Blog

After checking the Recycle Bin, Microsoft’s command-line option is worth a try. But a dedicated recovery tool is often your best bet for retrieving a deleted file. Here’s how to use one.

A new report from Canva encourages teachers to nurture creativity and design skills to compete in the age of AI. Other areas to focus on? Time management and problem-solving.

Google’s pre-built Gems offer prompt examples you can modify to get started with your own custom bot.

Qualcomm is already back with a new Snapdragon X CPU, and the chip massively undercuts the competition from Apple.

The Asus Vivobook S 15 is a solid addition to the growing stable of Copilot+ laptops. It’s fast enough, gets good battery life, and it’s reasonably affordable.

If you want a new Surface Pro with 5G, you’ll have to order it through Microsoft’s commercial store for business customers. Today, the company announced that 5G versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Pro (Copilot+) for Business will be available on September 26. Last month, Microsoft also kicked off pre-orders for the Wi-Fi Surface Pro and Surface Laptop for Business, which will both start shipping on September 10th. And before you ask, yes these are pretty much the same devices Microsoft launched for consumers in June. The difference now is that IT workers will be able to buy them in bulk via the company’s enterprise resellers.

Still, the 5G news could be compelling for anyone who wants instant internet access while travelling around the US. And, at the very least, both the 5G-equipped Surface Pros for Business will be far more capable than the ill-fated Surface Pro 9. That machine was powered by a slow Qualcomm chip and also didn’t have the advantage of Microsoft’s recent Windows on Arm upgrades, which includes a faster emulator for older apps. It’s just a shame that, once again, Microsoft is stuck with an older Intel chip — the Surface Pro 10 for Business still runs the first Core Ultra chips, not the newly-announced Core Ultra 200V.

In other Surface news, Microsoft is also launching a new full-sized Surface Keyboard with a Copilot key on October 11. Surely this will make some corporate drone happy.

The Copilot+ Surface Pro for Business system will cost $1,400 with a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus, 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, while the Surface Pro 10 for Business will run you $1,800 with a Core Ultra 135 and the same specs. It’s a good thing those machines have 5G, because you won’t be storing much video on those paltry SSDs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/microsoft-brings-5g-to-its-latest-surface-pros-for-business-110033856.html?src=rss

Qualcomm is moving to make AI PCs more affordable. Following the company’s 12-core Snapdragon X Elite and 10-core Snapdragon X Plus, it unveiled a toned-down eight-core version of the Snapdragon X Plus on Wednesday. The chip includes the same Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU) from the higher-end variants, capable of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for powerful on-device AI.

The 4nm AI-focused chip has a custom Qualcomm Orion CPU built for “mainstream” (i.e., cheaper) Copilot+ PCs. Its eight cores can reach speeds of up to 3.2GHz, with single-core performance at up to 3.4GHz. Qualcomm says it enables days-long battery life in laptops.

The chip includes an integrated Adreno GPU, which supports up to three 4K 60Hz monitors or two 5K 60Hz displays. It supports an internal display of up to UHD 120Hz with HDR10.

The chart below shows how the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core’s specs compare to other AI chips in the line:

Qualcomm

“Copilot+ PCs, powered exclusively today by Snapdragon X Series platforms, launched the new generation in personal computing, made possible by our groundbreaking NPU,” Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon wrote in a press release. “We are now bringing these transformative AI experiences, along with best-in-class performance and unprecedented battery life, to more users worldwide with Snapdragon X Plus 8-core. We’re proud to be working with our global OEM partners to restore performance leadership to the Windows ecosystem.”

The first PCs with the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus include laptops from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and others. They’ll be available starting today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/cheaper-copilot-pcs-are-coming-with-qualcomms-8-core-snapdragon-x-plus-chip-110013598.html?src=rss

Dell revealed details for new models in its Inspiron and Latitude laptop lines at IFA 2024. The company announced in May that it would be powering several of its new devices with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus, and now we have more information about how those processors will work in Dell’s collection of Copilot+ PCs.

The Inspiron 14 and the Latitude 5455 can have either the 8-core or 10-core Snapdragon X Plus processors. The 10-core option has clock speeds up to 3.4GHz while the newly announced 8-core goes up to 3.24 GHz. Both versions have the same NPU for AI tasks, which offers up to 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) in machine learning performance in support of Microsoft’s Copilot AI platform.

Dell

Both 14-inch laptops are equipped with Qualcomm’s Adreno GPUs. The machines have 16:10 FHD+ displays with a 1920×1200 resolution. Dell also highlighted “up to 27 hours” of battery life for the Latitude 5455, which will be available starting September 24, although it hasn’t shared pricing information yet. The Inspiron 14 will also be available on September 24 and will retail for $899 in the US.

Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon X Plus line earlier this year. It’s a lower-end series than the Snapdragon X Elite, but it still promises enough power to handle the increasing number of AI tasks being asked of modern computers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/dell-brings-qualcomms-snapdragon-x-plus-to-inspiron-and-latitude-laptops-110009714.html?src=rss

Lyft is rolling out a new price lock feature that caps the cost of rides, in an attempt to solve the problem of cost unpredictability for those who rely on the platform for daily commutes. The company says this tool will even work during peak hours, when rides are usually at their most expensive. There are, however, some caveats.

First of all, there’s a required monthly subscription price to use this service, though it’s only $3 per month. There’s also a curious lack of details regarding how exactly the cap works. Does it just average past rides and exclude peak pricing? Is there a limit to just how much can be capped? We reached out to Lyft and will update this post if we hear anything.

Lyft

One thing is certain. Lyft is planning on this feature being a hit. It has suggested that commuters will take 40 percent more rides once the price lock tool becomes commonplace. However, it’s worth noting that Lyft is the one that sets the prices in the first place, so it caused the instability that this tool sets out to solve. 

There’s also a promotion to advertise the price lock mechanism: 100 customers who are starting new jobs will receive free “first day” rides. This will be handled via LinkedIn. Just 100 rides? That seems pretty stingy for a company as large as Lyft, but what do I know?

This isn’t the first time Lyft has tried its hand at a subscription-based service. The company’s Pink subscription service has been an on-again/off-again thing for years. This is more or less a bundle of add-ons at this point. Pink stopped offering ride discounts but began offering perks like free priority pickups and three free cancellations per month. This program is still live, at $10 per month or $100 per year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/lyfts-new-price-lock-feature-caps-the-cost-of-rides-even-during-peak-hours-100014522.html?src=rss

Workspaces PowerToy allows users to configure their applications to open exactly how they like.