Microsoft breaks Media Creation Tool on the eve of Windows 10 end-of-life — company confirms Windows 11 upgrade tool 'might not work as expected', outlines alternatives

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Here’s an example of the most unfortunate timing for Microsoft and its OS users. The latest version of the Windows Media Creation Tool (MCT), released just a fortnight ago, “might close unexpectedly, displaying no error message,” admits Microsoft in a status update (h/t Windows Latest ). Of course, Windows 10 goes EOL on October 14, and MCT was one of the most popular methods of preparing update media for Windows 11.

If you

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Intel

Inside the AI accelerator arms race: AMD, Nvidia, and hyperscalers commit to annual releases through the decade

(Image credit: AMD)

The artificial intelligence industry is developing so rapidly that the leading suppliers of AI accelerators — AMD and Nvidia — have moved to a yearly product release cadence. Furthermore, it appears that hyperscalers who can afford to develop their own silicon followed suit, so Amazon Web Services, Google , and Meta are also going to release new AI accelerators every year through to the late 2020s.

But which processors are on the horizon? We drew the big picture of the AI and HPC accelerator

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TP-Link confirms successful Wi-Fi 8 trials — next-gen wireless standard to usher in advances in reliability and latency

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Consumer Wi-Fi 7 devices have only been around for a couple of years at this point, but as we all know, technological progress doesn’t stand still. There’s always a push for making hardware faster, more secure, and more reliable. Wireless technologies are no exception, which means that the organizing bodies behind Wi-Fi are already looking forward to the next generation: Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn).

Although

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Applied Materials preps for 'Angstrom Era' in chipmaking — spearheaded by its new Kinex, Xtera, and PROVision 10 systems

(Image credit: Micron)

Applied Materials has unveiled three new chipmaking tools that define what the company calls the 'angstrom era' of chipmaking, signaling a transition toward next-generation process technologies sometimes controlled at the level of individual atoms. The new systems — Kinex , Xtera, and PROVision 10 — are designed to enable next-generation fabrication methods while also improving performance efficiency and yields of logic and memory semiconductor production nodes and packaging technologies today.

"As chips become more complex, Applied is focused on driving materials

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3D print

Flashforge AD5X review: An affordable option for fast color 3D printing

Tom's Hardware Verdict

The Flashforge AD5X is a stripped-down Core XY that has excellent print quality but is hampered by a flawed version of OcraSlicer. The base unit lacks creature comforts like lighting, a camera, or an enclosure, which can be added to the printer as upgrades.

Pros

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    Four color printing

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    Smaller footprint with filament spools on the side

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    Easy to load

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    Quick change nozzle

Cons

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    Flawed Slicer

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    No camera

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    No lighting

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    Touch screen requires pressure rather than touching

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    Slicer

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Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 XT drops to $729 —The best all-around graphics card for enthusiasts from AMD's best partner is at an all-time low on Amazon

(Image credit: Sapphire / AMD / Future)

AMD's RDNA 4 lineup of GPUs has been a heaven-sent for gamers seeking premium performance without breaking the bank, well, relatively. Just like Nvidia, even the Red Team's offerings have been plagued with stock issues, forcing people to buy even basic models at over MSRP. Fortunately, sales often alleviate such dilemmas, and we've hunted down an amazing deal for you today — Sapphire's top-tier RX 9070 XT

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Steve Jobs unveiled the NeXT Computer on this day in 1988 — 'The Cube' would be used to develop the WWW, Doom, and Quake

The first web server: this NeXT machine was used by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 to develop and run the first WWW server, multimedia browser, and web editor. (Image credit: Photo from 1990-2025 CERN (License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 ))

On this day in 1988, Steve Jobs unveiled the new apple of his eye, the NeXT Computer. While ‘The Cube’ wasn’t a commercial success

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China says it is 'not afraid' of a trade war, in response to US 100% tariffs threat

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

China has responded to President Donald Trump’s threats of a 100% tariff on Chinese goods, plus a ban on critical software, because of its expanded rare-earth export controls . According to Newsweek , China is ready to face Washington’s ultimatums, urging it to resolve the issue at the negotiating table instead of making statements on social media.

“If the U.S. persists in acting unilaterally, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and

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Intel

Researchers achieve breakthrough integration of 2D materials on standard silicon chips

(Image credit: Intel)

For the first time, scientists have successfully built a fully functional memory chip using two-dimensional materials and integrated it directly onto a conventional silicon die — a milestone that could change how future semiconductors are made. The research, led by Chunsen Liu and colleagues at Fudan University in Shanghai, was published on October 9 in the journal Nature .

The research may mark a turning point for 2D electronics, which have long promised atomic-scale performance and efficiency but struggled to move beyond lab demonstrations

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Taiwan says its chip fabs are safe from China’s rare-earth crackdown

(Image credit: TSMC)

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs says the island’s chip sector will see “no significant impact” from China’s newly expanded rare-earth export controls, in comments first reported by Reuters on October 12. Those reassuring words come just days after Beijing added a fresh batch of heavy rare earths to its licensing regime — including holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, and ytterbium — and widened the scope to cover associated materials and processing tech.

Officials in Taipei were quick

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