Technology

This is becoming an interesting summer. As we cook under the effects of "mythical" global warming, tech vendors have been busy getting ready for the second half of the year. I've had a chance to review the multi-vendor FlexGo announcement and think there is a broader play here then we initially real...

Sony BMG and Yahoo are teaming up to provide online music downloads in the popular, flexible MP3 format without the usual digital rights management (DRM) controls, but for about twice the price of a typical title download. The Yahoo Music release is limited to a single song from Jessica Simpson that...

Today's youth are at risk of going deaf relatively early in life because they are listening to MP3 players that are too loud, too often, according to a new report. A survey of 1,000 Britons between the ages of 16 and 34, conducted by Specsavers Hearcare and Deafness Research UK, found that 14 percen...

As the country gears up for the November elections and online communities start to buzz, it's instructive to look back at the way image myths were created, even with the openness of the Internet. The Howard Dean campaign is one example. During the 2004 election, the Dean campaign was credited with ...

Google has launched a new service for the visually and learning impaired designed to make search easier by ranking search results according to how clean, or easy-to-read the Web pages are. Called Accessible Search, Google's latest tweak to its search engine comes out of Google Labs. According to its...

As a groundswell of support in this country is building for the development of biofuels as an alternative energy source, Americans are measuring the strengths and weaknesses of every available option. Among these, of all the first-generation biofuels in the U.S., veggie oil is arguably the cleanest...

PRODUCT REVIEW

RCA's 'Small Wonder' Makes Wonderful Videos

A friend of mine once told me he mourned the fading fortunes of point-and-shoot film cameras. It was a momentary lamentation induced by his wife's struggles with her new digital camera. Film is simple, he reasoned. You shoot your pictures. You take your film to the drugstore. You get your prints. Wi...

Microsoft announced it has filed 26 lawsuits against alleged dealers of illegal software. These suits are more than double the number of cases Microsoft has filed on any one day -- in fiscal year 2006 it filed 10 cases at one shot. The suits represent the launch of Microsoft's latest and, it says, ...

Of all the weeks for me to pick to take a vacation, last week was probably the worst. There was so much going on that my "vacation" became busier than a normal work week. Microsoft, for one, was the subject of some positive buzz as news bubbled up around its so-called "iPod killer." On the negative ...

Electronic Arts is developing six new games for Nintendo's upcoming Wii game console, expected to make its way to market later this year. EA's dedicated Wii development team is crafting new releases from the best-selling "Madden NFL," "Need for Speed," "Harry Potter," "Tiger Woods PGA TOUR," "SSX" a...

Touch-screen technology for mobile phones is generating considerable interest from consumers, and it is starting to grow significantly. By the end of 2007, momentum will be very strong for the technology, and by 2012, 40 percent of all mobile phones will likely utilize touch-screen technology. "The ...

OPINION

Kangaroo Court in Brussels

This week, European Commission regulators fined Microsoft about US$356 million, adding to the $630.7 million the company has already been forced to pay. Noncompliance with a mandate to disclose technology documents is the official reason for the fine, yet the deadline for such compliance has not yet...

One small step for an inflatable satellite, one giant leap for commercial space travel took place this week as Genesis 1 launched from Russia and began orbiting the Earth. The experimental craft, developed and paid for by Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, may represent the biggest achievement by a pri...

Microsoft is taking Xbox fans back a couple of decades, getting deeper into the red hot retro video game market by offering the 20-year-old "Frogger" title for its newest console via Xbox Live Arcade. The well known frog-crossing-the-street game will be followed by other retro titles -- "Galaga," "S...

Embryonic stem cell research supporters are urging President George W. Bush to withdraw his threat to veto legislation that would allow federal funding for the controversial studies. The bill, which passed the House a year ago, is expected to gain broad bipartisan support in the Senate when it comes...

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