Feature Story
How the Internet works: Submarine fiber, brains in jars, and coaxial cables
A deep dive into Internet infrastructure, plus a rare visit to a subsea cable landing site.
Top Post: Government agencies keep sacrificing cash to zombie IT systems, GAO finds
In-Depth Reports
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It’s been over a decade since Valve first promised Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Franchise has now been in limbo longer than entire lives of fourth-graders.
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Billionaire Peter Thiel funded Hulk Hogan lawsuit to take down Gawker
"It’s less about revenge and more about specific deterrence," Thiel says.
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Autonomous robots throw down in the sumo ring
Cooper Union students compete in an autonomous robot sumo competition
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From Audi to Volvo, most ‘self-driving’ cars use the same hardware
Companies like Delphi and Mobileye are getting us on the road to autonomous cars.
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“Forbidden attack” makes dozens of HTTPS Visa sites vulnerable to tampering
Researchers say 70,000 servers belonging to others also at risk.
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Government agencies keep sacrificing cash to zombie IT systems, GAO finds
50-year-old Cobol code, 8-inch floppies, and PowerBuilder live on in government IT.
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HP’s new gaming laptops are fast, affordable, and surprisingly professional
Good mix of price and performance in a laptop that won't look too out of place at Starbucks.
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Getting babies to stop crying and not die may have made humans smarter
Savvy parents and big-headed infants created evolutionary feedback loop, scientists say.
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Once more, a judge rules against gov’t in Tor-enabled child porn case
DOJ may appeal: "We are disappointed with the ruling and considering our options."
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How Oracle made its case against Google, in pictures
Armed with Google's own e-mails, Oracle said "fair use" was nowhere to be found.
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Paradox’s removal of Stellaris’ “Whites Only” mod draws controversy [Updated]
Developer says "disturbing" description, not mod content, led to the takedown.
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Building a supermassive black hole? Skip the star
Observations support a model where gas plunges directly into the black hole.
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“Unprecedented” discovery of mysterious structures created by Neanderthals
Rock designs suggest a complex social structure and ritual behavior.
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Hillary Clinton ripped by State Department inspector over e-mail flap
She would have been denied use of private mail server because of "security risks."
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GOP budget bill would kill net neutrality and FCC’s set-top box plan
Republicans use nation's budget to launch broad attack on FCC regulations.
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Comcast limits data cap overage fees to $200 a month
June 1 change accompanied by a higher cap, higher price for unlimited data.
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Scientists find cure for type 2 diabetes in rodents, don’t know how it works
Despite unexplained mechanism, the new treatment will be easy to try in humans.
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Can good looks save the Buick Cascada from mediocrity?
First Buick convertible in 25 years. But is "good enough" really "good enough?"
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Major DNS provider hit by mysterious, focused DDoS attack
Attack on NS1 sends 50 million to 60 million lookup packets per second.
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“When it’s done”: How Blizzard dragged Overwatch across the launch threshold
Discussing betas, balance, and business amid the shooter's anticipated release.
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Intel’s quad-core “Skull Canyon” NUC is a workstation for the size-obsessed
Review: Pricey PC has Thunderbolt 3 and Iris Pro, but it's not for everyone.
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Microsoft bangs the final nail in Nokia Devices’ coffin, will lay off 1,850
Company will take one last $950 million hit as a result; is a Surface phone next?
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48-volt mild hybrids: A possible cure for diesel emissions cheats?
Much cheaper than a full hybrid system, with 70 percent of the benefits.
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1.5 billion-year-old fossils reveal organisms of unusual size
Possibly related to algae, these simple critters grew as long as 30 centimeters.
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Navy takes delivery on super-destroyer, pushes up schedule for LCS “frigate”
With order slashed, last 14 LCS ships will be "stretch" versions.
On The Radar
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Or you could just buy a Nexus
Google’s making a list: Android OEMs to be ranked, shamed by update speed
Can Android update woes be solved by publicly calling out slow OEMs?
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Great view, but no air
On Thursday NASA added air to an inflatable module, and it didn’t inflate
NASA and Bigelow engineers will assess what went wrong and may try again Friday.
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All the gifs!
Reddit forsakes Imgur with launch of native image upload tool
Will people choose an all-Reddit experience or still default to Imgur?
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Ars Technica Live
Surveillance technology has advanced far beyond the laws that govern it
Ars Technica Live #2: Law professor Elizabeth Joh predicts the future of high-tech policing.
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super scope
Europe’s staggeringly large telescope project takes a step forward
The European Extremely Large Telescope will need an 80-meter-tall dome to house it.
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Holiday shopping
Dealmaster: Get a Vizio 4K smart TV and a $200 Dell gift card for $549
Plus a preview of more Memorial Day deals and steals.
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BestBuy before you buy
Oculus Rift sales launch on Best Buy’s website [Updated]
Follows "extremely limited quantities," in-store demos at some Best Buy locations May 7.
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"Raspberry Pie" to be future Android codename?
Google to bring official Android support to the Raspberry Pi 3
Google's Android source repository gets a new device tree especially for the Pi 3.
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Console construction
Reports: Microsoft preparing multiple Xbox upgrades over next two years [Updated]
Anonymous sources suggest a slim 2016 console could precede a VR-ready upgrade next year.
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Free Siri
Apple said to open up Siri with SDK, debut an Amazon Echo competitor
More versatility for Siri—and maybe even a new device for her to call home.
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Straight to video
Netflix, Amazon given quotas for EU-produced video, face new tax
20% quota from European regulators to ensure some content is European in origin.
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Location, location, location
Google Maps goes down scenic route with ad-heavy “promoted pins”
Mobile's increasing dominance is reason behind more ad goo for Google Maps.
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McRib 2.0
McDonald’s ex-CEO: $15/hr minimum wage will unleash the robot rebellion
Tells Fox Business a "$35,000 robotic arm" is cheaper than hiring, training mortals.
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Buy an HP PC, get a free HP spin-off corporation
HP splits again, as Hewlett Packard Enterprise spins off IT services
HPE is getting out of the outsourced, offshored IT service business.
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don't bogart my shares
Marijuana social network is denied listing on Nasdaq
CEO says he will appeal to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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mad science
An artist is growing a hand out of human stem cells
An open source biotech project that you might build in your garage one day.
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Blunt answer
Charter explains why it doesn’t compete against other cable companies
FCC would block mergers between cable companies that compete, Charter CEO says.
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w00t
Twitter relaxes 140-character limit, just a bit
Amongst other changes, @-replies don't count anymore either.
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Flight Delayed
TSA official got $90K bonus despite long airport lines, security bungles
An inspector general report on TSA had highlighted "pitiful" security operations.
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Let go of our logo
City goes after council candidate over logo use in campaign flyers
An attempt to restrict political speech using intellectual property laws.
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Recherche de la taxe
Google’s Paris office raided by police in tax probe
Part of French investigation into Google's bean-counting behavior.
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Because Touchwiz is so well-liked
Samsung is done with Android Wear watches, says Tizen is the future [update]
Samsung is reportedly shunning Google's smartwatch OS in favor of its own.
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New specs still not enough to run Chrome
Windows hardware specs going up for the first time since 2009
The Windows 10 Anniversary Update includes new RAM requirements.
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A LITTLE LATE
Beware of keystroke loggers disguised as USB phone chargers, FBI warns
Private industry notification comes 15 months after debut of KeySweeper.
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neolithic party times in China
This 5,000-year-old recipe for beer actually sounds pretty tasty
It also explains one reason why barley cultivation made its way to ancient Eastern China.
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Water Hazard
Trump-owned golf course cites sea level rise in seawall permit
Despite candidate’s rejection of climate change, project acknowledges reality.
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Calm after the storm
DOJ ends lawsuit against fisherman who took gov’t science buoy “hostage”
The buoy reportedly has been returned to the United States Geological Survey.
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international heist time
Japan ATM heist reportedly involved 100 people who stole $12.7 million
1,400 locations were hit using fraudulent South African credit cards.
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When free is controversial
Sprint now zero-rating some video, joining AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile
Zero-rating expands to Sprint as FCC continues net neutrality review.
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Open the gates
E3 opens up to fans with miniature “E3 Live” side show
Premiere gaming convention offers option to public for the first time.
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taking flight
India’s shuttle-like reusable spaceplane makes its first test flight
Innovative launcher will also eventually feature scramjet technology.
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Goats no more
USDA gives biotech company record fine for animal welfare violations
Santa Cruz Biotech will have to give up using goats and rabbits.
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Feature Story (3 pages)
Four hundred miles with Tesla’s autopilot forced me to trust the machine
KITT-like auto-cruise and auto-steer are equal parts mesmerizing and disturbing.
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Feature Story (3 pages)
OneCore to rule them all: How Windows Everywhere finally happened
Microsoft promised developers that Windows would run anywhere. This summer, it finally will.
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Stay in the know with
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Feature Story (8 pages)
Why Google’s monopoly abuse case in Europe will run and run
A brief history of a dominant Google's soul-searching competition battle in the EU.
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