Anyone who has ever had to use a game controller for text inputs — whether it’s for logging into a service or typing a quick message — knows what a frustrating experience it can be. While controllers are perfectly designed for gaming, they are a nightmare for typing with. But a new feature in Windows 11 aims to address that, as Microsoft is introducing a new keyboard layout for gamepads.
Among the updates in the new Windows 11 Build 26100.3613, rolling out this week to Windows Insiders, is a layout for the Windows touch keyboard that is specifically designed for use with a gamepad.
“We have enabled the Gamepad keyboard layout for the touch keyboard in Windows 11,” Microsoft wrote, announcing the update. “This change introduces the ability to use your Xbox controller to navigate and type. This includes button accelerators (example: X button for backspace, Y button for spacebar) additionally the keyboard keys have been vertically aligned for better controller navigation patterns.”
This will make life easier for those who like to use an Xbox controller with their Windows machine, with features like a vertically aligned keyboard which is easier to navigate with direction keys, in addition to the buttons used as shortcuts.
You can enable the gamepad keyboard by opening up the touch keyboard then navigating to Keyboard layout > Gamepad.
If you’re still adjusting to Windows 11, then it’s worth looking through some of the accessibility features as these can be useful for everyone using Windows. They include options like live captions that can add on-screen captions not only to any audio or video you are playing on your PC but also to your own speech if you speak using a microphone, a Narrator mode which reads aloud text from the screen and which works with the screen reader mode to make UI elements easier to access, and a voice typing option which is still under development but which allows you to dictate text or interact with your PC using just your voice.
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.