Asenathi Ntlabakanye, South Africa’s reserve tighthead, will not travel with the Springboks to New Zealand for the next two rounds of the Rugby Championship after providing an “adverse analytical finding” during recent random drug-testing. Read...

Ministers say the reforms are aimed at reducing reoffending and easing pressures on crowded prisons. Read...

Hobbyist training AI on Victorian texts gets an unexpected history lesson from his own creation. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros High-end internals at a fair price 4K display with a 200Hz refresh rate Dual 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports and quad M.2 drive bays Cons Heavy and thick Needs tweaking to perform competitively Cooling setup isn’t ideal Our Verdict The Maingear Ultima 18 is a brick of a gaming laptop. The internals are impressive, but it isn’t quite as polished an experience as some other modern gaming laptops. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Maingear Ultima 18 Retailer Price $3,699 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Fifteen years ago, I had a gaming laptop that was a big heavy brick. I loved it! That’s what gaming laptops were back then. The 18-inch Maingear Ultima 18 feels like a modern spiritual successor to big-and-heavy gaming laptops. That’s awesome, but it also shows where these designs stumble. To create the Ultima 18, Maingear packed a big Clevo laptop chassis full of high-end components. It goes overboard in some interesting ways with hard-to-find specs. But for $3,599, it’s competing with modern high-end gaming laptops that deliver a more polished experience. Those polished machines — with their software tweaks and cutting-edge cooling systems — often edge out the Ultima 18 on performance, and they’re available at a similar price. It’s a good machine. I’m just not sure whether it’s your best option around this price point, unless you’re smitten by the unique features it offers. And you might be! Maingear Ultima 18: Specs The Maingear Ultima 18 combines a blazing-fast 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor with other high-end components. Our review model had an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 processor, but you can also get this with a top-of-the-line RTX 5090 GPU. While our $3,599 review unit had 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2 TB SSD, you can get this machine with up to 192 GB of RAM. This machine has two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports for wired networking — I haven’t seen a dual Ethernet setup like that on another modern gaming laptop. Plus, there’s room inside this monster of a laptop for four M.2 SSDs. And the Ultima 18 has an 18-inch 4K display, too — with a fast 200Hz refresh rate. Maingear isn’t playing around. Features like the two Ethernet ports and four M.2 drive bays are way above and beyond. Some people will surely hunt down this specific laptop just for those features. Model number: Maingear Ultima 18 RTX 5080 CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX Memory: 32 GB DDR5 RAM Graphics/GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 NPU: Intel AI Boost (13 TOPS) Display: 18-inch 3840×2400 IPS display with 200Hz refresh rate Storage: 2 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD Webcam: 1080p webcam Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 5 (USB Type-C), 2x USB Type-A, 2x 2.5Gb Ethernet, 1x combo audio jack, 1x HDMI 2.1 out, 1x microSD reader, 1x Kensington lock slot, 1x DC power in Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, Ethernet Biometrics: IR camera for facial recognition Battery capacity: 98 Watt-hours Dimensions: 16.14 x 12.56 x 1.42 inches Weight: 8.8 pounds MSRP: $3,599 as tested Features like the two Ethernet ports and four M.2 drive bays are way above and beyond. Some people will surely hunt down this specific laptop just for those features. Maingear Ultima 18: Design and build quality IDG / Chris Hoffman The Maingear Ultima 18 takes me back. This 18-inch laptop weighs 8.8 pounds and is 1.42 inches thick at its thickest point — it’s a brick. It’s based on a Clevo chassis. (Clevo produces laptop designs that system builders like Maingear use to create and release their own laptops.) If you’re looking for a brick of a gaming laptop, however, it’s designed well. With a metal lid and palm rest, it doesn’t feel plasticky. But it also doesn’t feel like a single piece of metal, like some other high-end gaming laptops. The hinge is easy to open with one hand. It feels solid for an 8.8 pound 18-inch gaming laptop, but this is the kind of machine you’ll need to be careful with — I wouldn’t pick it up from the corner with one hand. The design features a lot of black, broken up by the “Maingear” name below the display and the logo on the lid. With animated RGB lightbars at the rear of the machine and RGB lighting on the keyboard, that’s where the “gamer” aesthetic comes from — but, of course, it’s customizable. IDG / Chris Hoffman Somewhat unusually for a modern gaming laptop, this laptop has small LEDs on the front edge, to the right of the touchpad. In normal use, the left one will be lit when your laptop is on, the middle one will be lit when your laptop is plugged in, and the right one will blink as your laptop uses its storage. These used to be much more common, but they’re the kind of thing most manufacturers omit these days. The design is traditional in another way: The laptop blows hot air out of both sides of the laptop as well as the back. I prefer modern designs that don’t blow hot air toward my mouse hand. However, most of the hot air does come out the back, so it’s not too bad. The cooling also keeps the WASD area of the keyboard fairly cool. The fans get loud under load, though — this is closer to the traditional “jet engine” fan profile on a brick laptop, whereas many modern laptops have found ways to make them quieter. Maingear proudly proclaims that this is a “zero-bloatware Windows 11 installation,” and that’s excellent to see. You get a few utilities for your hardware — from Maingear, Nvidia, and Creative — and that’s about it. There are no nags to pay for antivirus software here. Our review model also came with Windows 11 Pro, which is nice. Maingear Ultima 18: Keyboard and trackpad IDG / Chris Hoffman The Maingear Ultima 18 has a full-size chiclet membrane keyboard complete with a number pad. It has per-key RGB backlighting for maximum customization. With 1.5mm of key travel, the keyboard feels good to game on. It doesn’t quite feel as premium as the rest of the machine, though: It’s no mechanical keyboard, like you’ll find on some versions of the Alienware 16 Area-51, and it doesn’t have the stronger actuation force you’ll find on machines like the Razer Blade. I prefer a clickier experience. The trackpad is large and makes good use of the available palm-rest space. It’s nice and smooth — Maingear says it has a “low friction finish.” While it’s not quite as smooth as the swankiest glass touchpads I’ve used, it gets most of the way there. The click-down action feels crisp. Maingear Ultima 18: Display and speakers IDG / Chris Hoffman The Maingear Ultima 18 has an 18-inch 4K IPS display (3840×2400 resolution). That’s impressive when other laptops in this class often deliver WXGA (2560×1600) displays instead. The display has a 200Hz refresh rate and support for Nvidia G-Sync, too. Brightness could be better: 400 nits is fine, but many laptop displays go brighter. At that brightness, you not getting HDR. The display is exactly what it sounds like on paper — a big 18-inch 4K display with a high refresh rate. It’s nice. But resolution isn’t everything, and gaming laptops with lower-resolution displays often deliver more brightness and extra-vivid colors with bonus features like HDR in games — especially if they have OLED displays. (And, as you might expect, this isn’t a touch screen.) This machine includes a subwoofer as well as two main speakers and two tweeters. It’s also powered by Sound Blaster Studio Pro 2. The bass is pretty good for a laptop, which is no surprise — most laptops don’t have subwoofers! I test every laptop I review with Steely Dan’s Aja and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. There’s more than enough volume here, and there’s enough bass to make the sound feel “full” in songs like Get Lucky. You aren’t getting audiophile-grade detail here, though — the instrument separation in Aja isn’t as crisp as it would be on a high-end pair of speakers, with the sounds blurring together a bit instead of separating. The speakers provided good sound in Doom: The Dark Ages — with a chunky sound to the shotgun blast, for example. But the lack of clean separation of sounds at the high-end — plus those loud fans — would push me to use a good pair of headphones. (That’s normal for any laptop, though.) Maingear Ultima 18: Webcam, microphone, biometrics The Maingear Ultima 18’s 1080p webcam looks decent. It’s a tad grainy, and I’ve seen business laptops with higher-end webcams. For a gaming laptop, this is good — but not mind-blowing. It also has a physical privacy cover, which is always great to see. This 18-inch laptop has a microphone that works and certainly picks up enough volume. This is a pretty standard gaming laptop mic, but the noise cancellation wasn’t great — it picked up the whirring of fans in the background. The microphone isn’t up to the audio quality I see on many business laptops, which are optimized for online meetings — you’ll want an external microphone to chat while gaming. This machine has presence-sensing hardware, too. If you want, you can have Windows automatically wake your PC when you sit down in front of it or put it to sleep when you step away. The Maingear Ultima 18 has an IR camera for Windows Hello sign-in support. You can log into your PC with your face, and it works well. This machine doesn’t have a fingerprint reader. Maingear Ultima 18: Connectivity IDG / Chris Hoffman The Maingear Ultima 18 offers a lot of connectivity options. On the left side, this machine has a combo audio jack and two USB Type-A ports — both are 10Gbps, and one has Power Delivery. On the right side, you’ll find two Thunderbolt 5 (USB Type-C) ports as well as a microSD card slot. This being a high-end gaming laptop, it’s great to see future-proof Thunderbolt 5 — even though few peripherals are taking advantage of it yet. On the back, you’ll find the power adapter connection, a Kensington lock slot, HDMI 2.1 out, and two Ethernet jacks (both 2.5Gbps.) That two Ethernet jack setup is completely over the top — most people buying this laptop won’t take advantage of it — but it’s impressive and unusual. This machine has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support, too, so it supports the latest standards. I had no problems with the Wi-Fi. Maingear Ultima 18: Performance The Maingear Ultima 18 delivered solid gaming performance — once I configured it. Out of the box, benchmark results were on the slow side compared to other similar laptops. Once I went into the Maingear Control Center and set it to “Performance” mode — and then went into Windows 11’s Settings and set it to Best Performance while plugged in — the performance ended up where I expected to see it. The benchmarks below were performed with these settings changed. On many gaming laptops, this is now automatic: The manufacturer-provided software automatically switches your gaming laptop into higher-performance modes when you launch games. On this machine, you’ll be doing it yourself. However, this is strong hardware, and it performed well in real-world gaming. The results were impacted by a few things, though. In Metro: Exodus, for example, I only saw competitive performance once I disabled the integrated GPU in the Maingear control center.  And I do feel like machines like the Alienware 16 Area-51 have a more efficient cooling setup that seems to lead to higher top-end performance. As always, though we ran the Maingear Ultima 18 through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs. IDG / Chris Hoffman First, we run PCMark 10 to get an idea of overall system performance. It’s designed to be a holistic benchmark, but the CPU is a major factor in this test. With an overall PCMark 10 score of 8,700, this machine delivered impressive performance on par with other Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX-powered machines like the Alienware 16 Area-51. IDG / Chris Hoffman Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. It’s a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isn’t a factor. But, since it’s heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage. The Maingear Ultima 18 produced a multi-threaded Cinebench R20 score of 14,502, right in line with other laptops with the same CPU. IDG / Chris Hoffman We also run an encode with Handbrake. This is another heavily multithreaded benchmark, but it runs over an extended period of time. This demands the laptop’s cooling kick in, and many laptops will throttle and slow down under load. The Ultima 18 completed the encode process in an average of 458 seconds, which is just over seven and a half minutes. That’s about what we’d expect to see with this CPU, although it lags a little behind laptops like the Alienware 16 Area-51 and HP Omen Max 16, which suggests those machines may have better cooling setups to avoid throttling due to heat. IDG / Chris Hoffman Next, we run a graphical benchmark. First, we run 3Dmark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. With a 3Dmark Time Spy score of 19,168, this machine comes in about 10 percent behind other similar laptops on graphics performance. (Performance on this particular benchmark went up by five percent after disabling the integrated GPU in the Maingear control center. With a score of about 19,902, it was more in line with similar laptops.) IDG / Chris Hoffman Then, we benchmark some games. We start with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, an older game — but a great way to compare performance across hardware. With an average FPS of 190 in our standard benchmark here, this machine is in line with other similar laptops with RTX 5080 and even RTX 5090 GPUs. IDG / Chris Hoffman Finally, we benchmark a demanding game. We run the Extreme benchmark in Metro Exodus. For this benchmark, the laptop was consistently coming in far behind with an average of 73 FPS. After I went into the Maingear control panel and disabled the integrated Intel GPU — setting it to the discrete Nvidia GPU only — and rebooted, performance went up. After that change was made, the Maingear Ultima 18 delivered a competitive 87 frames per second in this benchmark. While that’s competitive, it still comes in a few frames behind laptops like the Alienware 16 Area-51, likely thanks to their better cooling designs. And those machines didn’t need any extra tweaking. Overall, the performance is competitive, but it needs tweaking — and the cooling setup just isn’t as impressive as it is on many other gaming laptops. That leads to a reduction in performance. Maingear Ultima 18: Battery life The Maingear Ultima 18 has a huge 98 Watt-hour battery. That’s as big as it gets — any larger and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration wouldn’t allow it on an airplane! An 18-inch brick of a gaming laptop like this one isn’t designed for long battery life, however. IDG / Chris Hoffman To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. We set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. This is a best-case scenario for any laptop since local video playback is so efficient, and real battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this. The Maingear Ultima 18 lasted an average of 288 minutes during our benchmark — that’s just under five hours. You’ll be able to get a few hours of work out of it, if you need to, but you’ll need to plug in for maximum gaming performance, anyway. Maingear Ultima 18: Conclusion The Maingear Ultima 18 impressed me when I unboxed it. The design is somewhere between an old-school gaming laptop brick and a modern gaming laptop, and features like four drive bays, two Ethernet jacks, two Thunderbolt 5 ports, and a 4K 200Hz display feel nicely over the top. While it feels big and heavy, the hardware justifies it. But the impressive specs become a bit less than the sum of their parts. Compared to this machine, many modern gaming laptops are lighter, have a more impressive metal design, a more advanced cooling system, don’t need this much tweaking to perform well, and have other high-end touches like a mechanical keyboard and more carefully tuned speaker setup. Don’t get me wrong — this is a good laptop! I’d be happy to use it. But it’s also $3,599. And it has a lot of competition at that price range. Still, the hardware alone shines. The Alienware 18 Area-51 gaming laptop has similar hardware, but taking it to an RTX 5080 will bring you to a $3,800 retail price — and you’re not getting a 4K display. The Razer Blade 18 with an RTX 5080 and a higher-resolution display will cost you $4,100 at retail price. (It’s worth noting that both the Alienware and Razer laptops are on sale on their respective online stores for less than their retail prices at the time I wrapped up this review, but those are marked as limited-time discounts.) The specs here are good. For the price, though, I just wish it came together better. Other high-end gaming laptops may cost a little bit extra, but the software integration, lighter weight, and higher-end metal designs shine. Read...

The USA may be considered the land of the free, but the reality is different when it comes to dealing with border control. Travelers entering the country must expect electronic devices such as laptops and smartphones to be checked, read or even temporarily retained. The US authorities are authorized to do this and are increasingly making use of it, especially for tourists with a valid visa or ESTA. In this article, we show you how to configure and prepare your devices securely, what sort of content can be problematic, and how you can stay protected online with a VPN, even in a hotel or airport network. When preparing technically for a trip to the USA, two devices take center stage: your laptop and your smartphone. If you’re well prepared, not only will you protect your privacy, but you’ll also avoid unnecessary queries or, in the worst case, being refused entry. Preparing your laptop for a trip to the USA: Reduce data, gain control A simple principle works best for laptops: less is more. The less private or professional data stored locally, the lower the risk that it will be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Work documents, tax documents, invoices, applications, CVs, or project files are particularly sensitive, as they may give the US authorities the impression that employment in the USA is planned. Even seemingly harmless tools such as Slack, Figma, or Notion can raise questions if they reveal professional activity. To be on the safe side, consider setting up a fresh laptop before traveling or create a separate user profile without sensitive content. An elegant solution is a dual-boot setup with a minimalist second system. This can be installed alongside Windows, which strictly separates private use from travel needs. You should also deactivate cloud access such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or iCloud. Make sure you remove saved browser logins, too. Instead, we recommend a deliberately reduced setup with only essential applications, such as a browser, PDF viewer, and VPN client. Secure your smartphone for the USA: Select apps wisely and limit access Smartphones are particularly sensitive: they not only contain personal data, but also meta-information such as location histories, chat histories and app usage behavior. A glance at the app icon or a notification on the lock screen is often enough to trigger queries. The following app categories in particular can cause problems when entering the country: News apps with geopolitical explosiveness such as “RT News,” “Sputnik,” “PressTV,” “CCTV,” or “Al Mayadeen” Messengers with a strong focus on encryption such as “Signal,” “Telegram,” and “Threema” — frequently used in activist circles or for anonymous communication Tools for circumventing censorship and tracking such as “Tor Browser,” “Orbot,” or “Psiphon” — technically useful, but in need of explanation Apps with links to sanctioned countries, such as Persian calendars, Iranian banking, shopping apps, or apps with Arabic script Wallets and crypto platforms such as “Exodus Wallet,” “Monero GUI Wallet,” and “Trust Wallet.” This can arouse suspicion due to possible money flows without traceability. Social networks with a political focus such as Mastodon apps with left-wing or anarchist instances or special Reddit clients with conspicuous subreddits The use of these apps is not prohibited generally, but in combination with other factors (travel history, visa type, previous stays) they can provoke questions. If this is a concern for you, you should consider using a second phone for your trip to the USA that only contains the most necessary apps. More sensitive applications can then remain on the main device, which is kept safe at home. Alternatively, affected apps can also be uninstalled and reinstalled after your return. Overview of device unlocking requirements Under current US law, border officials may search electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones and, if necessary, confiscate them. They can also demand that devices be unlocked by fingerprint, facial recognition, or by issuing passwords, including individual apps. Although refusal is not a criminal offense, it may result in entry being denied or the device being confiscated. It’s better to travel sparingly and only take the most necessary content with you. VPN for travel to the USA: The protection you need before you even take off A VPN (Virtual Private Network) protects your connection, especially when it matters most: while entering the country, using airport Wi-Fi, in your hotel, or during travel. With a VPN, you can hide your IP address, connect to your home network, and prevent unencrypted data from being read. How to prepare your VPN correctly: Choose a VPN provider and subscribe to a suitable tariff Install the VPN app in advance (both on your laptop and smartphone) and test the connection Activate “Auto-Connect” and “Kill Switch” so that the VPN starts automatically and protects your data if the tunnel breaks down Hide the app icon on the home screen or move it to a folder With a VPN like NordVPN, you can surf safely on foreign networks in the USA. Install the client before your trip.Sam Singleton Is a VPN a red flag at the US border? No, VPNs are legal in the USA and commonly used in business settings. However, it’s advisable to avoid particularly conspicuous providers or political associations such as Tor integration. If you want to travel inconspicuously, you can simply hide the app or use a neutral provider such as NordVPN or Surfshark VPN. If needed, VPN use can be plausibly justified as protecting personal data or ensuring secure access to private online services. Especially practical: A VPN can easily be used with an eSIM, so you don’t even have to rely on public (and often very weak) Wi-Fi networks. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Attractive and premium design Great display quality with optional OLED touchscreen Plenty of fast Thunderbolt 4 connectivity Strong performance, particularly in CPU tasks Cons Capacitive keyboard function row is a miss No USB-A, HDMI, other legacy ports (besides 3.5mm audio) Touchpad is smaller than some competitors Modest battery life Our Verdict The Dell 14 Premium might have a 14-inch display, but it’s focused more on premium design and performance than on portability. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Dell 14 Premium Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The Dell 14 Premium isn’t what I expected. With the XPS line-up rebranded to Premium, the Dell 14 Premium is now the most portable laptop in Dell’s flagship line-up. Because of that, I expected it might be more like the old Dell XPS 13, or a MacBook Air, or the Lenovo Yoga 9i. In reality, this 14.5-inch laptop is more like a compact Windows workstation than an ultraportable. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your needs. Dell 14 Premium: Specs and features The Dell 14 Premium has an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor with a total of 16 cores—six performance, and eight efficient. The model I reviewed also had 32GB of memory and 1TB of solid state storage. Dell also provides the option to upgrade to Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics, though the model I tested had Intel’s Arc 140T. CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 255H Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc 140T NPU: Intel AI Boost up to 13 TOPS Display: 1x 14.5-inch 3200×2000 OLED 120Hz Storage: 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Webcam: 1080p 30 FPS Connectivity: 3x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack, MicroSD card reader Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Facial recognition Battery capacity: 69.5 watt-hours Dimensions: 12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 inches Weight: 3.79 pounds Operating System: Windows 11 Home Price: $2,049.99 MSRP, $1,899.99 typical retail Pricing starts at $1,649.99 MSRP for a model with the same Intel processor but just 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a 2560×1440 non-touch display. The model Dell sent me had not only the upgraded RAM and storage mentioned above but also a 3200×2000 OLED display, which increases the price to $2,049.99. Models with the RTX 4050 start at $2,249.99 (with 32GB/1TB and the 2560×1440 non-touch display). You likely won’t pay MSRP, though, as Dell frequently places laptops on sale. All models are currently $150 off, which puts the price of the model I reviewed at $1,899.99. Contrary to what you might expect at a glance, the 14 Premium is clearly built to deliver strong performance, with portability taking a back seat to that goal. Dell 14 Premium: Design and build quality IDG / Matthew Smith The Dell 14 Premium’s design is sleek, refined, and a bit controversial, though not for reasons that are immediately apparent. Left closed, the 14 Premium is elegant but not distinct. The model I tested had a “graphite” finish that looks professional and refined though, like most laptops of similar color, it tends to show fingerprints. The laptop is also available in “platinum,” which is a silver-white finish. Pick it up, though, and you’ll notice the 14 Premium is a chonk. It weighs 3.79 pounds (with OLED display, or 3.66 pounds without) and measures 0.71 inches thick. The Dell is a bit heavier and thicker than Apple’s MacBook Pro 14, and much heavier than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch or Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i, both of which dip under three pounds. On the plus side, the weight and material quality provide a feel that’s, well, premium. Most high-end Windows laptops have a rigid chassis, but the 14 Premium is the most slate-like I’ve tried this year. Flex is exceptionally difficult to find. Even pressing very hard on the center of the keyboard, which usually does the trick, reveals only slight deflection. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Windows laptop that’s more luxurious, though some Lenovo Yoga 9i models are in similar territory. Dell 14 Premium: Keyboard, trackpad, mouse, and stylus IDG / Matthew Smith The keyboard is where the Dell 14 Premium’s design goes a bit sideways. Dell has replaced the physical function row with a row of capacitive touch keys. This isn’t a new feature, as it was introduced by the previous XPS 14. Still, it’s controversial. Dell’s marketing suggests it provides a more luxurious look and also has a functional benefit, because pressing the function row causes the backlit icons to change (they change to Function key labels, from F1 to F12, when the Function key is pressed). Personally, though, I’m not convinced. The capacitive touch keys are harder to find by touch. They also seem to take up a lot of physical room, which seems to push the keyboard down a bit. We’re talking a few millimeters, but users with large hands might find the keyboard too shallow. That aside, the keyboard is good. The layout is spacious and provides noticeably larger keys than most laptops in this category, which can be handy. Key travel is fine, if not remarkable, and the keys bottom out with a firm, satisfying action. Function row aside, I think it’s a good keyboard. The touchpad is less impressive. Dell opts for a seamless look where the touchpad’s physical boundaries aren’t visible. You might think, then, that the touchpad is very large—that perhaps it even spans the entire width of the laptop—but the opposite is true. The touchpad’s usable surface is about 5.5 inches wide and three inches deep, which is average for a 14-inch laptop. It does have a haptic click, though, which I enjoy. It feels better than most touchpads with a physical button action and functions no matter where you execute a left or right-button click. Dell 14 Premium: Display, audio IDG / Matthew Smith The base Dell 14 Premium has a IPS-LCD 2560×1440 non-touch display, but the model I received had the upgrade to a 3200×2000 120Hz OLED panel. It’s an outstanding display for all the reasons OLED typically excels. The display’s contrast and color vibrancy are spectacular and provide a deep, immersive, alluring image. Dell does have an edge in display size and resolution. Most competitors have a 14-inch OLED display with 2880×1880 resolution. That’s a bit less pixel-dense: the 14 Premium has about 260 pixels per inch, while competitors pack in about 245 pixels per inch. Dell’s 14.5-inch display is also about 7.25 percent larger (in overall display area) than a 14-inch competitor. These aren’t night-and-day differences but provide a slight advantage. Choosing the OLED display also provides a touchscreen, which isn’t essential but nice to have. The 14 Premium isn’t a 2-in-1 (the display doesn’t even fold back to 180 degrees), but it’s small enough that you can sit it on your chest and use the touchscreen when you’re lounging on a couch or in bed. The Dell 14 Premium’s sound system includes a pair of two-watt main speakers and two-watt tweeters. They provide great volume and a decent sound stage, but there’s not much bass, and that ultimately puts the 14 Premium a step behind audio leaders like the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i and Apple MacBook Pro 14. Still, it’s a fine sound system for most use, particularly at lower volumes where the lack of bass is less noticeable. Dell 14 Premium: Webcam, microphone, biometrics The Dell 14 Premium ships with a 1080p 30 FPS webcam and dual-array microphone. Video from the camera looks sharp and has good color reproduction even in a modestly lit room, and the microphone picks up good audio with great noise cancellation. With that said, a 1080p webcam is to be expected in this price range. Biometric login is supported through a fingerprint sensor and IR cameras for facial recognition. Both work well, though I prefer the speed and reliability of Windows Hello facial recognition log-in. Once again, these features are typical for a laptop in this price range. Dell 14 Premium: Connectivity The Dell 14 Premium is all-in on Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C connectivity. This is a decision that’s starting to feel like the default for high-end Windows laptops, particularly those with a display size below 14 inches.With that said, Dell executes the idea well. All three ports are Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C, so all three support Power Delivery to charge the laptop and DisplayPort for video output (either to a USB-C monitor or to a standard DisplayPort port with adapter). A 3.5mm combo audio jack and MicroSD card reader round out the options. Many competitive laptops are a step behind here. The Yoga Slim 9i and HP EliteBook X Flip G1i, for example, have just two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, with the latter including a third USB-C without Thunderbolt. On the other hand, plenty of 14-inch laptops provide USB-A and HDMI (among other ports). Examples include the Razer Blade 14 and Acer Travelmate P6 14 AI. These have fewer Thunderbolt and USB-C ports, though, so you’ll have to decide if high-speed modern connectivity or support for older peripherals ranks higher on your list of priorities. Dell doesn’t miss on wireless connectivity, as the 14 Premium includes Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. These are the latest versions of each wireless standard. However, most competitive laptops also support these standards. Dell 14 Premium: Performance Most Dell 14 Premium laptops  ship with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor. It’s a 16-core chip with six performance cores, eight efficient cores, and a maximum Turbo frequency of 5.1GHz. Though it’s easy to miss, this is an important point. Intel’s H-Series is quite a bit more performant than the Core Ultra V-series, and that comes through in benchmarks. IDG / Matthew Smith Dell gets off to a good start in PCMark, where the 14 Premium turned in a score of 7,453. As the graph shows, that’s an excellent score for a 14-inch laptop. It basically ties the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9, which also had an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, and easily outruns Intel Core Ultra V-series laptops. Only the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 takes a notable lead. IDG / Matthew Smith Next up is Handbrake, where we transcode a feature-length film using the CPU. The Dell 14 Premium does extremely well here, tearing through the task in a bit more than 14 minutes. It was only a bit behind the Lenovo Yoga Book 9, which had the same processor, and much quicker than 14-inch laptops and an Intel Core Ultra 7 V-Series. The 14 Premium was also a tad quicker than the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 with AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375. IDG / Matthew Smith Cinebench 2023, a heavily multi-threaded CPU test, again had favorable things to say about the Dell 14 Premium’s performance. It scored better than the Yoga Book 9i, and much better than the thinner, lighter Acer TravelMate P16 14 AI. The OmniBook Ultra 14 with AMD Ryzen AI 9 struck back against Intel, though, taking a lead overall. It’s clear the Dell 14 Premium is a strong contender in CPU tests, and this could be a key reason to buy the Dell over a competitive 14-inch laptop. Contrary to what you might expect at a glance, the 14 Premium is clearly built to deliver strong performance, with portability taking a back seat to that goal. But what about graphics? IDG / Matthew Smith As mentioned, the model I tested had Intel’s Arc 140T. An Nvidia RTX 4050 with 30 watts of graphics power is available as an upgrade. Still, Arc 140T is a decent pick if you have modest 3D needs. The Dell 14 Premium’s score in Night Raid is not the best we’ve seen from Intel Arc integrated graphics, but it represents a major step up from laptops with Intel Arc 130V or AMD’s Radeon 860M. In practice, you can expect to play older 3D games at 60 frames per second at 1080p and medium detail, or 30 FPS at 1080p at higher settings. Newer and more demanding titles can also be enjoyed, but only at low detail settings and with significant image upscaling. The Intel Arc 140T is fine for light-duty 3D work too, like simple models in Blender or using SketchUp. Dell 14 Premium: Battery life and portability The Dell 14 Premium offers solid performance, but that comes with a compromise in battery life. Intel’s Core Ultra 255H beats the pants off the 256V/258V in part because it draws more power, which leads to much shorter runtimes in battery life tests. IDG / Matthew Smith PC World’s battery test, which involves looping a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel, sucked the Dell’s battery dry in a little over nine hours. That’s not bad, and certainly usable. However, as the graph shows, it falls way behind what the most miserly laptops can achieve in 2025. Battery life is where the Intel Core Ultra V-Series parts make their case, with endurance figures that can more than double what the 14 Premium offers. As a result, I wouldn’t recommend the Dell 14 Premium if you often need all-day battery life, and then some. The good news is that Dell ships the laptop with a compact 60-watt charger. It’s roughly 2.5 inches x 2 inches by 0.6 inches and is among the smallest chargers I’ve seen shipped with a Windows laptop. You’ll likely need the charger, but packing it isn’t a hassle. Dell 14 Premium: Conclusion The Dell 14 Premium isn’t a large laptop, but its focus is less on portability than on a premium look and feel and strong performance. That comes at the cost of increased weight and disappointing battery life. If you’re looking for a grab-and-go laptop for daily meetings around town or cross-country flights, though, this isn’t the laptop for you. But shoppers who want a 14-inch Windows laptop that can handle many tasks well, with fast connectivity and a great OLED display, will like the 14 Premium. Read...

TL;DR: A solid, refurbished Lenovo 300E 11.6? Touchscreen Chromebook for $79.99 — perfect for everyday work, streaming, or as a kid-friendly backup. If your main laptop is for “serious work” and you’ve been wishing for a no-stress, no-tears backup for emails, Netflix, and homework, the refurbished Lenovo 300E Chromebook might just be your new sidekick. At just $79.99 (MSRP: $284.99) and with free shipping, this 2-in-1 touchscreen notebook is compact, lightweight, and ready to roll. It’s powered by an Intel N3450 quad-core processor with 4GB RAM, meaning it can juggle browser tabs, video calls, and streaming without sounding like it’s about to take off. The 11.6? HD touchscreen makes navigation easy (especially for younger users), while Chrome OS keeps everything simple, secure, and synced. You’ve got 32GB of storage for essentials, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to keep you connected. As a Grade B refurbished model, it may have a few light scuffs, but it’s been tested to work just fine — and at this price, it’s an easy “yes” for a second laptop you won’t have to hover over nervously. It’s perfect for home, travel, or that moment when the kids ask, “Can I use your laptop?” Get this refurbished Lenovo 300E Touchscreen Chromebook for $79.99 (MSRP: $284.99) with free shipping. Lenovo 300E 11.6? Touchscreen Chromebook (2018) 4GB RAM 32GB Storage (Refurbished)See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Millions are told to prepare for disruption from traffic, rail engineering works and strikes. Read...

Amazon just dropped the price of one of our favorite Anker Prime charging stations to just $80, a notable 27% off its original $110 price, making this deal hard to pass up. The Anker Prime 6-in-1 charging station is a sleek upgrade for any bulky, traditional power strip. It offers two AC outlets on its face plus two USB-C and two USB-A along its bottom edge, allowing you to charge up to six devices at once. With a total 140W power output, it’ll charge fast and get those devices up to 100% in no time. Its slim, compact design is a refreshing change from the conventionally long and clunky power strips you’re familiar with. And since it’s about the size of a smartphone, this charger is also travel-friendly and perfect for hotels, Airbnbs, and airports. The detachable 5-foot cable provides plenty of range flexibility, and the flat plug design ensures it fits neatly behind furniture without getting in the way. If you’re still using chunky power strips with chunky USB power adapters, why not consolidate with this nifty all-in-one charging station? Get it now for just $80 while this special price lasts! Save $30 on Anker`s slim and fast 6-device charging stationBuy now at Amazon Read...

Remote access to another PC via the internet can be a blessing, solving many IT problems quickly and easily. The helper can get a clear picture and often solve the problem immediately, even without being physically present. It also avoids the often frustrating process of troubleshooting over the phone. A surge in support needs is expected around October 14, when Microsoft stops providing free updates for Windows 10. Millions of users will have to upgrade their computers to Windows 11 unless they pay for further support. Supporting others remotely is efficient and easy. This saves travel time and costs, and lets you spread support over multiple sessions. And, if you have to send an installation stick by mail, it can take a few days to get things moving. Best to get started while there’s still time. Our guide explains how to prepare, walks you through the upgrade process, explains how to bypass the installation lock on older PCs, and shows you how remote maintenance works even if Windows is not yet running before a new installation. After all, it’s not easy to start every computer from a USB setup stick instead of the “normal” way from the hard drive. Without video support and control, this can certainly fail. For this, we’ve chosen TeamViewer Remote, a remote maintenance tool that’s free for personal use, works reliably, and makes things easy for the person you’re helping. With the TeamViewer QuickSupport variant, all you have to do is click on a link sent to you by email and you’re ready to go. How to prepare for remote support Probably not every Windows 10 user realizes what the imminent end of support really means: namely, that continuing to use the PC as usual (without security updates) will become extremely risky. It’s crucial to start by raising awareness about the need to switch to the new operating system for security reasons—by mid-October at the latest! It’s also important to check whether the existing computer is compatible with the current Windows 11, version 24H2, or whether new hardware needs to be purchased. The next steps will depend on that. The requirements for remote PC maintenance are minimal: both computers need an internet connection, and you should also be able to talk to each other during the support session, either by phone or via WhatsApp. This makes it easier to ask questions and explain what’s being done. If you’re the one providing help, install the client version on your computer (TeamViewer Remote) and start the tool. Confirm the license terms and wait briefly until the program interface appears. If available, log in with your existing TeamViewer account and click on the “Trusted Devices” confirmation link in the email sent by TeamViewer. Otherwise, create a new account via “Create Account.” TeamViewer QuickSupport runs without installation, and its simplified interface makes remote support easy: just share your ID and password by phone, and you’re ready to go.IDG Now to your counterpart: It’s easiest for them if you send the download link for TeamViewer Quicksupport by e-mail: https://download.teamviewer.com/download/TeamViewerQS_x64.exe All they then have to do is click the link, download the tool, and double-click to start it. No installation required. The QuickSupport interface is very minimal, showing just two fields: “Your ID” and “Password.” The ID identifies the computer to be accessed and remains fixed. The password, on the other hand, is newly generated each session for security reasons. Both are sent to you by the person you’re supporting, either by phone or via e-mail using the clipboard button on the right. As the helper, enter the remote PC’s ID in your TeamViewer client in the “Participant ID” field, click on “Connect,” enter the password in the next window, and confirm with “Log in.” The connection starts automatically without the other person having to do anything. They’ll know you’ve taken over their PC by the darkened desktop background. You now have full control of their mouse and keyboard. If necessary, adjust the desktop display in TeamViewer via “View” > Scale. In most cases, the “Original” option works best. Upgrade compatible computers from Windows 10 to 11 Check the status: If the other PC is running Windows 10 and you don’t know the hardware in detail, use Microsoft’s PC Integrity Check app to see whether the computer fulfills the system requirements of the new operating system. If it doesn’t, the app will tell you why. Otherwise, if it says… This PC fulfils the requirements of Windows 11 You can simply carry out the installation via Windows Update. However, please consult with the other person briefly beforehand, as they’ll need to be comfortable working with the new system afterwards. The upgrade from Windows 10 to 11 takes a maximum of around 30 minutes, depending on the hardware. Since all programs, data, and settings are retained during the upgrade, you can continue working on the new system right away. In most cases, existing Windows 10 license usually remains valid for Windows 11, which means you don’t have to buy a new one. Force upgrade: If Windows Update doesn’t offer the Windows 11 upgrade despite compatible hardware, you can force the upgrade using the Windows 11 installation wizard or the Media Creation Tool. The upgrade usually starts with one of these Microsoft programs, so you can save yourself the trouble of searching for the cause. Here too, Windows 11 takes over all existing programs, data, and settings. What to do if the upgrade fails due to system requirements It’s more difficult if the Windows 10 PC doesn’t meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11. However, you can bypass the setup lock on most PCs from the past ten years using an installation stick modified with Rufus. This stick must be inserted into a bootable USB socket on the remotely maintained PC, so you’ll need some help. Depending on the other person’s skill level, video calls via smartphone can be helpful. PC Integrity Check: If a computer doesn’t meet Windows 11 hardware requirements, the installation can be forced using a modified setup stick.IDG Tip: Video support is smoother with the TeamViewer Assist AR app (Android and iOS). This allows you to show your partner exactly what needs to be done and where on their smartphone using a live camera feed. However, AR support places high demands on your mobile device. Alternatively, you can configure the USB stick at home so that Windows 11 also runs on hardware that’s not formally compatible and then send it by mail. Even then, the stick must be plugged into the computer before you can remotely start the installation by double-clicking the Setup.exe file via TeamViewer. Setting up a computer from scratch Remote support gets more difficult when replacing an old PC with a new one running Windows 11. In theory, the existing system can be migrated one-to-one to the new hardware using an image and cloning tool such as Easeus Todo Backup, then upgrade to Windows 11. However, this process takes time due to large data transfers, requires an external hard drive, and other various steps. Explaining it on the phone can be tedious. It might be easier to do this onsite or have the old PC sent to you for setup at home. Sending a PC is definitely a practical option. As an alternative to cloning, you can migrate your data and programs from the old PC to the new one, especially since Windows 11 comes pre-installed. If there’s a large enough hard drive available, back up all important data using AomeiBackupper via TeamViewer and transfer it to the new computer. Once again, minimal support is required when moving the computer. Easeus Todo PC Trans Free also helps transfer the programs and data. Using the “Backup & Restore” option, the tool saves the applications, data, accounts, and settings from the Windows 10 system. This backup is then saved on a data carrier, a network share, or in the cloud, and restored from there to the new PC. The free software version is limited to two gigabytes of data and five programs. The unlimited Pro version costs just under $50. For installing new freeware in bulk, you can use the “Package Bundle” function in UnigetUI, which serves as an interface for Windows’ built-in Winget package manager. Unattended Windows installation If you’re installing Windows 11 from scratch, an installation disc and manual boot on site are unavoidable. Booting from a USB stick or DVD can’t be done via remote access, but you can still help. First, look up the computer-specific key for calling up the boot menu and then guide the user through the setup process. Use an online unattended generator to configure a USB stick for automatic Windows 11 installation with all desired settings—no confirmation needed.IDG You can make things easier for your counterpart with an unattended installation that skips the setup prompts, data protection, and more. Configuring the setup stick with Rufus already handles part of this. For complete automation, use an unattended generator. It creates an Autounattended.xml file based on your specifications, which you copy to the top level of the installation stick. The setup then runs automatically. Read...