online

U.S. shoppers spent $7B online last week -- busiest 5 days ever

The past week was the heaviest five-day online shopping period in U.S. history, according to a new report that shows consumers are spending more online than they did last year.

During the week of December 8 through 14, U.S. consumers spent $6.9 billion online, an 11 percent increase over 2011, according to data released today by market analyst ComScore.

"This past workweek saw four days surpass the billion dollar spending threshold during the heaviest five-day online shopping period on record," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement. "With this most recent week in … Read more

Washington Post said to add paywall for online news

It's looking like one of the last vestiges to provide free online national news may be coming to a close. Joining its other paywall comrades, the Washington Post is said to start charging for its online content in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Inside sources told the Journal that the details are still being ironed out, but most likely the D.C. paper will start charging a subscription fee by next summer.

It's no secret that the newspaper industry is in dire straights. Several papers, like the Rocky Mountain News, have gone belly up and many … Read more

Online holiday spending rings up $21 billion so far

Holiday cybershoppers in the United States have opened up their wallets to the tune of $21.4 billion so far, a 14 percent gain over last year, according to ComScore.

Measuring from November 1 through December 2 -- the first 32 days of the 2012 holiday-shopping season -- ComScore found that more people are buying online. Stats showed a 9 percent rise in the number of buyers to 128.7 million.

People are also freer with their hard-earned dollars. The average online consumer has so far spent $159.90, a gain of 5 percent from last year. Specifically, the amount … Read more

Zynga looks to foray into online gambling in Nevada

We've heard of betting with virtual currency in Zynga Poker, but how about playing with some bona fide dollar bills?

Zynga made its first move to create real-money gambling games in the U.S. by filing its initial application with the Nevada Gaming Control Board yesterday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Now, the board has to decide whether Zynga will be allowed to hold a gaming license in the state.

The social-gaming giant has made no secret that it'd like to get into the world of real-money gambling. In fact, in October it announced a deal with … Read more

Coupons at Checkout finds coupon codes so you don't have to

For years I've been advising readers to search the Web for coupon codes before you complete your online purchase. It's one of my all-time favorite money-saving tips, as it's an easy way to score extra discounts.

Well, not always easy. You have to do some googling, peruse the various sites that aggregate coupon codes, sift through the listings to see if there's one that applies, copy and paste the code, and so on.

Browser plug-in Coupons at Checkout eliminates nearly all this hassle. Once you get to a store's checkout page, it automatically lists any … Read more

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

Unlocked iPhone 5 could arrive in Apple's Web store tonight

Apple will begin selling an unlocked version of the iPhone 5 tonight through its online store in the U.S., according to a new report.

Citing retail sources, 9to5Mac says Apple will quietly kick off sales of the unlocked device on its online store this evening, later doing the same at its retail stores.

The news comes as supply of the iPhone 5 is easing, with new orders from Apple's online site shipping in one week, down from the nearly month-long delay shortly after the product's launch in September.

By selling it unlocked, it means that users can … Read more

The 404 1,174: Where we enter the cave with Jeff Nimoy (podcast)

Jeff Nimoy is the founder of Sameplate.com, a dating site that pairs you up with other singles with the same food and dieting preferences. Inspired by his quest to find a partner who respects his love for the Paleo Diet, Jeff tells us the process that led to the site's inception and how you can make an easy transition to a healthier lifestyle.

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The Cooking Caveman documents Jeff's experience eating and dating in LA.

- Entering the Cave: How to get started with The Caveman Diet, also known as the … Read more

Pandora's Web radio bill is doomed -- well, for now

WASHINGTON D.C.--The technology sector is supposed to be one of the new power players in national politics. But you might be wondering what happened to its newfound political capital after watching its hapless attempts to lobby Congress to pass the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA), a bill that would reduce the music royalties paid by Web radio services.

At a hearing yesterday before a House subcommittee studying IRFA, the tech world seemed to be the same amateurs in navigating Washington as they were before January's triumph over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Pandora and the other … Read more

Meet Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Hollywood's new copyright ally

The outgoing chairman of a House of Representatives panel responsible for U.S. copyright law conceived the memorable Stop Online Piracy Act. Its next chairman happens to be even more enthusiastic about expanding digital copyright law.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte was elected head of the House Judiciary committee today, much to the dismay of advocacy groups that had doggedly worked to defeat SOPA and Protect IP a year ago.

The Virginia Republican has long been a steadfast ally of Hollywood and other large copyright holders, saying as recently as two months ago that "I remain committed to enacting strong copyright … Read more