Newsletter Archives

• Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs don’t play nice with games

  Posted on September 16, 2024 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft is wreaking havoc in the virtual worlds of billion-dollar online gaming companies, with incompatibilities in its new Copilot+ machines.

  These much-hyped PCs feature a new processor based on power-efficient Arm chips from Qualcomm. Redmond’s shift to non-Intel silicon gives the new Windows 11 PCs a modicum of built-in artificial intelligence and other features. No access to a central AI server is needed. (See Microsoft’s introduction of the new devices.)

  But almost half of the more than 1,300 video games tested by an independent third party are running slowly, subjecting users to stuttering game play, or refusing to run at all. The worst incompatibilities affect the biggest names in multiplayer environments.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.38.0, 2024-09-16).

  Public Defender AI, Compatibility, Copilot+ PCs, Games, Neural Processing Units, Newsletters, NPUs, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite

• WhyNotWin11 — Seriously, why not Windows 11?

  Posted on November 6, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  It’s been over two years since Windows 11 was released, and Microsoft still won’t tell you why your computer won’t run it.

  Well, maybe that’s not quite fair. Microsoft will give you reasons, if you take the time to install its PC Health Check app. Of course, you’ll need to go through Settings to get to it, agree to Microsoft’s usual onerous terms of use, and then get an app that will tell you a few reasons why Windows 11 thinks your hardware is beneath its standards. (Not all, but some.)

  I’ve got something better for you.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.45.0, 2023-11-06).

  Freeware Spotlight Compatibility, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Windows 11