This is part of CNET’s “Tech Enabled” series about the role technology plays in helping the disability community. David Grissam was worried he’d have to quit his job. Grissam had steadily been losing his hearing, which was a serious problem for the 911 dispatcher based in Norman, Oklahoma. It had gotten to the point where …

If you read Dong Ngo’s excellent primer on solid-state drives (SSDs) and how to extend their lifespan, then you might be wondering where you and your SSD stand. As Dong explained, SSDs have a finite number of program/erase cycles. That is, you can write data to and erase data from an SSD only so many times before it begins to …

The New York Times has a present for political junkies. The publication said Thursday it will eliminate the pay wall for its website during the crucial days surrounding the upcoming US presidential election. NYTimes.com will be free for unlimited reading for 72 hours from 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday, November 7 until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 9. On …

A MacBook doesn’t need to be open to be useful. Connected to an external display, it can run while it’s closed and act like a Mac Mini. By itself, a MacBook can run when closed with the help of a third-party app. You may want to do this so you can tote your MacBook from meeting to meeting at work …

The World Series finished like a champ on social media. With a blown lead, an extra inning, a rain delay and a giddy, champagne-fueled Bill Murray, the Chicago Cubs had plenty to offer Facebook and Twitter as they eked out a long-awaited hardball victory. Social Cues is our guide to what people are talking about across social media. Here is …

Following her performance at the Country Music Awards with the Dixie Chicks and an exuberant sax player, Beyoncé has officially released the music video for the song “Daddy Lessons.” It’s available to stream exclusively on Tidal, the streaming-music service she co-owns with her husband, Jay Z, and a slew of other big name celebrities, like Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. …

Are you ready for some football in VR? Google and the NFL are. The two companies are teaming up to produce a nine part miniseries that will give fans an immersive view into what game day in the NFL is like. The episodes, shot using Google’s 360-degree camera and capture system, Jump, will focus on how players, coaches, executives, cheerleaders …

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The Google Play store is about to get an upgrade Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is looking to address developers’ concerns about the app store, including the difficulty of sifting through the sheer number of apps, Reuters reported Thursday. According to market researcher Statista, Google Play offers more than 2.4 million apps. Improvements could include using artificial intelligence to boost the …

Google’s Android software powers almost 9 out of every 10 smartphones in the world. Now Google is hoping its app store can keep up. The search giant is making changes to Google Play, its online marketplace where you can download apps and games, Google said during a software developer event in San Francisco on Thursday. The company is also making …