Eliana Willis

Tyler Daviaux (Unsplash)/ZDNETDo you have an old PC lying around? Maybe your Windows 10 PC won’t support Windows 11, and you’re not interested in purchasing a new machine. What do you do?You can turn to a lightweight Linux distribution. This type of operating system typically has very low system requirements and can make older machines feel as if they’re brand new. Also: 10 Linux apps I install on every new machine (and why you should, too)Although there are some distributions that claim to be lightweight, I’m limiting my choices to those whose system requirements are equal to or less than a 1GHz CPU, equal to or less than 2GB of RAM, and a minimum of 10GB storage. I’ve also only chosen those distributions that don’t skimp on the features in favor of speed. But which distribution should you choose? Let me help you with that.1. Linux Lite More

Xie GengHong/Getty Images This year, artificial intelligence will be dominated by the maturation of AI code as corporate “workers” that can take over corporate processes and be managed just like employees, according to a year-outlook blog post disseminated by investment bank Goldman Sachs featuring its chief information officer, Marco Argenti. Human and machine resources “The capabilities of […] More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETWhat’s the deal?The Nano Power Bank More

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETSome of the most interesting products we saw this year and last take an analog product and digitize it: the ReMarkable Paper Pro, which is as close to a perfect copy of pen and paper as I’ve seen, or Amazon’s new Kindle Scribe, which aims to duplicate the simple process of reading a book and scribbling notes in the margins.Also: Five CES 2025 products I’d buy as soon as they’d take my moneyBut taking this to the next level is the Nuwa Pen, an actual ink pen equipped with three tiny cameras that capture what you write (on actual paper) and save it in a digital library in the accompanying app. You can then search your scribbles by content: names, numbers, and keywords, as well as interact with the app’s built-in large language model to ask questions about what you’ve written. This last part interested me the most, as it’s necessary to make this product truly useful.  More

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETLenovo unveiled an unexpected new laptop alongside its fleet of new devices at CES 2025: a 14-inch laptop with a “rollable” display that extends upwards over 16 inches, and it works better than I initially assumed. The ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 looks like a normal 14-inch device on the surface but hit a button on the keyboard, and the display starts growing upward. Once it’s fully extended, the screen measures 16.7 inches, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but Lenovo says you gain about 50% screen real estate. Also: CES 2025: The 12 most impressive products so farIt’s definitely comparable to working on an external monitor, as I was able to fit two browser windows of equal size on top of one another just fine when I demoed it. Working on a portrait-oriented monitor is not everyone’s preference (as opposed to a landscape orientation) but plenty of users prefer it, especially coders and writers who work with long, vertical text windows.  More

ZDNETSome Linux distributions ship with plenty of pre-installed apps, whereas others tend to be a bit leaner. Even those distributions that include a host of applications don’t always get the collection of pre-installed apps quite right.From my experience, there are certain apps that should be considered “must haves” for every new user, and it often confuses me why they aren’t included in many of the major distributions.Also: How to create system restore points on Linux with Timeshift – and why you shouldThe good news is that there are plenty of apps to easily install, most of which are found in the standard repositories.What is my list of “must haves” for Linux? Let’s find out.1. LibreOfficeStandard office suiteLibreOffice More

AntonioSolano/Getty Images I wanna start by saying I’m not anti-AI. Far from it, actually. 😤 I think AI is amazing, and nothing will come between my ChatGPT subscription and me. So, if you’re an AI superfan…  RELAX 🫷🥺🫸 and stay out of my DMs.  I’m not beefing with you, not today, at least. (I might […] More

Maria Diaz/ZDNETA robot vacuum is one of the best investments you can make in a smart home to delegate cleaning tasks. Like the Jetsons’ Rosie the Robot, these devices require care to extend their lives and boost efficiency, so you should protect their batteries and practice good maintenance habits.Also: The best robot vacuums for 2025: Expert tested and reviewedFirst, you should understand the underlying tech: lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are widely used in consumer electronics, including smartphones, laptops, and, you guessed it, robot vacuums. These rechargeable batteries have a long life cycle, making them ideal for devices that require frequent charging. They can also store significant energy relative to size and weight, making them perfect for portable devices. Proper care is essential to ensure Li-ion batteries perform at their best. Factors such as charging and discharging habits, the storage environment, handling, and temperature can impact a Li-ion battery’s performance and lifespan. Here are some tips for keeping your robot vacuum’s battery and performance in shape. More