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Latest by Ed Oswald

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iOS users can now stream just about every DirecTV channel data-free on AT&T

DirecTV launched live-streaming in an update to its iOS app, alongside news that DirecTV streaming no longer counts towards your AT&T data allotment.
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Google: Chrome browser battery usage on Mac laptops down a third, speeds up 15 percent

Thanks to Google's hard work, Mac laptop users now see a third more battery life, and platform-wide Chrome is 15 percent faster than a year ago.
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Still got a floppy drive in your desktop? Here’s one way to make it useful again

Not so long ago, 3.5-inch floppy drives were something that every desktop computer had. U.K.-based Solid State Disk has a way to make them useful again.
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The Marine Corps is ready for laser weapons, but officials say they need to shrink them first

The Marine Corp is only the latest division of the Armed Forces to express interest in directed energy weapons, but current systems are just too big.
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We are still alone: Scientists say signals received last year weren't from aliens

The signals detected near star HD164595 that were thought to possibly be alien appear to just be some type of terrestrial interference.
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Are aliens trying to contact us? Signals from faraway star have experts buzzing

A discovery by Russian radio telescope operators in 2015 has the astronomy community buzzing about potential evidence of aliens. But don't hold your breath.
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Facebook tries out automatic audio for its videos — stay tuned for user reactions

If you live in Australia and are using the Facebook app, you may be surprised to hear sound playing as you scroll past videos on your feed.
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‘It Just Works?’ Not quite: iPhones crash more than Android phones, study finds

Crashes on iOS devices doubled in the second quarter of 2016, according to a new study. The cause? Possibly iOS 10 Beta, as well as social networking apps.
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Report: Digital assistants held back by poor microphone technology

Your smart device's microphone hasn't gotten much better in over four years, which means your digital assistant won't get any better in understanding you.
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Big budget cuts ordered for Google Fiber, likely putting the brakes on rollout

Rollouts of Google Fiber are just costing too much, and top brass including Larry Page and Sergey Brin are pressuring the division to cut costs.
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Proxima Centauri has a potentially habitable planet orbiting it, but are there aliens?

Sci-Fi meets reality as a planet is confirmed around our nearest celestial neighbor. With little visual evidence there's quite a bit we don't know yet.
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Google cracking down on annoying mobile popup ads by penalizing search rankings

With more people using the mobile web, the bad practices of web advertisers are making it to your smartphone. Google is having none of it, though.
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Windyty adds European model forecasts, will offer free access to it to consumers

Weather visualization app Windyty says it will offer access to the European model at no charge to consumers, and its iOS app coming soon.
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Warehouse robots might just make tedious jobs a thing of the past

Warehouse jobs may become a thing of the past due to new technologies that are both revolutionizing and speeding up the process of shipping goods.
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U.S. government to ditch the domain-name business on October 1

The U.S. government says it is satisfied with the progress ICANN has made to prepare to take over control of domain names, and will cede control this fall.
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Turn the lights off when you sleep to slow the aging process, study suggests

Researchers have found some type of link between overexposure to artificial light and symptoms commonly linked to aging, including disrupted sleep.
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Researchers: Smartphones' battery life is being used to track users' online activity

Battery information that's made available through HTML5 to website developers was supposed to allow them to serve "low-power options." But it can do more.
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Buyers scarce as struggling SoundCloud apparently puts itself up for sale for $1B

Still struggling to get its SoundCloud Go streaming music service off the ground, the company is looking for a buyer.
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Apple celebrates a milestone: One billion iPhones sold worldwide since launch

The one billionth iPhone recently sold, nearly a decade since the original iPhone launched in 2007.
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China doesn't want self-driving cars on its roads until regulations are in place

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is working with law enforcement on new rules, but there's no timetable for completion.
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Facebook's giant, internet-serving drone just completed its first full-scale test flight

The first test flight of Facebook's internet-serving drone was a success, but the company cautions that there's quite a bit of work left to do.
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Apple Car’s ship date may have slipped to 2021, report claims

A new report claims that leadership changes and difficulty in securing computing power have delayed the Apple Car project for at least a year.
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Heads up Surface Pro 3 owners: you might have a failing battery

If you have a Simplo battery, there's a good chance it may eventually be unable to hold a charge for more than an hour or two, reports indicate.
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Google's DeepMind is helping the company save money on its electricity bill

Much of Google's power usage is due to its vast data centers. Now its DeepMind AI is looking for ways to cut power bills while maintaining efficiency.
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Apple could make up to $3 billion from 'Pokémon Go' over the next two years

Thanks to App Store policies and fired-up Pokémon Go fans, Apple could make as much as 10 to 15 percent of its App Store revenue off a single game.
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Skype drops support for older Windows Phone, Android devices

Skype's moving to the cloud, and Microsoft says that older Windows Phone and Android devices aren't compatible with their plans.
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Self-driving cars might get ‘black boxes’ in Germany after rash of accidents

Following a rash of accidents involving Tesla's Autopilot functionality, German regulators want a way to tell whether self-driving tech is at fault.
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Microsoft won’t have to turn over emails from servers in Ireland, court rules

Microsoft has won an important victory in preventing the U.S. government from obtaining emails stored on a server in Ireland in a closely watched case.
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Samsung’s last chance to overturn Apple’s patent case win comes on October 10

The Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether Samsung is liable for just the profits attributed to the infringing design parts, or the whole device.
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6 amazing tiny homes on wheels are ready to roll wherever life takes you

The tiny house movement is taking off. Could you live in a home a fraction of the size of today's modern home? Check out some of the best designs out there.
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US Army to begin testing autonomous vehicle tech on Michigan roads

The Army is taking baby steps toward self-driving cars, with a test now underway on a 21-mile stretch of highway in southeastern Michigan.
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Virtual Eye could be a potential lifesaver for military and first responders

A new virtual reality technology could help first responders and our military see into dangerous places without risking human life, all in real time.
Windows 10 Cortana

Cortana has answered 6 billion voice queries since Windows 10 launch

Those that have upgraded to Windows 10 use Cortana a lot. And soon, through "conversation as a platform," they might be using it without realizing they are.
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Roku makes finding news, entertainment a breeze with expanded search functionality

With more than 50 streaming services now supported by Roku's native search, the set-top box is making it much easier for cord-cutters to find hard-to-find video.