Eliana Willis

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNETI’m not a fan of the Windows UI, and no Windows desktop has ever caught my attention. My general reaction to the Windows aesthetic is “Meh.” So, when I booted up the latest preview release of Deepin 25, my first reaction was, “That figures.” Let me explain.  When Deepin first landed some 20 years ago, the distro caught people’s attention (mine included). The desktop was exciting, beautiful, and professional-looking, showing that Linux could lead the charge to elegance.Also: If you’re ready for something different, I recommend this Linux distro to newbies and experts alikeAnd, yes, it was problematic. Users discovered some questionable things going on under the hood. Search the internet with the phrase “Is Deepin Linux safe?” and you’ll get hundreds (if not thousands) of hits. There’s even this video where Quidsup discusses the privacy issues and the EULA, back when Deepin 20 was released.The big concern was that the makers of Deepin (a Chinese company) could spy on users via various services running in the background of Deepin Linux. (I have to ask: How different is that from what Microsoft (along with other companies) has been accused of doing.)  More

We’ve tested dozens of robot vacuums in homes with kids, dogs, and cats. We know the feeling of spending countless hours a week trying to clean the pet hair and mini fingerprints scattered around the home, yet feeling like it’s impossible to keep up with everything.Enter robot vacuums. Robot vacuums aren’t a one-size-fits-all affair, and the right for you depends on many factors. The ZDNET team has spent countless hours evaluating factors like floor mapping abilities, battery life, price, and, more importantly, cleaning efficiency to help you make the best choice.Also: The best robot vacuum mops: Expert testedWhat is the best robot vacuum right now? Our pick for the best robot vacuum overall is the iRobot Roomba j7+ More

Google/ZDNETGoogle has done a pretty good job with accessibility features on Pixel phones for the past few years. With TalkBack, display customizations, Simple View, and more, Google’s flagship phones have come a long way.But the accessibility doesn’t stop there. If you have vision impairments and like to take photos, the Guided Frame feature can help. Also: This hidden Pixel camera feature makes your photos more vibrantThis feature uses voice prompts to help guide the framing of the photo you’re about to take. This feature is part of TalkBack and offers audio and gesture-based guidance to navigate the phone. Guided Frame uses voice prompts and vibration to help you position either the front or rear camera to get the subject properly framed. For example, let’s say you’re taking a selfie. With Guided Frame on, it will give you cues so that your face is properly framed. Once you’re properly framed, your Pixel will say, “Hold,” and then automatically snap the photo (after a 3-second countdown).Guided Frame is a wonderful feature for those who need visual assistance taking photos, and it works exceptionally well. According to Google, Guided Frame can recognize the following:FacesPetsFoodDrinksDocumentsElectronic devicesVehiclesI was able to get Guided Frame to easily recognize faces, pets, and vehicles. With other objects, I found it was a bit more finicky if there were multiple objects in the frame. For example, I attempted to take a photo of my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and it failed. When taking a shot of a travel mug, I had to clear some of the objects from the frame for it to recognize it. The one object I couldn’t get it to recognize was documents.Let me show you how to use it.How to enable Guided Frame on Pixel What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need for this is a Pixel phone (version 6 or later). More

Whether you’re looking to upgrade your home theater setup with a high-end OLED screen or pick up a budget-friendly TV for your bedroom, there are tons of high-quality options to choose from. The best TVs you can buy right now offer a great balance between features, screen size, connectivity, and, of course, price. Also: The best Samsung TVsBig brands like Samsung and Sony offer premium models with features like object-tracking sound, OLED panels, and cloud gaming support. And smaller brands like Hisense and TCL offer more mid-range and budget-friendly options that still provide core features like 4K resolution and HDR support to give them great value for the money.What is the best TV right now?At ZDNET, we’ve extensively tested TVs from Samsung, Sony, TCL, and more. Our choice for the best TV overall is the Samsung S95D More

Lance Whitney/ZDNETMeta’s Instagram is prepping the launch of its own video editor. In a Monday post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed the details about Edits, a free app that offers a host of tools and settings to help creators spruce up their videos. Now available for preorder, the app is expected to launch for the iPhone on March 13 with an Android release coming soon after that.Based on Mosseri’s description and the App Store page for Edits More

Zhou Yibao on Weibo A new foldable phone is about to hit the market, and it may be as thin as a phone can possibly be. ‘World’s thinnest foldable’ Oppo is billing its upcoming Find N5 (it will likely be the OnePlus Open 2 when it hits the US market) as the world’s thinnest foldable. That title […] More

ZDNETThe idea of querying a remote LLM makes my spine tingle — and not in a good way. When I need to do a spot of research via AI, I opt for a local LLM, such as Ollama.If you haven’t yet installed Ollama, you can read about it my guide on how to install an LLM on MacOS (and why you should). You can also install Ollama on Linux and Windows, and, given that the Firefox extension works on all three platforms, you can be sure that whatever desktop OS you use will work.Also: My 5 favorite web browsers – and what each is ideal forUsing Ollama from within the terminal window is actually quite easy, but it doesn’t give you such obvious access to other features (such as LLM/Prompt selection, image upload, internet search enable/disable, and Settings).The free extension I will point out works on Firefox, Zen Browser (one of my favorites), and others.Let’s get to that extension.How to install the Page Assist extension in FirefoxWhat you’ll need: To make this work, you’ll need Ollama installed and running, as well as the Firefox browser. That’s it. Let’s make some magic. More

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNETMicrosoft is now automatically rolling out Windows 11 24H2 to all eligible and supported PCs, whether you like it or not.In a recent status update to its Windows 11 24H2 known issues and notifications page, the company announced that it has reached a new stage in the phased rollout of version 24H2. All eligible computers running the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 will now gradually receive the 24H2 version.Also: How to upgrade your ‘incompatible’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 in 2025If you don’t want to wait for the automatic update to pop up, head to Settings, select Windows Update, and click the button to Check for updates. You should then see an option prompting you to download and install version 24H2.This automatic update applies only to personal computers not managed by IT departments. Even then, individual users can choose to reschedule or postpone the update. But doing so will pause all updates, not just the 24H2 version. Sooner or later, you’ll probably have to accept the update, especially when 23H2 and 22H2 are no longer supported, just like 21H2 and 22H2 reached end of support in October 2024. More