Stephen Shankland

Honeywell says it’s got the fastest quantum computer on the planet

Honeywell is the quantum computing champ. On Thursday, Honeywell said it boosted the performance of its quantum computer enough to best that of IBM’s by one closely watched measure. The achievement gives Honeywell’s machine the title of world’s fastest quantum computer, at least for the time being.  The feat fulfills a promise Honeywell made in …

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Brave builds privacy

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Brave, a privacy-focused browser, is adding a videoconferencing feature called Brave Together to compete with services like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Testing of the new feature has begun during a hot time for video chat as the coronavirus pandemic pushes work …

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Android flagship phones getting two speed boosts in 2021 with new Arm chips

For years, Android phone chips have trailed Apple iPhone processors in speed tests. But Arm, a chip company whose technology is used by both mobile camps, has a chip design project called X1 that should give Android a significant speed boost beyond its usual annual upgrade. One boost will come with the new Cortex-A78 processor design that Arm unveiled in May. …

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Trump considers panel to check social media for anticonservative bias, WSJ reports

US President Donald Trump is considering a commission to investigate social media for supposed bias against conservative views, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Trump has long railed against the alleged bias, but a commission could give the view some government clout. Trump frequently promotes his views on Twitter but also has long complained of what he sees as an …

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Chrome now can stop an important type of network snooping

Google Chrome has begun locking down an important type of communication that can leak private information to internet service providers or others who can snoop your web browser’s network activity. Chrome 83, released Tuesday, incorporates a new technology called DNS over HTTPS. Google, Mozilla and other allies have been trying to secure your connections to websites with the HTTPS technology, …

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Microsoft, no longer fearing the web, gives it a new boost on Windows

Web apps, websites that can be converted into standalone apps, are moving closer toward becoming first-class software citizens on Windows 10. Google coined the term progressive web app, or PWA, to describe websites that can assume the power and prominence of conventional native apps you’d download from an app store. For a taste of PWAs, visit coronavirus.app, which with most …

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Microsoft builds massive supercomputer for smarter AI

Microsoft has built an enormous supercomputer for artificial intelligence work, a new direction for its Azure cloud computing service. The machine has 285,000 processor cores boosted by 10,000 graphics chips for OpenAI, a company that wants to ensure AI technology helps humans. Microsoft announced the machine at its Build conference for developers on Tuesday. (For more details on the event, …

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Google Chrome to block ads that drain your battery and gobble network data

To improve battery life, network usage and website speed, Chrome will delete ads that consume too many computing resources, Google said Thursday. Google will begin experimenting with the technology in coming months and plans to build it into Chrome in August, Google said in a blog post. The move will excise only the worst ad offenders, including those that consume …

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Two

Editor’s note: In recognition of World Password Day, CNET is republishing a selection of our stories on improving and replacing passwords. You’ve probably heard this security advice: protect your accounts by using two-factor authentication. You’ll make life hard for hackers, so the reasoning goes, if you pair a password with a code sent by text message or generated by an …

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Dumping passwords can improve your security

Editor’s note: In recognition of World Password Day, CNET is republishing a selection of our stories on improving and replacing passwords. Passwords suck. They’re hard to remember, hackers exploit their weaknesses and fixes often bring their own problems. Dashlane, LastPass, 1Password and other password managers generate strong and unique passwords for every account you have, but the software is complex. …

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