Author Archives: Brittany A. Roston

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has survived its first close approach to the Sun, the space agency has announced. The spacecraft is officially the only human-made object to get within 15 million miles of our star, a record previously set by the Helios B back in 1976. The Parker Solar Probe made its closest approach to the Sun on November 5; data sent back to scientists on Earth indicates it survived the event in excellent condition.

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HTC VIVE has announced a new platform for enterprise customers that includes the Vive Focus, a standalone virtual reality headset targeted at businesses. The hardware is part of a platform and software launching for enterprises in North America and Europe that want to create VR experiences for customers and employees. This marks its expansion outside of Asia.

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Comcast is developing products to target its cord-cutting customers, according to a new report. The alleged platform is intended for customers who only have a broadband Internet subscription, though it'll be an uphill battle against established competitors like Roku and Netflix. Comcast's alleged products will include a set-top box.

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Twelve South has a new wireless charger for Qi-enabled smartphones and it's called PowerPic. The name refers to the device's unique design, which transforms the smartphone into a piece of art...at least until it finishes charging. When not in use, PowerPic looks like an ordinary picture frame that blends in with other room decor.

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Researchers have discovered the world's oldest known cave painting of an animal, according to a new study. The painting features a creature that looks like a bull and dates back around 40,000 years. Until now, scientists believed the world's oldest cave paintings were located in Europe, but this newly discovered art was found in Indonesia.

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Microsoft has revealed new Word features powered by artificial intelligence. The new tools make it simple to create to-do lists for catching back up on things that still need done, as well as a simplified ability to collaborate with other users. The features are arriving first for Mac beta users, but they'll eventually be launched on both Mac and Windows, as well as online.

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T-Mobile has launched a new $50/month unlimited prepaid plan. The new offering is through T-Mobile Prepaid, not Metro by T-Mobile, and it'll only be available for a limited time. The plan gives customers unlimited data on T-Mobile's 4G LTE network, as well as unlimited talk and text, but there are a few big restrictions.

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Facebook users have anticipated a Messenger "unsend" feature for months, but the company still hasn't provided one. The feature was promised very shortly after a report revealed that Facebook had removed some of Mark Zuckerberg's messages from other users' inboxes, an ability that's not available to ordinary users. Though that's about to change, the unsend option isn't quite what users had expected.

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Daybreak Games has announced the release of H1Z1: Battle Royale Battle Pass Season 2 for the PlayStation 4. The game's North America PS4 servers went offline at 8AM PST today, ushering in the new season for Battle Pass players. The premium option includes 75 tiers with rewards that are progressively unlocked as the player levels up.

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Google is testing new features in Google Maps that mirror offerings already available in Waze. The company is looking into both speed trap warnings and crash reports, both of which are already available in its other transportation app. Some users have access to these reports now, though it's unclear how many people are seeing them at this time.

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NASA says its Curiosity rover just wrapped up a relatively long trip on Mars, this resulting in its odometer turning over the 12-mile mark. The rover is now located at the Red Planet's Lake Orcadie, a site where NASA previously attempted to drill into grey rock. The space agency anticipates successful results this time around thanks to newly identified drill sites and an improved drilling process.

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AT&T is about to crackdown on repeat pirates and the result will leave some scrambling for a new provider. According to insiders that have spoken up, the company plans to soon cut off the service of customers who have repeatedly downloaded copyrighted content despite at least nine past warnings to stop. More than a dozen customers will reportedly be notified of the service banhammer in coming days.

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