Mesh WiFi systems, US Treasury hack, longevity drugs, note-taking apps, tech losers, iPhone tricks, New Glenn and car rally scavenger hunt. The calendar has rolled over from 2024 to 2025. Since it happened in the middle of a week, this has been a really lost week of news. Things will ramp up quickly with CES around the corner. While the news was slow, I was busy working on some things that I’ll be doing in 2025. I’m still not sure when all of the new things will roll out, but you’ll see the first things next week. Until then, check out all of this week’s news below.

• Read this post on the Graphics Unleashed Web site!
• Read Web Design Solutions Digest for December 31, 2024 on Web Design Solutions Unleashed!

• I’ve been testing the giant Echo Show 21 for weeks – here’s who should buy it (and who shouldn’t)
  ***** Get Amazon Echo Show 21 at Amazon *****
• Bye bye, Wi-Fi: How to add a wired network to your home without running Ethernet
  ***** Get TRENDnet Ethernet Over Coax MoCA 2.5 Adapter at Amazon *****
• The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Network Systems for 2025
  ***** Get ASUS ZenWiFi AX6600 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System at Amazon *****
  ***** Get Amazon eero 6+ mesh wifi router at Amazon *****
  ***** Get ASUS ROG Rapture GT6 at Amazon *****
  ***** Get Amazon eero Pro 6E mesh wifi system at Amazon *****
  ***** Get Wyze AXE5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Router Pro at Amazon *****
  ***** Get TP-Link Tri-Band WiFi 7 BE10000 Whole Home Mesh System at Amazon *****
  ***** Get Amazon eero Max 7 mesh wifi system at Amazon *****
  ***** Get NETGEAR Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6E Mesh Network System at Amazon *****
• LG’s new UltraGear lineup includes a bendable 5K OLED
• I invested in a subscription-less video doorbell, and it’s paying off for my smart home
  ***** Get eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 at Amazon *****
• Apple Vision Pro May Now Be Out of Production

• AT&T, Verizon No Longer Detecting ‘Salt Typhoon’ Activity on Their Networks
• Hackers May Have Compromised Multiple Popular Google Chrome Extensions
• The US Treasury Department says it was hacked in a China-linked cyberattack
• US Treasury Is Latest Victim of Most ‘Persistent’ Hacking Threat

• Scientists explore longevity drugs for dogs that could also ‘extend human life’
• Money Can Buy a Longer Life—to a Point
• How Wearables Are Slowly Turning Into Personal Health Coaches in 2025

• Why google bought Character AI
• How to Organize Your Files in 4 Simple, Foolproof Steps
• My 5 favorite note-taking apps for staying organized on a desktop
• Gemini Knows Best? I Let Google’s AI Weigh In on Tough Parenting Decisions

• Startups Begin Geoengineering the Sea
• Yikes: Breaking Down the 10 Biggest Tech Fails of 2024
• Take a Look Inside 60 Seconds on the Internet
• Blackwell Cometh? Nvidia Rumored to Launch RTX 5080 in January
• AI isn’t the next big thing – here’s what is
• In 2025, People Will Try Living in This Underwater Habitat
• 10 Big Predictions for 2025
• Tech’s biggest losers in 2024
• What We Expect to See at CES 2025
• The Best Products of CES 2024: Where Are They Now?

• Samsung to Scale Back Foldable Production in 2025
• 97 Hidden iPhone Tricks You Probably Don’t Know
• A Billion Pixels a Second: I Got a Rare Look Inside Apple’s Secret iPhone 16 Camera Labs
• Apple’s iPhone SE 4 could be even better than the iPhone 14 at a fraction of the cost

• China launches 1st set of spacecraft for planned 13,000-satellite broadband constellation
• Blue Origin inches closer to the first New Glenn flight
• Insecure Database Exposes Location Data of 460,000 Volkswagen EVs
• Drivers are discovering yet another Tesla Cybertruck design fail as winter hits

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

• The Italian Town That Welcomes Winter With a Procession of Fire
• The ‘Christmas Tree Boat’ Shipwreck That Devastated 1912 Chicagoans
• Chicago’s Greatest New Year’s Day Tradition Is a Car Rally Scavenger Hunt
• 11 Unusual Victorian New Year’s Traditions

If you see some important tech news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Photo by NASA