NETWORKING

Nintendo Bad news for gamers: Nintendo announced on Friday, April 4, that it is delaying pre-orders for its upcoming Switch 2 in the US. In a statement made to CNBC, the gaming giant said the date is being pushed “to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.” Nintendo said it will update the timing of preorders “at a later date,” adding that the console’s June 5 launch date remains unchanged. Also: Nintendo Switch…

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET President Trump has signed an executive order that ends the “de minimis” tariff exemption for low-value imports from China and Hong Kong. This policy change, which will take effect on May 2, 2025, is set to have a ripple effect across the e-commerce world, especially for sites like Temu that rely on affordable, small shipments to keep prices low. Also: Are tariffs about to make your next iPhone way more expensive?…

Kerry Wan/ZDNET Soundbars are gaining in popularity because of their sleek design and ability to provide an ample boost in audio quality compared to built-in TV speakers. Even with their plug-and-play nature, you can make a few modifications to help unleash the best possible sound quality. Also: I spent hours testing Samsung’s new flagship soundbar – it gave my Sonos a run for its money Whether you’re new to soundbar setups or a self-proclaimed audiophile, familiarizing…

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET Midjourney has been one of my favorite AI image generators, offering rich and powerful imagery with a range of useful tools to refine your images. Now, Midjourney is out with a new version that promises to help you more easily create the right photos, drawings, artwork, and more. Announced on Friday and currently available for alpha testing, Midjourney version 7 carries with it a host of new and improved features, and…

A surge in internet probes targeting devices from Juniper Networks, Cisco Systems, and Palo Alto Networks should put their admins on alert, say security experts. A threat actor is probing the internet using default credentials for a Juniper Networks router, prompting a cybersecurity expert to warn network admins to change the login combo from the factory setting if they haven’t already done so. “It’s sad [that a major networking company is still using a default…

“The vulnerability is a buffer overflow with a limited character space, and therefore it was initially believed to be a low-risk denial-of-service vulnerability,” incident responders from Google-owned Mandiant wrote in a report on the flaw. “We assess it is likely the threat actor studied the patch for the vulnerability in ICS 22.7R2.6 and uncovered through a complicated process, it was possible to exploit 22.7R2.5 and earlier to achieve remote code execution.” The vulnerability also impacts…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The AirFly Pro 2 allows users to listen wirelessly to traditionally wired-only systems like in-flight entertainment systems. You can use your favorite headphones with the AirFly Pro 2 and enable their special audio features like noise cancellation and spatial audio. If you don’t fly regularly or don’t need a Bluetooth dongle in your everyday life, the $60 price tag may be a big ask. Flying for hours on end is the bane…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Plantaform Rejuvenate is a smart indoor garden available for $540. It’s an all-in-one garden structure that only requires power for the grow lights and for you to add water and the included fertilizer when it runs low; thankfully, the app gives you notifications and detailed instructions. Unfortunately, you can’t easily DIY seed pods if you want to, though each 15-pod pack is $30. I love plants, but I definitely wasn’t born…

Amazon If you’ve ever picked up the latest book in a series and couldn’t remember characters or what happened in the last book, Amazon has a new feature that might help you. Also: Want free ebooks? These 10 sites offer thousands of options Starting today, your Kindle is getting “Kindle Recaps,” something Amazon says is similar to the “Previously on…” segment before a TV show. How it works For certain books, Kindle Recaps make it easier…

Apple Apple’s latest version of iOS seems to be causing hiccups with CarPlay. Some users who installed the update are complaining on X and Reddit about random connection problems and other issues. Also: A bizarre iOS 18.4 bug is surprising iPhone users with random app installs As spotted by 9to5Mac, several discussion threads have popped up since Apple released iOS 18.4 this past Monday. The problems so far In one discussion thread on Reddit, people are…