Facebook, the world’s largest social network, wants to help you be more, well, social. In an IRL kind of way. On Wednesday, the company added several new features that let you buy tickets to movies and events like concerts or festivals, get a price quote from a plumber, or let friends make restaurant suggestions — …

Amazon‘s Kindle Paperwhite is big in Japan — literally. The company this week started taking preorders for a 32GB version of the device, the most storage you’ll find on a Kindle. Sadly, it’s Japan-only for now. The “cartoon edition” is geared toward manga readers, thus the need for more storage. Most Kindles, like the premium Oasis model, come packed with …

Get ready for Apple event, round 2. The company on Wednesday sent out invites for its second event in a little over a month, taking place October 27 at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The invitation reads “Hello again” with an image of the Apple logo. Apple didn’t host a second event last fall, instead opting to announce everything from …

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wants consumers to know he has their backs as he makes a final push to get new rules in place to protect online privacy and open competition in the cable set-top box market. In a commentary published Wednesday on CNET, Wheeler ticked off several consumer-friendly policies and rules his agency has adopted since he took office …

If you’re looking for some nighttime entertainment later this week, you may want to turn your eyes upward: The Orionid meteor shower is expected to peak Thursday, October 20, through Friday, October 21. According to AccuWeather, you can expect to see around 25 meteors per hour — assuming cloud cover and the waning gibbous moon do not limit visibility. The …

Japanese high school student Saya has flawless skin, shiny hair and her uniform is always clean. That’s not surprising since her parents are computer graphics artists who worked together to design their own virtual child. When Saya was first unveiled around October last year by creators Teruyuki and Yuka Ishikawa, she blew viewers away. She’s so realistic — from her …

Now playing: Watch this: What’s new to stream for November 2016 1:00 If you wanted to go on a James Bond bender, Hulu in November is the place to be. “Dr. No,” “From Russia with Love,” “Goldfinger” and a lot more go online on November 1st. The Bond flicks aren’t the only movie series joining Hulu. The original “Rocky,” its …

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. Before Amazon released the $50 Fire last year, the Fire HD 6 ($49 at eBay) was my favorite dirt-cheap tablet. For a mere …

Google is helping usher in a new way for companies to tout their brand names in the digital realm. On September 29, the search giant began publishing a new website that uses the .google, rather than the standard .com, as its domain name. The new site, blog.google, consolidates 19 previously separate Google blogs. Google’s website is at the fore of …

What’s a home PC really for these days? Once upon a time the answer to that question was “everything”. It was the only computer in our lives. Before you buy another one, it’s a good idea to know what you really need — today, a Network Attached Storage box, or NAS, might be the better way to go. Wireless devices …