Microsoft secretly increases Xbox gift card points cost
News Microsoft has quietly increased the Microsoft Rewards points cost for Xbox gift cards in the US and UK by roughly 5%.
Features
Black Ops 7 is on a roll and the latest content is the best from Call of Duty in ages
Opinion It might be the in thing to rip on Call of Duty on the internet, but they're cooking with Black Ops 7. The most recent content is some of the best in a long time.
Two of the most legendary games of all time get new content this week
Gaming For veteran gamers who have been at it for decades, this week's new content for Age of Empires 2 and Diablo 2 feels like time travel. Kudos to Microsoft for preserving these games the right way.
Windows 11 resumes feature updates, and the early 2026 changes are actually useful
Windows 11 Check out the latest Windows 11 Insider builds in 2026, including System Monitor, AI Narrator, camera updates, and WebP desktop backgrounds.
Diablo 4 devs chat about upcoming overhaul in Lord of Hatred
GAMING We chat about everything endgame and progression with the Diablo 4 developers ahead of the Lord of Hatred expansion, which will be the biggest overhaul of Diablo systems to date.
Windows & Software
Work work like a Warcraft Peon with this new open-source tool
Software Coding doesn't have to be boring; you can spice it up a little bit and work work like a Peon! Add PeonPing to your AI coding app, and you'll never be held back by a silent terminal again.
Windows 11 resumes feature updates, and the early 2026 changes are actually useful
Windows 11 Check out the latest Windows 11 Insider builds in 2026, including System Monitor, AI Narrator, camera updates, and WebP desktop backgrounds.
Weezer’s Buddy Holly video almost didn’t make Windows 95
WINDOWS Microsoft’s lawyers had to consult Happy Days reps, including The Fonz, to secure Weezer’s Buddy Holly video for the Windows 95 CD.
PC Hardware
Western Digital shifts supply to AI, leaving consumers short
News AI infrastructure demand is reshaping the storage market, as Western Digital confirms firm orders through 2026 and long-term agreements stretching into 2028.
Acer and ASUS PC sales halted in Germany over a codec spat with Nokia
Hardware Acer and ASUS pause PC sales in the European country after a court ruled in favor of Nokia in a HEVC legal battle.
The best Windows laptops out of 70+ recent reviews
Laptops The Windows Central team has tested and reviewed more than 70 Windows laptops in the past year, and I've curated this list with the 9 best options as well as several honorable mentions.
Get the best CPU for your NVIDIA RTX 3060 gaming PC
Hardware NVIDIA's RTX 3060 remains a valid gaming GPU five years after it launched, and these CPUs are the perfect pairing.
Deals
This highly effective MMO mouse and near-perfect keyboard are on a Presidents' Day sale
Deals Presidents' Day has given Best Buy a chance to sell off a couple of vital discounted PC gaming accessories for players looking to conquer World of Warcraft's upcoming Midnight expansion.
I bought this discounted Lenovo laptop; here's why you should too.
Deals Lenovo's IdeaPad Slim 3X is heavily discounted for President's Day and if you're shopping on a budget, this is definitely the laptop deal you should grab.
Best Buy has the best Presidents' Day deals for workhorse laptops
Deals We have gathered up the Best Buy's greatest discounts on productivity laptops to help fellow Americans blaze through workloads in honor of Presidents' Day.
I already found the best Presidents' Day deals on Windows PC and Xbox
Deals Find the best Presidents' Day deals on everything in Microsoft's ecosystem in my curated list, including Windows PCs, new laptops, and Xbox gaming accessories.
Handheld Gaming PCs
Valve confirms RAM shortages affecting Steam Deck
Handhelds Valve has acknowledged that Steam Deck OLED stock shortages are due to memory and storage supply issues, raising questions about pricing and how this will affect the Steam Machine.
Gaming
Black Ops 7 is on a roll and the latest content is the best from Call of Duty in ages
Opinion It might be the in thing to rip on Call of Duty on the internet, but they're cooking with Black Ops 7. The most recent content is some of the best in a long time.
Two of the most legendary games of all time get new content this week
Gaming For veteran gamers who have been at it for decades, this week's new content for Age of Empires 2 and Diablo 2 feels like time travel. Kudos to Microsoft for preserving these games the right way.
World of Warcraft invites players to show off their homes on Pinterest
News On February 18, 2026, World of Warcraft players will be granted a new in-game toy to capture screenshots of their Player Housing creations and display them on their Pinterest accounts
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft AI CEO warns white-collar jobs face AI automation in 18 months
AI Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman predicts most white-collar tasks will be automated within 18 months, potentially reshaping the future of work as we know it.
Microsoft AI chief confirms plan to ditch OpenAI
AI Google Deepmind co-founder and Microsoft AI lead Mustafa Suleyman suggests that the big tech firm is moving away from OpenAI reliance, as the latter's financials look increasingly dire.
How OpenAI pushed a key researcher to resign — the implications are dire
AI OpenAI researcher sounds the alarm over ChatGPT's ads, which could exploit users' psychology and most intimate secrets to bombard them with turbo-manipulative ads.
How Google's search monopoly abuse will destroy Microsoft AI
AI Microsoft and OpenAI cannot hope to replicate Google's dual-purpose crawlers, owing to the search firm's total monopoly over web traffic.
Microsoft
Microsoft Teams faces a class action lawsuit over "illegal" voice collection
Teams Microsoft could face penalties if found to have violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) with voice transcription.
Opera complaint over Edge sparks investigation from Brazil.
News Opera’s complaint has triggered a regulatory investigation into whether Microsoft’s OEM incentives reduce consumer choice at the point of purchase.
AI “recommendation poisoning” is real, and Microsoft says it’s getting worse
News Microsoft is warning that attackers can plant hidden memory instructions inside AI systems to subtly influence recommendations and decisions. The company says this emerging threat could affect everything from chatbots to automated tools
Microsoft DMCA strike against a new Steam game is rescinded [UPDATE]
News Allumeria’s Steam demo has been removed after Microsoft filed a DMCA claim alleging infringement related to Minecraft.
Peripherals & Accessories
X / Twitter knocked offline as major outage impacts service
X A major outage has taken X offline for millions of users, with people reporting they are unable to access the website or the app.
