The head of the FBI believes that a spike in violent crime in many cities may be due to officers’ fears of showing up on Internet videos confronting suspects. FBI Director James Comey told reporters Wednesday that a “viral video effect” is leading to less aggressive policing that “could well be at the heart” of …

Using the Snapchat handle EverestNoFilter, a pair of veteran adventurers are documenting their climb up Mount Everest in real time. Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards are posting dozens of still images and short videos to the service daily from Nepal. In one of the team’s recent snaps, Richards addresses the camera and answers a question about fear on such a …

Instagram, the popular social-media photography app owned by Facebook, is getting a new look. The app’s longtime icon, a retro-looking camera, has been replaced by a new minimalist version, with a white line drawing of a camera shape against a gradient colored background. The change seems to reflect a shift away from the vintage-style filters the app is known for …

Your days are too short as it is. You try to fit in work, chores and binge-watching all 144 episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” You’ll save quite a bit of time by watching all your shows on Netflix rather than cable TV, according to a numbers-crunching study from Cordcutting.com. It concludes that commercial-free streaming services can spare you from …

Shanghai Disneyland doesn’t officially open until June 16, but you can still see what it’s like to hop on its new Tron Lightcycle ride and see if it’s worth the wait. The Inside the Magic blog posted a video Sunday from the point of view of someone riding the Tron Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster ride, which opened to select …

Gadget designers must be tickled pink these days. In a world that’s long been largely black and white, a blushing hue known as rose gold has become the hot color. It’s an option for Apple gadgets from iPhones to MacBooks to Beats headphones, as well as phones from a number of Android device makers. Rose gold got off to a …

In the next few weeks, you’ll be able to take a panorama photo on your phone and upload it to Facebook the usual way. Only it might not look like a short, stretched-out panorama shot the way it usually would. Instead, your friends will be able to see your surroundings in a sphere, using their finger to pan around, or …

Wireless customers looking to save a buck with a mobile service based on Wi-Fi won’t be restricted to one or two budget phones any longer. Enlarge Image Republic Wireless will soon add seven new Android devices to its lineup for inexpensive mobile service that relies on Wi-Fi. Republic Wireless Republic Wireless said Wednesday it will dramatically expand its handset options …

We’ve seen drones snatched out of the sky by everything from a flying pumpkin to an F-16 fighter jet. We now have an example of sheer human strength and determination, with video footage of a drone getting knocked out by a history reenactor with a spear. The drone filmed its own demise. You can see the warrior heft his weapon, …

One of the big issues with owning a 4K Ultra HD TV has been the lack of 4K content to go with it. Unless you were living in an area with high-speed internet, you probably couldn’t even get Netflix in 4K consistently. After being touted for ages, 4K Blu-ray discs, physical media capable of storing an Ultra HD movie, have …

Nintendo is aiming to lure more users to its next mobile games by making the titles free to play. Following on the March release of its first mobile app, Miitomo, the company is set to launch its popular Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem for smartphones this fall. The two new games will be free to download, according to Tokyo-based DeNA, …

Above you’ll find the first trailer to “Assassin’s Creed”, an upcoming film based on the popular action game franchise. The movie, slated for a December 21 release, stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. But, strangely, the spotlight is stolen by rapper Kanye West, whose “I Am a God” blares in the background throughout the clip. 20th Century Fox, its distributor, …

The HTC 10 is here. Next week it will be at T-Mobile. The wireless carrier said Wednesday it would launch the HTC 10 on May 18. T-Mobile is charging nothing down and a little more than $28 a month over two years for the phone. To make the offer more enticing, T-Mobile is also providing a rapid charger and a …

We are consuming news on mobile devices more than ever before, but our avenues to that news appear to be shifting to social media and news apps, according to a report released Wednesday by the Knight Foundation. The study, commissioned by Nielsen, found that 89 percent of mobile device owners use their handset to access news. More than half of …

Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade offer is ending soon — July 29, to be exact. If you’re currently running Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, you might be feeling the pressure to upgrade for free (while you still can). Not so fast! While a free upgrade is always tempting, Windows 10 might not be the operating system for you. Here are …