Last month, both Microsoft and Apple released refreshed operating systems. Windows 8.1 was available for download starting October 21, while OS X Mavericks hit the market on October 22. Windows 8.1, was an update, while the other, OS X Mavericks, was a full release. The former was free to those already running Windows 8 but costs upwards of $100 and more if you’re jumping from Windows XP or Windows 7, while Mavericks was made available as a completely free download on day one.
Windows 8.1 re-introduced some sorely missed features, including the tried-and-true Start Menu, whose absence from Windows 8 led to the release of multiple third party Start menus, which helped filled the void. Mavericks brought with it several notable improvements, including Notifications, iCloud Keychain and more. Overall, though, neither Windows 8.1 nor Mavericks have been game changers in the tech world. While Mavericks doesn’t have to deal with the bad taste that Windows 8 put in the mouths of many, which could impact Windows 8.1’s success, Mavericks has launched with a slew of problems of its own, from usage, to install, to simply downloading the OS.
We’re left wondering though, considering that both Mavericks and Windows 8.1 both have had similar impacts on the way people use computers (not much of one, that is), we can’t help but think whether people prefer Mavericks or Windows 8.1. Though it’d be entertaining to hit the street with mic in hand and a camera crew in tow to take peoples’ temperatures, we’re going the poll route.
Below is a handy poll where you can let us know which operating system you would rather use. Feel free to participate in the discussion in the comments section as well.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.