Robotics

Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET’s takeawaysGoogle adds new features to give you more ways to pay online.See reward details for 100+ cards to find your best option.More “buy now, pay later” options, including Affirm and more.The next time you check out online with Chrome or Google Wallet, you might notice things look a little different. Google has announced several upgrades, each one designed to give you more flexibility and convenience when you shop online.1. Support for more ‘buy now, pay later’ servicesGoogle Pay is expanding popular pay-over-time options, the company says, letting you choose to use services like Affirm and Zip through Chrome in a few clicks. Google adds that support for Klarna, Afterpay, and other services is coming soon. 2. More credit card reward infoUtilized properly, credit card rewards can be a great way to save money. You’ll now see reward details for more than 100 cards automatically in autofill on Chrome when you check out, helping you decide which card gets you the best deal. 3. Easier international transfersGoogle is also helping make international money transfers a little easier by showing straightforward exchange rates and transfer fees for popular services like Ria, Xe, and Wise in Google Wallet. In addition, you can use these services in Wallet to send money from the US to India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines (Google says that more countries are on the way). Also: 5 great Chrome browser alternatives that put your privacy firstYou’ll soon be able to access this feature through Wallet online by searching for any currency exchange rate. More

Nina Raemont/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeaways Oura launched features for pregnant and perimenopausal users on Tuesday. The science-backed features provide further context during periods of drastic biological change. The features are personalized, and the brand stressed data protection and privacy. Pregnant and perimenopausal women are getting more ways to track and understand their health, thanks to several new features Oura announced on Tuesday. The smart ring brand launched a redesigned Pregnancy Insights experience on the app alongside Perimenopause Check-In, available within the Cycle Insights tab. The new features provide clarity and further context during two periods of drastic biological change in a person’s body and illuminate the normalities and abnormalities of each.  More

AOL / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways Generation X says goodbye to the past.Old technology can linger long after you thought it was dead and done.AOL, once a technology giant, is now little more than a footnote.For millions of people who first heard “You’ve got mail” over crackling phone lines, an iconic chapter in digital history is coming to a close. AOL, also known as America Online, has announced it will shut down its dial-up internet service on Sept. 30, 2025, effectively retiring a technology that was once synonymous with getting online.You’ve got mailEven if you’ve never used it, AOL became synonymous with the early days of the popular internet, thanks to the rom-com “You’ve Got Mail,” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The movie was a cultural touchstone. Also: Should you upgrade to mesh? I compared it with a traditional Wi-Fi router, and here’s my adviceAOL is the last of the services, such as CompuServe, GEnie, and Prodigy, which enabled people to go online before the Commercial Internet Exchange and the web started us on our way to the online experience we know today. AOL, however, unlike its rivals, embraced the internet rather than trying to fight it. The result was that AOL’s dial-up network introduced the internet to households across the country in the 1990s. From 1995’s million users, AOL grew to over 34 million subscribers by 1997. The distinctive sounds of a modem connecting were as well-known as the company’s ubiquitous CDs, which promised hours of free internet when tossed into millions of mailboxes. Also: The best VPN services (and how to choose the right one for you)The company dreamed then that, after its merger with Time-Warner, it would be worth billions more. At the time, the integration of the firms was the largest corporate merger in the US. In January 2000, AOL was the US’s biggest Internet Service Provider (ISP) and was worth billions. In March of that year, the dot-com crash helped turn dreams into nightmares. More

JuSun/Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways AI-powered narrative attacks, or misinformation campaigns, are on the rise.  These can create real business, brand, personal, and financial harm.  Here are expert tips on how to spot and protect yourself against them.  Last month, an old friend forwarded me a video that made my stomach drop. In it, what […] More

Aleksandra Konoplia/Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways ChatGPT Codex wrote code and saved me time. It also created a serious bug, but it was able to recover. Codex is still based on the GPT-4 LLM architecture. Well, vibe coding this is not. I found the experience to be slow, cumbersome, stressful, and incomplete. But it all […] More

How do I find Instagram Map? There a couple of ways you can access Instagram Map: DM Inbox: Tap the Map icon at the top of your Direct Messages tab to launch the interactive map. Story or post: Tap the location tag in a Story or Post, and then Instagram will open the Map view for that place.Also: Best data removal services: Delete yourself from the internet Is Instagram Map’s location sharing on by default? No. You have to opt in before anyone can see your precise, last-active location in Instagram Map.  Can strangers see my real-time location? Not unless you share it. Map only shares your precise, last-active location with friends you’ve approved. You can set it to “No one.” How often does Instagram Map update my shared location? Instagram has said your location updates every time you open the app, and it disappears after 24 hours if you haven’t been active. Why am I seeing people on my Map who haven’t opted in? According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, people are seeing location-tagged posts and Reels on Map and assuming that means their live location is being tracked. “Your last reel is showing up on the map, not your current location. Your live location is not being shared, and it will never be unless you decide to share it,” Mosseri wrote on Threads.So, if you tag a location in content, it will appear on the map for 24 hours — but this does not share your precise, last-active location (which is what Mosseri calls “live location”).  If I tag a location in a post, will it show up on the Map? Yes, if your account is public, then tagged posts and Stories can appear on the Map. Can I hide certain locations or places from some people? Yes, you have the option to choose up to three places to set as hidden. When you’re at a hidden place, no one will see you on the map. You can also choose specific people to hide your location from. Open Instagram and tap the Messages icon in the top right of your feed.Tap Map at the top of your inbox. Tap the Settings icon in the top right and then Options.Add a hidden place: Tap Add, drag a pin to the map, click next, and done. You can then go back to Options, tap, “Hide from…,” and choose accounts to hide your location. More

Microsoft / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysMicrosoft Lens retires in stages, ending scans by Dec. 15, 2025.365 Copilot app offers scanning but with fewer features.Adobe Scan, PhotoScan, TurboScan are solid Lens alternatives.I often use Microsoft Lens on my iPhone to scan photos, business cards, and documents. It’s a handy and helpful app for scanning physical items. But come December, I’ll have to rely on a different program for my scanning needs. That’s because Microsoft is giving the app the heave-ho. A multi-stage retirement In a new support page, Microsoft announced that Lens will be retired starting Sept. 15. But the actual retirement will come in stages. The app will lose official support on Nov. 15, at which time it will be removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play.  Also: Microsoft rolls out GPT-5 across its Copilot suite – here’s where you’ll find itEven then, you’ll still be able to create new scans. However, that capability will go away on Dec. 15. At that point, you can continue to view and access previous scans as long as you keep the app on your device, but you’ll no longer be able to scan new items. Alternatives to try For those of us who used and liked Microsoft Lens, what can we use as an alternative come December?  There are certainly other scanning apps you can try when Microsoft Lens is gone. I’ve used Adobe Scan, Google’s PhotoScan, and TurboScan, to name a few. Though I still typically turn to Lens for my scanning, any of these other apps can handle the job. As usual, Microsoft is pointing us to AI, specifically the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. But that’s not the regular Copilot app. That’s the Copilot app you normally use with a Microsoft 365 account. Fortunately, the app and the scanning capability are accessible to anyone, even without a Microsoft 365 subscription.Also: 5 non-Google productivity apps on Android I can’t live (or work) withoutTo try this, download the Microsoft 365 Copilot app for iOS or Android. Open the app and tap the three-lined icon in the upper left. Tap Create from the menu, and then select Scan. Position the item you wish to scan and tap the shutter button.  At the preview screen, you’re able to rotate, crop, and otherwise tweak the scan. You can also retake it or delete it. When done, tap the checkmark to save the scanned image. You can store the scans locally on your mobile device or sync them with OneDrive to access them elsewhere. You can also view previous scans at the Create screen. More

ALLVISIONN / Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways If your Linux desktop freezes, don’t panic; there are ways to fix it. You can use keyboard shortcuts, virtual consoles, SSH, and other tricks. These tips can help avoid a hard reboot. I started using Linux in 1997, and since then, it’s been a rare occasion that my […] More