Eliana Willis

Kerry Wan/ZDNETOnePlus just made a business decision that took a lot of courage. At least that’s how its CEO, Pete Lau, framed it in his Monday community post. After years and years of fielding a physical alert slider on its phones, the company is moving away in favor of a customizable function key, similar in behavior to the iPhone’s Action Button.Also: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. OnePlus 13: I compared the best Android phones, and it was very closeThe change is in response to a recent demand for more customizability in smartphones, particularly regarding the alert slider, which could only toggle between sound modes (silent, vibrate, and sound). Lau said that this left OnePlus with two choices: “Leave it as it was or evolve it into something even more powerful.”The result is a smart button that adapts to the user’s needs, whether adjusting specific settings, firing up apps at will, or remaining as the good old mute switch. The latter is non-negotiable, says Lau, as users still prefer OnePlus devices for the burdenless capability.  More

ZDNETDebian is unofficially called “The mother of all distributions.” This is partly because Ubuntu is based on Debian and so many distributions are based on Ubuntu. For example, Ubuntu Budgie is based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian. But just because Ubuntu is based on Debian, it doesn’t mean the two are identical. They aren’t. In some cases, the differences are obvious; but there are subtle differences you might not know about. Also: I’ve used Linux for 30 years. Here are 5 reasons why I’ll never switch to Windows or MacOSLet’s examine the key differences that separate the mother of all distributions from her most important child. Understanding these differences can also help you determine which distro is right for you and your needs.1. Development philosophyDebian is community-driven and focuses on stability, reliability, and the principles of open-source. Debian ships with all open-source software and has a much slower release cycle.Ubuntu is developed by Canonical and focuses on user-friendliness and accessibility. Ubuntu supports both open-source and proprietary software and is updated more frequently. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Levoit Sprout smart air purifier is available for $280. This smart and efficient device is informative, accurate, and visually appealing to clean the air in kids’ rooms, who are a vulnerable population. The Sprout smart air purifier is a little expensive, but it pays off with insight into your kids’ […] More

Getty Images/Yaroslav Kushta With the rise of generative AI, synthetic images and text have become common knowledge — but are you familiar with synthetic data? As the name implies, the term refers to data that is artificially generated and used to replace real data. It is used to create solutions for healthcare, finance, the automotive […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Cuktech 30 is a compact yet powerful power bank that can output a maximum of 300W. It can recharge in under 2.5 hours thanks to 140W USB-C charging At 40,000mAh/144Wh, it’s too big to take on an airplane. –> Power banks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small […] More

ma_rish/Getty Images AI is permeating nearly every industry, and, as a result, it is a powerful skill for working professionals or those soon entering the workforce to master. To help more people learn AI skills and technologies, Nvidia established the Deep Learning Institute University Ambassador Program, which equips educators with resources to teach state-of-the-art AI […] More

Maria Diaz/ZDNETSince I discovered that Amazon had plans to (and now has) discontinued the ability to download Kindle files to your computer, I’ve been writing a lot about the Kindle ecosystem.I talked about how to sideload ebook files onto your Kindle, how to convert formats so the Kindle can read them, where to get free ebooks, and even how to get deals so you can upgrade an old Kindle and save some cash.Also: Want free ebooks? These 10 sites offer thousands of optionsBut readers keep asking me one question, and I have yet to answer it: Is it still okay to buy a Kindle?Some readers and commenters assert the answer is a hard no. Amazon controls its ecosystem, and supporting a service that can change the rules at any time means you no longer control your book collection.Other readers are less hard-line. They simply want to know if the Kindle experience is worthwhile and whether the new file lock-in should lock them out of buying a Kindle. After all, there are other options, including Kobo and Boox.In addition to our stack of Kindles, first purchased back in 2008, my wife and I have a Kobo Libra Colour More