Mark Zuckerberg laid out a bold vision for what Facebook will be 10 years from now, with the company looking to dive into artificial intelligence and virtual reality and to connect 4 billion people to the Internet. We delve into those big plans and what they could mean for consumers. Plus, we ask whether it …
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Homeless, not phoneless: The app saving society’s forgotten tech users
When Lisa Peterson became homeless, she spent months without a bed of her own. But her phone never left her sight. Driving across the country, couch-surfing and staying in crisis accommodations, Lisa would charge her phone at train stations and use free public Wi-Fi to stay connected. The idea of being “homeless with a smartphone” may sound contradictory, but for …
Read More »Upgrading a PC for Oculus Rift isn’t as easy as you think
I’ll let you in on a little secret. You don’t need to build a brand-new gaming PC to use a virtual reality headset. Sure, it would help — but with the right upgrades, your old gaming rig might be good enough. I spent most of my time reviewing the Oculus Rift with a five-year-old processor, and every game played like …
Read More »How to preorder the HTC 10
For the last 12 months, HTC fans have been waiting with baited breath to learn about the new flagship phone, the HTC 10. The details have finally been released and with the world’s first dual OIS front and back cameras for photos, end-to-end 24-bit Hi-Res sound, and streamlined Marshmallow, it hasn’t disappointed. If you’re eager to get your hands on …
Read More »Even Siri watches ‘Game of Thrones,’ just ask her
If you haven’t started watching “Game of Thrones” by now, you’re way behind the pack. The sixth season of the popular, and very bloody, HBO series premieres on April 24. A lot of people have watched every episode multiple times, and they have some strong opinions about characters and alliances. It’s so popular that even Siri watches the show. Yes, …
Read More »Want to tap machine learning like Google? There’s an app for that
Machine learning is considered by many to be tech’s next frontier. But for many researchers, its expense might as well place it in outer space. To help researchers and developers who might otherwise not have access to machine learning’s benefits, Google on Wednesday announced a new distributed version of TensorFlow, the artificial-intelligence engine the Web giant uses to add capabilities …
Read More »Facebook is full of ideas to make virtual reality more social
Facebook wants you to take a selfie in virtual reality. The social networking giant is building apps that make it easy to share photos with people using its Oculus Rift headsets, which put a screen so close to people’s eyes that it tricks them into thinking they’re actually in a computer-generated world. One app the company showed off at its …
Read More »How to watch the Warriors game tonight online
Two decades ago, the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls finished the NBA regular season with 72 wins against only 10 losses. It’s the best regular season record in NBA history. In fact, no other team has won 70 games in a regular season, until this year’s Golden State Warriors who, in their final game of the regular season tonight, have a …
Read More »Facebook’s new goal for AI: Searching through photos and video
Facebook isn’t working on artificial intelligence just to let you text with robots. (Though it’s doing that, too.) It’s also using the technology to do something much simpler: help you quickly find the photos you’re searching for or the videos you want to see on the social network. The company showed off several new ways to use “machine learning,” a …
Read More »Get mail client Mailbird Pro 2.0 for $6
CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. When it comes to email, I’m old-school: I like a desktop client. That’s in part because I have multiple accounts to manage, and …
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