MirageC/Getty Images Have you ever wanted a complete list of all the books you bought on Amazon? Do you want to know which are physical books, which are Kindle ebooks, and which are Audible books? Do you want to slice and dice your Amazon book collection by genre, date purchased, or author? My wife did. […] More
Kerry Wan/ZDNETFor many people, motion smoothing on TVs is only appropriate for gaming and watching live sports; enthusiasts typically prefer turning off the feature to watch anything else because it can detract from the filmmaker’s original intent, making on-screen images seem artificial or hyper-realistic. This is what’s called the “soap opera effect.” Also: How to disable ACR on your TV (and why it makes such a big difference for privacy)It’s a perfectly descriptive metaphor that probably requires no explanation. You can see it all too well: the cinematic film should not look like a daytime soap; you shouldn’t feel like you’re on the set with the actors. But it is appealing to feel like you’re in the stadium watching your team with thousands of fans. The soap opera effect makes sense for live sporting event broadcasts. More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The TCL QM8 (2024) features rich colors and searing brightness. It has enhanced audio over 2023’s model, while still being easy to set up and navigate. I wish the viewing angles weren’t somewhat limited, and you’ll want to wait for a deal to buy one. more buying choices –> apr / […] More
Remember my caveman friend, Will Lord? He’s the kind of guy you’d definitely want by your side if you suddenly found yourself transported back 4,500 years to the Bronze Age. I’ve watched Will craft razor-sharp flint tools, build powerful bows, and create pinpoint-accurate arrows. He’s even cast swords and axe heads from bronze. Also: 10 passkey survival tips: The best preparation for a password-less future is to start living there nowBut even a real-life caveman enjoys a bit of electricity. Over the past few years, Will has been testing a variety of power stations for me. It’s the perfect setting for evaluation as the power stations are exposed to the elements, moved around the site, charged by solar energy, and occasionally taken back to civilization for a quick recharge from an AC outlet. They are put to work powering a wide range of devices, including lights, heaters, kettles, and power tools. Recently, I tested Anker’s new Solix F3800 More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Kindle Scribe starts at $399 for the version with 16GB of memory. It combines the familiar features of the Kindle e-reader with a bright display and a suite of premium note-taking features. The aforementioned features have a bit of a learning curve to fully take advantage of. more buying choices […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Roborock Saros 10R is available for $1,600 This new robot vacuum and mop combination navigates complex areas and quietly vacuums, with a good mopping feature that reaches along the edges to not miss a spot The Saros 10R’s mirrored dock looks great, but the water tank is relatively small, lasting […] More
Getty Images / picture alliance / Contributor The value of AI agents, systems that can carry out tasks for humans, is evident, with opportunities for productivity gains, especially for businesses. However, the performance of large language models (LLMs) can hinder the effective deployment of agents. Salesforce’s AI Research seeks to address that issue. Also: 60% of AI […] More
Kerry Wan/ZDNETDid you know that whenever you turn on your smart TV, you invite an unseen guest to watch it with you? These days, most popular TV models utilize automatic content recognition (ACR), a form of ad surveillance technology that gathers information about everything you watch and transmits it to a centralized database. Manufacturers then use your data to identify your viewing preferences, enabling them to deliver highly targeted ads.Also: I changed these 6 TV settings to drastically speed up its performance (and why they work)What’s the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, in 2022, advertisers spent an estimated $18.6 billion on smart TV ads, and those numbers are only going up.To understand how ACR works, imagine a constant, real-time Shazam-like service running in the background while your TV is on. It identifies content displayed on your screen, including programs from cable TV boxes, streaming services, or gaming consoles. ACR does this by capturing continuous screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content and advertisements. More
