Google Assistant Gains Momentum in Smart Home Race

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Google Assistant Gains Momentum in Smart Home Race

Google Assistant, the artificial intelligence software built into Android handsets and the Google Home smart speaker system, now can control more than 5,000 smart devices. That's up from just 1,500 products in January -- and the list of supported products includes everything from cameras and security systems to doorbells, locks and lights, to dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators. Google's smart home platform has grown exponentially since its released in the fall of 2016.

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BBC News - Technology

YouTube stars' fury as videos promoting cheating removed

Following a BBC investigation, YouTube has taken down hundreds of videos promoting an essay-writing company.

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V2, the Second Coming of Vine, Is on Indefinite Hold

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V2, the Second Coming of Vine, Is on Indefinite Hold

V2 got everyone's hopes up, but there's just not enough money to move the project forward, says one of Vine's original co-founders.

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Facebook's Clear History Privacy Option: Boon or Sop?

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Facebook's Clear History Privacy Option: Boon or Sop?

Facebook plans to offer members a tool that to prevent tracking of their online activity outside the network. The Clear History feature will allow users to see which websites and applications send Facebook information when they use them, delete the data and prevent Facebook from collecting and storing it in the future. Although that information would not be associated with a user's account, it still would be used in anonymized form to provide website operators and app developers with analytics about Facebook users use of their wares.

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The Electronics Industry: A Pawn in the US vs. China Chess Game

Rising tensions between China and the U.S. have led to growing concerns that a tariff war will have a negative impact on the electronics industry. Amazingly, the industry has been spared thus far, and with good reason. However, even if tariffs aren't imposed, there is a silent battle between the two countries that already has impacted the global electronics ecosystem. Watching the countries levy their recent tariffs has been like watching two opponents playing chess. Each has made a move intended to weaken the other's political position.

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BBC News - Technology

New kids on the block

From goal-line tech to Video Assistant Referees, football is always on the look-out for new tech.

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Gear Latest

Star Wars Day Deals: Funko Pop, Sphero, ThinkGeek, Loungefly

Save some credits on Star Wars swag this May the 4th.

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TalkTalk broadband worst for customer service, says Ofcom

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TalkTalk broadband worst for customer service, says Ofcom

TalkTalk comes last for the second year running in a broadband service report from Ofcom.

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TechNewsWorld

Fitbit's Health Alliance With Google Could Be a Risky Experiment

Fitbit and Google have announced a new partnership on healthcare. Fitbit will develop consumer and enterprise health solutions that will use Google's new Cloud Healthcare API. Fitbit also will move to the Google Cloud Platform to innovate and advance its products and services. Most Google Cloud products support HIPAA compliance; the move will allow Fitbit to leverage Google Cloud's infrastructure and security features, as well as Google's artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, and its new predictive analytic algorithms.

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Everything Facebook Announced Today at F8

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Everything Facebook Announced Today at F8

Oculus Go, Facebook for dating, and a suite of new features for Instagram and WhatsApp.

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Facebook's New 'Dating' Feature Could Crush Apps Like Tinder

Mark Zuckerberg announced at Facebook's annual developer conference in California on Tuesday that the company is building a matchmaking service.

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BBC News - Technology

The US town banning new Bitcoin mines

Bitcoin mining has been eating up Plattsburgh's electricity quota and pushing up bills.

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Autonomy ex-executive guilty of fraud

BBC News - Technology

Autonomy ex-executive guilty of fraud

An ex-financial officer is found guilty in the first legal judgement over the UK software firm.

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TechNewsWorld

Could BlackBerry Displace Apple?

I spent a day with BlackBerry last week and it brought back memories of how Apple displaced the company around a decade ago. I, like a lot of folks at the time, thought what Apple was attempting was impossible. However, after the fact, it didn't even look difficult. BlackBerry largely has completed its pivot to software and services, but a wave of new phones from its partners apparently will be coming to market shortly. Now, BlackBerry isn't even going to try to displace Apple, so what follows is "what if" speculation.

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God of War: Games no longer where actors careers 'go to die'

BBC News - Technology

God of War: Games no longer where actors careers 'go to die'

Christopher Judge, who plays Kratos in the new God of War, talks about the jump from the silver screen to games.

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Fake five-star reviews being bought and sold online

BBC News - Technology

Fake five-star reviews being bought and sold online

A trade in false online reviews relied upon by millions is identified in a BBC investigation.

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Play as a refugee in Syrian war video game

The BAFTA nominated video game trying to teach people about what it's like for refugees fleeing Syria.

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Gear Latest

Best Weekend Tech Deals: 200GB MicroSD, Ecovacs Deebot, Apple iPad

Whether you're hunting for a 200GB MicroSD card or a new laptop, we've got a dozen tech deals to check out this weekend.

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Apple’s Done Making Airport Routers, So Try These Instead

With the official end of the Airport era, it's time to let a new router into your life. Preferably mesh.

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Gadget Lab Podcast: Snap Spectacles and Our Faceputer Future

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Gadget Lab Podcast: Snap Spectacles and Our Faceputer Future

This week on the Gadget Lab podcast, we hear about Lauren and Arielle's adventures with Snap's new Spectacles.

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Why the New Snap Spectacles Matter

Want to see the future? Try squinting through Spectacles.

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BBC News - Technology

Deadline to amend UK surveillance laws

A High Court judgement calling for changes came out of a legal challenge mounted by rights group Liberty.

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Tech Tent: the technology of pleasure

Meet the British firm making its mark in the sex tech sector.

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TechNewsWorld

Snap Doubles Down on Spectacles Wearable Cam

Snap, the company behind Snapchat, on Thursday released the second generation of its Spectacles, a wearable video camera that captures short clips that can be synced to a smartphone. The new version also takes still photos and is designed to be water-resistant. The new Spectacles sport the same basic Ray-Ban style design as the first iteration, but they have been slimmed down and are less bulky -- a good thing both for wearing the glasses and transporting them. In addition, users have more color options. They include the ever-fashionable onyx, as well as ruby and sapphire.

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IS web media targeted in EU-led attack

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IS web media targeted in EU-led attack

The EU police agency says it has "punched a big hole" in Islamic State propaganda.

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'Holy Grail' Exploit Puts Nintendo Switch Consoles at Risk

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'Holy Grail' Exploit Puts Nintendo Switch Consoles at Risk

Devices built on Nvidia's Tegra X-1 mobile processor are at risk of attack from a flaw security researchers have revealed. The exploit chain discovered by Katherine Temkin and others affects any device running the chip, including the Nintendo Switch gaming console and some Chromebooks. Called "Fusée Gelée," the vulnerability allows anyone to run code on the chip by overloading a critical buffer when a system boots. "Fusée Gelée isn't a perfect 'Holy Grail' exploit -- though in some cases it can be pretty damned close," Temkin wrote.

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BBC News - Technology

Gun emoji disarmed as Microsoft follows Google toy switch

Microsoft plans to replace its revolver emoji with a water pistol, following similar moves by others.

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How to Clean Your Computer Inside and Out

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How to Clean Your Computer Inside and Out

Scrub down those keys, wipe the fingerprints off your screen, and delete all the files that have been clogging your tubes.

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Ransomware infects Ukraine energy ministry website

BBC News - Technology

Ransomware infects Ukraine energy ministry website

Hackers have taken Ukraine's energy ministry website offline, demanding a Bitcoin ransom to release encrypted files.

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TechNewsWorld

Fighting Fake News and Forging Real Diplomacy

What we do about fake news today could have a major impact on our future. Two new initiatives -- a concerted effort by Apple and a massive educational effort called the "Pro-Truth Pledge" -- could help eliminate much of the fake news BS that is really messing up the United States at the moment. On another front, President Donald Trump's plan to meet with Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, reminds me a bit too much of a pivotal meeting between Carly Fiorina, who was CEO of HP at the time, and Steve Jobs, who was then CEO of Apple.

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South Korea turns off loudspeaker broadcasts into North

BBC News - Technology

South Korea turns off loudspeaker broadcasts into North

South Korea says silencing the propaganda broadcasts will help set the mood for the inter-Korean summit.

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Man fined for hate crime after filming pug's 'Nazi salutes'

Mark Meechan put footage on YouTube of the dog reacting to statements such as "Sieg Heil" by raising its paw.

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'TSB gave me access to someone's £35,000'

Computer chaos for customers continues as one man gets access to someone else's accounts.

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Jeremy Hunt threatens social media with new child-protection laws

BBC News - Technology

Jeremy Hunt threatens social media with new child-protection laws

The health secretary wants action from the sites on underage use, bullying, and screen-time limits.

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How to Build Custom Alexa Skills for the Amazon Echo

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How to Build Custom Alexa Skills for the Amazon Echo

The new Blueprints tool makes it easy for anyone to build custom skills for Alexa.

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Gadget Lab Podcast: The Tech We Can't Live Without

This week, we discuss our personal relationships with our most beloved gadgets.

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TechNewsWorld

With Custom Skills, Alexa Inches Closer to Being One of the Family

Amazon has introduced Alexa Skill Blueprints, adding personalization capabilities to its smart speaker devices. The new tool provides pre-crafted templates for users to create customized experiences. Among the possibilities are answers to specific questions, or skills for particular users. With Alexa Skill Blueprints, users can build into their devices experiences that are personalized for themselves, their friends and their families. The experiences they create will appear only on the devices registered to their Amazon account.

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BBC News - Technology

HQ Trivia: The free app giving away thousands of pounds

How does a free app with no adverts go about becoming a success with Hollywood actors whilst giving away thousands in cash?

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Facebook removes 'gay sex for rent' posts

BBC News - Technology

Facebook removes 'gay sex for rent' posts

An investigation found groups offering free accommodation for young men in exchange for sex.

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TechNewsWorld

Facebook Rolls Out European-Style Privacy Protections

Facebook has unveiled a comprehensive series of privacy enhancements designed to extend protections required by Europe's GDPR to all of the social media company's users around the world. The updates, which include major changes to the company's terms and data policies, fulfill promises CEO Mark Zuckerberg made to House and Senate members in Washington D.C., Facebook officials said. The congressional grilling followed disclosures that Facebook had allowed political data firm Cambridge Analytica to gain unauthorized access to user data.

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Gear Latest

Motorola Moto G6 and Moto E5: Price, Specs, Release Date

With the Moto G6 and E5, the king of budget phones has no plans to abdicate its throne in 2018.

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How to Set Up and Use a YubiKey for Online Security

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How to Set Up and Use a YubiKey for Online Security

These simple, battery-free devices provide an easy way to securely verify that it's really you who's trying to access your online accounts.

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Tax Refund Tech Deals: Roomba, Essential Phone, Dell, Sony

These are the best deals we found this week.

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TechNewsWorld

Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle Among 34 Firms to Join Cybersecurity Tech Accord

Microsoft, Oracle and Facebook, along with 31 other companies, have signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, an agreement aimed at defending against cyberattacks, whether coming from rogue hackers or nation-states. The 34 tech firms committed to stronger defenses, no offensive attacks, capacity building and collective action. The accord is designed to protect the integrity of the 1 trillion connected devices that could be in use around the world within the next 20 years. Security remains a major issue in the tech world.

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Bluestar Gives Arch Linux a Celestial Glow

Using most any Arch Linux distro usually involves balancing the desire for hands-on control of the operating system from scratch against the attraction of convenient installation and maintenance processes. Bluestar Linux is one of the few Arch distros that gets the balancing act right. Bluestar Linux is a GNU/Linux distribution that features up-to-date packages, an impressive range of desktop and multimedia software in the default installation, and a live desktop DVD. The live session capability is one of Bluestar's more enticing qualities.

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BBC News - Technology

Ikea's TaskRabbit app back online after data breach

The odd jobs marketplace has been investigating a "cyber-security incident".

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Chef Erling Wu-Bower Pursues Wood-Fired Perfection, From Roast Fish to Pizza

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Chef Erling Wu-Bower Pursues Wood-Fired Perfection, From Roast Fish to Pizza

The young chef explains his wood-fire cooking technique ahead of the opening of his new Chicago restaurant, Pacific Standard Time.

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T-Mobile fined over false ringtones

BBC News - Technology

T-Mobile fined over false ringtones

The firm paid $40m (£27m) over claims it employed false ringtones rather than fixing call problems.

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Ikea app TaskRabbit reveals security breach

TaskRabbit says it is working with law enforcement, and its website is offline.

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TechNewsWorld

Facebook and Google Could Be Nationalized in 5-10 Years

After I considered Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Senate and House committee hearings last week, it became very clear to me -- and I expect many in Congress -- that social media companies need to be regulated. However, I think this is only a step in the path that governments -- and I do mean more than the U.S. -- will take to ensure their effectiveness and protect their people. I'm not suggesting the U.S. Congress, whose members currently appear to be woefully out of step, could run these companies better.

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Mozilla Trumpets Altered Reality Browser

The Mozilla Foundation has unveiled its plans for Firefox Reality, a browser designed specifically for mixed reality headsets. The browser combines the beneftis of Mozilla's existing Firefox browser with its experimental Web engine. Using Servo, Mozilla plans to experiment with entirely new designs and technologies for seeing and interacting with the immersive Web. "We believe that the future of the Web will be heavily intertwined with virtual and augmented reality, and that future will live through browsers," wrote Mozilla's Sean White.

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