gifts

My Best Tech Gift Ever: Prodigy

Editor's note: Today we kick off a weeklong series called "My Best Tech Gift Ever." Every day this week, a different CNET writer or editor will recall a memorable tech or geek-centric present that left a mark. We start the fun with Crave contributor Eric Mack. Look for another installment tomorrow at 8 a.m. PT.

Today I help my mother find her way around Skype and Facebook, so it is to her enormous credit that she was able to see the potential all the way back in the late '80s in something called Prodigy.

If you're under 30, you almost certainly have no idea what this product was, and I don't think my mother did either at the time. Yet it showed up in a box one Christmas in suburban Denver and changed my life.

Prodigy was a pioneering online service that came after CompuServe but before America Online. At the time it offered a new, more graphical user interface with more mainstream content from partners like Zagat and CBS that made the tiny bulletin board systems I'd been dialing into seem bush league. (Disclosure: CBS is the parent company of CNET.) … Read more

The Audiophiliac's favorite music Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs

Every now and then, I like to report on the best new discs that have come my way. Let's get started!

Amy Winehouse: "At the BBC" (CD/DVD) Fourteen stunning performances from 2004 to 2009 showcase aspects of her talent that the studio recordings gloss over. The DVD, "The Day She Came to Dingle," is a documentary featuring Winehouse at the height of her powers in December 2006 in a tiny church in Ireland. She's backed up with just guitar and bass, so her voice, in all its glory, is upfront and clear. Awesome!… Read more

iTunes 11 surprise: Apple sneaks in a gift card scanner

One unadvertised feature in Apple's just-released iTunes 11 lets users tap into their built-in video camera to redeem gift cards and other promotional codes.

The feature, which Apple did not demonstrate at the software's unveiling in September or in subsequent marketing materials, can pull out the alphanumeric codes and submit them. This means you can redeem a code without having to type it in, though that option remains if the software is unable to pick it up.

In order to use the feature, the promotional code must be from gift cards that place the code within a square … Read more

Facebook adds iTunes to Facebook Gifts

Facebook and Apple are joining their massive forces again, this time encouraging Facebook users to send iTunes gifts to their friends directly within the social network.

Facebook added iTunes digital gifts to Facebook Gifts gifting service today, letting users send iTunes recommendations along with cash credit for purchases.

A user can search for a specific song, album, movie, game, or apps to recommend along with gifts in denominations of $10, $15, $25, or $50.

The social network's move to add Apple to its retail partner list for Facebook Gifts comes shortly after it announced the inclusion of more than… Read more

Best Buy trims prices on iTunes gift cards

Holiday shoppers looking for iTunes gift cards can save a bit of change via Best Buy.

The retail outlet is offering 15 percent off the full cost of cards ranging in price from $15 to $100. So a $15 card will cost you $12.75, a $25 card $21.25, a $50 card $42.50, and a $100 card $85. A 3-pack of $10 iTunes gift cards will run you $25.50.

Beyond opting for an iTunes card, you can choose an App Store card or a iBookstore card, giving you the full gamut of Apple's offerings for iOS … Read more

E-mail bill raises privacy concerns

Tuesday's CNET Update is checking privacy settings:

There's an update to today's top story. Hours after CNET reported on a bill rewrite that would give warrantless access to American's e-mail, the senator behind the legislation has abandoned his controversial proposal.

Skype unwraps gift cards

Those of you in search of gifts for family or friends now have another option: Skype gift cards.

Available through the VoIP provider, the gift cards can be used to make Skype calls to mobile phones or landlines or to send text messages, either inside or outside the U.S. Skype gives you a few options for buying a card.

You can grab a physical card at your nearest Target, OfficeMax, or Microsoft Store. Or you can pick up an e-gift card from Skype's Web site or its Facebook page, which are then delivered to the recipient electronically.

Buying … Read more

How to buy a cell phone as a gift

Cell phones can make fantastic holiday gifts, but purchasing one for someone other than yourself is more complicated than shopping for other gadgets. Unlike a laptop or a shiny new camera, a cell phone requires a service plan to use any voice or data features (otherwise you wind up with a very expensive paperweight). In most cases, you won't even be able to leave the store or complete your online order until you get that angle set up. And beyond just being an additional expense, that service may require a long-term commitment.

There's no reason to stress, though, … Read more

Facebook Gifts: Important but not about the money (just yet)

When Facebook added a slew of retail partners to its Gifts product last week -- complete with a splashy party at FAO Schwartz in New York -- some observers got excited about the social network's ongoing march into e-commerce, even claiming (incorrectly, I would argue) that this helped push the stock up more than 6 percent on Friday.

Not so fast.

Facebook's decision allowing users to buy and send physical gifts is a shrewd move that could potentially grow into a $1 billion business (more on that in a moment). For now, however, the play seems less about … Read more

Facebook kicks off holidays with Gifts expansion

Facebook made a big commercial splash in New York City this evening, announcing several new partnerships for its gifting service in time for the holiday shopping season.

The social network wanted to create some buzz and used a press event at the FAO Schwarz in New York today to highlight the new retailers coming on board for Facebook Gifts.

"Facebook gifts is a combination of real moments with real gifts," Lee Linden, head of product for Gifts, told the room of reporters.

Linden told CNET that the new gifts will be available throughout the U.S. in the … Read more