Eliana Willis

David Gewirtz/ZDNETAs a fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, I’ve always loved the episode Little Green Men, in which Quark, Rom, and Nog are accidentally transported back to 20th-century Earth. In one interesting scene, we learn that the Ferengi insert tiny universal translators into their large ears so they can converse with people in different languages. Though I’m not a Ferengi, I’m looking forward to a similar feature that reportedly will reach Apple AirPods later this year.Also: Apple reveals the secret to updating every AirPods model – and it’s easier than you thinkIn a Bloomberg story published Thursday, tech reporter Mark Gurman said that Apple plans to update its AirPods with a live translation feature that would let you hear other languages translated into your own. Citing information from “people with knowledge of the matter,” Gurman said that the new feature will be tied to iOS 19 and arrive as part of an AirPods software upgrade due later this year. The latter comment implies that you won’t need special AirPods and that the translation will work with existing models. Apple is late to the partyIf true, this sounds like a major score for AirPods users. But Apple is actually late to the party. For the past few years, Google has included live translation through its Pixel Buds and Pixel Buds Pro earbuds. Several third-party companies also sell earbuds with translation capabilities. Also: I’ve used my AirPods Pro 2 since they first launched. Here’s my buying advice for 2025Apple, Google, and others also have long offered translation apps for mobile devices. The Apple Translate app that comes with iOS and iPadOS is able to translate between a host of different languages. But hearing the translations directly through your earbuds promises to provide a more, shall we say, Ferengi-like experience. More

Constantine Johnny/Getty Images As a kid, I was inspired by the decorative lighting in my grandparents’ finished basement. They had festooned the place with multicolored C9 string lights (aka old-school Christmas lights) from wall to wall, beneath the built-in wet bar, around hanging mirrors, and anywhere else they could add an ambient accent for the […] More

ZDNETAmid growing concerns over Chinese AI models like DeepSeek, new research suggests that fears may be overblown – at least when it comes to data privacy. In fact, some popular US-based AI chatbots might be collecting even more of your personal information.When DeepSeek debuted its flagship open-source AI model in January, the American tech industry was thrown into hysteria. Some embraced the competition — claiming this is “AI’s Sputnik moment” — but others? Well, not so much. Still, about 12 million users worldwide downloaded the AI chatbot two days after its launch. Numerous privacy and security concerns quickly surfaced about it, prompting private and government organizations to ban DeepSeek’s use in the US and abroad.Also: 5 ways to use generative AI more safely – and effectivelyBut here’s the twist – despite all the frenzy, DeepSeek isn’t the biggest data offender out there. Curious to know how your favorite AI chatbot stacks up when it comes to privacy? Let’s look at what Surfshark’s researchers have found.AI chatbots collect and track user dataRecent data from Surfshark, a well-known VPN provider, uncovered that Google Gemini is the most data-intensive AI chatbot app. DeepSeek, however, comes in fifth out of the 10 most popular applications. The researchers analyzed the privacy details of the following chatbots that are the most popular on the Apple App Store: ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, Jasper, Poe, Claude and Pi. Then, they compared the types of data each application collects, whether it collects any data linked to its users, and whether the app includes third-party advertisers.Also: Google claims Gemma 3 reaches 98% of DeepSeek’s accuracy using only one GPUThe investigation led the researchers to determine that Google Gemini collects significantly more personal data than its competitors. The app gathers 22 out of 35 user data types, including highly sensitive data like location data, user content, the device’s contacts list, and browsing history. Ultimately, it far outpaces the data collected by the other popular chatbots included in the study. Only Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity were found to collect precise location data, but about 30% of the chatbots were found to share sensitive user data, like location data and browsing history, with third parties such as data brokers. Thirty percent of these chatbots also track user data. In particular, Copilot, Poe, and Jasper collect data to track their users, which means that the user data collected from the app is linked with third-party data for the purpose of targeted advertising or ad measurement metrics. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Eero 7 Dual Band Router retails for $180 per unit. Users won’t have to wait long to enjoy high-speed connectivity at home as the device is very easy to set up. However, this router model is light on features; it doesn’t offer much beyond its simple package. more buying choices […] More

ZDNETIs your Chromecast device having issues? You’re not alone. Google says a fix is rolling out, though. Second-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices are facing a problem that prevents them from casting content. If you try to use an affected device, you’ll see one of two errors — either, “Untrusted device: [name] couldn’t be verified. This could be caused by outdated device firmware,” or “We couldn’t authenticate your Chromecast.” Also: Your Android phone just got a major audio upgrade for freeBoth error messages link to separate Google support pages, but those pages don’t address this issue. The only other option is to close the dialogue box.Older Chromecast devices affectedThe issue seems limited to older Chromecast devices, as no third-generation or Chromecast Ultra users have reported the problem. Frustration is mounting on Reddit, where users have reportedly tried a number of fixes, including restarting the device, reinstalling Google Home, removing the device from Google Home and adding it again, restoring the device to factory settings, clearing cache data, and changing networks, but nothing works. Also: Is your live TV streaming service still worth it? I review the options for every budgetSome users have even wondered if Google has quietly ended support for the older Chromecasts, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, as the company says a fix is on the way. More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETSetting up a new Windows 11 PC — or resetting a gently used Windows 11 PC, so it’s as good as new — is pretty easy. Deceptively easy, in fact. After you click through the dialog boxes and adjust the few available settings as part of the out-of-the-box experience, you end up at the Windows 11 desktop.But your work is not complete. Microsoft’s default settings aren’t necessarily tuned for you, and a default setup comes with a handful of annoyances that you can quickly fix. Also: Windows 11 FAQ: ZDNET’s upgrade guide and everything else you need to knowWhen you get to the Windows desktop, I recommend taking a few minutes to do these six things before you go any further. More

ZDNETTiling window managers are one of the most efficient ways to interact with your operating system — depending on how you prefer to work. If you’re someone who wants to keep your fingers on the keyboard and doesn’t mind learning a host of new keyboard shortcuts, then a tiling window manager is for you.If, on the other hand, you prefer using your mouse, I’d advise against a tiling window manager. Also: This fun tiling window manager may be rough around the edges – but it has big potentialCuriosity piqued? If so, there’s a particular Linux distribution that can help you learn the ins and outs of one particular tiling window manager — i3. The Regolith Desktop is a productivity-focused Linux distribution that combines i3, Say, and GNOME to create the fast, keyboard-driven workflow of a tiling window manager, while infusing it with a bit of traditional desktop environment features. Regolith includes features like gnome-session for system management, regolith-look for theming and configuration adjustments, and support for both X11 (i3) and Wayland (Sway). Choose between i3 and SwayYup. Regolith Linux gives you the choice between the i3 and Sway tiling window managers. Think of Sway as a drop-in replacement for i3 that works with Wayland. Because Regolith Linux ships with both i3 and Sway, you can be sure that, no matter which window server you need (X11 or Wayland), you’ll have a similar experience. Because Sway and i3 are similar (but not identical), if you can get up to speed with one, you’ll be up to speed with the other. Also: The best old-school Linux window managers that still hold upThe differences between i3 and Sway are as follows: i3 uses X11, whereas Sway uses Wayland.Sway includes built-in gaps functionality and supports multiple non-modifier keys for key bindings.Sway can create containers from floating windows for group movement and resizing.Sway handles input, output, and wallpaper options without relying on separate applications.Sway offers slightly better battery life on laptops.Some X11 apps might not work on Wayland, which means i3 has much broader application support.Sway is more actively developed than i3 and offers a bit more in the GUI department.Here’s the thing to keep in mind: once upon a time, Regolith was available via an ISO. Unfortunately, that ISO install is an outdated version. To get the latest version of Regolith, start with a running instance of Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 and install the necessary packages. To do that, you have to run the following commands: wget -qO – https://archive.regolith-desktop.com/regolith.key | gpg –dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/regolith-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/nullecho deb “[arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/regolith-archive-keyring.gpg] https://archive.regolith-desktop.com/ubuntu/stable noble v3.2” | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/regolith.listsudo apt updatesudo apt install regolith-desktop regolith-session-flashback regolith-look-lascaille -yYou can optionally install the Sway version with: sudo apt-get install regolith-session-sway -y If you install the Sway version (which I would recommend), select Regolith on Wayland at the login screen. Also: If you’re ready to break up with Windows, this is the Linux distro I suggest for new usersOnce those packages are installed, reboot your instance of Linux and select either i3 or Sway at the login prompt. I’d much prefer it if the developers of Regolith would release an ISO image with the latest version, but the installation isn’t difficult, as long as you already have a running instance of Ubuntu (Debian will work just fine). The total time for the installation shouldn’t take you more than five minutes. Once you have the latest version of Regolith installed, you should now be able to switch between i3 or Sway (the older version only offers i3 because it doesn’t support Wayland/Sway). More

David Tramontan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Spotify wants to make it easier than ever for audiobook authors to have their work heard. The audio-streaming platform has a new website for independent authors to submit short-form books.  If Spotify likes what you send, it will publish the audiobook, pay you an advance and royalties, manage book […] More