Category: Featured

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Android Nougat drops support for Nexus 5 and 2013 Nexus 7

It’s official: No Android Nouget. That is, if you run the Nexus 5 and 2013 Nexus 7 won’t receive the Android 7.0 Nougat update from Google today. The update will roll out to the Nexus 6, 9, 5X, 6P, the Pixel C tablet, the Nexus Player, and the General Mobile 4G (an Android One phone that has been included in the beta program), but...

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Android 7.0 Nougat is rolling out to Nexus devices

Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for since March when Google unexpectedly dropped the Android N developer preview on us. Android 7.0 Nougat, as it’s now known, is officially done and rolling out to Nexus devices, the Pixel C, and the General Mobile 4G. There aren’t any big surprises here—the final build is virtually identical to the last developer preview, but it should...

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Windows 10 Anniversary Update breaks millions of webcams

On August 2nd, Microsoft released the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 and when the bits arrived on computers around the globe, it brought with it new features and also broke webcams for millions of consumers. If your webcam has stopped functioning since the release of the Anniversary update, you are not alone but the good news is a fix is coming, hopefully in September....

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Facebook opens up Messenger to ad bots

Right now, Facebook lets Messenger ad bots from brands like Expedia and HP help you make a purchase, but they can’t try to sell you a new product. However, a policy change means those automated assistants will soon be able to send subscription messages, ads and promotions for services like makeup consultations. If you’re worried about spam, Facebook emphasized that the user is in...

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Companies cannot legally void warranties for jailbreaking or rooting phones

After I published an article about how electronics manufacturers including Microsoft and Sony illegally void warranties of consumers who open their devices, I got a flood of emails from people wondering whether federal law protects their right to jailbreak or root their phones. The short answer is yes, it does: Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, manufacturers cannot legally void your hardware warranty...

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People ignore security warnings up to 90 percent of the time

Software developers listen up: if you want people to pay attention to your security warnings on their computers or mobile devices, you need to make them pop up at better times. A new study from BYU, in collaboration with Google Chrome engineers, finds the status quo of warning messages appearing haphazardly—while people are typing, watching a video, uploading files, etc.—results in up to 90...

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Microsoft is ending the pick-and-choose patching in Windows 7 and 8

Microsoft yesterday announced that beginning in October it will offer only cumulative security updates for Windows 7 and 8.1, ending the decades-old practice of letting customers choose which patches they apply. “Historically, we have released individual patches … which allowed you to be selective with the updates you deployed,” wrote Nathan Mercer, a senior product marketing manager, in a post to a company blog....

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Facebook can’t win against ad blockers and here’s the proof

Facebook can’t win the war it started on ad blockers last week. So say Princeton assistant professor Arvind Narayanan and undergraduate Grant Storey, who have created an experimental ad “highlighter” for the Chrome browser to prove it. When you have Facebook Ad Highlighter installed, ads in the News Feed are grayed out and written over with the words “THIS IS AN AD.” Facebook announced...

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Google is building a new operating system

Google is working on a new operating system — and it has nothing to do with Android. A page has surfaced on the code-sharing website GitHub about the new OS, called — for now, at least — Fuchsia. It’s not based on Android, the California-based technology company’s mobile operating system used in billions of smartphones around the world, nor does it build upon the...

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Microsoft starts testing Windows 10’s next major update

Microsoft released Windows 10’s Anniversary Update last week, but it’s already getting ready to unveil new features for its next major update. The software giant has started testing its “Redstone 2” update to Windows 10, with an initial build available for Windows Insiders testing public beta copies. The new update doesn’t have any big new features for public testers yet, as Microsoft is in the...