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Gemini in Chrome no longer requires a subscription

Back at I/O 2025, Google began integrating Gemini into Chrome. At the time, you needed an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription to access the AI assistant in the browser. That's changing today. Google has begun rolling out the tool to all Chrome desktop users on both Windows and Mac. Provided you have Chrome's language set to English and live in the US, you'll see a new sparkle icon at the top of the interface. Tapping it will allow you to start making requests of Gemini. You can also use the tool on

Will AI damage human creativity? Most Americans say yes

marabird/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways AI's use is worrying Americans, a new report found. A majority of Americans don't want it replacing human cognition. Still, they are OK with some of AI's use cases. A new report on Americans' AI views highlights their concern over the technology's impact on human cognition, like creativity, problem-solving, forming meaningful relations, and making hard decisions. A majority

Gemini arrives in Chrome - here's everything it can do now

Bloomberg/Contributor/Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Gemini in Chrome is now on Mac and Windows desktop in the US. It's slated to receive more agentic abilities in the coming months. Google is also embedding AI into other parts of Chrome. Google is rolling out some major AI-powered upgrades to Chrome, as the technology continues to power a transformation throughout the broader online search industry. Also: Zoning out in meetings? G

Best early October Prime Day TV deals 2025: All time low prices from Samsung, LG, and more

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

This website has no class

Sep 14, 2025 This website has no class In my recent post, “There’s no such thing as a CSS reset”, I wrote this: Think of elements like components, but ones that come packed in the browser. Custom elements, without the “custom” part. You can just like, use them. The line continued to rattle around in my head, and a few weeks later when I was digging into some cleanup work I came to an uncomfortable realization; I wasn’t really taking my own advice. Sure, I was setting some default element sty

OpenTelemetry Collector: What It Is, When You Need It, and When You Don't

Do you really need an OpenTelemetry Collector? If you're just sprinkling SDKs into a side project - maybe not. If you're running a multi-service production environment and care about cost, performance, security boundaries, or intelligent processing - yes, you almost certainly do. This post explains exactly what the OpenTelemetry Collector is, why it exists, how data flows with and without it, and the trade‑offs of each approach. You’ll leave with a decision framework, deployment patterns, and p

Chrome's New AI Features

Today represents the biggest upgrade to Chrome in its history, as we share how we’re using the latest in Google AI to enhance your browsing experience. We’re building Google AI into Chrome across multiple levels so it can better anticipate your needs, help you understand more complex information and make you more productive when you browse the web, all while keeping you safe. Here are 10 new ways AI is helping us make Chrome smarter, safer and more useful than ever: 1. Enhance your browsing wi

Luau – Fast, small, safe, gradually typed scripting language derived from Lua

In addition to a completely custom front end that implements parsing, linting and type checking, Luau runtime features new bytecode, interpreter and compiler that are heavily tuned for performance. Luau interpreter can be competitive with LuaJIT interpreter depending on the program. An optional component for manual Just-In-Time compilation is also available for x64 and arm64 platforms, which can considerably speed up certain programs. We continue to optimize the runtime and rewrite portions of i

Google Launches AI-ified Chrome Browser

Earlier this month, Google avoided having to sell off its Chrome browser as a penalty for operating an illegal monopoly in its search business, and now it’s going all in on features that will keep users further ingrained in the Google ecosystem. On Thursday, the company announced a reimagined version of the Chrome browser that will be littered with AI features, including Gemini integration throughout the browser and an agentic AI that can navigate the web and complete tasks on behalf of the user

Nobody Wanted This: Samsung Fridges Are Getting Ads

If your home is your temple—the last place where you can escape the blasted outside landscape of billboards, screen ads, bus ads, train ads, and TV ads—know that the Mongol horde of advertising is looking to break down your fortress walls. Samsung’s new agenda for its smart home includes sticking ads into its ultra-expensive refrigerators with screens. Don’t worry, you can dismiss some of those ads, but the only way to get rid of them completely is to disconnect your fridge from the internet. A

Topics: ads ai home screens smart

NordVPN vs. Surfshark: See How These Sister Services Stack Up

James Martin/CNET NordVPN and Surfshark are two of the best virtual private network providers on the market, and while they share some similarities -- including the same parent company -- each packs unique offerings. NordVPN is our pick for the fastest VPN, based on our hands-on testing, while Surfshark earns our vote for the best value VPN. Both VPNs deliver fast speeds, user-friendly apps, handy privacy features and excellent streaming service content unblocking. Overall, I’d recommend Surfs

Nvidia, Intel to co-develop “multiple generations” of chips as part of $5 billion deal

In a major collaboration that would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago, Nvidia announced today that it was buying a total of $5 billion in Intel stock, giving Intel's competitor ownership of roughly 4 percent of the company. In addition to the investment, the two companies said that they would be co-developing "multiple generations of custom data center and PC products." "The companies will focus on seamlessly connecting NVIDIA and Intel architectures using NVIDIA NVLink," reads Nvi

Software update shoves ads onto Samsung’s pricey fridges

Days after someone revealed the news on social media, Samsung confirmed today that it is showing advertisements on some US customers’ smart fridges. Samsung said the ads showing on some Family Hub-series fridges are part of a pilot program, but we suspect that they may become more permanent additions to Samsung fridges and/or other types of screen-equipped smart home appliances. In a statement sent to Ars Technica, Samsung confirmed that it is “conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and

Google Injects Gemini Into Chrome as AI Browsers Go Mainstream

Google is adding multiple new AI features to Chrome, the most popular browser in the world. The most visible change is a new button in Chrome that launches the Gemini chatbot, but there are also new tools for searching, researching, and answering questions with AI. Google has additional cursor-controlling “agentic” tools in the pipeline for Chrome as well. The Gemini in Chrome mode for the web browser uses generative AI to answer questions about content on a page and synthesize information acro

Google is expanding Gemini in Chrome and letting it do stuff for you

is The Verge’s senior AI reporter. An AI beat reporter for more than five years, her work has also appeared in CNBC, MIT Technology Review, Wired UK, and other outlets. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Google is stepping things up in the AI agent browser wars. The company is launching a suite of new features deeply embedding Gemini into Chrome. That starts with the announcement that Gemini in Chrome will no longer require a membership fee

The FTC is suing Ticketmaster for illegally ‘coordinating’ with brokers

The latest targets in the White House’s on-again-off-again antitrust war are Ticketmaster and Live Nation, two villains that everyone appears to agree on. The Federal Trade Commission is accusing Ticketmaster (which owns Live Nation) of allowing ticket brokers to illegally exceed limits on purchases and then profiting off the inflated resale value. Customers often pay significantly more than the face value because resellers have snatched up all the tickets. And when a ticket is resold through Ti

Microsoft is filling Teams with AI agents

is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft is adding a whole load of AI agents to Teams today, promising Copilot assistants for every channel, meeting, and community. The new agents will also work across SharePoint and Viva Engage, and are rolling out for Microsoft 365 Copilot users. Facilitator agents will now sit in o

US House Oversight Committee summons CEOs of Discord, Twitch, Reddit to testify on online radicalization

The House Oversight Committee has requested that the CEOs of Discord, Twitch, Reddit, and gaming platform Steam testify on October 8 about their platforms’ alleged involvement in any online “radicalization” and the “incitement to commit politically motivated acts,” according to letters sent from the House committee to the four tech CEOs. In a statement, Rep. James Comer, chairman of the Oversight Committee, referenced the murder of Charlie Kirk and “other acts of politically motivated violence”

Google brings Gemini in Chrome to US users, unveils agentic browsing capabilities, and more

Google announced Thursday that it’s rolling out Gemini in Chrome to all Mac and Windows desktop users in the U.S. after previously limiting the capability to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers. The tech giant also announced that it’s bringing agentic capabilities to Chrome in the future, adding its AI Mode search feature to the address bar, launching new Gemini features, using AI to combat AI-generated scams, rolling out automatic password resets, and more. U.S. users who have their

Netskope opens at $23 after cybersecurity firm prices shares at top of range

Netskope shares opened at $23 in their Nasdaq debut after the cybersecurity software provider sold shares at the top end of its range. Shares were last up more than 20%. The company, which trades under the ticker symbol "NTSK," priced shares at $19 on Wednesday evening, raising over $908 million and valuing the company at $7.3 billion. Earlier this week, the company upped its expected range from between $15 and $17 a share to $17 to $19. CEO and co-founder Sanjay Beri said in an interview wit

Topics: 17 20 company data shares

Meta product chief Chris Cox says smart glasses are the future of computing

Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said on Thursday that smart glasses are the future of computing devices. "We talk to them, we will see with them, we will use gestures the same way we interact with each other to interact with our computers," Cox told CNBC's Julia Boorstin. "The interfaces will get more natural, and so we certainly believe that the next really important wearable technology is going to be a pair of glasses." The $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which were revealed on Wedne

Mysterious Object From Beyond Solar System May Be "Seed" Traveling Galaxy and Creating New Planets, Paper Finds

Astronomers have been fascinated after spotting an object earlier this year that came from interstellar space as is now hurtling through our inner solar system. Since then, they've been using powerful telescopes to study the mysterious object, trying to understand its unusual composition and exact origins. Most agree that it's probably a comet, albeit an unusual one, though at least one has posited that it could be a remnant of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization — a colorful claim, but o

A pivotal meeting on vaccine guidance is underway—and former CDC leaders are alarmed

On Thursday, an advisory CDC panel that develops vaccine guidance met for a two-day discussion on multiple childhood vaccines. During the meeting, which was underway as The Checkup went to press, members of the panel were set to discuss those vaccines and propose recommendations on their use. Monarez worries that access to childhood vaccines is under threat—and that the public health consequences could be dire. “If vaccine protections are weakened, preventable diseases will return,” she said.

Notepad's AI writing features will soon run locally on Copilot+ PCs

CoPilot+ PC owners have a new perk in the pipeline. Your AI PC will soon perform Notepad's AI writing features on-device — no subscription required. The app's summarize, write and rewrite options were introduced earlier this year. Up to this point, you've needed a CoPilot Pro or Microsoft 365 subscription to use Notepad's AI writing tools. So, if you've splurged on an AI PC, this could save you a few bucks each month. And if you have both a subscription and a CoPilot+ PC, it lets you choose bet

Top Best Buy deals ahead of Amazon Prime Day 2025: My 23 favorite sales before October

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

Will AI damage AI human creativity? Most Americans say yes

marabird/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways AI's use is worrying Americans, a new report found. A majority of Americans don't want it replacing human cognition. Still, they are OK with some of AI's use cases. A new report on Americans' AI views highlights their concern over the technology's impact on human cognition, like creativity, problem-solving, forming meaningful relations, and making hard decisions. A majority

Zoning out in meetings? Google Meet's new feature can catch you up in real time

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Ask Gemini is now available for some Google Meet users. It offers meeting notes, key takeaways, and live summaries. The AI assistant protects user privacy and has some limitations. Your Google Meet meetings are about to get more helpful, thanks to additional Gemini features built into the platform. According to Google, new Ask Gemini features include real-time summaries of what someone

I changed these 5 settings on my TV to significantly improve the picture quality

Adam Breeden/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Whether you're considering buying a new TV or your old flat panel seems to be doing fine, there are still ways to optimize your viewing experience, and it all begins with your television's settings. Let's explore some of the key factors determining how your TV performs and what you can do to make it look even better. 1. Turn down the sharpness The sharper the picture, the better. Right? Not necessarily. Contrary to pop