At a GlanceExpert`s Rating Pros Strong privacy practices Affordable long-term plans Lots of power user options for customization Free version available Cons Speeds were inConsistent in our tests Not the easiest VPN for beginners Free version has strict data limits Our Verdict Hide.me comes with a wide variety of features that can be tweaked, making it a great option for those looking to customize their VPN experience. It’s also compatible with streaming services and recently passed a new independent audit. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Retailer Price Hide Me $59.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Hide.me Retailer Price Hide Me $59.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Hide.me from Malaysia-based eVenture Ltd. continues to hang with today’s most popular services, even if it doesn’t have the same name recognition. Since my last review of its service, Hide.me has passed a new independent security audit and updated its interface to be more user-friendly. It has also added a few additional features such as a new protocol and server sorting options. So with these new advances let’s take another look and see where it stands in the current VPN market. Hide.me VPN in brief: P2P allowed: Yes Simultaneous device connections: 10  Business location: Malaysia Number of servers: 2,000+ Number of country locations: 91 Cost: $11.95 per month, $53.88 for 1-year, or $61.83 for 27 months What are Hide.me’s features and services? Hide.me’s homescreen is completely customizable. Sam Singleton Since my last review of Hide.me, it hasn’t significantly changed up its interface. That’s to be expected, however, as it went through a serious facelift a few years ago.  When you open up the application you’re confronted with a dashboard that shows some relevant information such as a Quick connect button that will connect to the last used server, information on your IP address, account information, a list of streaming optimized servers, and a list of your Favorite Locations.  Furthermore, all of these widgets are movable and interchangeable as well, meaning you can customize the look to only display the info you need. For those who prefer to navigate their VPN connections with a map, Hide.me has you covered there as well. Sam Singleton On the left sidebar you have additional tabs for Locations, Map, Features, Socials, and Settings, as well as Your Account, and Support. The Locations tab displays a searchable list of all available Hide.me server locations, with especially fast 10G servers tagged with an icon next to the server name. Along the top you can filter through all servers, those optimized for streaming, or multihop servers as well. The latest addition is an option to let you filter by physical distance from your home IP address location.  For those who are spatially inclined, the Map tab displays the physical location of all of these servers on a world map instead. With a generous feature set, support for a vast array of protocols, and the option to use custom DNS, Hide.me is a power user’s dream. Hide.me comes with a ton of great customizable feature options. Sam Singleton The Features tab is where Hide.me really shines—there’s a lot here. There are the usual options to launch on system startup, connect automatically, and so on. It also introduced a feature called Bolt “Fast Proxy,” which optimizes internet speed performance over an OpenVPN TCP connection. Theoretically, this can lead to speed increases, particularly in Windows. There is also an option to set up split tunneling and its own complementary proprietary firewall feature called “Stealth Guard.” This can be used to limit either your entire internet or just certain apps unless a Hide.me VPN connection is present–thus eliminating IP address leaks should your connection ever falter.  Here you’ll also find a port-forwarding feature as well as an ad- and tracker-blocker called “SmartGuard.” Port forwarding allows incoming data on your connection to get around your local firewall, potentially speeding up your connection. It can also expose you to extra security risks too, so be careful when using it.  There is also a separate kill switch feature available under the settings menu. Like I said, this service has a lot of features. Add to that the vast array of protocols available and the option to use custom DNS and it quickly becomes apparent that Hide.me is a power user’s dream. With all of that being said, due to the sheer amount of available features and the maze of menus you need to work through to tweak all of them, this service probably isn’t for beginners—or the faint of heart.  In the beginning, I personally found navigating the app a bit disorienting. Some things are listed under “Features” that should be settings and some are under “Settings” that should be features. It’s a minor gripe though, and figuring out the menu system is only a matter of spending some time in the application itself. Hide.me is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS, as well as some consoles and smart TVs. There are also browser add-ons for Chrome and Firefox that come with support for the SOCKS proxy.  How much does Hide.me cost? Hide.me offers a total of three different plan options for its premium service; a monthly plan, a 1-year plan, and a 2-year plan. The monthly plan costs $11.95 per month, which is a bit steep. Sure, the VPN gives you a lot of configurable options, but similarly priced services such as NordVPN or Surfshark offer all of the same things plus additional security features. The 1-year plan is a better deal at $53.88, or $4.49 per month, but it still remains a bit pricier than competitors. The 2-year plan is where Hide.me really becomes affordable. For a total of $61.83, or $2.29 per month, you’ll get access to the premium service for 24 months plus an additional three free months. That ends up becoming cheaper than most other VPNs for the same time period. Finally, it’s worth noting that Hide.me has a handy free version that provides all of the great security features of its premium counterpart for absolutely no cost. The only downside is that you’re limited to 10GB per month and it only provides access to eight of its servers. Due to these limitations, I don’t recommend using the free version to stream, but it is a great way to browse securely or just to try out the service to see how you like it. When signing up for Hide.me you do have to provide personal billing information and it accepts payments via credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, and various cryptocurrencies. How is Hide.me’s performance? In order to test Hide.me’s speeds I rated connection speeds across its servers in six different countries all around the world for multiple days and then compared them to my baseline internet speeds. Across all locations tested, the speeds averaged just over 45 percent of the base download speed and 68 percent of the base upload speed. That’s okay, but short of our list of the fastest VPNs. It is an improvement over the last time I tested its speeds, though. Within these aggregates were some truly incredible speeds. I just found they weren’t consistent. It was quite common for each location to show some great relative speeds one day and then fall off completely the following day. I also found that the drop in speed was quite significant the further the Hide.me server was from my physical location. This is, of course, not uncommon as distance tends to affect latency, but it was so drastic in some instances it caught me a bit by surprise. Hide.me’s server list displays which connections are high-speed 10Gbps so you can choose the fastest locations. Sam Singleton Hide.me does indicate which servers have faster, 10Gbps connection speeds next to the locations on the server list. However, I frankly didn’t notice a major difference in my testing while using these servers.  Also, testing with different protocols didn’t show one to be much faster than the others–however, I did find that WireGuard had a slight edge over the others, as is to be expected. Please note, however, that online speeds can vary wildly in pure Mbps tests from day to day and even hour to hour. It’s best to take any and all speed tests with a grain of salt. Your experience with Hide.me may differ from those in the tests for this review. Despite all of this, however, I never really ran into a problem due to connection speeds. Therefore, I’m confident that Hide.me has enough speed to take care of just about anything you need to do over a VPN connection. In regards to streaming, Hide.me performed admirably. Under the server list there is a tab for streaming-optimized servers. Every optimized streaming server I connected to was able to access streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime without any problems. I was even able to access streaming sites with some non-optimized servers as well. Given these results, Hide.me should serve you well for streaming and getting around region blocks. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Hide.me free version. Of all the eight servers offered with the free VPN, I found that every single one was blocked by Netflix. Given that the free plan only gives you 10GB of data per month—or about three hours of HD video—I can’t recommend Hide.me’s free version for those looking to stream. Something like Proton VPN would be a better free VPN choice for streaming. How is Hide.me’s security and privacy? There are a good selection of protocols offered by Hide.me, but I usually recommend WireGuard. Sam Singleton The VPN comes with industry standard AES 256-bit encryption. It also offers a whole range of protocols including IKEv2, OpenVPN, SoftEtherVPN, WireGuard, and SSTP—that’s more than most other services. Furthermore, it even offers advanced configuration options for many of these protocols to add to the customization. And in my testing I found that there were no IP address leaks when using Hide.me across any of its servers and protocols.  Hide.me is owned by eVenture Ltd., an IT security company based out of Malaysia. Privacy conscious users will be glad to know that Malaysia has no data retention laws and is not a member country of any surveillance alliances such as Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes. Hide.me has a very thorough privacy policy on its website. It states that it does not track your activity when you’re connected to the VPN. It doesn’t keep connection logs or store IP addresses.  The company does, however, keep troubleshooting logs that include a randomly generated username and an internally assigned IP address for each user. The troubleshooting logs are erased every few hours, according to the privacy policy. Additionally, it logs monthly data traffic amounts for quality assurance purposes. The company did originally pass an independent security audit of its “no-log” policy by Defense Code Ltd., in 2015. In my last review I criticized the service for not undergoing a new audit since that time. Hide.me was obviously paying attention, though, as it completed not one, but two new audits in the last year. The first was a MASA, or Mobile Application Security Assessment, in December of 2023 and then another full “no-log” audit of its service by Securitum in June of this year. The fact that it was one of the first VPN services to undergo an independent audit back in the day gave it old-school privacy cred. Now, with the latest audit, the company continues to prove that it takes user privacy seriously. Hide.me also publishes annual Transparency reports detailing data requests the company has received in a given year. Is Hide.me worth it? Hide.me is a really intriguing VPN service. On the one hand, it offers a fantastic tool set for power users to tweak and configure to their heart’s content. On the other, it can’t quite nail down some basic things you want from a VPN such as consistent speeds across servers and a user-friendly interface. It has a great privacy track record though, and the service was able to unblock all streaming sites that I tested. Overall, it’s a well-rounded service that ticks almost every box you could want from a top VPN. I can easily recommend it for experienced power users, but beginners might want to try the free version first before committing to the premium service. Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...

Hard drives can work for many years under ideal conditions. However, various factors such as manufacturing quality, careful handling, protection from high temperatures, moisture, and power peaks can influence their service life. We’ll show you the proper steps to take to maximize the life of your hard drive. Further reading: 3 reasons you should still buy a hard drive Fall damage and static electricity A fall, for example, can severely damage the hard drive. The impact can cause the read/write head to hit the rotating platters and scratch or damage them. Internal components can also shift and the read head or drive motor can be damaged. That’s why it’s important to handle external hard drives carefully and make sure that you do not drop your laptop to protect internal hard drives. When buying online, if possible, make sure you use a reliable shipping service provider that handles electronic devices properly. You should also protect your hard drive from static electricity, as such discharges can damage sensitive electronic components. Ideally, wear a grounded antistatic wrist strap when repairing and disassembling the hard drive to prevent static charges. Also avoid placing the hard drive on synthetic materials or clothing that can generate static electricity. If possible, use an anti-static mat and hold the hard drive by the edges to minimize the risk. Store unused or external hard drives in anti-static bags to protect them from static electricity. The read/write head of a magnetic hard drive is a moving part. In the worst case scenario, it can destroy the entire hard drive if it becomes defective or is dropped. IDG Ejecting the hard drive Before disconnecting an external hard drive, you should always eject it safely via the Windows operating system. This prevents data loss and ensures that the read/write head is properly parked to avoid crashes. Abrupt ejection can cause voltage fluctuations and electrical spikes that can damage the electronics of the hard drive. Safe ejection allows the operating system to safely disconnect the hard drive and stabilize other moving parts such as the spindle motor. Seagate 8TB BarraCuda Pro SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive (ST8000DM0004) Another important point that is often neglected: High-quality power supply units (PSUs) from renowned manufacturers offer stable performance and furthermore have integrated protective functions such as overvoltage, undervoltage, short-circuit, and overvoltage protection. These functions prevent voltage fluctuations that could damage the electronics of your hard drive. A high-quality power supply is made of robust materials and undergoes rigorous testing to minimize the risk of failure. Overheating Unfortunately, overheating significantly shortens the life of a hard drive. The operating temperature of the hard drive should be below 55 degrees Celsius, even during heavy use. Make sure that your computer is well ventilated. You’ll want to regularly remove dust and dirt from the ventilation slots. You should also avoid overloading your housing with too many components and monitor the temperature of the hard drive. If the hard drive runs too hot, move it to a cooler location or improve your computer’s cooling system. A hard drive – here from WD – offers a lot of storage for relatively little money. However, it is also more vulnerable than a flash memory IDG High humidity and temperatures Both high humidity and high temperatures can affect the service life of a hard drive. It is best to keep the humidity between 40 and 50 percent. If you live in a region with high humidity, invest in a dehumidifier. Alternatively, you can place silica gel packets in the computer case to absorb excess moisture. You can also use sealed and weatherproof cases for external hard drives and store them in dry places. Reliable surge protection protects sensitive electronics in your computer from power surges. Even if your home has a surge protector on the main fuse box, it is advisable to use a local surge protector at the socket. Choose a surge protector with a high Joule rating, fast response times and advanced features such as indicator lights and resettable circuit breakers. Check the indicator lights regularly to make sure the surge protector is working properly. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Robust build quality Attractive OLED display Good wired and wireless connectivity Snapdragon X Plus performs well (for the price) Cons Design fails to stand out Disappointing 3D graphics performance Battery life is a tad less than average Our Verdict The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 delivers good bang for the buck. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Budget Snapdragon X Plus PCs are here, and Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is among the affordable options landing on store shelves. Priced at $850, this 2-in-1 provides a good mix of features and performance but falls behind some competitors in 3D performance and battery life.  Further reading: Best laptops 2024: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Specs and features The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is one of several budget PCs to equip Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Plus X1P-42-100. This is the least powerful version of Snapdragon X, with 8 processor cores (down from up to 12 in Snapdragon X Elite) and a clock speed of 3.4GHz.  CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon Plus X1P-42-100 Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x Graphics/GPU: Qualcomm Adreno NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon (up to 45 TOPs) Display: 14-inch 16:10 1,920 x 1,200 OLED touchscreen Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 solid state storage Webcam: 1080p with physical privacy shutter Connectivity: HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K@30Hz), 2x USB-C 3.0 (10Gbps) with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, 1x headphone/microphone jack, 1x microSD card reader, 2x USB-A 3.0 (5Gbps) Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Fingerprint reader, facial recognition  Battery capacity: 57 watt-hours Dimensions: 12.32 x 8.94 x 0.68 Weight: 3.28 pounds MSRP: $849.99 MSRP  Given the 2-in-1’s $850 MSRP, though, a less impressive chip is to be expected. It’s flanked by a respectable 16GB of RAM and 1TB of solid-state storage. While neither specification is unusual for a budget Windows laptop, it’s still good to see Lenovo did not skimp on either. It’s also worth knowing that this configuration is the only model Lenovo currently has listed for the North American market—is what you’re going to get if you buy an IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is just $850, but the quality of the display nearly rivals the most expensive laptops on the planet.  Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Design and build quality IDG / Matthew Smith The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a subdued, workmanlike PC. Its only notable design quirk is Lenovo’s camera hump at the top of the display. Though it might look a bit odd, provides an easy way to open the display lid. Otherwise, there’s not much to make the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 stand out from the competition. There’s nothing that will offend, either. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 isn’t a “professional” machine, exactly, but its dark gray exterior and beveled edges come together for a handsome, cohesive design.  It’s screwed together tight, too. Opening the display lid reveals close to zero flex and the lower chassis doesn’t wobble when the laptop is handled from an edge or corner. In this respect the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 punches above its weight, as it rivals the build quality of more expensive machines like the Acer Swift 14 AI and HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14.  As its name suggests, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 has a 360-degree hinge that lets you push the display back until the laptop becomes a tablet. However, the 2-in-1 weighs in at 3.28 pounds and measures about 0.68 inches thick, which means it’s not comfortable to use as a tablet.  To be fair, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is not heavier than competitors like the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, which weighs 3.77 pounds—but that won’t save you from a black eye if you accidentally drop the IdeaPad on your face while trying to surf the web in bed. Shoppers who really want to get the most out of a touchscreen need to look at smaller, thinner, more expensive options like the Microsoft Surface Pro.  Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Keyboard, trackpad IDG / Matthew Smith Lenovo keeps up its reputation for good keyboards with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. It has a spacious layout and most keys are large, with only the arrow keys noticeably downsized compared to a conventional desktop keyboard.  Key feel is a bit muted, however. While key travel is respectable, each key activates with a soft, easy action. I prefer a keyboard with a more definitive tactile click and some audible feedback. Still, it’s pleasant enough for a budget 2-in-1, and I had no problem with typing speed or accuracy.  The touchpad is fine. It measures roughly five inches wide and three inches deep, which is typical for a 14-inch machine in this price bracket. The touchpad surface feels responsive and is large enough for most situations, but some multi-touch gestures can feel a bit cramped.  Of course, the 2-in-1 has a touchscreen, and it provides added flexibility. The touchscreen is useful when using the 2-in-1 in as a tablet, of course, but also handy in cramped or awkward situations. For example, I like using “tent mode,” which uses the keyboard like a kickstand, when I watch YouTube videos over breakfast. I can still move between videos with the touchscreen but don’t have to worry about dropping crumbs on the keyboard.  Silly as it might sound, that sort of practical flexibility will come in handy if the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 will be your only computer.  Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Display, audio IDG / Matthew Smith Every Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 has a 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen with a 16:10 aspect ratio. This turns out to be among the machine’s best features. OLED has a great reputation, for good reason. It provides a richer, deeper, more immersive image than a typical LCD display. Colors look incredibly vibrant and dark scenes look outstanding. That’s good news for any laptop but especially excellent for a budget machine like the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. Why? Because all OLED panels for laptops come from a handful of suppliers and deliver similar image quality. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is just $850, but the quality of the display nearly rivals the most expensive laptops on the planet.  I say “nearly” for two reasons: resolution and refresh rate. 1920×1200 resolution looks plenty sharp on a 14-inch display, but it’s not going to beat competitors with 2880×1800 resolution (which are common). The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 also sticks with a 60Hz refresh rate, while more expensive OLED displays tend to offer a smoother 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate.  Yet neither is really a problem. It’s just the reality of budget hardware. Overall, the OLED display gives the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 a big advantage against competitors that stick with LCD (and many do).  The 2-in-1’s audio performance is less impressive, though still alright. Lenovo provides upward-firing speakers that provide reasonable volume and clarity but lack the low end required to make music and movies sound great. They also frame the keyboard, which is great when using the machine as a laptop but makes the audio experience more muted when using it as a tablet (as, in that situation, the keyboard is pointed away from you).   Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Webcam, microphone, biometrics The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 offers a decent 1080p webcam and dual-array microphone. They capture acceptable video and listenable audio that’s well-suited to video calls on Zoom or Google Chat. A physical privacy shutter is included to cover the camera, as well. All of this is good but typical for a budget Windows laptop.  Biometric login is available with a fingerprint reader on the lower right side of the laptop. This is less common, though not unique, for a budget 2-in-1. The fingerprint reader has the same strengths and weaknesses as those on competitive laptops. It works well in most situations, but a thin layer of dust or a slightly damp fingertip can fool it—so don’t take a swig of your Mountain Dew before you log in.  Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Connectivity IDG / Matthew Smith Connectivity is a perk for the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1, as it provides a good range of modern and legacy connectivity.  On the left side you’ll find two USB-C ports, both of which support DisplayPort for connecting a USB-C monitor and Power Delivery for charging the laptop (the included 65-watt charger uses USB-C). On the right you’ll see two USB-A ports, so you can add an older wired keyboard and mouse without issue. An HDMI 2.1 port, 3.5mm combo audio port, and microSD card reader round out the options. While this is a good set of options, I have a few nitpicks. The HDMI 2.1 is listed to support only 4K at 30Hz which, frankly, is ridiculous for any laptop sold today. The USB ports also deliver low data speeds (10Gbps and 5Gbps respectively). However, that is also true of most budget Windows laptops.  Wireless connectivity, meanwhile, is excellent. The laptop supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4; both are the latest versions of each wireless standard. Neither is broadly adopted yet, so I expect these wireless standards will remain adequate for a good decade, or more.  Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Performance The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is intriguing to run through benchmarks, though not because it’s fast but, rather, because it’s (relatively) slow. Every IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 has Snapdragon’s X Plus X1P-42-100 chip, which has eight cores (down from 10 or 12 in the high-end Snapdragon chips). The laptop also has 16GB of memory and a 1TB solid state drive. None of this looks amazing on paper—but remember, this is an $850 laptop. And it turns out that slowest Snapdragon X Plus is competitive with the mid-range Intel Core Series 5 and AMD Ryzen 7 chips typically available in this price bracket.  IDG / Matthew Smith The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 got off to a good start in Cinebench 2024, a moderate duration, heavily multithreaded CPU benchmark. This benchmark is Arm native, so it doesn’t encounter a performance penalty from running the app through emulation. Here, the IdeaPad managed to beat other laptops with Snapdragon X Plus chips by a hair and defeated the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition with Intel Core Series Ultra 256V. IDG / Matthew Smith Handbrake, on the other hand, is a long-duration multithreaded CPU benchmark that is not Arm native, which has a stark effect on what the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 can achieve. Its performance falls far short of laptops with similar hardware. This is to be expected, given that the app is not making the best use of the Qualcomm hardware—but it’s a reality people who rely on apps that haven’t made the leap to Arm must consider.   IDG / Matthew Smith The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 can perform well in Arm native apps that rely heavily on the CPU. The integrated GPU, on the other hand, is underwhelming. 3DMark Night Raid, an Arm-native 3D benchmark, spat out a score of just 16,399. While that puts the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 ahead of other Snapdragon X Plus devices PC World has reviewed, it’s way behind the Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics in Intel’s Core Ultra 256V. There’s also a severe lack of Arm-native games on Windows. When those factors are combined, it’s clear that gamers should avoid the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 like the plague.  Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Battery life You might expect, given its use of Qualcomm’s least performant Snapdragon X Plus chip, that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 will ace battery tests. That’s not the case, though it still does well enough.  IDG / Matthew Smith I measured roughly 14 and a half hours of battery life in our standard test, which loops a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel. This is a light-load test that generally shows what the laptop can reach in less demanding situations.  Make no mistake: 14 and a half hours is a long time, and in general owners will be happy with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s endurance. Still, the graph makes it clear that competitors offer superior endurance.  That probably has less to do with the Qualcomm chip than the laptop’s battery and display. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s 57 watt-hour battery isn’t tiny, but many 14-inch machines have a battery in the 65 to 75 watt-hour range. I’ve also found that laptops with OLED displays seem to need a bit more power than those with LCD displays, and that’s certainly true for the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Conclusion The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a fine choice if you’re looking for an affordable 14-inch laptop or 2-in-1 that has an alluring OLED touchscreen and good connectivity. It falls behind in 3D performance and battery life, but those downsides are easier to overlook at $850. Shoppers who want a Windows machine that’s enjoyable for basic day-to-day tasks and office productivity should give the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 a look. Read...

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The wait is over! The highly anticipated Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 officially launches on PC and Xbox Series X/S today, marking the dawn of a new era for the flight sim with many new features and improvements. Itching to jump in and get started? Before you do, here are some crucial details worth knowing about the release of MSFS24. Release time and download size The official release time of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is November 19, 2024 at 11am EST. However, you can start the preload in advance to avoid long waiting times after it releases. You can start the pre-installation if you have either pre-ordered the game or have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, as this includes Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 from day one. To do this, search for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in the Xbox app on PC or console and select the pre-installation. (The pre-installation doesn’t download the complete game. Depending on your internet connection, it may still take a lot of time to download the remaining files.) Officially, the installation size of MSFS24 is only 50GB, which is relatively small for such a large game. However, it’s quite possible that we’ll see a large day-one patch that makes final tweaks to the game. Secure your pre-order bonuses now Depending on which version of the game you pre-order, you’ll receive unique bonuses and additional content that come with it. Here’s an overview of them all: Standard Edition: De Havilland Canada CL-415 Firefighting Aircraft Deluxe Edition: All bonuses in Standard Edition plus 25 additional aircrafts and 10 additional international airports Aviator Edition: All bonuses in Deluxe Edition plus 30 additional marketplace aircrafts Incidentally, it’s also possible to play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 via the cloud if your PC doesn’t meet the minimum requirements. You’ll need a current Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for this. Further reading: The best cloud gaming service for you Read...

Here’s a fun little deal that snuck its way into the lesser-known Opera web browser: right now, you can snag three months of Spotify Premium for free thanks to a collaboration between Spotify and Opera. Opera recently announced that the new Opera One R2 desktop web browser will include an integrated music player feature that allows users to access Spotify directly within, and it will come with a complementary three months of Spotify Premium. To take advantage of the offer, you first need to download the latest version of Opera One. Install the browser, complete the initial setup, and launch it. The browser’s default music player is Spotify, which you’ll see as a small icon in the browser’s left sidebar. The music player will take you to the Spotify Premium offer and give you the option to upgrade to Spotify Premium with an existing (or newly created) free Spotify account. This offer is only valid for new customers, meaning accounts that have never been Premium before. While the offer is currently only available through the Opera One browser, there are plans to extend it to Android devices in early 2025. Further reading: Opera One users can try AI features for free Read...

Your email address is a liability when yet another of your accounts get hacked. After your login credentials are leaked, attackers can use those same credentials to try logging into different services across the web to see what else they might unlock. But there’s a better way — and Google seems poised to bring it to the masses. As spotted by Android Authority, a new “Shielded Email” feature in the Gmail app for Android devices is seemingly on the way. It would let you create disposable email addresses, or temporary burner email addresses that forward email to your real account. My colleague Michael Crider covered how Shielded Email could serve as a defense against spam, but there’s another payoff to this privacy protection: stronger online security. Using a random, unique email address for every account you have would make it harder for hackers to use data leaks to break into other accounts of yours. This is the same principle as masked email, but with one big advantage: you don’t need to sign up for a separate service. With almost 2 billion users already signed up for Gmail, the new Shielded Email feature would level up standard privacy, big time. If offered for free, it would also eclipse Apple’s equivalent feature, Hide My Email, which is only available to paying iCloud+ subscribers. I’m rooting for this feature to make it out the starting gate. Google’s been strengthening its security and privacy features, like dark web monitoring and improved passkey support in its password manager, without gating it behind a Google One subscription. With how bad data leaks and breaches have gotten lately, the smart way to avoid hackers who are exploiting current conventions is to change them altogether. Read...