When Sony announced plans to end production of Betamax videocassettes last year, we knew that VHS tapes would eventually succumb to the same fate, and now the 33-year-old format is officially dust. According to a report in the Nikkei newspaper, the last remaining Japanese manufacturer of video-cassette recorders will finally close down operations next month. …

It’s not exactly the ideal reading experience: Opening up a digital comic book on your smartphone or tablet and having to zoom in on different parts of the page to read what each character is saying. Google wants to change that. At San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, the internet giant unveiled a new feature for Google Play Books that automatically …

Now playing: Watch this: This camera can live-stream VR content 1:35 Creating 360-degree video can be time-consuming. Taking footage from multiple cameras and stitching it together is the first step, then the producer has to think about how to encode it for viewing on different VR platforms. Reality Lab Networks wants to simplify this with an all-in-one system called Live …

GoPro cameras are good on their own, but what really drives them, what makes them so versatile, is their range of accessories. That’s what transforms them into something useful for your specific needs. For startup Vitrima, the goal was to turn a single GoPro camera into a stereoscopic 3D camera. The Vitrima 3D GoPro camera lens uses mirrors to split …

Now playing: Watch this: Motorola’s ambitious Moto Z and Z Force put you in control 1:44 If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the new Motorola Moto Z and the Moto Z Force, here’s the latest: both of the phones are now available for preorder, exclusively on Verizon, under the names Moto Z Droid Edition and Z Force …

T-Mobile has cooked up another special deal for its customers. The carrier will provide unlimited high-speed data, free calls and free texting for the month of August to any Simple Choice postpaid subscribers who travel to Brazil, CEO John Legere said in a blog item Thursday. Offered to honor the Summer Olympics, which take place in Rio de Janeiro next …

Square Enix, creator of the venerable Final Fantasy video game series, has launched a teaser website for a new role-playing game that will launch not on a powerful next-gen console, but on the humble Apple Watch. The website calls the game Cosmos Rings, and simply states it’s coming soon. It’s safe to assume that the specific mention of “Apple Watch”, …

If you installed the public beta of MacOS Sierra to give it a spin but have now satisfied your curiosity, you can return to OS X El Capitan while you await Sierra’s final release this fall. If you followed my earlier advice to install the Sierra beta on a partition, then it’s easy to erase and remove that partition. And …

If you have replaced the hard drive on your Mac with an SSD (which you should do), you already know how much faster your computer is. However, I’m going to show you how to avoid this one simple mistake that so many of us make when installing a new SSD. By default, Mac OS, unlike Windows, doesn’t automatically enable the …

Now playing: Watch this: The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failed our pool test 3:27 Hey, remember when our Samsung Galaxy S7 Active drowned after a dip in the pool despite its water-resistant promise? Samsung has now said it’s found –and fixed — a flaw in the production line that caused some S7 Active units to sustain water damage and die, …

Now playing: Watch this: ‘Gloggers’ paint unique picture of the RNC 1:17 Cartoonist and illustrator Tim Fielder and his twin brother, video artist Jim, made the trip from New York to Cleveland to “glog” the Republican National Convention. Related stories #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes takes over Twitter How to watch the Republican National Convention from anywhere From the horse’s mouth: RNC official defends …

CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. Seiki I predict a “sold out” sign very soon on today’s deal, so I’m going to jump right to it. Today only, and …

Twitter admits it needs to do a better job handling trolls, and it made at least one step in that direction. The social-media site permanently banned conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos after he incited a Twitter mob to bully “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones with racist and misogynist tweets. We debate Twitter’s next move forward and how it may balance First Amendment …

Dell has announced it’s retiring the popular X5 compact gaming PC after four years in favor of two newer designs. Named after the infamous Area 51, long associated with supposed UFOs and aliens, the X51 debuted in 2012 and has gone through several changes with the most recent model including high-end Intel processors and liquid cooling. The company released the …

Air New Zealand is using the magic of celebrities and social media to make sure you have a safe flight. The airline’s latest advert comes in the form of a short film starring NZ comic Rhys Darby and Anna Faris of “Scary Movie” fame. You can find the YouTube clip above: you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn about airline safety. …