June video game retail sales drop 10 percent
AP Photo, file
(CBS/AP) - U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories dropped 10 percent in June to $995 million compared with the same month a year ago. The industry's second-straight month of sales decline was due largely to a lackluster slate of new game releases.
Market researcher NPD Group said in its monthly report Thursday that sales of video game hardware fell 9 percent to $366.6 million. That includes hand-held game systems and gaming consoles such as the Wii.
Continue »1888 Edison recording may be 1st talking doll
(CBS/AP) - Scientists using advanced imaging technology have recovered a 123-year-old recording made by Thomas Edison that is believed to be the world's first attempt at a talking doll and may mark the dawn of the American recording industry.
Pictures: Edison's talking doll record plays 123 years later
In the sound recording, a woman can be heard reciting a verse of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
Continue »Why is Netflix raising its prices?
AP Photo, file
(CBS/CNET/AP) - Netflix is changing the way it prices its services - and the move means customers will have to pay more for the privilege of getting both DVDs and video streams from the online rental company.
But why the price hike?
In part, because the company miscalculated how many people still want to receive DVDs by mail each month, a more expensive service to provide compared to its streamed Internet videos.
Continue »"Budget Hero" gives people shot at managing budget
Computer game gives people shot at managing budget
/ budgethero.org(CBS/AP) - Think you might do better than President Barack Obama and congressional leaders in picking and choosing what government spending to cut - or taxes to raise - to stave off a debt showdown that could wreck the economy? A new computer game gives you, too, the chance to play "Budget Hero."
Continue »Challenge to Groupon's model with trio of deals
CBS/thelevelup.com
(CBS/AP) - Chances are you or someone you know has used a group-coupon service like Groupon or Living Social to get a big discount from a restaurant, store or service.
And while online coupons save people cash, they aren't always a good deal for merchants.
The reason: some merchants beef that while the coupons draw in customers for bargains, they don't do much for repeat business.
Continue »Google+ population explodes to 10 million
The once-rare Google invitation button now is beginning to look ordinary
/ CNET/Stephen Shankland(CBS/CNET/AP) - Google+, the search giant's latest attempt to get a foothold into the social networking part of the web, appears to be in the midst of a population explosion.
A statistical analysis by Paul Allen, founder of Ancestry.com and chief executive of Facebook app maker FamilyLink.com, concludes that the Google+ population reached 7.3 million on Sunday, July 10, and likely will reach 10 million today.
Continue »Philly papers offer tablets with paid apps
Philadelphia Media Network CEO Greg Osberg during a news conference in Philadelphia.
/ AP/Matt Rourke(CBS/AP) - Philly's two major newspapers said Monday that they will give heavily-discounted Android tablet computers to paid digital subscribers as part of a new venture designed to shore up readership and revenue nearly a year after the publications emerged from bankruptcy.
The pilot project slated for launch in late August will provide about 2,000 tablets to customers who buy long-term subscriptions to The Philadelphia Inquirer or Philadelphia Daily News, according to publisher Greg Osberg.
Continue »Cuba reports 16 percent online in some capacity
AP Photo, file
(CBS/AP) - About 16 percent of Cubans are online in some capacity with access to email, the island's intranet or the worldwide Web, a government agency says.
Cuba's National Statistics Office said in a report posted online last week that nearly 1.8 million of the country's 11.2 million residents used some kind of "Internet service" in 2010, a 12 percent increase from 1.6 million the previous year.
Continue »Content providers to warn of illegal downloads
CBS/AP
(CBS/CNET/AP) - The companies that provide movies and music as well as Internet Service Providers have come up with a way to let people know if their online accounts are being used to access potentially pirated copyright works.
The new "copyright alerts" is a collaboration between Hollywood studios, recording labels, artists and ISPs.
Continue »Apps that eat your wireless data
CBS/iStockPhoto
(CBS/CNET/AP) - Now that few cell phone carriers offer "all-you-can-eat" data plans, users have to make decisions on how they will use their bandwidth.
Pictures: Apps that eat your wireless data
Here are some suggestions on the kinds of online activities that can eat up a huge chunk of your monthly data budget.
Continue »President Barack Obama bends Twitter Rules
President Barack Obama sits with Twitter co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey as he answers a tweet from House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio during a "Twitter Town Hall" in the White House
/ AP Photo, file(CBS/AP) - It was a Twitter-based town hall meeting. But President Barack Obama doesn't talk in Twitter-sized, 140 character sound bites.
So how did that work out?
When Obama took questions at a town hall forum held on Twitter yesterday, the answers he gave to the 18 questions he fielded ran well beyond the limit.
Continue »Hulu sees 1M paying subscribers by end of summer
Hulu
(CBS/CNET/AP) - Online video service Hulu expects to have more than a million paying subscribers by the end of summer, several months earlier than forecast, its chief executive said in a blog post Wednesday.
The rapid popularity of the paid plan may increase interest in Hulu, whose media company parents - including The Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast Corp. - have put it up for sale.
Continue »Verizon dropping unlimited data plan
AP Photo, file
(CBS/CNET/AP) - Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, is getting rid of its unlimited data plan for new smartphone customers starting Thursday, shifting instead to limited data plans that give users between 2 and 10 gigabytes of data each month.
With the change, Verizon joins the company of fellow carriers AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA, which have both set limits to monthly data usage. Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest carrier, still offers an unlimited plan.
Continue »Study: E-reader ownership doubles in six months
CNET/Sarah Tew
(CBS/CNET/AP) - Looks like the number of people who read paperless books is on the rise.
A new study finds that 12 percent of U.S. households own some kind of device for reading electronic books - such as Amazon's Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook.
Continue »Sony faces jittery shareholders after cyberattack
CBS/AP
(CBS/AP) - Sony Corp. Chief Executive Howard Stringer credited "very loyal" PlayStation Network gamers for flocking back to the service in big numbers, as he sought Tuesday to reassure shareholders following a series of embarrassing hacker attacks.
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