I recently inherited an old monitor that a friend was going to recycle as e-waste after he upgraded. It was a decent brand with a 1080p resolution and a refresh rate that I figured was passable for casual gaming. I was excited about the prospect of having a secondary display, so I was grateful for the generosity. The display’s image looked fine to me. But, being a tech guy, I thought I’d also run some diagnostics to check on its color, contrast, and resolution. One of the tests I ran was to look for dead or stuck pixels, which I’ve heard can haunt some monitors. Low and behold, I uncovered a few stuck pixels lurking to the left of center. They weren’t anything to cry home about, being just a few tiny dots — some monitors have it so bad that they’re almost unusable — but I set about fixing them anyway using a site called Piksel Test. I managed to get rid of them all too, so I’m going to use this test on all the screens I get from now on. If you’re in a similar boat with any of the screens you own, be that a monitor, cellphone, TV, or tablet (LCD or OLED screen), you can do the same thing. What to do Turn on your PC and wait for Windows to load. Connect to the internet and go to the Piksel Test website. Click on the Test Dead Pixel button. Take note of any dead or stuck pixels on your screen. The website has an explanation about how to identify each of those problem pixel types. Now scroll down the Piksel Test page and click on Dead Pixel Repair or Stuck Pixel Repair depending on what kind of pixels you discovered. Run the pixel fixer window over the pixels you want to repair for 10 minutes. Keep the pixel fixer window on the stuck or dead pixels for approximately 10 minutes.  Dominic Bayley / Foundry Tip: Your screen needs to be active for the duration of the fix, so turn off your sleep settings in Windows before you begin. That’s all for this tip. If you’re looking for more tech tips like this one — that is, short, digestible tips that you can try yourself at home, head on over to PCWorld’s newsletter page and register for our Try This newsletter. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Sharp, colorful QD-OLED panel 120Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync Excellent five-speaker sound system Good HDR with Dolby Vision support Undercuts competitors on price Cons Video connectivity limited to two video inputs Limited downstream USB connectivity, as well Could use more image quality options Not as bright as alternatives in HDR Our Verdict The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED delivers great image quality, solid audio, and good motion clarity, yet undercuts most competitive 32-inch 4K OLED monitors on price. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED Monitor S3225QC Retailer Price $821.24 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors are among the most alluring computer monitors ever sold. They all provide exceptional contrast and color alongside sharpness and a big, bold display size. The catch? Often, it’s the price, as many models have an MSRP above $1,000. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED, however, undercuts competitors with a rock-bottom MSRP of $849.99. That makes it easy to look past the monitor’s downsides. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC specs and features The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s basic specifications are typical for a 32-inch QD-OLED monitor. It provides 4K resolution (3840×2160) and a 120Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync. Display size: 32-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: QD-OLED Refresh rate: Up to 120Hz Adaptive Sync: Yes, Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 Certified Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1 with FRL/HDR/VRR, 1x USB-C upstream with DisplayPort 1.4 and 90 watts of Power Delivery, 2x USB-C 5Gbps downstream with 15 watts Power Delivery Audio: 3D Spatial Audio speakers included, total 25 watts output Price: $849.99 MSRP A closer look at the details, however, reveals many differences between other 32-inch 4K QD-OLED displays. The Dell supports both HDR10, which is common, and Dolby Vision, which is unusual. It also has just two video inputs, which is roughly half as many as the average competitor. But the monitor strikes back with a five-speaker spatial sound system with a total power of 25 watts. By comparison, most similar monitors have a pair of 2-watt stereo speakers, if they have any at all. Dell’s pricing is low given the monitor’s features, as it carries an MSRP of just $849.99. Most other 4K QD-OLED monitors have an MSRP between $999.99 and $1,299.99, though sale pricing can bring some models (like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G80SD) close to the Dell 32 Plus 4K. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best monitors for comparison. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC design The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED monitor makes an outstanding first impression. The company opts for a white hue that’s attractive and distinctive. It’s a far starker, ultra-bright look than Dell’s photos of the monitor let on, and rather close to the tone and color of the material used on some past Alienware monitors, like the Alienware AW3225QF. I also like the fabric material covering the speaker system at the bottom of the monitor. Dell has used that design touch on past monitors with built-in speakers, but it still looks attractive. Matthew Smith / Foundry The design is functional, too. It ships with an ergonomically adjustable stand that has a moderately sized flat base and doesn’t intrude too much on your desk. The stand adjusts 110mm in height, tilts 25 degrees, and swivels 60 degrees, which is a typical range of adjustments for this category. The monitor doesn’t rotate into portrait orientation, however. The monitor also has a built-in power supply. Some QD-OLED monitors use an external power supply due to their higher peak power requirements, but that’s not the case here, so you won’t have a power brick lurking under your desk. Matthew Smith / Foundry Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC connectivity I’ll have a lot of positive things to say about the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED monitor through the rest of this review, but there’s one weakness that will take it out of contention for some. The connectivity. The monitor has just two video inputs: one HDMI 2.1 input and one USB-C input with support for DisplayPort 1.4. Both can drive the monitor at its full 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, but two video inputs are slim for a monitor in this category. Many competitors offer at least three video inputs, and many have four. The USB-C port at least handles both DisplayPort and up to 90 watts of USB-C power delivery, so it’s a solid option for connecting a Windows or Mac laptop that supports USB-C. Downstream connectivity is limited, too. You’re looking at just two USB-C ports, both supporting 15 watts of USB Power Delivery and 5Gbps of data. One port is on the back and the other is hidden in a pop-out hub on the front. I can see what Dell is going for here, as the Dell 32 Plus 4K’s price is reasonable considering its other features. Dell clearly decided to keep connectivity to the essentials and spend the monitor’s budget elsewhere. Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself if that makes sense for you. If you have a desktop computer and a laptop, this is enough. But if you also want to connect game consoles (or other HDMI devices), you’ll need to buy an HDMI hub. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC menus and features The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s settings can be adjusted with a joystick located behind the monitor’s lower-right bezel or with Dell’s Display and Peripheral Manager software. Both options work well, as Dell has clearly labeled menus that are easy to understand. However, the monitor’s image quality settings are a bit limited. The monitor has a variety of preset modes including a creator mode, which supports the sRGB, BT.709, DCI-P3, and Display P3 color spaces. There’s also a custom color mode for manual R/G/B adjustment. But that’s it. There’s no precise color temperature or gamma adjustments. It’s fine for most situations, but demanding content creators who want a high degree of control over image quality will be disappointed. The monitor includes a dark stabilizer, a feature common for gaming monitors. It can elevate the brightness of dark areas of the display to make foes easier to see. You won’t find other gaming features like an on-screen crosshair, however. Other features include a 4:3 aspect ratio mode and multiple picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s speakers are louder, clearer, and offer far better bass than the underpowered stereo speakers common to PC monitors. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC audio The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s audio performance deserves special mention, as the monitor has five speakers, each with 5 watts of power for a total of 25 watts. It also has support for spatial audio, which means it can adjust the audio across the speakers to provide a 3D effect. To do this, the monitor includes a camera in the lower bezel. Dell doesn’t intend it for video conferencing (and, in fact, Windows doesn’t detect it). Instead, the camera keeps track of the user’s head position to adjust the spatial audio. The spatial audio feature works reasonably well, providing some sense of 3D surround in test clips. The main issue will be finding content that supports it, because it’s rare, especially on a PC. Most people use a monitor for PC software, games, and streaming Spotify or YouTube through a web browser. Aside from some AAA games, like Cyberpunk 2077 and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, there’s not a lot of spatial audio to enjoy. I’m also not convinced the speaker system delivers a good spatial experience. Spatial Audio certainly sounds different, but I didn’t hear the same pinpoint precision I’ve heard from headphones that support it. Fortunately, the 25-watt speaker system has other advantages. The speakers are louder, clearer, and offer far better bass than the underpowered stereo speakers common to PC monitors. The Dell’s speaker system can still sound muddy at very high volume, but it’s clear at more modest levels. Also, because the speakers are so loud—and a couple feet from your face—you’ll likely want to keep them at 25 to 50 percent of their maximum.   The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s speakers are solid for games, music, watching Netflix—you name it. Audiophiles will still want a system with a subwoofer and better separation between stereo channels, but for most people, this will completely remove the need for external PC speakers. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC SDR image quality As its name implies, the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED has a Samsung QD-OLED panel. This type of panel is incredibly popular in 4K OLED monitors, and it generally provides outstanding image quality. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is SDR brightness. This is a traditional weak spot for QD-OLED monitors, and the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED maintains that with a maximum sustained SDR brightness of 246 nits. That is right in line with other OLED monitors. However, IPS monitors like the Dell U3225QE and BenQ PD2730S will often exceed 400 nits. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED also has a glossy display coat, so glare can be an issue. The monitor’s brightness is more than adequate for a room with blinds or shades, but you may have an uncomfortable viewing experience in a room with bright, sunlit windows. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is where QD-OLED typically leaps ahead of monitors with an LCD panel. OLED monitors can achieve a perfect minimum luminance of zero nits, which leads to an immersive, contrast-rich image. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED follows the trend here. It provides a great sense of dimensionality that will draw in your eye, and it’s clearly a cut above LCD rivals. With that said, all modern OLED monitors can deliver a similar experience. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s contrast is fantastic, but it’s not an advantage over its peers. Matthew Smith / Foundry QD-OLED also leads in color gamut, meaning QD-OLED can display more colors overall. It leads the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED to provide a color gamut that spans 100 percent of sRGB, 97 percent of DCI-P3, and 94 percent of AdobeRGB, which is similar to other QD-OLED monitors. Some LCD panel monitors can rival QD-OLED, but most can’t. LG’s WOLED also tends to fall a bit behind QD-OLED in this area. Matthew Smith / Foundry The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED delivered an incredibly low color error that’s among the best I’ve seen from any monitor. And this, mind you, is an uncalibrated result straight out of the box. While some monitors can achieve similar values, most don’t. It’s also superb to see this level of color accuracy from a monitor that’s not sold as a “professional” content creation display. Though it certainly lacks image quality features that the most demanding professionals crave, the out-of-box image is outstanding, and makes this monitor a good fit for many video, photo, and digital art workflows. Consider how the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED compares to the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM, for example. The ProArt’s out-of-box color accuracy is a tad behind the Dell, and the two are equals in color gamut. However, the ProArt is priced at $1,899—over twice as much as the Dell! The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED reached mixed results in gamma and color temperature. It nailed the target gamma curve of 2.2, which means content should look about as bright as intended. But it missed the color temperature target of 6500K with a value of 6100K, which means the image is warmer than ideal. Personally, I don’t mind a warmer display, but a value near 6500K would be more neutral. The monitor also lacks color temperature controls that target precise values, so owners may have trouble calibrating the monitor to hit their preferred color temperature target. This is an area where the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM has a big advantage, as it hits better color temperature results and provides users a lot more control over the image. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s sharpness is solid. The monitor’s 31.5-inch QD-OLED panel provides 3840×2160 resolution, which works out to about 140 pixels per inch. That’s a bit less than the 160 ppi of a typical 27-inch 4K monitor, but much better than the roughly 100 ppi of a 27-inch 1440p monitor. True sharpness freaks might notice pixelation around small fonts, but it looks plenty sharp when playing games or watching Netflix. Of course, all 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors look similar in this regard. Overall, the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED delivers a bright, vibrant, accurate, high-contrast image. Its overall SDR image quality is rather similar to other QD-OLED monitors, and most shoppers won’t see much difference between the Dell and QD-OLED competitors from Samsung, Asus, or even LG. Still, the Dell does notch a few wins, most notably in color accuracy and gamma results, both of which are better than average. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC HDR image quality The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED is VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certified, which is typical for a QD-OLED monitor. But it also supports Dolby Vision, which is unusual and hints at above-average HDR performance. Unfortunately, the monitor didn’t live up to that expectation. Matthew Smith / Foundry A look at the graph tells a simple story. The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED is about as bright as the alternatives when large portions of the screen are lit. However, it falls behind in HDR highlights. Small, bright, high-contrast objects don’t have the same pop that’s found on some competitive monitors. This was true across a variety of HDR modes, and oddly, the Peak HDR 1000 mode was a little dimmer than the Movie HDR mode. That’s not to say HDR looks bad, as the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED still delivers the contrast and color required to help HDR look great. But the lack of brightness is an issue, so consider a different QD-OLED monitor if you want HDR highlights to sizzle. Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED S3225QC motion performance The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED has a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and can handle Adaptive Sync with official AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support (Nvidia G-Sync also functioned in my testing, but support is unofficial). While there’s certainly similarly priced monitors with high refresh rates and broader Adaptive Sync support, like Alienware’s AW3425DW, the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED’s enhanced refresh rate and Adaptive Sync support are notable, as it’s sold for general use rather than gaming. Motion clarity isn’t at the top of the pack, but it’s good. The refresh rate of 120Hz, paired with OLED’s low pixel response times, provides modest motion blur behind fast-moving objects, and fast camera pans in 3D games deliver good clarity. Scrolling text is also much easier to read than on a 60Hz monitor. Once again, gaming monitors have the edge here: Most 4K QD-OLED monitors can now handle 240Hz. But the Dell 32 Plus 4K’s motion clarity is great for its category. It’s also worth pondering if a 240Hz refresh rate could provide a meaningful upgrade for your use. You’ll only enjoy the full benefit in games that can hit frame rates up to 240 frames per second, which can be difficult to achieve at 4K resolution. Gamers with beefy GPUs will see gains from a 240Hz gaming monitor, but 120Hz is a fit for users with more modest hardware. Should you buy the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED? The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED is an easy recommendation for most shoppers. It has outstanding image quality, good motion clarity, supports Adaptive Sync, and includes built-in speakers that beat the competition. The monitor’s downsides include limited connectivity, which provides just two video inputs (one HDMI 2.1, one USB-C with DisplayPort), and modest HDR performance despite Dolby Vision badging. If you can deal with that, the 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED is a great do-it-all monitor sold at an appealing $849.99 MSRP. Read...

TL;DR: Secure your online life with FastestVPN Pro for 15 devices—lifetime access, just $29.97 (reg. $600) with WireGuard speeds, no logs, and a bonus password manager. Your internet activity is more exposed than a Times Square tourist in flip-flops and a fanny pack. Whether you’re shopping online, streaming movies, or sending sensitive emails, unprotected data is like an open invitation to hackers, trackers, and creepers. But FastestVPN Pro can help. Right now, you can get lifetime protection for up to 15 devices for just $29.97 (down from $600). That’s not a typo—fifteen devices, one payment, forever covered. And this isn’t some rinky-dink VPN. You get WireGuard protocol for fast, secure speeds, AES 256-bit encryption, no-logs policy, and servers in 50+ countries—including dedicated ones for streaming Netflix, Prime, Hulu, and more. It’s not just security, either. FastestVPN also blocks malware and ads, has a built-in kill switch, split tunneling, and even includes a free year of premium password manager access. Whether you’re running a small business, managing remote work for your team, or just a parent trying to keep the Wi-Fi family-safe, this plan has your back (and your browsing history). Get a lifetime of FastestVPN Pro for just $29.97 (reg. $600) through July 15. FastestVPN PRO: Lifetime Subscription (15 Devices) See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

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The printer manufacturers’ proprietary drivers have been a thorn in Microsoft’s side for some time now. According to the company, nine percent of Windows security problems are caused by the printing system. In 2021, for example, a security vulnerability in the printer spooler was found that allowed attackers to gain system rights. System rights are one level above administrator rights and allow the installation of arbitrary applications and almost unlimited changes to Windows settings. As new patches had to be developed for several months to close the gap, it was finally given the name “Print Nightmare”. In Windows 11 24H2, Microsoft has now integrated the Windows Protected Print mode, or WPP for short, which was announced some time ago. It replaces the manufacturer’s drivers on many printers and at the same time prevents the installation of new printer drivers. This is intended to prevent malicious code from entering the computer via the drivers. It also ensures that the common tasks of the printer spooler are no longer executed with system rights, but only with user rights. In this way, Microsoft is closing the security gap that led to the Print Nightmare. Windows 11 24H2 contains the new Windows Protected Print mode, which you must first switch on via the “Settings”. Sam Singleton WPP is based on the Internet Print Protocol (IPP) and uses a standardized IPPClass driver. This works with all printers and multifunction devices that have been certified by the Mobile Printing Alliance (Mopria). Mopria was originally founded by Canon, HP, Samsung and Xerox and today all major printer manufacturers are members of the Alliance. To avoid compatibility problems, WPP is not active by default in Windows, but must be switched on by the user. You can look up whether your printer or MFC is compatible at https://mopria.org/certified-products. If it is, you can easily switch to WPP: Open “Settings” in the Start menu and go to “Bluetooth and devices” -> “Printers and scanners”. Scroll down to “Windows Protected Print Mode” and click on “Set up”. After you have answered the two security questions with “Yes, continue”, Windows will do the rest. Windows then takes control of the print jobs with its WPP driver. If the manufacturer’s original driver provided extended functions for printing, you may find corresponding tools for the WPP drivers in the Microsoft Store. If you want to deactivate WPP again, just click on “Remove” under “Bluetooth and devices”->”Printers and scanners”-> “Windows-protected print mode” and confirm with “Yes”. Just be aware that you must then reinstall the manufacturer’s old drivers. Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Lovely OLED display Surprisingly strong performance for a fanless Chromebook Loud, clear speakers Competitive battery life Cons Hard-to-read function keys AI tools feel unnecessary in everyday use Our Verdict With its eye-catching OLED screen and snappy MediaTek chip, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a standout midrange machine that delivers. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices I’ve used a lot of Chromebooks over the years, and most of them tend to fall into one of two categories: either very affordable and sometimes forgettable or super premium with a price tag to match. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 wants to land somewhere in the middle. It’s got an OLED display, a brand new MediaTek chip with AI capabilities, and a design that’s sophisticated and understated.  So I spent a week using it for work and play to see if it actually holds up and I’ve got thoughts. Let’s get into it. Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Specs The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 comes in two configurations. Both include the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip and UFS storage, but the base model offers 12GB of RAM and a non-touch OLED display, while the upgraded version (the one we reviewed) bumps that up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It also adds touchscreen support. While the $649 starting price may seem steep, it’s a good value for what you’re getting. Most Chromebooks, for instance, come with only 8GB of RAM, and UFS storage is faster than eMMC. It’s also future proof thanks to Wi-Fi 7. But the real standout is the 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen display. You don’t see many laptops with OLED panels (touch or not) at this price. Model number: 83MY0000US CPU: MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 GPU: Immortalis-G925 RAM: 16GB RAM Storage: 256GB UFS Display: 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen, 16:10, DCI-P3 Ports: 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1 audio jack Networking: Wi-Fi 7 Dimensions: 12.37 x 8.63 x 0.62 Weight: 2.78 pounds Price: $649 After spending a week with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, I can confidently say it’s one of the best Chromebooks I’ve used. Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Unboxing The unboxing experience can set the tone if done well. Though I’d like to see fewer packaging materials (I’m a stickler for sustainability), the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 made it clear from the start: this is a more premium device, where design and user experience matter.  The box reminded me a bit of the ones Google PixelBooks usually come in. It’s mostly white with lilac-purple borders, giving it a clean and simple look. Inside you’ll find the laptop securely tucked into place. There’s also a separate compartment containing a visual overview of the dimensions and port types.  Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Exclusive new ChromeOS AI features Ah, AI. Hello again, old friend? Nemesis?  Since the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the first Chromebook to feature a processor with an NPU, I had to give the new ChromeOS AI features a try. That said, I focused on features I’d actually use, starting with Live Captions. I used this feature during a meeting I was leading and found it helpful, especially when the landscapers were outside my window and the roar of their leaf blowers occasionally drowned out what my colleagues were saying. Having the words pop up on screen in real time helped me stay on track and not miss anything important. I also tried Smart Grouping, which organizes your tabs and apps for you in a virtual desktop. Again, this is one of the more useful AI features. The idea is to reduce visual clutter so you don’t have to drag things around yourself or go hunting for a tab you can’t find. Admittedly, it was kind of nice having an invisible assistant that tidied up my personal open tab chaos. The Quick Insert button, which replaces the Caps Lock key, brings up a tool that lets you drop AI-generated images into whatever you’re working on. It also offers writing suggestions, so if you want to sound more formal or shorten a sentence, you can do that with this tool. I played around with it some, but there was no place for it in my day-to-day workflow. Local AI is a cool addition, but most of the features felt more like bonuses rather than must-haves. Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Design, build quality The design is exactly the type of minimalism I gravitate towards, so it’s earning major brownie points from me. Lenovo calls the colorway “Seashell” and it’s genuinely unique—it changes slightly depending on the lighting. At first glance, it looks standard silver, which is fine, but it’s nothing unique. It wasn’t until I was looking at the lid near an open window that I noticed the gold undertone in the chassis. It’s subtle, but it’s there and it’s really beautiful. But the most interesting thing about this design is not on the top of the laptop, but on the bottom. Underneath the laptop you’ll find a 3D wave corrugated pattern, which feels nice to run your fingers along–I’m a big textures person. It looks cool, but it’s also functional: the design helps you get a better grip on the laptop. This is great, because there’s nothing quite like the horror of dropping a laptop onto the floor. The metal build quality feels strong, too. You can tell straight away that it’s made of aluminum. The screen hardly had any flex when I gave it a gentle twist and the keyboard deck didn’t creak or groan when I pressed my hands down on it. This is exactly what I expected from a Chromebook in this class and it definitely lives up to those higher standards.  Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Keyboard, touchpad The keyboard feels nice to type on for extended periods, and I found that I adjusted to it quickly. However, compared to my usual laptop, this one skews a little more to the right, which threw me off at first. While the typing experience is definitely comfortable, I had a few tiny gripes with the keys themselves. Why are the function keys (F1 to F12) so itty bitty? I mean, they’re really small compared to the other keys. Any time I used them, I had to lean forward and squint a bit to see the icons on them. I’d also occasionally fat finger them because of their size. My other gripe is that the keys themselves attract some smudges. This is minor, as it’s nothing a microfiber cloth can’t fix.  I liked the touchpad a lot. Not only did it feel nice and smooth, like glass, beneath my fingertips, but it also quickly registered all my taps and swipes. I adapted to it pretty instantly and I don’t think I ever accidentally triggered it with my palms.  Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Display, speakers The 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED display produces a luscious-looking picture that blew my socks off. It’s not totally unexpected, though, as OLED panels produce deeper blacks and richer colors. The Chromebook Plus 14’s OLED display also offers 100 percent DCI-P3 color accuracy, meaning more saturated colors, especially reds and greens. When I re-watched Netflix’s Titan documentary, I was impressed by the depth (ugh, sorry) of contrast in the many dark scenes—unsurprising in a documentary about a submersible. Image editors would love this screen. I’m also loving the 16:10 aspect ratio, which this Chromebook has. It’s far superior to the usual 16:9 and I’m not afraid to shout it from the rooftops. The extra vertical space makes a huge difference because you can see more of a webpage or more of a document without scrolling. This is especially useful for someone like me, who writes and edits on the daily. The 5MP RGB webcam is nice, too. I’ve got very fair skin, so I usually appear lifeless—or so pale I glow—on video, but that wasn’t the case here. I used the webcam for a work meeting and I was surprised at how warm (color temperature, not body temperature) the picture looked. It made me look more natural and not at all like some sun-starved vampire. The Dolby-certified speakers are shockingly loud and punchy. When I played Jack White’s Archbishop Harold Holmes, his edgy guitar playing sounded fantastic. I didn’t have to crank up the volume much–I could still hear the music from a room or two away. What can I say? Upward-firing speakers just sound better than the downward-firing kind. Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Connectivity I’m so glad there’s USB-C ports on ether side of the laptop (a hot-button topic here at PCWorld). They both support charging, too–this should always be the standard. Lenovo even managed to include USB-A, which is impressive given how slim and lightweight this device is at just 2.78 pounds! I always like to see more port variety, but this is fine for an everyday machine.  Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Performance The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is one of the first Chromebooks to rock MediaTek’s new Kompanio Ultra chip. It’s built on Arm’s efficient architecture, so it can run full steam ahead without needing any fans. Under the hood, you’ve got an 8-core CPU with high-performance Cortex-X929 cores and an 11-core Immortalis-G925 GPU that can handle ray tracing. There’s also a Neural Processing Unit (or NPU) packed in there delivering 50 TOPS of AI power — the key to unlocking the special AI features I mentioned above. I definitely had high (but not unrealistic) expectations of the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14. Luckily, it met them with real aplomb. When I ran the CrXPRT benchmark, which measures how fast the machine handles everyday tasks, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 turned in a score of 199. That’s about 17 percent faster than the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34, which comes with an Intel Core i5-13335U chip and currently ranks as our top pick for Chromebooks.  I will say that it’s much faster than the Lenovo Chromebook Duet, which sports an older MediaTek Kompanio 838 chip. The Basemark Web 3.0 score of 1,151 totally crushes the Duet’s score of 502.99–a benchmark that measures overall web performance. This means it’s more than twice as fast as the Duet. That’s a big jump in performance between the two chips. The only thing that’s giving me pause is the somewhat low Speedometer 3.1 score of 25.2. That’s fine for casual and day-to-day productivity, but the machine might struggle a bit with heavy-duty multitasking. That said, the Chromebook Plus 14 felt snappy, even with a bunch of tabs open.  CrXPRT 2: 199 Speedometer 3.1: 25.2 Basemark Web 3.0: 1151 Kraken: 407.0ms Jetstream 2: 344.875 Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Gaming I had a chat with my coworker Michael Crider (you might know him!) about playing Minecraft on this device even before I got the unit. He’d been hands-on with the laptop and saw Google demo Minecraft running on it, which got us curious, especially since he struggled to run Android games on the Lenovo Chromebook Duet. So naturally, the first thing I did when I turned on the machine was load up Minecraft to see if this new MediaTek chip could run Android-based games better. Fortunately, it does! I recorded a quick video of my Minecraft session so others could see how smooth the gameplay is on this Chromebook. You can see me flying around in Creative Mode without any lag or stuttering. In the background, you’ll also hear ABBA playing, which wasn’t intentional, but who doesn’t love jamming out to Swedish pop stars while playing Minecraft? The whole thing felt casual and easy. Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Battery life Lenovo says the Chromebook Plus 14 gets around 17 hours of battery life, but I clocked it at 19 hours using CrXPRT 2’s battery benchmark. That’s a phenomenal result and one that lines up with other Arm-based machines. To be fair, that was with the screen brightness turned down. If you crank the brightness up to max, you’ll likely see a bit less, but that’s expected (as brightness always impacts the battery life). In terms of using it unplugged, I never felt like I had to sprint for an outlet stat. Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Conclusion After spending a week with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, I can confidently say it’s one of the best Chromebooks I’ve used. It’s fast, the design is lovely, and that OLED screen? Still can’t get over how good it looks, especially on a device under $750. Battery life is very good as well–it just keeps on chugging along. Yeah, the AI features are nice-to-have more than must-have, and the tiny function keys take some getting used to, but those are small complaints in an otherwise killer package. Lenovo crushed it. This Chromebook hits hard on performance, display, and battery life. It also just feels great to use day in and day out. If you’re shopping for a Chromebook, this one should be at the top of your list. That Editors’ Choice badge up top? It’s well-earned. Read...

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recently released an update to the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) image format, one of the most popular image formats for web content. Tom’s Hardware writes that this is the first time the W3C has updated the file format since 2003. The PNG image file format was originally launched in 1996, but this is only the third version ever. New features in the latest version include support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) images, animation via animated PNG (APNG) files, and storage of EXIF metadata. The W3C decided to update the file standard after another group within the consortium—working on time-based text such as subtitles, captions, and audio descriptions—realized that PNG files needed HDR support. The newest version of PNG is already supported by popular web browsers including Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, as well as creative editing software such as Adobe Photoshop and Da Vinci Resolve. Read...

About a week ago, I decided I would never buy another Ethernet cable, ever. If you’re like me, you have a box or drawer with dozens of cables. And while some cables have specific connections, like USB-C, my wired network (such as it is) is just a random collection of colored Ethernet cables with tiny little markings telling me what they can or can’t do. How much data can that cable transfer? I had no idea. And that’s bad. I had never really thought about which Ethernet cables were being run between my cable modem, router, Xbox, and desktop PC. But I had performed speed tests more than once, and worried that my network was running slower than usual. And I also knew the problem: my network would run only as fast as its slowest segment. If my Ethernet cables were transferring less data than my router or gateway, I was potentially wasting money. I didn’t need to spend time researching the fastest mesh router or the best Internet gateway. If my cables were ancient, my entire network would be bogged down by my slowest cable. If my ISP quietly increased the speed of my broadband connection, I might not see any benefit. And I had already found an old Cat5 cable hooked up to my Xbox, a standard which had been basically extinct for about two decades. Ew! A Cat5 cable may be good enough for your current router, but it might not be for long.Mark Hachman / Foundry About a week before my colleague Dominic Bayley published a helpful explainer on the differences between Ethernet cables, I researched the problem myself. Ethernet comes in different categories, all the way from the ancient Category 3 to the latest Category 8. So Category 8 is the latest and greatest? OK, fine. How much does a Category 8 cable cost? Basically nothing, as it turns out. I discovered I could buy a five-pack of color-coded, nylon-braided Category 8 Ethernet cables for $35.99 on Amazon. Broadband services are always getting faster. Cable modems are, too. But even the fastest cable modems and broadband plans offer just a few gigabits per second, while this Cat8 cable offers a whopping 40Gbits/s of speed. Owning color-coded, braided Ethernet cables for about the price of a nice lunch made me happy.Mark Hachman / Foundry For me, it was a no-brainer. I bought the cables from Amazon, quickly swapped out my existing cables for the new color-coded options, and resolved never to think about what Ethernet cable I owned ever again. Get a five-pack of color-coded, nylon-braided Cat8 Ethernet cables for $35.99Buy Now at Amazon Read...