Jorg Greuel/Getty Images While Roku is renowned for its user-friendly streaming devices, it’s equally famous for its now-iconic cityscape screensaver. The next time your Roku device goes idle, you might notice that your favorite fictional city looks a little sharper. Since it debuted in 2018, Roku City, the purple-tinted, animated cityscape has been in standard […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways A Shine Turbine kit, which includes that turbine, stand, guy lines and pegs costs $399, while the essentials kit, which adds a few more bits such as a wind speed meter, costs $488. The kit includes everything you need to turn wind into electrical energy, and the turbine features a 12,000 […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways TCL’s 98-inch Class S5 Series TV is one of the most accessibly-priced TVs of its size, and it’s currently on sale for $1,500 off. Watching movies and TV shows on such a big display is as close to a theatre-like experience as one can get at home. With such a large […] More
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETThe Apple Magic Mouse is a standout option for Apple users for multiple reasons, including its sleek finish, seamless integration into the company’s ecosystem, and trackpad-like touch gestures. However, since its launch, it has had a big flaw: the placement of its charging port on the bottom of the mouse.Also: Free Apple TV+? How to watch all of Apple’s streaming content for no charge this weekendThe location of the charging port means that if your mouse dies, you can’t charge the device and work simultaneously, which is a major pain point for users like myself. In a recent Power On newsletter, Apple insider Mark Gurman revealed that Apple is working on a new, redesigned Magic Mouse.The new mouse will tackle major criticisms with a full overhaul, including a new placement for the charging port, according to the report. However, don’t get your hopes up if you want a new mouse quickly. More
ZDNETEvery time you use your browser, DNS is at play. DNS stands for Domain Name System and is responsible for translating IP addresses, such as 142.250.9.102, into domain names, such as google.com. Without DNS, everyone would have to remember IP addresses instead of handy URLs. That’s called name resolution.The difference between standard DNS and secure DNS is pretty stark. With standard DNS, every time you go to a URL, the address is sent in plain text. When you use secure DNS, that address is encrypted, so it’s very hard for third parties (good or bad) to check in on your web traffic or searches. When secure DNS is used, all name resolution happens via HTTPS (the secure HTTP protocol).Simply put, you should be using secure DNS on all of your devices.Also: Why you should be using secure DNS on your ChromebookTo do this on MacOS, we’ll need to take care of secure DNS on the system and then make sure your default browser has DNS over HTTPS set.Note: Once upon a time, enabling Cloudflare’s secure DNS on MacOS required installing a proxy application, but that is no longer the case, as Apple now makes it possible to add those secure DNS addresses manually.First, let’s take care of the system part of things.How to enable secure DNS for MacOSWhat you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need for this is a MacOS device. I’ll demonstrate on a MacBook Pro (M1) running MacOS version 15.1.1. Make sure your version of MacOS is updated. More
Maria Diaz/ZDNETIf you’re a subscriber to the Nextdoor app, you’ve seen ample footage of prowling ne’er-do-wells caught in the eye of a video doorbell or home security camera. Hopefully, you don’t have your own first-hand experience with suspicious characters milling around your front porch, or far worse.For good reason, security cameras continue to grow in popularity, and we can expect them to become even more reliable and affordable in 2025. Also: Apple is working on a doorbell that unlocks your door Face ID-styleWhile we don’t necessarily require super high-res imagery from these discrete little devices, you can get the most out of them by being mindful of a few factors — especially where you position your camera(s). 1. Avoid obstructions (even future obstructions)Obviously, you won’t be putting a lens behind anything that blocks its view. Sometimes, though, that can include objects that change in size or shape over time, like trees and shrubs. During wintertime, a clear view of your yard may become a different story when branches bloom with new foliage in the spring.The same can apply to interior views, at least with objects that come and go. Will shutting a door somewhere within your camera’s line of sight block out a good percentage of its field of vision? Will your pet cat find a favorite spot to curl up in for hours at a time, right in front of the device? More
ZDNETWearables are becoming an increasingly popular way to monitor your health. Smart rings like Oura can detect changes in vital signs that might indicate sickness, and smartwatches, including the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch, can identify sleep apnea. AirPods can now test your hearing; even irregular menstruation data collected by fitness bands can reveal early signs of bigger health issues. But in some cases, wearables go beyond routine health monitoring to save users’ lives. A 2023 study found that smartwatches are highly accurate when it comes to detecting arrhythmias. Through heart rate, emergency, and fall detection features, the Apple Watch helped several people in dire situations in 2024.Also: The best Apple WatchesHere are eight instances where the Apple Watch detected critical information in the nick of time.1. Unlikely heart failure Memphis-based Kamron Jones’ Apple Watch frequently sent him alerts indicating his heart rate was abnormally high, which eventually prompted him to visit the hospital. At the time, he had assumed he was feeling low-energy due to a recent case of pneumonia. But after several tests, doctors determined he was experiencing heart failure.At only 22, Jones didn’t expect the diagnosis and wouldn’t have considered it possible without his Apple Watch. Jones told Fox 13 that he would have ignored his mild symptoms if not for the watch’s notifications — at which point it may have been too late to get the help he needed. More
LG’s Gram Pro 16 2-in-1 from earlier this year. Kerry Wan/ZDNETLG just announced that it’s expanding its lineup of Gram laptops in 2025, which includes launching the company’s first-ever Copilot+ PC and its first devices powered by Gram AI, its proprietary hybrid AI that utilizes both on-device and cloud-based AI models. Expected to be unveiled at CES 2025, the Gram, Gram Pro, Gram Pro 2-in-1, and Gram Book are just as slim and lightweight as last year’s models. We tested them, and can confirm that they’re some of the thinnest, lightest laptops we’ve ever seen. What’s new is that they now come equipped with LG’s on-device “Gram Chat” AI to process and analyze data locally, even when not connected to Wi-Fi. Also: I tested the lightest 16-inch convertible laptop of the year, but that’s not even its best featureGram Chat’s hybrid approach utilizes LG’s EXAONE large language model when offline, but when connected to Wi-Fi, it employs cloud-based AI powered by GPT-4o. LG Research released its EXAONE 3.0 LLM earlier this year after a three-year development period.So, what does this mean for laptop users? AI all day, every day, whether or not you have Wi-Fi. LG says Gram Chat integrates with calendar and email apps, enabling the AI to help manage a user’s schedule as well as send and receive emails and messages. It also leverages the “Time Travel” feature, which can revisit web pages, documents, videos and audio files (which sounds a little bit like a certain controversial Windows feature). More
