3D

Fast fiber: Apps coming at 70 percent the speed of light

In the movie "Iron Man 3," the titular hero struggles in what appears to be a rinky-dink backwater town to find an Internet connection fast enough and big enough to crunch data to find the terrorist villain. The town looks to be Nowhere, U.S.A., but we're told, it is actually Chattanooga, Tenn.

Known to some as "Gig City," the real Chattanooga would have posed less of a problem for Tony Stark's heroic data-analyzing needs. The modest city of half a million has more than 150,000 homes wired for affordable Gigabit Ethernet. … Read more

The 404 1285: Where E3 is no place for fanboys (podcast)

I don't get it. I'm gone an entire week and there's not one show. I get back, Justin's gone, but I still have to do one. What's up with that? Luckily it's a non-issue. Today we've got CNET HDTV editor Ty Pendlebury on the program to help me wrap up the chaos that was E3 2013 and filter out some of the new-found disgust I have for videogame fanboys. You know, the worst kind of fanboy.

- Check out Jeff's slideshow showing the most exciting games of E3.

- Play catch-up by looking back at the rest of CNET's E3 2013 coverage.

- Follow Ty on Twitter.

- ESPN drops 3D, four years after the rest of world has already given up on it. … Read more

It would take 220 years to 3D-print an average house

We've been hearing about the possibility of 3D-printed, full-size houses for some time. We may even get our first one sometime this year, thanks to the efforts of a couple of different architectural firms. Now you can get an idea of what it would take to create your own home from 3D-printed blocks.

Real estate blog Movoto has created a "3D Print your House" calculator to give you the daunting numbers involved with using a 3D printer to make your abode. The numbers are based on the time and cost of materials of using a MakerBot Replicator 2 to print out plastic bricks.… Read more

Amazon builds section for 3D printing supplies

In another step toward 3D printers finding a place in everyday businesses and homes, online retailer Amazon has dedicated a section of its site to selling 3D printers.

The site sells 3D printers from well-known manufacturers such as Makerbot, as well as others such as Cubify and fabbster, alongside 3D printer filament and spare parts.

Prices for machines range from the $1,099 JET/Open Source 3D printer Replicator G to $2,479 MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D printer.

The section marks another move toward mainstream adoption for 3D printing and follows office-supply chain Staples' decision to begin stocking 3D printers.… Read more

3D-printed guns may face regulations, bans in New York

New York lawmakers are the latest to crackdown on 3D-printed guns.

Both a member of the New York city council and a state assemblywoman have introduced two different pieces of legislation that would either regulate or ban the manufacture of 3D-printed guns, according to New York Daily News.

The bill for New York City was introduced by Council Member Lewis Fidler on Wednesday. This bill aims to make it illegal for people to produce any part of a firearm using a 3D printer unless they are licensed gunsmiths. Also, each weapon must be registered with the police within a 72-hour … Read more

Facebook mimics Twitter with hashtags

CNET Update is #trending:

In this episode of Update:

- Follow trending stories on Facebook with hashtags.

- Get excited for universal game controllers for iPhones and iPads.

- Lose a dimension when ESPN drops its 3D channel.

- Keep track of all the Galaxy S4 smartphones, as Samsung reveals the S4 Active.

- Print anywhere from your Android phone with the Cloud Print app.

CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. Watch Bridget Carey every afternoon for a breakdown of the big stories, hot devices, new apps, and what's ahead. Subscribe to the … Read more

ESPN to drop 3D channel in 2013

ESPN has confirmed it will cease broadcasting its 3D channel at the end of the year and will focus on new technologies such as 4K.

Rather than making an official announcement, the first news came in the form of a tweet from an ESPN employee this morning.

ESPN 3D was great at home but due to low adoption of 3D to home, we are discontinuing to focus on other products for fans and affiliates

— Katina Arnold (@KatinaESPN) June 12, 2013

ESPN has since confirmed to CNET the service will cease by the end of the year.… Read more

'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' gets a new trailer

The next cinematic installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's written masterpiece "The Hobbit" returns to U.S. theaters on December 13, but in the meantime, be sure to check out a new trailer for the film courtesy of Warner Bros.

As expected, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" picks up where "An Unexpected Journey" left off. It continues the tale of Bilbo Baggins' journey to take back the Lonely Mountain from the gold-hungry dragon Smaug in an attempt to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. All of the actors who played the main characters -- Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and Thorin Oakenshield -- from the first film reprise their respective roles once again.… Read more

Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, new Donkey Kong Country coming to Wii U

LOS ANGELES -- This isn't a normal E3 for Nintendo. For the first time in recent memory, the company has decided to forgo a traditional press conference in lieu of a more intimate experience.

While Microsoft and Sony continue to exchange unpleasantries, Nintendo is using the opportunity to give the media a behind-closed-doors look at some of its upcoming Wii U titles, some of which are completely unannounced.

I got to sit down with these games and get some hands-on time to see what Nintendo has planned for the Wii U, a console that has undoubtedly stumbled out of … Read more

Could the world's best turntables come from New Jersey?

VPI has been making turntables in New Jersey since the early 1980s when Ronald Reagan was president, and everyone thought the CD would kill the LP in a few years. Well, VPI is still there and is currently experiencing a sales boom.

Harry Weisfeld has been at the helm since Day One, but he's about to step down and let his son Matt run the company. Harry will continue to design turntables and tonearms. He makes prototypes, listens to his handiwork, and then goes back and tweaks the design. I spotted lots of failed designs all over the factory, … Read more