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Best Wireless Headphones (2025): Tested Over Many Hours

Other Wireless Headphones We’ve Tested Wireless headphones are the default these days, and there are roughly 1 gazillion of them (and counting). We do our best to test them all, but not everything we test can make the big list. Here are some other good options worth trying. Sony WH-1000XM5 for $300-348: Sony's XM5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) remain a top headphone, even after being supplanted by the fancier XM6. For a fairly sizable price reduction, you'll get still-fabulous noise-canceling tech,

Survey reveals more of you need to shop around for carriers, you’re missing out

Colleague Joe Maring recently chronicled his switch from T-Mobile to Visible after ten years as a T-Mobile customer. He also revealed a few things he learned after a month with his new carrier , and it sounds like this was a long-overdue move. We were curious to find out the last time our readers switched carriers, so we posted a poll. Almost 6,000 votes have been tallied, and here’s what you told us! A massive ~42.6% of respondents said they last switched carriers 10+ years ago. This was by f

Microsoft will kill the Lens PDF scanner app for iOS, Android

Microsoft announced that it will phase out the Microsoft Lens PDF scanner app for Android and iOS devices starting in September. Microsoft Lens (formerly known as Office Lens) can convert images into PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, and it is capable of scanning both printed and handwritten text. Currently, the app has been downloaded 50 million times on the Google Play Store (with over 952,000 reviews with an average of 4.9/5 rating) and received nearly 136,000 ratings on Apple's App St

This $200 Android phone beats competing Motorola and Samsung models in a unique way

TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G ZDNET's key takeaways TCL's 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G is on sale on Amazon for $222. It has a unique display, and a feature set that promotes minimalism and digital well-being. I just wish the camera system and general performance were better. $249.99 at Amazon Being glued to your smartphone's screen all day can do a number on your eyes, and I definitely can feel it. TCL's Nxtpaper technology offers a paper-like screen that's made for tired eyes like mine. The TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper

Window Activation

You click a link in your chat app, your browser with a hundred tabs comes to the front and opens that page. How hard can it be? Well, you probably know by now that Wayland, unlike X, doesn’t let one application force its idiot wishes on everyone else. In order for an application to bring its window to the front, it needs to make use of the XDG Activation protocol. A KWrite window that failed to activate and instead is weeping bitterly for attention in the task bar In essence, an application ca

I don't read your email threads

I Don't Read Your Email Threads 08 Aug, 2025 Email threads have got to be one of the worst possible forms of communication. You've been here before. A perfectly respectable morning is passing by. You're working through your items at a chipper pace maybe humming a song you heard on Spotify that morning. Then, the dreaded email thread comes through. Innocently, you click into the top email. The only text is "[Your Name] see below." I hate this and I bet you do too. Suddenly, you're transporte

Linear sent me down a local-first rabbit hole

I started using Linear a couple of months ago and using it made me go down a technical rabbit hole that changed how I think about web applications. For the uninitiated, Linear is a project management tool that feels impossibly fast. Click an issue, it opens instantly. Update a status and watch in a second browser, it updates almost as fast as the source. No loading states, no page refreshes - just instant, interactions. After building traditional web apps for years, this felt wrong. Where’s th

Age Verification Is Sweeping Gaming. Is It Ready for the Age of AI Fakes?

In July, Siyan, a UK-based Discord user, logged on one morning and found himself unable to access some of his text chats marked NSFW. The channel, a popup informed him, was now age-restricted. The United Kingdom had enacted its far reaching child safety laws, which includes an age requirement system to verify users are over 18. Discord’s updates required users to verify their age, either by government ID or a face scan. Siyan (who requested to only be referred to by his screen name for privacy

Instagram's map feature spurs user backlash over geolocation privacy concerns

The launch of an Instagram feature that details users' geolocation data illicited backlash from social media users on Thursday. Meta debuted the Instagram Map tool on Wednesday, pitching the feature as way to "stay up-to-date with friends" by letting users share their "last active location." The tool is akin to Snapchat's Snap Map feature that lets people see where their friends are posting from. Although Meta said in a blog post that the feature's "location sharing is off unless you opt in,"

New executive order puts all grants under political control

On Thursday, the Trump administration issued an executive order asserting political control over grant funding, including all federally supported research. The order requires that any announcement of funding opportunities be reviewed by the head of the agency or someone they designate, which means a political appointee will have the ultimate say over what areas of science the US funds. Individual grants will also require clearance from a political appointee and "must, where applicable, demonstra

The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964)

It had been around a long time before the Radical Right discovered it—and its targets have ranged from “the international bankers” to Masons, Jesuits, and munitions makers. American politics has often been an arena for angry minds. In recent years we have seen angry minds at work mainly among extreme right-wingers, who have now demonstrated in the Goldwater movement how much political leverage can be got out of the animosities and passions of a small minority. But behind this I believe there is

New executive order puts all grants under political control

On Thursday, the Trump administration issued an executive order asserting political control over grant funding, including all federally supported research. The order requires that any announcement of funding opportunities be reviewed by the head of the agency or someone they designate, which means a political appointee will have the ultimate say over what areas of science the US funds. Individual grants will also require clearance from a political appointee and "must, where applicable, demonstra

Lotus is the latest carmaker to upgrade CarPlay

British sports car maker Lotus is upgrading the CarPlay experience for iPhone users this week with a free software update. Starting this week, Spatial Audio in CarPlay is available in the electric Eletre and Emeya models from Lotus. The update enhances Apple Music playback with immersive Dolby Atmos sound, powered by KEF’s premium in-car audio systems. Pushing the boundaries of the in-car listening experience, ELETRE and EMEYA are equipped with ground-breaking technologies from legendary Briti

Two teens charged in attack on former DOGE official Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine

In Brief Two 15-year-olds have been charged with unarmed carjacking after allegedly attacking Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, the 19-year-old software engineer and former Neuralink intern who became a prominent figure in the Trump administration’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to reports citing local authorities, Coristine — who left DOGE in June but quickly returned to federal service at the Social Security Administration to help improve the agency’s website

Apple Arcade just got four new games, including Play-Doh World

As promised last month, Apple today released four new titles to Apple Arcade, adding to the catalog of over 200 ad-free games available to subscribers. Here’s what’s new. Play-Doh World Play-Doh brings its magic to the digital space with Play-Doh World, allowing players to craft their own characters and watch them spring to life. From inventing wild zoo animals to styling outrageous salon hairdos, every corner of this colorful universe responds to the player’s creative whim. With dozens of int

Doximity buys Pathway Medical for $63 million to help doctors get AI-powered answers

Doximity at the New York Stock Exchange for its initial public offering on June 24, 2021. Doximity is diving deeper into artificial intelligence, announcing on Thursday the acquisition of startup Pathway Medical for $63 million. Pathway has built an AI-powered clinical reference tool that doctors can use to ask questions about guidelines, drugs and trials. Pathway's answers are synthesized from medical literature, and Doximity said the Montreal-based startup has one of the largest structured d

Instacart tops estimates, issues upbeat outlook

The Instacart logo is seen on a smartphone and on a PC screen. Simo, who helped take the grocery delivery company public in 2023 and guided it through a massive growth period during the Covid-19 pandemic, will step down from her position later this month as she joins OpenAI as its new head of applications. "We delivered another strong quarter, reinforcing the essential role we play in helping families save time, money, and effort putting food on the table," wrote outgoing CEO Fidji Simo in a s

Google discovered a new scam—and also fell victim to it

In June, Google said it unearthed a campaign that was mass-compromising accounts belonging to customers of Salesforce. The means: an attacker pretending to be someone in the customer's IT department feigning some sort of problem that required immediate access to the account. Two months later, Google has disclosed that it, too, was a victim. The series of hacks are being carried out by financially motivated threat actors out to steal data in hopes of selling it back to the targets at sky-high pr

How to use Instagram Map and set your location-sharing preferences

This week, Instagram introduced a new Snap Map-like feature called Instagram Map that lets U.S. users share their most recent active location with others and discover location-based content. If you decide to turn on your location on Instagram Map, your location only updates when you open the app or have it running in the background, meaning it doesn’t provide continuous, real-time location updates. This is different from Snap Map, which lets users choose whether their location is updated only w

AppLovin CEO sees benefits from Apple-Epic fallout as stock pops on earnings

AppLovin shares resumed their historic rally on Thursday after the ad-tech company reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter. The stock popped 12% and is now up 35% for the year after soaring more than eightfold in 2024. Wall Street has piled into the company due to its growth from artificial intelligence technology that's given advertisers more ways to target users in mobile games. CEO Adam Foroughi suggested on the earnings call that another wave of growth is likely on

Zero-day flaws in authentication, identity, authorization in HashiCorp Vault

Introduction: when the trust model can’t be trusted Secrets vaults are the backbone of digital infrastructure. They store the credentials, tokens, and certificates that govern access to systems, services, APIs, and data. They’re not just a part of the trust model, they are the trust model. In other words, if your vault is compromised, your infrastructure is already lost. Driven by the understanding that vaults are high-value targets for attackers, our research team at Cyata set out to conduct

Woman Diagnosed with Malaria in Washington May Be State’s First Locally Acquired Case

Washington state officials have revealed that a local woman has been diagnosed with malaria, which, if confirmed, would mark the first known case of the disease being acquired in the state. The woman was diagnosed with malaria, a mosquito-borne illness caused by a parasite, on August 2, according to the officials. State and federal public health agencies are working to confirm the source of the infection, according to a statement published on Wednesday. Officials believe that the infection may

The 35 Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now (August 2025)

As the birthplace of prestige TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, HBO Max—is best known for its impressive lineup of original series. The network has also been upping the ante with feature-length content that is the stuff of Oscar dreams. Below is a list of some of our favorite films streaming on HBO Max—from Oscar-winning epics to dystopian sci-fi classics. If you decide you’re in more of a TV mood, head over to our picks for the best shows on HBO Max. If you’re loo

Topics: best film life new oscar

Adam Mosseri says 'people are confused' about how the Instagram map works

Yesterday, Meta introduced a new map feature that's almost identical to Snapchat's Snap Map. The feature has quickly sparked a backlash, though, and not just because it's yet another example of Instagram ripping off a Snapchat feature. While the map requires users to opt-in to share their location, many users were surprised and alarmed to see that their Instagram map was already populated with the locations of some accounts when it launched. That's because the map automatically pulls in locatio

Foundry (YC F24) is hiring staff-level product engineers

About Foundry We're building the foundational infrastructure to automate digital work. Today's browser-based workflows represent a potential trillion dollar opportunity—currently trapped behind inefficient manual tasks and repetitive actions. Current AI agents fail when facing complex real-world scenarios; they're brittle experiments, not scalable solutions. Foundry provides the critical, high-fidelity simulation environment necessary for training, testing, and deploying robust AI agents. Thin

Did a rival tribe kill and eat their neighbors 5,700 years ago?

Credit: IPHES-CERCA/Luis Quevedo/Madrid Scientific Films. Human remains from 11 individuals recovered from El Mirador Cave in Spain showed evidence of cannibalism, archaeologists have concluded. According to a new paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the cannibalism was likely the result of a violent episode between competing Late Neolithic herding communities about 5,700 years ago. “Cannibalism is one of the most complex behaviors to interpret, due to the inherent difficulty of

Foundry (YC F24) Is Hiring Staff Level Product Engineers

About Foundry We're building the foundational infrastructure to automate digital work. Today's browser-based workflows represent a potential trillion dollar opportunity—currently trapped behind inefficient manual tasks and repetitive actions. Current AI agents fail when facing complex real-world scenarios; they're brittle experiments, not scalable solutions. Foundry provides the critical, high-fidelity simulation environment necessary for training, testing, and deploying robust AI agents. Thin

2025 Porsche Panamera Turbo S: A different approach to a luxury sedan

REIDEN, Germany—There is a lot to be said for testing a car on the roads it was developed on. A Kei car, for example, makes more sense in downtown Tokyo than on one of Nashville's arterial highways, surrounded by construction trucks. Likewise the German supersedans. For decades, an arms race has been conducted between rival engineers in Munich, Ingolstadt, Stuttgart, and Zuffenhausen, each trying to best the others and build the ultimate four-door, four-wheel Autobahn crusher, fit for the fattes

Instagram lets you see your friends' locations now, and vice versa - here's how

Instagram / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET's takeaways Instagram is unveiling several new features. Its new Snapchat-style map lets you see where your friends are. There's also a new way to see content your friends are interacting with. Meta has unveiled a number of changes to Instagram, all aimed at helping you better connect with your friends and their favorite content. A new location-sharing map is on the way, along with new ways to find content. A Snapchat-style friend map Maybe t

The Porsche Taycan Is One of the Best Performance EVs I've Driven, but Not for the Reason You Think

Table of Contents The Porsche Taycan Is One of the Best Performance EVs I've Driven, but Not for the Reason You Think I've driven plenty of electric cars from the biggest brands -- everything from sleek sedans to bulky SUVs -- and while many of them impress on paper, very few manage to like up to that in real life. Range is never quite as good. Charging isn't quite as fast as expected. That's what made the 2025 Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo such a standout. I was expecting speed, grip, and al