The new school year is just around the corner. Sarah Tew/CNET Time to crack open those books, sharpen some pencils, and buckle down for another academic year. We’re feeling the school year begin in our house, where soon, long nights of football practice will give way to homework time, often with the aid of some …

While Windows 10 has a nice little multi-monitor taskbar setup and support for multiple virtual desktops, it’s not quite as good at letting you choose separate, distinct wallpapers for each of your monitors. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done (without third-party software); it can, Microsoft just isn’t very straightforward about it. Here’s how to set different wallpapers for …

Enlarge ImagePet sounds without the fluff. Amanda Kooser/CNET You might feel the desire to cuddle up to a kitty, set your ear against it and enjoy the calming purr sounds, but that doesn’t mean your cat is willing to accommodate. Thank goodness for technology. A website has replaced the need to please your cat in exchange for a fleeting moment …

The LG G Pad II 10.1 is ready for IFA in Berlin in September. LG LG will show off a new tablet at the IFA trade show in Berlin in early September. LG, the Korea-based conglomerate that makes everything from refrigerators to smartphones, on Monday announced the new G Pad II 10.1. The Android-based tablet will boast a 10.1-inch screen, …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET In Windows 10, everything looks just a little bit different — including the icons and pop-ups from the system tray. There’s a new calendar, a new “Action Center,” and a new volume mixer — one that slides horizontally instead of vertically. If you find yourself missing the old vertical volume mixer from Windows 8.1 and earlier, I …

Apple CEO Tim Cook wants investors to stop worrying about China. The head of the world’s biggest public technology company on Monday emailed CNBC host Jim Cramer to say that despite concerns in the stock market, Apple has “continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August.” He added that growth in iPhone activations has …

Cricket subscribers can purchase add-on bundles for calling nine more countries. Cricket Cricket Wireless continues to extend the reach of its international calling options, adding nine new countries on Monday in Central and South America. Cricket, which is AT&T ‘s prepaid branch, has made similar moves recently, introducing a ” round trip” international roaming plan that includes unlimited calling and …

Juan Garzon/CNET Just how secure is Microsoft’s Windows 10 new Windows Hello facial recognition system? Even your identical twin won’t be able to break into your PC, according to a test carried out by The Australian. Six pairs of identical twins took part in the newspaper’s test, which was reported last week. One twin created a new Windows 10 account …

The new ZenFone Special Deluxe Edition. Asus The latest model in Asus’ ZenFone 2 line is set to pack in four times as much storage as the previous model’s maximum offering. The Taiwanese electronics giant’s new Android handset features the same 5.5-inch screen and 2.3GHz Intel quad-core processor as its predecessor but will sport 256GB of storage data, the company …

Enlarge Image Jason Cipriani/CNET On Monday Microsoft announced it was opening up the beta for its Cortana on Android app, which had been in a closed beta since May. Yes, that means Android users who are interested can replace Google Now with Cortana, should they so desire. There are some limitations, however. Currently the wake-up phrase of “Hey, Cortana” that …