It’s the first week of December, and the end of the year is coming in fast and with a lot to look forward to at theaters this month. That very cool-looking Lord of the Rings anime hits US theaters on the 13th; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 follows on the 20th; and I’m deeply excited to see Nosferatu on December 25th. (If you’re not with me on that last one, give Matt Zoller Seitz’s RogerEbert.com review of it a read and get back to me.)
Technology
Jeff Bezos says he’s ‘very optimistic this time around’ about Trump
Jeff Bezos and President-elect Donald Trump famously didn’t get along the last time Trump was in the White House. This time, Bezos says he’s “very optimistic” and even wants to help out.
“I’m actually very optimistic this time around,” Bezos said of Trump during a rare public appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday. “He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help him do that, I’m going to help him.”
Trump railed against Bezos and his companies — Amazon, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post — during his 2016 term. Bezos defended himself but it did little to help his reputation with Trump. Now, his companies have a lot at stake in the coming administration, from the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon to Blue Origin’s efforts to compete with SpaceX for government contracts.
Onstage at the DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Bezos called Trump “calmer this time” and “more settled.” He said he will try to “talk him out of” the idea that the press, which includes The Washington Post, is an enemy of the people.
“You’ve probably grown in the last eight years,” he said to DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “He has, too.”
Bezos also echoed Sam Altman’s comments earlier in the day, saying he doesn’t expect Elon Musk to wield his new political power with DOGE against rivals. “I’ve had a lot success in life not being cynical,” he said. “And I’ve rarely been taken advantage of as a result.”
You can watch Bezos’s conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin below:
Technology
Trailers of the week: Star Trek, Severance, and Gundam
While I’m waiting to go be unnerved by Robert Eggers’ new spooky vampire movie, let’s take a look at some good trailers from the last week.
I’ll admit that the biggest appeal for me about this straight-to-streaming spy movie spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery is Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou. She’s just having so much fun in this trailer. The trailers haven’t revealed yet what threat she’ll be facing, other than being forced to do teamwork, but it seems like it’ll be pretty heavy on the rag-tag team of antiheroes action thing.
The Olatunde Osunsanmi-directed movie also stars Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sven Ruygrok, Humberly Gonzalez, Rob Kazinsky, and Sam Richardson. It premieres on Paramount Plus starting January 24th.
I was late to the Severance party, having finally finished it a few months ago, so I can only imagine how eager people who saw its cliffhanger ending have been to see the story continue. Well, the second season of creator Dan Erickson’s bizarro sci-fi drama is almost here, and it looks like it’s probably going to bring answers, with even more mystery heaped on top of it.
All of the first season’s main characters, including Mark (Adam Scott), Dylan (Zach Cherry), Helly (Britt Lower), and Irving (John Turturro) are returning, and they’ll be joined by characters played by the likes of Alia Shawkat, Gwendoline Christie, and Bob Balaban. Season two of Severance premieres January 17th on Apple TV Plus.
The third season of Invincible will see a stronger, older Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) tell off GDA director Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) and episodes that show creator Robert Kirkman hopes will each feel like a finale. And there’s no season break this time around.
The show debuts with three episodes February 6th on Amazon Prime, with new episodes releasing every Thursday after until March 13th.
The Wheel of Time continues its retelling of the Robert Jordan fantasy epic on March 13th next year. In its third season, the show follows Joshua Stradowski’s Rand al’Thor — the “Dragon Reborn” — and Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) as they go into the Aiel Waste. It’s been more than two decades since I read the book series, so I couldn’t spoil what happens there for you if I wanted to, but I seem to recall this was a fairly dark time in the series.
Who knows what evil is in The Gorge’s, uh, gorge, but it’s apparently contained well enough that humanity only needs two snipers — who aren’t allowed to interact with each other — stationed on either side of it to make sure it stays there. The snipers, Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), do interact and fall for eachother, then end up in the gorge. Oops!
Scott Derrickson directs the movie, which also stars Sigourney Weaver, Sope Dirisu, and William Houston. It premieres February 14th on Apple TV Plus.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Giant robot anime fans rejoice: there’s a new Mobile Suit Gundam coming next year. It’s called Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, and it’s produced by Khara, the studio behind the Rebuild of Evangelion films.
The weird name references a Gundam called the gMS-Ω GQuuuuuuX. The show will follow a highschooler — named Yuzuriha “Machu” Amate (Tomoyo Kurosawa) — who learns to co-pilot the building-sized, sword-wielding robot with pilot Shuji Ito (Shimba Tsuchiya). Some of its episodes will head to Japanese theaters on January 17th.
Technology
Quick fixes to stop your Windows PC from crashing
Are you dealing with a Windows PC or laptop that won’t stop crashing? Maybe your PC is constantly freezing or displaying error messages.
We know how frustrating a PC that won’t work right can be. Luckily, there are some easy ways to fix a Windows PC that is consistently crashing.
Today, we’ll review nine easy fixes you can do at home if you have a Windows PC that won’t stop crashing on you. Let’s get into it.
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1. Check all of your cable connections
While it might sound obvious, the first step to troubleshooting a computer that constantly crashes is ensuring everything is firmly plugged in. It’s often the most overlooked step, so if you’re using a desktop, you’ll want to look behind your PC and ensure everything is plugged in. It would be best to try using a different electrical outlet to first rule out any electrical issues in your home.
If you feel comfortable opening up your desktop PC, you can also go inside the case and ensure all your PCI connections are firmly plugged in. You’ll want to ensure all your cables going to the power supply are firmly connected, and the same is true with the PCI power cables that supply electricity to the GPU and CPU.
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2. Make sure your computer isn’t overheating
Computer overheating is a common cause of intermittent shutdowns and crashes. If your CPU (central processing unit), essentially the brain of your computer, or graphics card gets too hot, your computer might shut down to ensure the components aren’t damaged. If you notice that your laptop or desktop is giving off a lot of heat, or in the case of a laptop, it is hot to the touch, or if you notice your fans running louder than usual, these are all signs of overheating.
If your computer is overheating, the first step is to clean it thoroughly. I recommend blowing dust out of the interior fans with compressed air and keeping your PC in an area where it can receive proper airflow. If you have a desktop PC, try not to keep it under your desk. Keeping a PC under a desk can cause issues with dust build-up and lack of airflow. It’s best to keep your desktop in a part of your home or office where it can receive a decent amount of airflow.
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3. Boot your PC into safe mode
If your cables are all plugged in correctly and your computer isn’t overheating, it’s time to boot your Windows PC into safe mode. Booting into safe mode allows you to run your PC with the necessary files and drivers turned on to make the PC run. That way, you can determine if new software or hardware conflicts with your PC, causing it to crash. While in safe mode, you can access Windows error logs and run other diagnostics to figure out what is causing your PC to crash.
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How to boot into safe mode (Windows 10)
There are a few different ways to boot into Windows safe mode, and it is a bit different depending on whether you are using Windows 10 or 11. To start, here’s how you can boot into safe mode on Windows 10 from the settings panel:
- Press the Windows key
- Click Settings
Click System
- Scroll down and click Recovery
- Click Advanced Startup – Restart Now
- Once your computer restarts, you’ll click Troubleshoot
- Click Advanced options
- Click Startup settings
- Click Restart again
Your computer will restart again, and this time, your computer will boot into safe mode.
How to boot into safe mode (Windows 11)
The process is slightly different if you use a Windows 11 PC instead of a Windows 10 machine. Here’s what to do if you are using a Windows 11 PC:
- Press the Windows key or click on the Start button
- While holding the Shift key, click the power icon in the bottom left corner
- While continuing to hold the shift key, press restart
Once your computer restarts, it will automatically boot into safe mode.
4. Check the Windows logs for errors
Now that you’re in safe mode, you should look at the Windows logs. You can access the Windows error logs through the Event Viewer. Here’s how to access the Windows Event Viewer:
- Press the Windows icon in the start bar
- Search for Event Viewer
- Open the Event Viewer app
- In the left panel, double-click Windows logs
- Click either Application or SystemApplication will show you Windows logs and errors related to applicationsSystem will show you Windows logs and errors related to the operating system
- Application will show you Windows logs and errors related to applications
- System will show you Windows logs and errors related to the operating system
- In both the Application and System, read through and write down the error code for any errors when your PC last crashed.
- You can access the error code by double-clicking any error in the log.
- Run a Google search for any error codes that come up.
5. Perform an OS update
An outdated version of Windows can cause conflicts with both your software and even hardware components in your PC. This is a major cause of PC crashes, so you’ll want to ensure your Windows operating system is entirely up to date. Here’s how to run a system update on Windows:
- Click the Windows icon in the taskbar
- Click the Gear (Settings) icon in the start menu
- Click Windows Update
- Press the Check for Updates button
- Download and install any new updates available for your PC
6. Run an antivirus scan
Even if you don’t own any antivirus software, you should at least run a scan with the built-in Windows Defender. Here’s how to access Windows Defender and run an antivirus scan:
- Click the Windows icon in the taskbar
- Click the Gear (settings) icon in the start menu
- Click Privacy & Security
- At the top, click Windows Security
- Click Virus & Threat protection
- Click the Scan options button underneath Quick scan
- Select Full scan
- Quarantine any threats detected during the virus scan.
Is Windows Defender enough to protect you?
While Windows Defender offers robust, built-in security for Windows users, it has limitations in areas like phishing and spam protection and may not update as swiftly as some premium solutions. To stay protected from malicious links, phishing scams and ransomware, consider investing in strong antivirus software. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
7. Check the hard drive for errors
You can use the Windows Command Prompt to check your hard drive for errors. If your hard drive has an error, you might need to perform a system restore, which we’ll discuss later. For now, here’s how to use the command prompt to check for hard drive errors:
- Click the Windows icon in the taskbar
- Type CMD and open the Command Prompt
- Right-click on the Command Prompt box and click Run as administrator
- Type sfc/scannow and press enter
The command prompt will now check your hard drive for corrupt files and replace them. This may take some time. Once the process is complete, and you have errors that cannot be automatically replaced, you will unfortunately need to replace your hard drive and reinstall Windows.
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8. Check for issues with your RAM
Issues with your PC’s RAM can also cause your Windows PC to crash randomly. More often than not, if you have an issue with your RAM, you’ll need to replace the RAM modules on the motherboard. This can be done at home quickly if you have the technical knowledge, but you can also go into any computer shop to get your RAM replaced for a small fee. Here’s how to check for issues with your RAM on your Windows PC:
- At the same time, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard
- This will execute the Run application in Windows
- Type Mdsched.exe and press enter; this will launch the Window Memory Diagnostics repair tool
- Click Restart now and check for memory problems
Now, your computer will run through a memory check, and if you encounter an issue, beware that you might have to replace your RAM.
9. Perform a system restore
If your PC just started crashing, you might be able to fix the issue by performing a system restore. A system restore will restore your Windows operating system to a specific date and time of your choosing. This way, you can restore your OS to a point before the crash begins and troubleshoot from there. It’s important to note that when you perform a system restore, your computer will be restored as it was on the date and time you chose. This means you will lose any recent files or settings, so this should be a last-step solution in your troubleshooting process.
How to perform a system restore
- Click the Windows icon in the taskbar
- Type system restore
- Click Create a Restore Point
- Once the system restore wizard opens, you will see a notification telling you what the system restore will do, click next
- Select a time and date for the system restore and click next
- Click Finish
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Having a Windows PC that won’t stop crashing can be a massive headache. Luckily, there’s a lot of information out there on how to troubleshoot a PC that just won’t stop crashing. I’ve gone over nine of the most commonly used tips to fix a crashing Windows PC, but there’s other reset options out there, many of which require a higher degree of technical ability than what we’ve gone through today.
What do you find most challenging about using a Windows PC today? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
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Technology
Sony is still slashing prices on consoles, controllers, and more for the holidays
Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but Sony’s ongoing holiday sale lives on, giving you a chance to save on various PlayStation 5 consoles, games, and accessories through January 2nd. Now until December 25th, for example, you can save up to $75 on the newer PS5 “slim” (now $424 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target) and the PS5 Digital Edition (now $374 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart).
If you already have a PS5 and are looking for new ways to play, the PlayStation VR 2 is currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target with Horizon Call of the Mountain for $349 ($250 off), which may be tempting. The virtual reality headset is easy to set up and offers excellent PC-grade immersion, though its lineup still remains somewhat limited nearly two years after its release.
Not into VR? It’s also a great time to pick up extra controllers, gaming headsets, and other PS5 accessories. Now until December 13th, Sony’s standard DualSense Wireless Controller is on sale for as low as $54 ($21 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, while the reflective “Chroma” variants can be had for $59. There aren’t many PS5 controllers we’d recommend over the DualSense, namely because most third-party options lack the adaptive triggers and haptic engine, which add real tension to mirror your in-game actions.
You can also pick up Pulse-branded headsets throughout the same period, including the Pulse Elite, which is down to an all-time low of $129.99 ($20 off) at Best Buy, Walmart, and GameStop. The Pulse Explore earbuds are also on sale starting at $169 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Both use planar magnetic drivers, which noticeably impact the 3D audio listening experience, along with a proprietary low-latency codec that works natively on PS5 consoles and Windows PCs with the included dongle.
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