That the US government under President Trump wants to ban TikTok in the country is no surprise. That it wants TikTok to sell to a US company in order to escape that ban, a deal that includes giving the US Treasury some percentage, is not a shocker either. What was rather unexpected was that Microsoft is apparently so interested in buying up the popular short-video social network that CEO Satya Nadella personally talked with government officials about it. It turns out, Twitter is another prospective buyer and it might actually be a better fit for a TikTok owner. Presuming, of course, it could even buy it.

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The size of smartphones often belies the power they hold as well as the complexity of their construction. Phones may be said to come from this or that country or manufacturer but the truth is that different parts can be traced back to different sources and suppliers. All smartphones have many components in common, of course, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors have the lion's share of those. Unfortunately, that also means that when that particular chip turns out to have a vulnerability, it also puts the majority of the world's smartphones at risk.

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Apple's partially bitten apple logo has remained practically unchanged since the beginning except for the color. Given how it is one of the most iconic logos today, it isn't surprising that it will fight tooth and nail to protect it against trademark violators and copycats, of which there are many. What you might expect, however, is for Apple to attack any company, big or especially small, that uses any fruit for a logo, which is apparently what it has been doing almost silently until a certain Prepear app decided they won't take things sitting down.

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Compared to Sony, Microsoft has been more forthcoming with details about its next-gen consoles. Actually, it has forthcoming with the Xbox Series X, which is set to be its next premier gaming device. It has been quite mum, however, when it comes to a rumored cheaper console that will take after its equally cheaper Xbox One S console. Now there seems to be confirmation that such an entry-level console is just around the corner and it will unsurprisingly be called the Xbox Series S.

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Samsung definitely had a packed Unpacked 2020 and each and every one of the products it announced are notable in their own right. Yes, including the accessories. Of course, many have been anticipating some word on Samsung's next foldable phone and it didn't disappoint even though the details are still thin at this point. Samsung promised more will be revealed on September 1 but, in the meantime, there seem to be plenty of teasers to go around.

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It seems that Huawei is quickly running out of time to keep its mobile business from getting significantly impacted by its tussle with the US government. It has just confirmed that its upcoming high-end Mate 40 series flagship will be the last of its kind to bear its equally high-end systems-on-chip, the Kirin processors made by subsidiary HiSilicon. While there is still a great deal of uncertainty in HiSilicon's future, Huawei has apparently gained an unlikely champion in Qualcomm.

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Despite the global health and economic situation, it seems that August is quickly becoming the month for smartphones. Its first week was marked by no less than three major announcements, not counting the slightly smaller ones, and the train hasn't stopped yet. In just a few days, one of the Android world's next most innovative device might finally be announced, with the Microsoft Surface Duo potentially giving the Galaxy Z Fold 2 some tough competition, even if in attention only.

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Typically when celestial objects are named, it's a long stream of letters and numbers that make no sense and don't exactly roll off the tongue. That means many of the celestial objects end up with nicknames that are easier to say and remember. However, NASA has now said that some of the nicknames given to cosmic objects are "insensitive" and will be retired.

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Anyone who's ever been off-roading on a narrow trail knows how difficult it can be to turn around. Sometimes you can find enough space to do a multipoint turn, but other times the only thing you can do is keep going until you find enough space to turn. A new video has turned up online that shows an interesting feature of the 2021 Ford Bronco.

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Nikon is the latest camera company to release software that enables it cameras to function as webcams, a necessity in our new remote-working world. Camera companies began releasing this new functionality several weeks ago as retailers experienced a shortage of high-quality webcams and many people were forced to find alternatives while working remotely.

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NASA is doing some very cool things on and in orbit above Mars. One of the spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet is called MAVEN. Over the last couple of years, MAVEN made some observations of the Martian atmosphere in the ultraviolet spectrum and discovered something very cool. When the atmosphere is viewed in the ultraviolet spectrum, the sky has nightglow that pulses in a green color invisible to the naked eye.

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In addition to the pandemic's impact on movie and television production, many have speculated over how upcoming seasons and new shows will handle the topic -- will they go on like normal or will they incorporate the pandemic into their storylines? We're still not sure, but a new report claims that CBS will soon release its first show that will be relevant to these times.

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