Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Samsung's Galaxy Note remains in a class of its own. With its 5.3-inch display and S Pen stylus, the "phablet" blurred the line between phone and tablet and made for a completely new user experience. Yes, it was big (maybe too big for some), but it brought new functionality to the cell phone world. Today in Berlin at IFA, Samsung unveiled the successor device, the Galaxy Note 2. Larger and more powerful, the Note 2 is a stunner in many...

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5 Reasons Android Users Won't Switch to the iPhone 5

The hype around the upcoming iPhone 5 - which is rapidly approaching the hysterical peak that we've all come to expect every time Apple rolls out a new model - has already generated a number of possible reasons for Google and its Android partners to worry about the device's impact. COUNTERPOINT: 5 reasons Android users will switch to the iPhone 5 But hang on - does the emperor really have any clothes? As impressive as the iPhone 5 is almost...

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Are We Seeing PC Gaming's Unlikely Comeback?

Have reports of PC gaming's demise have been greatly exaggerated? The latest news regarding PC games sales, up over 200%, along with box-office busting success from Diablo III suggest just that. Of course, you can certainly make a case for a PC gaming industry on the slide. For starters, much of the mainstream media interest is dominated by the big games consoles. Those consoles are a lot more cost effective than PCs, too. The purchase price...

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Reselling Digital Music

Normally when you purchase a physical good like a vehicle, clothing or even computer components, you have every right to resell that item when you no longer have a use for it. If the same laws also apply to creative work (which they do), why then aren’t they also applicable with regards to ownership of digital content like music? That exact question is at the center of a lawsuit pitting Capitol Records against ReDigi, an online service...

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Companies Turn to GitHub to Find Tech Talent

Because engineers and designers can post their work for all to see, more and more companies are realizing they can see what people can actually do, not just say they can do. In the red-hot market for skilled software engineers, companies looking to make great hires are discovering that relying on traditional services that showcase candidates' work histories -- but not their actual work -- is a great way to miss out on the best available talent. These days, there's a new game in town -- GitHub, a place where hiring managers and recruiters...

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Arduino-Based SocialChatter Reads Your Twitter Feeds

If you prefer reading your RSS feeds without the backlight, there's hardware for that, and if you'd prefer not reading your Twitter feeds at all, there's now hardware for that as well. Mix an Arduino Ethernet board, an Emic 2 Text-To-Speech Module and the knowhow to put them together, and you've got SocialChatter -- a neat little build that'll read your feeds aloud. The coding's already been done for you, and it's based on Adafruit's own Internet of Things printer sketch with a little bit of tinkering so nothing's lost in translation. If your...

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Razer Deathstalker Gaming Keyboard Announced

It's pretty obvious from Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan's one-man presentation at Gamescom that he's buzzing about his new gaming keyboard. Ready to accompany the accessory maker's Ouroboros gaming mouse (hands-on impressions coming very soon), the Deathstalker will arrive in Ultimate and Standard versions. They both plump for chiclet-style keys and the pricier (and larger) Ultimate felt both light and slim. The standard issue packs three backlit...

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Windows 8 Update

As the Oct. 26 launch date for Windows 8 creeps closer, more information about Microsoft's next operating system is trickling out. I'm not talking about the major ideas, about which we've learned plenty through the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Release Preview. It's mostly little things that until recently have gone unanswered. Let’s take a look at some of the blanks that Microsoft has filled in lately: Metro is a Must We'd previously heard...

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Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)   Editors' note, August 7, 2012: This story has been updated to include the Google Nexus 7. Note, however, that we expect both Amazon and Barnes & Noble to introduce updated e-book readers and tablets before the end of 2012. There are also continued rumors that Apple may introduce a smaller, cheaper iPad Mini. In the meantime, the comparisons below are limited to the current available product lines of all companies. Shopping...

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NASA's Curiosity Mars Landing Successful

After "seven minutes of terror" involving guided entry, parachute and powered descent, and even a sky crane, NASA's Curiosity rover has successfully touched down on the surface of Mars. Better yet, the 2,000lbs (900kg) science lab has established communications with Earth and is sending back telemetry along with the first pictures of Gale crater. These initial grayscale images are only 256 x 256 pixels in size but show Curiosity's shadow on the Martian soil. Peek at our galley below and stay tuned for updates. Update: Hit the break...

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Windows Games on the MacBook Pro

After jumping the hurdles of our review gauntlet, the MacBook Pro with Retina display proved itself as a top-notch machine for the creative professionals it's geared towards, and anyone willing to pay a premium. Save for a brief bout with Diablo III, our time spent gaming on the hardware was limited. Ever since, we've wondered how the Kepler-toting, Ivy Bridge-packing laptop would handle one of our favorite graphics-intensive pastimes. Sure,...

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