Instagram’s photo sharing app has become one of the largest social networks for mobile devices. CNET Even more people are using Instagram. The photo-sharing service tallied 400 million people who use its app at least once a month, a jump of 25 percent from December, the company said Tuesday. That’s also more than the 316 …

Enlarge ImageMooncakes for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. © Ninprapha Lippert Kaktusfactory/the food passionates/Corbis In July, Uber tried to win customers in Singapore by using drones to deliver ice cream to its users. This week, a man in China tried to win the heart of his girlfriend by sending her a drone bearing gifts — but he was stifled by a …

Groupon says it will reinvest the savings from its cost-cutting moves. Rick Wilking/Reuters/Corbis Groupon plans to cut about 1,100 jobs, mostly in its sales and customer service operations, and end doing business in several markets around the world, the company said Tuesday. The job cuts represent about 10 percent of the company’s global workforce. As part of the cost-cutting measures, …

Enlarge ImageThe Loom Launcher Wizard is ideal for Harry Potter fans. Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET The Loom Launcher’s promo video on Kickstarter starts off in a suitably dramatic fashion, with designer Adrian van Wijk intoning about how the creation is “the first all-in-one, mechanical, 3D-printed, multi-shot rubber band launcher with a self-priming trigger.” Then it ascends into cat footage …

Streaming, just 5 percent of US music revenue five years ago, now represents a third of the industry. CNET The nation’s music streams are creating a flood. US sales from streaming music in the first six months of the year surpassed $1 billion for the first time, a music industry trade group said Monday. The Recording Industry Association of America …

Enlarge Image Jason Cipriani/CNET With the release of Watch OS 2 — here’s how to update to the new operating system version — Apple is adding new features and capabilities to its Apple Watch. One of those additions is the option to create custom watch face backgrounds out of photos stored on the user’s iPhone. Enlarge Image Screenshot by Jason …

Oyster, a subscription service for e-books, is closing down. CNET Oyster, a subscription service for e-books that launched two years ago, is calling it quits. The service’s founders announced in a company blog post Monday that they will move toward retiring the existing service in the next few months. The blog post did not give a reason for the closure …

Skype users will have to try the Web version if they need to make calls for now. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET A technical glitch affecting Skype early Monday may be thwarting many users from making or receiving phone calls. Skype acknowledged the issue on Monday in a message posted on its Heartbeat site, which alerts Skype users to status issues, …

Enlarge Image Jason Cipriani/CNET Apple’s Digital Touch feature on the Apple Watch lets you send your heartbeat, draw photos or tap on the wrist of a friend who also has an Apple Watch. When the Apple Watch was first released, Digital Touch was limited to sketches consisting of one color of digital ink. When drawing on your watch, if you …

In the gadget torture-testing world, when you’ve already dropped an iPhone 6 thousands of feet, frozen and smashed an iPhone 6 Plus with a sledgehammer and ended an Apple Watch’s time with a rifle, all you can do to top it off is literally take your game to a much higher caliber. More torture tests Yes, someone put an Apple …