triple

Watch the planets dance in a triple conjunction

Triple planetary conjunctions are relatively rare in the night sky, but astronomers are about to be in for a real treat.

The three brightest planets in our solar system as seen from Earth -- Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus -- will be coming together in the sky, "dancing" around each other over the course of several nights, starting Friday, May 24.

If we're lucky, we see a triple conjunction once every two years or so. The most recent was in May 2011; the next won't be until October 2015.

Because the planets in this conjunction are so bright, the dance will be visible to the naked eye, even in densely populated areas. But if you have access to a telescope or binoculars, so much the better. … Read more

Barbie gets digital makeover at Toy Fair

It's playtime for CNET Update:

When it comes to the tech at Toy Fair, Apple steals the spotlight. Many tech-related toys at the 2013 Toy Fair integrate with an iPad or iPhone. Mattel is diving into this growing trend with several toys that offer an augmented reality experience using iPad apps. But it also wouldn't be a Toy Fair without a few cool robots.

Toys featured in the video include:

- Tomy's BattroBorg: Players use Wii-like controllers to throw punches and wirelessly control the arms of tiny boxing robots. A robot will deactivate after five hits to … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions about cleaning up a Mac to keep it optimized, external drive permission errors, increasing the number of recent documents stored in the system, and options for triple-booting OS X with Linux and other operating systems. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: How to clean up a Mac to keep it optimized MacFixIt reader Angel asks:

How can I get … Read more

The 404 1,021: Where we're laced with Cinavia (podcast)

Stupid Andy sits in the guest seat and he has a bone to pick with Cinavia today. I'm warning you that this discussion is technically the first time we've nerded out about DRM systems so hard, but it's relevant in terms of resale, personal file backups, and the rumor that the next PlayStation console won't allow used games.… Read more

Comcast, Time Warner preparing to bid farewell to Clearwire

Cable providers Comcast and Time Warner Cable will stop reselling Clearwire's 4G wireless service following their agreement to hand off their unused mobile spectrum to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion, CNET has learned.

Part of the Verizon deal gives the cable companies the right to resell Verizon's wireless service, which will become the cable providers' exclusive partner once the spectrum aspect of the agreement goes through, said Time Warner Cable spokesman Alexander Dudley.

Both companies will slowly wind down their Clearwire business over the next six months, and plan to move their existing customers to other options. … Read more

Scrabble is better when it's bigger

Scrabble for iPad is a faithful adaptation of that classic board game much beloved by logophiles, with tons of cool extras and several easy options for multiplayer games.

What Scrabble for iPad does best is simulate the look, feel, and even sound of the original game, with sharp HD graphics, gratifying sound effects (letter tiles pop into place with a subtle click), and an interface that will put Scrabble-lovers right at home, including a virtual tile rack that lets you rearrange letters. (And in party play mode, individual players can even use their iPhones and iPod Touches with the free … Read more

The 404 804: Where we understand your plan (podcast)

It's Natali Morris' penultimate episode and National High Five Day! Wilson's back on the show after yesterday's trip to the New York auto show, and today we're chewing the beef between Lady Gaga and Weird Al Yankovic and chatting about a 3D porno topping box office records in China, a dispute over Apple's environmental footprint, and a pair of 2D glasses that just makes things more natural.

The 404 Digest for Episode 804

Today is National High Five Day! 3D porn movie beats "Avatar" box office record in China. 2D glasses make 3D movies more natural. Turns out Apple ain't that green.

Episode 804 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Strategy game pack

Strategic board games let players test their generalship in wars of conquest. TripleA is a free, open-source, Java-based pack containing several strategy games with single-player, multiplayer, and online modes, with more available online. Players manage vast armies of men and weapons, including ships, planes, tanks, and transports, supplies, and other resources. Rolling virtual dice simulates the random element in battle, but different values for various elements mean that strategy trumps chance, at least for skillful generals.

TripleA downloads and installs normally but requires the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) to open, but that's free, too, and easy to install. TripleA'… Read more

Comcast sales, income ride customer growth

With its acquisition of NBC Universal finally done, Comcast today reported a boost in both sales and earnings for its fourth quarter.

For the quarter ended December 31, the cable carrier earned $1.02 billion, a gain of 6.6 percent from the $955 million earned in the prior year's quarter. Sales grew by 7.2 percent to reach $9.72 billion compared with $9.07 billion a year ago. Both results managed to beat the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, according to Reuters, and prompted the company to lift its annual dividend by 19 percent.

With … Read more

Jack White's triple-decker LP

Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather) has a cool video demonstrating his "triple-decker," three-records-in-one 12-inch single, "Blue Blood Blues." You have to watch the video to see exactly how the technology works, but let's just say for now it's a 7 inch 45 rpm single glued to one side of a 12-inch single; but the 12-inch can be pried open to retrieve another 45! It's a limited to 300 edition so I'm sure it'll sell out quickly. The Triple-Decker Record is a Jack White invention; and it's assembled by … Read more