Marc Thomas – Daves Computer Tips

Why Thousands Of Gamers Are Leaving Windows For Linux

Marc Thomas — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:11:02 +0000

Fellow DCT authors Jim Hillier and Terry Hollett have written extensively about Linux in its various forms, not least the growing number of Windows users migrating to Linux. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is the extraordinary lengths Microsoft is going to to drive users away from Windows 11. Hardware requirements (TPM 2.0), the end of Windows 10, and the quite nauseating…

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Will Half-Life 3 Launch With The Steam Machine In 2026?

Marc Thomas — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:02:09 +0000

Considered one of the most important video games of modern times, Half-Life 2 was launched way back in 2004, and I still remember having the DVD shipped to me in Spain. But it was also the first time I had experienced digital game downloading because the DVD contained only part of the game, thus requiring us to set up an account with Valve’s gaming platform, Steam. Half-Life 2 still looks great…

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I Underestimated The Power Of Smart Watches

Marc Thomas — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 05:43:14 +0000

Back in September 2021, I bought a Samsung Gear 3 Frontier smartwatch and wrote about it in I Just Bought My First Smartwatch! I sold it a year or two later and reverted to analogue, but smart watches have improved considerably in the intervening years. I don’t think I truly appreciated the Gear 3 and what it was capable of, so back in September 2024, I bought a Xiaomi Watch 2 in a gadget…

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Can’t Right-Click? It’s On Your Keyboard!

Marc Thomas — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 05:05:08 +0000

The other day, I dropped my Corsair Iron Claw wireless gaming mouse, with the end result being that right-click ceased to function. I’m not normally a clumsy person, and at the time, it was sitting on my Asus gaming laptop as I was moving both to the next room. Of course, it could have been much worse – dropping the laptop would have been a disaster. Anyway, I soon realised how often I use…

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Next Tomb Raider Game To Be Announced At The 2025 Game Awards?

Marc Thomas — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 05:01:18 +0000

With all the turmoil surrounding the Tomb Raider franchise over the last few years, we had almost given up hope of a new adventure for Lara Croft. Layoffs at Crystal Dynamics and Amazon, Embracer, the owner of Crystal Dynamics, closing studios left, right, and centre, and the appalling TR spin-offs on Netflix and mobile phones. But now there’s a ray of sunshine, or so it seems…

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Microsoft Copilot On LG TVs Can’t Be Deleted

Marc Thomas — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 05:04:57 +0000

A Reddit user recently reported that his LG smart TV had just received an update with Microsoft Copilot installing itself, but without an option to remove it. Apparently, Samsung has also introduced this exciting new feature, so this is yet another example of AI cynically insinuating itself into our lives whether we want it or not. Presumably, this is a deal done between Microsoft and the…

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AMD Adrenalin Record And Stream On Laptop Missing

Marc Thomas — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 05:07:57 +0000

In some of my previous articles, I’ve mentioned that I had to roll back the graphic drivers and software on my Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition laptop, so I should explain why. The specs of the laptop are as follows: I’ve been using AMD’s software for many years and am well used to its shortcomings. I use the software on my main gaming rig to capture in-game recordings and…

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Australia Under-16 Social Media Ban Now In Effect

Marc Thomas — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 05:01:41 +0000

In a world first, Australia’s controversial ban on under-16s’ use of social media came into effect a few days ago. It means that Australians under 16 will not be able to sign up to social media, and their existing profiles will be deactivated. The following platforms are included in the ban: I seriously question the inclusion of YouTube in this list, which, in my opinion, is NOT social media…

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Two New Tomb Raider Games Revealed At The Game Awards

Marc Thomas — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 05:01:46 +0000

I’m so glad I stayed up to watch The Game Awards last night, which for me kicked off at 9.30 pm my local time, because two hours later, as I was about to hit the sack, a familiar silhouette appeared on the huge screen. Lara Croft had finally returned, toting her iconic dual pistols, and in the action trailer, it was revealed as Tomb Raider: Catalyst to be released in 2027. But wait…

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Windows 11 Supported CPUs Is Now Even More Confusing

Marc Thomas — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 06:07:41 +0000

Microsoft recently ‘updated’ its lists of Windows 11 supported processors, but for Intel CPUs, the company chose to list CPU series as opposed to each processor, which is very confusing. For example, it lists the Celeron series being supported when in fact only one out of ten of that series is supported – the Celeron 3867U. What baffles most people is that CPUs such as the mighty Intel 10th Gen…

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I Just Took Grok And ChatGPT For A Test Drive

Marc Thomas — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 05:11:06 +0000

As mentioned in my article on Gemini and Copilot, it’s impossible to escape AI, so, being curious, I just had to try some others to see how they compare. Grok is described as a conversational AI chatbot from Elon Musk’s xAI, which gives unfiltered, anti-woke, and often spicy answers, so since I had already come across the copyright restrictions of Copilot, I was keen to give it a go. Me…

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Gemini And Copilot Are Not That Clever!

Marc Thomas — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 05:01:43 +0000

We all know that AI is now pervasive, and it’s often difficult to tell what’s fake and what’s real. For my part, the only times I use Copilot or Gemini are to acquire images that are copyright-free for publishing here on DCT and my own websites. So today I put them both to the test, just for a bit of fun. I have the Google One Standard plan, which I think is the cheapest and gives me 200GB of…

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Some Motherboard UEFIs Are Injecting Software Into Windows

Marc Thomas — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 05:01:52 +0000

Following my article about BitLocker encrypting the OS drive on my Asus laptop without my consent, I began to delve deeper into what was really going on with my one-year-old Asus TUF Gaming A16 laptop. My findings will surprise you. Having solved the BitLocker issue, I was curious about other software that was installed without my intervention, so I looked at Armoury Crate and My Asus…

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BitLocker Encrypted My Laptop Drive Without Warning

Marc Thomas — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:01:26 +0000

I was having some problems with AMD Radeon Adrenalin settings on my Asus TUF Gaming A16 laptop and decided to roll back the GPU drivers. But before doing that, I needed to use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) in safe mode to remove the current software. To reboot Windows in safe mode, I always hit Win+R, then type msconfig, select the Boot tab, and then Safe Boot. As I was about to hit…

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