Thursday, November 26, 2020

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Phone addiction not driven by notifications, study finds

Users check their phones automatically, like a smoker would light a cigarette, research suggests.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Snap's Spotlight Ups Ante on TikTok With $1M Daily Fund for Top Videos

Spotlight, a new short video service launched by Snap on Monday, is set to take on the leaders in the space. Moreover, it has pledged to prime the creative engines of Snapchatters making videos by divvying up a daily pool of US$1 million for the day's best content. Many Snapchatters will earn each day, and those who create the top Snaps will earn the most for their creativity.

Monday, November 23, 2020

The Best Hybrid Mid-Range SUV Might Surprise You

When we decided on a plug-in hybrid, after a lot of research it narrowed down to three with the right balance of performance and efficiency. Those were the Audi Q5 e, the BMW X3 Plug-in Hybrid, and the Volvo XC60 Recharge. Let's walk through what we ended up with, and why, because it wasn't at all what we expected.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

iPhone 12, Pixel 5 and Mate 40 Pro cameras put to the test

BBC Click puts four of the latest phones - including the iPhone 12 and Pixel 5 - to the test.

Friday, November 20, 2020

Trump Twitter ‘hack’: Dutch police question researcher

A security researcher claims he accessed Donald Trump's Twitter account by guessing his password.

Student Inventor Wins Prize for Breast Cancer Screening Device

A 23-year-old biomedical engineering student is one of two first-place winners in the 2020 James Dyson Award. Her invention aims to help women around the world afford the cost of early testing for breast cancer. Judit GirĂ³ Benet captured the $35,000 cash prize for developing The Blue Box, an at-home reusable breast cancer screening device. Her mother's diagnosis of breast cancer inspired Benet to find an affordable and effective screening mechanism.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

ComparetheMarket fined £17.9m over competition law breach

Contracts meant getting the best home insurance deals was not as "simples" as its adverts suggest.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

New Internet Protocol Aims to Give Users Control of Their Digital Identities

The @ Company wants to give you a more secure and human-centric Internet built on providing you with true ownership and control of your personal data. To that end, the company has launched an app built on its new privacy protocol. This new standard will attempt to change how online vendors and companies wheel and deal with the personal information of billions of Internet users.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Apple's New MacBook Air With M1 Is a Huge Leap Forward

Ditching Intel has removed the shackles from the $999 laptop, unleashing a force to be reckoned with.

Monday, November 16, 2020

Apple's M1 ARM Pivot: A Step Into the Reality Distortion Field

Last week Apple announced a partial pivot away from x86 to ARM with one of those claims so outrageous it could have only come from Apple. The company claimed its new ARM-based PCs would outperform 98 percent of those already in the market. No proof points, no material examples, no listed benchmarks. Just "trust us," this processor optimized for smartphones is magically better than processors designed to run PCs.

Sunday, November 15, 2020

I Bricked My Computer With a BIOS Update. But There's Hope!

My slip-up could have meant the end of my PC. I managed to squirrel my way out of trouble, but the real lesson here is: Don't be me.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Desperate Gamers Camp Out in the Pandemic for $700 GPUs

Months after the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080's launch, the lines at brick-and-mortar stores across the country can still wrap around the block.

Robot mimics human eye contact and other tech news

BBC Click’s Omar Mehtab looks at some of the best technology news stories.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Apple Takes Chipset Matters Into Its Own Hands

Apple pulled the wraps off its first computer models based on its new Apple Silicon chip at an online event aired Tuesday. The Mac Air, Mac Mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro are all being refreshed with the company's new ARM-based M1 chip. The move is the beginning of a transition, expected to take two years, away from Intel chips and to Apple Silicon. ARM processors, which are primarily used in mobile devices, are known for prolonging battery life.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Social Media Upstart Parler Tops App Store Charts

A social media platform that bills itself as a "non-biased, free speech" alternative to outfits like Twitter and Facebook has seen a surge in interest in its mobile app over the last week that culminated Sunday in it becoming the top free app at the Apple App Store. According to Fox Business, the Parler app has been downloaded 310,000 times in the last week alone.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

China's Singles Day: 3m people, 4,000 planes and cargo ships

The world's biggest 24-hour online shopping event requires a monumental effort to deliver all the goods.

Monday, November 9, 2020

Apple puts iPhone supplier on probation for labour violations

Students on a work-study programme at Pegatron were made to work overtime and night shifts, Apple says.

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Thursday, November 5, 2020

The Pros and Cons of Dedicated Internet Access

Although DIA can have a steep price tag and some installation complexity, most companies will opt for a dedicated connection at offices or data centers with mission-critical operations. Let's explore the benefits of a DIA circuit, as well as some potential considerations and drawbacks, to help determine if dedicated Internet is something your business should consider.

WhatsApp lets messages vanish after seven days

The disappearing messages option will erase chats from phone of both sender and recipient.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Jack Ma's Ant Group: World's biggest market debut suspended

The mega listing of China's Ant Group suspended in Shanghai and Hong Kong at eleventh hour.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Twitter hides Trump mail voting tweet ahead of polling day

Hours before polls open, Twitter hides president's tweet on mail-in voting and Supreme Court.

Monday, November 2, 2020

6 Great Couches You Can Buy Online—and 1 to Avoid (2020)

These are the best sofa's we've tested at WIRED (so far). If being cooped up has made you rethink your furniture, these might help refresh your space.

Sunday, November 1, 2020

How I talk to the victims of conspiracy theories

The BBC's specialist disinformation reporter explains how to help people who've fallen down the rabbit hole.

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Getting too many texts? Blame the election

Every election campaign uses more sophisticated tech, but the text message still cuts through.

Zoom Beefs Up User Security With End-To-End Encryption

Zoom gave its users a big security upgrade Monday when it rolled out end-to-end encryption for its online meetings network. E2EE puts control of the keys for scrambling data in the hands of meeting organizers. Before the E2EE rollout, encryption was done on Zoom's servers, where someone with access to those servers could intercept the data. When used correctly, E2EE can make it difficult for even the best-resourced intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on communication.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

The Backbone One Takes iPhone Gaming to New Levels

This iPhone controller and its app are so immersive and well designed, I forgot I was playing on my phone.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

The Chromecast With Google TV Is a Welcome Streaming Upgrade

The newest Chromecast comes with a remote and has Google TV built in—which makes it way easier to navigate a sea of streaming apps.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

The 15 Best Wireless Headphones for Everyone

These cans and earbuds sound like a million bucks, even if you're on a budget.

The iPhone 12 Finally Gets Magnets Right

Motorola’s Moto Mods failed to pull off a long-lasting smartphone trend. But Apple’s MagSafe series looks like it might actually stick.

Friday, October 23, 2020

How the Google Antitrust Case Trickles Down Onto Your Phone

This week, we examine the possible implications of the US government’s complaint against Google, and how it could impact consumer technology.

Fabric responds to temperature changes and other news

BBC Click’s Jen Copestake looks at some of the best technology news stories of the week.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive to revamp Airbnb

The British designer, who led the team behind the iPhone, will help give the brand a makeover.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Snapchat hits nearly 250m daily users

The 'forgotten social network' sees shares surge after its latest user numbers.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

3 Great Gaming Chairs for Any Budget (2020)

With high backrests and generous adjustability, these thrones ease the physical strain of epic Doom Eternal sessions while also improving your WFH setup.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

12 Best Wireless Earbuds WIRED Has Tried (2020)

Wirefree earbuds, true wireless earbuds, fully wireless earbuds, completely wireless earbuds—no matter what you call them, if you’re ready to cut the cord between your ears, these are the best buds we've tested.

How smart devices are exploited for domestic abuse

Two women explain how their partners turned internet-connected gadgets into a means of control.

Friday, October 16, 2020

Twitter changes policy after Biden article block

Twitter said links to content containing hacked material would now be labelled, rather than removed.

Next-Gen Gaming Is an Environmental Nightmare

Console waste plus energy-hungry cloud gaming equals the worst of both worlds for sustainability.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

The Big Tech Regulation Rigamarole

The Big Tech companies have arguably done what they want over the years, arousing consumer anger and distrust, and numerous complaints by privacy and consumer rights groups. That includes cocking a snook at governments. While all of the Big Tech firms have been hit with multimillion-dollar fines at one time or another, many argue that's a drop in the bucket for companies that rake in billions of dollars annually.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Do Everything Faster With These Keyboard Tricks

Wanna see me cut and paste a large block of text without formatting? Wanna see me do it again?

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Microsoft Squelches Trickbot Ransomware Network

An outlaw online network that's been used to infect millions of computers with ransomware has been disrupted by Microsoft. The company announced Monday that, together with telecommunications providers around the world, it was able to cut off the infrastructure used by the Trickbot botnet so it could no longer be used to initiate new infections or activate ransomware already planted on computer systems.

Monday, October 12, 2020

The 7 Best Turntables for Your Vinyl Collection (2020)

Looking for fresh indoor hobbies? Why not start a record collection? Here are our favorite entry-level turntables to help you enjoy analog audio at home.

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Virtual puppets promise glitch-free video calls

Nvidia says its AI-powered method can facilitate video calls on very slow internet connections.

Robots Are Stringing Together These Adidas Running Shoes

The brand’s new Strung technology uses a robot to place thousands of individual threads across a sneaker’s upper.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

US Army trials augmented reality goggles for dogs

The goggles could let handlers direct their dogs from a safe distance, the army says.

Drones for Hire Take to the Sky

Drones are now commonly used for aerial photography and videography, to cover live events, deliver small items, and to survey dangerous places and situations. While some companies maintain their own drone force, others prefer to outsource their use of drones to service providers that deal with the regulatory and legal issues that crop up with the commercial use of UAVs.