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Lilbits: Signal drops SMS, Microsoft launches Surface Studio 2+, more Apple services coming to Windows, and Intel layoffs ahead?

Thanks to falling demand for PCs and increased competition from rival chip makers, it looks like Intel may be planning to layoff thousands of employees soon.  In addition to the introducing the new Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5 today, Microsoft has unveiled a Surface Studio 2+ for creative professionals… but it’s a kind of […]

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Lilbits: All your games in one place (OK, just some of them)

Steam has dominated the PC gaming space for much of the past two decades by giving gamers a single place to buy games, track stats and achievements, stream games over a home network, and more. But in recent years the company has seen increased competition… and now two of those competitors have announced that their […]

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Gemini PDA handheld PC gets custom recovery & root

Now that the Gemini PDA is shipping to crowdfunding backers, we’re starting to get real-world reviews… and hacks. The handheld computer ships with Google Android, although it’s expected to support other operating systems including Debian, Ubuntu, and Sailfish OS in the future. Meanwhile, xda-developers forum member deadman96385 has ported TWRP 3.2.1 to run on the […]

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TWRP alpha released for Google Pixel phones (but you might not want to use it yet)

It’s been nearly a month since Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL phones have hit the streets. They’re the first phones to ship with Android 7.1 Nougat software with support for file-based encryption and seamless updates, thanks to a new partitioning scheme. But hackers who have been rooting smartphones and flashing custom ROMs for years have […]

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Amazon & BLU’s $50 smartphone hacked: Root & custom recovery now available

It’s been less than a month since Amazon started selling two deeply discounted smartphones that come with ads on the lock screen and notification tray. Unsurprisingly it didn’t take long for someone to root the Moto G4 Prime Exclusive and eliminate the ads on that $150 version of the phone. But Amazon also offers an even cheaper […]

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Moto G (2015): Root, Bootloader unlock, and custom recovery

Less than a week after the Motorola Moto G 2015 model went on sale, folks have already figured out how to root the phone and install a custom recovery. This opens the door for running apps that require superuser permissions, making complete backups of your device, and installing custom updates, firmware, or even replacement operating […]

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Android One phones get root, custom recovery

One of the things that makes Google’s Nexus phones different from most Android devices on the market is that they tend to be developer-friendly. Unlocking the bootloader is usually as trivial as plugging in a USB cable, enabling USB debugging, and typing a quick command on your PC (using the Android SDK or at least fastboot). […]

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Custom recoveries for the LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live crack Android Wear wide open

Android Wear is a version of Google’s Android operating system that’s designed for wearable devices such as smartwatches. But under the hood it’s a lot like the Android software you run on phones and tablets… so it’s not surprising that you can hack Android Wear watches much the same way as Android phones. We’ve already […]

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Google might make it harder to write to Android system partition, even with root

Google appears to be working on tightening security in future versions of Android by essentially blocking write access to the /system partition… even if you have a rooted phone. You’ll still be able to write to the partition by rebooting into a custom recovery, but it means that you might need to reboot your device […]

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TWRP custom recovery for the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear may be positioned as a watch that lets you view notifications from your Android phone — but it’s actually a wearable device that has the guts of an Android phone — so it’s not surprising that people have figured out how to run ordinary Android apps, install custom ROMs, and even load […]