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Take it to the limit: MrSpeakers Ether C headphones

I reviewed the open-back MrSpeakers Ether headphone last June, and since then my admiration for its sound has only deepened. The Ether is clear as a bell, easy on the ears, beautifully made, and supremely comfortable. The new model, the Ether C, shares much of the original’s tech, but it’s a closed-back, noise-isolating headphone. Those …

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19th

The kendama, a toy popular in Japan the 1800s, has made a comeback in recent years thanks to YouTube. Now, a Japanese company is re-creating the traditional toy with modern bells, whistles (and sensors). The classic version consists of a wooden cross with shallow cups on three tips and a rounded spike on the fourth. A wooden ball with a …

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FBI agrees to try to hack iPhone, iPod in Arkansas murder case

Fresh off cracking a terrorist’s iPhone, the FBI has agreed to help prosecutors in Arkansas unlock an iPhone and iPod belonging to two teenagers accused of murder. Cody Hiland, a prosecuting attorney in Faulkner County, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the FBI had approved a request from his office and the Conway Police Department to crack the devices’ …

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College basketball finals to be shown in VR. Brackets still busted

March Madness is virtually inescapable. As if there wasn’t already enough excitement over the annual college basketball tournament, the organizers at the NCAA will live-stream Saturday’s semi-finals and Monday’s title game in virtual reality. The NCAA and its broadcast partners are using Samsung Gear VR, a headset that seats Samsung phones, to present the 180-degree courtside stream. Hoops fans will …

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Apple could learn how the feds unlocked an iPhone

Apple wants to know how the FBI decrypted an encrypted iPhone. But will the feds be forced to talk? On Monday, the US Department of Justice dropped its demand that Apple help it unlock an iPhone 5C used by Syed Farook in December’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. That’s because the FBI succeeded in unlocking the phone with the …

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Take a behind

Some of the greatest movies and TV shows of all time were made right here. “Casablanca,” “The West Wing,” “Friends,” “ER,” and so many more. It occupies a huge swath of land in Burbank, California. Elephantine sound stages and a city-worth of backlot let filmmakers from all over the world create movies about everywhere in the world, and beyond. And …

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