Technology news

• In DirecTV ad, Jon Bon Jovi warns against having a second child - CNET

  16-04-2016 22:27 via cnet.com
  
  Technically Incorrect: The famous singer shows you how not to miss shows and suggests you'd be happier without junior number two.
  
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• Gamer one-ups Super Mario Bros. speedrun record with amazing time - CNET

  16-04-2016 21:40 via cnet.com
  
  The new time for the quickest completion of the classic NES challenge comes very close to matching the record for a tool-assisted speedrun. Insert fireworks in the sky above the castle here.
  
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• Rolls-Royces, camo cars and one superweird ride: Our week on Instagram - Roadshow

  16-04-2016 20:57 via cnet.com
  
  If you aren't yet following Roadshow and Carfection on Instagram, perhaps this'll change your mind.
  
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• What's more accurate: Speakers or headphones? - CNET

  16-04-2016 20:47 via cnet.com
  
  Most audiophiles prefer the sound of speakers, but headphones more accurately convey the true sound of a recording, says the Audiophiliac.
  
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• Sean Parker plays coy as Screening Room VOD debate heats up

  16-04-2016 20:13
  
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — The spotlight was on Sean Parker and the Screening Room at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this past week, but while the nation's theater owners and studio executives mulled the implications of the proposed at-home viewing service, Parker played coy.
  
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• Inside Shanghai's flagship Apple store (pictures) - CNET

  16-04-2016 19:56 via cnet.com
  
  What's it like walking into the large, beautiful Apple store in Shanghai's city center? We'll show you!
  
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• With citizen science, people take research into their own hands - CNET

  16-04-2016 19:26 via cnet.com
  
  Around the world, regular people with no formal training are contributing to some of today's most exciting scientific research. You can join them.
  
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• 2017 Ford Escape Release Date, Price and Specs - Roadshow

  16-04-2016 18:00 via cnet.com
  
  The Escape's 1.5-liter engine may sound too small, but with 179 horsepower it moves this small SUV along just fine.
  
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• Klipsch's tiny new headphone makes a big impression on the Audiophiliac - CNET

  16-04-2016 17:17 via cnet.com
  
  Klipsch's new Reference X6i in-ear headphone scores big on comfort and sound quality.
  
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• Pelican Air cases lighten your load for shooting, schlepping and shipping (pictures) - CNET

  16-04-2016 17:00 via cnet.com
  
  Known for its tough-as-nails cases for camera gear, the company's new Air line promises the same durability at a 40 percent lighter weight.
  
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• 'They sell you a dream': tech workers protest Clooney event for Clinton

  16-04-2016 15:06
  
  Democrats marched against Democrats in San Francisco and revealed a widening rift between commuting tech workers and their venture capital bossesAfter working in Silicon Valley for years, Morgan Quirk felt good protesting outside the home of a venture capitalist who funded tech startups and fundraisers for Hillary Clinton. He was part of a new splinter group of the liberal party, Democrats marching against Democrats in San Francisco, commuting tech workers against their bosses.“They sell y
  
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• Rolls-Royces, camo cars and one super-weird ride: Our week on Instagram - Roadshow

  16-04-2016 15:00 via cnet.com
  
  If you aren't yet following Roadshow and Carfection on Instagram, perhaps this'll change your mind.
  
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• Siri can now tune into live shows on the new Apple TV

  16-04-2016 14:33
  
  Way before the fourth-generation Apple TV saw the light of day, there were rumours Apple wanted to make live television streaming part of its repertoire. Well, while we haven't seen the flagship feature yet, we're inching ever closer to it.As promoted in the splash page for tvOS 9.2, Siri can now be used to tune into live segments in supported apps. The CBS, Disney XD and ESPN apps are the ones mentioned, though presumably more apps are going to support the feature in the future."Ask Siri to sta
  
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• Google Now, Siri and Cortana sound more human than ever - CNET

  16-04-2016 14:23 via cnet.com
  
  We ask the top personal assistants a few questions to figure out who says it best.
  
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• 4 things to weigh before switching carriers - CNET

  16-04-2016 14:01 via cnet.com
  
  From CNET Magazine: In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon talks about the benefits and pitfalls of switching wireless carriers.
  
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• Here are the three things I'm allowed to tell you about how phones are made - CNET

  16-04-2016 13:52 via cnet.com
  
  Visiting one of Huawei's phone production lines was fascinating and highly secretive event.
  
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• Google Now, Siri and Cortana -- who sounds more human? video - CNET

  16-04-2016 13:50 via cnet.com
  
  Which voice assistant has the best tone and personality? We put them to the test.
  
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• 10 of the best smartphone concepts we wish were real

  16-04-2016 13:50
  
  10 of the best smartphone conceptsThere are smartphones to suit almost all tastes these days... that is, as long as your tastes involve using black a rectangle with a touchscreen. A few phones out there have been made with a bit more creativity, like the curvy Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and the dual-screen LG V10. But the design world clearly doesn't think they're good enough, so the internet is often treated to some insane ideas that are yet to transition from concept to product. In some cases the
  
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• Opinion: A new, more powerful PS4 could undo all the goodwill Sony has regained

  16-04-2016 12:01
  
  Long, long ago, in a console generation far, far away there was a little box of magic that went by the name of Nintendo 64. It was a steadfast commitment to the past with its adorable chunky cartridges, and a powerful stride into the future thanks to 64-bits of oomph and the kind of pedigree game selection that would make most consoles weep with envy.As sturdy as it was in the processing department, developers were still obsessed with a Frankenstein-esque desire for more power. Then along came t
  
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• Australia Post looks to drones as letter volumes fall

  16-04-2016 11:59
  By Jarni Blakkarly Melbourne (Reuters) - Australia Post has successfully field-trialled the use of drones to deliver small packages, clearing the way for test deliveries to customer homes later this year. "We will put this innovative technology through its paces over the coming weeks and months to understand what it can deliver, how far it can travel, and ultimately, how our customers could receive a parcel," Australia Post Managing Director Ahmed Fahour said. While Australia Post is the first A
  
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• Netflix price hike coming and researchers are undoing paralysis video - CNET

  16-04-2016 10:50 via cnet.com
  
  Long-time Netflix subscribers will be paying more for the service in May. In more important news, nerve bypass lets a quadriplegic man control his own hand. Get all caught up in tech right here.
  
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• GCHQ historical gay staff ban 'wrong'

  16-04-2016 10:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Not letting gay people join UK surveillance agency GCHQ until the 1990s was wrong and "their suffering was our loss", its boss says.
  
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• Japan quakes disrupt Sony production of image sensors used in Apple iPhones

  16-04-2016 10:34
  By Makiko Yamazaki and Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO (Reuters) - Electronics giant Sony Corp said a factory producing image sensors for smartphone makers will remain closed while it assesses the damage from two deadly earthquakes which hit southern Japan. One of its major customers is Apple, which uses the sensors in its iPhones. Sony said it will extend the closure of its image sensor plant in Kumamoto, which is in the southern island of Kyushu, after major tremblors on Thursday and Saturday rocked t
  
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• Facebook wants to add more news to your News Feed

  16-04-2016 10:34
  
  It looks like Facebook wants to make your News Feed a lot more newsy, if recently leaked screenshots are to be believed: some US users have started seeing tabs for news categories like Sports and World News appear inside the official mobile apps.Images posted by Tom Critchlow (@tomcritchlow) on Twitter were followed up by an official Facebook statement to Mashable: "People have told us they'd like options to see more stories on Facebook around specific topics they're interested in, so we have be
  
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• Why the Internet of Things could fail

  16-04-2016 10:30
  
  Introduction and IoT hypeThe Internet of Things is going to be big, we're told. Cisco thinks that by 2020, there will be approximately 11.6 billion mobile devices and machine-to-machine connections, up from 7.9 billion in 2015, while a new report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) states that big data and the IoT will add £322 billion to the UK economy by 2020, creating 182,000 new jobs.Gartner has forecast IoT adoption to grow 50% in 2016 alone. Is the IoT really a
  
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• MPs call for reforms over misleading broadband speed claims

  16-04-2016 10:28
  
  Customers should be able to leave contracts and get compensation if they have been misled by service providers, parliamentarians say Broadband speed advertising is misleading and must be reformed, a cross-party group of MPs has said. Customers should be able to leave contracts and be given compensation if they have been misled by service providers, according to the British Infrastructure Group.Continue reading...
  
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• Monica Lewinsky: ‘The shame sticks to you like tar’

  16-04-2016 10:00
  
  Nearly 20 years ago, Monica Lewinsky found herself at the heart of a political storm. Now she’s turned that dark time into a force for goodOne night in London in 2005, a woman said a surprisingly eerie thing to Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky had moved from New York a few days earlier to take a master’s in social psychology at the London School of Economics. On her first weekend, she went drinking with a woman she thought might become a friend. “But she suddenly said she knew really
  
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• 7 essential tech projects for the weekend

  16-04-2016 10:00
  
  Now that it's the weekend you should hopefully have a bit of extra time to work on various tech projects around your house.If you're wondering where to start, we've collected together the best tutorials from the previous week for you to get stuck into. From streaming Xbox One games to your PC to being more productive in Windows 10, we've got plenty of ideas to help you get the most out of your tech.Get into the GrooveIf you've got Windows 10 then you might have noticed a new media playing app th
  
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• Broadband speed advertising 'misleading'

  16-04-2016 08:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The way broadband speeds are advertised is misleading and should be changed, a cross-party group of 50 MPs says.
  
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• What on Earth is Tim shredding on this week?! (AutoComplete, Ep. 14) - Roadshow

  16-04-2016 07:35 via cnet.com
  
  "High-octane" gas may not be a lie for much longer; Tim Stevens will soon be shredding on something you've never seen before; and the scope of the Takata airbag problem gets bigger (if that's possible).
  
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• Mazda 3 1.5D car review – ‘It’s a marriage of convenience rather than a love match’

  16-04-2016 07:00
  
  It’s unlikely you’ll feel moved to race anyone at the lights Beware the car that companies buy you because they feel as though they have to; it will come with stupid conditions to make sure you don’t enjoy yourself. That is a generalised view, with no particular relevance to the Mazda 3 1.5D, except that it was devised to look as though it belonged to a mid-range marketing executive and to fit into a low carbon bracket at the same time, which is like wanting a handbag that is c
  
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• What on Earth is Tim shredding on this week?! (AutoComplete, Ep. 14) video - Roadshow

  16-04-2016 04:51 via cnet.com
  
  "High-octane" gas may not be a lie for much longer; Tim Stevens will soon be shredding on something you've never seen before; and the scope of the Takata airbag problem gets bigger (if that's possible).
  
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• E-skin 'can monitor body's oxygen level'

  16-04-2016 04:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists in Japan say they have developed ultra-thin electronic "skin" that can measure oxygen levels when stuck to the body.
  
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• Apple looking to make the new MacBook even thinner (Apple Byte Extra Crunchy, Ep. 33) - CNET

  16-04-2016 03:18 via cnet.com
  
  Metal injection-mold-made hinges will help slim down the new MacBooks; iPhone 7 and Apple Watch rumors; and the FBI hasn't found anything relevant on the San Bernardino iPhone.
  
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• Oracle, Google fail to settle Android lawsuit before retrial

  16-04-2016 02:29
  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp and Alphabet's Google unit failed to settle a long running copyright lawsuit over the Android operating system ahead of a retrial scheduled for May, according to a court docket. The case involves how much copyright protection should extend to the Java programming language, which Google used to design Android. Oracle is seeking billions in royalties for Google's use of some of the Java language, while Google argues it should be able to use Java
  
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• Facebook says it won't mess with voters' minds - CNET

  16-04-2016 02:05 via cnet.com
  
  The social network clarifies that it would never mess with what users see on the site as a way to keep Donald Trump from getting elected president. Employees had reportedly contemplated such meddling.
  
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• Your next fitness tracker could be on your skin

  16-04-2016 01:44
  
  The secret to any good wearable piece of tech is making it not feel like wearing tech. The lighter, softer, and more flexible the machinery, the better, and what could feel more natural than your own skin?This is the idea behind "ultraflexible organic photonic skin," an incredibly thin layer ofpolymer light-emitting diodes, or PLEDs, that merge to create a sort of e-skin that turns your own body into a wearable device.The material, developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo, is comprise
  
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• When Amazon Payments meets high fashion, shopping gets a whole new look - CNET

  16-04-2016 00:36 via cnet.com
  
  Amazon hooks up with boutique clothier Moda Operandi, hoping to catch some magic for its fledgling payments service.
  
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• Apple uses FBI director's words against him in NY iPhone case - CNET

  16-04-2016 00:25 via cnet.com
  
  The company doesn't want to unlock an iPhone for the FBI in a case involving a confessed drug dealer in Brooklyn. It's part of an ongoing feud over how to balance public safety with digital privacy.
  
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• Spotted: Is Apple Car self-driving tech being tested with this white van?

  16-04-2016 00:03
  
  Seeing weird cars is not out of the norm when you live in the Bay Area, but a white van driving around a cluster of Apple office buildings in Sunnyvale, Calif. on Thursday grabbed my attention.At first blush, the van – a Ford Transit – appeared to be just another Apple Maps van. It had similar Lidar canisters and cameras on the roof, though was clearly a different vehicle than the Dodge Caravans gathering Maps data many, including myself, have observed cruising public roads. "Looks l
  
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