Dual-core. Quad-core. Octa-core. Chipset manufacturers have been boosting processing power by leaps and bounds in recent years. Now, Intel is going one better with the next-generation Broadwell-E chip family, its first ever 10-core desktop processor. You heard that right: Intel is going for “10-core” in its branding here, ditching the logical naming progression to “deca-core.” …

Earlier this month, an odd photo of a seemingly boring brick wall flummoxed a lot of people online as they tried to see just exactly what weird thing was going on in the image. If you’ve had enough of the wall, then it’s time to enjoy a much cuter optical illusion. There’s a cat that’s exciting the Internet by partially …

While it makes plenty of processors for mobile phones, Qualcomm isn’t putting all its chips in one basket — the company’s latest Snapdragon Wear 1100, revealed here at Computex in Taipei, is meant for wearables, but unlike the earlier Wear 2100 announced earlier this year in February, the Wear 1100 has a more focused outlook. Instead of smartwatches or a …

If you want to get in on the Bitcoin action (and have the bank to back you up), now’s a good opportunity. The Australian police will be auctioning 24,518 bitcoins seized as the proceeds of a crime. The exchange rate at the time of writing sees one bitcoin equal $534.18 — so that’s over $13 million worth of the digital …

Apple, Caltech alleges, has been using Wi-Fi technology it oughtn’t. In a suit filed with the US District Court for the Central District of California, the university claims that Apple has infringed four of its patents for improved data transmission rates and performance over Wi-Fi. These patents were awarded between 2006 and 2012, and cover technology implemented in the most …

When crafty fans want something bad enough, they make it themselves and hope their favorite franchise will catch on. In this case, fan and artist Dave Delisle thought the design of a Star Trek shuttlecraft would work well as a camping tent. Related stories New ‘Star Trek Beyond’ trailer shows the Enterprise attacked and its crew scattered This ‘Star Trek’ …

Those hour-long waits to get your phone charged enough to leave the house may soon be a thing of the past — if your smartphone is powered by a new MediaTek processor, that is. MediaTek says its new processors will allow users to charge their phones from 0 percent battery to 70 percent in 20 minutes. The feature, called Pump …

When you work for a publication like CNET, you spend a bit of time on the road at various events and conferences. After a while, you’ve headed overseas so often that packing becomes second nature. But when I was getting ready to fly out to Taiwan to cover the Computex 2016 show I decided to think a little bit more …

Japanese castles are familiar to movie lovers, gamers, and anyone interested in world history. Their iconic designs and impressive appearance are a stark contrast to the castles of Europe. Matsumoto castle is one of the oldest, a largely original example that dates back to the 1500s. Its mostly-black exterior earned it the nickname the “Crow” Castle. Himeji is the largest, …

An Android Police teardown of the Android application package (APK) for Google Photos’ next update looks like there are some new tweaks and features coming to the backup and storage service, including a pot sweetener for Nexus users. A line in the code reads “Unlimited free storage for original quality photos — videos uploaded from your Nexus device.” Currently, Google …