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As early flowers start to bloom, Amazon holds another sale — its Big Spring Sale discounts are available to customers with or without a Prime membership. We selected some of Amazon’s best deals on tech products, focusing on tools you can use for work; where possible, we focused on deals that approach or reach 50% off. Amazon technically takes up to 40% during this specific sale, but we expanded our search to include deeper current deals. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale runs until March 31. Beats Studio Pro Headphones: Amazon Ring Stick Up Cam Pro Home Security Camera: Amazon DREAME X40 Ultra Robotic Vacuum: Amazon Lenovo Tab M9 Tablet: Amazon Motorola Moto G Power 5G: Amazon Note: The pricing and product availability information was accurate at the time of publication. Beats Studio Pro Headphones The sale applies to most color variants of the Beats Studio Pro headphones. Image: Amazon For Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, these wireless, noise-cancelling headphones are 49% off, dropping from $349.99 to $179.95. The headphones interface with either Apple or Android phones. Switch between listening to music and taking work calls – or between a transparent mode and an immersive noise-calling mode – depending on your location and whether you’re wearing them for work or pleasure. Reviewers praise the solid build quality and the comfort of the soft ear cups. Ring Stick Up Cam Pro Home Security Camera This home security camera offers two-way talk plus package and movement alerts. Image: Amazon Have a home office and want to keep an eye on package deliveries, or you’re just looking for peace of mind? The Stick Up Cam Pro from Ring is a battery-powered outdoor security camera with 1080p HDR vision, color vision even at night, and a two-way talking function. Perhaps most importantly for us, it’s exactly 50% off now, with the price dropping from $179.99 to $89.99. DREAME X40 Ultra Robotic Vacuum The DREAME X40 robotic vacuum is housed in a relatively large charging station. Image: Amazon While not directly work-related, this robot vacuum can keep your home office tidy and save time on those pesky chores you would otherwise have to do after work. The X40 Ultra from DREAME cleans carpets, wood floors, tile, marble, and other hard surfaces. It includes a mop for solid surfaces, and you can set it to avoid mopping carpeted areas. For the Big Spring Sale, Amazon offers the DREAME X40 robotic vacuum for $899.99, 44% of its list price of $1,599.99. What’s hot at TechRepublic Lenovo Tab M9 Tablet The Tab M9 is a 9-inch tablet released in 2023. Image: Amazon Amazon took 47% off the $149.99 2023 Lenovo Tab 9 tablet for a sale price of $79.99. This tablet has a 9-inch HD screen, 13 hours of battery life, 32 GB of storage, and Google Lens’ translation and identification software. It unlocks using a face scan. The Lenovo Tab M9 is a reliable tablet for work or gaming. Motorola Moto G Power 5G This Motorola Moto G Power 5G shows the midnight blue color option. Image: Amazon This unlocked 2024 Motorola phone brings 128 GB of base storage, a 50 MP camera, a 120 Hz display, and 8 GB of RAM. Amazon is offering it on sale for $179.99, 40% off $299.99. The Moto G doesn’t offer as many perks or polish as a contemporary Apple or Samsung phone, but it has Android 14 just like the competitor and does most of the same things at a much more reasonable price. source

Credit: StackCommerce TL;DR: Reachfast is a powerful B2B lead generation tool that lets you find verified business emails from LinkedIn URLs in under five minutes — now available for just $49.99 for lifetime access (reg. $720). Whether you’re building a sales pipeline, sourcing candidates, or scaling a startup, B2B outreach can feel like you’re wading through molasses. Endless LinkedIn browsing, clunky email guesswork, and dead-end CRM imports are all too familiar. That’s where Reachfast can help. Reachfast is a web-based platform designed to help professionals find direct business emails using just a LinkedIn profile URL. Behind its sleek interface is a triple-verification system that delivers accurate email addresses for over 385 million professionals across 190+ countries — from CEOs and CTOs to HR directors, marketers, and beyond. The process is simple but powerful. Upload a CSV of LinkedIn URLs or paste them in manually, and Reachfast gets to work. It will typically return verified results in under five minutes. If you’re working from the browser, its Chrome extension makes live email discovery from LinkedIn pages instant. There’s no second-guessing or API integrations — just verified contact info when and where you need it. What sets Reachfast apart from traditional tools is not just its speed or accuracy but the lifetime pricing model. For a one-time cost of $49.99, users get access to 1,000 verified email credits per month, with full access to the extension and bulk upload features. That’s a dramatic value leap compared to SaaS tools charging hundreds per year. Professionals in sales, recruiting, business development, or consulting will appreciate how Reachfast reduces prospecting from hours to minutes. There’s no need for complex CRM overlays or bloated platforms — just a clean, straightforward tool that connects you with the right people faster. Get this lifetime subscription to Reachfast for the one-time price of $49.99 while you still can.  Reachfast – B2B Lead Generation: Lifetime Subscription – $49.99 StackSocial prices subject to change. source

Google has unveiled Gemini 2.5 Pro, the first in its Gemini 2.5 family. This multimodal reasoning model outperforms competitors from OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek in key benchmarks related to coding, mathematics, and science. What are reasoning AI models? Reasoning AIs are designed to “think before they speak.” They evaluate context, process details methodically, and fact-check responses to ensure logical accuracy — though these capabilities demand more computing power and higher operational costs. OpenAI launched the first reasoning model last September with o1, a notable departure from the GPT series, which was largely focused on language generation. Since then, the major players in the AI race have responded: DeepSeek with R1, Anthropic with Claude Sonnet 3.7, and xAI’s with Grok 3. Evolving beyond ‘flash thinking’ Google previously launched its first reasoning AI model, Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, in December. Marketed for its agentic capabilities, Flash Thinking was recently updated to allow file uploads and larger prompts; however, with the introduction of Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google appears to be retiring the “Thinking” label altogether. According to Google’s announcement about Gemini 2.5, this is because reasoning capabilities will now be integrated natively across all future models. This shift marks a move toward a more unified AI architecture, rather than separating “thinking” features as standalone branding. The new experimental model combines “a significantly enhanced base model” with “improved post-training.” Google touts its performance at the top of the LMArena leaderboard, which ranks major large language models across various tasks. DOWNLOAD: How to Use AI in Business from TechRepublic Premium Benchmark leader in science, math, and code Gemini 2.5 Pro excels in academic reasoning benchmarks, scoring 86.7% on AIME 2025 (mathematics) and 84.0% on the GPQA diamond benchmark (science). On Humanity’s Last Exam — a broad test featuring thousands of questions across mathematics, science, and humanities —  the model leads with a score of 18.8%. Notably, these results were achieved without the use of expensive test-time techniques, which allow models like o1 and R1 to continue learning during evaluation. In software development benchmarks, Gemini 2.5 Pro performance is mixed. It scored 68.6% on the Aider Polyglot benchmark for code editing, outperforming most top-tier models. However, it scored 63.8% on SWE-bench Verified, placing second to Claude Sonnet 3.7 in broader programming tasks. Despite this, Google says Gemini 2.5 Pro “excels at creating visually compelling web apps and agentic code applications,” as evidenced by its ability to create a video game from a single prompt. The model supports a context window of one million tokens, meaning it can process the equivalent of a 750,000-word prompt, or the first six Harry Potter books. Google plans to increase this threshold to two million tokens in due course. Gemini 2.5 Pro is currently available through the Gemini Advanced app, which requires a $20-a-month subscription, and to developers and enterprises through Google AI Studio. In the coming weeks, Gemini 2.5 Pro will be made available on Vertex AI, Google’s machine-learning platform for developers, and pricing details for different rate limits will also be introduced. source

I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to get a business line of credit — from considering your financing needs and completing an application to understanding rates, terms, and qualifications and using the credit line. I’ll also guide you in choosing the best option for your business. Getting a line of credit can provide flexible financing opportunities to cover various business-related purchases. Step 1: Consider your business financing needs. First and foremost, you should determine how a line of credit would benefit your business financially. Assess how often you’ll use the credit line and the typical draw amount to avoid inactivity fees or per-draw charges from lenders. Also, consider how long you would need the line open and what your business can afford for a monthly payment if necessary. Many small business credit lines have repayment terms of up to 36 months, so ensure the term and repayment amounts align with your cash flow needs. If you plan to pay off the balance quickly, be cautious of lenders that impose prepayment penalties, which could add extra costs. Overall, those factors will influence your financing request in terms of loan amount, interest rate, and repayment terms. Step 2: Understand your loan options. If your business is established and well-qualified, you can likely opt for either a secured or unsecured credit line. However, you should factor in what forms of collateral you might have to offer if needed, along with what you’re looking for in terms of an interest rate and repayment period. Secured Unsecured Rates & fees Lower Considered to be lower risk since it mitigates risk to the lender. Higher Considered to be higher risk, as the lender has limited options to recoup financial losses in the event of default. Credit limit Higher Lower Collateral required Yes Examples include equipment and property. No Personal guarantee Maybe Maybe Funding speed Slower Faster Step 3: Review your qualifications. Before applying, review your qualifications across various criteria so that you know what lenders may be applicable for your financing needs. Common qualification factors include credit score, time in business, and annual revenue. While specific qualification criteria will vary per lender, common minimum requirements are as follows: Credit score: 650+ Time in business: 6+ months Annual revenue: $100,000+ Step 4: Compare lenders and review eligibility. After you’ve determined your financing needs and qualifications, begin shopping around for a lender you would be eligible for. It’s important to compare a variety to ensure that your business financing needs are being met and that you get the best deal. You should look for items inclusive of interest rates, collateral or personal guarantee requirements, repayment terms, associated fees, minimum draw amounts, and funding speed. It’s also worthwhile to consider customer reviews, hours of operation, and experience within your business industry. Step 5: Fill out an application. Once you’ve chosen which lenders are best suited for your needs and qualifications, you can begin the application process either online or in person, depending on the lender. This generally entails providing contact information, details regarding your business, and the specifics of your financing request. Applications will vary by lender; however, it’s common that you’ll be put in touch with a representative of the lending institution to go over next steps. Step 6: Provide necessary documentation. In addition to the application, the lender may request supplemental documentation. This can vary depending on the circumstances of your financing request. Commonly requested documents include the following: Tax returns (business or personal) Profit and loss statements Business bank statements Balance sheets Tip: It’s worth preparing these ahead of time so that they’re readily available in case the lender requests them. This can help streamline the application process. Step 7: Determine approval status. Once you’ve provided all the necessary materials, the lender will review your application. Pending approval status can vary, as some lenders may provide a same-day decision, whereas others may take a few days to determine your lending decision. During this time, the lender may continue to request additional information regarding your business. As such, it’s important to remain in contact and be quick to provide any details it may need to come to a final decision. Step 8: Review loan terms. If approved, the lender will issue a term sheet outlining the various terms and conditions of the line of credit. At this point, you can negotiate certain terms before signing on the dotted line. In this step, it’s important to ensure you understand the presented rates, repayment terms, minimum draw amount, and any fees before coming to an agreement. Should you have any questions, be sure to work with the lender. Step 9: Sign loan agreement. Once you’ve determined that the loan meets your business needs and budget, you can sign the official loan agreement. Once the paperwork is fully executed by all parties, it’s a legally binding contract that is enforceable. The lender will then move to facilitate the loan, which usually takes 24 to 48 hours. Step 10: Begin utilizing the line of credit. When the line of credit is set up, you can begin using it in accordance with your loan agreement. As such, you can request a draw as needed and have the lender place funds into your account of choice. Make sure you repay the borrowed funds according to the terms outlined in the agreement to avoid any fees or penalties. Where to get a business line of credit A business line of credit can be obtained from a variety of lending institutions, whether it be a traditional bank, a credit union, or an online lender, such as those in our roundup of the best business credit lines. You also may be able to consult with a broker to review multiple options at once. That said, the best option for your business will vary based on your preferences as a borrower, inclusive of factors such as branch locations, customer service, and provider-specific features. Pros and cons of getting a business line of credit

In 2025, global business faces challenges with cross-border communication, as 35% of decision-makers report that language barriers hinder market expansion. Accurate translations are crucial for processes like emails, e-commerce, and high-stakes contracts. To accelerate growth into new markets, businesses must overcome language barriers efficiently, using Language AI to maintain accuracy, quality, and context in translations. If you’re an enterprise business owner, global growth and expansion are likely top priorities for 2025. However, achieving this goal can be challenging, particularly when managing international teams or serving customers from diverse language backgrounds. Language barriers are a significant obstacle to cross-border expansion. Although English is commonly regarded as the global business language, only 20% of the world’s population speaks it fluently, affecting various business operations. Recent research from DeepL identified the primary challenges businesses face due to language barriers, including difficulty expanding into new markets, serving international customers effectively, delivering successful customer support and facilitating smooth internal communication between teams speaking different languages.   In response, enterprises are turning to modern solutions like Language AI tools. But how effective are these solutions for business communication? Let’s explore how Language AI, including the tools offered by industry leader DeepL, is helping businesses achieve global growth and success, driving greater efficiency, significant cost savings and improved cross-border collaboration.  What is Language AI? Language AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to understand, process and generate human language. These systems handle tasks like translation, writing and text generation, speech recognition, and more, and typically rely on natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and neural networks to analyze text or speech, interpret its meaning and respond appropriately. However, the specific techniques utilized for a particular task may vary, with some tasks requiring only one or a combination of these methods. Language AI has numerous powerful applications today. DeepL, for instance, provides a comprehensive Language AI platform built for businesses and enterprises. It offers highly accurate and secure AI-powered translation tools for spoken and written communication, along with advanced writing and editing capabilities designed to break down language barriers and enable businesses to communicate effectively across multiple languages.  Specialized vs. General AI Models for Translation: What’s the Difference? Language AI offers many modern benefits that can help you scale your business locally and internationally, but not every AI model out there will cater to your specific business needs.  Therefore, it’s essential to understand the distinction between the available models to choose one that aligns with your particular goals and requirements. There are two primary categories of AI models on the market: specialized and general. General AI models are designed to address a wide range of tasks using a broad and diverse dataset, often sourced from the publicly available internet. Notable examples include ChatGPT-4 and Gemini. While these models can be versatile and suitable for consumer-level tasks, they often lack the precision and quality needed for business and professional use cases. In contrast, specialized AI models are designed and optimized for specific industries or use cases. Specialized models are trained on domain-specific data, making them highly effective for tasks such as medical diagnoses, credit scoring, and language translation.  Within the realm of language and communication, there are various consumer-driven translation tools powered by general AI models that offer basic translation and writing/editing support for everyday use cases, ranging from menu translation and travel assistance to social media posts and personal communication.  In contrast, DeepL is a specialized Language AI solution with AI translation and writing solutions tools that are purpose-built for language use cases. This specialization enables DeepL to achieve higher accuracy, quality, and contextualization while minimizing hallucinations and misinformation, which is critical for complex business use cases that demand higher accuracy, customization, data privacy, and security. An In-Depth Look at DeepL’s Language AI Platform for Businesses Since its inception in 2017, DeepL has become the go-to specialized Language AI provider for businesses around the world, offering cutting-edge translation and writing solutions trusted by over 200,000 businesses and governments including industry leaders like Softbank, Mazda, Harvard Business Publishing, The Ifo Institute, Panasonic Connect and more. The DeepL Language AI platform offers the following key products, specifically designed to support a broad range of enterprise  use cases covering both internal and external needs, from employee collaboration and customer support to marketing localization, document review and more: DeepL Translator produces highly accurate, personalized, human-like translations across 33 languages to help businesses and professionals communicate seamlessly in multiple languages across text and document translation, image translation, and speech-to-text translation.  DeepL Voice empowers teams to communicate confidently across languages in real-time, whether in virtual meetings or face-to-face interactions with colleagues, partners, or customers. DeepL Voice includes two offerings: Voice for Meetings, which eliminates language barriers in virtual meetings, and Voice for Conversations, designed to facilitate one-on-one, in-person discussions on mobile devices with translated captions. DeepL Write is an AI-powered writing assistant designed to enhance written communication for businesses and professionals, offering real-time suggestions for improving word choice, spelling, grammar, punctuation, phrasing, style and tone. With DeepL Write, users can achieve flawless spelling, grammar, and punctuation, sound fluent and professional, and fine-tune their writing with alternative words and sentences. The product also allows users to adjust the style and tone to suit various audiences. DeepL API enables customers to integrate DeepL’s Language AI technology within their own infrastructure, bringing the company’s high quality translation and writing capabilities directly to businesses’ websites and applications. Common use cases for the DeepL API include website translation, company communications, as well as the creation of multilingual products, enabling real-time chat translation to localized comments and reviews, and more. From an accuracy and quality perspective, DeepL significantly outperforms competitors.  According to 2024 blind tests, translations powered by its next-gen LLM are proven to require significantly fewer edits than competitors, with Google and ChatGPT requiring between two and three times more edits to achieve a comparable level of quality. Additionally, DeepL is consistently preferred by professional translators over Microsoft, ChatGPT and Google Translate. DeepL remains at the forefront of

Image: DC_Studio/Envato Elements Organised crime gangs are using artificial intelligence for fraud, data theft, and money laundering, according to a new report by Europol. The European law enforcement agency revealed the extent to which criminals are exploiting the technology and said it has “fundamentally reshaped the organised crime landscape.” “The same qualities that make AI revolutionary — accessibility, adaptability and sophistication — also make it a powerful tool for criminal networks,” the authors wrote in a press release. “These technologies automate and expand criminal operations, making them more scalable and harder to detect.” Must-read security coverage Familiar crimes, enhanced capabilities While many of the examples provided in Europol’s 2025 E.U. Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment have been previously reported — such as deepfakes being used to impersonate trusted executives, automated ransomware, and AI-generated malware — the report also highlighted lesser-known applications. Criminals have reportedly been using AI to automate money laundering processes and obfuscate financial transactions, making illicit fund movements harder to track. Europol also said that generative AI is being used to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which may have contributed to a disturbing rise in its volume and related offenses in recent years. SEE: $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack is Potentially the Largest Crypto Heist Ever “It can support the editing of existing CSAM and the creation of new content,” the authors wrote. “Explicit pictures of adults can be manipulated to make the individual look younger or applications can ‘nudify’ non-explicit images.” In February, Europol announced the arrest of 25 people involved in operating an online platform that used AI to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material worldwide. This marked one of the first cases of its kind and proved difficult due to the absence of a national legislature addressing such AI-generated crimes, the agency said. The report also speculated on a future in which “fully autonomous AI,” requiring no human interference, “could pave the way for entirely AI-controlled criminal networks, marking a new era in organised crime.” Nearly all organised crimes leave a digital footprint With or without AI, Europol says that very little organised crime occurs without some form of digital presence — even for crimes in the physical world. For instance, drug traffickers use digital infrastructure for communication or to gather information about the shipments hiding their products. Criminal networks are acting as proxies for hybrid threat actors, who blend various tactics in coordinated attacks. These actors find each other in the online spaces, where they can exchange cutting-edge AI and digital tools used for attack. “In addition, criminal networks operate unhindered by borders or by imprisonment,” the authors wrote, “and integrate beneficial tactics in their operating procedures.” SEE: What It Costs to Hire a Hacker on the Dark Web The corruption and radicalisation of young people remain a central strategy for organised crime, enabling expansion while shielding leadership from direct prosecution. Europol noted that this has been fuelled by “encrypted communication tools and online platforms that facilitate borderless recruitment, extortion and coordination.” These platforms could include social media or gaming channels. Criminals are also channeling money into parallel financial systems facilitated by emerging technologies like blockchain to launder their illicit profits. Beyond offering secrecy, these systems are designed to grow criminal wealth through digital asset trading. “The very DNA of organised crime is changing,” Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said in a press release. “Criminal networks have evolved into global, technology-driven criminal enterprises, exploiting digital platforms, illicit financial flows, and geopolitical instability to expand their influence. They are more adaptable, and more dangerous than ever before.” source

Security engineer was the most common title in cybersecurity job listings in 2024, according to security and IT workforce management platform provider CyberSN. Its report “U.S. Cybersecurity Job Posting Data” was created by pulling together job postings from 30 major job boards and Fortune 500 companies’ job boards between January 2022 and December 2024. The report shows which roles are growing, which are decreasing in demand, and other hiring trends. Security engineer and security analyst job-seekers have a lot of options The top 10 most in-demand roles posted in 2024 were: Security engineer (64,300 posted jobs) Security analyst (45,496 posted jobs) DevSecOps (36,020 posted jobs) Cybersecurity/Privacy Attorney (22,456 posted jobs) Security Architect (22,246 posted jobs) Cybersecurity Manager (17,975 posted jobs) Identity and Access Management Engineer (12,223 posted jobs) Cybersecurity Specialist (8,221 posted jobs) Cyber Risk Analyst (8,187 posted jobs) Incident Responder (7,639 posted jobs) SEE: Scam Alert: FBI ‘Increasingly Seeing’ Malware Distributed In Document Converters Organizations are increasing their job postings for cyber lawyers and red team personnel If you have both legal and cybersecurity experience, you’re in luck: Demand for cybersecurity/privacy attorneys grew more than any other role in 2024, with the largest year-over-year growth, increasing 40% from 2023 to 2024 and 19% increase 2022 to 2024. Other roles that saw notable increases year-over-year were red teamer, cybersecurity sales engineer, cyber threat intelligence analyst, and cybersecurity specialist. For a longer-term look, the following roles grew the most between 2022 and 2024: Reverse engineer/malware analyst Cybersecurity/privacy attorney Cybersecurity technical writer Cybersecurity specialist Chief information security officer Software engineering and identity and access management jobs slowed in 2024 Conversely, roles for cloud security engineer and cybersecurity lead have significantly decreased since 2022. The titles that saw the largest decrease in number of job listings between 2023 and 2024 were: Cybersecurity software engineer Identity and access management engineer Cybersecurity lead Cloud security engineer Security analyst While product security engineers and DevSecOps positions decline overall from 2022 to 2024, a modest rebound from 2023 to 2024 could signal a return to growth. SEE: Broadcom announced a high-priority patch that fixes a security flaw in VMware Tools for Windows Regulatory pressure has shaped cybersecurity in the last three years Dom Glavach, chief security and technology officer at CyberSN, attributed job trends in 2022 to 2024 to “regulatory pressures on CEOs and Boards of Directors,” a trend that seems likely to change in the United States. Meanwhile, AI appears to be influencing hiring trends.  “Decreases in Security Engineer, Security Analyst, and DevSecOps job postings are signaling an industry-wide shift toward AI-powered security automation and internal security operations optimizations,” Glavach said. Job postings for security engineers, security analysts, and DevSecOps have decreased over the last three years, but this has not stopped them from remaining in the list of the top five most sought-after roles. “Our Cyber Workforce Risk Management Practice is seeing organizations prioritize talent retention, development, and the need to address workforce gaps,” said Deidre Diamond, founder and chief executive officer of CyberSN. source

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings donates $50 Million to Bowdoin College. Source: Bowdoin College Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has donated $50 million to his alma mater, Maine’s Bowdoin College, to launch the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity, a bold step toward preparing students to critically shape the future of artificial intelligence. Rather than focusing purely on coding and algorithms, the initiative takes a broader, more human-centered approach. One of its missions will be to study the effects of AI across society, the economy, creativity, and even the possibility of humans losing touch with essential skills in an AI-driven world. “We aim to develop leaders who can be ‘at home’ in both the present and future technological landscape,” Hastings said in a press release. Studying AI’s Impact, not Just Building it At a time when AI is embedded in everything from healthcare to hiring, Bowdoin is positioning itself to ask the tough questions: How does AI shift how we think, learn, and create? What happens when machines replace tasks we once considered uniquely human? Could we lose essential skills in the process? To answer these questions, the college plans to hire 10 new faculty members across multiple disciplines and support current faculty in weaving AI into their courses, research, and creative work. Whether it’s examining algorithmic bias in political science or exploring how generative AI affects the future of storytelling, the initiative is about building fluency and critical thinking – not blind adoption. Workshops, symposia, and funding for student and faculty research will create space for meaningful conversations about AI’s growing role in our lives and the challenges it brings with it. Empowering the Next Generation of Ethical Leaders For Hastings, this isn’t just a donation — it’s an investment in the ethical and intellectual backbone of future leaders. By giving students the tools to understand and challenge AI, the initiative fosters a mindset that balances curiosity with caution. Bowdoin College President Safa Zaki noted that the initiative fits squarely within their liberal arts tradition of empowering students to question, reflect, and lead with purpose in an age of rapid change. In a world increasingly shaped by machine intelligence, the Hastings Initiative offers a timely reminder: the future of AI doesn’t belong to engineers alone. It belongs to the thoughtful and ethical individuals who dare to ask what kind of world we’re building. Bowdoin plans to ensure those voices are ready to lead and be heard. source

Image: seventyfourimages/Envato Elements AlexNet, which was released in 2012, is widely credited with sparking the modern AI revolution, particularly in the field of computer vision. Last week, the Computer History Museum in collaboration with Google made the source code for AlexNet publicly available on GitHub; this move gives researchers, developers, and AI enthusiasts a chance to dive into the foundational code that helped shape today’s AI landscape. What is AlexNet, and why does it matter? AlexNet was the deep-learning model that proved neural networks could significantly outperform traditional image recognition methods. Developed by Alex Krizhevsky, Ilya Sutskever, and their advisor Geoffrey Hinton at the University of Toronto, the model leveraged deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to classify images with unprecedented accuracy. The secret to AlexNet’s success wasn’t just its architecture — it was also the massive dataset (ImageNet) it was trained on and the use of GPUs for acceleration. At the time, neural networks were considered impractical due to high computational demands, but by harnessing NVIDIA’s CUDA-enabled GPUs, AlexNet changed that perception. When it entered the 2012 ImageNet competition, it dominated, achieving a top-5 error rate of 15.3% — nearly half of the second-place finisher’s score. The legacy of AlexNet in AI evolution Before AlexNet, machine learning models struggled to accurately recognize images, requiring manually crafted features and extensive rule-based programming. AlexNet took a different approach, using deep layers of artificial neurons to automatically learn patterns. This success was a turning point. Soon after, companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft ramped up investments in deep learning, leading to modern AI applications, from facial recognition to natural language processing. AlexNet’s influence extended beyond image recognition. Its core principles laid the groundwork for today’s AI models, including large language models (LLMs) like GPT and transformer-based architectures that power tools like ChatGPT. More must-read AI coverage Why open-sourcing AlexNet matters By making AlexNet’s original code publicly available, the Computer History Museum and Google are providing a rare window into one of AI’s defining breakthroughs. While modern AI models have evolved significantly, AlexNet remains a cornerstone of deep learning research. Having access to its source code allows: Students and researchers to analyze the model’s original implementation and learn how early deep learning frameworks were structured. Developers and AI engineers to experiment with the architecture and understand the principles that sparked AI’s rapid advancement. Historians and technology enthusiasts trace the evolution of machine learning from its roots to today’s sophisticated models. How to access the code The original 2012 version of AlexNet is now available on CHM’s GitHub page, preserving the exact implementation that transformed AI. While numerous versions of AlexNet have been recreated over the years, this release represents the authentic model that shifted the industry’s trajectory. source

Why you can trust TechRepublic At TechRepublic, we publish high-quality, independently researched reviews created by writers who are experts in the fields they cover. Our contributors include seasoned IT professionals, certified accountants, software developers, and industry consultants—people who have worked directly with the tools they evaluate. Every article is built on firsthand experience, in-depth testing, and a deep understanding of what businesses and tech teams actually need to make confident, informed decisions. QuickBooks Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees), Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees) Micro, Small, Medium, Large Features API, General Ledger, Inventory Management Quicken Business & Personal Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees) Micro Features Accounts Receivable/Payable, Invoicing / Billing, Mobile Capabilities, and more Top accounting software comparison QuickBooks Online: Best overall accounting software QuickBooks logo. Source: Intuit QuickBooks QuickBooks Online is my overall best accounting software because it’s one of the most versatile options for small and midsize businesses. Whether you’re managing a retail shop, nonprofit, or service-based company, its customizable features make it a great fit across industries. Another key reason is its widespread use, especially in the US, where it’s easy to find bookkeepers, accountants, or CPAs experienced with the platform. This makes hiring financial help simple, whether you need full-time support or occasional assistance. Additionally, QuickBooks Online has a moderate learning curve, meaning small business owners can handle bookkeeping without extensive training. For those who want more automation, it integrates with over 800 third-party apps, allowing seamless connections to payroll, e-commerce, and other essential tools. Overall, it’s one of the best business accounting software options for businesses that need flexibility, expert support, and powerful integrations. Pricing Simple Start: $35 for one userEssentials: $65 for up to three usersPlus: $99 for up to five usersAdvanced: $235 for up to 25 users Features Fully automated billing, invoicing, expense tracking, and income tracking Class and location tracking Useful expense categorization for easier business tax filing User-friendly mobile app with mileage tracking, receipt scanning, and on-the-go invoicing Sales and sales tax tracking Up to 25 users included with the highest-tier plan Contractor management Advanced features like automated workflows, Excel data syncing, and employee expense management Pros and cons Pros Cons Wide network of CPAs and accountants who are ProAdvisors or QuickBooks Certified. Has a moderate learning curve. Can track locations and classes in the Plus plan. TVersatile in different industries. Limits one organization per account. Can’t add additional users on top of the plan limit. Not as robust as its desktop counterpart in terms of industry-specific features Read our QuickBooks Online review FreshBooks: Best for project accounting FreshBooks logo. Source: FreshBooks FreshBooks is the best accounting software for managing projects efficiently. Its project management and time-tracking features make it easy to log billable hours, track expenses, and generate invoices—all within a streamlined platform. This is especially useful for businesses that bill clients based on time worked or project milestones. Another standout feature is its project-specific estimating tool, which lets you compare projected costs with actual expenses. This helps keep budgets on track and ensures financial transparency. Unlike QuickBooks Online or Wave, FreshBooks is built with project-based businesses in mind, making it a strong choice for those who need to track work progress alongside financials. However, if you require inventory or COGS tracking, I recommend QuickBooks Online, one of the best business accounting software options for small teams, or Xero for larger operations. Pricing Lite: $21; up to five billable clients Plus: $38; up to 50 billable clients Premium: $65; unlimited billable clients Select: Custom; unlimited billable clients and specialized features Features Unlimited invoices with a rich library of fully customizable invoice templates Basic income and expense tracking Integration with Gusto payroll and over 100 other third-party business apps Unlimited users (additional monthly fee) Client collaboration portal Built-in time tracking and project tracking Pros and cons Pros Cons Tracks project costs and compares actual with estimated costs Easy to use even for users without experience in accounting software Has built-in time tracking that works with its project accounting features for accurate billing User-friendly and intuitive Good for only one user for all plans NCharges per additional user, which can be expensive for larger teams Requires bank feed connection to use bank reconciliation Read our FreshBooks review Xero: Best for large teams Xero logo. Source: Xero Xero is QuickBooks Online’s toughest competitor. Regardless of that fact, I picked Xero because it offers a powerful alternative for businesses that need a robust, cloud-based solution. One of its biggest advantages is unlimited users, making it a great fit for large teams that require shared access to financial data without extra fees. Another standout feature is fixed asset tracking, something no other cloud-based software on this list offers. This makes Xero an excellent choice for businesses that need to monitor and manage long-term assets while maintaining accurate financial records. With its scalability and advanced automation, Xero is one of the best business accounting software options for growing companies. Pricing Early: $20; comes with 20 invoices and five bills Growing: $47; offers unlimited bills and invoices Established: $80; includes project accounting Features Automatic bank reconciliation Invoices and quotes (limited to 20 per month with the cheapest plan) Fixed asset tracking Cash flow tracking Unlimited users for easier collaboration Built-in inventory management with all three plans Pros and cons Pros Cons Is the only cloud-based software in this list that has a fixed asset manager Has strong inventory management features that can track COGS Integrates with more than 1,000 apps Offers unlimited users for all plans Is not as popular in the US compared to QuickBooks Has limited Xero Advisors across the US Has limited invoices and bills in the lowest plan Read our Xero review Wave Accounting: Best free plan Wave logo. Source: Wave I chose Wave because it’s one of the best accounting software for businesses, offering