Kalakshar US

As we edge closer to Windows 10’s end-of-support on October 14, 2025, Microsoft is throwing its more stubborn users another bone. The company previously announced that, for the first time, consumers would be able to purchase one year of Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for $30. Today, Microsoft revealed that you’ll also be able to use 1,000 reward points to snap up an ESU. That could be helpful if, like me, you’ve been slowly amassing Microsoft Rewards and completely forgot they existed. (You can earn points by searching on Bing, shopping on the Microsoft store and playing Xbox games.)

To recap, the Windows 10 ESU will get users bug fixes, security updates and technical support until October 13, 2026. If you don’t pay for the ESU, you can still keep using Windows 10, you just won’t get any major updates. At the very least, though, Microsoft will continue to deliver MS 365 app security updates, as well as Windows Defender antivirus intelligence updates, until October 2028. I’d also wager you’ll start to see plenty of notifications nagging you to update to Windows 11 after this October.

Microsoft says Windows 10 users will be able to enroll in its ESU through notifications and Windows Settings. The enrollment wizard is currently available to Windows Insider testers, and the company plans to start rolling it out to general users in July, with wide availability in mid-August.

I can understand why Windows 10 users would be reluctant to move. It was a rock solid upgrade after the fiasco of Windows 8, and it’s simply annoying to readjust your entire workflow for a whole new OS. But I also liked Windows 11 when it debuted in 2021, since it offered a more refined Windows experience. Microsoft has also addressed most of my concerns with Windows 11 by now — for example, you can finally see app names on the task bar again, instead of having them hidden for the sake of aesthetics.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/windows-10-users-can-get-extended-security-updates-for-1000-microsoft-rewards-points-170023129.html?src=rss 

Picking up a new MacBook can be pricey, so we always like sharing when a great model is having a steep sale. If you’re in the market for a lightweight yet powerful laptop, then Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air with the M3 processor might fit the bill, and it’s $450 off right now. In particular, the silver model with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is on sale for $1,249 from its regular price of $1,699.

The M3 MacBook Air was our top budget pick for MacBooks, and we were impressed with its fast performance thanks to the M3 chip, as well as its sturdy and sleek design. We also enjoyed the six-speaker array on the 15-inch model, as well as the 3K Liquid Retina display. Thanks to these features and more, it earned a score of 90 in our hands-on review.

Our only real gripe was that the charging and USB-C ports are all on one side of the MacBook Air, which can make arranging peripherals a touch cluttered. It can also make charging just a little more complicated if you have to drape a charging cable around the laptop to reach the port on the other side.

This sale comes ahead of this year’s Prime Day, which will be Amazon’s longest one yet. Great deals are all over Amazon’s site right now with even more to come during the July 8 to 11 event.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-15-inch-m3-macbook-air-is-450-off-ahead-of-prime-day-154537752.html?src=rss 

Nintendo just revealed that Drag x Drive will be available on August 14, exclusively for the recently-released Switch 2 console. The company made this announcement on its Today! news app.

For the uninitiated, Drag x Drive is a 3 v 3 wheelchair basketball game. The main hook is that it’s controlled via the mouse-like functionality of those new Joy-Con controllers. This will be the first major test of this feature and will let us know if it’ll be a barely-used gimmick or a real opportunity for new gameplay experiences.

The game looks pretty fun, though it will likely be something of a niche title. Think Arms and not Wii Sports. We don’t have a price yet and it remains to be seen if the concept is robust enough to charge $60 or $70. My guess is that it’ll come somewhere in the $30 to $40 range.

This does, however, prove one thing. Nintendo is trying to release a first-party game each month, which is something it did during much of the lifecycle of the original Switch. The new console launched with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza comes out on July 17.

Speaking of Donkey Kong Bananza, the next big Switch 2 exclusive co-stars Pauline from the original arcade game and looks like an absolute blast. DK gets to eat giant, golden bananas and destroy everything in his sight. It could also very well be a prequel to both the original Donkey Kong and Super Mario Odyssey, given Pauline’s age in Bananza.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendos-mouse-controlled-basketball-game-comes-out-on-august-14-163200335.html?src=rss 

It seems the cuts just keep on coming within Microsoft’s gaming division. A company-wide reorganization is taking place, and that’s slated to include another major round of layoffs within the Xbox team. Those cuts will be confirmed next week, according to Bloomberg. Engadget has contacted Microsoft for comment.

Microsoft confirmed last month that it would lay off about three percent of its total workforce across all teams, levels and regions in an attempt to streamline operations and flatten its management structure. That equates to around 7,000 people losing their jobs. Per Bloomberg‘s report, Xbox managers are anticipating “substantial cuts across the entire group.” 

Microsoft cut 1,900 workers from its gaming division in January 2024, and another 650 last September. It also closed down Arkane Austin and Alpha Dog Games last year, while merging Roundhouse Studios into ZeniMax Online Studios. It shut down Tango Gameworks as well, but Krafton — the publisher of PUBG: Battlegrounds — acquired that studio last August.

For the first three months of this calendar year, Microsoft reported net revenue of $25.8 billion. It also said that its Xbox content and services revenue had increased by eight percent year-over-year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-will-reportedly-conduct-another-major-round-of-layoffs-next-week-145846887.html?src=rss 

Prime Day is still two weeks away, but the early deals are already arriving on Amazon. There’s everything from the fun, like 8BitDo’s Micro Bluetooth gamepad, to the practical, like the Levoit Core 400S air purifier. Falling firmly in the latter category is Amazon’s latest offer, a 29 percent discount on the TP-Link Deco AXE5400 WI-Fi mesh router system. You can pick up the three-pack for $250, down from $350. 

The TP-Link Deco AXE5400 is our choice for best mesh Wi-Fi system for most people. It debuted in 2023 and scored an 87 in our review thanks to features like its incredible speed — arguably the most important measure of a good Wi-Fi system. It’s also very reliable. 

The Wi-Fi system is very user-friendly and works well even in a large home. Plus, its basic security and parental control features come at no extra cost. Our only qualms were minimal like the app is a little rough and the power cables are a bit short. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-mesh-wi-fi-system-drops-to-a-record-low-price-ahead-of-prime-day-151326363.html?src=rss 

Google Earth is celebrating its 20th birthday, and to mark the occasion, Google is bringing historical Street View imagery to the service. In a blog post, Google said the anniversary update allows users to “explore the wonders of the planet from even more viewpoints, whether it’s a bird’s eye view or at street level.”

From today, when you load up Google Earth you’ll see a new option for historical imagery in the toolbar, which allows you to move back and forth between now and years gone by. Seemingly predicting that you might be overwhelmed by the prospect of having the entire planet at your fingertips, Google offers some suggestions. You might want to look at a timelapse of Berlin between 1943 and the modern day, in which time the Berlin Wall was built and fell, before the city underwent huge urban transformation. You could also observe the rapid expansion of Las Vegas since the 1980s, or how Houston’s NRG Stadium was built on top of what was just farmland back in 1944. Some Maps users have even used the historical view to look up, say, pictures of their homes from years gone by, occasionally finding imagery of lost loved ones in the process.

Google also announced further updates to Google Earth, including new AI-driven insights for professional users in the US. Urban planners will soon be able to access information about things like tree canopy coverage and surface land temperatures of different areas of a city using built-in Gemini insights.

Google Earth first launched in 2005, and according to Google was downloaded 100 million times in its first week. It’s had a number of major updates over the years, adding features such as searchable wallpapers and 3D timelapse videos.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-brings-historical-street-view-to-google-earth-153040270.html?src=rss 

The limited-edition, Xbox-branded Meta Quest 3S headset has arrived. Reports over the weekend suggested that this model, which Meta announced a little over a year ago, would become available on June 24 and that turned out to be the case.

This version of the headset comes in Xbox’s classic black aesthetic with a green trim, and a matching Xbox Wireless Controller and Touch Plus controllers. You’ll be able to connect other controllers to the headset, including the Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controller, as well as third-party gamepads like the Backbone Pro.

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition has 128GB of storage and comes with an Elite Strap, as well as three months of access to both Meta Horizon+ and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. With the latter, you can play games via the cloud on the Xbox app, including supported games you own that are not part of the Game Pass Ultimate catalog.

At $400, this bundle costs a bit more than the standard $300 Meta Quest 3S. Microsoft says that the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is available now, but “quantities are extremely limited.” If you’d like to pick one up, you can do so from Meta’s website, Best Buy in the US and Argos and EE in the UK. It’s only available in those two countries.

The Xbox app with cloud gaming support has been available on Quest headsets since late 2023. Still, this partnership aligns with Microsoft’s push to have Xbox games accessible on as many devices as possible. The company recently announced Xbox-branded ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PCs that will be available later this year, and it has hinted at a more open future for the Xbox platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/the-meta-quest-3s-xbox-edition-is-out-now-and-it-costs-400-134358869.html?src=rss