These drift racers from RC carmaker Traxxas are about to be used in a way they shouldn’t be used — unless your goal is to break them so no one else can play with them. Video screenshot by Danny Gallagher/CNET Radio-controlled cars were the ultimate toy when I was a kid. The commercials for cars …

New research shows almost half of media-hungry Australians continue to pirate some form of content, but only one in five would pay attention to a letter sent from their ISP warning them to stop. The Online Copyright Infringement Research Paper [PDF], commissioned by the Department of Communications and prepared by research company TNS, surveyed 2,630 media consumers in Australia over …

Now playing: Watch this: Ubik Uno, a Kickstarter-launched Android phone, aims… 1:11 The Ubik Uno feels like a pretty decent-looking big-screened Android phone. Would it be the one I’d want to buy? Maybe I’d like it to be thinner and have a better front-facing camera. I could vote for that via Ubik and see if it gets made next time. …

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. Loftek This is an update (OK, “rerun”) of a deal I shared late last year — now with a lower price! I’m always on the lookout for cool deals to share — especially …

Twitter has rolled out a new Safety Center to help you deal with online abuse. James Martin/CNET Twitter has unveiled a new Safety Center page as the company strives to cut down on abusive behavior on the site. Launched on Monday, the Safety Center page is described as the company’s commitment to “building a safer Twitter.” Organized by different topics, …

Pocket’s new text-to-speech feature is just two taps away. Read It Later, Inc. There are few apps I prize as much as Pocket. I use the browser bookmarklet constantly to “clip” Web articles I want to read later, and the app to read those articles — all beautifully reformatted for mobile viewing — on my phone or tablet. Of course, …

Samsung has some major backers in its ongoing battle with Apple over patents. Josh Miller/CNET Some of the technology industry’s biggest companies have filed a motion with a US court to support Samsung in its ongoing patent battle with Apple. A coalition of companies led by Google, Facebook, eBay, and PC makers Dell and Hewlett-Packard filed a brief with the …

Dell’s Precision M3800 workstation laptop is designed to attract customers using Apple’s MacBook Pro. Dell Adam Wrigley, a product designer at Frog Design, is the kind of creative professional you might expect to see using a Mac. But when choosing between Apple and Dell for his most recent laptop, he settled on the Dell. “I wanted to get as much …

Apple has invented a way to move objects onscreen by tapping the side of your device. Apple/USPTO Do you sometimes find it frustrating trying to move your cursor and other small objects on a mobile device screen using your finger? An Apple patent may have a solution. A patent application dubbed “Fine-tuning an operation based on tapping,” which was approved …

The Samsung Gear VR, one of several VR headsets available right now. Nokia may enter the marketplace next week. Scott Stein/CNET Virtual-reality products are emerging everywhere. It looks like we can add Nokia to that list. Nokia is getting ready to unveil a VR platform next week in Los Angeles, according to Recode. As to the platform, or what it …

The Apple Watch has been quicker off the blocks than the original iPhone and iPad, says Apple. Josh Miller/CNET The Apple Watch is off to a better start than the original iPhone and iPad. That’s according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said sales of the wearable to consumers exceeded the unit sales of the first iPhone and iPad in …

A countdown clock on Jet.com has been ticking down for days before the official launch. Jet.com Is it possible to beat Amazon at its own game? That’s the multibillion-dollar question e-commerce newcomer Jet.com is looking to answer. Jet’s much-anticipated website opened for business Tuesday, with its bold claim that it can undercut prices from just about any online retailer — …

Hey Twitter, why did you kill off our background images? screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Does Twitter look a bit more plain now? It’s not just you. On Monday, Twitter started removing the background image or wallpaper from the pages of Twitter users. Specifically, your Twitter timeline and Notifications page no longer sport whatever background image you may have set up. …

To win regulatory approval for its $49 billion bid to buy satellite TV provider DirecTV, AT&T has agreed to stricter Net neutrality rules and a promise to expand its fiber-optic-based broadband network to more customers. CNET/Marguerite Reardon Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said Tuesday that he is recommending that his four fellow commissioners approve AT&T’s bid to purchase DirecTV. …

Verizon wants to add a third leg to its core businesses of delivering wireless and wired broadband services: video. A Verizon installation in New York from last year as it looked to promote its upcoming video services. Roger Cheng/CNET The nation’s largest wireless carrier is poised to launch its mobile and online video service in late summer, according to Verizon …