I develop an acute case of appliance envy every January. That’s when LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and other manufacturers at the CES tradeshow demonstrate how their new wares can be integrated into the smart home, controlled via a single app, self-report minor problems that could lead up to expensive repairs if not addressed, and—in the case of appliances that work together, like a washer and dryer—even talk to each other. When our clothes dryer recently failed for the second time in less than three years, my wife and I decided to replace it. I don’t know how many years of service the dryer delivered, but it was obviously what realtors label a “landlord special;” i.e., a cheap, no-frills model that barely covers the basics. The dryer, and a washing machine of similarly dubious quality, were included in the sale of the home we bought in late 2021. They weren’t great appliances, but I wasn’t about to argue when the seller offered to leave them behind. It saved us time and money, and it saved them the trouble of getting them out of the basement. As sellers, we did the same when we moved from California to Oregon. It was win-win in both situations—at the time, at least. My old washer and dryer weren’t in this bad of shape, but they weren’t far off.Jan Krava/Shutterstock Having decided to replace the crappy dryer, we decided to bite the bullet and replace the equally cheap washing machine as well—in part to avoid the tariff-induced price increases that are sure to come. But when I started shopping, I quickly discovered that rather than buying the best washing machine and the best dryer, regardless of brand, I’d need to buy all my smart appliances from the same brand if I wanted the promised integrated experience. I quickly discovered I needed to buy all my smart appliances from the same brand if I wanted the promised integrated experience. While Matter is looking to knock down the silos between smaller smart home categories—lighting, HVAC control, and home security, for example—it will be many years before the consortium takes large home appliances into account. For the time being, in fact, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) that brought us Matter is leaving large smart appliances up to a whole other consortium, the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA). HCA membership includes many of the same companies in the CSA, but it’s moving at even more of a snail’s pace. HCA members LG and Samsung, for example, promised their smart appliances would work within each other’s smart home apps—ThinQ and SmartThings respectively—by the end of 2023. Fifteen months later, they still don’t–at least they don’t in the U.S. Samsung says the promised interoperability between Samsung and LG smart appliances is available in Korea, and that SmartThings users in Europe can control Turkish manufacturer Vestel’s air conditioners, washers, and dishwashers with its SmartThings app. “Companies are evaluating results and preferences before expanding to other regions,” a Samsung spokesperson said. First-world laundry problems solved LG’s model WM5500HWA washing machine uses sensors and algorithms to automatically choose the right settings based on the weight and softness of the fabrics placed in its drum.Michael Brown/Foundry My wife and I own a very small home—there’s just 760 square feet of living space—with a partial basement where the washer and dryer hookups are located. To make the most of the available storage space, we decided to stack them—another factor that dictated buying both appliances from the same brand. You can’t buy a kit that allows you to operate an LG dryer on top of a Samsung front-load washer, for example. After reading lots of product reviews, we settled on an LG WM5500HWA washing machine and an LG DLEX5500W electric dryer. We’ve been using the washer and dryer for a couple of weeks now, and the interconnectivity has delighted the geek in me (I’m not entirely sure my wife appreciates quite it as much). The two appliances talk to each other over a Bluetooth connection, so when you select the type of load you’re putting in the washer—towels, for example—the dryer will already be on that same setting when you turn it on and transfer the load into it. The washing machine sends a push notification to our smartphones when its current cycle is finished, reminding us that the laundry should be removed promptly, and that if it must be left in there for a long period of time, we can start a short wash cycle—right from our phone—to keep the clothes fresh until we can put them in the dryer. The dryer, for its part, will send push notifications when it’s finished, with a reminder to change its lint filter and to clean the filter with water after every 10 cycles. The dryer has a similar function if you can’t unload it right away; this one periodically fluffs the clothes to prevent wrinkles from setting in. Having the appliances connected to my Wi-Fi network means I can use an app to turn them on and off and to choose which settings they should operate on. But LG’s ThinQ app does other things that are even more useful. An energy consumption tracking feature will report how much power each appliance has consumed this month and last, and it maintains a history of the cycles used each time, including the cycle options (temperature, dry level, energy saver mode, and so on). LG’s app also lets you create IFTTT-like Smart Routines that execute on demand with a button press, or that are triggered by a condition—the time of day, your current location, or even the weather, for example. When you leave home for a short time, your LG robot vacuum can start up and clean your floors while you’re gone. That’s all great—except for the fact that setting up these routines depends on all your smart appliances being LG products. Smart kitchen appliances This LG dual-fuel range connects to Wi-Fi, but it’s smart features are relatively limited. One of the most useful: I synchronized its clock to my smartphone, so I don’t need to push buttons to change the time twice a year.Michael Brown/Foundry I’d already purchased a new dual-fuel range when the one that came with the home—another landlord special—failed shortly after we moved in, and the repair tech couldn’t obtain a replacement part. I chose an LG model because I wanted dual electric ovens but a gas cooktop. Yeah, I know natural gas is a fossil fuel, and burning it pollutes the air inside your home. But there’s nothing like cooking with gas. Anyway, that’s all beside the point. The LG range connects to Wi-Fi and is also part of LG’s ThinQ smart home ecosystem, but that didn’t factor much in my decision at the time. I just wanted a quality stove, and this one got good reviews. In this case, I’m glad I wasn’t counting on ThinQ to improve my cooking and baking experience. Apart from periodically sending me reminders to put the oven in self-cleaning mode—using the oven’s controls, not the app—the range’s connectivity hasn’t delivered much in the way of day-to-day convenience. That’s not to say the range’s ThinQ features are useless, they’re just less obvious. I work at home and my wife is retired, so the ability to start the oven when we’re away from home isn’t a big attraction. LG’s ThinQ app puts all my smart appliances in one place, but only the washer and dryer have truly helpful smart features. That said, I’m sure the Smart Diagnosis feature they all share will be useful down the road.Michael Brown/Foundry On the other hand, if the range starts to behave oddly—if one of its burners fails to start or the oven doesn’t reach the programmed temperature, for example, I can run a Smart Diagnosis routine from the LG app on my smartphone that will check various components, including the temperature sensor, heating element, convection fan, and even its buttons for abnormal operation. If a problem is identified, I can push a button in the app to send the report to LG’s customer support along with my phone number, so they can call me. But there are two other features that I think will prove even more useful, and these are both available with the washer and dryer as well as the range. First, if I need detailed information about any of these appliances’ features or settings, I can download a copy of its user manual right from within the app. Second, if I ever need to buy a part for these appliances or have any of them serviced, I only need to open that app to find not only the model number but the serial number and—for warranty purposes—the date the appliances were put into service. No ThinQ, no problem? Lacking a Wi-Fi adapter, our LG refrigerator isn’t part of LG’s ThinQ smart appliance ecosystem. But it was the only French-door, freezer-on-the-bottom model that would fit in our tiny kitchen.Michael Brown/Foundry While we didn’t need to replace our cheap refrigerator last year, we had grown tired of bending over to find things inside its refrigerator compartment (we much prefer freezer-on-the-bottom designs), listening to its loud compressor, and paying high electric bills due to its inefficient operation. In addition to having the freezer on the bottom, we wanted a French-door model, reasoning that the smaller doors would function better in our tiny, 47-square-foot galley kitchen. When we went shopping, we discovered that LG was the only manufacturer that offered an Energy Star-certified model that would fit in the narrow 30-inch-wide space we had for it (the LG model LFDS22520S fit by a whisker, being 29.75 inches wide). The one thing I didn’t check before I ordered the LG fridge was ThinQ compatibility, probably because I wasn’t impressed with ThinQ in the range I bought. And as it turned out, the refrigerator doesn’t really support ThinQ because it doesn’t have a Wi-Fi adapter onboard. The refrigerator does feature LG’s Smart Diagnosis technology that can help identify problems.Michael Brown/Foundry Interestingly, that didn’t stop me from adding the refrigerator to the ThinQ app, I just needed to hold my phone up to the top right-hand door hinge, where the words “Smart Diagnosis” are printed, and then push and hold a button on the refrigerator’s control panel, located on the left-hand door. This triggered the refrigerator to send a report to my phone, encoded in a series of beeps and boops. Besides the troubleshooting feature, the ThinQ app doesn’t deliver much in the way of user benefits for the fridge. But you can download the user manual from here, and you can register its purchase with LG for warranty purposes by providing the name of the retailer you purchased it from along with the date of purchase. The app will even let you snap a picture of your receipt or attach a PDF of the same. And that’s how I became locked in the LG ThinQ ecosystem I’ve been a smart home enthusiast for more than 20 years, and I’ve always been able to make disparate standards and protocols work together: Alexa, Google Home, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Philips Hue, and even Ring and Nest—I have products based on all of them. I’ve found smart appliances to be a whole different animal. I didn’t set out to make this aspect of my smart home revolve around a particular brand. In fact, I hadn’t given it all that much thought before now, because Samsung didn’t acquire SmartThings until 2014, and LG didn’t fully launch ThinQ until 2017. Heck, ThinQ didn’t even factor into my decision-making when I bought the LG range in 2022, the LG refrigerator in 2023, or even the LG washer and dryer I just acquired. Wondering about my dishwasher? We took out the crappy one we had in our tiny kitchen and converted the space to a cabinet. For the time being, I don’t regret being stuck in the LG ThinQ ecosystem—it really has solved some of my first-world problems. Given the fact that large home appliances are supposed to last 10 to 15 years, however, I do hope that the Home Connectivity Alliance delivers on its promises before I need to replace one of them. I don’t want to be in a position where I have to buy another LG appliance just to maintain compatibility. But I’m not holding my breath on that score. I also queried LG about its interconnectivity but no one got back to me before press time. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Functional ergonomic stand with small base Excellent SDR contrast and color gamut Good HDR brightness More affordable than the competition Cons Build quality and design could be better SDR performance, though great, is same as competitors Doesn’t have USB-C with DisplayPort Our Verdict The Alienware AW2725Q is yet another excellent 27-inch 4K 240Hz QD-OLED monitor, and less expensive than the competition. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Alienware AW2725Q Retailer Price $899.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket I’ll be honest. The Alienware AW2725Q didn’t make a good first impression. It uses Alienware’s new “AW30” design language that, though meant to feel more organic, doesn’t look premium. The monitor also lacks a USB-C port with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, something I consider essential for modern monitors. However, the Alienware AW2725Q makes up for these problems with a simple advantage. It costs a lot less than its competitors. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparison. Alienware AW2725Q specs and features The Alienware AW2725Q specifications, though excellent, don’t stand out. I’ve already reviewed several monitors this year, such as the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM and MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED, with the same 4K 240Hz QD-OLED panel. In fact, the AW2725Q has a disadvantage next to these alternatives: It doesn’t have a USB-C port with DisplayPort and sufficient USB Power Delivery to charge a connected laptop. Display size: 26.7-inch 16:9 widescreen Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: 10-bit QD-OLED Refresh rate: 240Hz Adaptive sync: Adaptive Sync, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 with eARC/ARC for Dolby Atmos signal pass-through, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B 5Gbps upstream, 3x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream with 15 watts of Power Delivery VESA mount: 100x100mm Audio: None Warranty: 3 years Price: $899.99 MSRP (U.S.) But Alienware strikes back with the price. Most competitors list a price of $1099.99, but the AW2725Q is just $899.99. That’s $200, or roughly 20 percent, less expensive. It’s a big difference, and it works to Dell’s advantage. Despite its price, the AW2725Q is covered by a three-year warranty that includes OLED burn-in. Oh, and the AW2725Q has one other practical advantage. It’s in stock. While several other companies have launched 27-inch 4K 240Hz QD-OLED monitors, availability is tight. I expect the AW2725Q will be among the easier 4K 240Hz QD-OLED monitors to buy, as Dell has a history of shipping monitors with new panels at larger volumes than most competitors. Alienware AW2725Q design Alienware monitors are known for their unique design. The AW2725Q is no exception, but takes the brand in a different direction with a design language called “AW30.” It exchanges the prior retro-futuristic look for a more organic, rounded design. Oh, and it’s a deep navy-blue color (Alienware calls it indigo), which is certainly different. Yet I’m not sold on the new look. My biggest beef is the faux-metallic plastic on the rear of the AW2725Q. While the sheen of the plastic seems meant to look luxurious, to my eyes it comes off a bit cheap, especially next to competitors like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 series. Also, though the Alienware does technically have RGB-LED lighting accents, they’re only found on the Alienware logo on the back and the power button on the front.  Matthew Smith / Foundry The new design is functional, however. It has a compact stand that’s even flatter than the hexagon-style stand Alienware had used just prior, which means the stand keeps most of your desk space usable. The stand ergonomically adjusts for height, tilt, swivel, and pivot into portrait orientation, and the 100x100mm VESA mount can be used to attach the monitor to third-party stands and arms. Alienware also blesses the AW2725Q with a sizable cable guide that keeps cables out of sight and has enough space to handle multiple video connections. The Alienware AW2725Q has the dual advantage of being both cheaper than its peers, and more likely to be in stock. Alienware AW2725Q connectivity The Alienware AW2725Q’s video connectivity includes two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4. All ports can handle the monitor’s full resolution and refresh rate (up to 4K at 240Hz). The AW2725Q’s USB-C connectivity is limited, as it lacks a USB-C port with DisplayPort and significant power delivery. Instead, the monitor’s USB connectivity is driven by a USB-B upstream port with just 5Gbps of data transfer capability. That connects to three USB-A ports and a single USB-C port with up to 15 watts of Power Delivery. However, the AW2725Q’s lower pricing partially excuses this decision, as the monitor’s MSRP is $200 less than most 27-inch 4K 240Hz QD-OLED monitors. I prefer to see USB-C in all high-end monitors, but I must admit that ditching USB-C to lower the price helps the AW2725Q stand out from the crowd. One port that’s absent is the 3.5mm audio-out jack. Most monitors have this connection to support audio pass-through, but the AW2725Q doesn’t. That means you’ll need to connect a headset directly to your desktop or laptop. Instead of 3.5mm audio-out, the AW2725Q provides eARC on one of its two HDMI ports. HDMI eARC can be used for audio alongside some home theater sound systems and soundbars. Alienware also says the eARC port works with Dolby Atmos (though I didn’t have a compatible device on had to try it with). Alienware AW2725Q menu and features The Alienware AW2725Q has an LED-lit power button that glows when the monitor is on. It’s an attractive and stylish feature, but the glow is dim enough that I didn’t find it distracting. Otherwise, the monitor’s features are accessed through a joystick centered behind the lower bezel. It’s responsive and Alienware’s menus are logically arranged, though I did find the font size a bit small. I’d encourage the company to use a larger, higher-contrast menu font to make the menu easier to see from a distance. Matthew Smith / Foundry You can entirely skip the on-screen menu, however, and instead use Alienware’s Command Center utility. It provides access to most monitor features. Many competitors (including Asus, MSI, Samsung, LG, and others) provide similar software, but Alienware’s utility is the most attractive of the lot. Image quality options are a bit limited. The monitor has gamma adjustment, but only in Creator mode. There’s also extensive color adjustment for hue, gain, and saturation, but only in Custom Color mode. And there’s no color temperature adjustment to speak of, aside from Warm and Cool modes, neither of which support gamma and color adjustment. The monitor also has a typical range of gaming-centric features including a timer, a frame rate counter, and a dark stabilizer which increases the brightness of dark scenes (so you can see foes). More unusually, it has a “display alignment” feature, which produces a grid that can be used to precisely align the display area with another monitor. The monitor also supports Alien Vision, a customizable mode that can be used to adjust the image in a specific portion of the display (it can zoom, for instance, or enhance sharpness and contrast). The AW2725Q doesn’t include speakers. That’s typical for a gaming monitor, as most assume owners will use their own headset or desktop speakers, but it’s something to keep in mind. Alienware AW2725Q SDR image quality The Alienware AW2725Q has a 27-inch 4K 240Hz QD-OLED panel from Samsung. This panel is found in a wide variety of competing monitors, such as the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM and MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is brightness and, well, there’s not much to comment on here. The AW2725Q was technically a hair brighter than its peers, but the gaps here are so narrow that they’re unnoticeable—especially among the monitors with QD-OLED panels (the LG has an LG WOLED panel). The AW2725Q’s brightness is much more than adequate for use in a room with light control (like shades or blinds), and I often used the monitor at less than 40 percent of its maximum brightness. However, shoppers planning to use the monitor in a room without light control and sunlit windows, or in a brightly lit office, may want to steer clear of OLED and look at higher-brightness LCD displays. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is an advantage for OLED monitors including the Alienware AW2725Q. It can reach a minimum luminance of zero nits which, in turn, hugely boosts contrast and creates a more realistic, lifelike image. The difference between OLED and LCD is obvious, with the latter looking washed-out and flat by comparison. However, all modern OLED monitors achieve this level of performance. So, though excellent, contrast doesn’t give the AW2725Q an edge over its competition. Matthew Smith / Foundry The same is true of the monitor’s color gamut. The AW2725Q achieved 100 percent of sRGB, 98 percent of DCI-P3, and 92 percent of AdobeRGB. As the graph shows, these are fantastic figures and lead to a vibrant, highly saturated image that looks fantastic across a wide range of content. But other QD-OLED monitors achieve the same results. Matthew Smith / Foundry Color accuracy finally provides the AW2725Q a chance to separate itself from the crowd. The monitor achieves an average color error of less than one, which is excellent for any monitor. A color error this low is effectively indistinguishable, even for the most eagle-eyed viewers. Like other QD-OLED monitors, though, the AW2725Q’s good color gamut and accuracy are slightly soured by its gamma and color temperature performance. The monitor achieved a default gamma curve of 2.3, off the target of 2.2. This indicates content will appear a bit darker than ideal, and I did find the effect noticeable. Color temperature came in at 6200K, a bit warmer than the target of 6500K, and I again found this noticeable. The monitor’s on-screen menus can adjust these settings, though. Sharpness is excellent. The monitor’s pixel density works out to 166 pixels per inch. That’s much higher than a 27-inch 1440p monitor, which packs about 109 ppi. The improved pixel density provides a tack-sharp image that looks fantastic in 4K games and movies. Overall, the AW2725Q’s SDR image quality is both class-leading and typical for the category. The image quality of modern OLED monitors varies little between models, and the AW2725Q doesn’t buck that trend. The monitor’s SDR image quality is basically identical to other 4K QD-OLED monitors. In this case, though, that slightly works to the AW2725Q’s favor, because it’s less expensive than some of the alternatives. Alienware AW2725Q HDR image quality The Alienware AW2725Q is VESA DisplayHDR True Black certified. It supports HDR10 signals, which is typical, and Dolby Vision, which isn’t. The AW2725Q’s overall HDR performance is solid, though in line with competitors. Matthew Smith / Foundry As the graph shows, the AW2725Q basically tied the MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED in peak brightness and achieved rather similar results across the board. A peak brightness of 935 nits is very good for an OLED monitor and much better than older models, which often landed in the range of 400 to 700 nits. However, while the monitor’s peak HDR brightness is excellent, brightness falls off quickly when larger portions of the display are lit. Improved brightness isn’t just about brilliance in dark scenes. It also helps reveal more detail in bright objects. Those which otherwise might look uniformly bright instead show detail. This becomes obvious in Interstellar’s “Gargantua” scene. The disk of gas swirling around the black hole looks rather uniform in SDR, and on less capable HDR displays, but shows swirling and bubbling clouds when viewed on the AW2725Q. Though it’s not perfect, the AW2725Q is a good choice for HDR and performs better than most monitors, including OLED competitors. Keep in mind, though, that competitors with the exact same 4K 240Hz QD-OLED panel (such as the MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED and Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM) offer similar HDR. Alienware AW2725Q motion performance The Alienware AW2725Q’s 27-inch QD-OLED panel supports a maximum refresh rate of up to 240Hz. That’s the same as other new 4K QD-OLED monitors, but it remains an excellent refresh rate for modern games. Like other QD-OLED monitors, the AW2725Q delivers extraordinarily low pixel response times of just 0.03 milliseconds. This means pixels change state almost instantly, significantly reducing motion blur compared to traditional LCD panels which can’t match this performance. The combination of a 240Hz refresh rate with these exceptional response times results in outstanding motion clarity. During gameplay, fast-moving objects remain clearly visible, scrolling text maintains readability, and small interface elements (such as hitpoint bars in DOTA 2) stay legible even in motion. That’s not to say it’s the best motion clarity available. Some OLED models now reach up to 480Hz, and the improvement is noticeable. These monitors stick to 1440p resolution, however. While highly competitive gamers will want every Hz possible, most gamers will find 4K at 240Hz more useful than 1440p at 480Hz. Adaptive sync is supported as well with official support for both AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync. Nearly all modern monitors that support Adaptive Sync will also work with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, even if support isn’t listed. Even so, I like that Alienware makes this support official instead of leaving it up to users to find out. Should you buy the Alienware AW2725Q? Alienware’s AW2725Q is another excellent 4K 240Hz QD-OLED monitor. It provides fantastic image quality in SDR, good HDR, and attractive design with an ergonomic stand and numerous image quality adjustments. But Alienware did something clever: It slashed the price. The AW2725Q released at an MSRP of $899.99, while most competitors released at $1099.99. Alienware cuts a few corners to make this possible: most notably, the monitor lacks USB-C with DisplayPort, which is disappointing. Even so, it’s hard to argue with the monitor’s bang-for-the-buck. I’ve never thought of Alienware as a value brand but, in this case, it clearly undercuts the competition. Whether it’s right for you comes down to whether you need the USB-C port. If you do, the MSI MPG 272URX is the better choice. But if not, you can save some money with the AW2725Q. Read...

When DeepSeek-R1 released back in January, it was incredibly hyped up. This reasoning model could be distilled down to work with smaller large language models (LLMs) on consumer-grade laptops. If you believed the headlines, you’d think it’s now possible to run AI models that are competitive with ChatGPT right on your toaster. That just isn’t true, though. I tried running LLMs locally on a typical Windows laptop and the whole experience still kinda sucks. There are still a handful of problems that keep rearing their heads. Problem #1: Small LLMs are stupid Newer open LLMs often brag about big benchmark improvements, and that was certainly the case with DeepSeek-R1, which came close to OpenAI’s o1 in some benchmarks. But the model you run on your Windows laptop isn’t the same one that’s scoring high marks. It’s a much smaller, more condensed model—and smaller versions of large language models aren’t very smart. Just look at what happened when I asked DeepSeek-R1-Llama-8B how the chicken crossed the road: Matt Smith / Foundry This simple question—and the LLM’s rambling answer—shows how smaller models can easily go off the rails. They frequently fail to notice context or pick up on nuances that should seem obvious. In fact, recent research suggests that less intelligent large language models with reasoning capabilities are prone to such faults. I recently wrote about the issue of overthinking in AI reasoning models and how they lead to increased computational costs. I’ll admit that the chicken example is a silly one. How about we try a more practical task? Like coding a simple website in HTML. I created a fictional resume using Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet, then asked Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct to create a HTML website based on the resume. The results were far from great: Matt Smith / Foundry To be fair, it’s better than what I could create if you sat me down at a computer without an internet connection and asked me to code a similar website. Still, I don’t think most people would want to use this resume to represent themselves online. A larger and smarter model, like Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet, can generate a higher quality website. I could still criticize it, but my issues would be more nuanced and less to do with glaring flaws. Unlike Qwen’s output, I expect a lot of people would be happy using the website Claude created to represent themselves online. And, for me, that’s not speculation. That’s actually what happened. Several months ago, I ditched WordPress and switched to a simple HTML website that was coded by Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Problem #2: Local LLMs need lots of RAM OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman is constantly chin-wagging about the massive data center and infrastructure investments required to keep AI moving forward. He’s biased, of course, but he’s right about one thing: the largest and smartest large language models, like GPT-4, do require data center hardware with compute and memory far beyond that of even the most extravagant consumer PCs. And it isn’t just limited to the best large language models. Even smaller and dumber models can still push a modern Windows laptop to its limits, with RAM often being the greatest limiter of performance. Matt Smith / Foundry The “size” of a large language model is measured by its parameters, where each parameter is a distinct variable used by the model to generate output. In general, more parameters mean smarter output—but those parameters need to be stored somewhere, so adding parameters to a model increases its storage and memory requirements. Smaller LLMs with 7 or 8 billion parameters tend to weigh in at 4.5 to 5 GB. That’s not huge, but the entire model must be loaded into memory (i.e., RAM) and sit there for as long as the model is in use. That’s a big chunk of RAM to reserve for a single piece of software. While it’s technically possible to run an AI model with 7 billion parameters on a laptop with 16GB of RAM, you’ll more realistically need 32GB (unless the LLM is the only piece of software you’ll have opened). Even the Surface Laptop 7 that I use to test local LLMs, which has 32GB of RAM, can run out of available memory if I have a video editing app or several dozen browser tabs open while the AI model is active. Problem #3: Local LLMs are awfully slow Configuring a Windows laptop with more RAM might seem like an easy (though expensive) solution to Problem #2. If you do that, however, you’ll run straight into another issue: modern Windows laptops lack the compute performance required by LLMs. I experienced this problem with the HP Elitebook X G1a, a speedy laptop with an AMD Ryzen AI processor that includes capable integrated graphics and an integrated neural processing unit. It also has 64GB of RAM, so I was able to load Llama 3.3 with 70 billion parameters (which eats up about 40GB of memory). The fictional resume HTML generation took 66.61 seconds to first token and an additional 196.7 seconds for the rest. That’s significantly slower than, say, ChatGPT.Matt Smith / Foundry Yet even with that much memory, Llama 3.3-70B still wasn’t usable. Sure, I could technically load it, but it could only output 1.68 tokens per second. (It takes about 1 to 3 tokens per word in a text reply, so even a short reply can take a minute or more to generate.) More powerful hardware could certainly help, but it’s not a simple solution. There’s currently no universal API that can run all LLMs on all hardware, so it’s often not possible to properly tap into all the compute resources available on a laptop. Problem #4: LM Studio, Ollama, GPT4All are no match for ChatGPT Everything I’ve complained about up to this point could theoretically be improved with hardware and APIs that make it easier for LLMs to utilize a laptop’s compute resources. But even if all that were to fall into place, you’d still have to wrestle with the unintuitive software. By software, I mean the interface used to communicate with these LLMs. Many options exist, including LM Studio, Ollama, and GPT4All. They’re free and impressive—GPT4All is surprisingly easy—but they just aren’t as capable or easy-to-use as ChatGPT, Anthropic, and other leaders. Managing and selecting local LLMs using LM Studio is far less intuitive than loading up a mainstream AI chatbot like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Claude.Matt Smith / Foundry Plus, local LLMs are less likely to be multimodal, meaning most of them can’t work with images or audio. Most LLM interfaces support some form of RAG to let you “talk” with documents, but context windows tend to be small and document support is often limited. Local LLMs also lack the cutting-edge features of larger online-only LLMs, like OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode and Claude’s Artifacts. I’m not trying to throw shade at local LLM software. The leading options are rather good, plus they’re free. But the honest truth is that it’s hard for free software to keep up with rich tech giants—and it shows. Solutions are coming, but it’ll be a long time before they get here The biggest problem of all is that there’s currently no way to solve any of the above problems. RAM is going to be an issue for a while. As of this writing, the most powerful Windows laptops top out at 128GB of RAM. Meanwhile, Apple just released the M3 Ultra, which can support up to 512GB of unified memory (but you’ll pay at least $9,499 to snag it). Compute performance faces bottlenecks, too. A laptop with an RTX 4090 (soon to be superseded by the RTX 5090) might look like the best option for running an LLM—and maybe it is—but you still have to load the LLM into the GPU’s memory. An RTX 5090 will offer 24GB of GDDR7 memory, which is relatively a lot but still limited and only able to support AI models up to around 32 billion parameters (like QwQ 32B). Even if you ignore the hardware limitations, it’s unclear if software for running locally hosted LLMs will keep up with cloud-based subscription services. (Paid software for running local LLMs is a thing but, as far as I’m aware, only in the enterprise market.) For local LLMs to catch up with their cloud siblings, we’ll need software that’s easy to use and frequently updated with features close to what cloud services provide. These problems will probably be fixed with time. But if you’re thinking about trying a local LLM on your laptop right now, don’t bother. It’s fun and novel but far from productive. I still recommend sticking with online-only models like GPT-4.5 and Claude 3.7 Sonnet for now. Further reading: I paid $200/mo for ChatGPT Pro so you don’t have to Read...

Why pay a subscription fee for Microsoft 365 when you can own Microsoft Office for life? Right now, you can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Professional for just $54.97 (reg. $219.99) — cheaper than a single year of Microsoft 365. Includes only the apps you want Word Excel PowerPoint Outlook Teams (free version) OneNote Publisher Access Unlike Microsoft 365, which requires an ongoing subscription, this license lets you install the full suite of Office apps on one computer with no recurring fees or hidden costs. Once installed, it’s yours to use at home, work, or school—forever. While Microsoft Office Pro 2021 doesn’t have the latest cloud-based features of Microsoft 365, it still delivers all the essential tools you need for work, productivity, and collaboration. Whether you’re drafting reports, crunching numbers, or building presentations, this deal lets you do it without worrying about another renewal fee. Lock in this lifetime deal on Microsoft Office Pro 2021 for just $54.97 (reg. $219) before it’s gone.   Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License – $54.97 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. * Read...

Hull FC will face city rivals Hull KR in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals following their sensational comeback win against holders Wigan Warriors. Read...

Time is running out for Google Assistant as Gemini prepares to take its place on mobile and—eventually—smart devices. Now Google is announcing another round of features that Google Assistant is soon to lose. None of the about-to-be-yanked features are all that critical, but the move is yet another sign that Google Assistant is going by the wayside.   The nixed features were spotted by 9to5Google on a support page that lists other deprecated Google Assistant features, including more than a dozen that were dropped early last year. Among the chopped Google Assistant features that owners of Nest smart speakers and displays might miss is Family Bell, which allowed users to create reminder bells for family events such as breakfast or dinner time.  Originally launched back in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic, Family Bell was actually marked for deletion more than a year ago, but it continued to work for many users past its expiration date. Indeed, I can still access a Family Bell settings page in the Google Home app for iOS. That said, the presence of the Family Bell feature in the updated list of soon-to-be-removed Google Assistant features suggests that the function is about to be shut down for good.  Also on the chopping block is the ability to get birthday reminders using Routines—again, not a huge deal, but annoying for those who have integrated such reminders into their Google Assistant automations. Luckily, you’ll still be able to ask the Assistant to remind you about a given birthday.  Another feature that’s disappointing to lose is the ability to ask Google Assistant to favorite, share, or ask when a given photo was taken. That means no more asking “Hey Google, when was that picture taken?” when a cute photo of my daughter in grade school appears on my Nest Hub Max. Sure, you’ll still be able to tap the screen for sharing controls and images details (you can do the same in Google Photos too), but still, it’s just one less thing that Google Assistant can do.  Other Google Assistant features that are going away include the ability to change photo frame or ambient screen settings with your voice, translating a live conversation using interpreter mode, and getting daily updates from the Assistant.  The Google announcement didn’t note exactly when the Assistant features will be dropped.  Here’s the complete list, another with details on possible workarounds:  Favorite, share, and ask where and when your photos were taken with your voice. You can still favorite and share your photos in the Google Photos app and see where and when your photos were taken on your Smart Display and tablet.  Change photo frame settings or ambient screen settings with your voice. You can still change your photo frame settings in your Smart Display settings.  Translate your live conversation with someone who doesn’t speak your language with interpreter mode. Translating a single word or phrase from one language to another will still work.   Get birthday reminder notifications as part of Routines. You can still ask your Assistant to set a reminder about birthdays you care about.  Ask to schedule or hear previously scheduled Family Bell announcements.   Get daily updates from your Assistant, like “send me the weather everyday.” You can schedule updates when you create a custom Routine.  Use Google Assistant on car accessories that have a Bluetooth connection or AUX plug.  Google announced last Friday that it would soon phase out Google Assistant across its mobile and smart devices, including Nest speakers and displays. Specifically, Google said that a “new experience” powered by Gemini would be coming to smart devices “later this year.” Read...

There are lots of price search engines that show price histories for products via graphs, which can help you visualize what a product is really worth before you jump on a so-called deal. Why pay full price for something when you don’t have to? And that’s never more true than on Amazon. If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, you owe it to yourself to always look at a product’s price history before checking out—and you can do that with CamelCamelCamel. CamelCamelCamel is a simple website where you can paste the page URL for an Amazon product into the search bar at the top (or type in a product’s name and select from a list of suggestions). You’ll then get a graph that shows the history of its prices for Amazon, New, and Used listings (i.e., third-party sellers). You can also change the date period to show prices from 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months ago. Joel Lee / Foundry Using this graph, you can see what a true “deal” price is for any given product. And what’s nice is that CamelCamelCamel lets you set price alerts for specific products, so you’ll get notifications when the price of something you want drops below what you’re willing to pay for it. To make things easier on yourself, consider installing the Camelizer browser extension, which offers all the same features but is more convenient to use. All you have to do is visit the relevant Amazon product page and click the extension button. The Camelizer is available for Chrome, Edge, Opera, Firefox, and Safari. Read...

Listen. Being able to keep an eye on your home when you’re away can be a huge weight off your shoulders, especially if you have kids or pets. But who wants to shell out tons of cash for a simple home camera feed? Well, with this awesome deal, you won’t have to. The super-tiny, super-cute Blink Mini 2 is on sale for half price on Amazon, bringing the cost down from its original $40 to just $20. You can literally buy peace of mind for the price of restaurant entree. While I don’t have the Blink Mini 2 myself, I do have a very similar home security cam with nearly identical features: motion detection, two-way audio, and 1080p HD video. I use it to check in on my pets and see if they’re doing anything they shouldn’t be, like climbing over the new couch or chewing on my slippers. Plus, I often miss them when I’m away and love being able to check in whenever I want. But the Blink Mini 2 also has a few features I don’t have, like an LED spotlight. Yes, you read that right. This tiny camera has a built-in LED spotlight that helps put some color into its night-view footage. Also, if you have a Blink Video Doorbell (sold separately), the Mini 2 can also act as a chime for when people ring your doorbell. You can also set up the Mini 2 for outdoor surveillance because it’s weather-resistant, but you’ll need a Blink Weather Resistant Power Adapter (sold separately) for that. With a Blink subscription plan, you can also unlock smart notifications, store footage in the cloud, and share clips with others. Plans start at $3/month ($30/year) for a single device and go up to $10/month ($100/year) for unlimited devices. If you don’t have a home security camera, then the Blink Mini 2 for 50% off on Amazon is one of the best ways to get started. And since you’re here, let me remind you that Amazon’s Spring Sale 2025 is coming soon and ready to hit you with even more great discounts! The Blink Mini 2 is a great first home security camera for $20Buy Now at Amazon Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Thin, light, and luxurious design Haptic touchpad and enjoyable keyboard Excellent 14-inch OLED with refresh rate up to 120Hz Future-looking connectivity including Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7 Cons Missing TrackPoint will divide ThinkPad fans Not the best performance for your dollar Modest battery life Our Verdict The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 is a sleeker, more luxurious ThinkPad. However, its performance and battery life are mid-pack. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition Retailer Price Lenovo $1239 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition had PC World’s editors scratching their heads upon its reveal at CES 2025. It’s a ThinkPad, but it ditches many of the features that are typical of the ThinkPad brand. There’s no iconic red TrackPoint, no physical buttons on the touchpad, and the overall look and feel is more typical of Lenovo’s recent Yoga Pro laptops.  These changes will make the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition controversial among long-time ThinkPad fans but also make it more approachable for the average laptop shopper. Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Specs and features The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is built with a focus on portability over performance. I received a laptop with an eight-core Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive.  CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 226V Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x-8533 Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc Graphics 130V NPU: Intel AI Boost peak 40 TOPs Display: 14-inch 2880×1800 120Hz OLED with VRR and HDR Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD Webcam: 1440p 30fps camera with IR 3D camera for Windows Hello, electronic privacy shutter Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C (40Gbps data, DisplayPort, Power Delivery), 1x HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K 60Hz), 1x 3.5mm combo headphone/microphone jack Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition, fingerprint reader Battery capacity: 55 watt-hours Dimensions: 12.28 x 8.35 x 0.51 inches Weight: 2.74 pounds Operating System: Windows 11 Pro Price: $1,519 retail from Lenovo The ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is all in on future-proof connectivity. It has two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, HDMI 2.1, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4. However, it lacks USB-A ports and doesn’t have a physical Ethernet port. It does have a 3.5mm audio port, though. Lenovo lists the model I reviewed at $1,519. The entry-level model downgrades to 256GB of storage and a 1200p OLED display, which lowers the price to $1,239. Upgrades, meanwhile, include up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 268V processor, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. Checking all the boxes boosts the price up to $2,349.  The ThinkPad X9 14 also puts an emphasis on portability. It measures just .51 inches thick (excluding the rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop) and weighs a mere 2.74 pounds. Neither number is unusual in 2025, as many 14-inch competitors are similar in size and weight, but it still makes for a remarkably light laptop that’s easy to pick up, pack, and carry.  Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Design and build quality IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition might be a ThinkPad, but it looks far more like Lenovo’s recent Yoga Pro and Slim Pro laptops. The chassis is built from a grayish-blue aluminum that feels solid and premium in-hand. It also has rounded corners, beveled edges, and a wavy texture across the bottom panel that makes the laptop easier to hold. All of this is heresy for ThinkPad super-fans, who often prefer the boxier, all-black designs of yore. But… I like it. A lot. This didn’t surprise me. PC World has favorably reviewed Lenovo’s premium consumer laptops such as the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, which we gave an Editor’s Choice award. Indeed, the Yoga Pro 9i is so good it often left me wondering why anyone would want to buy a ThinkPad instead. The Yoga Pro 9i is typically more attractive, slimmer, and provides a much larger touchpad. It’s less expensive than a competitively equipped ThinkPad as well. It seems Lenovo noticed this, too, because the ThinkPad X9 14 feels like a Yoga Pro with the ThinkPad name on it. And, as a result, the ThinkPad X9 14 provides something ThinkPads often fail to deliver: a sense of luxury.  The ThinkPad X9 14 also puts an emphasis on portability. It measures just .51 inches thick (excluding the rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop) and weighs a mere 2.74 pounds. Neither number is unusual in 2025, as many 14-inch competitors are similar in size and weight, but it still makes for a remarkably light laptop that’s easy to pick up, pack, and carry.  Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Keyboard, trackpad IDG / Matthew Smith While the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition makes many changes to the ThinkPad formula, the removal of the classic TrackPoint—a red nub found in the middle of most ThinkPad keyboards—is probably the most jarring change. I’m a fan of the TrackPoint, as well, and I won’t sugarcoat it. If you want a TrackPoint, well, this ain’t it, chief. There’s nothing about the ThinkPad X9 14 that will convince TrackPoint loyalists to make the switch to a touchpad. However, as with the laptop’s design, I think offering a ThinkPad without the TrackPoint is a sensible move. I’ve owned a series of ThinkPads over the years and once greatly preferred the TrackPoint. Today, things are different. The responsiveness and size of modern touchpads have improved, and multi-touch gestures are more useful than they once were.  Speaking of which, the ThinkPad X9 14’s touchpad is solid. It measures about 5 inches wide and about 3 inches deep. That’s a good size for a 14-inch laptop and provides space for using Windows’ multi-touch gestures, but it’s not any larger than most competitors.  The touchpad uses haptic feedback to simulate the feel of a physical click when a left or right-click action is executed, and it works great. So much so that I prefer haptic feedback to a real, physical touch action on modern laptops.  What about the keyboard? It’s great. The keyboard provides good key travel and has a spacious layout. Most keys are close to full size and those that are shrunk, like the Backspace and Tab keys, are still large enough that I didn’t have to adjust my muscle memory. A keyboard backlight comes standard and is effective at making the keys readable in dim settings. Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Display, audio IDG / Matthew Smith The entry-level Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is sold with a 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED non-touch screen, but the model I tested (and most configurations sold online) had a 14-inch 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen. The upgraded display also boosts the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz. It’s a beautiful display. 2880×1800 resolution on a 14-inch panel works out to about 243 pixels per inch, which is excellent for a laptop display and provides a razor-sharp look. Color performance and contrast are excellent, too, and combine to deliver a deep, immersive image. While a handful of laptops, like the Dell XPS 14, offer an even sharper 3200×2000 OLED panel, the ThinkPad X9 14’s display is otherwise as good as it gets.  As mentioned, the 2880×1800 panel has a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. It also supports VRR and can handle variable refresh rates between 30 and 120Hz. That makes it possible to use Windows’ dynamic refresh rate feature, which can lower the refresh rate to improve battery life (though this was off by default on the machine I tested). The ThinkPad X9 14’s speakers are decent but not a highlight. They deliver good volume with some low-end in bass heavy content. However, the speakers can become boomy and harsh as the volume is increased past 50 percent of maximum. Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Webcam, microphone, biometrics Every Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition has a 1440p webcam (note: Lenovo advertises it as 1080p, but it can in fact record up to 1440p at 30 frames per second). The webcam delivers a sharp, crisp image and deals well with mixed lighting. The microphone array is also crisp and does a great job of reducing background noise. Most competitive laptops also do well here, but the ThinkPad X9 14 is a solid choice if you spend a lot of time on video calls.  Biometric login is supported through both Windows Hello facial recognition via the webcam and fingerprint recognition via a sensor on the power button, which is located on the keyboard. Both prove easy to use but, as is typical, I found facial recognition quicker and more reliable than the fingerprint sensor.  Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Connectivity IDG / Matthew Smith The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition makes many changes to the classic ThinkPad formula, and that includes connectivity. It makes no attempt to provide a wide range of ports and instead focuses on the latest, greatest standards. A pair of Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, each with 40Gbps of data, DisplayPort and Power Delivery, provide the bulk of the physical connectivity. Two ports isn’t a lot, but the ports are extremely versatile and work well with a dock if more connectivity is needed.  Also, the Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports are placed on opposite sides of the laptop (one on the left, one on the right), so there’s always a port close at hand no matter where your other devices are located on your desk.  Additional video connectivity comes from the HDMI 2.1 port, which supports 4K at up to 60Hz. The HDMI port is handy for connecting to televisions or projectors. A 3.5mm combo audio jack on the laptop’s right flank rounds out the connectivity.  Wireless connectivity is also forward-looking. The laptop supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, which are the latest version of each respective standard. I expect the laptop’s wireless connectivity will remain relevant for over a decade, as the progress of wireless standards has slowed in recent years.  Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Performance The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition I reviewed had an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor. This is the least capable chip available in this laptop (four alternative Intel chips are available as upgrades). It has just eight processor cores, only four of which are performance cores, and comes paired with Intel Arc 130V. The laptop I reviewed also had 16GB of RAM and 512GB of PCIe solid state storage.  IDG / Matthew Smith Our first benchmark, PCMark 10, takes a holistic approach and tests a laptop across multiple simulated real-world workloads, from web conferencing to image editing and much more. The ThinkPad X9 14 falls a bit behind in this test with a score of 6,272. That’s quite a bit less than laptops that have more powerful Intel Core processors or AMD’s Ryzen AI 9.  IDG / Matthew Smith Intel’s Core Ultra 5 226V becomes a bit of a boat anchor in Cinebench R23, a heavily multi-threaded and short-duration test. The CPU’s limited core count (four performance, four efficient cores, for a total of eight) is a disadvantage in this benchmark.  IDG / Matthew Smith Handbrake, a longer duration multi-threaded benchmark that encodes a movie from MP4 to MKV, doesn’t change the story. The ThinkPad X19 14 still lags the pack. However, the margin by which it lags is lower here than in Cinebench R23. IDG / Matthew Smith What about 3D performance? The ThinkPad X9 14 is again at a disadvantage, as the Intel Core Ultra 5 226 relies on Intel Arc 130V graphics. This version of Intel Arc integrated graphics has just seven Xe cores, down from eight with Intel Arc 140V, and the clock speed is lower as well. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, to see the ThinkPad X9 14 lag behind the pack. Overall, the ThinkPad X9 14’s performance doesn’t impress. Of course, some concession should be made for the fact Lenovo sent an entry-level configuration and I expect that upgraded models with more capable Intel Chips like the Intel Core Ultra 7 268V would perform better. Those upgrades aren’t free, however, and this is an area where the ThinkPad X9 14 feels uncompetitive. At any given price, Lenovo offers an alternative model of Yoga Pro that has a better processor, more storage, and more RAM. Asus’ Zenbook 14 and Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 Pro also provide a similar prosumer look-and-feel alongside better performance for the price. Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Battery life You might expect the thin-and-light Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition to provide good battery life but, as is often the case with thin laptops, battery capacity becomes an issue. The ThinkPad X9 14 has a 55-watt-hour battery, while most similar laptops have a 65 to 75-watt-hour battery. IDG / Matthew Smith Mediocre battery life is the result. The ThinkPad X9 14 lasted roughly 11 hours and 45 minutes in our standard battery test, which loops a 4K video file of the short film Tears of Steel. That’s not bad but as the graph shows, it’s possible to find better battery life in competitive laptops.  Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14: Conclusion The ThinkPad X9 14 provides a great keyboard and touchpad alongside a premium look and feel that’s more like Lenovo’s excellent Yoga Pro laptops. While the changes won’t tempt long-time ThinkPad fans, they make the laptop more competitive with prosumer laptops, which often deliver better design than laptops focused on productivity and business. Where the ThinkPad X9 14 lags, however, is bang-for-the-buck. Though it’s as attractive as prosumer peers, you’ll still find that your money doesn’t go as far when buying a ThinkPad as it would if you purchased a prosumer laptop.  Even so, the ThinkPad X9 14 is likely to find an audience among business and enterprise buyers who’d prefer a sleeker, more luxurious alternative to a typical 14-inch business thin-and-light. Read...

Identity theft can sound like something straight out of a Hollywood thriller. A mysterious hacker breaking into a bank account or a con artist slipping through airport security with nothing but a forged passport. But in reality, identity theft is far less dramatic and far more common than movies make it seem. Every year, millions of people worldwide find their personal information stolen or misused, often with devastating financial and emotional consequences. To put things into perspective, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission received over a million complaints about identity theft in 2023. These cases, along with other types of fraud, led to financial losses of more than $10 billion, with the median loss per victim being $500. Minimizing the risk of identity theft starts with awareness. Understanding the risks and using identity theft protection tools like NordProtect can save you from major headaches down the road. Prevent identity theft with NordProtect What is identity theft and how does it happen? Identity theft happens when somebody uses your personal information without permission to commit fraud or other crimes. This includes credit card details, your Social Security number, address, or even something as simple as your name. Common ways identity theft happens include: Phishing. Fake emails, calls, or text messages posing as trusted companies to trick you into giving up sensitive information. Sometimes it’s a link to a website that looks trustworthy, just waiting for you to type in your credentials. Data breaches. Hackers breaking into a company’s database and stealing multiple people’s personal information all at once. Social engineering. A manipulation technique where scammers pose as tech support or a friend in distress to steal your passwords or PINs. Card skimming. Criminals attach small devices to ATMs, gas pumps, or payment terminals to steal your credit or debit card information when you swipe. Dumpster diving. People often toss unshredded bills, receipts, or documents containing account numbers or birth dates. Thieves dig through the trash and collect the information. The list definitely doesn’t end here, and with new technologies constantly emerging (such as AI deepfakes), we’re bound to see even more sophisticated identity theft tactics. Consequences of identity theft Despite how simple some of these techniques may sound, the aftermath of identity theft is anything but easy. Here’s what you might face: Financial fallout. A straightforward one. Thieves can empty your bank accounts, max out your credit cards, or open new ones in your name, leaving you with debt you never agreed to. Legal trouble. If a thief uses your identity for crimes like tax fraud or trafficking, you could face a criminal record you didn’t earn. Clearing your name may require court battles and legal fees. Emotional toll. As you can probably imagine, it’s exhausting. Victims often feel violated, helpless, and paranoid, sometimes leading to long-term psychological effects like anxiety or PTSD. Ruined reputation. Identity theft can damage your reputation by linking your name to crimes you didn’t commit. Friends, coworkers, or employers may hear about “your” fraud before you can clear your name, leaving lasting doubt. How identity theft protection service NordProtect helps Taking proactive steps to avoid the devastating consequences of identity theft is key. NordProtect, an identity theft protection tool created by the company behind NordVPN, is designed to keep your personal information safe. NordProtect offers a range of features to help you stay ahead of identity theft and cyber threats. The goal is to keep an eye on your personal information and alert you before anything goes wrong. The quicker you catch it, the less time your personal data spends on the dark web, reducing the chances of it being misused. If hackers try to sell it, acting fast means the buyer won’t have a chance to do anything with it. However, if something does happen, NordProtect won’t leave you to deal with the aftermath alone — it’s got your back with identity theft insurance. Since many victims don’t know where to start, NordProtect also provides expert support to help you recover every step of the way. NordProtect Explore NordProtect 24/7 dark web monitoring NordProtect scans the dark web for any of your personal details — like your email, Social Security number, or other sensitive information. If it detects a leak, you’ll get an instant alert with steps to protect yourself. Credit activity monitoring It monitors your credit file and alerts you to major changes. If someone opens a new account in your name, your credit score fluctuates, or hard inquiries appear, you’ll get a heads-up. Real-time cybersecurity alerts NordProtect keeps you in the loop about data breaches, stolen credentials, and other security risks. With real-time alerts, you can jump into action and secure your accounts before cybercriminals get a chance to exploit your info. Cyber insurance benefits NordProtect offers up to $1 million in financial assistance to help cover identity theft recovery costs, including document replacement, legal fees, and lost wages. It also provides up to $100,000 for expenses related to cyber extortion threats. This also includes expert support, such as access to an identity restoration case manager who’ll guide you through every step of the process. NordProtect pricing Right now, you can get NordProtect for $15.49 per month or save big with the annual plan at just $7.49 per month (billed $89.88 per year). That’s a 50% discount compared to the monthly option, making it the smarter choice for long-term protection. NordProtect is available across the U.S., including U.S. territories and the District of Columbia — except for residents of New York and Washington (for now). Other tips on how to prevent identity theft Besides using an identity theft protection tool, there are other steps you should take to help keep your data safe from identity thieves. Strong online security. Use strong, unique passwords for each account (a password manager can help) and enable two-factor authentication. Monitor your accounts. Regularly review your bank statements and credit reports for any suspicious activity. Freeze or lock your credit if you’re not applying for new accounts. Safeguard your personal information. Shred sensitive documents before tossing them, and think twice before sharing personal details on social media. Secure your devices. Keep your software and antivirus up to date. Use biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition) when you can. Only download apps or software from trusted sources. Stay safe online. Stick to secure Wi-Fi networks, avoid clicking on shady links, and be cautious of phishing scams that impersonate legitimate companies to steal your information. Use a VPN. It encrypts your internet connection, which makes it difficult for hackers to access sensitive data like passwords or credit card info. It also masks your IP address, preventing tracking of your online activity. Hackers will have less insight into the websites you visit, adding an extra layer of privacy. Final thoughts Identity theft is a very real and growing threat that affects millions of people every year. While stealing personal information can be easy for criminals, the consequences for victims can be long-lasting and devastating. Investing in identity theft protection tools like NordProtect can help you stay ahead of cyber threats and take action before criminals misuse your personal information. With features like 24/7 dark web and credit activity monitoring, security alerts, and cyber insurance benefits, NordProtect does the heavy lifting for you. It catches threats early so you focus on life instead of fraud. Get NordProtect Today Read...