Panic sweeps nerd nation over Apple Watch battery life

Don’t be surprised if battery packs become a trendy cuff accessory. A report suggests the Apple Watch battery may be facing challenges. (Like most smartwatches.) Watch Update to also learn about T-Mobile’s latest tactic to grow past Sprint, and what auto makers are doing to get more electric cars on the road: Now playing: Watch …

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Khan Academy for iPad adds 150,000 exercises

Khan Academy’s new iPad app aims to teach you anything and everything. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET In my house, we’re struggling to help our 12-year-old with math — mostly because we’ve forgotten how to divide mixed fractions, calculate area and perimeter, and remember what the heck a distributive property is. Thankfully, for students and would-be teaching assistants alike, there’s Khan …

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Funny Or Die’s new app tells the weather and jokes

Matt Elliott/CNET The Will Ferrell-backed Funny Or Die comedy site has launched an iOS weather app, and the only joke about the app are the jokes it tells. The free app features real weather information from Weather Underground and a pleasingly simple and attractive design. Funny Or Die Weather features background animations based on current conditions, similar to Yahoo Weather, …

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How to partition your drive before installing Windows 10

Screenshot by Juan Garzón/CNET So you’re interested in trying out Windows 10? Well, you’re in luck. Microsoft released a Technical Preview of the upcoming Windows operating system that is free for anyone to download and install. There are a few different options for getting Windows 10 on your device. You can simply install it on a secondary PC over your …

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Lend your eyes to the blind with Be My Eyes app

Be My Eyes Want to do a good deed? A really good deed? Pull out your smartphone and spend a few minutes helping a blind person. The brainchild of Hans Jørgen Wiberg, Be My Eyes is an iPhone app (coming soon for Android) that lets you lend your eyesight to someone who needs a little assistance. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET …

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Kim Dotcom’s Mega launches Skype competitor MegaChat

Mega now has a new service: MegaChat. Mega The controversial Mega, a storage locker for online content, on Thursday launched MegaChat, a communication platform designed to compete with the likes of Skype. According to Mega founder Kim Dotcom, the new platform allows users to engage in end-to-end encrypted video and audio communication. MegaChat, which was announced last year but didn’t …

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Google to Firefox users: Dump Yahoo for us

Using Yahoo as your default search on Firefox? Google has tweeted instructions on how to switch to, well, Google Search. Google is trying to persuade users of the Firefox browser to ditch Yahoo as their default search engine. In November, Firefox-maker Mozilla cut a deal in which Yahoo would take over in the US as the “default search experience on …

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Boost Mobile rewards auto

Boost Mobile’s new Data Boost plan offers 2.5GB of data for $35 per month. Boost Mobile Not to be outdone by rivals T-Mobile ( MetroPCS) or Verizon this week, Sprint’s prepaid brand, Boost Mobile, is also getting more aggressive in the prepaid space. Related Links T-Mobile’s MetroPCS launches $50 unlimited LTE plan in latest promotion Verizon gives prepaid customers more …

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How to use IFTTT to win at social media

The secret to winning at social media is being, or at least appearing to be, constantly present. As in, never sleeping, never eating (unless you’re Instagramming that food, I suppose), never taking a bad selfie, and never doing anything except Tweeting every second of your life. The easiest way to cultivate a flawless online presence is to hire someone else …

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Spotify works to touch up music discovery

The Touch Preview feature comes to Spotify’s Apple iOS app today, then rolls out to other platforms later on. Spotify You can’t judge a song by its cover art. That’s the thinking behind Spotify’s newest tweaks to its music-streaming app, which will allow users to preview songs and albums before clicking through to listen to them. The idea behind the …

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Drone carrying 3 kilos of meth crashes near US

The drug-smuggling drone is believed to be a DJI Spread Wings S900, pictured here. DJI While Amazon, Google and others explore how to use drones to deliver merchandise to customers, drug smugglers in Mexico are turning to the remote-controlled aircraft to deliver packages of a different kind. A drone carrying methamphetamines crashed into a parking lot at a shopping center …

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Apple board member Millard Drexler to retire in March

Mickey Drexler (right), pictured with Martha Stewart, has served on Apple’s board since 1999. Getty Images Apple CEO Tim Cook now has another hole to fill on the company’s board. Millard “Mickey” Drexler, who has served as an Apple director since 1999, told the company last week that he plans to retire at the end of his current term in …

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Yes, you can stream any audio to Amazon Echo

The Amazon Echo speaker isn’t just for the few media libraries it currently stocks — Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. You can use Echo as a Bluetooth speaker for any media you have on your phone, including your personal music library, Pandora, Spotify, or even audio books. All you need to do is set up Echo as a Bluetooth speaker. …

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T

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has a new program to lure in customers with poor credit. YouTube/screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET T-Mobile is trying to reel in more smartphone customers through a new program that doesn’t care about your credit score. In a blog post and video issued Thursday, T-Mobile CEO John Legere described what he called “one of the wireless industry’s …

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Play Chrome’s endless runner game when offline

Photo by Nicole Cozma/CNET In September, Google included its offline endless runner game in Chrome Canary. This version of Chrome offers the newest features, but Google warns that it’s “designed for developers and early adopters, and can sometimes break down completely.” However, as The Digital Inspiration blog recently pointed out, the endless runner game can now be accessed on stable …

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