Ryan Whitwam
Recent posts
Google's Chrome browser is the dominant way to browse the web on both desktop and mobile platforms, so even minor changes can alter the way people use the internet. Anyone using Chrome to navigate the web on a smartphone or tablet is about to get a raft of new search enhancements. Some individual features are...
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Watching shows like Tulsa King and Star Trek is about to get more expensive. For a brief, shining moment, content owners almost defeated piracy. Instead of bringing the content to where people were streaming, popular movies and TV series have become increasingly siloed in various streaming platforms, each of which...
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A few years ago, PC firmware switched from the aging BIOS system to the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface standard, more commonly known as UEFI. This system is more secure than the legacy BIOS was, but it's not perfect. Cybersecurity firm Eclypsium reports the discovery of a serious bug in UEFI that could affect...
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Microsoft paid $7.5 billion to acquire game publisher Bethesda Softworks, giving it access to a raft of popular franchises and whatever the company was working on. To Microsoft's dismay, it owns Redfall first-person shooter crashed and burned upon release last year. Microsoft opted to shut down developer Arkane Austin...
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Asus has pledged to improve its warranty RMA process after being taken to task for what could only be described as extortion. A series of reports, including an investigation by Gamers Nexus, showed that Asus repair centers have a nasty habit of demanding obscene fees to repair minor damage. The company says it's...
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The unannounced Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 has broken cover once again, this time in the flesh—sort of. A retail dummy model has fallen into the wrong (right?) hands, giving us a look at how the phone will compare to the current model. Separately, we also have a few more hardware details and a price tag, which is even...
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It feels like we've been talking about Spotify's lossless streaming option for years, because we have. The leader in streaming music has gotten by with the same compressed tunes since its inception, even as some competitors have started offering lossless music. A new report claims Spotify's higher-quality subscription...
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In 2020, HP released the business-oriented HP ProBook 455 G7, an AMD-powered laptop that retailed for about $1,000. Owners used this device happily for several years, but now these machines are dying in droves. Users suspect HP of bricking the laptop with a bad BIOS update, and so far, HP doesn't have anything useful...
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Adobe rankled creators this week when it prompted Photoshop users to agree to new terms of service. The mandatory policy included some troubling provisions about Adobe's supposed ownership of user content, and prompted fears that the work of creators would be fed into the company's AI models. Adobe has issued a...
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Samsung Kazakhstan is in trouble. It appears someone uploading assets to the company's Kazakhstani website clicked the wrong file and revealed the unannounced Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6. The promo graphic doesn't provide much detail, but this is the first verifiable look at the design of Samsung's upcoming...
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Microsoft has put an expiration date on Windows 10—in a mere 16 months, the aging OS will run out of support. That's a problem for Microsoft as the majority of Windows users are still on version 10. The company is apparently hoping to annoy Windows 10 users into upgrading with a number of new nag screens, but it's...
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You go to YouTube to watch videos, but Google hopes you might want to play some games while you're there, too. A raft of online games within YouTube is being rolled out widely after being tested with YouTube Premium subscribers over the last few months. The "Playables" collection includes some 75 games, including...
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Motorola's next folding phone has made a surprise appearance online. The Moto Razr 50 has been listed by China's telecom regulator TENAA. While this doesn't count as an official unveiling, we now know most of the key features of this device.
Motorola, which is a subsidiary of Lenovo these days, often releases its...
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T-Mobile subscribers who have been enjoying their cheap grandfathered plans are getting a rude awakening. The carrier has started notifying some of its oldest customers that their bills are going up, and the increases could be significant for those with multiple lines. The good news is that if you haven't received a...
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Look at the heart of most flagship Android phones, and you'll find Qualcomm silicon. The San Diego-based firm has seen huge success with its Snapdragon Arm chips, but OEMs looking to use the next-gen version might be hit with sticker shock. A leak on the Chinese Weibo social network predicts the price of the...
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You might have missed it between all the raving about Google's Gemini AI, but Google I/O included some juicy details on the next version of Android. After releasing the first Android 15 beta earlier this year, Google has now moved on to the second beta release, and it includes a feature that could make your phone less...
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Microsoft has been trying to kickstart Windows on ARM for years, but this probably isn't what the company had in mind. A modder has revealed that it is possible to get Windows 11 running on the Nintendo Switch. Although, "running" might be a little generous. The OS works, but it barely crawls along on the Switch's...
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Google Pixel 8a - Starting At $499 The Google Pixel 8a is sleek, speedy, and shoots better photos than virtually any other budget phone. Solid build quality Gorgeous OLED display Excellent camera performance Same processor as flagship Pixels Lots and lots of AI features Seven years of guaranteed updates Sharp, bright...
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A new Android update is rolling out, bundling the latest security patches to keep you safe from malicious apps and websites. Most phones will have to wait to get these updates, but Google's Pixel line will see the fixes without delay. The latest patch also includes some improvements and bug fixes specific to the Pixel...
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Helldivers 2 has been an unexpected hit for developer Arrowhead Game Studios, but Sony almost screwed it all up. The publisher recently announced that it would force all PC players to connect their game to a PlayStation Network (PSN) account. The player base revolted, and then Valve got involved. Now, Sony is backing...
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Shares of NVDA and NVIDIA as a company is worth more money today than it ever has been, thanks to skyrocketing demand in Generative AI, and artificial intelligence in general. It produces the most powerful AI accelerators in the world, like the newly announced Blackwell "superchip," but what about all of those RTX...
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The Google Play Store is the primary app repository for most Android users, and that makes it a tantalizing target for internet ne'er-do-wells. Google says it takes Play Store security seriously—so seriously, in fact, that it has whipped up a nifty little acronym to describe its approach. Google says that it leveraged...
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