Attorney-General George Brandis has been a strong supporter of data retention. Image by CeBIT Australia, CC BY 2.0 Despite concerns from industry groups, digital privacy advocates, cross-bench politicians and even at times the Federal opposition, a joint Parliamentary committee has recommended the Government’s proposed mandatory data retention legislation be passed into law. However, the committee …

This bottle has smarts and NFC. Thinfilm The humble alcohol bottle has one main purpose: to keep your precious adult beverage from spilling out into an unusable puddle. It’s mostly a hunk of glass that just sits there looking pretty, enticing you to sample its contents. Now, let’s imagine it has a mind of its own and wants to talk …

Now playing: Watch this: What’s new on Netflix and Amazon for March 2015 1:51 Editors’ Note, March 26, 2015: Revised Netflix additions section. March 2015 looks to be a great month if you plan on binge-watching some television. “Archer: Vice,” aka season 5 of “Archer,” will hit Netflix March 7. The season found itself in the danger zone over its …

It’s official. The Internet will now be regulated as a public utility. After months of anticipation and weeks of frenzied last-minute lobbying on both sides of the political aisle, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted Net neutrality regulations based on a new definition of broadband that will let the government regulate Internet infrastructure as it could the old telephone network. …

Google I was pretty excited when Motorola announced the release of Android 5.0 Lollipop for the AT&T variant of the Moto X. “I could finally start using all of the new features found in Lollipop!” But more specifically, I could finally set Smart Lock to keep my device unlocked when I’m home. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment as I …

KFC is rolling out a new coffee cup later this year to celebrate its 50th anniversary, but instead of traditional coffee cup materials, the new Scoff-ee Cup is made out of a cookie. Yeah, you read that right. Now playing: Watch this: RippleMaker prints on your cup of coffee 1:06 At select KFC restaurants in the UK, the company will …

The BlackBerry Classic is landing at Verizon. Josh Miller/CNET Verizon customers who still long for a physical keyboard will soon get a chance to buy a BlackBerry Classic phone. Selling for $100 with the usual two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate, the QWERTY keyboard-equipped phone will be available through Verizon’s online store starting Thursday. It won’t pop up …

Quicklock Here’s my problem: When I lock all my stuff into my gym locker, I leave my glasses in there as well. And because I have 46-year-old vision, I literally cannot make out the numbers on the padlock. That’s made for some rather embarrassing attempts to get it open. Sigh. One potential solution: Quicklock, a new padlock that supports both …

Perceptiv Labs Having auto-follow capabilities on a drone means that it can chase after a subject without assistance from a pilot, essentially giving you your own private flying camera operator. We saw it featured a lot at CES 2015, but in its current state, it doesn’t allow for a lot of creative control — something Perceptiv Labs aims to solve …

Sony’s next tablet could come as soon as next week. Screen shot by Scott Webster/CNET Sony may introduce an Xperia Z4 Tablet at Mobile World Congress next week. Related Links Sony said to be slashing 1,000 more jobs in mobile division Sony Xperia E4g packs 4G LTE and epic battery life on a budget Sony’s Google Glass rival SmartEyeglass goes …