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Best Buy Sells Cheap Used iPhones

With Wal-Mart has been offering reduced pricing on its used iPhones, Best Buy has now stepped into the game and will be offering iPhones that were returned thirty days from the original purchase. Even though Best Buy has done this, they are currently claiming that its decision to begin doing so had no direct correlation with the deals that other retailers were offering, though it seems like it did in the long run. Geek Squad is also offering a two-year protection plan on the phones, on top of the one-year warranty that Best Buy provides. The 8GB model will be sold at a price tag of $149, while the 16GB version will sell for $249, though a two-year AT&T contract will have to be purchased.

On Call: Hanging up on 2008

Though many people dread the approach of the holidays, I relish them. And it's not because I have a thing for eggnog (except when it's served with brandy). Rather, the arrival of December means the end of the very busy fall phone season. Between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, most manufacturers release a torrent of new phones in preparation for the holiday-shopping season. Though it's certainly interesting to see all the new models companies like Samsung, Nokia, and LG have to offer, following all those phones can be a little exhausting. Now, with CNET's holiday break just a week away, I have the time to reflect on what this year brought us in the world of cell phones. And be sure to tell me what you saw this year, as well.

Early returns show strong holiday video game console sales

Though the retail economy suffered what appears to be one of the bleakest holiday seasons in recent memory, it looks as though the video games industry bucked that disastrous trend.

Early returns show strong holiday video game console sales

Though the retail economy suffered what appears to be one of the bleakest holiday seasons in recent memory, it looks as though the video games industry bucked that disastrous trend.

Microsoft: The IE threat is real, and so is the fix

UPDATED Though it remains uncertain if anyone has been affected by an IE browser flaw that has made national news headlines, Microsoft’s tactic today is to treat it as though it’s real, and respond the same way.

Sony PS3 comeback failure: Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 still winning

2008 looked as though it would finally be the year of the Sony PS3, as sales looked promising from the start. Now we have reached the final part of 2008 and things have changed, as it looks as though the PlayStation 3 comeback is more of a failure than a success. Sales of the PS3 console are still much lower than the Nintendo Wii as well as the Xbox 360.

Google grants outsider Chrome-coding privileges

Google Chrome so far has been written largely by Google programmers, though shortly after the software's public release, Google started accepting patches from outsiders. Now, though, an outsider has become an official insider.

Photos missing from iPhoto library

Some iPhoto users are experiencing an issue in which photos are missing from their libraries. Even though the library size indicates all files are there, no files are visible in the library even though albums seem to be working properly.

REVIEW | A Corner in Couscous: Abdellatif Kechiche's "The Secret of the Grain"

There's no "secret" -- of cooking, of love, of financial success -- in Abdellatif Kechiche's "The Secret of the Grain," though there is indeed plenty of grain. Though it's also played under the simpler name of "Couscous," the film is actually called "The Grain and the Mullet" in French -- the latter half of the title denoting the fish and not the novelty haircut. Maybe none of these quite captures the film, which in its length and dozen-or-so characters is itself difficult to succinctly summarize, but the original title does at least point to fish and couscous, the celebrated signature dish of the now fractured Beiji family. Each Sunday, Souab, the family matriarch, still serves up her legendary couscous for her children and grandchildren, even as, by the docks across town, her divorced husband Slimane awaits a delivery of leftovers in th

Savage 2 now free-to-play

Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, S2 Games' multiplayer battlefield game, is now free (as in beer). Just download the game, create an account, and you're off. Why bother, though? Well, it's a pretty well-received game, especially by users. The main reason, though, is the main gameplay mechanic- one player on each team acts as a "general" of sorts on the battlefield, and plays the game like an RTS. The other 62 players act as the units, and play the game as an action RPG/ FPS (i.e. they do the fighting). Not bad for a free game, especially as Windows, Mac, and Linux users can all enjoy it.

Atari: Used Game Sales "Extremely Painful"

GamesIndusty.biz quotes David Gardner, CEO of Atari, on the topic of used game sales, saying: "Obviously, it has economically been extremely painful for the industry... the publishers don't benefit," though this is preceded by the acknowledgement that "Second hand game sales represent consumer choice and desire" (he doesn't mention if sales of other products that don't belong to "the industry" are painful too). The article focuses on how Atari is looking to take advantage of a more "network centric" gaming environment to add value going forward, though for at least the next year they will continue to focus on sales of boxed product. They also quote Atari president Phil Harrison, who seems blasé, saying, "The games that have the embedded community, the embedded commerce, the extended, expandable experiences, are the one's that you would ne

Where's the Bank's Internal Auditor?

Large banks and mid-tier banks have several. Small banks “have” one when the bank examiners show up. After conducting 321 projects for banks, I can definitely say I have met three internal auditors. Even though I invite every auditor to my work sessions, those three guys were in my face constantly. My kinda people. They would show up at interviews (not all, just select individuals) without notice. I wondered why. I found out at the end of the job. They still appear on my list of client references, even though they may pick me apart a bit. You can never please these guys and that’s why they are highly effective auditors.

AT&T Brings Out the BlackBerry Curve 8320

Users of the BlackBerry mobile devices have been anticipating upcoming releases of them, such as the BlackBerry Storm, as well as the BlackBerry Bold. AT&T is now offering a new BlackBerry, the Curve 8320. Though the 8300 is already out, this new model features enhanced WiFi, as well as a different color, a sapphire blue shade. Mobile users can pick up the phone from AT&T for $149.99 with a two-year contract as well as a mail-in rebate. Other retailers also offer the phone unlocked for $399.99, though prices can vary depending on what the retailer lists BlackBerry Curve 8320 for.

GameStop to begin turning away Xbox game trade-ins

As the undisputed king of second-hand game sales at retail, GameStop has long been known as something of a chop-shop in the industry. For gamers, it's a place to find tons of used games in a relatively convenient (though not necessarily cheap) way; for publishers, it's a dreaded source of evil secondary revenues that they can't have. An era has ended for GameStop's second-hand sales, though, as the company is preparing to cease trade-ins for original Xbox wares.

Yell Scraps Mobile Division As Part Of $163 Million Restructuring

UK local listings directory business Yell, publisher of Yellowbook.com in the US, is merging its mobile division into its main digital department as part of a £100 million ($162.9 million) restructure that will also cost 350 jobs in the next ten months, NMA reports - though previous reports put the Yell job losses at 1,300. Head of mobile Carey Bunks, who joined in 2006 and worked on the development of Yell.com’s mobile maps, is being made redundant as part of the changes. Though a UK publisher, A Yell spokesperson says (via NMA): “While a difficult decision, it was an inevitable consequence of the structural changes necessary to effectively integrate Yell.com mobile and Yell.com mobile maps into the overall business.� This is a trend in the mobile space: both the BBC and News International have both recently merged separate mobi

Firefox to Receive New Update

Mozilla plans to update its popular web browser, Firefox, to version 3.0.5 this upcoming Thursday. This new version will mainly target users of the old version of Firefox, 2.0.0.18, who have not yet upgraded to version 3.0 after it was released more than five months ago. Even though Mozilla would like users to upgrade, those who want to use the old version may still download it from various websites, as it will be supported until 2.0.0.19. After this final update of version 2.0, which is supposed to occur this month, Firefox users will be notified that their version is no longer supported, and will be advised to upgrade to version 3.0. Mozilla also is planning a major update to Firefox, slated for early 2009, though it does not yet have a version number associated with it.

Uncommon search engines feature unique options

hen most people begin an Internet search, they automatically navigate to Google and the familiar comfort of its distinctive plain white homepage and multicolored logo. According to search engine optimizer Charles Knight, most Internet searches go through one of four engines: Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com, in that order. According to Hitwise, an Internet monitoring company, 98 percent of searches are performed on those Web sites. However, though most searches are done on the four main search engines, the other two percent are done on a host of new and improved alternative search engines. Though it is doubtful any of these will ever become more popular than Google, each has its own advantages. While some are very similar to Google and to other mainstream search engines, many put unique twists on Internet searches.

Xbox 360 Arcade Now Includes Internal Storage

Over the past year, or even the last few months, the Xbox experience has been one that has gone through multiple changes. These changes have come in the form of the new Xbox interface, as well as an updated market place and brand-new avatars. Many users however, have been complaining about the internal storage that they have on their Xbox systems, and did not want the free memory cards that Microsoft was trying to supply them with. A company spokesman has now confirmed though, that the Arcade version of the Xbox will receive a total of 256MB of internal storage. Even though this is the same size as the previous external memory units, the storage will now be held internally inside of the game console.

Inkheart

This Christmas we've been spared any film set in Santa Claus's Lapland toy factory starring Tim Allen as a jovial Santa and Will Ferrell as a resentful elf. Nor have we had imposed upon us one of those sentimental Run of the Moulin Scrooge fables of cynics and workaholics converted during yuletide celebrations. And instead of the usual half-dozen tales of troubled reunions that end up in grisly assertions of family values, we've had just Four Christmases, though it's a tale told four times over. Instead we've had two cinematic gifts for the holidays, movies that could be enjoyed in any season by the whole family, though not perhaps the very youngest. Both are British, feature some of our finest actors, touch affectingly on relationships between fathers and sons and fathers and daughters without getting unduly sentimental, and they have li

Though It Has a Small Share, the iPhone Rings Up Payments Innovation

(January 5, 2009) Apple Inc.’s iPhone accounts for only a tiny fraction of the cell phones out there, but it’s the undisputed headline grabber in the niche of mobile devices called smart phones that enable enhanced Web browsing, play music, and perform other gee-whiz functions. The iPhone also is the focus of intense effort by third-party software developers who have devised thousands of applications tailored for the sleek device, some of which include banking and payments.

Banks issue 1.73b cards, though their popularity starts to wane

The growth in the amount of bank cards being issued in China slowed in the third quarter, mainly dragged down by an easing in the rate of debit cards being issued to bank customers, the central bank said yesterday.

Why LEDs Don't Beat CFLs Even Though They Should

TaeKwonDood writes "LEDs don't beat CFLs in the home yet, but it's not simply because PG&E is getting rich making people feel like they are helping the environment buying CFLs made in China that are shipped to the US using a lot more fossil fuels than they save. It's a problem of indication versus illumination. However, some new discoveries are going to change all that."

Tau Protein Expression Predicts Breast Cancer Survival -- Though Not As Expected

Expression of the microtubule-binding protein Tau is not a reliable means of selecting breast cancer patients for adjuvant paclitaxel chemotherapy, according to research led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Tau protein expression predicts breast cancer survival -- though not as expected

M. D. Anderson-led research strengthens the case for treating estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer as distinct diseases

Threat lurks no forecast of heavy rains though from trough

Chennai, Dec 9 : It appears that rain and cricket are made for each other in this cricket loving city.

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