NETWORKING

Higher capacity throughout the network means less congestion. It’s old-think, they say, to assume that if you have faster LAN connections to users and servers, you’ll admit more traffic and congest trunks. “Applications determine traffic,” one CIO pointed out. “The network doesn’t suck data into it at the interface. Applications push it.” Faster connections mean less congestion, which means fewer complaints, and more alternate paths to take without traffic delay and loss, which also reduces…

Ultrahuman/ZDNET The Ultrahuman Ring Air is one of the more competitive smart rings on the market for its sleep and activity scoring algorithms, endless features for tracking a user’s health, and regular app updates. When I tested it out last year, I wrote that it rivals wearables from Oura, the smart ring industry’s top dog.  Now, Ultrahuman is taking its wearable to another level with the release of the Ultrahuman Ring Rare line, “the world’s…

Withings/ZDNET Withings just unveiled a feature that could take the guesswork out of a patient’s heart health scares and worries: the Cardio Check-up. It’s an in-app service with a Withings+ subscription that collects heart data through one of Withings’ proprietary wearables, shares that data with users, and connects them to board-certified cardiologists. Within 24 hours, a cardiologist could answer questions and provide feedback to the user on the data submitted. Also: CES 2025: The 8 most…

Ugreen/ZDNET Chargers have slowly been getting more and more powerful, and the switch from older silicon transistors to more efficient gallium nitride technology has spurred things along dramatically to the point where premium hardware maker Ugreen has used CES 2025 as the venue to unveil the world’s first 500W charger. Currently, Ugreen has a 300W Nexode USB charger. Also: How I turned the Starlink Mini into an almost perfect off-grid internet solution Yes, you read…

Jada Jones/ZDNET Shokz, the company known for producing industry-leading open-ear headphones, announced two new headphones during CES 2025. The OpenFit 2 and OpenMeet headline the company’s CES presence, offering upgraded features and new concepts.  Also: CES 2025: ZDNET’s 8 most impressive products we’ve seen so far The OpenFit 2 are true wireless open-ear headphones, debuting with upgrades to connectivity, comfort, battery life, and functionality. Most notably, the OpenFit 2 boast 11 hours of continuous battery…

FabrikaCr/Getty Images On my home network, I have a single Brother laser printer. It’s aging but still works like a champ (and the company still produces toner cartridges, which can be easily purchased from Amazon).  Multiple computers use the printer, so I had to set up my desktop as a print server. Yes, I could have deployed Linux on a server for that purpose, but it was easier from my desktop. On top of that,…

Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images More than 20 million people have signed up for new accounts on Bluesky in the last few months, most of them refugees from the site formerly known as Twitter. That’s made for plenty of joyful reunions, as new arrivals find old friends and interesting people on social media’s hottest new site. It’s also made for some not-so-pleasant moments, as scammers and mischief-makers set up Bluesky accounts impersonating popular Twitter accounts….

Ricardo Mendoza Garbayo/Getty Images Some people view browser extensions as a necessary piece of the puzzle, while others see them as a danger. So, how could something so small present such a problem for users?  Consider a recent report by Vulnerable U about data loss prevention service Cyberhaven, which discovered a Chrome extension used by over 400,000 of its customers contained code that stole their private/sensitive data. That extension was available for over 30 hours…

Yana Lobenko/Getty Images Enterprise use of AI agents is on the rise, with 25% of enterprises using generative AI forecast to deploy AI agents in 2025, growing to 50% by 2027, according to Deloitte. The rise of agents means we need to adopt a new mindset. Being prepared for reinvention is crucial in an AI-first future led by agents. Business leaders must operate like chefs, not cooks in a world of hyper-automation, connections, and real-time…