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Smarter Displays, Faster Mini PCs, AI Everywhere: MSI Is Redefining Professional Performance at CES 2026

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. MSI reveals AI-ready mini PCs and pro displays at CES 2026, including Cubi NUC AI+ systems, Pro Max AI+ desktops, and new QD-OLED PRO MAX monitors. MSI showed off a bunch of intriguing hardware for professionals at this year's CES, with a wide range of miniature AI PCs, and an utterly gorgeous OLED monitor. Whether you're looking to get your boss to fund a new upgrade for work or it's time to overhaul the home office, the kit MSI has on show at CES 2026 could be what you're looking for. Mini PCs continue to trend upward in offices and creator setups.


New AI tool is like a private, no-subscription ChatGPT on your desktop

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Get a lifetime license to Pansophy's fully private, on-device AI assistant for $79 and run ChatGPT-style tools locally with zero subscriptions, zero data sharing, and zero usage limits (MSRP $199). AI tools are getting more powerful, but also more expensive, more restricted, and more invasive. That's why this new desktop AI tool is turning so many heads: it gives you ChatGPT-style intelligence with none of the trade-offs. Pansophy is a fully local AI desktop assistant that runs entirely on your PC, Mac, Chromebook, or Linux device.


TextEdit and the Relief of Simple Software

The New Yorker

The bare-bones Mac writing app represents a literalist sensibility that is coming back into vogue as A.I. destabilizes our technological interactions. The so-called desktop first appeared on a home computer in 1981, with the release of the Xerox 8010 Star Information System. That device pioneered the graphical-user interface, or G.U.I., a convenient series of visual metaphors that allows us to interact more easily with our machines. The most basic computing interface is the command-line prompt, the empty box in which users write instructions in code directly to the machine; the Xerox Star replaced that forbidding vacuum with a friendly illustration of a tabletop surface, textured in patterned pixels, scattered with icons for folders, spreadsheets, and filing trays. A 1982 paper on the device described the then novel system: "Users are encouraged to think of the objects on the Desktop in physical terms.


DeGrip: A Compact Cable-driven Robotic Gripper for Desktop Disassembly

Zhang, Bihao, Soleymanzadeh, Davood, Liang, Xiao, Zheng, Minghui

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Intelligent robotic disassembly of end-of-life (EOL) products has been a long-standing challenge in robotics. While machine learning techniques have shown promise, the lack of specialized hardware limits their application in real-world scenarios. We introduce DeGrip, a customized gripper designed for the disassembly of EOL computer desktops. DeGrip provides three degrees of freedom (DOF), enabling arbitrary configurations within the disassembly environment when mounted on a robotic manipulator. It employs a cable-driven transmission mechanism that reduces its overall size and enables operation in confined spaces. The wrist is designed to decouple the actuation of wrist and jaw joints. We also developed an EOL desktop disassembly environment in Isaac Sim to evaluate the effectiveness of DeGrip. The tasks were designed to demonstrate its ability to operate in confined spaces and disassemble components in arbitrary configurations. The evaluation results confirm the capability of DeGrip for EOL desktop disassembly.


I swapped my 1,000 desktop for a 300 mini PC and regret nothing

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. You might not need as much computer as you think. I didn't expect it to change my entire computing setup. But here I am now, using the $319 Beelink SER5 Mini PC as my daily workhorse, powering an ultrawide 1440p 100Hz monitor and smoothly handling any productivity task I've thrown at it. This little computer has been so delightful to use that I've relegated my full-sized desktop tower PC to the basement television, where it's now serving exclusively as a gaming rig.



Google's Latest AI Ransomware Defense Only Goes So Far

WIRED

Google's Latest AI Ransomware Defense Only Goes So Far Google has launched a new AI-based protection in Drive for desktop that can shut down an attack before it spreads--but its benefits have their limits. Ransomware attacks have loomed for years as an urgent digital threat with no easy solution --especially as they have evolved to include data grab-and-leak attacks that may not even involve data-encrypting malware at all. Traditional ransomware that locks up files and systems is still rampant, though, and Google on Tuesday launched a new defense for its Google Drive for desktop apps that aims to quickly detect ransomware activity and halt cloud syncing before an infection can spread. While antivirus scanners monitor for signs of malware across a system, the new ransomware protections in Drive for desktop are meant to act as an additional line of defense. The detection capability is built on an AI model that Google trained using millions of real victims' files that had been encrypted with various strains of ransomware.


Framework Desktop review: A powerful AI PC, made with love

PCWorld

The Framework Desktop DIY Edition is a thoughtfully engineered small-form-factor desktop PC that is both an entry point into enthusiast computing as well as a powerful AI desktop in its own right. The Framework Desktop DIY Edition is unique: a do-it-yourself desktop without the complexity of building from scratch, forming a compact, personalized "AI workstation." If you're nervous about a less-familiar brand, don't be. Multiple photos show how to tighten a thumbscrew–that's how comfortable they want you to be. I can point to a few things that I thought needed improvement: soldered memory, a beta driver bundle that should be finalized by the time you buy it, and a top panel which didn't clip in as easily as I would have liked. Inserting the SSD stressed me out a bit, too. But Framework's eye for customization (colored tiles you can design and install yourself, plus your choice of I/O) lends itself to fun and productivity. The AMD Ryzen AI Max (Strix Halo) chip inside is slightly out of the ordinary, with its do-everything design. I have high praise for the Framework Desktop, and think you will too.


Make the most of AI with iBUYPOWER's RDY Element Pro R01

PCWorld

AI is driving new capabilities across creative apps, productivity tools and gaming. Many of these features can now directly run on a laptop or desktop without the need for subscriptions or cloud access. PCs equipped with a GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU accelerate AI performance and unlock the best experience. Alongside DLSS 4 upscaling and multi frame generation, which boost performance and image quality in supported game titles, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs give you access to NVIDIA's suite of RTX AI features that can enhance your creative endeavors, give you free access to a capable (and private) chatbot, and help you enjoy streamed movie and TV at higher quality than ever before. NVIDIA has been at the forefront of AI innovation--from building AI factories to advancing the latest gaming and creative technologies on laptops and desktops. Tensor Cores, the dedicated hardware that accelerates AI processing, first launched with the GeForce RTX 20 Series in 2018 and have advanced every generation since then.