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I knew nothing about putting a PC together, let alone one that I had invested nearly $2,000 into. But, after a few trials and tribulations – and many, many swear words – I succeeded. Also: How to build a gaming PC for under $600 Since then, my two boys have been asking (okay, begging) me to let them build a gaming PC. I kept telling them we would undertake the project when GPUs are easier to find, or at the very least more affordable....

In the mailbag this week: What’s the best way to cut down on junk mail? If you’ve got a question about any of the topics ZDNet covers, one of our team of editors and contributors probably has an answer. If they don’t, we’ll find an outside expert who can steer you in the right direction. Questions can cover just about any topic that’s remotely related to work and technology, including PCs and Macs, mobile devices, security and privacy, social media, home office gear, consumer electronics, business etiquette, financial advice… well, you get the idea....

Also: I asked ChatGPT to write a WordPress plugin. It did it in less than 5 minutes As I’ve done in previous explorations of ChatGPT, my writing is in plain or bold text, and the AI’s responses are in italic type. First, I’ll show you the questions and answers, then I’ll discuss implications. Understanding programming language changes My hosting provider is moving all its sites from the very outdated PHP 7....

So when I heard the bad news, I had to do something. You see, Bloomberg had reported that Apple wouldn’t increase production of the iPhone 14 – yes, all of the iPhone 14 models – because demand wasn’t quite what the company had hoped. So I immediately hot-footed it to an Apple store to see what was going on. Would there be screams of anguish and rending of blue T-shirts?...

IBM said ReaQta’s tools use AI to “automatically identify and manage threats” while staying hidden from cyberattackers. The technology giant said the acquisition was part of a larger announcement about the expansion of its QRadar brand, which will now include a new suite of XDR offerings. Mary O’Brien, general manager at IBM Security, said the complexity of modern computer systems had “created a cloak” that allowed cybercriminals and nation-states to get around security systems....

The study interviewed 4,900 professionals in 27 countries and found that Brazilian firms invest a yearly average of $2.2 million in data privacy, compared with the global average of $2.7 million a year. On the other hand, the Cisco data privacy benchmark found that 94% of the Brazilian professionals surveyed consider privacy a crucial element of the overall business strategy. This compares with the global average of 90%. Moreover, 91% of the Brazilian respondents believe customers would not buy from companies that do not protect customer data....

Romance scams are nothing new, but their potential impact has expanded due to mobile technology and the connectivity of our smartphones to core financial services, banking, and investment opportunities. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that 2021 was a “goldmine” for scammers, and $770 million was lost due to social media scams alone during the year. Investment, cryptocurrency, and romance scams were the most common ways fraudsters cashed in....

As soon as the event ended, I ordered the new $60 MagSafe Wallet. With Find My support, I figured I’d be able to precisely locate it when I misplace it in my house, or should I ever leave it behind somewhere I could quickly locate it. Now that I’ve received my order, it’s clear that my expectations weren’t entirely accurate. Here’s what I’ve learned about the MagSafe Wallet and how it works with the Find My network, which will hopefully help you....

According to the report, 98% of executives believe continuous technological advances are becoming more reliable than economic, political, or social trends in informing their organization’s long-term strategy. While 14% of executives report, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt their organization’s business plans and operations, another 86% report that their organization has adapted to the disruption of the pandemic and has found a new normal. The Technology Vision 2022 report explores how today’s technology innovations are becoming the building blocks of our collective future....

On Wednesday, the company released the findings of its 2021 State of the SME IT Admin Report, which featured the responses of 401 IT decision-makers at small and medium-sized enterprises from April. Those surveyed include managers, directors, vice presidents, and executives. More than 60% of respondents said their enterprise was paying “for more tooling than they need” to manage user identities, while another 56% said too much was being spent on enabling remote work....

According to Nikkei, the Japanese competition watchdog will conduct interviews and surveys with OS operators, app developers, and smartphone users to assess whether Apple and Google have created anti-competitive market conditions in the smartphones, smartwatches, and other wearables sectors. The JFTC will reportedly work with the government-run Digital Market Competition Council during the probe. The new investigation comes just over a month after the JFTC closed an investigation into Apple’s in-app purchasing system....

Taking the reins of the company responsible for the National Broadband Network will be Kate McKenzie, who was the CEO of New Zealand broadband wholesaler Chorus until the end of 2019. “Of course, my one regret is I’d love to take the fantastic Chorus fibre network back home with me, but yeah, that’s probably not going to happen,” McKenzie said at the time. Completing the board is Nerida Caesar, who also sits on Westpac’s board, and was previously CEO of Equifax in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Telstra....

It really is an elegant, user-friendly desktop that anyone, regardless of skills, can start using with very little explanation. And even though it does offer quite a number of configuration options that could easily overwhelm new users, those features aren’t necessary for the day-to-day usage of the desktop. The beauty of KDE is that it allows users to grow as they use the desktop. At first, you may only consider a small percentage of the configuration options available....

Pagico lets you centralize your emails, notes, photos, docs, tasks, projects, and checklists all in one space. It’s a file organizer, as well as a daily planner, so you can plan ahead to stay on track with tasks and lists that are displayed in meaningful timelines. Your daily planner features a minimalist display that lets you see project statuses and your schedule without any distractions. Since the Pagico default is to save everything on your devices to assure better performance and privacy, you can work offline....

Newbies can start with “Hands-On Artificial Intelligence for Beginners.” Not only will you learn the fundamentals of AI, but you’ll also comfortably build an intelligent system of your own. Then you can learn about essential blueprints and the workflow necessary to build AI business applications in “AI Blueprints.” “Artificial Intelligence By Example” explains how to become an adaptive thinker that leads others to AI. Learning is always easier when it’s fun, and what’s more fun than games?...

The flying sensor is called BLK2FLY, and Leica Geosystems, which is a brand of global information systems company Hexagon AB, calls it the world’s first autonomous UAV laser scanning sensor. The user sets up a flight path, taps a tablet, and it flies off to accurately scan and capture the dimensions of an area or building. It’s best for inaccessible or hard to reach areas, such as facades or rooftops, or to document site conditions after a disaster....

The plant at Clarksville is aimed to have, by 2027, a yearly output of 120,000 tones of cathode, arguably the most important material used in the production of an EV battery that determines its performance and cost. LG Chem said the new plant will be the largest of its kind in the US, taking up 420 acres of space. Construction will start early next year with mass production slated to begin in 2025....

There’s also a lot of demand for Linux and open-source pros. The Linux Foundation and edX, the leading massive open online course (MOOC) provider, reported in their 2021 Open Source Jobs Report that the pair found more demand for top open-source workers than ever. That’s why the Linux Foundation has released three new training courses on the edX platform: Open Source Software Development: Linux for Developers (LFD107x), Linux Tools for Software Development (LFD108x), and Git for Distributed Software Development (LFD109x)....

The cloud-based solutions company explained that the move allows LastPass to invest heavily in “customer experience, go-to-market functions and engineering” as a way to improve its “organic growth in password management,” Single Sign-On (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA). The separation will also help speed up the changes moving forward, with LastPass expecting customers to see the changes in 2022. LogMeIn said LastPass currently has more than 30 million users and 85,000 business customers across the world....

Needless to say, as much of a fan of Android as I’ve been over the years, the tablet side of things has yet to win me over. Until now. Nokia recently released its T20 tablet as a relatively low-cost tablet (you can currently purchase it on the Nokia site for $149.00) that punches so far above its weight you’d think you were using a tablet that costs at least twice the price....