Reporting and perspectives from ZDNet · AI. Headlines and excerpts link to the original articles.
Ring has announced its first smart lock, which uses a hand-cranked power dial to generate enough electricity to unlock the door if the battery dies. It costs $250, comes in three finishes, and launches in early 2027.
Amazon announced three new Alexa Tablets, its first tablets with Google Play access and Alexa+ woven into the interface, starting at $230 and shipping October 14. Two new Kids Tablets were also announced, though their warranty drops from two years to one.
At Open Source Summit Europe in Prague, Linus Torvalds said he now genuinely enjoys using AI, especially for hobby projects and as a gateway for new programmers, while urging caution with AI on important production work like the Linux kernel.
Microsoft will replace the 1TB-per-member OneDrive storage in its Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, Premium, and Pro plans with smaller shared storage pools, rolling out starting October 8, 2026 for new subscriptions and at first renewal on or after May 2, 2027 for existing ones. Family and Premium plans will get a total of 2TB shared instead of 6TB.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 947, the "No Robo Bosses Act," requiring human review of AI-driven discipline or termination decisions. The law takes effect July 1, 2027, and allows employees to file complaints with the California Labor Commissioner.
A Kyndryl survey of 2,000 senior IT decision-makers found only 10% of technology chiefs are using agentic AI as an IT modernization tool, and Andy Thurai, a former IBM chief strategist, says the economics of AI-driven modernization don't hold up.
Google Maps now supports conversational food ordering through Square and Uber Eats, expanding beyond its earlier Toast-only partnership, and has published its first fan-favorite dining list drawing on trends from 10 global cities.
Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra, launching October 18 with a starting price of $2,599 and configurations reaching $6,000. It runs Nvidia's new RTX Spark processor with Windows on ARM and up to 128GB of unified memory.
A Highwire survey of 1,034 corporate employees found 78% of managers used AI to draft, edit, summarize, or inform feedback or performance reviews in the past year, while only 16% of non-managerial employees were told AI influenced their review.
Google will limit free Gemini users to only the Flash-Lite model starting Friday, Oct. 9, according to a new support document. AI Plus subscribers on the $5-per-month plan will also lose access to the Pro model on the same date.
Microsoft is ending support and updates for Office 2021 on October 13, meaning no more technical support, software updates, bug fixes, or security patches. Users can keep using the software, upgrade to Office 2024, move to Microsoft 365, switch to the free online version, or use a different suite.
Mistral has released Mistral Large 4 (ML4), nicknamed Le Chonk, in public preview, positioning the open-weight model for enterprise and government cybersecurity with user control and data sovereignty. Mistral said it will release the model weights on Oct. 27.
A ZDNET writer says he built and shipped a paid Mac app, Icon Gallery '97, using Claude without writing code, from idea on Sept. 20 to App Store submission on Sept. 27 and Apple's acceptance four days later.
Some iPhone 18 Pro Max users on AT&T have lost cellular service, with phones switching to SOS mode and unable to make calls, send texts, or use mobile data. Apple says iOS 27.0.1 and a carrier settings update can help prevent the issue, and will replace already-affected phones for free.
Some iPhone 18 Pro Max users on AT&T have lost calls, texts, data and even 911 connectivity since the phone's launch, dropping into SOS mode while Wi-Fi still works. AT&T is texting customers to install iOS 27.0.1 immediately.
ZDNET reports a new ChatGPT-related scam that begins with a sponsored Google link and leads to a custom GPT which displays a fake service availability notice and a link that installs malware. Google said it is looking into the matter; OpenAI has not responded.
Some Pixel users have reported intermittent or complete failures with tap-to-pay in Google Wallet since the middle of last month, and Google has not acknowledged the bug or issued an official fix. Users suggest restarting the phone, reopening the app, or clearing its cache.
PwC's Digital Trust Insights 2027 report, surveying about 4,000 business and tech leaders across 71 countries, found no single role holds clear responsibility for managing agentic AI or its security. Respondents split on whether accountability belongs with technology roles, CISOs, or a dedicated AI leader.
Starting with version 16.1, openSUSE Leap is adding an Immutable Mode that uses a read-only root filesystem and transactional updates, per the official openSUSE blog. Users can choose standard or immutable mode during installation.
Apple introduced Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, a security option that warns users before actions in supported apps that may indicate a scam. It is off by default and can be enabled in Settings under Privacy & Security.