March, 2017

• 8 March

  FCC battle over online privacy: What you need to know

  

  Republicans are doing all they can to make sure the Federal Communications Commission can’t tell broadband companies how to handle your personal data online. In the latest move, Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona on Tuesday evening introduced a resolution that would kill rules the FCC passed in October to regulate consumer privacy for internet …

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• 8 March

  Facebook’s Gear VR app wants to be YouTube for 360

  

  Want to view immersive, 360-degree Facebook photos or videos in your Samsung Gear VR headset, like this White House tour? It hasn’t been particularly easy — you’ve had to browse the social network first on a 2D screen, then save a video or hunt for a button before popping it on your head. That may change with the introduction of …

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• 8 March

  Weeping Angel: Did the CIA really hack into TVs?

  

  Weeping Angel (noun): 1. A terrifying monster from the popular UK sci-fi series “Doctor Who,” which resembles a harmless winged statue — until you blink or look away. 2. An alleged spying tool, co-developed by the CIA and the UK’s MI5 security agency, which lets a Samsung Smart TV (specifically, the F8000 Smart TV) pretend to turn itself off — …

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• 8 March

  Movado, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss are making Android Wear smartwatches

  

  Get ready for more of your favorite watch brands to start peddling smartwatch alternatives. Movado Group has announced its own line of smartwatches compatible with Android Wear 2.0, Google’s newly-updated smartwatch software. Movado previously made a line of smart analog smartwatches via a collaboration with HP. It looks like Movado Group’s making a leap to Google. Movado Connect, one of …

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• 8 March

  Gaijin rejoice: AR app translates Japanese menus to English

  

  Going to a new country is fun, but trying to make sense of foreign menus isn’t so great. Fret not, gaijin in Japan: Carrier NTT Docomo wants to help all of those visiting The Land of the Rising Sun. The company’s Food Menu Translation AR app, though not conveniently named, uses your phone’s camera to scan menus and conveniently translates …

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• 8 March

  Apple to WikiLeaks: Our latest iOS stops potential CIA hacks

  

  Now playing: Watch this: Apple, Samsung, LG respond to WikiLeaks dump 1:36 Apple says its latest iOS already fixed many of the exploits listed in WikiLeaks’ document dump. Josh Miller/CNET As fallout continues from WikiLeaks releasing thousands of documents claiming to show the CIA’s secret hacking tools, Apple says its iPhones and iPads are safe. That is, if you’ve upgraded …

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• 8 March

  WikiLeaks and the CIA’s hacking secrets, explained

  

  The CIA may be equipped with an arsenal of hacking tools that can give it access to your phone, computer and other devices, according to a report by CBS News. (Disclosure: CNET is part of CBS Interactive, which is owned by CBS.) But what’s really going on? Updated March 8 at 2:40p.m. PT with CIA statement. What did WikiLeaks publish? …

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• 8 March

  Google Play Music jumps into podcasts with ‘City Soundtracks’

  

  Google Play Music, the company’s audio streaming service, is launching its first original podcast, a travel-show-like documentary series called “City Soundtracks.” The first three episodes are now available on Google Play Music and iTunes. Each includes a prominent music figure from the profiled city. Cities and artists covered in this initial batch are Austin, Texas/Spoon, New Orleans/Big Freedia and Oakland, …

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• 8 March

  Here’s the best way to use Dropbox on a Chromebook

  

  Buying a Chromebook doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make Google Drive your cloud-storage boo. There is no reason to severe a long and meaningful relationship with Dropbox just because Google Drive is baked into Google‘s Chrome OS. You can always access Dropbox via the Web on a Chromebook, but a better way is to use a Chrome extension that …

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• 8 March

  Pinterest buys Jelly in quest for sweet search combo

  

  Jelly and pushpins? Doesn’t sound quite as lip-smackin’ as a PB&J. But you never know. Digital-scrapbooking tool Pinterest said Wednesday that it’s acquired Jelly — the search site co-created by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone — to “accelerate our efforts in building the world’s first visual discovery engine.” Since its relaunch, Jelly has been a little like Q&A site Quora, with …

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