AI, software, security and the apps you use every day, written for business owners and everyday people. New stories through the day, zero clickbait.
An old laptop can run your home network, store backups or act as a second screen, saving money and taking load off your main computer.
Read more: Four useful jobs for the old laptop sitting in your drawerIndia's telecom department wants messaging apps tied to an active SIM or eSIM from January 1, 2027, so chats could stop if your number goes inactive.
Read more: India may require an active SIM card to use WhatsApp from 2027OpenAI has opened ChatGPT's web search to everyone, with no account or login needed, so anyone can try an AI search tool and check its sources.
Read more: ChatGPT's web search now works without an accountWired earbuds are back in style, and a How-To Geek writer argues they beat AirPods on charging, sound, lag, compatibility and lifespan.
Read more: Wired earbuds are trending again, and there are real reasons to switchA study forced two leading AI models to pick a candidate in nearly 500 races. Grok mostly chose Republicans and GPT mostly chose Democrats.
Read more: When forced to pick a candidate, two AI models chose opposite partiesSamsung's One UI 9 update includes Driving Report, a free tool that flags hard braking, quick acceleration and phone use after each trip.
Read more: Samsung phones can now grade your driving after every tripA political group wants the FCC to let campaigns send AI robocalls to cell phones without permission before November. A watchdog says the FCC should say no.
Read more: Group asks FCC to allow unsolicited political AI robocalls to cell phonesEngageLab's new Agent Email tool lets AI read and answer customer replies to business emails. It is open only to enterprise customers for now.
Read more: New AI tool lets companies answer customer email replies automaticallyXiaomi's 18 Fold copies the wider, passport-style shape Samsung and Apple now use, but US buyers can't get it and no price or sale date is out.
Read more: Xiaomi's new foldable phone copies the squat passport shapeRing cameras still show live video and let you talk through the app with no plan. Saved footage is what costs extra, and privacy questions linger.
Read more: Ring cameras still work without a paid plan, but with limitsA three-month study of 133 patent attorneys found AI lifted junior lawyers' work right away, but only senior lawyers kept the benefit once the tool was gone.
Read more: AI helps new patent lawyers write better, but they learn less from itBernstein Research says only about 35% of announced US AI data center capacity will likely get built, so big announcements may not mean much.
Read more: Many planned AI data centers may never actually get builtA reviewer says Lenovo's Yoga 9n shows what Apple's rumored touchscreen MacBook should offer, from stylus use on the trackpad to wireless charging.
Read more: A Lenovo laptop shows what a touchscreen MacBook could get rightApple's $700 MacBook Neo uses a chip designed for the iPhone 16 Pro. Engadget finds it handles everyday work well, with limits worth knowing before you buy.
Read more: Apple's $700 MacBook Neo runs on an iPhone chip and mostly holds upA TechCrunch reviewer says the $400 Boox Palma 2 Pro, a phone-sized E Ink reader, ended her habit of reading in bed on her iPhone. It has trade-offs.
Read more: A $400 phone-sized e-reader helped one reviewer quit reading in bed on her phoneA growing group of AI helpers take requests by text message, with no new app. Prices run from free to $1 a day, so it pays to check what each one connects to.
Read more: AI helpers you can text like a friend, no new app neededCompany tools can spot unapproved AI apps on work Macs, but a personal ChatGPT or Claude tab in a browser is much harder to see or stop.
Read more: Staff can paste work files into personal AI accounts through a web browserStatik's $20 PowerStand cable has fold-out feet that prop your phone up while it charges, so travelers may not need a separate stand.
Read more: A $20 phone charging cable has a built-in kickstandClosing apps does not save iPhone battery. Engadget says a few settings for the screen, background activity and charging make a bigger difference.
Read more: Close-app habit won't save your iPhone battery, these settings willBillionaire Mark Cuban says AI hacking is old tricks at huge scale, and that businesses can fight back by using just as much AI on defense.
Read more: Mark Cuban: Fight hacker AI with defensive AIAI helped find two critical flaws in PHP, which up to 70% of websites use, and companies are racing to fix them before hackers strike.
Read more: AI found two serious flaws in software that runs most websitesChatGPT has a new feature called Task, built to show repeated search results, which could save time if you check the same things often.
Read more: ChatGPT adds 'Task' feature to show repeated search resultsA network of look-alike online shops fakes a declined payment to collect card details. No charge is ever made, so your bank statement stays quiet.
Read more: Fake shops 'decline' your card on purpose to collect more cardsT-Mobile promised to never change the price customers pay, then raised rates. New York customers have now gotten back about $38 million in value.
Read more: T-Mobile promised no price changes, then raised rates. NY gets $38M
