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Tech NewsInternetRoku Is Plotting to Take Over Your Smart Home
Roku isn’t exactly a little-known brand, but when it comes to market share and platform dominance, it’s still a David amongst Goliaths like Amazon and Google. However, the streaming company has made some strategic moves lately that indicate it’s attempting a more significant play for space in your home—outside of the living room, where it’s … Continued
By Florence Ion -
Tech NewsPoliticsHoo Boy, the Feds Sure Have a Lot of Dirt on Big Rudy
Rudy Giuliani, gin-pickled simulacrum of a lawyer and former personal attorney to Donald Trump, is in even deeper shit than was previously known. And the shit he was in was already known to be very deep. Last month, federal agents raided Giuliani’s New York home and offices. For prosecutors to execute a search warrant on … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsGadgetsValve Reportedly Making Its Own PC Switch Clone Called SteamPal
After the runaway success of the Nintendo Switch, rival gadget makers are keen to make their own handheld consoles. According to a new report, Valve is the latest to jump on the portable gaming bandwagon. According to multiple sources who spoke to Ars Technica, it seems Valve has plans to create its own PC-based Switch … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsThe New Sonos One SL Is a Reminder That Smart Devices Have a Short Shelf Life
The Sonos One SL is getting a small upgrade in the form of a power-efficient wireless radio and more sustainable materials. There is, however, a slight catch for Sonos users with older devices. An FCC filing for the new One SL speaker popped up on Monday. That said, it doesn’t come with any new features … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityCitizen App’s Unhinged Private Security Firm Would Like to Patrol Cities With Police Powers
Last week, neighborhood snitch app Citizen was reported by Motherboard to be testing an on-demand private security force that would respond to user-submitted “incidents.” The plans are a considerable escalation of the app’s existing business model, which relies on police scanners and user reports to create live maps of rumored criminal activity. One of Citizen’s … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsTidal’s Apple Watch App Lets You Stream Tunes Offline
Hot on the heels of recent Apple Watch app overhauls from Spotify and Deezer, Tidal announced today that it’s finally bringing its app to the most popular smartwatch. And yes, you can download offline playlists for untethered playback. Tidal has instructions on how to get started on its website, but the process is simple. All … Continued
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Tech NewsBernie Sanders: Hard Pass on Giving Jeff Bezos Billions for Space Travel
No, Jeff Bezos should not just get billions of dollars from NASA because he thinks he deserves it, Bernie Sanders says. After Blue Origin made a stink over losing out to SpaceX on an exclusive $2.9 billion NASA contract for a moon landing mission (due, NASA said, to limited funding), Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell—from Amazon’s … Continued
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Tech NewsHow to Password-Protect Your Google Search History and More
Google’s added a new way to keep other people’s prying eyes out of your search history, YouTube faves, and more. As first spotted by Android Police, the company has started prompting users to password-protect their Web and Activity page, which shows off a person’s history across a slew of Google services. This added password protection … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsE Ink’s New Electronic Paper Screens Come With Built-in Touchscreens, Which Could Make eReaders Cheaper
It’s rare to find an ebook reader now that doesn’t use a touchscreen to make navigating its user interface—or just flipping the pages of a digital book—much easier. So, given the demand for that functionality, today E Ink announced a new electronic-ink screen featuring a touch sensor built right in that should improve image quality … Continued
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Tech NewsInternetNetflix Is Reportedly Exploring Its Own Subscription Gaming Service
Netflix is seriously considering expanding into gaming, according to several reports from the past few days. Not only is the streaming giant rumored to be looking to hire a gaming executive to oversee the effort, but it’s also reportedly mulling building out its own version of an Apple Arcade-like gaming bundle. The news first broke … Continued
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Tech NewsHuawei’s HarmonyOS Is Finally Coming to Phones on June 2
Huawei has long been working on its own fork of Android, and on June 2, Huawei’s HarmonyOS will finally make its official debut on phones. Even before Huawei was officially placed on a blacklist banning the company from buying U.S. tech, the Chinese electronics giant had been developing its offshoot of Android to sidestep the … Continued
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Tech NewsMan Found Inside Stegosaur Statue Most Likely Died Trying to Retrieve Phone, Spanish Police Say
Catalonia police investigating the appearance of a human corpse crammed into the leg of a papier-mâché statue of a dinosaur in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain, say the most likely explanation is that the deceased man somehow lost his phone in the dino and got stuck trying to retrieve it. According to the Guardian, a … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsGadgetsPanasonic Is Keeping Micro Four Thirds Cameras Alive With the New Lumix GH5 II
Full-frame mirrorless cameras may get all the attention, but with the new Lumix GH5 II and the forthcoming GH6, Panasonic is giving its Micro Four Thirds cameras some love, too. By announcing two new Micro Four Thirds cameras for 2021, Panasonic is hoping to demonstrate its commitment to the category as a whole. The new … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsEverything You Need to Edit Audio on the New iPad Pro
The new M1-powered iPad Pros are now on sale, but more than a decade after Apple’s tablet was first introduced, we’re still debating what it’s good for and what it’s not good for. While some producers might find the new iPad Pro to be less than ideal for professional audio production, the latest models are … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityJapan’s Top Dating App Got Hacked
One of Japan’s most widely used dating apps recently suffered a cyberattack, potentially exposing the personal information of close to 2 million people, a new report from Bloomberg shows. Omiai (which translates to “matchmaking” in English) is a popular dating service wherein men must pay a monthly fee—¥3,980, or $37—while women are allowed to set up … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsWith the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Looming, US Issues Do-Not-Travel Advisory for Japan
On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued a Level Four: Do Not Travel advisory for Japan, urging Americans to exercise caution when traveling to the country just two months before it’s set to host the 2021 Summer Olympics. In tandem with the State Department’s warning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its own separate … Continued
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Tech NewsThere’s No Way the Big Tech Law Florida Just Passed Is Legal
Today, Trump lackey and Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law “Florida’s Big Tech Bill,” a thinly veiled attempt to appease Trump’s Twitter and Facebook gripe. And also money in the bank for Big Tech warrior, Ron DeSantis. The bill dangles a shred of hope in front of Trump, with a provision that he (or … Continued
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Tech NewsUpdate Your iPhone to iOS 14.6 Now for Major Security Fixes
Today Apple released iOS 14.6, which includes some new features for AirTags, support for subscriptions in Apple Podcasts, and most importantly, a number of major security updates for pretty much all modern iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices. The big new consumer-facing features in iOS 14.6 are updates that enable Family Sharing for the Apple … Continued
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Tech NewsPoliticsWhy the Hillbilly Elegy Guy and Peter Thiel Are Backing a YouTube Clone for Republicans
The Hillbilly Elegy guy and right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel are teaming up to invest big money in a conservative alternative to YouTube called Rumble, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. Why would these ghouls want a piece of one of the web’s junkiest services? Cincinnati-based Narya Capital, a firm co-founded by author and venture … Continued
By Tom McKay
