Eliana Willis

Kerry Wan/ZDNETMWC 2025, or the Mobile World Conference, has officially kicked off in Barcelona. It’s an annual conference where tech companies come together to showcase upcoming mobile devices.Lenovo has joined the festivities by unveiling a slew of new laptops, from lightweight machines like the convertible ThinkPad T14s to powerful workhorses such as the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition. In addition to these computers, the company showed off some very interesting prototypes.Also: Best of MWC 2025: 9 most impressive products that stole our attentionIt’s unknown if the concept hardware will ever be made into official products, but it provides interesting insight into what may be coming in the not-so-distant future. Something to keep in mind is the information in the following list could change. A few models have expected starting prices and release dates, but nothing is set in stone.1. ThinkPad T14s 2-in-1 More

simonkr/Getty Images Ongoing Trump administration cuts to government agencies risk creating new collateral damage: the future of AI research.  On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the February layoffs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) of 170 people — including several AI experts — will inevitably throttle funding for AI research. Since 1950, the NSF has awarded […] More

Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images When I was a young whippersnapper, I used to fantasize about being born in 1970. I would’ve bought all the properties in downtown Manhattan. Or if I were born in 1990, I would’ve put all my money into Bitcoin and never sold. Instead, I was busy wasting my early years being potty […] More

ZDNETIf you’re an Android user, you are familiar with Gemini, as it has replaced Google Assistant as the default.Although Gemini is a powerful and helpful tool, some worry that it invades their privacy. If you use the default settings, that concern is not too far from the truth. If you happen to share that mindset, I have five tips to help you maximize your privacy when using Gemini on your Android device.Also: How to use Gemini’s Deep Research to browse the web faster and betterFortunately, these tips aren’t challenging, so anyone can use them. Are you ready? Let’s get private. 1. Disable the Workspaces extension The second Gemini became my default assistant on Android, this was the first change I made. Why? I don’t want Google to use my work to train its LLMs. And even if Google claims they don’t currently do that, who’s to say they won’t in the future? Or maybe I just don’t want Gemini to have access to my manuscripts, scripts, and other creative works. Also: How to add Gemini access to your Chrome browserThat’s why I disabled the Workspaces extension in Gemini. By disabling this extension, Gemini cannot access my Google Drive account. To do this, open the Gemini app, tap your profile picture in the upper right corner, and tap Extensions. Near the top of that page, you’ll see the Google Workspace extension, which is enabled by default. Tap the On/Off slider until it’s in the Off position, then back out of Settings, secure in the knowledge that Gemini can no longer access your files in Drive. 2. Disable the Device Control extension If you have a smart home (with smart devices), you might want to consider disabling the Device Control extension. Doing this ensures that Gemini on your Android phone cannot “mistakenly” switch on a mic or camera with one of your smart devices. I’m not saying Google would do this, but should your phone become compromised, malicious software could access those devices via Gemini, enable the mic or camera, and spy on you. Also: Gemini’s new extension brings back your favorite Google Assistant features on AndroidAgain, I’m not saying it would happen, but it could. Because of that, I leave this extension disabled. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Oukitel WP100 Titan will be available on Amazon in mid-April for around $599. With a built-in projector, massive battery, rugged chassis, and powerful light, this phone is ideal for outdoorsy types. It’s also massive, and weighs nearly 1.5 pounds. –> I have in my hand the single heaviest phone I’ve […] More

A virtual private network and antivirus perfectly complement each other to fend off cyber threats. As the VPN provides privacy and data security online, the antivirus remains vigilant against potential offline threats that can infiltrate your system. Some providers package the two together for less, saving you the additional costs of buying them separately.In most cases, however, a VPN with antivirus may not be as effective for cleaning your system as a dedicated antivirus, just like the latter won’t do a VPN’s job any better. You should, therefore, be precise about the kind of protection you mostly want before deciding if you should get a VPN with antivirus or vice versa. That being said, my hands-on tests enabled me to shortlist some of the best VPN-antivirus combo providers to give you all-around protection.Also: The best VPN services: Expert tested and reviewedWhat’s the best VPN with antivirus right now?After looking into different services, we picked the Surfshark One security suite as the best overall. We found many utilities that might be helpful when using the software as a VPN or antivirus. Beyond the great VPN service delivery we experience in our Surfshark More

Adam Breeden/ZDNETGoogle is rolling out its March 2025 Pixel feature drop, bringing some serious upgrades to the entire Pixel family. Also: 4 Pixel phone tricks every user should know – including my favoriteMost Pixel phones are getting new scam detection, the Pixel Watch 3 is receiving a first-of-its-kind feature, there’s a new option to share your location with friends, and more. What’s new in the March 2025 Pixel feature drop?Among all the new features in this month’s drop, 10 stand out. For example, your Pixel phone is gaining a new way to protect you, and your Pixel Watch is receiving a never-before-seen feature.  Here’s what’s new.Also: This $100 Android phone reminded me of my Pixel 9 Pro in the best way1. Real-time alerts for suspicious textsFirst up: In addition to listening in on your calls for words associated with scams, your phone now monitors your text messages. With AI-powered Scam Detection on-device, Google says Messages will now flag text patterns commonly associated with scams and alert you about suspicious conversations. While the phone call version of this feature is only available on the Pixel 9, the text message version is available on the Pixel 6 and newer. 2. Share your location with trusted contactsFind My Device now lets you share your location with trusted contacts. With the same app you use to find a lost device, your friends can now see your live location on a map, no matter which device they’re using. This is coming to all Android devices. 3. Loss of pulse detectionPixel Watch 3 users are getting a first-of-its-kind, life-saving feature in the form of loss of pulse detection. If your watch detects that you’ve lost your pulse, it can automatically place a call to emergency services. This will start rolling out at the end of this month. 4. Generate images of people in Pixel StudioIf you use the Pixel 9’s Pixel Studio, which lets you generate AI images from text prompts, you’ll soon be able to generate images of people. Just describe the person or scene you want, Google says, like “3D cartoon” or “video game,” and Pixel Studio will work its magic. More