At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Excellent image quality in SDR and HDR Attractive yet functional design Thunderbolt 4 connectivity Many image quality modes and options Cons Just one Thunderbolt 4-in and two video inputs Limited downstream USB connectivity More expensive than other 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors Our Verdict The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM delivers excellent OLED image quality and high refresh rates, though limited connectivity holds it back. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today There’s no shortage of 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors available right now, and all of them are excellent for movies, games, and general use. But what about creative professionals? Though any QD-OLED can do the job, many such displays lack the design and feature set professional shoppers prefer. The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM fills that gap. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best 4K monitors for comparison. Asus ProArt PA32UCDM specs and features The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM’s spec sheet looks great, if a bit boring. It’s a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor with 3840×2160 resolution, a 10-bit QD-OLED panel, and a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz. It also supports Adaptive Sync and is VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certified. These specifications are more or less identical to other 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors, like the HP Omen Transcend 32 and MSI MPG 32URXW. Display size: 32-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: 10-bit QD-OLED Refresh rate: 240Hz Adaptive sync: Yes, Adaptive Sync with VRR HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Certified Ports: 1x Thunderbolt 4-in port, 1x Thunderbolt 4-out (for Daisy Chain), 1x HDMI 2.1 port, 1x USB-C with up to 96 watts of Power Delivery, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 Additional features: Ambient light sensor Audio: 2x 3-watt speakers Warranty: 3-year warranty Price: $1899.99 MSRP The ProArt stands apart thanks to its connectivity, though not entirely in a good way. It has a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, one for Thunderbolt 4-in and a second for Thunderbolt 4-out (to be used to daisy chain to a second monitor). This is rare for any monitor, and especially rare for OLED. The inclusion of Thunderbolt 4 hints at the monitor’s professional intent but, as I’ll discuss, also leads to the omission of ports many shoppers will expect. Asus ProArt PA32UCDM design The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM is part of the ProArt line-up, obviously, but it doesn’t look like the ProArt devices you’ve most likely laid eyes on before. It ditches the simple black and charcoal look of more affordable ProArt monitors for an elegant, stylish silver look. And it’s not just a look. The ProArt makes extensive use of metal across both the display panel and the stand. This helps the monitor offer a sleek profile while delivering a robust feel that very few competitors can match. Of all that I’ve tested recently, Samsung’s Odyssey OLED G8 is the only one that’s equally attractive. Matthew Smith / Foundry Looks aside, the monitor’s design is functional. The stand ergonomically adjusts for height, tilt, swivel, and pivot. It also has an extremely narrow base, which minimizes the monitor’s footprint on a desk. As with most monitors, a 100mm x 100mm VESA mount is available for connecting the ProArt to third-party monitor arms and stands. The PA32UCDM monitor offers a sleek profile while delivering a robust feel that very few competitors can match. Asus ProArt PA32UCDM connectivity The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM leans heavily on Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C. Perhaps too heavily. First, about those Thunderbolt ports. There’s two, but they’re not equal. One is the primary Thunderbolt port with support for USB-C, DisplayPort, and Power Delivery. The second is a Thunderbolt-out port intended for daisy-chain connections to a second monitor. That means you can plug a laptop into the ProArt over Thunderbolt, then plug a second monitor into the ProArt. However, the ProArt otherwise doesn’t offer much opportunity to tap into Thunderbolt 4’s bandwidth. It has just two downstream USB ports (one USB-C and one USB-A) and lacks an Ethernet jack or audio-out connection. Though it can technically function as a Thunderbolt hub, the ProArt’s limited range of downstream connectivity is a big downside. Thunderbolt 4 aside, the monitor has just one additional display input: HDMI 2.1. Yes, that means DisplayPort is absent, and just two video inputs are available. I find that decision weird, as DisplayPort is the most universal video output for desktop video cards. In summary, connectivity is the ProArt’s most significant weakness, and one that I find surprising. I expect shoppers will compare the ProArt to other high-end 32-inch 4K displays, such as the Dell UltraSharp U3225QE and BenQ PD3226G. The Asus has far fewer ports than either. Even the HP Omen Transcend 32 has superior connectivity, and it’s hundreds of dollars less expensive. Asus ProArt PA32UCDM menus and features A joystick control tucked just behind the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM’s bottom bezel provides quick, responsive access to the on-screen controls. I also like the menu system. It’s easy to navigate and has a larger font size than many competitors. Alternatively, most monitor features can be changed with Asus’ DisplayWidget app, available for Windows 11/10 and MacOS. It’s no work of art, but it goes a bit beyond the bare necessities. For example, DisplayWidget automatically changes the look of the UI to match the branding of the Asus monitor you own.Either way, you’re likely to spend a bit more time in the menu than with other monitors, because the ProArt has a truckload of features. We’re talking 15 SDR presets (including sRGB, DCI-P3, AdobeRGB, BT.2020, DICOM, and Rec.709) plus five HDR modes (including Dolby Vision). You’ll also find color temperature and gamma adjustments that target precise values and six-axis color calibration. Asus has its own calibration software to help users fine-tune the monitor. Matthew Smith / Foundry Other monitor features include picture-by-picture and picture-in-picture modes, an on-screen ruler to help measure the size of objects on the screen, and a uniform brightness mode that limits the overall brightness of the display to achieve better luminance uniformity. The monitor has an ambient light sensor that serves two functions. First, it can sync the brightness and color temperature of the display to fit your environment, which helps the monitor provide a consistent image quality experience. Second, it can dim the display when you move away from it to save power and reduce the likelihood of OLED burn-in. I think ambient light sensors are an underrated feature that improve day-to-day ease of use, so I’m glad to see one here.  Speakers are included, too, though they don’t impress. The speakers provide enough volume to fill a small office with tunes, but the audio is thin and can become distorted when it attempts to deliver bass.  Asus ProArt PA32UCDM SDR image quality The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM is all about image quality. Yes, every monitor is better if it looks nice, but an expensive monitor like the ProArt must look amazing. If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t serve its purpose (or justify its price). Matthew Smith / Foundry We start off with brightness, where the ProArt reached an excellent peak SDR brightness of 294 nits. That’s not as high as IPS-LCD monitors, which can exceed 400 nits, but it’s very bright for SDR on an OLED monitor. It’s also far more than adequate for its intended purpose. A display like the ProArt is best used in a room with light control, in which case the brightness is relevant. But if you do like to work with your shades drawn back, well, the ProArt will look more vivid than most 32-inch QD-OLED displays. Note, though, that the ProArt has a glossy finish. You should expect to see reflections when viewing dark images in a brightly lit room. Matthew Smith / Foundry OLED panels can reach a minimum luminance of zero nits and can do so per-pixel. That translates to an incredible sense of depth and immersion, as well as deep and inky black levels in darker scenes. Moody movies and games, like Resident Evil 2 Remake or The Batman, look superb on an OLED display like the ProArt. All OLED displays do well here, so the ProArt has no advantage (or disadvantage) against QD-OLED alternatives. However, as the graph shows, it comes out way ahead of IPS-LCD displays like the Dell Ultrasharp U3225QE. Matthew Smith / Foundry Color gamut testing looks at the range of color a monitor can display. The ProArt does well here, with coverage of 100 percent of sRGB, 97 percent of DCI-P3, and 94 percent of AdobeRGB. This is a very broad color gamut that’s well suited to professional creative work, but it’s not remarkable for a monitor in this category. That feels almost bizarre to say, because a color gamut this wide was hard to come by just five years ago. But, as the graph shows, most high-end monitors sold in 2025 offer a very wide color gamut. Matthew Smith / Foundry The wide color gamut is supported by excellent color accuracy. Most OLEDs do rather well here, but the ProArt is at the top of its class. It provides an incredibly realistic, lifelike image on par with the best monitor sold today. Image accuracy is further supported by the ProArt’s gamma curve of 2.2. That’s right on target, and it means content viewed on the monitor looks just as bright as it should, preserving good detail in both bright highlights and shadows. The color temperature came in at 6400K, just a hair south of the target of 6500K. I found the variance hard to discern. Sharpness is good, as well, thanks to the monitor’s native resolution of 3840×2160. That works out to be about 143 pixels per inch (ppi) across the 31.5-inch panel. By comparison, a typical 27-inch 4K monitor packs 163 pixels per inch, while a 27-inch 1080p monitor has just 81 pixels per inch. Overall, the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM’s SDR image quality doesn’t disappoint. Although it’s like other QD-OLED monitors, it does have several small advantages when compared to other, less expensive displays. The ProArt’s out-of-box color is more accurate than usual, its gamma and color temperature results are close to ideal, and it provides a broad range of image quality adjustments for further calibration. These advantages won’t matter much when watching YouTube or playing PC games, but they make the ProArt a superior pick for those who want an OLED display for creative work like digital art, photography, and video editing. Asus ProArt PA32UCDM HDR image quality The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM is VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certified, which is the level of certification most QD-OLED monitors achieve. However, it can become rather bright when small portions of the display are lit. Matthew Smith / Foundry I measured a maximum sustained brightness of 896 nits in a 10 percent window, meaning 10 percent of the display’s area was lit. That’s a strong result, though, as the graph shows, it’s typical for the latest QD-OLED displays. In the real world, I was impressed by the ProArt HDR. It delivered bold, yet accurate color and provided eye-searing HDR highlights. OLED used to be quite noticeably behind Mini-LED in HDR, but the latest OLEDs have closed that gap (and the lack of good Mini-LED monitors doesn’t help that technology’s case). The ProArt also provides an unusually wide range of HDR presets, which include presets for HDR BT.2020 and HDR Dolby Vision, among others. These also provide several clipping modes which change how luminance is handled in HDR. Overall, the ProArt’s range of HDR adjustment is much wider than typical, and those who plan to work professionally with HDR content may need these modes to check the accuracy and consistency of HDR video and images. Asus ProArt PA32UCDM motion performance Although obviously not targeted at gamers, the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM can hit a refresh rate of up to 240Hz. It also has Adaptive Sync support. That means it should work with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, and I was able to use FreeSync with the monitor connected to my AMD Radeon 7800 XT video card. However, this is not official, so it’s possible (though not very likely) you’ll run into edge cases where FreeSync or G-Sync don’t work as expected. Of course, a 240Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync helps the monitor provide great motion clarity, and the ProArt looks as crisp in motion as QD-OLED alternatives marketed towards gamers. That’s good news if you want one monitor that’s great for work and play. The improved refresh rate is also relevant for work. Fast-moving text and images remain legible, so it’s possible to read text when scrolling through a document or quickly identify an image while rapidly moving through previews or thumbnails. This benefit isn’t often discussed, but it’s a noticeable advantage over a 60Hz or even 120Hz competitor, like the Dell Ultrasharp U3225QE. It has a fan This is a minor point, but one worth knowing before you buy. The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM has a fan, and you will hear it if you’re using the monitor in a quiet room. It’s not very loud, and the fan noise wasn’t grating, but it was noticeable. Should you buy the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM? The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM is a great choice if you want a QD-OLED monitor for creative professional work. The PA32UCDM provides superb image quality, attractive yet functional design, and a wide range of image quality options. Unfortunately, the monitor could benefit from more connectivity (including more USB-A and a DisplayPort input). Competitors like the Dell UltraSharp U3225QE and BenQ PD3226G don’t match the PA32UCDM’s image quality, but they offer numerous extra ports. The ProArt’s lack of ports means some owners will still need a Thunderbolt or USB-C hub, which is a tall order, because the ProArt is already more expensive than its peers. That does limit the ProArt’s appeal. Unlike the Dell U3225QE, which is great for a broad range of white-collar office work and any home office setup, the ProArt is laser-focused on creative professionals, and especially those who want to work in HDR. If that’s you, though, the ProArt is a go-to pick. Read...

Adobe’s Firefly generative AI service is evolving into becoming more of a front-end service for generative AI in general, as Adobe has made its text-to-video capabilities generally available as well as the option to use even non-Adobe AI models. Adobe announced its new additions as part of its Adobe Max conference in London, also using Firefly as inspiration for some changes to its Creative Cloud applications as well. The world first saw Adobe Firefly in 2023, when the service debuted in beta as an image and font generator. Firefly went live that September based upon a credit plan, allocated by how much you already paid Adobe for apps like Photoshop or a full-fledged Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe then turned to text-to-video earlier this year, with the available payment plans offering just a few brief snippets of video in exchange for a monthly fee. It’s this video service which has now launched via Firefly for the web, Adobe said. Adobe has stepped lightly through the ideological minefield that is AI art; some creators who use Adobe’s tools have spoken out quite loudly against the use of machine-generated art, but Adobe’s images come with a disclaimer that they were in fact produced by AI. Today, Adobe is launching a beta of a Content Authenticity app that allows creators to verify their identity, and to attach whatever information they would like to their profile and social media accounts. More importantly, they can include a tag that indicates that they don’t want generative AI to train on their work. Adobe Firefly’s drop-down menu allows users to select different generative AI models.Adobe Adobe said that Firefly now offers two new models, a hyper-realistic Firefly Image Model 4, and a detailed Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. But users can also select non-Adobe models like GPT image generation and Google’s Imagen 3, and Veo 2 video models. Runway, Pika, Luma, Ideogram, and Fal.ai are coming soon, Adobe added. Adobe is also adding “boards” to Firefly, where users can drop in a number of visual ideas and use them as a source for their next creation. In a demonstration, an Adobe executive showed how two images on a board could be “mashed up” — Firefly sampled two images, then used AI to combine them. Users can mash up two different images in the new Firefly Boards, creating a hybrid prompt to generate something new.Adobe In Photoshop, Adobe is adding Composition Reference, a tool we’ve seen elsewhere; the tool uses how the objects in one scene are arranged as a reference guide for a second scene. Photoshop is also adding tools to Select Details like hair or facial features, and a new color adjustment tool, as well. Lightroom is adding a new Select Landscape tool, too. The Generative Extend features in Premiere Pro are also being rolled out, too. Generative Extend is like a Photoshop’s generative features that allow the user to “extend” the scene; in video, Premiere will add additional small AI-generated clips to prolong a shot. Caption Translation will provide captions in up to 27 languages, while a Media Intelligence tool provides better search capabilities in existing footage. Some improvements coming to Photoshop. Read...

A virtual private network, aka VPN, is one of the best tools you can use to boost your online privacy and security. But in the vast ocean of available services, it can be incredibly difficult for most people to find the best VPN for their needs. Thankfully, we at PCWorld are VPN experts and we’re here to help. When looking for the best VPN, you’ll want to consider a few things: First and foremost, does it have a good privacy record; how are its average connection speeds; is it able to effectively and consistently unblock streaming services; and finally, does it have a large enough server network for your location needs? All of my curated picks below deliver these essentials and more. PROMOTIONSpecial deal: Save big on NordVPN today Up to 77% off NordVPN + 3 extra months! Secure your traffic and shield your IP for better privacy. Take your cybersecurity to the next level with Threat Protection Pro™, NordVPN’s solution that blocks phishing, malware, trackers, and ads. Experience cutting-edge digital protection with the world’s most advanced VPN. Get the Deal NordVPN – Best VPN overall Pros Loaded with tons of VPN configuration options Outstanding speeds Multiple independent no-logs audits Included antivirus and password manager Cons Expensive 2-Year Plan $3.09 a month1-Year Plan$4.99 a monthMonthly Plan$12.99 a month Who should use NordVPN? It’s difficult to select the best overall VPN. For many years we chose the best VPN based purely on privacy, but VPNs have evolved to be more than just tools to browse online anonymously. Privacy is still important, to be sure, but so are speeds, extra features, server network size, and ease of use. NordVPN has it all, and that’s why it’s my top choice for VPNs and a truly solid option for everyone. Nord is the most full-featured service on the market with tools that will appeal to power users as well as an easy-to-use app that is intuitive and straightforward even for beginners. The service also carries out regular independent audits and uses RAM-only diskless servers for increased security, so the privacy-conscious user can rest assured their data will remain anonymous. For those who deem speed a priority, NordVPN will impress as well. Speeds in my testing averaged 72 percent of the base internet speed across all servers — making it the fastest VPN I’ve ever tested. NordVPN: Further considerations NordVPN’s desktop app is very easy to use and offers a ton of different features including access to the TOR network over VPN, multi-hop connections, Meshnet file sharing network, a security suite complete with ad- and malware-blocking, and Nord’s latest password manager and link-checker safety tool. Also, there will be no problems accessing any streaming service while using NordVPN and it has an extensive server network to connect to all over the world. The only real downside is that NordVPN’s pricing can be more expensive than many other VPN services. Even with the discounts offered by long-term plans, it can still seem pricey. Still, you get what you pay for and in this case, it’s more than worth it. Read our full NordVPN review ExpressVPN – Best VPN runner-up Pros Excellent speeds Easy-to-use interface Unblocks all streaming services Great security and privacy practices Cons More expensive than many competitors Light on some features for a top VPN 2-Year Plan$4.99 a month1-Year Plan$6.67 a monthMonthly plan$12.95 a month Who should use ExpressVPN? Just like my other top pick, I think ExpressVPN is a great option for everyone. VPN novices will find that they can easily download the software, choose their server location, and connect — it’s as simple as that. But more advanced users will be able to choose from features such as split-tunneling, protocol optimization, kill switch, and more. Plus, ExpressVPN has one of the most expansive device support networks I’ve ever seen. So the VPN can be used across practically any and all platforms no matter what device you’re trying to protect — with up to eight simultaneous device connections. The only reason I placed it second is due to the slight edge NordVPN has in regards to features and speed. Still, you can’t go wrong if you decide to go with ExpressVPN as your VPN of choice. ExpressVPN: Further considerations ExpressVPN’s servers are all diskless, running everything in RAM so no data is ever stored long-term. The service also has wide device support, as well as a smart DNS feature for set-top boxes, consoles, and more. It’s even begun branching out to take a more holistic approach to security for users, adding ad- and tracker-blocking and, most recently, a password manager to the service, as well. It’s not the cheapest VPN out there, but you do get excellent value for your money, and the service is regularly bringing in third-party auditors to validate its privacy credentials. Read our full ExpressVPN review Surfshark – Best cheap VPN Pros Unlimited simultaneous device connections Works well with Netflix Built-in extras such as ad tracker and malware blocking Low price on long-term plans Cons Indicators for ping or server load are not readily available Based in the Netherlands and subject to government data sharing requests Starter 2-Year Plan (+ 3 free months)$1.99 a monthStarter 1-Year Plan (+ 3 free months)$3.19 a monthStarter Monthly Plan$15.45 a month Who should use Surfshark? Surfshark one of those VPNs that does everything well. It has blazing-fast speeds, a robust feature set second only to NordVPN, and excellent privacy credentials thanks to its no-log policy and multiple independent audits. A subscription comes with all of your standard VPN features, plus infinitely customizable dynamic multi-hop connections, identity protection alerts, and antivirus/malware protection. But the best thing about Surfshark is the price. Taking advantage of its 2-year plan offer will net you comprehensive protection for just over $2 per month. That’s basically unheard of for a premium VPN service. Surfshark is a great all-around VPN option for most people. That being said, those who don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for their VPN will find that Surfshark easily meets their needs without breaking the bank. If you want to save some money and get one of the best VPNs on the market, look no further. Surfshark: Further considerations While the price for a monthly subscription to Surfshark might be exorbitant, the long-term plans are much more affordable. I typically advise against long-term VPN plans as the market changes so frequently, but Surfshark is a rare exception. It’s an established company with a reliable track-record and consistently good service. The only other thing that potential users should be aware of is that Surfshark is based out of the Netherlands. The country itself has strong personal privacy laws, but it’s a member nation of the 14 Eyes Data Sharing Alliance, meaning the government could require Surfshark to share user data if asked. It shouldn’t matter due to the company’s no-logs policy, but it’s still something privacy-conscious users should be aware of before committing. Read our full Surfshark review Private Internet Access – Best cheap VPN runner-up Pros Multiple independently verified no-log audits Unlimited simultaneous device connections Vast server network Great extra features such as multi-hop and split tunneling Cons App is a little awkward to use Speeds are fairly pedestrian 2-Year Plan (+4 free months)$2.19 a month6-Month Plan$7.50 a monthMonthly plan$11.99 a month Who should use Private Internet Access? Private Internet Access (PIA) has been around for awhile and has demonstrated that it can continue to innovate and improve with each passing year. The latest version of PIA is no different. By putting itself through yet another independent audit of its no-logs policy it keeps proving that user privacy is its top priority. I think it can be a great VPN for all users. However, where PIA really shines is in its price and extensive customizable feature set. It has one of the least expensive subscription plans of any top VPN, both monthly and long-term. Plus, power users and those who like their apps to be customized to their individual needs will especially love all of the tweaking that this app allows you to do. Private Internet Access: Further considerations PIA also provides generous unlimited device connections and an absolutely insane server network that claims to have over 35,000 available servers, but with fewer country locations than other top competitors on this list. The service does have a rather outdated interface and I found a few awkward interface issues. It’s also not the fastest service I’ve ever tested, with speeds well below the fastest I’ve seen. But neither of these issues should take away too much from the great value PIA offers. Read our full Private Internet Access review Proton VPN – Best free VPN Pros Excellent free plan Great privacy tools Reliable and transparent no-logs policy Cons Expensive 2 years$107.76 ($4.49/mo)1 year$59.88 ($4.99/mo)1-device limited planFreeSee all plans & pricing at ProtonVPN Who should use Proton VPN? Whether you opt for the free or paid version, Proton VPN is a good option for anyone. The free version specifically will appeal to those on a tight budget, or those who just need a VPN to do the occasional online task safely and securely online. Many free VPNs come with either ridiculous limitations or annoying ads. Mercifully, Proton VPN has no ads and the restrictions are fairly tame compared to other services. For the low, low cost of nothing, you’ll get a one-device connection limit and access to five servers located in Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the U.S. In my testing I also found that speeds were very good even with the free version, ranking in the top 10 of all VPNs, paid or free. And since there are no monthly data limits on Proton’s free VPN servers, it’s also an excellent option if you want to stream videos while using a VPN — just be aware, the free servers don’t promise to work with Netflix like some of Proton’s paid servers do. Overall, you get a lot for paying nothing and this easily makes it our favorite free VPN. Proton VPN: Further considerations The VPN is from the same company behind Proton Mail, a privacy-focused email service, so it’s very easy to integrate the VPN into the whole Proton ecosystem if you so wish. The company has undergone multiple independent audits confirming its no-logs policy — including the free VPN, as well. The monthly price for the premium version does come in at the expensive side though, so I would recommend trying out the free version first before you upgrade. Read our full ProtonVPN review Mullvad – Best VPN for privacy Pros Good speeds Inexpensive monthly plan Unrivaled anonymity Open-source Cons Struggles with unblocking streaming services Smaller server network Lacks some extra features that other VPNs offer 1 month€5/mo ($5.26)1 year€5/mo ($5.26)1 decade€5/mo ($5.26)See all plans & pricing at Mullvad Who should use Mullvad? Mullvad is the undisputed king of privacy and anonymity. I’ve never seen another VPN that actively resists knowing who you are the way Mullvad does. Mullvad doesn’t ask for your email address, name, or anything else. Instead it assigns a random account number that acts as your identifier and login. The service accepts payments using standard methods such as credit cards and PayPal, but you can also mail your payment in cash to remain as private as possible. Mullvad has a no-logging policy and doesn’t collect any identifying metadata from your usage. The name of the game with Mullvad is privacy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a more than capable VPN for any user. But the ultra-privacy conscious will find the most to like in its anonymized payment system, commitment to not collecting metadata, and strong privacy promises. Mullvad: Further considerations Mullvad is also fast, ranking among our top five for speeds, and offers a standardized fee across all plan lengths. While this makes it very affordable month-to-month, it does lose value compared to other top VPNs that significantly reduce their prices in the long-term. I also found some hiccups when trying to access streaming services, so users who want their VPN to bypass location-restricted content may want to take that into consideration before subscribing. Read our full Mullvad review Hotspot Shield – Fastest VPN Pros Very fast Large country selection and plenty of servers Cons Domain visits are recorded, though not tied to you Expensive Monthly rate$9.99/moYearly rate$79.99 ($6.66/mo)BasicFreeSee all plans & pricing at Hotspot Shield Who should use Hotspot Shield? Hotspot Shield is for those looking to maintain the fastest connection possible with the minimum loss of base speed. While other top picks on this list boast above-average speeds, Hotspot Shield is on another level. No other service (beyond NordVPN) comes close to hitting the speeds I’ve seen with Hotspot Shield. This isn’t just a one-off occurrence either; Hotspot Shield has consistently been at the top with speeds that are 12 to 15 percentage points above the competition. In my tests, Hotspot Shield maintained around 66 percent of the base speed. That’s substantially faster than you’ll see with most VPN services — with the obvious caveat that your experience may vary on a number of outside factors. Regardless, it is still one of the best around if connection speed is your main concern. I also found that it can access location-restricted content on most major streaming services. This, combined with its excellent speeds, makes it a good option if you mainly use a VPN to access streaming content. Hotspot Shield: Further considerations Hotspot Shield comes with a smaller feature set that some of the other top VPNs and its privacy policy may not sit well with some. It has also unfortunately never undergone an independent audit so those who are concerned with privacy, may want to look elsewhere. Also, while Hotspot Shield in the past was far and away the fastest VPN on the market, in recent years other services have been catching up. It’s worth it to weigh how much speed means to you before committing to the service. If you’re unsure then I recommend trying out the free version to take it for a spin. Read our full Hotspot Shield review CyberGhost – Best VPN for travelers Pros Independently verified no-log policy Seriously impressive server spread Generous 45-day money-back guarantee Cons Server speeds can be hit-or-miss Lacks some extra security features offered by competitors 2-Year Plan (+ 2 free months)$2.19 a month6-Month Plan$6.99 a monthMonthly Plan$12.99 a month Who should use CyberGhost? If you travel frequently then you want variety and wide coverage in the server locations from your VPN. CyberGhost provides both by offering a staggering 9,000+ servers for users to connect to, which is more than twice as many as most other VPNs on this list. Unlike some competitors, these servers aren’t all concentrated in the U.S. or Europe, either. The server spread totals 120+ countries all across the world. The service even recommends optimized servers to users for various needs such as gaming, streaming, and torrenting. Due to its plethora of servers and locations, CyberGhost is one of the best options for finding a server no matter where you are in the world. For those who travel a lot or just need access to a diverse and vast server spread, CyberGhost is definitely worth consideration. CyberGhost: Further considerations CyberGhost also has a well-designed Windows app that is intuitive and easy to use, even when tweaking settings. It lacks some of the power-user features that other VPNs on this list provide such as multi-hop and IP rotation, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker for the average user. In my testing I found that some of the servers were faster than others, with servers located in Europe having excellent speeds and servers in Asia not fairing as well. But overall, the speeds are good enough to do most of what you want to do with a VPN — web browsing, streaming, etc. Read our full CyberGhost review Other VPNs we liked While we believe that the above VPNs are currently the best money can buy, there are a few other noteworthy services that deserve attention: PrivadoVPN is a strong overall service, but the free version of the VPN really stands out and is second only to Proton VPN. Windscribe Pro is not only very affordable, but it’s also really easy to use and offers great security, with both a Windows client and browser extension that work in tandem to keep your browsing private and pop-up free. Hide.me is a well-rounded service that ticks almost every box and the fantastic array of configurable settings make it a power-user’s dream. U.S.-based IPVanish nails all of the basics: good speeds, a large server network, and privacy promises backed up with independent audits. TunnelBear is an undeniably charming VPN that is extremely easy to use, and doesn’t overwhelm with too many features or country options, which makes it ideal for VPN novices or those who aren’t the most tech-savvy. I’m continuously evaluating new VPNs and reevaluating services I’ve already tested on a regular basis, so be sure to come back to see what else we’ve put through their paces. Can I get a better VPN deal? Here at PCWorld, we are regularly hunting down the best VPN deals to help you get the most bang for your buck. VPN services are frequently running deals throughout the year, so you should have a few chances to snag your favorite VPN on a steep discount if you can time it right. While the prices for all VPNs on this list are updated daily, they do not account for special deals or offers. It’s best to keep checking our deals article to see what new limited-time discounts are on offer each week. Additionally, sales events such as Amazon Prime Day in mid-July and Black Friday at the end of November provide excellent opportunities to find even cheaper VPN deals. How we test VPNs We judge VPNs on a variety of criteria including server network, connection speeds, privacy protections, ease-of-use, additional features, and cost. For a more detailed guide on our evaluation process, check out PCWorld’s comprehensive guide on how we test VPN services. Speed tests are kept as simple as possible. We average the connections between different global locations for any given VPN and then compare them to our baseline internet speed to get a good picture of the overall connection speeds. We thoroughly research and analyze the privacy policies and histories of each VPN and note any outstanding discrepancies or data collection issues. Experience and ease-of-use are subjective, but we try our best to give an accurate representation of how it feels to work with the VPN. And finally, we compare the value of the service based upon its price and additional features to the industry average to help you gain an accurate picture of what you’ll get for your money. Why you should trust PCWorld for VPN reviews and buying advice Here at PCWorld we’ve been testing computer hardware, software, and services since the 1980s. As reviewers and users of PC hardware and software, we put every product through its paces using rigorous benchmarking and hands-on evaluation. We’d never recommend something we wouldn’t want for ourselves. Who curated this article? Sam Singleton is PCWorld’s VPN beat reporter and jack of all trades. When he’s not on the hunt for the best computer deals he’s covering VPNs, productivity software, laptops, and a wide gamut of consumer-grade hardware and software. How to choose the best VPN One of the first things you should look for when shopping around for a VPN is the number of servers and locations. It’s difficult to judge any VPN by just one feature, but a semi-reliable way to tell if a VPN is even worth your time is to look at the server network. Anything with 1,000 or more servers and 30 or more country locations will do. Speed The next thing to consider is a VPN’s speed. This may be tricky to do since you aren’t likely to be able to test connection speeds without paying to use the service. Reading reviews online will give you a general estimate. Look for reviews, like ours, that give you a relative average of connection speeds rather than direct Mbps speed comparisons, for a more accurate picture. Privacy You’ll also want to read up on a VPN’s privacy protections. Does it have a no-logs policy? Has it undergone any independent audits of its servers? Where is the VPN company located? All of these will give you an idea of whether or not a VPN is transparent with its data collection policies and if it’s subject to government data sharing requirements. Price As with all subscription services, you’ll want to review the price of a VPN service. Do you want a monthly or yearly subscription? Some top VPNs might be pricey month-to-month, but actually become quite affordable with long-term plans. Additional features Other factors you’ll want to take into consideration are the overall ease-of-use, user experience, and any additional features. Some of these features, such as split-tunneling and kill switches, can be extremely useful for certain purposes and might sway your subscription decision one way or the other. FAQ 1. What is the best VPN? NordVPN is our pick for the best VPN. Not only does it have the fastest speeds and a large server network, but it’s also the most full-featured VPN on the market. There is currently no other VPN on the market that provides as much value or as extensive a feature-set as NordVPN and that’s why it’s our top pick. 2. What is the best cheap VPN? Surfshark is our pick for the best cheap VPN. Not only does it provide great speeds, but it also comes with a robust feature and excellent privacy credentials. If you opt for a long-term plan, Surfshark offers all of this for pennies on the dollar compared to many other VPNs. In terms of budget-friendly services, Surfshark simply can’t be beat. 3. What is a VPN? VPNs create a secure tunnel between your PC and the internet. When you connect to a VPN your web traffic is routed through the chosen VPN server to make it appear as though you’re browsing from that server’s location, and not from your actual location. The VPN app will also encrypt your data so that any third parties such as your ISP can’t see your specific online activities. A VPN can be a great response to a variety of concerns, such as online privacy, anonymity, greater security on public Wi-Fi, and, of course, spoofing locations. 4. Can I be tracked with a VPN? While VPNs certainly offer you better privacy and security, they don’t make you completely anonymous nor keep you from being tracked entirely. A VPN will keep your ISP from seeing your traffic, but there are a mindboggling number of ways that other companies or sites track you across the internet. For example, when you sign into a website, your identity is still revealed to that website, VPN or not. Or when you log into your Gmail account while using a VPN, Google can now collect personalized cookies based on your browsing. 5. Will a VPN protect me on public Wi-Fi? Yes, a VPN can help protect you when using public Wi-Fi by encrypting your data and masking your IP address. This makes it much more difficult for hackers to hijack your online traffic and steal sensitive information like passwords or credit card details. Public Wi-Fi is often vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, where hackers intercept your data en route to the server. A VPN can protect against this by encrypting the connection, thereby making your data unreadable and all but useless to any potential snooping third parties. It’s worth noting however that VPNs can only protect you from certain threats and it won’t make your device or traffic completely secure. It’s always good practice to use strong passwords, enable extra layers of security such as two-factor authentication, and regularly update your apps and devices to patch any vulnerabilities. 6. Will a VPN slow down my internet? Most likely you will see a moderate speed decrease to your internet while using a VPN. This is mainly due to the process of your internet traffic being rerouted and encrypted through a VPN server before heading on to its destination. The amount of latency you will experience through this process is down to what country’s server you choose to route your traffic through. If you choose a server located on the other side of the world, then you will generally notice a much greater hit than if you were to connect to a server nearby in your same country. Thankfully, most modern VPNs should have the infrastructure to maintain high-speed, secure data transfer rates. So it’s likely you can still browse and stream without much of a noticeable impact while using a reliable VPN like those on this list. Related content PCWorld software reviews Should you use a VPN browser extension: What you gain, what you give up 9 things you realize when you first start using a VPN VPNs and the law: How often does law enforcement actually request VPN logs? 5 VPN features you need to start using today 14 VPN terms and features everyone should know Best VPN for streaming Netflix Fastest VPN Best free VPN Best VPN for Android Best free VPN for Android Best VPN for torrenting Read...

Sound quality is obviously super important for a PC gaming headset, as are long-term comfort, ambient noise isolation, and a microphone with clear noise cancellation. Ideally, it should also have replaceable ear pads for extended lifespan and a frame that doesn’t creak. All of those things are well-known givens. But when I’m shopping for a PC gaming headset these days, there’s one other feature that has become non-negotiable for me: hot-swappable batteries. I never even knew I’d love these so much until I got my SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless five years ago. It was an on-sale extravagance—a treat to myself during the pandemic—that has opened my eyes to the wonders of hot-swappable batteries. All these years later, it has become one of my favorite PC gaming accessories. Here’s why. Who cares about battery life? I love wireless gadgets. I have a wireless gaming keyboard and a ridiculously unnecessary wireless gaming mouse with a wireless charging mouse pad system. And while I don’t ever need to worry about charging my mouse, my keyboard still occasionally has me reaching for a USB cable. Phones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, and others things with batteries occasionally catch me out, too. What I’m saying is, it’s a pain when you want to use a device but its battery is drained… so you can’t use it when you need it. My SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is old faithful. A bit worn but still wonderful to use.Jon Martindale / Foundry But with my SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, that’s just not something I need to think about thanks to its hot-swappable battery. When the battery runs low, it beeps. I can then pop out the battery—like we used to do with cell phones back in the day—and pop it on the charger, then stick my backup battery in its place. It takes about five seconds and I have a fully charged headset again. I can do it while mid-game, and it’s so fast I don’t even have to warn my allies on Discord. I can even do it with one hand, if I feel so inclined. Just like the Logitech PowerPlay mouse pad that ensures my wireless mouse stays charged while I’m using it—a big reason why that’s also one of my all-time favorite accessories—the hot-swappable battery in my Arctis Pro Wireless is the pinnacle of wireless battery convenience. Expensive, but not a “halo” feature The PC space has a number of great examples of so-called “halo” products. The kinds of gadgets and components that would be amazing to have… if they weren’t priced beyond reach. Halo products are supposed to be aspirational and make you think the rest of the brand’s more affordable products are equally impressive. Think along the lines of Herman Miller’s “gaming” chairs or Nvidia’s Titan-esque RTX 5090 graphics card. These are products that simply aren’t designed with everyday people in mind. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless also has hot-swappable batteries, but it’s more swish and offers a greater charge capacity per battery.SteelSeries Hot-swappable batteries aren’t like that. Yes, they’re only available on some of the more expensive wireless gaming headsets, but they aren’t thousands of dollars. The newer version of my own headset—the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless—is only around $310 as of this writing. That’s not cheap, but it isn’t prohibitive either. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless has a similar hot-swappable battery design, and that one retails for around $330. But I’ve seen it on sale for closer to $200 at times, making it a viably cheaper alternative to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless option. And if you’re more interested in headphones than a headset (i.e., you don’t need a built-in mic), the Fairphone Fairbuds XL are about $250. It’s a feature worth fighting for While I might be tempted to describe hot-swappable batteries as a “nice-to-have” feature, it’s actually reached the point of a “must-have” for me when it comes to buying future PC headsets. But that sort of puts me in a pickle. I’m honestly surprised that hot-swappable batteries in headsets haven’t caught on as widely as I’d hoped, even so many years on from my original SteelSeries purchase. There just aren’t that many options to choose from. I’ve found some headsets like mine that can do what I want, but not as many as there should be. There are amazing gaming headsets out there with fantastic sound quality, great comfort, and long battery life, but once you go beyond a certain point, all that’s almost redundant. The cheapest hot-swappable battery headphones I could find? The Fairphone Fairbuds XL.Fairphone A 30-hour battery life is useful, sure, but in reality, if I’m not charging it once a day, it only takes one slip-up and I’ll find myself wanting to use it one day but it won’t be charged enough. That means plugging it in and using it wired or waiting for it to charge, which defeats the point of a wireless headset in the first place. Wireless headsets—and wireless devices in general—are about freedom. You aren’t supposed to worry about the tether, but a low battery warning always drags you back to reality: you are tethered and always have to worry about keeping it adequately charged. Not so with hot-swappable batteries. It’s easy to keep a backup battery fully charged and ready to go, and I can stop worrying about how much battery is left in the actual headset. And when it runs out, it’s easy enough to swap out. It’s the best of all worlds. Hot-swappable batteries are priceless I know I said before that headsets with hot-swappable batteries aren’t halo products, but I’m not so delusional to think that $300 headsets are mainstream. It’s beyond what most people would consider “reasonable” for a headset. But if you are paying that much for a headset, then it should come with premium features that respect that premium price tag. For me, hot-swappable batteries are the créme de la créme of gaming headset features. They make wireless work how it should. They’re so practical and useful that I won’t even consider a headset in that price range anymore if it doesn’t have them. Indeed, I don’t know if I’d buy any wireless headset without them ever again. Read...

Launched way back in April 2004, Gmail has now been around for over 20 years — and it boasts lots of great features that many users, for whatever reason, still aren’t taking advantage of. While Gmail is fundamentally built for the sending and receiving of email, its various features can make that entire process work better for you. If you aren’t using the following Gmail features, consider starting today. You might be surprised by how helpful they can be. Smart compose Smart Compose is designed to help you write emails faster by writing your emails for you, saving you the hassle of wasting time or brainpower. The feature uses machine learning to predict what you intend to type, with Gmail offering real-time suggestions as you compose an email. Dave Parrack / IDG Smart Compose is turned on by default unless you’ve opted out of smart features and personalization. However, it’s easy to toggle Smart Compose by navigating to Settings > See all settings, then scrolling down the General tab until you see Smart Compose. The standard Smart Compose feature offers predictive writing suggestions as you type, but you can also enable Smart Compose Personalization to have these real-time suggestions personalized to your own writing style based on all the emails in your Gmail account. Schedule send Are you the type to write your emails ahead of time? If so, you probably draft them up then let them sit in Drafts until you’re ready to send. But this can be risky because you might forget about it… and is there anything more frustrating than thinking you sent someone that email only to hear back that you never did? Ugh! Dave Parrack / IDG That’s why you need to be using Gmail’s Schedule Send feature. When your email is typed up and ready to go, you don’t have to send it right away — you can instead set a date and time for the send. To do this, instead of clicking Send like usual, click the drop-down arrow next to Send and then click Schedule Send. By default, you can opt for “tomorrow morning,” “tomorrow afternoon,” or “Monday morning” (which is great if you’re typing up a work-related email on the weekend). But you can also Pick date & time to select any specific date and time for sending it out. Never forget again! Undo send Gmail’s Undo Send feature is pretty self-explanatory. It gives you a grace period after sending an email to change your mind, allowing you to cancel the send so you can make further changes, or postpone sending to a later time, or just withhold sending altogether. Undo Send is really useful when you accidentally send in the middle of composing the email, or if you forgot to attach those files, or if you spot a typo after the fact, or you mistakenly CC’d instead of BCC’d, etc. Dave Parrack / IDG Undo Send is enabled by default, but you can change the duration of the grace period for undoing the sending of an email. Navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll down the General tab until you find Undo Send. You can then set the timer to anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 seconds. I recommend setting it to 30 seconds because there’s really zero downside to having that extra time. To undo an email after sending it, look for the Message Sent notification in the bottom-left of your screen and click Undo. If you’re quick enough, the email will revert back to Draft status without ever actually having been sent to the recipient’s inbox. Search operators While the basic search function in Gmail is as easy as typing what you’re looking for into the search box, the results aren’t always that great. If you’re tired of irrelevant or excessive results when searching through your entire Gmail archive, start using Gmail’s search operators to better filter the results. This is especially useful if you have tons of emails filling up your inbox and it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack any time you have to rummage through for a particular email. Dave Parrack / IDG There are too many Gmail search operators to list them all here, but some of my most used ones include from: (used to filter emails to only those that were send from a specific person) and subject: (used to filter the search by email subject lines and ignore body content). I recommend checking out our article on essential Gmail search operators worth knowing. To go even further, you can see a full list of all Gmail search operators on this Gmail support page. Snooze emails Snoozing an email is a bit like snoozing your alarm clock in the morning — Gmail temporarily removes the snoozed email from your inbox for however long you decide to snooze it. By default, you can snooze an email until “tomorrow,” “this weekend,” or “next week.” But you can also pick and choose whatever date and time you want, allowing you to procrastinate to your heart’s content. When the snooze expires, the email pops right back into your inbox. Dave Parrack / IDG To snooze an email in Gmail, hover over the email in question and click the Snooze icon on the right-hand side of the options. You’ll see a bunch of default time periods you can snooze the email for, but if none quite work for you, click Pick date & time to set your own. You can also snooze multiple emails at once by selecting them all and doing the same. After snoozing emails, you can then view all of your snoozed emails under Snoozed in the left panel, and you can unsnooze any emails early if you want to deal with them ahead of schedule. Email templates If you find yourself sending the same email over and over — or at least similar emails that contain very similar structure and content — then you should absolute utilize Gmail’s Email Templates feature. As the name suggests, Email Templates allow you to create and save different templates, which you can then use in the future to instantly start with a baseline email that you can edit, instead of having to draft your emails from scratch every single time. Dave Parrack / IDG To use templates, navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll across to the Advanced tab and find Templates. Click Enable, then Save Changes. Once Gmail has reloaded, you can create a template. To create a template in Gmail, compose an email as normal, but instead of sending it, click the three-dot menu > Templates > Save draft as template. Then, the next time you want to send a similar email, just click the three-dot menu > Templates > Insert template. Spelling and grammar suggestions Correct spelling and grammar in emails is important at all times, but it’s especially important when you’re emailing someone in a professional capacity. Whether to your boss or a client, you want them to have the best impression of you with every email you send. Thankfully, Gmail offers autocorrect for both, as well as real-time spelling and grammar suggestions that come in handy when autocorrect seems too much and you want to remain in control of your writing. Dave Parrack / IDG To have Gmail check your spelling and grammar as you write, navigate to Settings > See all settings. Scroll down the General tab until you see the option to toggle grammar suggestions, spelling suggestions, and autocorrect. Experiment and find what combination works for you. Inbox categories, labels, and filters If you send and receive a lot of emails, Gmail’s basic organization isn’t enough to keep you sorted and tidy — at least not without a lot of manual effort on your part. Fortunately, Gmail has advanced organization features that can help automate a lot of that and keep you straight. For starters, Gmail’s inbox categories exist to automatically sort your email by intent. These inbox categories include Social, Promotions, and Spam, and Gmail automatically processes incoming emails and sorts them into these categories for your convenience. Beyond those categories, you also have labels. A label is like a custom tag that lets you manually categorize emails however you want. Each label is like a folder, except you can mark an email with as many different labels as you want. Labels are navigable in the left-side panel, and labeling makes it easy to browse and find emails by type. For example, you might have labels for receipts, bills, work projects, different hobbies, etc. Dave Parrack / IDG One step further, you have filters. A filter is a custom rule you can create, which automatically does things to emails as they enter your inbox. To create a filter, click Show search options to the right of the search box, enter your search criteria, and then click Create filter. For example, you might create a filter that automatically applies a certain label to all emails with a certain word in the subject line, or you can automatically forward emails to a different inbox if they come from a specific domain address. Confidential mode Did you know Gmail has a confidential mode? It’s one of the best ways to make Gmail more secure, designed to protect your sensitive information by limiting what recipients can do with your email. When an email is sent via confidential mode, you can set it to have an expiration date and whether it should require an SMS passcode to open. Confidential emails can’t be forwarded, copied, printed, or downloaded by recipients. You can also revoke access to the email later. Dave Parrack / IDG To send a confidential email, when composing a message, click the Lock icon to toggle confidential mode. You’ll then be able to set the above mentioned features for that email. Safe! Keyboard shortcuts While Gmail is, by default, extremely user-friendly, you can end up wasting a lot of time if you only navigate using your mouse cursor. The more time you spend reading, writing, and organizing your email, the more you can benefit from the use of keyboard shortcuts. You have to enable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, but once you’ve done so — and after you’ve learned the useful ones enough that they become second nature — Gmail will become so much easier to use and you’ll end up saving a lot more time than you thought possible. Dave Parrack / IDG To enable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll down the General tab until you see the option to toggle Keyboard Shortcuts. Gmail offers a large number of keyboard shortcuts out of the box, and it may take some time to wrap your head around all of them. Once keyboard shortcuts are enabled, you can always see a full list of them by typing ? while Gmail is open. If you aren’t happy with the keyboard shortcuts as is, you can customize them however you want. Navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll down the Advanced tab and enable Custom Keyboard Shortcuts. After that, you should see a Keyboard Shortcuts tab where you can customize Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts to your heart’s content. Further reading: The Gmail settings I always use (and a few I don’t) Read...

On February 2nd, 2025, computer scientist and OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy made a flippant tweet that launched a new phrase into the internet’s collective consciousness. He posted that he’d “fully given into the vibes” when programming with AI assistance. There`s a new kind of coding I call `vibe coding`, where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists. It`s possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w Sonnet) are getting too good. Also I just talk to Composer with SuperWhisper…— Andrej Karpathy (@karpathy) February 2, 2025 The tweet of course kicked off a flame war, because that’s how X works, especially under the current management. But for me, the tweet hit home—because it perfectly describes how I use AI to code. My experience with vibe coding I’ve always had an interest in programming, because I’ve always had an interest in computers. I put together websites in HTML as a teenager (which, yes, were hosted on GeoCities) and have been occasionally dabbling in Python since. Yet none of my projects got very far and, apart from my early websites, I never made anything useful. My efforts all followed a familiar pattern: I’d fixate on a particular resource—like an O’Reilly book or an online course—and get started with great enthusiasm, but as I’d realize I was months or years away from creating anything remotely useful, I’d give up. I’ve used Claude AI to quickly generate a simple dice roller web app.Matt Smith / Foundry That changed in late 2024 when my general frustration with WordPress, which I was using for my personal website, got the better of me. In a fit, I threw my website’s content plus a screenshot of it into Claude 3.5 Sonnet and asked the AI to replicate my site with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. To my amazement, Claude 3.5 generated a functional website. It wasn’t perfect, but after a couple hours of working with Claude, I wound up with a website I liked even better than its WordPress predecessor. My approach was exactly what Karpathy described. I didn’t read the code, nor did I really try to understand it (though I did have to think a bit about how the featured articles carousel works). That aside, I just told Claude what to do, copy-and-pasted the results in VSCode, saved the file, and reloaded my browser to see what changed. And it worked. A work-in-progress screenshot of my Pico-8 puzzle game and the vibe-coded source.Matt Smith / Foundry But the most important part? It was fun! Fun enough that I’ve since tried my hand at several other coding projects. I made an online tool to track initiative and roll dice when DMing tabletop roleplaying games, I made another tool to simplify rolling dice in Battletech, and I’m currently making a puzzle game for the Pico-8 virtual game console. I also used AI to guide me through setting up tools that require a bit of fussing, like OpenAI’s Whisper speech-to-text model. Notably, all three projects were in different programming languages—HTML/JavaScript, Python, and Lua—none of which I’m even remotely proficient with. I’ve also dabbled in some C#, as I started to make the puzzle game in Unity before deciding it was overbuilt for my needs and swapping to Pico-8. I also toyed with turning my tabletop RPG tool into a Windows app before deciding that wasn’t helpful. The risks and pitfalls of vibe coding So, yeah, I’m vibing. But is it all good vibes? Or does vibe coding herald the same kind of AI slop-driven era for software as we’re seeing for blogs, forums, artwork, video, and music? That’s the big fear of critics, and it’s easy to understand those fears. Karpathy’s “vibe coding” is fast, fun, and approachable, but it isn’t rigorous, detail-oriented, or careful. The code written by AI will often work, but it can contain flaws that aren’t immediately obvious—and that raises an obvious question: how does a know-nothing programmer spot bugs and security flaws in AI-generated code? The simple answer is… they can’t. Take the case of Leonel Acevedo—better known as just “leo”—who posted about his experience vibe coding a SaaS startup, only to find himself dealing with major issues like unsecured API keys. It led to hundreds of videos and social media posts dunking on Leo’s naïveté: guys, i`m under attackever since I started to share how I built my SaaS using Cursorrandom thing are happening, maxed out usage on api keys, people bypassing the subscription, creating random shit on dbas you know, I`m not technical so this is taking me longer that usual to…— leo (@leojr94_) March 17, 2025 To be clear, I don’t have much sympathy for Leo. He used social media to promote his business with posts clearly built to drive engagement. And, well, that’s how chasing influence on social media works. Sometimes you’re the hero and sometimes you’re the villain. (Predictably, Leo is already making content about “rebuilding my SaaS in 30 days.”) Yet, I question what his problems are supposed to prove. Is vibe coding a SaaS and going straight into production dumb? Sure. But are most people vibe coding a SaaS startup and flinging it into the world like the baby in an Xbox commercial? Of course not. The reality is a lot more practical. Some people, like me, see vibe coding as a fun way to tackle simple projects that were previously out of reach. Others, including many software engineers, will use it as way to build prototypes, demonstrate proofs of concept, and—yes!—learn. It’s the blogging revolution… for code In a strange way, vibe coding reminds me of the circumstances from decades ago that paved the way for me to become a tech journalist. I grew up in a small midwestern town. My high school was so small, we didn’t even have a school newspaper. Then I went to college and got a degree… in English Literature. Not journalism or communications. I never wrote for the college paper, either. I then graduated college with no useful contacts or work experience. But I lucked out. I graduated right when the blogsphere exploded and social media took over the internet. Suddenly, formal credentials and an industry-specific degree, though helpful, weren’t necessary. So, I started writing—and eventually publications started paying me for it. I’ve been doing this now for 17 years. To me, vibe coding looks like it will do something similar for future software engineers and the programming landscape. Forget formal training. With AI assistance, people who are interested in programming don’t even need informal training. Anyone who knows their way around a laptop can ask ChatGPT about the tools they need to get started, how to install them and get them working, and generate the very code they need to get the first version of their project up and running. These people will make mistakes. A lot of the code generated will be bad, or at least inelegant. People will lose projects because they encounter a bug they can’t fix. The AI-generated code in my own projects is enough to make a senior software engineer go blind, I’m sure. But if it opens programming a bit wider to people (like me) who otherwise lack the patience to spend six months reading an O’Reilly tome just to spin up a halfway decent Python program, well, that seems like a win. Further reading: I spent $200/mo on ChatGPT Pro so you don’t have to. Here’s what I found and whether it’s worth it Read...

While Windows 11 provides a good enough out of the box experience—atrocious new taskbar aside—it handles so much better after tweaking just a handful of settings to make it feel more like the Windows of yesteryear. Get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro No, I’m not talking about making Windows 11 look like Windows 10 through an extensive overhaul (though if you’re a Windows veteran that’s worth doing). I’m talking about fast, easy changes that improve the feel of the operating system, turn off annoying ads, reduce the data you send to Microsoft, and more. Better yet, you can do them all in under five minutes—something I did mere weeks ago when I needed to pick up a Windows 11 laptop for some travel. Here are five Windows 11 settings worth changing immediately, with an added bonus at the end. 1. Move the Start button to the left corner What can I say, I’m a traditionalist. I understand Microsoft’s desire to revamp Windows 10’s interface to more closely mirror the style of Macs and Chromebooks—legions of kids get schooled on those, after all—but Windows 11’s shifting taskbar icons drive me batty. (They do help out a lot on ultrawide monitors, though.) I want mousing over to the Start menu to be muscle memory in a set location, not yet another task I have to look at and mentally process. Brad Chacos/IDG Fortunately, Microsoft makes it easy to move the Start menu back to the left-hand corner. Simply open the Start menu and head to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. You’ll see a field labeled Taskbar alignment with a drop-down menu. Change the drop-dox menu from Center to Left. Boom! Onto the next. 2. Turn off annoying notifications Next, it’s time to turn off those annoying pop-up notifications. Windows 11 itself spawns some, but the worst offenders are third-party apps, especially if your laptop or desktop came preloaded with bloatware. Making the distractions stop is simple. Brad Chacos/IDG Head to Start > System > Notifications. You can turn notifications off universally if you desire. I prefer to work through the list manually, leaving notifications on for critical tools like Slack, Discord, and my antivirus software. (If my AV scanner wants to shout about something, I want to hear it!) Either way, this menu cures many headaches. 3. Turn off Microsoft ads That segues neatly into the next tip. Keep scrolling down beyond the bottom of the list of apps that can send you notifications. There, you’ll see a couple of additional boxes that relate to Windows 11 itself providing “tips and suggestions” on how to use your PC. If you know your way around well enough, deselect the Offer suggestions on how I can set up my device and Get tips and suggestions when I use Windows boxes. I personally prefer to leave the Show me the Windows welcome experience… option checked so I’m notified of new features when a big update drops. Brad Chacos/IDG We’re not done yet, though. If you don’t like seeing Microsoft promotions (like Office and Xbox ads) pop up in your Settings app, head to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > General. Disabling “Show me suggested content in the Settings app” does the trick, though you may want to turn off all these options. Brad Chacos/IDG Finally, head to Settings > Personalization > Device Usage. The options here tell Microsoft how you use your computer so Windows 11 can provide tailored recommendations for apps, websites, Office 365 trials, and more. Turn them all off if you’re not interested in your $100+ copy of Windows 11 upselling you on more Microsoft services. There are other places Microsoft promotions lurk such as the beautiful “Windows Spotlight” lock screens provided by Bing Images, but tweaking this handful of settings eradicates the most irritating ones. If you want to go even deeper, check out 9 tweaks that turn off your Windows PC’s most annoying ads. 4. Change your default browser Microsoft Edge is pretty darned good, actually, but if you’re a diehard Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Brave user, switching your default browser is easy. Brad Chacos/IDG After downloading and installing the browser of your choice, it should ask if you want to make it the default. Do so, duh. But if you missed your chance during setup, navigate to Settings > Apps > Default apps, find the name of your browser in the list, and click on it. A “Make your default browser” banner with a Set default button at the top of the page does the trick. 5. Declutter the taskbar Sure, Windows 11’s nerfed taskbar is getting better over time, but it still sucks and Microsoft stuffs it to the brim with icons and features you probably have no interest in. Make it easier on the eyes and reclaim some space by heading to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and deselecting any of the taskbar items you’ll never use. Adios, Widgets, Copilot, and the Microsoft Store. Brad Chacos/IDG While we’re on the topic, spending $5 on Stardock’s Start11 or StartIsBack is well worth it. The programs offer granular options that expand the look and functionality of the taskbar and Start menu alike, making it a lot easier to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10. They’re beyond the scope of this article but deserve a shout-out. Bonus: Dark mode, baby! Finally, an optional personal preference. Some folks like staring at black text on white screens all day. Others, like me, prefer not to sear their retinas. So, the very first thing I always do with a new Windows install is activate dark mode, a preference that carries over into several apps once you’ve set it. Brad Chacos/IDG Simply head to Settings > Personalization > Colors and look for a field called Choose your mode. Change the drop-down menu from Light to Dark. Your eyes will thank you — and so will your laptop battery, if you’re using an OLED display. That’s about it for this rundown of quick Windows 11 settings to change immediately. This rabbit hole goes as deep as you want it, though. Check out our guides to 5 helpful tips and tricks that make Windows easier to use, 10 obscure Windows features that will blow your mind, and 7 frustrating Windows 11 annoyances (and how to fix them) to make your PC your own! Get windows 11 pro for dirt cheap Windows 11 Pro Read...

The National Education Union`s general secretary says Labour MPs could pay a `high political price`. Read...

PC users who want to relive the nostalgia of an older Windows interface can download the free Linux distribution Q4OS and install the XPQ4 G UI. The GUI makes it possible to activate different interfaces within the Debian-based distribution Q4OS. In addition to Windows XP, you can also choose interfaces that mimic Windows 2000, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. While you can install and use Linux applications, the system offers a familiar graphical user interface that behaves like Windows, making it easier to navigate. Thomas Joos You can also run the system as a live installation using a USB stick. Since it’s available as an ISO file, it’s also possible to test the distribution in a VM. The Q4OS interface is already similar to Windows. By installing XPQ4, the aforementioned Windows interfaces can be activated. The developers of XPQ4 also offer a ready-made live environment with Q4OS in which XPQ4 is already installed and ready to use. Using Windows XP with Linux (even without installation) To use Windows XP via Q4OS/XPQ4, download the ISO file for XPQ4 as FreeXP from the developers. The best way to do this is to use the ‘FreeXP live CD image’ option under ‘Downloads.’ If you want to use Windows 10 with Linux on the basis of Q4OS and XPQ4, you can also use the ‘Free10 live CD image.’ The Windows 10 interface is available here, but without the option of activating older versions such as Windows XP. If you start this image, you’ll receive a Windows 10 interface based on Q4OS and XPQ4. Thomas Joos To start a PC with Q4OS, whether you’re using the Windows XP or Windows 10 interface, you can use tools like Rufus or balenaEtcher. Using Rufus as an example, connect the USB stick to your PC, start Rufus, and select the USB stick under ‘Drive.’ Under ‘Startup type,’ click on ‘Selection’ and pick the desired ISO file. You can leave the other settings as default. Click ‘Start’ to begin creating the stick. If you boot a PC, FreeXP or Free10 will start directly with the stick. Thomas Joos Logging on to Windows XP under Q4OS The default login for Q4OS utilizes the user name “adminq” and a blank password. You can also customize the language of the user interface during startup. After logging in, the operating system will automatically activate the Windows XP interface if you’ve started the FreeXP version. With the Windows 10 version, the Windows 10 interface will start instead. The functionality of FreeXP resembles Windows XP or whichever Windows version you’ve selected. Customize the Windows interface You can customize the displayed Windows version at any time using the ‘XPQ4 Desktop Styles’ tool. The different Windows versions are available for selection in the ‘Themes’ column. These include Windows XP with the classic view, Windows XP with the familiar colorful Luna interface, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 2000. Thomas Joos Click on a theme and select ‘Apply Theme.’ Next, select ‘Logout now.’ After logging out, log in with the user ‘adminq’ without a password. Working with Windows under Q4OS The operation of the respective Windows interface is similar to that of Windows. There are, of course, a few differences, as the system is based on Debian Linux with Q4OS. The Q4OS welcome screen enables the installation of programs via the ‘Install programs’ button. More features can be activated with ‘More options’ such as various graphical effects. The interface and general display can be customized via ‘Desktop Profiler.’ Thomas Joos Installing Q4OS with XPQ4 Instead of just testing the FreeXP live CD, you can also install the operating system. To do so, click on ‘Install Q4OS,’ which will launch the installation wizard directly in the user interface. This allows you to select the language, the keyboard model, and the Q4OS variant. It makes sense to select ‘Q4OS Desktop’ at this point. You can also specify the partitioning here. As part of the setup, you can set up your own user account with a test password. If desired, you can enable automatic login for FreeXP. Once the wizard is complete, the installation will begin. The operating system will be available on the PC when the installation finishes. After restarting, the user can log in with the new user name and password. Read...

Finding the right laptop for your lifestyle means cutting through a lot of noise. Whether you’re looking for a high-performance gaming laptop a lightweight Chromebook for daily browsing, or a reliable Windows laptop for school, this guide is here to help. We’ve tested top models across all categories–from budget-friendly options to premium picks–to match performance and value with real-world use cases. We’re here to provide straightforward advice to help you choose the the best laptop for you. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024) – Best laptop overall Pros Strong performance Exceptional battery life Wonderful typing experience Cons CPU throttles under heavy loads No user upgrades Who should buy the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus? If you want a laptop that truly does it all and does it well, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is the one to beat. This laptop nails the essentials with style, speed, and stamina. It’s a top pick for anyone who needs dependable performance without being tethered to an outlet all day. The 14-inch form factor also hits the sweet spot between portability and screen face, making it perfect for either work or play. One of the biggest selling points is the seriously impressive 17-hour battery life. Whether it’s a long study session or a long workday, this laptop will power along with you. And with a price tag around $1,000, it delivers incredible value for the performance you’re getting. Beyond the long battery life, the 14-inch 2560×1600 display comes with an anti-glare coating and a peak brightness of 418 nits, making it comfortable to use in different lighting environments. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Further considerations The conservative design might not appeal to users looking for more pizzazz. While integrated graphics are fine for daily use, power users may want to look elsewhere for a laptop can handle heavier workloads. For most users though, this laptop ticks nearly every box. Read our full Dell Inspiron 14 Plus review Asus Zenbook 14 OLED – Best OLED laptop Pros Attractive OLED touchscreen Good CPU and integrated GPU performance Outstanding battery life Cons Blah design Keyboard isn’t memorable Mediocre connectivity options Who should buy the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED? Anyone would be happy with the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED–it nails the vital aspects, especially in the display and battery departments. The 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED panel is deliciously vivid, delivering rich colors and deep contrast, which is great for creators and editors. It’s also fast (thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor) and lightweight (2.82 pounds), and the 75 watt-hour battery churned out 17 hours of charge. That’s not bad for the $850 price tag. It’s a fantastic notebook that would work great for anyone, especially if you want vivid visuals from an OLED panel. Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Further considerations The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED would have been our top pick, but it fell short in a few areas. For instance, the port selection is more limited–no Ethernet and fewer USB-A’s. The reflective display also makes it harder to use outdoors or in bright rooms. Finally, the Dell Inspiron Plus 14 (our current top pick) has slightly better battery life and performance. Read our full Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review Acer Aspire Go 15 – Best budget laptop Pros Affordable Decent battery life Good display visibility Cons Big and bulky Cheap build Limited performance Who should buy the Acer Aspire Go 15? The Acer Aspire Go 15 is the must-have laptop for budget-conscious buyers that just need the basics. The Intel Core i3-N305 processor handles everyday tasks like browsing and word processing with ease. Battery life is also close to 12 hours on a single charge. The appeal mostly lies in its value, though. While more expensive laptops nail the polish and the speed, the budget variety is strictly about what’s functional and that’s exactly what you’re getting here. It’s a good option for students or anyone seeking a reliable, no frills machine under $500. You’ll also find a surprisingly generous port selection on the Acer Aspire Go 15–USB-A on both sides, a USB-C, an HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington lock. That’s more than what some laptops get twice the price. Acer Aspire Go 15: Further considerations Like many budget-friendly laptops, the Aspire Go 15 comes with a few trade-offs. The plastic chassis helps keep the cost down, and while it weighs a bit over four pounds, it’s still manageable for day-to-day portability. The 1920×1080 display is also pretty dim (250 nits), so it’s better suited for indoor use due to its 250 nit brightness, but it still delivers sharp visuals for everyday tasks. That said, if you’re looking to get solid utility at a great price, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is the total package. Read our full Acer Aspire Go 15 (2024) review Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 – Best battery life Pros Remarkable battery life Sturdy, lightweight design High-visibility display Cons Variable performance trails competitors A bit pricier than the competition Who should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6? The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is a great option for anyone who needs a reliable, long-lasting laptop. Weighing just 2.66 pounds and offering an incredible battery life of nearly 24 hours, it’s ideal for people who are always on the move. Plus, with a Snapdragon X Elite processor running the show, it offers the perfect blend of portability, endurance, and capable everyday performance. The build quality is also standout, with the chassis being notably sturdy, and the keyboard offers a delightfully tactile typing experience ThinkPads are known for. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Further considerations The one area where this laptop falls a bit short is the display. While the 1920×1200 IPS screen is perfectly usable for productivity, it lacks the richness and contrast of an OLED panel. So if you’re doing color-sensitive creative work, you may want to look elsewhere. But if long battery life and portability matter more to you, then the ThinkPad T14s is the way to go. Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 review Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus – Best Chromebook Pros Snappy day-to-day performance Versatile 2-in-1 design Good typing experience Cons Stylus not included Heavier than expected Who should buy the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus? The Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is an awesome pick for users who want the flexibility of a 2-in-1 without sacrificing performance. From the responsive 1080p touchscreen to the smooth convertible 360 hinge, it’s great for students or creatives that like switching between laptop and tablet mode. Boot times are lightning fast and ChromeOS runs smoothly thanks to the Intel Core i3-1315U processor and the keyboard provides a surprisingly comfortable typing experience. If your workload is compatible with Google’s web-based operations, then the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus would make an excellent daily driver for work or browsing. Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus: Further considerations There’s plenty to love about the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. While the 1920×1080 IPS touchscreen display supports stylus input, the laptop doesn’t ship with a stylus, making it an additional cost if you like to sketch or take notes. It’s also a bit heavier than other Chromebooks, at 3.52 pounds, which might be a problem if you plan on carrying it around all day. Nitpicks aside, it’s still a fast and well-rounded Chromebook. Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review MacBook Air (M3) – Best MacBook Pros Excellent battery life 256GB SSD is now two NAND chips, maintaining performance Cons Expensive memory upgrades Dual external display support requires closed lid Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $1,249 View Deal $1399 View Deal $1499 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the MacBook Air (M3)? The MacBook Air (M3) is a stellar option for anyone who wants a premium macOS experience without paying MacBook Pro prices. Starting at $1,299, it delivers fast performance for everyday tasks, light creative work, and multitasking–all in a fanless design that runs silent even under load. The Apple M3 chip brings performance on par with the base MacBook Pro (M3) model and, in testing, the battery lasted up to 19 hours on a single charge. If you’re looking for a powerful yet quiet macOS laptop with plenty of endurance to spare, this one hits the sweet spot. The 15-inch Liquid Retina (2880×1864 resolution) display doesn’t quite match the brightness or contrast of the mini-LED panel found in the MacBook Pro, but it’s still sharp and vibrant. The Air is also impressively thin and lightweight (3.3 pounds!), so it’s pretty darn portable. MacBook Air (M3): Further considerations If you’re after high-end performance for professional level workloads like 3D rendering or heavy video editing, a MacBook Pro with active cooling might be a better fit. However, for most users, the MacBook Air (M3) delivers good performance, long battery life, and an elegant design. Read our full MacBook Air (M3) review Lenovo Legion 5i – Best gaming laptop Pros Great GeForce RTX 4060 performance Solid build quality Nice cooling and vent positioning Cons Display is a little dim Who should buy the Lenovo Legion 5i? The Lenovo Legion 5i is a solid mid-range pick for gamers who want strong gaming performance and a fast display. With an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU under the hood, it delivers the power needed for smooth gameplay as well as lightning-fast load times. The spacious 16-inch (2560×1600 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate) is another highlight. It offers crisp visuals and fluid motion, which is perfect for immersive single-player games and competitive gaming. In addition to it being a fast display, it also produces vibrant colors. For the price ($1,399 as tested), it offers an impressive balance of performance and value. Lenovo Legion 5i: Further considerations The Lenovo Legion 5i doesn’t just bring blazing-fast performance to the table, it also includes thoughtful features like a 1080p webcam with an electronic shutter switch and a full-size keyboard with a number pad and four zones of LED lighting. The webcam is perfect for streaming and the number pad allows for quick access to numeric inputs. While this laptop hits the mark for most gamers, for those that want more graphics firepower and higher frame rates, we’d recommend springing for a laptop with RTX 4070 graphics or higher. Read our full Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 review Acer Nitro V 16 – Best budget gaming laptop Pros Solid performance Fast 165Hz display with good colors Cons Fully plastic build Mushy keyboard Who should buy the Acer Nitro V 16? The Acer Nitro V 16 is a fantastic pick for gamers who want good performance and a fast display without breaking the bank. With an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS CPU, and a 16-inch 1920×1200 IPS display running at 165Hz, it can comfortably handle most modern games on High settings. Acer Nitro V 16: Further considerations The Nitro V 16 really embraces the gaming aesthetic, with its angular lines and backlit keyboard that glows like embers in a fireplace. If you’re into that bold style, you’ll love it, but if you prefer a more understated design, it might not be for you. Battery life is also limited to about four hours, which is typical for a laptop in this category, but it’s something to keep in mind. Bottom line? If your priority is strong gaming performance at an affordable price, the Nitro V 16 offers a lot of bang for your buck. Read our full Acer Nitro V 16 review Asus ProArt P16 – Best content creation laptop Pros Big touchpad with virtual scroll wheel Gorgeous 4K OLED display More connectivity than the competition Good battery life Cons Chassis is light, but doesn’t look remarkable CPU performance falls behind the best Can get hot under load Who should buy the Asus ProArt P16? The Asus ProArt P16 is a top-tier choice for creative professionals and prosumers who prioritize display quality, connectivity, and performance. With its stunning 16-inch (3840×2400 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio), it’s definitely well suited to photo editing tasks and video production. It also boasts an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, a powerhouse combination that delivers desktop-class performance. Battery life is another strong point, with the ProArt P16 lasting over nine hours on a single charge. It also includes USB 4.0 support via one of its USB-C ports, which enables speeds up to 40Gbps, making high-speed transfer possible. Asus ProArt P16: Further considerations Performance and display quality are the standout features, but there’s something compelling about the understated design. Some may find the all-black chassis too plain while others find it elegant. Under more demanding workloads, the chassis can also run a bit warm. Still, the ProArt P16 is an excellent fit for anyone that needs a serious workhorse. Read our full Asus ProArt P16 review Asus Zenbook S 14 – Best ultraportable Pros Transcendent battery life Large OLED screen Great audio Cons Keyboard needs more key travel Performance needs improvement Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Asus $1499.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Asus Zenbook S 14? The Asus Zenbook S 14 is a standout ultraportable for those who want a lightweight design, all-day battery life, and premium display quality. Weighing just 2.65 pounds–lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air–it’s a great pick for regular travelers and commuters. Despite its slim build, this laptop delivers surprising endurance. Its 73 watt-hour battery lasted an impressive 21 hours in testing and it comes paired with a vibrant 14-inch (2880×1800 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate) OLED display. Asus Zenbook S 14: Further considerations The Asus Zenbook S 14 offers more than just its slender build and extended battery life. The built-in audio is a pleasant surprise, as it delivers rich, clear sound, making it a solid option for media consumption. While it’s not exactly a powerhouse for resource intensive creative work, the Zenbook S 14 really excels in portability and endurance. Read our full Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406SA) review HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 – Best 2-in-1 laptop Pros OLED touchscreen looks great Nice solid build Long battery life Cons Few ports in odd spots Expensive  Who should buy the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14? If you’re in the market for a premium 2-in-1, the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 is one of the best options available today. It’s perfect for anyone who wants the flexibility of a convertible form factor and the reliability of a long-lasting machine. The 360-degree hinge feels both sturdy and smooth, and the 14-inch 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen is vibrant and bright enough (500 nits!) for indoor use. The battery life is exceptional as well–lasting up to 17.5 hours on a single charge. Typing on the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 is a real pleasure thanks to its responsive keyboard and clearly labeled keys. Not only do they have satisfying travel, but the bold letting improves visibility. These minute details really enhance day-to-day usability. HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14: Further considerations If you’re looking for a full-metal unibody design, this laptop will fall short in that area, as it’s made entirely of plastic. The port placement is bit unconventional, too. Both USB-C ports are located on the back corners of the machine, which may not suit every setup. Read our full HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 review Framework Laptop 13 – Best laptop for upgrading Pros Customizable, repairable, and upgradeable Detailed repair documentation Cons On the expensive side for the specs Not the best battery life Who should buy the Framework Laptop 13? The Framework Laptop 13 is an awesome choice for tech-savvy users who value reparability and long-term sustainability. If you want a laptop you can upgrade over time rather than replace, this is one of the most compelling options you can find right now. Nearly every component of the Framework Laptop 143 is modular and user-replaceable. Each part is labeled with a QR code linking directly to guides and replacement listings on Framework’s website. You can even configure the port layout using swappable Expansion Cards, which are small rectangular modules that slide into the chassis like Lego pieces, allowing you to mix USB-C, HDMI, and so on. The Framework Laptop 13 is also surprisingly lightweight (2.87 pounds) for a laptop with this level of flexibility. It also handles general productivity tasks with ease thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor. Framework Laptop 13: Further considerations Performance is more mid-range than high-end and the pricing can feel steep when compared to traditional laptops with similar specs. The value here lies in its longevity–you’re buying a laptop that can evolve and change over time rather than a device with a set expiration date. Read our full Framework Laptop 13 review Other products tested While these laptops didn’t make PCWorld’s top picks list, they’re still noteworthy options that may appeal to certain folks. The Asus Zenbook A14 impressed us with its vibrant OLED touchscreen, robust build quality, and amazing battery life. For environmentally conscious buyers, the Acer Aspire Vero 16 stands out with a chassis made from PCR and other bio-based materials. Finally, if you’re someone that’s always on the go, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro offers a 16-inch 2880×1800 AMOLED 120Hz touchscreen and an impressive 23 hours of battery life. How we test laptops The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests. For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out how PCWorld tests laptops. Why you should trust PCWorld for laptop reviews and buying advice It’s in our name! PCWorld prides itself on laptop experience and expertise. We’ve been covering PCs since 1983, and we now review more than 70 laptops every year. All of the picks below have been personally tested and vetted by our experts, who’ve applied not only performance benchmarks but rigorous usability standards. We’re also committed to reviewing PC laptops at every price point to help you find a machine that matches your budget. Who curated this article? This article was curated by Ashley Biancuzzo, who oversees all of PCWorld’s laptop and Chromebook review coverage. Ashley has been immersed in the ever-changing world of consumer technology and brings a keen editorial eye to every review. She specializes in evaluating laptops across a wide range of categories–from budget-friendly models to high-end powerhouses. How to choose the best laptop What form factor is best for a laptop? Traditional clamshells are great for general use while 2-in-1 convertibles offer flexible designs with displays that rotate 360 degrees. Chromebooks, on the other hand, are a budget-friendly option that are best for everyday web-based tasks. How much processing power do you need? It depends on your workload. For everyday use, an Intel i5 (11th gen or later) or AMD Ryzen 5 (4000 series or later) is solid. If you’re into creative tasks like video editing, go for an Intel i7/i9 or Ryzen 7/9. For 4K video editing or heavy multitasking, a Ryzen 9 is ideal. Discrete graphics vs. integrated graphics? If you’re into gaming or video editing, you’ll want discrete graphics (like Nvidia or AMD cards) for better performance. For basic tasks like browsing or streaming, integrated graphics will do just fine. How much RAM? 8GB of RAM is zippy enough for general use. If you’ve got a gaming laptop, 16GB of RAM is the way to go, with 32GB being a future-proof configuration. Content creators will want as much as possible. What’s the right display size? If you’re a video editor or someone who does a lot of multimedia work, you’ll want a display that’s anywhere from 15- to 17-inches. The sweet spot is anywhere from 13- to 14-inches, though. The bigger the display, the heavier your laptop is going to be. A 13- or 14-inch display is the best in terms of portability and value. Battery-life expectations If you plan on taking your laptop anywhere with you, aim for something that can last 10 to 12 hours on a single charge. That’s more than a full workday, so it should theoretically get you through long flights or a day of classes. That said, many of the newest Snapdragon-powered Windows laptop are pushing well past that number, with one of them offering up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge–this is due to the chip’s ultra-efficient Arm-based architecture. Just know that the bigger the battery, the heavier the laptop. Read our roundup of the best laptop chargers. Laptop pricing guide Many good laptops cost around $500 to $750, but the price really depends on your budget. If you’re strapped for cash (been there, trust me), go for a Chromebook or an entry-level business laptop. You can find solid options for under $500. Spending $750 to $1,000 can get you better displays, additional performance, more storage, and nicer designs. If you splurge for a laptop that costs over $1,000, you’re usually paying up for premium build quality, great extras, and top-shelf performance. Gaming laptops are different. You can sometimes find gaming laptops with entry-level discrete graphics on sale for around $850, but you’ll usually need to spend at least $1,000 for a system with decent 1080p gaming chops. You can pay more — often much more — for better graphics firepower and nicer displays, but the costs can rise rapidly depending on your hardware of choice. Some fully loaded gaming laptops can go for multiple thousands of dollars but you’re getting the equivalent of a desktop replacement in return. Spending $1,200 to $2,000 usually gets you a very good gaming laptop. Don’t forget the ports A wide array of ports is always a plus in my book, as it eliminates the need for an adapter. I’d recommend a laptop that has both USB-C and USB-A. An HDMI port is good, too. This is especially useful when you want to hook up to an external monitor. FAQ 1. What is the best laptop? The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024) stands out as the best overall choice for most people. Priced at around $1,000, it delivers reliable performance, exceptional battery life (17 hours on a single charge!), and a vibrant 14-inch 1400p display. 2. What is the best cheap laptop? The Acer Aspire Go 15 is PCWorld’s top budget pick because of its reliable performance and low price point. It features an Intel Core i3-N305 processor, a sharp 1080p display, and surprisingly good battery life. 3. What is the best gaming laptop? The Lenovo Legion 5i exhibits a fantastic balance of performance and value. Powered by an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, it delivers top-tier gaming performance, easily crushing demanding titles like Metro Exodus with an average of 41 frames-per-second. The 16-inch IPS display boasts a 2560×1600 resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate, meaning you can expect smooth gameplay. While the display isn’t as vibrant as an OLED panel, it still offers a great picture at a competitive price. 4. When is the best time to buy a laptop?  The best time to buy a laptop usually falls during major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Back-to-school season (late summer to early fall) is also a great time to buy a laptop, as many retailers target students. 5. What is a 2-in-1 laptop? A 2-in-1 laptop (also known as a convertible) is a device that combines the functionality of a traditional laptop (also known as a clamshell laptop) with the versatility of a tablet. These laptops feature a touchscreen display that can fold back, rotate, or detach. It’s ideal for those who need a full keyboard for productivity and a tablet for browsing the web or doodling. They’re pretty popular among students and creatives who want the best of both worlds. 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