Amazon Ring, facing a surge in customer-support calls during last year’s holiday season, evaluated more than 40 AI voice vendors before choosing startup Vapi to handle its inbound phone traffic. Today, Ring routes 100% of its inbound calls through Vapi’s platform. That deployment helped Vapi raise a $50 million Series B led by Peak XV…
Amazon deliveries keep getting faster. On Tuesday, the online retailer announced the launch of its 30-minute delivery option, dubbed “Amazon Now,” in dozens of U.S. cities. This ultra-fast delivery option will allow customers to shop across “thousands” of items, Amazon says, including fresh groceries, household essentials, and other locally relevant items. At launch, Amazon Now…
Linux Mint and Elementary Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Both elementary OS and Linux Mint are great for new users. Each distribution appeals to a different type of user. You can install and use both for free. Linux has more different distributions than a puzzle has pieces. They number…
Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways I’ve tested Ubuntu and Fedora 44 for an extended period. Both use the GNOME DE, but one adds several customizations. Both distributions are free to use and suited for nearly any user. If you’ve ever thought about dipping your toes into the…
Kingston IronKey Locker+50 G2 pros and cons Pros Military-grade encryption Built-in brute-force protection Starts at only $50. Cons USB-A connector, so it needs a dock or converter for modern systems Cap is easily lost No lanyard. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Carrying data around on unencrypted drives is just asking for trouble….
David Gewirtz / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Gemini can watch YouTube, MP4, and MOV files. Claude still can’t process video directly. ChatGPT needs Codex help for deeper video work. AIs do a fine job understanding text from prompts and documents. Most…
Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded last year by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, on Monday announced something called interaction models, which, at its essence, sounds like AI that can interrupt you. Right now, every AI model you’ve ever used works the same way. You talk, it listens. It responds, you listen. Thinking Machines…
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways PowerToys now lets you control your monitor’s display from the taskbar. The latest version also helps you easily move and resize windows. The Keyboard Manager Editor and ZoomIt tool have also been enhanced. I sometimes want to change the brightness or contrast on my…
WD/ZDNET The WD Black SN850X is an M.2 SSD designed for laptops and desktops, and if you’ve been avoiding upgrading your PC due to high SSD costs, now is the perfect time to buy. Right now at Best Buy, you cansave 65% on the 4TB model, bringing the price to $600. That’s a discount of…
Samsung/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. The Samsung Galaxy S26 is an excellent edition of the brand’s flagship smartphone, offering extended battery life and improved performance over its predecessor. And right now at Verizon, you can get one for free when you add a new line to a qualifying plan. You’ll also…