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Meta’s AI translation tool can dub your Instagram videos

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Meta is bringing its AI translation tool to more users on Facebook and Instagram, which automatically dubs your reels into another language. The feature also uses AI to make its dub match up with the sound of your voice and the movement of your mouth. For now,

Google Reportedly Working on a Mysterious 'Magic View' for NotebookLM

Google is continually expanding and strengthening the features for NotebookLM, its free AI-powered research assistant. An upcoming feature, code-named Magic View, should eventually land in the Studio panel alongside popular features like Audio and Video Overviews. At the moment, there's no clear indication as to what Magic View is (or will do) when it formally arrives in NotebookLM, but it's clear that Google keeps improving what I'd consider its best AI tool available today. The leak comes fr

I wasn’t using NotebookLM for YouTube research, but this extension changed all that

Andy Walker / Android Authority NotebookLM is by far the best AI project Google has piloted, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Sure, there are flashier examples, but none match the practical, everyday usefulness of this research and notebook app. Whether it’s for analyzing insurance or legal documents or helping me navigate my car’s user and care manual, this is one AI product I use almost every day. While importing various documents into the service is straightforward, uploading online medi

The ex-CIA agents deciding Facebook's content policy (2022)

It is an uncomfortable job for anyone trying to draw the line between “harmful content and protecting freedom of speech. It’s a balance”, Aaron says. In this official Facebook video, Aaron identifies himself as the manager of “the team that writes the rules for Facebook”, determining “what is acceptable and what is not.” Thus, he and his team effectively decide what content the platform’s 2.9 billion active users see and what they don’t see. Aaron is being interviewed in a bright warehouse-turn

Representing Python notebooks as dataflow graphs

This blog is adapted from our talk at PyCon 2025. marimo is free and open source, available on GitHub. For a free online experience with link sharing, try molab. marimo is a new kind of open-source Python notebook. While traditional notebooks are just REPLs, marimo notebooks are Python programs represented as dataflow graphs. This intermediate representation lets marimo blend the best parts of interactive computing with the reproducibility and reusability of Python software: every marimo notebo

Game over: Chrome OS pulls the plug on Steam gaming

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Steam on Chrome OS support began as a beta test in early 2022. After graduating to a beta later that year, progress slowed down. Now users are being informed that the beta is slated to end as 2026 gets started. Choosing a Chromebook over a standard PC laptop can make sense for a lot of good reasons, from wanting to take advantage of the platform’s track record of security, to just hoping to save some money on affordable hardware. But one pro we rarel

Steam for Chromebooks is reportedly being discontinued

The dream of Chromebooks that double as gaming laptops appears to be on its last legs. 9to5Google reports that Google is ending support for Steam for Chromebooks starting January 1, 2026. Porting the application launcher was part of an extended push from the company to make Chromebooks a place to play games. Companies like ASUS and Acer announced and released gaming Chromebooks, but the idea never seemed to catch on. Google's plan to retire Steam for Chromebooks was discovered when 9to5Google t

Facebook and Instagram may be down for some users

Meta is apparently experiencing some capacity of server issues today. According to Downdetector, user reports of Facebook and Instagram not refreshing have spiked recently. Meta hasn’t acknowledged any outage on its system status page yet, and Facebook appears to be loading fine here. But if you’re having issues loading either app today, Downdetector shows that you’re not alone. ❗️Can't refresh your feed or messages on Facebook and Instagram? You're not alone! Downdetector users have been

Google and Valve will kill “Steam for Chromebooks” experiment in January 2026

Bad news if you're one of the handful of people using Steam to play games on a Chromebook: Google and Valve are preparing to end support for the still-in-beta ChromeOS version of Steam on January 1, 2026, according to 9to5Google. Steam can still be installed on Chromebooks, but it now comes with a notice announcing the end of support. “The Steam for Chromebook Beta program will conclude on January 1st, 2026," reads the notification. "After this date, games installed as part of the Beta will no

Google’s NotebookLM is now available to younger users as competition in the AI education space intensifies

Google’s AI note-taking app is now open to younger users, having previously been limited to users 18 and older. The tech giant announced that NotebookLM is available to Google Workspace for Education users of any age and for consumers ages 13 and up. The removal of age restrictions is intended to provide younger students with access to the AI research tool, allowing them to better understand their class materials. Now, students can access features such as the ability to convert notes into podca

11 Best Chromebooks of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

The price for Chromebooks can range wildly, from $150 up to $800, and therefore the specs can vary. Processor: For the best experience, you should avoid older Chromebooks with Intel Celeron processors. The Chromebook Plus specifications offer a good baseline to guarantee speedy performance, and I’d recommend going with at least an Intel Core i3, Core i5, or AMD Ryzen 3 7000 processor. Just watch out for overspending on configurations with Intel Core i7 processors unless you need the extra horse

Gemini is getting ready to work with our favorite Google AI tool (APK teardown)

Andy Walker / Android Authority TL;DR NotebookLM asks users to upload collections of documents which are organized into notebooks. Right now, NotebookLM draws only from these notebooks when answering your questions. Gemini support for notebook uploads may let users combine those resources with the wider internet. NotebookLM is arguably one of Google’s most useful AI tools, and has helped introduce us to impressive features like Audio Overviews. Perhaps its greatest strength stems from how fo

Indie App Spotlight: ‘Scout’ is a powerful tool for monitoring Facebook Marketplace

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Everyone likes saving money when making a big purchase, and a lot of people would like to consider used goods. That said, the hassle can often be too much to deal with, so buying something new just feels easier. Scout is a new app that makes searching Facebook Marketplace much easier, and can hopefully

How did Facebook intercept competitor's encrypted mobile app traffic? (2014)

A technical investigation into information uncovered in a class action lawsuit that Facebook had intercepted encrypted traffic from user's devices running the Onavo Protect app in order to gain competitive insights. There is a current class action lawsuit against Meta in which court documents note* that the the company may have breached the Wiretap Act. The analysis made in this post is based on content court documents and reverse engineering sections of archived Onavo Protect app packages for

I made a website that makes you cry

Thank you for visiting! Come back in a week to cry again. ‍ Enter your email for our free eBook on crying's benefits and exclusive updates on future projects. Thank you for visiting! Refresh the page to try again. ‍ Enter your email for our free eBook on crying's benefits and exclusive updates on future projects.

The sequel to ‘The Social Network’ may have just found its lead actors

In Brief Over a decade after “The Social Network,” director Aaron Sorkin is reportedly working on a sequel, possibly with two leads in mind. While the 2010 original film focused on Mark Zuckerberg’s rise, “Social Network Part II” is said to draw from Jeff Horwitz’s “The Facebook Files,” which exposed Facebook’s harmful effects on teens and its role in spreading misinformation. According to Deadline, Jeremy Allen White from “The Bear” is being considered for the role of Horwitz, while Mikey Ma

Aaron Sorkin’s Social Network sequel might recast Mark Zuckerberg

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Aaron Sorkin is writing and directing a follow-up to The Social Network, and Jeremy Strong is reportedly the lead candidate to play Mark Zuckerberg. According to Deadline, “Sources say no formal offer has been presented but that he is the top choice to play the Facebook founder.” Jesse Eisenberg played Zuckerberg in the first film. Deadline reported on the new film, The Socia

Asus Chromebook CX14 Review: What You Get for $429

You could certainly make the argument that cheap Chromebooks keep the world running. That's at least true in schools. But for all their importance, not as many new affordable Chromebooks come out each year as you might think. Asus is changing that in 2025 with the Chromebook CX14, a surprisingly pleasant 14-inch laptop that costs just $429 in its higher-end configuration. As far as cheap Chromebooks go, this is among the best. Blending In Photograph: Luke Larsen The CX14 might not look like

Google adds Video Overviews to NotebookLM

The AI can now use visuals to help illustrate points, though it's only available in a slideshow format for now. NotebookLM, the Google research tool that gained notoriety for its AI-generated podcasts, is introducing a feature called Video Overviews. As the name suggests, this tool automatically creates videos on requested topics and pulls data from a user's uploaded images, diagrams, quotes and documents. It's rolling out right now, but there are some caveats. These overviews are only availab

NotebookLM’s impressive new feature is a godsend for visual learners

Andy Walker / Android Authority TL;DR Google has launched Video Overviews in NotebookLM, turning your notes into narrated slide videos. The AI can generate new visuals and mix them with your documents to explain complex topics. A redesigned Studio panel also lets users create multiple outputs per notebook. NotebookLM has gradually become one of Google’s most useful tools for making sense of dense material, especially with its podcast-style Audio Overviews. Now it’s adding a visual twist as V

Observable Notebooks 2.0 Technology Preview

You can also use the new Vite plugin directly if you want to integrate notebooks into your existing Vite-based application. The build command is implemented on top of Vite, making it incredibly fast. If you prefer to author notebooks in a text editor rather than using Observable Desktop, you can use Vite’s preview server for a live preview as you edit. notebooks preview See the Notebook Kit documentation for more.

Here are the laptops I’d tell any parent to consider for their back-to-school student

is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021. We’re in the heart of summer fun, but it’s already time for back-to-school planning, especially if that involves buying a new laptop. The dizzying number of different laptops and configurations can feel overwhelming, especially if you want something that doesn’t cost too much but will still last a long time. My general guidelines are t

I got ChatGPT Agent to deliver a truly useful report - and then NotebookLM took it to the next level

Vlad Georgescu/Getty Images What happens when you take a billion dollars of computer power and let it research a question for twelve whole minutes? A lot more than if you use that same power for just a few seconds, that's for sure. Since ChatGPT Agent is so new, I've been exploring its capabilities and trying to understand what kinds of problems it's best suited for. This time, I asked it to compare cloud storage services. It took twelve minutes to come up with an answer. Also: 9 programming

Syncing desktops and better AI wallpapers are coming to ChromeOS

Google has released a new version of ChromeOS that allows you to sync desktops between devices, ideal for anyone who works across more than one Chromebook. It also significantly improves the AI wallpapers available on Chromebook Plus laptops with a completely freeform prompting field. Desk sync is designed to help you pick up where you left off when changing devices. It will sync your windows, tabs, and cookies so you can change devices without losing where you were. Google suggests it’ll be pa

I switched to a $280 Chromebook from my Windows laptop for a week - and didn't regret it

Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 ZDNET's key takeaways The Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 is available now for $279 at Best Buy. It's a versatile and highly-portable device that's as useful at home as in the office. Some of the most buzzworthy features are tied to subscriptions, and the keyboard and trackpad are very small. $279 at Best Buy $379 at Lenovo more buying choices The ninth-generation Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an 11-inch 2-in-1 laptop/tablet that combines a nice display, a versatile form

I finally gave NotebookLM my full attention - and it really is a total game changer

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET One of the best parts of my job is that I get to chat with industry folks who, like me, eat and breathe AI tools. After meeting with yet another (non-Google-affiliated) media person last week who told me how much they loved NotebookLM, I decided to give it a real try. Also: OpenAI wins gold at prestigious math competition - why that matters more than you think Although I've tried several NotebookLM features for the site before and have been impressed, finding a wa

How to Delete All of Your Social Media Accounts: Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, and More

Here’s an evergreen take: There has never been a better time to get off social media. Social services have evolved even further into becoming sticky traps for doomscrolling and AI-generated slop, and are hitherto unprecedented frontiers for rage bait. Bummed out about all the misinformation and being part of a profit machine that funds one increasingly unhinged billionaire or another? Well, there’s a way out. Unfortunately, social media companies don’t always make it very easy to rescind their

This HP EliteBook I tested is one of the most versatile work laptops of 2025 - and it's on sale

ZDNET's key takeaways The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i is on sale for $1,949. 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. View now at HP View now at B&H Photo Video more buying choices Work laptops don't have to be boring hunks of gray metal. There are plenty of eye-catching models providing engag

This $269 Chromebook couldn't be more portable - here's why it's my pick for students

ZDNET's key takeaways The Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 is available now for $399. It's a versatile and highly-portable device that's as useful at home as in the office. Some of the most buzzworthy features are tied to subscriptions, and the keyboard and trackpad are very small. $399 at Best Buy $379 at Lenovo $325 at Amazon more buying choices The ninth-generation Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an 11-inch 2-in-1 laptop/tablet that combines a nice display, a versatile form factor, and accessible ha