Technology

CROWDFUNDING SPOTLIGHT

Panono Throws Photography for a Loop

Here's a new take on the point-and-shoot camera: It's the throw-and-catch camera. Called "Panono," this throwable, panoramic device contains multiple fixed-focus cameras that shoot simultaneously, allowing you to capture "everything in every direction," in the words of its creators, who are now seek...

Qualcomm on Monday announced its Toq smartwatch will be available on Dec. 2 for $350. The Toq is compatible with Android-powered smartphones. Wearers can accept or reject phone calls and view text messages and other notifications via a Bluetooth connection. It features Qualcomm's WiPower LE tech...

TECH TREK

Microchips May Haunt Tombstone Thieves

A private company in South Africa has created "Memorial Alert," a microchip-based technology designed to thwart tombstone robberies. There recently has been a spate of these crimes in Johannesburg. The microchip is inserted into a memorial. When it is disturbed, it will sound an alarm and send a tex...

Google and Microsoft have ramped up their efforts to fight online child porn following months of pressure by the office of UK Prime Minister James Cameron. Among other things, the two have created a blacklist of search terms for which results will be blocked. When Cameron asked Google and Microsoft ...

OPINION

How Amazon - Not IBM - Will Kill AWS

I went public last week with my opinion that IBM eventually will beat Amazon Web Services, even though Amazon won the first skirmish. I was referring only to the federal government, not the largely user-based market Amazon currently serves, but I was less than precise. One of the tweets taking me to...

A developing technology using an ultra-thin layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure could start revolutionizing consumer electronics and many other industries in less than five years. Known as "graphene," the material's special strength and conductivity make it an ideal component of ...

Sony's first new console in seven years, the PlayStation 4, hit the market Friday, but the launch was not without its glitches. Among the reported hardware problems were some complete failures. Less catastrophic, some systems would not output a signal through HDMI. Some issues cropped up following i...

TECH TREK

Google Reveals Skyrocketing US Data Requests

The U.S. government once again heads the list of those requesting data from Google, and lately it's been asking for a lot more. Google's Transparency Report, a twice-a-year reminder of how often governments ask for information, says that the U.S. submitted 10,918 requests for 21,683 user accounts du...

WHICH APPS DO I NEED?

All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Apps for the Home

Here's a look at the top five free Windows 8 apps for the home. Among the offerings covered in this week's All Things Appy are apps for Windows 8-based home-tech hacking on the cheap -- or not so cheap -- plus cooking, home repair, gawking and some spiritual guidance. Remodelista, for example, incl...

IBM plans to open up its Watson cognitive platform, allowing developers to access it in the cloud starting next year. The technology is based on its Watson supercomputer. Participants will build apps incorporating Watson's cognitive computing intelligence. A cognitive computing system is "capable of...

TECH TREK

Italy Investigates Apple's Hidden Billion

Italian authorities are investigating Apple for allegedly hiding 1 billion euros -- about $1.34 billion -- from the taxman. Prosecutors in Milan claim that Apple didn't declare more than $250 million in 2010 and more than $1 billion in 2011. Apple's Italian subsidiary booked some profits with an Iri...

One of the great things about Twitter is the ability to keep abreast of what's happening. Whether it's local news, influential tweeters or buddies, you can quickly get a snapshot of what's going on that matters to you. I've written before about how to get breaking news on Twitter, but the approach I...

There's a campaign afoot to put a 3D printer in every school in America. MakerBot -- along with education crowdsourcer DonorsChoose.org, America Makes and Autodesk -- on Tuesday announced MakerBot Academy. Individuals and businesses can contribute money to the initiative through DonorsChoose.org. Th...

TECH TREK

Activists Press UN to Ban Killer Robots

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots -- this is a real thing -- has implored the United Nations to use this week's talks in Geneva to ban the development of fully autonomous weapons -- aka, killer robots. Hearkening to the plot of Terminator 2, the group said that such weapons would be able to select ...

Robotic instruments that could be programmed to play music, respond to human musicians, and even improvise were a source of fascination for Steven Kemper during his graduate student days. To bring to life his machine music vision, Kemper and colleagues Scott Barton and Troy Rogers founded Expressive...

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