’s an impending thunderstorm or if there are known power fluctuations affecting your area/house. Step 2: Set language and interface Many modern UEFI menus offer a graphical view, and some of them even let you interact using mouse controls. You’ll usually find the language setting directly in the main menu or under a tab labeled “General Settings.” Always change the language first so that you can find your way around more easily later. Some motherboards also offer a “Simple view” for beginners and an “Advanced mode” for fine-tuning. Step 3: Customize the boot sequence In order to install Windows on a PC, the PC must be bootable from a USB flash drive. That means you might have to re-order the boot sequence so that if the system detects a plugged-in USB drive, it first tries to boot off of it before moving on to the internal SSD (for example). You can do this in the BIOS/UEFI by navigating to the appropriate section and dragging the USB flash drive option to the top. After Windows is installed, make sure to change the order back and select the Windows Boot Manager or your system hard drive as the first boot device. Tip: If your PC doesn’t reliably recognize your USB drive at startup, try deactivating “Fastboot Mode.” Step 4: Optimize working memory Foundry By default, RAM often only runs at base clock rate. Activate the appropriate profile in the UEFI—depending on the manufacturer, this is called XMP (Intel), DOCP (Asus/AMD), or EXPO (AMD). This allows your RAM to utilize the full speed for which it’s designed without you having to manually overclock. You can usually find this option on the main page of the UEFI menu or under a tab such as “AI Tweaker” (for Asus), “OC” (for Gigabyte), or “Advanced Memory Settings.” Step 5: Set the fan and temperatures You can adjust fan curves under menu items such as “Q-Fan” or “Smart Fan Control,” which allows you to determine how loudly or quietly your PC fans run in everyday use. A steeper curve (i.e., faster at higher temperatures) is recommended for gaming while a flat curve (i.e., remain slow even when temperatures rise slightly) is more suitable for office or home server use, ensuring peace and quiet. Step 6: Optimize energy and performance Many motherboards offer power-saving features such as “C-States” (reduces the CPU voltage when idle) or “ErP ready” (reduces power consumption when switched off). If you need more power, activate Turbo Boost (Intel) or Precision Boost Overdrive (AMD). The latter ensures higher clock rates, but requires good cooling. Note: The combination of power-saving features and aggressive performance options can lead to instability on cheaper motherboards. If your PC crashes frequently after making such changes, switch Turbo Boost/PBO/C-States off again as a test. Step 7: Check security settings In order for Windows 11 to be installed, certain security features must be active in the BIOS/UEFI. If they’re missing, the setup will be canceled or even refuse to start. The two most important options are: Enable Secure Boot: Ensures that only boot loaders signed by Microsoft are loaded. Without Secure Boot, malware could be installed before the operating system starts. As a security measure, Windows 11 will refuse to install without Secure Boot. Enable TPM 2.0: Referred to as “fTPM” (AMD) or “PTT” (Intel) depending on the manufacturer. TPM 2.0 stores cryptographic keys securely in the system. Windows 11 will refuse to install without it. It’s also worth taking a look at the extended security options: BitLocker support: With TPM enabled, hard drive encryption such as BitLocker can be used without additional effort. This protects your data in the events of theft or loss of the computer. Supervisor/BIOS password: Protects the firmware settings from unauthorized access. Lock interfaces: Some motherboards allow you to deactivate USB ports or network adapters directly in the UEFI. This is practical for particularly sensitive environments where access to external devices needs to be restricted for security reasons. Step 8: Other advanced features If your PC is still running stably after all of the above tweaks, it’s now worth taking a look at some additional options: SATA/NVMe mode: For single SSDs and HDDs, AHCI is the standard. This ensures full performance and TRIM support. RAID is only worthwhile if you want to use several drives for purposes of data mirroring (RAID 1) or performance (RAID 0). Importantly, this setting must be defined before Windows is installed, as changing it later can lead to startup errors. Learn more about RAID setups and multiple drives working together. Activate virtualization: Features such as Intel VT-x and AMD-V make it possible to run virtual machines efficiently. If you want to use Hyper-V, VirtualBox, or VMware, you should switch this option on. Without virtualization activated, many things will still run but with significantly reduced performance. IOMMU/SR-IOV (optional): This feature is interesting for advanced users who want to use device passthrough or special virtualization scenarios. Tip: Even if you don’t need virtualization immediately, you can activate the feature directly now. This will save you having to search the BIOS later if you ever end up experimenting with virtual machines. Get comfortable with your BIOS/UEFI In short, the BIOS/UEFI is the control center of your PC. Just a few settings—such as RAM profile, boot sequence, and Secure Boot—can make a world of difference between a system that’s limping along versus a system that’s stable, fast, and secure. If you feel like it, you can eventually try your hand at fine-tuning the deeper settings, from individual fan curves to overclocking. But even without experimenting, with the right BIOS/UEFI settings, your new PC will now be ready to start and optimally prepared. Good to know: You only need to make most BIOS/UEFI adjustments once. After that, your computer will run permanently with the optimum settings without needing any annoying readjustments. Read...

A new United Nations secretary-general needs to be appointed during 2026, in time to take over running the global organisation in 2027. Read...

Where to put asylum seekers has become one of the fiercest topics of political debate since last year`s general election. Read...

Boosting the number of GPs will be critical if returns from the party`s capital gains tax are to be spent on free doctor visits, the head of General Practice NZ says. Read...

First, there was generative AI, allowing creators, editors and memelords to create artificial worlds with just a few words. Now, Adobe is offering the ability to edit those worlds with Prompt to Edit, a new feature within Firefly plus audio. Photoshop is also adding generative upscaling and a “harmonize” feature, too. Adobe announced the new capabilities at its Adobe MAX conference, where it typically rolls out new capabilities within its Adobe Creative Cloud suite as well as Firefly, its AI image generator — which now includes soundtracks and AI voiceovers. Obviously, users have the ability to use Firefly to create entirely new images or use one of Adobe’s other tools to make edits to the finished product. But Prompt to Edit is probably one of the more interesting additions to Adobe’s set of tools. Firefly’s Prompt to Edit capability is generally available to customers today, Adobe said. However, it remains to be seen how effective it is and how much Adobe will “charge” in terms of image credits. Firefly’s new capabilities also include new models from ElevenLabs and TopazLabs, and the ability to create 4-megapixel models, which means images up to 2560×1440 pixels. Until December 1, however, that’s a moot point. Adobe will allow unlimited AI image generations as well as the Firefly Video model until then, the company said. Adobe added a Firefly Video Editor in private beta, which includes a timeline editor for trimming and organizing clips, with the ability to add start or end frames. Users will be able to perform edits using the video editor or via a text transcription. Concept art of Adobe’s new music soundtrack generator.Adobe Firefly users will also be able to add a soundtrack, too. Adobe is debuting the commercially safe Firefly Audio Model for background music as well as the Firefly Speech Model (plus another from ElevenLabs) for voiceovers. This comes as OpenAI reportedly is thinking about its own music generator. Suno, a dedicated AI music generator, also released an updated “4.5 All” model to the general public on Tuesday. Adobe also previewed “Project Moonlight,” an AI assistant which sniffs out a creator’s social channels and makes recommendations based upon the existing content. Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom add AI improvements Adobe’s additions to Photoshop include generative upscaling and a new “harmonize” feature. Generative Upscale is a feature that Topaz Labs has offered for years; image upscaling is also built into Windows, though you’ll need a Copilot+ PC to enable it. Essentially, upscaling takes a low-resolution photo or image and intelligently adds pixels to it, effectively turning it into a more detailed image. Adobe says that you’ll be able to create up to 4K images using the new feature. Harmonize also uses AI to blend people or objects into new scenes, which very much sounds like the traditional “Photoshopping” of images that the online community has embraced. Harmonize is used for “matching light, color and tone for natural, realistic results—completing the bulk of the compositing process,” Adobe says. Photoshop is also adding Google Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, Black Forest Labs FLUX.1 Kontext and Firefly Image Models to its Generative Fill capabilities. All of these are available today. Adobe doesn’t seem to have added the Prompt to Edit capability to Photoshop yet, but the company did show off a “limited private beta” of an AI assistant in Photoshop that appears to offer similar changes. It’s an improved version of tools like Copilot Vision in Windows. Adobe is testing an AI assistant for Photoshop.Adobe Meanwhile, Adobe is adding an AI Object Mask to Premiere, a public beta. The technology “automatically identifies and isolates people and objects in video frames so that they can be edited and tracked without the need for manual rotoscoping,” Adobe said, “Object Mask makes the process of color grading, blurring and adding special effects to a moving background quicker and easier.” Finally, Adobe is testing “assisted culling” in Lightroom, which will assess and pull out the “best” images in a collection, using focus, angles and sharpness as metrics. Read...

Last Christmas, I was gifted a $12 smartphone telescope. It was honestly nothing more than a stocking filler, with the buyer knowing that I like gadgets and that I’m a keen stargazer. So, what better than a fun little accessory for my smartphone? Sure, I could invest a lot of money in a proper telescope, but for an occasional glimpse into the heavens, this was a cheaper and less complicated option. That said, I have to admit that it wasn’t very exciting at first. It actually took me a few months before I even took the smartphone telescope out of its box to give it a go. Living on the outskirts of a city isn’t exactly the best place for staring at the sky, and it’s even worse when you throw rain, snow, and cloud cover into the mix. Dave Parrack / Foundry But I did eventually give it a go—and the first thing I noticed is that this smartphone “telescope” is actually a monocular. Calling it a telescope is great for marketing, but it’s really just a monocular that attaches to your phone. This is important to note because I found it a little flawed when it came to viewing the night sky. It does, however, work great as a zoom lens for objects closer to home than the moon. It’s kind of fiddly to fit, if I’m being honest. You have to remove both lens caps, then attach the clip to the smaller end of the telescope, making sure it’s firmly secured without over-tightening it. Then clip the telescope to your phone, fitting it over the primary lens. You’ll have to open your camera app to make sure you’ve positioned it correctly. (Even when I’ve got it slap-bang over the lens, I can see the curved edges of the scope. You can see this in the photos later on below.) Dave Parrack / Foundry Once the scope is lined up, just point it at something and tweak the focus ring until it’s in sharp focus. It only goes up to 12x magnification so you won’t see Mars in all of its glory, but you can see all kinds of stuff. I had a lot of fun using it to peer at full moons, birds and other critters, sporting events, and general landscapes. It’s way better than a digital zoom. I had a fun couple of hours looking up at the sky from my back garden. However, given the mixed results from stargazing, I have since used this in other contexts instead. It’s small enough to throw in my bag on hikes and vacations, giving me an extra fun accessory to experiment with when I’m looking to get a closer look at and/or shoot photos of interesting subjects in the distance. A shot of my local lake using my normal smartphone camera.Dave Parrack / Foundry The same exact shot of my local lake, but with my smartphone telescope.Dave Parrack / Foundry This smartphone telescope is a cheap little gadget that’s plain fun in a silly and lighthearted way. At worst, it offers a few hours of random gazing—and that’s not terrible for the price. I enjoy it as the gift it was, and it’s a great option if you’re struggling to come up with casual gift ideas for that techie acquaintance in your life. Note: This smartphone telescope should fit most phones, but there’s a chance that it won’t fit all phones. Also, be aware that you’ll likely have to remove your phone’s case to use this gadget. This $12 smartphone telescope is great as a fun little gift ideaBuy now on Amazon Read...

Uh oh, Meta is implementing a change that some users aren’t going to like (and others are going to applaud). Due to new guidelines for WhatsApp business accounts, soon AI chatbots will no longer be allowed when they’re used as the main purpose of the messenger app. The relevant policy text says: Providers and developers of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies, including but not limited to large language models, generative artificial intelligence platforms, general-purpose artificial intelligence assistants … are strictly prohibited from accessing or using the WhatsApp Business Solution, whether directly or indirectly, for the purposes of providing, delivering, offering, selling, or otherwise making available such technologies when such technologies are the primary (rather than incidental or ancillary) functionality being made available for use, as determined by Meta in its sole discretion. In layman’s terms, this means that AI tools like ChatGPT will be removed from WhatsApp, and AI providers (such as Perplexity) will no longer be allowed to offer chatbots via WhatsApp. The only AI you’ll be allowed to use for support on WhatsApp will be Meta’s own AI. Officially, the change won’t take effect until January 16th, 2026, but it’s possible that OpenAI will remove ChatGPT from WhatsApp before then to avoid conflicts with Meta. Why is WhatsApp banning AI chatbots? According to Meta (via TechCrunch), chatbots like ChatGPT “placed a lot of burden on its system with increased message volume and required a different kind of support, which the company wasn’t ready for.” However, the fact that Meta’s own AI has also been available in WhatsApp since earlier this year is also likely to be a factor that led to this decision, especially as Meta’s AI can’t be deactivated or deleted. Starting January 2026, it’ll still be possible to use chatbots and AI in WhatsApp, for example to provide support or customer service. But there can no longer be a real AI assistant. Anyone who fails to adhere to the guidelines risks being banned from WhatsApp Business Solutions. What should you do about this? To date, over 50 million people are said to have used ChatGPT via WhatsApp, which should be seen as a huge success for both apps. Nevertheless, the end of the brief collaboration is inevitable. Starting January 2026, anyone who wants to continue using ChatGPT will have to use one of ChatGPT’s apps (like the Android version on the Play Store) or directly in the web browser. Both options offer more features than ChatGPT via WhatsApp, and they’re less limited when it comes to uploading files or voice input. Alternatively, you can start chatting with Meta AI via the search bar in WhatsApp. Meta AI is currently based on the Llama 4 language model, which offers efficient and solution-oriented answers but isn’t as good at working with context as ChatGPT is. Note that Meta AI will start snooping on your chats soon for personalizing ads and content. If you don’t want to lose access to your chat history with ChatGPT, you should back it up by January 15th, 2026. To do this, you need to link your WhatsApp account to your ChatGPT account, which you can do via ChatGPT on WhatsApp by clicking the three-dot menu and then View contact. Scroll down, then select Link your ChatGPT account. Further reading: Fun ways to use ChatGPT when you’re bored Read...

If you’re encountering a “screen of death,” in blue or black variety, it’s safe to say that something’s gone wrong. It could be any number of issues, but on the chance that there’s something wrong with your memory hardware, Windows 11 will soon prompt you to run a memory scan via Windows Memory Diagnostics after it recovers. The feature is now in testing. “We’re introducing a new feature that helps improve system reliability,” says the Windows Insider Blog (spotted by Bleeping Computer). The memory scan prompt will appear via a notification, and it’s dismissible if you know that the crash was caused by something else. That’s a good thing since a full memory scan requires a reboot and a few minutes where your PC isn’t accessible. If you’re using an ARM-based device or using Bitlocker sans Secure Boot or you have Administrator Protection turned on, you won’t see the prompt. Presumably, Microsoft thinks at least some of those users don’t need the reminder. Other notable changes to the next Windows Insider build (KB5067109) include a searchable box for your copy and paste history, a new option to adjust the delay for voice typing, adjustments to the Device cards in the settings menu, and some new taskbar animations. As usual with the Insider program, it’s anyone’s guess as to when or if this stuff will make it to the general release updates for Windows 11. Read...