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RealSense, a depth-camera technology that basically disappeared within Intel, has returned as a separate company. The company has spun out from Intel and raised $50 million in funding. The company will be led by Nadav Orbach, Intel’s former vice president and general Manager for the Incubation and Disruptive Innovation group. RealSense plans to address “increased demand for humanoid and autonomous mobile robotics (AMRs), as well as AI-powered access control and security solutions,” the company said. RealSense flourished, so to speak, about a decade ago, when its depth-camera technology was competing with the Microsoft Kinect system. Though Intel was able to license the RealSense technology to device makers like Creative, the tech seemed to flounder in the PC space–even as Windows Hello and its depth-camera tech became a staple on Windows 10 PCs. Intel instead adapted its technology for the robotics market. “RealSense will continue to support its existing customer base and product roadmap, including the acclaimed RealSense depth cameras, embedded in 60 percent of the world’s AMRs and humanoid robots, an incredibly fast-growing segment,” RealSense said in a statement. “Its recently launched D555 depth camera, powered by the next-gen RealSense Vision SoC V5 and featuring Power over Ethernet (PoE), demonstrates the company’s ongoing leadership in embedded vision technology and edge AI capabilities.” Intel, meanwhile, has been feverishly working to cut costs, revamping its foundry strategy, and laying off employees in a bid to get its finances back on track. Read...

VPNs, or virtual private networks, are versatile privacy tools that can enhance your online experience. They are very effective at helping you optimize your online privacy and security while also opening up location-restricted streaming content. But can they help improve your online gaming experience as well? Using a VPN while gaming can enhance your security, open up new game catalogs, and even help reduce your ping in some instances. However, despite these pros, VPNs also come with some potential drawbacks for gaming such as slower speeds and the potential to face platform-wide bans. Read on to find out whether or not using a VPN while gaming is the right option for you. Also, if you decide that you need a VPN for gaming, be sure to check out our best VPNs to find the service that fits your needs. Pros of gaming with a VPN: Enhanced security In regards to security, there is one major benefit to using a VPN while gaming: hiding your home IP address to mitigate DDOS or doxxing attacks. Anyone who spends any amount of time gaming online will understand that things can, and often do, get a bit toxic. Whether it’s an overly competitive gamer looking for an edge or a bad sport looking for revenge, they might go to extremes against opponents. This can include a DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack that slows down your connection or even a vengeful doxxing attack that exposes your personal data online.  A VPN can help protect you from both DDOS and doxxing by hiding your home IP address and routing your connection through an encrypted VPN server. This makes it much more difficult for toxic opponents to carry out targeted harassment against you. Prevents some ISP throttling Some ISPs, or Internet Service Providers, carry out secretive throttling on users who use a lot of data—especially during peak hours. This throttling can significantly slow down your connection speeds. While online gaming doesn’t account for too much bandwidth, downloading games can take up huge amounts of data—it’s not uncommon for modern games to top over 100GB downloads nowadays. Slower speeds will not only make these downloads take a lot longer, but they’ll also have drastic negative effects on your online gaming experience.  VPNs are one of the best tools to combat ISP throttling. By encrypting your traffic and routing it through a VPN server, your ISP will no longer be able to see what you’re downloading and therefore won’t be able to penalize you with activity-based throttling. It’s worth considering that while an ISP won’t be able to see your specific gaming or downloading activity, it’ll still be able to see the cumulative amount of data you use. Therefore, if your ISP imposes general data caps, then a VPN isn’t going to help in this situation. Access to game content in other countries This might be a bit more of a niche benefit with VPNs for gaming, but opening up location-restricted gaming content can be a huge plus for certain people.  Some online games employ geo-blocking technology to prevent users in specific locations from being able to access content in a different region. This practice is highly controversial and the EU has even gone so far as to have fined Valve and some game publishers in 2021 for this very thing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped all geo-blocking activity by game developers. The best way around geo-blocked content is to use a VPN to connect to a server in the region that you want to access content. This VPN connection will spoof your location and allow you to play games or connect to game servers that aren’t available where you are. It’s worth noting though that many game servers or platforms utilize anti-VPN measures to detect and block VPN traffic. Also, you may be violating the terms of service by connecting with a VPN and can face consequences if caught—Steam, for example, may permanently ban your entire account from the platform. Can potentially reduce your ping A VPN allows you to pick and choose the location of your connection. This could provide the benefit of lowering your ping and latency.  Ping is the measure of how quickly your device sends and receives information from a game’s servers. This can have huge overall impacts because it allows you to respond faster to what’s happening in a game. Ping is especially important in competitive online games such as Valorant, Call of Duty, and League of Legends where quick responses are critical to success. VPNs will benefit those who live outside of commonly served areas such as the U.S., Europe, and eastern Asia the most. Using a VPN to find a more direct route to the closest game servers or data centers may lead to lower ping and latency. Be careful, though, as the opposite is true as well: If you connect to a VPN server further away from the data center than your physical location it may significantly increase your ping and latency. The key word here is “potentially.” Unless you know precisely where the nearest data center is, and whether a VPN server is close enough, you might end up on a wild goose chase trying to track down the best connection for only a minor payoff. Cons of gaming with a VPN: Slower connections speeds Connecting to a VPN, no matter what your intended use, is likely going to slow down your connection speed. Sure, ping is going to play a more impactful role in your gaming experience than just raw connection speeds, but a slower internet connection means slower downloads. There is going to be a knock-on effect as well if you have multiple devices connected to the same network, eating away at bandwidth. The best way around this is to use one of the fastest VPNs. These services are going to have less of a chance of noticeably slowing down your connection speeds. Still, all of this won’t matter if your home internet is slow already—it’s best to test and compare your home internet speeds and VPN connection speeds to know for sure. May violate a game’s terms of service This may not be a point that gamers consider when looking for a VPN for gaming. But it’s critical that you check the terms of service of any games or game apps you use to see if using a VPN is a violation. These apps go further than simply blocking VPN connections, they actually make users agree to their restrictions before allowing access to the games you want to play. The ultra-popular Steam app prohibits users from connecting to VPNs to disguise or spoof their location while gaming on its platform. The subscriber agreement states, “You agree that you will not use IP proxying or other methods to disguise the place of your residence, whether to circumvent geographical restrictions on game content, to order or purchase at pricing not applicable to your geography, or for any other purpose. If you do this, Valve may terminate your access to your Account.” While it may be possible to get away with using a VPN to access geo-restricted content on these platforms, you should consider carefully if it’s worth receiving a potential ban as a result. Adds another monthly expense This one is pretty straightforward, but still worth considering. Gaming nowadays is not a cheap endeavor and adding another monthly expense on top of those expensive AAA games just might not be in your budget. The very best VPNs cost money, and free VPNs simply aren’t going to cut it for gaming with all of the restrictions they put in place. For users who value privacy above all else, then a VPN has its perks. But not every gamer ultimately needs to use a VPN. If you mostly play singleplayer games, your internet speeds and ping are already good, or you’re not concerned with potential doxxing, then using a VPN solely for gaming probably isn’t worth the money. My top VPNs for gaming: If you do decide that you want to use a VPN while gaming, then the next step is finding the right VPN to use. Thankfully, I test and review VPNs for a living and I’ve put in countless hours playing games with different VPN services. Here are my go-to picks: NordVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $3.39 at NordVPN (Monthly) Apart from being our top pick overall for best VPN, NordVPN is also the best at getting around region-restricted content. Users have access to an extensive server network spread across most of the countries of the world. Plus, NordVPN has the fastest consistent speeds of any VPN I’ve ever tested, meaning you won’t have any issues with negative game impacts or downloading large game files. A subscription to Nord even comes with access to a whole suite of extra security features such as malware and scam protection, ad-blocking, and a password manager. ExpressVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $4.99 at ExpressVPN ExpressVPN comes with most of the same benefits as NordVPN, but makes connecting even simpler. With just one click you’ll be connected to the fastest server available near you and with its wide platform support you can connect with just about any device—it even has full support for Steam Deck. ExpressVPN is a bit more expensive, but comes with some great features such as a built-in password manager and advanced proprietary VPN protocols that help justify the cost. Surfshark Read our review Best Prices Today: $2.19 at Surfshark (Monthly) Surfshark is all about value. While it doesn’t have quite as many features as NordVPN, and isn’t quite as simple to use as ExpressVPN, it beats both on price—especially if you opt for a long-term deal. This isn’t to say Surfshark isn’t a capable VPN in its own right. In fact, it still includes more extra features than most other VPNs and has solid speeds and a large server network. All of this makes Surfshark a great value VPN if gaming is your priority. Related content How to save big money by using a VPN: Risks and benefits 14 VPN terms and features everyone should know Here’s why you should be using a VPN with your smart TV Why you need to pack a VPN for your next vacation Read...

One of the easiest ways to enhance your PC experience is to get a better monitor. It doesn’t require any upgrades for your desktop or laptop, and it shines up the primary way you interact with almost everything: the visuals. Prime Day is upon us again, and up until midnight Pacific tonight, there are plenty of deals to be found on the best and most affordable displays. (Here’s how to get Amazon Prime for free so you can get in on the deep, deep discounts.) With U.S. tariffs affecting prices, to say nothing of general consumer trends, it might not be the smorgasbord of discounts we saw in previous years. But there are still savings to be had, on OLED monitors, gaming monitors, and standard office designs — and I’ve hunted down the best monitor deals in the list below. Even though it’s Prime Day, some of the best discounts can be found elsewhere on the web, so I’ve included those in the list as well. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on OLED monitors Samsung Odyssey OLED G93SC 49-inch, 5120×1440, 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $899.99 ($700 off at Amazon) LG UltraGear OLED 34-inch 1440p 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $714.99 ($585 off at Amazon) ASRock 27-inch 1440p 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $479.99 ($166 off at Newegg) Alienware 27-inch 1440p 360Hz OLED gaming monitor — $599.99 ($300 off at Dell) Alienware 34-inch ultrawide 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $679.99 ($120 off at Amazon) Alienware 32-inch 4K 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $849.99 ($350 off at Dell) MSI 49-inch ultrawide 144Hz OLED gaming monitor — $749.99 ($350 off at Amazon) OLED monitors are the cream of the crop for gamers, thanks to incredible color vibrance and contrast, even if they’re not the absolute fastest on the market right now. For my money, MSI has the best deal at the moment…but then I’m an ultrawide fanboy and I love that gigantic 49-inch format. If you’re looking for an OLED upgrade at the lowest price, ASRock is leading the pack with a rare 27-inch pick under the $500 mark. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on gaming monitors KTC 24-inch 1080p 165Hz gaming monitor — $93.99 ($46 off at Newegg) Asus 25-inch 1080p 180Hz gaming monitor — $109.00 ($50 off at Amazon) ASRock 27-inch 1080p 240Hz gaming monitor — $104.77 ($85 off at Newegg) LG 27-inch 1440p 144Hz gaming monitor — $180.49 ($119.50 off at Amazon) Alienware 34-inch ultrawide 1440p 180Hz gaming monitor — $309.99 ($90 off at Dell) Gigabyte 28-inch IPS 4K 144Hz gaming monitor — $329.99 ($270 off at Newegg) LG 27-inch, IPS 1440p, 240Hz gaming monitor — $284.05 ($215.94 off at Amazon) For more affordable options for gamers, ASRock once again delivers with a 27-inch, 1080p display at just a hair over a hundred bucks. But I’d say that Gigabyte is giving the best bang for your buck with its 28-inch 4K option. Not only is it using an IPS panel for greater color accuracy, it’s packing a USB-C port for flexible video. It’s a great, affordable centerpiece to a setup that works for both, well, work and gaming. Prime Day 2025 deals on office monitors Acer 27-inch 1080p IPS 120Hz monitor — $99.99 ($50 off at Best Buy) = Dell 27-inch 1440p IPS monitor — $179.99 ($40 off at Amazon) LG 27-inch 4K IPS monitor — $229.99 ($150 off at Amazon) Asus 32-inch 4K IPS monitor — $198.55 ($100 off at Amazon) Samsung 34-inch 1440p ultrawide monitor — $219.99 ($110 off at Amazon) MNN 15-inch portable USB-C monitor — $59.97 ($30 off at Amazon) I can personally recommend Dell’s 27-inch, 1440p IPS monitors, because I’ve been using them for years on either side of my ultrawide center display. It’s a perfect way to expand your desk space, but unless you need some gaming-grade speed, it works great as a primary display too. For laptop users, there’s no easier way to expand your mobile capabilities than with a USB monitor (especially since they now include power and video). And there are a bunch of affordable options now, too. Other great Prime Day deals These aren’t the only Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for only the best expert-curated picks we’ve found. Best Amazon Prime Day tech deals: Great sales chosen by experts Best Prime Day PC computer deals: Gaming & mainstream desktops Best Prime Day laptop deals: Gaming notebooks, 2-in-1s, and more Best Prime Day deals on SSDs and storage Best USB flash drive deals for Prime Day 2025 Best monitor deals for Prime Day 2025: OLED, home office, and more Best Prime Day deals on Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs Best Prime Day mini PC deals: Big savings on tiny computers Best Prime Day deals on battery chargers and power banks Best Prime Day 2025 deals on Chromebooks Best Prime Day deals on office chairs and standing desks FAQ 1. What size of monitor should I buy? Monitor size depends on personal preference and location.  A 24-inch monitor is fine for a desk that is around 24 inches deep, or less. Its small size will still be sufficient because the monitor is closer to you. Most people, however, will want to go with a 27-inch monitor. The added size will make the monitor easy to see. This also opens up a wider range of 4K monitor options, as 4K is very rare on a 24-inch monitor. Larger monitors, such as a 32-inch widescreen or 34-inch ultrawide, are great for deep desks and people who want an immersive experience. Monitors this large can serve as a TV replacement in a small room.  Displays of even larger size, such as 42-inch or 48-inch HDTVs, are best for home theater setups or an unusually large office. You’ll want to sit four to six feet away from a display of this size. 2. What display input is best? (HDMI vs. DisplayPort vs. USB-C) USB-C is the best display input for most people. It works by bundling DisplayPort into USB-C, so offers all the same features as DisplayPort. Yet it retains the features of USB-C including optional support for Power Delivery to charge external devices. This is why we recommend a USB-C monitor for most people. DisplayPort is generally second-best. It supports higher resolutions and refresh rates than HDMI. This input is particularly common on desktop computers.  HDMI comes in third due to lower resolution and refresh rate support. This is improved by HDMI 2.1, but this feature remains hard to find and often adds to a monitor’s price. All three of the options above handle 1080p at 60Hz, which is the most common resolution and refresh rate available today. It’s also important to buy a monitor that has an input compatible with your PC. 3. Are all monitors compatible with Windows and MacOS? Modern monitors are compatible with all recent versions of Windows and MacOS. They’re plug-and-play, which means the monitor should display an image without the need to install driver software or mess with Windows or MacOS settings. 4. Are tariffs affecting monitor prices? Yes. Deals for monitors around this sale aren’t as good as they were during Amazon’s last big sale in October, particularly for the largest, most expensive models. That said, we have managed to avoid the complete shutdown of imported stock that seemed likely during the most tumultuous back-and-forth tariff negotiations…so that’s something. Prices are unlikely to improve later in the year, so if you find a delectable deal on a monitor you’re interested in, Prime Day may be one of your best bets of the year. Especially if you buy on day one of the event — President Trump says additional reciprocal tariffs will return on July 9, the second day of Prime Week, and could plunge prices into chaos. Read...

Amazon Prime Day 2025 is officially live, but the deals end at midnight Pacific on Friday — meaning you have just a few hours left to score some juicy deals on laptops. Just remember, you’ll need a Prime membership to access the deals. Here’s how to get it for free. If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with a curated list of the best laptop deals on Prime Day. Why should you care about what I’ve got to say? Fair question. I oversee all laptop and Chromebook review coverage at PCWorld. I also maintain our best laptop deals roundup daily, along with our best laptops of 2025 roundup weekly. That means I’m hunting for the best laptop discounts online every single day, so I’m pretty well-attuned to the landscape, while my hands-on knowledge helps me unearth the true gems. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on budget laptops Lenovo IdeaPad 1, Intel Celeron processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/12GB RAM/128GB eMMC + 256GB PCIe), $284.05 ($74.95 off at Amazon) Asus VivoBook Go, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $329.99 ($100 off at Amazon) Dell Inspiron 15 3535, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $410.77 ($39.22 off at Amazon) Our top pick: With 8GB of RAM, a comfortable 1080p display, and a spacious 512GB of storage, the Dell Inspiron 15 3535 really hits the sweet spot at this price point (under $500). If you want a laptop that remains peppy after weeks of use, then this is the one to pick. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on mid-range laptops Samsung Galaxy Book4 (AI), Snapdragon X Plus processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $701 ($198.99 off at Amazon) Dell Inspiron 5441, Snapdragon X Plus processor/14-inch 1920×1200 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $717.34 ($82.65 off at Amazon) Apple 2025 MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $849 ($150 off at Amazon) Asus Vivobook 14 Flip, Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor/14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $869.99 ($130 off at Amazon) Our top pick: The Dell Inspiron 16 Plus is a great pick because you’re getting a high resolution 16-inch display (2560×1600), a good amount of RAM (16GB) and storage (1TB), and a powerful Intel Core?i7-13620H processor–all for under $800. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on premium laptops Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024), Snapdragon X Elite processor/13.8-inch ?2304×1536 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $969.99 ($430 off at Amazon) Apple MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,049 ($150 off at Amazon) Samsung Galaxy Book5 360, Intel Core Ultra 7 processor/16-inch 1920×1080 AMOLED display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,049.99 ($300 off at Amazon) Asus Vivobook S 14, AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor/14-inch 3840×2160 OLED display/24GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,057.99 ($142 off at Amazon) Asus ZenBook 15 Pro OLED, Intel Core i7-13620H processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.99 ($100 off at Amazon) Our top pick: Just a little over a grand for the Asus Vivobook S 14? That’s an excellent price for a laptop with the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor and a super crisp 14-inch 3840×2160 display. You’re also getting 24GB of RAM, which is more than most laptops get at this price point. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on gaming laptops Acer Nitro V, Intel Core i5-13420H processor/RTX 4050 graphics/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $649.99 ($150 off at Amazon) Acer Nitro 17, AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS processor/RTX 4050 graphics/17.3-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $979.99 ($220 off at Amazon) Asus ROG Strix G16, Intel Core i9-14900HX processor/RTX 4060 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,589 ($110.99 off at Amazon) Lenovo Legion 16, Intel Core i9-14900HX processor/RTX 4070 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/64GB RAM/2TB SSD, $1,999 ($239.74 off at Amazon) Our top pick: The Asus ROG Strix G16 really stands out. Not only does the RTX 4060 graphics card deliver excellent gaming performance, but you’re also getting 16GB of RAM (ideal for running modern games) and 1TB of SSD storage for large installs. The 16-inch 2560×1600 display also gives you slightly more vertical space than your standard 1080p panel.  Other great Prime Day deals These aren’t the only Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for only the best expert-curated picks we’ve found. Best Amazon Prime Day tech deals: Great sales chosen by experts Best Prime Day PC computer deals: Gaming & mainstream desktops Best Prime Day laptop deals: Gaming notebooks, 2-in-1s, and more Best Prime Day deals on SSDs and storage Best USB flash drive deals for Prime Day 2025 Best monitor deals for Prime Day 2025: OLED, home office, and more Best Prime Day deals on Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs Best Prime Day mini PC deals: Big savings on tiny computers Best Prime Day deals on battery chargers and power banks Best Prime Day 2025 deals on Chromebooks Best Prime Day deals on office chairs and standing desks FAQ 1. What kind of laptop should I get? Well, it depends on your needs and lifestyle. A 2-in-1, for example, is a good fit for someone who travels often. You can swing the screen back 360 degrees and use it in tablet mode for taking notes or you can prop it up like a tent for watching movies with friends. If gaming is a top priority, then you’ll want to look into a laptop with powerful graphics hardware and a display with a high refresh rate. For those of us who need a basic laptop for general web browsing, a low-powered Windows laptop should do you just fine. 2. How can I tell whether a laptop is a good Prime Day deal? I always use CamelCamelCamel, a free tool that tracks Amazon price history. Just create an account, enter a product’s ASIN (found in its Amazon URL and starts with the letter B), and you’ll see a graph of its price history over time. It’s an easy way to spot the good stuff and to also know if you’re getting the lowest price. 3. Do laptop brands matter? Not really, as long as you stick to well-known brands. Big manufacturers like Acer and Dell make solid machines and often offer steep discounts on their websites. You might have a personal preference, though, like maybe you’ve historically stuck with HP machines. 4. How much memory do I need in a laptop? I always tell my friends and family to aim for at least 8GB of RAM. Anything less, and you’ll likely notice things starting to slow down. If you can go higher than 8GB, even better. The more RAM you have, the snappier your laptop will feel, especially for everyday tasks like web browsing or working in spreadsheets. For more demanding work, 16GB is a solid choice for productivity and gaming, while 32GB and beyond is ideal for video editing and other intensive tasks. 5. Is now a good time to buy a laptop? Will tariffs affect laptop prices? Yes! Prime Day tends to offer some of the lowest laptop prices of the year, especially on budget and mid-range models. Prices on premium and gaming laptops are all over the place, but Prime Day is one of those rare times where you’ll see good discounts across every category.  As for external factors like tariffs, there are currently no major new tariffs affecting laptops in the U.S., but this can change fast depending on trade decisions. Manufacturers hike the prices up later in the year, especially if supply chain issues pop up again, so if you’re thinking about pulling the trigger on a new laptop, now’s a good time to do it. Read...

On February 2nd, 2025, computer scientist and OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy made a flippant tweet that launched a new phrase into the internet’s collective consciousness. He posted that he’d “fully given into the vibes” when programming with AI assistance. There`s a new kind of coding I call `vibe coding`, where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists. It`s possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w Sonnet) are getting too good. Also I just talk to Composer with SuperWhisper…— Andrej Karpathy (@karpathy) February 2, 2025 The tweet of course kicked off a flame war, because that’s how X works, especially under the current management. But for me, the tweet hit home—because it perfectly describes how I use AI to code. Update: After this article proved popular, I wrote a vibe coding tutorial to help interested tinkerers start making their own custom apps! Check out ‘Vibe coding’ your own apps with AI is easy! 7 tools and tricks to get started and begin your own journey. I’ll link it at the end as well if you’d rather read this before hopping over. My experience with vibe coding I’ve always had an interest in programming, because I’ve always had an interest in computers. I put together websites in HTML as a teenager (which, yes, were hosted on GeoCities) and have been occasionally dabbling in Python since. Yet none of my projects got very far and, apart from my early websites, I never made anything useful. My efforts all followed a familiar pattern: I’d fixate on a particular resource—like an O’Reilly book or an online course—and get started with great enthusiasm, but as I’d realize I was months or years away from creating anything remotely useful, I’d give up. I’ve used Claude AI to quickly generate a simple dice roller web app.Matt Smith / Foundry That changed in late 2024 when my general frustration with WordPress, which I was using for my personal website, got the better of me. In a fit, I threw my website’s content plus a screenshot of it into Claude 3.5 Sonnet and asked the AI to replicate my site with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. To my amazement, Claude 3.5 generated a functional website. It wasn’t perfect, but after a couple hours of working with Claude, I wound up with a website I liked even better than its WordPress predecessor. My approach was exactly what Karpathy described. I didn’t read the code, nor did I really try to understand it (though I did have to think a bit about how the featured articles carousel works). That aside, I just told Claude what to do, copy-and-pasted the results in VSCode, saved the file, and reloaded my browser to see what changed. And it worked. A work-in-progress screenshot of my Pico-8 puzzle game and the vibe-coded source.Matt Smith / Foundry But the most important part? It was fun! Fun enough that I’ve since tried my hand at several other coding projects. I made an online tool to track initiative and roll dice when DMing tabletop roleplaying games, I made another tool to simplify rolling dice in Battletech, and I’m currently making a puzzle game for the Pico-8 virtual game console. I also used AI to guide me through setting up tools that require a bit of fussing, like OpenAI’s Whisper speech-to-text model. Notably, all three projects were in different programming languages—HTML/JavaScript, Python, and Lua—none of which I’m even remotely proficient with. I’ve also dabbled in some C#, as I started to make the puzzle game in Unity before deciding it was overbuilt for my needs and swapping to Pico-8. I also toyed with turning my tabletop RPG tool into a Windows app before deciding that wasn’t helpful. The risks and pitfalls of vibe coding So, yeah, I’m vibing. But is it all good vibes? Or does vibe coding herald the same kind of AI slop-driven era for software as we’re seeing for blogs, forums, artwork, video, and music? That’s the big fear of critics, and it’s easy to understand those fears. Karpathy’s “vibe coding” is fast, fun, and approachable, but it isn’t rigorous, detail-oriented, or careful. The code written by AI will often work, but it can contain flaws that aren’t immediately obvious—and that raises an obvious question: how does a know-nothing programmer spot bugs and security flaws in AI-generated code? The simple answer is… they can’t. Take the case of Leonel Acevedo—better known as just “leo”—who posted about his experience vibe coding a SaaS startup, only to find himself dealing with major issues like unsecured API keys. It led to hundreds of videos and social media posts dunking on Leo’s naïveté: guys, i`m under attackever since I started to share how I built my SaaS using Cursorrandom thing are happening, maxed out usage on api keys, people bypassing the subscription, creating random shit on dbas you know, I`m not technical so this is taking me longer that usual to…— leo (@leojr94_) March 17, 2025 To be clear, I don’t have much sympathy for Leo. He used social media to promote his business with posts clearly built to drive engagement. And, well, that’s how chasing influence on social media works. Sometimes you’re the hero and sometimes you’re the villain. (Predictably, Leo is already making content about “rebuilding my SaaS in 30 days.”) Yet, I question what his problems are supposed to prove. Is vibe coding a SaaS and going straight into production dumb? Sure. But are most people vibe coding a SaaS startup and flinging it into the world like the baby in an Xbox commercial? Of course not. The reality is a lot more practical. Some people, like me, see vibe coding as a fun way to tackle simple projects that were previously out of reach. Others, including many software engineers, will use it as way to build prototypes, demonstrate proofs of concept, and—yes!—learn. It’s the blogging revolution… for code In a strange way, vibe coding reminds me of the circumstances from decades ago that paved the way for me to become a tech journalist. I grew up in a small midwestern town. My high school was so small, we didn’t even have a school newspaper. Then I went to college and got a degree… in English Literature. Not journalism or communications. I never wrote for the college paper, either. I then graduated college with no useful contacts or work experience. But I lucked out. I graduated right when the blogsphere exploded and social media took over the internet. Suddenly, formal credentials and an industry-specific degree, though helpful, weren’t necessary. So, I started writing—and eventually publications started paying me for it. I’ve been doing this now for 17 years. To me, vibe coding looks like it will do something similar for future software engineers and the programming landscape. Forget formal training. With AI assistance, people who are interested in programming don’t even need informal training. Anyone who knows their way around a laptop can ask ChatGPT about the tools they need to get started, how to install them and get them working, and generate the very code they need to get the first version of their project up and running. These people will make mistakes. A lot of the code generated will be bad, or at least inelegant. People will lose projects because they encounter a bug they can’t fix. The AI-generated code in my own projects is enough to make a senior software engineer go blind, I’m sure. But if it opens programming a bit wider to people (like me) who otherwise lack the patience to spend six months reading an O’Reilly tome just to spin up a halfway decent Python program, well, that seems like a win. Further reading: ‘Vibe coding’ your own apps with AI is easy! 7 tools and tricks to get started Read...

The final day of Amazon’s annual Prime Day extravaganza is here, with the deals drawing to a close at midnight Pacific. This is your last chance to score deep discounts! One thing we’re really loving about tech this year is the explosion of mini PCs. We’re seeing a lot more of them and they’re super affordable, rather powerful, and absolutely tiny. Some come with the latest AMD CPU, others run on Intel, some feature DDR4, others come with the newer DDR5. Storage is usually not a problem with mini PCs, either, and multitasking on multiple screens is expected. I’ve gone ahead and hunted all the best mini PC deals you can currently get your hands on right now. Here are the best Prime Day mini PC discounts I found, along with my recommendations. There’s also an FAQ at the end in case you need more guidance when buying these. You’ll need to be a Prime member to take advantage of these deals — here’s how to score a free Amazon Prime trial subscription and get in on the action. AMD Ryzen mini PCs Bosgame P4 Light – AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, triple display support – $284.99 (29% off, was $400) Acemagician AMR5 – AMD Ryzen 7 5875U, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, triple display support – $299 (40% off, was $499) Beelink SER5 MAX – AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, 24GB DDR5 RAM, 500GB SSD, triple display support – $299 (25% off, was $399) Kamrui E3B – AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, triple display support – $271.94 (37% off, was $430) Acemagician Matrix M1 – AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, triple display support – $278.09 (30% off, was $399) Peladn WO7, AMD Ryzen 7 7735U, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, quadruple display – $352 (20% off, was $440) Beelink SER5 Max, AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, triple display support – $349.90 (22% off, was $449) Minisforum AI X1 Pro – AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX370, 96GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, AMD Radeon 890M, quad display support – $1,063.99 (24% off, was $1,400) My favorite of the bunch is the Acemagician Matrix M1 for $278.10. That’s an impeccable price for a fantastic device. Running on a Ryzen 7, with 16GB DDR5 RAM, and 512GB SSD, this is a great daily driver. It even supports three 4K displays, thus allowing you to multitask to your heart’s desire. Even though it doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card, it does feature the RAdeon 680M GPU, which is more than enough for some light gaming. The Bosgame P4 is a close second, especially since it delivers a full TB of storage space for $285. Intel mini PCs Kamrui GK3 Plus – Intel Alder Lake N95, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, triple display support – $131.98 (37% off, was $210) Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 – Intel Core i5 14400T, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, dual display support – $605.61 (15% off, was $712.49) HP Pro Mini 400 G9 – Intel Core i5 12500T, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, dual display support – $599 (21% off, was $759) GMKTec M2 Pro – Intel Core i7 1195G7, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, triple display support – $420 (34% off, was $640) Geekom IT13 – Intel Core i9 13900HK, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, quad display support – $599 (14% off, was $699) My favorite deal on this list is for the GMKtec M2 Pro which is down to $420 from its $640 MSRP. Running on a speedy i7 processor and with 32GB RAM, as well as a 1TB SSD, this device gives you loads of power to complete any of your tasks. Did I mention it supports three displays? That’s amazing! If you’re aiming to use four screens, you should go for the Geekom IT13 for $599 – you’ll pay a little extra, but you’ll have a ton more space to spread all the apps you need. Other great Prime Day deals These aren’t the only Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for only the best expert-curated picks we’ve found. Best Amazon Prime Day tech deals: Great sales chosen by experts Best Prime Day PC computer deals: Gaming & mainstream desktops Best Prime Day laptop deals: Gaming notebooks, 2-in-1s, and more Best Prime Day deals on SSDs and storage Best USB flash drive deals for Prime Day 2025 Best monitor deals for Prime Day 2025: OLED, home office, and more Best Prime Day deals on Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs Best Prime Day mini PC deals: Big savings on tiny computers Best Prime Day deals on battery chargers and power banks Best Prime Day 2025 deals on Chromebooks Best Prime Day deals on office chairs and standing desks FAQ 1. What to consider when buying a mini PC? There are multiple things to consider when getting a mini PC, starting with your performance needs. Once you figure out what you’re going to use the PC for, you can make the right choice for you in terms of CPU, memory, and storage. Whether or not it comes with an operating system should also be on your checklist because you may not want to worry about installing a fresh copy of Windows, for instance. 2. Can a mini PC replace a desktop? Yes, mini PCs can absolutely replace desktops for many users, especially if you’re mainly going to use it for office work, browsing, and media streaming. Some higher performance models can even handle video editing or gaming, but their price tag reflects that. 3. What is the downside to a mini PC? One of the main downsides to most mini PCs is that they don’t come with a dediated graphics card, so their usability for gaming is limited. Also, most mini PCs are geared towards general use, so tasks like video editing may not work as well. Understanding component limitations can help you pick the right system for your needs. 4. Do mini PCs support multiple monitors? Yes, most mini PCs support at last two monitors, which is more than we can say about numerous laptops on the market. Many models support three or four monitors, thus enabling you efficiently multitask, spreading your apps across multiple screens. Most often than not, you can connect the displays via HDMI, DisplayPort, but also via USB-C. 5. What can you upgrade on a mini PC? Most mini PCs are easy to upgrade. The RAM and SSD are usually extremely easy to swap out and each model will come with specific requirements, as in the specific type of SSD it can support, maximum storage capacity and maximum supported RAM. Many models come with a magnetic cover that you need to pop open to access both RAM and SSD, while others require a tiny screwdriver to take out the case. Either way, it’s a fairly painless process. Read...