The House on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill designed to stop robocalls. The measure, called the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, passed by a vote of 429 to 3. “This comprehensive bill requires every call to be verified, allows the blocking of spam calls, and empowers @FCC to protect Americans from scammers,” tweeted Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat …

Edan Alva started driving for Lyft more than four years ago as your typical side hustle. Then he lost his job and began relying on his Lyft wages to pay the bills. It didn’t take take long for Alva to realize he couldn’t make enough to pay for rent or his son’s health insurance.  “[Lyft] seemed like a promising solution, …

Apple quietly rolled out a Mac security update to remove flawed software from Zoom partner apps RingCentral and Zhumu, according to a BuzzFeed News report. The update will reportedly roll out automatically but could take some time to reach all affected computers.  RingCentral and Zhumu are videoconferencing apps that use technology from Zoom. Last week, security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh flagged …

If you’ve ever wished for a sloth, waffle or falafel emoji, the wait is almost over. Apple and Google both unveiled dozens of new emoji ahead of World Emoji Day on Wednesday. They include animals like a flamingo, orangutan and sloth, as well as foods such as waffles, falafel and garlic.  The companies will also roll out new emoji depicting …

AirTV, a subsidiary of satellite broadcaster Dish Network, on Monday introduced AirTV Mini, a 4K streaming stick that lets users access Sling TV, Netflix and over-the-air channels in one place. AirTV Mini is powered by Android TV and costs $79.99. Users can plug the device into their television’s HDMI port to access the Sling TV app, with which Netflix is integrated. They …

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday said it authorized more than $524 million to expand broadband in 23 states. The funding will add internet service to 205,000 rural homes and businesses over the next 10 years, the FCC said. Providers will start to get funding this month. This is the FCC’s third wave of funding for rural broadband as part of …

Hulu has brought back 4K streaming after nixing the feature last year. The company on Monday tweeted that it reintroduced 4K streaming of its originals on select devices. A Hulu support page says 4K Ultra HD content is currently only available on Apple TV (5th generation and up) and Chromecast Ultra.  We have good news! 4K streaming was just re-released …

Worldwide shipments of PCs grew 1.5% in the second quarter of 2019 after two quarters of decline, according to a preliminary Thursday report from Gartner. Sixty-three million units shipped in Q2 2019, compared with 62 million units the same time last year, the report says. That growth was “driven by demand from the Windows 10 refresh in the business market” …

Adults aren’t the only ones benefiting from the evolution of smartwatch tech. Doki Technologies on Wednesday rolled out DokiPal, a 4G LTE enabled smartwatch for kids, with features like an AI voice assistant, video calling and location tracking.  The $179 watch is water resistant and also includes a fitness tracking leaderboard. Parents can use the Doki App on iOS and …

Twitter on Tuesday said it’s updated its rules against hateful conduct to ban language that “dehumanizes” people because of their religion. Tweets that go against the new policy will be taken down, the company said. Tweets posted before the new rule will have to be deleted if reported, Twitter said, but the account won’t be suspended because they were sent before …