Techspotting - Tech News & Trends

Today on KITV’s “Good Morning Hawaii,” anchor Maleko McDonnell and I discuss the latest tech headlines, including the controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI, and new smartphones from Samsung (including the Galaxy S20 flagship and Galaxy Z Flip folding phone) and Motorola’s Razr reboot and mid-priced Moto G Power.

Highlights from CES 2020 in Las Vegas, including the Sony Vision-S concept electric car, the Razer Kishi mobile gaming controller, and the Lenovo X1 Fold folding-screen computer.

Just in time for the holidays, a data breach at security hardware maker Ring (owned by Amazon) reminds us how sensitive smart device access can be. And a bombshell New York Times report shows how readily available location data can allow almost anyone to be identified and tracked.

Apple unexpectedly launches the AirPods Pro with Active Noise Canceling (ANC) for $249, Google acquires Fitbit to revitalize competition in the wearables space, and Apple TV+ launches a week ahead of Disney+.

Google's latest hardware headliner is the Pixel 4 smartphone. Meanwhile, Fortnite closes version one with a bang, and starts chapter two with a whole new map. Finally, the HACC is underway, with pitches and judging set for November 16 at Aloha Tower.

Recapping Amazon's hardware announcements (including Echo Frames, Echo Smart Ring, and Echo Studio), Facebook's augmented reality news (Oculus Live Maps), and the launch of Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass, both for $5 a month.

Apple’s fall keynote is like Christmas morning for Apple fans. This year Apple announced a reduced price for the iPhone, and better cameras and battery life for the iPhone Pro. Also, the Apple Watch Series 5, and aggressively priced services like Apple Arcade and Apple TV+.

Fall brings the latest flagship smartphone releases from Samsung and Apple, but how much better can they get? Will the new tariffs on Chinese goods affect pricing? And how does Disney’s upcoming streaming platform compare with giants Netflix and Hulu?

Linked to mass shootings, sites like 4chan and 8chan often come under fire for attracting hate groups. Although they're often knocked offline, they usually pop up again. Why are they so hard to keep down?

How secure are you? The only thing worse than a weak password is using the same password for multiple accounts. But coming up with strong passwords is hard, and remembering a hundred different passwords is even harder. One important step you can take toward better online security is using a password manager. Apple builds one called Keychain into its computers. Most browsers save passwords. But …

Just Google it. That’s what people say when they talk about searching for something online. Google is synonymous with search, and makes billions of dollars off of our constant curiosity. But Google collects lots of information about you, in order to show ads to you. And for privacy advocates, that’s too high a price to pay. Instead of Google, try DuckDuckGo. Yes, DuckDuckGo is a …

There are reports the viral FaceApp is sending all your photos to Russia. What’s going on? As with most viral stories, there’s reason to be concerned, but it’s probably not as bad as it sounds. FaceApp, which already caught the attention of security researchers two years ago, is back in the news again with people taking the ‘FaceApp challenge,’ which is posting photos in which …

If you run a business, you probably promote it on social media. But who has the time to can’t spend all day tweeting or posting photos to Instagram. Fortunately, there’s Buffer. Buffer is an app for scheduling posts to social media. At its simplest, Buffer lets you build up a series of posts that are then published over time. Buffer supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, …

Is your web browser spying on you? A recent Washington Post column declared Google Chrome to be ‘spy software.’ It’s the most popular web browser, but it’s made by Google, one of the world’s biggest advertising companies. The Washington Post found that Chrome picked up over 11,000 tracking cookies in just a single week of use. Cookies do help customize content for you, but they …

Facebook announces Libra, its entry into the cryptocurrency space. Niantic launches Wizards Unite, a Harry Potter game with augmented reality features similar to Pokemon Go. And Mobile World Congress kicks off this week, showcasing 5G technology.

Q: What did Apple announce at its annual World-Wide Developers Conference (WWDC)? A: Although WWDC is targeted at software developers, the keynote address that kicks off each conference is Apple’s chance to announce things to a global audience. This year, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled new hardware in addition to the usual software updates for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Q: What new hardware was announced? …

Are you or your kids crazy about science and tech? Check out the Honolulu Mini-Maker Faire.

Are you buried under email? Are your coworkers calling too many meetings? You should try Slack. Slack is a chat app for teams, and it’s described as an “email killer.”

Sick of the drama on Facebook, and the abuse on Twitter? You might want to try Mastodon.

I’ve recently found a new tool that turns my email inbox into a powerful reminder and to-do list. It’s called FollowUpThen, and everything is done via email to followupthen.com.

At Google's I/O developer conference, the company announced new hardware, updates to Android, and improvements to the Google Assistant.

Apple announces its streaming television service, following new hardware including a new iPad Air, iPad mini, and Airpods.

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp all experienced an outage. Four services, but one company. It not only affected the Facebook service, but other services that rely on it.