News from the web

Back at the end of August, Microsoft released a new Beta version with code KB5041881 for Windows Insiders. This update included several interesting improvements and new features, but one flew under the radar because it wasn’t mentioned in any release notes. ...   PC World

Time’s running out—Kaspersky antivirus finishes its US shutdown at the end of the month. In June, the Russia-based company was classified as a risk to national security, resulting in a ban on operations inside the United States and on any hardware owned by US residents. ...   PC World

Are you tired of running out of storage space on your PC and feeling ready to upgrade your drive to something bigger, faster, better? Then today might just be your lucky day. Now’s a great time to grab this 4TB Samsung 870 Evo SSD that’s on sale for $286.61 on Amazon — a massive drop from its usual $490 and the best price we’ve seen for it in months. ...   PC World

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsIncredible customization optionsHall-effect switches and MX hot swapGreat typing feelConsSoftware is deeply lackingPoor wireless stabilityExtremely short battery lifeOur VerdictThe GMMK 3 offers more buying and customization options than any other keyboard on the market, and its hot-swap HE functionality is a technical marvel. ...   PC World

There’s a major Windows 11 update coming this season and it seems to be causing various screen-related issues for beta testers. MSPoweruser reports that several users — both on Microsoft’s support forums as well as on Reddit — have complained about numerous monitor and display problems ever since they started testing the latest version of the Windows 11 operating system. ...   PC World

Laptops are awesome for day-to-day productivity, but it sucks when you’re on the go and stuck with a single screen. If you hate being cramped with limited screen real estate, you need a portable monitor. And right now, this Arzopa portable monitor is on sale for $60 at Amazon, a massive cut down from its usual $130 price tag. Note: This price is for Amazon Prime members. ...   PC World

The new Apple Intelligence within the new Apple iPhone 16 provides a surprisingly practical approach to AI. It’s straightforward, helpful, and well, boring — a stark contrast to Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs, which position themselves as the cusp of a revolutionary new era of computing, complete with a mandatory new keyboard button. ...   PC World

Last month, Google quietly killed off Google Sky Maps. But there’s still another way to virtually explore most of the solar system a la Google Maps: it’s called Google Maps in Space. ...   PC World

There’s nothing worse than that one spot in your house where the Wi-Fi signal goes in and out, especially when you spend most of your time in that very spot. Fortunately, you can fix it with just a few bucks. ...   PC World

It’s 2024, which means building your own PC is only one step harder than assembling a semi-complex LEGO set. Most parts fit together in intuitive ways, and a lot of the guesswork is eliminated if you use helper tools like PCPartPicker to ensure compatibility and stay within your budget. Of course, there’s no shame in buying a prebuilt desktop PC. ...   PC World

TL;DR: Get a lifetime subscription to Babbel for $179.97 until September 29 and master 14 languages at your own pace. Ever dream of speaking a new language fluently? Whether you’re planning your next international trip, looking to advance your career, or simply wanting to broaden your horizons, learning a language can open doors you never knew existed. ...   PC World

Microsoft’s Recall sparked outrage that Microsoft was spying on users. But will Apple’s “semantic search” produce the same headlines? Apple introduced the new feature at its “Glowtime” event on Monday, where the company launched the iPhone 16, plus new versions of the Apple Watch and its AirPod earbuds. ...   PC World

AMD plans to unify the architectures used by its datacenter and consumer graphics architectures in what one company executive is calling a “new DNA,” or a “unified DNA,” that combines its CDNA and RDNA architectures. ...   PC World

One of the best and easiest ways to upgrade your home entertainment system is to get a Fire TV Stick, and now’s a great time to do it because the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is now just $40 on Amazon. That’s a notable 33 percent discount off its usual $60 price tag, and this is a fantastic price for a device that’s useful for anyone who wants to stream content to their TV. ...   PC World

Neowin reports that Mozilla has decided to extend support for the Firefox browser on older versions of Windows. The original plan was to end support this September, but that’s been postponed to 2025. According to the Firefox release calendar, the version of Firefox that supports Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 will continue to receive updates until April 1, 2025. ...   PC World

Getting your hands on a good monitor doesn’t have to cost a fortune, especially when we’re hunting down amazing deals for you — like this 25-inch Samsung Odyssey G4 that’s down to $180 on Amazon, a huge drop from its usual $350 price tag. The Samsung Odyssey G4 features an IPS panel, so you’ll have color-accurate visuals in your games, movies, and editing work on images and videos. ...   PC World

AMD’s Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme chips power this generation’s popular Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go gaming handhelds, while a less-potent custom sibling of the chip shines inside Valve’s Steam Deck. ...   PC World

A few days ago I answered a phone call from my mother, who was in a semi-frantic state because her Chromebook was screaming bloody murder at her. Having worked with Chromebooks for many years, I was shocked by the state of hers. Her Chromebook was chock-full of malware and God only knows what else. ...   PC World

For months, internet rumor mills have claimed that AMD’s next-generation Radeon RX 8000 graphics cards would cede the high-end market to Nvidia’s GeForce lineup, after the GeForce RTX 4090 stomped all over the competition this time around. ...   PC World

If you’ve been experiencing an annoying bug in Windows 11 where File Explorer keeps crashing for no apparent reason, rest assured that Microsoft says it’s finally fixed. Spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft’s note says that File Explorer can crash for various reasons, but this particular issue has been fixed and should no longer happen. ...   PC World

TL;DR: Get a lifetime subscription to Babbel for $139.97 until September 29 and master 14 languages at your own pace. Ever dream of speaking a new language fluently? Whether you’re planning your next international trip, looking to advance your career, or simply wanting to broaden your horizons, learning a language can open doors you never knew existed. ...   PC World

Gaming laptops equipped with RTX rarely sell for this cheap, so take advantage while you can if you’ve been in the market for one. Right now, you can get this Acer Nitro V for just $650 on Amazon, which is a nice cut from its usual $780 price and significantly lower than almost any other laptop you could get with an RTX GPU. ...   PC World

A little while back, I made a big change to my desktop PC workflow — I swapped my pair of 24-inch desktop monitors for a single 35-inch ultrawide display, which stretches much further side-to-side than a traditional widescreen monitor does. ...   PC World

Microsoft is currently focusing significant financial and human resources on the development of its AI assistant Copilot and its integration into Windows and Microsoft 365 applications. The company sees this as an opportunity to set itself apart from the competition of Libre Office and Google. Today, users have several alternatives for AI support in Office. ...   PC World

Timekettle has unveiled its W4 Pro AI Interpreter Earbuds at the IFA 2024 tradeshow in Berlin, the first open-fit translator buds with support for audio and video translation, a specialized vocabulary database, and premium sound quality. ...   PC World

TL;DR: Get this 1TB dual USB storage drive for $74.97 until September 29 and enjoy reliable and durable storage for all your important files. Not everyone wants to keep all their files in the cloud, and we get it — some people need something tangible when it comes to stuff you can’t afford to lose. ...   PC World

TL;DR: Save $180 on lifetime access to Microsoft Office apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more included. If you’re subscribed to Microsoft 365, you’re overpaying—period. Instead of renting your productivity apps at a whopping $84/year for the rest of your life, you could just buy them outright. ...   PC World

TL;DR: Save 77% on a DoRoyal website hosting lifetime subscription with our unbeatable offer. Launching a portfolio of my coding projects was more expensive than I thought, especially when Squarespace wanted to charge me $16+/month for web hosting. But you don’t have to pay those outrageous subscription fees like I did if you get DoRoyal. Their lifetime web hosting plan lets you pay $49. ...   PC World

Toontrack has announced the release of the Hollowbody EBX, a new expansion for EZbass based on a short-scale and semi-hollow electric bass from 1967 – perfect for anything from mellow acoustic... Read More   KVR Audio

Heavyocity Media has announced the release of MicroFX, a new line of effects plugins designed to provide musicians, sound designers, and producers with powerful, finely-tuned tools for creative... Read More   KVR Audio

Pulsar Audio have announced the launch of Poseidon, an EQ plugin modeled after a well known console. This EQ has been faithfully modeled after an iconic console that shaped the sound... Read More   KVR Audio

MusicDevelopments has updated RapidComposer to version 5.3 introducing a host of new features for guitarists, including an editable guitar tab and fretboard, guitar chords, and smart algorithms... Read More   KVR Audio

Audioblast has announced the release of Abx3, a Bassline synthesizer with step note sequencer, emulating the TB-303 sound with added features. Features: Oscillator with 32... Read More   KVR Audio

NoiseAsh Audio has announced an update for NEED 533 EQ v1.5.0 for Windows and macOS. With this new update, the GUI has been completely redesigned and its use has become more practical.... Read More   KVR Audio

Modalics has released Plugin Buddy, a new host app and plugin designed to 'elevate your sound creation experience'. Plugin Buddy streamlines your VST3 chaining workflow, allowing musicians and... Read More   KVR Audio

Toontrack has released the State of the Art SDX by Elliot Scheiner, a new expansion for Superior Drummer 3. Here's what they say: Having worked with some of the biggest artists ever,... Read More   KVR Audio

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Pianos: Piano Infinity is everything you will ever need in a piano. Get access to five instruments with sheet music, piano lessons, composing, and recording features. You can even play along on your own keyboard and Piano Infinity will keep up with the notes you...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Synthesizers: LH Grain: A Dual-Channel Granular Synthesizer for Live Performance Mastery Unleash your creative potential with LH Grain, an innovative two-channel granular synthesizer designed for both immersive soundscapes and dynamic live performances. Each channel...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: Learn Scales, Chords and Modes in any position with this fully functional guitar simulator. Scales and Chords are learned fast by viewing them as a reference or challenging yourself in interactive games.• Enjoy improvising with the features of backing...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: Are you a Pro Musician who wants the best MIDI playing surface or a music newcomer who wants to play melodies more intuitively? Musix Pro packs more notes on the screen than any other app and does so with customizable layouts that bake music theory in....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: A useful utility for tuning guitars. Plays each note in standard tuning (E A D G B e). Please make sure your device in not on silent mode. update coming soon   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: Tune your mandolin with precision and ease, instantly! Optimal for beginners, intermediate and advanced musicians! · The most accurate - detects the exact sound frequency in Hz. · Smart Chords Library, Tuning fork and Advanced Settings. · Highest responsiveness...   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Analysis: ClapIR is a tool for measuring the acoustic properties of a room. Simply start the app and clap your hands. ClapIR then analyzes the clap's recording to calculate the room's reverberation times and frequency response. It's acoustics engineering made easy!...   440Software