PC Industry Collapse: Layoffs, Revenue Plunges, and a Controversial Ban

Summary

The PC hardware industry is experiencing a severe downturn, with some companies seeing revenue drops of up to 80% and widespread layoffs. This has led to major declines for motherboard makers and a projected slump in PC gaming sales for AMD. Compounding these issues, 3D printer company Bamboo Lab is facing backlash for legally threatening a developer of open-source slicing software called Orca Slicer, sparking concerns about copyright abuse and anti-consumer practices. Meanwhile, in the consumer electronics space, Nintendo is raising the price of its Switch 2 console to $500 due to market conditions and rising component costs. Separately, the FCC has extended the security update timeline for banned routers to 2029, but the ban itself remains in effect, with hotspots now also included. Finally, reports indicate Chrome is now installing a significant AI model, consuming gigabytes of storage without explicit user consent, mirroring similar trends with AMD drivers.