NETWORKING

Microsoft Have you ever been playing a video game and found yourself helplessly stuck, racking your brain trying to remember a certain move and wishing some kind of oracle would appear to show you the way? Wish no more — AI is here to help. This week, Microsoft rolled out a beta version of Copilot for Gaming, an AI chatbot the company describes as “the ultimate gaming sidekick.” Also: Copilot’s Coding Agent brings automation deeper into…

Apple/ZDNET Calling all Apple Watch-obsessed runners: Wednesday, June 4, is Global Running Day, and you can get a digital award for recording your run. If Apple Watch users record a run of at least 3.1 miles on June 4, they will earn a digital award. These awards look like digital badges that can be viewed in the Awards tab of the Fitness app. They can also come with animated stickers that people can send through…

Wi-Fi is hard, but if Extreme can make it work in these stadiums, it can certainly do so in traditional carpeted offices. 3. Wi-Fi 6E/7 will likely require a wired refresh. I’ve been in networking a long time. My days as an engineer pre-date Wi-Fi, and I don’t ever remember a wireless upgrade driving a refresh of the wired network. However, as with many things in life, there is a first time for everything. The…

Adam Breeden/ZDNET In April, Amazon confirmed that its annual July Prime Day event will return this summer. Despite an uncertain economic outlook, Amazon is full steam ahead on its first Prime Day event of the year.  Also: Google’s new AI shopping tool just changed the way we shop online – here’s why Amazon hosted its second annual Big Spring Sale in March, which was extended from five days in 2024 to seven days this year. In…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i is on sale for $2,199. I highly recommend it to people looking for a laptop with top-performing hardware, a vibrant screen, and a high-quality webcam. However, because of its limited port selection, some might find its usability limited without supplementary accessories. The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i recently received a huge 48% discount, dropping down to $1,799. Work laptops don’t have to be boring hunks of gray metal….

Maria Diaz/ZDNET Few things ruin the joy of watching a good show more than suddenly seeing that rotating asterisk symbol or swirly icon that tells you your TV is buffering. Or maybe it’s stuttering, or altogether freezing. If this is happening on your Roku TV, don’t give up on it just yet. Also: Slow Roku TV? This 30-second fix made my system run like new again Like phones and computers, Rokus have caches that accumulate…

If your dad is a fitness fanatic who enjoys purposefully designed tech, he’ll likely be impressed with the new Whoop 5.0 band.  The Whoop 5.0 is the newest release since the Whoop 4.0, and it’s a standout among fitness trackers because of its unique design — a band without a screen. While Whoop is mainly considered a health tracker used by pro athletes and fitness enthusiasts, the launch of the new wearables caters to a more…

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET You might’ve heard about that recent viral Street View trend — the one where people learned they can go back in time and see street-view-level imagery of their house or a loved one’s home, and they’re getting emotional spotting long-gone relatives, friends, or even trees when they try it for themselves. But did you know you can do something similar with Google Earth? Unlike Google Street View, which only goes…

Milwaukee/ZDNET Memorial Day might be over, but you can still find great deals on hand tools and wrench sets, like this 77-piece Milwaukee SAE/Metric wrench and socket set at The Home Depot. Right now, you can save $200 on a high-quality set of hand tools, bringing the price to just $549.  Also: This electric screwdriver is my go-to tool for weekend fixes – here’s why With a 47-piece socket wrench set and 30 combination wrenches,…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Nerdytec Couchmaster Cyworx is an ergonomic lap desk for WFH employees or gamers for $150. It features an oversized mouse pad, a ventilation grill for laptop cooling, wrist pads, and more. The setup may be too cumbersome for smaller couches and isn’t ideal for travel. more buying choices I recently flipped to fully remote work after over a year of enduring a five-hour round-trip commute a few times a week. Along…