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This is the most durable USB-C cable I've ever tested - and it charges at 100W

'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

Gene-edited pancreatic cells transplanted into a patient with type 1 diabetes

Crispr gene-editing technology has demonstrated its revolutionary potential in recent years: It has been used to treat rare diseases, to adapt crops to withstand the extremes of climate change, or even to change the color of a spider’s web. But the greatest hope is that this technology will help find a cure for a global disease, such as diabetes. A new study points in that direction. For the first time, researchers succeeded in implanting Crispr-edited pancreatic cells in a man with type 1 diab

Logging in Go with Slog: A Practitioner's Guide

Logging in Go has come a long way. For years, the community relied on the simple standard log Copy package or turned to powerful third-party libraries like zap and zerolog . With the introduction of log/slog in Go 1.21 , the language now has a native, high-performance, structured logging solution designed to be the new standard. slog Copy isn’t just another logger; it’s a new foundation that provides a common API (the frontend) that separates logging logic from the final output, which is contr

Becoming the person who does the thing

It can be disorienting when our beliefs shift. The world we helped create no longer exists, and our role in it transforms too. It can be unsettling, naturally. But that's kind of the point. Looking back at times when I held certain beliefs—about how the world works, and what my role in this story is—it can feel less like a mod was installed and more like an entirely new operating system was swapped in. Up until my late twenties, I could count the number of times I had been to the gym on one h

Jef Raskin’s cul-de-sac and the quest for the humane computer

Consider the cul-de-sac. It leads off the main street past buildings of might-have-been to a dead-end disconnected from the beaten path. Computing history, of course, is filled with such terminal diversions, most never to be fully realized, and many for good reason. Particularly when it comes to user interfaces and how humans interact with computers, a lot of wild ideas deserved the obscure burials they got. But some deserved better. Nearly every aspiring interface designer believed the way we

VPNs and Age-Verification Laws: What You Need to Know

The problem is how the verification happens. You aren’t verifying your age with the government. You’re routing it through an independent third party, and most of the laws on the books are designed specifically in this way. In the UK, for example, Reddit verifies with Persona, and Bluesky uses Kids Web Services (owned by Epic Games). Persona’s privacy policy states that it collects not only biometric information and personal details, like your ID, but also ties that to information gathered from

Performance-focused forks of styled-components

Your React app might be 40% slower on first render than it needs to be. Not because you wrote bad code. Not because React is slow. But because styled-components never implemented React 18's useInsertionEffect hook: a feature specifically designed to solve CSS-in-JS performance problems. While React 18 shipped in March 2022 with this optimization path, styled-components remained on React 17 patterns, injecting styles during render instead of between render and layout. This creates a performanc

Float Exposed

half bfloat float double Value Position within Significand–Exponent Range Evaluation in Base-2 (−1 2 ) 2 ×​ 10 2 ( 2 − 2 )​ ×​ . 2 Evaluation in Base-10 ×​ 2 ×​ . Exact Base-10 Value Delta to Next/Previous Representable Value Delta to Next Representable Value

Server-Driven UI with GraphQL & WebAssembly: Crafting the Dynamic, High-Performance Frontend of Tomorrow

Key Takeaways SDUI Necessity: Server-Driven UI will become essential for high-agility scenarios demanding rapid UI evolution and backend control over frontend composition. GraphQL as Orchestrator: GraphQL’s declarative nature and flexible schema will be ideal for querying and orchestrating dynamic UI structures and properties. WebAssembly for Performance: WebAssembly will enable high-performance, efficient rendering of server-defined UI, offering smaller bundles and near-native execution. Archi

DOJ and states ask court to compel Apple to hand over documents in antitrust case

Apple is being accused of dragging its feet to produce important documents related to its antitrust case. Here are the details. A bit of background The DOJ brought its case against Apple in 2024, accusing it of antitrust behavior regarding multiple app categories, such as super apps, messaging apps, and cloud streaming gaming, as well as related to third-party smartwatches and third-party digital wallets. Apple, for its part, has attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, and as recently as last July,

Microsoft and OpenAI announce the 'next phase' of their partnership

Microsoft and OpenAI have issued a joint statement to say that they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for the "next phase" of their partnership. The companies are still finalizing the terms of agreement and haven't shared the details of what their future would look like exactly. But according to The New York Times, the deal includes hows the parties share technology and and the revenue from those technologies. The new agreement also reportedly modifies the clause in the origi

The effects of algorithms on the public discourse

We traded blogs for black boxes, now we're paying for it 09/09/2025 Come listen to the "old man yelling at clouds" in me for a bit. tl;dr: The internet is changing for the worse (or getting 'enshittified'). In this post, I write about the effects of algorithms on the public discourse to illustrate a greater point on the enshittification of the internet. Then, I offer my personal notes and curated resources to guide you on your personal internet deshittification journey. I miss the old intern

This Pop-Out Phone Controller Could Reinvent How We Think of Mobile Gaming

Today’s retro recreations are so good at replicating the Game Boy’s look, feel, and portability. The problem is, my pockets are already occupied with my mobile supercomputer that contains my life behind a 6.3-inch pane of glass. If my phone has a powerful processor and excellent AMOLED display, why can’t it also become my gaming device when I’m on the go? MCON, the controller hyped to hell and back by young engineer Josh King and brought to market by phone peripheral makers OhSnap, could be enou

Perplexity's definition of copyright gets it sued by the dictionary

Merriam-Webster and its parent company Encyclopedia Britannica are the latest to take on AI in court. The plaintiffs have sued Perplexity, claiming that AI company's "answer engine" product unlawfully copies their copyrighted materials. They are also alleging copyright infringement for instances where Perplexity's AI creates false or inaccurate hallucinations that it then wrongly attributes to Britannica or Merriam-Webster. The complaint , filed in New York federal court, is seeking unspecified

Senator demands to know status of 'duplicate' SSA database 'immediately'

A US Senator is demanding answers after a Social Security Administration (SSA) employee who blew the whistle on Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dealings involuntarily resigned last month, citing workplace hostility in response to his concerns. Republican Senator Mike Crapo (it's pronounced Cray-poe), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to the SSA's commissioner, Frank Bisignano, giving him just two weeks to provide answers to concerns raised last month by now-form

‘Wednesday’ Star Evie Templeton on Agnes’ Progression From Stalker to Friend

During a chat on the official Wednesday podcast—or rather, woecast—Nevermore newcomer Evie Templeton discussed Agnes coming into her own after being an unhinged stalker fan of Netflix’s favorite Addams. After Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) lays into her at the end of the second season of the Tim Burton show, seemingly to push her to be herself in the meanest way possible, Agnes gets gutted emotionally in a way that could have been a villain origin but goes in a surprisingly positive direction. “I th

OpenAI Needs Data Centers So Much, It Signed a $300B Deal With Oracle

Here's an eye-popping new price tag for generative AI's booming demand for energy and computing power for data centers: $300 billion. That's how much ChatGPT maker OpenAI has reportedly committed to spend with Oracle over a five-year span to continue its run of early success. The deal, which would be one of the largest contracts for cloud computing, was announced by both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times on Wednesday. The contract with Oracle would entail delivery of as much as 4.

Online Media Brands Hope a New Protocol Will Stop Unwanted AI Crawlers

Online media brands, including Yahoo, Quora and Medium, are taking a new step to prevent AI companies from copying and using their content to train models without their permission. The publishers, including CNET's parent company Ziff Davis, see this new tool, called RSL, as another way to ensure large AI developers don't use their work without payment or compensation -- an issue that's already led to a host of lawsuits. RSL, which stands for Really Simple Licensing, is inspired by Really Simpl

Microsoft and OpenAI have a new deal that could clear the way for an IPO

is a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. As OpenAI attempts to restructure itself and eventually go public, a hurdle for the startup, recently valued at $500 billion, is its increasingly complicated partnership with Microsoft. On Thursday afternoon, the two companies released this joint state

Doorbell prankster that tormented residents of apartments turns out to be a slug

Inhabitants of an apartment block in Bavaria, southern Germany, who called police to investigate the relentless buzzing of their doorbells late at night were surprised to find the culprit was not a teenage prankster as they had suspected, but a slug. The slug had been sliding up and down the bell plate, creating havoc in the building and tearing angry residents out of their beds long after midnight when they could not sleep for the noise. At first they had suspected the so-called klingelstreic

How Palantir is mapping the nation’s data

When the U.S. government signs contracts with private technology companies, the fine print rarely reaches the public. Palantir Technologies, however, has attracted more and more attention over the past decade because of the size and scope of its contracts with the government. Palantir’s two main platforms are Foundry and Gotham. Each does different things. Foundry is used by corporations in the private sector to help with global operations. Gotham is marketed as an “operating system for global

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Sept. 12, #1546

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's Wordle puzzle has only one vowel, so if you often guess AUDIO or ADIEU as your first word, change it up. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on. Today's Wordle hint

NASA found intriguing rocks on Mars, so where does that leave Mars Sample Return?

NASA's interim administrator Sean Duffy was fired up on Wednesday when he joined a teleconference to talk about new scientific findings that concerned the potential for life to have once existed on Mars. "This is exciting news," said Duffy about an arrow-shaped rock on Mars found by NASA's Perseverance rover. The rock contained chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by ancient microbial life. The findings were intriguing, but not conclusive. Further study of the rocks in

Anthropic’s Claude AI can now automatically ‘remember’ past chats

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. Anthropic will now let its Claude AI chatbot “remember” the details of previous conversations without prompting. The feature is only rolling out for Team and Enterprise users for now, allowing Claude to automatically incorporate someone’s preferences, the contex

How to Inspire K-12 Students to Study in Computing Disciplines in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Byte-A-Dynamo Workshops

Software engineering shouldn’t be gatekept to people who can afford an expensive degree. Recently, one group has been working hard to expand artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science teaching to students (ages 10-16) from low-income families in Maryland who have no or minimal computing backgrounds. Computing isn’t just for the elite; it’s for anyone with curiosity and creativity. But resources and training aren’t always widely accessible. That’s why a series of free workshops was introd