Dave Plummer was once a programmer for Microsoft, where he played a key role in the development of the Windows Task Manager as well as the ZIP archive import for the operating system. The man has definitely earned his spot as an essential part of Windows history. So you know there’s weight when he begins his latest YouTube video with the words “Windows sucks.” But Plummer doesn’t call names and leave it at that. He also explains why he thinks Windows is bad and how Microsoft could change things for the better. Plummer believes that Windows didn’t suddenly become bad in one fell swoop. Instead, it has slowly moved away from the people who use it and rely on it the most. Plummer accuses Microsoft of turning Windows into a sales channel for all its products. In the video, Plummer explains how Microsoft spent around two decades optimizing Windows to appeal to a billion people. It was a business decision to make the operating system’s user interface simple for less tech-savvy users in the hopes they’d buy Windows. Not bad so far. The problems began with Windows 10 Ever since Windows 10, Microsoft has moved to a Windows-as-a-Service model, where you install the operating system once and it’s then regularly updated over time. This, of course, meant that Microsoft had to find new ways to generate revenue from Windows. Microsoft began to steer these users towards cloud services and subscriptions: Office 365, OneDrive cloud storage, Xbox services, and Azure. Windows 10 became the gateway to Microsoft’s ecosystem (from which the company wanted to earn much more) and was no longer just a product that Microsoft sold for profit. Microsoft has also been collecting more user telemetry data since Windows 10 and therefore knows more about them. This data can be used to improve the operating system, but it’s also used to inundate users with app upsells and service recommendations. Windows 11 took things even further Windows 11 is now the entry point for Microsoft 365, Xbox Game Pass, OneDrive, Edge, Copilot, and Microsoft Store apps. Everywhere you look, Windows 11 is trying to get you to use a Microsoft product you didn’t want in the first place. When you open the Start menu, “recommended” Microsoft 365 apps are displayed front and center. When you open Settings, a banner reminds you to sign in to OneDrive. The search function tries to redirect you to Bing results, even for local search queries. Plummer nails it with this succinct statement: “When the OS suggests, hey, maybe you should switch browsers after you explicitly chose another one, that’s not onboarding. That’s just disrespect.” How could it change for the better? Plummer calls for a “professional mode” that users can easily switch on. In professional mode, Windows would be clean and straightforward without any ads, suggestions, or other intrusive bits. In addition, all Windows settings should be centralized in one place without needing to search for them. You can see all his suggestions for a better Windows in the 16-minute video above. Read...

Users of Dell systems are currently at considerable risk: a “high impact” vulnerability (CVE-2025-46430) has been identified in Dell’s Display and Peripherals Manager (DDPM). According to Dell, attackers with low privileges can use the installation program to upgrade their access rights, which the manufacturer announced in a warning message. Where is the problem? The security vulnerability is located in the installer for Dell’s utility app that users can use to manage keyboards, webcams, and other peripheral devices. The vulnerability allows an attacker with limited rights to obtain higher system rights through a targeted attack. Dell confirms that all versions of DDPM prior to 2.1.2.12 are affected. Version 2.1.2.12 is the first release to address the problem. Who’s affected? What should they do? Windows PCs that have the Dell Display and Peripheral Manager (DDPM) installed are affected. That typically means Dell business systems or users who manage peripherals via Dell’s tool, which presumably includes millions of PC users around the world. Anyone using the program should update to the latest version ASAP or deactivate the tool until the update is installed. According to initial assessment, the vulnerability is currently not being exploited in the wild. Nevertheless, Dell advises users to update quickly, as the program is likely to be installed by default on many Windows PCs. High-risk case with quick fix The fact that Dell categorizes the vulnerability as “high impact” and at the same time publishes a quick fix shows how dramatic the case is. It’s especially risky in corporate environments where Dell peripherals are widely used. An attack can have significant consequences there. If you want to be on the safe side, temporarily deactivate the DDPM tool and install the update before attackers gets a chance. Read...

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AMD’s roadmap marches on: the company confirmed the presence of its next-generation Zen 7 architecture, and talked briefly about the company’s next-generation PC graphics roadmap as well. AMD hosted a day for financial analysts on Tuesday, outlining its businesses for a cadre of Wall Street investors and analysts. Unfortunately, the agenda reflected AMD’s new corporate priorities: with the bulk of AMD’s revenue now coming from its datacenter business, AMD scheduled just twenty minutes for its client businesses. AMD chief executive Lisa Su also identified the datacenter as “the most strategic business” for AMD. Before it did, however, AMD also revealed some brief details of its architectural roadmaps., where AMD chief technology officer Mark Papermaster announced that AMD was working on Zen 7, its next-generation CPU architecture. That will underpin AMD’s Ryzen CPUs, where in the desktop Su said that AMD commands over 50 percent of the desktop CPU channel. “We’ve delivered five generations of the Zen CPU,” Papermaster said. “We split it into high performance versions, power and compact, cloud optimized version also used in our networks, but all maintaining a consistency of instruction set architecture. We went where no company was willing to go in the bet we made with chiplets.” Mark Hachman / Foundry AMD’s Zen 5 architecture is the foundation of the Ryzen 9000 family. The Zen 6 architecture will debut in the company’s next-gen EPYC processor for servers, debuting this year, Papermaster said. Papermaster didn’t say anything about Zen 7, though he showed it on a roadmap slide. (That slide didn’t include an estimated ship date, either.) AMD continues to stagger its design teams, assigning one team to each architecture generation and going back and forth. (That means that the Zen 5 team is now shifting to work on Zen 7.) AMD also continues to develop two types of cores for each Zen architecture, one focusing on performance and the other focusing on power. Mark Hachman / Foundry Papermaster also provided an early look at AMD’s desktop graphics roadmap, though without revealing many details. AMD is equally interested in improving the performance of its desktop GPUs as well as other edge applications where it can apply GPU compute. Papermaster also showed off some of the improvements AMD is considering for its NPU roadmap as well. There, AMD plans more AI TOPS and more power efficiency, without going into details. Mark Hachman / Foundry Jack Huynh, the senior vice president who heads the Computing and Graphics Group at AMD, did not go into additional details, though he did indicate that AMD plans to move into edge AI as well as its existing markets in the mobile, workstation, and desktop markets. AMD has a “no compromise” PC strategy he said, infusing AI into everything the company does. “We’ve built tremendous momentum, and we have a clear path to market leadership,” Huynh said. “Now we’re entering a new era. AI is transforming the PC experience and redefining what compute means across every device in our portfolio. This is not just another product cycle, it’s a once in a generation shift towards expanding our opportunity across every segment. Our next chapter is about scaling the client business, deepening our council advantage, and unlocking new growth with AI at the edge. If I can leave you one thought today, it’s we are ready to lead the gaming and AI PC era.” Read...

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I’ve reviewed a lot of laptops for PCWorld and I’ve been noticing something I don’t like: the more expensive the laptop, the fewer ports it tends to have. It’s been trending this way for a while now, but lately it’s gotten a lot worse—and that sucks. In my time as a laptop reviewer, I’ve seen budget options packed with ports, sometimes even managing to fit Ethernet jacks into their small frames. But I’ve also seen luxurious top-end models with almost no ports at all, and that’s downright wrong. Some even omit the headphone jack! These days, if you’re in the market for a premium laptop, there are some real gotchas to be aware of… and connectivity is one of them. Premium laptops often skimp on ports Laptop manufacturers seem to think customers want to pay more money for fewer ports, but that’s nonsense. The idea that a professional spending $3,000 on a 4.5-pound laptop doesn’t want the option of plugging in an HDMI cable is simply ridiculous to me. But going by the many laptops I’ve reviewed, laptop manufacturers don’t agree with me. They think you’ll pay extra if it means fewer ports. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 is beautiful, but it should have an audio jack.Chris Hoffman / Foundry Here are a few examples of laptops I’ve reviewed over the past year alone that exhibit this sort of attitude towards ports: The Dell 16 Premium is a $3,199 high-end laptop with discrete Nvidia graphics, but it omits HDMI and USB-A ports. The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a brilliant $499 laptop that delivers both USB-A ports and an HDMI port. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 is a $1,899 premium laptop that lacks a headphone jack. You get two USB-C ports… and that’s it! The HP EliteBook 6 G1q with 5G is a $1,695 business laptop with 5G driving up its price, but it somehow manages to also pack Ethernet and HDMI into a compact mobility-focused machine. Over and over, it’s the same story played out: manufacturers design high-end laptops with aesthetics, thinness, and tapered edges in mind while budget laptops are designed for practicality. Somewhere out there, I’m sure there’s a laptop designer who’s dreaming about wireless charging with the ultimate goal of creating a port-free laptop. Ugh. If you ask me, it feels like the true luxury day-to-day experience these days is to opt for a “budget” laptop that doesn’t force you to plug in a USB hub or hook up a high-speed dock just to output to HDMI, connect a traditional USB-A drive, or even plug in a pair of headphones. Business laptops tout their ports What’s amusing is that manufacturers are pushing sleek designs with minimal ports as premium options, but when it comes to business laptops they’re all about marketing the port selection. “This laptop has lots of ports so you don’t have to worry about taking a dongle with you,” they say. “That’s a big upgrade for workers.” The HP EliteBook 6 G1q’s port layout feels downright luxurious.Chris Hoffman / Foundry It’s absolutely true and PC manufacturers should tout it. But PC makers themselves are to blame for ports becoming a rare commodity. A budget laptop has plenty of ports, a premium laptop costs extra because it removes those ports, and then a business laptop built for work costs extra and delivers a reasonable selection of ports. That’s the landscape we find ourselves in right now. Even Apple’s MacBook Pro has HDMI and a headphone jack You might assume this state of affairs is Apple’s fault and that PC manufacturers are chasing Apple’s design choices. That’s not true. MacBooks offer more ports than “luxury” Windows laptops. For starters, all of Apple’s MacBooks still have audio jacks. Meanwhile, a handful of Lenovo machines don’t have any headphone jacks, including the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. If 3.5mm audio is important to you, beware of buying high-end Lenovo laptops! I appreciate the fact that this MacBook Pro still has an HDMI port.Foundry To be fair, Apple has dropped the USB-A port from its machines and the base MacBook Air only offers two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports. Still, all MacBook Pro models have HDMI ports and SDXC card slots. So no, Apple isn’t to blame here. Only a PC manufacturer would sell a high-end $3,199 machine for professionals and skip the HDMI port. Only a PC maker would decide a laptop doesn’t need an audio jack. Even Apple refuses to remove the traditional 3.5mm audio jack from laptops! Thin laptops are the new small bezels Thin laptops are nice to hold. When I pick up a review laptop and feel smooth metal and glass with a tapered edge and an almost impossibly light weight, I’m immediately impressed. But once I try to plug in devices and realize there’s no USB-A or HDMI, I wince. If there’s no 3.5mm audio jack, I scratch my head in confusion. That’s not what I want from a laptop. Instead of just carrying a laptop, you now have to carry a laptop plus a hub. It reminds me of the thin bezel craze a few years ago. Laptop reviewers focused so much on the size of the bezels around a laptop’s screen—the smaller the bezel, the more premium the machine. The Dell 16 Premium is sleek and portable, but at what cost?Chris Hoffman / Foundry Personally, I don’t see the point. Yes, a streamlined laptop design can be nice. But you can see exactly how the bezels look in photos—you don’t need me measuring the bezel with a ruler and assigning a laptop review score based on the size of a machine’s bezel. There’s way more to a laptop than that. In the same way, laptops are increasingly differentiating themselves more on design than functionality. If removing the HDMI port or even the headphone jack makes the laptop look like an impressive art piece in a photo or in-store display, manufacturers will go for it. Ports aren’t the only things that get sacrificed either. Sometimes a beautiful laptop will feel light as a feather but lack the battery life to get me through a workday. Why? Because the laptop manufacturer has prioritized light weight over long battery life. Note the ports when buying a laptop If you’re buying a laptop, I always recommend paying particular attention to its ports. There’s a good chance you’ll want at least HDMI, an SD card slot, and maybe even Ethernet. Extra USB-C ports are nice, too, especially on laptops that charge via USB-C. (I like to see a USB-C port on each side of the laptop so you can plug in on either side to charge.) When we review laptops here at PCWorld, we always list the ports they offer, and I always take that into consideration when writing up the pros and cons of a laptop. That’s how important they are. Sadly, if you want a ports-packed laptop these days, you’ll probably have better luck with a budget laptop than a premium one. On the other hand, if you almost never plug anything into your laptop, you might love a thin-and-light premium laptop with minimal ports. As for me? I don’t want to live with a laptop so “luxurious” that it has no audio jack. Read...

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