How to block calls on your Android phone

There are plenty of times where you want to block calls from certain numbers. It could be an insurance company trying to make you claim compensation for an accident you never had, or a possessive ex-girlfriend or boyfriend. Whatever your reasons, we can show you how to block calls on your Android phone, whether it's an HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony or stock Android device. Samsung (Galaxy S4, S5, S6, Note 4) To block all calls from an individual on your Samsung ...

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Exynos 8890 benchmark may literally be incredible

If you decide to get a Samsung Galaxy S7 next year, you’ll have to deal with what our friends with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus had to earlier on this season. Samsung is said to only have production capacity for so many Exynos 8890 chipsets that it will only appear on half of all S7 units. The other half will get theSnapdragon 820.We’ve the former get benchmarked on GeekBench with some pretty outstanding results. But the Exynos 8890 has very little to ...

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Professor saves home with smart sprinklers from 3,000km away

Deadly bushfires have swept across South Australia this week, destroying countless properties and natural spaces. One ingenious professor was able to save his rural home, however, by remotely activating sprinklers using a smartphone. Simon Maddocks, the President and Vice-Chancellor of Charles Darwin University, had been notified of the fires by friends and messages sent by the Country Fire Service (CFS). He was sitting comfortably in his Darwin office, far from danger, but knew ...

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The Pirate Bay won't be blocked on its home turf

Numerous countries order their internet service providers block The Pirate Bay, but its home country of Sweden won't be one of them... at least, for now. A Stockholm court has ruled that Sweden can't make ISPs block the piracy site, since those companies aren't responsible for what their customers do. The networks aren't participating in any crimes, according to the ruling -- they're just the delivery medium. The music and movie studios that pushed for the ban are likely to appeal ...

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Apple's next iPhone reportedly ditches the headphone jack

Apple's quest for ever-thinner, ever-smarter devices may produce another casualty: your iPhone's headphone jack. A rumor at MacOtakara claims that the next iPhone might drop the 3.5mm port and use the Lightning port for audio instead. The move would let Apple slim its phone even further (reportedly, over 1mm thinner than the iPhone 6s) and take advantage of Lightning's features, such as headphone-based DACs and app launching. You'd have to use an ...

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This 'Super Mario Bros.' watch will cost you $18,950

How much of a Nintendo fan are you? Enough that you could spend as much as you would on a car, just to show the world where your allegiances lie? You'll want to talk to luxury watchmaker Romain Jerome, then. It just unveiled a limited edition Super Mario Bros. mechanical timepiece that marks the 30th anniversary of the plumber's adventures in style. And we do mean style: its 46mm case is made out of black titanium, and the three-layer dial is loaded ...

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Bill Gates is launching a multibillion-dollar clean energy fund

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is set to reveal a massive clean energy project on Monday, during the first day of the United Nations climate change summit in Paris.According to Reuters, which originally reported the news, the French government has confirmed that the ex-CEO-turned-philanthropist will launch the Clean Tech Initiative, a push to commit countries to double their budgets on clean energy tech research and developments by 2020. But Gates won't be working ...

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The most underrated Android phones of 2015

Every year there are phones that everybody talks about incessantly – the new Galaxy or LG, the new Nexus and so on – but there are always some really great phones that simply don't get the airplay they deserve. So we're going to try to set the record straight and count down what we think are the most underrated smartphones of 2015. 5. OnePlus X The OnePlus X has certainly gotten a lot of attention. If OnePlus knows how to do anything, it's how to get people to pay attention. ...

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Nexus 5X $80 Off On Amazon, B&H, And Google Store ($299/$349)

Every Black Friday weekend there seems to be one deal that draws my attention by shining brighter than all the other flickering lights of lesser bargains floating around the dark confines of the internet. This year, this is the deal that burns brightest in my eyes. A deal involving one of the hottest Android phones of the year, a killer price, a bonus gift card, no sales tax for most buyers, and free shipping makes for the magic pentacta (It's like a trifecta but with five things. Don't look ...

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HTC Announces HTC Preview, A Program To Get Input From Users On Upcoming Software And Devices

HTC is at something of a crossroads right now. After the disappointing performance of the One M9 earlier this year and steadily declining revenue, the company is launching the HTC Preview program. It's a way for users to test unreleased devices and software in order to help HTC improve them before they see the light of day. The HTC Preview team also did an AMA on Reddit to talk about the program, though they shied away from some of the tougher questions. If you sign up for HTC Preview, ...

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OnePlus Concedes That Its Type-C Cables Are Out Of Spec, Will Offer Refunds To Customers

Google engineer Benson Leung recently started a crusade against bad USB Type-C cables, and one of the cables he warned people to stay away from is the one sold by OnePlus. Now OnePlus has responded to the uproar, saying that it will offer refunds to customers who purchased these cables. Well, you can apply for a refund. It's not clear how long it'll take. The issue is that OP's Type-C cable and the Type-C adapter both have a 10kΩ resistor, which as Benson Leung ...

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OnePlus won't replace the 2's flawed USB Type-C cable

Google engineer Benson Leung recently tested the OnePlus 2's USB Type-C cable and said it "may cause damage to your charger, hub or PC USB port" if used on a fast-charging device. OnePlus has now admitted that it doesn't conform to the USB Type-C 1.1 spec, and has agreed to give refunds to its customers. There's one large caveat, however. Since the cable can't cause problems with the OnePlus 2 itself (it's not a fast-charging phone), the company won't give refunds or ...

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Mozilla says it doesn't need Google's cash to survive

For many years, Firefox's survival was tied into how generous the folks over at Google were feeling, since the company effectively bankrolled the browser. Times have changed, and in an interview with CNET, Mozilla's Denelle Dixon-Thayer said that its financial future is looking better than ever. Back in the day, Google paid to be the search engine of choice within Firefox, but Mozilla now prefers not to put all of its cash-based eggs in a single basket. That's why it's signed ...

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T-Mobile will give you an extra $200 to switch from Sprint

T-Mobile's ongoing feud with Sprint continues to have some benefits for your bottom line... and this time, T-Mobile is trying to tempt you with cold, hard cash. As of November 26th, the carrier is running a month-long promo that promises an extra $200 (on top of the existing credit) for every phone line you bring over from one of Sprint's networks, whether it's a prepaid Boost plan or a full-fledged subscription. You don't need to trade in your old gear, either. The ...

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The best deals this Black Friday

Every November, people in the US (and other parts of the world) spend millions of dollars during the biggest shopping day of the year: Black Friday. This tradition is only growing too, as retailers broaden their limited-time deals from the physical world to the internet. Whether you're looking for an e-reader or a fancy 4K TV, you won't have trouble finding deep discounts on Black Friday. Luckily we're breaking down the best deals available in 2015 to help you navigate the endless ...

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NASA had successfully installed the first of 18 mirrors on the new James Webb space telescope

NASA announced on Wednesday that it had successfully installed the first of 18 mirrors on the new James Webb space telescope. The work took place at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland earlier this week. These 4-foot wide hexagonal mirrors will unfold once the telescope reaches orbit and and operate like a single 21-foot wide reflector. Each mirror is comprised of super-lightweight beryllium (though they still tip the scales at 88 pounds apiece). ...

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