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 It was a volatile morning for Apple's stock, which quickly had a $17 swing during intraday trading.
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Name any kind of tech device, and it's affected: laptops, desktop computers, PC components, monitors, smartphones, e-readers, and much more. An overwhelming majority of electronics are produced in China.
When the first tariff was announced, big retailers warned about imminent price hikes. The CEOs of both Best Buy and Target commenting on the breadth and immediacy of the tariff effects. Here at PCWorld, I wondered specifically about the impact on computers (surprise!)—laptops and desktop PCs are both major interests of our readers.
To answer my own questions—as well as those of readers, friends, and family—I reached out to industry contacts to better understand what these tariffs mean for the cost of PCs, and what to expect in the coming days. Those who responded manufacture laptops, prebuilt desktop machines, and PC components. Much of this information is generally applicable to electronics overall.
The short answer: Expect pain at the cash register. Businesses won't be able to shield customers from these increases. As Falcon Northwest president Kelt Reeves said to me back in March, "[The] PC industry is infamously low margin, so no one can afford to ‘cushion' 20 percent. Prices already went up incredibly fast on almost every component we buy to build a PC. Stock that was already here vanished, as anything new will be minimum 20% more." Now
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According to Microsoft, the driver "provides encryption protection and is used by specialized security software and enterprise solutions" and "can be automatically introduced into a system as part of the installation process of many different applications" (e.g., antivirus software).
In serious cases, the compatibility problems caused by the latest Windows 11 24H2 update can lead to an increase in blue screen errors or black screen crashes. If a system no longer responds at all, often only on-board resources or repair tools can help with troubleshooting.
What you need to watch out for
Microsoft states that the issue currently affects sprotect.sys drivers with version numbers 1.0.2.372 and 1.0.3.48903. System administrators should check whether these drivers have been installed on devices. As already mentioned, these drivers can be installed and updated by various applications, and there's no comprehensive overview at this time.
To prevent the error on affected devices, Microsoft has instated
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Level up your real-time AI conversations by using your phone's camera or sharing your screen.
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Like this powerful 4-port Ugreen Nexode X charging block, now on sale on Amazon for just $80 (was $100). This is a special Prime-only deal, but you can still snag it at this price by simply signing up for a 30-day free trial of Prime. You'll also get all those other Prime perks for the duration.
That's a fantastic price for such a powerful model that can handle this many devices at once. With its 140W throughput, you can fast-charge your laptops, phones, earbuds, and more with minimal wait. And this thing has 3x USB-C and 1x USB-A, so it's versatile no matter what kinds of devices and cables you have on you. But do note that when using multiple ports, the 140W total charging will get split up between ports.
What's nice is that this is a GaN charger, which is newer and more efficient tech—that means faster, smaller, and less heat given off. It's not just great for home, but also perfect for travel thanks to its compact build and foldable prongs, which tuck in to save space and prevent damage.
I have the non-foldable version of this and it's easily my favorite wall plug because it's so fast and convenient. With the foldable prongs, it'd be the ultimate travel plug. Go ahead and snag this Ugreen Nexode X on sale at Amazon while you can! And remember to sign
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On Friday, at Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration, the company showed off its Copilot redesign. The company introduced Copilot Vision for Windows as well as a more intuitive Copilot assistant. But Copilot's knowledge capabilities are also being improved with Copilot Search, Deep Research, podcasts, and Pages.
The podcasts and Pages features may seem familiar. Google unveiled a hidden feature that allowed users to upload their own documents on a certain topic, and Google's own AIs would create an engaging podcast about them. Microsoft appears to be doing the same.
Pages also feels like it's been done before, as Google also allows you to upload content to a workspace. Pages might be a bit more thorough, as it's designed to synthesize various research into a draft document.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAVywhF4p2Q
Microsoft also isn't the first to enable Deep Research, a feature that both ChatGPT and Google Gemini offer.
Deep Research can take several minutes, but the output is worth it. Deep Research can read several, even dozens, of web pages, synthesizing their content, then producing a research report based upon what it's read. It's a powerful tool and generally considered more accurate since the output is drawn from live web pages.
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The new administration has frozen a $42 billion plan to get broadband into rural areas as it shifts toward satellite service from Elon Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos' Kuiper.
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