The Hot Take: Is this the beginning or Ai push back across the market that might include hardware soon?
Microsoft has started stripping Copilot branding out of Notepad in Windows 11, replacing the old Copilot menu with a more generic "writing tools" label. The AI features themselves aren't going away, but Microsoft seems to be backing off the heavy-handed Copilot branding and extra entry points. Windows Central reports: As promised, Microsoft is now beginning its effort to reduce and remove Copilot branding across Windows 11, with the latest Notepad update for Insiders outright removing the Copilot icon and phrasing. Now, the AI menu is simply called "writing tools," and maintains the same functionality as before. Additionally, Microsoft has also removed references to AI in the Settings area in Notepad. Now, the ability to turn on or off these AI powered writing tools are now listed under "Advanced features."
This change is present in the latest preview build of Notepad which is now rolling out to all Windows Insiders. The app version is 11.2512.28.0, and you'll know you have it if you see the Copilot icon replaced with a pen icon instead. [...] For Notepad, it appears Microsoft has opted to replace the Copilot menu with something more generic. It's still the same functionally, but it's no longer leaning on the tainted Copilot brand. Of course, you can still easily turn off all AI features in Notepad if you don't want them. The Verge reports that the "unnecessary Copilot buttons" are also disappearing from the Snipping Tool, Photos, and Widgets.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Hot Take: It appears that Nvidia is playing all the ISA's against each other.
In some funding rounds, the amount alone isnât enough to tell the whole story. The $400 million that SiFive raised on April 9, 2026, is therefore only half the story. The other half is who is involved and what the money is intended for. Reuters and SiFive itself speak of funding for the expansion of [âŚ]
Source
The Hot Take: Of course because the only browser is Edge, M$ doesn't recognize anything else.
BrianFagioli writes: Mozilla is accusing Microsoft of stacking the deck against Firefox, arguing that design choices in Windows steer users toward Edge even when they explicitly choose another browser. According to Mozilla, parts of Windows still open links in Edge regardless of the default browser setting, including results from the taskbar search and links launched from apps like Outlook and Teams. Mozilla says this means Firefox often never even gets the opportunity to handle those links, which quietly shifts user activity back into Microsoft's ecosystem.
The company also points to Microsoft's aggressive rollout of Copilot as another example of platform power being used to push Microsoft services. Copilot appeared pinned to the taskbar, arrived automatically on many systems with Microsoft 365, and even received a dedicated keyboard key on some laptops. Mozilla argues that when the maker of the dominant desktop operating system promotes its own browser and AI tools at the system level, it becomes far harder for independent browsers like Firefox to compete.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Hot Take: Mid-range is the target and your new standard.
We already knew the NVIDIA N1 was a thing; NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told the world straight up that his company was working with Mediatek on SoCs for AI PCs, and he also confirmed that the N1 and the GB10 Superchip in the DGX Spark are one and the same. However, this is the first time we've really seen anything like an end-user device sporting
By ckasprzak | TkOut
| April 12, 2026 | Apple, Hardware
The Hot Take: Merging of the platforms, mobile and PCs.
The MacBook Neo is an excellent example of how itâs possible to incorporate iPhone parts into a notebook, but the binned A18 Pro isnât the only component that Apple has added to its larger machines from mobile devices to streamline its product range with the same parts. In fact, according to a SSD modification, both the MacBook Neo and the iPhone 16 Pro feature the same NAND flash, which is an excellent way to maintain margins while the DRAM crisis is in full effect. A specific NAND flash chip with particular dimensions used on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro [âŚ]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apple-uses-interchangeable-iphone-and-mac-parts-to-gain-dram-protection/
The Hot Take: It's going to be interesting if Intel can make a sudden comeback with actual functional management. I have a feeling this is going to be my next system.
Some high-end motherboards for Intel's upcoming Nova Lake processors have been tipped to include a dual-lever retention mechanism called "2L-ILM." We've seen something similar before with LGA 2011, but that a server platform. Boards with 2L-ILM will live alongside standard ILM (1L-ILM?) variants that are cheaper to produce.
The Hot Take: They did state prices were going up. Now is it inflation or greed?
Following earlier listings, AMD has now confirmed the US $899 price tag for its Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 flagship. The new flagship CPU with dual 3D V-Cache comes with a hefty premium compared to its single 3D V-Cache counterpart, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D.
Confirmed by AMDâs VP and GM of Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics, David McAfee, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, which will be officially available on April 22nd, will be selling for $899, depending on the supply and demand. In case you missed it, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is a 16-core/32-thread SKU that features dual 3D V-Cache, which means that each of the 8-core CCDs has its own cache, leaving the CPU with a total of 208MB of L2 and L3 cache. It works at 4.3GHz base and 5.6GHz Boost clocks and has a 200W TDP.
Although it should be best suited for gaming, AMD is also targeting content creators and developers, saying that it should handle complex workloads and datasets. Unfortunately, AMD has so far shared only select benchmarks, and weâll have to wait for some official reviews to check out its gaming performance and improvements in latency due to the fact that each CCD has its own cache.
Weâll be keeping an eye on when official reviews go live, and it actually starts shipping from retailers/e-tailers.
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The Hot Take: Public is always a decade at least behind Military tech....
alternative_right quotes a report from the New York Post: The CIA used a futuristic new tool called "Ghost Murmur" to find and rescue the second American airman who was shot down in southern Iran, The Post has learned. The secret technology uses long-range quantum magnetometry to find the electromagnetic fingerprint of a human heartbeat and pairs the data with artificial intelligence software to isolate the signature from background noise, two sources close to the breakthrough said. It was the tool's first use in the field by the spy agency -- and was alluded to Monday afternoon by President Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe at a White House briefing. "It's like hearing a voice in a stadium, except the stadium is a thousand square miles of desert," a source briefed on the program told The Post. "In the right conditions, if your heart is beating, we will find you." The relatively barren landscape made for "an ideal first operational use" of Ghost Murmur, the first source noted.
"Normally this signal is so weak that it can only be measured in a hospital setting with sensors pressed nearly against the chest," the source said. "But advances in a field known as quantum magnetometry -- specifically sensors built around microscopic defects in synthetic diamonds -- have apparently made it possible to detect these signals at dramatically greater distances."
"The capability is not omniscient. It works best in remote, low-clutter environments and requires significant processing time," this person added.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Hot Take: Oh, you think? Desktop is never truly going to fit into the palm of your hand unless we do something drastic like quantum-computing.
MediaTek may have conceded its plans to bring only a single chipset to its Dimensity 9600 lineup because a new rumor claims a âProâ version will arrive later this year, likely as a direct counter to Qualcommâs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Like its closest rival, a tipster states that the SoC is bringing desktop-level performance with a target frequency of 5.00GHz and a new CPU cluster. The only catch is that MediaTek has yet to find a way to cool it properly. New target frequency for the Dimensity 9600 Pro may only be in short bursts, as overheating problems plague the chipset, [âŚ]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/dimensity-9600-pro-bringing-desktop-level-performance-with-5ghz-clock-speed-target/
The Hot Take: Apple can't compete so it's going the ASICs route from the looks of it.
Apple generally tries to keep its cards hidden, preferring a grand unveiling, replete with mega-flourishes, to a gradual trickle of information and unvarnished product launches. However, when you have a supply chain as expansive as Apple's, leaks abound nonetheless. And today, we've received a juicy tidbit regarding the tech giant's intentions for its upcoming ASIC, dubbed Baltra. Apple intends to move the production of its upcoming AI ASIC in-house According to a South Korean publication, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) - a company that specializes in core electronic components, multilayer ceramic capacitors, and chip substrates - has provided samples of its glass [âŚ]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apple-shows-its-cards-plans-to-move-the-production-of-its-upcoming-baltra-asic-in-house/