Prolonged AI Use Can Be Hazardous to Your Health and Work: 4 Ways to Stay Safe
Prolonged interaction with AI chatbots can lead to misinformation, delusion, and even fatal health outcomes, prompting ZDNET to warn users to treat AI as a limited‑scope tool. Recent Stanford AI Index data show agents approaching human‑level accuracy on simple web‑search and database tasks, yet still fall short on complex, multi‑step reasoning. Real‑world incidents—such as a cancer patient who ignored medical advice after AI‑driven research—illustrate the dangers of over‑reliance. The article concludes with four practical rules to keep AI use safe and productive.
Verizon Will Give You a Free iPad or Apple Watch with Your Next iPhone - How the Deal Works
Verizon is bundling a free iPad or Apple Watch with any iPhone purchase for customers who add a new line on its Unlimited Ultimate ($50/month) or Unlimited Plus ($40/month) plans. The promotion also covers Android shoppers, offering a Samsung tablet...
Is Your Pixel Battery Draining Faster Lately? These 4 Temporary Fixes Helped Me
The March 2024 Pixel software drop introduced new features but also caused a noticeable battery drain on devices like the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Users on Reddit and Google forums report their phones losing up to 10% charge per hour, far faster than...
How to Use Google Messages' New Trash Feature to Recover Texts You Accidentally Deleted
Google Messages introduced a Trash folder that captures deleted SMS, preventing immediate loss. The feature automatically purges messages after 30 days but allows users to restore any item within that window. It arrived with the April 5 2026 Android update and requires...
I'm No Longer Using Google Photos as Just a Cloud Storage - 5 Tools that Elevate the App
Google Photos is evolving from a simple cloud backup into a full‑featured creative suite. The app now lets users produce Instagram‑style Reels, generate AI‑driven stickers, share entire albums via QR codes, transcribe handwritten notes using Gemini, and add background music...
Why I Stopped Using 'Modern Standby' On My Windows Laptop to Save Battery Overnight
Microsoft’s Modern Standby puts newer laptops into a low‑power S0 state that keeps limited background tasks alive, promising instant wake‑up. In practice, rogue drivers or apps can prevent a true idle, leaving the machine hot and draining the battery overnight....
I Tested ChatGPT Vs. Claude to See Which Is Better - and if It's Worth Switching
The ZDNET test compared free versions of OpenAI’s ChatGPT (GPT‑5.3) and Anthropic’s Claude (Sonnet 4.6/Haiku 4.5) across nine everyday tasks. Claude edged out ChatGPT in writing, shopping, research, and multi‑step reasoning, while ChatGPT was faster in voice mode and the only tool...
These XR Glasses Effectively Replaced My Dual Monitors for Work - and They're $170 Off
Xreal One Pro AR glasses are now $599, a 22% discount from the regular $769 price. The headset uses flat‑prism optics to achieve a 57‑degree field of view, currently the widest in consumer AR. Reviewers report that its ultra‑wide mode...
The Base Model Kindle Is My Secret Weapon Against Doomscrolling - and It's on Sale
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is discounting the base‑model Kindle to $100, a 9% reduction, from March 25‑31, 2026. Writer Nina Raemont explains how she swapped her phone for the e‑reader to curb doomscrolling, using free or library‑rented ebooks. The low‑cost device fits...
Two Trendy iPhone Cases I Keep Coming Back to (and Two I'd Skip Next Time)
ZDNET gadget editor Kayla Solino reviews four iPhone case brands, recommending Casely and Casetify Impact as reliable, stylish choices with MagSafe support, while advising against Baublebar’s pricey custom cases and Velvet Caviar’s sub‑par material durability. She highlights Casely’s affordable, pattern‑rich...
How to AirDrop on an Android Phone (and the Few Models that Can Actually Do It)
Google has unveiled a cross‑platform file‑sharing feature that lets Android Pixel 10 phones send files to iPhones using Quick Share, which triggers AirDrop on the iOS device. The capability is limited to the Pixel 10 series at launch, with Google promising to...
The Best External Hard Drives of 2026: Expert Tested
External hard drives remain essential despite cloud growth, offering offline security and no subscription fees. After extensive testing, the Lexar SL500 earns the top spot for its credit‑card size, aluminum unibody, and blazing 2,000 MB/s read speeds. The guide also highlights...
Best Buy Is Already Selling the MacBook Neo for Less than Retail - and Yes, There's a Catch
Best Buy is offering open‑box MacBook Neo laptops for $568, roughly $30 below the $599 MSRP, shortly after Apple launched the device on March 11. The Neo, an entry‑level 13‑inch notebook, runs the A18 Pro chip, 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD, targeting...
How to Enable Google's Free VPN on Your Pixel Phone - It's Easy
Google now bundles a free VPN, called VPN by Google, into Pixel 7 and newer devices and the Pixel Tablet. The service encrypts all outbound traffic, shielding users on public Wi‑Fi from eavesdropping and preventing ISPs from tracking browsing habits. Activation...
Chrome on Android Just Got Two Huge Upgrades that Can Fix Your Messy Tabs - What's New
Google rolled out Chrome for Android version 144, adding pinned tabs and tab‑group functionality. Users can now pin frequently used pages to the top of the tab strip and bundle related tabs into collapsible groups. The features aim to curb tab...
Firewalla Orange Review: This Router Gave My Home Network a Meaningful Security Upgrade
The ZDNET review spotlights Firewalla’s new Orange device, a palm‑sized smart router and firewall that bundles Wi‑Fi 7, dual 2.5 G Ethernet ports, a quad‑core ARM CPU, 2 GB RAM and a built‑in VPN server. Priced at $379.20, it offers app‑driven setup, content‑filtering,...
I Wrote Off ChatGPT's Voice Mode, Then Found 7 Ways It's Genuinely Useful
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Voice Mode, now available on mobile apps and browsers, lets users interact via spoken prompts and receive spoken responses. The ZDNET author highlights seven practical use cases—from instant translation and hands‑free dictation to interview practice and real‑time copy...
Why AI Is Both a Curse and a Blessing to Open-Source Software - According to Developers
AI is reshaping open‑source development, delivering rapid security bug discovery for projects like Firefox while also flooding smaller maintainers with low‑quality, AI‑generated reports. Anthropic’s Claude helped Mozilla identify high‑severity bugs in weeks, yet cURL’s security team faces a deluge of...
I Found the Best Linux Server Distros for Your Home Lab
ZDNet outlines four Linux distributions—Ubuntu Server, Debian, Rocky Linux and Fedora Server—as the top choices for home‑lab environments. The guide contrasts bare‑metal versus virtual‑machine deployments and highlights each distro’s strengths, from Ubuntu’s ease of use to Fedora’s container‑centric tooling. All...