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filo/Getty Images NotebookLM, Google’s experimental AI-first notebook and research assistant, has gone viral for its Audio Overview feature, which transforms a user’s material into a podcast. The feature just got an upgrade to fine-tune the experience, and I put it to the test.  Also: Google’s AI podcast tool transforms your text into stunningly lifelike audio – for free The new features allow users to quickly instruct the two AI podcast hosts on the topics they…

Score a Microsoft Office license now at a big discount. StackSocial Whether you’re setting up your new laptop or using a machine you’ve had for years, access to Microsoft Office is a necessity for many of us to get things done. Right now, you can buy a lifetime license to the 2019 version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus for either Windows or Mac from Stack Social for $25 — that’s 89% off, one of the lowest prices we’ve…

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET What’s the deal? HP’s Chromebook Plus x360 has received a big 25% discount on Amazon. This highly flexible laptop is available for $422, which is $137 off the original price. This version offers better performance and a solid battery life when compared to the previous model. Also: I tested Acer’s new business-friendly Chromebook and it nails all the essentials for pro users ZDNET’s key takeaways The HP Chromebook Plus x360 is a direct…

Vladyslav Varshavskiy/Getty Images I always like finding new ways to apply artificial intelligence (AI) tools to my day-to-day productivity tasks. Last year, I showed how I used generative AI to rescue some bad audio and otherwise tweak a short how-to video. I used Photoshop’s Generative Fill, Adobe Podcast, and what was then a new background replacement feature in Final Cut Pro. This time, I’m using an AI gimbal to help the camera follow my movements,…

Maria Diaz/ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways The Blink Mini 2 is available for $40 on its own or bundled with a weather-resistant power adapter for $50. With a stronger construction, improved video quality, a new spotlight, person detection, and weather resistance for outdoor use, the Blink Mini 2 is a definite upgrade from the first generation. As an Amazon device, the Blink Mini 2 works with Alexa but not Google Home, Matter, or other smart home systems….

uniquepixel/Getty Images NotebookLM, Google’s experimental AI-first notebook and research assistant, has gone viral for its Audio Overview feature, which transforms a user’s material into a podcast. The feature just got an upgrade to fine-tune the experience, and I put it to the test.  The new features allow users to quickly instruct the two AI podcast hosts on the topics they want them to discuss. For example, if you upload a large document, you can instruct…

alexsl/Getty Images Singapore made a slew of cybersecurity announcements this week, including guidelines on securing artificial intelligence (AI) systems, a safety label for medical devices, and new legislation that prohibits deepfakes in elections advertising content. Its new Guidelines and Companion Guide of Securing AI Systems aim to push a secure by-design approach, so organizations can mitigate potential risks in the development and deployment of AI systems.  Also: Can AI and automation properly manage the growing threats to…

Maria Diaz/ZDNET If you are a ChatGPT superuser, downloading the app on your desktop can make interacting with the chatbot and incorporating it into your everyday workflow much more seamless. However, the app has been limited to MacOS users — until now.  Also: I’m a ChatGPT power user – and this new feature instantly made me more productive On Thursday, OpenAI announced via an X post that Windows users can now start testing an early…

First up is a series of new PowerEdge servers. The PowerEdge XE9712 offers high-performance, dense acceleration for LLM training and real-time inferencing of large-scale AI deployments. It uses Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72, with up to 36 NVIDIA Grace CPUs with 72 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs in a rack-scale design. The 72 GPUs are connected via NVLink domain, which acts as a single GPU for up to 30x faster real-time, trillion-parameter LLM inferencing. The Dell PowerEdge M7725 is…

Jason Hiner/ZDNET Apple announced four new iPhones (among other things) at the “It’s Glowtime” event last month. Designed from the ground up for Apple Intelligence — Apple’s bespoke AI, set to roll out via iOS 18.1 on Oct. 28 — the series ranges from the base model to the most souped-up. The four models are the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.  Also: The iPad…