<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is available for $200. I’ve been testing the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which features the fastest performance yet and up to 12 weeks of battery life; alternatively, the 16 GB Kindle Paperwhite is available for $160. Remember that Amazon’s promise of up to 12 weeks of […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Puts you in the pilot’s seat, with a wide field of view. Great battery life that plays well with most DJI drones. Can sometimes be disorientating, especially if you’re new. –> I’ve been flying drones for a couple of decades, and for most of that time, I’ve been looking at a […] More
Jackie Niam/Getty Images Generative AI (Gen AI) has advanced significantly since its public launch two years ago. The technology has led to transformative applications that can create text, images, and other media with impressive accuracy and creativity. Also: We have an official open-source AI definition now Open-source generative models are valuable for developers, researchers, and organizations […] More
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNETWant to keep on top of Tuesday’s ongoing election results without constantly checking news and social media sites? Apple has one solution — at least for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users.Starting late Tuesday, Apple News will display the election results with real-time updates on the Home Screen and Lock Screen of your device. iPhone owners will be able to view the results through the Live Activity feature in which information appears in the Dynamic Island area at the top.Also: Perplexity AI offers election results tracker and voter resource – try it hereTo activate this, just open Apple News on your device. Look for a heading under Top Stories or Special Coverage that says: “Follow the election live.” Tap the small clock icon next to that, and a message pops up telling you that you’ve scheduled Live Activity. When the event starts, you’ll then get real-time updates on your Home Screen and Lock Screen.The message doesn’t reveal the specific time that the results will start other than saying tonight. But when TV networks, news sites, and other sources begin to reveal the preliminary results, that’s likely when Apple’s coverage will kick in as well. More
Jason Hiner/ZDNETThe big ticket item for MacOS 15.1 is Apple Intelligence but I’m not interested in using AI. Even so, I did want to see what the fuss was all about but quickly discovered that, even with the 15.1 update on my MacBook Pro M1, I had to get on the Apple Intelligence waiting list before it would become available. The wait wasn’t long (maybe 24 hours), and I had Apple’s version of AI enabled.Also: How to track US election results on your iPhone, iPad or Apple WatchWith a shrug, I moved on from that to see what else MacOS 15.1 had to offer. If you’re an Android user like me, you’ll also miss out on the new iPhone mirroring drag-and-drop support (which would be really cool to have for Android as well, but I’m not holding my breath).So, what’s left to warrant the update if AI’s not your thing and you don’t use an iPhone? Here are my three favorite upgrades.1. Apple Mail summariesOkay, I’m not a big fan of taking shortcuts. Some might even say of me that if there’s a more challenging way of doing things, that’s how I’m going to do them. That being said, I am a fan of efficiency, and sometimes, I simply don’t have time to read those emails that tend to be long enough for short story consideration.Also: The 4 best MacOS text editors (and why you should be using one)For that, Apple Intelligence added a handy feature to Apple Mail: email summaries. When you open one of those lengthier emails and want a quick summary, click the Summarize button at the top right corner of the Mail window, and Apple Intelligence will work its magic. Depending on how the email was created (and if its content is more than just text), you might get a warning that Apple Intelligence wasn’t designed to summarize such content, and the results could be inaccurate. That’s an important warning to keep in mind. More
Jack Wallen/ZDNETIf you follow the Android Security Bulletin, then you might have noticed a listing for the November security patch level that includes two critical vulnerabilities, which are:CVE-2024-43047CVE-2024-43093According to the bulletin, “There are indications that the following may be under limited, targeted exploitation.”Also: An anti-theft upgrade is coming to Android phones. Here’s how to see if you have it yetThe first of those vulnerabilities, CVE-2024-43047, is described as “memory corruption while maintaining memory maps of HLOS memory.” CVE-2024-43047 affects the Qualcomm Digital Signal Processor (DSP) service, which impacts several Qualcomm chipsets and can lead to memory corruption and enable attackers to escalate privileges and compromise affected devices. Qualcomm issued a patch for this vulnerability back in October, and it has been included in the November Android Security Update to provide wider distribution and remediation.The second CVE issue is 2024-43093, which is an escalation of privilege vulnerability that affects Android’s framework component in versions 12, 13, 14, and 15 and can lead to exposing a significant portion of Android to attack. More
Moor Studio/Getty Images Microsoft is getting ready to expand the reach of its Copilot feature set, bringing its AI capabilities to Office apps for anyone currently subscribed to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. Today, those features are only available with an extremely pricey Copilot Pro subscription. For Personal and Family subscribers, the upgrade costs an […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Dreame L40 Ultra is a high-end robot vacuum and mop available on Amazon for $1,500, though you can get it for $1,300 with a $200 on-page coupon This Dreame robot vacuum doesn’t disappoint in performance It has strong suction power, thorough cleaning capabilities, extendable side brush and mop pad to […] More
