The Echo Link Amp is designed to give Echo owners options. Instead of settling for the sound from a couple of Echo speakers, this amp lets owners use a set of nice bookshelf speakers. Best yet, this replaces a large receiver generally needed to power speakers. At $299, the Echo Link Amp lives in a … Continue reading Review: The $299 Echo Link Amp adds Alexa to any speaker →

Apple  announced that there are now 44 suppliers that have committed to use clean energy for Apple production. It doesn’t mean all suppliers are using renewable energy; it also doesn’t mean that they use 100 percent clean energy for all their clients. But it’s still good news. All Apple facilities already run on clean energy, such as offices, retails stores and data … Continue reading Apple shares progress report on supplier usage of clean energy →

On the heels of a trove of 773 million emails, and tens of millions of passwords, from a variety of domains getting leaked in January, Microsoft has faced another breach affecting its web-based email services. Microsoft  has confirmed to TechCrunch that a certain “limited” number of people who use web email services managed by Microsoft — which … Continue reading Microsoft: Hackers compromised support agent’s credentials to access customer email accounts →

Amazon-owned game-streaming site Twitch  is today publicly launching its first game. But it’s not a traditional video game — like those the site’s creators stream for their fans. Instead, the new game is called “Twitch Sings” and is a free karaoke-style experience designed for live streaming. The game, which was launched into beta last year, includes thousands of … Continue reading Twitch’s first game, the karaoke-style ‘Twitch Sings,’ launches to public →

Google  today announced the general availability of a new API for Google Docsthat will allow developers to automate many of the tasks that users typically do manually in the company’s online office suite. The API has been in developer preview since last April’s Google Cloud Next 2018 and is now available to all developers. As Google notes, … Continue reading Google Docs gets an API for task automation →

Apple’s push to get developers to build subscription-based apps is now having a notable impact on App Store revenues. According to a new report from Sensor Tower due out later this week, revenue generated per U.S. iPhone grew 36 percent, from $58 in 2017 to $79 last year. As is typical, much of that increase can be … Continue reading US iPhone users spent, on average, $79 on apps last year, up 36% from 2017 →

Encryption is an important part of the whole securing-your-data package, but it’s easy to underestimate the amount of complexity it adds to any service or device. One part of that is the amount of processing encryption takes — an amount that could be impractical on small or low-end devices. Google  wants to change that with a highly … Continue reading Google makes it easier for cheap phones and smart devices to encrypt your data →

Samsung’s not telling us anything we don’t already know with its latest teaser. In addition to the Galaxy S10, Samsung will also be offering a much better glimpse of its long-promised foldable phone at its SF event on February 20. A new animated teaser promises that “The Future Unfolds” at the event that’s currently a little over a … Continue reading Samsung promises a better look at its folding phone next week →