Technology news

Using a combination of lasers, gold particles, and antifreeze, scientists have successfully reanimated frozen zebrafish embryos. This new technique could one day help biologists bank the embryos of species at risk for extinction or preserve the genetically modified fish that scientists use to study human diseases. But first, researchers have to make sure more of the embryos can actually survive this new process.Deep-freezing eggs, sperm, and embryos to save them for later is called cryopreservat

Customs and Border Protection can’t search travelers’ cloud data at the border, according to a new statement by acting commissioner Kevin McAleenan that was obtained by NBC News. The statement was provided in advance of McAleenan’s Senate confirmation hearing, in response to a set of questions by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).
In the letter, McAleenan draws a sharp distinction between data stored locally on the device and cloud data stored on remote servers. Customs has a fundamental m

How did we get here? And by “here,” I don’t mean “Barb from Stranger Things nominated for an Emmy” or “another bad haircut for me,” because I know the answers to the questions in both of those cases. I mean to the point where the “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme has maintained an inexplicable popularity for so long as to achieve the rare double-meta (memes are already meta) status, a height from which it is capable of breaking my brain.This

(Reuters) — Daily fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings scrapped a plan to merge on Thursday following a legal challenge by U.S. antitrust enforcers.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in June that it would seek to stop the deal because the combined company would control more than 90 percent of the U.S. market for paid daily fantasy sports contests.
“We have determined that it is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, employees and partners to te

Sony’s latest 4K, HDR-equipped TVs, those powered by Google’s Android TV software, will soon be compatible with some Amazon Echo devices, Sony announced today. The feature should roll out as part of a firmware update sometime this month, and it will give users of the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices the ability to turn Sony TVs on and off, adjust the channel and volume, change inputs, and control minor playback features for DVR and streaming services.The feature will be restricted to

Like a phoenix from the ashes, Samsung’s ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 has emerged from the fires of its battery woes reborn as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition, a refurbished Note 7 that, hopefully, won’t explode. Samsung announced that it’d be using some original Galaxy Note 7 parts in the Fan Edition back when it was first announced, but it was unclear what that balance would be between old and new parts.Fortunately, iFixit has performed its traditional teardown of the resurr

Radiohead recently included a special Easter egg in the remastered 20th anniversary edition of their album OK Computer, but you can only uncover it with the help of a British 8-bit ZX Spectrum computer, or at least an emulator of one.
The just-released $130 edition (£100) of OK Computer, called OKNOTOK, contains three black 12-inch vinyl records, a hardcover book with more than 30 drawings, and a classic C90 cassette. Playing the cassette will grant you the piercing sounds of a ZX Spectrum

This year’s Emmy nominations are out, and one thing is abundantly clear: Netflix is now an entertainment powerhouse, close on the heels of HBO. The company nabbed a record 93 nominations for its original streaming content, nearly double what it earned last year, and just 17 shy of HBO’s eye-popping 110. While House of Cards has arguably overstayed its welcome on the awards show circuit, Netflix has nonetheless used that program and many others — including The Crown, The Unbreak

The BlackBerry KeyOne — the company’s latest attempt to return to the good old days of hardware keyboards — has been available to purchase in the US since May 31st unlocked for $549.If you prefer to buy phones through carriers (and saving money upfront), and are a Sprint customer, and want to buy the KeyOne, then good news! The BlackBerry KeyOne will be available at Sprint tomorrow, July 14th. Sprint will be selling the KeyOne for 18 monthly payments of $22, putting you at a fi

At CE Week 2017, Jabra debuted the next iteration of its Elite Sport earbuds. Launched last year, the Elite Sport are Jabra’s first truly wireless earbuds, and they now come with a few upgrades — most notably in battery life.
The new Jabra Elite Sport earbuds have packed in 50 percent more power than their predecessor without increasing the weight or depth of the earbud. They now can deliver 4.5 hours of play on a single charge; with use of the portable charging case, a have a total

Good news for people who hate practicing scales: scientists have created a musical instrument you can play with just your thoughts.The instrument, called the Encephalophone — “enceph” means “head” — is described in a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. It’s not just a source of fun for the lazy but musically ambitious among us; the researchers hope that one day this brain-computer interface can help people with motor disorders

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government would be requiring internet provides to block users’ access to personal VPNs. However, a new report published today in the state-run news site The Paper (spotted by Engadget) seems to contradict that report.The statement from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says that “authorized” VPNs will be allowed to conduct business as usual, and that the new restrictions only apply to companies using

A couple of years ago, I read a book that examined the changing nature of war that’s stuck with me. The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order by former soldier and contractor Sean McFate examines the rise of the Private Military Companies (PMCs) that offer security services to governments, companies, and private citizens around the world. He outlines that they represent a fundamental change in the conduct of war, and draws parallels between the Middle Ages &md

Windows 10 S is Microsoft’s newest version of its Windows operating system. It’s designed for students, and it’s meant to take on Google’s Chromebook and Chrome OS ecosystem. What that means in practical terms is that 10 S is a more locked-down version of Windows, with users limited to only being able to install Windows Store applications. The flip side is that by requiring applications to only come from the Windows Store, Microsoft can do a whole lot more to ensure that

The Manimals, a glam rock / punk band from Brooklyn that recorded a Game of Thrones-themed concept album last year called SEVEN, just released its first official music video. It’s a fun time, and I recommend it to anyone who’s trying to get hyped about Arya Stark as their first-round Game of Thrones fantasy league pick.
With tons of goofy slo-mo, the video follows guitarists Michael Jayne, Jack Breslin, and Chris Norwood, drummer Matt O’Koren, and lead vocalist Haley Bowery, as

The rivalry between HBO and Netflix will be on full display at the 69th annual Emmy awards. Veep star Anna Chlumsky and S.W.A.T.’s Shemar Moore were on hand with Television Academy Chairman and CEO Hayma Washington to host today’s nomination presentation, which covers TV shows, limited series, and movies aired between June 1st, 2016 and May 31st, 2017. Stephen Colbert, who’s already a nine-time Emmy winner, will host the awards on ABC on September 17th at Los Angeles’ Mic

Groupon isn’t exactly the place you’d expect to find a flagship smartphone, but the deals site has a pretty staggering discount on Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+. The unlocked US models (which support all major networks) are available for $150 off in both sizes. That brings the S8 down to $574.99 and the S8+ to just $674.99. There’s no fine print and you don’t have to trade in your phone. Those are just the prices. And they’re very, very good prices — the b

France, the birthplace of vaccine pioneer Louis Pasteur, has a major problem with vaccines. Skepticism around the safety of vaccines has soared in the country, fueled by growing distrust in public health institutions and the pharmaceutical industry. French authorities hope that a new law will change that.Last week, the French Health Ministry announced plans to make 11 vaccines mandatory for young children by 2018. French law currently mandates three vaccines— diphtheria, tetanus, and polio

Destiny 2 is going to be the first non-Blizzard game to use Battle.net for online services on PC, and you can now link your Bungie account to your Blizzard one — which is timely, given that the Destiny 2 beta is set to hit consoles next week and PCs in August.As a note, if you already have a Bungie account, you’ll want to be careful in linking things, as noted by some users over at the Destiny subreddit. That’s because Bungie accounts don’t actually exist as standalone th

Microsoft has been beta testing custom gamerpics for Xbox Live since March, and it’s now rolling out the feature to everyone on the gaming service. You can now set custom images on Clubs, Gamerpics, and even Club backgrounds, all through Windows 10, an Xbox console, or the Xbox apps for iOS and Android.
Mixer co-streaming is also being enabled in an update rolling out to Xbox One today, allowing Xbox owners and up to three friends to broadcast together on the game streaming service. While

 AT&T’s streaming TV service for cord cutters, DirecTV Now, is finally getting a cloud DVR, among other features, the company announced today. The addition is part of a larger platform upgrade for AT&T’s TV applications, which includes both the streaming service DirecTV Now and the app for current DirecTV pay TV subscribers. The cloud DVR is among the most anticipated,… Read More

Microsoft is expanding its partnership with BMW to enable Skype for Business in cars that use BMW’s iDrive system. BMW was one of the first car makers to enable Office 365 services in its cars, and this latest feature will let owners take Skype meetings in their cars through the built-in entertainment system.
The system will work by triggering notifications for meetings, allowing drivers to dial-in without having to enter the conference number details manually. BMW will also enable tighter

Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t just focused on the big, heroic moments in a superhero’s life. It’s about the small details of what it’s like to be a 15-year-old with friends, a home life, a secret crush, and a secret identity. So it’s only natural that the film spends a lot of time with protagonist Peter Parker as he navigates the demands of high school. And the filmmakers consciously decided to depict Peter’s school as an academic pressure-cooker filled with sc

Netflix has yet another superhero series on the way. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming network has made a 10-episode straight-to-series order for a live-action adaptation of The Umbrella Academy, a limited series from former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá.
A dysfunctional family of superheroes
The Umbrella Academy launched in Dark Horse Comics back in 2007. Set in an alternate 1977, the series introduced the core cast of characters as a dysf

Oculus is working with Xiaomi on a self-contained $200 headset shipping in 2018, Bloomberg Technology reports. The device’s prototype will reportedly be called “Pacific,” loosely following Oculus’ California-centric naming conventions. It’s supposed to look like a “more compact” version of the Rift, and it will be a fully standalone device, not connected to a PC or phone. Bloomberg says it’s lighter than Oculus and Samsung’s Gear VR mobile he

If you weren’t paying close attention yesterday, it may have looked like AT&T got onboard the net neutrality “day of action” protest. The company’s website displayed a banner saying that “AT&T supports an open internet,” and it sent a message to DirecTV customers mentioning the same thing. “Tell Congress to adopt permanent protections,” both messages added, before directing people to an “Open Internet” page on AT&T’s s

AT&T is getting ready to launch a new video platform that will underpin its DirecTV Now service and eventually support all of its consumer video services. Moving to a single video platform will allow AT&T to develop new features faster, the company says.
The “next-generation video platform” will allow AT&T to launch a Cloud DVR for DirecTV Now — the biggest missing feature from the service — as well as live TV pausing and parental controls before the end of th