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A Roku box is the single best way to bring streaming media into your home. It slings not just Netflix, but also Amazon Instant Video, CNET, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, MLB.tv, Pandora, and a host of other awesome channels.

For a limited time, you can get the refurbished Roku 2 XD for $59.99 shipped. That's a savings of $20, and the same price you'd otherwise pay for the lesser Roku 2 HD model.

Never mind that it's a refurb: it comes with the same 90-day warranty as new Rokus. (I'm a bit surprised that … Read more

Summer is a great time to catch up on the shows you weren't able to watch during the regular TV season -- or weren't sure would survive the year.

For example, Mrs. Cheapskate and I are planning to check out "Revenge," "Scandal," "Once Upon a Time," and perhaps "Grimm." Unfortunately, these freshman series have yet to show up on Netflix, so the only viable option for watching them on the cheap is Hulu Plus.

And for my money, there's no better way to pair Hulu Plus with your TV … Read more

In today's show, we're putting filters on Facebook, paying with our phones and watching the networks get hoppin' mad:

A battle is brewing in court between the major television networks and Dish Network's commercial-skipping Hopper DVR. The fight centers around a feature in the Hopper DVR called Auto Hop, which lets users instantly skip commercials for a show recorded the day prior from a major network during prime time. (No need for a fast-forward button!) Fox, NBC and CBS are suing Dish, arguing that commercial skipping violates copyright. And Fox added another layer to it, saying that … Read more

For T-Mobile, restructuring isn't just code for layoffs.

The carrier, in the middle of a massive overhaul of the business, said it would eliminate 900 jobs, as CNET previously reported, but hire 550 new positions. The new jobs will support its new business and strategic opportunities.

T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, has been busy trying to get back into aggressive challenger mode after its takeover deal with AT&T collapsed. To better compete with its larger rivals, the company has embarked on a plan to upgrade its existing network this year and move to 4G LTE next … Read more

T-Mobile USA will restructure its business and hold another round of layoffs, as it seeks to reduce its operating costs.

The changes were announced in a memo from CEO Philipp Humm leaked to The Verge. T-Mobile told CNET that 900 employees would be cut as a result of the changes.

The cuts come on top of 1,000 jobs the carrier said in March it would shed as part of its ongoing restructuring plan. In the note, Humm said the company would contact employees personally about the cuts and changes in responsibilities.

The changes are expected to make T-Mobile a … Read more

Everybody wants to tell the cable or satellite TV company what to do with that three-figure monthly bill that pays for a lot of stuff you don't even want, right?

Today, thanks to Internet-delivered TV, you can actually put some teeth behind that. Know that it's not as simple as throwing a switch and cancelling an account. In this episode of Device & Conquer we show you what we've learned about the process and how you can do it. It might be right for you, it might not. But whether you do it now or do it later, odds are you'll do it eventually. … Read more

When people ask me if they should "cut the cord" and cancel their cable subscription, I tend to focus on negatives. You're going to miss a lot of sports, reality TV, and live TV events -- even if you get free, over-the-air TV using an antenna.

That's all true, but it's easy to forget that sometimes the cord-cutting experience is just flat-out better than having cable. I was reminded of this after reading a quote by former NBC executive Jeff Gaspin at the end of Bill Carter's recent story about declining TV ratings in The New York Times:… Read more

We all struggle with our priorities daily.

Who, therefore, cannot hold loving hands with the fine, struggling minds at the University of Florida? For they have searched their souls and deduced that quite a lot of its Computer And Information Science and Engineering Department might be surplus to requirements.

I was initially grateful to Forbes for offering this disturbing information.

Forbes said that the school -- faced with the need to cut budgets -- sees insufficient use for teaching assistants in computer science, so it intends to chop them out. The graduate and research programs? Oh, what can they possibly … Read more

Remember when TV was free? All you needed was the airwaves to watch all your favorite network shows.

That's still true. In fact, with a decent antenna, you can tune in all your local stations in glorious high-def.

For many folks, that "decent antenna" has been the tough nut to crack. In my edge-of-suburbia neck of the woods, for example, I had to put a powered set of rabbit ears in my attic and run a cord through walls and floors to my TV -- hassle city.

Too bad I didn't know about the Leaf Indoor … Read more