Eliana Willis

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Minisforum AI370 EliteMini normally retails for $1,590 It’s a powerful mini PC with plenty of ports, support for an 8K display, and runs cool and quiet You’ll still need to supply your own peripherals, and it’s best purchased while on sale. –> What’s the deal? A new coupon is available […] More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETVoice assistants stagnated for a decade, hindered by poor understanding and limited usefulness. Recent generative AI developments have transformed them, enabling conversational, multi-turn, and emotion-aware interactions, which tech giants like Google and Apple have included within their offerings. Even though Amazon lagged in upgrading Alexa, it has now unveiled its revamped Alexa+ and, maybe, even lapped the competition.Also: Not all Echo devices will get Alexa+ – see if yours made the listAmazon has taken the idea of a conversational voice assistant to the next level with Alexa+ by adding agentic capabilities that place the assistant’s helpfulness beyond its competitors, allowing the tool to perform everyday tasks for you. The availability of Alexa+ has also made voice assistant tech more easily accessible for everyday users than Amazon’s competitors. If you have tried other AI voice assistants and aren’t quite sold on Alexa+, here are a few reasons Amazon’s take may change your mind.  More

Google Drive used to be just storage before Google took its online office suite, Google Docs, and pasted them together into Google One. If you’re a little confused because Google Workplace is also available, you’re in good company. To clarify, Google Workspace Individual is meant for small business owners, while Google One is a consumer subscription plan that gives you more storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. A Google account alone gives you 15GB of free storage and an excellent office suite. It’s good enough that many businesses and Chromebook owners now use it as their complete cloud-based office. If you buy a Chromebook and are a new Google One customer, you’ll get 100GB of free cloud storage for a year. With both kinds of free storage, it’s shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.Google Drive comes with clients for most operating systems, except Linux. Google promised long ago that there would be a Linux client, but it’s yet to arrive. There is, however, an excellent third-party Linux commercial client, Insync. Need more storage? No problem. Under the name Google One, Google Drive storage offers 100GB for $2 per month or $20 per year, or 200GB for $3 per month or $30 per year. For 2TB, you pay $10 per month or $100 annually. You can share your storage with up to five other people using any of these plans. You can also use the Google One app on both Android and iOS devices to automatically back up your smartphones. This includes your device data, multimedia messages, as well as photos and videos in their original quality.One of Google Drive’s best features is its integration with Google Search. So, for example, if you’ve lost track of a file but remember a couple of words in it, it’s easy to find. I use this feature almost every day. Google Drive features: Free storage: Google Drive starts its offers with 15GB for free | Variety of storage plans including individual & business | Secure sharing | Multi-platform | AI tools More

Maria Diaz/ZDNETAmazon has announced a gen AI-powered Alexa+, a revamped version of its popular virtual assistant that leverages the power of generative artificial intelligence to enhance the user experience. Alexa+ is exactly what you may have envisioned when you first heard of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google, but without the accompanying disappointment at their shortcomings. The improved voice assistant will be able to generate responses instead of repeating what it’s been programmed to say. With generative AI, Alexa+ will also hold more natural conversations with users rather than listening to a prompt and responding with an action. It will support memory to recall preferences and conversations and will maintain context throughout a conversation, so it will remember what you asked at the beginning of a chat and respond in that context.Also: Everything announced at Amazon’s Alexa event: Alexa+, new Echo Show UI, and moreBut Alexa+ will not be available for all Echo devices, at least not initially. Here’s a list of the Echo devices that will support Alexa+ when it begins rolling out over the next month:Echo devices compatible with Alexa+Echo Show 8Echo Show 10Echo Show 15Echo Show 21Amazon said it is prioritizing these Echo Show displays in the early access period of Alexa Plus, so the revamped virtual assistant could eventually be available on other Echo devices not listed above.Also: 7 exciting AI features coming with Alexa+ (and how to get the service for free) More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETAmazon has been focused on bringing generative AI to Alexa for the past few years, hitting multiple delays in launching new features that the company first announced in September 2023. The delayed Alexa 2.0 was poised for a 2025 release, and Amazon just wrapped up an event where it made big announcements for the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant. Amid rumors of Alexa 2.0 shortcomings, Amazon skipped its 2024 Devices and Services event, where the company typically announces new Alexa features and hardware devices. Instead, it hosted an event today and unveiled Alexa+, the voice assistant’s generative AI features, and finally put an ETA on its launch. Also: 7 exciting AI features coming with Alexa+ (and what Amazon devices support it)”Up until a couple of years ago, it was pretty difficult to invent with AI, and that changed with the arrival of foundational models and generative AI. This made the technology much more accessible, so people can see the power and magic of what generative AI can do,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said. The event took place today, Feb. 26, in New York City and was Panos Panay’s first since joining the Devices and Services division after his Microsoft exit. But aside from new Alexa features, Amazon also made other announcements. Everything announced at Amazon’s February 2025 event More

This Dreo wall-mounted heater is far more powerful than its size would indicate. Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysThe Dreo Smart Wall Heater More

Nina Raemont/ZDNETAlexa+ (Alexa Plus) is Amazon’s revamped version of its virtual assistant, now powered by generative AI. Though Amazon is rolling out Alexa+ to many existing Echo devices, it’s not available for free. Using Alexa+ will cost $20 monthly, which is the same cost as ChatGPT Plus. Thankfully, there are ways you can use it for free — at least for a limited time.Also: 7 useful AI features coming with Alexa+ (and which Echo devices will support it)Giving Alexa generative AI enables the virtual assistant to do much more than it has been able to do until now. Instead of spouting off canned, pre-determined responses to questions, the new Alexa+ will be able to generate answers of its own, powered by powerful Amazon Bedrock large language models (LLM). Alexa+ will also maintain context, speak more naturally, and process more information simultaneously, much like ChatGPT can do. How to get Alexa+ for free More