Eliana Willis

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysLenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETIn September, Google announced that all English-speaking Gemini mobile app More

Jason Hiner/ZDNETWe’re in the home stretch of 2024, but Apple isn’t slowing down. The Cupertino-based tech giant is expected to hold a second Fall media event later this month. While recent history suggests the event could take place anytime before the end of October, our money’s on mid-month. It’s an election year in the US, and Apple probably doesn’t want its news overshadowed.  Also: M3 MacBook Air vs M2 MacBook Air: Which Apple laptop should you buy?Expect an official announcement confirming the event date within the next week or so. As usual, the presentation likely will kick off at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on YouTube and Apple’s website. With those details out of the way, one question remains: What’s planned for the event?So far this year, we’ve already seen new iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, so the most significant product category clamoring for updates are Mac computers. Below is a list of what I think will be the stars of Apple’s upcoming show. 1. M4 Macs More

Max Buondonno/ZDNETWhat’s the deal?Save $45 on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE More

powerofforever/Getty Images When Microsoft released Windows 11 in 2021, it also rolled out strict hardware compatibility requirements for the new operating system. If you tried to upgrade a Windows 10 PC, a compatibility appraiser built into the new Setup program checked your hardware first. If your CPU wasn’t on the list of supported models, or […] More

The Thunderbird Appointment UI is very well designed and simple to use. Jack Wallen/ZDNETDo you have a small business that requires appointment booking? If so, you might be interested in knowing that the team behind the Thunderbird email client has created an appointment service aptly named Thunderbird Appointment, and it’s already looking to be something special.I was invited to test the beta version and I’m thoroughly impressed. Thunderbird Appointment is a stand-alone web service that offers the ability to deploy the service on your own LAN via a Docker container. If deploying a service on your own LAN isn’t your cup of tea, the available service will do just fine.Also: 5 nearly hidden Android features you should already be usingWith Thunderbird Appointment, you can plan an event, set your availability, and share with others. You can even connect your Google Calander (selecting a specific calendar to be used for the appointments), book one-off appointments or recurring events, add details to meetings, enable booking confirmation, and confirm each booking that is sent to you via email. Once you’ve accepted an appointment, it is automatically added to your Thunderbird Appointment calendar and the calendar you’ve linked to the service (if applicable).I even tested Thunderbird Appointment by deploying it on a test server within my LAN (using docker-compose) and was impressed with how easy it was to get up and running. Within less than 2 minutes I had my booking service running on my LAN. Also: The 4 best closed-source email clients for LinuxI’ve tested other appointment software (even Google’s take on the service) and found Thunderbird Appointment to stand up with the best of them.As far as settings are concerned, you can configure the following:LanguageThemeTime formatTime ZoneAvailable calendarsAccount informationConnected accounts (on the beta you can connect Mozilla, Google, and Zoom accounts)Once you’ve created your Thunderbird Appointment account (currently, the service is free), you can then set your availability (time and days of the week), add scheduling details — such as calendar, earliest booking, farthest booking, and booking duration), meeting details (video link and notes), and booking settings (quick link and booking confirmation enable/disable). More

The default Rhino Linux desktop makes Xfce look great. Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysRhino Linux is a rolling release Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that is available now and ready to impress.It’s beautiful and offers one of more useful command-line package managers on the market.There’s no GUI for installing software.If you’re looking for a Linux operating system that has a unique perspective, I suggest checking out Rhino Linux. It’s a Ubuntu-based, rolling-release Linux distribution, meaning all software is updated as soon as the developers roll out the new version. In other words, your desktop will always be up to date. And because of the way rolling releases work, you don’t have to worry about doing major upgrades from version 1 to 2 or 10 to 11, or whatever would come next in a traditional approach.Also: The best old-school Linux window managers that still hold upRhino uses a modern take on the highly efficient and customizable Xfce desktop (dubbed “Unicorn”) to help make the interface immediately familiar to anyone who logs in. You’ll find a dock on the left edge of the screen that contains launchers for common applications, access to the Application Grid (where you can find all of your installed software), and a handy Search Bar (Ulauncher) that allows you to quickly search for and launch any installed app (or even the app settings) you need.Normally I’m not a big fan of recommending the Xfce desktop to users without plenty of experience on either the Linux desktop or with enough know-how to learn a new interface quickly. Thanks to myriad configuration options, Xfce can be a bit daunting. At the same time, the array of settings makes Xfce highly customizable, which is exactly what the Rhino developers did when they designed this desktop.For those who want a desktop that makes short work of accessing files, the Rhino developers have added a really nifty tool to the top bar. You’ll find a listing of some folders you have in your Home directory (Files, Documents, Music, Pictures, Video). If you click on one of those entries, you’ll see a list of the most recently accessed files within the directory. Click on the file you want to open with the default, associated application. More

Asus/ZDNETAsus is well-known for its stylish laptops with gorgeous displays, and the Vivobook Go 15.6-inch laptop More