"Find My iPhone" Tracks Down Gun-Toting Thieves

Man pleads guilty in massive ID theft case
A Miami, Florida, man indicted earlier this month in the largest case of identity theft in U.S. history has agreed to plead guilty to 19 felony counts for his role in another massive credit-card data breach, according to a court document.
"Find My iPhone" Tracks Down Gun-Toting Thieves
It's unclear how many MobileMe subscriptions Apple has sold, but this might produce a sales bump. Last weekend, an unidentified victim, robbed at gunpoint of his wallet, PIN, and iPhone, used MobileMe's "Find My iPhone" feature to track them down.

MIT engineers create school of robotic fish

MIT engineers create school of robotic fish
Schools of robotic fish could one day map the ocean floor, detect pollution or inspect and survey submerged boats or oil and gas pipelines, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say.

Macs in crosshairs of hackers

It all used to be simpler for Mac users: viruses and other malicious software affected Windows computers, not them.

Third time lucky for US space launch

Aug 29The space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its third attempt.

Children's 'robotic' behavior alerted police to kidnapping suspect

The red flags went up for Lisa Campbell as soon as Phillip Garrido walked into the University of California-Berkeley police station Monday with two pale, "robot"-like blond girls with piercing blue eyes like his.

Help File: Opting Out Of Phone-Book Delivery
Q How can I get the phone company to stop sending me phone books? They go straight to the recycling bin at our house.

From Clearwater to space

Space shuttle Discovery lit up the Florida sky with a dramatic midnight launch. Clearwater's Nicole Stott is one of the seven astronauts on board, and she's got an exciting few months ahead of her.

China Unicom takes a bite of Apple pie

Shuttle Discovery blasts off to space station
Space shuttle Discovery launched just before midnight Friday on a mission to the international space station.
China Unicom takes a bite of Apple pie

Well, now you can have your iPhone and use it too, albeit without, don't let this break your heart, the Wi-Fi facility.

Ban on robocalls takes effect Tuesday

Ban on robocalls takes effect Tuesday
Starting Tuesday, many "robocalls" from telemarketers will be illegal.
Apple Strikes iPhone Deal with Chinese Telecom
The long-awaited entry of the iPhone to China, at least in non-jailbroken and non-unlocked form, is at the brink, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. China Unicom plans to start selling two versions of the iPhone in the fourth quarter, under a three-year deal.

GPS hackers create crowdsourced maps
Last month, when Zack Ajmal was planning a vacation to Italy, he set out to find the first thing that a traveler would need in a foreign land: a map. But digital maps of Rome and Venice for his Garmin GPS device cost almost $100. So instead, Ajmal turned to OpenStreet Map, a community-driven maps database.
Back on the Bus: D.C.-N.Y. Travelers Line Up for Low Fares, High Value
With a new generation traveling between Washington and New York, the bus is making a comeback. To shake out the good from the bad, the comfortable from the dismal, Travel reporter Andrea Sachs dedicated a month of her life to riding the buses to New York, boarding nearly a dozen to figure out what makes these vehicles go 'round and 'round -- or go flat.

NASA touches down on Eastside

Man shocked by $8,000 cell bill
When it comes to "gotcha" fees, the cellular phone industry makes travel companies look like rank amateurs.
NASA touches down on Eastside

Some significant star power came to an Eastside company when shuttle astronauts visited Crane Aerospace to pay tribute to some of the little people who were a big part of their recent repair mission.

Faraway planet bombarded with Earth spam

Discovery launch put off until late Friday
NASA has reset the launch of space shuttle Discovery for just before midnight Friday after engineers determined a hydrogen fuel valve that raised concerns earlier this week was working properly.
'Moon rock' is just petrified wood

It's not green cheese, but it might as well be. The Dutch national museum said Thursday that one of its prized possessions, a rock supposedly brought back from the moon by U.S. astronauts, is just a piece of petrified wood.

On Its Third Try, Microsoft Finally Gets the Video Editor Right
Microsoft has a sometimes-undeserved reputation for needing three tries to get a product right, but in the case of Windows Movie Maker that description seems fair.
Faraway planet bombarded with Earth spam

REMEMBER a few weeks ago we reported that the public had been invited to send a message into space?

Well, this afternoon, poor Gliese 581d — a planet 20 light years away with no prior convictions — was bombarded with a giant wad of Earth spam.

More than 25,000 messages were hurtled toward the planet in a chunk of data that took two hours to send, reported Simon Jenkins for A.

Assuming that the average length of each message was 80 characters (the maximum was 160) and that of a junk message is 237*, that’s the equivalent of 8735 spam emails.

If there are any life forms on Gliese 581d, let’s hope they’re the forgiving type.

Pic: Students from the Karalundi community in West Australia visit the Tidbinbilla Deep Space complex as it spams the heavens / A

Among the thousands of messages were touching thoughts on peace, love and understanding.

But because it’s Friday afternoon I’ve ignored all of those ones to bring you a list of messages which deal with the more important aspects of life on Earth — booze, trampolines and rock and roll.

Our favourites:

“Hello Gliese 581d inhabitant. Can you help us humans travel through space and become smart like you. Please do not eat us we are a friendly race.”
Angus Pigott, Canberra, Australia

“Alien dude, need tickets to Pearl Jam.”
Kate, Logan City, Australia

“bet you didn’t think we actually existed aye”
Jodie, Wellington, New Zealand

“If you come to Earth look into: music, the beach, ice cream, hugs, family, love, dancing, cheese, trampolines, friendship, books and dreams. Just for a start.”
Tamasin, Richmond, Australia

“whats with the crop circles there so last lightyear. can u see my house. what do you eat. are you little red girl. bye”
frank, mooroobool, Australia

“Care to enlighten us about the beginning of the universe? We’ve narrowed it down to the Big Bang or God.”
Swirlz, Sydney, Australia

“QUICK HEADS UP: CARS ARE NOT THE SUPERIOR LIFEFORMS. DON’T WALK IN FRONT OF THEM OR OFFER THEM FLOWERS.”
Lucy, Killinchy, Ireland

“Hi from Earth! I need your help in my understanding Quantum Mechanics. Earth scientists can’t explain this very well in layman’s terms. Love Earth”
James, Auckland, New Zealand

“Hey, chances are you are far more advanced than us here on Earth. Our weaknesses are; cake and icecream. Please retro-fit your weapons to fire these things.”
Nate Cesco, Pembroke, Georgia

“Hi! Its sunny, 34 deg C and my wife and I are drunk. The beer is cold and the music is groovy. Hope you are having fun too!!”
Bil&Deb, Halifax, Canada

More reading:

“The antenna used to transit was beaming to 302 gigawatts or the equivalent energy of 302 billion mobile phones or every person on earth sending 50 texts at one time.” â€" Simon Jenkins for A

“This site collected goodwill messages from the public for 13 days in August 2009 which were transmitted to Gliese 581d, a planet outside our Solar System which may support life.” â€" Hello From Earth website

* This figure derived from a highly scientific examination of my Spam folder. Also, if anyone is having problems with their “meaty leaver”, I may have just the thing.

Microsoft apologizes for gaffe in online ad

Microsoft apologizes for gaffe in online ad
Software giant Microsoft apologized Wednesday for the apparent bad judgment that led to the head of a black model being swapped for that of a white model in an online advertisement.
U.K. File Sharers May Face Web Cut-off
The U.K. has joined France in trying to crack down on illegal downloading by instituting a policy whereby consumers found to repeatedly illegally download copyrighted material would have their Internet access suspended. This has commonly been called a "three strikes" policy, as usually the proposal is to give the offender three chances before suspending their access.

Portraits replacing Facebook, Twitter photos

Portraits replacing Facebook, Twitter photos
The art of portraiture, once reserved for the rich, the royal and the holy, has found a new mass appeal online. Some avid social-network users are commissioning artists to create small digital images to represent themselves in the online world.

Old-school portraits find Renaissance online

Old-school portraits find Renaissance online
The art of portraiture, once reserved for the rich, the royal and the holy, has found a new mass appeal online. Some avid social-network users are commissioning artists to create small digital images to represent themselves in the online world.
From the fields to the skies

When Discovery leaves the Earth for outer space, inside will be an astronaut who worked the fields as a child.

Security Fix Live
Security Fix blogger Brian Krebs answers your technology questions and offers ways to protect yourself from online security threats.

Bob Dylan in Talks to Serve as Voice of Car Makers' GPS Systems

Microsoft apologizes for gaffe in online ad
Software giant Microsoft apologized Wednesday for the apparent bad judgment that led to the head of a black model being swapped for that of a white model in an online advertisement.
Apple in hot water for 'exploding iPhones'

Investigation sparked ... Apple is co-operating with inquiries into multiple claims of exploding iPhones / New claims of devices exploding, shattering Apple co-operating with French inquiries Technology: More gadget news, reviews SIX new cases of "exploding iPhones" have emerged in France as Apple faces an official inquiry and calls to come ...

Bob Dylan in Talks to Serve as Voice of Car Makers' GPS Systems
Bob Dylan: folk-rock legend, poet-spokesman of his generation . . . and GPS voice?
Social networking out, streaming video in

IT’S been predicted for years — now it seems high-quality streaming video has finally become the hottest thing on the web.

One of the two noticeable trends in this year’s TIME list of the best 50 websites, released this week, was on-demand video services.

The other, unsurprisingly, was the promise of saving money.

Well known video sites like YouTube, Vimeo and US services Hulu and Netflix took their place on the list alongside some more surprising choices.

Academic Earth and Fora TV were both included for bringing high-brow video content — such as uni lectures and speeches from international conferences — to the online masses.

Hulu was praised for giving web users what they were after — on-demand TV shows — without having to turn to illegal file-sharing.

“Determined not to let what happened to the music industry happened to Hollywood, NBC and Fox teamed up,” TIME said of the site’s creation.

“If it aired recently on NBC, ABC or Fox, you’ll probably find it archived on Hulu.”

Hulu is unavailable in Australia due to licensing restrictions, but most local networks have launched similar sites since the success of ABC’s excellent iView service.

SBS, Seven, Nine and Ten now all stream full episodes of key shows — All Saints, Sea Patrol, Rush to name a few — on their websites.

The other trend on TIME‘s list was towards websites promising to save users money.

The magazine included sites like ConsumerSearch, Yelp and Kayak that help users find the best deals or read other people’s reviews of companies and products, as well as cut-price auction site Shop Goodwill and budget calculator Mint.

Another one, Supercook, offers recipes based on the ingredients you already have in your pantry, while CouchSurfing hooks travellers up with a (really) cheap place to stay.

Social networking sites, a few years ago the craze of the web, seem to have fallen from favour with no mention of previous inclusions LinkedIn, MySpace, Digg or Meebo.

However Twitter and Facebook both made this year’s list — the latter for the first time ever.

“If you’ve been avoiding Facebook because you’re concerned about privacy issues or worried you’ll lose your life to social networking, you’ve already spent too much time thinking about (it),” said TIME.

“Although it’s desperate to be more, Facebook is really just a phone book.”

More reading:

“Clear out your bookmarks. You’re going to need the space for 50 offerings that are indispensable to navigating, enjoying yourself, shopping or just killing time on the web.” — TIME‘s 50 Best Websites of 2009

New Report on Cell Phone Radiation Details Flaws in Industry Study
A new report again brings up the oft-asked question, "is there a link between cell phone use and brain tumors," AKA "do cell phones cause brain cancer." What's most interesting is that the report additionally details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study, which was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors with cell phone use, though its full publication has been held up for years.

Wikipedia: No longer the Wild West?

Wikipedia: No longer the Wild West?
Today's Internet is governed by the idea that crowds of people can create the news, share information and collaborate on online projects. So when Wikipedia, the user-written encyclopedia that's built an empire on this ideal, decided this week to add a layer of oversight to its system, the Web erupted in debate.

NASA may aim to launch Discovery on Friday

NASA may aim to launch Discovery on Friday
Space shuttle Discovery was scheduled to launch early Tuesday morning for a mission to deliver equipment to the international space station.
Tributes to Ted Kennedy

Nancy Reagan leads voices of sympathy as political figures worldwide line up to praise senator's public service Political friends and foes have paid tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy, who has died of a brain tumour .

New U.K. "Texting While Driving" PSA is Disturbing; Pulls No Punches
A new "texting while driving" PSA (public service announcement) from the U.K. pulls no punches. It also makes no attempt to hide the graphic consequences for someone distracted by their SMS messages while driving, either.

NASA scrubs Shuttle Discovery launch

NASA scrubs Shuttle Discovery launch
Space shuttle Discovery was scheduled to launch early Tuesday morning for a mission to deliver equipment to the international space station.

Discovery unveiled predawn, ready for launch

'Most dangerous' celebs to search for online
Be cautious if you plan to Bing Jessica Biel or Google Brad Pitt. A new report says you might get a virus.
Discovery unveiled predawn, ready for launch

LIVE IMAGES: The images above are from live video feeds in the Launch Complex 39 area at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA scrubs Shuttle Discovery launch

NASA scrubs Shuttle Discovery launch
Space shuttle Discovery was scheduled to launch early Tuesday morning for a mission to deliver equipment to the international space station.
S. Korea Seeks 4-Year Prison Term for Stem Cell Fraud

Stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk arrives for his trial at a court in Seoul June 19, 2007.

Apple to release Snow Leopard Friday

Apple to release Snow Leopard Friday
Snow Leopard, the highly anticipated new operating system for the Mac, will be released ahead of schedule Friday, Apple announced Monday.
Security Fix: Malware for Macs
Security researchers increasingly are finding that sites designed to trick the visitor into installing malicious software will serve different malware depending on whether the visitor arrives at the page using a Microsoft Windows PC or a Mac.

How social media can hurt your career

How social media can hurt your career
As social media becomes the latest branding strategy, networking technique, job seeking tool and recruitment vehicle, it's also becoming the latest way for people to get job offers rescinded, reprimanded at work and even fired.
Nokia Announces the Booklet 3G Netbook
Nokia, the leader in worldwide cell phone sales, announced on Monday it is developing a netbook, the Nokia Booklet 3G (Nokia-supplied photo above). The company has seen its earnings and market share drop as the iPhone has taken the world by storm.

What's a planet? Debate over Pluto rages on

What's a planet? Debate over Pluto rages on
For one of the farthest, coldest places in the solar system, Pluto stirs hot emotions here on Earth. It was three years ago that Pluto lost its status as a planet. But debate about that decision still rages on, especially among Pluto's cult of fans.

Will antitrust probe keep Microsoft, Yahoo apart?

Will antitrust probe keep Microsoft, Yahoo apart?

Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. hope that by joining forces, they can tilt the balance of power in Internet search away from Google Inc.

Md. Jurisdictions Seek Funds to Expand Broadband Internet Access
Montgomery, Prince George's and Howard counties and eight other Maryland jurisdictions are seeking $100 million in federal stimulus funds to expand their broadband Internet capabilities, an effort aimed at boosting productivity at local businesses and improving the emergency network for public...

Help File: Windows 7's 32- And 64-Bit Editions; Portscan Alerts On A Mac

12 annoying types of Facebookers
An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure -- a real-time, tiny window into a friend's life. But far more posts read like navel-gazing diary entries, this CNN writer argues.
Intel buys software company to exploit parallel programming

Intel has bought software company RapidMind in an attempt to speed up development of programs that exploit the power of Intel's multicore processors.

Help File: Windows 7's 32- And 64-Bit Editions; Portscan Alerts On A Mac
QWindows 7 will come with 32- and 64-bit editions in the box. Should I upgrade to 64-bit?

More signs pointing to an early Snow Leopard launch

The Snow Leopard version of the Mac Box Set appeared very briefly on Apple's online store late yesterday afternoon.

Fast Forward: TomTom and Navigon Get Lost on the iPhone

Coming-out stories of anonymous bloggers
Blog fans in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw PittGirl as their masked superhero -- a comedian and local commentator who jibed the mayor without reserve and ranted freely about her hatred of pigeons.
Reader comments

4, 2009 file photo, Space shuttle Discovery moves along it's path at sunrise to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Cananveral, Fla.

Fast Forward: TomTom and Navigon Get Lost on the iPhone
Did the developers get lost along the way? You might want to ask that after spending time with new turn-by-by-turn iPhone navigation programs from TomTom and Navigon.
MacChat: Microsoft plays nicer with Apple

THE outlook for Microsoft Exchange users on the Mac is bright, but will Mac users opt for Microsoft or Apple’s solution?

Mac users have historically been second-class citizens when it comes to Microsoft’s corporate email and collaboration standard, Exchange. While Windows users have enjoyed the full features and support of Outlook, Mac users have been stuck with Entourage which, while Mac-like, has had less than satisfactory Exchange compatibility.

But from next year they’ll be spoiled for choice. Not only will Mac OS X Snow Leopard (due next month or even next week) have system-level Exchange support, so Apple’s own Mail, iCal and Address Book apps, or any third-party app, can integrate with an Exchange server but Microsoft will release a full Mac version of Outlook as part of Office 2010 for Mac.

This will mean dumping the Carbon-based Entourage in favour of a ground-up rewrite of Outlook in OS X’s native Cocoa language.

The new Outlook for Mac promises full Exchange interoperability for Mac users, along with a high-speed file-based database compatible with Time Machine and Spotlight and information rights management to keep data secure.

In the meantime, existing Entourage users can download the free Entourage 2008 for Mac Web Services Edition, which makes performance and reliability improvements and enables users to sync tasks, notes and categories.

Microsoft also is simplifying its Office for Mac range, with just two editions: Business, and Home and Student. Office 2008 will be re-released in these two editions next month, including the new Entourage.

While Apple’s email, contact and calendaring apps have nicer interfaces, some users prefer the all-in-one approach of Entourage or Outlook.

Although Outlook for Mac has been a long time coming, it ironically comes at a time when Microsoft is less important to Mac users than ever. Now users have the choice of Google Apps for online collaboration, Apple’s iWork suite for productivity and FileMaker’s Bento for rolling Mail, Address Book and iCal together. Snow Leopard’s Exchange support will further negate the need for Mac users to have Microsoft software installed on their machines.

Adobe goes Intel-only

MEANWHILE, another major Mac software developer, Adobe Systems, has reaffirmed that the next version of its Creative Suite will jettison support for PowerPC Macs.

Adobe CS 5 will only run on Intel-based Macs, which the company says now account for 80 per cent of the installed base. Not bad, considering this Intel switch happened in 2006.

Apple’s own Mac OS X Snow Leopard, likewise, will only run on Intel Macs.

The Intel switch is the third major change to the Mac platform with which Adobe has had to contend, following the move to PowerPC in the mid-’90s and the transition to Mac OS X in 2001.

This time round some of its applications, such as SoundBooth and the new Premiere Pro, have been Intel-only from the start.

Ocean temperatures hit all-time high
Steve Kramer spent an hour and a half swimming in the ocean Sundayin Maine. The water temperature was 72 degreesmore like Ocean City, Md., this time of year. And Ocean City's water temp hit 88 degrees this week, toasty even by Miami Beach standards.

Company offers college textbooks for free

Company offers college textbooks for free
What did you do this summer? Flat World Knowledge stayed busy on campus and now has 40 times as many students and more than 10 times the colleges using their freemium, open-source digital textbooks as they did spring semester. And they did it the old-fashioned way -- one professor at a time.

Coming-out stories of anonymous bloggers

Coming-out stories of anonymous bloggers
Blog fans in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw PittGirl as their masked superhero -- a comedian and local commentator who jibed the mayor without reserve and ranted freely about her hatred of pigeons.
Study to look at wind power transmission needs

Several Midwest utilities, including Sioux Falls-based NorthWestern Energy, are studying the economics of building high-voltage transmission lines to carry wind energy to eastern markets.

Solar cell phones answer call to connect

Solar cell phones answer call to connect
Peter Gathungu walks more than a mile to a shopping center, where he pays a sizable sum to charge his cell phone.
The brain drain from Apple to Palm

Bloomberg reports that Palm rebuffed a request from Apple CEO Steve Jobs in August 2007 that the companies stop hiring each others employees.

New iPhone Navigation Programs Take Several Wrong Turns
Did the developers get lost along the way? You might want to ask that after spending time with TomTom and Navigon's new turn-by-by-turn iPhone navigation programs.

Australian Parliament passes law requiring 20 percent renewable energy by 2020

12 annoying types of Facebookers
An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure -- a real-time, tiny window into a friend's life. But far more posts read like naval-gazing diary entries, this CNN writer argues.
Australian Parliament passes law requiring 20 percent renewable energy by 2020

Australia's Parliament passed a law Thursday requiring that 20 percent of the country's electricity come from renewable sources such as the sun and wind by 2020, matching European standards and up from about 8 percent now.

Simon Cowell Calls Cops After Hackers Steal Leona Lewis Track

Sweet! New device 'tastes' sweeteners
A handheld device the size of a business card can be used to "taste" the sweetness in food and drinks, say researchers, who add that it could be an early step toward developing a fully artificial tongue.
Simon Cowell Calls Cops After Hackers Steal Leona Lewis Track

Simon Cowell reportedly called the cops after Leona Lewis ' new single made its way without permission onto the Internet, Britain's The Sun reported.

Personal Tech: Gadget News and Reviews
The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro discusses recent reviews and answers your personal tech questions.

Windows 7 Half the Price in the U.K.
For once, the U.K., which frequently gets the shaft in technology cost comparisons vs. the U.S., is going to do better than the U.S. Quite a bit better, at least for now, with C|Net discovering that they're getting a 50% price advantage on Windows 7.

Microsoft asks for stay of Word injunction

Strangers gather on Web to make collective art
One of the Web's basic tenets is that small contributions from lots of people can amount to something powerful in the aggregate. Now, a growing group of writers, musicians, visual artists and videographers is turning this Wikipedia-era philosophy into online collaborative art.
Microsoft asks for stay of Word injunction

Microsoft on Tuesday asked an appeals court to halt an injunction that would force the company to stop selling Microsoft Word in its current form.

Study: Ancient farmers started global warming

Study: Ancient farmers started global warming
Ancient man may have started global warming through massive deforestation and burning that could have permanently altered the Earth's climate, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
Ford plans vehicles to interact with power grids

Sam VarnHagen By KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON August 18, 2009 5:53 PM EDT DEARBORN, Mich.

Cell Service to Expand on Metro
Crews began installing equipment early Monday that will provide Verizon, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile service in 20 of the busiest underground stations in the Metrorail system, the transit agency announced Tuesday.

Apple's September Event Dated, Music-Focused
Surprise, surprise! The September Apple event, which has occurred every September since 2005, is apparently going to be on September 9th (the week of the 7th had already been leaked) and be music-focused. The event will also not cover anything about the much-rumored iTablet (or iPad) tablet PC.

UFO sightings detailed in UK documents

UFO sightings detailed in UK documents
An alien with a lemon-shaped head and a jazz-themed encounter with a UFO at the Glastonbury Festival are among hundreds of UFO encounters detailed in the latest batch of documents released Monday by the UK's Ministry of Defence.

Giant telescopes to reveal ancient universe

Giant telescopes to reveal ancient universe
Astronomers are holding their breath to see what they'll discover with a new generation of huge telescopes set to be built around the world. Peering ever deeper into space and further back in time, the powerful devices will be able to show what the universe was like when it was just a few hundred million years old.
Bing rings up search gains, dinging Google, Yahoo

SAN FRANCISCOMicrosoft Corp.'s souped-up Internet search engine gained a little more ground on industry leaders Google Inc.

Study: Future wars will include cyberattacks

Study: Future wars will include cyberattacks
An independent research group predicts that cyberwarfare will accompany future military conflicts and is recommending international action to blunt its impact.
Lifea s building blocks found in comet

AnA artist's conceptA of the Stardust spacecraft on its flight through gas and dust around comet Wild 2. updated Aug.

Three Indicted in Identity-Theft Case
A federal grand jury has indicted three people on charges of hacking into the files of the credit and debit card processing giant Heartland Payment Systems last year in what the Justice Department is calling the largest identity-theft case ever prosecuted.

China pulls back on private computer filters

China pulls back on private computer filters
Individual computer users in China may choose whether to install a controversial content filtering system, but the system will be installed on computers in any public place, China's minister of Industry and Information Technology said Thursday.

Gmail Moves Into #3 Among Email Services
As we move more and more toward "all things Google," it might surprise people to learn that Google's Gmail was, until recently, mired in 4th place among email vendors. That's where it was until new comScore estimates for July 2009.

Designing an Internet for kids

Designing an Internet for kids
More kids than ever are roaming around the Internet.
Mass. eyes forests as energy source

In its push for renewable energy, Massachusetts is hoping to add wood-burning power plants to the list of green power options that already include wind turbines and solar panels.

Drug-resistant swine flu cases discovered in patients in Seattle

Health care expands with wireless monitoring
Cardiologist Steven Greenberg keeps tabs on his patients around the clock, but he doesn't have to lose much sleep to do so. Increasingly, wireless devices, including pacemakers, help physicians monitor their patients' health from afar.
Drug-resistant swine flu cases discovered in patients in Seattle

The country's first cases of drug-resistant swine flu were discovered in two leukemia patients in Seattle, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Blasting Neutrinos Under Wisconsin May Yield Big Payoff
Scientists are playing an exotic game of pitch and catch between Illinois and Minnesota. Their catcher's mitt is solid iron, weighs 5,500 tons, and is parked in northern Minnesota in an abandoned iron mine. With millions of dollars from the federal stimulus package, construction crews are now...

Microsoft Pushing 'Bucket of Money' For Zune HD App Dev?

BLOGS Is Microsoft reaching out to hotshot iPhone app developers in hopes of making Zune HD a new applications paradise? It appears so, thanks to reports of developers who claim contact with Microsoft and have said they've been promised a "bucket of money" to develop new apps for the Zune HD.

Help File: Using MobileMe Mail With Your Own Domain Name; A Missing Verizon DVR Feature
Q: Can I use my own domain name with my MobileMe e-mail account?

Twitter hacker controlled infected PCs

Hack attack ... the Twitter account posted garbled messages which were commands for infected PCs / File Researcher discovers new hacker threat Twitter account controlled infected PCs Technology: More gadget news, reviews A TWITTER account was secretly being used to control computers infected by a virus, researcher says.

IE 8 is Microsoft's champion

MICROSOFT is touting freshly-launched Internet Explorer 8 as its champion in the competitive Web browser arena, urging holdouts to upgrade from earlier versions of the software.

A Look At The Smart Phone Industry's Market Growth

Apple's smartphone market share growth over 1 year has been 10 times that of any other of its competitors. However, Apple is still only third in line when counting the number of units sold by each major smartphone manufacturer. Nokia is first, selling a whopping 18,441,000 in the 2nd quarter of 2009, and RIM (Blackberry) is 2nd with 7,678,900 units sold.

Apple Plans September Media Event
Reports are that Apple plans a media event for the week of Sept. 7th (it won't be the 7th because that's Labor Day). Now the question, as always: what are they going to introduce?

Shooting the boss -- and getting paid for it

Shooting the boss -- and getting paid for it
On Friday afternoons in the office, Kevin Grinnell's employees often thank him by singling him out and shooting him in the head. (Only virtually, of course.)Companies are turning more to video games as a way of building bridges between employees, or even between employees and management.

China pulls back on computer filters

China pulls back on computer filters
Individual computer users in China may choose whether to install a controversial content filtering system, but the system will be installed on computers in any public place, China's minister of Industry and Information Technology said Thursday.

Under All the Right Conditions, Latest Windows Upgrade Could Be a Breeze

NASA falling short of asteroid-detection goals
Without more funding, NASA will not meet its goal of tracking 90 percent of all deadly asteroids by 2020, according to a report released today by the National Academy of Sciences.
Next version of Microsoft Office for Mac due by end of 2010

Both Macworld and CNET are reporting that the next version of Microsoft Office for Mac will be due by the end of 2010.

Under All the Right Conditions, Latest Windows Upgrade Could Be a Breeze
Two months from now, Windows users will have a chance to fix what's broken or break what's working. But they may not know which path they chose until after they've installed Windows 7.

Best Buy won't honor $9.99 TV deal

Best Buy won't honor $9.99 TV deal
The price of big screen televisions has been coming down, but this was ridiculous.
Hissing, Shattering iPhone Injures Teen's Eye
Less than two weeks after another hot issue (pun intended) regarding exploding devices, Apple is back in the news again. In this case, unlike the prior incident, where the owner was unhurt, the victim suffered eye injuries.

Wallet of the future? Your mobile phone

Wallet of the future? Your mobile phone
These days, it seems that most Americans carry three things in their pockets or purses at all times: keys, a wallet and a phone. In the not-too-distant future, you may be able to leave the wallet and the keys behind. The mobile phone is staging a coup.

Faster Forward: Facebook Soups Up Search

Think you deleted your cookies? Think again
More than half of the Internet's top websites use a little known capability of Adobe's Flash plugin to track users and store information about them, but only four of them mention the so-called Flash Cookies in their privacy policies, UC Berkeley researchers found.
Researchers see dramatic drop in Indian groundwater; fear severe water shortages

Excessive irrigation and the unrelenting thirst of tens of millions of people are causing groundwater levels in northern India to drop dramatically, a problem that could lead to severe water shortages, according to a study released Wednesday.

Faster Forward: Facebook Soups Up Search
Everybody's favorite waste of time is adding a new source of distraction: Facebook is upgrading its search tool to find far more of the content generated by the sprawling social network's 250-million-plus users.

Judge to Microsoft: Stop Selling Word
Judge Leonard Davis, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ruled Tuesday that Microsoft can no longer sell Microsoft Word in the United States due to patent infringement.

Mapping the world, one street at a time

Mapping the world, one street at a time
Ever wondered how those folks at Google got a map to your front door? They rely on the services of companies like Tele Atlas, whose drivers span the globe in GPS-equipped cars with 360-degree-view cameras and lasers mounted on top. The ultimate goal? Digitize every road, building and sign in the world.

Tweeting in labor: 'Epidural, yes please'

Tweeting in labor: 'Epidural, yes please'
The wife of Twitter CEO Evan Williams has opened up the delivery room to the world and is posting updates to Twitter while she prepares to give birth. The real-time drama of Sara Williams' labor is calling attention to what seems to be a growing trend of pregnant moms and dads posting online about their pregnancies.
Sprint Announces 17 More WiMax Markets

Sprint is busy with a lot of things, from pushing the Palm Pre, to expecting the release of the network's first Android phone, and trying to keep those needed subscribers in their ranks.

The Price of Failure
I'm not predicting that health care reform will go down in flames.
MacChat: Changing face of the iPod

IT’S the end of the iPod as we know it.

An interesting titbit emerged from Apple’s recent quarterly financial results. After redefining the digital music industry in its relatively brief eight-year history, the iconic iPod media player has fallen behind its Mac and iPhone stablemates in terms of revenue.

The iPod family accounted for 18 per cent of Apple’s total revenue last quarter, down from more than half at its 2006 peak. This follows iPod sales registering their first drop in the previous quarter.

It was only a matter of time. As smartphones with multimedia functions become more popular, it stands to reason there will be less demand for dedicated media players such as the iPod.

For Apple fans, the iPod is becoming just as familiar as an icon on the iPhone’s home screen as it is a stand-alone device.

Apple has been preparing for the inevitable these past couple of years, with the iPod touch positioned as an intermediate device between the iPod range and the hit iPhone.

While labelled an iPod, and counted as such in sales figures, the iPod touch is more like an iPhone in design and function. Like the iPhone, its 60,000-plus apps makes it the device of 1001 uses.

As the iPod touch gains storage capacity – the next refresh will most likely take it to 48GB or even 64GB – the iPod classic’s main advantage, its mass storage, begins to diminish.

And the iPod touch may gain a camera and compass like its iPhone big brother.

But the iPod classic, nano and shuffle maintain a simplicity and portability advantage over the iPhone and iPod touch, and will continue to appeal to consumers who value these attributes, and just want a media player. Meanwhile, the iPod touch will sell to those who want iPhone features without the phone service contract.

The iPod will be credited as the device that restored Apple as a mainstream force in consumer electronics, giving Mac sales a “halo effect” and setting the stage for the iPhone.

Despite its slow decline as a dedicated media player, the iPod is not going away any time soon, whether it’s as a stand-alone device or that little icon on the iPhone’s home screen.

Rogue Wi-Fi hotspots pose security threat

Rogue Wi-Fi hotspots pose security threat
You're sitting in an airport lounge and seize the chance to check your e-mails before your flight departs. You log on and are tempted by a wireless Internet provider offering free Internet access. So, do you take it?
SEO Practitioners Jittery Over Google's Caffeine?
On Monday Google announced a top-secret initiative it's been working on: a new indexing and ranking technology for Google's search engine , called Google Caffeine. While most probably won't notice much difference, those interested in driving Web searchers to their sites might find the consequences dire.

Facebook buys FriendFeed: Is this a big deal?

Facebook buys FriendFeed: Is this a big deal?
Facebook has acquired FriendFeed, a Bay Area-based startup that helps aggregate all of a user's social networking activity feeds in one place. But this is not as ridiculously huge of a deal as the Silicon Valley hype machine is going to have you believe.
Chevrolet Volt to Achieve 230 MPG: GM
General Motors (GM) said on Tuesday that its new Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric car is expected to get 230 MPG in city driving. This would be more than 4x the mileage of the current MPG champion, the Toyota Prius .

VMware goes shopping: Buys SpringSource for $420 million; Can it keep the open source mojo?

VMware said Monday that it will pay $420 million for privately held SpringSource in a bid to become a bigger player in cloud computing application management and the open source community.

Montgomery, Md., Planning Director's Technology Spending Under Reviewed
Auditors looking at credit card spending at the Montgomery County planning agency are examining several technology purchases that appear to have been authorized by Planning Director Rollin Stanley in violation of agency procedures, but they have found no evidence of illegal activity, a top agency...
Putting Google’s new search engine to the test

GOOGLE today released a preview of its overhauled search engine, with an “under the hood” infrastructure upgrade.

But what does all that mean for us? If it looks the same and works the same â€" at least on the front-end â€" is there any difference?

Mashable has reported the new engine has a slight speed increase â€" though it’s not really noticeable. Google Search is already pretty fast.

The main difference is that some of the search results have been tweaked, presumably to increase accuracy and compete with Microsoft’s Bing engine which has been growing in popularity.

To find out what impact the overhaul will have on users, we tested the three engines â€" old Google, the new version and Bing â€" on three search terms.

Search terms

First, I went searching for general information on Australian author Christos Tsiolkas by entering his name.

Second, I looked for the details of a concert I want to go to on Friday night â€" Sixfthick playing The Gaelic Club in Sydney supporting X.

Third, I looked for the name of the actress who plays Tony Soprano’s shrink in The Sopranos.

Yes, these are the sort of things I Google.

Results

christos tsiolkas

A mix. All three engines return the author’s profile on Wikipedia as the first result.

After that Google lists the site of Tsiolkas’s management, Smart Artists, and Readings bookstore (which includes an interview and link to buy his novels), as well as links to interviews and reviews in several magazines.

Bing has Smart Artists as well but pushes the Readings link further down the page. It does include some things I didn’t know about, including an article by Tsiolkas for Flash journal. It also links to his entry in the Australian Literature database (AustLit).

sixfthick gaelic club

Bing wins this one outright. Then Google and, in last place, the new engine.

The new Google engine goes heavy on YouTube results for the band, then a review of a gig from 2005 and, eventually, a rudimentary listing for Friday’s show on a website I’ve never heard of. Normal Google has the same listing, but as the third result.

Bing has better links. The third result is a listing for the gig on MySpace. The fifth is even better â€" a listing on Time Out Sydney that includes the time, price, address, phone number, Google Map, YouTube video and related gigs.

The show listing on Time Out is actually for X â€" the band that Sixfthick are supporting on the night. Bing is the only one that’s smart enough to figure out the connection.

the sopranos psychiatrist

Google wins this one. The results on the current engine and the new one are almost identical. They begin with a page on HBO’s site that has everything I need in the title: “HBO: Dr Jennifer Melfi, played by Lorraine Bracco: The Sopranos”.

After that Google links to an interesting excerpt from Bracco’s memoir and several excellent essays about the show.

Bing includes some of these links, but they’re not as prominent. It focuses on an episode of the show called “Guy Walks Into A Psychiatrist’s Office” instead of the actual character. Not as useful.

Conclusion

There’s no huge difference for everyday users between the current version of Google and the new engine the company unveiled today.

However it was surprising to see how useful Microsoft Bing can be for some searches â€" especially, it seems, for local events.

More reading:

“Google’s new search has a focus on increasing speed, relevancy, accuracy, and the index volume, things that Microsoft really hit on when it released Bing. The end result is a better search experience for the user. Competition really does breed innovation.” â€" Ben Parr on Mashable

Rogers Website Seems to Confirm 8GB iPhone 3GS
In what was a mistake, either in posting information too early, or just a formatting error, a Rogers web page earlier today seemed to confirm earlier reports of an 8GB iPhone 3GS. The earlier report came via leaked documents.

'Mommy bloggers' vow to avoid ethical conflicts

'Mommy bloggers' vow to avoid ethical conflicts
The most popular "mommy bloggers" attract companies that send them free products in the hopes of getting positive coverage. But after readers complained they could no longer trust the blogs' advice, some women bloggers are taking steps to fight what they fear is a backlash against their profession.

Kepler telescope makes early discovery

Kepler telescope makes early discovery
NASA's Kepler space telescope has already made a discovery, and its science operations aren't even officially under way yet.

Veterinarians using stem cells to treat animals

Lucy the Labradoodle scoots along the ground to grab a bone. At only 5 years old, she's unable to walk, crippled by rheumatoid arthritis that has rendered her back limbs unusable.

An Old-Fashioned Web Site
After a quarter-century as a military correspondent, David Wood knew the drill as he reported from Afghanistan last week, in helmet and flak jacket, on the intricacies of the U.S. war effort.

EU defends action against Intel after report leaked

A US computer chip giant Intel factory is pictured in Leixlip, near Dublin, Ireland in July 2009.

Help File: Debugging a ZoneAlarm Browser Issue; Search Engine Tips
Q. Ever since I upgraded to Firefox 3.5, downloads from the Web have stopped working for me.

U.S. Stem Cell Research Seems to Focus on Two Lines

Only two of 21 approved human embryonic stem cell lines are routinely used by researchers in the United States, says a new study.

Pro-Georgian blogger target of Twitter attack

Pro-Georgian blogger target of Twitter attack
The blogger believed to be the target of the "denial-of-service" attack that brought down Twitter Thursday has told CNN the cyber assault was politically motivated and timed to coincide with the one year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia conflict.
Twitter attack triggers conspiracy theories but few seem plausible

The same week that the Obama Administration lost its acting cyber security czar , cyber attacks torpedoed several of the Web's most popular social-networking sites, in particular Twitter and Facebook .

Science and Tech Firms Find Like Minds in Ballston
California has Silicon Valley. Dulles has the technology corridor. And Ballston has its own "science corridor," a quaint little neighborhood overflowing with science and technology-related organizations and outfits.

Twitter blackout left users feeling 'naked'

Twitter blackout left users feeling 'naked'
Near-panic erupted in some corners of the Internet Thursday as attacks on Twitter and Facebook left users without cherished links to their online friends, family members and news feeds. One expert says the blackout shows how online social networking is "deeply woven" into people's lives.

Pro-Georgian blogger target of Twitter attack

Pro-Georgian blogger target of Twitter attack
The blogger believed to be the target of the "denial-of-service" attack that brought down Twitter Thursday has told CNN the cyber assault was politically motivated and timed to coincide with the one year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia conflict.
Researcher: Microsoft may launch 'month of ATL' patches on Tuesday

Microsoft today said it would deliver nine security updates next Tuesday, all but one affecting Windows.

The Smartphone Industry Has Some Clunkers of Its Own
After a few months of rapid progress this summer, the smartphone industry probably deserves some time off in August. And to judge from two new, Web-connected, GPS-enabled, photo-and-video-capable phones, it's doing exactly that.

Renewable energy trailer on display

Twitter hit by denial-of-service attack
An attack on Twitter shut the social-networking site down for at least two hours Thursday, causing headaches in the online community and glitches in other Web sites like Facebook. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said the site was hit with a "denial of service attack," or an attempt to shut the site down by overwhelming it with traffic.
Renewable energy trailer on display

On Thursday, Mobile Gen showed off its prototype renewable energy trailer in Muskegon.It uses four types of energywind, solar, battery and propane, and works as a hot water heater.

Why consumers won't buy tablets

Why consumers won't buy tablets
Rumors have it Apple is a month away from announcing a tablet computer. Another tablet, the Crunchpad, is also due for imminent release.

Starcraft 2 Delayed Until 2010: Blizzard

The howls of anguish from Korea could be heard across the universe. Yes, even in space, where they can't hear you scream, you could hear the "Nooooo!" as Blizzard officially announced that Starcraft 2 has been delayed to 2010.

Web citizens try to kill IE 6 browser

Web citizens try to kill IE 6 browser
Some Web designers are staging an online revolt against an old version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, which they say is hampering the ability of the Web to move forward in a cool and interactive way.

Personal Tech: Gadget News and Reviews

Obama commits $2.4 billion for greener cars
President Obama announced Wednesday that the federal government will provide $2.4 billion in grants for the development of more fuel-efficient, battery-powered automobiles.
Grants aim to rev alternative vehicle technology

Biden told an audience that the U.S. needs to build on the city's "rich past" for the state's auto-dependent economy to recover.

Personal Tech: Gadget News and Reviews
The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro discusses recent reviews and answers your personal tech questions.

Microsoft Courts iPhone Developers to Port Apps to Windows Mobile
Microsoft, obviously noting the sheer number of apps being written for the iPhone (and not Windows Mobile) has decided to take action, and try to convince developers that the "more mobile platforms, the better." It's written a case study on how to port from the iPhone to Windows Mobile 6.5.

New phone apps seek to 'augment' reality

New phone apps seek to 'augment' reality
Imagine a world where you point your cell phone at a person or place and tiny clouds of information -- a home's 'for sale' price, someone's Twitter posts -- pop up on the screen. It's already here. A coming wave of "augmented reality" apps merge the physical world with data from the Internet.

Report: Early costs of climate bill will be modest

Scientists study 'garbage patch' in Pacific
It is a problem of massive plastic proportions -- a giant floating debris field, composed mostly of bits and pieces of plastic, in the northwest Pacific Ocean, about a thousands miles off the coast of California.
Report: Early costs of climate bill will be modest

Climate change legislation before Congress would boost electricity prices by about 20 percent by 2030, although most of the increases wouldn't begin until after 2020, a government analysis concluded Tuesday.

Taxpayer may pay for green failures

Pentagon reviewing its social media policy
The Pentagon is reviewing its policy concerning the access by military personnel to social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Taxpayer may pay for green failures

The failure of Government departments to cut emissions could leave the taxpayer facing large bills under a new carbon trading scheme coming into force next year, MPs have warned.

American Blogger in Paris: David Lebovitz Dispels Romance, Maintains Flavor
PARIS -- One taste of the caramelized white chocolate ice cream he has just pulled from the freezer, and David Lebovitz has an opinion: "I think it's missing something. Ginger? No. Kirsch? No. Baileys? Would that be weird?"
MacChat: Apple’s healthy green glow

HOW green is our Apple? Greener than ever, apparently.

After copping a beating from eco-warriors Greenpeace in recent years, the consumer electronics giant has redeemed itself, making its products more environmentally friendly. Greenpeace has now shifted its focus to HP, the world’s biggest PC maker (picture: Greenpeace).

Greenpeace originally charged that Apple was not doing all it could to phase out harmful substances and practices in the manufacture of its Macs, iPhones and iPods.

Apple proponents argued the company was being unfairly targeted because of its high profile and publicity value, and there were worse offenders in the industry.

But that didn’t stop Apple from improving its green credentials. Its products are now largely made of recyclable glass and aluminium, and no longer contain harmful chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). It has eliminated mercury and arsenic from its displays and used more energy-efficient LED backlighting.

A recent MacBook ad campaign touted the range’s eco-friendliness, and Apple has earned a highly-prized gold rating with EPEAT.

As part of its recycling efforts, Apple also now offers to take back used computers in 95 per cent of the regions in which it sells its products.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace has taken the fight to HP, last week spray-painting “Hazardous Products” on the roof of its global headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and enlisting Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, to leave an admonishing voicemail for HP staff.

Greenpeace claims HP postponed a 2007 pledge to remove toxic chemicals from its products.

And, for once, Apple was used as a positive environmental example.

“Apple’s new computer lines, (which are) virtually free of PVC and completely BFR-free, demonstrate the technical feasibility and supply-chain readiness of producing alternatives to these hazardous substances,” Greenpeace said on its website.

The Mac helped Captain Kirk save the whales in 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Perhaps in 2009 it will help him save the planet.Creative pros make the cut

LEST you thought Apple was neglecting the creative pros who have been its core market over the years, the company has unveiled major upgrades to its audio and video-editing suites.

Final Cut Pro, that Apple claims now controls half the pro video market, features more ProRes codecs, an Easy Export feature and iChat collaboration. Motion features more graphic and visual effects and SoundTrack Pro new multitrack audio tools. Color is better integrated with Final Cut Pro, while Compressor is easier to set up and customise output. They’re all in Final Cut Studio that sells for $1499 (upgrade $449).

On the audio side, Logic Pro has new plug-ins for realistic virtual guitar amps and stomp-box effects and a new set of Flex Time tools for manipulating timing and tempo. MainStage has new Playback and Loopback plugins for backing tracks and real-time loop recording. Soundtrack Pro 3 and Compressor also are included in Logic Studio that sells for $749 (upgrade $299).

More details at apple.com/au/finalcutstudio and apple.com/au/logicstudio

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Intel uses Facebook for computer grid project

In a bid to make higher levels of computer processing power available cancer research, Intel is creating a volunteer computing application built on the Facebook platform that allows people to donate their PCsa unused processor power to medical research projects such as Rosetta@home. Rosetta@home uses the additional computing power to help find ...

Hanging with hackers can make you paranoid

Hanging with hackers can make you paranoid
At Defcon this year, the iPhone, surveillance video feeds, e-parking meters and the security underlying the Domain Name System were all said to be up for attack. Attendees had plenty to fear and security experts themselves weren't spared.

‘I can has fake email’the Utegate scandal, as told by LOLCats

Sifting through the world's e-waste
Clouds of black smoke from burning plastic hang over the sites of Nigeria's vast dumps, as tiny figures pick their way through slicks of oily water, past cracked PC monitors and television screens.
Clearwire to bring WiMax to 10 more markets

Clearwire, which is using Sprint Nextel's 2.5GHz spectrum to build a nationwide 4G wireless network, announced Monday 10 more markets that will get the company's Clear WiMax wireless broadband services starting September 1. Eight of the newly announced cities are in Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Killeen/Temple, ...

Google CEO Leaving Apple Board
Apple said Monday that Google chief executive Eric Schmidt was resigning from its board to avoid potential conflicts as the two companies become greater rivals.
‘I can has fake email’the Utegate scandal, as told by LOLCats

NEED to catch up on how the whole Utegate thing started? Want to see Kevin Rudd portrayed as a screaming kitty? Enjoy burgers with cheese?

Then you need Utegate, as told by LOLCats.

Today’s explosive interview with Godwin Grech in The Australian has brought the Utegate scandal back to the front page.

But for those who need a quick refresher on how it all got started, the lolpolz blog has a brilliant recap made with LOLCat images.

Highlights include Malcolm Turnbull as a hound with glasses, Godwin Grech as an incredibly cute mole and Kerry O’Brien grilling the leaders as a stately red fox.

Pic: Godwin Grech and Kerry O’Brien recreated as LOLCats. Or LOLAnimals. Or whatever.

More:

#utegate on Twitter â€" http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23utegate

Musical robot has 'egotistical desire for fame'

Musical robot has 'egotistical desire for fame'
Like an aspiring indie band, the Cybraphon has many instruments, plays them on an irregular schedule, likes to have an audience around it -- and obsesses over comments on its blog, the number of friends it has on Facebook and how many fans follow it on MySpace.

Robot's mood powers its music

Robot's mood powers its music
Like an aspiring indie band, the Cybraphon has many instruments, plays them on an irregular schedule, likes to have an audience around it -- and obsesses over comments on its blog, the number of friends it has on Facebook and how many fans follow it on MySpace.
AT&T Throws Apple Under the Bus for GV Rejection
The FCC has begun investigating the rejection of Google Voice from the App Store, and to that end has sent letters to all involved (Google, Apple, and AT&T). While AT&T has yet to fully respond to the FCC's inquiry, it has already basically said "don't look at us!"

An online job finder for MBAs

An online job finder for MBAs
In a tough job market, MBA graduates seeking top-tier jobs are turning to a career networking site created by and catering to young professionals.
Apple 'tries to silence man and his daughter over exploding iPod'

Last week it emerged that Apple has been trying to stop publicity about iPod digital music players overheating and bursting into flames in the US Photo: PLE Ken Stanborough, 47, said he had tried to claim a refund for his daughter Ellie's iPod Touch after he had dropped the device which then allegedly overheated and blew up.

Google CEO Resigns From Apple Board
Google CEO Eric Schmidt is resigning from the board of technology giant Apple, a move that come as federal anti-trust regulators review the board ties between the competing Silicon Valley firms.

Google launches rare ad campaign to sell more apps

Google Inc. is so well known that it has become a synonym for search, making advertising unnecessary.

Robots help cope with illness

ROBOTS that can cook, dance to Michael Jackson songs or guide the blind are among the gadgets aimed at helping humans cope with illnesses on display in Spain at one of the world's biggest annual gatherings of new technology enthusiasts.

Astronauts return to Earth as space shuttle Endeavour lands safely

Astronaut Koichi Wakata of the Japanese space agency JAXA, and other crew members take part in a news conference after they returned to Earth aboard the space shuttle Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 31, 2009.

With Twitter's Arrival, NFL Loses Control of Image Game
Thousands of fans gathered in Ashburn last week for the opening of Redskins training camp, separated from their oversize heroes by a long barricade. But when the players left the field and returned to the locker room, fans suddenly had unprecedented access to the players' thoughts and whims through...

Legal battle puts Skype's future in jeopardy

Legal battle puts Skype's future in jeopardy
A legal battle is endangering the future of Skype. If Skype loses the right to use a key part of its software and can't create an adequate replacement, "Skype's business as currently conducted would likely not be possible."

Hacking the 'smart grid': New generations of meters could be vulnerable to attack

The race to build a "smarter" electrical grid could have a dark side. Security experts are starting to show the dangers of equipping homes and businesses with new meters that enable two-way communication with utilities.

Sector to WatchSolar Energy

First Solar and Evergreen Solar Fall as Prices Squeeze Margins; First Solar Plans to Offer Rebates in Germany to Increase Sales

Fast Forward: The Lowdown on Lightweight Laptops
Laptop computers have taken over the market from desktops, but along the way many of them have become the functional equivalent of their desk-bound cousins.