HERO

Google fills search with Zagat ratings

It's time to rate your world on Google+ Local, double down on secrets and lose the hashbang:

Google+ has teamed up with Zagat to add a new feature encouraging users to review local establishments. It's called Google+ Local, and even if you don't use Google+, you'll start to see these ratings pop up around Google search and maps.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some interesting comments at the D10 conference Tuesday. To summarize, Cook didn't say if Apple was working on a television set, he vowed that the company will "double down" on … Read more

Jury to hear No Doubt's case against Activision's Band Hero

No Doubt's lawsuit against Activision is going to be heard by a jury.

The pop rock band sued gaming giant Activision in 2009 on allegations that the company's game Band Hero lets players convert the avatars "into a virtual karaoke circus act." The case has been ongoing ever since, and today Superior Court Judge Ramona See ruled that the decision will now be up to a jury, according to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit was first brought when No Doubt claimed that Activision didn't tell the pop musicians that players would be able to unlock … Read more

Turn-based combat-strategy that's crazy-addictive

Hero Academy is a fun and addictive fantasy-themed combat-strategy game in which you play short, asynchronous turns against friends (through GameCenter or Facebook) or randomly matched opponents.

Each game is a face-off between two teams trying to advance and destroy the other team's fragile "crystals," with combatants moving horizontally or vertically across a small, chessboard-style grid. You have a "hand" of six tiles that you draw from a limited deck -- including new units, such as knights and wizards, and temporary and permanent power-ups, such as shields and healing potions. Each turn, you have to … Read more

Mustached villain challenges Seattle's superhero

Rex Velvet, a self-described "people's villain," emerged in a video that makes you think we live in an alternative universe where comic book-style villains take to the airwaves to taunt the protectors of a city. After a lengthy manifesto-style rant, Velvet challenges Phoenix Jones -- a real person who leads a group of citizens that wear superhero clothing and fight crime in Seattle -- to a showdown.

Velvet supposedly belongs to a group called the "Social Villains Alliance," and says that he wants to rid Seattle of the "silly gang of misfit Power Rangers disturbing the peace," says Velvet in his introduction video. "Now our city is protected not by the once respected police force, but by a tormented delusional freak in a mask." … Read more

Google goes for a Drive

Stories from Tuesday's CNET Update:

Google Drive launches today Shortage of blue and white versions of Nokia Lumia 900 Startup wants to start mining asteroids Netflix earnings report Windows 8 preview in June Today's App to Watch: Lego Super Hero Movie Maker

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Kodak Office Hero 6.1 review: All-in-one scores high

Kodak continues to innovate in its printing division despite an announcement today that the company is shuttering the camera division.

I just finished reviewing its $200 Office Hero 6.1 All-in-One, a midprice imaging device that can print, scan, fax, and copy, and as long as you don't mind waiting a few extra seconds for your prints, this competent multifunctional printer deserves your attention.… Read more

Peek at these pixelicious superheroes

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's a bunch of pixels?

Superheroes and villains from some of the most beloved comic and sci-fi franchises are the focus of "Pixel Heroes" by artist Pahito.

This elaborate piece features 78 legendary characters immortalized in stylish low-resolution pixel form, arranged in no specific order. It is amusing to see some of my favorite friends and foes from X-Men, Batman, and "Star Wars" in glorious low resolution.

Pixel Heroes is available in various print sizes, ranging from a miniature 8x10-inch portrait, at $22, up to a large 21x28-inch masterpiece, conservatively priced at $45. The collection of caped crusaders and masked marauders is available on hoodies, T-shirts, framed art, stretched canvas, iPhone and iPad cases, and laptop skins (Mac and PC).… Read more

Skiing showdown: Helmet cams go head-to-head

You might think the 200 marked runs at Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort in British Columbia would be enough for most skiers.

But just before Christmas, my two teenage boys, a friend and his two teenage sons, and I scoped out a largely untouched stash of snow in an area called Flute Bowl. No chairlifts scaled that part of the mountain, so we hit the slopes early, made our way over to Flute Bowl, kicked off our skis, and hiked 45 minutes to the top.

It was a cloudless day, and on the ridge, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Coast Mountain range. Then we got to ski the wide open bowl, and the remains of powder that had fallen a few days earlier, all to ourselves. It was one of those moments worth capturing.

So we did. The boys, my buddy, and I fastened two helmet cams--the GoPro HD Hero 2 Outdoor Edition and the Contour Roam--on our lids and tested them to figure out which one we liked best.… Read more

GoPro strikes back with HD Hero2 sports camera

My initial introduction to the world of action cameras was through the lens of a GoPro Motorsports Hero. However, GoPro's camera system, while rugged in construction and versatile, hasn't been what you'd call "easy to use." So consider my interest piqued when GoPro called to inform me that it is pulling the wraps off of the GoPro HD Hero2: the sequel to the HD Hero boasting a simpler interface and increased performance.

GoPro would like us to believe that this sequel is twice as good as the previous-generation HD Hero, and it's got the … Read more