Sprint tested its cell tower-on-a-drone technology in Texas last week.   Sprint Sprint is taking cell service airborne by mounting lightweight cellular radios to drones. The wireless carrier said this week that it has successfully adapted its Magic Box signal boosting technology to fit on a drone and provide temporary cell coverage over as many as 10 square miles. The company tested the setup, which uses a lighter version of the mini cell tower and a drone from CyPhy Works, last week in Texas, 30 miles outside of Dallas.   Sprint launched the Magic Box earlier this year. The box, ...

Sprint turns drones into mini cell towers – CNET Read More

Apple plans to release a software fix to address a crackling some iPhone 8 users report experiencing. Sarah Tew/CNET Apple is developing a software fix to eliminate a disruptive sound that some iPhone 8 users are experiencing through their earpieces during phone calls, an issue first reported by The Verge. “Dozens” of iPhone 8 users have reported in online forums hearing a “crackling” or “static” sound that disrupts the audio when they make calls, the site reported Tuesday. The issue appears to affect both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on different carriers and in different parts of the ...

Apple working on fix for iPhone 8 'crackling' sound issue – CNET Read More

Ry Crist/CNET Amazon’s got a few new tricks up its sleeve. We’re barely able to keep up with all of its new products.  At a launch event in Seattle on Wednesday, Amazon unleashed a slew of new Echo devices, including the Echo Plus, the Echo Spot, the Echo Connect and Echo Buttons. We break down all the new Alexa-enabled devices coming from Amazon, and when you can expect to see them.  We also chat about which new Echo device has the most potential and what we want to see with future products.  The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about ...

Amazon has an army of new Echo devices coming your way (The 3:59, Ep. 290) – CNET Read More

Amazon announced the new Amazon Echo Plus on Wednesday.  Ry Crist/CNET Amazon announced a slew of new products on Wednesday, and given that a couple of them are colorful and new, you might be tempted to look past the Echo Plus. After all, it looks just like the original Echo, only with more of a silver sheen. However, if you’re a fan of using your Echo to control your smart home, the Echo Plus might be the most important device of the bunch. In addition to promising better sound quality than the original Echo, the Echo Plus comes with a ...

Amazon Echo Plus packs in better sound and a smart home hub – CNET Read More

Photos in High Sierra now has all the adjustment tools easily accessible on the side panel. Lori Grunin/CNET Update 4 p.m. Sept. 25: A previous version of this story advised readers not to update due to a Keychain security vulnerability reported by ZDNet earlier today. Turns out this vulnerability is in a lot of previous versions of the operating system too, so we’ve changed our advice. Whee! Apple hasn’t respond to a request for comment.  Of course, now it makes the update a little easier to sell, ostensibly to get cumulative security fixes, though you’ll still get fixes for Sierra and ...

7 things to know before upgrading to MacOS High Sierra 10.13 – CNET Read More