iiNet could soon be in the hands of TPG. Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET Australia’s competition regulator has warned that TPG’s acquisition of rival internet service provider iiNet could lead to higher prices for consumers, a reduction in customer service and a “substantial lessening of competition.” The comments come as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission …
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Steve Guttenberg/CNET The Cypher Labs AlgoRhythm Trio headphone amplifier delivers more fully developed tone, body, soul or whatever you want to call it to the sound of your headphones than what you’ve heard from your smartphone. The chassis, machined from a single block of aluminum, is impeccably finished in high gloss black — the Trio is a handsome, understated beauty. …
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Keep your fiver when you book your first gig on Fiverr. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET We live in a crowd-sourced ” sharing” economy. Once upon a time, if you needed a new logo or press release for your business, original music or sound effects for your movie, help with Web analytics or SEO, or any such service, you could expect …
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This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. Apple Watch takes a big step with native apps at Apple’s developer conference on Monday. James Martin/CNET Apple is hoping time repeats itself with the Watch. While the original iPhone turned heads when it first debuted in 2007, it didn’t become a world-beating …
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Look familiar? Clay With its Messenger app for mobile and Messenger.com for desktops, Facebook has been trying hard to separate its instant messaging service from its social network app and website, competing with free messaging services such as WhatsApp. Now the divide has separated even further, with a new game exclusively available to play within the app on iOS and …
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A publicity picture from Helpling showing happy cleaners. Helpling Apps are changing the way Singapore’s student population thinks about work, with online services matching them with people who need their homes cleaned. Better paid and more flexible than working in a bar or restaurant, it’s the latest example of an advanced economy becoming Uber-ised. Helpling, one such startup that provides …
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Porn stars Eva Lovia and Johnny Sins want you to give them $3.4 million so they can have sex in space, presumably because that’s how much it will cost to disinfect an entire spaceship. PornHub, via Indiegogo Due to the rise of private space travel, it won’t just be elite pilots able to ride in a centrifuge at high g-force …
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Reddit has shut down five community forums, aka subreddits, it says went too far. Screenshot by CNET There will be no more fat-shaming on Reddit. The popular social-networking and news site announced Wednesday that it’s shutting down five community forums, known as subreddits, as part of an antiharassment policy adopted in May. The largest of those forums, dubbed “FATPEOPLEHATE,” had …
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People are spending more time on their smartphones, and they’re probably spending it waging an epic battle of one sort or another. Supercell You’re devoting a whole lot of time to smartphone apps, and it’s likely more for play than work. At least that’s what recent statistics suggest. The amount of time people spend each month on smartphone apps was …
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Spotify, run by CEO and founder Daniel Ek, now has more cash to prepare it for a battle with Apple. Sarah Tew/CNET Streaming music provider Spotify has responded to the threat posed by Apple Music the best way it can: raising more money, growing its user base and preparing for battle. Spotify now has more than 20 million paid subscribers …
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Lollipop on a budget: Say hello to the new Archos Helium Plus. Archos In what’s fast becoming a trend, Archos has announced a pair of budget-minded Android 5.1 smartphones to be sold direct to consumer. Of course, this has been the Archos way of doing things all along. Related Links Blu delivers $100 unlocked smartphone with Studio C ZTE Nubia …
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ProntoTec I’m fascinated by cheap tablets. In the early days of tablet evolution, a smattering of no-brand models offered prices far below their Apple and Samsung counterparts — but saddled you with resistive touchscreens (meaning you had to apply actual pressure), abysmally slow processors and already-outdated versions of Android. In other words, they were all but unusable. Today, you can …
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Grocery chain Woolworths is now a mobile virtual network operator using the Telstra 3G network, and will begin offering both pre-paid mobile and data-only plans from June 15. Called Woolworths Connect, the MVNO will have two pre-paid mobile plans: AU$30 plan that includes 1.5GB of data, AU$650 of standard calls in Australia and unlimited SMS. AU$45 plan that includes 3.5GB …
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Amazon’s cloud-computing business has been clouded in criticism. John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images Amazon Web Services, the e-commerce giant’s cloud-computing business, will support the building and operation of a roughly $150 million solar farm planned in Virginia, with the project being named Amazon Solar Farm US East. An Amazon representative declined to specify Amazon’s financial commitment to the project, saying the company …
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The Opera Subscription Mobile Store interface. Opera Software If you’re a heavy app user in Vietnam, it’s about to be much cheaper to download a plethora of premium apps, thanks to the new all-you-can-eat subscription model from Opera Software and mobile operator Vinaphone. Announced today in a press release from Opera, the new plan lets Vinaphone users who sign on …
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