Robotics

Yana Iskayeva/Getty Images I’ve been a network administrator and work from home, so I should have known better. But there I was — working my rump off on deadline — when my AT&T Internet Fiber connection went down. That was the end of my work for the day. The next day, it was back on […] More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETI love March Madness, at least when my team is invited to the Big Dance. I even enjoy watching other teams play their hearts out like everything is on the line — because it is. While NCAA basketball continues to be broadcast in standard HD, the games can look clear, bright, and beautiful on most modern TVs. Part of that appeal, though, is owed to your TV’s motion-smoothing capabilities. Also: How to watch March Madness 2025: The best streaming optionsFor many people, motion smoothing is only appropriate for gaming and watching live sports; enthusiasts typically prefer turning off the feature to watch anything else because it can detract from the filmmaker’s original intent, making on-screen images seem artificial or hyper-realistic. This is what’s called the “soap opera effect.” It’s a perfectly descriptive metaphor that probably requires no explanation. You can see it all too well: the cinematic film should not look like a daytime soap; you shouldn’t feel like you’re on the set with the actors. But it is appealing to feel like you’re in the stadium watching your team with thousands of fans. The soap opera effect makes sense for live sporting event broadcasts. More

ZDNETWas your Chromecast device having issues? You’re not alone. Google has rolled out a fix, but you may have to take an extra step if you reset your device while attempting to fix the problem. Second-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices were facing a problem that prevented them from casting content. If you tried to use an affected device, you saw one of two errors — either, “Untrusted device: [name] couldn’t be verified. This could be caused by outdated device firmware,” or “We couldn’t authenticate your Chromecast.” Also: Your Android phone just got a major audio upgrade for freeBoth error messages linked to separate Google support pages, but those pages didn’t address this issue. The only other option was to close the dialogue box. Older Chromecast devices affected The issue seemed limited to older Chromecast devices, as no third-generation or Chromecast Ultra users reported the problem. Frustration mounted on Reddit, where users have reportedly tried a number of fixes, including restarting the device, reinstalling Google Home, removing the device from Google Home and adding it again, restoring the device to factory settings, clearing cache data, and changing networks, but nothing works. Also: Is your live TV streaming service still worth it? I review the options for every budget More

Adam Breeden/ZDNET When is Amazon’s Spring Sale 2025?  My early estimations placed the spring sale returning on Wednesday, March 26 and ending March, 31. Amazon confirmed its second annual Big Spring Sale event on March 18, and publicly unveiled that the sale will begin on Tuesday, March 25 and end on Monday, March 31.  Also: […] More

Adam Breeden/ZDNETToday, Amazon confirmed the return of its annual Big Spring Sale, and it starts next week. After a Devices and Services event last month, at which the company unveiled new Alexa upgrades and teased Alexa+ companion devices on the horizon soon, the retail giant is finally looking to get back to its roots: e-commerce.  Also: Here’s how to use Alexa+ for free – especially if you’re an Amazon Prime memberUp until now, Amazon had not officially confirmed a spring sale for 2025, nor had the brand publicized specific sale dates or verbiage. However, my research pointed toward a second Big Spring Sale on the horizon thanks to internal announcements More

ZDNETEven if you’re not online often and are cautious about your personal information, there’s a good chance you have a digital footprint that exposes your data. At best, nefarious actors can use this data to bombard your phone and email with spam. At worst, they can use it to scam you and steal money.Also: 9 ways to delete yourself from the internetThat’s why it’s important to keep an eye on how much of your information has been exposed online. A new, free tool from ExpressVPN More

Adam Breeden/ZDNETIt’s time to add to your cart because Amazon announced More

ZDNETGoogle’s annual health event, “The Check Up,” just wrapped, and like most areas these days, a healthy injection of AI is on the way. At the event, Google shared how it’s using AI to improve medicine for physicians, researchers, and ordinary people.Also: Google’s AI co-scientist is ‘test-time scaling’ on steroids. What that means for researchSeveral of Google’s initiatives are directly for doctors and medical scientists, such as an AI-powered co-researcher that helps develop hypotheses, an AI model that helps drug developers understand how safe or efficient a new medicine might be (hopefully giving in-development drugs an easier path to clearance), and a Gemini model that helps physicians create more personalized cancer treatment options. A few of them, though, are more focused on consumers. Also: This AI tool studied medical journals to answer your health queriesHow Google is using AI to improve your healthHere’s a look at three big ways Google is using AI to help you gain a better understanding of your overall health.1. More credible health advice in Google Search We’ve all heard the advice, “Never Google your symptoms.” Google is trying to change that mindset by offering more helpful health results in Search and in AI Overviews. Also: What if AI ran ER triage? Here’s how it sped up patient care in real-world testsGoogle says it’s improving AI Overviews on health topics to help users find “credible and relevant information about health, from common illnesses to rare conditions.” It’s also providing knowledge panels on common conditions like the flu or the cold and introducing a new feature labeled “What People Suggest.” Using AI, Google says it’s organizing different online discussions into easy-to-understand themes, giving you an overview of what people with similar conditions are saying. More