Tech Soha

Apple Music has long had three-month free trials, but what if you want to give News+ a similar dry run? You can -- but only if you act quickly. Apple is offering a three-month trial to News+ to American and Canadian users who sign up through Black Friday weekend. That's much longer than the usual one month, and should give you a considerably better feel for what it's like to read magazines and newspapers on your Apple devices. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2Y4KvdQ

Twitter may be reluctant to crack down on politicians' tweets, but it still has its limits -- and one political candidate may have crossed the line. The social media giant has permanently banned Republican House candidate Danielle Stella's personal and campaign accounts for "repeated violations" of Twitter's policies. While it didn't elaborate on what those violations were, Stella's campaign suggested that her potential rival, incumbent representative Ilhan Omar, should be "tried for #treason and hanged" if she was found to have passed sensitive info to Iran through Qatar. That claim is unsupported by evidence. The posts may have violated Twitter policies forbidding the promotion of violence or threats. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2DJDqGp

Following swiftly on the heels of a Thanksgiving that broke records with $4.2 billion in online sales, Black Friday also hit a new high, although it just fell short of predictions. According to analytics from Adobe, consumers spent $7.4 billion online yesterday buying goods online via computers, tablets and smartphones. The figures were up by $1.2 billion on Black Friday 2018, but they actually fell short of Adobe's prediction for the day, which was $7.5 billion. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/35O6mbX

No, European antitrust regulators still aren't done looking into Google's practices. The European Commission told Reuters in a statement that it's conducting a "preliminary investigation" into Google's data collection. While it didn't go into detail, a leaked document indicated that the focuses were on local search, ads (including ad targeting), sign-in services and web browsers, among "others." It's covering the core of Google's businesses, to put it another way. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/34CtYjM

Ockam, a two-year-old, Bay Area-based company that's selling tools to developers to they can establish an "architecture for trust" within their connected device applications, has raised $3.2 million in seed funding, including from Core Ventures, Okta Ventures, SGH Capital, and Future Ventures. This serverless platform for IoT development is being led by CEO Matthew Gregory and CTO Mrinal Wadhwa, two cofounders with noteworthy backgrounds. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2OXL6db

There are roughly 80,000 babies and toddlers who die of AIDS every year, and that's partly due to the difficulty of administering the medicine. It can be extremely difficult for a toddler to swallow a pill or a foul-tasting syrup with alcohol. Cipla may have a much better solution. It's introducing a new anti-HIV drug, Quadrimune, whose strawberry-flavored granules are much easier to swallow. While it comes in capsules, parents can make it more palatable by sprinkling the contents on soft food or in drinks. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/37T0Ary

If you're concerned about the privacy of your internet access or just want to access foreign content like you're a local, a VPN can help -- and thankfully, you might not have to pay early to use one. TunnelBear is running a Black Friday weekend sale that offers a year of VPN service for $50, or just shy of $10 off the usual price. That nets you 256-bit encryption on up to five connected devices with unlimited data, and there won't be logs to help hackers or suspicious governments trace your activity. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2L94R0e

Storm Ventures, a now 19-year-old, Sand Hill Road venture firm in Menlo Park, Ca., has closed on $130.4 million, shows a new SEC filing. Storm distinguishes itself in numerous ways, including its exclusive focus on seed and Series A stage enterprise startups, including mobile, SaaS and cloud infrastructure companies. The partners also have a penchant for helping far-flung startups grow the footprint around the blog. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2q5kwX2

Facebook has voluntarily labeled fake news and other misinformation for a while, but in Singapore it now doesn't have much choice. The social site has labeled a November 23rd post as containing "false information" to obey a Singapore law meant to curb the spread of fake info. The government claimed that Australian citizen and States Times Review blog owner Alex Tan had made "false" and "scurrilous" claims surrounding election rigging and the arrest of a purported whistleblower. Tan had initially refused the order and is now under investigation, although there may not be much Singapore can do when Tan doesn't live in the city-state. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2q6cMEd

Apple might just rethink its approach to disputed borders following its change to Crimea for Russian users. A spokeswoman told the BBC in a statement that Apple would have a "deeper look" at how it handles contested borders in Maps in the wake of the controversy, and that there might be more changes as a result of the review. You shouldn't expect it to reverse its Crimea changes, however. The company stressed that it was only labeling Crimea as Russian to obey that country's law, and that the territory would still be listed as Ukranian for everyone else. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2qQIiqo

Facebook added a correction notice to a post by a fringe news site that Singapore's government said contained false information. It’s the first time the government has tried to enforce a new law against ‘fake news’ outside its borders. The post by fringe news site States Times Review (STR), contained "scurrilous accusations" according to the Singapore government. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/34B8iEt

Carey Reilly's hot Cyber Monday deals Lifestyle expert Carey Reilly shares her Cyber Monday steals with Charles Payne on 'CAVUTO Live.'

Amazon's Echo Show was the only smart display on the market in 2017, but fast forward a couple years later and devices like these have become ubiquitous. Much of that is due to competition from the likes of Google, which in addition to making its own hardware, has licensed out its tech to third-party manufacturers like Lenovo. Plus, two years on it's become clear that smart displays are actually useful -- they do everything smart speakers can, with a dash of helpful visuals. Now that there are so many smart displays, though, they've started to look and feel very similar, which can make buying one a little confusing. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2LaGgbl

Kurt Knutsson's ultimate guide to Cyber Monday 'Fox & Friends' previews the best Cyber Monday deals and gets strategies to score even deeper discounts from 'Kurt the CyberGuy' Knutsson.

Frank Abagnale Jr. on identity fraud risks facing online consumers 'Scam Me If You Can' author Frank Abagnale Jr. on red flags to watch for and ways to limit identity fraud risks.

The support shared among readers in the comments section is one of the things we love most about the Engadget community. Over the years, we've known you to offer sage advice on everything from Chromecasts and cameras to drones and smartphones. In fact, our community's knowledge and insights are a reason why many of you participate in the comments. This week's question asks how to make a nondescript present like a gift card feel special for the receiver. Weigh in with your advice in the comments -- and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com! How can I make a gift like a digital code feel more personal? from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2qYpOnC

Two notable moves have recently happened that are worthy of note in the European scene. The first is that GR Capital, a pan-European VC, is opening an office in London and has lured Jason Ball, who, earlier this year, left Qualcomm Ventures where had been European Managing Director for over a decade. Founded in 2016 by Roma Ivaniuk in Ukraine, GR Capital specializes in late-stage VC investments. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2sphjSW

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to (more of) your weekend! While deal hunters should keep looking here for some of the best offers available this weekend -- yes, the Instant Pot is on sale again -- we'll highlight some interesting stories from the last week and point out our latest laptop review. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2OXlQDU

If the price of vacuum robots has kept you away from the tech, we may be able to help. We've partnered with Wellbots to provide Engadget readers with an exclusive discount on iRobot's high-end Roomba i7+ and i7 series vacuums. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2R8UIV5

Apple's MacBook Pro 16-inch may be big, but there's a bigger laptop in town. Okay, so there are plenty of bigger laptops around, but the LG Gram 17 is not only larger, but it's also much lighter. It offers a gorgeous, gigantic 17-inch screen that you can take with you, just in case you need a roomier canvas on the go. LG has proven it can fit a big screen in a small package, but the Gram 17 doesn't pack the performance punch you might expect from a system this size. So the question is, who needs a screen this large in a thin-and-light frame, but not the horsepower that usually goes along with it? from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2Oz34DE

Emergency apps, self-destructing emails and more: Tech Q&A I’d like to find my old college sweetheart just to say hello. I tried Google, but nothing came up. The people finder sites scammed me out of $65. How else can I find her?

In addition to Black Friday discounts on home theater speakers, Sonos is offering Cyber Monday deals that music lovers will appreciate. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/35NUcjk

There's mixed feelings for racing game fans this week as publisher Codemasters announced it will purchase Slightly Mad Studios, the developer of the Project Cars series. Codemasters will pay $30 million for the acquisition, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2qX44bK

Fujifilm's X-T3 is shockingly good at video while also being a pretty lightweight mirrorless camera, so it makes a lot of sense to stick it on a gimbal. Thanks to an upcoming firmware update, it's going to be a lot more practical to do that, Fujifilm announced. It's been working with popular gimbal makers DJI, Shenzhen Gudsen and Zhiyung to give you very granular control over the X-T3 using the Ronin S, Crane 2 and other products. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2Drpz7r

The best way to shop on Black Friday is to know what you're looking for. In our case, that means focusing on brands we know our readers love and scouting for deals on products we've recently given high review scores. And, of course, we look for deals on stuff we just recommended in our holiday gift guide, only weeks earlier. So, we went back and revisited all 150-plus recommendations in the guide, to see if we could spot any price drops today, the biggest shopping day of the year. Turns out, we found a lot. Have a look and as always, keep in mind that while prices are accurate as of the time of publishing, they're subject to change and things do sometimes sell out. Oh, and Black Friday doesn't last forever, which means eventually all of these deal prices are bound to revert to the norm. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2OXh1dH

If you're starting to feel constrained by GarageBand or the free software that came with your MIDI controller, it might be time to upgrade. And you might want to consider Ableton, which has discounted its Live 10 software by 25 percent. With the price cut, the app's Intro, Standard and Suite tiers now cost $74, $337 and $562 respectively, down from their usual $99, $449 and $749 price points. When it comes to audio production tools, Ableton Live 10 is one of our favorites. While it might be intimidating at first glance, the app features a clean and intuitive interface that encourages experimentation. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/35NNFFA

Here's a sweet deal on a gift that could make sense for the more adventurous music-makers in your life. Critter & Guitari is running a sale on the Organelle M that drops the price from $595 to $499 from now through December 2nd. At that price, the music computer may be hard to resist -- it's a do-it-all instrument that can stand in as a synth, sampler, sequencer, drum machine or virtually anything else if you have the right code. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2OVED2v

It's no secret that Black Friday weekend is a good time to score deals in the PlayStation world, and that's truer than ever as the PS4 era draws to a close. To start, the PlayStation Store is offering massive discounts on a slew of PS4 games until December 2nd, including price drops of 50 percent or more on established hits and recent tiles. Red Dead Redemption 2 is down from $60 to $30, while its Ultimate Edition is just $40. Spider-Man has dropped from $40 to $20, and God of War is a mere $10. You can also snag Madden NFL 20's Superstar Edition for $40 (versus the usual $80), and other 2020 EA Sports games have similarly hefty discounts. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/35POSMD

The holiday season is creeping up on us, and baby, it's cold outside. Sometimes it's cold inside too, and the chill spreading throughout your body can really kill your holiday buzz. Instead of chugging eggnog or doing 50 jumping jacks to generate body heat, why not get an electric blanket and snuggle up? You can never have too many gadgets, right? Right?! from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/37RNkTQ

Cutting-edge technology is giving new hope to millions of people living with paralysis across the United States. Researchers at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have successfully developed a light-weight, wearable electrode sleeve that regulates and triggers finger movement in quadriplegics. The lead researcher, Chad Bouton, said his team developed the sleeve after they determined... from Technology News & Reviews | New York Post https://ift.tt/37Og00b

Online shoppers, beware. Scammers could be going after your money this holiday season as you try to take advantage of online deals. Suspicious Companies May Be Exploiting Student Visa Program According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, scammers stole $184 million from people online during last year's holiday shopping season. "The criminals are getting smarter," Professor Ahmad Banafa, a cybersecurity expert at San Jose State University, said. When Recycling Centers Close in California, Where Do Consumers Turn? Banafa says online shopping scams come in different forms, but some of the most popular ones are fake websites and phishing emails that may look like they belong to a legitimate company but are actually tricks designed to have online shoppers hand over their personal information to scammers. "Number one is don't click on any links in the email or open any attachments from retailers," Banafa said. "Retailers will nev...

Online shoppers, beware. Scammers could be going after your money this holiday season as you try to take advantage of online deals. Suspicious Companies May Be Exploiting Student Visa Program According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, scammers stole $184 million from people online during last year's holiday shopping season. "The criminals are getting smarter," Professor Ahmad Banafa, a cybersecurity expert at San Jose State University, said. Banafa says online shopping scams come in different forms, but some of the most popular ones are fake websites and phishing emails that may look like they belong to a legitimate company but are actually tricks designed to have online shoppers hand over their personal information to scammers. "Number one is don't click on any links in the email or open any attachments from retailers," Banafa said. "Retailers will never send you an attachment." And if a deal sounds too good to be true...

Board games are a timeless way to socialize and bring loved ones together over the holiday season. If you're tired of the classics (please, no more Monopoly), it might be time to freshen up your collection with a hybrid board game. We know, we know -- this can be a touchy subject. Some love the hobby because of its physical components and therefore don't want a smartphone or tablet anywhere near the table. If you fall into this camp, we completely understand. App-supported board games can be wonderful though. Some offer sound bites that tell you where an invisible enemy is on the board. Others serve as a research terminal that lets you feel like an ace detective. Apps can be used to update games too, with additional quests, missions and modes. A few of our favorites have even added single-player campaigns to previously multiplayer-only games. If you're open to the idea and want a few recommendations, check out our Engadget-approved short list below. We take no responsibilit...

Electronic waste pileup sparks warnings The pileup of electronic waste will only accelerate with consumers buying more and more devices.

The string of recent cryptocurrency thefts isn't stopping any time soon. South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has confirmed that 342,000 Etherium coins, worth about $49 million, were transferred from its wallet to an "anonymous wallet" (read: a thief) on November 27th. The exchange quickly suspended all crypto deposits and withdrawals and moved all assets to offline wallets that couldn't be attacked. Upbit said it would "immediately" replace the missing Ethereum with its own assets, but that it would take two weeks before deposits and withdrawals would resume -- if you were depending on that virtual money, you might be in trouble. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2L6l0Ue

Over the last week, we've done our best to try and find the most compelling Black Friday deals to try and save you time and money during your holiday shopping. With this post, we're doing something different. We've partnered with Wellbots to offer Engadget readers exclusive discounts on the DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, as well as Segway ES4 and Max electric scooters. To take advantage of these deals, use the checkout codes below. As an added bonus, if you live outside of New York State, there's no sales tax on any of the items. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2rxQjjP

Cloud gaming has finally arrived in a playable, frustration-free form (mostly, anyway), courtesy of two tech giants with the network infrastructures to actually make streaming happen: Google and Microsoft. However, both companies are diving into this all-digital, subscription-based market from different angles. Stadia officially landed on November 19th, and it's fair to say that Google overpromised and underdelivered on an ambitious launch that costs gamers $130 just to get in the door. Meanwhile, Microsoft is rolling out xCloud for free as a preview, asking for feedback and adding features as it goes. Now that both of these streaming services are playable in the wild, it's time for a good old-fashioned showdown. Considering one service has launched and already disappointed its supporters, and the other is in beta and delivering on its claims, you can probably guess which one comes out looking better here. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/33t0P9f

Black Friday: Beware these cyber scams In the last few weeks, tens of thousands of potential scams involving brand names have been discovered, cybersecurity firms are warning.

Anybody who is older than 10 years old can create a Pixpay account, get a debit card and manage pocket money. Challenger banks are nothing new, but they’re still mostly targeted towards adults. A few days after creating an account, your child receives a Mastercard. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/34xKr8U

Depending on your budget and how many people are on your gift list this year, you might only have a modest amount to spend on each person. Even if you instill a cap of fifty bucks, though, you still have plenty of options. In Engadget's 2019 holiday gift guide, we have nearly 50 under $50, with picks running the gamut from toys, to video games, to books and movies, to mobile and gaming accessories. As it happens, today is Black Friday in the US, so chances are, many of the items here will cost you even less than the list price. Happy deal hunting! from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2R8Mf4t

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are making informed decisions on any Black Friday sales. This morning (and throughout the week), you could save substantially on a new smartphone, wireless headphones, streaming devices and Alexa-powered Amazon devices -- if you didn't have one already. We've got some of the latest deals below, as well as our verdict on the Echo Flex, Amazon's newest, smallest smart speaker. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2rG0vqk

Kurt Knutsson's Cyber Monday preview Kurt 'The Cyber Guy' Knutsson on the best deals to look out for.

The saga of Huawei vs. the US continues, and the latest chapter sees the Chinese electronics giant gearing up to take on the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC approved an order last week that would ban carriers receiving Universal Service Fund subsidies from using that money to buy equipment from companies considered "a national security threat" -- referring to Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. Huawei slammed this action as "unlawful" in a statement released last week, and is preparing a lawsuit to challenge the decision, according to a Wall Street Journal report. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/34v20WZ

If you've been sleeping on getting yourself a new display, then it's worth checking out what LG is knocking money off this Black Friday. That includes the 32UL750-W, its 32-inch 4K LED monitor with Vesa Display HDR 600, which will now set you back $469, down from its regular price of $635. If that's a little too pricey, and you just need a 4K monitor with AMD FreeSync, you can bag the 32UD60-B 4K for $299.99, down from $458.50. Buy LG 32UL750-W 32 Inch 4K UHD LED Monitor on Amazon - $470 Buy LG 32UD60-B 4K UHD Monitor with AMD FreeSync on Amazon - $300 from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2rAcc1V

Now might be a good time to upgrade your gaming PC's display if your current model is feeling old in the tooth. Two of ASUS' gaming monitors are on sale from now until December 30th at 3:05AM Eastern, and both of them pack features you might appreciate. The ROG Swift PG279QZ has dropped to $450 from its usual $599, making it a considerably sweeter deal. The 27-inch, 1440p screen packs a 165Hz refresh rate (with NVIDIA G Sync support) as well as an IPS panel, giving you very smooth gaming and IPS' vivid colors. There's also eye fatigue reduction for those marathon Modern Warfare sessions. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2Ow4tuY

The latest update for Signal comes with a dedicated version for iPads and gives you the ability to set up your tablet as a linked device. Similar to Signal for desktop, the iPad version of the secure messaging app works seamlessly with your phone, allowing you to send and receive messages on either device. The updated application now also has a new interface designed for a tablet's screen, featuring more room without the artificial zoom that makes elements look janky. It can even show your conversations with a horizontal layout in landscape mode whenever you're viewing them on an iPad. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2LjxLen

While you're stuffing turkey leftovers in your belly, the last thing you want to think about is E. coli. But spare a thought for the bacterium, it's not always here to harm you (and it needs to eat, too). According to a new paper published in Cell, scientists have developed a strain of E. coli that feeds on carbon dioxide. As Nature explains, the bacteria usually prefer sugars (glucose), but the lab-created strain could be used to create biofuels with a lower emissions footprint than conventional production methods. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2XVLgG5

No Man's Sky developer Hello Games has released the latest update for its popular space exploration game. Titled Synthesis, the highlight of the update is a new upgrade system that allows you to visit one of the game's many starship-outfitting terminals to spruce up your favorite spacecraft. Using the new system, you can upgrade one of your current ships all the way to S-Class, as well as add additional inventory slots. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2R1rQhG

Amazon's cloud hosting business, Amazon Web Services, will soon be getting new server hardware -- an updated processor specifically designed for data centers, as reported by Reuters. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2L2Dvcc

Europe's lead data regulator has issued its first ever sanction of an EU institution -- taking enforcement action against the European parliament over its use of US-based digital campaign company, NationBuilder, to process citizens' voter data ahead of the spring elections. NationBuilder is a veteran of the digital campaign space -- indeed, we first covered the company back in 2011-- which has become nearly ubiquitous for digital campaigns in some markets. The European parliament had used NationBuilder as a data processor for a public engagement campaign to promote voting in the spring election, which was run via a website called thistimeimvoting.eu. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2R0QQFQ

Reports of Facebook going down shot up just before 9 a.m., with more than 9,000 reports by 10 a.m., according to the outage tracking website Downdetector.com. from Technology News & Reviews | New York Post https://ift.tt/2OVM8Gm

As VR becomes more and more mainstream, a key to its success will be the choice of headsets available. On the entry-level end is the HTC Vive, at $99. On the upper end is Valve's Index, which features two RGB LCDs running at 1,440 x 1,600 pixels, capable of a 120Hz (or 144Hz) refresh rate and selling for a stunning $999. Senior editor Devindra Hardawar reviewed the Index and found that it had nearly every feature one would expect to find on a high-end VR headset, including finger-sensing controllers, excellent image quality and plush cushioning around the eye pieces and rear head strap. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2sqpui1

Force Friday has become something of a bonanza in recent years. An event born of Disney's incredible knack for merchandising, it's the ultimate product glut for Star Wars fans. It's usually on a Friday in early October (in this year of Our Dark Lord 2019 it was triple Force Friday because of the release of The Mandalorian, the video game Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.) During this day-long reveal of incredible merchandise (from the must-haves to the I-didn't-think-anyone-would-want-this-but-now-I-want-it), different brands reveal their tie-in products. Sure, there are the usual t-shirts, Funko Pops and Porg plushes, but this year premium brands such as Bose and Adidas got in on the game with branded The Rise of Skywalker headphones and shoes, respectively. But perhaps the most shocking -- and the most talked about -- Star Wars product to come out of Force Friday this year came from cookware company Le Creuset. The premium brand, best...

When AMD launched its third-generation Zen 2 Ryzen processors earlier this year, Intel had to be sweating. Its rival had developed an all-new architecture with improvements to clock speed, core count and instructions per clock and promised performance that matched -- and even beat -- Intel's CPUs. Then, along came AMD's mainstream 12-core and 16-core Ryzen 9 3900x and 3950X CPUs, which doubled the thread count of competing i9-9900 series chips. That threatened not only Intel's gaming market but muscled in on its workstation territory. To compete, Intel was forced to launch the Cascade Lake i9-10980X at $999 -- half the price of the previous 9980XE model. Unfortunately for Intel, the 3950X still keeps pace with the i9-10980X in most tests, despite costing just $750. Reviews are now in for AMD's latest 32-core 3970X and 24-core 3960X Threadripper processors, and it's more bad news for Intel. Those high-end desktop (HEDT) chips perform better for both video and 3D rend...