action

The Yahoo e-mail privacy flap that wasn't

It seemed like yet another corporate privacy flap: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer decrees that Yahoo Mail users will have their e-mail "scanned and analyzed" so relevant ads can be displayed.

That apparent revelation prompted dozens of news articles in the last few days describing the practice as "creepy" or "freaking people out." One wondered if it was an "aggressive invasion of privacy."

The only problem is that Yahoo hasn't, well, actually changed its policy. At all. A version of Yahoo Mail's terms of service adopted in 2011 gives the company … Read more

Get Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire Complete (PC) for $9.99

Nearly a year ago to the day, Rockstar's long-awaited Max Payne 3 debuted to nearly universal acclaim. Price at the time: around $50, same as most new PC games.

Nearly two years ago to the day, Rockstar's L.A. Noire debuted to nearly universal acclaim -- but only for consoles. A PC edition arrived later in the year, bundling all five of the cases that had been released as DLC for the consoles. Price at the time: you know.

Be glad you waited. For a limited time, Amazon is offering L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition and Max Payne 3 (PC) for $9.99. … Read more

Facebook pulls pages depicting violence against women

Several Facebook pages have popped up that encourage or make a joke of violence against women, pages like Fly Kicking Sluts in the Uterus, Violently Raping Your Friend Just for Laughs, and Raping your Girlfriend.

Facebook has now decided to take these pages down.

"In recent days, it has become clear that our systems to identify and remove hate speech have failed to work as effectively as we would like, particularly around issues of gender-based hate," Facebook's VP of Global Public Policy Marne Levine wrote in a blog post Tuesday. "We have been working over the … Read more

Want a 10-foot-tall painting of 'Star Wars' action figures?

Do you still have your original "Star Wars" action figures? Mine are tucked away in storage, but looking at Rob Burden's artwork makes me want to dig them out.

The San Francisco artist is so obsessed with his old "Star Wars" figures that he does 10-foot-tall oil paintings of them, like "The Birth of a Jedi," above. The works don't portray the characters from the series, but the actual action figures themselves.

Now he's taking his passion to new heights on Kickstarter with a $24,000 campaign to produce two enormous 10x14-foot "Star Wars" canvases. … Read more

Google e-mails money; Hangouts with ponies

CNET Update geeks out:

In this episode of Update:

- Learn how to send money through Gmail using Google Wallet, and RSVP to events without ever opening your e-mail invite.

- Become a Google Hangout app master and know the secrets to sending your Bronies some ponies.

- Beam yourself to Bing to be transported to the Star Trek universe, and brush up on your Klingon while there. Qapla'!

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 … Read more

Google rolls out quick action buttons for Gmail

Google is aiming to make Gmail responding, planning, and organizing a little bit easier. The tech giant announced Wednesday that it is rolling out quick action buttons for its e-mail service.

Not only can users RSVP to an event without even opening the e-mail invite, they can also rate restaurants, places, or shops from within their inbox.

Here's more from a Wednesday blog post by Google product manager Shalini Agarwal:

Email is an important part of how we get things done -- from planning an event with friends to organizing that family vacation to Costa Rica. And today, getting … Read more

Lawsuit claims Apple sold iPhone 4 with bad on-off button

A lawsuit has been brought against Apple for allegedly selling iPhone 4 smartphones with faulty power buttons. The suit, which seeks class-action status, claims that Apple knew about the issue and failed to fix the problem.

Debra Hilton filed the lawsuit in San Jose, Calif., alleging that she and "thousands of iPhone 4 users" were sold the device with on-off buttons that stopped working shortly after the 1-year warranty was up. The problem purportedly had to do with a defective flex cable that controlled the power button.

"The Apple iPhone 4 is plagued by a latent defect … Read more

Twisted Sister's legal threats over coffee shop's URL

Are they going to take it? Are they going to take it? Are they going to take it anymore?

These are the fundamental questions surrounding a legal threat presented by a lawyer for Twister Sister's founder, John Jay French, to a tiny coffee shop in Mission, Kan.

The coffee shop is called Twister Sisters. It is run by two sisters. They are twisted. Actually, as The Prairie Village Post reports, Sandi Russell and her sister Nancy Hansen were first called "twisted" by their brother in the 1960s.

The 1960s came before 1973, the year when the band … Read more

Dynamic narration makes this action RPG a joy to play

Editors' note: The regular price for this game is $4.99, but it is on sale for a limited time for 99 cents.

Bastion is a faithful iOS port of the award-winning artistic action RPG that first came out for the Xbox 360 in 2011. Now you'll be able to explore the strange world of The Calamity on the go, and solve the mystery of the catastrophe that shattered our world (literally) into pieces.

Enter a broken world You play as the Kid, an adventurer trying to piece the world back together by finding crystal-like "cores" and … Read more