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FCC pushes 5G forward with upcoming midband spectrum auction

The US Federal Communications Commission is moving forward on its plans to auction off a key sliver of midband spectrum licenses for 5G service. The agency voted unanimously Thursday to seek comment on bidding rules for the auction, which is set to start June 25.  The 3.5GHz spectrum, known as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, is coveted midband spectrum that …

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Tidal’s Roku channel brings hip

Music streaming service Tidal has announced it’s now available on Roku devices, joining competitors Spotify and Amazon Music.  The new Tidal channel has a custom interface for Roku devices that highlights the service’s 250,000 “high-quality videos,” including original video series, as well as its catalog of 60 million songs. The company offers two main levels of subscription — Tidal Premium …

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Corsair’s new wireless gaming headsets look more like audiophile headphones

Corsair’s Virtuoso RGB Wireless and Wireless SE gaming headsets are perfect if you don’t like your gaming gear to look all angular and aggressive, like it could suddenly transform into a robot. Priced at $180 (AU$330, £150) and $210 (AU$350, £180), respectively, they have the look and feel of premium high-fidelity headphones with an aluminum frame and ear cups matched with …

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Amazon Sidewalk extends your network range, but security is already in question

At its Alexa event on Wednesday, Amazon announced a new low-bandwidth network called Amazon Sidewalk that could extend the range at which you can control your devices beyond what Bluetooth and Wi-Fi currently allow.  Amazon Sidewalk taps the 900MHz band of the radio spectrum — typically used for amateur radio — to extend the distance at which you can control your smart …

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Echo Buds from Amazon sticks Alexa inside your ears

Amazon is taking on Apple’s AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds with the Echo Buds. These new buds have integrated Alexa support and include noise reduction technology from Bose.  Using the usual wake word, Alexa, will activate the voice assistant, or by tapping and holding one of the buds, a separate voice assistant on your phone (such as Siri or Google …

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The excellent $300 Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H4 wireless headphones can be yours for $90 (Update: Expired)

Beats, Bose, Bang & Olufsen, Sony… I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford premium headphones priced at $200-$350. That’s why you’ll often hear me touting affordable off-brand models, which often offer “good enough” sound for those of us unwilling or unable to spend that kind of money. But, dang, when something like this comes along, count me in. …

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Nvidia’s new RTX Broadcast Engine will be powering up game livestreams

Finally, there’s a reason to pay more for those Tensor cores: that AI-acceleration silicon in Nvidia’s GeForce RTX graphics cards will be able to drive some pretty cool features in game livestreaming software like OBS, thanks to its new RTX Broadcast Engine programming interface. The first, and probably most useful, is the incorporation of RTX Greenscreen that’s debuting in OBS, …

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Uber app redesign puts Eats front and center

Uber announced Thursday the first major overhaul to its rider app in three years. The ride-hailing company unveiled two possible versions of the app, both of which put more of an emphasis on its food delivery service, Uber Eats. No longer just a ride-hailing service, Uber now has bikes and scooters for rent in several cities. In other places, it’s …

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