Tech - Febspot (Page 128)

Sign in Subscribe

Tech

A collection of 4086 posts

Small thermostat changes can cut energy costs without reducing comfort — Zdnet.com

Small thermostat changes can cut energy costs without reducing comfort

ZDNET's Maria Diaz says making small thermostat adjustments can lower energy bills without making a home uncomfortable. The article notes that changing a thermostat by a single degree can save about 1–3% on energy costs. Diaz explains that HVAC systems run periodic cycles and that a larger

Rising RAM costs push buyers toward refurbished PCs, DDR4 and ChromeOS — Zdnet.com

Rising RAM costs push buyers toward refurbished PCs, DDR4 and ChromeOS

RAM prices have surged recently, with PCPartPicker reporting the average price of a 2x32GB DDR5-6000 kit reached nearly $800 in December 2025 — more than the current listed price of Sony's PS5 Pro at $749 — and RAM rising another 50% in Q1 2026 alone, the outlet said. ZDNET noted

Six practical tips for choosing a snow blower from someone who built them — Zdnet.com

Six practical tips for choosing a snow blower from someone who built them

Taylor Clemons at ZDNET, who spent several years building and refurbishing snow blowers at MTD Products, outlines six tips to help buyers choose the right snow blower for their needs. Clemons breaks down four main model types: single-stage machines use one auger and are compact for light snow; two-stage models

Solid-state batteries outperform lithium-ion but aren’t in iPhones yet — Zdnet.com

Solid-state batteries outperform lithium-ion but aren’t in iPhones yet

Solid-state batteries offer higher energy density, improved safety and longer lifespan, but they are not yet used to power iPhones and most portable devices. Solid-state cells use solid materials for the electrolyte instead of the liquid or gel electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries. The dry electrolytes — various ceramics — are non-flammable, can

Origami Linux blends COSMIC desktop with an immutable Fedora base — Zdnet.com

Origami Linux blends COSMIC desktop with an immutable Fedora base

Origami Linux is a relatively new distribution, conceived in 2021, that pairs System76's COSMIC desktop with an immutable Fedora base, and it is available to download and install for free, ZDNET's Jack Wallen reported. Wallen noted the distro can also be built on an Arch base

Highguard will avoid crossover skins and intrusive ads, developers say — Cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net

Highguard will avoid crossover skins and intrusive ads, developers say

Pcgamer reports that Wildlight Entertainment says its free-to-play shooter Highguard will avoid gaudy crossover skins and intrusive ads. The studio says Highguard will have cosmetic-only battle passes that never expire, new heroes and maps free for all, and that the most expensive items at launch—like a legendary bear mount—

Ricursive aims to build A.I. that can improve chip design and itself — Static01.nyt.com

Ricursive aims to build A.I. that can improve chip design and itself

Ricursive Intelligence, a Palo Alto start-up founded by two former Google researchers, is among several efforts in Silicon Valley to build artificial intelligence that can improve itself, the company and investors say. Ricursive is valued at $4 billion and is working with the specialized chips that power today’s chatbots.

Yann LeCun says industry’s focus on L.L.M.s risks a dead end — Static01.nyt.com

Yann LeCun says industry’s focus on L.L.M.s risks a dead end

Yann LeCun, a veteran A.I. researcher and former chief A.I. scientist at Meta, warned in an interview from his home in Paris that many technology companies are on the wrong path to creating intelligent machines and are “marching into a dead end.” Dr. LeCun, a Turing Award winner

Microsoft issues second emergency Windows patch to fix cloud file bug — Zdnet.com

Microsoft issues second emergency Windows patch to fix cloud file bug

Microsoft has released a second out-of-band emergency Windows patch this month, KB5078127, to fix a problem that prevented Outlook and other apps from opening or saving files to cloud storage services such as OneDrive and Dropbox. The KB5078127 update also includes the first out-of-band patch issued on Jan. 17 to

Gmail being reshaped as a proactive AI assistant, Gmail VP tells ZDNET — Zdnet.com

Gmail being reshaped as a proactive AI assistant, Gmail VP tells ZDNET

In an interview with ZDNET, Gmail VP of Product Blake Barnes outlined a vision to evolve Gmail into a proactive assistant system. Google is cautious about changing workflows used by roughly three billion Gmail users, and Barnes emphasized these are exploratory ideas rather than product commitments. Barnes said basic AI

Microsoft probes boot failures after January KB5074109 Windows update — Cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net

Microsoft probes boot failures after January KB5074109 Windows update

Pcgamer reports Microsoft is investigating customer reports that some devices fail to boot after installing the January 2026 Windows security update (KB5074109), released January 13, 2026, and later updates. A Microsoft support document says it has received a "limited number of reports of an issue in which devices are

EU opens investigation into X over Grok-generated sexualized images — Static01.nyt.com

EU opens investigation into X over Grok-generated sexualized images

European Union regulators announced an investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X after authorities said it had failed to prevent the spread of sexualized images generated by the AI chatbot Grok. The probe will examine whether X violated the Digital Services Act, with regulators alleging the company did

Signal named top private messaging app in ZDNet's 2026 roundup — Zdnet.com

Signal named top private messaging app in ZDNet's 2026 roundup

ZDNet's 2026 guide to private messaging apps names Signal as the best option, highlighting its end-to-end encryption, clear trust verification tools and a nonprofit model that avoids ads, trackers and data‑monetization incentives. The review notes Signal uses the open‑source Signal Protocol for messages, calls and stickers,

Modders release native PC port of Banjo-Kazooie with ultrawide support — Cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net

Modders release native PC port of Banjo-Kazooie with ultrawide support

Pcgamer reports that a team of modders led by Wiseguy has quietly released Banjo: Recompiled, a native PC port of the original Banjo-Kazooie, accompanied by a trailer on YouTube and the port and source code published on GitHub. The port runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac but requires players to

Elegance: Manjaro-based Linux with extensive preinstalled multimedia software — Zdnet.com

Elegance: Manjaro-based Linux with extensive preinstalled multimedia software

Elegance is a Linux distribution forked from Manjaro that uses a rolling-release model and ships with a large collection of preinstalled applications. Manjaro provides the core of the operating system — including the Cinnamon desktop, package manager and basic software — while the Elegance developers supply the rest, giving Cinnamon a visual

Hidden Connectivity Labs menu unlocks Wi‑Fi tools on newer Samsung Galaxy phones — Zdnet.com

Hidden Connectivity Labs menu unlocks Wi‑Fi tools on newer Samsung Galaxy phones

ZDNET reports that Samsung phones running One UI 6 or later hide a secret Connectivity Labs menu in the Wi‑Fi settings that exposes a range of advanced network tools. To access it, ZDNET says you must open Settings > Connections > Wi‑Fi > the three‑dot menu >

Pope Leo XIV urges rules on personalized chatbots to curb emotional manipulation — I.insider.com

Pope Leo XIV urges rules on personalized chatbots to curb emotional manipulation

Businessinsider: Pope Leo XIV urged the regulation of chatbots to prevent emotional manipulation and harm, warning specifically against personalized chatbots that can replicate friendly or intimate behavior. The pope wrote that "Overly affectionate chatbots, besides being ever-present and readily available, can become hidden architects of our emotional states, thereby

How to disable ACR on your smart TV to stop viewing data collection — Zdnet.com

How to disable ACR on your smart TV to stop viewing data collection

Most mainstream smart TVs run automatic content recognition (ACR), a background tracking technology that identifies what you watch and sends that information to a central database; ZDNET explains how to disable it. ACR works like a constant, Shazam‑style service, capturing screenshots of whatever is on the screen and matching

GoPro HERO13 Black discounted to $319 on Amazon — Kotaku.com

GoPro HERO13 Black discounted to $319 on Amazon

Kotaku reports the GoPro HERO13 Black is on sale at Amazon for $319, down from its typical $430 retail price. The rugged action camera records 5.3K60 video and captures 27-megapixel photographs, and is described as waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof for use in muddied, snowy, and wet environments, including up

Motorola 2026 Moto G: $200 phone retains last year's hardware, improves camera — Zdnet.com

Motorola 2026 Moto G: $200 phone retains last year's hardware, improves camera

Motorola's 2026 Moto G is available for $200 and largely mirrors last year's model, according to a ZDNET review. The phone keeps a similar midrange design but grows slightly in size (167.15 x 76.40 x 8.44 mm) and weight (202 grams), and adds

0patch offers micropatches to keep Windows 10 secure after Microsoft updates end — Zdnet.com

0patch offers micropatches to keep Windows 10 secure after Microsoft updates end

A ZDNET review says Europe-based security firm 0patch delivers targeted micropatches to help protect Windows 10 systems after Microsoft officially ceased regular updates and security patches for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. 0patch creates tiny, focused updates for specific vulnerabilities when information about those flaws becomes public. The company’

Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen‑8 reviewed as a powerful, upgradeable 16‑inch workstation — Zdnet.com

Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen‑8 reviewed as a powerful, upgradeable 16‑inch workstation

ZDNET reviewed Lenovo's ThinkPad P1 Gen‑8, a flagship 16‑inch workstation that the outlet says is available now with the tandem OLED display and 32GB of RAM for $4,169 (B&H listed $4,299 in the source). The review describes the P1 as a compact

MoCA adapters let you use existing coax outlets for wired home networking — Zdnet.com

MoCA adapters let you use existing coax outlets for wired home networking

MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) adapters let homeowners and renters create wired Ethernet connections using existing coaxial cable outlets, avoiding the need to run new Ethernet cabling through walls. The latest MoCA 2.5 specification supports speeds up to 2.5Gbps. An adapter at each end converts a coax connector

Roku wired video doorbell and chime on sale for $50 — Kotaku.com

Roku wired video doorbell and chime on sale for $50

Kotaku reports the Roku Smart Home Wired Video Doorbell & Chime is on sale at Amazon for $50, down from its regular $70 price. The hardwired doorbell records 1080p HD video and uses an ultrawide-angle lens with a 180° horizontal field of view, plus night vision, motion and sound detection,