Robotics

You can’t often control the flow of digital information, which can lead to your data being exposed online. Although you can and should lock down your individual accounts, sometimes you may feel compelled to take an extra step to improve your online security and privacy. By overhauling the online services you use and deleting anything you no longer want, you can take the first step in reducing your digital footprint.Also: How to delete yourself from internet search results and hide your identity onlineOld shopping accounts and social media profiles, mailing list subscriptions, and legacy online service accounts can clutter your email inboxes and, over time, become annoying or embarrassing. Those with ill intentions may link them together, increasing your risk of identity theft. Furthermore, they may try infiltrating one of these old accounts to impersonate you.However, overhauls can only go so far. Organizations that hold on to your data without cause may also need to be compelled to delete it. Rather than trying to track the details of each service online that holds onto your data, dedicated services shoulder this task for you. What’s the best service for deleting yourself from the internet right now?Based on our extensive research, ZDNET’s top pick for a service for deleting yourself from the internet is Incogni More

ZDNETOpenAI released its o3-mini model exactly one week ago, offering both free and paid users a more accurate, faster, and cheaper alternative to o1-mini. Now, OpenAI has updated the o3-mini to include an “updated chain of thought,” and here’s why it matters.The updateOpenAI announced via an X post that free and paid users would now be able to view the reasoning process the o3-mini goes through before arriving at a conclusion. For example, in the post, a user asked, “How is today not a Friday?” and under the dropdown showing how long it took, the model delineated every step in its chain of thought that allowed it to land on its answer. Understanding how the model arrived at the conclusion is helpful because it not only helps users verify the accuracy of the conclusion, but it also teaches users how they could have arrived at that answer themselves. This is particularly useful for math or coding prompts, in which seeing the steps could allow you to recreate them the next time you encounter a similar problem. Also: OpenAI launches new o3-mini model – here’s how free ChatGPT users can try itPaid ChatGPT subscribers will also be able to see the updated chain of thought in o3-mini in the “high reasoning” effort. As the name implies, “high reasoning” just allows the model to apply more compute power for more advanced questions that require higher reasoning. More

Amazon/ZDNETAmazon recently announced a new lineup of Kindles, including a new Kindle Paperwhite More

Artie Beaty/ZDNETGemini Flash 2.0 just debuted last week, but it’s already getting an upgrade — the ability to watch YouTube for you.If you use YouTube as a resource for cooking, home repairs, crafting, or research, you know how frustrating it can be when it takes someone forever to get to the point. That may soon be a thing of the past because Gemini Flash 2.0 can now watch a YouTube video, extract the important parts, and even answer your follow-up questions. Also: Google Gemini’s lock screen update is a game-changer for my phoneGemini already had the ability to simply summarize videos, but this new application goes deeper.How it worksTo analyze a YouTube video with Gemini, just paste the video’s link into Gemini.You can ask specific questions, like a list of ingredients for a recipe or a list of supplies for a DIY craft, ask for a general summary or key idea, or get a transcript of what the speaker is saying.Gemini will pull from both the video itself and the video description.Also: Google’s latest Gemini drop includes Pro access and Flash-Lite – here’s what’s new More

Dyson/ZDNETIf you’re constantly on the hunt for a low-heat, high-reward hairstyling tool, you probably know that the Dyson Airwrap More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETNot too long ago, there was an entry-level, low-cost iPhone model ideal for people who didn’t need all of the bells and whistles but still wanted to be part of the Apple ecosystem — the iPhone SE. After a two-year hiatus, a new model may be around the corner.Also: Can rebooting your iPhone really make it run faster? I tried it every day to find outOn Thursday, Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman reported that Apple expects to announce the device as early as next week, with it hitting the market a month later, according to sources familiar with the matter. However, unlike its dated predecessor, the iPhone SE 4 will feature many of the latest tech and aesthetics.The upgradesThe last iPhone SE 3, released in 2022, is a relic of the past with a home button and rounded edges. Leaked images of the new iPhone SE reveal that it will look similar to the iPhone 14, with a USB-C port at the bottom, no Home button, and a simple notch instead of the Dynamic Island that we are now used to.Also: You can get 6 months of Apple Music for $3 right now – here’s howMost importantly, the new iPhone SE will reportedly support Apple Intelligence with the inclusion of an A18 chipset, the same silicon found in the iPhone 16 lineup. This should allow even entry-level users to experience the same AI assistance as the rest of the lineup, including Genmoji, Writing Tools, Notification summaries, Image Playground, and more. More

ZDNETMicrosoft and its users still can’t seem to catch a break with updates to Windows 11 24H2. Since its official debut last October, the 2024 version has been saddled with problems. But each new update designed to fix a bunch of bugs ends up introducing even more of them.Also: Windows 11 24H2’s wild ride: Some fixes are in but other bugs still lingerThe latest issue centers around the Windows 11 24H2 preview update released on Jan. 28. Known as KB5050094, this one was supposed to be a major bug buster,  addressing both new and old glitches. The update did succeed in that regard, fixing issues with USB headphones and webcams, DAC audio, Bluetooth devices, game playing with AutoHDR, and disappearing mouse cursors.The latest bugsBut, as is sometimes the case, the update introduced a new series of glitches, according to user complaints as spotted by Windows Latest.   The latest bugs affect the cursor, File Explorer, audio devices, the virtual machine tool Hyper-V, and a variety of other features.Several users who installed KB5050094 say the cursor sometimes continues to load. In its testing, Windows Latest found that the cursor’s spinning circle appears every 30 seconds or so, making it seem as if Windows is trying to load something. The Jan. 28 update was also supposed to squash a bug in which the cursor would vanish when you tried to edit a text field. But this glitch seems to have survived and even gotten worse.Another problem reported by people who installed KB5050094 affects File Explorer. In this case, File Explorer sometimes freezes or fails to respond. One person who chimed in on Microsoft’s Feedback Hub said they could no longer use Windows Explorer on their desktop or laptop.Also: The Windows January updates are a mess – here’s why you should wait to installOther issues have popped up, according to Windows Latest. Some people say that audio devices disappear when they use apps like Kodi, which is an open-source media player. In a few cases, Windows gets stuck in a loop trying to install the same update over and over again. Hyper-V may stop working during a Remote Desktop Session. In some rare instances, the PC’s idle RAM use and CPU and GPU temperatures will rise.Other potential problemsSearching Microsoft’s Feedback Hub for KB5050094 uncovers a host of other potential problems. One person says that apps can become unresponsive and that manually shutting them down renders them unusable unless the PC is rebooted. Another person reports that after coming out of sleep mode, the computer freezes and has to be restarted.Yet another person documented a host of glitches.”Installing Windows 11 24H2 preview update KB5050094, build 26100.3037 makes my computer unusable,” the person wrote in the Feedback Hub. “File Explorer fails to open when clicking on the Explorer button on taskbar or even from the Run command or command prompt. Any Save As / Open / Browse dialogs also fail to open. Performance, especially at login, is terrible; it takes minutes just to log in to the desktop after entering my password. Various desktop apps and programs tend to become unresponsive for minutes at a time and then become responsive. I had the same exact experience on 2 additional PCs with Windows 11 24H2 with this preview update installed. Uninstalling this update makes Windows behave normally again. This update needs major improvements before being released in final form.”Also: How to clear the cache on your Windows 11 PC (and why it makes such a big difference)I applied the KB5050094 update to one of my Windows 11 PCs last week. I haven’t had a chance to fully put it through its paces, but I can confirm at least one glitch. Logging in to Windows now takes much longer than it did before the update. After entering the password, PIN, or scanning my fingerprint, I have to wait at least 15-20 seconds before the desktop appears — a good three to four times longer than it used to take. More

Uma Shankar sharma/Getty Images If you feel like an imposter at work, you’re not alone. MIT Sloan reports that a nagging sensation of not being smart enough plagues even the most influential employees. Business leaders have told us the same thing — it’s common to feel like a fraud, and you shouldn’t feel as if you’re the only […] More