holiday

Cut the Rope holiday freebie: 25 Xmas levels!

Not to be outdone by Rovio's Halloween- and Christmas-themed Angry Birds Seasons, Chillingo just took the wraps off Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift.

That's right: Om Nom is back, still hungry for candy, and still adorable as can be. The game serves up 75 25 new levels and immediately lives up to its name. Holiday Gift is absolutely free. You don't even have to own the original.

Update: My bad. The game has 25 new levels, not 75.

Just in case you don't, Cut the Rope works like this: Little green monster Om Nom has a sweet tooth that rivals, well, mine. In each level, a piece of candy is attached to a series of ropes you slice with your finger.

To complete a level, you need to figure out which ropes to cut, and when, to swing the candy into his mouth--collecting as many stars as possible in the process.

Holiday Gift is packed with Christmassy touches, like stockings that teleport the candy from one spot to another (I won't spoil any of the others). It probably goes without saying that if you liked the first Cut the Rope, you'll love Holiday Gift.… Read more

Google can fix your mom's PC, sort of

In what must have been some charitably-minded Googler's ambitious side project, the sprawling technology company has launched a sort of digital cheat sheet to solve the apparently ubiquitous problem of being asked to fix all variety of PC- and Web-related problems when visiting parents for the holidays.

The site, called TeachParentsTech, lets frustrated "kids" fill out a form that puts together a "virtual care package" to send to parents that will include links to Google video tutorials for all manner of basic tech support issues. In a post on the official Google blog, Googler Jason … Read more

Wii: Not dead yet (at least for my relatives)

A funny thing's been happening this holiday season: my older relatives are suddenly telling me they're getting a Wii.

I don't know how it happened, or why, and it frankly baffles me. The Nintendo Wii is a system which, in the eyes of many, has jumped the trendiness shark. Systems aren't selling out like they used to, and Nintendo's profits have even been dipping. There aren't that many games this holiday as opposed to other years, although Nintendo's done a nice job with titles such as Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Kirby's Epic Yarn. … Read more

Epic's Infinity Blade hands-on: Prettiest game on the iPhone/iPad

One of the biggest splashes in the iOS gaming scene came during an Apple keynote earlier this year when a preview of an upcoming game from Epic, using the Unreal engine, showcased graphics that seemed like they came from a next-gen console. A free preview of this game, called Epic Citadel, debuted shortly afterward. As a demo of the graphics prowess in the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, it was unparalleled.

The full game is now available, and its name has changed to Infinity Blade. The universal app costs $5.99, and the bottom line is this: its graphics top … Read more

CNET to the Rescue: How to tweak your relatives' computers

This week, as we gear up for holiday travel, we have a special show on preparing to help out your less-than-geeky parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, and assorted relatives. You know they're going to ask you for tech support. How do you talk to them? Do you fix their computer? With what tools? We're joined today by special guest Seth Rosenblatt of CNET.com, who can fill us in.

If you have a tech question for CNET to the Rescue, e-mail rescue@cnet.com or call us to get on the next show: 877-438-6688. No question is too basic.

Episode 28: How to tweak your relatives' computers

Prank a techie with these fake gadget gift boxes

While holiday shopping, we ran across these hilarious fake gift boxes, purporting to contain an outrageous assortment of high-tech gadgets (and we promptly ordered a two-pack from ThinkGeek for our own holiday pranking).

These are simple rectangular cardboard boxes, each printed with art and copy purporting to tout a fantastic gift-ready gadget. Of course, none of these devices actually exists; these are just dummy boxes for you to use to disguise your own gifts. After getting the iArm tablet forearm mount and the automated PetPetter, we checked out the manufacturer's Web site at prankpack.com and found several other winners, which we present here in handy slideshow format. … Read more

Headphones that make air travel bearable

The holiday season is a peak time for traveling, as many people gear up to take advantage of the kids' time off and visit family and friends. If you're traveling by air this year, a high-tech travel bag can help you ward off tedium and the annoyances that come with being contained on an airplane with dozens of strangers.

My main goal when flying is to drown out crying babies, obnoxious passengers, and droning engines, so the first thing that goes in my carry-on is an MP3 player--but it's not much good if I can't hear the … Read more

Cyber Monday spending up, surpasses $1 billion

Online retailers rang up more than $1 billion in sales this past Cyber Monday, according to data released yesterday by ComScore.

Adding up to a 16 percent gain in sales over the same day last year, Monday's cybershopping spree was the heaviest online spending day in history, said ComScore, and the first to cross the billion-dollar mark. Overall, the start of the holiday season has brought good cheer to online retailers. More than $13.5 billion was spent online from November 1 to 29, a gain of 13 percent from last year.

The growth in Cyber Monday sales was … Read more

Five gifts for the food fan who has it all

All of us are food fans at heart (and skin and bones), but it takes a certain dedication to dive deep into the kitchen. It can be difficult to find gifts for die-hard food fans. Here are a few ideas for the culinary-minded.

RacletteRaclette is a way of entertaining. Giving someone a raclette maker means you want to be entertained. Sure, it's a bit of a selfish gift considering the subtle undertones, but hey, when it comes to gooey melted cheese and hot grilled sausages, who doesn't want to be invited?

Sous vide oven Cooking food in a … Read more

The 404 719: Where we made it out of clay (podcast)

Happy Hanukkah! Tonight is the first of the eight-day holiday, so tune in to the first half of the show as Wilson and I try our best to explain to Jeff what that means.

On today's show we take a look at Dance Central for the Microsoft Kinect, and offer our sincerest opinions on the best printers, scary PC games, and books! Yes, we're actually learning how to read.

Verizon announced its 4G data plans, but it's not going to come cheap. The "Gs" refer to the speed a mobile device can receive and send data, so 4G will enable Web pages, videos, and e-mails to load faster. Carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile already have 4G data infrastructure in place, but don't expect the same speeds on every carrier.

Starting December 5, Verizon's 4G service will cost $50 for just 5GB a day, $80 nets you 10GB of data, and it's $10 per gigabyte if you go over the limit. The company claims that 70 percent of its 38 markets will gain access to 4G on Sunday, and users can connect with a laptop through a USB modem.

Microsoft's Kinect motion controller accessory is already boasting bigger sales than than the Sony PlayStation Move, having reached 4.1 million dollars in sales worldwide since launching three months ago.

Jeff and Wilson were skeptics when they first saw the controller in action, but Dance Central changed it around for the Bakalar house and now they're hooked. And if all goes right with a hack we're working on, keep a lookout for a YouTube video of that on the show. In the meantime, check out this Kinect joyride fail video and let us know what you think!

Episode 719 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more