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The 12 most exciting games of E3 2013

Where last year's show felt empty, E3 2013 was anything but. Show-goers were treated to a barrage of new software to gawk over, a lot of which are brand-new franchises. Taking into consideration criticism from my past lists, I'll be highlighting only games that featured gameplay of some kind. As long as someone played it at E3, it's fair game. Sorry, trailers and teasers won't cut it this year!

Crave giveaway: Travel gear aplenty from accessory maker Kanex

Got any summer trips planned? This week's prize would like to join you. We're giving away a package of travel-friendly gear from Kanex, maker of connectivity products for Apple gadgets.

Here's what the winner gets:

A DualRole, which adds to your laptop three USB 3.0 ports and a connection to a secure wired network using gigabit ethernet. A mySpot travel-size wireless access point that lets you set up your own private, secure Wi-Fi network. A DoubleUp dual USB wall charger that lets you power two mobile devices at once.… Read more

Clean up and speed up with Advanced SystemCare Pro--now 60 percent off

June may be here but it's still not too late to do some spring cleaning on your computer, especially if you've been meaning to but haven't yet found the time for it. Thankfully IObit is here to take the burden off your hands with its popular, all-in-one PC cleaner and optimizer, Advanced SystemCare Pro.

Nothing's worse than a slow computer to bog down your ability to work and play, effectively. Advanced SystemCare Pro can help solve these problems by cleaning out accumulated junk files, malware, and registry errors while boosting your PC's performance. Free up … Read more

Review: Cosmos System Care Free scans your computer for any problems

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

The 404 1,284: Where we're judged by John Hodgman (podcast)

Comedian and self-appointed judge John Hodgman reveals the secrets to surviving the apocalypse and answers your questions about National Doughnut Day, the proper way to grow a mustache, and how to deal with Internet whiners.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to Netflix and check out John's stand-up special "Ragnarok" on June 20, push play, and walk away. John's also performing in Chicago on June 13 at the Just For Laughs comedy festival. Details on all his tours can be found here and on John's Twitter!… Read more

The most efficient way to track packages on Android

Tracking packages, monitoring their every movement from the vendor to your front door, can feel a bit like an addiction at times. Once you have the tracking number, you're either refreshing the respective carrier's tracking page, or you're mercilessly opening and closing your favorite package-tracking app hoping you can will the item to inch closer to its final destination.

As someone who has used iOS as my primary device for the last three years, I have often relied on the Delivery Status app to do the dirty work for me. There's a free OS X widget … Read more

Singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland's favorite tech

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland at the Kimberly Hotel in New York City. She talks about how she navigates the music world using tech and how tools like SoundCloud have allowed her to give fans a preview of her upcoming album, "Talk A Good Game."

Kelly also talks about connecting with her millions of social media followers, sharing candid moments with Tumblr and Instagram, and her hi-tech watch line for TW Steel.

Also, CNET Editor Brian Tongs breaks … Read more

Take control of your UPS deliveries with UPS My Choice

We just covered the service FedEx offers customers to track and manage incoming packages, but not all shipments are done solely through FedEx. UPS also offers a free service, similar to that of FedEx Delivery Manager, called UPS My Choice.

With UPS My Choice you'll receive alerts of incoming packages, hold for will call or authorize a shipment release for free. The paid services include requesting a hold at a UPS location, rescheduling a delivery, and delivering to another address. All of which will set you back $5 per use. Or if you receive a lot of packages, you … Read more

Review: SketchUp Light turns images into sketched drawings

SketchUp Light combines multiple filters designed to turn your existing photos into hand-drawn variants on your iOS device; but because of slow load times and at times frustrating feature layouts, the app never delivers fully on its promise.

The opening screen for SketchUp is actually very attractive. It shows what pencil sketching can look like, though it may be misleading in that it is almost certainly a unique sketch, not a converted photo from the app. After you open an image and start converting it, the app's issues start to surface. While there are numerous sketch filters, from hand … Read more