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<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera is a practical, battery-powered solution for darker areas around your house that lack wiring and outlets. The AA batteries allow the floodlights to beam at 700 nits of brightness, which is not the most powerful on the market but good enough to see your surroundings. […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Audio-Technica Sound Burger retails for $199 and comes in yellow, black, or white. The Sound Burger has unparalleled portability, a long battery life, and provides a novel listening experience. It doesn’t have a counterweight, and also doesn’t have an auto-return feature. –> Technology is all about embracing the now. So, […] More
Tiernan Ray / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETGoogle this week made available the latest iteration of its Veo video-generation tool to users of its Gemini artificial intelligence program who have a “Pro” or “Ultra” account.Also: I used Google’s Flow AI to create my own videos with sound and dialogue – Here’s how it wentVeo has been available in preview for some time now. What’s new with the latest implementation is the ability to begin your video by uploading a still image to serve as the initial frame. (ZDNET’s Prakhar Khanna has reported his experience using the capability as a built-in feature of his Honor 400 phone, versus using it through the website as I did.) How to use Veo to generate videos from photosYou give the system a prompt, press enter, and Veo creates an eight-second video using your uploaded photo as a reference point from which to build the first frame of video. Veo adds sound, including music, footsteps, and other incidentals. Videos take several minutes at a time to develop. Also: This interactive AI video generator feels like walking into a video game – how to try itIn my testing so far, I find Veo’s implementation both fascinating and a bit creepy. My results with Veo’s photo-to-video featureI tried several still images I had taken, including a selfie and some street photography. Seeing one’s pictures come to life, if you will, is jarring. It is disconcerting how well it works, and, as the photographer, it’s disconcerting how the result contrasts with one’s memory of the event.Also: This new AI video editor is an all-in-one production service for filmmakers – how to try itThe good aspects are the quality of the video, which is in keeping with the photographic image. Things such as perspective of a scene are generally well maintained, and moving objects in the background are, in some cases, well-orchestrated to be consistent.1. Jogger running along the promenadeHere, for example, is a photo I took of a jogger on the East River promenade in Manhattan. I gave Veo the prompt, “Please make a video in which the jogger continues to run into the distance along the promenade.”Below is the original still image followed by the Veo video. More
Jack Wallen / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETIt was October 2004, and I’d been using Red Hat Linux (way before it became Fedora) for years. I was fairly certain that would be my distribution until the world ended. I’d become comfortable with Red Hat. Sure, it had its quirks and was sometimes a bit more difficult than it needed to be (remember, it was over 20 years ago), but it was stable and I’d grown to know it well.But then a new distribution arrived on the scene… Ubuntu. Oddly enough, the first version to hit the market was 4.10, aka “Warty Warthog.” I’d not heard much about Ubuntu, but my curiosity was piqued, so I decided I would install it over Red Hat and see what was what. Since that moment, I’ve pretty much stuck with Ubuntu-based distributions for more than 20 years. Also: The easiest way to try out Ubuntu LinuxIn fact, other than testing, I can’t remember the last distribution I used that wasn’t based on Ubuntu. What makes Ubuntu so special that I’ve refused to even consider switching to another distro with a different base? Let me tell you.1. Reliable updatesOver the two decades I’ve been using Ubuntu-based distributions, I believe I’ve only experienced one issue where an update wasn’t successful, and the only reason that happened was because the OS I was updating had been dramatically customized to the point it was almost unrecognizable. With that upgrade, I did wind up having to scrap it and do a fresh installation, but again, that was one instance over a span of 21 years. Not a bad track record. Also: While Windows 10 users panic, Ubuntu makes extending support easy – here’s howOther than that, every upgrade I’ve executed on an Ubuntu-based distribution went off without a hitch. With Ubuntu (and Ubuntu-based distributions), I never hesitate to run upgrades (minor or major) because I know they’ll work. With that in mind, why would I ever want to switch to a different base? It’s that much of a no-brainer. 2. Ease of installation Ubuntu has, for a very long time, offered the best installation experience of all Linux distributions. This is especially true with the latest version of the installer. Not only is the latest installer incredibly simple to use, but it’s also one of the most elegantly designed. Many Linux installers still look as if they were designed in the early 2000s. Also: 5 of the easiest, quickest Linux distros to install – and I’ve tried them alSome might say that the look of the installer shouldn’t matter, but I disagree. The installer app is the first thing new users experience, and it should be something that not only makes them feel comfortable but also gives them the impression that Linux is just as modern as macOS and/or Windows. And, similar to the upgrades, I’ve never experienced an Ubuntu installation go sideways. 3. Hardware support Ubuntu (and Ubuntu-based distributions) has some of the best hardware support available. I can plug almost anything in, and it will be automatically recognized. Hardware support has become one of the big selling points for Ubuntu, and I’ve personally rarely experienced a situation where the distribution couldn’t recognize a peripheral or internal device. Yes, there have been instances where I’ve had to locate a driver for something, but the good thing about using Ubuntu is that, if a company has created a Linux driver for a device, you can be certain they’ve created one for Ubuntu. In fact, I’ve experienced some situations where Ubuntu was the only distribution a company developed for. Also: I’m a Linux power user, and the latest Ubuntu update put a smile on my faceI will say this: Fedora is a more cutting-edge distribution, which means it often gains support for newer hardware faster than Ubuntu, but the advantage it has over Ubuntu-based distributions is slim. 4. Software availability Similar to hardware support, I’ve run into situations where companies have developed ports of their software, but only for Ubuntu. Beyond that, Ubuntu has some of the largest software repositories of any distribution. On top of that, you get Snap out of the box (at least with some Ubuntu-based distributions), which means you have even more software available to install. Add Flatpak and AppImages, and the amount of software you can install is staggering. Also: The best Linux distributions for beginners: Expert tested and reviewedThat’s not to say that Ubuntu has more software than any other distribution. It would be next to impossible to calculate that because there are so many repositories (official and unofficial) for nearly every distribution available. But Ubuntu-based distributions get the edge because when third-party companies develop for Linux, you know they’ll release a version of their software for Ubuntu. More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Sonos Era 100 is a $249 smart speaker that I recommend to most people, audiophile or not. In addition to a full, booming sound, the Sonos speaker produces crystal-clear vocals that enhance any song and has hands-free Alexa for voice control. Since the Era 100 is built for smaller spaces, […] More
<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Anker Nano 10,000mAh 30W power bank is available for $49 on Amazon. This is one of the most intuitive power banks I’ve tested, from the built-in display to the onboard USB-C cable that doubles as a carrying strap. I wish it supported wireless charging, too. –> Have you ever been […] More
Why does my iPhone alarm not go off and stays silent sometimes?Your guess is as good as mine. If I were to hypothesize, most alarm failures stem from software bugs, misconfigured sound settings, conflicting Focus modes, or interference from the Attention Aware feature on Face ID models. Have other users noticed their iPhone alarms failing?Oh yes. A quick check on Twitter/X, Reddit, Apple Support, and TikTok shows many users complaining about their iPhone alarms suddenly not going off — to the point where they’ve slept in, missed morning meetings, and gotten in trouble at their jobs. What are the top alarm clock alternative apps to try on iPhone?Popular choices include Alarmy More
Getty Images/Yuichiro Chino There have been AI solutions galore for coding, writing, and mathematics, but a technical domain equally as challenging that could use AI assistance, yet is often overlooked, is finance — until now. On Tuesday, Anthropic launched the Financial Analysis Solution, which instantly pulls financial data from different data providers, both market feeds […] More
