Police did not immediately respond to the Sunday evening attack. Read...

Hey. Psst. Listen here. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but RAM prices are kind of insane. Bad enough that people are getting desperate to find ways to save a little money. Desperate enough, for example, to manually de-solder the memory chips off of laptop RAM and re-solder them onto a blank desktop RAM circuit board. Which is exactly what one modder did. According to VideoCardz.com, a penny-pinching PC user in Russia bought up much older, cheaper DDR4 RAM in laptop SO-DIMMs, painstakingly removed the individual memory chips by hand, and then manually soldered them in place on a pair of blank DDR5 DIMMs. With lots and lots (and lots, soldering microchips is incredibly fiddly) of work and a bit of custom firmware loaded, the Frankenstein deed was done. The “price” for a single 32GB stick of assembled DDR5 came out to a bit more than 17,000 rubles or approximately $218 US dollars. That’s about a third the price of what that hardware currently goes for in Russia, according to the modder, and it looks like he has the tools and the know-how to make multiple sticks of RAM… if he can keep sourcing the chips. The modder, Viktor “Vik-on” Veklich, seems to know his business; he sells a series of RAM tester parts, most recently a DDR5 model. This isn’t the only example of people getting creative — or desperate — to find new memory. Users are looking into laptop-memory-to-desktop adapter parts, now frequently sold out on Amazon. This is older, slower DDR4 memory, but any memory port in a storm. We’re also seeing more interest in new parts that use older, easier-to-find memory and processors, like brand new motherboards with AMD’s AM4 socket and DDR4 memory compatibility. Read...

Micron—one of the “big three” companies that manufacture the vast majority of memory on the planet—is shutting down its Crucial brand. This is the arm of the company that sells RAM and storage products directly to consumers. Instead, Micron is shifting its focus to the “AI” boom… the same situation that’s making memory explode in price all over the world. Consumers are, to use a technical term, pissed. In a recent interview, a Micron vice president tried to downplay the situation, explaining that Micron is still technically supplying RAM and other memory products to consumers… by selling it to PC manufacturers. “Our viewpoint is that we are trying to help consumers around the world,” said Christopher Moore, VP of Micron’s Marketing, Mobile and Client Business Unit, in an interview with Wccftech. “We’re just doing it through different channels. We still have a very sizable business in the client and mobile markets.” He continued: “We are also, of course, servicing our data center customers.” The notion that Micron hasn’t completely abandoned consumers because it’s still supplying at least some PC manufacturers was one I heard at CES last week. It was similarly unconvincing there, too, as company after company refused to commit to pricing for forthcoming products, for fear of rising memory prices erasing their profit margins before release. Those data center customers are the reason why RAM prices are skyrocketing: rapid, massive buildup for the “AI” industry is gobbling up most of the current and projected chip supply. Put aside the debate on whether LLM-powered businesses are in a bubble. Truth is, good old fashioned supply and demand is still in play, raising prices considerably on finished laptops and desktops and making DDR5 memory for consumers triple or even quadruple in price. Micron—now making hay while the sun shines—is shuttering its Crucial brand at the end of January. This ends nearly 30 years of selling to consumers for PC building, repairs, and upgrades. Foundry “This is not a Micron issue, it’s an industry issue… and there’s just not enough supply to go around,” said Moore to Wccftech. It’s an echo of the statement Micron made in its announcement (e.g., it’s following the money). That’s certainly true, but I hasten to note that neither of Micron’s competition—Samsung and SK Hynix—have yet shuttered their direct-to-consumer memory and storage product lines. (That sound you hear is me knocking on the wood of my desk.) If the first question asked at CES was “What are we going to do about the memory crunch?” and the answer was a big, disappointing shrug, then the next question was “When is it going to end?” I’ve heard estimates all over the place, ranging from 2027 up to 2032, as today’s developing data centers will still be sucking up chip supply into the next decade. Moore is a little more optimistic than that, citing a new Micron manufacturing facility that will be finalized in 2027, according to an interview with PCWorld’s Mark Hachman. In just a few days, Micron is planning to break ground on a New York facility that’ll be the biggest semiconductor factory in the US. But with 3 to 4 years of construction and fitting required for a new fabrication plant (on the low end), it’s still going to be a long, long time before expanded manufacturing capacity can start chipping away at the current supply crunch. That’s assuming the macroeconomic AI bubble doesn’t burst, of course. But if that happens, we’ll all have more problems than merely trying to afford a gaming desktop upgrade. Read...

The ongoing DRAM and flash memory / SSD shortage shows no signs of alleviating, with memory vendors telling PCWorld that the shortages in both markets will continue to drag on for months, even years. The CES 2026 trade show in Las Vegas last week was an opportunity for customers to talk to suppliers and vice versa, trying to scrounge up whatever memory chips they could. But the news just keeps getting grimmer. In mid-November, analysts began reporting that DRAM prices could rise throughout the first half of 2026. In early December, Micron said that it would discontinue its Crucial brand and its practice of selling DRAM directly to consumers. Kingston has also warned that prices will continue to go higher in the near term — pushing PC prices upwards as well. Executives at Micron say those customers — presumably including PC makers — are now asking for multi-year deals to assure supply. “I think, from our view, 6 to 12 months looks to be extremely constrained, and even out to 24 months looks very, very constrained,” said Mark Montierth, senior vice president of the mobile and client business unit at Micron, in an interview with PCWorld.com at CES. “DRAM, for sure. SSD maybe not as much, but that’s because there are more players, and it’s harder to triangulate all that.” Chris Kooistra, the vice president of marketing for Other World Computing (OWC), which manufactures SSDs, told PCWorld he sees the SSDs being constrained for at least six months, following a price spike in 2025. OWC sold SSDs at a higher price on Black Friday than at the beginning of November because of the unexpected and unavoidable price increases, he said. A third source at a peripherals manufacturer that buys memory and storage for its own uses also characterized the situation: “Best guess, SSDs, many months. DRAM, I don’t know. Years, maybe.” Close to chaos When a financial market careens out of control, governments can put a halt to trading to give the industry a breather, and restore order. There has been no such pause for the memory market, which traditionally cycles between boom years, when prices soar, and busts, when they plunge. Both SSDs and memory modules are tied very closely to the individual prices of flash chips and DRAM, as they don’t have that much more additional logic. As hyperscalers have snatched up every bit of memory and storage they can, the commodity memory makers say they have to keep up. Micron, for example, justified its closing of Crucial by noting that the total market for data centers rose from about 40 to 60 percent. (Micron still sells memory modules, even to consumers — just indirectly, via PC makers. “The [Crucial] storefront that lets you buy stuff from us is shutting, but not our support for that [consumer] market,” Montierth said.) “So it’s not that we’re focusing on that market, it’s that market is just exploding so fast,” Chris Moore, Micron’s vice president of marketing for the client business, added. “We have models internally of how much of our supply we want to go into every segment, and that segment is growing so fast that it’s just to maintain our share there is requiring more bits.” Right now, the shortages in both memory and storage are demand based, and simple economics says that when demand increases and supply remains the same, prices will increase. But it’s not an orderly market; companies have little time to plan. Phison, which manufactures SSD controllers as well as “white label” SSDs sold under other brands, reportedly is sold out for 2026, Digitimes reported, with chief executive Khein-seng Pua reporting that most NAND makers are sold out for the same period. The short-term “spot” market is drying up. And no one quite knows what to expect. “Most companies have an agreement each year of general allocation, then it is discussed and updated quarterly with pricing amounts,” Phison U.S. president Michael Wu said, as reported by Phison representative Lynn Kelly in an email to PCWorld.com. “The recent shortage has changed these typical planning cycles, however, since demands are exceeding industry supply. So allocation today is based on market dynamics.” Unless the AI market folds, the only real way out is new fabs Some strategies that might work in the logic market. Both AMD and Nvidia are considering reviving cheaper outdated silicon just to provide customers a price break, and — in the case of AMD — allow them to use older DDR4 memory modules instead. (The problem with that approach is that the DDR4 market is essentially dead, as DRAM makers have moved on to DDR5.) And in storage, manufacturing older flash memory simply wouldn’t offer as much storage, making them less “bit dense” and exacerbating the problem. Micron launched a single-sided M.2 2230 SSD, the Micron 3610, at the show, with capacities from 1TB to 4TB. New fabs also take years to complete; Micron broke ground on a DRAM fab in Boise in October 2023, and Moore said that first output will be in mid-2027. (Micron originally said DRAM output would begin in mid-2026.) At CES, Micron also announced that it will break ground on Jan. 16 on a new $100 billion megafab in New York that will potentially be the largest semiconductor facility in the U.S. We’re all on the same boat now, after the downturn in 2023 that was so painful,” Moore said. “No one could afford to go build new fabs…That’s what we’re paying for right now, when consumers were really happy.” Read...

AI’s next wave in business will be sector-specific, process-led services as firms shift from generic tools to trusted, compliant platforms. Read...

Clean B2B data boosts marketing, sales and compliance; profiling, validating and standardising records cuts waste and sharpens decisions. Read...

TL;DR: Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for $99.97 (MSRP $249.99) is a one-and-done upgrade to the productivity tools you’ll actually use every day. Microsoft Office has remained the benchmark for productivity software because it works reliably, consistently, and across nearly every professional use case. Office 2024 Home & Business continues that tradition while removing one of the biggest frustrations of modern software: recurring subscription fees. With a single $99.97 payment (typically $249.99), you receive the latest desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, installed directly on one Mac or PC. The software runs locally, meaning documents, spreadsheets, and presentations remain accessible even when internet access isn’t available. Office 2024 introduces meaningful improvements across the suite. Excel handles larger datasets more efficiently and now includes AI-powered insights and dynamic arrays that simplify complex analysis. PowerPoint offers built-in recording tools with video, audio, and captions, making it easier to create presentations for remote meetings or online classes. Word adds Focus Mode and smarter writing tools designed to reduce distractions and speed up content creation. The refreshed interface follows Microsoft’s Fluent Design system, creating a consistent experience across all apps. Collaboration tools such as real-time co-authoring, comments, version history, and Microsoft Teams integration help teams stay aligned without juggling multiple platforms. Get Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for $99.97 (MSRP $249.99) while you can. Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for Mac or PC Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

TL;DR: Secure a lifetime license of Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows for $34.97 — no recurring costs. Still paying monthly for basic work apps? Microsoft Office Professional 2021 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more — all available for a one-time purchase of $34.97. This version is a solid choice for freelancers, business owners, students, and anyone who wants to create polished documents, presentations, and spreadsheets without juggling subscriptions or relying on cloud-only tools. You’ll also get Publisher and Access, plus the free version of Microsoft Teams and OneNote — all installed directly to your Windows PC. This license is tied to your device, not your Microsoft account, so once it’s activated, it’s yours for good. The suite runs on Windows 10 or 11 and supports all languages. And you’ll get instant download links, license keys, and free customer service included. If you’ve been sticking with older versions or jumping between free apps, now’s your chance to upgrade your setup — and actually own it. A lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2021 Professional is available now for just $34.97 (MSRP $219.99). Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

MSI showed off a bunch of intriguing hardware for professionals at this year’s CES, with a wide range of miniature AI PCs, and an utterly gorgeous OLED monitor. Whether you’re looking to get your boss to fund a new upgrade for work or it’s time to overhaul the home office, the kit MSI has on show at CES 2026 could be what you’re looking for. Key takeaways Mini AI PCs: MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG (Intel Panther Lake) and Cubi NUC TWG (Intel N Series) Compact power desktops: Pro Max DP80 AI+ and Pro Max DP150 AI+ with AMD Ryzen AI 300 series + Nvidia RTX options Top-tier local AI machine: AI Edge PC based on AMD Strix Halo with 128GB memory New pro monitors: PRO MAX 271UPXW12G (QD-OLED + anti-glare) and PRO MAX 271QPHW E14 (1440p/144Hz + glare reduction) MSI Cubi NUC mini PCs: tiny footprints, big AI performance Mini PCs continue to trend upward in offices and creator setups. MSI is leaning into that with its latest Cubi NUC systems, which offer impressive performance in a tiny footprint. Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG: Intel Panther Lake and 180 TOPS CPU: Up to Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 Graphics: Intel Arc AI performance: Up to 180 TOPS total (up from 120 TOPS last generation) Built around Intel’s next-generation Panther Lake mobile CPUs, the Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG targets users who want strong multitasking and better performance-per-watt in a small form factor.Ready for anything, the Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG has up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU with Intel Arc graphics, and an incredible 180 TOPS total AI performance – that’s a significant improvement over the 120 TOPS the last generation could manage, and perfect for accelerating the latest local AI workloads. Cubi NUC TWG: efficient “always-on” systems for servers and frontline use Want to go even leaner and lighter? The Cubi NUC TWG demands even less from the outlet but still offers strong performance thanks to Intel’s next-generation Core Processor N Series. Designed to be turned on and left on, these little systems are fantastic as expansive NAS servers, or as a media server for quick-streaming across the network. They’re also excellent options for real-edge systems for powering digital signage, or for running kiosks and small workstations for frontline employees. MSI Pro Max AI+ PCs: compact desktops with real GPU muscle Foundry / Adam Patrick Murray If you’re looking for faster rendering or better performance in CUDA-accelerated professional workloads, MSI’s compact Pro Max DP80 AI+ PCs give you access to an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series CPU and Nvidia RTX graphics in a compact form factor. Discover the new PRO MaX SERIES Pro Max DP80 AI+: Small but serious CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 300 series GPU: Nvidia RTX graphics Chassis size: Compact 8-liter design Pro Max DP150 AI+: Bigger and badder GPU: Up to RTX 5070 VRAM: 12GB, useful for many AI and creator workloads Memory: Up to 64GB DDR5 for strong multitasking performance The Pro Max DP150 AI+ PC can fit up to an RTX 5070 for enhanced graphic performance – the 12GB of VRAM isn’t half bad for running large language models, either – and it can come with up to 64GB of DDR5 memory for excellent multi-tasking performance. MSI AI Edge PC: one of MSI’s most powerful micro workstations for 2026 Foundry / Adam Patrick Murray CPU: AMD AI Max+ 395 Cores/threads: 16 cores / 32 threads GPU: Integrated Radeon 8060S NPU: XDNA2 Memory: 128GB high-speed system memory One of MSI’s most powerful 2026 micro working machines is the AI Edge PC, built around AMD’s excellent Strix Halo platform. It combines the cutting-edge AI Max+ 395 CPU with 16 cores and 32 threads, with an integrated Radeon 8060S GPU and XDNA2 NPU. Most importantly, it packs 128GB of high-speed system memory, making this miniature machine a fantastically-powerful all-in-one AI PC. MSI PRO MAX monitors: QD-OLED clarity and comfortable for long work sessions Foundry / Adam Patrick Murray Whatever you’re working on and however much power you need, you can always make it look better with an MSI PRO MAX monitor. MSI PRO MAX 271UPXW12G: QD-OLED, anti-glare, low reflection QD-OLED panel Anti-glare, low-reflection surface (AGLR) Reduced eye strain via better diffusion of ambient light Strong fit for photo and video editing DarkArmor Film for enhanced black levels and panel protection The PRO MAX 271UPXW12G uses a QD-OLED panel, delivering incredible color, contrast, and brightness. This is a super-accurate display that – with its anti-glare, low-reflection surface (AGLR) – helps reduce eye strain by better diffusing ambient light, making it perfect for photo and video editing over long sessions. DarkArmor Film adds panel protection with 3H scratch resistance, delivering 2.5x greater scratch resistance, and enhances pure blacks by 40% for better contrast. There’s App Store-based firmware control for macOS, while the M-Color preset mode keeps colors perfectly in sync with Mac computers, making this monitor a fantastic fit for any worker on any platform, on any system. Make your work look and feel better than ever before with a new MSI QD-OLED display. MSI PRO MAX 271QPHW E14: Affordable 1440p, 144Hz display Size: 27-inch Resolution: 1440p Refresh rate: 144Hz Panel feature: Circular Polarizer technology to soften transmission and reduce glare The MSI PRO MAX 271QPHW E14 is another capable option. An affordable, business-friendly 1440p display that’s also game-ready with a 144Hz refresh rate, this 27-inch monitor uses Circular Polarizer panel technology to soften light transmission, reducing reflection and glare for a more comfortable viewing experience. Discover the new PRO MaX SERIES Final thoughts MSI’s CES 2026 professional line-up is focused on three things: compact power, local AI acceleration, and better display quality for long working sessions. From ultra-efficient always-on mini PCs, to GPU-powered compact desktops, to a flagship AI Edge PC with 128GB memory, MSI is building a full ecosystem for modern working – and making sure it all looks great with new PRO MAX QD-OLED displays. Read...

High street shops, pharmacies and music venues have said that the axing of planned increases to business rates for pubs should apply to them too. Read...