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26 Jul 2025

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Stevie Wonder among gigs without planning permission
Blackweir Fields was affected for 37 days, nine days longer than allowed under planning law.

Save $350 on Lenovo’s tried-and-true RTX 4060 gaming laptop while you can
Not every gaming laptop has to cost a fortune. The Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 is one point of evidence, especially when it’s on sale with a price drop as drastic as this one. We’re looking at this laptop going for just $700 at B&H right now, down from its original $1,050 price. That’s huge! The Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 delivers a solid configuration at an even solider price. There’s a lot to love about this affordable gaming machine, starting with its 15.6-inch IPS display with 1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. If that sounds too standard for you, then how about this: a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card that’ll push all the frames and visual effects you need for a smooth and immersive experience. The other hardware inside is pretty run of the mill, including the Intel Core i5-13450HX processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM (with another slot supporting up to 32GB total), and a 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD (with another slot for another drive). The connectivity is surprisingly good too, with a fast USB-C port with 140W of power delivery, three fast USB-A ports, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, a LAN port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Battery life will be meh-to-okay with the 60-watt-hour battery, and it isn’t the most portable laptop with its 0.9-inch thickness and 5.25-pound weight. But at least it has some other standard stuff, like the full-sized backlit keyboard, the 720p webcam, and Wi-Fi 6 and and Bluetooth 5.2. Is it a top-tier gaming laptop? Of course not. But it was a pretty good value at its original price, and it’s an incredible value with this discount. Get the Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 for $700 while you still can! Save $350 on Lenovo's affordable RTX 4060 gaming laptopBuy now from B&H

This powerhouse Ryzen 7 mini PC with 32GB RAM is only $499 right now
If you’re looking to upgrade your home office computer, then your best bet these days is a mini PC that’s both powerful and affordable. This powerful Beelink SER8 that’s on sale is one such option—it’s more than capable of handling any work tasks you need to get done, and it’s down to just $499 on Amazon (was $629) with this Prime discount. (If you don’t have Prime, grab a free 30-day Prime trial to score this special price!) Work, streaming, emails, browsing, and even some light gaming can be done on this awesome mini PC—and it will excel thanks to the hardware inside. You’re getting an AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS processor, 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM, and a speedy 1TB SSD with enough space for all your files, photos, videos, games, and more. It’s further user-upgradeable up to an impressive 256GB of RAM (across two channels) and 8TB of storage space (also across two channels). And despite its tiny size, it stays cool while making baring any noise. What I appreciate most, though, is the multitasking capabilities of this thing for productivity fiends. This tiny PC supports up to three 4K monitors via HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 (both max out at 4K@120Hz) and USB4 (which maxes out at 4K@144Hz). Other connectivity options include two fast USB-A, two slower USB-A, a 2.5G LAN, a fast USB-C port, and two 3.5mm audio jacks (both front and back). For wireless, you get Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. Honestly, this is a powerful machine and you won’t find an equally powerful laptop for anywhere close to this price. Want to level up your home office? Grab this Beelink SER8 mini PC for just $499 while you can! And snag a 30-day Prime trial to score this awesome sale price. This Ryzen 7 mini PC with 32GB RAM is excellent for $499Buy now at Amazon

Microsoft claims Windows 11 24H2 is the ‘most reliable’ Windows version ever
In a recent Windows IT Pro blog post, Microsoft commented on the latest innovations in Windows 11, sparked by the optional July update (KB5062660) that brought several new features to Windows 11 24H2. Some of the biggest improvements in update KB5062660 include Windows Recall for EU users, replacing the Blue Screen of Death, and a new feature called Quick Machine Recovery that helps repair Windows PCs that can’t boot in case of a widespread issue. However, according to Microsoft, Windows 11 24H2 is much more than all of this, claiming that Windows 11 24H2 is “[the] most reliable version of Windows yet” while taking a subtle jab at Windows 10, surely hoping to convince Windows 10 holdouts to make the upgrade. Here’s what Microsoft has to say about it: We’re also proud to share that Windows 11 24H2 is our most reliable version of Windows yet. Compared to Windows 10 22H2, failure rates for unexpected restarts have dropped by?24%. The above statement cites “reliability telemetry collected by Microsoft,” which calls its veracity into question. Microsoft collects a lot of telemetry data, but it doesn’t know everything—especially when it comes to older versions of Windows prior to aggressive telemetry. For example, a comparison of Windows 11 to Windows 2000, NT, or XP isn’t possible. It’s easy to see why Microsoft is only comparing Windows 11 with Windows 10. Microsoft has been pushing Windows 11 for a while now, and even though Windows 11 market share is increasing, Windows 10 users are either reluctant to make the switch or simply can’t upgrade due to Windows 11’s strict requirements. So, sure, maybe Windows 11 24H2 actually is the “most reliable” Windows version of all time. Or maybe it isn’t. Who can really say? Given that Windows 11 24H2 has broken all kinds of stuff—including USB printers, audio output, Bluetooth connections, Windows Update, and Windows Firewall as recently as this month—we can’t fault anyone for being skeptical of Microsoft’s claim here.