The satellite technology has become a vital communications lifeline after the government shut down the internet last week. Read...

The deal follows a wave of AI-linked job cuts at major Australian employers including CBA, Atlassian and WiseTech. Read...

The Trump Administration said Wednesday that it will place tariffs on certain “advanced computing chips,” such as the Nvidia H200, to address what the government referred to as national security concerns. The additional tariffs didn’t name a specific country, referring only to “national security concerns with respect to imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products.” What those products are weren’t specified, there were a few exceptions. The government said that a 25 percent tariff will apply to “certain advanced computing chips, such as the Nvidia H200 and AMD MI325X. This tariff will not apply to chips that are imported to support the buildout of the U.S. technology supply chain and the strengthening of domestic manufacturing capacity for derivatives of semiconductors.” The fact sheet announcing the tariffs didn’t link to any additional list of products. The government also warned that the Trump administration may impose broader tariffs on semiconductor imports and their derivative products, in a push to promote domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Trump and his administration used the prospect of tariffs as leverage to push major chip manufacturers to invest in U.S. production. For example, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced a $100 billion investment in U.S. chip plants. In August 2025,Trump threatened a 100 percent tariff on all imports of computer chips, unless they were made in the United States. Before today, the administration had placed a 50 percent tariff on chips originating in China. Read...

Apple will build its next-generation AI foundation models on Google’s Gemini cloud, promising a more personalised Siri later this year. Read...

Salesforce debuts a revamped AI Slackbot as a personal work agent, tying Slack into its Agentforce 360 automation and data platform. Read...

Revolut launches RevPoints in New Zealand, offering uncapped rewards on everyday spending redeemable for travel, airline miles and gift cards. Read...

If you use Google apps like Gmail or Photos, Google already knows certain aspects of your life. The company is offering to make that knowledge more accessible via what it calls Personal Intelligence, which will synthesize that knowledge into Gemini. Personal Intelligence will take information in Photos, YouTube, and Gmail and make them available to Gemini, provided that you have either a Google AI Pro or Google AI Ultra subscription within the United States. You’ll be able to access them via the web or Google’s mobile apps, and eventually more subscription tiers will be able to tap into it, even free subscribers. In some sense, it’s a capitulation of sorts: Google already can mine your Gmail, for example, to pull out the most relevant mail and highlight it; or bury other communications in your spam folder. In a blog post, Google highlighted what else it might do: access a photo of your license plate that you snapped, or recommend new tires for your car based on a notification from the DMV. It’s opt-in, of course, but the argument continues to be: Why not, it’s so convenient! Naturally, Google warns that it might make mistakes, or that it might not understand nuance. Google “For instance, seeing hundreds of photos of you at a golf course might lead it to assume you love golf,” Google notes. “But it misses the nuance: you don’t love golf, but you love your son, and that’s why you’re there. If Gemini gets this wrong, you can just tell it (‘I don’t like golf’).” Google also says that it has guardrails to prevent it asking about personal topics, like your health, but it might not understand relationship changes, like a divorce. To turn it on, go into the Gemini app, tap Settings, and then Personal Intelligence, then enable whatever apps you choose. Should you use Google’s Personal Intelligence? This is one of those decisions that feels…personal. Read...

Indie music store says it wants fans to have confidence music was largely made by humans. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Clean overall design Can control GE Cync bulbs and fixtures, even if they’re not wired to the switch Doesn’t rely on a smart home hub Can work on 3-way/4-way circuits without needing companion switches Matter certified Cons GE logo on the cover plate is unappealing Large proportions and pigtails might complicate installation You’re paying for 3-way/4-way functionality whether you need it or not Our Verdict This simple dimmer gets the job done and is particularly attractive in homes that have other GE Cync products, but its large size and pigtails might complicate installation. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Smart Switch Retailer Price $25.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices GE Lighting’s Cync brand takes a much-needed break from its typically overdesigned and overcomplicated in-wall switch design strategy with this release, a mercifully clean, almost elegant, smart dimmer. Don’t let its mouthful of a name, the GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Smart Switch, sully your initial opinion. As with the GE Cync Keypad Dimmer I reviewed in December 2025, this is a product that makes the most sense for participants in the GE Cync ecosystem who have multiple GE Cync products in the house. That said, it’s also an affordable option for anyone who needs a smart 3-way or 4-way dimmer, because unlike most similar products, you won’t need companion switches at the other ends of that circuit. The GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Smart Switch can control other GE Cync devices even if they’re not physically wired to the switch. Now, if you don’t need a 3-way dimmer, there are plenty of less expensive alternatives; the Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch Dimmer S505D, costs just $19, for example. Tapo’s 3-way dimmer, on the other hand, costs about $33). In terms of quality, it compares favorably with such higher-end smart dimmers as the $75 Lutron Diva Smart Dimmer (which requires the Lutron Smart Hub, but integrates many more types of smart home devices–despite not supporting Matter) and the $39 Leviton Decora Smart Wi-Fi 2nd Gen (model D26HD; we reviewed the first-generation model DW6HD in 2021). Specifications The GE Cync Paddle Dimmer comes with adhesive labels you can use to identify the wires in your box, wire nuts for making connections, and a cover plate with a mildly obnoxious GE logo.Christopher Null/Foundry The switch supports Matter-over-Wi-Fi with its integrated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi adapter and is compatible with the Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings ecosystems. It’s also compatible with GE’s Savant smart home system for those undertaking professional installations. The switch can be assigned to a group in the Cync app, which means that it can control other devices even if they aren’t physically wired to the switch. Installation and setup The back of the switch is identical to the Keypad Dimmer, with five pigtails that you’ll connect to your household wiring. In addition to load, line, ground, and neutral wires, a fifth traveler wire is only used for multi-way setups. The wiring is straightforward for single-pole setup, and a substantial wiring diagram in the box can guide you through more complex installs. Multiple wire nuts are included, but as with my Keypad Dimmer install, I needed to use some of my own to complete installation; namely, to tie into the fat bundle of white neutral wires in my electrical box. The dimmer has pigtail wires for line, load, neutral, ground, and a traveler wire for 3-way circuits. Its large size made for a tough fit in my electrical box.Christopher Null/Foundry After wiring up the switch, I managed to get everything in place inside my box, although the electronics portion of the unit doesn’t appear to be any smaller than the Keypad switch. Nonetheless, those five pigtails and the ensuring wire nuts take up a lot of space, and getting everything situated just so to ensure the switch is flush against the wall might be a challenge if you aren’t lucky the first time around. Again, I had better success with this process than I did with the Keypad and was able to mash everything into place without too much trouble. The included cover is a two-piece affair. A bracket mounts on top of the switch with two tiny screws, and a cover plate snaps on top of it, hiding those screws. The GE logo on the cover plate is small but not small enough; corporate branding is not a design feature I ever want on my light switches. The switch can be installed using the Cync app or bypassed in favor of a Matter setup. Since the switch is so simple, there’s no huge reason to use the Cync app if you don’t have a lot of other Cync gear in the house you also want to control. That said, the app is needed for firmware updates and other management, so you’re probably best off starting there either way. I didn’t have any issues with onboarding, though initial Matter configuration can be a bit slow. Using the GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Smart Switch The GE Cync app is easy to use, and if you set the dimmer up to use it–versus controlling it via Matter–you can unlock lots of features for controlling other GE Cync devices.Christopher Null/Foundry As mentioned, this is a simple dimmer: The central paddle’s looks are deceiving: It is not a rocker that toggles from on to off and vice versa; it’s just a button that depresses slightly at the bottom and bounces right back. Tap it once to turn the light on—or off—and that’s it. A mechanical slider on the right side of the switch moves smoothly up and down to control brightness dynamically; a row of seven white LEDs on the left-hand side of the switch give you a visual indicator of where things stand in relation to maximum brightness. These LEDs can be set to briefly display or remain on permanently as a switch finder in the dark. I didn’t encounter any trouble using either the switch or the app, and I found its dimming features worked perfectly well and fluidly with LED bulbs. This is where the GE logo belongs: on the switch itself, before you install its blank cover plate.Christopher Null/Foundry The switch can be assigned to a group in the GE Cync app, which means that it can control other GE Cync devices even if they aren’t physically wired to the switch. This is helpful if you want to control, say, both overhead lights, lamps, and/or undercabinet or undershelf lights in the same room using a single button on the wall. GE’s TrueImage feature also works with the Paddle Dimmer, and as with the Keypad it’s a fanciful but fun add-on. To set it up, you snap two photos of your lights, one at full brightness and one at zero. The app then merges the two photos; as you dim and brighten the lights inside the app, the photo of the lights in the app dims and brightens accordingly. It’s one of those tools that makes more sense when you see it in action. It’s a surprisingly effective addition to the feature set. Should you buy the GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Smart Switch? As I’ve already discussed, the GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Smart Switch is just a little more expensive than competing products from the likes of TP-Link (Kasa Smart and Tapo), Meross, or Treatlife, but it’s a lot cheaper than what you’ll find from high-end competitors such as Leviton or Lutron, and it works about as well as anything else I’ve tested. However, as with the Keypad Dimmer, there’s nothing overly special about it to justify choosing it over another name brand dimmer, unless you already have a heavy investment in other Cync-brand gear. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart dimmer switches. Read...

If you want an OLED, you gotta pay up. If you want an ultrawide OLED, you gotta pay more. If you want an ultrawide OLED that’s even bigger… well, you see the pattern here. But today, B&H is offering a gigantic 39-inch Acer Predator OLED monitor for $699.99. That’s an $800 savings, more than half off the retail price. Dang. View this B&H deal The Predator X39 is basically a super-sized version of the Predator X34, stretching the same semi-standard 3440×1440 resolution from 34 inches to 39 inches. But the rest of the specs are surprisingly good, especially at this deep discount. You get a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.01ms response time for lightning-fast gaming, USB-C video with 90 watts of power delivery to make it a great companion for gaming laptops, and some extra USB ports to enable a software KVM switch. It also has speakers, which you really shouldn’t use. The extra size and more dramatic curve (800R is tech-speak for “very curvy”) means this might not be a great choice for an office or workstation monitor. And with the extra heft, you might need a reinforced monitor arm just to be safe. But if you want a huge, gorgeous OLED image for your gaming desktop or laptop and don’t want to strain it with a full 4K resolution, this monitor is a fantastic choice. If $700 is too pricey, there are cheaper 1440p OLEDs available around the $400 mark. And if neither of these fit your needs, be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best monitors on the market. Get this 39-inch Acer 1440p OLED ultrawide gaming monitor for $700Buy now from B&H Read...