Geek News

The US Department of Justice has reportedly opened an antitrust investigation to determine whether AT&T, Verizon, and mobile industry group GSM Association (GSMA) colluded to prevent consumers from easily switching carriers with devices that support eSIM, according to The New York Times . All four major carriers received requests for information about the investigation, according to CNBC . The Times reports that the DOJ "demanded" details from the three over potential steps taken to impede the adoption of eSIM, which lets wireless customers switch carriers without requiring a physical SIM card to be inserted. AT&T and Verizon are accused of working with GSMA to develop standards that would allow them to keep devices locked to their... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HR3VuM"

Chinese technology company ZTE issued a statement today in response to the US government’s banning of American exports to the company. The US Department of Commerce says ZTE didn’t uphold a plea agreement after the company pleaded guilty last year to illegally shipping US equipment to Iran and North Korea. The department specifically says the company still gave employees who acted illegally full bonuses, despite saying it wouldn’t. Additionally, only four senior staffers were fired out of the 35 who reportedly violated the law, Reuters reported . Now, four days after the ban, ZTE says it tried to comply with the US and invested “tremendous resources in export compliance.” It says, “the Denial Order will not only severely impact the... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2F4pQvd"

Huawei may be effectively banned in the US, but if you’re really interested in snagging the impressive P20 , the company just announced that the new devices will be coming to neighboring Canada next month. According to Android Central , the Huawei P20, P20 Lite, and P20 Pro will be available through several Canadian telecoms, including Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido, Virgin Mobile, Koodo, and Vidéotron, on May 17th. Huawei has not confirmed pricing on these devices, but the P20 currently starts at €649 in Europe. Our senior editor Vlad Savov gave the premium P20 Pro high marks on its sleek design, huge battery life, and a camera that could eat the Pixel 2’s lunch, especially for low-light photography. While the devices do have the... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HhmFGI"

If you want to buy one of the recent Star Wars or Marvel Cinematic Universe films on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon, you’re out of luck if you’re not a member of Amazon Prime. The online retailer has reserved a number of the home releases for the two franchises exclusively for purchase by Prime members. Amazon has made some items exclusives for Prime members before, using the exclusivity to drive customers toward signing up for the $99-per-year membership. We’ve reached out to Amazon to see how long this will last. As of now, The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Ant-Man , The Avengers, Captain America: First Avenger, Winter Soldier, and Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vo l. 2, Iron Man 3, Spiderman: Homecoming, and Thor : The Dark... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2F4bDOX"

AT&T will be launching a “skinny bundle” of television channels that will only cost $15 a month, according to The Wall Street Journal . This would make the offer, which does not include sports, one of the cheapest available for live streaming TV. The deal, to be called AT&T Watch, was announced by chief executive Randall Stephenson on Thursday when he testified during the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust trial . Stephenson brought up the new product to counter the Justice Department’s argument that AT&T continues to raise prices on its traditional DirecTV satellite service. The included channels were not specified, but Stephenson said that AT&T Wireless subscribers would receive AT&T Watch for free. The service should be launched within the next... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2F4GfzU"

Nintendo’s new cardboard creation experiment Labo is out today, but if you had concerns about your Toy-Con kits breaking or wearing out (because, well, they’re made of cardboard), fear not. Nintendo is selling replacement parts for nearly every piece of the Toy-Con kits over at its online store , as spotted by IGN . Parts range from $1.99 for more reflective stickers to up to $13.99 for the cardboard robot body, with plenty in between for other pieces and parts. Our games editor Andrew Webster noted in his review that the Labo kits are surprisingly durable , and the Labo apps are apparently pretty helpful in guiding DIY repairs, too. The option to buy outright replacements without spending the extra money on a whole new kit seems like a... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HA7zez"

It was a slow week until Google decided to attempt another fix for Android messaging and Nintendo made the entire staff fall in love with cardboard . Nilay’s still on paternity leave, but Dieter and Paul are grateful to be joined again by technology editor Natt Garun to help explain it all. We also jumped on the hot-button issues like the Russian ban of Telegram and how Alexa Skill Blueprints aren’t Turing complete. And, of course, Paul’s weekly segment “Ring-a-ding-ding” has all the insightful Bluetooth MIDI accessory commentary you crave. 1:20 - Chat for Android 20:48 - Telegram 29:22 - Nintendo Labo 37:41 - Amazon Skill Blueprints 41:09 - Motorola G6 43:44 - Paul’s Weekly Segment “ Ring-a-ding-ding ” 46:39 - New free Spotify 48:51 - RIP... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2Hi0XhN"

I’m here to quell your health concerns: staring at a screen doesn’t damage your eyes. They won’t make you go blind, and your doctor isn’t going to worry about your health if he or she hears that you’re spending a lot of time in front of them. However, you might feel uncomfortable after a long time in front of a backlight, and you might even experience the symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome, a fancy name for the eye strain and discomfort monitors can cause. You could try adjusting your entire monitor and desk setup to remedy your pain, or you could use moistening eyedrops. The 20-20-20 rule also exists, which dictates that after 20 minutes of screen staring, you should stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Take a break. Those... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2Ja697K"

To your health! Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qOABwN"

AT&T has steadily improved its prepaid phone plans over the past few years, and today, it’s making a few more additions and improvements. The highlight is a new 8GB plan that costs $50 per month, but comes down to $40 per month if you enroll in automatic monthly payments to renew service. While that might not be possible for all customers, it’s not a huge ask since many people will be using the service as a regular, monthly plan anyway. The new 8GB plan more or less replaces the 6GB plan that AT&T used to sell for $45 ($40 with auto pay), though customers will still be able to get it in stores if they want. As long as you’re getting the discount though, there’s no reason not to upgrade, since the new plan has an extra 2GB of data and no... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qLoBgh"

Apple’s efforts to diversify its reliance on Samsung as an iPhone display manufacturer has reportedly hit problems. The Wall Street Journal reports that efforts to get LG Display’s OLED screens into the iPhone production line have hit manufacturing issues. Apple is reportedly divided on whether LG will be able to succeed as the second source of OLED displays for the iPhone. Analysts have been warning for months that Apple is i n “urgent” need of finding another iPhone OLED supplier besides Samsung. Apple currently uses Samsung’s OLED displays for the company’s iPhone X model. The reliance on a single supplier means Samsung controls pricing on the displays that Apple is buying — and there’s no other alternative at the moment. LG returned... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2F2RdWx"

Sharp just put a price tag and European delivery date on its 70-inch 8K television already out in Japan and China: €11,199, sometime before April is done. That’s a month later than Sharp had originally scheduled. For what it’s worth, the European price for Sharp’s LV-70X500E television translates to about $13,800 (including tax). But so far, Sharp isn’t including the US of A in its 8K TV plans. Sharp 8K TV launches end of April, 11,119€ 8k cams are out there & there is upscaling. If you want bigger screens, 8k is the way to go #IFA18GPC pic.twitter.com/FJxD0sE9ef — Nicole Scott (@Nicole_Scooter) April 20, 2018 Of course, you’ll need to stop and ask yourself if the premium you’ll pay for an 8K TV in 2018 is a smart use of your trust... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HiecPg"

I’ve never been to Panama, but apparently its rainy season runs from May to December. If you’re a PC gamer that happens to be planning a trip there sometime later this year, then, does Alienware ever have the accommodation for you. Room 2425 at the Hilton Panama has a nice view of the beaches that you won’t be spending any time on, alongside a 65-inch 4K OLED TV, an Alienware PC with a Core i7-7800 and a GTX 1080Ti, Xbox One Elite controllers, an Oculus Rift, an Alienware laptop hooked up to a 34-inch ultra wide monitor, a racing chair, interactive lighting, and some weird beanbag thing with an Alienware logo on it. And two beds. Echale un vistazo al #Alienware Room en el Hotel @HiltonPanama ¡El primero de su tipo! p... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2F1ZaeR"

Google’s in-house incubator Area 120 just released an app called Grasshopper , which teaches you how to code JavaScript through a series of fun mini-games, as reported by 9to5Google . The goal, according to the coders who worked on the app, is to make coding feel fun and approachable as it increasingly is becoming a necessary skill. The app works with bite-sized puzzles and quizzes, so you can breeze through a couple lessons each day when you have some spare time. You log in with your Google account, are walked through basic coding definitions, and then you start the exercises. The further along you get, the more complicated the puzzles become. The app will also ask if you’d like to set a practice schedule and get reminders — daily or a... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HcPJyY"

Ahead of Earth Day, Apple has debuted a new robot named Daisy that can take apart iPhones in order to recover valuable materials inside, as reported by TechCrunch . The robot is a successor to Liam , another recycling robot made by Apple that was revealed in 2016. In fact, Daisy was created with some of Liam’s old parts, making it a recycled robot that helps recycle iPhones. Daisy is capable of taking apart nine different versions of the iPhone, and it can disassemble up to 200 iPhones an hour. It also separates parts and removes certain components as it goes. Along with Daisy, Apple has also announced a temporary program called GiveBack, where customers can turn in devices in store or through Apple.com to be recycled. For every device... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2EZZFGc"

The latest version of Google Chrome, version number 66, quietly added support for Oculus’ Rift headset, meaning you can now use the high-end VR device to browse the web in VR and make use of compatible WebVR applications. Rift support was first picked up by keen Reddit users on the Oculus subreddit this week, some of whom noticed the new feature in the hidden “Experiments” section of Chrome. Variety later reported on the existence of the feature, and The Verge can confirm that Rift support in Chrome is live now for the Windows 10 version of Google’s browser only. That makes sense, given VR web apps won’t run on an Oculus that’s plugged into a Mac. Up until now, web VR experiences have been mostly relegated to the mobile version of... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qLPxvr"

Google is in discussions with brands about creating how-to videos for Google Assistant, according to CNBC . The step-by-step videos will be a new feature showcased at I/O 2018 in May, the report claims, and will launch to consumers “several months later.” Several companies including Sony, JBL, and Lenovo have announced devices featuring displays that will allow visual answers from Google’s voice assistant; they look very similar to Amazon’s Echo Show and are meant to compete with that product. How-to videos could be another area of content for those devices, though it seems like the branded “official” how-tos-would compete against the plethora of existing instructional content on YouTube. But you can’t exactly go step-by-step in a... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qJVmdP"

Verizon has announced that, starting today, its parental controls product, FamilyBase, will be upgraded and renamed . The new parenting controls app, called Verizon Smart Family, will allow parents to manage aspects of their kids’ smartphones like content filters and screen time limits. Up to six family members can use the app, which provides a variety of ways for parents to monitor how kids are using their phones. Content filters let you block objectionable websites and content in categories like violence and drugs, alcohol, and gambling, or restrict access to certain apps. Parents can also block unwanted contacts, view their child’s text and call history, and check on how much battery the phone has left. Limits can also be set on phone... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J4U43J"