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Chevrolet is offering a sizable price incentive in the face of price slashing in the electric car market.

The 2013 Volt now comes with a $4,000 cash-back incentive and the 2012 model ups that to $5,000, according to Michelle Malcho, a Chevrolet spokeswoman.

That's the largest Volt cash incentive that Chevy has offered to date, Malcho said.

Alternatively, a Volt can now be leased for $269 a month for 36 months with a $2,399 down payment.

The Volt is a plug-in hybrid (GM refers to it as an extended-range electric vehicle or E-REV) with a range … Read more

Cosmos System Care Free is touted as your all-in-one maintenance tool to keep your computer system healthy and clean. Indeed, when you first download the program, you are offered the chance for an immediate scan. However, while this program seems to be wide in scope, the free version only offers to scan your computer for problems; it doesn't fix them.

Cosmos System Care Free took more than 35 minutes to download, extract, and install on a dual processing system. The program scans for security problems including privacy issues, includes a file decryptor and encryptor, and backs up or restores … Read more

We're seeing plenty of new systems and updates to existing systems coming out of the Computex trade show, mostly tied into Intel's new fourth-generation Core i series processors. Toshiba has gone a little further than most, updating its premium PC line, from multimedia laptops to all-in-one desktops.

That said, there are few surprises here. Some updated looks, more touch screens, a promise of upcoming Intel "Haswell" generation processors -- but as most of those new CPUs haven't been announced yet (with the exception of the higher-end quad-core models), don't expect new Intel processor model … Read more

Alongside the frankly more interesting Rove 20 tabletop PC, HP has also announced revisions to the rest of its Pavilion and Envy laptop lineups. However, included in this bundle is one product that caught our eye: an update to one of our favorite laptops.

The new HP Pavilion 11 TouchSmart is an 11-inch semi-sequel to the low-cost, AMD-powered HP dm1, a system we loved when it was released in 2011 because it offered decent, portable performance at near-Netbook prices.

The new version, also with an AMD CPU, adds a standard Windows 8 touch screen and will start at $399 (yes, … Read more

There have been days recently when I would have liked to have been taken out of the present.

Anywhere would have done. Greece 2012. The moon 2034. The entrails of a whale, to chat with Jonah, the eighth century B.C.

Science seems to have been very slow to take us out of our place and time, despite the best efforts of Michael J. Fox.

I can reveal, however, that progress has finally been made. For an Iranian scientist has invented The Aryayek Time-Traveling Machine. Or, at least, he says he has.… Read more

Users working between multiple workstations may need to access the same file from different computers and back up data between them. ChronoSync for Mac is a welcome program for those users and syncs data quickly and securely.

The program offers a free trial version available with a 500-file transfer limit while the full version requires $40 to unlock. The setup of ChronoSync for Mac went smoothly despite requiring acceptance of a lengthy user agreement. Upon first starting the program up, the user can choose to open a complete user manual, which is a welcome addition to this type of program, … Read more

Update 4:57 a.m. PT: We were fooled by April Fools' Day. We have corrected and recast the story accordingly.

Wouldn't it be nice if Apple planned a "bounce back" campaign to win back customers who defected to Windows machines? It would dovetail with the expected reawakening of the company's dormant high-end Mac Pro line -- but the idea is just a joke.

Video producer Lou Borella, the creator of the "We want a new Macpro" Facebook group, had said yesterday -- April Fools' Day -- that Apple itself contacted him about the … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn Google internship trailer debuts

- N.Y. restaurant offers fake "homemade" meal to go for amateur chefs, pre-dirtied cookwear included.

- In high-tech Japan, the fax machines roll on.

- Most definitely the scariest Valentines Day app around.

- Guns in movies: Find your favorites in the Internet Movie Firearms Database.

Bathroom break video: Jackie Chan - "Love Me"… Read more

Griff Tannen was a prototypical bully, he just happened to be in the future so he had advanced bullying tools at his disposal. Those implements included bionic implants and a "Pit Bull" hoverboard, which you can now buy on eBay.

In "Back to the Future Part II," Marty McFly rocked a good-guy hoverboard done up in friendly pink, green, and yellow colors. Griff's hoverboard, though, was the Darth Vader to McFly's Luke Skywalker. It was black and red and spiky all over with what looked like two little booster rockets below.… Read more