How We Found the Best and Worst States for Solar Accessibility

To do this, we created a methodology with set grading criteria. States with better solar policy earn higher marks. Here’s the process we used to score each state or territory. Can solar panels save you money? Interested in understanding the impact solar can have on your home? Enter some basic information below, and well instantly provide a free estimate of your energy savings. Our methodology We score each state based on eight categories, each with a weight....

April 15, 2025 · 3 min · 616 words · Andrew Henry

How We Test VPNs

Choosing the right VPN is especially important if you haveheightened privacy needs. CNET’s team of VPN experts includes Attila Tomaschek and Moe Long. How we assign VPN ratings Our VPN reviews include numerical ratings of the services we evaluate. We assign a discrete list of standards to each numerical score within the 10-point scale for each subcategory. We weigh each subcategory equally because of the variety of ways and reasons to use a VPN....

April 15, 2025 · 2 min · 272 words · Holly Rodriguez

How We Test Web Hosting Services

Web hosting makes your site accessible to online visitors by placing it on a web server. How we test web hosting Navigating the world of web hosting is complicated. There are severaltypes of web hostingand thousands of companies to choose from. There are also many technical terms and complex pricing structures that can leave you scratching your head. Uptime Uptime is the amount of time your website spends online. Most web hosts offer 99....

April 15, 2025 · 3 min · 469 words · Matthew Knight

How We're Bringing Back the 'Social' Part of Social Media

But she wasn’t always so active in Facebook Groups like Bagels. Over the past few years, Romano noticed some changes while using other social media outlets, specifically Instagram. That’s what led Romano to delete her Instagram app. Now, she primarily uses Facebook Groups, which is where we connected. I’ve noticed this trend in my own life and work as a social media reporter. What are small social media platforms? They’re fairly easy to find, too....

April 15, 2025 · 3 min · 453 words · Ashley Perez

How Wear OS Could Make Android Smartwatches Better

Despite these promises, experts say the biggest thing holding back Wear OS is its fragmented user experience. “The problem with Wear OS is its splintered. “People buying Android phones still cant be sure Wear OS will work for them. RyanJLane / Getty Images They cant be sure the apps they want to try will work.” United We Stand Wear OS originally was introduced in 2014 as Android Wear. Despite the rebranding, not much about it has changed when it comes to overall support....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 151 words · Jessica Rowland

How You Can Avoid Credit Card Interest

Key Takeaways The first rule of using credit cards: Avoid credit card interest. (Or at least it should be.) The average credit card interest rate has climbed to20.75%according to Bankrate, CNET’s sister site. This is especially true if you pay only theminimum payment, continue making purchases or both. Here’s how you’re able to avoid credit card interest now and in the future. There are also several types of credit cards that let youavoid accruing interestfor a limited time....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 211 words · Johnny Paul

How You Can Find the IP Address of Any Website in Just a Few Clicks

Ping is a Command Prompt command in Windows. Many large websites do not return connection information in response to ping commands as a security measure. However, you’ll still see the site’s IP address. Use the Internet WHOIS System An alternative method for finding websiteIP addressesrelies on the internet WHOIS system. WHOIS is a database that tracks website registration information, including owners and IP addresses. WHOIS doesn’t always provide IP address information....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 114 words · Ashley Joseph

How Your Smart Thermostat Can Join a Virtual Power Plant

Thanks tovirtual power plants, your own home appliances can contribute to keeping the lights on across your community. The best part is, you might even get paid for it. What is a virtual power plant? For the consumer, there’s usually a perk, often in the form of cash or bill credits. VPPs function by aggregating electricity from different sources, which could include larger facilities like solar and wind farms. In some cases, a VPP pulls energy generated from those residential sources and feeds it to your utility....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 177 words · Stephen Lewis

How YSL Wants to Color Coordinate Your Lipstick

Its a Bluetooth-enabled, app-powered lipstick that can mix any shade you’d like. Well, notanyshade, but any red/brown/pinkish lipstick-bang out shade. YSLs lipstick machine connects with an app, which lets you select a color. Perso But who will use this? “And the big companies already make a huge range of colors available.” That seems like a pretty bad way to test things. Perso On the other hand, its more likely that this is just a way to grab some quick cash....

April 15, 2025 · 2 min · 220 words · Derrick Sosa

How Zoom Could Become More Accessible

But they also would like to see Zoom take things a step further. “Creating the ability to add words to a dictionary would be a good next step. Otherwise, peoples names, abbreviations, and terms not normally in dictionarieslike hyper converged infrastructuremight get butchered.” Yuriko Nakao / Getty Images Its a starting point, but more needs to be done. Accents are a problem and technical terms that arent in the dictionary are a problem....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 207 words · Donald Wilson

HP Announces New Spectre x360 Laptops With Built-in AI

HP announced thenew Spectre x360 2-in-1 laptopsin 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. Both have a 9MP camera,Intel Core Ultra processors, and optionalNvidia GeForce RTX GPUs. And, of course, both are touchscreen laptops that convert into tablets with 2.8K OLED displays. HP Spectre x360.HP HP As laptops go, the specs on these appear to be pretty common. The displays have 120Hz variable refresh rates with Eyesafe low blue light displays. Everything else, including the two laptops, is available now....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 124 words · Melanie Robertson

HP Releases Its Latest Gaming Hardware

The Omen 16 includes an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 8 GB or AMD RDNA 2 architecture-based graphics. You have a choice of processors with the Intel. Core i7-11800H series processors or 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX Mobile processors. Claimed battery life is up to nine hours. OMEN 16 is expected to be available this June for a starting price of $1049.99. you might configure the unit with up to 32GB DDR4 3200 MHz memory....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 143 words · Margaret Hardy

HP Reveals New Workstation Laptops and Displays

The Studio G9 is a little weaker with an Intel Core i9 vPro CPU. Both have access to NVIDIA Studio software, including Omniverse, Broadcast, and Canvas. The Z24q will release in May with a starting price of $374. HP The Z24m has no announced price, but is expected to launch in July. Both laptops are in a similar situation; no official price and they’re expected to launch this June. Prices will be revealed closer to their release date....

April 15, 2025 · 1 min · 79 words · Lori Scott