Un jour après avoir intégré son modèle Nano Banana 2 à Google Earth, Google a fait marche arrière. En cause : des images inappropriées générées par des utilisateurs à partir de lieux réels.
L’article Après avoir intégré Nano Banana 2 dans Google Earth, le géant américain fait marche arrière en urgence est apparu en premier sur Tom’s Hardware.
Un concurrent chinois à GTA 6 ? C'était ce qui était prévu par Tencent, jusqu'à l'annulation pure et simple du projet, après 300 millions de dollars jetés par les fenêtres.
L’article GTA 6 devait avoir un concurrent chinois, finalement, le studio jette l’éponge est apparu en premier sur Tom’s Hardware.
Alors qu'on pouvait penser qu'acheter une carte mère en DDR4 pour lutter contre les prix de la DDR5 en augmentation constante était une bonne idée, les joueurs ne sont pas convaincus.
L’article Acheter une carte mère en DDR4 pour contrer la hausse du prix de la RAM ? Les gamers ne sont pas convaincus est apparu en premier sur Tom’s Hardware.
If, like me, you were wildly impressed by Gears of War: E-Day's insane multiplayer gameplay showcase and want to play it as soon as possible, then you're in luck. E-Day is holding two beta test weekends for players to try out its multiplayer modes and help the devs polish it ahead of its October 6, 2026 launch.
The first beta test will run from August 6, 2026, at 12:00 pm PT to August 10, 2026, at 10:00 am PT for players who pre-ordered the game on Xbox Series X|S or Steam, and/or subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
The second beta test will be open for all players on all eligible platforms and will run from August 13, 2026, at 12:00 pm PT to August 17, 2026, at 10:00 am PT, regardless of whether a player has pre-ordered the game or not.
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To download the beta for the early access weekend, search for it on your respective platform's digital storefront or library for "Gears Beta" if you pre-ordered the game digitally, or redeem an email code sent to your account if you pre-ordered the physical edition.
Accessing the open beta test is easier, as you simply need to search for "Gears Beta" on the Xbox digital storefront, Xbox PC app, or Steam's storefront and download accordingly.
Xbox users will need at least an Xbox Game Essentials subscription to access the Gears of War E-Day multiplayer beta tests.
Steam users won't need an Xbox/Microsoft account to play the Gears of War E-Day multiplayer beta tests, but they'll need to link their Steam account to an Xbox account (which is done via the multiplayer beta test's main menu) if they hope to play with Xbox players via cross-play.
However, each beta test weekend will have different forms of content to enjoy. The early-access beta test will only contain the 12-player Horde Siege mode, whereas the open beta test will contain the 12-player Horde Siege mode and the 4v4 Versus mode.
Here's a list of what content you can expect from Gears of War: E-Day's multiplayer beta test versus what content will be available in the full version, sourced from the official Gears of War: E-Day page.
Content | Beta | Launch |
|---|---|---|
Horde Siege Maps | 1 Map | 3 Maps |
Horde Siege Classes | 4 Classes | 4 Classes |
Horde Siege Class Levels | Capped at Level 10 | 30 |
Invasion Events | 2 Invasion Bosses | 4 Invasion Bosses |
Versus Modes | 2 Modes | 4 Modes |
Versus Maps | 2 Maps | 6 Maps |
Weapons | All | All |
Medals | 5 | Over 80 |
Player Level | Capped at Level 50 | Level 100 with Four Re-Ups |
Customization | Limited Characters & Beta Rewards | Season One Content |
Additionally, completing certain challenges within the beta tests will net you some exclusive in-game rewards you can use in the beta and in the full game, which include:
If you're planning on playing Gears of War: E-Day on PC, here is a list of recommended specs by The Coalition for you to determine if your rig can run it.
Do note that these specifications aren't reflective of the full game, and The Coalition will update this list with the final PC spec requirements ahead of the game's launch.
Also, make sure you update your NVIDIA Driver to GeForce Game Ready Driver 610.74 before launching the game; otherwise, it won't run.
Minimum requirements
Recommended requirements
I can't wait to get stuck into a Gears of War game again after all these years, especially after reading Jez Corden's preview about how epic Gears of War: E-Day's "Horde Siege" mode is shaping up to be.
Not to mention its story campaign, as shown in the Gears of War: E-Day Direct in June, which is also building up to a nostalgic thrill ride for players who grew up playing the original trilogy while also bringing in new newcomers with new mechanics and weapons to make it more fast-paced and brutal than previous titles.
Relive the tragic day that started the long, grueling war between the COGs and the Locust horde in the highly anticipated prequel of the Gears of War franchise, Gears of War: E-Day.
• Xbox Store
• SteamView Deal
But what about you? Are you looking forward to playing the Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer beta tests, or are you waiting until the full game comes out to play the campaign solo or with co-op?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll, the comments section, or our Reddit page.
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Microsoft Edge has a lot of built-in features that go unnoticed. Read Aloud has been part of Edge for a long time, and I use it all the time to review articles and listen to content. But after weeks of testing, I understand how Edge's Read Aloud feature stacks up against a dedicated tool for text-to-speech.
Speechify launched a Windows app earlier this year that adds real-time text-to-speech and voice typing to PCs. There was already a Speechify web extension, which is what I used for testing here. Speechify shared Premium access with me to help me assess their app and extension, so I've had several months to get used to them and compare them to alternatives.
Interestingly, Speechify and Read Aloud in Edge excelled in different areas.
Read Aloud supports a large library of voices. These are fun to play around with since there are quite a few English options sporting different accents.
All of the voices marked as "Natural" in Read Aloud sound fluid and are easy to understand. Occasionally, the feature will pause for a moment as it decides where to jump to next on a page (more on that below).
Read Aloud finds text well and presents pages using voice, allowing you to multitask or absorb content through both reading and listening.
While Edge's voices sound fluid, Speechify's voices sound more natural. They sound as if a voice actor is in a booth reading to you. There's a bit more bass in each voice and more depth than what's in Edge.
Speechify has several celebrity voices, which to be honest I'm not too fussed about. I don't need robot Gwyneth Paltrow to read me the latest Xbox news, but it's an option if you'd like her to.
Voices in Speechify are labeled based on their key characteristic, such as "Velvety" or "Easygoing." The "Resonant" Dominic voice would be a great choice to read the next Sarah J. Maas novel, but I don't think he's the best option for tech news.
Because Speechify's voices are clear and natural-sounding, you can play them at faster speeds before they sound ridiculous. I'm able to play Speechify voices at over 2.2x speed and still understand them. Edge's Read Aloud voices max out at around 2x speed before they're difficult to understand.
The modern web is full of inserts, page breaks, ads, and other components. When you read an article online, you rarely see a large block of uninterrupted text. In fact, my editor would tell me off if I published a piece of just text.
In order for articles to be visually engaging, publishers place block quotes, embedded posts, videos, and other items. When you read an article, you scan over certain content without thinking. If you spend a lot of time on the web, you've learned what should be read as part of an article, such as a block quote, and what is separate, like a list of related pieces.
Microsoft Edge's Read Aloud feature has not learned the same lessons. It will jarringly jump between the main text of a piece and a "You May Like" section.
In contrast, Speechify sticks with the main text of an article and hops over inserts that are off-topic. In my testing, Speechify correctly identifies the content I'd like read, such as block quotes, but bypasses things I'd want to circle back to later and click.
Both Read Aloud in Edge and Speechify hopped past ads in my experience, which is nice.
This app adds voice typing and text-to-speech to Windows. It can read PDFs, web pages, or documents and can be used to convert spoken words to text with correct punctuation.
A subscription also gets you more features within the web extension.
Note that the free version of the Speechify app is limited to slower listening speeds, fewer voices, and text-to-speech (voice typing requires Premium). Voice typing is free within the extension.View Deal
Edge's Read Aloud feature is surprisingly solid for a free tool that's built into Microsoft's browser. If you only care about listening to the web, it's the better choice for most people.
Speechify is not worth its subscription cost if you only plan to use it to listen to articles out loud. A large portion of Speechify's value comes from its dictation features.
Don't get me wrong, Speechify is very good at reading websites and documents out loud. I prefer how it handles ads, text blocks inserted into pieces, and other website components. I also prefer the voices in Speechify.
But Edge's built-in Read Aloud feature works well and is free. Paying $29 per month is a large investment to listen to articles.
If you need to dictate text and listen to articles, I'd suggest trying Speechify.
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AI isn't here to take your job, but it may let you skip a few meetings. The new Microsoft Teams Recap app brings together meeting recaps, recordings, transcripts, and AI summaries. That app just launched last month, and it was one of the biggest additions to Teams in July 2026.
The Recap app within Teams is more about gathering information that Teams already has than creating new content. Having a single hub means that you don't have to jump between chats or other parts of Teams to find all of your recaps.
Content from the last 30 days appears within the Recap app and all of it can be searched and browsed easily.
I joke about recaps letting you skip meetings, but they are genuinely useful. I'd argue that they're one of the best use cases for AI in everyday work. If you find your calendar full of meetings and events, it can be frustrating to keep track of the most important parts of each one.
The meeting Recap app is one of the key features highlighted in Microsoft's roundup of all the new Teams features from July.
View the full changelog ↴
Staying connected to your communities meant leaving Teams to check Viva Engage. Now you can open and interact with your organization's communities straight from the Teams left rail and get notified in Activity when something relevant happens.
Long shortcut lists are hard to scan when you just need one. The keyboard shortcut dialog now lets you search by shortcut name or by the key combination itself.
Recruiting teams can now bring LinkedIn Hiring Assistant directly into Microsoft Teams to streamline candidate review and hiring manager collaboration. Recruiters can share candidates in Teams, collect structured feedback, and keep hiring decisions moving without requiring hiring managers to switch tools. The integration helps teams reduce feedback delays, improve alignment earlier in the hiring process, and collaborate where work is already happening. Available for LinkedIn Hiring Assistant customers. Learn more: Hiring Assistant for LinkedIn Recruiter & Jobs
Stop hunting through chats and calendars for the meeting notes you need. The Meeting Recaps app brings your intelligent recaps together in one convenient, pinned app in the Teams sidebar, making it easier to find and catch up across your meetings. Browse meetings with Recap from the past 30 days and use quick filters to instantly surface the meetings that matter most, like when you were mentioned in the discussion. You can also generate a podcast-style Audio Recap summary across multiple meetings so that you can conveniently catch up on the go.
Government organizations need advanced collaborative call handling without leaving their compliance boundary. Now available in the GCC High environment, the Queues app brings advanced queue management, reporting, and supervisor tools directly into Teams, helping agencies deliver faster, more efficient service to constituents calling government offices and to internal customers, such as employees contacting an IT Help Desk. Queues app is available through Teams Premium. View the interactive Queues App demo for more details.
Juggling separate devices or accounts for different roles is a hassle. Teams Phone multi-line now works on Teams mobile iOS: admins can assign up to 10 numbers to one user, each appearing as its own tab, so you can stay organized across roles or regions from a single Teams account.
Finding the right person to call should not slow you down. A dedicated speed dial tab in Teams mobile now lets users more easily add, edit, and label key contacts by role or priority, with updates synced across devices for a consistent calling experience. For frontline workers such as nurses, that means reaching the right contact faster to help accelerate patient care.
Avoid ending in-person meetings with no record of what was decided. In Teams Rooms on Android, the Facilitator agent captures notes, decisions, and actions for in-person meetings alongside scheduled and hybrid ones. Invite it with one tap of the room console; notes appear on the front of room display or touch board and are available in meeting recap when shared, then deleted if no one keeps them. Nothing stays in the room. Available with Teams Rooms Pro.
Configuring rooms one at a time eats up an IT Admins day. Admins can now apply Teams Rooms on Android app settings to multiple devices in bulk from the Pro Management portal. Available in Teams Rooms Pro.
Screens sitting dark outside meetings are a missed opportunity. Idle Teams panels can now display digital signage, just like Teams Rooms front of room displays, with source and settings managed in the Pro Management portal. Available with Teams Rooms Pro or Shared space licenses.
Multilingual meetings lose nuance when there's no live interpretation. Professional interpreters can now listen in and translate in real time in Teams Rooms on Windows, without disrupting the speaker. Organizers preset the languages, and participants choose and switch among them. Available with Teams Rooms Pro.
Don’t let language barriers impact calls. With AI Interpreter, Teams Phone devices provide real‑time language interpretation directly within the call experience. Users can participate naturally in multilingual conversations while the device interprets spoken audio, reducing language barriers and supporting clearer communication in everyday calling scenarios.
Shared room accounts with passwords are a security weak spot. Teams Rooms on Windows now support Entra resource accounts for secure, passwordless sign-in that separates device and user identities. A migration wizard and Pro Management portal dashboard make moving over and tracking progress straightforward.
Not knowing how a device is configured makes troubleshooting slow. A new individual settings page in the Pro Management portal shows how each Android-based device is set up, with two-way sync so changes flow between the device and the portal, for Teams Rooms on Android and panels.
Organizations can't fix call quality problems they never hear about. Users can now rate calls and meetings and give feedback on audio, video, and screen-sharing in Teams Rooms on Android, helping your organization keep experiences consistent.
Cross-platform meetings shouldn't be off-limits for government organizations. GCC and GCC-High now get two-way Direct Guest Join between Google Meet and Teams: Teams Rooms on Windows can join Google Meet, and Google Meet devices can join Teams, with one-click join from the calendar or by meeting ID.
Teams on the web now honors a user's sign-in preference, giving them the choice to stay signed in across browser sessions or be prompted to sign in again when the browser is reopened. This helps balance convenience on personal devices with security on shared computers.
We're making it easier for users to request access to apps and agents that aren't currently available to them in Teams. A simplified and more transparent request experience helps users understand what action is needed, track the status of their requests, and receive updates when decisions are made. For admins, enhanced request management capabilities in Teams Admin Center and new request notifications make it easier to review and act on requests, helping organizations accelerate access to approved apps and agents.
First impressions matter, and the new onboarding experience makes day one in Shifts a breeze. The app adapts to who you are — frontline manager or worker — and surfaces the right next step exactly when you need it. Managers can now spin up a brand-new team and its first schedule in a single action. One-click access to help articles and clear guidance on permissions means no one hits a dead end. Whether it's your team's first day in Shifts or your hundredth, you'll be productive in moments.
Accidental deletions happen, but getting back on track should not slow your team down. With schedule restore, managers can quickly recover a previously deleted schedule right from the schedule creation flow. Simply choose the version you want to bring back, restore it in a few clicks, and pick up where you left off — no rebuilding from scratch, no lost momentum, and no extra support needed. It is a simple safety net that helps teams move confidently, even when plans change or mistakes happen.
Frontline managers often spend too much time chasing updates across chats, messages, and meetings. With Follow Up in Frontline Agent, a manager can send a single Teams request, automatically collect responses by a set deadline, and review a consolidated summary in one place. This helps teams quickly confirm task completion, shift coverage, handoffs, compliance requirements, and operational readiness. Managers can also track responses, follow up with non-responders, edit requests, and add recipients, with support for up to 20 people per request.
Site Walkthrough transforms inspections, audits, and compliance checks into a hands-free, voice-driven experience. Workers can start a walkthrough with or without a checklist, speak observations naturally, and let Frontline Agent capture and organize everything automatically. When complete, Frontline Agent generates a structured report, checks off completed tasks, flags follow-up items, and records timestamps for audits and compliance. This helps teams complete checklists faster, stay focused on their environment, and capture critical insights without manual data entry.
Curious what Microsoft Teams looks like for frontline workers? The new Teams for Frontline demo experience lets you step into the shoes of a retail associate, nurse, or warehouse worker and explore a fully functional frontline environment in just one click. No purchase, trial, or sign-up required. Immerse yourself in the day-to-day experience of frontline work and see how Teams helps employees stay connected, manage schedules, and get work done with AI-powered assistance. Check it out at aka.ms/FLWdemo!
The Recap app is installed by default but is not pinned automatically. It started rolling out in early July, but that rollout has since finished so you should see the app in Teams.
A Microsoft 365 Message Center post details the Recap app (that message is archived by mc.merrill.net).
Some of the features, such as audio recap, video recap, and intelligent summaries require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. If you don't have a license, you can still access content that you have permission to view.
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Larian Studios has announced a surprise update for the Xbox version of its critically-acclaimed CRPG, Baldur's Gate 3, despite currently working on the next Divinity game.
As of today, Baldur's Gate 3 is now an Xbox Play Anywhere title, meaning you can now play it on any platform within the Xbox ecosystem.
This includes Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and gaming handhelds like the Xbox Ally.
Take your adventure on the go with Baldur's Gate 3, now available on Xbox Play Anywhere!To ensure cross-play continues working as it should, all platforms will be receiving an update to support this 🦑 https://t.co/skkaOM8Ot2August 3, 2026
To celebrate the occasion, Larian Studios has also announced that the Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 is now on sale for a 30% discount for a limited time.
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What's cool is that now that Baldur's Gate 3 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, buying it on Xbox consoles means you don't have to buy it again on Windows PC and vice versa.
Xbox recently appears to be doubling down on PC gaming, what with rumors of Xbox Helix being very PC-focused and making more of its games compatible with Xbox Play Anywhere, which my colleague, Jez Corden, considers to be one of the Xbox's most underrated features, despite not many big-name games supporting it.
Now, personally I'm using the Steam version of Baldur's Gate 3 due to exclusive PC mods available on Nexus Mods, but I can't deny that Baldur's Gate 3 becoming an Xbox Play Anywhere title is a massive win for the feature.
I hope that this will convince Microsoft to invest in adding more games for Xbox Play Anywhere so we can play our entire library wherever we want on any accessible Xbox, PC, or handheld compatible within the Xbox ecosystem.
Especially since adding more games compatible with Xbox Play Anywhere means we can play more of them on handhelds to circumvent these continually rising heatwaves that make home console gaming impossible.
But what do you think? Are you excited that Baldur's Gate 3 is now an Xbox Play Anywhere title? Will this convince you to finally give the game a go if you somehow managed to avoid it for three years?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll, the comments section, or our Reddit page.
Embark on a grand adventure solo or with friends in online co-op to save the city of Baldur's Gate from evil, explore the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons, and find a cure to escape being turned into a soulless mindflayer in Baldur's Gate 3.
• Xbox Store Page
• Steam Store PageView Deal
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Halo: Campaign Evolved launched recently, giving gamers a chance to explore a reimagining of the legendary Halo title. Since the game is on Game Pass and playable on PC, Xbox, and PS5, people are finding a variety of ways to play.
The Hyperkin Duke is a glorious and chunky way to take a trip down memory lane, but you may be interested in something sleeker. You may be asking, "How does a Snapdragon X2 laptop handle Halo: Campaign Evolved?" You're not alone. Luckily, YouTuber "Ghobso Gaming" has an answer.
Ghobso Gaming has tested over 200 games on the Surface Pro 11 with a Snapdragon X Plus. Recently, they tried playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on an ASUS Zenbook A16. That laptop is powered by a Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.
That chip is the most powerful of the Snapdragon X2 lineup, so you may have high hopes for playing a few games. Unfortunately, Halo: Campaign Evolved got just one star from Ghobso Gaming on the Zenbook A16.
"It's not great news," said Ghobso Gaming. "I went on to the second level and that's where we got some big problems," explained the YouTuber. Confusingly, some of the textures of the game are completely missing when played on a Zenbook A16 powered by a Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.
When I first saw the gameplay footage, I thought to myself, "I don't remember there being that much water in the original." But the ground of levels in the game is not water reflecting other parts of the map. It's simply gone.
On maps where there is a lot of vegetation on the ground, the textures are seemingly gone. You can look straight through the ground and see other parts of the level.
The graphical issue is peculiar, though it doesn't affect movement within the game or other mechanics. There's a chance that the problem could be fixed with an update and then Halo: Campaign Evolved could be playable on Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme systems.
During their testing, Halo: Campaign Evolved hit between 30 FPS and 50 FPS for Ghobso Gaming (with frame generation enabled). That's not great, but it's fine for sneaking in some gameplay between meetings.
The ASUS Zenbook A16 is a 5-star laptop. Our Ben Wilson went so far as to say the PC is "everything a flagship Windows laptop should be."
Wilson added that the A16 is a stellar example of how Windows laptops can answer to Apple's MacBook Air without resorting to ridiculous pricing. While it may differentiate itself when it comes to price, the Zenbook A16 has one key thing in common with the MacBook Air: it's not a gaming laptop.
The fact that the Zenbook A16 struggles with Halo: Campaign Evolved is not shocking. Our testing of games by Wilson saw a mixture of perfect, playable, and not available.
Gaming on Snapdragon X processors continues to be a work in progress. I think we will see a day in which Snapdragon X PCs compete with devices powered by Intel or AMD chips. I hope that someday we'll see a great gaming handheld powered by Snapdragon X. But until drivers and other key components improve, gaming on Snapdragon X will remain mostly just potential.
"Halo: Campaign Evolved beautifully reimagines the legendary Xbox flagship that kickstarted the iconic series, elevating the original title with gorgeous Unreal Engine 5 audiovisual presentation, thoughtful gameplay and level adjustments, three enjoyable new prequel missions, and more." — Brendan Lowry
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Microsoft's CVP of Design and Research for Windows and Devices, Marcus Ash sat down with the Windows Central Podcast to discuss ongoing work around Windows 11's UI, and how the company is moving to finally eradicate the OS of legacy cruft while maintaining backward compatibility where possible.
We started with Control Panel, which is everyone's go-to as a measurement for the progress the company has made to modernize Windows. Microsoft first began modernizing the Control Panel with Windows 8 over 13 years ago, and the work still isn't complete over a decade later.
Unsurprisingly, Ash says that the reason this has taken so long is that Microsoft prides itself on compatibility with legacy tooling and workflows, so it can't just rush in and modernize everything without first ensuring the modern replacements maintain functionality with what came before.
"That's why things like Control Panel get tricky, because if a customer has a driver or has something that depends on that legacy functionality, we just have to be careful about not breaking that compatibility promise," Ash said. "When we finally get things in Settings, we will then deprecate places say in Control Panel where we don't need that function anymore, we can carry it forward."
Ash highlights that modernizing legacy interfaces is as much about designing and building the new interface as it is about developing the tooling and UI frameworks to support the functionality required to build that modern interface, all while carrying forward the same capabilities, featureset, and performance.
"It also requires us to do work in WinUI 3 and some of these frameworks so that we can move things over at a rate that we think, one, customers can adopt and not break promises, but also just make sure we can test and we have the framework that supports all the things that our customers need. So we are pushing really hard to try to modernize, but we're also proud of the progress."
Ash says that legacy support in Windows is a strength of the platform, not a weakness. With that said, the company is exploring ways it can modernize legacy apps and interfaces while maintaining that legacy support. "There will be cases where, because of a customer that wants something that's important to them, we'll have some legacy UI, but even there we're trying to look and see: are there ways that through tooling and through better approaches we can just reduce that over time?"
In case you've ever wondered how Microsoft goes about choosing which legacy interfaces to modernize, Ash breaks down the process, confirming that "it's based on usage, telemetry, feedback. It's based on: where do we think the tooling is ready to move that surface forward? ... we just keep going through that and trying to make sure that over time, the amount of legacy UI that a customer would see in their day-to-day experience just gets smaller and smaller."
"We look at user journeys. Like if you were to look at File Explorer and you were to think about all the functions that happen in File Explorer, we then look left-to-right and say, okay, for this particular dialogue, where did the user start and where does the user end? So it's not just pick one dialogue, it's pick the full user journey of the things that the customer is trying to do."
Ash even teases that the company is looking at how it can evolve its tooling that that one day it can tackle modernizing apps like the Registry Editor. "I would say the common things that we look at are the top things that users/customers want: File Explorer and some of the big apps. But even things like Regedit and some of the tooling, we're already starting to take a look at and figure out: how would we attack this problem so that we keep a compatibility promise AND we can modernize these frameworks."
It's clear that Microsoft is eager to move Windows forward with modern designs that are consistent with its current design language, but that the company must ensure that these modernizations don't interrupt workflows or break compatibility. That's ultimately why it's taken so long for Microsoft to modernize legacy UIs across Windows, because the UI frameworks and tooling required to do it need to be built-out to ensure legacy support first.
Our interview dives into more topics, including optimizing the OS for 8GB RAM devices and why Microsoft sometimes chooses WebView2 over WinUI in certain apps and interfaces. Be sure to watch the whole interview on our YouTube!
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Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Design and Research on Windows, Marcus Ash, has commented on the company's ongoing effort to modernize and reduce the memory footprint of Windows 11 for devices with low amounts of RAM.
Last week, Windows chief Pavan Davuluri confirmed the motion to optimize performance on Windows 11 for devices with 8GB RAM, and Marcus Ash has now broken down just how the company is planning to go about doing that.
Ash confirms that Microsoft is taking its work to optimize the OS seriously. It's looking at all aspects of Windows from top to bottom to ensure performance is optimized at every step.
"This is something we've learned especially over the last few months with the effort we've done on quality. We have to look at these as full-stack challenges, from the design of the pixels all the way down to the kernel scheduler and drivers," Ash told us in an interview on the Windows Central Podcast. "We know that given the expectations customers are going to have, we have a chance to do better. We have a chance to do things that get ahead of where we know customers are going to go in terms of their expectations on the apps they run, and the responsiveness of those apps."
The process is a group effort, one that incorporates all the teams building software and experiences inside and on top of Windows 11. "We get teams together across Microsoft, we get our own team together, we instrument the various customer jobs that people want to run, and then we're relentless at: how do we reduce the memory footprint?"
Ash continues: "How do we think about preload, and how long something should stay preloaded so that we can release things when you're not using the app as much, when we really need to reduce more system memory? We think about the design and just making sure that when people get under stressful memory conditions, how do we make it very easy for them to decide what they don't want to run anymore so that we can relieve some of that pressure?"
It's clear that Microsoft views the ongoing memory pricing crisis and competition from the MacBook Neo as driving forces for optimizing Windows 11 for devices with 8GB RAM. The company has confirmed that it's looking to begin shipping these memory and performance optimizations before the end of the year.
Our interview with Marcus Ash touches on more topics, including modernizing legacy UIs, how WebView2 fits in, and more on the Windows Central Podcast. So give the episode a watch on our YouTube today at 2PM ET if you want to hear more from Marcus Ash.
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Despite the massive damage Xbox Game Studios took during its controversial 'reset', it's still alive and ready to continue celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox, which would help change the video game landscape forever.
In honor of this momentous occasion, Microsoft has several announcements to help the Xbox fan community join in on the festivities while giving them presents as thanks for their support over the years.
To start, Microsoft is partnering with two popular Xbox content creators, Klobrille and Ben Kenobi, to publish new gamerpics, backgrounds, and a dynamic theme for Xbox consoles custom-made by the Xbox community.
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Additionally, Xbox is also willing to publish your custom-made Xbox designs if you send them on X and @XBOX with #XBOX25.
Speaking of Xbox customization. Starting today until the end of 2026, players who log into their Xbox account on console, PC, or the Xbox mobile app will obtain the Xbox 25th anniversary profile badge that they can put on their profile pics.
Next up, Xbox Game Pass is curating a collection of classic Xbox games that helped define the brand on each console generation from the original Xbox all the way to Xbox Series X|S, all playable on console or PC.
Some of these iconic titles will include, but are not limited to: Fable Anniversary, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Fallout 4, Psychonauts 2, Grounded, and more.
Finally, Microsoft has announced more dates for the Xbox FanFest Tour, which kicked off during the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2026.
The Xbox FanFest Tour is a global series of events where Xbox fans come together to connect, play games, and have fun.
Here's where and when you can expect the tour to happen next:
Tickets for each stop of the tour will be handed out to people through city-specific sweepstakes.
If you wish to enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a ticket and keep up on all the news updates for this tour, you will need to visit the XBOX FanFest Tour webpage.
If you want to keep up to date on further announcements regarding Xbox's 25th Anniversary celebrations, products, and exclusive content, visit the Xbox 25th Anniversary webpage hub.
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JFrog, une société spécialisée dans la sécurité de la chaîne logicielle, a passé au crible les 55 vulnérabilités déposées par un seul compte GitHub. Cinquante-quatre étaient entièrement fabriquées, une seule décrivait un vrai bug.
Six d'entre elles visaient SQLite, la petite base de données embarquée qu'on retrouve dans à peu près tous les téléphones et navigateurs de la planète, avec des scores de gravité affichés jusqu'à 9,8 sur 10. Les quarante-neuf autres s'en prenaient à libraw, une bibliothèque de traitement d'images, et à un module audio pour cartes ESP32.
Les rapports ne résistent pas à une vérification. L'un s'appuie sur une fonction qui n'existe pas dans la version de SQLite qu'il prétend attaquer. Un autre cite les lignes 3555 et 3575 d'un fichier qui n'en compte que 2706.
Ces failles n'ont été bloquées à aucune étape. Elles ont atterri dans le NVD, la base de référence américaine des vulnérabilités, avec un enrichissement fourni par la CISA, l'agence fédérale de cybersécurité, qui a validé les scores critiques au passage. Red Hat a dû redescendre l'une d'elles de 10 sur 10 à 7,6.
Le formulaire public par lequel on déclare une faille ne vérifie pas sérieusement l'identité du déclarant. Aucune étape du processus n'exige de preuve de concept ni la moindre reproduction du bug. Un texte plausible suffit.
Le reste est automatique. La fiche descend dans les bases dérivées, puis dans les scanners que les entreprises font tourner sur leur propre code, et une équipe finit par chercher un correctif à un problème qui n'a jamais existé. MITRE, l'organisme qui attribue ces identifiants, a rejeté le lot le 1er août.
Le NIST, chargé d'analyser ces fiches, avait déjà plus de 27 000 vulnérabilités en attente fin 2025, et un rapport officiel de mai dernier lui reprochait un manque de planification et de décision.
Les mainteneurs de logiciels libres décrochent. Le projet curl a fermé son programme de primes début 2026, après sept ans, son taux de rapports confirmés étant passé de 15 % à moins de 5 % sous le déluge de textes générés par IA.
Daniel Stenberg, qui le maintient, a ensuite fermé le guichet aux signalements du 1er juillet au 3 août. Bref, ce qui faisait tenir le système, c'est que fabriquer un faux rapport crédible demandait du temps à quelqu'un.
Source et visuel : The Register et JFROG
Après les catastrophes industrielles Madame Web et Kraven le Chasseur, le patron de Sony Pictures vient de porter le coup de grâce à son univers de super-vilains sans Spider-Man. Une décision tardive, mais salvatrice pour la santé mentale des fans de comics.
Au Mexique, 58 000 candidats vont devoir repasser l’examen d’entrée de la plus grande université du pays. Pourtant surveillée par une IA, cette épreuve à distance a été marquée par des résultats anormalement élevés et des soupçons de triche massive.
Le baromètre DegroupTest de juillet 2026 place Orange en tête des débits fibre avec 799 Mb/s, mais avec seulement six mégabits devant Bouygues Telecom. DegroupTest écrit que « Orange se fait rattraper par Bouygues Telecom »… sauf que son classement ne veut pas dire grand chose. Il y a dix-huit mois, ce même classement sacrait Free, puis Bouygues Telecom.
Audi a communiqué les premières données techniques de son A2 e-tron, la compacte électrique attendue à l'automne 2026. D'après les essais préliminaires, la version de 190 ch consommerait seulement 12,8 kWh/100 km. Un résultat obtenu grâce au travail conjoint sur l'aérodynamique, la chaîne de traction et la gestion de la batterie.
Henry Cavill a pris la parole sur son compte Instagram pour faire un petit point d'étape sur l'adaptation ambitieuse de l'univers Warhammer 40,000. Il a confirmé que Mike Flanagan travaille actuellement sur le scénario, mais refuse toujours de dire quel personnage il incarnera dans la série TV.
[Deal du jour] Si vous faites du vélo régulièrement, un bon compteur GPS permet de suivre vos performances ou de préparer vos itinéraires. Le Wahoo Elemnt Ace se démarque notamment par son immense écran de 3,8 pouces et son autonomie impressionnante, et profite actuellement d'une grosse remise sur Amazon.
Cinq ans après le départ de Daniel Craig dans Mourir peut attendre, l'étau se resserre enfin autour du futur 007. La coproductrice Amy Pascal a confirmé une décision imminente d'ici la fin de l'année 2026 pour lancer la toute nouvelle ère de la saga.
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