Christian Grosso Photography/Getty Images In my many years of using Linux, I’ve worked with just about every desktop environment ever created for the open-source platform. Some of those desktops are highly customizable, while others are less feature-rich and locked down. For some users, too much flexibility could be a bad thing. Imagine someone new to […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Dell’s Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 varies significantly depending on the configuration, but the Intel Core Ultra 7, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB, 1TB configuration is on sale for $1,199. It’s an incredibly well-rounded laptop that can swap between tasks with ease, and comes with a handful of different configurations to match […] More
Maria Diaz/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeaways The Fire HD 10 Kids Pro More
Kerry Wan/ZDNETOn the rare occasion I need to join a Zoom meeting, I must be in my office because my MacBook Pro M1 webcam doesn’t always cut it. However, thanks to a handy app, I can use my Pixel 9 Pro’s webcam, which is far better and more flexible than the built-in camera.Believe it or not, it’s ridiculously easy to do this. In fact, the feature is built right into the latest releases of Android.Also: I changed 12 settings on my Android phone to dramatically improve battery lifeBut why would you want to do this? Well, as I mentioned earlier, your laptop webcam may not be good enough for your Zoom meetings. This is especially true when you’re sitting in a room with insufficient light. Another reason is that using your phone as a webcam makes it possible to get better angles. You’ve probably found yourself setting your laptop on books or various objects to get just the right angle for that meeting, and it often either doesn’t work or requires serious stacking skills. With your phone, you can attach it to a stand, hold it, or do whatever you need. That kind of flexibility will help you get just the right look in your meetings. But how do you make this work? As I said, it’s so easy. How to use your Android phone as a webcam What you’ll need: You’ll need a phone with an updated version of Android — I’ll demonstrate on a Pixel 9 Pro with Android 15 — a PC or laptop to join your meeting, and a USB cable capable of high transfer speeds. If you purchased a Pixel phone, the included cable should work fine. If not, try your other cables to see which one works. More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Suunto Run is available now for $249 This new sports watch is very light at 36 grams with the strap, lasts for a week, has a bright AMOLED display, and provides accurate location tracking SuuntoPlus apps are not supported and music storage doesn’t support subscription services. –> I was reintroduced […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Platin Monaco 5.2.1 speaker system is available on Amazon for $1,000. With a simple setup and well-defined sound, the Monaco is ideal for entertainment streaming and small spaces. The Monaco’s subwoofer lacks power, and the system requires a phone app as the remote. –> Last year, the JBL Bar 1000 […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Lenovo Tab Plus retails for $330. Contrary to its small size, the model houses a booming eight-speaker system and a long-lasting battery. The MediaTek Helio chipset and dim display won’t be winning any awards. more buying choices Over at Lenovo’s online store, the Lenovo Tab Plus–> received a huge 32% discount. […] More
David Gewirtz / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETLast week, OpenAI quietly dropped a programming bombshell post on X/Twitter. It turns out you can now connect GitHub repos to Deep Research in ChatGPT. What makes this particularly interesting is that you can put ChatGPT Deep Research to work scanning that repo for all sorts of yummy nuggets of information. GitHub is an online resource owned by Microsoft that holds an enormous number of programming projects, both open source and proprietary. It’s used by teams to coordinate and track development. A GitHub repo is a repository for a given project. What Deep Research can now do is dig through the full source code for an entire software project and provide value. Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (including two new top picks – and what not to use)Look, I have to come clean before we go on any further. I’ve tried this thing out. It can effectively produce an internal code review. This is very cool. I am seriously chuffed by what we can get this beastie to do for us. AIs creep me out, so why do I want to hug this one? My editor says, “That’s all part of their plan.” Seriously, this is some powerful mojo. Most of my biggest programming projects have been based on code acquisitions from other programmers. Digging through their code and deciphering what the living heck they were thinking throughout the code can be an excruciatingly time-consuming process. It’s not just about a line-for-line what-does-this-code-do sort of thing. It’s about how the project is architected. What are the various modules, and how do they interact? Where are their strengths, and where are their potent gotchas? What makes the UI function? What needs to be done to add functionality, remove functionality, or replace functionality? Also: How I used this AI tool to build an app with just one prompt – and you can tooDeep Research can now do this with GitHub repos. It is almost totally sweet. Almost is because of the restrictions. Let’s cover those first, before I show you the hoops I made this thing jump through. According to ChatGPT 4o, here are the limits for each of the subscription tiers. More
