Intel kicked off the annual Computex tech trade show in Taiwan with a wide-ranging keynote from Gregory Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group, covering everything from faster processors to prototype PCs to a new design for low-power laptop displays that promises to extend battery life. One important theme of …

Online and physical retailers know that after big holidays they’re likely to be inundated with returns, hence the popularity of gift receipts and fairly lax post-holiday return policies at many stores. Thoughtful birthday gift givers usually include a gift receipt as well, just in case. Screenshot by Dan Ackerman/CNET But returning a gift purchased through Google’s storefront has been impossible …

The enemy ship is larger than mine, but through my spyglass I can tell its wooden hull is weak. Only a single cannon emerges from the port side, compared to the powerful pair I’m turning to starboard to aim at them. Despite this, my foe unfurls his pirate flag and makes right for me, full sail ahead. The distance between …

At Microsoft Build 2018, the company highlighted new technologies for developers, including one that may sound especially familiar to gamers. Project Kinect for Azure brings back the Kinect camera, this time for software and AI developers. Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform for writing, testing and deploying applications. The company says the new Kinect will be a package of sensors, …

Microsoft’s HoloLens is adding a few new tricks to its augmented repertoire, it revealed at Build 2018 on Monday. While this AR headset, and the broader Microsoft “mixed reality” VR headset platform, were not a major focus of the conference, two new software apps show off the potential for AR/VR in industrial and business settings. Microsoft Layout is a program for …

Macs have Siri built in, and Windows PCs have Cortana, so almost everyone with a laptop or desktop already has access to a voice-activated smart assistant. But that hasn’t stopped other assistants from trying to get a foothold in computers. Amazon’s Alexa is coming to select laptops later in 2018, and more interestingly, Amazon and Microsoft have promised Alexa/Cortana integration, …

Big changes are coming for the millions of workers who use G Suite, the professional version of Gmail and Google’s other productivity apps. Google says new changes rolling out starting today will “help the more than 4 million paying businesses that use G Suite work safer, smarter and more efficiently.” Rumors of a major Gmail update have been floating around for …

Dear VR: It’s not me, it’s you.  We’ve had some good times, we’ve had some motion sickness, we’ve bumped into a few walls. But after giving you the benefit of the doubt for the past two years, it’s time to throw in the towel. Virtual reality may yet become a massive mainstream hit, but it’s not going to happen with …

We’ve been in a fight for the title of thinnest laptop for years. Some systems have even slimmed down to under 10mm, such as the new Acer Swift 7, which claims to be the world’s thinnest at 8.98mm thick. But we rarely hear about how thin a desktop computer is. And once again it’s Acer hoping to kickstart that conversation, with …

Apple CEO Tim Cook maybe be unfriending Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg after he hears some of the quotes from a new interview Zuckerberg did with Vox.com editor at large Ezra Klein. In the just-published interview, Zuckerberg responds strongly to Cook’s criticisms of Facebook’s business model, which in turn come from an upcoming MSNBC interview, which is set to air on …