Ransomware can lock or encrypt your files and demand payment for access. A solid backup strategy using cloud backup and an external drive can protect your most important data.

What can we learn from the brain about building better computers? Oliver Rhodes discusses how neuromorphic computing draws on the brain's architecture to develop new approaches to more efficient information processing. Can you give me an overview of your background and the research that you're involved with? Neuromorphic computing is quite a broad subject, which essentially looks to biology as inspiration to develop next-generation computing systems. We work off this principle: we know the brain is this really amazing computer, and it's able to do things that a lot of modern computing systems aren't able to do, and it also does them in an incredibly energy efficient way. We'd like to try to replicate that with some of the systems we build. In the context of the current climate around AI, while we've seen that it's made really big steps forward and is able to do really impressive things, there are certain things that it still can't do that the brain is able to do. So we look to the brain for inspiration to try and solve some of those next generation challenges. Neuromorphic computing covers all aspects of this: from looking at algorithms that might be solving a particular problem, to the systems and subsystems that would be running those algorithms, right down to a chip or devices level. We often use neural networks, which are also employed in artificial intelligence models, such as in deep learning and transformer models.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. RAM and SSD prices are soaring. Here's how to buy a PC without overpaying If you're buying a PC, here's where to spend, where to save, and what to skip. Do you need a new computer? Unfortunately, the market is currently experiencing high prices and uncertainty due to the massive wave of investment in AI.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. KDE Connect is a free, open-source app that keeps files, notifications, and other handy features within reach. Phones and computers don't always play nice together, especially when you're bouncing between the two-it can be super annoying. KDE Connect is a handy app that helps fix this issue by linking your devices and letting them share files and notifications, while also allowing you to control your PC from your phone (or vice versa). File sharing is probably what people use KDE Connect for most.

The US government's new chatbot just demonstrated AI's ability to plagiarize, lie and be unintentionally hilarious. Then, it will deny even writing the poem. If you're not familiar with the Minecraft End Poem, it's a sweeping (some might say rambling) piece of philosophical prose meant to give the player something fun and inspiring after completing the game. And the game was over and the player woke up from the dream. And the player began a new dream.

Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more In My Bag Look Up Creator Playbook Say More AI at School Safety Net Versus Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age All Series Forget Muse, there's a new AI agent on the scene. Matt Binder joined Mashable's tech vertical in 2018, where he covers social media, tech policy, cybersecurity, online scams, cryptocurrency, AI, creator news, weird tech, and other related tech beats. At Dev Day 2026, OpenAI's annual tech conference, the company made more than 20 announcements, but none bigger than the launch of Dots, always-on AI agents built to handle everything. The launch of Dots comes shortly after the launch of Apple's new Siri AI app and, more recently, Meta's Muse AI . Muse has jumped to the top of the app store charts.

OpenAI's AI agents have landed it in hot water in recent weeks, so naturally the company is releasing agents nearly anyone can use to carry out tasks with minimal supervision. At its DevDay event in San Francisco today, the company announced Dots. OpenAI is pitching Dots as proactive, always-on AI systems that can chip away at tasks for you every hour of the day. "The magic of dots is when they bring you work done the way you would do it, sometimes before you even think to ask," the company explains. It points to an example where a tester's Dot noticed they had forgotten to bill a publication for an article.

PCWorld reports that viral claims about Windows 11 secretly archiving previews of every deleted photo are exaggerated, though the system does store small thumbnail previews that can persist after files are removed. These thumbnails, saved in files like thumbcache_256.db,

Popular Science sent a writer the the announcement of the Apple NeXT Computer and his description of the scene gives us serious FOMO. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. I never got the chance to see Steve Jobs speak in person at an Apple event. I've been covering the company and its products for decades now (it feels a little weird to type that), but always from afar--at least in those days.

United States President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Washington, DC on Thursday for a summit that is expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence (AI), Taiwan and the US-Israel war on Iran. In advance of the talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington had proposed an AI " notification mechanism " with China - effectively a hotline to alert each other when AI incidents threaten national security. The meeting comes as leading AI companies warn about the technology's risks, while both superpowers push to accelerate their AI race. In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera compares the US and China's AI strength in computing power, AI models, spending and research. Who has more computing power?