Technology

Amazon's personal assistant device Echo, powered by the voice recognition program Alexa, is one of the most popular gifts this holiday season.

National

As We Leave More Digital Tracks, Amazon Echo Factors In Murder Investigation

4:55pm December 28, 2016

by Alina Selyukh

Arkansas police have served a warrant to Amazon looking for possible recordings from a murder scene. Privacy advocates have predicted a wave of cases involving smart home devices and gadgets.

Listeners of our NPR One app rated these stories as the most liked, recommended and shared in 2016.

The Stories NPR One Listeners Loved The Most In 2016

9:36am December 28, 2016

by Tamar Charney

Listeners of our NPR One app rated these 10 stories as the most liked, recommended and shared in 2016.

UCSF is laying off some of its IT staff and sending their jobs to a contractor with headquarters in India.

Outsourced: In A Twist, Some San Francisco IT Jobs Are Moving To India

9:35am December 28, 2016

by Sam Harnett

Companies in San Francisco pay six-figure salaries to entry-level tech workers. But a public university there is laying off some of its own IT staff and sending the jobs to a contractor in India.

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Arts

A Brief History Of Food Emoji: Why You Won't Find Hummus On Your Phone

7:00am December 28, 2016

by Laura Oliver

There are burgers and sushi, and even the salacious eggplant, but where are the dumplings and salad? Creating a more culturally diverse menu of food emoji is harder than you think.

OK America: What's Another Word For Dongle?

6:35pm December 26, 2016

A website called The Outline sought to a find better name for the device known as the "dongle." The staff there came up with replacement names, and they narrowed the list down to three. Readers voted. The winner? With 50 percent of the vote: dongle.

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Google Backs A New Digital World, But What About The Real New World?

6:35pm December 26, 2016

by Andrei Codrescu

As Google invests in a startup called Improbable, a digital simulation of real cities, economies and biological systems, commentator Andrei Codrescu thinks of Communism and that dream of a new world.

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Cybersecurity presents an early challenge for the incoming president, Donald Trump.

Experts Hope Trump Makes Cybersecurity An Early Priority

3:31pm December 26, 2016

by Brian Naylor

From state-sponsored hacking of government systems to criminal enterprises stealing credit card numbers, strengthening the nation's cyberdefenses is taking on growing importance.

Case 0378: The remains are presumed to be female, age unknown, and were found on Aug. 28, 2012, on Tepeguaje Ranch in Brooks County, Texas.

National

In Texas, A Database Of Exhumed Objects Aims To ID Migrants Who Perished

1:55pm December 26, 2016

by John Burnett

About 100 migrants die every year trying to sneak around Border Patrol checkpoints in South Texas. Now, a searchable database lets relatives find photos of their missing loved ones' personal items.

As more people turn to laser displays for holiday house decorations, aviation authorities warn not to shine them into the sky.

National

For Christmas Thrills Without The Spills, More Decorators Turn To Lasers

7:08am December 26, 2016

by Stephan Bisaha

It's a new way to deck the house for the holidays. Laser lights project decorations without a need of a ladder, but Christmas light purists say they don't compare to the old-fashioned bulbs.

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National

New Orleans Residents Share Decades Of Photos With The Same Santa

5:10pm December 24, 2016

by Tegan Wendland

A tweet this week prompted dozens of New Orleans residents to post their childhood photos with the same Santa Claus. He's been a part of Christmas there for decades.