I’ve often considered that Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is the best deal in gaming, if you’re looking to get a huge amount of variety and access for a small monthly fee. I might have to recalculate after the latest price hike. This morning Microsoft announced prices going up in the U.S. by quite a lot, rising from $19.99 to $29.99 USD for the all-you-can-play Ultimate package. That still includes hundreds of local and streaming games (heavily featuring titles published by Microsoft’s various studios, of course) across Xbox and PC, and sometimes jumping between them. Microsoft is also trying to convince players that the increased price comes with extra incentives, including a new selection of “classics” from the Ubisoft+ catalog of digital games. There’s also a new partnership with Epic which includes the Fortnite Crew subscription starting in November. This adds a bunch of skins and digital currency for the popular battle royale game. Microsoft says these additions are worth $16 and $12 a month, respectively…but of course when it comes to all-digital assets, the “value” is set by the companies in question. Whether you agree with them is up to you…and I don’t. Even as someone who plays Fortnite regularly and gets the battle pass for most seasons, I’ve never seen the point of Crew, and I’m not especially tempted by creaky old Ubisoft games, either. The PC Game Pass is moving from $11.99 to $16.49. This includes the full range of PC games in the library, streaming access on PC and other platforms, and those day-one releases…but notably omits the Ubisoft Classics. It’s a pretty sizeable price increase with no added value, save the arguable extras you get from new game additions in the announcement. These do include some notable newcomers like Hogwarts Legacy, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Diablo IV, and Cities: Skylines Remastered. Other tiers of Game Pass are getting changes, but less drastic ones. Game Pass Standard is now called Game Pass Premium, and it’s still $14.99. This one’s probably the least impacted by the changes, as it’s only getting a wider selection of games with the addition of PC access in addition to console games, plus streaming for both libraries. But it doesn’t get access to the full 400+ game library, and won’t high-profile, day-one releases like the recent Hollow Knight: Silksong. You’ll have to wait a year or so, according to the Xbox Wire announcement. “Game Pass Essential” is the new name for Game Pass Core, basically the bottom tier needed to access online multiplayer for Xbox consoles. It now includes a wider selection of free game access and play on consoles, PCs, or streaming. Prices in territories outside the US are going up by roughly the same amount. The price hike hurts, and I’m not the only one who thinks so, judging by the scuttlebutt in the PCWorld staff chatroom. (Hi, I instantly canceled my Ultimate subscription – Brad the editor.) I’ve dipped into Game Pass a few times just to try out a new release, as $15 or $20 to go through a new game that seems interesting (like, say, Hi-Fi Rush) is a lot more palatable than $50-70. But pumping that up to $30 means I can wait for a sale. It sure doesn’t help that in its flurry of acquisitions and layoffs, Microsoft has kneecapped a lot of its own studios and developers…like, say, the makers of Hi-Fi Rush. There are other problems for penny-pinchers. You can no longer exchange Microsoft Rewards — which is getting a profile boost thanks to the upcoming Windows 10 cutoff — directly for an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Now, you’ll need to buy Xbox gift cards and cash those in for a Game Pass subscription — but said gift cards are available in $25 increments, while Game Pass Ultimate now costs $30 a month. Ick. Asus And it surely hasn’t escaped the notice of keen observers that this price increase is coming a couple of weeks before the arrival of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, Microsoft’s play to extend the Xbox brand into portable devices and shine up Windows for handheld gaming PCs at the same time. With prices starting at $600 and stretching to $1000 for the Xbox Ally and upgraded Xbox Ally X, respectively, fans of the Xbox platform might be seeing a lot of sticker shock right now. Read...

Elon Musk wants to develop an alternative online encyclopedia that’ll go by the name “Grokipedia.” It’ll be made with his AI company xAI, according to the announcement via social media post. The name is derived from Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, which—according to Musk—is designed to search for the “truth.” Musk has been an outspoken critic of Wikipedia, having accused the platform (whose content is created by users) of not being objective and having a left-wing political bias. Shortly before the announcement, his companion David Sacks (AI advisor under President Donald Trump) also spoke out against Wikipedia as being “hopelessly biased” and criticized how its material was being used to train artificial intelligence. The AI chatbot Grok has also made controversial headlines in the past, such as for making anti-Semitic statements. Musk and his team attributed this to faulty programming, but analyses show that behind-the-scenes corrections can strongly influence the AI’s responses. At a glance, here’s what you should know about Grokipedia: Grokipedia is currently still in development phase at xAI. Grokipedia is intended to be thematically based on Wikipedia, while also being AI-supported and, according to Musk, “more objective.” The controversies surrounding Grok so far raise questions about how reliable and unbiased Grokipedia’s content will actually be. As of right now, it’s still unclear whether Grokipedia will be accessible to the public, and if so, when it will be released. Musk sued Apple and OpenAI because Grok wasn’t topping the charts Back in August, Musk sued Apple and OpenAI and accused the companies of conspiring to put his AI products—in particular Grok—at a competitive disadvantage. The lawsuit alleged that Apple downgraded other AI apps in the App Store and delayed the app review process. The background to this is that OpenAI’s ChatGPT currently sits at the top of the iOS App Store rankings while Grok lingers in 22nd place and X in 28th place. Musk sees this as a distortion of competition due to the ChatGPT’s integration in iOS, although Apple had announced that it would also support other AI models in the future. Read...

If you want your household to be on the cutting edge of AI, Microsoft has a deal for you: Microsoft 365 Premium, which combines the Family plan with Copilot Pro. At a new price of $19.99 per month, Microsoft 365 Premium sounds simple enough. Previously offered only to business users, it’s now available to consumers as well. There’s also a twist: Microsoft said it’s canceling the $20 Copilot Pro subscription entirely, which reduces the standalone value of Copilot and M365 considerably. Essentially, Microsoft 365 Premium combines Copilot Pro with Microsoft 365. On the Office side, you’ll get access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook, all with Copilot Chat built in and 1TB of storage. On the AI side, subscribers will get access to “extended” AI usage limits for GPT-5 and 40 image generation, plus the Actions, Researcher, and Analyst agents. A Microsoft blog post compared Microsoft 365 Premium against ChatGPT Plus, making it clear where the company is feeling the heat. Microsoft says that the same Microsoft 365 Premium subscription can be used at home or at work, where it benefits from Enterprise Data Protection in Copilot. There’s a small catch for existing subscribers. If you upgrade, your subscription won’t carry over entirely. Instead, you’ll be “credited” with a number of days on the new Premium plan for your existing Microsoft Personal or Family subscription. You can find the details on Microsoft’s dedicated page for upgrading an existing 365 subscription. If you choose to stay on the Microsoft Family and Personal tier, the company is adding some bonuses, including 40 image generation in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Copilot; unlimited use of Copilot Voice in the app; and Podcasts, Vision, and Deep Research in Copilot. Read...

If you only download Microsoft Edge add-ons (also known as extensions) via the official Microsoft Edge Add-ons Store, you can rest assured that they’re at least checked for malware before being made available. However, it’s also possible to install Edge Add-ons using a method called sideloading, which lets you install unofficial extensions that aren’t available in the Microsoft Edge Add-ons Store. Sideloading comes with risks, though, as unofficial extensions are untested, meaning they can carry malware or otherwise cause issues on your system. Fortunately, according to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap (spotted by BleepingComputer), a new feature is currently in development that will “detect and revoke malicious sideloaded extensions.” The new Edge security feature is slated for a public rollout starting in November 2025. Until it arrives on your own device, be extra careful when sideloading extensions onto Edge. Further reading: Quick tips to secure your data in Microsoft Edge Read...

TELUS launches AI-powered Email Protection Service Advanced, boasting a 99.7% phishing catch rate and support for major collaboration platforms like Microsoft 365. Read...

OVHcloud’s new accelerator supports 16 blockchain startups with EUR €50,000 in cloud credits, mentoring and workshops from September to November 2025. Read...

If you’re curious about which web browsers are the most popular as of this moment, here are the latest figures from Statcounter. Looking across all possible platforms—that includes desktop PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets—Google Chrome remains the undisputed leader with a market share of 71.77 percent. What’s interesting here is that this is the highest market share Chrome has ever had, meaning Google’s browser is more popular now than ever. In second place is Apple’s Safari with a market share of 13.9 percent, most of which are iPhone users. Next comes Microsoft Edge with 4.67 percent, Mozilla Firefox with 2.17 percent, Samsung Internet with 1.86 percent, and Opera with 1.74 percent. This is great news for Google, who almost had to sell off Chrome in an anti-trust judgment. Turns out, users just can’t seem to give up Chrome even after issues like hidden malicious extensions and AI being baked straight into the browser. Further reading: Essential Chrome features you should be using Read...

We all think of wireless when it comes to smart home and home entertainment—Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth, Thread, Z-Wave, and what have you—but a surprising number of smart devices depend on good, old-fashioned wired ethernet for the best performance.  The Philips Hue Bridge? Needs an ethernet cable. Got an Apple TV streaming box? It does Wi-Fi, but ethernet makes it better. That smart hub? An ethernet cable would certainly boost its reliability. Running a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X? A respectable K/D ratio demands ethernet.  All those ethernet cables and ports will add up, though, and most Wi-Fi and mesh routers only serve up a handful of ethernet connections—or, most likely, only a single extra port.   That’s why I’ve been investing in ethernet switches, and my favorite—this unmanaged 5-port gigabit ethernet bridge from TP-Link—is just $13 during the runup to Amazon’s October Prime Day, good for a 35% savings. If you’re looking for more ports, this 8-port configuration is selling for $29.99, or 25% off the list price. I have three of the 5-port TP-Link bridges in my smart home: one sits under my desk, connected to my PC, my Philips Hue Bridge, and my HDHomeRun over-the-air TV tuner. The link port is connected to my mesh Wi-Fi router, and the fifth port is connecting to… yes, another ethernet bridge.  My second bridge lives in a steel cabinet in the corner of the office, and it’s all about the Raspberry Pi’s–four of them, to be exact. Those Raspberry Pi boards run a series of locally hosted applications, including HomeBridge, an app that lets me bring non-HomeKit smart devices into the Apple Home app; Home Assistant, an open-source smart home platform I’ve been tinkering with; and Plex, a self-hosted media server and DVR that works with my HDHomeRun TV tuner. My Raspberry Pi systems will work just fine over Wi-Fi, but a rock-solid ethernet connection makes them far more reliable, especially for streaming media.  Finally, my third TP-Link ethernet switch sits in the living room behind my TV, where it’s connected to my Apple TV 4K, my PlayStation 5, and my Denon AVR-x1600H, ensuring perfectly smooth streaming video, cutting down on gaming latency, and preventing audio dropouts when streaming tunes via AirPlay.  Setting up these TP-Link ethernet bridges is a snap; because they’re unmanaged (meaning they can’t assign IP addresses on their own), it’s really just a matter of connecting the link port to a nearby Wi-Fi router or mesh hub and then plugging in your ethernet devices. You can have multiple ethernet switches downstream, meaning you can daisy-chain them if necessary. An AC adapter with a small wall wart supplies the power.  I’ve been rocking these particular TP-Link switches for years now and have never had any problems. I highly recommend them if you’re running out of ethernet ports in your smart home or home theater setup—the more the merrier.  Snag a TP-Link TL-SG105 5-port gigabit ethernet switch for $12.99Buy on Amazon Read...

Yesterday, Microsoft released the weird 25H2 update for Windows 11, officially moving its operating system to its next major upgrade. According to Windows Latest, the rollout is taking place despite Microsoft being aware of four known bugs in this version of Windows 11. Among other things, there may be difficulties with playing video files that use DRM protection as well as sharing files via Windows SMB v1. Furthermore, the Media Creation Tool can’t be used on Arm-based computers, and there are also problems installing updates via the Windows Update Standalone Installer (WUSA). So even though Windows 11 25H2 is now technically available to everyone on eligible PCs, you may want to hold off on installing the 25H2 upgrade if you don’t want to experience these bugs. Read...

Windows 11 version 25H2, the next major feature update for Microsoft’s operating system, started rolling out in waves on September 30. Despite being categorized as an “enablement update,” the scope of the changes is considerable. The basic architecture remains identical to version 24H2, which means there are no new hardware requirements. If you don’t already have Windows 11, or just need a new license, you can grab it for 50 percent off on the PCWorld Software store right now. For all systems that are already running on Windows 11 24H2, the upgrade requires minimal effort. A small enablement package activates the new functions without the need for a complete reinstallation or in-place upgrade. This procedure not only saves time, but also significantly reduces downtime. Devices with older versions such as 23H2 or Windows 10, on the other hand, must go through the classic, more extensive upgrade process. Windows Latest Thanks to the “Shared Servicing Branch”, many new features are already distributed in 24H2, but are deactivated until the Enablement Package activates them. Users benefit from around 40 percent smaller update packages thanks to the combination of servicing stack updates and other cumulative updates, which further shortens the installation time. New start menu with extended control options The revised start menu is one of the most visible changes in 25H2. It shows the pinned apps at the top, a section with recommended content such as recently used documents or programs in the middle and the complete app list below. The latter can be displayed in three modes, as a category view, as a compact grid, or as a classic list. Users can control the scope dynamically using buttons such as “Show all” or “Show less”. New personalization settings allow more pinned apps to be displayed by default or recommendations to be hidden completely. Frequently used and recently installed apps can also be displayed or hidden as desired. Companies benefit from the largely retained basic structure, as adjustments to documentation and training material are minimal. Restrictions still exist. Categories cannot yet be renamed or created, drag & drop currently only works from “All” to “Pinned”, and touch navigation currently lacks support for swipe up gestures. The start menu is supplemented by the option to display system folders such as “Settings” or “Explorer” as fixed icons in the bottom bar, which enables quick access to frequently used functions. Further reading: Windows 11’s new-look Start menu is a huge upgrade. Let’s dive in Direct integration of smartphones via Phone Link With the new start menu integration of “Phone Link”, the connection between PC and smartphone takes center stage even more. Users can exchange files between PC and mobile devices via drag & drop, send images from Explorer directly “to my phone” or retrieve messages and content from the Start menu. The setup requires a Microsoft account for the app, but not for the Windows login. In private households, this simplifies the management of media and documents; in companies, it enables uncomplicated connection of service devices. Content can be synchronized via local networks or even mobile data connections. The implementation is considered to be more stable than in previous pre-release versions, in which Phone Link was often prone to errors. Windows Customizable widgets on the lock screen The lock screen display can be expanded with widgets, including weather, stock market prices, countdown counters or customized information sources. These elements can be customized to keep important data directly in view without unlocking the desktop. A new feature is the “Discover widgets” function, which displays suggestions for other available widgets and simplifies the selection process. For companies, this can be a way of providing employees with status information or appointments, while private users can keep an eye on birthdays or deadlines, for example. Currently, changes only take effect after a restart, which is likely to be optimized in the final version. Optimized energy management and performance diagnostics A new mechanism for throttling the CPU during idle phases reduces power consumption and extends battery life, which particularly affects mobile work devices and notebooks. In addition, Windows automatically records diagnostic data when the system reacts slowly. These logs can be sent to Microsoft via the feedback hub in order to identify the causes of performance problems more quickly. For the user, these are stored locally in the system under “%systemRoot%\Temp\DiagOutputDir\Whesvc” and are only transmitted when feedback is active. Extensions in the file explorer and in the search The File Explorer displays person icons in the “Recommended” area under the “Activity” column to make it easier to recognise who has recently worked on a file, but only when using a business or school account. In the search options, the direct link to the Bing search history has been removed; instead, access is centralised via the data protection dashboard. This change reduces redundant menu items and bundles data protection controls in one place. Higher quality system drivers through CodeQL analysis Higher quality standards will apply to driver signing in the future. Every kernel-mode driver (except graphics drivers) must pass a CodeQL scan before WHCP certification. This analysis uncovers potential errors or security gaps at an early stage and forces manufacturers to rectify them before the driver is released for Windows. This means more stable systems for OEM manufacturers and companies and a lower crash and incompatibility rate for private users. AI-supported functions and Copilot optimizations New functions are activated on devices with NPU, the so-called Copilot PCs. These include image descriptions for screen readers, live subtitles with translation options (currently still with crash problems), and intelligent text actions in “Click to Do”. The latter enables context-dependent processing of text content, such as recognizing and automatically processing certain entries. In addition, the search field in the top bar of “Click to Do” has been removed to simplify the interface. Users report long waiting times when using the app for the first time after model or build updates, which must be taken into account in corporate environments during rollouts. A new addition is the option to enter your own words in the Windows dictionary, which offers clear benefits for both private writers and companies with industry-specific vocabulary. Quick Machine Recovery and gamepad control of the on-screen keyboard With version 25H2, Windows 11 will receive an extended self-repair function, which will be introduced under the name “Quick Machine Recovery”. It builds on the Windows Recovery Environment, but extends it with the ability to automatically obtain updates or repair scripts from the Internet to resolve boot problems. If the system recognizes repeated boot errors, it automatically switches to the recovery environment, establishes a network connection and searches for suitable corrections via Windows Update. Administrators can specify whether this process should take place completely without user intervention. Activation is possible both locally, for example via configuration using Reagentc and XML files, and centrally via Intune policies. Parameters for waiting time, restart intervals and even WLAN login data can be predefined so that devices without a LAN connection can also be integrated. In Home editions, cloud-supported repair will be active by default in the future; in Pro and Enterprise environments, it must be specifically enabled. After a successful repair, Windows restarts automatically; if the repair is unsuccessful, the cycle is repeated according to the defined specifications. Thanks to this automation, Quick Machine Recovery reduces the administration effort and significantly shortens downtimes in both company networks and private installations. Thomas Joos New data protection dialogues and administrator protection 25H2 comes with revised data protection dialogues that offer more transparency when applications access data and system functions. An additional protection mechanism has been introduced for administrators, which makes unauthorized changes to the system more difficult and provides greater protection for security-critical actions. This gives companies an additional layer of security without having to resort to third-party solutions. Thomas Joos Further functional improvements and known problems Taskbar scaling adapts better to different display sizes and DPI settings. Context menus in Explorer have been optimized, new sharing options have been added, and Voice Access has been further developed. Support for Chinese and Japanese has been expanded, and in the settings under “Privacy and security” you can now see which applications are accessing Windows generative AI models. In current builds, this display is already visible in the user interface, but the full functionality will only be activated in a later update. Further adjustments relate to the toolbox, which has been improved in terms of its operation and integration. Microsoft has also fixed several bugs, such as truncated content in the notification center when the clock display is activated or a problem with dbgcore.dll, which could cause explorer.exe and other applications to crash. Known problems still exist, however: the Xbox controller can trigger a bug check on some systems when connected via Bluetooth. The Microsoft Changjie input method currently works incorrectly, which can be avoided by resetting to the previous IME version. In addition, Windows 11 25H2 supports touch keyboard control with a gamepad for the first time. This function, originally planned for 24H2, allows the on-screen keyboard to be operated without a mouse or touchscreen, which can be relevant in special application scenarios, such as on console-based workstations or for accessibility adaptations. Update strategy, insider options and rollback Microsoft emphasizes stability in 25H2. Many functions are already included in 24H2 and are only activated with the Enablement Package. For private users, this means a smooth upgrade without long installation times; for companies, it means the option to test only the new functions instead of recertifying the entire system environment. The update follows the shared servicing branch approach, which has also been used for previous upgrades, for example from 22H2 to 23H2. Mark Hachman After the official release, Microsoft offers a time window to leave the Windows Insider program and receive regular updates again. It’s also possible to completely reset 25H2 to 24H2 by uninstalling the Enablement Package without reinstalling the operating system; all 25H2 functions will then be deactivated immediately. Read...