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Killer robots may wage 'mechanical slaughter,' U.N. warns

Be afraid. Be very afraid of these three letters: LAR.

Lethal autonomous robots is what Christof Heyns, United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, wants you to think about. He wants a global ban on the development of machines that can target people and kill them without supervision.

"The possible introduction of LARs raises far-reaching concerns about the protection of life during war and peace," Heyns said Thursday during the presentation of his latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council. "If this is done, machines and not humans will take the decision on who is alive or dies." … Read more

Review: Math 'n Me makes practicing arithmetic a snap

Math 'n Me, while not a very attractive app, is loaded with practice quizzes and exercises, making it a perfect fit for children studying early math concepts.

Math 'n Me has quite a few features, all of them free and easy to use for any age user. The major issue with this app is the rudimentary, often frustrating, and sometimes slow interface. Stuttering at times, unresponsive at others, and very basic in terms of presentation, it lacks the flair of many other modern, sleek-looking apps. For this reason many people will likely overlook Math 'n Me, an app that has … Read more

Review: Kill some time with Tap 'n' Pop Classic (Lite)

The app store is filled to the brim with match-three games--variations on a classic formula that offer varying degrees of originality. That said, there are some that really pull it off--providing a unique experience that is at once familiar and new enough to warrant hours of time invested in it. Tap 'n' Pop Classic is such a game, albeit with a handful of issues that can make it frustrating in some circumstances.

The game is immediately familiar to any match-three players. You're shown numerous balloons of different colors. Tap a cluster of two or more (it's more of … Read more

Kids Learn n Play ABC (Free) 1.3 Review

If your child can't put down your smartphone or tablet, it's good to have an array of fun but educational games on retainer. Kids Learn n Play (Free) is designed to help them learn their ABCs, but it's not as deep or polished as other learning games on Android and there are a few other issues that detract from its ability to help your kids learn the alphabet or spelling.

There might be an initial moment of confusion because the app shows up as "English Alphabet" in your phone's app launcher. It has two … Read more

Sketch n Draw Pad HD 2.0 Review

Sketch n Draw Pad HD is a free drawing app for Android devices. With a variety of brushes, effects, and other drawing tools, it's a neat, little tool for drawing and painting, editing photos, and other basic image editing chores. It's free, but it's supported by Airpush ads. In the end, the ads are just too persistent and annoying to keep this app. That's a shame because Sketch n Draw Pad HD has potential. We tried it in a Samsung Galaxy S3 running Android 4.1.1.

Sketch n Draw Pad HD doesn't let you … Read more

Evasi0n jailbreak thwarted by iOS 6.1.3

Apple has finally managed to contain the Evasi0n jailbreak.

Released yesterday, iOS 6.1.3 fixes a security bug that allowed someone to sneak past the lock screen and make phone calls, listen to voice mail, and view contact photos.

But the update also patched several holes that Evasi0n exploited to perform an untethered jailbreak on all iOS devices, including the latest iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. People who upgrade to iOS 6.1.3 will no longer be able to use Evasi0n to jailbreak their devices. And once on 6.1.3, newer Apple devices cannot be downgraded to … Read more

RetroN 4 plays vintage games through HDMI

Still own vintage NES, SNES, Genesis, or Game Boy Advance game cartridges but lack the working consoles to play them all? The new Hyperkin RetroN 4 console may be what you've been waiting for. It features a cartridge slot and two controller sockets for each retro video gaming system.

The RetroN 4 has modern touches such as an HDMI output and Bluetooth connectivity. You'll be able to connect this console to any flat-panel TV with the HDMI port. Meanwhile, Bluetooth supports a bundled wireless controller sporting a directional pad and an array of buttons. … Read more

Turn your Mac into a recording studio with n-Track for Mac

Many recording programs come with a messy interface and a lack of support. This isn't the case with n-Track for Mac. This software makes an effort to offer a user-friendly interface and support for simultaneous recording from multiple 16-bit and 24-bit sound cards.

Available for free for the first 40 days, the program costs $49.00 to buy. The installation is easy and quick, and the program doesn't take more than 174MB once installed. Once you open the program, you'll notice a clean and easy-to-comprehend interface divided into different segments. In the preferences you can choose the … Read more

Upcoming iOS update likely to kneecap Evasi0n jailbreak

One of the most popular jailbreaking tools for iOS could be snuffed out as part of an upcoming software update from Apple.

iOS 6.1.3, which Apple gave to developers for testing last week, reportedly keeps Evasi0n from being installed, leaving would-be jailbreakers in a lurch.

Evasi0n came out earlier this month and gives iPhone, iPod, and iPad owners deeper access to the software on their devices than Apple allows. The two key benefits for those who install it is that you can make significant changes to basic system software, as well as add additional apps through third-party software … Read more

B&N reportedly to 'move away' from making Nook hardware

The Nook hasn't worked out as Barnes & Noble had hoped, reportedly leading executives at the bookseller to rethink its hardware strategy.

The bookseller, which acknowledged last month that Nook segment sales for the holidays were much lower than expected, will "move away" from building its own hardware to a strategy that focuses on licensing content to third-party developers, sources tell The New York Times.

"They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content," said an unidentified person … Read more