NETWORKING

Nina Raemont/ZDNET Alexa Plus is Amazon’s revamped version of its virtual assistant, now powered by generative AI. Though Amazon is rolling out Alexa Plus to many existing Echo devices, it’s not available for free. Using Alexa Plus will cost $20 monthly, which is the same cost as ChatGPT Plus. Thankfully, there are ways you can use it for free — at least for a limited time. Also: 7 useful AI features coming with Alexa Plus…

Maria Diaz/ZDNET Amazon’s early-year Devices and Services event took place today, and the company made it clear that AI will continue to be at the center of its hardware universe. Driving the buzzword of the century is Alexa, arguably the most popular virtual assistant in the world. SVP of Devices and Services Panos Panay suggested that millions of new customers use it every day during the event. Also: Everything Amazon announced at its Devices and…

Nina Raemont/ZDNET Alexa Plus is Amazon’s revamped version of its virtual assistant, now powered by generative AI. Though Amazon is rolling out Alexa Plus to many existing Echo devices, it’s not available for free. Using Alexa Plus will cost $20 monthly, which is the same cost as ChatGPT Plus. Thankfully, there are ways you can use it for free — at least for a limited time. Also: 7 useful AI features coming with Alexa Plus…

Apple Watch Ultra 2 (left) with the Oura Ring 4 (center) and OnePlus Watch 3 (right) Matthew Miller/ZDNET I’m fortunate to have a strong immune system — and I often frustrate my wife by refusing to acknowledge any signs of illness. But the Oura Ring 4 no longer lets me deny reality. Named ZDNET’s 2024 Product of the Year, this wearable continues to prove its value every day. With so many smartwatches to test, I…

Slack If you use Slack for work, you’re (probably) not fired. But it might be a good time to take a long lunch break. The widely used workplace platform is facing serious issues today, with many users unable to log in at all. Affected users trying to access Slack (myself included) are greeted with a message saying, “We’re having trouble loading your workspace.” The message continues: “This is one of those times when we’re not…

Maria Diaz/ZDNET Amazon has announced a gen AI-powered Alexa Plus, a revamped version of its popular virtual assistant that leverages the power of generative artificial intelligence to enhance the user experience. Alexa Plus is exactly what you may have envisioned when you first heard of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google, but without the accompanying disappointment at their shortcomings.  The improved voice assistant will be able to generate responses instead of repeating what it’s been programmed…

“One of the challenges for AI — for any brand new technology — is putting the right combination of infrastructure together to make the technology work,” says Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research. “If one of those components isn’t on par with the other two, you’re going to be wasting your money.” Time is taking care of the first problem. More and more enterprises are moving from pilot projects to production, and…

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET Amazon has been focused on bringing generative AI to Alexa for the past few years, hitting multiple delays in launching new features that the company first announced in September 2023. The delayed Alexa 2.0 was poised for a 2025 release, and Amazon just wrapped up an event where it made big announcements for the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant. Amid rumors of Alexa 2.0 shortcomings, Amazon skipped its 2024 Devices and Services event, where…

Apple/ZDNET Apple’s follow-up to the budget iPhone SE — the iPhone 16e — is here. As the more affordable option in the lineup, the tech giant cut a few features to keep costs down and make the pricier models more appealing.  One of the notable omissions? MagSafe.  Also: What does the ‘e’ in iPhone 16e stand for? While the iPhone 16e supports older, low-speed Qi wireless charging (capped at 7.5W), it lacks the magnets that…

SR650a V4: a 2U2S design specifically meant for high-end use, such as AI and other GPU-intensive workloads like machine learning, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and media analytics. The platform supports up to four double-wide GPUs with front GPU access. Of the three servers, this is the one most geared toward AI. The ThinkSystem V4 solutions use Lenovo’s homegrown Neptune liquid cooling technology. A new feature called Neptune Core Compute Complex Module offers reduced fan speeds,…