Technology news

• Matt Damon uses tech, sci-fi to deliver powerful message to MIT grads

  04-06-2016 22:19
  
  One of Massachusetts' native sons, Matt Damon, returned on Friday to deliver the commencement address to MIT's graduating class and the university's choice of speaker couldn't have been more appropriate. Aside from his early life in the state, there are his Hollywood roles in Good Will Hunting as a janitor at MIT, and more recently as a scientist stranded on Mars. And although Damon attended (but didn't graduate from) Harvard, his Ivy League experience and unique connection to the state resulted
  
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• As Muhammad Ali leaves ring for last time, the Internet bows its head - CNET

  04-06-2016 22:01 via cnet.com
  
  The death of the legendary boxer, activist and trash-talker-cum-poet unleashes a flood of words on social media.
  
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• Google: new concerns raised about political influence by senior ‘revolving door’ jobs

  04-06-2016 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The tech giant has employed scores of government advisers, while former employees found jobs with European governmentsNew concerns have been raised about the political influence of Google after research found at least 80 “revolving door” moves in the past decade – instances where the online giant took on government employees and European governments employed Google staff.The research was carried out by the Google Transparency Project, an initiative run by the Campaign for Accou
  
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• 7 can't-miss apps: The Roll, 'Steppy Pants,' VSCO and more

  04-06-2016 21:19
  
  With Instagram rolling out its new algorithm-based feed and Elon Musk's new comments about AI, you may have missed some of this week's best new apps. SEE ALSO: Dear millennials: Instagram doesn't owe you anything Each weekend, we round up a few of our favorite new and updated apps. This week's list includes an app to help organize your photos, a video editing app and a new game based on an old favorite. Check out the gallery below to see our top picks. If you're looking for more, take a look at
  
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• This machine lets you turn water into beer at home

  04-06-2016 20:50
  
  Real hipsters don’t just hunt for vintage beer, they make their own, and that just got a lot easier with the debut of the Beer Bar. SEE ALSO: Budweiser beer is now named America, because we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave Created by Israel-based SodaStream Interntional, the device allows users to add sparkling water to a special beer concentrate formula (called "Blondie") to create beer at home. The end product has 4.5% alcohol content and supposedly looks and tastes
  
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• These tiny (and affordable) gizmos will make your music sound better - CNET

  04-06-2016 19:47 via cnet.com
  
  Up, up and away with the two new AudioQuest DragonFly digital converter/headphone amplifiers.
  
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• Drool-worthy: Reference 3A MM de Capo BE speakers - CNET

  04-06-2016 18:47 via cnet.com
  
  The Audiophiliac had a close encounter with a pair of monitor speakers he won't soon forget.
  
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• Handout or no? Swiss mull $2,500 monthly income for all

  04-06-2016 18:16
  
  GENEVA (AP) — Would you accept about $2,500 from your government every month, no questions asked?
  
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• Shoot amazing photos this DIY filter for your phone's camera - CNET

  04-06-2016 17:00 via cnet.com
  
  Take stunning photos with these simple, homemade camera filters.
  
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• The haunting decay of Gunkanjima 'Battleship Island' (pictures) - CNET

  04-06-2016 16:39 via cnet.com
  
  Once home to 5,259 people and abandoned in 1974, Hashima island was transformed by storms and decay into the incredible Gunkanjima: Battleship Island. Here's a tour.
  
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• Scanners that could catch weapons can't be used at Rikers

  04-06-2016 16:03
  
  Sophisticated X-ray body scanners that could curb widespread smuggling of scalpels and razors at New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail have sat unused for years, shelved by a state law barring such ...
  
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• The iPhone 7 sounds like it will be totally boring

  04-06-2016 15:00
  
  It used to be fun to see an online leak for an unreleased gadget like the next iPhone or Samsung Galaxy or new MacBook. "Sh*t, a new shiny thing is coming!" we'd think to ourselves, eyes-bulging, mouth agape, looking and looking and looking at the one blurry image of what could be the next big thing in tech. But this jaded feeling has been brewing up inside of me for quite some time. I've been chasing tech and gadget rumors for almost six years now and the fire's starting to die out just a littl
  
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• Ranking the X-Men of 'Apocalypse' from X to worst - CNET

  04-06-2016 15:00 via cnet.com
  
  With so many mutants battling it out in the new movie, we count down which friends and foes outshine the rest. (Spoilers!)
  
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• Ranking the mutants of 'X-Men: Apocalypse' (pictures) - CNET

  04-06-2016 15:00 via cnet.com
  
  Which stars of the new film have the X-factor and which need to go back to (Xavier's) school?
  
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• There's a hidden volume control in your Mac menu bar - CNET

  04-06-2016 14:00 via cnet.com
  
  Menu bar applications on Mac give you quick access to your most important settings. But with this trick, you can control even more from the menu bar.
  
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• That FCC plan to protect your privacy? Not everyone's a fan - CNET

  04-06-2016 14:00 via cnet.com
  
  The feds' proposal has come under fire as some argue broadband providers should not be held to higher standards than other companies in the Internet ecosystem.
  
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• Acer Predator G6 review - CNET

  04-06-2016 14:00 via cnet.com
  
  The powerful Acer Predator G6 looks like part of a futuristic tank, so make sure you're ready to openly advertise your PC gaming obsession.
  
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• Take control of Facebook's targeted ads video - CNET

  04-06-2016 13:50 via cnet.com
  
  Facebook has made changes to its policies for serving targeted ads both on and off of its network. Change some simple settings to get a handle on how your information is used.
  
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• Microsoft wants to put holograms everywhere video - CNET

  04-06-2016 13:50 via cnet.com
  
  The company is opening up Windows Holographic, which is the same tech that powers its HoloLens wearable headset. Also, Elon Musk says some crazy stuff that will make you think.
  
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• Mazda MX-5 car review: ‘It’s dead cute’ | Zoe Williams

  04-06-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Being so low-slung on the road makes you feel cunning and feline I don’t know how you can tell that a car has got lighter, I imagine in the same way that you can tell down the phone that a relative has put on a few pounds. The Mazda MX-5 has dropped 100kg on its previous incarnation, and treads the roads like the only size zero at a party. It is dead cute. The shape is classic and unfussy, with the edges rounded to smooth out what would otherwise be an aggressive amount of cool. Things I h
  
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• GE JGB700SEJSS review - CNET

  04-06-2016 11:00 via cnet.com
  
  The GE JGB700SEJSS gas range is a great performer, and the $1,000 price makes the appliance even more appealing.
  
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• Behold the haunting decay of Gunkanjima, Japan's 'Battleship Island' - CNET

  04-06-2016 11:00 via cnet.com
  
  Hashima was abandoned in 1974 and left to the elements. Storms, time, and decay have resulted in collapsed buildings that feel inhabited by the ghosts of the miners who used to live there. Here's a tour.
  
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• Man v machine: can computers cook, write and paint better than us?

  04-06-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Artificial intelligence can now win a game, recognise your face, even appeal against your parking ticket. But can it do the stuff even humans find tricky?One video, for me, changed everything. It’s footage from the old Atari game Breakout, the one where you slide a paddle left and right along the bottom of the screen, trying to destroy bricks by bouncing a ball into them. You may have read about the player of the game: an algorithm developed by DeepMind, the British artificial intelligence
  
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• Toyota's plans for Google's robotics tech? And inside Silicon Valley's test track (AutoComplete Podcast 21) - Roadshow

  04-06-2016 04:00 via cnet.com
  
  In this week's rundown of the biggest stories, Brian​ Cooley ​talk​s​ about ​the possible buyout of some of Google's robotics tech by Toyota; more on the Takata recalls; ​and a quick look at Silicon Valley's test track for self-driving cars.
  
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• CNET's Top 40 must-have Blu-ray discs (pictures) - CNET

  04-06-2016 03:54 via cnet.com
  
  Check out CNET's roundup of must-have Blu-ray movies to show off your home theater. We'll be updating our picks as new discs come out.
  
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• The Shrimp: the robotic answer to the sheepdog – video

  04-06-2016 03:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers at the University of Sydney’s dairy farm on the outskirts of Sydney are experimenting with robotic farm assistants. The collaboration between the university’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics and the faculty of veterinary science’s dairy science group gives a glimpse of a high-tech future of farmingTransforming the bush: robots, drones and cows that milk themselvesContinue reading...
  
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• Dear millennials: Instagram doesn't owe you anything

  04-06-2016 03:05
  
  It's time to stop freaking out about your Instagram feed.  Yes, Instagram has started rolling out its new algorithmic-based feed, which may make posts appear "out of order." Yes, it's a big change and yes, people are freaking out about it. But they shouldn't. Complaining on social media about an Instagram update is about as pointless as expecting your iPhone battery to last all day. Losing it As with any big change to Instagram (or Facebook or Snapchat or Twitter), the new Instagram fe
  
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• For Copa América soccer tourney, US men's team uses tech to reach its 'goool!' - CNET

  04-06-2016 02:55 via cnet.com
  
  The squad is using heart monitors from Polar Team 2 and GPS sensors from Stats Sports to train before it faces its tournament rivals, starting with Colombia on Friday.
  
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• Unboxing the sleek Batman Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Gear VR

  04-06-2016 02:12
  
  Fact: The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a sexy phone.  New fact: The Batman-themed Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Injustice Edition is even sexier. The bundle includes a special S7 Edge with Batman logo and gold trims, all-black Gear VR headset, an armored Batman case, earbuds and a gold batarang. SEE ALSO: Samsung's Gear Fit 2 still looks hot as hell, now comes with built-in GPS Though the Injustice Edition bundle isn't available in the U.S. (only China, Korea, Singapore, Russia and Latin America curr
  
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• The bacon emoji is coming to iOS 10 (Apple Byte Extra Crunchy Podcast, Ep. 40) - CNET

  04-06-2016 02:03 via cnet.com
  
  There will be no 5K Thunderbolt display with a GPU at WWDC,and Apple's working on its own version of the Amazon Echo.
  
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• 'Furries were scarier then': Rifftrax mocks 'Game of Thrones' - CNET

  04-06-2016 01:51 via cnet.com
  
  "Mystery Science Theater 3000" alums poke fun at Khal Drogo's eyeliner, fanatic fans and more in new joke-filled commentary.
  
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• CEO of Alphabet Inc's Nest unit steps down

  04-06-2016 00:42
  (Reuters) - Tony Fadell, a well-known Silicon Valley executive who was once expected to play a central role in Alphabet Inc's hardware efforts, has stepped down as chief executive of the search giant's Nest unit, the company said. Fadell will remain an adviser to Alphabet and Google co-founder Larry Page. In a blog post announcing his departure, Fadell said Nest's revenue is growing 50 percent a year and boasted that "the connected home went mainstream because of Nest." "We’ve created a ha
  
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• What would middle-aged Anakin Skywalker look like? - CNET

  04-06-2016 00:25 via cnet.com
  
  An Imgur user morphs photos of Hayden Christensen and Sebastian Shaw -- and finds a surprise real-life lookalike.
  
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• Wal-Mart says tech investments will boost online sales

  04-06-2016 00:22
  By Nandita Bose FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc executives touted the technology investments the world's No. 1 retailer is making to boost online sales, during the annual shareholder meeting on Friday. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon spoke about initiatives like online grocery pick up, the retailer's two-day shipping program and its mobile wallet, Wal-Mart Pay. Wal-Mart onlines sales growth has sharply decelerated for five quarters even though its overall performance has
  
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• Unmanned vessels deployed for Alaska ocean research

  04-06-2016 00:05
  
  Researchers in the Bering Sea off Alaska's west coast will get help this summer from drones, but not the kind that fly. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and private researchers are gathering ...
  
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