All articles tagged with #drivers
Nvidia is retiring the classic Control Panel after 20 years with the Game Ready Driver 610.47, migrating its features to the redesigned Nvidia app; the Control Panel remains on existing installs but won’t be updated after a clean install, and users can still download it from the Microsoft Store if needed.
NVIDIA’s GeForce 610.47 WHQL driver retires the Control Panel after 20 years, removing it from clean installs and directing users to download it via the Microsoft Store or migrate to the NVIDIA App for ongoing control features. Enterprise RTX PRO users retain some support, while CUDA updates to 13.3 come with game-ready additions for 007 First Light, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, EA SPORTS F1 25: 2026 Season Pack, and World of Tanks: HEAT. Bug fixes target multi‑monitor stability with V‑SYNC, but power management issues on mobile GPUs remain.
Linux is moving to retire the outdated DTLK ISA speech-synthesizer driver (Double Talk) as part of the 7.2 kernel cycle. The driver hasn’t seen meaningful work in years, and the same hardware is supported by a separate accessibility path (Speakup), making the legacy driver largely unused. The commit argues removing it will reduce future maintenance, noting RC Systems’ DoubleTalk page remains outdated and the hardware should be retired with Linux 7.2.
Linux 7.1-rc5 launches with AI-assisted fixes across graphics, security, sound, and various drivers, plus improved HP/ASUS laptop x86 support and CPU power driver updates; Linus Torvalds criticizes the unusually large rc5 for late-cycle churn and hints that non-critical fixes may belong in linux-next, with a mid-June target for the stable 7.1 release.
Microsoft acknowledges that faulty third-party drivers have silently drained Windows 11 batteries and degraded performance for years. It will overhaul driver evaluation to assess power usage, heat generation, and performance, introduce automatic rollbacks to block problematic drivers, and shift away from crash-only criteria by incorporating telemetry to detect everyday usability issues.
Ahead of the Linux 7.1-rc1 release, the kernel tree is closing in on 40 million lines of code. Linux 7.1 currently stands at about 39,880,636 total lines (5,015,790 blank, 4,775,889 comments, 30,088,957 code) with removals like ISDN/PCMCIA and Baikal CPU support, yet overall code growth continues. The AMD graphics stack (AMDGPU/AMDKFD) has risen from 6,049,235 lines in 7.0 to 6,162,946 in 7.1, contributing to the surge.
Linux 7.1 trims the input subsystem by removing decades-old drivers for bus mice and other legacy hardware (InPort/Microsoft/ATI XL, Logibm, Palm Top PC 110 touchpad, ICS MK712, CT82C710 PS/2; OLPC HGPK support also dropped), part of a broader mainline cleanup that includes about 3,374 input deletions, while new drivers (Charlieplex GPIO keypad, aw86927, Chrome OS Fn-key map extension) are added in the same cycle.
In 2026, direct-to-consumer brands Takomo, Vice Golf, Ben Hogan, MacGregor, and LA Golf are proving you can get genuinely competitive drivers without the big-brand premium. MyGolfSpy’s testing shows DTC models delivering strong forgiveness (MacGregor Tourney Max 8.7; LA Golf 8.9) and solid distance, with LA Golf posting the best accuracy among DTC and top results for slower swing speeds, while prices range from about $249 to $649. The overall field’s top distance still belonged to Callaway’s Quantum Max (9.5 distance score), but the gap between DTC and mainstream drivers is shrinking. If you’re a casual to mid-handicap player who values forgiveness and value, a DTC driver can be a smart fit; however, those needing every yard or who must demo clubs beforehand should approach with fitting in mind.
The second weekly release candidate for Linux 7.0, 7.0-rc2, is out with an initial batch of fixes after rc1, including numerous AMD XDNA Ryzen AI accelerator driver updates and various graphics-driver tweaks. Linus Torvalds notes the patch set is large, with most changes not in drivers (filesystems, tests, core kernel, bpf, arch, and networking also contributing), and dropped an old Kconfig option to reduce log spam. The release aims for a mid-April stable target, with a Linux 7.0 feature overview available for details on upcoming capabilities.
KB5074109 removes several legacy modem drivers (agrsm64.sys, agrsm.sys, smserl64.sys, smserial.sys), causing some modems to stop working. Microsoft says the change is a deliberate security measure, not a bug, and recommends uninstalling or pausing the update as a temporary workaround while affected hardware and drivers are updated.
AMD released the Adrenalin Edition 26.1.1 WHQL drivers, adding support for Ryzen AI mobile processors and an optional AI Bundle, expanding product coverage to Ryzen AI 9 HX models and several 4xx/... series chips. It also adds new game support for Starsand Island and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes Edition, and includes fixes for shadow rendering in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, texture issues in Enshrouded, Diablo IV launch problems with non-English usernames, and rendering problems in Chromium/Electron apps on RX 5000/6000 GPUs, plus Unreal Engine 5.6/Lumen HWRT and certain Flight Simulator/Baldur’s Gate 3 scenarios. Known issues remain (Cyberpunk 2077 path tracing crashes, Battlefield 6 instability on Ryzen AI HX 370, Roblox task-switching crashes on RX 7000, Battlefield 6 texture flicker with Record & Stream), with AMD continuing to work on fixes.
Linux 6.19-rc5 patches breakage for newer NVIDIA GPUs on the Nouveau driver, fixes a RISC-V attack surface, resolves a Rust Binder issue, and adds HID++ support for the Logitech MX Anywhere 3S (high‑resolution scrolling) along with ELECOM M‑XT3DRBK, as part of ongoing driver and kernel updates ahead of a February stable release.
The ARCA Menards Series announced its 2026 Road to Daytona participants, featuring a mix of grassroots champions and rookies from various racing series who will practice at Daytona International Speedway in January, with the season kicking off in February.
Max Verstappen was voted driver of the year for the fifth consecutive time by his peers in 2025, finishing just behind Lando Norris in a competitive season, with Norris winning his first F1 title. The top drivers included George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, and newcomers Ollie Bearman and Isack Hadjar, highlighting a dynamic and competitive year in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen was voted driver of the year for the fifth consecutive time by F1 team principals, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also highly ranked. The poll reflects the drivers' performances in 2025, highlighting Verstappen's dominance and notable performances from other drivers like George Russell and Fernando Alonso.