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A solid gaming laptop doesn’t have to cost a fortune or even have the latest components and hardware. Whether upgrading or buying your first model, there are plenty of options for budget-minded gamers from top brands like Asus, Dell, MSI, HP, and more. Also: The best Black Friday laptop deals  And if you’re looking to get started as a gaming content creator, there are plenty of options to help you put together high-quality videos and live…

sjvn/ZDNET SALT LAKE CITY – If your business recently posted a job ad on LinkedIn, you may have received — in addition to the usual influx of resumes and cover letters — a very unexpected response: the threat of a lawsuit from Edge Networking Systems LLC. Edge Networking is a patent troll. This means it buys up patents — not to use them but to extort money from anyone who might want to use the…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is available for $200. I’ve been testing the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which features the fastest performance yet and up to 12 weeks of battery life; alternatively, the 16 GB Kindle Paperwhite is available for $160. Remember that Amazon’s promise of up to 12 weeks of battery life assumes 30 minutes of daily use with wireless off. more buying choices I’ve used the TCL Nxtpaper Tab 10…

There is no doubt that SSDs (solid-state drives) are the speed demons and rock-solid champions of reliability when it comes to storage, leaving HDDs (hard disk drives) in the dust. However, not all SSDs are cut from the same cloth. Also: The best network-attached storage devices you can buy Traditional SSDs and HDDs rely on the tried-and-true SATA (Serial AT Attachment) port when connecting to a PC. But hold on tight because modern motherboards are bringing…

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET Apple has added a new security feature to the iPhone, apparently designed to thwart criminals. But it’s also been thwarting police. Introduced with iOS 18, the new feature automatically reboots an iPhone if it’s been asleep and in lock mode for an extended period of time. After a reboot, an iPhone becomes more difficult to crack since either the passcode or biometric verification is needed to unlock it. The apparent goal is to…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Fitbit Ace LTE is a kids’ smartwatch and fitness tracker that costs $230, with a proprietary Ace Pass LTE data plan costing $10 a month or $120 annually The Fitbit Ace LTE features a rich, kid-friendly platform that is easy to navigate, and the monthly fee is inexpensive However, the watch doesn’t feature sleep-tracking insights or support for receiving images or voice messages, and parents don’t get a phone number with…

Getty Images/akinbostanci The rise of generative AI (gen AI) has allowed people to implement the technology into their everyday workflow to replace menial, repetitive tasks. However, what if the AI could do all the tasks for you? OpenAI is reportedly working on new models that can do just that.  Also: Businesses must reinvent themselves in the age of agentic AI According to a Bloomberg report citing insider sources, OpenAI is working on an AI agent codenamed “Operator” that…

WhataWin/Getty Images Admit it: Do you ever use “123456” or “qwerty123” as a password? Given the challenges of juggling dozens or hundreds of online accounts, it’s easy to opt for simple (but weak) passwords. Based on a new report from password manager NordPass, people are still doing exactly that — which is just asking for trouble.  Also: 7 essential password rules to follow in 2024, according to security experts For the sixth year in a row,…

An upgrade to the Splunk Tag Spotlight component, which lets customers analyze the performance of specific services, is aimed at helping customers more easily identify problems and resolve them quicker, Lawrence stated. Another new feature lets ITOps and engineering teams drill into Kubernetes containers to speed up repair times and maintain optimal performance across their Kubernetes environments. The goal is to help ITOps and engineering teams unify visibility and troubleshooting workflows across their entire environment,…