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NurPhoto/Getty Images On Thursday, French lab Mistral AI launched Small 3, which the company calls “the most efficient model of its category” and says is optimized for latency.  Mistral says Small 3 can compete with Llama 3.3 70B and Qwen 32B, among other large models, and it’s “an excellent open replacement for opaque proprietary models like GPT4o-mini.” Also: AI agents will match ‘good mid-level’ engineers this year, says Mark Zuckerberg Like Mistral’s other models, the 24B-parameter…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Arctis Gamebuds are available now on Amazon for $159. Once you get the EQ just right, these earbuds are a great option for gamers that switch between their phone and a console. It would be nice if it had a custom EQ option on the mobile app and didn’t require the use of a desktop app. I’d consider myself a casual+ gamer. I play most of my games on my Nintendo…

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways Dell’s XPS 13 Copilot+ PC is on sale now starting at $999, but upgrades to the storage or display will bring the price upwards of $1,600. It features one of the sleekest builds of any laptop released in 2024, with a gorgeous display and an impressive battery life.  The two USB-C ports are limiting, the bold design choices aren’t for everyone, and it’s pricey.  Dell continues to round out its popular…

MirageC/Getty Images Chinese startup DeepSeek AI and its open-source language models took over the news cycle this week. Besides being comparable to models like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s o1, the models have raised several concerns about data privacy, security, and Chinese-government-enforced censorship within their training.  AI search platform Perplexity and AI assistant You.com have found a way around that, albeit with some limitations.  Also: I tested DeepSeek’s R1 and V3 coding skills – and we’re not…

June 20, 2024: HPE-Juniper merger faces antitrust inquiry in UK An inquiry into HPE’s $14 billion takeover of Juniper Networks by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a move that potentially could delay approval of the deal, will have little impact on data center managers, said one analyst with Info-Tech Research Group. Both companies were informed of the inquiry by the CMA, the UK’s principal antitrust regulator, on Wednesday. July 17, 2024: Juniper advances AI…

The 2nd-gen Pebble smartwatch. Jason Cipriani/ZDNET In 2012, a few of us at ZDNET backed the Pebble Kickstarter project, which became one of the most successfully funded projects at the time, with nearly 70,000 backers pledging more than $10 million. The monochrome e-paper smartwatch started shipping in 2013, a couple of years before Apple launched its Watch. Also: The best smartwatches you can buy: Expert tested The Pebble smartwatch stood out with its low $115 price, ability to…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Torras PolarCircle has an active cooler that’s more effective than a standard fan. The best part is that it’s almost silent when operating. Naturally, the accessory consumes more power than most. I’ve become a fan of wireless charging because it’s quick, easy, and far more convenient to place my iPhone on a charging pad than to search for a cable, especially in the dark. However, wireless charging has drawbacks, including the…

“Even well-resourced networking companies in complementary networking markets are unlikely to be strong alternatives to Cisco and HPE immediately, as several face reputational headwinds and have not developed the distribution networks for rapid growth in the enterprise-grade WLAN market,” the DOJ stated. The DOJ said that if the deal were to be completed, Cisco and HPE would control well over 70% over the U.S. market, and that the deal would eliminate “fierce head-to-head competition” between…

gremlin/Getty Images Businesses are seeing greater adoption of agentic AI, enhancing their ability to deliver greater value at the speed of need by leveraging digital labor across all lines of business.  According to the 2025 Connectivity Benchmark Report by MuleSoft and Deloitte Digital, 93% of IT leaders report intentions to introduce autonomous AI agents within the next two years, and nearly half have already done so.  Also: AI agents will match ‘good mid-level’ engineers this year, says Mark Zuckerberg MuleSoft’s…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The SwitchBot Air Purifier table is available for $258. This large-capacity air purifier has a washable prefilter, a color-changing night light, a wireless charger, and acts a table. While the air purifier works as intended, the table is small, and the smart capabilities are incompatible with Apple Home. I’ve tested many air purifiers over the years, but none of them are quite like this one. The SwitchBot Air Purifier Table is a…