Eliana Willis

David Gewirtz/ZDNETIt’s never a good sign when I start writing an article about a new product announcement and my biggest concern is whether I’ll be able to complete the article with my credit card intact. My daily driver is a well-equipped Mac Studio, but it’s getting a few years old now, and I’ve noticed it running out of steam for some of my complex 3D models and occasionally when doing video production. Also: The new iPad Air with M3 is here – with an updated Magic Keyboard to matchI chose not to buy the tiny-but-mighty M4 Mac Mini, despite how adorable it is, because it lacks a front SD card slot, which I use constantly. But as of today, Apple is introducing a new Mac Studio, and this thing has heft in all the right places. So there’s a real question about whether or not I can keep my credit card safe and sound, give myself a few months for the news to sit in and to save up, or whether sometime in the next hour or two, I’m going to find myself in a bit of debt, once again, to Apple’s overlords. What’s a Mac Studio?Put simply, the Mac Studio is the desktop Mac that pros have always wanted. While many people connect their laptops to big monitors when docked, some folks crave machines with gobs of memory, an almost unlimited pile of ports, and hefty power.For years, the choices were a little challenging to navigate.The iMac often had the right amount of power and ports, but you had to deal with Apple’s screen, which never seemed big enough. If you chose to add a second screen, you still had that big beast taking up space.For about a year, I had my then fairly long-in-the-tooth maxed-out iMac sitting face down on a shelf next to my desk so I could use monitors I preferred.Also: Apple’s new MacBook Air M4 is a multiscreen lover’s dream, and it’s only $999The Mac Pro was simply ludicrous. After about a decade of a practical tower design, Apple introduced a machine that resembled a trash can. It didn’t tolerate much in the way of add-ons, and it was very expensive. Then Apple introduced a redesigned Intel-based Mac Pro, and it was a study in wildly expensive compromise.In 2023, Apple used the same form factor, but introduced a barely expandable Mac Pro based on the M2. It was, essentially, a bigger Mac Studio.The other desktop Mac option in the years before the Mac Studio was (and still is) the Mac Mini. I’ve bought at least ten of these machines because they have excellent price/performance, a good selection of ports, and you can use them in a wide range of applications without them taking up too much space.But then, in 2022, Apple introduced the Mac Studio. It was the same shape as the pre-M4 Mac Minis, but had the ability to run the fastest processors, mondo-gobs of RAM, and lordy-lordy, did it have ports. It even had (it still makes me weep with happiness) an SD card slot on the front of the machine.It was glorious.So, in 2022, I spent $3,799 and bought myself an M1 Max-based Mac Studio with 64GB and 4TB internal storage.For the past six months, though, it hasn’t been enough. I’ve been waiting. And now, it’s here. More

Richard McManus/Getty Images The terminal prompt. The command line interface. The CLI. The shell. Not the most exciting things, right? To most Linux users, the terminal is a tool to accomplish important work. It’s not a playground or something used to make others jealous of your setup. That doesn’t mean the prompt has to be […] More

Distrowatch When I first started using and writing about Linux in the late 1990s, there were just a few distributions to choose from, and even those were a bit hard to discover (unless you knew the right bulletin board or mailing list to join). I remember asking around and chatting about new distributions we’d discovered […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The OnePlus Pad 2 is the company’s latest Android tablet with a premium design and flagship specs for $550. It’s compatible with a keyboard and pen that OnePlus sells separately, so you can turn it into an Android-powered laptop. While the multitasking features are excellent, and the Pad 2 checks all […] More

ZDNETIn 2006, Digg, a social networking and bookmarking site, was one of the most popular websites. Today, many of you have probably never even heard of this Reddit-like site. Now, in a surprising turn of events, Digg is attempting a comeback, backed by an unlikely alliance between its founder, Kevin Rose, and former rival Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit.Social networks have become toxicWhy? Because, as you may have noticed, social networks have become increasingly unpleasant. Meta, like X (Twitter) before it, has rolled back its fact-checking program on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. As a result, all these networks have become more toxic. Digg’s new team sees this. They declared, “The current social media landscape, community discourse has grown increasingly combative, cluttered, and exhausting. Users are bogged down by misinformation, spam, and the emotional toll of navigating hostile interactions.” Also: This social media shift could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting forIronically, it is just such failures that brought Digg down in the first place. Digg’s disgrace began in 2010 when it was revealed that the so-called Digg Patriots were engaged in a widespread censorship campaign against liberals. Using multiple accounts, up-vote padding, and ban campaigns, they muzzled liberal conversation on the site for months. In response, Rose removed the power of users to up-vote and down-vote stories. This failed. The Digg community hated this change. The users saw Digg was no longer a “site built by the community, for the community” and left. Digg never recovered, and Reddit largely took its place. More

ZDNETTired of sitting through ads while watching your favorite YouTube videos? The popular video-sharing service is bringing its Premium Lite plan as a pilot program to the US. Priced at $7.99 a month, Premium Lite promises to shelve the ads for most, but not all, videos.More affordable alternativeYouTube touts its Lite plan as a more affordable alternative to its full Premium subscription, which costs a hefty $13.99 a month. A Premium plan removes the ads for all content, including music and music videos, and offers other perks, such as offline viewing, background playing, and 1080p quality. Also: How to download YouTube videos for free – 2 waysIn contrast, the Lite plan promises to curtail the ads for gaming, fashion, beauty, news, and other videos. But you’ll still have to sit through them for music and other videos not considered core creator content. Plus, Premium Lite offers none of the other perks of the full Premium experience. More

Max Buondonno/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysThe Nomad Tracking Card More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETThe Oura RIng 4 may have been ZDNET’s 2024 product of the year, but the market is full of other great fitness and wellness wearables that are perfect investments for those looking for better ways to track their health in 2025. With plenty of options, including smartwatches for Apple and Android users and handy smart rings, you’re sure to find a suitable choice for your lifestyle — but this top tech isn’t cheap. Also: The best Discover Samsung Spring sale deals: Shop Galaxy S25 phones, TVs, and moreThese insightful wellness trackers are notoriously pricey. That’s why when there’s a great deal, ZDNET is here to bring it your way. Right now, Samsung’s Discover Spring Sale can help you save up to $250 off a new Samsung Galaxy Ring More