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Got a spare PC? How to open-source your smart home - for free

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ZDNET key takeaways

Home Assistant OS is an open-source controller.
Control as many smart devices as you need.
The OS is free and can be installed on a spare PC.

Smart homes make sense. The devices that bring a certain level of automation to your home are exciting, and they can also lower your energy bill and help make your abode a bit more secure.

But just how smart is your home? Do you have devices all over the place that you control with your phone or various hubs? Lights, cameras, action? Maybe you've considered purchasing one of the several smart hubs, such as the Amazon Echo Smart Hub, the Google Nest Hub, or the Apple Home App.

Also: How I cut my power bill with IFTTT automation - in 4 simple steps

What if I...

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Valve clarifies that all Steam Machines have a single 16GB RAM stick — here's what this means, and why I think it's another reason gamers may hold off buying the PC

* Valve has said that every Steam Machine has one stick of 16GB RAM * This is a correction to a previous statement in which Valve engineers indicated that some models had two 8GB sticks * There's no 'RAM configuration lottery' then, but Valve may switch to dual sticks

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Chinese cybersecurity company 360 unveils “China's version of Mythos”, and Yitianzhen, to automate…

* At ISC.AI 2026, China’s 360 Security Technology unveiled “Yitian Tulong,” two AI models for vulnerability discovery and automated defense * Founder Zhou Hongyi described Tulongfeng as the “Chinese Mythos,” claiming it found 3,432 flaws, with 105 confirmed by the government * Zhou acknowledged a 20–30% capability gap vs.

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OpenAI's updated GPT-5.5 Instant is better at shopping, complex constraints, and understanding user intent — and it's already in the API

OpenAI has made a significant update to its most widely used language model, GPT-5.5 Instant, which is the default in the free version of ChatGPT. The company announced the upgraded version of GPT-5.5 Instant yesterday on X, calling it "much more fun to talk to" and

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How to watch Ecuador vs Germany: Free Streams, TV Details and Kick-Off time for FIFA World Cup 2026 as La Tri aim to…

* Ecuador vs Germany Kick-Off time: Thursday, June 25 | 9pm BST / 4pm ET / 6am AEST (Fri) * Watch free on BBC (UK) / SBS (AUS) / CazéTV's YouTube (Brazil) * Unlock your free streams with Norton VPN (60-day money back guarantee) Two teams in two very different situations meet in New Jersey as

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Valve clarifies that all Steam Machines have a single 16GB RAM stick &mdash; here's what this means, and why I think it's another reason gamers may hold off buying the PC

Chinese cybersecurity company 360 unveils &ldquo;China's version of Mythos&rdquo;, and Yitianzhen, to automate…

OpenAI's updated GPT-5.5 Instant is better at shopping, complex constraints, and understanding user intent — and it's already in the API

How to watch Ecuador vs Germany: Free Streams, TV Details and Kick-Off time for FIFA World Cup 2026 as La Tri aim to…

Valve clarifies that all Steam Machines have a single 16GB RAM stick — here's what this means, and why I think it's another reason gamers may hold off buying the PC

Chinese cybersecurity company 360 unveils “China's version of Mythos”, and Yitianzhen, to automate…