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Acer showed off a concept device called Project DualPlay Mini, an 8-inch Windows handheld gaming PC that opens up like a laptop to reveal a backlit physical keyboard, with the screen swiveling inward to complete the transformation. Alongside it, Acer launched the Predator Atlas 7, a smaller 7-inch sibling to the Predator Atlas 8 handheld released earlier this year.
Acer showed off Project DualPlay Mini, a concept device that folds like a mini laptop with a built-in keyboard and flip-up 8-inch screen, but converts into a standard handheld gaming device when closed. The company says it isn't a shipping product yet, though it would use the same Intel chips found in its newly announced Predator Atlas 8 and Atlas 7 handhelds.
Microsoft will start rolling out updates that automatically turn on memory integrity and Virtualization-based Security on eligible Windows 11 devices, aiming to make the OS secure by default. The kernel-level protection blocks untrusted drivers and code but can reduce gaming frame rates, especially on older CPUs. Devices where users previously disabled the feature will not have it re-enabled automatically.
Dell introduced the Dell 14S at IFA 2026, a student-focused laptop offered in four colors—beige, pink, blue, and green—with configurations starting at 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, scalable to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB SSD. Positioned below the XPS 13, it includes HDMI, a headphone jack, a 1080p webcam with Windows Hello, and up to 23 hours of claimed battery life, running on Intel Core 5 or Core 7 chips rather than newer Panther Lake processors.
Many Windows programs quietly add themselves to the startup sequence, often because users miss an installer's checkbox or software enrolls itself without notice. Over time this can leave dozens of unnecessary apps launching every time a PC boots, slowing startup and consuming memory and CPU. Windows scatters these entries across several different settings areas, so users need to check multiple locations to find them all.
Hobbyist developers have successfully ported Windows NT 4.0 to Nintendo's GameCube console, building on groundwork laid by a project called Entii for Workcubes hosted on GitHub. The feat was recently showcased in a video by Jiga Tech, demonstrating the modding process used to get Microsoft's decades-old operating system running on the aging Nintendo hardware.
An analysis of moving from Windows to macOS notes that while web apps have made the transition smoother, Macs still differ in fundamental ways, starting with the absence of a native right-click and unfamiliar app installation steps outside the App Store. The piece traces the single-button mouse legacy to Steve Jobs, who reportedly resisted multi-button designs to keep interfaces simple.
Microsoft confirmed that its optional KB5120998 preview update, released August 27, is resetting or corrupting users' custom mouse cursor settings on Windows 11. Affected users report cursors becoming oversized, appearing as generic white icons, or vanishing entirely, with custom animations reverting to defaults. Microsoft acknowledged the bug on its known issues page but has not yet issued a fix.
Perplexity has extended its agentic AI feature, previously exclusive to Mac, to Windows 10 and 11 users on paid Pro, Max, or Enterprise plans. The tool can access local files, control native Windows applications, and connect to cloud services like OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox to complete multi-step tasks with minimal user input. A ZDNET reviewer tested it on five complex tasks to gauge its real-world usefulness.
A how-to guide details a method for turning an iPhone into a substitute gaming controller for PCs using the Remote Gamepad app, which works with Mac, Windows and Linux systems. Rather than pairing via Bluetooth, the setup connects the iPhone to a computer over a shared Wi-Fi network to relay controller inputs into PC games.
Microsoft is rolling out a new button in Windows 11's full-screen backup prompt that lets users permanently dismiss repeated nudges to enable OneDrive backup through Windows Backup. Windows Latest spotted the option on two PCs running stable Windows 11 25H2 builds, even on machines without the OneDrive sync client installed. Microsoft says clicking it won't delete existing OneDrive files or change sync settings—it simply stops the recurring prompt.
Libertix is a new Windows application that installs Linux directly without requiring a bootable USB drive or manual partitioning. It supports Windows 10 and 11 and sets up a dual-boot configuration so users can keep Windows while adding Linux, choosing between them at startup. The project is currently running a €3,000 crowdfunding campaign to fund a full-time contributor for summer 2026.