You’ve probably heard about bots a lot lately, how they are here to make our lives easier and replace apps. Bots made a splash at Facebook’s developer conference in April and now, despite being around since the beginnings of the Internet, they are getting their time in the spotlight. Let this primer take you through …

Apple Music will reportedly go through a design overhaul to make the app more appealing and less confusing. Launched almost a year ago, Apple Music has earned a thumbs-up from some users for its content. But the service has also been dinged for what critics say is a cluttered and befuddling interface. To address that problem, Apple is expected to …

“Best product of the year.” So said just about everyone I asked about Amazon Echo. So it went as I read review after review. I finally bought one when it went on sale recently. I’d been hovering around the idea, but I don’t need another gadget in my life, and I already have plenty of things that listen to me…or …

The rap on eBay’s website is that it’s too messy, forcing users to pick through page after page of listings to find what they really want. Plenty of customers just give up and head to Amazon instead. The good news is that eBay knows this is a problem and is working to fix it. The bad news is that eBay …

A software patch from Microsoft isn’t playing ball with certain computers running Windows 7. The details are technical, but herein lies the tale. Once upon a time (well, in March), Microsoft rolled out a patch for PCs running its Windows 7 operating system. The patch, however, was incompatible with PCs outfitted with Asus motherboards, causing those PCs to crash under …

Motormouth Jeremy Clarkson says he’s still getting paid for the new series of “Top Gear” despite leaving the show. Speaking in London, the opinionated TV presenter noted that an obscure clause in his contract with “Top Gear” broadcaster the BBC sees him receive some money each time the show is recommissioned. Clarkson and his chums James May and Richard Hammond …

Turns out it’s possible to recover data from a phone that’s been run over by a bus. Best-selling author and consumer advocate Bob Sullivan learned this the hard way this week when his Android phone, an HTC One swaddled in a strong Incipio case, slid out of his pocket while he was riding his bike in Washington. Sullivan stopped and …

Amazon is taking flight — again. The e-commerce giant on Thursday unveiled a long-term partnership with Atlas Air Worldwide, enlisting the aircraft operator to fly 20 Boeing 767 freighter planes to help Amazon get packages to its millions of US customers. The deal comes after Amazon in March reached a similar deal to have Air Transport Services Group manage another …

HTC recently updated its Connect app with a nondescript change log of “Increase new wireless protocols.” It turns out, that new wireless protocol is Apple’s AirPlay platform. Meaning, owners of the HTC One M7, One M8, One M9 and the newly released HTC 10 can now stream audio to an AirPlay speaker or Apple TV from his or her phone. …

Look on Twitter for the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack, and you’ll find a number of protests that racism is alive in the sharing economy. A Harvard Business School study published earlier this year found that having a “distinctively African American name” led to being 16 percent less likely to be accepted at Airbnb, The Guardian reported on Thursday. And there are a …

On the phone screen in front of me, I see “myself” walking down a sunny, cobbled street in Sweden. Only it’s not really me who’s striding along when I swipe at the 360-degree video I’m watching on the LG G5, it’s LG’s design chief Jung-hun Lee. Enlarge Image A tube of lipstick inspired LG’s 360 Cam design. Sarah Tew/CNET I …

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. You know what I love about you, cheeps? Even when I’m borderline sacrilegious, like expressing a personal dislike for something as holy as …

A mystery continues. Craig Wright, the latest person who has claimed to be the creator of the electronic currency Bitcoin, won’t provide the evidence he said he would. Turns out he got cold feet after heating up the rumor-and-rebuttal mill. “I believed I could put the years of anonymity and hiding behind me,” Wright said via a blog post this …

Foxtel is retaliating after Optus acquired the exclusive rights to the English Premier League, announcing it has signed deals with six major EPL clubs for all home and away games, as well as “behind the scenes” content. In November last year, Optus confirmed it had picked up the rights to the popular football league, for a reported figure of AU$60 …

When you spot a badass weapon in a video game, you can’t help but be impressed by the design that went into it. For some fans, making a replica is the ultimate tribute. In the latest video from “Man at Arms: Reforged,” posted May 2, Matt Stagmer and Kerry Stagmer of Baltimore Knife & Sword and their team of talented …