appears in the following:

Will Obama's Action Create A Market For 'Smart' Guns?

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

The notion of a gun smart enough to tell who's holding it isn't new.

Since the 1990s, inventors have been developing firearms geared with technologies that can authenticate their users — for instance by recognizing the fingerprint, the grip or an RFID chip — and stop working if held by ...

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Spotify Faces Class Action For Copyright Infringement

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The lawsuit alleges that the streaming music service fails to properly compensate artists for the right to reproduce or distribute recordings. It's the latest in the ongoing debate over streaming.

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QUIZ: Are You Up To Speed On These Quirky Tech Stories Of 2015?

Saturday, December 26, 2015

The year 2015 brought us the Apple Watch, the rise of the "hoverboard" (but it doesn't really hover, we know), lots of stories about virtual reality and self-driving cars and data breaches and encryption and copyright. ... Well, you get the point.

NPR delivered a few quirky stories, too, and ...

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How Did We Do On 2015 Tech Predictions? 'Still Waiting'

Monday, December 21, 2015

Last year, our tech reporters looked ahead to developments dealing with anticipatory computing, data breaches and Apple. Now as 2015 ends, they consider what has changed.

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Need A Last-Minute Gift? Don't Want To Buy Stuff? All Tech Has Ideas

Monday, December 21, 2015

Bummer, you've missed the best time to order Christmas gifts online! And now you have these options: pay for same-day delivery or face the dreaded shopping mall (or resort to that end-of-the-line choice of a gift card, but you wouldn't go there, would you?).

So what's the last-minute buy for ...

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Cybersecurity Legislation Finds A Place In U.S. Budget Bill

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

After years of debate, cybersecurity legislation may pass this week, tucked inside the trillion-dollar federal spending bill.

The House and the Senate both have passed competing versions of cybersecurity legislation and pressed to negotiate a version they could pass before the end of the year. It's now part of the ...

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What Can — Or Should — Internet Companies Do To Fight Terrorism?

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Politicians are pressing social media and tech firms to do more to rein in the online presence of terrorist groups. But there are challenges, including defining what constitutes terrorist content.

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No Longer Just A Toy: Regulators Say Drone Operators Are Pilots

Monday, December 14, 2015

Is a drone a toy or a (tiny) airplane?

To the Department of Transportation, the question is far from complicated.

"Unmanned aircraft operators are aviators and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said on Monday while unveiling new drone registration rules.

...

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Where In The World Is Satoshi Nakamoto? The Latest In The Bitcoin Saga

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

In the words of Wired magazine, it's "one of the most stubborn mysteries of the 21st century": Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym used to refer to the creator of bitcoin, which is the digital currency that has taken the financial world by storm.

The concept can ...

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5 Things To Know: Net Neutrality Is Back In Court

Friday, December 04, 2015

Remember net neutrality?

Right, it's that brain-flexing term that refers to the idea that phone and cable companies should treat all of the traffic on their networks equally. No blocking or slowing their competitors, and no fast lanes for companies that can pay more.

In fact, the term itself was ...

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A Click Too Far: Why Using Social Media Isn't That Great For Fundraising

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

You couldn't look anywhere on Facebook without seeing it: friends, celebrities and complete strangers dumping buckets of ice water to raise awareness of ALS, a neurodegenerative illness also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge ended up raising more than $115 million for ALS research and ...

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This Thanksgiving, Struggling To Skip The Instagram Obsession

Thursday, November 26, 2015

A family member's passing this month sent me on a wistful expedition through endless unnamed photo collections from my old hard drive. I searched for group shots and family holiday pictures in hopes of tracking down one or two nostalgic images of someone very photo-averse.

Instead, I found this — ...

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5 Things To Know: FAA Task Force Recommends A Drone Registry

Monday, November 23, 2015

The Consumer Technology Association forecasts that 400,000 drones will be sold in the United States this holiday season. That's not to mention the commercial drones being developed by Google (now known as Alphabet), Amazon, Wal-Mart and others.

In the face of this drone proliferation, the Federal Aviation Administration ...

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After Paris Attacks, Encrypted Communication Is Back In Spotlight

Monday, November 16, 2015

Security officials say the Paris attacks are an example why law enforcement needs to access encrypted data. Privacy advocates and the tech industry say such "back doors" are not the best solution.

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Slow Wi-Fi? FM Radio Might Help With That

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

If you live in an apartment building or another densely populated area and your Wi-Fi is slow, your neighbors bingeing on Netflix may be to blame.

Your and your neighbors' Wi-Fi networks have a limited number of wireless frequency channels to move your data. And when things get crowded and ...

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#NoCarForMe: The Unconventional Ways We Get Around

Friday, November 06, 2015

 

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Could Your Social Media Footprint Step On Your Credit History?

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

In December 1912, financier John Pierpont "J.P." Morgan testified in Washington before the Bank and Currency Committee of the House of Representatives investigating Wall Street's workings of the time.

The fascinating record produced from the testimony called him the "uncrowned king of finance" and recounted this exchange between Morgan ...

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Not To Be Out-Droned, Google Plans To Deliver Packages By Air In 2017

Monday, November 02, 2015

It's been about a year since Google (now known as Alphabet) first introduced its drone-delivery system known as Project Wing. The project now seems to have a timeline to become reality: 2017.

Reuters is reporting from an air traffic control convention:

"Google, which hopes to revolutionize consumer ...

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#NoCarForMe: Tell Us About Unconventional Means Of Transport Around You

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Urban commutes can get crazy. How do you get around? Is it a bike with a motor and a baby carriage? A hoverboard or souped-up skateboard? Send us photos of DYI, rigged, wacky means of transportation.

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Uber Surge Price? Research Says Walk A Few Blocks, Wait A Few Minutes

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Uber has shaken up what it takes to get from point A to point B in cities across the country with a simple premise: If you need a ride, a driver nearby could pick you up within minutes.

Behind that idea is an algorithm, which promises to keep supply and ...

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