Eliana Willis

Adam Breeden/ZDNETMany AI bots still feel and sound artificial because the chats seem more like question-and-answer sessions than engaging conversations. But some AI developers have unveiled more interactive versions that simulate a real exchange as if you were conversing with another person. One such service is Gemini Live.Now freely accessible to all Android users, Gemini Live allows you to carry on a more natural conversation with Google’s Gemini AI, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode and Microsoft’s Copilot Voice.Also: Gmail users, beware of new AI scam that looks very authenticYou can chime in whenever you want, interrupt the assistant when it’s speaking, view transcripts of your chats, and use the AI in the background or from the lock screen. Google even provides a variety of voices from which to choose to personalize and enhance your conversations.For now, Gemini Live is available only through the Gemini app for Android. That means you can’t run it at the Gemini website, in Google messages, or in the Gemini screen of the Google app for iPhones and iPads.To use Gemini Live, you’ll need an Android phone or tablet, the Gemini mobile app or Gemini as your mobile assistant, a personal Google account, and fluency in any of the 40 supported languages. After downloading the app from Google Play, click the small waveform icon in the lower right. You can now say hello or dive right into your conversation. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the thinnest and lightest Chromebook Plus, and comes with an AMOLED display for $699. It has good battery life, great port selection, and is leading the charge on the new AI-powered features in ChromeOS. The matte black finish attracts fingerprints, and users might experience some glitches […] More

Download a lifetime license to Microsoft Office at a deep discount with this deal. Stack Social If you need access to Microsoft Office but don’t want to pay the yearly fee to access Office 365, you’re in luck: Stack Social is offering a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows or Mac, starting […] More

Just_Super/Getty Images Would you let a virtual version of yourself act for you at work? If yes, you’re not alone.  On Wednesday, enterprise travel platform TravelPerk released new research on professionals’ opinions of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. It found that though participants were somewhat apprehensive, 95% said they “would be willing to allow […] More

Stack Social If you live near a BJ’s Wholesale Club and have been thinking about buying a membership, now is a great time: New members can buy an annual membership for just $20 (reg. $55) through this Stack Social deal — saving you 63%. Not only that, if you sign up through this deal, you’ll […] More

Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images Technology is more important to organizations than ever — and high-profile innovations like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning mean investment in IT is only going one way: upwards. Tech analyst IDC says worldwide digital transformation spending will reach almost $4 trillion in 2027.  Also: How your business can best exploit AI: Tell […] More

This is what the basic GNOME desktop can look like. Jack Wallen/ZDNETI’ve been a fan of GNOME since the beginning when it was fresh and exciting. Although GNOME still stands as one of the best desktop environments on the market, it doesn’t mean there aren’t other developers and teams who’ve figured out how to improve on the OG.Although there aren’t tons of desktop environments based on GNOME, some options are outstanding and capable of meeting and exceeding your needs.Also: 5 quick tweaks make your GNOME desktop so much easier to useLet’s dive in and take a look at four Linux desktops that are based on GNOME. More

flubydust/Getty Images Back in engineering school, I had a professor who used to glory in the misleading assignment. He would ask questions containing elements of dubious relevance to the topic at hand in the hopes that it would knock us off our focus or that it would provide a distraction that would send us down […] More