Editor’s note: Some giveaways require leaving a comment to enter, but not this one. We’ve turned off comments on this post to prevent confusion. We’re nearing the end of our groundbreaking crowdsourced science fiction novel, “Crowd Control: Heaven Makes a Killing,” with 18 installments published as of Friday on CNET and just a handful more …

It’s almost undeniable that left turns are evil. Not only are poorly-managed left turns responsible for about half a million crashes and hundreds of deaths per year, but they’re also inefficient. UPS, the brown-truck delivery company, famously banned left turns for its drivers in 2004, and since then it’s avoided unnecessarily burning more than 10 million gallons of gas, cut …

Bill Gates is a big believer in LinkedIn. The co-founder and former chief executive of Microsoft praised the business-oriented social network, and Microsoft’s planned acquisition of it, in an interview this week with Bloomberg TV. “I think it’s a great transaction. LinkedIn brings in a lot. I know Reid Hoffman, Jeff Weiner, the team there have build an incredible audience,” …

Get ready for your Bluetooth connection to get a big boost. Bluetooth 5, the next iteration of the widely used wireless standard, will quadruple the range and double the speed of links among devices such as mobile phones, fitness trackers, stereo receivers and cars, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group said Thursday. The new standard will also feature increased broadcast messaging …

Panasonic has a new fast wide-angle lens to sell you, but its aperture isn’t the only thing that’s big. The H-X012 Leica DG Summilux 12mm f1.4 lens (a 35mm equivalent of 24mm) is brighter than the competing 12mm f2.0 lens from Olympus but comes in at $1,300 (approximately £900 and AU$1,800) compared with just $700 (£550, AU$850) for the Olympus. …

You’ll need to wait a little longer for MacOS Sierra — July for the public beta, sometime in the fall for the final release — but you can outfit your Mac right now with a little Sierra flair. The default wallpaper for MacOS Sierra features a majestic, sun-splashed view of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and can be downloaded right …

In March, Pornhub sent out thousands of VR goggles so its tech-savy users could enjoy the virtual reality revolution for free. Now, the porn streaming site is looking to take care of another section of its userbase: the visually impaired. Pornhub on Wednesday announced its “Described Video” feature. It adds audio description to the site’s most popular videos to explain …

LG’s brand-new X Power smartphone hopes to win over shoppers who thirst for better battery-life. The power-hoarding mobile has a 4,100 mAh battery, LG says, and will charge at twice the speed of other phones. Despite its juicy battery, the X Power — announced today alongside three other new LG phones — measures a slender 7.9mm thick. Meanwhile LG’s X …

Cuban immigrants in the US will soon be able to see some of their favorite movies and television shows. Satellite TV provider Dish today announced the launch of Cubamax TV, a Cuban culture and entertainment channel featuring novelas, movies, variety shows, children’s programming and music videos. The channel is available today on DishLatino, the company’s suite of English and Spanish-language …

The music stopped the moment Shelby Belfast came on stage Wednesday night. Belfast, co-organizer of the local chapter of GRLCVLT (for “girl culture”), asked people to raise their hands and say “I’m a survivor.” Slowly, about 200 men and women at the Starline Social Club, in Oakland, raised a hand and looked around in silent solidarity against what GRLCVLT calls …

Samsung may ramp up a hefty supply of its Galaxy Note 7 for an August rollout. The South Korea-based electronics maker will reportedly manufacture 5 million units of its next stylus-based phablet for its initial supply, tech news site ETNews reported Thursday, citing an anonymous industry source. For last year’s Galaxy Note 5, Samsung produced 5 million units for an …

Changes to Facebook are coming, and this time you can direct your ire at the messenger — or Messenger, to be exact. Instead of seeing your most recent messages, you’ll now be able to see people who are currently active on Messenger, the day’s birthdays and the people you send messages to most frequently, the social network said Thursday. Think …

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. Free home phone service, anyone? Whenever I write about landline alternatives such as the Ooma Telo, readers invariably sing the praises of Obihai, …

Microsoft wasn’t the only company interested in buying LinkedIn; Salesforce also looked at making a bid for the professional-networking site, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Goldman Sachs Group advised Salesforce during the negotiation, sources described as familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Ultimately, whatever overture Salesforce made or was considering wasn’t enough to win the hearts at LinkedIn, which announced an agreement …

Now playing: Watch this: Twitter live streaming (sort of) comes to iOS, Android 1:15 If you’re looking to add a Periscope video stream to your latest tweet, you can now trigger that option directly from the Twitter mobile app. All Twitter mobile users can now tap directly into Periscope for live video streaming. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Following a limited …