cables

Wikileaks launches searchable archive of government records

You can now search among 2 million confidential, or formerly confidential, government documents courtesy of Wikileaks.

The whistle-blowing group has set up a new "public library of U.S. diplomacy" offering more than 1.7 million diplomatic files from 1973 to 1976. Dubbed "The Kissinger Cables," the files reveal diplomatic cables, intelligence reports, and congressional correspondence, many of which relate to then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

As expected, the documents focus on some hot-button issues, including U.S. involvement with dictatorships in Latin America and Greece and the 1973 "Yom Kippur war" … Read more

The honest ad your cable company will never make

I'd like to help you work out your frustrations today.

There again, you have so many -- at least judging by the comments section here -- that I don't really have enough time.

Instead, then, here's an ad -- thank you, Techdirt, for exposing it to me -- that will help you be at one with your feelings about your high-speed Internet and cable provider.… Read more

Save 20 percent on a ChargeCard sync cable

Remember the ChargeCard? It debuted at this year's CES and made my list of the three things I saw at CES I'd actually buy.

As I noted then, it's a mostly rubber card that's thin enough to fit in your wallet, but able to charge and sync your smartphone, e-reader, digital camera, Bluetooth headset, and the like.

The ChargeCard comes in three versions: iPhone 4/4S (meaning Apple 30-pin connector), iPhone 5 (Apple Lightning connector), and Micro-USB. All three have the same rubber arm that folds out to plug into a USB port, but a different … Read more

Egypt's military arrests divers cutting undersea Internet cables

Egypt's naval forces arrested three divers cutting through an undersea Internet cable today, the country's military representative said, raising the possibility that saboteurs are behind severed lines and days-long Internet disruptions.

A coast-guard patrol stopped a fishing boat near Alexandria and arrested three men "while they were cutting a submarine cable" line belonging to Telecom Egypt, the country's main communications company, Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said on his official Facebook page. The page offered no details on the divers' identities, according to published reports.

It was not immediately clear if the divers were responsible for … Read more

Hands-on with the Une Bobine charging stand for iPhone

When the Une Bobine made its Kickstarter debut about a year ago, I had the same reaction as a lot of people: What the heck does "Une Bobine" mean?

One look at the product and I definitely wanted to find out. Alas, I've forgotten too much of my high-school French (sorry, Mrs. Herman), but Google knows all: Bobine means "coil," and that's exactly what this thing is: a coiled, goose-neck sync/charge cable for the iPhone. (There's also a microUSB version for Android and other phones.)

What does a coil get you that … Read more

The half-cut cord: What's bugging me about cable

I cut the cord years ago. My wife sat across from me on the sofa and finally convinced me that paying well over $100 a month for the privilege of a bunch of random cable channels wasn't worth it. We could save money, learn to live lower to the ground, read more, and watch TV shows and movies on demand. Netflix, Hulu Plus, and iTunes. I agreed. With apprehension.

It worked. We relaxed, we used an over-the-air antenna, we caught our TV shows on broadcast networks and just sat through commercials. I even borrowed an old DTV Pal DVR … Read more

Samsung Game Pad hints at Note 3

CNET Update needs bigger pockets:

Stories featured in Monday's tech roundup:

- Samsung says its new Game Pad accessory can fit a device with a 6.3-inch screen. But Samsung doesn't make a phone screen that big -- yet. Could this detail be a hint about the upcoming Note 3?

- Verizon wants to change TV fee rules by only paying for the channels subscribers are watching. And its not the only television provider trying to change the industry.

- Google Reader will soon be shut down, and Feedly is reaping all the benefits.

- Pinterest refreshed its design … Read more

Google shows apps that work on Glass

CNET Update likes everything on Facebook:

The Samsung Galaxy S4 media mania continues. A video is posted of what is claimed to be the Galaxy S4, and Samsung shows a peek of the new smartphone from the shadows. But with the Galaxy S4, it's not so much about the look -- it's about the software and features. Some speculate it could have a 3D camera, based on a trademark it filed. But come back to CNET to watch the news live on Thursday at 4 p.m. Pacific, 7 p.m. Eastern.

Stories also mentioned in Tuesday's … Read more

More Americans opting to cut cord on traditional TV

While the vast majority of U.S. residents own televisions and watch them regularly, more and more people are opting to toss their cable plans and use other devices for entertainment.

A new report by Nielsen finds that those people who have elected to go "Zero TV" have more than doubled since 2007. Currently, more than 5 million people don't have broadcast television in their home, while in 2007 just 2 million didn't.

Despite these numbers sounding big, cord-cutters are still just 5 percent of the U.S. population. And, as Nielsen wrote in a blog … Read more