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If you've ever tried to set up a tripod in New York City, you know that it can be difficult enough just avoiding all the people. Then, if a police officer spots you, you also have to explain why you've set it up, which can lead to the officer telling you that you need a permit. Now, the city is planning to modify its photo and video permit rules in ways that has alarmed many local photographers and videographers. An brief announcement by the city outlines some of the changes, though a PDF of the full notice explains … Read more

Yeah, yeah, I know. Harry Potter this, Harry Potter that, OMG-does-Harry-die, OMG-OMG-it's-on-BitTorrent... We're so ready to move on to the next cultural obsession from across the pond. Regardless, here's some video from Friday night of some of the people who showed up at the official New York book launch event hosted by Scholastic, the publisher that handles Harry Potter in the States.

The wizardly confab was held in New York City's shopper-friendly SoHo neighborhood, on a stretch of Mercer St. between Prince St. and Spring St. Conveniently, not only is Mercer St. right around the corner … Read more

Hi, I'm Caroline! This is my new blog, which the benevolent dictatorship at CNET News.com has generously allowed me to create as part of our fun new personal blogging endeavor. Here, I'll talk about the social dimension of the digital world--from the unwritten etiquette of Facebook to the viral sensation of the Dramatic Chipmunk to hilarious misadventures in text messaging. I like to think of it as new media with more cowbell, but seeing as this is the first post, I can't really illustrate that yet. You'll just have to take my word for it.… Read more

The Sony PlayStation 3 is an impressive piece of equipment, but its price has put off a lot of gamers. After all, $600 is a lot to sink into a video game console, even if it doubles as Blu-ray disc player. Fortunately, the PS3 might be seeing its very first price cut in a week or two.

Earlier this week, Kotaku reported a rumor that the PlayStation 3 would be getting a $100 price drop. Sony President Ryoji Chubachi said Sony has "no plans" to lower the PS3 price tag, but GameDaily said it received confirmation of the … Read more

We couldn't resist this one: on Friday night, on her way back from the Apple Store, CNET photographer Sarah Tew snapped a photo of a family with iPhones for each person. Awww, so cute!

When all the iPhone hype ended on Friday night, many of us bloggers covering the hullabaloo had only one thought in our heads: let's party. I, however, was unable to wrest the dreaded handset from my head, and made a conscious decision to turn the evening into an iPhone-spotting safari. After all, I'd spent the whole week mingling with the geeks, fanboys, and ubernerds in the iPhone waiting line (which ultimately turned out to be futile, as there was a major shortage of shortages) so my objective for the night was to see if I actually saw any &… Read more

One of the things talked about most in the aftermath of the iPhone's New York debut was how streamlined the launch was. A gauntlet of Apple store employees kept everyone in a single file, and upon entering the Apple store customers were ushered directly to the checkout line where they received (and paid for) their iPhones. The press, however, was not so calm--seriously, I felt like I was taping something that would wind up on TMZ or Perez Hilton.

At last count, there was no shortage of iPhones, and many of the people who happened to walk into line … Read more

The first New Yorkers have their iPhones, showing off the sleek black packages to a massive crowd of paparazzi-esque press (really, we're animals), Apple Store employees, and a large number of spectators. Yes, spectators. Stadium-style. Yes, David Pogue is still hanging around, taping the scene with a personal camcorder but largely avoiding the sweaty press mobs. No, there is no sign of Steve Jobs, Bono, John Mayer, or any other celebrities associated with Apple.

There is not yet any word on shortages or the lack thereof. It's 6:26 PM and they are still letting people in, so … Read more

Continuing my series of unedited, incoherent clips from the iPhone launch in NYC that were taped with a pocket-size Canon point-and-shoot, here is a little clip of the most popular person on the block (the Starbucks employee handing out free coffee) and the second most popular person on the block (New York Times tech columnist David Pogue, talking to fans).

Also being handed out: Evian water and Godiva chocolate. This liveblogger is happy!