back to school

Quick housekeeping note: The deals I share are in stock and available at the time I post them. Unfortunately, the especially awesome ones tend to sell out quickly, sometimes very soon after my post goes live.

Many a frustrated reader will call the company (or one of its stores, if applicable) in hopes of getting that price, only to be told there's "no such deal and there never was," or, "We don't know where CNET got that information."

Most of the deals I find are available exclusively online, though there are exceptions (like the … Read more

School is back in session, meaning students have folders full of syllabi, schedules, and other paperwork you're likely to reference as the semester goes on. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to carry all of it around with you all the time, without overloading your backpack?

Thanks to a handful of iOS apps, you can scan whatever paper documents you might need easy access to and store them on your iPhone, in the cloud, or on your computer with just a few taps.

I've found five apps that will help you quickly scan and organize documents. … Read more

Congrats to James A. of Mtn. Home, Idaho, for winning last week's giveaway, a Braven 625s Bluetooth speaker, speakerphone, and device charger.

All around us, it's back-to-school time, and this week's giveaway is here to help you and yours get back in the scholastic swing. First things first, there's that waking-up-early thing. Our prize package includes an Edifier Tick Tock Dock Bluetooth alarm clock and iPhone/iPod docking system that looks like an old-style waker-upper, but delivers sound through the two speakers masquerading as retro bells.

Next up, a 16-inch portable LED monitor from AOC powered solely by USB. The device works with PCs or Macs and includes a built-in smart stand for landscape and portrait display. … Read more

Wrapp, the Facebook app that lets people give freebie gift cards to their friends, is hoping to gain traction with back-to-school shoppers.

The company, which is shaking up e-commerce on Facebook, continues to grow, bringing some more big name-brands to attract new gifters, the company announced today. These brands include Dockers, Levis, Office Depot, Rovio's Angry Birds online shop, Zappos, and Roots.

Wrapp's business model combines targeted marketing with social metrics. As CNET wrote earlier this year:

"Wrapp will look at the person you're thinking of, figure out where they are and how valuable they are … Read more

Many mobile apps and desktop programs have offered intriguing note-taking capabilities, but the truth is: nothing beats handwritten notes. Typing might be more efficient, but even experts will tell you that writing by hand allows you to learn better, retain more information, and stimulates your brain.

For these reasons, subconsciously or not, many students and professionals still choose analog notes over the speed of a keyboard and searchable, typed words.

But if you're a handwriting romantic who embraces technology, you don't have to choose between the conveniences of technology and the comfort of the pen. Meet the Echo Smartpen … Read more

One pleasant surprise from the past couple of months has been the number of good-to-great laptops we've reviewed that can be had for $1,000 or less. That price range is usually Compromise City, with cheap-looking systems that may have decent CPUs, but skimp on a lot of other stuff. And, of course, no one wants to be seen in the coffee shop with a hunk of molded plastic while every other table sports a metal MacBook.

Whether you're gearing up for the fall semester or you're just ready for a pre-Windows 8 upgrade, the systems below all strike a good balance between price, design, and features.… Read more

Tuesday's top stories score a touchdown against trolls:

YouTube is hoping to reduce its troll population by letting users go by their real names. Google+ accounts can now be used as a YouTube identity. The switch can be done in settings. Before making the change, users can review past activity and delete any undesirable comments. But this isn't a required switch. Users can keep their existing account names.

Video game publisher Electronic Arts may not have the monopoly over pigskin for long. Back in 2008, EA was sued for making exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, NCAA and … Read more

Believe it: even though the mercury may be inching toward 100 and everyone is still planning beach getaways, school will start in less than six weeks.

For students and their parents, that means now's the time to stock up on school supplies. These days, that means lots of tech: laptops, tablets, phones, and printers, for starters. For college students, the list is even longer: a dorm room needs to be a home away from home, and that includes a TV, sound system, and other amenities.

Don't have kids? Not going to school? I'll let you in on … Read more

Subscribe: RSS (SD) RSS (HD) iTunes (SD) iTunes (HD) When I think about college, all the fun memories come to mind -- the kind of fun that makes me grateful Facebook didn't exist back then.

But time has a way of helping you forget what a traumatic, mind-bending hell college really is. And if your kid or someone you know is heading back to school soon, there's a good chance that he or she is justifiably freaking out right now.

That kid needs your help, and we're here to help you. CNET has published its annual back to school tech guide, … Read more