Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Build conference Wednesday. CNET Microsoft spent much of a three-hour-long keynote address at its Build developer conference Wednesday talking up Windows 10. But it held off answering one key question: when will the new version of its widely used operating system arrive? Microsoft said in March that Windows 10 …

HBO Now is a $15-a-month online-only service that lets subscribers watch the network’s shows, like “Silicon Valley,” as soon as they air, no pay-TV service required. HBO For one of Apple’s friends, the computer maker’s reported TV streaming service is a foregone conclusion. Time Warner Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes said he’s “pretty confident” Apple will launch a service that streams …

Nate Ralph/CNET Microsoft just made its plans clear for developers to move their apps on other platforms over to Windows 10 and into the Microsoft Store, helping to flesh out the company’s third-party software offering from the off. At its Build 2015 developers conference today, Operating Systems Group President Terry Myerson announced that Microsoft has created a path for developers …

Now playing: Watch this: Microsoft announces Microsoft Edge browser 6:31 The upcoming Project Spartan Web browser for Windows 10 now has an official name: Microsoft Edge. At Microsoft Build, the company announced new features and details for the Web browser previously known as Project Spartan . The most notable is the browser’s official name — Spartan will now be known …

HP This is an update of a deal I’ve featured a few times before, but a newer model with a lower price. It’s like a rerun with new scenes added! I often hear Chromebooks referred to as “the new netbooks,” but they’re really not that at all. Netbooks were cramped, clunky, underpowered and overpriced. Chromebooks, which leverage Google’s nimble, lightweight, …

“Marco Polo” is one of Netflix’s original shows. Netflix A senior figure at one of Europe’s biggest broadcasters has hit back at Netflix’s original programming as she insists viewers still want to watch TV the traditional way. “I don’t know if anybody is watching ‘Marco Polo’, do you?” asks Mai Fyfield, group director of strategy at BSkyB. “Nobody knows.” Online …

Juno Cho, the CEO of LG’s mobile communications business, at the G4 launch Tuesday. Sarah Tew/CNET LG has some modestly optimistic expectations for its newest flagship smartphone. The company expects to sell 8 million G4 smartphones this year and 12 million over its life cycle, according to Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG’s mobile communications business. That would represent …

Flynx on Android. Nicole Cozma/CNET Reading through your social streams probably results in a bit of link-clickage here and there. If you’re on a computer, leaving those links open in other tabs is no big deal. However, if you’re on an Android device, it starts to feel less convenient to open and read links from apps like Twitter or Facebook. …

The Quicklock can be opened with a key card, shown here, or a ring or fob. Rick Broida/CNET Padlocks date back to Romans, though the etymology of the word itself is a bit more recent: sometime between 850 and 1000 A.D. such locks were used to secure livestock in their pens — better known as paddocks. So: “paddock lock” became …

iOS 8 is gaining more ground. Apple/screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Apple’s iOS 8 continues to climb its way up the charts. As seen on Apple’s App Store Distribution page on Tuesday, iOS 8 has nailed an adoption rate of 81 percent. That number specifically refers to the percentage of all iOS devices that visited Apple’s App Store on Monday, April …

Now playing: Watch this: Microsoft offers peek at new Start screen design features 2:18 As expected, Windows 10 got some face time at Microsoft’s Build 2015 event in San Francisco, and Joe Belfiore took the stage to go over several of its newest features. Belfiore brought attention early to how Windows 10 is bringing back the Aero Glass theme from …

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has initiated a hiring freeze. Screenshot by Donna Tam/CNET China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba has grown “too quickly” and has no plans to bring on more employees in 2015, according to CEO Jack Ma. In a speech given last week but posted to Alibaba’s messaging app Laiwang on Wednesday, Ma committed to not raising his company’s headcount …

Now playing: Watch this: EmoSpark AI exists to cheer you up 2:18 A crowdfunding darling, the EmoSpark AI console raised $179,090 in just two months, from eager backers won over by its simple promise — an artificial intelligence that lives in your house and does its level best to make you happy. We’ve been hands-on with the EmoSpark, and while …

The Apple Watch uses a “taptic engine” to send the feeling of a heartbeat to other watch users. Shara Tibken/CNET The Apple Watch’s shipping delays may be due to a faulty component, not just demand. According to The Wall Street Journal, the “taptic engine” manufactured by Chinese components maker AAC Technologies was found to be defective, breaking down over time. …

Photo by Nate Ralph/CNET Along with showcasing extensions such as LinkedIn and Salesforce that bring in more information about the people with whom you’re communicating in Outlook, at its Build conference keynote Microsoft today showed a new extension that lets people call for Uber drivers straight from the email and calendar client. Microsoft is partnering with ride-hailing service Uber to …