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Kerry Wan/ZDNET Google today announced a new Certified Refurbished Program, which lists older Pixel phone models at an “up to” 40% discount. The catalog includes ZDNET-recommended picks like the Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro, and I’m seeing devices sell for as little as $249.  Also: Best Google Pixel phones of 2024: Expert tested Refurbished units aren’t exactly new-conditioned, but the company says its listings are each carefully inspected and “tested to ensure…

Jason Hiner/ZDNET It’s often two steps forward and one step back when it comes to Apple products. The tech giant will create something that pushes the envelope of what’s possible with personal computers, but at the same time, it will kneecap its efforts with strange, unpopular design choices. Also: Apple will pay you up to $1 million if you can hack into Apple Intelligence servers Recently, Apple announced it is revamping its iMac and MacBook lines…

Sony Bravia X90L 4K LED TV Jason Hiner/ZDNET What’s the deal? The Sony Bravia X90L is on sale at Best Buy, with the 55-inch model starting at $999, saving you over $170. The steepest discount belongs to the 98-inch model, which has had its price tag slashed by $3,000, going from $7,999 to $4,999. Why this deal is ZDNET recommended What the Sony Bravia X90L lacks in eye-popping specs, it more than makes up for…

imaginima/Getty Images AI tools — like people — cannot read minds. As a result, they need effective communication to carry out tasks. When using AI models, that communication is called a prompt, which humans input into a chatbot to get a certain outcome. Productive prompting is a key to successful interaction with AI, and Google’s new course is designed to foster that.  On Monday, Google launched Prompting Essentials —  a course developed by the AI experts at…

ZDNET We know — Halloween is still a few days away, yet some stores have already begun early Black Friday sales and holiday offers. While you may not be a fan of smushing each holiday closer and closer every year, there is a silver lining you can take advantage of: savings (even earlier than originally scheduled).  Also: Google Shopping gets an AI-powered upgrade. Here’s how to access it That’s right folks, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and…

Cisco’s $80 million investment invites Partners “back to school” I’ve always said that technology is moving faster than people. Should we just accept this? I believe we have a responsibility to help people everywhere build skills they need to leverage emerging technology and stay at the forefront of innovation. Digital skill-building is how we will advance and architect the rapid evolution of our information and communications technology (ICT) industry, where 92% of roles are expected…

Tor Project Tor Browser is, hands down, the most secure web browser on the market. When using Tor, every packet that leaves your browser is not only encrypted but also anonymized, making it very private and secure. Recently, the Tor developers released the latest major update to the browser, version 14.0. This new release is based on Firefox 128 ESR (Extended Support Release) and includes much-improved font handling, better fingerprinting protections, improved support for picture-in-picture,…

Bloomberg/Getty Images Roughly a year ago, my seven-year-old System76 Thelio started to fail. The first issue was the USB ports, which cascaded to other ports until the system became unusable. As the machine was way beyond warranty, I knew it was time to purchase a new system. That Thelio was my second System76 machine (the first being a Leopard Extreme), both of which lasted considerably longer than any machine I’d ever owned. There was never a…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are premium earbuds with plenty of functionality. All-day comfort, lengthy battery life, and impressive noise cancellation highlight these earbuds. Integration with Google’s AI model, Gemini, needs refining. more buying choices It’s no secret that the AirPods Pro 2 are my go-to earbuds. However, since I’ve been using a Google Pixel 9 Pro to take product photos and videos, I’ve become curious about life outside the Apple…