Consumer content

NEW YORK--Marissa Mayer has clear vision of what a moonshot -- an epic accomplishment -- would be for Yahoo. She wants Yahoo persistent on every smartphone, tablet and PC for every Internet user.

"The nice thing is that we are not that far off," the Yahoo CEO said in conversation with Wired senior writer Steven Levy at the Wired Business Conference.

Mayer could add wearable computers as well. She said that Yahoo is experimenting with developer versions of Google Glass to see how users can operate Yahoo's apps using the digital eyewear.

With more than 700 million … Read more

Nest, makers of the Learning Thermostat, said Tuesday that it has bought MyEnergy, a move geared towards helping customers and utilities alike get a better handle on power usage.

In a release, Nest said that MyEnergy has built a nationwide user base with an online service that provides users with a single place for studying their power usage and bills. The tool is meant to allow people to track their usage and costs and to compare that usage both over time and to neighbors. The company's utility partners use the service to offer their customers, especially those who aren'… Read more

Torrents are indisputably one of the fastest ways to distribute files, but they've been extremely hard to monetize -- until now.

BitTorrent has built a preliminary format called the BitTorrent Bundle, which will let content owners charge for some files within a torrent. The company has partnered with the music label Ultra to test out the Bundle Alpha by sharing a mix of behind-the-scenes music, videos, and a "digital tour booklet" from Kaskade, a star in the realm of electronic dance music. It's all part of the artist's 2012 "Freaks of Nature" tour … Read more

A new entrant in the long-loved, first-person shooter series, Wolfenstein, is coming, Bethesda Softworks announced Tuesday.

Dubbed Wolfenstein: The New Order, the game will follow series protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz after World War II. But there's one problem. In the new game, the Germans have won the war, and Blazkowicz is charged with taking on the Nazi regime.

CNET sister site Gamespot was first to announce the new Wolfenstein, confirming rumors that a new chapter of the famed franchise will unfold in the fourth quarter.

According to Bethesda, The New Order will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation … Read more

How do you create a password that's strong yet easy to remember? That's the challenge we all face, and one that's prompted a few words of wisdom from McAfee.

In honor of Intel's so-dubbed Password Day, McAfee unveiled a series of tips and tricks on Tuesday aimed at helping all of us juggle the passwords we're forced to maintain across the Web. Its parent Intel has also chimed in with a page that tells you how long it would take to break a certain password. Let's look at Intel's page first.

Browse to … Read more

You can now compare your taste in YouTube videos with the rest of America.

Unveiled on Tuesday, the new YouTube Trends Maps displays a graphic of the United States showing which videos are the most popular in specific areas of the country. Hovering over different regions displays a thumbnail of the hottest video being watched. You can click on the link in the thumbnail to catch the video yourself.

The Trends Map can break down the trends based on various factors.

You can view the most popular videos based on the number of shares or the number of views. You … Read more

Who wouldn't want to create an image of themselves smoking a joint, wearing wrap-around shades, and holding a wad of cash? The new Snoopify app aims to let users do just that.

West coast rapper Snoop Dogg rolled out his new mobile app on Monday, giving users the option of adding photos into the app and then dressing them up gangster style or Rasta-inspired. Free and available on both Android and iOS, the app seems to be making its money with the new trend of the moment -- stickers. While a handful of stickers in the app are free, … Read more

Aereo is trying to cut CBS off at the legal pass.

The TV streaming service has filed a complaint against CBS (CNET's parent company), to prevent it from filing yet another lawsuit against it. Aereo allows people to watch and record live network broadcasts via the Web, a feature that has gotten it into trouble with CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC. The networks have argued that Aereo's $12-per-month service is illegal because it distributes their shows without compensating them in return.

Both sides have been battling it out in court, and so far the rulings have favored Aereo. … Read more

Social-gaming company Zynga staked its claim with FarmVille. And now -- when Zynga has been reaping more than sowing -- the company will rely on that same title to restore its ailing operation.

In a Reuters interview published Monday, Pincus said his company is relying on FarmVille 2 to rebuild. The company's revenue jumped to $1.2 billion in 2012, but losses continue to pile up.

A key component to the turnaround plan is to give FarmVille players the same experience on mobile as on desktop.

"The ideal is to make that one seamless experience between Web and … Read more