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Showing posts from January 22, 2017

Reviews of Meizu Pro 6 Plus

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Of all the products I’ve used from Chinese OEMs, those from Meizu always struck me as the most polished. While Meizu largely focuses on their home market, their smartphones are typically quite usable in Western territories, with near-perfect English localization. Better yet, Meizu employs a Xiaomi-like pricing structure such that most of their phones are aggressively priced for the hardware you get. The Pro 6 Plus is the highest-end smartphone currently sold by Meizu. It’s a true flagship, featuring the same Exynos SoC as seen in the Samsung Galaxy S7 , a large 5.7-inch 1440p AMOLED display, and a beautiful aluminium unibody chassis. Even the camera, a 12-megapixel sensor with OIS and laser autofocus, is similar to what we see in high-end devices from Samsung, Google and Huawei. Despite packing top-end specifications, the Meizu Pro 6 Plus is an affordable handset in China, retailing for just CNY 2,999 (approximately US$430). It may cost a bit more than this to

Upcoming Windows 10 update reduces spying, but Microsoft is still mum on which data it specifically collects

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Upcoming Windows 10 update reduces spying, but Microsoft is still mum on which data it specifically collects Facebook There’s some good news for privacy-minded individuals who haven’t been fond of Microsoft’s data collection policy with Windows 10. When the upcoming Creators Update drops this spring, it will overhaul Microsoft’s data collection policies. Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, has published a  blog post with a list of the changes Microsoft will be making. First, Microsoft has launched a new web-based privacy dashboard with the goal of giving people an easy, one-stop location for controlling how much data Microsoft collects. Your pri

Uber fined $20 million for lying about driver earnings, predatory financin

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Facebook Uber, the San Francisco ride-sharing company, has been in the news of late over its game of chicken with the city of San Francisco over a $150 license fee for self-driving vehicles (which it lost) and for losing an estimated $3 billion dollars in 2016. Now the company has been fined $20 million by the FTC for its predatory lending practices and its exaggerated claims about driver pay. “Many consumers sign up to drive for Uber, but they shouldn’t be taken for a ride about their earnings potential or the cost of financing a car through Uber,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This settlement will put millions of dollars back in Uber drivers’ pockets.” The FTC fined the

This week in space: a wave on Venus and a mysterious object in Cygnus A

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Facebook Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died on Monday , January 16. He was 82. NASA didn’t state the cause of Cernan’s death, but they did note that he had been ill for some time, and was surrounded by family at the end. In tribute, NASA wrote of Cernan, “A captain in the U.S. Navy, [he] left his mark on the history of exploration by flying three times in space, twice to the moon.” Let’s not let the story of human lunar exploration end with Capt. Cernan. I take leave to speculate that he wouldn’t want to be the last man ever to walk on the moon. We are saddened by the loss of retired NASA astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. https://t.co/Q9OSdRewI5 pic.twitter.com/gPdFTnXF2C —

ET deals: Save big on the USB Type-C Dell Dock

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Facebook Twitter Google Plus Reddit Hacker News Want to be able to connect all of your peripherals to your shiny new laptop with a single cable? Today, Dell is selling a USB Type-C laptop dock for 35% off the list price. And when you buy now, you’ll get a $50 gift card to boot. • USB Type-C Dell Dock for $129.99 with a $50 eGift card (Coupon code: DEAL35 — List price: $199.99) In terms of connectivity, this box features a USB Type-C port, two USB 2.0 ports, three USB 3.0 ports, a speaker output, a combo audio port, gigabit et