choice

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- A what, where, and why primer on the Game Developer's Conference from guests Meggan Scavio and Simon Carless.

- The 15th annual Independent Games Festival opens its Audience Award voting window, now through March 1.

- Nominations open for 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards.

- Unity Engine coming to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook.… Read more

The best tech we reviewed this week is just that: the best. But these devices aren't without a few contradictions.

For example, Wayne Cunningham reviewed one of the most lovely-looking cars on the outside, the 2012 BMW 335i, which comes with a top-notch stereo and pleasing dashboard tech but a shockingly bland interior. Then Jessica Dolcourt took a hard look at T-Mobile's version of the Samsung Galaxy Note, which arrived at the carrier last Monday. The Note, we note (yeah, see what I did there? I'm sorry. Couldn't help it.), is a polarizing paradox of a … Read more

Apple has silently added a new feature to its App Store: Editors' Choice.

When users boot up the Mac App Store or App Store, they'll find a new promotional feature, called Editors' Choice. On the Mac App Store side, Apple says that for its "inaugural pick," it chose CoBook, an address book application that supplements usability by accessing social networks. In addition, the company chose Deus Ex Human Revolution as another Editors' Choice worth checking out.

Not to be outdone, Apple unveiled some Editors' Choice options for App Store users, as well. Among the picks was the … Read more

Audiophiliac readers have strong opinions about the gear I cover in this blog, so last month I asked for Readers' Choice nominations in a variety of categories, including headphones, speakers, receivers, etc.. I've sorted through all the comments, and here's what I found: there's a wide range of gear you love, but it was in the headphone category where the clearest winners stood out.

The Klipsch Image S4 in-ear headphones were the single most popular product in the survey, you people really love 'em! Grado SR60, SR80, and SR225 full-size headphones also drew raves, and Koss' PortaPro … Read more

Audiophiliac readers have strong opinions about the gear I write about every day; now it's your turn to spread the word about your favorite audio products. Nominate your picks for best speakers, in as many categories as you want: iPod speakers, sound bars, desktop, bookshelf, tower, high-end, subwoofers, home theater, etc.

I'm also seeking nominations for headphones of all types: universal-fit in-ears, custom-molded in-ears, DJ, Bluetooth, full-size on- and over-the-ear headphones, studio headphones, noise-canceling headphones. How about receivers? Stereo and home theater receivers, or integrated amplifiers, as well as turntables, CD players, iPods, and other types of music … Read more

After long deliberation, CNET has awarded the top two 2012 security suites Editors' Choice awards.

In the paid suite category, we decided on Bitdefender Total Security 2012 (download) for its top-rated security, its low impact on your computer's performance, and its excellent range of features. Bitdefender started strong out of the gate, and although some came close, notably Norton and F-Secure, Bitdefender posted an impressive set of benchmarks that kept it ahead.

Choosing a top free suite for the 2012 release cycle was even more challenging. After a few years of lackluster updates, popular Avira returned to the fold, … Read more

Recent weeks have seen a lot of (overdue) talk about privacy and technology. There was the flap over Path and other mobile apps uploading your phone's address books to their servers without your permission. A follow-up story noted apps might be able to slurp up photos and their location data on iOS, too.

There was the discovery that Google overrode some cookie settings in Safari in order to track users for ad serving. And Congress is still figuring out a response to last fall's concerns over software on phones that could share your location or other data without … Read more

Update Feb 3, 2012: In early January Samsung told me of a firmware update that addresses the brightness pops in both the D7000 and D8000 plasmas (I was also told that 2012 versions wouldn't suffer this issue), but since that time the company has not given me any additional information despite repeated inquiries. Meanwhile multiple CNET readers have told me how they have contacted Samsung customer service (in one case via chat), described the "pops" and been sent updated firmware on a USB stick (version 1024.8). The effectiveness of the new firmware varies according to reports … Read more

After reviewing many of the best TVs of 2011, I've decided to give this year's Editors' Choice to the Samsung PND7000 plasma and the Sony KDL-NX720 LED-based LCD TV. Here's why.

Samsung PND7000 series: For the last couple of years our Editors' Choice TVs have been Panasonic plasmas, which have managed to eke out a win against TVs from archrival Samsung. In 2011, the PND8000 and PND7000 plasmas from Samsung showed significant improvement, delivering better black levels than ever before, along with reference color.

When I compared them directly with Panasonic's best plasma, the TC-PVT30 series, I again liked the Panasonic's picture just a bit better, saying, "The PVT30 has superior black-level performance and shadow detail, as well as arguably better video processing. The Samsungs win for color accuracy, 3D performance, and bright-room picture. All three TVs were quite close in nearly every picture quality characteristic I test, and all three rightly earn performance scores of 9."

That said, there's more to my Editors' Choice than just picture quality, and with a virtual tie like this I'll turn to the other category I consider most important: value.… Read more