Sinclair’s merger with Tribune is officially dead

Sinclair Broadcast Group’s controversial $3.9 billion takeover of Tribune Media won’t be happening, despite the media giant’s vows to continue its fight to preserve the deal. Tribune on Thursday called off the sale of 42 TV stations to Sinclair, saying in a statement that the broadcaster hurt the deal by trying to “maintain control over …

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Is the Samsung Galaxy Note 9’s $1,000 price tag a mistake?

Looks like Samsung’s idea of “reasonable” Galaxy Note 9 pricing actually means higher pricing. The company’s new phablet — unveiled Thursday during an Unpacked event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York — sports various tweaks from last year’s Note 8, like a bigger battery, more internal storage and expanded S Pen stylus capabilities. But one of the most …

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Samsung makes Spotify its ‘go

Samsung said Thursday that it’s making Spotify its new “go-to” music service partner. That means Spotify’s app will integrate more tightly into Samsung’s phones and smart TVs, as well as its Bixby voice assistant. Spotify will also be the only music service to be fully integrated into Samsung Music, the consumer electronics maker’s music player. At first blush, the partnership …

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Here’s every Android device compatible with Fortnite

Fortnite is finally here for Android users. The announcement came alongside Samsung’s unveiling of the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Home.  The release of Fortnite is currently in beta, and available only for Galaxy users for a short time. How long exactly? That hasn’t been announced. You can sign up for a beta invite to Fortnite on …

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Samsung beefs up Bixby with more conversational capabilities

Samsung is making its digital helper more helpful. The tech giant’s Bixby voice assistant is becoming more conversational and personal, part of an effort to make the service more useful, the company said at its Unpacked press event in New York on Thursday. Samsung used the event to introduce its latest phone, the Galaxy Note 9. For example, if you ask …

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Google Doodle marks 110th birthday of Native American engineer Mary G. Ross

Google Doodle on Thursday celebrated what would’ve been the 110th birthday of Mary G. Ross, the first female Native American engineer. Ross — the great-granddaughter of the Cherokee Chief John Ross — was born in Oklahoma on Aug. 9, 1908, and quickly showed talent in math, and a passion for aviation and science. After Ross earned her master’s degree from …

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Fortnite for Android is temporarily a Samsung exclusive

Fortnite for Android has finally arrived, Epic Games announced at the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launch on Thursday. But most of the Android community won’t be able to access it until Sunday, Aug. 12. For anyone who simply can’t wait to download it, here’s how. Gamers have been waiting for months for word of when Epic Games’ Fortnite would finally …

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Apple’s Siri team looks to boost recognition of local destinations

Siri may soon get better at recognizing the name of your favorite local watering hole or burger joint. Apple’s Siri Speech Recognition Team said Thursday that it’s improved the voice assistant’s ability to identify names of local destinations and points of interest. Virtual assistants have been great with big brand names like Starbucks, but they’ve had a harder time recognizing …

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Facebook bans sites that host blueprints of 3D

Facebook, the world’s largest social network, said Thursday it’s banning websites that host and share blueprints of 3D-printed guns. “Sharing instructions on how to print firearms using 3D printers is not allowed under our Community Standards,” said a company spokesperson in an email statement. “In line with our policies, we are removing this content from Facebook.” BuzzFeed News reported the …

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Charge a Note 9 and Galaxy Watch at the same time with the Samsung Wireless Charger Duo

With wireless charging becoming the new norm, having a handy spot to juice up your phone and other wireless-charging-compatible devices is important. So far, iPhone owners have been waiting (and waiting) for Apple’s AirPower multidevice charging pad, and Logitech just announced a new iPhone-specific charging dock.  Now Samsung is pairing its just-announced Galaxy Note 9 phone and Galaxy Watch smartwatch …

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Fortnite on Android plays just as well as you’d hope

Fortnite for Android was released Thursday during Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 reveal. And at least until Monday, it’ll be available exclusively on Samsung phones. Installing the game will take a few unexpected steps, since Epic Games is skirting the Google Play store in favor of the Samsung Games Center, but once you boot things up, rest assured that your favorite …

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