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U.S. employers added 177,000 jobs in April — a modest slowdown from the previous month, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.

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If you have cable internet, you’ve likely heard about this technology that powers your modem. Here's what you need to know.

In this article we're going to explore the difference between a fan and an air circulator, and help you figure out which is the best choice for your needs. Both types appear in our best fan roundup, and both have their pros and cons, depending on what you want to achieve.

As you can see from the image above, the two types of fan can look extremely similar at a glance, but they operate in different ways.

An air circulator is designed to circulate air around larger spaces. This type of fan really shines when combined with a cold air source, because it'll ensure the cooler air is distributed quickly and efficiently around the whole space.

In contrast, regular fans use a directed flow of air to enhance the evaporation of sweat, helping you feel cooler. They're great for personal cooling, but they will only have an effect if the air is pointed right at you.

Want to know more? Read on for a closer look at air circulators vs fans.

Air circulator vs fan: what is an air circulator? What is an air circulator?

An air circulator is a type of fan that is designed to circulate air around a whole room, rather than just blowing it in a specific direction.

For this reason, air circulators are especially effective when combined with a cool air source like an air con unit (here's more on air con vs fans). In this setup, an air circulator amplifies the work of the air con unit, helping drop the overall temperature in the room far more efficiently and ensuring the cooling air is evenly distributed.

If you don't have air con, they can still be useful, for example by circulating the breeze from an open window.

Say your bedroom has heated up during a sunny day – if you pop an air circulator next to an open window when night starts to fall and the temperature outside drops, it'll help distribute that cool air around your room in double-quick time, for a cooler sleep. They're also good for improving room ventilation.

Air circulators like the MeacoFan 1056P shift air around large spaces (Image credit: Future) How do air circulators work?

Often air circulators look like pedestal fans or desktop fans, with a fan head sitting atop a pole or on a base. They work by sucking air in through the back of the fan head, and pushing it out though a tight spiral grill and out into the room, where it bounces off the walls and ceiling. Eventually, the air will be bounced back towards the air circulator unit, and the whole process will start again.

The fan head doesn't necessarily need to move around to circulate air effectively. However, sometimes the fan head will rotate – and not just side-to-side like a regular fan, but up-and-down, too.

Air circulator vs fan: what is a fan? What is a fan?

'Fan' is the umbrella term; an air circulator is a type of fan. However, if we're talking about traditional fans (including tower and pedestal fans), they're typically designed to direct a flow of air to a specific area. This is great if you want to cool just one or – if the fan has oscillating capabilities – a few people at a time.

As a general rule, traditional fans aren't designed to circulate air around a whole room. However, fans with wide oscillating properties will help shift air around a fair bit. Some Dyson fans can oscillate a full 360 degrees, for example.

Whether its a tower – like this Dreo 519S – or a pedestal, regular fans offer a directed flow of air (Image credit: Future) How do fans work?

Fans don't actually cool the air; it's the movement of air on your skin that helps you feel cooler by boosting the evaporation of sweat. That means you'll only feel the benefits when you're sitting directly in the airflow path.

Buy an air circulator if... 1. You have an air con unit

Air circulators can be hugely effective at amplifying a source of cool air – for example from an air con unit – and ensuring it reaches the whole room. As a side note, this can help save energy and potentially lower your utility bills by helping your AC work more efficiently.

For example, in our Dreo TurboPoly 508S review, our tester found this air circulator fan was incredibly efficient at lowering temperatures in her home when paired with her usually ineffective AC unit.

Air circulators like the Dreo 508S help amplify the effects of AC (Image credit: Future) 2. You need to cool a large area

Traditional fans will only cool one or two people at once, whereas an air circulator is designed to create a flow of air around a whole room. That has the added benefit of meaning you could pop your air circulator out of the way, in the corner of a room, and it'll still do its job – whereas a fan would need to be positioned so you're directly in its airflow range. Don't expect powerful individual cooling from an air circulator unless you're adding a source of cool air, though.

3. You want something for year-round use

While a fan is only really helpful in the hot weather, air circulators can also be used alongside a heater in the colder months. While hot air will naturally rise, adding an air circulator will help evenly warm a room. They can also help with room ventilation if you have areas that tend to feel stuffy.

Buy a fan if... 1. You want something for personal cooling

Non-air circulator fans direct a flow of air at an individual, helping them feel cooler by enhancing the evaporation of sweat from their skin. You don't need a source of cold air for this type of fan to help cool you down.

2. You want something to use outside

The effects of an air circulator are going to get lost outside, whereas a fan can help generate a cooling breeze. Misting fans like the Shark FlexBreeze or FlexBreeze HydroGo can be especially effective for outdoor use.

A misting fan like the FlexBreeze HydroGo is a great choice for outdoor use (Image credit: Future) 3. You don't have air con

Air circulators are designed to amplify an existing source of cool air – usually from an air con unit. While an air circulator can still be useful without AC, traditional fans tend to be more efficient at cooling when used on their own.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believes around a third of the company's code is now AI-written
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes half of its code will come from AI in a year
• Productivity benefits come at the cost of potential vulnerabilities and job losses

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has revealed nearly one-third of the company's code is now written by AI.

Speaking to fellow tech titan, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, at the company's first-ever "AI innovation" conference, LlamaCon, Nadella added the figure is trending upward, possibly reaching as far as 40%, noting AI is most effective at writing new code rather than modifying old code.

The news comes just months after Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed similar figures, claiming more than quarter of Google's code is now AI-generated.

Microsoft is using more and more AI-generated code

"I'd say maybe 20-30% of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software," Nadella confirmed.

Despite posing the question, when that same question was asked to Zuckerberg, he claimed not to "have that number off the top of [his] head."

However, Meta's leader did offer an outlook for the company's use of AI: "Our bet is sort of that in the next year... maybe half the development is going to be done by AI as opposed to people, and that will kind of increase from there."

Neither Nadella nor Zuckerberg discussed potential job losses due to AI coding, but there was a brief discussion around evolving roles.

"I tend to think that... every engineer if effectively going to end up being more of a like tech lead in the future that has their own little army of AI agents that they work with," Meta's CEO explained.

Responding to the discussion on the Proton Mail X account, privacy-focused Swiss office software company Proton said: "This is not the flex you think it is, Microsoft."

It's unclear whether that was a dig at potential vulnerabilities that could be introduced through AI-written code, the effects it may have on the workforce, or something else.

TechRadar Pro has sought clarification on this.

Watch the full discussion between the two leaders on Meta's YouTube channel.

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There’s every chance that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be the best foldable phone of the year, as leaks suggest this successor to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be a serious upgrade.

So, if you’re serious about foldables – and have a serious stack of cash to spend on one – then you might want to consider this model. It’s not out yet, but it could be coming soon – and we have a good idea of when.

Below then, you’ll find our predictions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 announcement date, pre-order date, and shipping date. These predictions are based on a mix of leaks, rumors, and Samsung’s typical timings.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 announcement date predictions

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Our best guess for when the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be announced is either July 2 or July 9.

Why those days? Well, the last couple of models were announced in July, so that’s the most likely month. On top of which, South Korean site The JoongAng has said to expect the phone in early July, which likely means in the first couple of weeks.

Add to that the fact that Samsung typically unveils new Z Fold models on a Wednesday, and that leaves us with just July 2 or July 9.

Of course, The JoongAng could be wrong, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 was unveiled on July 10 last year, and Samsung has been shifting the announcement dates slightly forward each of the last few years, so if that trend continues then we’d again probably be looking at early July.

We still can’t completely rule out a date later in the month, or a launch on something other than a Wednesday, but all signs are pointing in this direction so far, and at the very least, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 reportedly entering mass production in May, it should be ready to land in or around July.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 pre-order date predictions

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

We can also take a good guess at when Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 pre-orders will open, with our best guess for now once again being either July 2 or July 9.

The reason for that is simply that Samsung usually opens pre-orders on the day it announces new devices. It did this for example with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, and the Samsung Galaxy S25.

So, while it’s possible Samsung will break from its usual patterns here, we doubt it. If we’re wrong about the pre-order dates it will more likely be because we’re wrong about when the phone is announced, as whenever it’s announced, we’re almost certain you’ll be able to pre-order it that same day.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 shipping date predictions

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Shipping dates are what we’re least sure of, as not only do they depend on our announcement date predictions being right, but Samsung isn’t quite as consistent with when phones ship as when they go up for pre-order.

There is still a rough pattern though, with the last few Samsung Galaxy Z Fold models and many other Samsung handsets shipping approximately two weeks after they’re announced. The exact gap does vary though, typically coming in at between 12 and 16 days.

So, if the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is announced on July 2, then two weeks later would be July 16, so we could see it ship then – or a day or two either side of that. If it’s unveiled on July 9 then it might instead ship on or around July 23.

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Fujifilm Instax Mini 41: One-minute review

The Instax Mini 41 is the latest affordable instant camera built for Fujifilm’s Instax Mini film, replacing the 2022-released Instax Mini 40 as the ‘mature’ alternative to the playful, colourful Mini 12.

While the Mini 40 has a straight-up retro aesthetic, the Mini 41 takes things in a more unique and modern direction. I’d call it retro-tinged rather than all-out vintage-inspired, and I think it’s all the better and more eye-catching for it.

Instax Mini cameras have always been simple to use and the Mini 41 thankfully continues this tradition. Loading it with a cartridge of film takes seconds and isn’t fiddly at all and, thanks to the automatic exposure settings, taking a photo really is just a matter of pointing and shooting. 90 seconds later, you’ll have a fully developed and likely great-looking credit card-sized print in your hands.

The viewfinder is big and bright, and thanks to the new parallax correction mode, you no longer need to compensate composition for close-up objects. As with the Mini 12, the Close-Up mode shifts the viewfinder angle slightly so that centering an object within 50cm will actually keep it in the center of the finished print.

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

The build quality is lightweight and plasticky, but thankfully doesn’t come across as cheap; I think it feels fine for a camera in this price range. I will concede that the use of standard AA batteries rather than a rechargeable built-in battery seems a little old-fashioned in 2025, but I suppose you can’t have it all.

In terms of image quality, it’s difficult to say the Mini 41 is any better than the 2023-released Mini 12 (which is a bit cheaper), because the lens and film being used is pretty much identical. But that’s no bad thing: Instax Mini photos are colorful, charming and so easy to pass around, pin up to a corkboard or stick on the fridge.

All in all, this is a fun, easy-to-use instant camera with a handsome design and a great price.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 41: Price and availability

• Camera available now for $129.95 / £94.99 / AU$179
• Instax Mini film costs around $20.99 / £14.99 / AU$29.95 for a 20 pack

The Instax Mini 41 is available now for around $129.95 / £94.99 / AU$179. That price, which is pretty reasonable in my opinion, includes the camera, two AA batteries and a wrist strap, but you don’t get any Instax Mini film packs included. US-based readers should note that the price in the States may go up as a result of the recent tariffs, so do keep an eye out for that.

Each film cartridge features 10 shots, and they’re usually sold in double packs (so 20 shots in total) for around $20.99 / £14.99 / AU$29.95. That can initially seem expensive compared to the near-free cost of digital photos, but as these prints are tangible, personalized objects I don’t think it’s fair to directly compare them to shots that sit on your phone or social media account. In my opinion, the film is priced quite fairly.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 41: specs Fujifilm Instax Mini 41: design

• Plastic body with retro-inspired but modern design
• Simple controls and viewfinder
• Selfie mirror built into lens barrel

When I pulled it out of the box, I was instantly impressed by the looks of the Instax Mini 41. It would have been easy for Fujifilm to retain the purely retro 1960s-esque styling of the Mini 40, but instead its designers have blended old and new into something quite singular, much like it did with the Instax Wide Evo.

From the grippy geometric texture on the front to the understated colors (with those all-important pops of the orange accent color here and there), this is just a stylish and elegant camera – and a lot less conspicuous and more grown-up than the Instax Mini 12.

It’s made almost entirely of plastic. That’s normal for something priced as low as this, and helps keep the weight down, but it will get marked and damaged quite easily if dropped or mistreated. My review sample already had a scrape across the back from a previous user, and I suspect a ten-year-old Mini 41 would look quite battered and bruised unless kept in a carry case most of the time.

Say cheese! The Mini 41 features a handy selfie mirror next to the lens. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

Operation is beautifully simple. Loading a cartridge Instax Mini film through the rear hatch is idiot-proof thanks to the yellow indicator lines, and once it’s in all you need to do is twist the lens barrel to turn the camera on. This power switch doubles as a mode dial too, flipping the camera between its Normal and Close-Up shooting modes: Normal is for shooting anything more than 50cm away, while Close-Up handles everything between 50cm and 30cm (the camera’s closest focusing distance).

When in Close-Up mode, the viewfinder shifts perspective slightly, making it easier to frame your shots. This is called parallax correction and I’ve seen it on the Mini 12 too, but it’s a great feature to have if you don’t want to end up wasting photos through poor composition.

To take a shot, you just look through the (big, bright) viewfinder to compose, then hit the shutter button. Everything else, including shutter speed and flash, is fully automatic. If you want to take a selfie, there’s a handy mirror on the lens to help composition (another feature, like parallax correction, carried over from older models).

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) Fujifilm Instax Mini 41: Performance

• Postcard-sized prints delivered in 90 seconds
• Strong color reproduction and sharp detail
• Runs on 2 x AA battery delivering around 100 shots

This camera really is simplicity personified. From pressing the shutter button to looking at your fully developed print, the entire process takes just 90 or so seconds. The Mini 41 doesn’t do anything different to its Instax Mini predecessors in this regard, but then it doesn’t need to: the system works very well. The only thing it's missing, if I'm nit-picking, is a self-timer that'd allow you to set it up somewhere for a group shot.

The prints are credit card sized (62 x 46mm to be precise), nicely glossy, and packed with charm. I suppose you might be disappointed if you’re looking for the most detail, the punchiest contrast and the richest, most saturated colors – but, well, you didn’t truly expect to find them on a cheap instant camera, did you?

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Image 2 of 4

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Image 3 of 4

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Image 4 of 4

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

What these images have in spades is spirit and character. The colors are pleasant and appealing and there’s enough detail here, despite the small print size. And that analog film special sauce suits portraits and selfies well, imbuing them with a timeless quality that digital has always struggled to recreate.

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) Should I buy the Fujifilm Instax Mini 41? Buy it if...

You want a simple, cheap instant camera
At this price it's hard to fault the Mini 41. It's a straightforward instant camera that just works!

You want something a little more grown-up
The cheaper Mini 12 is almost exactly the same camera, but its bubbly, colorful design is a bit kiddified. Not so the elegant Mini 41.

Don't buy it if...

You hate spending money on film
This isn't like a digital camera – you'll need to continually invest in film (and AA batteries) while using it.

You like being in control
Serious creative photographers might bounce off the Mini 41's lack of manual controls. It's designed to be simple and fun, not for professional photography.

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) Fujifilm Instax Mini 41: Also consider Polaroid Flip

It’s more than twice the price of the Mini 41, but Polaroid’s latest point-and-shoot instant camera delivers great-looking square prints thanks to its four-lens system. A longer minimum focus distance means it’s not ideal for snapping selfies, though.

Read our in-depth Polaroid Flip review

Fujifilm Instax Mini 12

With very similar image quality to the Mini 41 (it uses the same film packs, after all), the 2023-released Mini 12 makes for a great and slightly cheaper alternative – if you can live with the cutesy, cloud-shaped and colourful design, that is.

Read our in-depth Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 review

How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Mini 41:

• Used two packs of Instax Mini film (20 shots)
• Took photos in and outdoors in different conditions
• Experimented with portraits, self portraits, close-ups and landscapes

I was only given about a week to use the Mini 41 before my review sample had to go back to Fujifilm, but that was enough time to get through a couple of cartridges of film: 20 shots in total. I took these in and outdoors and in a variety of situations, from selfies to landscapes. I own an Instax Mini 12 too, so am quite familiar with the design and image quality of the Instax Mini range and film, which helped me form an opinion on the Mini 41 despite having limited hands-on time with it.

• First reviewed May 2025

Commentary: An expert says prices shouldn't skyrocket tomorrow, so don't do what I did and buy out of fear.

Here's what members of the CNET editorial team thought of the premade meals from this popular meal subscription.

Marvel's Thunderbolts* movie has stormed into theaters worldwide, and, whether or not you plan on seeing it on a big screen near you, I suspect you'll want to know when it'll come to Disney+.

Well, the short answer is that the second Marvel film of 2025 doesn't have a streaming release date yet. That won't stop me speculating on when it might land on Disney's primary streaming platform, though, which I'll do shortly.

That's not all. Below, I'll also provide more information on what you need to know about Thunderbolts*, including its runtime and end-credits scenes. Before you proceed, though, make sure you read my Thunderbolts* review to see if it's worth watching in your local cinema and/or at home.

Does Thunderbolts* have a Disney+ release date yet?

Staring into the *ahem* void while you wait for Thunderbolts* to land on Disney+ like... (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

No. As I mentioned, Thunderbolts* doesn't have a confirmed Disney+ launch date yet, and it'll be a while before the Marvel Phase 5 movie makes its debut on one of the world's best streaming services.

On average, it takes three months for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films to be added to the Disney+ movie library. Indeed, at the time of publication, the most recent MCU flick – Captain America: Brave New World, which flew into theaters on February 14 – still isn't out on the service.

With Thunderbolts* only launching in multiplexes and local theaters globally in early May, it'll probably be August before the Florence Pugh-fronted team-up film lands on Disney+. For now, your only option is to watch it on the big screen.

As for my prediction of when it'll be available to enjoy in the comfort of your own home, I think Thunderbolts* will make its Disney+ bow on Wednesday, August 6.

That's a whole week after Ironheart, the final MCU Phase 5 project, will have ended. And, with new Disney+ movies usually releasing on the platform midweek, the aforementioned date seems like a solid guess to me.

What is the runtime of Thunderbolts*?

Thunderbolts* will take around two hours to watch (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Thunderbolts* has a runtime of two hours and six minutes.

That includes its end credits crawl, which you should definitely sit through to fully appreciate the sheer amount of people who worked on one of the best Marvel movies of the Phase 5 era.

Does Thunderbolts* have a mid- and/or post-credits scene?

Metaphorically speaking, we're always tied to our seats until every Marvel movie's end-credits sequence has ended (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Yes! Thunderbolts* has a mid-credits scene and a post-credits stinger. Where the MCU's future is concerned, the latter is far more important than the former but, in my view, they're both worth watching for different reasons.

Want more details on what is shown? My Thunderbolts* ending explained piece is packed with more information about those scenes, as well as plenty of speculation about what the film's end-credits scene means for the next two MCU movies – those being The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday.

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Marvel Unlimited monthly subscription: was $9.99 per month now $4.99 at Marvel
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• The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed
• But we do finally have a release date
• It will launch on May 26, 2026

Developer Rockstar Games has finally given us an official release date for Grand Theft Auto 6, though simultaneously revealed that the game has been delayed.

As confirmed in a recent press release, the highly anticipated open-world crime game will now release on "May 26, 2026" - a year after its previously announced 2025 release window.

"Hi everyone," the press release begins. "Grand Theft Auto 6 is now set to release on May 26, 2026."

It goes on to apologize for the delay: "We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game."

It also provides a reason for the decision, stating that "With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto 6 is no exception. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve."

It concludes by saying that more information will be shared "soon".

The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 was released back in December 4, 2023, and has now been viewed more than 251 million times on YouTube.

The game will take place in the fictionalized US state of Leonida, home of the the iconic Vice City featured in previous games. It follows new protagonist Lucia and her partner as they go on the run from the law.

Industry analysts predict that the game's release will be "one of the biggest entertainment launches in history" and that it could potentially generate more than $1 billion in pre-order sales alone.

It will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

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Medicaid cuts loom over House Republicans' budget reconciliation. Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo. says the "right reforms," like work requirements and stopping "improper" spending, could save money.

(Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite)

Opensignal's newest study suggests that internet users who rent routers from ISPs report a healthier home network.

• The NotebookLM mobile app listings are now live
• The research app is coming very soon to Android and iOS
• Expect to hear more news at Google I/O 2025 on May 20

Having hinted at the imminent arrival of a NotebookLM app last month, Google has now put the AI research app live on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for mobile devices. You can't download it yet, but you can pre-order it – and it gives us a good early glimpse of what the promising app looks like.

'Pre-ordering' the app means it will automatically download to your phone when it's launched in full, which according to the Apple App Store listing (via 9to5Google) is May 20 – the same day as Google I/O 2025 starts, where we'll no doubt hear more about this app.

(Image credit: Google)

If you've never come across NotebookLM before, it's an AI-powered resource tool that can collate information across documents, webpages, and more – you can get smart summaries, ask questions about the data, and even produce fake podcasts (which you can interrupt, if you want to).

It looks as though the app is going to include the podcast (or "audio overview") creator, based on the screenshots in these listings. We can also see screens for adding sources, and for the conversation panel where you can chat about the sources with the AI.

An alternative to Gemini

NotebookLM can produce audio podcasts for you (Image credit: Google/Apple)

Google will no doubt give us the full story about this app in a few weeks, but almost all of the web app features seem to have been carried over – including the ability to add notebooks and browse through the notebooks you've created on the web.

NotebookLM is a helpful alternative to Google Gemini for those times when you need AI's help with a specific set of material you've collected – perhaps a science research project or reports on a current industry trend.

Based on my experience with the tool, it's usually more straight-faced and serious than Gemini, and includes citations with all its responses – so you can check if it's made any mistakes. You get higher usage limits and more customization options in NotebookLM if you're subscribed to a Google One AI Premium plan.

It looks as though there's going to be a wealth of AI news coming out of Google I/O 2025 from May 20 – including, perhaps, an update on the AI Mode for search – and we will of course bring you all the announcements as they're made.

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Trump signed an executive order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS, accusing the organizations of political bias. And, a federal judge ruled Trump's usage of the Alien Enemies Act was unlawful.

(Image credit: Charles Dharapak)

• A third British retailer has been hit with a cyberattack
• The M&S incident is likely a ransomware attack from ScatteredSpider
• Retailers are at risk due to high downtime costs

Luxury department store Harrods has become the third British retailer to be hit by a cyberattack in a matter of days, with the firm restricting internet access at its sites following an attempt to gain access to its systems.

The incident closely follows the confirmation that an earlier attack targeting Marks & Spencer, causing widespread outages in stores and the retailer’s online platform, is allegedly the work of ScatteredSpider hackers.

The third incident, a cyberattack on retail giant Co-Op, forced the supermarket to take down parts of its IT systems and take proactive measures to defend against the attackers.

There are certainly similarities between the reports of the incidents, and in such quick succession it seems likely there may be a link between them, but the extent of the attacks is yet to be seen - here’s what we know so far.

No known link

Despite the timings and the similarities, there’s no official link between the incidents, although it’s likely that all three incidents are ongoing, so more information may be revealed as the attacks unfold.

In the meantime, security teams should be ultra vigilant, and should deploy the best endpoint protection software to keep their organisation safe.

SonicWall’s Executive VP of EMEA, Spencer Starkey explains ransomware, “holds victim organizations' business operations hostage, which uniquely impacts retailers and other organizations that provide daily, direct services to their customers”.

As we’ve seen in the continued disruption of the M&S attack, these incidents can have a devastating effect, with the supermarket’s share price falling 7%, causing millions in lost sales and downtime.

Starkey explains these attacks are particularly harmful to retailers as they directly affect revenue generation, which provides additional leverage for the attackers, and warns that companies should be operating on the presumption that they will inevitably be targeted, so should develop a comprehensive incident response plan.

Not if, but when

Concerns are rising for businesses across the country, and retail attacks have risen sharply since the development of AI tools designed to help cybercriminals send out more frequent and sophisticated attacks.

The head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Dr Richard Horne, has warned that these attacks should serve as a “wake-up call” for all organizations, and urges security leaders to ensure they have “appropriate measures in place to help prevent attacks and respond and recover effectively.”

Ex-NSA cyber chief, Cody Barrow, also warns generative AI is “accelerating the threat landscape,” and that sophisticated attacks like social engineering and adaptive malware campaigns are now available to even low-skilled attackers.

In particular, criminals are able to send out an incredible number of social engineering attacks, that are designed specifically to trick victims into giving attackers access to their networks.

Security best practices recommend using the best antivirus software, best malware removal software, and training all staff to recognise phishing attacks.

These attacks outline just how vulnerable the sector is, and Barrow argues this is “due to the volume of customer data and the high cost of operational downtime”. Although, the reality is that almost all sectors are facing more threats than ever.

“Retailers must assume they are targets. Rehearsed incident response plans, clear communication protocols, and multi-factor authentication for administrative access are now essential. Endpoint detection and response tools should be standard, not optional. For consumers, vigilance is crucial: update passwords, monitor financial activity, and watch for scams exploiting recent breaches.”

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You may want to monitor content on a webpage for various reasons. It could be that you're waiting for your favorite product to be back in stock, or looking for a job, or tracking a competitor to see what they're up to.

However, manually looking for updates every now and then is impractical and, quite honestly, a waste of time. You need someone to keep an eye on your behalf while you focus on your actual work. This is where an online website change monitoring tool comes in.

Change Detection is an easy, beginner-friendly website monitoring tool that lets you track up to 5,000 URLs at once. Every time there’s an update, you can get alerts via 85 various modes, including SMS, email, Discord, and so on.

In this guide, we will dive deep into ChangeDetector’s plans and pricing, features, customer support, and much more. We’ll also list down a couple of alternatives in case it doesn’t fit your needs.

Change Detection: Plans and pricing

Change Detection has a simple one-tier pricing, starting at only $8.99/month. You can track up to 5,000 URLs at once with a checking frequency of 5 minutes.

You can also track the target website from different virtual locations, get instant notifications on email (or your preferred communication app), and bulk import the list of URLs to be tracked.

The best thing is that everything the platform has to offer has been bundled into a single plan, which is pretty affordable, too, particularly when compared with the likes of Fluxguard or Visualping.

Change Detection: Features

Change Detection is an entry-level content monitoring tool just like Sken. It lets you track up to 5,000 URLs at once – a great add-on for businesses. Once you enter the page URL, the platform will track all changes, be they content changes or visual ones.

You will also be notified about all these changes in real-time. Notifications are unlimited and can be sent to over 85 different platforms, including Discord, email, Telegram, and Slack.

If you don't want to be bothered about every single update, there are a bunch of filters available to remove unwanted alerts, such as trigger text, CSS/XPath rules, and ignore text.

For instance, if you’re looking for a 3BHK for rent on a website, you can set up alerts for changes that include the words ‘3BHK.’ This way, you won’t be bombarded with all notifications, making your dashboard clutter-free.

You can also customize the time between subsequent checks as per your needs. For instance, you may want to check for news updates only during office hours. Let’s say you know your favorite shoes will be back in stock next Thursday. You can customize Change Detection to run checks only from 00:01 to 23:59 on Thursdays.

Change Detection can also help you identify valuable trends if the web page contains a number. Let’s say you’re looking for the number of apartment listings on a real estate website. You can instruct Change Detection to look over all previous change snapshots, extract the text, and send you a CSV with the time/date.

This can help you identify long-term trends, which can be useful for consumer-driven businesses.

(Image credit: Change Detection)

The platform also offers a lot of tools to simplify the website tracking process. For instance, if you have a list of URLs, you can import it on Change Detection through a CSV or Excel file. Another way to add new sites to be tracked is through the Chrome browser extension.

What's more, you can also use proxy servers to access a site from different geographical locations. For example, if you're in Asia but want to see what the European version of a certain page has, Change Detection can help you with that.

Change Detection: Interface and in use

The main dashboard is as simple as they come. At the center of the page, there’s an empty field for the new URL that you want to track. Just below that, there’s a list of all the URLs that you are currently tracking.

(Image credit: GitHub)

Changes depicted in text are highlighted in red (for the old version) and green (for the new version) to make it easy for you to spot the difference.

There’s also a settings page for each URL that you are tracking. You can access the settings page through the “Edit” button on the main dashboard. Once inside, you will find another dashboard with a set of menus on the top. The options on the menu are to help you configure how the tracking happens.

Overall, the site is fairly easy to use, but a new user will need some time to find out where all the features are and how to work them.

Change Detection: Support

Change Detection’s support is admittedly a little barebones. There’s a section of tutorials that can help you with basic issues.

Now, if you want to talk to the team directly, there’s a contact form on the home page. You need to share your email ID, existing login URL, and a short message about your concern. However, that’s it – we didn’t find any direct email support option or live chat.

Change Detection: The competition

Because Change Detection is a beginner-level tool, it lacks many advanced features. Two of its biggest competitors are Visualping and Wachete.

Visualping is best known for its AI automation tools that save you tons of time by streamlining mundane tasks. For example, there’s a summarization tool that summarizes all change reports, helping you extract the crux of the matter without having to read through countless pages.

You can also give feedback to this AI about irrelevant notifications, and it will ensure that all similar kinds of alerts are blocked in the future. There’s also another AI tool that helps you set up your account quickly through smart suggestions. Large businesses that have a lot of workload can really benefit from this automation.

Next, we have Wachete. The best thing about it is that it allows third-party integration with Zapier, which in turn allows you to connect with over 7,000 tools. Plus, along with tracking online pages, Wachete also lets you track text documents such as PDFs, Word files, DOCX, and so on. It's also a bit more affordable than Change Detection, with plans starting from $5.40/month.

Change Detection: Final verdict

Change Detection is a good content monitoring tool, best for beginners. It's affordable, too, starting at just $8.99/month. Plus, the interface is pretty simple with a minimum learning curve – you can navigate it even if you are not a tech expert.

Its biggest USP is that it lets you track 5,000 URLs at once – something you don’t get with many website monitoring tools. There are also unlimited notifications available on over 85 different types of platforms, such as Slack, Telegram, Discord, and so on.

Last but not least, it comes with a Google Chrome browser extension for JavaScript websites, simplifying the process of adding new pages to be tracked.

However, it does have a few shortcomings. For instance, there are no AI features, password-page tracking, or an option to track pages locked behind pre-defined actions. All this makes Change Detection a little less ideal for large businesses. In that case, you can try alternatives like Wachete or Visualping.

FAQs What is a content monitoring tool?

A content monitoring tool lets you keep an eye on other webpages, such as your competitors, and see what’s going on. Instead of manually looking for updates, you can use this tool to be notified anytime there’s a major change.

The change could be related to content, visual elements, or the code of the page. Many of these tools, including Change Detection, also offer real-time alerts for such changes so that you can make timely decisions.

Who is Change Detection best for?

Change Detection is best for personal use and small businesses with limited needs. The pricing is quite affordable; any small business can afford to shell out $8.99/month, and such a low price still gives you the ability to track 5,000 URLs with 5-minute checking intervals.

You can also set up a custom check schedule and pull out informative trend reports in a jiffy. Large businesses, however, may feel the lack of advanced tracking options such as password-protected pages or pages that need a pre-defined action to be tracked.

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• Amazon’s Alexa+ AI has just hit 100,000 users in the US
• Yet the firm’s CEO has warned agentic technology is still “primitive”
• Alexa+ is rolling out in waves, but is still missing some key features

Like many other Big Tech firms, Amazon jumped on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon by launching its own AI assistant named Alexa+ in February. Now, the company has announced that the tool has been rolled out to 100,000 users.

Right now, Alexa+ focuses on providing a conversational experience with an AI chatbot, although Amazon aims to imbue it with “agentic” abilities in the future. That would enable it to work as an agent on your behalf, interacting with third-party apps in order to carry out the tasks you ask of it.

That little tidbit came from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy during the company’s recent earnings call. There, Jassy explained that “Our intention is for agents to perform wide-ranging complex, multi-step tasks,” and that “there haven't been action-oriented agents like this until Alexa+.”

Yet the most recent update to Alexa+ is missing some of the key features that Amazon demonstrated in February, as pointed out by The Washington Post. It wouldn’t be the first AI to arrive without promised abilities – Apple’s AI-powered Siri has faced numerous delays and disruptions – and it shows how difficult it can be to pull ahead in the ongoing AI arms race.

Even Jassy admitted that Alexa+ was facing challenges. In general, agentic AI tools are still “primitive,” the Amazon CEO noted, with Amazon’s own Nova Act AI model aiming to improve their accuracy from a mere 30% to 60%. Eventually, the goal is to achieve over 90% accuracy, but clearly Alexa+ isn’t there yet.

Limited availability

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon has previously stated that it aims to launch Alexa+ in waves, so we should expect to see availability increase in the US over the coming months. There's no news about an international rollout yet.

Of those users who have tried it out so far, few have shared their thoughts or given insights into how well it works. That changed recently, though, when user Pretty2be took to Reddit to answer questions on the AI chatbot.

During the session, Pretty2be stated that Alexa+ is good at interpreting natural speech and is able to avoid interrupting you. Other positive feedback included its speech synthesis capabilities, although the user criticized its tendency to push you towards Amazon Music, even when you try to use Spotify.

We don’t know when Alexa+ will roll out to more users, but it’s clear that there’s still work to be done, judging by both Pretty2be’s feedback and Amazon CEO Jassy’s comments. Hopefully the missing features will arrive before the next 100,000 users sign up.

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• New Microsoft accounts will use passkeys by default, company reveals
• Existing users can also delete their passwords
• The login experience has an updated interface

Microsoft will be making all new accounts passwordless by default in a bid to push users towards more secure authentication methods that revolve around passkeys, push notifications and security keys.

"Microsoft and dozens of other organizations have taken the Passkey Pledge to work toward increasing the implementation and adoption of passkeys over the coming year," Microsoft explained in a blog post.

Naturally, existing users can also opt in to delete their traditional passwords via account settings in favor of more secure options.

Microsoft goes passwordless by default

Claiming that it "helped lay the foundation for an entirely new era of authentication," Microsoft's blog post takes us back ten years to the launch of Microsoft Hello, which allowed users to log into machines with secure biometrics.

"To keep your digital life safe, you need a way to sign into any account without a password," Joy Chik and Vasu Jakkal explained.

But why is it important to move away from less secure simple passwords?

Apparently, Microsoft observed more than 7,000 password attacks per second last year, marking a twofold year-over-year increase.

However, while passkeys make for a more secure account, the company noted that old-style accounts with basic passwords can expect to see even more attack attempts. All the more reason to go passwordless across all accounts – not just your Microsoft account.

They're also speedier, offering a log-in experience eight times quicker compared with the password and MFA combination.

Passkeys for consumer apps like Xbox and Copilot already became available in 2024, and now, more than a million are being registered each day.

Other recent announcements include an updated login user experience, with a simpler style introduced in March 2025 prioritizing passworldess methods, all of which just in time for yesterday's World Password Day.

From now, "new users will have several passwordless options for signing into their account and they’ll never need to enroll a password."

If Microsoft's decision to go passwordless has got you inspired to transition to passkeys across more services, check out the entire list of participators across the FIDO Alliance's Passkey Pledge, including Amazon, Apple, Dashlane, Google and tens more.

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Businesses need content monitoring to keep an eye on competitors, stay abreast of the latest customer trends and news updates, and ensure regulatory compliance. If you’re looking for reliable content monitoring software, OnWebChange can be a good fit.

OnWebChange is one of the most affordable website monitoring software options, starting at just $0.92/month. It comes with 5 different plans, including a free one, and lets you track both websites and offline files like PDFs and images.

You can choose to track an entire page or just a part of it, track pages from various locations, and keep an eye on PDFs and text files.

Read on as we explore in detail this affordable content monitoring tool, discussing its best features, pricing, pros, and cons. We’ll also suggest a couple of alternatives if OnWebChange doesn’t suit your needs.

OnWebChange: Plans and pricing

OnWebChange offers 5 plans, ensuring there’s something for everyone. You can get started with a limited free plan, which, in all honesty, is pretty basic. It allows you to track 3 pages at once and check 30 times a month with a 24-hour interval. You can also track PDFs (limited to 0.5 MB in size) and ‘plain texts’ – something free plans don’t usually offer.

Next, there’s the Lite Plan priced at €0.89 ($0.92), allowing you to monitor 10 pages at once and run 20K checks a month with 60-minute intervals. Here, you can track PDFs up to a size of 4MB. Costing less than a dollar a month, this is one of the cheapest content monitors out there.

The Standard plan, priced at €2.79 ($2.88), allows you to track unlimited pages and run 100k checks a month. Plus, you get tracker history, a highlighted version of the check reports, a whole suite of tracker management tools, and much more.

This is the cheapest plan we’ve seen that allows unlimited page checks. However, the check interval still remains 60 minutes, which may not be ideal for mid-sized or large businesses.

In that case, you can upgrade to the Turbo-50 plan priced at €4.99 ($5.15). Although you cannot track unlimited pages here (capped at 50 pages), you can run unlimited checks per month at 5-minute intervals. Other than this, you get all the benefits from the standard plan.

Lastly, there’s the Turbo-100 plan priced at €8.99 ($9.28), where you can track 100 pages instead of 50 on the last plan.

Choosing a plan requires you to make a simple decision – do you want to track an unlimited number of pages at a 60-minute interval or a limited number of pages (50 or 100) at 5-minute intervals?

Even the most expensive OnWebChange plan is cheaper than most other content monitoring websites around, such as Verionista or Distill.io.

OnWebChange: Features

The first thing to be noted is that OnWebChange, despite its name, can track both online web pages as well as offline PDFs and images. If you want to track multiple pages, you can simply bulk import all the URLs in a single .CSV file and create multiple page trackers in just a few clicks.

To fine-tune your tracking, it offers customization tools that help you narrow down your radar to specific parts of the page instead of tracking the whole page. This will help keep out unnecessary notifications and focus on material changes.

(Image credit: OnWebChange)

Speaking of unnecessary notifications, OnWebChange lets you set custom rules so that you only get notified about changes that matter to you. For instance, you can choose to be notified only when a specific keyword appears in a change. And if you want to put all notifications on hold for a while, simply put your account on “Holiday Mode.”

You also have the option of choosing between different geographic tracking regions. Sometimes, the same page may display different content based on your location. If you want to track changes on the foreign version of a page, OnWebChange can do that for you.

One of our favorite things about OnWebChange is its highlighted reports. You get detailed change reports with the new changes highlighted so you can easily spot the difference. You can also organize your trackers into groups, then filter & order by groups, labels, creation date, and more.

OnWebChange stores tracker history in case you need it in the future. This stored data can be exported to Excel in bulk or converted to graphs and charts. All this makes it super easy to compare all the different changes in a given period.

Last but not least, there’s also an Intelligent Warning System that notifies you if a page goes through a structural change and is no longer available for tracking.

OnWebChange: Interface and in use

OnWebChange’s interface is very plain. Upon signing up, you’ll see a simple white and blue page containing your account information, some new updates about the platform, and an option to create a new tracker. Compared to other content monitors and website defacement monitoring services, the interface seems to be a bit too bland and like it's stuck in the 90s.

(Image credit: OnWebChange)

There’s no separate dashboard, so organizing your content might be a little challenging. Once you enter a URL to be tracked, you’ll get a snapshot of the current version of that page. You will also be able to access all the other settings by scrolling down the page.

Once you configure and save the settings, you’ll get a plain dashboard that will have a list of the pages you are tracking along with some basic settings and sorting and filtering options.

Overall, the dashboard is very vanilla, which makes it easy to navigate, but it's not as compact as you would have liked. So, you’ll need a couple of days getting used to it, especially if you’re switching over from another content tracker.

OnWebChange: Support

OnWebChange comes with a detailed help center where you get video tutorials, step-by-step guides, and a list of frequently asked questions. There’s also email support (info@onwebchange.com) if you want to directly get in touch with someone from the team.

We particularly like that OnWebChange offers email support on all their plans, even on the free one. However, there’s no phone support, but that’s pretty much the norm for website monitoring services.

OnWebChange: The competition

OnWebChange is a good basic content monitor. However, it does have a few shortcomings, which is why you can consider other monitors like Wachete and Visualping.

Wachete integrates with Zapier, allowing you to access 7,000+ apps to establish seamless workflows for businesses. You can also track password-protected pages and use proxy servers to monitor pages from various geographical locations. Wachete is fairly affordable, too, with plans starting at just $5.40/month. It also comes with a free plan.

The other option is Visualping. Its fantastic AI tool automates a bunch of mundane tasks for you. For example, it can summarize change reports, help you quickly set up your account with smart suggestions, and filter through unnecessary notifications. If you find an alert unnecessary, share that feedback with the AI, and it will block all similar alerts in the future.

OnWebChange: Final verdict

OnWebChange is a robust monitoring tool ideal for personal and small business needs. You can track both web pages and offline files like PDFs and images. It also allows tracking web pages from different proxy servers, allowing you to monitor region-specific content.

You can even import large lists of URLs to be tracked in a single CSV (Excel/Calc) file or export your trackers and manage them externally as a CSV file.

The prices are extremely low, with the paid plans starting at just $0.92/month. For just $2.88/month, you can track an unlimited number of pages.

Overall, the tool is a good investment. However, it does lack advanced features like report summarization tools and third-party integrations. If that's something you just can't do without, consider alternatives like Watchete and Visualping.

FAQs Which is the most affordable content monitoring tool?

OnWebChange is one of the most affordable content monitoring websites, as its paid plans start at less than $1. This starter-level plan lets you monitor 10 pages and run 20,000 checks a month with a 60-minute interval. This should be more than enough for an individual or even a small business.

If you upgrade, though, you can track unlimited pages at just $2.88/month – a proposition you’ll not see any other content monitor offer. OnWebChange also has a completely free plan using which you can track 3 pages with 30 monthly checks.

Who is OnWebChange best for?

OnWebChange is ideal for personal and small to medium businesses. It's one of the cheapest content monitors going around, with plans starting at less than a dollar.

The tool also offers excellent value for money thanks to features like custom notifications, location-based tracking, and email customer support on all plans.

However, it lacks advanced features such as AI tools or third-party integrations. Large businesses with complex needs may, therefore, need to look at alternatives like Visualping.

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