Tech

A collection of 4116 posts

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Seven Linux commands ZDNET says are deprecated and what to use instead

ZDNET says seven common Linux commands have been deprecated and recommends using newer tools as replacements. The outlet lists ifconfig (use ip) and route (use ip route) as victims of the deprecated net-tools package, and arp (use ip neighbor or ip neigh) as another net-tools replacement. It names netstat (use

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AI flattery can erode judgment, researchers and experts say

Time reports that AI’s tendency to flatter users — described in the piece as “sycophancy” — may be as dangerous as hallucination because models often validate users’ views instead of challenging them. A recent study by researchers found that AI models are 50% more sycophantic than humans; participants rated flattering responses

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ZDNET updates 2026 malware removal guide, names Bitdefender top pick

ZDNET published an updated guide for 2026 in January and recommended Bitdefender Antivirus Plus as its top pick for malware removal on Windows and macOS devices. According to the guide, Bitdefender detects threats including ransomware, can disinfect or quarantine compromised files, and offers real-time and on-demand scans; plans start at

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ZDNET reviewer praises Modicia OS as a multimedia-focused Linux distro

ZDNET writer Jack Wallen says Modicia OS is a strong Linux distribution for creators, noting it has been around since 1998 and is built on Debian with a focus on audio, video and image production tools. Wallen highlights a range of performance optimizations included in Modicia: Turbo Boost enabled by

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Five free adjustments to improve your soundbar's audio quality

ZDNET's Kerry Wan outlines five no-cost ways to improve a soundbar's audio quality, aimed at both newcomers and self-described audiophiles looking to elevate their viewing and listening experience. Placement and room acoustics are central: position the soundbar centered and parallel below the TV, ideally at or

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Tmy portable mini projector on sale for $46, Amazon says it can arrive by Super Bowl

People reports the Tmy Portable Mini Projector is on sale at Amazon for $46 after double discounts and, according to the article, can arrive in time for Super Bowl viewing if you act fast. The portable unit offers 1080p resolution and can project up to 200 inches, includes built-in speakers

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Industry leaders share practical lessons for deploying AI agents

Industry leaders told ZDNET that deploying AI agents differs from traditional software launches and shared practical lessons from the trenches on what makes agent projects succeed or fail. Kristin Burnham, writing in MIT Sloan Management Review and reviewing research by Sloan and Boston Consulting Group, said effective agent development requires

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Ring is shifting from doorbells to an AI-powered home assistant, founder says

Jamie Siminoff, founder of video doorbell maker Ring, said the company is moving beyond doorbells toward an AI-powered “intelligent assistant” for the home and beyond, with a set of new features that shipped just ahead of this year’s CES in Las Vegas. New additions include fire alerts, alerts about

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ZDNET tests Apple Vision Pro courtside NBA experience during Lakers game

Kerry Wan of ZDNET watched a full Los Angeles Lakers game on an Apple Vision Pro headset, using Spectrum Front Row’s Apple Immersive broadcast. Wan, who is based in New York, said she watched a replay through the NBA app because live access is restricted to certain Spectrum regional

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ChatGPT tiers compared: when Free, Plus or Pro make sense

ZDNET's Elyse Betters Picaro examines whether ChatGPT Plus, at $20 per month, is worth it compared with the Free tier and the $200-per-month Pro plan. The piece says Plus is valuable for users who frequently hit Free limits and want priority access, while Pro targets heavy users who

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Starlink reportedly made available free to users in Iran amid blackout

Users of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service in Iran were reportedly able to use the service for free on Tuesday, Holistic Resilience, a U.S.-based group that helps Iranians get online, said on Jan. 13, 2026. Ahmad Ahmadian, the executive director of Holistic Resilience, told The New

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Solos AirGo A5 smart glasses ditch cameras for ChatGPT assistant and long battery

Solos has released the AirGo A5 smart glasses, which start at $249 and omit cameras in favour of a ChatGPT-powered voice assistant and open‑ear speakers, the company and ZDNET report. The company advertises 10 hours of music streaming or seven hours of phone calls, and ZDNET's reviewer

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Peacock to add Dolby Vision 2, Dolby Atmos and Dolby AC-4 after CES 2026

At CES 2026, Dolby Laboratories and NBCUniversal announced that Peacock will be the first streaming service to integrate Dolby's full suite of advanced picture and sound technologies, including Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Atmos for live sports and events. The companies said streaming live sports and events on

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BMW to debut first electric M car in 2027 with four motors

BMW’s M division is preparing its first true electric M car for 2027, a model the company has been referring to as the M Neue Klasse and that will be propelled by four electric motors — reportedly one per wheel. The car will sit on BMW’s new Neue Klasse

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RAM price surge forces PC makers to cut memory specs, analysts say

RAM prices have soared, hurting people who want to buy, build, or upgrade PCs and dampening enthusiasm for so-called "AI PCs," Ars Technica reports. The surge is linked to growing data-center demand driven by the AI boom, which has tightened supplies of RAM and flash memory chips. In

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xMEMS demonstrates rice-sized audio and cooling chips for headphones and smart glasses

xMEMS designs tiny solid-state audio and fan-on-a-chip cooling solutions, and ZDNET's Jada Jones spent an hour testing the company's suite of chips in demos and prototypes. The company says its Cowell and Sycamore microspeakers can replace traditional dynamic drivers. Cowell is already in products such as

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Bitchat Tops Ugandan App Charts as Authorities Cut Internet Ahead of Election

Bitchat has become the most-downloaded app in Uganda as state officials confirmed internet access has been cut off and will remain inaccessible during the presidential election, which starts on Thursday. The internet shutdown took effect Tuesday at 6:00 pm local time, according to Uganda Communications Commission executive director Nyombi

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Physical AI takes center stage at CES as wearables and robots converge

Physical AI emerged as a major theme at the Consumer Electronics Show, with companies including Nvidia and Qualcomm showcasing hardware and models aimed at letting machines perceive, reason and act in the real world. During Nvidia's keynote, CEO Jensen Huang said, "The ChatGPT moment for physical AI

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Netflix wins KPopDemonHunters.com domain in UDRP decision

Netflix has won the domain name KPopDemonHunters.com in a trademark dispute, according to Mashable. The domain had been held by an individual in Germany identified in the source as Sanchit Sood, and Domain Name Wire first reported Netflix's successful challenge. The dispute followed the runaway success of

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Hegseth says Pentagon to integrate Musk’s Grok into networks this month

On Monday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he plans to integrate Elon Musk’s AI tool, Grok, into Pentagon networks later this month during remarks at the SpaceX headquarters in Texas, the Guardian reported. Hegseth said the integration would place “the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified

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Checkpoint warns of modular Linux malware framework that targets cloud hosts

Researchers from Checkpoint have discovered a never-before-seen framework, referred to in its source code as VoidLink, that infects Linux machines with a wide assortment of modules. VoidLink features more than 30 modules that can be mixed and matched to provide stealth and tools for reconnaissance, privilege escalation, and lateral movement.

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Jeep Wagoneer S is the brand's first EV designed for U.S. buyers

The Jeep Wagoneer S is the brand’s first electric vehicle designed for American buyers, arriving into the highly competitive midsize SUV segment. It is not Jeep’s first electric model overall—Europe has been able to buy the subcompact Jeep Avenger, a model the source said will surely never

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Microsoft to cover full electricity costs for its AI data centers

Microsoft said in a blog post that it will ask utilities and public commissions to set rates high enough to cover the full electricity costs for its data centers, including infrastructure additions, and that it will not ask the public to pay those added costs, the post by Smith said.

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Nvidia’s Rubin chips could make Bittensor’s decentralized AI market viable

Beincrypto reports that Nvidia’s Rubin chips turn AI into low-cost, large-scale infrastructure, a shift that could increase demand for open intelligence markets such as Bittensor. Nvidia used CES 2026 to introduce Rubin, a rack-scale data-center platform that combines new GPUs, high-bandwidth HBM4 memory, custom CPUs and ultra-fast interconnects into

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Top AI models fall short when tasked with playing classic Pokémon

Time reports that live on Twitch three of the world’s smartest AI systems—GPT 5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, and Gemini 3 Pro—are attempting to beat classic Pokémon games but, by human standards, are slow, overconfident and often confused. The experiment began last February when an Anthropic