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Hello, This is the definitive Best Backup Software of 2024 official thread. It covers both free and commercial backup software, as well as those built into or bundled with operating systems. Use this as a starting point for researching back-up software. The previous year's thread can be found here. If your choice of a back-up solution is not listed, please choose the appropriate Other option(s) and specify in the comments. The poll is multiple choice, so if you use more than one solution, you can select all of those. Be sure to mention which ones you use in the comments. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, This is the new yearly poll for your preferred processor (CPU) and graphics card (discrete GPU) manufacturers. The old poll is located here. Please leave a comment sharing your current hardware, plus any upgrades you plan on making this year! Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, This is the new yearly poll for sharing your preferred storage solutions and covers both hard disk drives and solid-state drives. The previous year's poll can be found here. Please feel free to describe what you are currently using this year, plus any planned upgrades. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, This is the 2024 poll for best free anti-virus (aka anti-malware aka internet security aka endpoint security) security software. The poll for paid products is located here . The poll for last year's best free antivirus is located here. If your choice is not listed, please choose "other" and reply below with its name. This year the poll is multiple choice, so that you can select two (or more) choices. If you do choose multiple options, please leave a comment with the ones you chose and why. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, This is the 2024 poll for best paid anti-virus (aka anti-malware aka internet security aka endpoint protection and so forth) security software. The poll for free products is located here. The poll for last year's best paid antivirus is located here. If your choice is not listed, please choose "other" and reply below with its name. This poll is multiple choice, so you can select two (or more) choices. Feel free to leave a comment sharing what you chose and why. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, This is the poll for the best motherboard manufacturers for AMD, IBM, and Intel processors. Some of these companies sell complete pre-built systems as well as motherboards, but have a significant presence in the motherboard market. Companies whose main focus is pre-built systems (i.e., Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, etc.) are not included. This poll is meant to cover only motherboards as used by Neowin's members to build their own systems. The previous year's poll can be found here. We have included some manufacturers which are regional as well as those that specialize in commercial motherboards, as Neowin's membership is global and some of you build systems for business as well as home use. This poll is multiple choice, in case you have more than one favorite. Feel free to share favorite motherboard model(s) as well. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Leaked poll shows employees don't consider Microsoft as 'top place' to work by Omer Dursun According to a leaked internal poll, Microsoft employees have expressed concerns regarding the current leadership within the company. The poll, which marks a significant drop in employee confidence compared to the previous year, sheds light on the challenges faced by Microsoft's workforce. Earlier this year, CEO Satya Nadella announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of Q3 2023. Alongside the layoffs, Microsoft also revealed that employees would not receive a pay raise this year, citing tough economic conditions. The leaked poll results highlight declining employee sentiment toward working at Microsoft. When asked whether operating at the company was a good idea, 69% of respondents responded negatively, representing a 3% increase from the previous year. In 2021, 73% of employees considered it a great opportunity to work at Microsoft. The data further revealed that compensation was a primary concern among employees, aligning with negative sentiment. This sentiment was reinforced by recent news from the CEO that merit bonuses would not be granted this year. Employees questioned the discrepancy between their concerns and the company's decision. In a subsequent daily poll regarding employees' willingness to remain at Microsoft if offered a better opportunity elsewhere, less than half of the respondents expressed intent to stay with the company. These changes have had a negative impact on employee morale and performance. The leaked email from Nadella addressing the pay freeze further exacerbated mixed emotions among employees. And it leads to concerns about the decision-making process and overall leadership. Notably, Microsoft discontinued its annual employee poll, "Employee Signals," where employees can share their thoughts on the company. The absence of this platform likely contributed to the gathering frustration among the workforce. It remains to be seen how Microsoft will navigate these challenges and ensure the satisfaction of its employees in the coming months. Source: Insider

Elon Musk asks the public if he should step down as head of Twitter by Justin Luna After implementing a sudden policy change on Twitter accounts tweeting links to certain social networks (and backtracking on it after), CEO Elon Musk tweeted a poll on Sunday asking whether he should step down as the company's CEO. Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022 As of this writing, there are over 8 million votes cast, with more than 56% of people voting "Yes." The poll is set to close at 6:00 AM ET. Musk says that he will abide by the poll's results. Shortly after he opened the poll, he made a vague tweet which said, "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it." MIT artificial intelligence researcher Lex Fridman also tweeted Musk, saying that he would take the CEO job without a salary. Musk hinted that he hasn't been completely happy with his new position, as he replied with "You must like pain a lot" and noted that Twitter has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy since May of this year. Musk has been using Twitter polls to make major decisions on the platform. About a month after he took over the platform back in late October 2022, he ran a poll asking the public whether former US president Donald Trump should be reinstated on the platform. He also did the same thing to decide the fate of the suspended accounts of certain tech journalists whom Musk accused of posting his "exact, real-time location." "Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again," Musk stated, referring to the decision to prohibit users from linking to certain rival social media websites. Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)

Poll: Do you use Caps Lock or Shift? by Usama Jawad I was just having a discussion with my youngest brother, aged 15, a couple of days ago and I found out that when he's typing, he uses the Caps Lock key for capitalizing characters. Personally, my brain is hardwired to use the Shift key so I was quite taken aback to hear that my brother utilizes Caps Lock even when he wants to capitalize a single character. So if he wants to write "My brother writes at Neowin", his typing flow is Caps Lock on > type "M" > Caps Lock off > type "y brother writes at Neowin". I don't even remember the last time I used the Caps Lock key, if ever, so this flow is completely foreign to me. During a lighthearted debate, I told him that the Caps Lock is so useless for me that I wish that it was removed from the keyboard. That said, I do understand one genuine use-case where Caps Lock could be useful. For example, when you want to write a long string of characters in upper case and holding down the Shift key might become too tiring. However, I doubt this is a big enough selling point for Caps Lock, I can't recall a scenario where I have ever had to do this. Both me and my brother have similar online habits and gaming preferences so I just found it a bit strange that he has a strong preference for Caps Lock whereas I am more partial to Shift. And now I want to know the preferences of our readers just to see whether the usage of these keys is skewed or if there are equal proponents for both. It is important to note that this is more to increase my awareness in this area than anything else, I won't judge you if you use Caps Lock. Call this my version of tabs versus spaces. As such, please feel free to vote below and sound off in the comments section (while keeping it civil)! Poll Do you use Caps Lock or Shift? Caps Lock Shift Both / Impartial Submit Vote

The previous topic ran for three years, although we aren't getting the votes and posts we used to, I think this still should be a yearly topic. I will start, back when I voted in 2018 I had an Intel i5-4440 (previous self build) i7-8700 (in a Dell that I sold on) currently have i9-9900K in a self build PC. For GPU it is Nvidia: had 1050 GTX (then 1060 ripped from Dell) in the previous self build, in my current rig I have a RTX 2070 SUPER.

Hello, This is the Definitive Best Back-up Software 2021 official thread and covers free and commercial backup software, as well as those built into or bundled with operating systems. Use this as a starting point for researching back-up software. The 2020 thread can be found here. If your choice of a back-up solution is not listed, please choose the appropriate Other option(s) and specify in the comments. The poll is multiple choice, so if you use more than one solution, you can check all of them, be sure to mention which ones you use in the comments. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Just curious on whose job is deemed essential or not. Currently most of my family are still working with some getting pay cuts/less hours. A few out of work. My job, we have Navy contracts. We also provide backup power systems for hospitals and nuclear power plants. So I am still working every day and going in to the office. I can also work from home. My GF is also a PA and she is seeing patients daily with COVID. So I have some concern for her. If you are still working, put yes. If you are not working because of COVID, then No.

Refreshed for 2018, please make your selections above. In a change of pace we welcome discussion in the topic surrounding your preferences, but please be mindful of the Community Guidelines. Last year's poll for comparison is here.

Hello, This is the 2021 poll for best free anti-virus (aka anti-malware aka internet security aka endpoint security) security software. The poll for paid products is located here. The poll for 2020's best free antivirus is located here. If your choice is not listed, please choose "other" and reply below with its name. This year the poll is multiple choice, so that you can select two (or more) choices. If you do choose multiple options, please leave a comment with the ones you chose and why. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

So with the upcoming releases of the new consoles, iPhone's, and GPU's I got curious as to how many of us buy it right away.

Pretty straight forward. I put an Other category, but I can not think of what would fall under that!

Assuming that you drink beer, what is your preferred vessel for drinking it? I am not asking about when you go to a bar/tavern, but when you are home. For me, I prefer bottle, but lately have been getting cans, simply do to the fact that they are easier to put into the refrigerator.

Hello, This is the 2021 poll for best paid anti-virus (aka anti-malware aka internet security aka endpoint security) security software. The poll for free products is located here. The poll for 2020's best paid antivirus is located here. If your choice is not listed, please choose "other" and reply below with its name. This year the poll is multiple choice, so that you can select two (or more) choices. If you do choose multiple options, please leave a comment with the ones you chose and why. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, This is the 2020 poll for best free antivirus (aka antimalware aka internet security aka endpoint security) security software. The poll for paid products is located here. The poll for 2018's best free antivirus is located here. If your choice is not listed, please choose "other" and reply below with its name. This year the poll is multiple choice, so that you can select two (or more) choices. If you do choose multiple options, please leave a comment with the ones you chose and why. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Hello, For 2020, I thought I'd try something a little new and ask folks to share whom their favorite PC manufacturer is. If you are a build-it-yourself type of person, be sure to specify Other (specify below) and share your favorite/preferred parts manufacturer. This poll is multiple choice, so that you can select two (or more) choices. If you do choose multiple options, please leave a comment with the ones you chose and why. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky

Poll: What is your favorite gaming console of all time? by Usama Jawad Original image via Guinness Times have changed a lot since the first video game console called "Odyssey" came out in 1972, with numerous companies realizing the potential of gaming and the number of money people are willing to spend on it. Over the past 50 years, companies such as Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft, among others, have all entered the fray, each with their own offerings and vision for what gaming should be like. The nature of gaming has evolved, and we usually expect close to photorealistic graphics for AAA games on current-gen home consoles as well as generally fun gameplay mechanics on portable consoles such as the Nintendo Switch now. With the next generation of consoles just around the corner, we would like to know: which console would you pick as your favorite for all time? It doesn't need to be a console that you've owned, just a console that you enjoyed gaming the most on. For example, I personally loved the Game Boy Advance SP even though I never owned it as my parents could not afford to spend too much money on gaming at the time. I used to spend hours playing Pokémon on my friend's console, and it's the gaming console that left a lasting impression on me. Which console has left an impact on you so much that you consider it your favorite gaming console? We've attached a poll below to know your opinion, but needless to say, it isn't an exhaustive list (our polls are limited to 10 options), just the list of some of the most popular consoles so far. If your favorite one is not mentioned in the list, please select "Other" and let us know your choice in the comments section below.

Google Meet gaining Q&A and polls features next week by Rajesh Pandey From next week, Google will roll out two new features in Google Meet: polls and Q&A. The latter will allow meeting participants to ask questions during an ongoing meeting or presentation without disturbing its flow. This feature could also be particularly useful for students as they can ask their questions during an ongoing class without interrupting the teacher. As for polls, it will allow meeting hosts to get required feedback from their audience and decide on future topics and overall offer a more engaging meeting experience. Moderators will also be able to set up multiple poll questions and launch the poll during a video call as they deem fit. After a poll is closed, the meeting hosts will receive a report of the results, with moderators also having an option to share the results of the poll with the participants in a bar chart format. An email containing the poll data in Google Sheets will also be automatically mailed to moderators. Google will roll out polls and Q&A feature in Google Meet starting October 8 for end-users and the rollout is expected to be completed in 15 days. It will be available for G Suite Essentials, Business, Enterprise, Enterprise for Education customers, with G Suite Basic, Education, and nonprofits customers missing out on it.

Poll: Which next-generation console are you interested in buying? by Usama Jawad The next generation of consoles is just around the corner, and we are now aware of almost all the important details including specifications, features, launch titles, value for money, pricing, and availability. From Sony's end, we have two offerings: the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. These siblings are the same in almost every aspect including a 3.5GHz octa-core AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU, a 10TFLOPS GPU, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, a custom 825GB SSD, and games targeting up to 4K 120Hz video output. The only difference between the two consoles is that the standard PlayStation 5 packs an Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive, while the Digital Edition does not. The pre-orders situation has been messy so far, but the consoles officially launch starting on November 12 with price tags of $499 for PlayStation 5 and $399 for the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. Over in Microsoft's camp, the situation is quite different. We have two consoles, namely the Xbox Series X and the Series S, but both pack considerably different hardware and are intended for different audiences. The more powerful Series X packs a 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with SMT) octa-core custom Zen 2 CPU, a 12TFLOPS GPU, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, a custom 1TB SSD with Xbox Velocity Architecture, and games targeting up to 4K 120Hz video output. It also packs an Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive. Meanwhile the less powerful Xbox Series S differs with a 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with SMT) custom Zen 2 CPU, 4TFLOPS GPU, 10GB of GDDR6 RAM, a custom 512GB SSD with the same architecture as its sibling, and games targeting up to 1440p 120Hz video output. It lacks an Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive as well and is meant to be an all-digital console. Given their differing internals, the Series X is priced at $499 while the budget-friendly Series S sports a price tag of $299. Pre-orders for Microsoft's offerings start from September 22, with the consoles officially launching on November 10. With potential customers such as Neowin readers now aware of what the tech behemoths are offering, their price tags, availability, and bang for your buck, we are interested to know: which console are you looking to buy come holiday season or later? Do you have eyes on multiple consoles rather than sticking with a single option in this generation? Let us know by voting in the poll below (multiple options can be selected)! We're also interested to know the reasoning behind your choice so feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section!

I am curious to see how many people wear a mask when shopping or doing outdoor activities. I put an option in for yes, because I have to at work, because quite a few employers are starting to require employees to wear them.

I am curious about what you prefer for your phone OS. If you could answer the question, and then give me a little bit of a reason that you like it, I would appreciate it!