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Matt's Favorites: Delicate New iPhones, New Surfaces, And Much More

So what's the latest haps in the wonderful worlds of science and technology? Well, check out these dandies I found on the Series of Tubes...

* First of all, here are the links to your Tech Report home page, the Tech Report Page Two (trust me, it contains much fascinatin' news), as well as our latest event notices and HR notices.

* If you're the proud owner of a new iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C -- or if you're thinking about buying one -- be sure to handle it with care. Durability tests suggests the new models are more likely to break if you drop them, compared to previous iPhone models.

* And that didn't take long. Barely 48 hours after the iPhone 5S hit the streets, its Touch ID fingerprint sensor has been fooled by a Germany-based group called the Chaos Computer Club and confirmed independently.

* Microsoft introduced its next-generation Surface tablets on Monday, including a professional model that allows people to use it more like a laptop or a desktop. The new tablets were unveiled at an event in New York City that tried to capture some of the excitement and publicity buzz that Apple product launches have become famous for. Microsoft is aiming to boost its tablet business as sales of traditional desktop and laptop computers decline.

* BlackBerry is going private. BlackBerry said Monday that it had entered into a deal with a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings that valued the company at $4.7 billion. Under the deal, shareholders would receive $9 a share in cash, a slight premium to the $8.23 that the stock is currently trading at.

* Reducing the flow of the greenhouse gases that spur global warming could prevent up to 3 million premature deaths annually by the year 2100, a new study suggests. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide trap heat, helping warm the globe. The surge in carbon dioxide levels due to human activity since the Industrial Revolution is now causing an overall warming of the planet that is having impacts around the globe. And the burning of fuel generates not only carbon dioxide, but also air pollutants that are harmful to human health.

* A Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel is expected to recommend a significant rollback of restrictions on the use by passengers of electronic devices on planes, according to the New York Times.

* If you use the Google Chrome browser but are also reliant on plug-ins like Silverlight, Unity, and Java, you'll need to move on from those plug-ins or change browsers -- , because most plug-ins will be banned from Chrome in the next year.

* And speaking of Google, its Apps Status Dashboard indicates some type of issue with Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Presentations.

* The home and garage where Apple began could soon become a protected historical site. The Los Altos, Calif., home where Apple co-founder Steve Jobs grew up, and where the first Apple computer and Apple II were built, is closing in on the end of a nearly two-year review by the Los Altos Historical Commission, CNN reports.

* The extent of the melting of Arctic Sea ice has reached its peak for 2013, and the ice is now growing again as the seasons change into Fall and Winter, say scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Although the ice did not melt as much as it did in 2012, when Arctic sea ice reached record lows, it was still the sixth lowest on record.

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