halo

Halo still in effect: Apple sees iPads as gateway to Macs

When the iPod first came out, Apple hoped it would help drive sales of the Mac. The reason was simple: at first, you needed a Mac to use the svelte little MP3 player. The phenomenon was dubbed the halo effect because customers would be expected to gravitate to Apple's other products.

Of course, what ended up happening instead was that Apple soon made iTunes and its music store available for Windows users, switched from Firewire to the more ubiquitous USB, and went on to sell millions of iPods, dominating both the digital music and MP3 player markets in the … Read more

The making of Bungie's Halo successor: Destiny

BELLEVUE, Wash.--Halo, the multibillion-dollar-grossing video game franchise, set an incredibly high bar for its creator, Bungie, to meet with its next title.

"After Halo, a bunch of us thought, 'What comes next?'" Bungie co-founder Jason Jones told a group of journalists visiting Bungie's Bellevue, Wash., headquarters Wednesday.

Jones and Bungie's leadership, who sold the company to Microsoft in 2000 and then spun it out of the software giant in 2007, wanted to find a project worthy of the groundbreaking work in Halo. They wanted to come up with not just a new game, but a … Read more

During review of Halo 4, Conan yawns

Not everyone is a gamer.

It doesn't make these people old, sad or clueless -- any more than being a gamer makes someone entirely free of the hope of a significant other.

Conan O'Brien seems to like gaming about as much as he appreciates the skills of Jay Leno. And yet it fell upon him to review Halo 4, one of the quintessential joys of the gaming community.

His experience was a little uncomfortable.… Read more

Halo Zero LED messenger bag lights up the night

If you're a cyclist, you know it's always a good idea to sport enough lights that motorists can see you while you pedal away at night. This is where the Halo Zero LED messenger bag, a Kickstarter project, comes in.

Each handmade bag will be crafted by Rickshaw in San Francisco and is big enough to fit a 15-inch notebook. The bag includes two front pockets as well. Halo Zero's fiber optic LED light attaches to the front of the bag via velcro. … Read more

Master Chief reports: Halo sells 50M units... and counting

Microsoft said 50 million Halo units have been sold since the franchise's launch in 2001, and that gamers have spent over 5 billion hours playing the title on Xbox Live. Microsoft reported these figures in a press email release announcing a Halo challenge tournament, although the relevant section isn't available online. We've included it below.

Although Microsoft didn't say how many Halo 4 units have sold since that game's launch last month, the company did report in October that at that time, total Halo franchise unit sales reached 46 million. Given that, it appears Halo … Read more

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 rakes in $500 million in first 24 hours

There's no stopping the Call of Duty franchise.

The latest version of the storied military shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, grossed $500 million in revenue around the world in its first 24 hours, Activision said today. The company said that marks the largest entertainment launch of the year, and the fourth consecutive year in which it could make that claim. … Read more

Ultrathin Wallet Trackr monitors your billfold without the bulge

Maybe you're less forgetful than I am, but I'm pretty sure that most of people have, at some point or other, realized all too late that they've left their wallet at home or in the car. (If you're like me, this happens at least weekly.) With the help of your smartphone and an app, Phone Halo's new Wallet Trackr can let you know that you've misplaced your billfold, clutch, or purse before you get too far away from it.

If you've read our review of the Cobra Tag (which is also powered by … Read more

Will Black Ops II keep Call of Duty's record sales streak alive?

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is now available. But industry watchers are wondering whether it will be able to carry the torch its predecessors have passed.

Over the last several years, each Call of Duty game has set a new entertainment sales record. Last year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 generated over $400 million in revenue during its first 24 hours on store shelves. That game followed the $360 million Call of Duty: Black Ops made in its first day. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 posted $310 million in launch-day sales.

Given that trajectory, it would appear … Read more

Microsoft's Halo 4: $220M in first 24 hours

Microsoft said that its new Halo video game racked up $220 million in sales during the first 24 hours. In doing so, the company said, the game beat sales records set by previous installments of the series.

Also, Microsoft said that Halo 4 was on target to exceed the $300 million sales mark for its first week.

The title is the first of a new trilogy in the series, and the first to add onto the storyline developed in Halo, Halo 2, and Halo 3 by the franchise's creator, Bungie Studios. Halo 4 launched exclusively on the Xbox 360 … Read more

Battle begins between Foursquare, Yelp

Tuesday's CNET Update is rating you on a 10-point scale:

Today's tech news roundup looks at the growing competition between Foursquare and Yelp. Foursquare launched a new 10-point ratings system for local businesses, which is what Yelp has been doing. But Yelp has been creeping in on Foursquare's territory recently by highlighting friend activity. Yelp also rolled out an app update that displays restaurant menus and reviews of each menu item.

Amazon is now offering a payment option of $8 a month for Prime, the same price as Netflix and Hulu. The yearly $80 subscription is still … Read more