Guide

CNET's summer gaming guide

It's no secret that the summer months are markedly scarce in terms of worthy, must-play video game titles. But just because the weather is a bit nicer doesn't necessarily mean that gaming must take a back seat. Regardless of consoles owned, there's likely something for everyone this summer.

Xbox 360: Xbox 360 owners have been lucky enough to be rewarded with what Microsoft now calls its Summer of Arcade. It's a group of download-only titles (averaging around $15) that get heavy promotion on the Xbox 360's dashboard, but have also proved themselves worthy of MS Points in the past. For instance, last year's Limbo not only won the hearts of gamers and critics alike, but took the 9 spot in our annual top 10 games of the year list.

This year's Summer of Arcade has already hit the ground running, starting off with last week's addictive action-RPG, Bastion. We demoed the game live on CNET TV's preGame show.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1495: Lytro: the "magic camera" that's blown our minds (Podcast)

On today's show, we fall in love with Lytro, the game-changing photo technology that we can't wait to get our hands on. Get in line, geeks. Also, will Yahoo buy Hulu? And can we call it Ya-Hulu if they do-do? Plus, Apple scores the broadest patent ever, which makes us wonder if the patent office is even trying anymore, and Shazam is coming to your TV.

This Day in Tech: Microsoft loses patent case, Hulk Hogan at E3

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Thursday, June 9.

Daily cost of a 'promoted trend' on Twitter: $120,000 Cost of buying space in Twittersphere zeitgeist is up more than 400 percent. More

Hulk Hogan at E3 2011 (Video featuring Brian Tong) Hulkamania runs wild at E3 2011. Brian Tong flexes with the wrestling legend to talk pythons, pistols, and toothpicks. More

Microsoft loses patent case at Supreme Court Software giant loses legal battle with a small Canadian company in a decision today that will cost … Read more

Swing your sabers! Today is Geek Pride Day

Despite the fact that I have crashed computers since I was 8, know more people online than in real life, and have knifed four people consecutively in Battlefield, I have somehow managed to miss out on the fact that today, May 25, is annual Geek Pride Day.

No more, however. When I found out about this hallowed day of geekery today, I immediately went and put on my Boba Fett/Empire Strikes Back T-shirt and listened to the original movie soundtrack in a 320Kbps MP3.

Why is May 25 the chosen date? Well, a few critical events happen to fall on this day:

May 25, 1977: Star Wars opened in 32 theaters and became an instant cult-classic. May 25, 2001: Two weeks after "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" author Douglas Adams died, fans commemorated his passing by creating " Towel Day," playing off an amusing life-saving reference in his famous book. A special day for Discworld fans. According to the Discworld & Pratchett Wiki, "The People's Revolution of the Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May ended the increasingly tough reign of Lord Winder."… Read more

Makeup app(licator)

Beauty Guide Lite is a free tool that lets you practice applying makeup to images of faces, even your own. It's basically a slimmed-down graphics editor with brushes and palettes optimized for cosmetics. You can undo, save, and print; sample and alter colors; smudge, lighten, and darken; and flip and rotate images. The software supplies faces to practice on, but you can upload your own images, too, and not just pictures of your own face but also friends, family members, even celebrities and historical figures. It's great for teaching young people how to apply makeup, and it gives … Read more

11 iPhone tips for total novices

My very own mom just joined the ranks of iPhone owners. (Welcome to the party, Mom!) Much as I was excited to show her all the cool stuff (FaceTime! Apps! Visual voice mail!), I quickly realized she needed to walk before she could run.

In other words, she needed a course in Basic iPhone Operation. After all, she was accustomed to a simple flip phone with a physical keypad. Going from that to an iPhone is like trading a car for a 747: confusing, intimidating, and no doubt a little scary.

With that in mind, I put together this list of 11 tips for iPhone newcomers. If they seem overly obvious to you, well, you're not the target audience. But I'll bet you know someone who is, so feel free to share this with the iPhone newbies in your life. Trust me: they'll thank you!

1. When in doubt, go Home. Want to go back to the main screen, the one with all the icons? That's called the Home screen. It doesn't matter which app you're using or task you're performing--a single press of the Home button (the only physical button on the front of the iPhone) will return you to the Home screen.

2. Always turn your iPhone off before you slip it into your pocket.Although your iPhone will switch itself into idle mode (where the screen turns off but the phone stays on) after a designated period of inactivity, you should get in the habit of manually turning off the screen. Otherwise you might accidentally place a call or run a battery-draining app while slipping the phone into your pocket. So remember: when you're done using your iPhone, press the top button (aka, the Sleep/Wake button).… Read more

Microsoft: The spam vigilante

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Microsoft helps the feds bring down a large e-mail spam outfit.

The New York Times announces its pricing structure for access to digital editions.

Microsoft launches a mobile app to help men be cool.

The FCC may not allow cell phone boosters.

Samsung launches 3D video on demand in Korea.

New research shows that Twitter solidifies social circles of happy and sad people.

When ER doc consults iPad, don't panic

Nobody likes a conversation interrupted by the mobile-device grab, that increasingly familiar maneuver by which someone betrays a total lack of interest in said conversation and searches for whatever else might be going on in the world instead.

But when your physician gets device-happy in the middle of your next doctor's visit, even in the ER, chances are it's for a good cause, such as looking up the latest on your condition in a reference guide.

Rosen and Barkin's best-selling 5-Minute Emergency Medicine Consult has, for years, been a six-pound, 1,300-page clinical reference tome designed to support urgent care providers. Now, Unbound Medicine is releasing the new-and-improved fourth edition for mobile devices (including iOS, Android, BlackBerry, etc.) in a "proven, rapid-access format."

At $99.95, the price tag is heftier than it is for the paper product (at the time of this posting the hardcover is $81.64 on Amazon), but it features not only the guide's 600-plus urgent care topics and updated protocols and treatment guideline, but also personalized "favorites" (perhaps not the best word) for symptoms and conditions a user might encounter more frequently.… Read more

GoodGuide rates most virtuous cell phones

Whether they consider it bling or just a tool, people typically buy phones based on features and carrier plans. But if you're looking to add benign environmental and societal impact to your feature wish list, GoodGuide has got the data.

GoodGuide launched on Thursday cell phone ratings that rank individual models and manufacturers on health, environment, and social attributes. The new category joins others already on the site, including cleaning products, food items, personal care products, and home appliances.

The ratings cover 576 phones and are based on publicly available information, said Chief Scientist Bill Pease. Altogether, 150 factors … Read more

Learning the Switch to Mac: Guided tips to Apple computers

With more than half of new Mac purchases going to those new to Apple, one app developer has taken the challenge of teaching the novices. Available now in the Mac App Store, Learning the Switch to Mac from "It's About Time Products" is a comprehensive overview of basic (and a few more-advanced) functions on the Mac.

Learning the Switch to Mac offers guided courses in performing many of the simple tasks that escape users coming over to Mac from the PC environment. You can learn how to utilize your Address Book, including printing labels; take advantage of … Read more