This laptop is Microsoft’s competitor to the Chromebook and boasts a sleek design with relatively low pricing for the power it offers. When ZDNET contributor Sean Portnoy wrote about the Stream 14 in 2016, the laptop only had 32GB of built-in storage and 10 hours of battery life. It was powered by Windows 10 and the Intel Celeron N3060 processor. Also: HP updates Stream laptops, adds 14-inch, education models The 2021 version of the laptop boasts a better processor with the Intel Celeron N4000 and an improved battery life of up to 11 hours of video playback....

On the other hand, Lenovo is typically known for their budget laptop and Chromebook collection, but their tablet included in this lineup can do more than a typical tablet. I limited what is included in this list to tablets that offer a reliable experience, along with a mix of affordability and features. Not all Android tablets are created equal, so I used our years of research, personal experience, and knowledge about the products included here to make the suggestions below....

I’ve gone through the coolest, most innovative gifts that you can give to your loved ones. These gifts mean reducing food waste or giving the music-lover in your life a self-charging, solar-powered solution. There’s something unique for everyone – and every budget. Also: 12 smart home devices that make great Valentine’s Day gifts Here are the best eco-friendly gifts to give this Valentine’s Day season, ordered from first best to fifth best, from most expensive to least expensive....

We asked ZDNET staff what the best products were that they reviewed or purchased this year, or those gadgets that just downright impressed them. These are the best tech products of 2022 – from smartphones to laptops, to TVs, and more. Even though Apple releases a new iPhone every fall, this year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max is actually worth the upgrade. The features worth noting include Dynamic Island, an A16 Bionic chip, and a new 48MP main sensor that shoots some of the most detailed imagery our reviewers have ever seen on an iPhone....

An update to the Webex Meetings app will add the ability to split the app into multiple windows, making it possible to view shared documents or a presentation on one side of your screen, while also viewing meeting participants or the group chat on the other side of your screen. Also: How to use Stage Manager on your iPad (and why you should) Perhaps the more notable update is for those with a compatible iPad running iPadOS 16 or newer, with Webex Meetings adding support for Stage Manager....

No, seriously, there’s such a thing as Color of the Year, Viva Magenta is the actual name of a color, and its blend of red and pink hues is as lively as the name suggests. I spent the past week testing the Edge 30 Fusion which, while previously released overseas, finally made its US debut late in December. Sure, CES this year had no shortage of innovative, forward-looking tech, but there’s just something appealing about flashy hardware that’s actually available to buy....

A boundless company means boundless access to talent, boundless inclusivity and equality, a boundless platform for innovation, boundless ecosystem of ecosystems, boundless opportunities to co-create value at the speed of need, and boundless business model innovation opportunities. A boundless company will require purposeful relationship transformation in decentralized and digital-first next normal. It also requires alignment, execution rigor and most importantly a new operating model. Becoming boundless is the logical evolution of the Connected Company in this digital-first, decentralized everything world....

Slackware Linux emerged in 1993 and founder Patrick Volderding continues to maintain the distribution today but hadn’t released a new version since 2016’s 14.2. As The Register notes, development of version 15 has been slow with the stable release arriving a year after Volderding unveiled the beta. SEE: Project management: Five ways to make sure your team feels engaged Volderding says his focus for this release was to modernize Slackware without alienating fans at a time when Linux development is moving away from its Unix-like structure....

Ransomware has become one of the most well-known and prevalent threats against the enterprise today. This year alone, we have seen high-profile cases of ransomware infection – including against Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya, and Ireland’s health service – cause everything from business disruption to fuel shortages, declarations of national emergency, and restricted medical care. These attacks are performed for what can end up being multi-million dollar payouts and now these campaigns are becoming easier to perform with initial access offerings becoming readily available to purchase online, cutting out the time-consuming legwork necessary to launch ransomware on a corporate network....

In much the same way as energy companies operate and maintain oil and gas subsea assets, wind farm cables, structural foundations, and all other components of the turbines need continuous monitoring and maintenance. That’s dangerous work for humans, but it’s a job tailor made for underwater robots and smart AI-powered analytics. Given the bright future and growing (albeit still small) footprint of offshore wind in the nation’s energy power generation infrastructure, I reached out to Harry Turner, a machine learning specialist for Vaarst, a business driving the future of marine robotics, to discuss how robots and machine learning are changing the game for energy creation....

Ransomware is a significant cybersecurity issue that affects every sector. But according to analysis of attacks by cybersecurity company Sophos, ransomware is costing manufacturing and production the most. Of the victims who made a ransom payment to cyber criminals in order to get the decryption key to retrieve encrypted files and servers – and disclosed how much they paid for it – the average ransom was $2,036,189. That’s more than double the overall average ransom payment made by those who detailed the payment, which amounted to $812,360....

As of early 2022, the disparity still exists in internet access, speed, and affordability. According to Surfshark’s Internet Value Index, two states in the eastern region of the US lie on opposite ends of the internet value spectrum. New Jersey and Mississippi have the highest and lowest Internet Value Index scores. New Jersey sees a .99 score and Mississippi comes in with a .30, closely followed by Wyoming (.33) and Arkansas (....

While it’s really wonderful that we can now take truly amazing photos with our phones and stunning video from affordable drones that can be folded up and carried around the world, those files are taking up more and more gigabytes of storage on our computers and mobile devices. And it’s no fun to continuously have to try and free up space. The Portable SSD External Hard Drive 2 TB is super easy to use since it’s plug-and-play, and the design was created for utmost portability....

On Wednesday, Secureworks published a set of findings based on the group’s internal chat logs, leaked earlier this month and poured over by cybersecurity researchers ever since. The internal messaging records were leaked online after Conti, tracked as Gold Ulrick by Secureworks, declared its public support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an ongoing conflict. Conti is a prolific ransomware group suspected to be of Russian origin that has claimed hundreds of victim organizations worldwide....

Revealed on Thursday by ESET researchers, the state-sponsored group, dubbed BackdoorDiplomacy, has been linked to successful attacks against Ministries of Foreign Affairs in numerous African countries, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia – alongside a smaller subset of telecommunications firms in Africa and at least one charity outfit in the Middle East. BackdoorDiplomacy is thought to have been in operation since at least 2017. The cross-platform group targets both Linux and Windows systems and seems to prefer to exploit internet-facing, vulnerable devices as an initial attack vector....

RedLine is not especially sophisticated malware but can steal passwords and is sold as an online service for $150 a month to people who want to steal cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Crooks use numerous tricks to get the unwary to download it, and now HP has now found them using fake promises of Windows 11 upgrades as a lure to trick PC users into installing the malware. SEE: Cybersecurity: Let’s get tactical (ZDNet special report) Microsoft has set a high bar for hardware that is eligible for the upgrade to Windows 11 and leans towards newer processors....

The problem is, there are a lot of car chargers out there that promise a lot more than they can deliver. There are three things I look for from a good car charger: I want enough power – 100W – to charge my MacBook Pro.I want three ports (two USB-C and one USB-A ports) for maximum compatibility.I want a car charger that doesn’t overheat when pushed to its limits!...

The new status has been reached just over a month after Microsoft released Windows 10 22H2 on October 18. For some versions, like Windows 10 1809, it took six months to be deemed as ready for broad deployment, a signal from Microsoft it was stable enough to safely deploy on enterprise PC fleets. But Windows 10 22H2 was a “scoped release”, or one without any major new features. Until November 18, only people with some eligible devices running Windows 10 20H2 or later could install Windows 10 22H2....

Every major US carrier and most retailers are accepting preorders for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. They’re all offering $200 in Samsung credit for you to grab accessories on its site, as well as a free Samsung SmartTag. If you’re planning on getting any Galaxy S21 model, now is the best time to buy it. There likely won’t be any major price reductions – let alone complimentary credit and gifts – for months, so the pre-order deals on offer right now are truly worth it....

The social media company describes its new launch as a “way to experience the joy and creativity of TikTok together at home.” This includes support for the user’s “For You” and “Following” feeds, as well as access to lists of the most liked and most viewed videos from categories like gaming, comedy, food, and animals. A new “Discover” page is also shipping with the app to help users find new content and new creators based on their past viewing history and behavior....