Hardware

Just how much will Microsoft Surface cost?

Recently the Internet at large and tech sites in particular (including CNET) jumped on the "news" that a Swedish retail site had the skinny on the supposed retail price of the Microsoft Surface tablets.

Thankfully, and after only a few hundred forums and comment spaces exploded, calling for the head of Steve Ballmer, the Swedish site in question responded, clarifying that it came up with the price on its own, with no inside knowledge from Microsoft.

Typical weekday Internet confusion birthed from a lack of facts and no desire to actually seek any out. If nothing else, the ordeal left me with one primary thought: "Wow, I'm glad I'm off today and don't have to cover that story." However, my secondary thought was closer to, "With less than three months before the purported release of the RT version of the tablet, we still don't have an actual price from Microsoft."… Read more

Rumor Has It: iPhone 5 isn't the only trick up Apple's sleeve

On this week's show, we discuss the latest iPhone 5 release date rumors, Samsung's possible Retina Display, and an alleged new tablet from Sony, and we wonder if Apple is really interested in buying a stake in Twitter.

The New York Times came out with a report over the weekend describing talks between Apple and the 140-character proselytizer. The report alleged that Apple has considered buying a minority stake in Twitter, a company that hasn't yet filed an IPO. The Wall Street Journal chimed in to say the talks were more than a year ago, and its … Read more

Friday Poll: Do you still use your Nintendo Wii?

I just slayed a nasty-looking giant spider in the Skyview Temple. I got there thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It came out last year, but I'm a little behind the times with my gaming. Maybe that's why I'm still enjoying the Wii when so many have consigned it to collecting dust.

Wii sales have slowed to a crawl, leaving Nintendo in a tough financial position. When the Wii first came out in 2006, it was next to impossible to track one down. It was the Cabbage Patch Doll of game consoles that holiday season.… Read more

Raspberry Pi to get camera add-on by October

If you're one of the 200,000 owners of the ultra-low-cost Raspberry Pi computer, you'll soon be able to buy a camera add-on.

The tiny 5-megapixel camera module attaches to the Raspberry Pi via a ribbon cable and is expected to cost between $20 and $25. Founder Eben Upton revealed this information at the Raspberry Jam event in Cambridge, England.

He also mentioned that the Raspberry Pi Foundation -- a British nonprofit formed to create this tiny and cheap Linux computer for kids -- has been working on improving the software for the computer. According to Upton, there has been a "fourfold" increase in performance since April. … Read more

Xbox, Nintendo 3DS consoles see high sales numbers

Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's 3DS sales are going strong in the U.S., according to numbers the two companies released today.

The numbers, gathered by research company NPD Group, show Nintendo maintaining a 75 percent market share for portable hardware and Microsoft's Xbox holding onto the top spot for console sales.

This is Xbox's 18th consecutive month at No. 1, with its sales making up 47 percent of current-generation console sales, Jeff Meisner, editor of the Official Microsoft Blog posted today.

The sales equal 257,000 units sold in June with total retail spent on … Read more

Rumor Has It: Is Amazon crazy enough to make a smartphone? (video)

Amazon has planted its flag firmly in tablet land, desktop land, and even streaming-media land, but one faraway atmosphere has yet to be graced with Amazon's shopping presence: Smartphonia.

Never fear, brave app-loving residents of smartphone world, a new rumor suggests that even as you read this, Amazon is sending scouts to your universe to find out what you like and is working with fabled smartphone manufacturer Foxconn -- of iPhone and iPad fame -- to infiltrate your borders and free you from the shackles of...clunky smartphone shopping apps.

What would an Amazon smartphone look like? With the … Read more

Game console Ouya to bring gaming back to the TV

Hard-core gamers like a challenge. Just ask gaming business veteran Julie Uhrman.

Uhrman wants to disrupt the gaming industry with an affordable console called Ouya, a name she hopes will become the battle cry of game developers. Her company is soliciting developers to help build an open ecosystem of games on Android, essentially bringing the openness of mobile games back to the TV set.

"It's very ambitious -- it's hardware, it's software, it's building an ecosystem," Uhrman said.

But Uhrman said she believes her team has what it takes to challenge the status quo. … Read more

Hacked 8-bit music umbrella rocks out as it rains

Pop quiz. You have 12 piezo sensors, Arduino Uno, two speakers, lots of wire, and plenty of duct tape. There is an umbrella nearby. What do you make? How about a musical umbrella that translates raindrops into song?

Two creative Germans, Alice Zappe and Julia Lager, built an umbrella that detects raindrops and interprets them as 8-bit music. This could turn a regular walk down the street into a personalized retro gaming adventure.… Read more

Virtual reality vs. PTSD: Helping combat vets heal

LOS ANGELES--I'm sitting across from a soldier named Garza, trying to get him to open up about why he got caught drinking and driving.

This is a serious offense in the military, and Garza could lose his rank, if not get kicked out of the Army altogether. And it's my job as his superior officer to try to understand that Garza -- who used to be among the best in his unit -- may be struggling with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This, of course, is a simulation. I'm not in the military, and Garza doesn'… Read more

How to make a giant Google Jelly Bean sculpture

Google's latest sweet tooth obsession has been unveiled on the Google campus in the form of a giant jelly bean jar shaped like the Android mascot. It's a multicolored homage to the next rev of the Android OS -- version 4.1, Jelly Bean.

The sculpture didn't just download itself into place. It had a remarkable journey from conception as chunks of Styrofoam in New Jersey to its current spot among the pantheon of dessert-inspired Android operating system yard art.

The Jelly Bean sculpture was built by prop-building company Themendous over the course of one action-packed week during a heat wave that left workers covered in sweat as they churned out 160 individual beans to go into the Android-shaped jar. … Read more