A little before Thanksgiving, my colleague Mark Hachman sent me a Threads link. It showed a cute little animated cat running on your taskbar. The add-on from GitHub claims to show your CPU load, with the feline running faster the harder your processor works. The comments on the thread run the gamut of wary to enthusiastic. (My favorite, from a user named gerb: “It might be malware, but at least it’s cute.”) But most people liked the idea. Maybe not specifically a cat—dogs got nominated as an idea—but they were onboard with an adorable addition to the taskbar. Why hasn’t Microsoft started selling this kind of thing?  (Hold your pitchforks.) Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardware & software talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the surprising topics on our YouTube show or latest news from across the web? You’re in the right place.  Want this newsletter to come directly to your inbox? Sign up on our website! In the old days, I could have added something like this with less fear of infecting my computer. (It wasn’t completely safe, but a general sense of good citizenship still prevailed when fewer people were online.) Heck, even a year ago, I would have told people to at least investigate the source and see if anyone else had examined the code.  But bad actors have rapidly incorporated AI into their attacks, making them easier to deploy faster and more sophisticated, too. For example, Google has already spotted malware that can dynamically change in real-time and is harder to detect. The methods have become sneakier as well. Several times this year, legitimate games on Steam ended up spreading malware. Meanwhile, Microsoft owns multiple game studios, some of which have made beaucoup bucks doing precisely what I’m suggesting—selling skins and accessories. Also, it runs a little storefront for its Xbox console ecosystem, so it’s not a stranger to this business. The Microsoft Store is doing okay for itself, too. Ori and the Blind Forest is still one of my most favorite games.Microsoft / Steam And yet. I can’t buy little bits of code that would let my version of Windows have: Nyan cat, flying through space on my taskbar Microsoft’s Ninjacat as an animated screensaver Animated Ori and the Blind Forest wallpaper  A whole Ori theme where there are animated bits, icon packs, several wallpaper choices, a screensaver, and a properly color coordinated background and accent color chosen because I suck at that Animated turtle that walks around in the left corner of the taskbar when it’s warm and hides when it’s cold (This is not an exhaustive list of what I could be enticed into purchasing. Not remotely.) Before anyone hurts me for suggesting Windows microtransactions, let me be very clear. I never want Microsoft to slap a price tag on individual features related to Windows operations. Not even minor ones. That would suck, and I want to stress that I’m deeply grateful that PowerToys exist. (Thank you again to the devs who work on those.) All I’m saying is, I have a growing collection of ugly sweaters. I bought the Microsoft XP Crocs (and actually considered for a second if I would ever buy the Xbox Crocs). What a squandered opportunity to bring back the true vibes of the 90s, when we all spent literal hours collecting (and rotating through) different Winamp skins. People love aesthetic customizations. You know how people don’t want to pay $30 to extend Windows 10 licenses? I bet a pack of something from any one of Microsoft’s big game franchises could make some serious money. Probably more than the $30 for an Extended License. I don’t even buy Moira skins and I’m hundreds of hours into Overwatch as a Moira OTP. But I would buy fun Windows customizations from a reputable source. No other developer would be more trustworthy than Microsoft itself. (Or so one hopes.) In this episode of The Full Nerd In this episode of The Full Nerd, Brad Chacos, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith must eat their words. Yep, our annual tradition returns, in which we all suffer the consequences of not making accurate predictions for 2025. For those new to our show, our predictions episodes work like this: In the first part, we review last year’s forecasts. For every wrong one, the traditional punishment is to literally eat your words—you write the inaccurate guess down on a piece of paper and down the hatch it goes—but some of us have since spun off from Gordon’s methodology. Then, in the second part of the show, we make new predictions for the coming year. The cycle continues. With the many twists and turns of 2025, I was surprised we got any predictions right. Still, we missed enough that Brad, normally the guy who escapes a lot of suffering, ended up deeply regretting his choice to down Da Bomb Beyond Insanity hot sauce for every wrong pick. I don’t mean just discomfort while on the show. About three hours later, we received a message in our work group chat that said: “ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff i forgot to wash my hands before using the bathroom ????” On Wednesday, he said he still hadn’t fully recovered. Also, to remember washing your hands after cleaning up hot sauce. Heard, boss. Willis Lai / Foundry Missed our live show? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd Network YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We also answer viewer questions in real-time! Don’t miss out on our NEW shows too—you can catch episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Extra Edition now! And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds. This week’s unsettling nerd news I had hoped for a quiet stretch between Christmas and New Year’s, but uh, apparently the Ghost of PC Building Future had different ideas. Maingear announced on Tuesday that it would begin offering custom systems without RAM, if you prefer to save some cash and BYOR instead. (Bring your own RAM.) …Where does one find that independently sourced affordable DDR5 RAM, exactly? XPG BYOR hurts as a concept: We actually discussed this prediction the very same day that Maingear made its announcement about Bring Your Own Ram configurations. Strap in, 2026’s going to be quite a ride. Nerfed SSD performance in Windows 11 may finally end: Remember the move to software-based encryption in BitLocker, and it tanking SSD speeds? Well, Microsoft is now promising that coming hardware-based encryption will undo most of that issue. Here’s to hoping. LimeWire was not on my 2025 bingo card: Especially not as a tool for circumventing potential censorship and keeping information freely available. Perhaps nostalgia is good for us: I’m going to interpret this study showing that happiness from reliving good childhood memories (via console games like Super Mario Bros.) means I’m perfectly justified in buying retro consoles and not actually making progress on my games backlog. Take a look at this vintage Texas Instruments computer! Will got a really cool close-up look at the TI-99/4A, thanks to Huxley from Retro Roadshow stopping by our offices and bringing his childhood computer with him. Long live OLED: I’ve been holding out for an affordable OLED TV, but I have to admit I’ve been a bit hesitant due to burn-in concerns. Looks like I may have little to worry about. Hmm… Shoutout to the OG: Valve is discontinuing the LCD version of the Steam Deck, leaving the OLED version as its default champion of handheld gaming. Rest in peace, trailblazer. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate—and I’ll catch everyone again just after New Year’s, with some thoughts about 2026 (and possibly some related resolutions). For now, I’m off to enjoy family time, video games, and a ton of excellent food! ~Alaina This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld. Read...

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For today’s professionals, video editing is no longer a specialist craft reserved for post-production teams. It’s a daily tool—used by marketers shaping campaigns, educators building courses, founders pitching ideas, and creators publishing across platforms at speed. The challenge isn’t a lack of powerful tools. It’s finding software that delivers that power without slowing everything down. Wondershare Filmora V15 is built for professionals who want the best of both worlds: serious capability and frictionless usability. It doesn’t ask users to compromise. Instead, it brings advanced tools into a workflow that feels fast, intuitive, and surprisingly fluid. A smarter way to work, from the first click Filmora V15, from Wondershare, is anchored by a simple idea: professionals should spend time creating, not managing software. That philosophy comes to life in AI Mate, Filmora’s integrated AI assistant. Rather than forcing editors to dig through menus or tutorials, AI Mate responds to natural language commands—helping users generate content, find tools, refine audio, or adjust visuals instantly. It also acts as an intelligent guide, explaining features and workflows in context, right when they’re needed. For professionals juggling deadlines, this kind of responsiveness isn’t a novelty—it’s a productivity advantage. Wondershare AI that feels production-ready, not experimental Filmora V15’s AI upgrades go well beyond surface-level automation. With major foundational algorithm optimizations, the platform now integrates advanced models like Nano Banana Pro, Sora 2 and Veo 3.1, bringing serious generative power into a practical editing environment. AI image generation becomes sharper, faster, and more flexible, supporting native lossless output and precise aspect ratios. Text-to-video and image-to-video creation now deliver smoother motion, more realistic action, and stronger narrative coherence—key for professionals producing explainers, concept visuals, or branded content under time pressure. The difference is subtle but important: these tools feel dependable, not experimental. Solving the small problems that slow big projects Professional editing often isn’t about grand creative challenges—it’s about fixing the small issues that interrupt flow. Filmora V15 focuses heavily on removing those obstacles. AI Extend allows editors to seamlessly lengthen clips with text prompt, smoothing transitions and fixing pacing issues without awkward edits or reshoots. Smart Cutout, upgraded with more precise edge detection, makes subject isolation fast and clean, with optional outlines to draw attention where it matters. Together, these tools help professionals stay focused on storytelling instead of technical workarounds. Wondershare Audio control without the guesswork Sound quality is often what separates amateur content from professional output—and Filmora V15 treats audio with the respect it deserves. Loudness Normalization automatically aligns audio levels with platform standards, ensuring consistent volume across YouTube, social platforms, and internal presentations. Audio Gain adds flexible batch processing, making it easy to balance audio from different sources in minutes rather than hours. For professionals, this means fewer revisions, fewer complaints, and content that simply sounds right wherever it’s published. Precision, without intimidation Filmora V15 also introduces tools designed for professionals who care about detail but don’t want complexity for its own sake. The new Pen Tool allows editors to draw motion paths directly on screen, shaping curves, controlling speed, and crafting transitions with precision. Motion design becomes more expressive—and far more accessible. Animated Charts bring data storytelling into the timeline, turning spreadsheets into clean, animated visuals with minimal effort. For marketers, educators, and business teams, it’s a powerful way to communicate ideas clearly and convincingly. Wondershare A professional workflow that stays human Behind its clean interface, Filmora V15 supports advanced workflows typically found in high-end editing platforms: dual timelines, source and timeline previews, subprojects, multi-track audio exports, and AI-powered color matching across shots. Yet none of this feels overwhelming. The tools are there when professionals need them—and quietly out of the way when they don’t. The balance professionals have been waiting for Wondershare Filmora V15 doesn’t try to replace professional creativity with automation. Instead, it removes friction—so ideas move faster, decisions feel lighter, and results look polished without feeling overworked. The Premium version of Wondershare Filmora Video Editor costs just $6.67 a month or $79.99 a year, including 2,000 AI Credits, 100GB of Filmora Cloud Storage and much more. For professionals who demand power but value momentum, Filmora V15 hits a rare sweet spot: advanced editing that feels natural, efficient, and genuinely enjoyable to use. Watch how you can create engaging content with minimal effort on the Wondershare Filmora Video Editor YouTube channel. Read...

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