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Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) wants the Justice Department to hand over any information it might have about law enforcement agencies getting their hands on location data from cell phone companies.

Earlier in the year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case, United States v. Jones, that law enforcement agencies needed to first obtain warrants before using GPS devices to track people. In that case, the justices said law enforcement could not install tracking devices without a warrant, because that fell into the definition of a "search."

But in a letter yesterday to Attorney General Eric Holder (… Read more

This is one of the quick and easy tips that makes iOS so remarkable. Yes, it's simple, but that small attention to detail makes all the difference in terms of user experiences.

Due to the iPhone's small screen real estate, compromises in how some information is displayed had to be made. A specific amount of characters are viewable when scrolling through the track listings on albums (in both landscape and portrait mode). When song titles are longer than the space available, an ellipses appears, indicating there is more to the title.

In a world where nearly every song … Read more

The nation's largest wireless providers oppose a proposed California location privacy law that would require police to obtain search warrants to track a wireless customer's whereabouts, CNET has learned.

They're criticizing a new state bill, S.B. 1434, that would require a judge to approve requests for location tracking except in certain emergency situations. S.B. 1434 would also require wireless providers to divulge "the number of times location information has been disclosed," and how many times they rejected police requests.

Their criticism comes as concerns about warrantless location surveillance, a practice that the Obama … Read more

True story. A couple weeks ago I purchased a Sigmac LE55ABD 55-inch HDTV from Wal-Mart for $899. That being a particularly good deal on a 55-inch TV with 3D, my intention was to write about it -- but the model has been out of stock since I received it, so I've held off.

Of course, I've been checking Wal-Mart's site almost daily because I'm keen to write my review. (Wal-Mart is currently the only store that stocks this model.) Yesterday, I discovered that the LE55ABD was still unavailable -- but the price had dropped to $549. … Read more

We originally told you about Right Inbox and how it allowed you to schedule when your e-mails in Gmail were to be sent. The latest version of the extension adds the ability to track when your e-mails are opened. If you currently have the Right Inbox extension installed, you should already see the new feature when composing an e-mail.

If you don't have the extension currently, head on over to RightInbox.com/install to get it. You'll need to be using either Firefox or Chrome.

After the extension is installed, compose a new message in Gmail. You will … Read more

Yahoo is doubling down on the Do Not Track craze with plans to implement the service across the its entire global network.

The Web heavyweight said today that it install a Do Not Track mechanism in its sites by early summer. The service, which Yahoo says has been in development since last year, lets users "express their ad targeting preferences to Yahoo."

Do Not Track technology has been around for quite some time, and is currently available in most major browsers. The offering lets users inform a site's servers that they don't want their activities monitored … Read more

Two new features designed to protect your privacy while you browse the Web and guard you against misleading SSIDs come to all three AVG suites in a service pack update.

The Service Pack 1 update for AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012, AVG Anti-Virus 2012, and AVG Internet Security 2012 are available exclusively today from Download.com.

Both of the new features are available to free and paid users, but the tracking ad blocker called AVG Do-Not-Track is the big one. It works similarly to Do Not Track Plus. While the toolbar is an optional browser add-on, AVG Do-Not-Track appears to be … Read more

Some people like to be judged on the number of apps on their iPhones and iPads.

Each is a badge of honor and a sign of extreme modernity.

And yet some apps might not be quite as wonderful as advertised. Please ask Robert Kerr, landlord of an apartment in Nottingham, England.

Police broke into his apartment in the belief that he was harboring a stolen iPhone. This was such a serious case that they broke down his front door, causing 500 pounds (around $750) worth of damage.

These police officers seemed unconcerned about any damage caused because the iPhone's … Read more

What Do Not Track means to you and what it means to companies that are collecting your data crumbs across the Internet are likely two very different things.

Thus excitement about today's announcement that Google and online advertisers under the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) banner will support Do Not Track technology may be tempered as people realize exactly how limited the scope of the effort is. It applies to targeted ads only and not to any other forms of tracking, such as the use of Google "+1" and Facebook "Like" buttons, which have generated public … Read more