The world is better off with Best Buy alive than dead

A Lenovo Yoga convertible ultrabook on display at a Los Angeles Best Buy. It's still the best place to comparison shop for gadgets in a physical store.(Credit:Brooke Crothers)Despite all the flak Best Buy gets from consumers and financial analysts, the world is probably a better place with it than without it. For those who don't follow Best Buy as a business, existential questions have been dogging...

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Crave Ep. 111: Man vs. jetpack

Man vs. jetpack, Ep: 111Subscribe to Crave:iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | iTunes (HQ)RSS (HD) | RSS (SD) | RSS (HQ)A German inventor has built a DIY jetpack, so we hop onboard. Also, we get a first look at "Star Wars" pinball for iOS and Android, and "Star Trek" fans win a major space battle when they vote to name a Pluto moon "Vulcan." All that and more on this week's episode of...

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Anonymous leaks alleged data on BofA execs, surveillance

In its latest salvo against the financial industry, Anonymous claims to have leaked sensitive information related to Bank of America executives and the company's alleged effort to "spy and collect information on private citizens."Par:AnoIA, a group that identifies itself as the Anonymous Intelligence Agency, said in a press release (PDF) yesterday that it had released 14 gigabytes of data on hundreds...

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11 must-see videos from Mobile World Congress

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is just a day away from closing in Barcelona, Spain. Housed in a brand-new venue and bigger than ever, the show burst at the seams with everything wireless. Sure, there was a ton of new phones and tablets, but those headline devices only scratched the surface. CNET's team of reporters scoured the show floor to find everything from a GPS-enabled cane to a touchless...

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Tech companies: gay marriage ban is bad for business

Apple is one of the companies signing up to support gay marriage.(Credit:Apple)Some big name tech companies are adding their support for same-sex marriage and making the case that banning these unions deters employee recruitment efforts.Dozens of companies, including Apple, Facebook, eBay and Intel, will file an amicus brief -- a court document field by an interested, group that is not actually a...

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'Copyright Alert System' rolls out to catch illegal downloaders

The "Copyright Alert System," aka "six strikes," kicked off today with the cooperation of five major Internet service providers. The goal of the new campaign is to curb copyright infringement by going after consumers rather than pirates. While the CAS seems like something that would raise the hackles of privacy and civil liberty groups, the plan isn't to arrest, sue, or fine people downloading illegal...

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YouTube code refers to paid channel subscriptions

Paid channel subscriptions on YouTube may be closer than previously thought.After reports last month that YouTube was considering offering channels that would require a fee to access, code has now appeared that suggests Google is already laying the software foundation for subscription channels.According to Android Police, the latest version of YouTube for Android includes two lines of code that refer...

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The Facebook mistakes people make after a date

February can make people excitable.A new year is barely old. Hope springs eternal. And then there's Valentine's Day to add a little piquancy to their emotional state.Sometimes, though, lovers suffer from a certain lack of self-control. This can manifest itself on society's everyday manifest: Facebook.I was moved, therefore, that someone had taken the time to list the major faux pas that occur when...

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Apple yanks proxy proposal after judge backs Einhorn

In response to a court ruling today in favor of hedge fund manager David Einhorn, Apple has yanked a proxy proposal that would eliminate its ability to issue "blank check" preferred stock without investor approval.Apple issued a statement concerning the ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan, who granted Einhorn's bid to block next week's shareholder vote on the proposal:"We are disappointed...

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Social media aggregator Memolane to shut down

Memolane's timeline service.(Credit:Eddie Echo/CNET)Memolane, a social media aggregator that promised trips down memory lane, announced today it is shutting down immediately and will delete users' account content tomorrow.Launched in 2010, the Web app extracted each moment users shared on popular social-networking services such as Facebook, Last.fm, Twitter, Foursquare, and others and combined them...

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Sony mum on PlayStation Vita price drops for U.S., Europe

Sony breathed new life into its PlayStation Vita portable alongside the introduction of the PlayStation 4 today. The gist of the news: The Vita can be used as a full screen and controller for your PS4, similar to what Nintendo's done with the Wii U. The idea is that you can continue to play a game on the PS4 through your Vita, even if someone needs to use the TV for something else. The only catch...

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6 tech features that should be standard in every new car

Air bags, anti-lock brakes, and stability control. CD players, power locks and windows, and air conditioning. These are all features that at some point or other were optional (and sometimes costly) vehicle features, but over time we've come to expect them in every new car on the road -- whether that's due to legislation or changing buyer tastes. As cars continue to evolve, so grow our expectations...

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Microsoft quietly raises price of Office for Mac by 17 percent

Office 2013(Credit:Microsoft)Microsoft has quietly increased the prices of its Office for Mac 2011 by as much as 17 percent, putting it on price par with Office 2013 for Windows.The software giant has also quit selling multi-license packages, which allowed customers to purchase multiple copies of the application suite at a discounted rate.The single-license Office for Mac Home & Student now costs...

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Why Google's stores shouldn't look so much like Apple stores

Is this really different enough?(Credit:Crave CNET UK)Some engineers have never dated a real person.They've tried to, but it's hard for them to appreciate that real people don't necessarily use data to make decisions -- especially when it comes to love.Perhaps their most embarrassing moments come when they try to mimic what non-engineers do in order to make themselves more attractive.This mirrors...

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Russian meteorite: The conspiracy theories

A strange time for a military attack?(Credit:CNN; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)A good hearty conspiracy theory can shine a sharp light on two of humanity's most enduring traits.One, of course, is humanity's boundless imagination. The other is humanity's essential suspicion of humanity.So while you might be deeply immersed in Bill Nye's explanation of the Russian meteorite, those with darker...

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Crave Ep. 109: The greatest drinking game ever

The greatest drinking game ever, Ep: 109Subscribe to Crave:iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | iTunes (HQ)RSS (HD) | RSS (SD) | RSS (HQ) This week on Crave, William Shatner has some choice words for J.J. Abrams, and we toss one back in the greatest drinking game ever invented. Cheers! Plus, we dodge a bullet the size of a football field as an asteroid nearly collides with Earth. Phew....

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Helping American designers make it in America (video)

As a graduate of the Pratt Institute with experience working for big names in the apparel and accessory industries, Matthew Bennett was ready to work independently to create his own watch label. While he might have had great ideas and a fabulous sense of design, he just couldn't seem to tackle the logistics of running such an operation. He found a manufacturer in Hong Kong that could produce his designs,...

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Judge tosses some shareholder suits over Facebook's IPO flop

Things may be looking up for Facebook in the dozens of lawsuits it's facing from peeved shareholders over its botched initial public offering. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet ruled in favor of Facebook today and dismissed a group of these cases, according to the Wall Street Journal. The social network became embroiled in this extensive legal battle shortly after its $16 billion IPO last May. The...

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Tip: Use OS X services to reveal or open file paths

Apple's Spotlight offers a quick way to find user files and resources like applications or system preferences. However, it does not locate items in the system folder or in hidden folders, though at times you might need to access them. This limitation may be especially cumbersome to deal with if you are troubleshooting a problem in OS X or helping someone do so, meaning you may need to ask them to...

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Tesla's Elon Musk lambasts New York Times article

Tesla's Model S.(Credit:Tesla)Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has become incensed over a critical news article about the all-electric car that was published in The New York Times last week. "I do not think this is a he said, she said situation," Musk told Bloomberg West in an interview today. "It is really black and white. The facts are the facts." The tussle got started after New York Times reporter John Broder...

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