Information Technology

Kerry Wan/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysThe Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 More

Don’t miss this Sam’s Club membership to save big on everything from groceries to electronics. Sam’s Club/ZDNETA Sam’s Club membership will get you discounts on groceries, clothing, electronics, and just about everything else you might need. And right now, StackSocial is offering a deal that will get you a Sam’s Club membership for $25 for the year with auto-renew — down from the usual price of $50. This deal ends after this weekend.Your Sam’s Club membership will work at nearly 600 US Sam’s Club locations. This deal is only open to new Sam’s Club members in the US, or those whose membership lapsed more than six months ago. The membership will expire one year from the activation date, and will automatically renew at the full price of $50 per year after that unless you cancel it. To cancel, you can visit SamsClub.com or a club or call 1-888-746-7726. To take advantage of this deal, you’ll redeem your unique code through the link above, and then sign up for the membership. Once you purchase your code, you must redeem it within 30 days. The limit is one membership per person, but you can buy an additional membership as a gift.I signed up for a similar deal for a Costco membership through StackSocial, and can confirm the process was easy, and I’d vouch for the deal. Don’t miss out on 50% off a Sam’s Club membership right now. Also: The best TV deals right now More

The Dreame X40 Ultra is hands-down the best two-in-one robot vacuum mop I’ve tested. One of its few downsides is that it’s priced steeply at $1,900, so you’ll need a good chunk of change to get it (or you can wait for a sale).  However, for the price, the Dreame X40 features an industry-leading 12,000Pa of suction and dusts the competition. This robot vacuum and mop is so versatile that you can set it up to drop its mop pads at the base station, go off to vacuum rugs and carpets first, and then return to pick up its mop pads and vacuum and mop the remaining hard floors — all with no intervention on your part.Review: I tested a $1,900 robot vacuum and mop for a month. Here’s why it’s worth itIt features a self-emptying dustbin, self-washing mop pads with customizable water temperature, a side-reaching sweeper brush, and an extendable mop pad to reach tight corners. The app has many settings and customizations, from thorough carpet vacuuming to AI-guided cleaning. The Dreame X40 Ultra is so smart that it can detect wet messes and automatically lift its sweeper brush to keep it from getting wet or spreading germs.Other customers love the Dreame X40 Ultra too; one remarks, “As an everyday person, my carpets are looking like that fresh vacuum look as they definitely look very clean. Had glitter everywhere, now gone. Kitchen floor… I didn’t think to take before and after, but before was a hot mess, now WOW.”We’ve also tested this robot’s predecessor, the Dreame X30 Ultra, and it’s almost as impressive as the X40, with slightly lower suction power at 8300Pa, a 180-minute run time, and Mop Extend technology.Dreame X40 Ultra specs: Price: $1,900 | Battery life: 180 mins | Base station dimensions: 13.4 x 17.9 x 23.2 inches | Suction power: 12,000Pa | Dustbin volume: 300 ml | Water tank capacity: 80 ml More

Getty Images/Andriy Onufriyenko Safety is one of the biggest worries surrounding the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence models. A seven-page complaint filed by whistleblowers and obtained by The Washington Post regarding OpenAI’s safety practices has only heightened these concerns. As a result, OpenAI is now sharing an update on its safety initiatives with the public. […] More

Weiquan Lin/Getty Images Global market players vying for a larger share of the artificial intelligence (AI) space will have to offer customers differentiated business values in key areas such as trustworthiness.  Companies will want to stand out as organizations are projected to increase their spending on AI, specifically as interest in generative AI (Gen AI) […] More

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETI have certain contacts whose messages I need to ensure I never miss. There are many ways of doing this but my go-to is to use Android’s text “bubble” feature, which creates a small, movable bubble for the conversation on my phone’s home screen. By doing this, I always know when an important contact has sent me a message and I can simply tap the bubble to open the conversation (without having to first open Messages). I only do this for very important contacts; otherwise, my display would be awash with bubbles. That’s not very efficient.Also: The best Android phones right now: Tested and reviewedThe bubbles feature has been around for some time, so your Android device should have it included with the Google Messages app. One thing to keep in mind is that bubbles is separate from Rich Communication Services (RCS), so just because you’ve enabled that feature doesn’t automatically add bubbling for conversations.With that said, let’s bubble.How to bubble a Google Messages conversationWhat you’ll need: The only things you’ll need are an Android device and a Messages conversation to bubble. That’s it. Let’s make it happen. More

Adam Breeden/ZDNETDid you know that a modern TV uses significantly less energy than a TV that’s a decade old? Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise, considering how much more power-efficient today’s display panels are. According to Perch Energy, the average power consumption of an old TV runs around $54 per year in energy costs. Because LED-backlit TVs and OLEDs consume less power than traditional LCD screens, newer models cost about $32 annually. Also: The best home battery and backup systems: Expert testedIn large part, the bigger your screen size, the more power your TV requires. But there are ways to attenuate your TV’s power consumption every time you turn it on. Here are some settings you can change to save more money on your next electricity bill. Even if it’s just tens of dollars that you’re ultimately saving, it’s still a little less money coming out of your pocket, and that’s the goal. More

Getty Images/Westend61 Despite Apple’s initial delay in entering the AI space, after Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, the company has gone all in on AI. Apple Intelligence will offer AI solutions for nearly all of Apple’s offerings, and the company is not stopping there. Rather, Apple is now moving further into AI language models.  Last Thursday, […] More