Get a Canon Pixma MX512 multifunction printer for $79.98 shipped

 

Canon’s Pixma MX512 offers a lot of multifunction goodness, including duplex printing, for 80 bucks.

(Credit: GearXS)

Print. Scan. Copy. Fax. We may not do this stuff as often as we used to (thank you, PDFs!), but most of us still need these capabilities from time to time.

Consequently, we still need all-in-one, aka multifunction, printers. And GearXS.com has a mighty sweet deal on one: the Canon Pixma MX512 wireless all-in-one printer for $79.98 shipped. That’s after applying coupon code CNET-10 at checkout (which effectively saves you the usual $10 shipping charge). You’ll need to click Apply Discount Code to reveal the field where you paste that code in.

The Pixma sells elsewhere for as much as $149.99, and the lowest I’ve seen it is $109 — so 80 bucks out the door is a deal indeed.

And I must admit I like the cut of this MFP’s jib. It’s pretty compact for a model with a 30-page auto document feeder and support for duplex (i.e. double-sided) printing. And it features Wi-Fi, Ethernet, AirPrint, a 2.5-inch LCD, and a borderless-4×6-inch print time of 46 seconds.

I have just two minor gripes with the MX512. First, it relies on two ink cartridges (one black, one tri-color), not a four- or five-tank system like many other Canon printers. Second, Canon charges a hefty fee for that ink. That’s par for the course with any inkjet, but you should always investigate cartridge prices — and third-party options like refill kits — before buying any printer.

And at the risk of repeating myself, ink is gonna cost you no matter what, so you might as well get the best deal you can on the printer itself. Am I right or am I right?

CNET hasn’t reviewed this model, so check out the mostly positive Amazon user reviews, which number close to 100. Average rating: 4.1 stars out of 5.

Bonus deal: Game time! If you have nothing but free time on your hands, Steam has Sid Meier’s Civilization V (PC/Mac) for $7.49, which is 75 percent off the list price. Better still, getCivilization V: Game of the Year for $12.49, which is also 75 percent off. Either way, you’re set for weeks — months, even — of empire-building goodness.

Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.

Get a Canon Pixma MX512 multifunction printer for $79.98 shipped

Illegal file-sharer gets hit with 5-year prison sentence

 

Convicted file-sharer Jeramiah Perkins has been handed the longest prison sentence even given in a U.S. file-sharing lawsuit: five years.

The 40-year-old man from Portsmouth, Va., was given the sentence today by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen, according to Wired. During his lawsuit, Perkins pled guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement by file-sharing movies, music, games, and more on the Internet.

Perkins — a.k.a. Butch Perkins, Stash, and theestas — is said to have been the head of a group that went to theaters, camcorded the movies, recorded the audio, synched the files, and then distributed the product on the Internet. The group, known as IMAGiNE, became one of the most prolific piracy release groups in the world between 2009 and 2011, according to Wired.

“The conspirators informally identified themselves as the IMAGiNE Group and sought, among other things, to be the premier group to first release to the Internet copies of new motion pictures only showing in movie theaters,” IMAGiNE’s indictment (pdf) reads. “It was further a part of the conspiracy to use computer software to digitally refine and to edit the video and audio portions of a motion picture and to combine or synchronize the two components into audiovisual movie files.”

One of the goals of the group was to make movies available before the public release of DVDs, according to the indictment. IMAGiNE rented servers in France, Canada, and the U.S. and hosted several Web sites, such as “unleashthe.net.” The Web sites included member profiles, a torrent tracker, discussion forums, a message board, news, and rules. The group got money through donations and payments from people downloading the copyrighted works. Among the movies known to have been pirated by IMAGiNE were, “Friends With Benefits,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” and “Avatar.”

Illegal file-sharer gets hit with 5-year prison sentence

Android Jelly Bean gains, Gingerbread seeing a slow fade

The popular Nexus 7 tablet runs Jelly Bean.

(Credit: Google)

The latest version of Android is now sitting on about 10 percent of all Android devices, while Gingerbread dropped below 50 percent, according to the latest numbers from Google.

Jelly Bean — that is, Android 4.1 and 4.2 — is up in the two weeks ending January 3, though it’s Android 4.1 that’s made most of the gains (see chart below).

That’s a sizable jump from the first two weeks of December when Jelly Bean, released in July, was on 6.7 percent of all active devices.

Driving the uptick are devices including the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, and Google’s Nexus brand such as the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets.

Gingerbread, released back in 2010, isn’t going away anytime soon, though. Its numbers have finally dipped below 50 percent to 47.6, but that operating system continues to ship on less-expensive phones.

Data collected during a 14-day period ending on January 3.

(Credit: Google)

(Credit: Google)

Android Jelly Bean gains, Gingerbread seeing a slow fade

Teen boasts of drunken driving on Facebook, arrested

An Oregon teen posts a boast on Facebook that he has been tipsy at the wheel. He apologizes to owners of cars he hit. Police are less apologetic when they arrest him.

Cox-Brown’s Facebook page. The boast has been removed.

(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

It has now been firmly established – by Randi Zuckerberg, no less – that Facebook is the home of human decency.

How is it possible, then, that 18-year-old Jacob Cox-Brown of Astoria, Ore., did not receive the message?

For, according to KGW.com, Cox-Brown had the indecent temerity to post this to his Facebook page: “Drivin drunk… classsic but to whoever’s vehicle i hit i am sorry. .”

This was, indeed, a classsic (sic) example of misbegotten sharing.

For police — who had concluded that not one but two vehicles had been struck by an unknown driver — now concluded that the driver was Jacob Cox-Brown.

How did they manage this? By the saddest reality of all. Two of Cox-Brown’s alleged friends reportedly contacted the law in order, one imagines, to restore human decency.

Teen boasts of drunken driving on Facebook, arrested

What Google's settlement with the FTC means for users

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz announces the Google agreement.

(Credit: Screenshot by CNET)

The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it has completed a nearly two-year investigation into Google’s business practices. Here are some of the key takeaways:

On the issue most important to Google, Google won. The most potentially damaging line of inquiry undertaken by the FTC concerned accusations that Google’s search results were unfairly biased in favor of its own products. Some critics wanted to see mandated changes to Google algorithms. But after considering a number of approaches, FTC commissioners decided unanimously that Google was not violating any antitrust laws when it comes to search results. For Google, this is a major victory.

Search results are going to look more or less the same. A handful of companies may choose to stop showing their results inside Google products like Google+ Local, Google Shopping, and Hotels. But otherwise Google can continue operating as normal.

 

Competitors are upset with the decision. FairSearch, which represented many of the Google competitors pressing for stronger action, was among those who predicted that the FTC’s decision would allow Google to further consolidate its power. “The FTC’s inaction on the core question of search bias will only embolden Google to act more aggressively to misuse its monopoly power to harm other innovators,” the group said in a statement. Yelp, who has been among the company’s most vocal critics, called it “a missed opportunity to protect innovation in the Internet economy, and the consumers and businesses that rely upon it.”

Google will have to license some of the patents it acquired from Motorola more liberally. The FTC found that Google’s use of some of the patents it acquired from Motorola to be anticompetitive. Google can no longer file injunctions against competitors that make use of those patents, which are needed for complying with technical standards. In the settlement’s only binding agreement, Google agreed to allow competitors access to the patents, “on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.”

The victories won by Google’s critics here are minor and technical. In response to the investigation, Google said it would allow creators of vertical search products like Yelp and travel-booking services to opt out of having their results “scraped” and displayed on certain Google results pages. To opt out, companies must fill out a Web-based notice form to be made available within 90 days. In a separate agreement, advertisers won a concession from Google on its AdWords platform; Google will modify the product to let advertisers more easily manage ad campaigns that run both on AdWords and competing platforms.

All eyes now turn to the European Commission, which has mounted a separate antitrust investigation into Google’s business practices. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and the European Union antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia met last month in Brussels, Belgium. At the time, Almunia said he expected an offer from Google this month to settle its additional antitrust

What Google's settlement with the FTC means for users

7 reasons to get excited about CNET at CES 2013

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

What happens when 90 editors, writers, photographers, and producers from CNET relocate all our operations to Las Vegas to cover the biggest U.S. tech trade show of the year? The most comprehensive coverage of 2013 CES, that’s what.

If you live and breathe tech and you’ll be at the show in Las Vegas next week, you’ll want to park yourself at the CNET booth in the South Hall to watch the action. Our live stage show will include celebrities, live Always On torture tests, product demos galore, panels, interviews of top tech execs, and the best ongoing live press conference streams and live analysis you can find. Plus, we’ll have comfy couches, phone chargers, and swag. Plenty of swag.

If you can’t make it to the show, don’t despair. Keep your tablet, your laptop, or you phone pointed to ces.cnet.com, CNET’s guide to everything happening at 2013 CES and follow us all on Twitter. We’ll write up every new tech announcement we get our hands on to make sure you don’t miss smart analysis of new gadgets, but we have a lot more up our sleeves this year, too.

Here’s what we have planned:

Live keynote and press conference coverage
If there’s a live keynote or press conference happening at CES, we’ll live blog it and very likely live stream it, too. Starting Sunday night, CNET’s reporters and editors will live blog until their fingers are raw, sharing new products the second they’re announced. Plus, we’ll include accompanying live streams of press conferences including announcements from LG, Samsung, Intel, Ford, and more. Head to ces.cnet.com for a full calendar of our event coverage and to tune in to broadcasts as they happen.

LL Cool J and Brian Tong at CES 2012

(Credit: CNET)

Live show from the CNET stage
When we’re not following live press conferences and keynotes, we’ll be bringing the best of CNET to you live from our CES stage. Watch live Always On torture tests (Did I hear something about liquid nitrogen? Yes, yes I did.); see interviews with stars including Felicia Day andArianna Huffington; listen to interviews with tech luminaries; watch The 404; see product demos — you name it. There’s some chance we might hearBrian Tong and LL Cool J sing again — place your bets now and see the whole schedule here.

CNET’s 2013 CES Next Big Thing SuperSession
Do. Not. Miss. CNET’s annual Next Big Thing SuperSession on Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT. Discussing the post-mobile future, Brian Cooley and Molly Wood will sit down for a chat withentrepreneur Mark Cuban, LG Electronics USA’s Senior Vice President of Marketing James Fishler, Ford Motor Co.’s futurist Sheryl Connelly, and Sprint’s Senior Vice President, Product Development and Operations, Fared Adib. It’ll be the smartest, most forward-thinking supersession at CES and promises to pack the room (plus the overflow room) in CES’ North Hall, so show up early or watch the live stream.

The Next Interface: You — CNET’s stage panel
If you love future technologies, don’t miss my conversation with Brian Cooley, Fitbit CEO James Park, Leap Motion co-founder and CEO Michael Buckwald, and Nest founder and VP of Engineering Matt Rogers. We’ll talk about how we’ll all interact with the next generation of devices using our bodies, and Brian Tong will be on-hand to help demonstrate future interfaces. Meet us online or at our intimate booth in the CES South Hall at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. These demos will blow you away.

The official Best of CES Awards
We scour every inch of CES to bring you the official Best of CES Awards. We’ll announce the finalists live at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday from the CNET stage, then bring you our big reveal of the winners on Thursday at 11 a.m. Of course, we’ll broadcast from the CNET stage (South Hall 3, upper-level lobby), so you can watch the whole live stream of the awards ceremony. Vote on your favorites, too, on our People’s Voice Awards page.

Daily updates, plus the unofficial CES show floor tour
Crunched for time? Yep, we are, too. That’s why we’ll bring you a summary of the most important news of CES every day at the end of the day. You’ll wake up first thing in the morning with a blog post that tells you everything you need to know to say smart things about what’s happening at CES. Also look for our self-guided show floor tour coming at the end of Press Day (Monday). We’ll publish our take on the hottest booths (and their locations) on the show floor so that you know right where to head to see the best that CES has to offer.

7 reasons to get excited about CNET at CES 2013

Apple predictions for 2013

Apple predictions for 2013

We’ll show you everything we expect to see in 2013, what we probably won’t see, a few crazy predictions, and a visit from Nostratongus.

Apple predictions for 2013