Smart Lock setup on a Chromebook. Jason Cipriani/CNET Google recently launched its Smart Lock feature on Chromebooks, where a user can unlock his or her laptop simply by having an Android device nearby. The feature was easy to setup on Gmail account, but as noted in this guide walking users through the setup process, my …

An Xprt chat, trying to help me setup Gmail on Outlook. Jason Cipriani/CNET I think it’s safe to say we’ve all come across a tech-related issue that’s completely stumped us. Search efforts were futile, calling the family nerd resulted in a miffed response and a trip to visit the Geek Squad would be overkill. A new iPhone app called Xprt …

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is flexing his regulatory muscle with a plan to strike down parts of two state laws that make it difficult for communities to get fast broadband. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler with his latest push: more local broadband services. Screenshot by Marguerite Reardon/CNET Wheeler on Monday said he will circulate a proposal later this week …

The Pi 2 packs much more power, its creators say. Luke Westaway/CNET Microcomputing fans take note — there’s a new Raspberry Pi in town. The all-new board brings a host of new hardware, including a Broadcom 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor and 1GB of RAM. Those upgrades, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says, make the Pi 2 Model B a much …

Kodi Last time, we introduced the open-source media player software Kodi and went through the install process and hardware setup. Now that your media center PC is up and running, here’s how to get everything just the way you like. Adding files to Kodi To add your video files to Kodi, it’s as simple as selecting the appropriate section (say, …

Back in December 2013, subscription TV provider Foxtel first announced its plans to offer a so-called “triple-play” service, combining pay TV with home broadband and phone. The announcement followed a wholesale agreement being brokered with Telstra that would allow Foxtel to retail Internet and telephony services on both ADSL broadband and the NBN. September 2014 saw Foxtel confirm that the …

Broadcom has built a set-top box smaller than a deck of cards. Shara Tibken/CNET When the Super Bowl kicks off Sunday evening, most people will fire up their cable boxes to catch the big game. But what if your cable box were smaller than a deck of cards and hid behind your TV like a Google Chromecast, freeing up precious …

“Guardians of the Galaxy” will be coming to Netflix in Australia, thanks to a deal with Disney. Netflix While Netflix is still yet to lock down an official launch date and price for its Australian service, the company has announced a raft of content that will be available at launch, thanks to global content deals for Disney, Pixar, Marvel and …

Katy Perry will sell a range of merchandise over social media during her half-time show at the Super Bowl. Photo by Neil Lupin/Getty Images Are you ready for some shopping? That could be the subtext of Katy Perry’s half-time show during Sunday’s Super Bowl, as she pitches a range of merchandise over social media. The singer, partnering with Universal Music …

Lollipop is just one version of Google’s Android mobile operating system. Google The holidays weren’t so jolly for Android smartphones, after all. Shipments of Android-running smartphones fell in the last three months of 2014 as consumers bought Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in record-shattering numbers. This marks the first decline in Android smartphones during the all-important holiday quarter …

T-Mobile’s Kim Kardashian ad is already generating attention for the company. T-Mobile It may be the big game, but it’s the smaller wireless carriers that are hoping to make a splash with Super Bowl commercials. For a second year in a row, Sprint and T-Mobile have commercials airing Sunday during the game. T-Mobile has already released its two spots, one …

Dish, once again, demonstrated that it is serious about the wireless business. But just what that business is remains to be seen. Dish Network The nation’s second-largest satellite TV provider was a surprise winner of the Federal Communications Commission’s so-called AWS-3 wireless spectrum auction, which concluded Thursday and generated a record-breaking $45 billion. Dish, which bid with several partners including …

Qualcomm has been facing difficulty lately, but analysts say the company still has a chance to turn things around. Ben Fox Rubin/CNET Qualcomm had a lousy week. Actually, it’s been a lousy couple of months. Just as the world’s largest maker of mobile chips has been facing rumors that its new top-of-the-line chip has overheating problems, Qualcomm on Wednesday disclosed …

The Lepai LP-2020A amplifier sitting atop the Dayton Audio B452 bookshelf speakers. Steve Guttenberg/CNET As regular Audiophiliac readers know, I love writing about cost-no-object, high-end audio, but I also have a soft spot for dirt cheap, but decent sounding gear. When I recently reviewed the new small bookshelf speaker from Dayton Audio, the B452 , I couldn’t help but be …

When the power went out during the 2013 Super Bowl, Oreo (@Oreo) made sure everyone remembered that you can still “dunk in the dark.” Twitter/@Oreo It all started with a tweet about an Oreo. When the Super Bowl stadium experienced a blackout in the middle of last year’s game, Oreo sent a tweet to capitalize on the unfortunate turn of …