best

Microsoft Surface tablet arrives at Best Buy today

The Surface RT tablet makes its official debut at Best Buy today.

Microsoft's Surface will be available for sale at Best Buy's Web site today starting at 2 p.m. PT. The device will then make it way to Best Buy retail outlets and select Best Buy Mobile stores this Sunday, December 16.

Staples also has revealed that it will start carrying the tablet as soon as today.

The move is part of Microsoft's strategy to expand the reach of Surface beyond its own stores. Company officials said that the expansion was initially targeted for early 2013. … Read more

Facebook reigns as the best place to work

Maybe it's the ability to influence a billion people or maybe it's the deluxe campus and free food, but Facebook employees have come out in full force and voted their company the best place to work this year.

Company review site Glassdoor annually compiles the 50 best places to work based on comments from employees in dozens of companies. This year, nearly half a million reviews were submitted that rated employers on career opportunities, salary and benefits, work and life balance, senior management, and culture and values. And, Facebook won out.

"The company's leadership truly believes … Read more

The 404 1,180: Where that map's gonna get you killed (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Australian police discourage use of Apple Maps app after rescues.

- "50 Shades" success yields $5,000 bonuses at Random House.

- Best Buy sends five iPads in error, says "keep them."… Read more

Best Buy trims $50 off iPhone

Holiday shoppers looking for an iPhone 5 or 4S can save some cash courtesy of a new sale at Best Buy.

The retailer is currently discounting all the various flavors of the iPhone by $50.

That means the 16GB iPhone 5 is selling for $149.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and the 64GB for $349.99. The 16GB iPhone 4S can be had for $49.99. Both the black and white versions are up for grabs.

All of them naturally require the standard two-year contract with Verizon Wireless, AT&T, or Sprint.

A few of the variants can … Read more

Best Buy sends five iPads in error, says 'keep them'

Our lecture today is entitled "Ethics and the Holiday Spirit."

The question at hand is this: if you order an iPad from Best Buy and the company sends you five, what do you do?

Do you phone Best Buy and say, "Hullo, you've sent me four too many"?

Do you phone Best Buy and say, "Gosh, just wanted to thank you for the holiday gifts" -- and not mention which gifts you're talking about?

Or do you say nothing, do nothing, and hope Best Buy doesn't notice? … Read more

My Best Tech Gift Ever: A 133MHz IBM PC 350

Every day this week, a different CNET writer or editor is recalling a tech or geek-centric present that left a mark. Read past stories by Eric Mack, Jeff Sparkman, Jay Greene, and Dan Ackerman, and look for another installment tomorrow at midnight PT.

On a chilly autumn day in 1997, I came home from school to find that my mom had a brand-new IBM PC 350 in her office. It was an astonishing computer, especially considering our previous machine was a DOS/Windows 3.1 slowpoke that could barely run Wolfenstein 3D.

For its time, the PC 350 had it all -- a screaming Pentium 133MHz processor, a 1.6GB hard drive, 64MB of RAM, and 4MB of video memory. Though my mom bought it for the household and not for me exclusively, it was the best tech gift I ever got, as it truly turned me into a geek and gamer (and therefore the person I am today). … Read more

My Best Tech Gift Ever: Beatles catalog on a USB key

Every day this week, a different CNET writer or editor will recall a tech or geek-centric present that left a mark. Read past stories by Eric Mack, Jeff Sparkman, and Jay Greene, and look for another installment tomorrow at midnight PT.

Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by this stuff every day, but traditional technology gifts tend to leave me cold. Even the memories of unwrapping game consoles or that first yellow Sports model Sony Walkman don't stand out in a best-gift-ever sort of way.

Instead, I turn to a more recent holiday gift, one that combines technology … Read more

My Best Tech Gift Ever: Garmin's Edge 500 bike computer

Every day this week, a different CNET writer or editor will recall a tech or geek-centric present that left a mark. Read past stories by Eric Mack and Jeff Sparkman, and look for another installment tomorrow at midnight PT.

It's easy to set personal goals and then let them slide into the abyss of good intentions. The tech gift that really stands out for me is the one that's helped me prevent that from happening.

It's Garmin's Edge 500 bicycle computer, which my wife gave me for my birthday in 2010 (though honestly, I asked her for it). This summer, near the end of a soul-sucking, endurance-testing ride, the Edge 500 came through for me once again.

I had set a goal to finish a ride called Ramrod (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day) in less than 10 hours. But 7 hours into the ride, it was looking bleak. I'd covered 104 miles and done most of the 9,000 feet of climbing. To attain my goal, I needed to cover the final 45 miles in three hours. Certainly doable, but I was pretty cooked. … Read more

My Best Tech Gift Ever: Meeting James 'Scotty' Doohan

Every day this week, a different CNET writer or editor will recall a tech or geek-centric present that left a mark. Read yesterday's story by Crave contributor Eric Mack here, and look for another installment tomorrow at midnight PT.

It was hard picking the greatest tech gift I ever got -- we got a lot of tech as gifts for the whole family. Should I pick the Atari 2600 or the Sega Genesis? Should I pick the Texas Instruments TI99/4A, the Commodore 128, or the Magnavox HeadStart 500 (the first computer we owned with a CD-ROM drive)? I … Read more