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10’000 Hours/Getty Images The holiday season is an opportunity to unwind and relax with family and friends. Everyone should step away from the daily grind and forget about work sometimes. However, mental fatigue remains a big issue — especially at this time of year. What’s more, research suggests it has a measurable effect on behavior, leaving people exhausted, unproductive, and more likely to be aggressive. Also: 5 ways to tell people what to do at…

blackred/Getty Images Sometimes it can be hard to get all your reading done, especially with ADHD diagnoses on the rise. If you’re tasked with a school or work project and you’re pressed for time (or focus), artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT can help summarize long articles, research papers, and books to make them a bit more accessible.  Also: You can now talk to ChatGPT on the phone – no Wi-Fi needed ChatGPT has come a long…

Yaroslav Kushta/Getty Images With the year coming to an end, Google has been on an AI launch streak, releasing Veo 2, Whisk, a redesign of Google Labs, Project Mariner, and more. One of the biggest standouts was its Gemini 2.0 family of models, and users can get started with it today.  Also: You can interview the AI hosts of your NotebookLM podcast now Last week, Google announced its Gemini 2.0 family of models, with Gemini…

Sabrina/ZDNET Instagram has introduced several major changes and updates during the last couple of months — including new features and privacy protections. Today, the social site announced profile cards: Users no longer need to type in handle names to find a mutual or new connection; now you can set up a profile card that makes you easily findable with a custom QR code.  Also: Instagram just beat TikTok to new feature creators will love The new…

Nina Raemont/ZDNET The new year is around the corner, but before we start thinking about all the technology that will emerge in 2025, let’s take a look back and remember this year’s greatest hits.  I spend 40 hours a week testing products, writing reviews, and curating best lists (like the one you’re about to read). To compile a list of the best products released in 2024, I considered a few things. The first is my…

Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET With the holiday season upon us, many companies are finding ways to take advantage through deals, promotions, or other campaigns. OpenAI has found a way to participate with its “12 days of OpenAI” event series. On Wednesday, OpenAI announced via an X post that starting on Dec. 5, the company would host 12 days of live streams and release “a bunch of new things, big and small,” according to the post. …

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET Windows 11 has been around for a few years now, and if you were an early adopter like I was, there’s a good chance your computer has slowed down significantly since then. There are several reasons why a device’s performance may plummet.  It could be the result of too many apps taking up resources, unoptimized settings, or even a virus infecting the hardware. The easiest thing you can do in the short term…

Bloomberg/Getty Images The US may soon ban the world’s most popular router over national security fears. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Chinese-owned TP-Link is currently under investigation by the US Justice, Commerce, and Defense departments because of its link to several high-profile hacking incidents. The move comes as the US government is also considering a ban of Chinese-owned social media app TikTok over data security concerns. Also: The TikTok ban is…

Bloomberg/Contributor/Getty Images When I was a kid living near Grantsville, West Virginia, some of my neighbors were into amateur ham radio. I found their analog electronics and antennas and their mastery of Morse code fascinating.  They were into it because they talked with people thousands of miles away, played with tech, and knew they could help people in an emergency. Decades later, the tech has changed; you no longer need to know Morse code, but…

Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET With the holiday season upon us, many companies are finding ways to take advantage through deals, promotions, or other campaigns. OpenAI has found a way to participate with its “12 days of OpenAI” event series. On Wednesday, OpenAI announced via an X post that starting on Dec. 5, the company would host 12 days of live streams and release “a bunch of new things, big and small,” according to the post. …