<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Mudita Kompakt is on preorder now for $369, and will be available in May for $439. The E Ink display is easy on the eyes, the battery lasts for days, and it satisfies the minimalist intention with far fewer distractions. The camera is unnecessary, there is no voice-to-text, and the […] More
Kerry Wan/ZDNETIf you’re in dire need of some bling on your earbuds, this collaboration between Motorola and Swarovski will fill that diamond-encrusted void. Motorola just announced its Moto Buds Loop, and they’re just as much a fashion accessory as they are earbuds. The Moto Buds Loop are open earbuds with a clip-on form factor, mimicking the style and fit of an earring or ear cuff. The earbuds, available in Pantone-curated French Oak or Trekking Green (read: beige and green, respectively), bring the dazzle factor and are adorned with Swarovski crystals.Also: I used Motorola’s $1,300 Razr Ultra, and it left me with no Samsung Galaxy Z Flip envyOpen earbuds are a little different from your classic earbuds: they are a mix between in-ear earbuds that isolate sound within your ear canal and bone conduction headphones that play music close to your ears without obstructing environmental noise from getting through. More
Kerry Wan/ZDNETYou have my attention, Motorola.The company yesterday unveiled not one, not two, but three Razr flip phones, including a first-ever ‘Ultra’ model that’s feature-packed, fashionably styled, and unsurprisingly expensive at $1,299.Also: Motorola Solutions to outfit first responders with new AI-enabled body camerasI spent an intimate afternoon with all three models ahead of their launch, and, barring the price tag that makes me question the state of the economy, my first impressions were mostly positive. In fact, the Razr Ultra, which I tested the most, left me feeling a little less excited about what’s on the docket from Samsung later this summer. Here’s why. More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways HP’s 14-inch EliteBook X G1a features AMD’s latest Ryzen AI Pro chip, starting at $2,184. It’s a powerful enterprise laptop with lots of I/O, a sleek form factor, and comfortable keyboard. It’s expensive, and can run warm under a heavy workload. more buying choices HP reorganized its laptop lineup last year, […] More
MacBook Air M4 in Sky Blue Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETWhen Apple announced the MacBook Air M4 More
DrAfter123/Getty Images On Wednesday, Anthropic released a report detailing how Claude was recently misused. It revealed some surprising and novel trends in how threat actors and chatbot abuse are evolving and the increasing risks that generative AI poses, even with proper safety testing. Security concerns In one case, Anthropic found that a “sophisticated actor” had […] More
JennaWagner/Getty Images Out of the blue, I received a text from my father asking me, “What’s the difference between a password and a passkey?” Somewhere, in his daily online journey, he was prompted by a website or application — a “relying party” in authentication lingo — to create a passkey. But the benefit wasn’t clear […] More
Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETMacOS is a solid operating system. But it doesn’t matter how secure an operating system is; it’s vulnerable if connected to a network. As for privacy, if you get online, your privacy is at stake, so you must never assume that you’re safe just because you’re using Apple’s OS.You can always do things to improve the chances that your privacy will not be infringed upon. What are those things?Let’s jump in.1. Use a VPNA VPN is always a good idea. Why? A VPN not only anonymizes your IP address (so it’s much harder to track you), but it will also encrypt your traffic. Individually, those things can help. Together, they are a powerful weapon against those who would disrupt your privacy. There are plenty of VPNs you can use (such as Proton VPN or Nord VPN), but it’s important that you use one that integrates with the operating system, so all of your outgoing traffic is anonymized and encrypted. If you use only a browser extension, then only the traffic leaving your web browser is altered. To get the most security and the fastest speeds, use a paid option. Most free VPNs tend to slow down your network traffic, which negatively impacts your browser’s speed.Also: The best VPN for Mac: Expert tested and reviewed2. Use strong passwordsThis should go without saying, but strong passwords are the easiest method of protecting your accounts (starting with your MacOS user account). If you use weak passwords, someone could break into your desktop and wreak havoc on your privacy.You should also be using a password manager (such as Bitwarden). Not only do password managers do a great job of securing your login credentials, but they also include random password generators capable of creating very strong passwords. If your MacOS account is secured with a weak password, change it immediately in Settings > Login Password.Also: The best password manager for Mac3. Use encrypted storageYour MacOS drive is most likely encrypted, which will protect you if someone steals your computer. With the storage encrypted, they’ll have a harder time accessing the data. But that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from using encryption tools.Out of the box, your MacOS machine uses FileVault — enabled by default — to secure the data on your disk. However, you might want to take this a step further by encrypting specific folders in your home directory to give them an extra layer of protection. You can use tools like VeraCrypt (available for free) that feature drag-and-drop AES-256 encryption for files and folders and easy sharing with Windows. More
