Acting head of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Thomas Homan told Sen. Ron Wyden the agency does not use cell-site simulators—a type of surveillance gear often referred to as a “Stingray” that can track down a specific mobile device by emulating cell phone towers—to locate undocumented immigrants.
Tired of teaching your older family members how to use their smartphones every time you visit? Just do what YouTube’s Mr. Volt did and build a custom cellphone out of aluminum, brass, and wood with a working rotary dial that’s reminiscent of the ancient land line phones introduced back in the 1920s.
Introducing the LudusScope, a 3D-printed, open-sourced system that lets you control and play games with living microbes on your smartphone. Tormenting single-celled organisms has never been so much fun.
MIT’s self-assembly lab has created cell phones that build themselves, in a manner of speaking. There’s no fancy nano- or bio- technology involved, nothing theoretical or suggestive of a near-future Singularity. It’s devilishly simple, because the whole project boils down to throwing phone parts into a rock tumbler.
If, and by how much cellphones increase the risk of brain cancer is a long and disputed argument. No one study is going to settle anything, but one statistical analysis of data in Australia hints at cellphones being reasonably safe.
Distracted driving is a hazard up there with drinking and driving, but with a problem for cops: Snapchat scores can’t be determined by smelling someone’s breath. A solution proposed in draft New York legislation would solve that, using a roadside phone analyzer.
If you’re living with high-speed internet in one of Google’s Fiber cities, your landline telephone might yet live to see another day. Today, Google announced Fiber Phone, a cloud-based phone number you can use from any tablet, laptop, or phone—including a landline. It’s like Google Voice on bad steroids.
House Representative Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) has put forward a bill that will require retailers to ask for identification from anyone buying a prepaid cellphone.
The New York Police Department has admitted to using controversial cell phone spying systems known as Stingrays—which can be used to track the location and intercept personal communications of nearby cellphone users. In a report from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the NYPD confirmed using the Stingray more than…
The next time you go buy a new cellphone, things are going to look a lot different. The subsidized two-year contract is all but dead, and the carriers have replaced it with a new heap of confusing options. Here’s what you need to know about buying a phone in 2016.
Canada’s new Liberal government is committed to bringing 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year (not long left!). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for a “whole of Canada effort” to integrate “10,000 new Canadians”, and one cell carrier is actually responding.
Oh no! AT&T is raising the price of grandfathered unlimited data plans to thirty-five whole dollars. Stop whining: it’s still a fantastic deal for anyone fortunate to have it.
Last month, the Department of Justice announced that investigators would require a warrant to use a tool called a StingRay that mimics a cell tower to spy on phones. There were a few exceptions listed, however, including issues of homeland security. But now the Department of Homeland Security says it will also require…
Back in April, Google announced Project Fi, its very own wireless network that requires no contract, has no termination fees, and even refunds unused data. Well, according to the official Project Fi Twitter, free instant invites are available for the next 24 hours to celebrate the shipment of the new Nexus 5X.
Louis CK has a track record for amusing commentary about phones. Now, the A to Z Review has compiled a solid five minutes of it into one video. You will laugh, you will wince, you will question modern life.
Most phones have some kind of quick charge system these days and on Android many of them are powered by Qualcomm’s Quick Charge. But the technology has been given an overhaul, and the next-gen version will take a dead phone to 80 percent of charge in just 35 minutes. That is lightning fast.
Mobile phone data can provide a rich source of information for understanding human activity. Now, researchers from MIT have built a tool that visualizes cell phone use in cities around the world, for any of us to study.
I can’t be the only one in the mood for some phone-smashing stories.
I’m a gadget nerd. I love having the latest and greatest phone. But my wife is more frugal—she’d rather run her phone into the ground before upgrading. But is upgrading every three years really more cost effective than upgrading every year? I ran some numbers to find out.
