charity

Giving Tuesday: Your penance after Black Friday, Cyber Monday

Charities are businesses, too.

In order to keep the board members in tuxedos for fundraising dinners, they have to keep on sourcing money.

How beautiful, then, that Razoo -- which claims to be "the fastest growing crowdfunding platform for causes" -- is participating in a concept that the guilty side of you must find deeply persuasive.

The concept is Giving Tuesday.

Yes, these people want you to feel so thoroughly disgusted with yourself -- for yet again succumbing to commercial excess -- that you will donate some money to a charity of your choice.

And, lo, you can … Read more

Get five Android games for whatever price you want

Most game bundles have one thing in common: the games have been around awhile. They might be solid titles, sure, but many times they're so old that most gamers already have them.

Not this time. The Humble Bundle 4 for Android comes with five games, four of which are making their Android debut. In fact, they're not even available via Google Play yet, so you couldn't purchase them separately if you wanted to.

Don't have an Android device? Don't sweat it: you also get licenses for the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of each game.… Read more

iPad Mini launches with mini lines

While CNET's New York office waits for power to come back after the storm, we're bringing you the Update show from our San Francisco office. Friday's top tech stories include:

- iPad Mini launch day: Lines were smaller compared to a typical iPhone or iPad launch, but there were still some crowds. New York saw a long lines at the 5th Avenue store, which was sold out of iPad Minis two hours after it opened. One analyst estimates Apple might sell as many as 1.5 million iPad Minis over the weekend.

- Apple released its first … Read more

Get a $609 Mac software bundle for $29

Mac software tends to be on the pricey side (not unlike Macs themselves), and freebies are few and far between. That's why I'm seriously jazzed about this deal.

Ending in just two days, the MacHeist 4 Bundle gives you 17 Mac programs for $29. Combined value if purchased separately: $609. (It's true: I did the math.)

I'm not a Mac user myself, but I know good software when I see it. For starters, MacHeist 4 comes with popular writing tool Scrivener, even more popular drive optimizer DiskTools Pro, and even more popular still information-capture tool Evernote (specifically, 15 months of Evernote Premium).… Read more

Steve Jobs' shadow lives on in tribute MacBook Pro laptops

In memory of Steve Jobs, laser-cutting outfit Uncover today announced the auction of three Steve Job tribute MacBook Pro laptops with the rear-illuminated Apple logo containing the silhouette of the late Apple co-founder. The design derives from Hong Kong artist Jonathan Mak, who created the symbolic image last year to honor the tech icon.

The bottom of the laptop also features an engraved Steve Jobs quote from 1995: … Read more

Buy shoes, do good: Socialvest promotes charity via shopping

Socialvest, a company that says it's raised tens of thousands of dollars for nonprofits through its shopping site, has launched an iPhone app to make it easier for people to help others while shopping.

The site lets shoppers give to the charities of their choice by working with online retailers like Target, Home Depot, Macy's and Amazon. When a user buys something from a partnered shop, between 1 to 15 percent of the purchase will be donated to a nonprofit.

It seems like a great way to be a do-gooder while satisfying your commercial needs.

According to a … Read more

Indie Gala Mobile 2 bundles more good games for good causes

Need some new games to while away your flight, train ride, car trip, or time in line at the post office with?

In terms of bang for the buck, it's hard to beat a bundle. Like this one: the Indie Gala Mobile 2 bundle lets you set your own price for three (or more) popular Android games -- and support some worthy causes in the process.… Read more

Indie Gala Mobile bundles Android games for a good cause

Game bundles are fairly commonplace these days, but most of them focus on PC and/or Mac titles. Here's something a little different.

Indie Gala Mobile lets you set your own price for four Android games, with the proceeds going to your choice of destinations, including two worthwhile charities.

Available through Friday, June 22, the bundle includes the following titles:

Cardinal Quest: an arcade-style dungeon crawler. Great Little War Game: a 3D turn-based strategy outing. Legends of Yore: a " roguelike" with 8-bit graphics. Smiles HD: a Bejeweled clone with some cool twists (literally).

The minimum buy-in is $… Read more

Can charity squash frivolous lawsuits?

Sometimes, the strange and often lonely people who lurk on the Web do some good.

It isn't always by accident.

Many over the last 24 hours have been entranced by the tale of cartoonist Matthew Inman, the man behind The Oatmeal.

A year ago, he was rather upset when a site called FunnyJunk allegedly co-opted much of his work without actually paying him for it.

At the time, he wrote a very poignant blog post about it. The facts appeared troubling. Inman claimed that none of the material on FunnyJunk belonged to the site. The owner of FunnyJunk allegedly … Read more