Eliana Willis

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The TCL Tab 10 Nxtpaper 5G is a full-color, color paper, and ink paper tablet available at Verizon for $239. It’s a great entertainment tablet for daily use that also functions very well as an e-reader. Although the screen is versatile, don’t expect the graphics to compare to those on an […] More

Kerry Wan and Jason Hiner/ZDNETWhile Google launched the Pixel 9 series during its Made by Google event back in August, it’s among the hottest Android phones going into the new year. If you’re in the market for a flagship Android, your attention should go straight to the Pixel 9 Pro XL More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The DJI Neo is available from DJI and Amazon for $199 for the basic kit, and $289 for the Combo kit. This 135-gram drone is incredibly portable and highly capable, making it perfect for bloggers, YouTubers, and social media types. The Neo’s wind resistance is lower than other DJI drones, and […] More

Jack WallenZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysNixOS is an open-source operating system that is available to install and use for free.It offers several desktop environments to choose from, is as rock-solid as any OS on the market, and performs quite well.However, there’s a fairly steep learning curve for installing non-free software.Before we get into this review, I want to offer some information for new Linux users. If you’re uncomfortable using the command line or diving down rabbit holes to figure out how to do something that should “just work out of the box,” then NixOS is probably not for you. Also: The Linux log files you should know and how to use themHowever, that’s not to say someone with minimal familiarity with the command line would fail with this distribution. For example, if you only need open-source software, NixOS could be a viable option. If, however, you need apps like Chrome, Slack, and Spotify, you might run into some frustration that will send you packing back to Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or Windows.With that said, let’s get to what makes this distribution great.  More

ZDNETDecades ago, if you wanted information on anything, you would go to the library and open a book. That changed with the emergence of the web and search engines, where now all you have to do is type in a search query and get all the information you could ever want.As if that wasn’t easy enough, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to make information gathering even more hands-off.Earlier this month, Microsoft launched Copilot Vision, an experience in which Copilot can view and understand the context of what you’re doing online to provide verbal real-time assistance. The idea is that when you need feedback or advice while browsing, you can tap into a live assistant for help.Also: 3 lucrative side hustles you can start right now with OpenAI’s Sora video generatorThe experience lives in Microsoft Edge and is available in preview for a select group of Copilot Pro subscribers with the $20-per-month subscription through Copilot Labs More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETAfter a year of rumors and speculation, Apple’s M4 processor came to the MacBook Pro laptop line this fall. The new lineup improves upon the already powerful M3 Pro and M3 Max with even faster performance, a more efficient battery, and a new Thunderbolt 5 port for blazing-fast data transfer speeds. Also: The 10 best gifts for Mac fans on your nice listOne of the best things about the new M4 MacBook Pro is that it starts at the same price as last year’s M3, making it that much easier to consider. But with the holiday shopping season near its end, we’re seeing some deals, namely this one at Amazon offering the MacBook Pro M4 for $1,699 More

ZDNETRemember Twitter’s blue checkmark? For a while, having one attached to your Twitter handle signified that you were notable or famous in some way. Twitter granted them sparingly.Then, as Twitter became X, the checkmarks became something of a profit center. You could pay a fee to Xitter to add a checkmark to your identity, which would verify that the account did belong to you. The checkmark effectively became an identity verification tool, although there were some scammers out there who bought verification checkmarks to impersonate real people.Also: 7 Bluesky settings tweaks that make the popular X alternative even betterBluesky, the most recent popular Twitter alternative entrant, also offers identity verification, and the way the upstart social network is doing verification appears to have some legs — sort of.What Bluesky is doing is tying your existing domain to your Bluesky handle. I’ll use mine as an example. Right now (at the beginning of this article, before I do the upcoming hands-on demonstration), my Bluesky handle is @davidgewirtz.bsky.social. It’s okay, but it’s not nearly as snappy as @davidgewirtz.com. More