Windows 11 is officially supposed to be available for download on October 5, but it seems like the new operating system is available earlier than expected.
The download page for Windows 11 is live now, which means you can download the operating system, either using a local installation wizard or by creating install media, like an .iso file or by using a thumb drive. This means you can likely bypass the high standards of the operating system and install it now and won't have to wait for Windows Update to yell at you.
If you don't want to go through that process, you can check if it's available for you through Windows Update, but there's a pretty good chance it won't be at first, as Microsoft tends to release new operating systems in waves. We know our PC doesn't have it in Windows Update yet, but we're totally downloading it right now anyways.
Analysis: should you download Windows 11 early?
Windows 11 is a free upgrade for anyone that's using Windows 10, which means there's no barrier to entry for the new operating system beyond Microsoft's own system requirements – and even those seem to be more guidelines than rules.
But with the operating system releasing officially tomorrow, this is about as early adopter as you can get, and you have to ask yourself whether it's really worth upgrading this early. While in our brief time with it, it's been relatively smooth, it's still the early days of an entirely new operating system and there are some bugs that could pop up.
Our advice would be to avoid it on your main machine until the operating system has had at least a couple of updates, just to see if anything goes catastrophically wrong with Microsoft's latest operating system.
If you are lucky enough to have multiple computers that are eligible for the new operating system, absolutely go for the upgrade, but do it on a machine that won't inconvenience you too terribly if something breaks.
Google has revealed that its search engine will no longer support Internet Explorer 11 making Google Search the latest product to pull support for Microsoft's legacy browser.
First released back in 2013 alongside Windows 8.1, Internet Explorer 11 was also ported back to Windows 7 as many Windows users didn't feel the need to upgrade their operating system at that time. Just three years later though, Internet Explorer was replaced by Microsoft Edge with the launch of Windows 10 in 2015.
However, since Edge wasn't available on older versions of Windows, Internet Explorer 11 remained the default browser on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. As a result, the browser was able to hold on to its market share despite the fact that Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and other third-party browsers offered an improved browsing experience.
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After ending support for Docs, Sheets, Slides and other Google Workspace apps back in March of this year, Google is finally ending support for Google Search in Internet Explorer 11.
Fallback experience
Google software engineer Malte Ubl shared the news that Google Search will no longer officially support Internet Explorer 11 in a recent tweet.
Apparently the Google Search team “did the math” and found that maintaining support for Microsoft's legacy browser was no longer worth it. Also according to UbI's tweet, “it is time” to leave Internet Explorer 11 behind and make the transition to Edge or another modern browser.
If for some reason you're still using Internet Explorer 11, you'll still be able to use Google Search through a “fallback experience” created by the search giant. While searching the web will still work on Microsoft's legacy browser, the experience won't be as fully featured as it is on other browsers.
With the launch of Windows 11 just a day away, now is the perfect time to leave Internet Explorer 11 behind for good and check out all of the new features in Microsoft Edge if you want to remain in the software giant's ecosystem.
Our PS5 restock updates happen here hourly, but if you follow our PS5 restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider– follow and turn on notifications – you'll get alerts when we find PS5 in stock to the second. Matt Swider is live tracking a dozen stores in the US like Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart. Antonline and Sony Direct are also options through our 24/7 tracker.
The big four American stores have had the most inventory (but they're always sold out in a few minutes), while Sony Direct, the official store of the PlayStation brand, has become the most consistent at MSRP. Mondays are slow, so October 4 might not see a restock of any next-gen console. Tuesdays and Thursdays have a higher hit rate.
Some other websites won't tell you this information and inaccurately report PS5 restock 'news' to get your hopes up, but Matt Swider has gained the trust of over 950,000 followers by tracking the console 24/7 since it launched.
The result? Matt has helped over 88,000 people get a next-gen console so far with these alerts:
How to buy a PS5 restock
► Never buy from other Twitter users – ever. They're all scams. Only buy from the US stores Matt alerts you about. No one will sell a PS5 for just $550.
This week marks the first full week in October, when we expect finding the console in stock to become much harder from now until Black Friday 2021. Thousands of new consumers will join the search for the PlayStation 5 at MSRP between now and Christmas.
The good news is that the online stock of PS5 has been picking up and we've even seen two major retailers in the US restock in stores. It's not exactly "on store shelves" today like you'd hope, but instead, we've seen massive lines around city blocks on select restock dates. The $499 PS5 console and $399 PS5 Digital Edition console have been in stock in select physical locations twice so far.
We saw both Best Buy and Target PS5 restock this past Friday. Target stock appeared after three weeks of the US retailer not having the Sony console in stock. That seems to be the pattern at Target. The $499 PS5 Disc console was for sale at 7:49am EDT, according to Matt Swider's tweet, while the $399 PS5 Digital Edition went on sale at 8:11am EDT in much smaller quantities (we know this since it sold out quickly and didn't show up in some regions of the United States).
The Best Buy restock happened at 1:14pm EDT, with both PS5 Disc and PS5 Digital for sale at the same time. You can see our October 1 PS5 restock alert below.
🚨🚨🚨PS5 restock 🏷BEST BUY🏷♻️RT this + follow @mattswider + @techradarPS5 Digital ($399) https://ift.tt/3c4uQ6X Disc ($499) https://t.co/AjQJ37QctF👇October 1, 2021
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PS5 restock news has ramped up in recent weeks with a lot of people finally securing the PlayStation console either online or in stores, more than a year after pre-orders first went live.
PS5 restock tips and advice
We have more sources inside the American retail market telling us about PS5 restock dates and times than any other publication in the US. Target and Best Buy sources give us PS5 restock level updates, while GameStop and Walmart supply chain insiders tip us off as to when the next PS5 stock is due to appear online.
There are also broad patterns: Every three weeks, Target does very early morning restocks, typically on Fridays in recent months (since July), and our sources send us information about stock levels to back up this timing (so we're not just relying on patterns). Best Buy has a restock every week or two and then takes a month off, confusing a lot of American consumers.
The most recent Best Buy restock time of 1:14pm EDT on Friday changed up the big-box US retailer's queue system to prevent PS5 restock bots (designed by resellers) from speeding through the add-to-cart button and go straight to checkout. It's about time. GameStop has a different approach: forcing bundles in the $700 price range for PS5 Disc that resellers and their bots don't touch.
Best Buy PS5 restock: pivot between online and in-store
Last Best Buy PS5 restock date: Friday, October 1 at 1:14pm EDT
We did say Best Buy will pivot between online and in-store restocks, and today was proof of our reporting. The Best Buy PS5 restock happened online at 1:14pm EDT, with both PS5 Disc and PS5 Digital Editions in stock.
This was the first time Best Buy used its new verify system for a PS5 restock (it first used the enhanced checkout system earlier this for the Xbox Series X). One week prior, Best Buy had an in-store restock on September 23, 2021 (the first of any major retailer in 2021), after it failed to have the console online for more than a month. It was odd because Best Buy stocked the PlayStation 5 almost weekly before that, so clearly it was changing up its strategy.
What we got right: This doesn't mean the retailer will continue to have in-store restocks of the PS5 from here on out. It may do what it does with the GPU restocks: alternating between online restocks through its website and in-store restocks on select Thursday mornings. In fact, we saw an Xbox Series X restock on Monday, September 27, so there's some precedent for online console restock dates to continue.
Best Buy restock time online: The date is harder to nail down outside of the fact that it's never in stock during the weekends or evenings. But the official restock time always falls between 9:37am EDT and 5:05am EDT, so destined for working hours in the US Eastern time zone. It's a big window, sure, but one we can easily track on Twitter.
The big news is that the PS5 is starting to show up in stores. No, not on shelves, but sold in stores like GameStop and Best Buy with lines wrapped around the block.
The Best Buy RTX 3080 GPU restock events set the stage for the retailer to do the same for PS5. There have only been two in-store PS5 restocks at major American retailers, so don't expect too many of those. We had exclusive news stories about both the Best Buy in-store PS5 restock and the GameStop PS5 restock in-store event, so we'll send out alerts ahead of time so you can line up. But online PS5 restocks are more frequent.
We had on-the-ground reporting of both restock events – pretty much the only tech website doing so – and many of the people follow Matt's PS5 restock Twitter account.
(Image credit: Matt Swider / Instagram)
Online PS5 restocks remain more frequent
PS5 restocks in person are still extremely rare, as we continue to see retailers sell the console online. Namely, Walmart, Target and Sam's Club do popular restocks that sell out in minutes.
Thursday is usually the most active day. Walmart usually restocks on a Thursday, though not every Thursday and it's back-ordered right now, while Antonline, a little-known retailer with good customer service and fast shipping, has guaranteed weekly restocks of next-gen consoles (so it could be an Xbox Series X restock on some weeks).
Target prefers Friday restocks, and today proved just that – the fifth Target PS5 restock on a Friday in a row. Target always restocks the PS5 restock in the morning, pretty much between 7am EDT and 8am EDT. In fact, there's been PS5 stock only at that time (except once) in 2021.
There hasn't been much news at club retailers in the United States. Costo hasn't had been good source of PS5 stock in several months and may be holding back until Christmas 2021, which makes sense. Sam's Club did a restock overnight this week, but PS5 availability there has been limited.
We can confirm that some retailers are purposely holding back consoles until closer to the holidays: think early November to meet ongoing demand and tie into early Black Friday deals. So you should find a console soon enough – if you keep up with the PS5 restock news and alerts.
PS5 restock tutorials on YouTube are the best way to figure out how to checkout at each store in the US, and they're all different. We went through the step-by-step instructions on how to buy a PS5 at GameStop with a YouTube live stream.
You can actually see Matt 'cart' (almost checkout with) a PS5 Digital console bundle (he didn't because he doesn't need another PS5 console).
Target PS5 restock today
Next Target PS5 restock date: Probably three weeks from now
Last Target PS5 restock date: Friday, October 1 at 7:49am EDT
The Target PS5 restock date was today, October 1 and we knew that the retailer had just enough consoles to do a small restock thanks to Target employees around the country sending us photos. It was enough for a small PS5 drop, with about 20 PS5 Disc consoles per store.
Target PS5 restock time: While the retailer has shifted its PlayStation 5 restock day in the past, the Target PS5 restock time is consistent: in 2021, it's always been 7am EDT to 8am EDT, with one exception: two restocks ago happened a little outside that window at 8:14am EDT. The latest restock for Friday, October 1 was 7:49am EDT.
Target PS5 restock advice: Don't pass up PS5 Disc, which is almost always in-stock first for PS5 Digital, which often goes in stock second. PS5 Digital stock is extremely low every single time – and sometimes PS5 Digital doesn't come in stock at all.
The next GameStop PS5 restock date is likely to be soon – and a lot of times has a restock on Tuesdays. Why soon? The video game retailer has become the most frequent source of PlayStation 5 console sales in the second half of 2021. Sony Direct still wins when it comes to consoles at MSRP, but GameStop is right there with PS5 bundles in which everything is at face value.
The last actually GameStop PS5 restock happened in stores Thursday, September 30, giving people a chance to buy PS5 consoles bundled with a game and waiting in line on Thursday morning (or even earlier). They had a chance to buy the console after spending $705 (everything is at MSRP if you add up the extras included).
However, this past Tuesday demonstrated that GameStop isn't giving up on online restocks. It sold four PS5 bundles through its website: two PS5 Disc bundles and two PS5 Digital bundles. Again, these included extras and you needed to be a PowerUp Pro Rewards member ($15 a year), but that cuts down on resellers scooping up the PS5 for MSRP and profiting off of the very console you're trying to buy.
Sony PlayStation Direct is changing things up, with a PS5 restock dates happening more often, both with email invites to select (randomly picked PSN users) and wider virtual queues where anyone with a PSN account has a chance to buy the PS5.
It's still difficult to get beyond 'more than an hour wait' time, but as more and more people get their Sony PS5 console of choice (they're both on sale for MSRP through Sony Direct, thankfully), it'll get easier.
We'll continue to send out PS5 restock alerts from Sony Direct since they've been among the most successful. This Sony company must know someone who makes PS5.
(Image credit: Twitter / Matt Swider)
Antonline PS5 restock – one next-gen bundle a week
Last Antonline PS5 restock date: Thursday, September 16 at 10:12am EDT
Antonline has been consistent with its PS5 restocks, promising – and mostly fulfilling – a next-gen console restock once per week. We say mostly because sometimes it has the Xbox Series S in there, which isn't as difficult to find in stock compared to the PS5. Anyway, because Antonline had a PS5 Digital bundle last week, there's no guarantee it'll pick a Sony console this time, but it's a next-gen console to be sure.
Keep in mind: Antonline PS5 bundles will look pricey at first, but they're at face value for all of the games and accessories included. While consoles still sell out in about three minutes (or less), the bundles slow down resellers, who can't easily profit off of the extras. So it's a benefit to real gamers who want to play the bundled games.
Will the PS5 restock at Walmart next week? We're always checking with our sources (we usually know a little bit in advance), but we know two things: it favors Thursdays (every Walmart PS5 restock has been on a Thursday except for one in 2021), and we know for a fact that its severely back-ordered PlayStation 5 shipments are making their way to US consumers sooner than the slated November dates (yes, not everyone has seen their 'order processing' status hasten, but a lot of people have).
Walmart takes a long time to ship, and if it continues to offer the console with dates in November like it did in September (a two-month gap), by the time November rolls around, it's going to have to be promising consoles in 2022, and no one wants to see that on Black Friday. It needed to slow down the pace a bit. That's why we giving Walmart a 50/50 shot every Thursday, and we know it's usually at specific times: 12pm EDT, 3pm EDT or 9pm EDT.
The Amazon PS5 restock dates has become easier to predict not because of sources in this case – Amazon seems to have shut down leaks – but because the online retail giant has been stocking new PS5 consoles around the 21st of every month, give or take a few days.
Specifically, we saw PS5 in stock at Amazon on September 21, August 25, July 21, June 23, May 26 and April 21 this year. That's a pretty consistent restock track record, thought here are instances in which PS5 Digital didn't show up alongside PS5 Disc (there's always less PS5 Digital inventory at stores) or got shoehorned in on a different date (like September 2) without PS5 Disc accompanying it.
The Amazon PS5 restock time was fluctuating between late mornings (10:10am EDT to 11:05am EDT with the one-off Amazon Treasure Truck drop happening at 12pm EDT) and late nights (12:03am EDT to 3:18am EDT). But we haven't seen a middle of the night PS5 drop since Amazon Prime Day, so neither we're overdue for one in October or Amazon is sticking to those late morning restocks.
It hasn't gotten any easier to buy the PS5 on Amazon when a restock happens. This is despite the fact that their latest restock date, September 21 at 11:03am EDT, did give Amazon Prime members priority access to buying the Sony console. We'll see if it gets any easier on or around October 21, 2021.
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While it looks like Alder Lake desktop processors are around the corner, we still don't know much about Intel's next chips for the best laptops, but a leaked roadmap may have given us a glimpse.
According to this leaked roadmap, spotted by Wccftech, Alder Lake-P and Alder Lake-M will supposedly start production in November 2021 with an early 2022 launch.
This leaked roadmap seems to back up an earlier rumor leak by Twitter user @9550pro about the Alder Lake-P and -M microarchitectures being behind the next-gen U- and H-series chips. But, it's still way too early to tell whether or not these leaks are real – even with the new leaked roadmap. It's entirely possible that Intel will come up with an entirely new microarchitecture for its 12th-generation mobile processors, it wouldn't be the first time.
With this timeline, we're not sure when these processors would actually be announced. But if Intel really is aiming for a launch at the beginning of the year, it's possible Team Blue will save it for CES 2022.
Analysis: what is going on?
Intel Alder Lake-M processors, according to this leak, will supposedly replace the current-generation U-series chips found in laptops like the Dell XPS 13, with 7-15W SKUs meant for smaller mobile devices. Alder Lake-P, on the other hand, will supposedly support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 and will be behind the H-series chips.
Given that these features are likely to appear in Alder Lake-S processors like the Intel Core i9-12900K, this makes sense, though we don't know why Intel wouldn't just include PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 in its ultraportable-class chips, too.
Also just like Alder Lake-S, it's likely that these processors will also use a big.LITTLE hybrid design. That means we could potentially see CPUs with up to 14 cores in a laptop with these 12th-gen processors, but it would be similar to the Apple M1, with some larger high-performance cores and some smaller high-efficiency cores. So we don't know how well that will actually translate to CPU performance.
Either way, we likely won't have to wait long. Rumors are pointing to Intel 12th-gen desktop processors launching on November 19, which is right around the corner.
You can score a massive $1,000 price cut on this stunning OLED TV from Sony at Amazon's epic deals sale that launched today. For a limited time, this 77-inch Sony Bravia OLED TV is on sale for $2,998 (was $3,999.99) at Amazon. That's a massive $1,001.99 discount and the lowest price we've ever seen for the OLED display.
OLED TV deal
Sony 77-inch A80J BRAVIA OLED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV:$3,999.99$2,998 at Amazon
Save $1,0001.99 - This massive 77-inch Sony OLED TV is on sale for a record-low price of $2,998, thanks to today's $1,000 discount from Amazon. The gorgeous OLED TV packs a stunning picture and excellent sound quality thanks to the powerful cognitive processor XR making it a fantastic choice for a home cinema upgrade.
Sony's stunning 77-inch OLED TV has everything and more that you'd want in your big-screen dream TV. The A80J Series features a premium OLED panel within a cognitive processor XR which delivers a life-like viewing experience with crisp images that come to life. The Sony TV features XR Triluminos Pro Color and Acoustic Surface Audio Plus, so you're getting premium sound quality and intense colors and deep blacks. You're also getting smart capabilities with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant built-in, enabling you to control your TV and compatible smart home devices completely hands-free.
Discounts like this are typically reserved for the upcoming Black Friday deals event, so you should snag today's incredible offer before it's too late.
You can also see more bargains with our roundup of the best Amazon deals that are happening today.
Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have gone, and Star Trek's Captain Kirk is preparing for his trip, but first a few famed Russians will blast off for ISS Expedition 66.
