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Latest by Ed Oswald

How big is the universe? Attempting to answer one of astronomy’s most complex questions

The universe is a big place, but do we really know how big? Scientists think they do, and use an array of methods to figure it out. Here are our CliffNotes.
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‘The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience takes Freddie Mercury’s wild imagination into VR

The band teamed up with Google and a VR studio to produce an version of the iconic song that is said to be a look into Freddie Mercury's wild imagination.
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The 7, 7 Plus lead the charge as Apple hopes to sell 100M iPhones in 2016

With nearly a quarter of current iPhone owners possessing a device that's at least two years old, Apple is pushing manufacturers to make more iPhones.
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Budding industry: LED lights used for life support systems can grow marijuana

His initial work helped develop LED lighting for plant-based life support systems for long-duration space missions. Now he's turning to marijuana growth.
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Mars Curiosity rover sends back pictures of the ‘American Southwest’ of Mars

The Curiosity rover continues to send back stunning images of the planet's surface, including a region that may look vaguely familiar to some of us.
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A NASA probe is headed to a nearby asteroid, and will bring part of it back to Earth

The OSIRIS-REx mission is heading to the asteroid Bennu, and in July 2020 would scoop up some asteroid dust to be returned to earth three years later.
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Wireless charging is the iPhone's future, if Apple's patent filings are to be believed

While Apple has repeatedly said that it isn't sure wireless charging adds convenience for consumers, that's not stopping internal development by any means.
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Now you can own a ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ comm badge that really works

Star Trek fans and cosplayers, do youwant a Next Generation comm badge that actually works? ThinkGeek has the solution for you.
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Amazon Prime Now delivers your tailgate needs to the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium for free

Through a partnership with Amazon, the 49ers are allowing Prime Now trucks to deliver within two hours supplies to tailgaters on three lots, it said Friday.
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Hungry Virginia Tech students will soon be able to order drone-delivered Chipotle burritos

If you're lucky enough to work or go to school at Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus, you might just be able to have your next burrito delivered by drone.
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Tesla uses a classic road trip icon, the Airstream, to show off its electric vehicles

Since it can't have a dealership everywhere, Tesla is traveling across the country in a fleet of customized Airstream RVs pulled by its Model X SUV.
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Facebook gives its reactions a ‘Star Trek’ makeover to mark show’s anniversary

50 years ago Thursday Star Trek began its mission into the final frontier. Today, Facebook is celebrating the milestone with special reaction emojis.
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Microsoft ready to debut a Surface Hub for consumers in late October, reports say

Microsoft is likely to debut the consumer version of the Surface Hub next month, although new versions of the Surface Book and Pro are likely months away.
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iOS users can now stream just about every DirecTV channel data-free on AT&T

DirecTV launched live-streaming in an update to its iOS app, alongside news that DirecTV streaming no longer counts towards your AT&T data allotment.
A person browsing a job search site on a laptop.

Your employer may know if you're quitting before you say so, thanks to Jobrate

Joberate searches public information to attempt to quantify if you're looking for a new job, and assigns you a score much like credit bureaus do.
The Google Chrome logo set against a rocky background image.

Google: Chrome browser battery usage on Mac laptops down a third, speeds up 15 percent

Thanks to Google's hard work, Mac laptop users now see a third more battery life, and platform-wide Chrome is 15 percent faster than a year ago.
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Still got a floppy drive in your desktop? Here’s one way to make it useful again

Not so long ago, 3.5-inch floppy drives were something that every desktop computer had. U.K.-based Solid State Disk has a way to make them useful again.
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The Marine Corps is ready for laser weapons, but officials say they need to shrink them first

The Marine Corp is only the latest division of the Armed Forces to express interest in directed energy weapons, but current systems are just too big.
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We are still alone: Scientists say signals received last year weren't from aliens

The signals detected near star HD164595 that were thought to possibly be alien appear to just be some type of terrestrial interference.
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Are aliens trying to contact us? Signals from faraway star have experts buzzing

A discovery by Russian radio telescope operators in 2015 has the astronomy community buzzing about potential evidence of aliens. But don't hold your breath.
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‘It Just Works?’ Not quite: iPhones crash more than Android phones, study finds

Crashes on iOS devices doubled in the second quarter of 2016, according to a new study. The cause? Possibly iOS 10 Beta, as well as social networking apps.
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Report: Digital assistants held back by poor microphone technology

Your smart device's microphone hasn't gotten much better in over four years, which means your digital assistant won't get any better in understanding you.
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Facebook tries out automatic audio for its videos — stay tuned for user reactions

If you live in Australia and are using the Facebook app, you may be surprised to hear sound playing as you scroll past videos on your feed.
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Big budget cuts ordered for Google Fiber, likely putting the brakes on rollout

Rollouts of Google Fiber are just costing too much, and top brass including Larry Page and Sergey Brin are pressuring the division to cut costs.
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Proxima Centauri has a potentially habitable planet orbiting it, but are there aliens?

Sci-Fi meets reality as a planet is confirmed around our nearest celestial neighbor. With little visual evidence there's quite a bit we don't know yet.
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Google cracking down on annoying mobile popup ads by penalizing search rankings

With more people using the mobile web, the bad practices of web advertisers are making it to your smartphone. Google is having none of it, though.
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Warehouse robots might just make tedious jobs a thing of the past

Warehouse jobs may become a thing of the past due to new technologies that are both revolutionizing and speeding up the process of shipping goods.
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Windyty adds European model forecasts, will offer free access to it to consumers

Weather visualization app Windyty says it will offer access to the European model at no charge to consumers, and its iOS app coming soon.
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U.S. government to ditch the domain-name business on October 1

The U.S. government says it is satisfied with the progress ICANN has made to prepare to take over control of domain names, and will cede control this fall.
A person browsing a job search site on a laptop.

How to automate job searches and find work faster

Looking for a job? Check out this article to learn how to automate job searches. This way, you'll spend less time searching and more time actually applying.
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Turn the lights off when you sleep to slow the aging process, study suggests

Researchers have found some type of link between overexposure to artificial light and symptoms commonly linked to aging, including disrupted sleep.
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Researchers: Smartphones' battery life is being used to track users' online activity

Battery information that's made available through HTML5 to website developers was supposed to allow them to serve "low-power options." But it can do more.
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If this, then that: A beginner’s guide to the wonderful world of IFTTT

Trying to figure out what IFTTT is and how to use it to your advantage? Here's why you should give the service a shot, and some suggestions for doing so.
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Apple celebrates a milestone: One billion iPhones sold worldwide since launch

The one billionth iPhone recently sold, nearly a decade since the original iPhone launched in 2007.