All posts tagged: Big

I tried the new Gemini app for Mac – and it’s better than the website in one big way

I tried the new Gemini app for Mac – and it’s better than the website in one big way

Published by skeptic

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Google has launched a Gemini app for the Mac. The app has all the features and skills of the website. Plus, the app can analyze the content in any shared window. I often turn to Google Gemini for AI-powered assistance when I’m working at my computer. But that means I have to interrupt what I’m doing to fire up the Gemini website, and then bounce back and forth between the site and my work. If only I could access Gemini without leaving my desktop. Well, now I can, courtesy of a new app. Playing catch-up Google has released its own dedicated Gemini desktop app for the Mac, as described in a new blog post. Easily accessible through an icon or a keyboard shortcut, the app brings all the features and skills of the website to your computer. But it goes one step further. You can share any open apps or windows on your Mac with Gemini and …

The New Moon On April 17, 2026 Is A Really Big Deal For 5 Zodiac Signs, Says An Astrologer

The New Moon On April 17, 2026 Is A Really Big Deal For 5 Zodiac Signs, Says An Astrologer

Published by Jenni Sidey

The New Moon on April 17, 2026, is a really big deal for five zodiac signs. According to astrologer Amy Demure, the New Moon in Aries is “the most powerful and transformative new moon we’ve had in years.” Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune are all in Aries at the same time the New Moon rises in the same sign. As the astrologers at Cafe Astrology explained, “This is a strong cycle under which to re-evaluate our relationship with ourselves. With this potent Aries energy, we have the chance to make important changes in our lives.” These astrological signs are taking the universe up on its offer on Friday, and it “will completely change their entire life’s trajectory over the next six months,” said Demure. 1. Aries Design: YourTango You may feel stagnant right now, but you’re about to evolve very quickly, Aries. According to Demure, “You are glowing up into the highest, most elevated version of yourself. You are having a massive death and rebirth. You’re completely destroying the old version of your life that …

LG Sound Suite Review: Big Sound for Larger Rooms

LG Sound Suite Review: Big Sound for Larger Rooms

Published by skeptic

Setup was relatively quick and painless. You just have to unbox four speakers, a soundbar, and a subwoofer, attach their power cables, and plug in everything. Pairing happens through the LG ThinQ app, which allows you to set up the Sound Suite system and tune it to exactly where you’re sitting in the room using your cell phone’s microphone. You can also set up each speaker to play music and group it with any other LG smart speakers you might have around your home, like the more affordable $250 M5 bookshelf speaker, to create a whole-home system. Once all the components were synced, I plugged the soundbar into the C5 OLED via HDMI, and was able to easily control everything via the TV remote’s volume and mute buttons. More in-depth settings had to happen in the app, but if you’re anything like me, this won’t become a regular chore. You’ll set it how you like it once and move on. While the pairing functionality with the LG TV was nice, it’s not required–the eARC port …

4.5 GW: A big US solar cell factory is coming to South Carolina

4.5 GW: A big US solar cell factory is coming to South Carolina

Published by skeptic

Photo: Heliene Suniva is planning a major expansion in US solar manufacturing, with a new 4.5-gigawatt (GW) solar cell factory coming to Laurens, South Carolina. The company says the facility is expected to open in Q2 2027. Once it’s online, Suniva’s total US solar cell capacity will top 5.5 GW annually, including its existing factory in metro Atlanta. That would make it the largest merchant solar cell manufacturer in the US. The new plant will be a 620,000-square-foot facility backed by more than $350 million in investment. It’s expected to create more than 550 jobs in advanced manufacturing and clean energy. Suniva manufactures high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells. The company has been around since 2007, when it spun out of US Department of Energy-funded research at Georgia Tech. It filed for bankruptcy in 2017, but made a comeback in 2023. Advertisement – scroll for more content The company is leaning hard into domestic manufacturing at a time when supply chains – especially for solar – remain heavily global. CEO Tony Etnyre said, “Solar energy is …

Astronomers find compelling new evidence of the first stars formed after the Big Bang

Astronomers find compelling new evidence of the first stars formed after the Big Bang

Published by Jenni Sidey

A faint glow of helium, hanging near one of the earliest known galaxies, may be the clearest sign yet that astronomers have finally caught the universe’s first stars in action. The signal comes from a tiny object nicknamed Hebe, sitting about 3 kiloparsecs from GN-z11, a galaxy seen as it existed roughly 400 million years after the Big Bang. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers say they have now confirmed a strange helium emission first noticed earlier, and the case has only grown stronger. No metal lines turned up in the data. That absence matters. The earliest stars, often called Population III stars, are thought to have formed from almost pure hydrogen and helium, before the universe had been enriched with heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen, and iron. For years, they have remained a missing piece in astronomy, predicted by theory but frustratingly hard to pin down with observations. That is why this small patch of light has drawn so much attention. Continuum-subtracted map of the HeII emission at the redshift of Hebe …

Microsoft Surface PCs Are Getting Big Price Hikes, and the Cheaper Models Are Going Away

Microsoft Surface PCs Are Getting Big Price Hikes, and the Cheaper Models Are Going Away

Published by skeptic

If you’ve been waiting for Microsoft to update its Surface PC lineup—perhaps with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Elite processors—I’ve got bad news for you. Microsoft is shaking up its PC lineup, but it’s doing so by instituting big price hikes. This means you’ll be paying at least $1,500 for Surface devices that launched at $1,000 just two years ago and that Microsoft no longer offers new Surface devices under $1,000 at all. The 12-inch Surface Pro tablet that originally started at $799 and the 13-inch Surface Laptop that launched at $899 now cost $1,049 and $1,149, respectively, a $250 price increase. The higher-end Surface Laptop and 13-inch Surface Pro from 2024 both started at $999 but increased to $1,199 in 2025 when their entry-level versions with 256 GB of storage were discontinued; both now start at $1,499, a $300 increase. As originally reported by Windows Central, Microsoft is blaming “recent increases in memory and component costs” for the price hikes. Supply shortages for RAM and storage chips in particular have been wreaking havoc with consumer tech all …

X’s Big Bot Purge Wiped Out a Lot of People’s Secret Porn Feeds

X’s Big Bot Purge Wiped Out a Lot of People’s Secret Porn Feeds

Published by skeptic

Justin Diego doesn’t typically avoid the spotlight. He’s a celebrity news influencer with 617,000 combined followers across YouTube and Instagram. So when he created a secret account on X in 2024 to keep track of his favorite OnlyFans creators, he appreciated the anonymity it provided him outside of his main accounts. Diego primarily used the burner account to bookmark and like solo content and masturbation videos, and never posted. But when he logged in to X over the weekend, he was notified that the account had been suspended. Beginning this month, X has escalated its efforts to crack down on automated accounts. The company’s head of product, Nikita Bier, noted that the platform was flagging and suspending bots at a rapid pace—“208 bots per minute and growing,” he posted on April 9. But the large-scale campaign, which is intended to remove fake, inactive, or spam accounts in bulk, has also led to the suspension and deletion of accounts used by humans—including many used to privately curate niche porn. The company has a policy against “inauthentic …

Tax season’s big refunds are smaller than expected : NPR

Tax season’s big refunds are smaller than expected : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The average tax refund is higher this year, but falls short of promises. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Early spring means the return of warm weather and … taxes. On a recent weekend, Dan and Glynna Courter were enjoying the sun with friends over a picnic of blueberries and Cheez-Its at Birmingham’s Railroad Park. When the topic moved to how they’re feeling about their tax refunds, nearly everyone at the gathering responded with a chorus of lukewarm just fines. The lack of enthusiasm was surprising considering everyone on the picnic blanket received sizable refunds, including about $10,000 for the Courters combined. But Glynna thinks their refund wasn’t that much different from last year. The couple withhold the maximum taxes from their paychecks, which helps them avoid the risk of owing taxes and leads to a bigger refund. “We might go to a nice restaurant,” Dan added, after Glynna said they’d use the refund for savings. This is not the vibe Republican lawmakers were planning for this tax …

Maine legislature approves first US moratorium on big data centers

Maine legislature approves first US moratorium on big data centers

Published by Sam Flores

(Refiles to add media packaging code, with no changes to text) WASHINGTON, April 14 : Maine lawmakers have passed a bill that could make it the first U.S. state to put a moratorium on new data centers as opposition to the electricity-hungry facilities grows across the country over their impact on household energy bills and the environment. The bill, which still needs final approval from Democratic Governor Janet Mills, would freeze approvals for data centers requiring more than 20 megawatts of power until October 2027, while a state-appointed council analyzes their impact on the local grid, electricity bills, air and water. The bill passed the House 79-62, clearing the Senate 21-13 later the same day. Governor Mills’ office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday. Mills has insisted on an exemption for a smaller-scale project that has been under development, which reuses existing infrastructure that would not have a major impact on the electric grid or energy bills. Maine will serve as a test case for other states that have …

SOLARAMA – big proof from Aptera and big savings for solar + EV drivers

SOLARAMA – big proof from Aptera and big savings for solar + EV drivers

Published by skeptic

On today’s solar-powered episode of Quick Charge, Aptera’s CEO shares more proof that his company’s solar car concept has legs, joining dozens of Electrek readers who are topping off their car (and home) batteries with the power of the sun! We also talk about why backup power is the least interesting thing you can do with a home backup battery, and celebrate an absolutely massive win for every American as five offshore wind projects the Trump Administration has been pushing back against since day 1 get the go-ahead to continue. PLUS: enjoy up to $10,000 off a new, 300-mile Chevy Equinox EV (trusted affiliate link) Source Links Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Advertisement – scroll for more content New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series. Got news? …