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GADGET DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Gadget Ogling: Eyes on Google

Chromecast helps people easily stream whatever they want through their TV via a simple dongle. Now Google's adding a splash of color to the device, along with a string of new features. Instead of resembling a USB stick, Chromecast 2 is more like a colorful button, and Google says it is easier to plu...

Improved performance and some app enhancements to boost productivity highlight the latest version of Apple's desktop operating system, OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Apple on Wednesday made El Capitan available for download to its users from the Mac App Store. "Basic operations were just quicker, and Appl...

Nest Labs on Thursday said it would open its communications platform to third-party developers for the first time, which will allow outside home device makers to set up products that communicate directly with Nest products. Nest announced an update to its Nest Weave communications protocol that will...

Apple has updated its privacy policy with new information regarding features in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. The company attempts to set itself apart from rivals by noting that it doesn't build profiles about its customers to sell to advertisers. For example, unlike Google Maps, which tracks a user's ...

Logitech on Wednesday announced a new monitoring system that links users to live feeds of their homes via an app. Called "Logi Circle," it picks up Nest's Dropcam model and expands it with mobility. On one end of the system is the app, available for both Android and iOS, which lets consumers view hi...

Sonos on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its top-of-the-line Play:5 speaker. The redesigned speaker includes three mid-woofers and three tweeters, and it can be set up in three orientations: by itself, or paired with another speaker -- either vertically for tight sound, or horizontally for a more ...

Google on Tuesday introduced a pair of new phablets, a couple of Chromecasts and the first tablet it built by itself. The unveilings took place at the company's Nexus event in San Francisco. Months of leaks drew very accurate portraits of the $499 Huawei Nexus 6P and $379 LG Nexus 5X and other Andro...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

Black Hats Offer Million-Dollar iOS 9 Bug Bounty

Zerodium has posted a million-dollar bounty for juicy iOS 9 bugs or jailbreaks. Zerodium runs a market where exploits and vulnerabilities are bought and sold, according to Damballa. "While there is no insight into a specific buyer, we can assume if an exploit for iOS 9 is found, Zerodium will sell...

Dark, narrow streaks going downhill at four locations on Mars are evidence of water flowing on the planet. Called "recurring slope lineae," the streaks are approximately the length of a football field, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They are believed to have been formed by the season...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Sunday announced a plan to provide high-speed public WiFi in 400 train stations across India. The announcement coincided with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Modi is expected to promote his Digital In...

Samsung last week unveiled a consumer version of a virtual reality headset adapter that converts Samsung smartphones into head-mounted displays. The move represents a first strike -- ready or not -- as top tech industry players begin to push virtual reality hardware into consumer markets. Taking wha...

One of the ironies of my technical career is that when I first went to work for a tech company, I specifically wanted to work for a firm that was breaking the mold -- not representative of it. So, in my initial interview, I was concerned that IBM was going to buy the firm because it was the mold at ...

The latest Pebble looks a touch different from previous models of the smartwatch. Instead of a square screen with rounded edges, it bears a circular watch face. The Pebble Time Round also is thinner and lighter than its siblings, but it's not as water-resistant. More importantly, the battery doesn't...

Apple has released the first update to its new iOS 9 operating system to clean up some bugs in the original version of the software. Bugs addressed in the update, iOS 9.0.1, include a system freeze on the slide to update screen, alarms and timers that would fail to go off, and frame distortion in pa...


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