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

CES 2017: Acer Announces New Gaming PCs

CES 2017: Acer Announces New Gaming PCs

CES doesn't even start until tomorrow, but the new PC announcements keep rolling. And next…

CES 2017: Here Comes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

CES 2017: Here Comes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

The disrupter has been unveiled at last. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to meet the…

CES 2017: Intel Kaby Lake Release Finally Puts Skylake Drama to Rest

CES 2017: Intel Kaby Lake Release Finally Puts Skylake Drama to Rest

Intel this week announced that it has effectively completed the rollout of its 7th generation…

CES 2017: HP Announces New Spectre x360-15, EliteBook x360, More

CES 2017: HP Announces New Spectre x360-15, EliteBook x360, More

Not to be outdone by Lenovo, HP has announced its own selection of amazing new…

First Steps: The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Microsoft Account

First Steps: The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Microsoft Account

If you're anything like me, your Microsoft account is the core of your online identity.…

CES 2017: Lenovo Announces New ThinkPad X1 Family, Miix 2-in-1, and More

CES 2017: Lenovo Announces New ThinkPad X1 Family, Miix 2-in-1, and More

Lenovo announces a new family of ThinkPad X1 PCs, a revision to its Surface Pro-like…

Thurrott Daily: January 1

Thurrott Daily: January 1

Today: Windows 10 is now used by more than half of Steam gamers, Computer Gaming…

Games with Gold: January

Games with Gold: January

It's a new year, but it's also a new month, and that means another four…

Still Waiting for the Chromebook Revolution that Never Came
Premium

Still Waiting for the Chromebook Revolution that Never Came (Premium)

Android apps on Chromebook could trigger an extinction moment for the PC. But Google never…

Thurrott Daily: January 1

Office 365 Tip: Use the Office 2016 Offline Installer

Thanks to an offline installer, Office 365 for home subscribers can install Office 2016 repeatedly…

First Steps: Secure Your Online Identity

First Steps: Secure Your Online Identity

Here's a New Year's Resolution to embrace: It's time to take control of your online…

2016 Year in Review: Our Top Posts

2016 Year in Review: Our Top Posts

With 2016 finally drawing to a close, it's time to look back at another great…

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…

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