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Technology innovations have made the digital transformation of public services essential to enhancing safety, efficiency, and accountability. Kazakhstan has taken a monumental step forward in this regard by implementing a continuous video surveillance system across 78 correctional facilities nationwide. This groundbreaking initiative has set a new benchmark for prison management, significantly improving safety conditions and operational transparency. A digital leap for safer prisons In response to a national mandate from the President in 2020, the…

ZDNET In most cases, I’m not a big fan of “optimizers.” This is especially true with mobile operating systems and Windows. But with Linux, most optimizers are apps you can count on to do exactly what they claim. According to the Stacer website, “Stacer is an open source system optimizer and application monitor that helps users to manage entire system with different aspects, it’s an all in one system utility.” Also: The 4 most Windows-like Linux…

Richard Drury/Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways Monarch Money is one of the most feature-rich personal financial programs I’ve tested, and it offers a free week-long trial.  Pros: It’s easy to set up and has powerful tools for analyzing finances and building a budget.  Cons: It’s one of the more expensive Mint alternatives I’ve tested. In the fall of 2023, I spent a week looking at personal finance programs. Why? When Intuit decided to bury Mint,…

Maria Diaz/ZDNET Last August, Google rolled out a feature for Gmail that lets you use Gemini to fine-tune your drafts and replies. With the tap of a button, you can summarize an email, have Gemini write a reply on its own, rewrite a draft that you wrote, and more. Also: Gemini’s latest AI feature could be the future of web browsing The feature is convenient and works well, but is a little clunky in actual use because you have to copy…

Microsoft Microsoft’s Office 365 apps have been the cornerstone for many working professionals’ day-to-day workflows for years. As a result, when the company developed its AI assistant, Copilot, it was only natural to infuse it across the 365 apps, and now, it is getting even more helpful.  Also: Microsoft’s Copilot AI is coming to your Office apps – and it won’t come cheap On Wednesday, Microsoft launched Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat which builds on the…

ZDNET only writes about deals we want to buy — devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops.  We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and…

Cheng Xin/Getty Images Microsoft has begun expanding the reach of its Copilot feature set, bringing its AI capabilities to Office apps for anyone currently subscribed to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. For customers in the US and Europe, those features are only available with an extremely pricey Copilot Pro subscription. For Personal and Family subscribers, the upgrade costs an extra $20 monthly, which is more than double the cost of the basic Microsoft 365 subscription….

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Privacy Hero 2, a $199 router available on FlashRouters, supports NordVPN and Surfshark alongside various VPN protocols. It comes with one year of access to Privacy Hero Wireguard VPN and, with a current promotion, one year of NordVPN. The company should improve the build quality and be more generous with the Ethernet cable’s length. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are excellent tools for improving online privacy and security. Most people sign up…

JulPo/Getty Images In recent years, many personal finance applications have started offering artificial intelligence (AI) tools as an affordable alternative to human money managers. But do they always provide the right advice?  Many apps leverage AI to offer users a more consumer-friendly overview of their finances by automating savings, predicting expenses, analyzing spending trends, and identifying anomalies like fraud. An October 2024 Experian report found that 96% of those who’ve tried AI-driven finance apps (many of whom…

ZDNET’s key takeaways PNY 1TB CS3150 M.2 storage drive, available for around $115. Overall, it’s a fast M.2 drive with active cooling to keep running temperatures below the maximum rated temperature. The heatsink makes the drive rather bulky, and you will need a 4-pin fan header on the motherboard to power the fans. more buying choices In the not-so-distant past, the solution for speed-boosting an aging and sluggish PC was to add more RAM or…