If you’re among the holdouts still sticking with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you should be aware of a newly discovered bug that can bluescreen your system if you happen to visit an affected website. The issue is related to the way filenames are constructed and calls to mind a similar problem that affected users in the 1990s.
Windows has long since employed several special filenames that refer to things other than individual files located on disk. The nature of these special filenames dictates that they need to be accessible from any location in the file system and they can cause the operating system to hang if they are not used properly.
The special filename at the heart of this bug is $MFT, which is the name given to a particular kind of metadata file used in Microsoft’s proprietary file system, according to Ars Technica.
$MFT is not visible under normal circumstances, the majority of software cannot access it directly, and Windows will block attempts to open the file. However, if there is an attempt to open $MFT as if it were a directory, a Windows driver will enforce a lock on the file that will never be released.
All attempts to access the file system will be blocked as a result, which will cause problems for any active applications. The computer might not necessarily bluescreen, but it will not be good for much until you reboot it.
Including a dodgy filename as an image source on a web page can successfully trigger the bug on a visitor’s computer. Some browsers are unaffected, as they don’t offer the ability to access local system resources in this manner — but apparently, Internet Explorer has no such restrictions and, as such, can be targeted quite easily.
Window 95 and Windows 98 were affected by a similar issue relating to special filenames that referred to hardware devices. Windows 10 is seemingly unaffected by the new iteration of the bug.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.