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1 Jul 2025

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Wow! Save $550 on this RTX-powered OLED laptop with 32GB RAM today
If you’re always on the go and need a reliable laptop with a gorgeous screen and plenty of power, then you might want to check out the Asus ProArt PX13. Normally available for $1,800, right now you can get this OLED laptop for a stunning $1,250 at Best Buy. Where do I even start with this one? There’s so much to gush about! How about the vibrant OLED touchscreen with a super-crisp 2880×1800 resolution that looks incredible on the 13.3-inch display? With 500 nits of brightness, it’ll shine and serve you well in most environments, too. Not to mention the dedicated RTX 4050 graphics card that’s great for modern 3D gaming, which will also look fabulous on this screen. All of that is founded on top-notch specs, including the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, speedy 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and spacious 1TB SSD. That’s enough power for gaming, productivity, and creativity! Flip the screen over and use it like a drawing tablet, or prop it up like a tent and conveniently read PDFs or watch streaming video. And did I mention that CPU qualifies this as a Copilot+ PC? That means you’ll have full access to all the new AI features in Windows 11. We reviewed the Asus ProArt PX13 and absolutely loved it, giving it a bright 4.5-star rating and our Editors’ Choice award. “The Asus ProArt PX13 is an incredible laptop.” Enough said. Frankly, what are you even waiting for? Laptops like this rarely come this cheap—get the Asus ProArt PX13 for $550 off at Best Buy before this deal expires! Save $550 on this Copilot+ OLED laptop with RTX 4050 and 32GB RAMBuy now at Best Buy

Can’t access your NAS drives in Windows 11? Here’s what to do
If you’re having trouble getting your Windows PC to connect to a NAS, you’re not the only one. A recent update in Windows 11 Pro 24H2 introduced introduced security settings that block certain types of file sharing, specifically guest access. This can result in confusing error messages when trying to access shared folders. Fortunately, there are ways to work around this while staying safe on a private network. For example, the message reads: You cannot access this shared folder because your organization’s security policies block unauthenticated guest access. These policies help protect your PC from insecure or malicious devices on the network.The network path was not found. You might get system error 3227320323 or see codes like 0x80070035 or 0x800704f8. But don’t worry, you can still connect Windows 10 PCs to the NAS. In most cases, the problem stems from new security restrictions introduced in Windows 11 24H2. For instance, Microsoft has now disabled guest access to shares. In the past, it was possible to connect to a share or NAS without entering a username and password—but this is no longer allowed in Windows 11 Pro 24H2. Check whether or not the signing of SMB connections is already set to “Disabled” on your computer. IDG There are two logical solutions to this problem: Either you do without guest access to your NAS drive and set up one or more user accounts with a password. In the interest of data security, this is the recommended method. As the steps required to create a user differ from NAS system to NAS system, we will not go into further detail here. Alternatively, you can partially override the changes in Windows 11 Pro 24H2 and deactivate the user login requirement. Attention: You should only select this option on a private network where you do not store any confidential data on the NAS. This is how you proceed. First, check the signing of the SMB connection to your NAS device. SMB is the protocol that lets you access shared folders on a network. To check it, open Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit in the taskbar search and clicking “Edit group policy.” Then go to: Computer configuration > Windows settings > Security settings > Local policies > Security options. On the right side, find the policy “Microsoft network (client): Digitally sign communication (always)” and make sure it’s set to “Disabled.” If not, adjust the setting and confirm with “OK.” Now make sure that the guest login works again. “Computer configuration” > “Administrative templates” > “Network” > “LanMan Workstation.” On the right side, double-click “Enable insecure guest logins,” select “Enabled,” and click “OK.” Access to the NAS should now also work in the latest version of Windows. Nevertheless, a warning once again: You should only change these default settings if there’s no other option. There is no Group Policy Editor in the Home version of Windows, so you must make the changes in PowerShell instead..IDG In the Home version of Windows 11 24H2, guest access is still active by default. If there are still problems accessing a NAS device because the setting has been changed for some reason, do the following: Since Windows Home doesn’t have Group Policy Editor, you’ll need to use PowerShell. Just type “powershell” in the taskbar search, then click “Run as administrator” on the right. Now enter the command: Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false Press Enter and confirm with Y for “Yes.” You have now deactivated SMB signing. For guest access, enter the following command: Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $true Then press Enter and confirm again with Y.

Aging PNG image format gets refreshed with first update in over 20 years
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recently released an update to the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) image format, one of the most popular image formats for web content. Tom’s Hardware writes that this is the first time the W3C has updated the file format since 2003. The PNG image file format was originally launched in 1996, but this is only the third version ever. New features in the latest version include support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) images, animation via animated PNG (APNG) files, and storage of EXIF metadata. The W3C decided to update the file standard after another group within the consortium—working on time-based text such as subtitles, captions, and audio descriptions—realized that PNG files needed HDR support. The newest version of PNG is already supported by popular web browsers including Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, as well as creative editing software such as Adobe Photoshop and Da Vinci Resolve.

Google launches Gemini for schools, who are already terrified of AI
The 2025 school year may be ending, but students who return in the fall will have a new AI tutor: Google Gemini for Education. At the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference, Google launched its new AI teaching tool. “Gemini for Education provides default access to our premium AI models, soon with significantly higher limits than what consumers get at no cost, plus enterprise-grade data protection and an admin-managed experience as a core Workspace service — all included in your Workspace for Education plan free of charge,” Google said. Google is pitching the ability for educators to roll their own “Gems,” or AI experts, which can help students learn new concepts. Google NotebookLM also provides a repository for students to upload documents into and then hear an audio summary, via Audio Overviews. Google recently added Video Overviews, too, which adds a visual element. Google Gemini for Education will be free, though Google is offering a paid Google Workspace with Gemini add-on for $18 per user per month, though with some educational discounts. That program includes the ability to include some 8-second video clips using the Veo 3 text-to-video generator, which will help teachers up their meme game to connect with kids. Of course, there’s a bit of irony in all of this, since teachers are mortally afraid of AI’s ability to help their students cheat — even as they don’t want to deny them the ability to use it, either. It’s a big moral quandary, especially when it comes to testing. The upshot last year was that teachers might use AI to teach, but the safest way to avoid AI cheating was to go back to pen and paper at test time. Gemini will get its own tab in Google Classroom.Google Google, meanwhile, seems to want to make AI as ubiquitous as a laptop. We’ll see what happens in the fall.