T-Mobile and Sprint are rolling out number-verification to customers across both networks. Using the STIR/SHAKEN standards recommended by the FCC, the carriers hope to better fight robocalls. Ideally, this will make it harder for spammers to spoof numbers and give customers more confidence that the number calling them has not been ripped off by a […]
Author: Allen
Google begins rolling out Chrome update that can block cross-site tracking
Google will start rolling out a new version of Chrome that can prevent cross-site tracking today, February 4th. The tech giant first revealed that it was working on the feature in mid-2019 in an effort to prevent security issues caused by cookie vulnerabilities — bad actors, for instance, could transfer funds or hijack accounts by […]
Facebook gives parents more control over Messenger Kids chats
Facebook launched its Messenger Kids app back in 2017 it’s seen a few security blips since, though, leading senators to question whether Facebook is doing enough to protect kids’ privacy. Today, the company appears to have answered that call, as it rolls out a raft of new parental controls and safety features. The new features […]
YouTube ad revenue has almost doubled in the last two years
We finally know how much Google is making from ads on YouTube. For the first time, Alphabet broke out YouTube advertising revenues and that gives us a look at just how important the video site is to the company. In 2019, YouTube ad revenues were $15.15 billion, which represents 86 percent growth since 2017. By […]
Microsoft Teams went down because of an expired certificate
Microsoft Teams went down today for nearly three hours after Microsoft forgot to renew a critical security certificate. Users of Microsoft’s Slack competitor were met with error messages attempting to sign into the service on Monday morning, with the app noting it had failed to establish an HTTPS connection to Microsoft’s servers. We've determined that […]
Samsung accidentally announced the Galaxy Home Mini’s release date
Samsung posted that the Galaxy Home Mini on its South Korean website. It will be released in South Korea on February 12th for 9,000 KRW, approximately $83. The post has since been removed, but it was online long enough to give us a few new details about the Galaxy Home Mini and suggest that rumors […]
Apple wants to remind you Arcade exists
Apple launched a full-on ad for Apple Arcade shortly before the Super Bowl got underway, including a takeover of its home page where game characters invaded the usual product promos you probably weren’t expecting Sonic to ever race around a MacBook Pro. There were a number of straight-up commercials, too. It’s arguably vital given Apple […]
TCL will stop selling BlackBerry-branded phones in August
TCL Communications plans to stop selling BlackBerry phones later this year. In a tweet this morning, TCL announced that it “will no longer be selling” BlackBerry-branded phones as of August 31st, 2020, because it will no longer have the rights to design and manufacture them. Existing devices will continue to be supported. BlackBerry decided in […]
Roku and Fox strike a last-minute deal to keep Super Bowl-streaming apps working
Roku customers can breathe a sigh of relief it looked Roku owners would be losing the highest-quality way to stream the Super Bowl for free, when the set-top box maker announced Thursday that it would abruptly pull Fox’s apps off the platform a day ahead of the game. But that won’t actually be happening. Late […]
Apple is closing all mainland China stores due to coronavirus outbreak
Apple is temporarily closing its 42 stores in mainland China, one of its largest markets, as Coronavirus spreads rapidly. The company is closing all its retail stores and corporate offices in mainland China through February 9th out of an “abundance of caution” and in consultation from experts. Apple had initially closed three stores, but this […]
Twitter’s new reply layout for iOS makes conversations easier to follow
Twitter announced a subtle design change to its iOS app that may go a long way in both making conversations easier to parse and to join. The change, which looks like it’s a change on Twitter’s end that does not require an update, is to the threading feature in the Twitter timeline, which currently does […]
EU votes in favor of choosing a common charging cable standard
European Union lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to legislate manufacturers to adopt a shared charging cable standard. In a 582 to 40 vote, the European Parliament said it wants the European Commission, the body that drafts the EU’s laws, to ensure consumers don’t have to buy a new charger each time they upgrade their phone. The […]
Huawei says it would not return to using Google services if US lifted ban
When Huawei introduced the Mate 30 series in September, it did it without Google services. This is to do with a trade war between the United States and China that landed the Shenzhen firm on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List, meaning that U.S. companies are banned from doing business with Huawei. That means […]
FCC wants to fine one man almost $13 million for making 6,000 robocalls
The FCC has proposed an almost $13 million fine for a man it says was behind a series of racist and anti-semitic robocalling campaigns consisting of over 6,000 calls being placed across six states. The man is accused of using anti-semitic and racist tropes to attack political candidates, threaten a newspaper, and stoke racial hatred […]
You can now reserve your spot to pay for a Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung has opened up reservations for its next flagship phones, expected to be the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra, that the company will unveil at an upcoming event on February 11th. But this isn’t a pre-order. You enter your name, contact info, and preferred carrier, and you’re ready to wait. It’s highly […]















