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Four major European telecommunications companies have announced a partnership to explore direct-to-device satellite connectivity for mobile phones. The effort is positioned as a potential rival to Elon Musk's Starlink, which already offers similar satellite-based phone connectivity in some markets.
US prosecutors allege that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer charged with planting a hidden recording device in a company meeting room, had 'frequent communication' with a member of the Saudi royal family and received financial support from a Saudi military official. Court filings state a Saudi official paid for a one-way flight for Alfozan's wife and son back to Saudi Arabia after his arrest, and that the couple had booked one-way tickets for themselves before he was detained by the FBI on October 9. Prosecutors argue these ties make him a flight risk and are seeking his continued detention pending trial.
A tech explainer outlines a step-by-step process for diagnosing why USB devices repeatedly disconnect, including testing different ports and devices, inspecting connectors and cables for damage, and checking ports for debris. It also recommends bypassing USB hubs and using back ports on desktops, which connect directly to the motherboard, for more reliable long-term connections.
Amazon Echo devices always listen for their wake word, but users can mute the microphone entirely using the mic-slash button on top of the device, which triggers a red light when active. Alternatively, users can adjust data retention settings in the Alexa app under Alexa Privacy to choose how long voice recordings and transcripts are kept, including options to delete them by voice command on supported devices.
Amazon launched two new always-recording wearables, the Bee Frontier wristband and Bee Eclipse card device, joining Apple's Siri Recap and Live Rewind features on its latest Watch and Meta's camera-equipped smart glasses. These devices continuously transcribe conversations and daily activity to help users with reminders, notes and summaries, but some bystanders have objected to being recorded without clear consent.
A new free iOS app called Hoardware allows users to track and organize their Apple hardware, logging details like model numbers, serial numbers, and software versions. The app auto-fills device details and images when adding items, includes a coverage tab showing iOS version distribution across a collection, and can alert users to new software updates. It requires iOS 17 or later and has no ads, in-app purchases, or subscriptions.
Android phones let users check which apps consume the most storage via Settings > Device Care > Storage > Apps, where apps can be uninstalled or archived. Archiving removes an app's core files and temporary data while keeping login credentials and personal settings intact for easy reinstallation. Android also offers an 'auto-archive' feature that automatically archives rarely used apps when storage runs low, which Google says can free up nearly 60 percent of an app's storage space without deleting its data.
A flashing yellow light on an Amazon Echo device signals that Alexa has a pending message or notification, a feature introduced in 2017. Users can clear it by asking Alexa questions like 'What notifications do I have?' and can navigate multiple alerts using commands such as 'next' or 'repeat'.
Roughly 50 million electric motors powering fans, pumps and compressors across U.S. factories and buildings consume nearly a third of the country's electricity, often far more than necessary. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) can cut that waste, but a 2021 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report found only 16 percent of industrial motor systems and 4 percent of commercial ones use them, largely due to installation hassle and lack of mandates.
A tech how-to explains that plugging an external USB drive into a router's USB port and enabling file sharing in the router settings can turn that drive into a makeshift Network Attached Storage (NAS) device accessible to every device on the home network. The guide notes this approach lets users share photos, documents, movies and other files locally without needing a computer to stay powered on, unlike some streaming setups such as Sonos' current folder-sharing method.
A CNET home-security tester recommends four categories of DIY devices to secure a front door and porch: smart locks, video doorbells, and two additional unnamed tools covered later in the piece. The locks offer remote control, temporary guest passes, digital wallet keys, keypads or fingerprint readers, and auto-locking, while video doorbells provide smart alerts about porch activity. All the recommended gear is self-installable and doesn't require a monitored security subscription.
Security researchers demonstrated that an AI-driven system could take control of a robotic arm connected to operational technology (OT) infrastructure in just 16 minutes. The demonstration highlights how legacy industrial equipment, much of it deployed over a decade ago, remains vulnerable to fast, automated attacks.