Officials in California say kill switch software deters would-be thieves from stealing smartphones. Getty Images/Photononstop RM Thieves, consider yourselves on notice: California is now smartphone “kill switch” territory. The so-called software is designed to make stealing smartphones essentially pointless by allowing owners to remotely lock their device so no one can use it. The technology, …

Yes, Windows 8.1 has officially topped XP, says Web tracker Net Applications. Net Applications Almost two years after its release, Windows 8.1 has finally surpassed XP in the desktop OS market. Looking at Web traffic among desktop operating systems for the month of June, Web tracker Net Applications pegged Windows 8.1 at a 13.1 percent share, up slightly from 12.8 …

Slacktivists, unite! Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET In case you haven’t heard the news or you’ve deliberately ignored it to prevent your brain from going numb, Greece is again on the verge of defaulting on a big chunk of money — about $1.77 billion, in fact — that it owes the International Monetary Fund for bailing it out a few years …

PayPal has made a few significant acquisitions since 2013, including purchasing Paydiant and Braintree. Getty Images PayPal unveiled its plans to buy money-transfer company Xoom on Wednesday, keeping up PayPal’s effort to touch just about every aspect of the digital payments world. The deal, with an enterprise value of $890 million, will expand PayPal’s global money-transfer services, likely giving PayPal’s …

Grab your virtual umbrellas and raincoats, as the forecast calls for a significant chance of thunderstorms in this art installation by German artist Leigh Sachwitz of Flora&faunavisions. The piece was displayed at the Triennale der Photographie exhibition in Hamburg last month, and features a transparent house made up of a roof and walls that are filled with LED lights. Titled …

Facebook Messenger’s payments platform is now available across the US. Facebook Facebook’s increasingly popular messaging platform has had a payments feature for months. But it hasn’t been available to everyone in the US — until now. Facebook on Tuesday announced that its Messenger payments service is available to all users across the US. Facebook Messenger’s payments platform was previously only …

Sony TPS-L2 Walkman (left), NW-ZX2 Walkman (right) Sony It was 36 years ago today the original Sony Walkman was born and changed the way we listened to music on the go. The first-generation analog cassette Walkman was a phenomenon, and while it was pricey, everybody had to have one. Before Walkman, portable music was limited to AM/FM radios or large …

It’s official: companies have run out of names. Aibocn If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And then there’s this: Amazon has the Aibocn Power Bank 5,000mAh mobile charger for $8.99 (shipped free for Prime subscribers) when you apply coupon code GS3K4RJA at checkout. Too good to be true? First things first: Aibocn? Not only …

Now playing: Watch this: Get Apple Music on your iPhone 3:59 Apple has released iOS 8.4 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The update includes a series of bug fixes, along with a new app to access the company’s new music streaming service, known as Apple Music. The service offers unlimited on-demand access to over 30 million tracks for …

Buy the HTC One M9 through Verizon this summer and you’ll be rewarded. Andrew Hoyle/CNET Looking for a reason to buy the HTC One M9? How about $100 in Google Play credits? Related Links HTC One M9 review HTC Aero rumored as new flagship for fall Verizon completes its $4.4 billion purchase of AOL HTC announced a new, limited-time promotion …