Crave

Next week, Google is expected to unveil an update to the Nexus 7, an LG Nexus phone, a high-end new tablet, and Android Jelly Bean, but there's a rumor going around that Google has another trick up its sleeve.

What if we told you it was going to make a decidedly "low-end" Nexus tablet for $100 less than the Nexus 7 -- meaning $230 cheaper than the iPad Mini? You'd get your credit card out, right? Or scrounge around for enough change in your couch cushions?

Well, watch the show to see why you might want … Read more

As a slight arachnophobe, I'm a bit surprised to discover that I find the above photo of live newborn lynx spiderlings stunning -- and the subjects rather adorable. Stunning and adorable are in the eye of the beholder, of course, but I do know that Walter Piorkowski's photo suddenly makes me feel a bit more comfortable with creepy crawlies.

It happens every year when Nikon announces the results of its annual Small World Photomicrography Competition, which celebrates the art of photography shot through a light microscope. Science becomes exquisite (unexpectedly at times) as photomicrographers turn their tiny lenses on the likes of bat embryos, algae, larva, stinging nettles, and ladybug legs. Even insidious cancer cells become visually mesmerizing. … Read more

Microsoft will finally test the waters of the tablet market as its new Surface goes on sale. More than 60 stores in North America will offer the tablet starting tonight at 10 p.m. local time.

The Surface RT, which Microsoft demonstrated at its Windows 8 event today, aims to stand out from the wave of other Windows 8 tablets due to hit the market.

Microsoft touted the contrast of the Surface tablet with its ClearView technology as one that reflects glare better than other screens. A Microsoft engineer recently played up the Surface display as superior to that of the iPad … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Another reason not to buy books: Hackers installed credit card readers at 63 stores across the country, New York City included.

- Attention New Yorkers: It's officially time to freak out about Hurricane Sandy.

- SDSU study confirms that five-second rule is pretty much bull.

- A license plate frame that defeats red light camera flashes.… Read more

While some Kickstarter projects go about begging for funds like online versions of Oliver Twist, others can't staunch the flow of pledges. Memoto is one of those. The little camera is raising big money, so much that it doubled its $50,000 funding goal in just 12 hours and has already topped $245,000.

The lightweight Memoto clips onto the front of your shirt or somewhere else convenient. It takes 5-megapixel photos at the rate of two photos per minute when it's being worn and shuts off when you tuck it away into a pocket. The 8GB of memory is enough for a couple of days of photos. The photos are stored online through a Memoto service so you don't have to clog up all your precious computer memory.… Read more

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

In 2009 I wrote about a new kind of piano, Yamaha's $20,000 AvantGrand. It's a hybrid (digital/acoustic) piano. Yamaha now offers a full line of hybrids, with prices starting at $5,499 for the recently released upright NU1 piano.

Hybrids feature the same mechanical piano "action" and natural wood keys used in Yamaha's acoustic pianos, but the sound is generated from digital samples. The NU1 is no toy, it weighs 240 pounds and has a full standard piano keyboard. The NU1's sound is derived from samples taken from Yamaha's CFX concert … Read more

Lately, it seems an increasing number of mythical tech devices are becoming reality before their makers actually make them official.

The iPad Mini was a foregone conclusion before Apple finally made it so this week, for example. And now a U.K. retailer is pushing the Nexus 4 into the world before its existence has been confirmed by the officialdom at Google and LG.

Carphone Warehouse is already offering preorders for the next Google Android reference design -- days before it's expected to be announced at a media event -- and is promising delivery on October 30.

Google has … Read more

A U.K. design firm put Windows 8 under the microscope recently, and users reported some issues with handling the operating system.

The firm in question, Foolproof, had 14 "typical users" try out Windows 8 for the first time to see how they fared using the new-look operating system. This tiny group reportedly consisted of regular Windows users, so they supposedly weren't coming to the Microsoft universe cold.

But Microsoft's new user interface, which largely consists of a series of tiles, ditching the traditional look and feel of Windows, "comes with a huge learning overhead." Foolproof's relatively small number of testers made several observations, including:… Read more