Steven Musil

Backpage.com, CEO plead guilty to human trafficking, money laundering

The CEO of Backpage.com, a classifieds site likened to an online brothel, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in California on Thursday, while the company itself pleaded guilty to human trafficking in Texas. Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of money laundering in California, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra …

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Worldwide PC shipments flat in 2018’s first quarter

HP and Dell still managed to grow their PC businesses amid a first quarter that was stagnant for worldwide shipments, according to reports Wednesday by market researchers IDC and Gartner. PC makers shipped 60.4 million units in the first three months of 2018, effectively flat from a year ago, according to IDC, which found that HP again claimed the top …

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InRange TV YouTube channel moves to Pornhub after gun video ban

A channel devoted to firearms is moving its videos to adult content site Pornhub. InRange TV announced its move to the popular porn-streaming site after YouTube said Monday it would begin cracking down on gun videos posted to its site. The new policy means people will no longer be able to watch or post videos that demonstrate how to assemble …

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iHeartMedia files for bankruptcy protection

iHeartMedia, the largest internet radio broadcasting company in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday. Operator of the iHeartRadio music streaming service, iHeartMedia has been saddled by massive debt since its leveraged buyout of billboard company Clear Channel Outdoor in 2008. The company said it had reached an agreement with debt holders to restructure more than $10 …

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Spotify plans to go public in April

Will Spotify’s IPO be a hit? We should find out in just a few weeks. The music streaming service plans to launch its initial public offering on April 3, Daniel Ek, the music streaming service’s CEO, said Thursday during the company’s inaugural “Investor Day.” The company plans to release additional investor guidance on March 26, according to Variety, which attended …

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LG may make iPhone X

If you’ve got your eye on LG’s new phone but aren’t a fan of its much-rumored iPhone X-like notch, this might please you: It appears to be optional. Ever since Apple released its iPhone X in November with a black notch above the screen that houses the phone’s front-facing camera and other sensors, a gaggle of Android phone makers has been rumored …

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Google may prioritize stories for paying news subscribers

Google plans to prioritize news articles in search results for users who already subscribe to those news outlets, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The Alphabet unit will also begin sharing data with media companies on who’s most likely to buy a subscription, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. The initiative, expected to be unveiled at an event March 20 in New York, aims …

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Trump order blocks Broadcom

Now playing: Watch this: Trump blocks Broadcom-Qualcomm merger 1:24 President Donald Trump on Monday blocked Broadcom’s proposed $117 billion acquisition of rival chipmaker Qualcomm, saying the deal threatened to “impair the national security” of the US. “The proposed takeover of Qualcomm by the Purchaser is prohibited, and any substantially equivalent merger, acquisition, or takeover, whether effected directly or indirectly, is …

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3 things we learned from the Samsung Galaxy S9 teardown

The Galaxy S9 is finally here, and it’s time to take a look at what makes Samsung’s new flagship handset tick. The phone features a sexy dual-curved design and a terrific camera for well-lit shots. But low-light images often look blurry and lack the fine texture and contrast of competing phone cameras. So what gives? Thankfully, our friend tech repair …

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FCC Chair Ajit Pai tweets praise for House passing 5G support bill

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai took to Twitter on Tuesday to praise the House of Representatives for passing the Ray Baum Act, a bill that supports development of next-generation wireless services in the US. The bill, named in honor of the late Energy & Commerce staff director who died last month, is a bipartisan agreement to reauthorize the FCC …

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