Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott is an award-winning technology journalist and blogger with 30 years of industry experience and the author of 30 books. He is the owner of Thurrott.com and the host of three tech podcasts: Windows Weekly with Leo Laporte and Richard Campbell, Hands-On Windows, and First Ring Daily with Brad Sams. He was formerly the senior technology analyst at Windows IT Pro and the creator of the SuperSite for Windows from 1999 to 2014 and the Major Domo of Thurrott.com while at BWW Media Group from 2015 to 2023. You can reach Paul via email, Twitter or Mastodon.

Paul Thurrott’s Recent Posts

Thurrott Daily: December 30

Thurrott Daily: December 30

Today: Windows 10 Game Mode, Samsung helps Windows 10 Mobile users switch to its phones,…

The Next ThinkPad X1 Carbon Looks Incredible

The Next ThinkPad X1 Carbon Looks Incredible

It's not clear whether Lenovo actually meant to reveal its next-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon ahead…

The Duolingo language-learning app picked up new social functionality this week with a new feature called Clubs. As you may know, I've used Duolingo daily for over two years, and recommend this app highly. (In fact, I'm about to crack a 600 day usage streak.) And it's improved steadily, including the recent addition of bots, which let you converse in a new language in new ways. This new feature presents a similar step forward, but instead of relying on machine learning and AI, Clubs are more about taking advantage of human nature: We tend to be more motivated when other people we know are involved. “Learning a language is an inherently social experience,” Duolingo CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn says. "One of the hardest things about learning a language is staying motivated, and we believe this new feature will draw friends and family together around a common goal to help our users hit their goals more quickly." Available as a new top-level option in the Duolingo app for Android and iOS, Clubs works a bit like social networking services like Facebook, but is entirely private. You can create your own clubs and invite others, or join clubs that others have created. And then there is a feed that displays each person's achievements---"Paul practiced French!", "Paul did lessons in Abstract Objects 3," and so on---so you can comment on or react to them. I've created a little club with just my wife and I, though we discuss Duolingo, French, and language learning in general pretty frequently already. But I could see this being a nice incentive for people. Download Duolingo for Android Download Duolingo for iOS (iPhone/iPad)

Duolingo Makes Language Learning More Social

The Duolingo language-learning app picked up new social functionality this week with a new feature…

2016 Year in Review

2016 Year in Review

It wasn't the best of times or the worst of times. But 2016 was a…

Android Users Can Now Pre-Register for Super Mario Run

Android Users Can Now Pre-Register for Super Mario Run

Nintendo's smash mobile game, Super Mario Run, is coming to Android. And now users can…

Office.com Picks Up Its First Major Update

Office.com Picks Up Its First Major Update

Office 365 is closing out a very busy year with the first major update to…

Report: Microsoft Could Sell 30,000 Surface Studios

Report: Microsoft Could Sell 30,000 Surface Studios

A Digitimes report states that sales of Microsoft's stratospherically-priced Surface Studio PCs are better than…

Handbrake Finally Hits 1.0

Handbrake Finally Hits 1.0

Handbrake, which I recommend for ripping DVDs, has just reached the 1.0 milestone. And it…

Xamarin Dev Days Now Available for On Demand Streaming

Xamarin Dev Days Now Available for On Demand Streaming

Microsoft has posted all of the content from its Xamarin Dev Days live event, allowing…

Lenovo ThinkPad is Embracing the Future

In Embracing the Future, ThinkPad (Re)Asserts Its Leadership

Great news, ThinkPad fans: Your favorite laptops and portable PCs are about to get even…

Thurrott Daily: December 27

Thurrott Daily: December 27

Today: Amazon had a killer holiday selling period, how to determine the power rating of…

What If Android is a One-Hit Wonder? (Premium)
Premium

What If Android is Just a One-Hit Wonder? (Premium)

One of the more overlooked ways in which Android is just like Windows is in…

Leaked Windows 10 Build Offers Tons of Promise for 2017

Leaked Windows 10 Build Offers Tons of Promise for 2017

A newly leaked build of Windows 10 version 1703 provides an interesting dose of nostalgia…

Surface Pro 4 is On Sale For Up to $300 Off at the Microsoft Store

Surface Pro 4 is On Sale For Up to $300 Off at the Microsoft Store

From now through December 31, 2016, you can get up to $300 off of Surface…

New Resident Evil Game to Run at 1080p, 60 FPS on Xbox One

New Resident Evil Game to Run at 1080p, 60 FPS on Xbox One

The game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will offer visual parity for the Xbox One and…

Thurrott Daily: December 26

Thurrott Daily: December 26

A special "all quips" version of Thurrott Daily. Because the holidays.

Thurrott