Find the dead spots in your Wi

I invested in two power line adapters earlier this year to extend the range of my Wi-Fi network at home. I put one in the kitchen and the other upstairs to increase the signal strength at the kitchen table and in the upstairs bedrooms. The adapters seem to be working, but with free Mac app …

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Apple cuts prices on iPhone 6S in India to revive sales

Apple has trimmed the prices of its newest iPhones in a country where their cost is beyond the reach of most consumers, according to a news report. The company has lowered prices on its iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus by up to 16 percent in India as demand for the devices fell following their launch in October, the India-based …

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Here’s what you need to know to register your drone

Call them drones or multirotors or quadcopters or flying cameras, it doesn’t matter: As of December 21, 2015, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requesting anyone who wants to fly an unmanned aerial system (UAS) more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approximately 25 kilograms) for recreation or hobby to register with the agency. The …

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Australian catch

It’s been seven years since ABC brought its iView catch-up TV service to Australia and since then the field has expanded. Now all the free-to-air networks have a catch-up TV service, each with a pretty wide range of content on offer. But not all catch-up TV is created equal, so let’s have a look at how you can get your …

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Why I think Amazon’s Echo is the breakthrough product of 2015

We all just want to be listened to. Listened to, and understood. That’s why various attempts over the years to create technology that listens, understands and responds to your voice has always felt like it was overpromising and under delivering. That’s also why I now gladly start each morning in casual conversation with Alexa: Alexa, what’s the weather today? Alexa, …

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Why ‘the year of the smartwatch’ finished with a whimper

A whole year has gone by, filled with smartwatches. Apple makes them. Google’s software powers them. Sony, Samsung, Asus, Motorola, Pebble. Fossil. Tag-Heuer. It’s starting to come from everywhere: Everyone wants to put a high-tech thing on your wrist. There’s a problem, though: none of them feel necessary, or even necessarily desirable. In fact, most of them don’t even make …

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Sounding good: Emotiva Big Ego USB desktop digital converter

Do you have a big ego? Sorry, I couldn’t resist, but I’m talking about Emotiva’s terrific new desktop digital converter, the Big Ego. One thing was clear from the get-go, Big Ego is a wee bit bigger than thumbdrive-sized USB digital converters like the AudioQuest DragonFly, Audioengine D3 or the Meridian Explorer 2, the Big Ego’s all-metal chassis measures 5.3 …

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Decode those weird symbols on the back of your phone

A tiny trash can with an X through it, an exclamation point and a bunch of acronyms. You’ve probably noticed these little marks lurking on the back of your phone, laptop or charger and maybe you’ve even wondered why they’re there. These tiny emblems are certification marks, used by government agencies and regulatory organizations to show that the product meets …

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How to watch the ABC News Democratic debate online

The three Democratic presidential candidates will be duking it out Saturday, December 19 at 5 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. ET in New Hampshire, during a debate to be broadcast by ABC News. For those without a cable subscription, the event will be slightly easier to watch than previous debates, since it will be streaming free over the Internet, as well …

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Traveling abroad with your smartphone: You can take it with you

For some of us, going anywhere without our smartphone is like walking out of the house without clothes. We feel naked. So it makes perfect sense that people traveling abroad expect to be able to take their smartphones with them and get all the same services. Do we still need to worry about which devices are compatible where? Will you …

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Do you enjoy your speakers, if not, why not?

This isn’t so much a question of “Do you have the best speakers,” it’s more do you have the right speakers? Do they make you happy, or are they just getting by? If your Sonos Play:1 speaker rocks your world with Adele, Beethoven or Sufjan Stevens, that’s great, but if music isn’t making you happy, you might need something better. …

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How to set up iCloud Drive

Apple iCloud Drive has arrived. It now operates as a standalone service on both OS X and iOS, catching it up to Dropbox and other cloud services that allow for quick and convenient uploads so you can access your files across your Apple devices while freeing up some local storage on your devices in the process. Let’s have a look …

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How to name a group conversation in Messages for iOS

Apple’s iOS 9 is chock-full of useful features, some of which you might easily overlook. A great example: conversation naming. OK, maybe “great” is overstating it, but it sure is handy. When you start a group chat in the Messages app, it’s not always easy to know at-a-glance just who’s in that group. And if you have a lot of …

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BlackBerry’s Android bet is still looking for its big payoff

A lot hinges upon the success of BlackBerry’s newest smartphone, the awkwardly named Priv. The company’s first phone to run Google’s Android mobile software, and not its own BlackBerry 10 operating system, represents a make-or-break moment. If the Priv fails to turn enough heads, that could spell the end of BlackBerry as a smartphone maker. It’s a grim thought for …

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Get a Microsoft Surface 3 tablet for $399

CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. As my holiday gift to you, I’m going to skip my usual rant about Microsoft’s Surface tablets being kind of pointless without a …

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