Eliana Willis

Video conferencing software has become extremely popular thanks to remote and hybrid work. You no longer need in-person visits with clients or colleagues to stay informed. Now, you can use your PC or mobile device to hop into a quick meeting, which can be far more productive and convenient — especially if participants are in different time zones.Also: Google Meet now automatically centers you – and it’s kind of freakyVideo conferencing software comes in many forms and flavors: small bolt-ons to productivity suites, standalone solutions, online-only services, as well as desktop and mobile apps. It can be difficult to find the right solution, but the main factors you should consider are how often you will need to use it, how many seats — or licenses — you will need to support, and whether you need collaboration tools. What is the best video conferencing software right now?The best video conferencing software solution right now is Zoom More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Honor Pad V9 was just launched at MWC and costs $500. Aside from its impressive AI features for work and productivity, the Honor Pad V9 is the entertainment tablet with the longest battery life I’ve tested. The tablet’s display and sound are beautiful if you can find media to do […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The new Xiaomi 15 Ultra sees improvements in almost all the right places, with a 200MP periscope lens and a more durable design. The camera configuration is still one of the most competitive ones on the market. If you’re in the US, you’ll have to pay to play, with conversions nearing […] More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETEvery new Google email account comes with 15GB of free storage — a solid offer at no cost. However, that space can fill up fast, especially since it also covers files in Google Drive and Google Photos.If your inbox is cluttered with unread newsletters and sneaky spam, there’s a way to clean house without losing important messages. With the right approach, you can preserve what matters while giving yourself a fresh start.Also: How to disable ACR on your TV (and why you shouldn’t wait to do it)There is always the option of manually cleaning out your Gmail inbox or downloading a bunch of material to your local drive. What a pain, though, right? And, chances are you’ll only eliminate so much junk before those gigabytes start stacking up again.I should note that Google offers a way to pay for more storage by upgrading to a Google One account. The “Basic” plan costs $24 per year for 100GB. The free solution, however, lies in taking a few steps to back up your essential files and reset your data capacity.1. Back up your files, at least temporarilyIf you’re going through this process, you’re likely serious about retaining emails that could span years. So, as an added safety measure, it’s a good practice to back up your emails on your computer or an external hard drive before transferring them back into the cloud.Also: After I learned this easy email trick, the clutter vanished from my inboxTo do this, go to Google Takeout and select “Google Photos” and/or “Drive” as the products you wish to export, then follow the prompts. (Once you’ve completed the transfer, you can delete and free up your hard disk drive (HDD) for other uses.) Be aware that this process can take a while, depending on your quantity of emails and number of gigabytes. To give you an idea, CNET’s Jason Chun used Google Takeout with a test Gmail account that held about 75,000 emails, and this wholesale download took around two hours to complete.2. Prepare to transfer your Gmails to a new email accountNow that you’ve saved a copy of your emails, it’s time to transfer them. To do this:Log into your original Gmail account and click the gear icon in the top right corner. Then click “See all settings.”Select the Forwarding POP/IMAP tab. Then select the option “Enable POP for all mail.” (POP stands for Post Office Protocol).You’ll have several options under “When messages are accessed with POP.” Select delete Gmail’s copy to automatically delete the emails from your original account after the transfer.Select “Save changes.”3. Create a second (archive) account and transfer your messagesAt this point, you can create your new account and transfer all your messages there: To create a new inbox-zero Gmail account, go here. This new one will serve as your archive account. Log into your new archive account, click the gear icon in the top right, and select “See all settings.” Select the Accounts and Import tab at the top. Then select “Add a mail account” next to “Check mail from other accounts.”In the pop-up window, enter the name of your original Gmail account, then select “Next.” Select “Import emails from my other account (POP3),” and then select “Next” again. 6. Enter the password of your original Gmail account.Also: My go-to Microsoft Office alternative just got a huge privacy and customization updateNote that you might also need to whip up a temporary Google app password to sync the accounts. So, if your original Gmail account password doesn’t work at this step, visit https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords to create a temporary 16-digit passcode.Simply create a name for the password, such as “Email Transfer,” then hit “Create.” A pop-up window with your new 16-digit passcode will display. Here, you should jot it down or take a screenshot until you can discard this password. Google will only show it to you once! 7. Once you’ve synced your accounts, find Port and select “995.” 8. Next, you’ll want to check three boxes:  9. Finally, select “Add account.” More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETFollowing the launch of its latest flagship smartphones, Samsung today is introducing the new Galaxy A series lineup, which includes the A36 5G and A26 5G More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETAmazon’s early-year Devices and Services event took place just days ago, and the company made it clear that AI will continue to be at the center of its hardware universe. Driving the buzzword of the century is Alexa, arguably the most popular virtual assistant in the world. SVP of Devices and Services Panos Panay suggested that millions of new customers use it every day during the event. Also: Everything you need to know about Alexa+, Amazon’s new generative AI assistantAnd that’s likely true: Alexa is at the core of Amazon’s most prominent hardware products, including Echo speakers and Fire TVs. Today, the company showcased what’s next for its virtual assistant, now named Alexa+, as it looks to compete with the likes of Google, OpenAI, and others. The new Alexa will be “something that understands you, that can actually take action,” Panay teased, and it will work with tens of thousands of services from Amazon partners. Here’s a rundown of the best new features coming with Alexa+ and how much it will cost. 1. Multimodal, agentic interactions Powered by LLMs, Alexa+ can now process visual information via your device’s cameras to understand and answer questions. In one instance, Alexa was asked to describe the crowd’s excitement and enthusiasm at the event by leveraging the Echo Show 15’s front-facing camera. While its responses were two to three sentences long, they were descriptive and dictated in a fairly approachable tone.The agentic capabilities of Alexa+ extend to browsing, with the ability to navigate the internet via Alexa.com and complete tasks for you on Amazon-partnered websites. For example, Alexa was asked to book a professional repairman for a damaged appliance. It then searched for a nearby repair service and booked an appointment via Thumbtack. Also: Amazon’s new Alexa+ companion devices coming this fallIn another demo, a presenter worked with Alexa to build out a shopping list, suggesting items to add or remove throughout the conversation. Surprisingly, the feature supported shopping partners beyond Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. As Alexa responds, a flowing blue animation appears on the bottom of the device screen. This new change reflects Amazon’s more expressive UI. 2. Conversational chain of commands Besides responding more naturally, with sprinkles of humor, another big unveiling showed how Alexa can now fulfill tasks throughout your daily apps and services, including your calendar and emails. It can book a dinner for you and send invitations for that to your closest contacts, too. We’ve seen similar agentic capabilities with Google’s Gemini. In a demo, the virtual assistant was asked to recommend local pizzerias, to which it pulled top-rated storefronts via Yelp. Another example included asking Alexa to remember things, such as “Mary likes Greek and Indian food and is vegetarian but doesn’t like peanut butter.” It did just that without a question. 3. Refreshed home screen on Echo Show Amazon also unveiled a series of new widgets alongside its refreshed Echo Show home screen, including ones that surface recipes, recent apps, weather, shopping lists, and connected smart home devices. Also: 5 Amazon Alexa privacy settings you should change right awayThe adaptive display leverages the larger screen real estate to display relevant information depending on whether you’re far away from the device or closer to it. For example, the Echo Show will display photos and personalized content from afar and switch to a more detailed layout when you approach it. 4. Conducting music with voice For a music demo, Panay asked Alexa, “What’s the song Bradley Cooper sings… it’s like in a duet?” to which it answered, “Shallow with Lady Gaga from the movie *A Star Is Born*.” More impressively, you can now dictate where music is playing from if you have multiple Alexa-enabled speakers in your house. Also: The best Alexa devices of 2025: Expert tested and recommendedFor example, you can ask Alexa to play music on the left or right, with the assumption that speakers are mounted in designated areas. We’ll have to see exactly how reliable this is in real-world tests. And for Amazon’s last trick, Panay asked Alexa to skip to the scene in the movie when “Shallow” is sung, and it did — on the second try. More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETFollowing the launch of its latest flagship smartphones, Samsung today is introducing the new Galaxy A series lineup, which includes the A36 5G and A26 5G More

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