As SpaceX prepares to launch Starlink, a big question facing the satellite internet service is how fast it’ll operate in the real world. Well, there’s actually some speed test data that shows Starlink can deliver download speeds from 11Mbps to 60Mbps. Apparently, some lucky beta users have been trying out Starlink on Ookla’s Speedtest website. […]
See that little “closed lock” icon in your web browser, right next to the URL? That means you’re browsing via HTTPS, encrypting your traffic so third parties can’t spy on most of the information you’re sending. But secure-looking HTTPS websites can still house insecure HTTP forms for you to fill in your passwords and other personal data — and […]
Earlier this year, Apple acquired Dark Sky, a popular hyperlocal weather app available on iOS and Android. With the acquisition, the Dark Sky app for Android was shut down earlier this month on August 1st. The Android app is no longer available on the Google Play Store, and users who try to open the app […]
Elon Musk’s companies have had their fair share of highs and lows in the public’s eyes but SpaceX may have lately taken the lion’s share of goodwill thanks to a series of successful launches and tests of its rockets and crew capsule. It was also the most recent recipient of some heavy criticism due to […]
When was the last time you called someone on a landline phone? This appliance used to be a staple of every home – then smartphones arrived. Now the shift to mobile phones in China is causing some to sever another kind of landline, but this time for internet thanks to the rise of 5G networks.In […]
It’s been well over a year since a US ban forced Google to cut off Huawei, but an ongoing and renewed license has allowed the two companies to work together and continue supporting phones already in the hands of consumers with Android updates. Now, though, that license is in jeopardy. The Washington Post reports that, […]
Rumors have swirled of a Galaxy S20 Fan Edition that would serve as a lower-cost alternative to the original, and it now appears to exist as more than just a collection of murmurs. Well-known tipster OnLeaks and Pricebaba have posted leak-based renders of what they say is the Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) 5G. The […]
Secure messaging app Telegram has launched an alpha version of one-on-one video calls on both its Android and iOS apps, the company announced, saying 2020 had “highlighted the need for face-to-face communication.” In a blog post marking its seventh anniversary, Telegram described the process for starting a video call: tap the profile page of the […]
A Miramar-based nonprofit is helping local families connect to the internet at a time when some 90% of California students are starting their school years doing distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteers and workers in the Computers 2 Kids program are refurbishing donated laptops at a warehouse in Miramar. The program specifically targets needy […]
A common complaint with modern smartphones is that they are black boxes. Android and iOS are complicated pieces of software, each with hundreds (if not thousands) of independent functions running in the background. Even when we explicitly turn off certain functions, our phones don’t always do as they’re told. That’s part of what makes the […]
Mozilla confirmed it is laying off around 250 employees, or a quarter of its workforce, amid a “significant restructuring” aimed in part at “fixing the internet.” How this will ultimately affect the company’s Firefox browser remains to be seen, though as a result of Mozilla’s cost-cutting efforts, it will be reducing investments in some areas […]
Facebook is going all-in on short-form videos. After flirting with the idea in Lasso, a TikTok-clone it tested in select markets, and adding a similar feature called Reels to Instagram recently, the company is exploring a new venue for this TikTok -esque experience: The big blue app. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it is […]
