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Installing a UPS battery backup saved my work PC - here's the full story

Goldemate 1000 Pro UPS ZDNET's key takeaways The Goldemate 1000 Pro UPS is available now on Amazon for $199. With a Lithium battery that can last for nearly two hours, this UPS is hard to beat at the price. There's no means of communicating to a PC for a graceful shutdown, should power go out. $199.99 at Amazon Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. For as long as I can remember, I've used a UPS -- aka, Uninterruptible Powe

Best Microwaves of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. In every kitchen, there are a handful of staples that make cooking, prepping and everything in between easier. For some, that may be a toaster oven, for others perhaps it's a blender or juicer. However, for me, there's one that stands out the most: the microwave. Whether you're simply reheating leftovers or prepping popcorn for a

Deals 24GB M4 MacBook Pro $300 off, M4 Max Mac Studio $300 off, MacBook Air, iPad Air, more

Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break deals is headlined by our giant lineup of weekend Apple deals. We are once again heading into the weekend with all-time low pricing on the M3 iPad Air lineup alongside deals on M4 MacBook Air, iPad mini 7, AirPods 4, and a whole lot more all rounded up for you right here. On top of that we have also spotted a rare discount on the most affordable 24GB M4 MacBook Pro you can buy at $300 off alongside even deeper deals on M4 Max Mac Studio models at $300 off. Everything

Colt Telecom attack claimed by WarLock ransomware, data up for sale

UK-based telecommunications company Colt Technology Services is dealing with a cyberattack that has caused a multi-day outage of some of the company's operations, including hosting and porting services, Colt Online, and Voice API platforms. The British telecommunications and network services provider disclosed that the attack started on August 12 and the disruption continues as its IT staff works around the clock to mitigate its effects. Founded in 1992 as City of London Telecommunications (CO

I tested this fully-equipped Samsung tablet that makes the Ultra model look bad

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro ZDNET's key takeaways The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro is available starting at $659 for the 128GB version, with 5G models starting at $769. It's an exceptionally rugged tablet with removable dual batteries and software updates for eight years. RAM is a bit limited at 6GB, and the included S Pen doesn't support wireless Bluetooth functions. View now at Samsung Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium bro

Narwal’s New S30 Series Improves on Wet-Dry Vacuuming with AI Dirt Detection and Self-Cleaning

Together with robot vacuums that can mop, wet-dry vacuums are becoming a common tool for saving time and effort when cleaning your home. As the name suggests, wet-dry vacuums like the Dyson Submarine V15s -- one of our top cordless picks -- can vacuum dirt and debris from carpets while also wet-mopping hard floors with a cleaning solution. The S30 and S30 Pro, first announced at CES 2025, are two of the latest wet-dry vacuums from Narwal and they improve on the previous generation, the S20 and S

Angry, confused and worried about police – behind Instagram bans

Angry, confused and worried about police – behind Instagram bans 13 hours ago Share Save Graham Fraser Technology Reporter Share Save Getty Images The banning of accounts has left an emotional impact on people Instagram users have told the BBC of their confusion, fear and anger after having their accounts suspended, often for being wrongly accused by parent company Meta of breaching the platform's child sex abuse rules. For months, tens of thousands of people around the world have been compla

BlackBerry Classic is being revived with Android, and it can be yours for $400

Zinwa Technologies TL;DR A Chinese company is reviving old BlackBerry Classic phones with Android. The main board has been replaced, and so are the cameras, battery, and USB port. The revived BlackBerry is up for pre-ordering, and the company plans to start mass production by September. BlackBerry was more than a phone brand. It was a long-running phenomenon that would instantly shape your impression of the person using it as someone important. And so, it isn’t surprising to see so many peop

MacBook Air deal: Pick up the M4-powered laptop while it's down to a record-low price

Whether you need a new MacBook for the upcoming semester or you've just been itching to upgrade from an older machine, now's a good time to buy. Amazon has a sale on the latest M4 MacBook Air that knocks up to 20 percent off many configurations. The base model is where you'll get the biggest discount. The 16GB RAM/256GB SSD laptop is down to $799 from $999, which is the lowest price we've seen. You can upgrade to 512GB SSD for $999, down from $1,199, another all-time low price, or 24GB of RAM a

How much RAM do you really need in 2025?

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. I used to struggle when shopping for a new computer. Over time, I learned to narrow things down to what I call the "performance trifecta" -- three main components you should be mindful of when buying a laptop or desktop: processor, storage drive, and RAM. The first two are pretty easy to figure out. A good processor ensures that a computer performs well, and a lots o

Is a refurbished MacBook viable in 2025? I did the math, and here's my expert advice

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET I remember when people used to scoff at refurbished tech. Buying a used phone or computer was like rolling the dice: you never knew exactly what you were getting. Well, the times certainly have changed. And, in this economy, the prices on refurbished tech are looking more and more tempting. Consumers are challenging this idea that we're all supposed to buy brand new phones and laptops every few years, and in the process, the market for refurbished tech has blown up. Also:

Here’s Acura’s next all-electric RSX crossover

Acura's next RSX crossover has broken cover. The automaker has used this year's Monterey Car Week as a stage to show off a bright yellow prototype—the color is called Propulsion Yellow Pearl—ahead of the production car going on sale next year. And unlike the current generation (which Ars last tested back in 2019) RDX, this crossover will be fully electric. It will be built at the Honda Marysville Auto Plant that we checked out back in January. The 40-year old factory has been given a high-tech

Blood Oxygen returns to Apple Watch, iOS 26 beta 6, Apple tabletop robots

Benjamin and Chance react to the surprise announcement that the Apple Watch Blood Oxygen feature is coming back for US users, via a phone relay workaround. Also, Apple released the latest beta of iOS 26, featuring some fun new animations and even more Liquid Glass refinements. Plus, there’s more speculation about the low-cost MacBook and more details about Apple’s future ventures into home robotics. And in Happy Hour Plus, we catch up on some recent TV shows and movies we enjoyed this summer. S

Another giant collection of Apple gear on sale this weekend: MacBooks, iPad, AirPods, more

Another sizable lineup of week’s end Apple deals are at the ready folks. Last week we featured a series of massive Apple sales at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H, and since that time, just about all of the best deals have carried through to this week/weekend. We have also added a number of new price drops on M4 MacBook Pro and M4 MacBook Air configurations you don’t often see discounted, alongside offers on Apple Watch Series 10 at up to $149 off just after Apple introduced a brand new

Google is testing customizable calling cards for Android that show up when your friends call

Google has started rolling out customizable calling cards for the beta versions of its Android Contacts and Phone apps. Android Authority found clues that the company was working on the feature back in July when it did an APK teardown. Now, you can give it a try if you decide to install the beta versions of the apps. As the publication notes, Google's implementation is the direct opposite of Apple's. On iOS, your set your own photo and name that you want to show up on other people's phones when

Now You Can Get Your Flu Vaccine at Home

Instead of going to the pharmacy to get the annual flu vaccine, many people in the US will now be able to get it shipped to their door to take at home themselves. Starting today, AstraZeneca’s FluMist is available through an online pharmacy in 34 states. FluMist is not a new vaccine. It was originally approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2003 and previously could only be administered by a health care professional. But last September, the FDA said the vaccine could be self-administere

I've tested several Android tablets for work travel - why I recommend this Samsung the most

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro ZDNET's key takeaways The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro is available starting at $659 for the 128GB version, with 5G models starting at $769. It's an exceptionally rugged tablet with removable dual batteries and software updates for eight years. RAM is a bit limited at 6GB, and the included S Pen doesn't support wireless Bluetooth functions. View now at Samsung Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium bro

Citybound: City building game, microscopic models to vividly simulate organism

A city building game that uses microscopic models to vividly simulate the organism of a city arising from the interactions of millions of individuals. People on the move, businesses in trade, neighbourhoods changing. Each inhabitant struggling, adapting, making life choices. The city evolves, the city grows. The city is us. See and inspect all aspects of city life, across many scales of time and space. Shape your city by sketching detailed project plans for infrastructure and zones. Implement

Death and What Comes Next (2002)

The L-Space Web Death and What Comes Next A Discworld short story By Terry Pratchett Copyright © Terry Pratchett 2002 When Death met the philosopher, the philosopher said, rather excitedly: "At this point, you realise, I'm both dead and not dead." There was a sigh from Death. Oh dear, one of those, he thought. This is going to be about quantum again. He hated dealing with philosophers. They always tried to wriggle out of it. "You see," said the philosopher, while Death, motionless, watched

Swiss vs. UK approach to major tranport projects

Start with the timetable So, let’s imagine the UK had done this in 2008. What might the planners have noticed? Well, first up, they'd have spotted that our major cities need more frequent and faster rail connections from suburbs to centres and that these are prevented at the moment by insufficient platform capacity in stations like Leeds, Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street. So we need more station capacity in our city centres. They'd have identified that many suburban lines into

Dyson Airwrap Co-anda 2x Review: Great, Not a Must-Have

Each attachment is embedded with RFID chips that auto-adjust heat and airflow based on your last-used settings. Not a revolutionary change, but it is nice not to have to toggle settings every time I switch attachments. You can also pair it with Dyson's app, which offers tutorials based on your hair type and goals. Dyson also moved the fan and heat controls to the base of the handle. It’s a cleaner look, but it can get finicky if you’re used to adjusting settings mid-styling. If you’ve already p

Instagram users angry and confused as Meta overturns yet more account bans

Instagram users angry and confused as Meta overturns yet more account bans 7 hours ago Share Save Graham Fraser Technology Reporter Share Save Getty Images The banning of accounts has left an emotional impact on people Instagram users have told the BBC of their confusion, fear and anger after having their accounts suspended, often for being wrongly accused by parent company Meta of breaching the platform's child sex abuse rules. For months, tens of thousands of people around the world have be

Google’s Calling Cards are rolling out now, and this is our first proper look!

TL;DR Google has started to roll out the Calling Cards feature in the Contacts and Phone apps. This feature lets you create a stylish profile for your contacts. This differs from Apple’s Contact Posters, which only lets you create a poster for yourself. We’ve been tracking a Calling Card feature in Google’s Contacts app for weeks now. We haven’t actually seen this in action, but all signs point to Android’s take on Apple’s Contact Posters feature. Now, we’ve got our first look at this feature

I used to know how to write in Japanese

Marco Giancotti , August 15, 2025 Cover image: Kazuenokami Katō Kiyomasa Observing a Monkey with a Writing Brush, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi I recently came across a short essay about kanji—Japanese logographic characters—by a certain James W. Heisig. His point is that learning kanji presents two obstacles: remembering what the shapes mean and remembering how they are pronounced. And it is a bad idea, claims Heisig, to try learning both at the same time. Japanese children learn the spoken language fir

Time to End Roundtripping by Big Pharma

Sometimes a news story makes your case for you. That happened this past week, when the Wall Street Journal published a remarkable story on surging U.S. imports of peptides and protein-based hormones from Ireland. Chelsey Dulaney and Jared Hopkins wrote: “Planes have been jetting from Ireland to the U.S. this year carrying something more valuable than gold: $36 billion worth of hormones for popular obesity and diabetes drugs … The peptide- and protein-based hormones feed into a category of drug

Bluesky: Updated Terms and Policies

Since launching Bluesky two years ago, we’ve grown tremendously. As our community has expanded, feedback on our terms of service, community guidelines, copyright, and privacy policies has surfaced opportunities to improve clarity. With more experience under our belt and an evolving regulatory landscape, we’re updating the language in our terms and policies to better explain our approach and provide more detail. For our Community Guidelines, we’re asking for input from the community. The propose

Trump Rips Up Environmental Rules Protecting Wildlife From Destructive Rocket Launches

Their friendship may be over, but president Donald Trump just handed Elon Musk and his company SpaceX a major boon by brushing aside major environmental regulations. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to accelerate space launches by effectively deregulating the industry. As part of this push, the Federal Aviation Administration is directed to "eliminate or expedite" environmental reviews — an obstacle that has been a persistent thorn in Musk's side. Covering all its bases, the order