CFOTO/Getty Images Google is bringing its proprietary AI more directly into coder workflows. On Wednesday, the company announced Gemini CLI, a free new agentic AI tool that integrates directly with a command line interface (CLI). Google positioned the agent as an immediate link between coders and Gemini 2.5 Pro, the latest iteration of Google’s flagship […] More
Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETThink that Apple’s Siri snooped on your private conversations in the past? If so, you may be able to snag a slice of the $95 million that Apple is paying out to settle a class-action lawsuit. But you have to act fast, as the deadline to submit your claim is days away.Also: My favorite iPhone productivity feature just got a major upgrade with iOS 26 (and it’s not Siri)A settlement page recently published in the case of Lopez v. Apple Inc. explains the steps and deadlines for people who want to make a claim. The settlement is geared toward current or former users of a Siri device in the US whose conversations with the voice assistant were captured by Apple or shared with third parties due to an “unintended Siri activation.” How to tell if you qualify If you are in the US and used a Siri-supported device between Sept. 17, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2024, you might be eligible for part of the payout from Apple. In May, a notice approved by the US District Court for the Northern District of California was sent to affected parties. Some ZDNET staffers received it with the subject line “Lopez Voice Assistant Class Action Settlement.” Also: 5 reasons I turn to ChatGPT every day – from faster research to replacing SiriTo learn more about the claim submission process, check out the FAQ section on the settlement page. If you still have questions, you can also contact the settlement administrator by snail mail or by phone.How to enter your claim todayIf you’re in the qualifying group, you should have received a notice email with a Claim Identification Code and a Confirmation Code alerting you to the settlement. The email should have been sent from an account called info@lopezvoiceassistantsettlement.com. If you received such an email, don’t delete it. You may also want to check your spam folder to see if the message is trapped there. Also: 10 easy ways to make Siri work better on your iPhone todayIf you didn’t receive an email or even a postcard, which was also sent to affected parties, you can still try to put together a claim.If you got an email or postcard…If you received a notice, go to the claim submissions page, enter your claim codes from the email or postcard, and log in to proceed. If you didn’t get an email or postcard…If you don’t receive either the email or the postcard, you can enter a new claim at the submission page. You’ll be asked to provide your contact information along with a serial number and model name for the Siri device or proof of purchase. You can add as many as five different devices, including an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, or any other gadget that uses Siri. Also: Every iPhone model that can be updated to iOS 26 (and which ones don’t support it)Either way, you’ll be asked whether you want to receive your payout by direct deposit to your bank account or by electronic check. When is the deadline? Don’t wait too long to file a claim. The deadline is July 2, 2025. You can also opt to do nothing, in which case you simply won’t collect anything.Also: Your iPhone can be used as a digital driver’s license – here’s how it works for these statesFollowing the filing deadline, the court still has to approve the settlement before payouts can begin. A final approval hearing is scheduled for August 1 with US District Judge Jeffrey White in the federal court in Oakland, Calif.. More
Nitat Termmee/Getty Images As a kid, I was inspired by the decorative lighting in my grandparents’ finished basement. They had festooned the place with multicolored C9 string lights (aka old-school Christmas lights) from wall to wall, beneath the built-in wet bar, around hanging mirrors, and anywhere else they could add an ambient accent for the […] More
Yuga Kurita/Getty Images It always happens during a heatwave. That moment of sinking dread when your AC unit kicks on, but instead of a refreshing blast of arctic air, you’re met with a weak, lukewarm breeze. Then panic sets in. Is the AC dead? Is this going to cost a fortune? How will I get […] More
Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETLast summer’s CrowdStrike meltdown was a nightmare for network administrators worldwide, disrupting healthcare systems, cutting off access to banking systems, and grounding aircraft. All in all, the event caused billions of dollars in direct and indirect damages, and it was entirely preventable.Also: How to get Windows 10 extended security updates for free: 2 optionsIn response, Microsoft convened a security summit, bringing together technical experts from CrowdStrike and its competitors in the endpoint security software business. That meeting led to an announcement late last year of a new set of Safe Deployment practices and some changes to the architecture of Windows desktop and server products, with the goal of preventing a similar incident from ever happening again. No more kernel drivers?Today, the company announced that some of those Windows Resiliency Initiative features are about to go live. In July, the company said, it will deliver a private preview of the new Windows endpoint security platform to a set of its partners who have signed on to the Microsoft Virus Initiative 3.0 program. The biggest change is one that the majority of security experts had recommended — moving third-party security drivers out of the Windows kernel, where a flaw could cause a catastrophic crash, and running them in user space instead. The new Windows capabilities will allow them to start building their solutions to run outside the Windows kernel. This means security products like antivirus and endpoint protection solutions can run in user mode just as apps do. This change will help security developers provide a high level of reliability and easier recovery, resulting in less impact on Windows devices in the event of unexpected issues. The announcement includes supportive quotes from some of those partners, including Bitdefender, ESET, SentinelOne, Trellix, Trend Micro, WithSecure, and — naturally — CrowdStrike. Also: Will your old laptop still get security updates after this year? Check this chartNotably, none of the companies on the list committed to moving their drivers out of the kernel and into user space, a process that will require time and testing. And there’s no guarantee that all of the participants are ready to move to the new architecture.Last year, following the security summit, ESET had been blunt about the prospect of changes to the endpoint security platform: “It remains imperative that kernel access remains an option for use by cybersecurity products,” the company wrote in an unsigned statement. This year’s remarks are more collegial but still not quite a ringing endorsement: The collaboration between ESET and Microsoft technology teams on the proposed Windows endpoint security platform changes continue to be productive with open and ongoing dialogue. Delivering a stable and resilient operating system environment is extremely important for our joint customers, and the ESET team continue to provide detailed feedback to help ensure there is no degradation in the security or performance currently enjoyed by our customers. One company that was notably missing from today’s roster of supporters was Sophos, which had been vocally critical of calls to move security software out of the Windows kernel space. At the time, Sophos Chief Research and Scientific Officer Simon Reed made clear that the company considers access to the Windows kernel to be fundamental. “Operating in ‘kernel-space’ — the most privileged layer of an operating system, with direct access to memory, hardware, resource management, and storage — is vitally important for security products,” he said, adding that kernel drivers are “fundamental” not just to Sophos products but to “robust Windows endpoint security, in general.” In a follow-up post after the security summit, Neil Watkiss, VP of engineering for Sophos’ Windows products, reiterated that “the system access provided by kernel drivers is necessary to provide the security functions expected by users of a modern cybersecurity product” and tentatively discussed the need to reduce the need for kernel drivers. Bye-bye, Blue Screen of Death Today’s announcement also highlights some related improvements in the Windows 11 24H2 release that had been previously announced. The first is an improvement in the process of collecting “crash dump” reports after a failure that causes the system to restart; that change should cut downtime to about two seconds for most users. A new interface also simplified the classic Blue Screen of Death screen to a less jargon-filled “unexpected restart” screen with white text on a black background. Those changes will be available later this summer, the company says. More
When is Best Buy’s Black Friday in July 2025? Best Buy’s Black Friday in July will run from July 7 to July 13, 2025. However, some sales may still linger after the closing date. Are tech items really cheaper during Best Buy’s Black Friday in July? The short answer is yes. There are a few cases where retailers inflate normal prices to make it look like sales are better than they are. However, there are lots of deals that are worth the purchase and are great offers to snag. At ZDNET, we make sure all the deals we round up don’t seem sketchy, so you can get the most bang for your buck.How did we choose these Prime Day deals?We at ZDNET only write about the deals that we would want to take advantage of, whether that’s a new hot product or one that’s kept a secure spot on our best lists. As deal experts, we make sure to find deals that cut the price 20% or more, or for products we rarely see on sale, while using price comparison tools to ensure that anybody’s money is well spent. When we don’t have expert advice, we use customer reviews and online forums so we know real people are enjoying and using the said product that’s on sale. And with ZDNET’s very own lab space, we make sure to deliver deals on products that performed the best. Our goal is to help you shop smarter with the best advice and context possible. More
We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech. In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor’s deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members’ expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals are chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts. Also: How we rate deals at ZDNET in 2025 More
Liudmyla Lishchyshyna/Getty Are you panicked by headlines like ‘Why this leading AI CEO is warning that tech could cause mass unemployment’ and ‘AI’s impact on the job market is ‘inevitable’? My advice is chill. While there is a big shift in jobs coming, it’s not as scary-sounding as you might fear. At the Open Source […] More
