Tech

A collection of 1931 posts

Tech

Verizon offers free Samsung tablet or 43-inch TV with home internet sign-up

Verizon is offering new customers of its 1 Gig and 2 Gig home internet plans a choice of a free Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE 5G, a free 43-inch Q7F QLED TV, or a $15 monthly credit for 36 months if they sign up from now until Feb. 4, the

Tech

Five TV adjustments that can reduce your electricity bill

Kerry Wan at ZDNET says changing five TV settings can lower a household’s electricity use and help cut winter energy bills. According to Perch Energy, older TVs cost about $54 per year to run while newer LED-backlit and OLED models average about $32 annually. Wan highlights EnergyGuide labels and

Tech

GOG says Devotion delisting may have harmed its credibility five years on

Gamesradar reports that GOG has reflected on its decision to delist cult horror game Devotion five years ago, with managing director Maciej Gołębiewski saying the move might have come "at a cost to our credibility." Gołębiewski told Eurogamer the "situation remains difficult to reflect on" and

Tech

Samsung QN90F Neo QLED: ZDNET finds near‑OLED picture and stronger audio

ZDNET tested the Samsung QN90F Neo QLED in its Louisville lab and recommends it as a strong value compared with pricier OLED models, noting current discounts of up to 40% at Samsung, Best Buy and Amazon and savings of up to $6,000 when buying directly from Samsung. In lab

Tech

ZDNet review picks BambooHR as top employee monitoring software for 2026

ZDNet’s expert testing of employee monitoring software names BambooHR as its top pick for 2026, highlighting tools that aim to balance oversight with employee privacy for hybrid and remote teams. The review says BambooHR is strong on performance-focused features rather than micromanagement, with goal tracking, peer reviews, performance evaluations,

Tech

Car USB ports do more than charge phones, ZDNET says

ZDNET's Chris Bayer says the USB ports in modern vehicles are “seriously underrated” and can be used for more than just charging phones. The article notes that USB ports first appeared in cars widely in the mid-2000s — about 3.3 million cars sold in 2005 included at least

Tech

Xbox: Fable to launch on PS5 day one, Forza Horizon 6's PS5 release delayed

Kotaku reports that Xbox has set release windows for two major 2026 titles — Forza Horizon 6 on May 15 and a long-awaited Fable reboot "sometime in the fall" — but says Fable will launch on Xbox and PS5 simultaneously while Forza's PS5 version will arrive after the

Tech

ZDNET reporter used Gemini prompts to find cheaper upstate New York–Florida flights

ZDNET reporter Elyse Betters Picaro ran 20 prompts through Google's Gemini to hunt for the cheapest flights for a proposed late‑August family trip from upstate New York to Florida and reported that Gemini provided specific, actionable guidance rather than generic tips. Gemini pushed the reporter toward alternative

Tech

ZDNET: LG C5 OLED praised for picture and ultra‑thin design but costs more than C4

ZDNET says LG's 2025 C5 OLED ranks among the best OLED TVs for picture quality, with an ultra‑thin 0.25‑inch screen, premium materials and a distinctive look. The review notes the set was on sale at the time of writing and that some discounts exceeded $1,

Tech

Oura Ring warned user of illness before symptoms appeared, ZDNET writer says

Nina Raemont wrote for ZDNET that her Oura Ring's Symptom Radar flagged "major signs of strain" in her biometrics the morning she felt fine, a warning she initially dismissed. Raemont said the ring tracks metrics such as heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature and oxygen saturation

Tech

Why phone and laptop batteries can explode and how to stay safe

Rechargeable batteries in everyday devices such as smartphones, laptops and power banks can sometimes explode or catch fire, and ZDNET says they are linked to roughly 1,500 house fires and about 5,000 overheating incidents each year. ZDNET outlines three common causes: manufacturing defects, flawed design or counterfeit products

Tech

Spotify introduces Prompted Playlists beta that builds playlists from natural-language prompts

Spotify has launched a new Prompted Playlist feature that creates playlists from natural-language prompts and personalizes them using a listener's history, the company said. The feature was launched on Thursday and was previously tested in beta in New Zealand in December 2025. Users can describe moods, pop-culture references,

Tech

Sims 4 mod WickedWhims remains widely used, creator says

Kotaku reports that WickedWhims, a fan-made mod for The Sims 4 led by modder Turbodriver, remains widely used. The mod, which adds fully animated and interactive sex along with expanded relationships, menstrual cycles and birth control, has over 16,000 paid supporters on Patreon, and Turbodriver told German site Taz

Tech

Six Samsung TV settings to change to improve picture quality

ZDNET contributor Adam Breeden says changing six settings on Samsung TVs can significantly improve the viewing experience. Breeden’s recommendations are: disable Eco Mode (All Settings > General and Privacy > Power and Energy Saving > Energy Saving Solution) and Brightness Optimization; select a film-focused Picture Mode such as Movie,

Tech

Educators urge social‑emotional learning and judgment training as A.I. enters schools

Letters to The New York Times responding to a recent Business article on A.I. in classrooms argue that schools must pair new technologies with stronger teaching of social and emotional skills and human judgment. Matt Levinson of Seattle, an education leader for more than 30 years, wrote that social

Tech

ZDNET recommends five free terminal-based Linux file managers

ZDNET contributor Jack Wallen highlights five free terminal-based file managers for Linux, recommending them for situations where a graphical interface won’t do — for example, when logged into a remote server, already working in a terminal window, or when a user simply prefers the command line. Wallen says there are

Tech

TikTok alters U.S. terms to expand ad targeting and location tracking

TikTok has updated its terms and privacy policies for users in the United States, expanding its ability to target advertising and to track the location of people who give the app permission to do so. The changes followed ByteDance’s decision to spin out an American TikTok entity on Thursday

Tech

Mass Effect executive seeks production director for next game

Pcgamer reported that Mass Effect executive producer Michael Gamble posted on X seeking a production director for the next game in the series: "Hi, I’m hiring a very important senior leadership role," Gamble wrote. "They’ll report to me and it’s gonna be awesome."

Tech

Fallout co-creator says spaghetti code stems from time pressure, not laziness

Fallout co-creator Timothy Cain said in a new YouTube video that unreadable "spaghetti code" in games happens when developers aren't given enough time, not because they're "stupid, lazy programmers," Gamesradar reported. Cain, a former Interplay developer, illustrated the point with an example

Tech

Local meteorologists recommended over phone weather apps for storm updates

ZDNet says phone weather apps are often unreliable and recommends following a local meteorologist for accurate storm information. The article’s author noted a recent example in the Charlotte, NC area where a phone app briefly predicted more than 13 inches of snow even as the region was preparing for

Tech

Xbox showcase offers rare look inside Game Freak’s Kanda Square office

Kotaku reports that, in an Xbox showcase today, Pokémon developer Game Freak gave a rare look inside its Tokyo office at Kanda Square while showing its upcoming action RPG Beast of Reincarnation. The piece says Game Freak moved to the Kanda Square building in 2020 to be closer to Nintendo.

Tech

Jeff Bezos denies Polymarket claim about advice to young entrepreneurs

Jeff Bezos denied a Polymarket post that said he had told aspiring Gen Z entrepreneurs to work at companies like McDonald’s or Palantir before starting a business, Beincrypto reported. On January 22, 2026 Bezos replied to Polymarket’s post saying he had never made such a claim. A video

Tech

2026 Lucid Air Touring review: a more polished, practical luxury EV

After spending a week with the 2026 Lucid Air Touring, Ars Technica found the sedan to be markedly more polished and more of a finished product than earlier Air models. The Touring starts at $79,900 and is presented as a refined, easy-to-live-with luxury electric sedan. The Touring’s all-wheel-drive

Tech

Just The Browser strips AI from Chrome, Edge and Firefox but some telemetry remains

ZDNET tested Just The Browser, a free and open-source tool that applies configuration files to Chrome, Edge and Firefox to remove unwanted features such as generative AI, telemetry and sponsored integrations. In a macOS test of Edge run from a clean installation, the reviewer enabled Copilot, ran the script and

Tech

SteelSeries Alias Pro microphone hits lowest-ever price

Pcgamer reports the SteelSeries Alias Pro microphone is now at its lowest-ever price, offering streamers a discounted opportunity to upgrade their audio setup. The Alias Pro is a cardioid microphone with two USB Type-C ports on the back, an XLR connection, and multiple included cables, and it ships with a