Wayne Williams

Ashampoo has released Burning Studio 2026 for Windows. While most new PCs no longer include optical drives, many people still rely on discs for cars, stereos, DVD players, and older hardware that can’t use USB storage or cloud services.

The new program can burn, copy, rip, or back up data to CD, DVD, and Blu-ray, including higher-capacity formats like BDXL. While Burning Studio 2026 is priced at $30, you can grab it for free.

Windows 11 remains a familiar choice for many users, although complaints about hardware requirements, update behavior, and uneven performance continue to make large numbers of people wonder if it’s worth sticking with.

For those users, Linux is a viable alternative and one of the better, lesser-known OS choices is Nitrux, which has now reached version 5.1.

Alongside a preview of new cases, cooling hardware, and peripherals planned for future systems, iBUYPOWER brought a concept gaming desktop to CES 2026 which takes a different approach to liquid cooling.

Custom loop cooling normally uses rigid tubes, a separate pump, and a reservoir to move liquid around the CPU and graphics card. This setup is common in enthusiast builds but rarely appears in prebuilts because it's difficult to assemble and maintain. The Trace X Custom Loop Concept Gaming PC shows how liquid cooling could be introduced into mass-produced systems.

Dell Technologies announced a number of new products at CES 2026, including new laptops, Alienware gaming systems, and larger, higher-resolution monitors aimed at professional users. Perhaps the biggest news is the return of the XPS brand that Dell retired this time last year.

Dell is launching redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch XPS laptops with a new chassis. Both the XPS 14 and XPS 16 use CNC-machined aluminum construction and adopt slimmer profiles than previous generations. For the first time, the XPS logo appears on the laptop lid.

Asus Republic of Gamers has unveiled the ROG Falchion Ace 75 HE magnetic gaming keyboard at CES 2026. The compact keyboard introduces a new magnetic switch platform and is aimed at competitive PC players looking for fast response and adjustable input in a smaller layout.

The new keyboard uses a 75 percent layout that retains dedicated arrow keys and navigation controls while reducing overall desk footprint. This design leaves more room for mouse movement than full-size or tenkeyless keyboards, which remains a common setup choice for competitive play.

Universal Music Group has announced a new collaboration with Nvidia that centers on using AI to support music discovery, artist tools, and fan engagement. The work draws on Nvidia’s AI infrastructure and Universal’s catalog of recorded music, with a focus on systems that account for copyright, attribution, and artist involvement.

The collaboration brings together Nvidia’s research in audio and machine learning with Universal Music Group’s catalog, which spans millions of recordings across genres and eras. The plan is to apply AI to music search, recommendation, and creative workflows, rather than replacing human creators or existing rights frameworks.

FiiO M33 R2R is a new digital audio player that blends classic dedicated music hardware ideas with modern Android performance. It’s a fully featured portable player for music listeners who want something more focused than a smartphone, echoing the role once filled by devices like the Apple iPod, and for those of a certain age, the Sony Walkman.

The M33 R2R sits below FiiO’s M27 in the lineup and combines a discrete R2R digital-to-analog design with contemporary processing, wireless features, and app support.

MSI used CES 2026 to present a redesigned laptop lineup covering business systems, mainstream productivity machines, gaming laptops, and even a handheld PC.

Across these models, the lineup features new chassis designs, revised cooling systems, and updated internal hardware built around Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX laptop graphics.

Other World Computing (OWC) has introduced an 8TB version of its Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD, expanding the range with what it says is the first bus-powered Thunderbolt 5 drive at this capacity. The new model joins the existing Envoy Ultra lineup and is aimed at users who need large, fast external storage without external power.

The Envoy Ultra uses the Thunderbolt 5 interface and is designed to function as high-speed external storage for demanding workloads. With 8TB of capacity, it can handle large project libraries, raw media files, and backups that exceed the limits of internal SSDs on laptops and compact desktops.

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, DuRoBo’s Krono ePaper Focus Hub is coming to buyers in the United States and mainland Europe, offering a dedicated device for reading, note-taking, and basic audio use without the distractions of a full tablet. New accessories are also launching alongside it, including fitted cases and a Bluetooth remote.

Krono uses a 6.13-inch Carta 1200 ePaper display with a 300ppi resolution. The screen is designed for text clarity rather than color or motion, making it better suited to long reading sessions than conventional displays. Glare is kept low, and the panel remains readable across different lighting conditions.

If you’ve been looking for a reason to ditch Windows 11, the latest version of Manjaro Linux might just be it. Manjaro 26.0 Anh-Linh (Vietnamese for a noble or sacred soul), updates all three of its main desktop editions with changes to app performance, window behavior, theming controls, and remote access.

This release focuses on parts of the system people use every day. App loading, desktop layout options, permissions, and system controls have all been improved, and are noticeable as soon as you start using the desktop.

Cherry Xtrfy is launching its first magnetic switch keyboards, using tunnel magnetoresistance sensing instead of Hall effect. Magnetic switches are increasingly used in gaming keyboards for their speed, adjustable actuation, and consistent input behavior.

Magnetic switch keyboards work without physical electrical contacts. Instead they detect key presses by measuring changes in a magnetic field as a key moves, which allows actuation points to be tuned and inputs to register earlier in the press.

NuraLogix has announced a home wellness device designed to turn a short selfie scan into insights about your long term health. The Longevity Mirror targets users who are interested in understanding how daily habits relate to future health outcomes, without relying on wearables, physical sensors, or manual measurements.

The device combines a full size mirror with an integrated camera and processing system. Users sit or stand in front of it for about 30 seconds while it captures a short facial video.

MiniTool has released Screen Recorder 1.0, a free screen recording tool for Windows designed to handle basic screen, audio, and webcam recording tasks without watermarks or time limits.

The app offers a limited but familiar set of features rather than advanced tools or editing functions. It can be used to record tutorials, presentations, videos, or general on-screen activity with minimal configuration.

Maingear has introduced a new option called BYO RAM Builds, letting customers order a desktop without buying memory from the company. The move comes at a time when DDR5 pricing has become unpredictable, with significant increases across many kits. BYO RAM gives buyers a way to manage system cost by supplying their own compatible memory.

The price of DDR5 kits have skyrocketed recently as AI infrastructure demand continues to steal memory supply away from consumers. Retail availability is uneven, and pricing swings have made it difficult to plan a new build without watching the prices almost daily.