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The Nintendo GameCube from 2001 had the best controller ever designed, and yes, I will die on this hill. Yet while it’s easy enough to get a new controller with that classic shape and button layout, one modder decided to go the extra mile and fuse the classic look and feel of the GameCube with all the bells and whistles of the PS5’s DualSense pad. The “CubeSense” by custom controller seller Killscreen nails the iconic purple base color and mix of red, green, and gray for the accents. But it also replaces the PlayStation stock thumbsticks with one that has concentric rings (on the left) and an all-yellow “nub” C-stick (on the right). Also note the shoulder buttons: gray for primary triggers, but only the right R1 button gets the “base” purple color (because the GameCube pad lacked a left L1 button). The triggers can be enhanced with a “clicky” short travel upgrade if you want better performance in FPS games. Killscreen As a fan of the original, I have to nit-pick a bit. First, the nub-shaped C-stick wasn’t exactly necessary as a standard stick in yellow coloration would’ve been perfectly fine. Second, the green “A” button on the original GameCube pad was on the “bottom” (technically the middle, but bottom in cardinal terms) and oversized since it was designed to be the main button the player used most often. Killscreen has put the green button on the right instead, which is wrong for both the GameCube layout and for the PlayStation’s general bottom position for the primary interaction button. That being said, I can’t deny the appeal here. Despite the customization, Killscreen is using a genuine OEM DualSense pad for the base, so it should work great on the PlayStation or PC. According to the Yanko Design blog, this work of art will cost $150 once it’s up on Killscreen’s shop (or $180 with the short travel shoulder button upgrade). For a slightly more accessible take on the old GameCube pad, I can recommend PowerA’s officially licensed Switch controller, which works with the PC or other gadgets via Bluetooth. Read...

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When ChatGPT first landed on the scene, I was terrified. It was lightyears ahead of virtual assistants like Siri, Google, and Alexa, and it seemed like it was going to render my job obsolete — maybe even all jobs. Fortunately, we now know that ChatGPT is really just a glorified chatbot and it’s far from ready to replace real-world workers, let alone take over the world. Some have even swung the opposite direction, claiming these AI chatbots are novelty gimmicks and basically useless. I wouldn’t go that far, though. In fact, when I tried using ChatGPT in my day-to-day life, I was surprised by how beneficial it was. It’s a tool — and like any tool, you have to know how to use it to get any value out of it. Here are some real things I’ve done this year using ChatGPT and the various ways it has actually improved my life. ChatGPT helped me learn how to code Is ChatGPT itself good at coding? That depends. If you were to ask most programmers if ChatGPT could do their jobs for them, they’d emphasize how far away we are from that reality just yet. But as a tool for guidance and aid in understanding syntax, concepts, and other programming-related things? It’s not bad at all. So while ChatGPT developers have been working on their own obsolescence, I’ve been using ChatGPT to help me learn to code. I’ve wanted to make a game for years, but it wasn’t until 2024 that I finally sat down and took steps to make it happen. I’d previously learned BASIC about 30 years ago and I’d dabbled in Python and Flash’s ActionScript back in the ’00s, but realistically I was a going into this as a complete beginner — and that’s where ChatGPT proved genuinely useful. After I told it what I wanted to develop, it helped me choose a game engine in Game Maker. Then, after I made a few tutorial games, I started working on my own with ChatGPT guiding me along the way. Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG If I didn’t know how to do something in Game Maker, it pointed me in the right direction. When I didn’t know the differences between an Array and a DS Map, it explained them to me. When I made basic syntax errors that I couldn’t spot, ChatGPT found them in seconds. Of course, I also tried getting ChatGPT to write code for me, but that’s where it struggled. It often implemented things very inefficiently, or it had too much commenting, or it just didn’t work properly. And even when it did work, I — as a complete novice — couldn’t understand how it worked, so when something broke, I was never able to fix it. Now, months into my coding journey, I don’t use ChatGPT as much because I can trudge my way through most problems. But when I can’t conceptualize how to create something (because I just don’t have the programming experience to understand how it could be done), ChatGPT is still super useful. I’ll ask it to give me three ways to approach a problem, ranked by efficiency or modularity, depending on what I’m doing, and that way I still make all the big calls but also have my little chatbot helper do some of the basic grunt work for me. ChatGPT is a great roleplaying partner I love tabletop roleplaying (TTRPGs). With a good group, it’s one of my favorite activities. Call of Cthulhu was my first real love, but I’ve got a near-decade-old Dungeons & Dragons campaign I’m still part of, and I’ve also played a few one-shots in different systems over the years. But now I’m keen to run something new and it’s been a while since I GM’d a game. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous and feel out of practice. What can I do other than grit my teeth and just see how it goes? ChatGPT to the rescue! I’ve always practiced roleplaying out loud before sessions, playing around with my characters’ voices with different accents or inflections and organically coming up with backstories just by seeing what I can manage to pull out of my hat via improvisation. But with ChatGPT, I can do better — by enacting real back-and-forths with imagined players — and it’s really quite effective. Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG With ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice mode, you can hold fluid conversations with the chatbot and it does a great job of inhabiting any characters or personas you give it. It can’t change its voice mid-chat, but it can play multiple characters and give them different vocal styles and ticks. And while I haven’t tried this next idea myself yet, you could even have ChatGPT play a character in your game during a session. This could be great when someone flakes at the last minute and leaves a hole in your party, or if no one wants to play a particular role. ChatGPT isn’t perfect, but it could fill in as needed. Related: New report shows the truth of how people use ChatGPT ChatGPT answers my kids’ questions I am so grateful to be alive at a time when my young kids (who are 4 and 6 years old) can ask me questions for which I don’t know the answers to, and I can simply say “I don’t know, but we can look it up!” before pulling out my phone and finding the answers within seconds. What an improvement to visiting the library or digging out an encyclopedia. But there’s something lost in the modern process of information discovery. It’s little more than me staring at my phone screen for 30 seconds while they wait (im)patiently by my side. And because I intentionally try to limit the amount of time they see me eyeballing my little black mirror, this process feels doubly off. That’s why I appreciate ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice mode, which can be a much more fun and engaging way to answer our questions. We all sit and listen for the answer together — it’s not just me looking it up and imparting knowledge, but they get to discover with me. It’s just more interesting and surprising that way. It also lets my kids practice speaking clearly as they articulate their questions. With this, you do have to bear in mind that OpenAI is likely harvesting your children’s voice data and the questions asked for algorithmic training, so I wouldn’t use this for something sensitive. Plus, there’s the potential for answers to go over their heads or to be flat-out wrong, so I wouldn’t do this when I want to guarantee accurate answers. Then again, that could be a good opportunity to teach them to always check their sources when it comes to information. ChatGPT can be a virtual counselor Like many people, I suffer with anxiety because [gestures at the state of the world], and I have to manage it on a day-to-day basis. I have sessions with a therapist, I practice mindfulness, I exercise regularly, I watch my diet, and I try to limit doomscrolling whenever I can. But that’s not to say I have anxiety completely under control. It’s an ever-present threat to my productivity, mood, and gut health, so I’m always keen to try out new ways of managing it. One of the things I’ve been trying has been to “talk it out” with ChatGPT. I’ve asked it for help with mindfulness, had it coach me through breathing techniques, and even offered up some of my more complicated personal struggles to get another perspective on them. Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG I’ve found it really helpful that I can choose to chat with ChatGPT through text alone (when I’m not feeling too vocal) or through quiet voice (when I don’t want others nearby to hear). The recently implemented Advanced Voice mode has made ChatGPT more nuanced, too, and therapist-like conversations aren’t impossible. In fact, ChatGPT can sometimes even sound like it genuinely cares. (Of course, it doesn’t actually have any emotions, but it’s still effective nonetheless.) It feels a little odd reaching out to an AI for human connection, and there’s a very valid concern over privacy when using ChatGPT in this way. But I can say that it definitely works for me, at least in part. Sure, ChatGPT is nowhere near as good as seeing a real-life therapist, and I don’t expect ChatGPT’s conversational abilities to ever be a one-to-one replacement for the real social experiences we have with fellow humans. But when I’m in a bind and just need a little bit of support right then and there, ChatGPT is a great alternative. ChatGPT researches faster than I can One of my recent hyperfixations has been World War II, so I’ve been enjoying a lot of historical documentaries, videos, and podcasts on the topic over the past several months. As with any major historical event, though, I can’t help but imagine a million “What if…?” scenarios that could’ve arose if minor things hadn’t happened as they did. If I were more academically minded and had the time, maybe I’d do some genuine research into such “alternate histories” and write papers that could be of interest to others. In reality, though, it’s just a musing in the moment — and that’s where ChatGPT can be a lot of fun. I’ve asked ChatGPT to come up with alternate gameplans for battles supposing a different general was in charge. What would’ve happened if Hitler hadn’t been obsessed with taking Stalingrad? What would’ve happened had the Allies just rolled on into Russia after the defeat of Germany? What if Churchill had taken the advice of his cabinet to surrender in 1940? What if the US didn’t stop at two nukes? Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG Jon Martindale / IDG Of course, these are all far too complex to really know the answers to. But if I wanted to get even a rough estimate of the end result on my own, I’d need to do so much historical research and know the topic far better than I do, that it would take weeks or months to approach these questions with even a sense of veracity. ChatGPT can be an immediately accessible, opinionated history buff. It’s probably wrong, but there’s no way to prove it — and it’s likely to be more accurate than whatever I could come up with myself. More importantly, it’s an interesting what-if scenario that I get to explore, all because ChatGPT has the repository of knowledge needed to quickly generate an idea of what could’ve happened. I suppose you could ask it to think about alternative futures, too, but that feels a little too real for now. I’ll stick to having it describe things that couldn’t possibly happen. It’s much more relaxing. Further reading: Awesome things you can do with ChatGPT Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Good gaming performance Low price High 144Hz display refresh Design doesn’t scream “gaming PC” Cons Dim display All plastic build Runs older 12th Gen Intel CPU Only one USB-C with 5Gbps limit Our Verdict The 2024 HP Victus 15 is a great budget gaming machine, but it’s not ideal for much else. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today PC gaming is still thriving after the pandemic-era GPU drought and the crypto mining hysteria, but GPUs are only a little bit cheaper. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get a solid gaming experience, though. HP claims its newest Victus 15 laptop offers desktop power without breaking the bank. And, if playing games is all you care about, this notebook won’t disappoint. The mid-range components will keep your frame rates tolerable and the Victus 15 is attractive without obnoxious gamer styling. And you can’t argue with the price—the 2024 HP Victus 15 offers modest but consistent gaming power for under a grand. In fact, you could pick up the Victus 15 for less than the price of a mid-range desktop GPU. Further reading: Best gaming laptops under $1,000: Expert picks that won’t break the bank HP Victus 15: Specs and features If this package looks familiar, that’s because HP has used the same chassis in the past. The company updated a few components for the 2024 refresh, most importantly the GPU. The Victus has an RTX 4050 laptop GPU with 6GB of VRAM, which is a step down from the 4060 we see in a lot of mid-range gaming notebooks. The CPU is an oddball for a 2024 laptop—a 12th Gen Intel Core i7. This is a 10-core chip with four efficiency cores and six performance cores. The maximum clock speed is 4.7GHz. So, it’s certainly no slouch, but CPUs in the last few generations have emphasized efficiency and AI processing, which you won’t get with this machine. There’s no NPU at all in this chip and there isn’t even a Copilot key on the keyboard. While 16GB of DDR4 RAM can sometimes feel a bit thin in 2024, it’s sufficient if gaming is your primary use case. The 512GB SSD is similarly fine. Although, with games constantly ballooning in size, a 1TB option would have been nice. This laptop is available from Best Buy along with a similar machine running a 12th Gen Core i5 and the older RTX 3050 GPU, but the newer model is a better option. However, it’s not a good value at the $1,100 MSRP. This device has been on sale since it debuted, chopping at least a few hundred dollars off the price. At the current $799.99 sale price, it’s a great value. Model number: 15-fb2063dx CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H Memory: 16GB DDR4 Graphics/GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 (6GB) Display: 15.6-inch diagonal IPS, 1920 x 1080 @ 144 Hz Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Webcam: 720p Connectivity: 1x USB-C (5Gbps), 2 x USB-A (5 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio jack Networking: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 Battery capacity: 70Whr, 200W adapter Dimensions: 14.09 x 10.04 x 0.93  inches Weight: 5.06 lbs MSRP as tested: $1,099.99 The HP Victus 15 will play most of today’s AAA games at medium settings and the 1080p screen is fast enough to satisfy fans of fast-paced shooters. HP Victus 15: Design and build quality IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam The Victus 15 is all-plastic, but it looks surprisingly nice for a cheap gaming laptop. It comes in a dark blue color—you don’t see a lot of blue computers, so this is a nice change of pace. The plastic is matte and it looks nice until you touch it. The finish attracts and holds skin oils, so you’ll have to wipe the machine down regularly if you don’t want it to look like a mess. There’s very little branding on the machine—HP’s logo doesn’t appear anywhere. There’s a large reflective Victus “V” in the middle of the top cover, along with two smaller Victus logos inside. This is not a particularly thin or light machine, at about an inch thick and five pounds. The chassis flexes a bit when you pick it up, and you can tell the plastic housing isn’t very thick. However, I’ve hauled this machine around a few times, not being particularly careful about safeguarding from bumps or scuffs, and the body hasn’t picked up any noticeable damage. I also like the bumpons on the bottom that run the entire width of the machine, giving it a stable footprint. Since this machine inherits some older design elements, you don’t get a forward-looking port setup. On the right edge, you’ve got an HDMI, Ethernet, a USB-A, and the laptop’s lone USB-C. I like to see multiple USB-C ports in 2024, and this one barely counts. It’s limited to 5Gbps, and you cannot use it to charge the machine. On the left side, you get another USB-A port, the 3.5mm jack, and a DC barrel power connector. Because you can’t use the USB-C port for power, you’ll have to carry around the clunky 200W DC power adapter. The hinge opens smoothly with one hand, but it’s not as stable as I’d like—the screen might wobble around if you’re pounding on the keyboard. There’s also a large bezel below the display, which is a traditional 16:9 panel instead of the taller screens we see on many newer laptops. Again, this is fine for gaming. The bezel on the other three sides is much smaller, though. We’ll talk about performance later, but the machine doesn’t get too hot or loud while playing games. The fan pulls air from the bottom and pushes it out the rear-facing vents. That ensures the hot air is directed away from you—some laptops have vents on the side, which can roast your mousing hand. HP Victus 15: Display and speakers IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam The 15.6-inch 1080p LCD is a hallmark of budget gaming notebooks, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a good size and resolution for casual gaming. At typical viewing distances, the Victus 15’s IPS panel looks plenty sharp. There’s no discernible backlight bleed and the viewing angles are solid, both of which are issues on some budget gaming laptops. Part of the reason for that may be that the screen just can’t get very bright. It maxes out at 250 nits, which is a bit below average even for budget laptops. You’ll be fine as long as you do your gaming in a subterranean lair like any self-respecting nerd. However, taking this computer into the outdoors or a well-lit room could be a problem. Thankfully, the display is matte, which will help limit reflections. Like most laptops, the Victus 15 has downward-firing stereo speakers tucked under the left and right edges. The audio quality will be fine for games, but there’s next to no bass. Volume is good—the speakers can get so loud you won’t want to sit near the laptop. However, the audio gets distorted at about 75 percent volume. HP Victus 15: Keyboard and trackpad IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam HP managed to fit a full keyboard layout on the Victus 15, complete with a number pad. Unlike the pad on the slightly larger Acer Nitro V 16, the number pad keys are full-size. The pad does bump right up against the rest of the keys, which will make it hard to find by feel. All the keys on this machine are squared off with a similarly angular font for the shine-through legends. There’s no RGB, but the white LEDs will ensure you can read the legends in the dark. The chiclet-style keys have good tactility when pressed, but they wobble a bit too much. The bottom out is also soft and unappealing. You can see the plastic keyboard deck flexing if you get even a little aggressive with the keys. Despite the lack of a Copilot key taking up space on the bottom row, HP equipped the Victus 15 with tiny, shrunken-down arrows. I also continue to object to HP’s decision to put the power button right next to backspace—that’s very perilous, although I managed not to shut this machine down accidentally during testing as I have with previous HP laptops. The trackpad is a good size, shifted slightly left from center but not so far that it’s hard to use with your right hand. It’s plastic like the rest of the build, and the physical click mechanism is on the mushy side. The default sensitivity also felt too sluggish, but it’s much more usable after bumping that up a few notches. It’s not the best trackpad experience, but the hardware is reasonable for the price. HP Victus 15: Performance I’ve tested this machine with games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Cyberpunk 2077. It can handle all these games at 1080p at medium or better settings. Frame rates are more than playable, but you don’t get to take advantage of the high 144Hz refresh rate in most newer games. If you’re into twitchy games like Fortnite or Counter-Strike, you’ll be able to enjoy a smoother gameplay experience. However, even those games won’t hit 144 fps very easily on this hardware. Before you get down to fragging noobs, you’ll probably want to make a few system tweaks. HP has preloaded three different settings programs, a common issue with its PCs. Most of the important performance settings are in the Omen app, for which there is a shortcut key on the keyboard. HP also added some annoying bloatware, including McAfee and WildTangent Games. HP’s own apps pop up frequently early on to get you to register your warranty and provide feedback. Once you take care of those things, it’s a pretty streamlined build of Windows 11 Home. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam PCMark 10 is designed to test a machine across a variety of metrics like web browsing, video chat, and photo editing. The HP Victus 15 doesn’t quite keep up with laptops running newer CPUs, but it’s not left in the dust either. At 6,855, the Victus score is in line with gaming notebooks from a year or two ago. Some newer Intel Core Ultra chips will perform just a bit better in this test, but AMD’s current lineup is adept at multithreaded tests like this. However, HP’s default system mode is geared more toward efficiency than many of its competitors. Switching to Performance mode boosted this score about one hundred points, bringing it closer to other machines we’ve tested. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam Cinebench is a CPU-focused test that shows how a PC handles heavy but brief multi-core workloads. More CPU cores grant higher scores in Cinebench and cooling doesn’t matter very much. Again, the Victus trails other current gaming notebooks, but it’s not particularly slow—it lands right where I’d expect a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 to land. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam The Handbrake test is similar to Cinebench in that it shows how a computer handles multithreaded tasks, but this is a longer-duration test where thermals matter more. We see a bigger gap in this benchmark, which makes sense given the CPU. Newer chips have markedly better encoding performance. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam Our first gaming test is 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. The HP Victus 15 is still trailing, but the gap is relatively small. The RTX 4050 is a capable GPU and this test is not as heavily affected by the older CPU. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam Game benchmarks like the one included with Shadow of the Tomb Raider can help us understand a system’s real world gaming experience. The Victus shows its gaming chops here, putting up an average frame rate of 113. The Victus and its RTX 4050 actually beat the HP Omen Transcend 14, which has an RTX 4060 GPU inside. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam The Metro Exodus benchmark is a bit more demanding, giving higher-specced machines a chance to shine. The Victus doesn’t get a very high score, managing just 32 fps on average. Still, that’s a smidge better than the Omen Transcend 14 and within spitting distance of other RTX 4060 laptops. HP Victus 15: Battery life Gaming laptops are not exactly famous for their longevity—it’s actually quite the opposite, with some high-power laptops running dry in under three hours. The Victus 15 does a little better than that with its 77Wh battery. IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam IDG / Ryan Whitwam Our battery rundown test consists of running a 4K video at 250 nits on a loop until the laptop dies. The Victus managed just shy of six hours, which is respectable for a gaming notebook. It bests high-power machines like the Gigabyte G6X, but some laptops that prioritize battery capacity alongside performance still last longer while performing better. The longevity is a bit shorter in general use. You won’t be able to use this machine for an entire work day, nor will you get much game time on the go without a power outlet. However, the battery is good enough that you can use it unplugged in a pinch. HP Victus 15: Conclusion The HP Victus 15 has a good mid-range GPU and a fast (though slightly old) CPU. It’s not the best gaming PC by a longshot, but it will play most of today’s AAA games at medium settings and the 1080p screen is fast enough to satisfy fans of fast-paced shooters. However, you won’t get high-end features like HDR or G-Sync, and the display is on the dim side. You should not get the Victus 15 if productivity and work are on the agenda. While it’s capable enough right now, the 12th Gen Intel chip is already several years out of date and the selection of ports is lacking for 2024. The RTX 4050 is still shipping in plenty of laptops, but the Victus doesn’t have as much of a future as slightly more expensive gaming machines. Overall, the HP Victus 15 is a competent and reasonably priced computer for basic gaming. However, you shouldn’t buy it for the $1,100 MSRP. You can do better for that much, but the current sale price ($799 as of this writing) is a good deal. Read...

With Windows 11 version 24H2, Microsoft is providing the latest version of the current Microsoft operating system free of charge. Every Windows 11 user can install it directly via the Windows update function. When updating an older version of Windows 11, all data, programs, and settings are retained. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Microsoft is switching the Windows kernel from C to the Rust programming language. This is intended to increase security. The update is therefore a complete Windows update again after a long time. In addition, various programs and features will also disappear from Windows 11, such as Wordpad. In terms of security, Microsoft wants to automatically activate hard disk encryption and Bitlocker for new installations in the future when you completely reinstall Windows 11 24H2 on a PC. Other breaking Windows 11 annual update news you need to know: Windows 11’s big 2024 Update: How and when you’ll get it Microsoft reveals Windows 11’s AI roadmap: Smart search, upscaling, more Windows 11’s 2024 Update: 5 big changes I really like (and more) Warning: Windows 11’s big 2024 update takes a long time to install AI function Recall is no longer included The most important new feature that was planned for Windows 11 24H2 is the AI service “Recall.” However, this function has been cancelled without replacement and is currently being revised. Recall takes screenshots of the screen content at one-second intervals, allowing users to search with AI based on these screenshots. For example, you could use the function’s search field to ask when you saw a pizza on a website that you want to order or bake. For data protection reasons, and because there were already tools that could decrypt Recall data before the release of Windows 11 24H2, Microsoft has withdrawn the feature and is currently developing it further ahead of renewed testing this fall. Older hardware is being left out for good A less welcome innovation in Windows 11 24H2 is that you can no longer have the option of installing Windows 11 even though your PC does not fulfil the requirements. Therefore, if your PC does not fulfil the Windows 11 requirements, you will not be able to update to 24H2, even if Windows 11 has already been installed using tricks. If you are using a PC with an Arm processor, you need at least Arm version 8.1 for 24H2. You cannot update to 24H2 on PCs with older versions. AI functions are being toned down: Copilot as an app Microsoft originally wanted to integrate its AI assistant directly into Windows 11 24H2 — but this has not materialized. The AI assistant is now available as an app via the Microsoft Store. However, this version cannot customize system settings in Windows 11 like the version originally planned to be integrated into Windows 11. Nevertheless, Microsoft is continuing to work on linking its AI services more closely with Windows 11. PC för Alla PC för Alla PC för Alla Innovations in the user interface and smartphone connectivity Microsoft has also tweaked the Windows 11 user interface. The date display no longer includes the year (although this does not have to remain the case for good) and the quick access menu, which is opened to connect to WLANs, for example, has been revised and given new buttons for navigation. Foundry Foundry Foundry You can once again pin apps directly to the taskbar using drag-and-drop. If you use the integrated Windows backup, you can now also synchronize the sound settings between PCs. If you have linked your smartphone to Windows 11, you can access a new sidebar instead of using all the information in a separate window. The app therefore no longer needs to be used separately. From 24H2, files can once again be moved and copied in Windows Explorer via the address bar using drag-and-drop. Microsoft has also revised the context menu. The icons at the top are now labelled, which makes them much easier to use. The scroll direction of the mouse can now be changed in the settings and the VPN configuration has been simplified. The lock screen can display more information in Windows 11 24H2, such as traffic information and financial news. In general, the lock screen can be customized more flexibly. In the future, it will be possible to use your smartphone camera as a wireless webcam for Windows 11 24H2. Here’s a guide on how to do it. PCs with HDR monitors can use new HDR images in Windows 11. If you use a Copilot PC, you even get dynamic images that react to inputs and mouse movements. Windows 11 also comes with a new wallpaper that you can download without 24H2, for example from X (formerly Twitter). ZIP and TAR with Windows 11 and a better Teams client Windows 11 has been able to extract ZIP and TAR files for some time now. As of 24H2, you can also create archives with ZIP and TAR via the context menu of files and directories and make more settings. Foundry Foundry Foundry The Teams client integrated in Windows 11 24H2 can now offer private chats and work in parallel with Microsoft Teams, for example via Microsoft 365. Sudo, Wi-Fi 7, and better printing The “sudo” command familiar from Linux, which allows users to execute commands in the admin context without being fully logged in as an administrator, is part of Windows 11 24H2. However, sudo is deactivated by default. You must first activate the function in the development settings. The settings for this can be found under System > For developers. Microsoft explains how to use Sudo in the Windows 11 documentation. Windows 11 24H2 supports the new, fast Wi-Fi 7 standard. However, this is only useful if the PC is also connected to a Wi-Fi 7-compatible Wi-Fi router via Wi-Fi. An example of this is the Zyxel BE11000. With Windows Protected Print Mode, Windows works better with printers without having to install a driver. To do this, the printers must support Mopria. Read...