When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Microsoft promised a better Windows 11. Microsoft has delivered the Windows 11 26H2 Update to the masses. We issue a report card on how it's lived up to its promises. This was supposed to be the year Microsoft fixed Windows 11.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I doubled my laptop's battery life in a single click. This week in Smart Mode, we look at Microsoft's ways to save power within Windows and keep your laptop up and running for longer. It's not often that I come across a productivity tip so good that it amazes even me. And that's what happened when I started testing Windows' hidden "energy recommendations" to extend laptop battery life.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. How to stream every show from the New York Times' top 100 list, and how long it'll take you to get through them all. If you have five years, four months, and $1,138 to spare, you might be able stream every one of ' top 100 TV shows of the 21st century. As you'd expect from any authoritative listicle, ' plaudits have prompted plenty of debate about the honorees and snubs. It's also a reminder of how much great TV already exists, and how much time you could spend watching critically acclaimed shows from the past instead of trying to keep up with the present.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Get a lifetime Adobe Acrobat replacement for $34.99 SwifDoo PDF Pro edits, converts, and signs PDFs on Windows, and a lifetime license is $34.99 (reg. Most full PDF editors charge a monthly fee, and a web browser can only open a file and add basic markup. A SwifDoo PDF Pro perpetual lifetime license edits, converts, and signs PDFs for a one-time $34.99 (reg. SwifDoo edits text and images in existing PDFs, merges and splits files, and compresses large documents to the quality level you pick.

Your PC Rig Is Optimized. Gamers and PC users will spend hours tuning frame rates, working on a spreadsheet or presentation, or benchmarking a new GPU--but the chair underneath all of it often gets ignored. A stiff neck, a sore lower back, legs that go numb by hour six--none of that is about discipline. It's about sitting in a chair that was never designed to move with you. LiberNovo builds two lines of dynamic ergonomic chairs--Omni and Maxis--around a different idea: the chair should do some of the work of keeping you comfortable, not just cushion you while you sit still.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Gemini Skills are the new Gems, and they're not just for paid Gemini users anymore. One of the easiest ways to create your own, customized Gemini chatbot is about to be retired, but we just got a pair of encouraging updates about their replacements. We learned earlier this week that skills, a Gemini feature that was previously reserved for the Gemini Spark AI assistant, would step in for Gems, and that existing Gems would be converted to skills in the runup to the November sunset date. One of the big questions about skills, which are essentially custom instructions for Gemini that can be summoned within a prompt, was whether they'd be available to free as well as paid users.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Amazon's Fire HD 8 tablet just hit $79.99, its lowest price ever The Fire HD 8 tablet with 13 hours of battery life is now $50 off. Its main downsides are camera and display quality. Tablets with a compact 8-inch display are especially appealing if all you want to do is read ebooks, watch videos, browse the web, and use simple apps while on the go. Compared to larger models, 8-inchers are easier to carry around and fit into tight bags and backpacks.

PCWorld notes that Firefox 157 introduces the Nova redesign, the browser's biggest visual overhaul in years, featuring rounded corners, subtle color gradients, and 12 unique themes with light and dark modes. A new Compact Mode helps users save screen space, making Firefox more practical for smaller displays. Mozilla also released ESR security updates fixing dozens of vulnerabilities, with older system support continuing until March 2027. Firefox 157 is out for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android and the biggest change in this version is the new Nova design, which brings a more modern look to the browser. Mozilla has also fixed over 70 security vulnerabilities, and updates are also available for the Firefox ESR versions. The release of Firefox 158 is scheduled for October 13th, 2026.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Windows 11 26H2 update has known issues. Windows 11 26H2 has three known issues carried over from earlier versions. Here's why you might want to wait to update. Windows 11 26H2 is here earlier than expected, but before you run off and install it, you might want to take a second.

Microsoft has released Windows 11 26H2. Here’s how your Windows 11 PC can get the next major Windows update, and here are the ISO files available for direct download.