Video: 'Bayonetta' goes old-school[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:44:48 GMT ]This stylized, third-person action title features gameplay sure to transport gamers back to their arcade roots. Msnbc.com's video game reporter Todd Kenreck takes a look at the game. (msnbc.com)

Cosmic Log: Pluto probe closes in[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:18:36 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: NASA's New Horizons probe passes a key milestone on its nine-year journey and is now closer to Pluto, its primary target, than it is to Earth.

AT&T wants to shut down old phone networks[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:11:51 GMT ]AT&T Inc told regulators that it should set plans for phasing out older telephone networks if the government wants to make high-speed Internet access available across the country.

‘Goldilocks’ zone bigger than once thought[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:16:31 GMT ]To find worlds within the "Goldilocks" zone, where conditions to support life are just right, look no further than our own solar system.

Storm ‘echoes’ could break up ice shelves[ Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:40:17 GMT ]Scientists say ocean rumbling caused by infragravity waves may account for some of the decade's most dramatic ice breakups, which may only get worse as the climate changes.

Lost couple can't blame GPS, says Air Force[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:39:42 GMT ]The U.S. Air Force wants to set the record straight: Neither aging GPS satellites nor a weak GPS signal were responsible for an elderly couple getting stranded in the woods for several days after following directions in their GPS-enabled SUV.

Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:42:45 GMT ]Windows 7 may just be the most keyboard-friendly operating system yet. Once you’ve got the new key combos in your daily routine, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without them.

Russia weighs in on asteroid worries[ Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:34:56 GMT ]Russia’s space chief said Wednesday that a spacecraft may be dispatched to shift an asteroid's course and reduce the chances of Earth impact, even though U.S. scientists say such a scenario is unlikely.

'Ima let you finish' — top Net memes of '09[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:08 GMT ]From Crasher Squirrel and Kanye West to "David After Dentist," these are the running gags that made the year's Internet life worth living.

Cosmic Log: How to speak ‘Avatar’[ Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:45:49 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The professor who created the alien language used in the movie "Avatar" hopes it becomes as widely used as Klingon. But for now, that's out of his hands.

Online holiday sales hit $27 billion[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:45:06 PST ]E-commerce sales grow 5 percent for the holiday season, reaching $27 billion compared with $25.8 billion last year, says new ComScore report.

Kid gets Xbox 360, loses mind[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:10:01 PST ]In perhaps one of the more spectacular YouTube performances of 2009, a child opens his Christmas present--an Xbox 360--and is transported to another dimension.

NASA trains WISE eye on the sky (photos)[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:06:34 PST ]The WISE space telescope has cast aside its lens cap and is ready to start taking infrared images of distant stars.

Hacker Gonzalez pleads guilty in Heartland breach[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:42:00 PST ]Reuters reports that Target was also among the many victims of the data breaches led by Albert Gonzalez that led to massive identity fraud.

Apple wins appeal in earbud hearing-loss lawsuit[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:23:29 PST ]Judge says plaintiffs failed to prove that iPod earbuds are dangerous.

Green-tech venture investing cools off in 2009[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:33:00 PST ]Green tech is still attracting billions of dollars a year, but the amount of money has shrunk significantly as investors began to focus on start-ups with the most potential.

Job ad suggests Xbox Live headed for WinMo phones[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:31:41 PST ]A job listing posted by Microsoft seeks a principle program manager who can "bring Xbox Live-enabled games to Windows Mobile."

RockYou sued over data breach[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:14:35 PST ]Suit seeks class action status and accuses RockYou of "reckless indifference to proper security measures" in failing to secure its network and protect customer data.

Just how free will the Nexus One be?[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:57:00 PST ]The Nexus One may be a great device, but will it really offer more freedom to customers?

Report: Apple event to be held January 26[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:38:33 PST ]Unnamed source tells Fox News that the company will hold a mobile-focused event in San Francisco on January 26, which could be the day its long-awaited tablet makes its debut.

How to survive a plane crash[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:54:54 EST ]On Tuesday, an American Airlines flight carrying 154 passengers slid off a runway while landing in torrential rain in Jamaica, stopping just short of the Caribbean Sea. The impact severely damaged the aircraft -- which broke into three separate pieces -- and caused the Boeing 737's engines to shear off the wings. Thankfully, there were no fatalities; 91 people were taken to hospitals where they were evaluated and most were released.

Cities embrace mobile apps, 'Gov 2.0'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:08:01 EST ]Have a complaint about potholes or hot subway cars? Look to your phone for answers. Larger cities across the U.S. are turning to mobile technology to collect and disseminate information. Some call it Gov 2.0.

AT&T site appears to resume iPhone sales in NYC[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:49:41 EST ]If you live in New York City and want to buy an iPhone as a post-Christmas treat, you may run into some roadblocks.

Iranian regime propaganda flourishes on 'Spinternet'[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:51:43 EST ]As protests sweep through Iran, a handful of Web sites -- Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in particular -- are once again widely credited for their crucial role in the process. But before we swallow yet another dose of cyber-utopianism, a more critical look at how the Internet has abetted both sides is in order.

Mozilla pushes back Firefox deadlines[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:09:24 EST ]Mozilla won't make a 2009 deadline for releasing Firefox 3.6 and is giving itself more time to complete a major update to the popular Web browser, version 4.0.

China eases Internet lockdown in western region[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:01:01 EST ]China has begun to expand Internet access in western China's Xinjiang autonomous region after cutting service because of deadly rioting over the summer, state-run media reported.

Iran's online protest faces more savvy regime[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:31:30 EST ]It was called the "Twitter Revolution" -- the mass street protests following Iran's questionable June elections that were beamed to the world via social media and other online tools despite the government's media blackout.

Blue moon to shine on New Year's Eve[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:26:13 EST ]It happens only once in a blue moon -- and scientists say a blue moon is exactly what we'll see in the skies this New Year's Eve.

Google Nexus phone to debut Tuesday?[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:46:18 EST ]Google's much-anticipated new phone, the HTC-designed Nexus One, could make its debut next week.

The future of brain-controlled devices[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:16:31 EST ]Researchers already use brain-computer interfaces to aid the disabled, treat diseases like Parkinson's and provide therapy for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. And there's much more to come.

Zuckerberg spends Christmas dethroning Google[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:31:00 PST ]December 25 marks the first time Mark Zuckerberg and company have earned the designation as most popular U.S. site on the Web, but it is in no way surprising.

Nokia hits Apple with latest patent complaint[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:38:00 PST ]The Finnish company alleges that Apple infringes seven Nokia patents "in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers."

Microsoft, Yahoo help keep India away from porn?[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:45:00 PST ]Report suggests Microsoft and Yahoo are among the search engines complying with a new Indian law that offers severe penalties for allowing access to "lascivious" content.

Unannounced HP 210 Netbook 'in stock'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:57:00 PST ]Reseller eCost lists the Mini 210, which packs Intel's newest Atom N450 silicon, at $389. And even HP has jumped the gun.

Muziic Web app offers Vevo without ads[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:35:00 PST ]The online version of the YouTube-based music service includes content from Vevo without pre-roll advertisements, as well as a crossfader. And there's more to come.

Real-time tracking of those who wander[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:04:00 PST ]Medical Mobile Monitoring develops a medical-alert tracking system that lets users track someone via GPS satellite online, but its funny-looking pendant misses the mark.

More attacks expected on Facebook, Twitter in 2010[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:50:00 PST ]McAfee Labs 2010 Threat Predictions report warns of increased attacks on social networks, as well as Adobe Reader and Google's Chrome OS.

Teen Muziic founder chastised by Vevo[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:53:00 PST ]David Nelson, the 16-year-old founder of a music-video service that piggybacks on YouTube's API, runs afoul of Vevo, the start-up video service backed by three of the top four largest music labels.

Leaked Nexus One documents: $530 unlocked, $180 with T-Mobile[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:30:00 PST ]A tipster send Gizmodo screenshots that supposedly reveal some interesting details of Google's new phone.

Reinventing the MacBook Air[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]How does Apple reconceive the MacBook Air as the trendsetting laptop approaches its second anniversary? Some thoughts.

DDoS attack hobbles sites, including Amazon[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:42 EST ]An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline Wednesday evening, two days before Christmas.

Recycle yule into Christmas alt-fuel[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:36:46 EST ]For all the joy of Christmas morning, there's certainly a lot of waste involved.

Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:39:28 EST ]Oh sure, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite materials and it's super fuel efficient, but unless you own an airline, the only thing you care about is how comfortable it is. Boeing knows this, and has striven to give passengers an experience unlike any other airplane.

Training day for astronaut mom[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:41:21 EST ]Gearing up for blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket is a tricky balancing act for Cady Coleman, who can spend one evening cooking dinner and picking up toys and the next preparing to orbit the Earth at 17,000 mph.

Ford brings Wi-Fi to the highway[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:26:11 EST ]Ford is making its cars into mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection.

How to survive a plane crash[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:54:54 EST ]On Tuesday, an American Airlines flight carrying 154 passengers slid off a runway while landing in torrential rain in Jamaica, stopping just short of the Caribbean Sea. The impact severely damaged the aircraft -- which broke into three separate pieces -- and caused the Boeing 737's engines to shear off the wings. Thankfully, there were no fatalities; 91 people were taken to hospitals where they were evaluated and most were released.

Cities embrace mobile apps, 'Gov 2.0'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:08:01 EST ]Have a complaint about potholes or hot subway cars? Look to your phone for answers. Larger cities across the U.S. are turning to mobile technology to collect and disseminate information. Some call it Gov 2.0.

AT&T site appears to resume iPhone sales in NYC[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:49:41 EST ]If you live in New York City and want to buy an iPhone as a post-Christmas treat, you may run into some roadblocks.

Iranian regime propaganda flourishes on 'Spinternet'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:29:29 EST ]As protests sweep through Iran, a handful of Web sites -- Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in particular -- are once again widely credited for their crucial role in the process. But before we swallow yet another dose of cyber-utopianism, a more critical look at how the Internet has abetted both sides is in order.

Mozilla pushes back Firefox deadlines[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:09:24 EST ]Mozilla won't make a 2009 deadline for releasing Firefox 3.6 and is giving itself more time to complete a major update to the popular Web browser, version 4.0.

Shuttle flights down to final five[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:49:51 GMT ]The space shuttle program, which has been the heart of human space flight since 1981, is due to end in 2010, but the fleet has a lot left to do.

Ring out the old year with a blue moon[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:21:11 GMT ]Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon — that is, the second full moon in a month. Some might even see a partial lunar eclipse.

9 astronomy milestones in 2009[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:09:09 GMT ]This year provided plenty of cosmic eye-openers for astronomers and casual stargazers alike.

Phone points illegal border crossers to water[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:26:33 GMT ]A group of California artists wants Mexicans and Central Americans to have more than just a few cans of tuna and a jug of water for their illegal trek through the harsh desert into the U.S.

Facebook, Twitter top weird stories in 2009[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:09:07 GMT ]From the German town that unwittingly advertised pornography on its website to the American who interrupted his wedding to update his Facebook and Twitter accounts, the world was full of weird stories in 2009.

Facebook fugitive taunts British police[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:18:23 GMT ]An escaped British prisoner is taunting police and attracting a growing Internet fan base from his Facebook profile, mocking authorities for failing to find him and openly musing about moving across the Atlantic.

Accessories for on the-go-gear[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT ]Even with new restrictions on the mobile gear you can use during flights, these gadgets will help make any trip smoother.

Cosmic Log: Teens turn into DNA detectives[ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:40:46 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Student sleuths use DNA analysis to find mislabeled food products and what could be a new type of cockroach in their own homes.

Video: 'Bayonetta' goes old-school[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:44:48 GMT ]This stylized, third-person action title features gameplay sure to transport gamers back to their arcade roots. Msnbc.com's video game reporter Todd Kenreck takes a look at the game. (msnbc.com)

Cosmic Log: Pluto probe closes in[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:18:36 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: NASA's New Horizons probe passes a key milestone on its nine-year journey and is now closer to Pluto, its primary target, than it is to Earth.

Google plans January 5 Android press event[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:57:00 PST ]Next week's event could finally clear up questions over Google's Android strategy, with expectations that it will use the occasion to launch the Nexus One phone.

Zuckerberg spends Christmas dethroning Google[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:31:00 PST ]December 25 marks the first time Mark Zuckerberg and company have earned the designation as most popular U.S. site on the Web, but it is in no way surprising.

Nokia hits Apple with latest patent complaint[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:38:00 PST ]The Finnish company alleges that Apple infringes seven Nokia patents "in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers."

Microsoft, Yahoo help keep India away from porn?[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:45:00 PST ]Report suggests Microsoft and Yahoo are among the search engines complying with a new Indian law that offers severe penalties for allowing access to "lascivious" content.

Unannounced HP 210 Netbook 'in stock'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:57:00 PST ]Reseller eCost lists the Mini 210, which packs Intel's newest Atom N450 silicon, at $389. And even HP has jumped the gun.

Muziic Web app offers Vevo without ads[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:35:00 PST ]The online version of the YouTube-based music service includes content from Vevo without pre-roll advertisements, as well as a crossfader. And there's more to come.

Real-time tracking of those who wander[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:04:00 PST ]Medical Mobile Monitoring develops a medical-alert tracking system that lets users track someone via GPS satellite online, but its funny-looking pendant misses the mark.

More attacks expected on Facebook, Twitter in 2010[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:50:00 PST ]McAfee Labs 2010 Threat Predictions report warns of increased attacks on social networks, as well as Adobe Reader and Google's Chrome OS.

Teen Muziic founder chastised by Vevo[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:53:00 PST ]David Nelson, the 16-year-old founder of a music-video service that piggybacks on YouTube's API, runs afoul of Vevo, the start-up video service backed by three of the top four largest music labels.

Leaked Nexus One documents: $530 unlocked, $180 with T-Mobile[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:30:00 PST ]A tipster send Gizmodo screenshots that supposedly reveal some interesting details of Google's new phone.

DDoS attack hobbles sites, including Amazon[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:42 EST ]An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline Wednesday evening, two days before Christmas.

Recycle yule into Christmas alt-fuel[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:36:46 EST ]For all the joy of Christmas morning, there's certainly a lot of waste involved.

Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:39:28 EST ]Oh sure, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite materials and it's super fuel efficient, but unless you own an airline, the only thing you care about is how comfortable it is. Boeing knows this, and has striven to give passengers an experience unlike any other airplane.

Training day for astronaut mom[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:41:21 EST ]Gearing up for blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket is a tricky balancing act for Cady Coleman, who can spend one evening cooking dinner and picking up toys and the next preparing to orbit the Earth at 17,000 mph.

Ford brings Wi-Fi to the highway[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:26:11 EST ]Ford is making its cars into mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection.

How to survive a plane crash[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:54:54 EST ]On Tuesday, an American Airlines flight carrying 154 passengers slid off a runway while landing in torrential rain in Jamaica, stopping just short of the Caribbean Sea. The impact severely damaged the aircraft -- which broke into three separate pieces -- and caused the Boeing 737's engines to shear off the wings. Thankfully, there were no fatalities; 91 people were taken to hospitals where they were evaluated and most were released.

Cities embrace mobile apps, 'Gov 2.0'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:08:01 EST ]Have a complaint about potholes or hot subway cars? Look to your phone for answers. Larger cities across the U.S. are turning to mobile technology to collect and disseminate information. Some call it Gov 2.0.

AT&T site appears to resume iPhone sales in NYC[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:49:41 EST ]If you live in New York City and want to buy an iPhone as a post-Christmas treat, you may run into some roadblocks.

Iranian regime propaganda flourishes on 'Spinternet'[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:29:29 EST ]As protests sweep through Iran, a handful of Web sites -- Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in particular -- are once again widely credited for their crucial role in the process. But before we swallow yet another dose of cyber-utopianism, a more critical look at how the Internet has abetted both sides is in order.

Mozilla pushes back Firefox deadlines[ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:09:24 EST ]Mozilla won't make a 2009 deadline for releasing Firefox 3.6 and is giving itself more time to complete a major update to the popular Web browser, version 4.0.

A real-world test of Google Goggles visual search (photos)[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]CNET's James Martin takes a walk through downtown San Francisco to test out Google's new visual search, currently running on Android devices.

Canonical shines its Ubuntu light on consumers[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:19:47 PST ]Ubuntu has won rave reviews with the geeky Linux community, but can it make waves with average consumers? Its founder is betting the answer is yes.

Mozilla pushes back Firefox 3.6, 4.0 deadlines[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:27:00 PST ]The newest version of the open-source browser won't arrive this year, and a major update might not arrive until 2011. But there are plenty of features coming.

China introduces law to boost renewable energy[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:41:25 PST ]A boom in wind-power plants means a large amount of wind capacity is not always properly connected to the grid.

Smart-grid spending to hit $200 billion by 2015[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:15:05 PST ]Technologies to automate and upgrade the grid will capture most of the $200 billion invested in modernizing electrical power systems, says Pike Research.

Another holiday blowout for Apple?[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:00:53 PST ]Remarking on Apple's December quarter in a note to investors, a Thomas Weisel Partners analyst says iPhone and iMac sales for the period have been quite strong.

Chinese author plans lawsuit over Google Books[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:48:00 PST ]Google scanned a book of a prominent Chinese author into the Google Books library without explicit permission, according to a report, and will face a lawsuit in China.

Report: Apple chooses supplier of tablet displays[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:50:00 PST ]Site known for reporting Apple rumors says company has chosen a vendor for displays on its tablet, speculated to be unveiled officially at a late January event.

'Don't-be-evil' Google spurns no-evil software[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:14:00 PST ]One open-source software programmer's joke--'The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil'--is a serious matter at Google.

GSM crypto code cracked, engineer says[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:34:54 PST ]German computer engineer says he cracked the secret code used to encrypt most of the world's mobile phone calls, reports The New York Times.

What makes a YouTube hit?[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:28:07 EST ]YouTube this week announced the biggest viral video sensations of 2009, with Scottish singer Susan Boyle topping the list.

Jailbreak fugitive updates Facebook page[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:11:13 EST ]British police have appealed for information about the whereabouts of an escaped prisoner who has been telling the world via Facebook about his life as a fugitive.

DDoS attack hobbles sites, including Amazon[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:42 EST ]An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline Wednesday evening, two days before Christmas.

Micro-blogs in China: Tweeting through the Great Firewall[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:03:25 EST ]A handful of homegrown micro-blogging sites emerged about the same time Twitter started to gain a small, yet steadily growing, share of Chinese Internet users, beginning about 2007, around a year after Twitter was launched in the U.S. in 2006.

Recycle yule into Christmas alt-fuel[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:36:46 EST ]For all the joy of Christmas morning, there's certainly a lot of waste involved.

Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:39:28 EST ]Oh sure, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite materials and it's super fuel efficient, but unless you own an airline, the only thing you care about is how comfortable it is. Boeing knows this, and has striven to give passengers an experience unlike any other airplane.

Training day for astronaut mom[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:41:21 EST ]Gearing up for blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket is a tricky balancing act for Cady Coleman, who can spend one evening cooking dinner and picking up toys and the next preparing to orbit the Earth at 17,000 mph.

Ford brings Wi-Fi to the highway[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:26:11 EST ]Ford is making its cars into mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection.

Reports: AT&T halts online iPhone sales in NYC[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:11:56 EST ]If you live in New York City and want to buy an iPhone as a post-Christmas treat, you may run into some roadblocks.

Cities embrace mobile apps, 'Gov 2.0'[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:09:29 EST ]Have a complaint about potholes or hot subway cars? Look to your phone for answers. Larger cities across the U.S. are turning to mobile technology to collect and disseminate information. Some call it Gov 2.0.

Cool gifts for shutterbugs[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:07 GMT ]From a practical gift of a spare battery to a lavish new camera lens, these are add-ons that any shutterbug would love.

10 best video games of 2009[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:28:02 GMT ]The last year has been a difficult one for the game industry. And yet, 2009 has still managed to deliver a bumper crop of truly excellent and even inspiring games.

Cosmic Log: Pick the weirdest wonders[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:38:43 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Which of the past year's scientific discoveries were the weirdest? Cast your official ballot for the 2010 Weird Science Awards.

Wondering about the ‘Star of Wonder’[ Tue, 9 Dec 2008 20:38:43 GMT ]What could the Christmas Star have been? Astronomers say the most likely candidate was actually a series of planetary conjunctions that peaked on June 17 in the year 2 B.C.

Take spectacular holiday photos[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:00:10 GMT ]A little planning and preparation can help you take holiday photos that you will be happy to share with family and friends now and over the years to come.

Apple’s stock surges as rumors of tablet swirl[ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:27:42 GMT ]Apple Inc. shares hit an all-time high Thursday after a published report suggested the intensely scrutinized yet secretive company may be getting ready for a major product announcement.

Panasonic develops more powerful batteries[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:26:21 GMT ]Panasonic Corp. has developed more powerful batteries for use in everything from laptops to electric vehicles, the Japanese electronics maker said Friday.

Top 5 snapshot printers[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:02:25 GMT ]If you don't print much beyond photos, you might want to look at a dedicated snapshot printer. They're a great deal if you plan on printing a lot of shots.

How to optimize your HDTV[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:00:35 GMT ]Have a new HDTV? There are some key settings that you can tweak to enhance your viewing experience.

Best Blu-ray titles to wow your home audience[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:00:47 GMT ]You have a fantastic, fully equipped home theater. So show it off with these 10 recent Blu-ray titles that will wow your audiences.

The 10 best new Firefox add-ons of 2009[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:00:00 PST ]2009 felt like a rebuilding year for Firefox add-ons, with two new frameworks created to help guide the future of extensions. But that doesn't mean there weren't any cool debuts. Check out list of the best new add-ons from the past 12 months.

Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST ]Here are a few of CNET's favorite items from the past week, including the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700, Asus Eee PC 1005PE Netbook, and the Mitsubishi LT-46249.

Open source became big business in 2009[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:10:00 PST ]Open source has always been an important sideshow for software vendors, but in 2009 it became the main event thanks to Google.

Microsoft, Intel to cede tablet market to Apple?[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:04:00 PST ]If the Apple tablet emerges as expected, this could be another market that Cupertino takes from right under the PC companies' noses.

Kindle is most gifted Amazon item, ever[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:19:00 PST ]Statement on holiday sales declares the Kindle king; On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, more books for the e-reader sold than physical copies.

Police to put drunk drivers' names on Twitter[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:17:00 PST ]Montgomery County, Texas, decides that the best way to deter those who want to drink and drive over the festive period is to out them on the microblog.

Google makes its home page a Chrome page[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:40:00 PST ]Without apparent notice or fanfare, Google adorns its home page with a very visible ad for Chrome.

Flexing the boundaries of flash memory[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:50:00 PST ]Flash memory is already a part of our daily computing lives. A breakthrough in flexible material may open many new market opportunities.

AT&T ceases online iPhone sales in NY area[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:45:00 PST ]Customers with metropolitan New York ZIP code trying to buy an iPhone on the wireless carrier's Web site are greeted with a message saying no phones are available. Is data congestion or credit card fraud to blame?

Escaped convict continues to update Facebook[ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:15:00 PST ]Craig "Lazie" Lynch has been on the run from a U.K. prison since September. However, he continues to taunt police by updating his Facebook status. Now he is threatening to quit.

Roller coaster year for video games[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:56:31 EST ]In January, sales were up 13 percent over the year before, reported industry analyst the NPD Group, and that trend continued in February, with a 10 percent boost over 2008.

Mall of America tweets parking info[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:19:39 EST ]One of the messiest aspects of the holiday season is fighting the holiday traffic, especially during the last-minute shopping rush. But the Mall of America, the mammoth shopping center outside Minneapolis-St. Paul, is turning to technology to ease the parking pain.

BlackBerry users hit by outages[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:32:35 EST ]Service outages plagued BlackBerry customers across North America on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, leaving them without e-mail and Internet for more than eight hours.

Jailbreak fugitive updates Facebook page[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:11:13 EST ]British police have appealed for information about the whereabouts of an escaped prisoner who has been telling the world via Facebook about his life as a fugitive.

DDoS attack hobbles sites, including Amazon[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:42 EST ]An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline Wednesday evening, two days before Christmas.

Micro-blogs in China: Tweeting through the Great Firewall[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:03:52 EST ]A handful of homegrown micro-blogging sites emerged about the same time Twitter started to gain a small, yet steadily growing, share of Chinese Internet users, beginning about 2007, around a year after Twitter was launched in the U.S. in 2006.

Recycle yule into Christmas alt-fuel[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:36:46 EST ]For all the joy of Christmas morning, there's certainly a lot of waste involved.

Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:39:28 EST ]Oh sure, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite materials and it's super fuel efficient, but unless you own an airline, the only thing you care about is how comfortable it is. Boeing knows this, and has striven to give passengers an experience unlike any other airplane.

Training day for astronaut mom[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:41:21 EST ]Gearing up for blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket is a tricky balancing act for Cady Coleman, who can spend one evening cooking dinner and picking up toys and the next preparing to orbit the Earth at 17,000 mph.

Ford brings Wi-Fi to the highway[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:26:11 EST ]Ford is making its cars into mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection.

Snowflakes on Christmas cards drawn wrong[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:09:13 GMT ]In pop culture depictions, snowflakes are usually drawn inaccurately, an expert now says. Snowflakes are six-cornered, rather than the four-, five- and eight-cornered crystals typically depicted in children's books, Christmas cards and even in an ad for a science magazine.

Decrepit stars locate the fountain of youth[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:46:23 GMT ]Mysterious old stars that look oddly young found the fountain of youth via two means, new research finds. Some rely on vampirism to suck the life out of a companion star, while others are rejuvenated in cosmic collisions.

Why bees always have a safe landing[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:12:52 GMT ]Whether landing on a picnic table, underneath a flower petal, or on a wall of a hive, bees always manage to touch down without crashing or tumbling.

BlackBerry users suffer second outage in a week[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:26:15 GMT ]BlackBerry e-mail service in North America was restored for some users Wednesday morning following its second outage in less than a week.

Netbook decision: Windows XP or 7 Starter?[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:31 GMT ]Some critics think Microsoft's previous operating system, Windows Home XP, remains a better choice for netbooks than Windows 7 Starter. Both versions are being sold on netbooks.

Cool gifts for shutterbugs[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:07 GMT ]From a practical gift of a spare battery to a lavish new camera lens, these are add-ons that any shutterbug would love.

10 best video games of 2009[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:28:02 GMT ]The last year has been a difficult one for the game industry. And yet, 2009 has still managed to deliver a bumper crop of truly excellent and even inspiring games.

Cosmic Log: Pick the weirdest wonders[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:38:43 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Which of the past year's scientific discoveries were the weirdest? Cast your official ballot for the 2010 Weird Science Awards.

Wondering about the ‘Star of Wonder’[ Tue, 9 Dec 2008 20:38:43 GMT ]What could the Christmas Star have been? Astronomers say the most likely candidate was actually a series of planetary conjunctions that peaked on June 17 in the year 2 B.C.

Take spectacular holiday photos[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:00:10 GMT ]A little planning and preparation can help you take holiday photos that you will be happy to share with family and friends now and over the years to come.

Flixster/Rotten Tomatoes/MySpace mystery solved[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:59:00 PST ]A complex, potential deal centers on News Corp.'s Rotten Tomatoes merging with Flixster, a social-networking site for movies. The resulting company's content could then be threaded throughout News Corp.'s MySpace.

How tech touched the '00s[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:46:00 PST ]Among the multitude of end-of-decade lists, the Associated Press rounds up 50 lifestyle trends. Whether it's surprising or not, tech-related items make up nearly half.

FCC member berates Verizon for termination fees[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:39:00 PST ]Commissioner Mignon Clyburn says in an open letter that she find Verizon's defense of its early termination fees to be "unsatisfying and, in some cases, troubling."

Ford sees bump in hybrid sales[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:59:00 PST ]Carmaker says its hybrid sales are up 67 percent this year, despite an 11 percent slump industrywide.

The 10 best new Firefox add-ons of 2009[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:00:00 PST ]2009 felt like a rebuilding year for Firefox add-ons, with two new frameworks created to help guide the future of extensions. But that doesn't mean there weren't any cool debuts. Check out list of the best new add-ons from the past 12 months.

Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST ]Here are a few of CNET's favorite items from the past week, including the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700, Asus Eee PC 1005PE Netbook, and the Mitsubishi LT-46249.

Open source became big business in 2009[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:10:00 PST ]Open source has always been an important sideshow for software vendors, but in 2009 it became the main event thanks to Google.

Microsoft, Intel to cede tablet market to Apple?[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:04:00 PST ]If the Apple tablet emerges as expected, this could be another market that Cupertino takes from right under the PC companies' noses.

Kindle is most gifted Amazon item, ever[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:19:00 PST ]Statement on holiday sales declares the Kindle king; On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, more books for the e-reader sold than physical copies.

Police to put drunk drivers' names on Twitter[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:17:00 PST ]Montgomery County, Texas, decides that the best way to deter those who want to drink and drive over the festive period is to out them on the microblog.

Roller coaster year for video games[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:56:31 EST ]In January, sales were up 13 percent over the year before, reported industry analyst the NPD Group, and that trend continued in February, with a 10 percent boost over 2008.

Mall of America tweets parking info[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:19:39 EST ]One of the messiest aspects of the holiday season is fighting the holiday traffic, especially during the last-minute shopping rush. But the Mall of America, the mammoth shopping center outside Minneapolis-St. Paul, is turning to technology to ease the parking pain.

BlackBerry users hit by outages[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:32:35 EST ]Service outages plagued BlackBerry customers across North America on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, leaving them without e-mail and Internet for more than eight hours.

Jailbreak fugitive updates Facebook page[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:11:13 EST ]British police have appealed for information about the whereabouts of an escaped prisoner who has been telling the world via Facebook about his life as a fugitive.

DDoS attack hobbles sites, including Amazon[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:42 EST ]An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline Wednesday evening, two days before Christmas.

Micro-blogs in China: Tweeting through the Great Firewall[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:03:52 EST ]A handful of homegrown micro-blogging sites emerged about the same time Twitter started to gain a small, yet steadily growing, share of Chinese Internet users, beginning about 2007, around a year after Twitter was launched in the U.S. in 2006.

Recycle yule into Christmas alt-fuel[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:36:46 EST ]For all the joy of Christmas morning, there's certainly a lot of waste involved.

Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:39:28 EST ]Oh sure, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite materials and it's super fuel efficient, but unless you own an airline, the only thing you care about is how comfortable it is. Boeing knows this, and has striven to give passengers an experience unlike any other airplane.

Training day for astronaut mom[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:41:21 EST ]Gearing up for blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket is a tricky balancing act for Cady Coleman, who can spend one evening cooking dinner and picking up toys and the next preparing to orbit the Earth at 17,000 mph.

Ford brings Wi-Fi to the highway[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:26:11 EST ]Ford is making its cars into mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection.

Snowflakes on Christmas cards drawn wrong[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:09:13 GMT ]In pop culture depictions, snowflakes are usually drawn inaccurately, an expert now says. Snowflakes are six-cornered, rather than the four-, five- and eight-cornered crystals typically depicted in children's books, Christmas cards and even in an ad for a science magazine.

Decrepit stars locate the fountain of youth[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:46:23 GMT ]Mysterious old stars that look oddly young found the fountain of youth via two means, new research finds. Some rely on vampirism to suck the life out of a companion star, while others are rejuvenated in cosmic collisions.

Why bees always have a safe landing[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:12:52 GMT ]Whether landing on a picnic table, underneath a flower petal, or on a wall of a hive, bees always manage to touch down without crashing or tumbling.

BlackBerry users suffer second outage in a week[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:26:15 GMT ]BlackBerry e-mail service in North America was restored for some users Wednesday morning following its second outage in less than a week.

Netbook decision: Windows XP or 7 Starter?[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:31 GMT ]Some critics think Microsoft's previous operating system, Windows Home XP, remains a better choice for netbooks than Windows 7 Starter. Both versions are being sold on netbooks.

Cool gifts for shutterbugs[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:07 GMT ]From a practical gift of a spare battery to a lavish new camera lens, these are add-ons that any shutterbug would love.

10 best video games of 2009[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:28:02 GMT ]The last year has been a difficult one for the game industry. And yet, 2009 has still managed to deliver a bumper crop of truly excellent and even inspiring games.

Cosmic Log: Pick the weirdest wonders[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:38:43 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Which of the past year's scientific discoveries were the weirdest? Cast your official ballot for the 2010 Weird Science Awards.

Wondering about the ‘Star of Wonder’[ Tue, 9 Dec 2008 20:38:43 GMT ]What could the Christmas Star have been? Astronomers say the most likely candidate was actually a series of planetary conjunctions that peaked on June 17 in the year 2 B.C.

Take spectacular holiday photos[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:00:10 GMT ]A little planning and preparation can help you take holiday photos that you will be happy to share with family and friends now and over the years to come.

Lookout keeps an eye on mobile-device security (photos)[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]San Francisco start-up Lookout aims to keep mobile devices--and their data--safe.

Behind the scenes of CBS's NFL coverage[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:22:21 PST ]Natali Del Conte invites you to see how CBS covers NFL games. She introduces you to the team of experts and professionals who will bring you 2010's Super Bowl game.

Obama says disappointment at Copenhagen justified[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:55:04 PST ]President's statement hardens widespread verdict that the climate conference was a failure.

Apple stockholders get record high for Christmas[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:24:49 PST ]On rumors of a January Apple tablet unveiling, the company's stock closes as an all time high Thursday of $209.04, up 3.43 percent.

Apple owns iSlate.com--the mystery deepens[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:45:00 PST ]More intrigue arises around Apple's widely rumored tablet. The latest: it may be dubbed iSlate, according to information uncovered by MacRumors.com.

Flixster/Rotten Tomatoes/MySpace mystery solved[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:59:00 PST ]A complex, potential deal centers on News Corp.'s Rotten Tomatoes merging with Flixster, a social-networking site for movies. The resulting company's content could then be threaded throughout News Corp.'s MySpace.

How tech touched the '00s[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:46:00 PST ]Among the multitude of end-of-decade lists, the Associated Press rounds up 50 lifestyle trends. Whether it's surprising or not, tech-related items make up nearly half of them.

FCC member berates Verizon for termination fees[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:39:00 PST ]Commissioner Mignon Clyburn says in an open letter that she find Verizon's defense of its early termination fees to be "unsatisfying and, in some cases, troubling."

Ford sees bump in hybrid sales[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:59:00 PST ]Carmaker says its hybrid sales are up 67 percent this year, despite an 11 percent slump industrywide.

The 10 best new Firefox add-ons of 2009[ Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:00:00 PST ]2009 felt like a rebuilding year for Firefox add-ons, with two new frameworks created to help guide the future of extensions. But that doesn't mean there weren't any cool debuts. Check out list of the best new add-ons from the past 12 months.

Behind NORAD's Santa tracker[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:16:40 EST ]Children thought they were calling Santa when they reached a U.S. Air Force colonel poised to deal with attacks from Russians. More than 50 years later, NORAD's Santa tracking program spreads cheer to millions.

Roller coaster year for video games[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:56:31 EST ]In January, sales were up 13 percent over the year before, reported industry analyst the NPD Group, and that trend continued in February, with a 10 percent boost over 2008.

Mall of America tweets parking info[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:19:39 EST ]One of the messiest aspects of the holiday season is fighting the holiday traffic, especially during the last-minute shopping rush. But the Mall of America, the mammoth shopping center outside Minneapolis-St. Paul, is turning to technology to ease the parking pain.

BlackBerry users hit by outages[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:32:35 EST ]Service outages plagued BlackBerry customers across North America on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, leaving them without e-mail and Internet for more than eight hours.

Jailbreak fugitive updates Facebook page[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:11:13 EST ]British police have appealed for information about the whereabouts of an escaped prisoner who has been telling the world via Facebook about his life as a fugitive.

DDoS attack hobbles sites, including Amazon[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:42 EST ]An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline Wednesday evening, two days before Christmas.

Micro-blogs in China: Tweeting through the Great Firewall[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:03:52 EST ]A handful of homegrown micro-blogging sites emerged about the same time Twitter started to gain a small, yet steadily growing, share of Chinese Internet users, beginning about 2007, around a year after Twitter was launched in the U.S. in 2006.

Recycle yule into Christmas alt-fuel[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:36:46 EST ]For all the joy of Christmas morning, there's certainly a lot of waste involved.

Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:00:06 EST ]Oh sure, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite materials and it's super fuel efficient, but unless you own an airline, the only thing you care about is how comfortable it is. Boeing knows this, and has striven to give passengers an experience unlike any other airplane.

Training day for astronaut mom[ Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:41:21 EST ]Gearing up for blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket is a tricky balancing act for Cady Coleman, who can spend one evening cooking dinner and picking up toys and the next preparing to orbit the Earth at 17,000 mph.

How one odd duck says 'no' to sex[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:54:30 GMT ]When it comes to sex, some female ducks have taken "no" to a new level. They have evolved vaginas with clockwise spirals that keep out the oppositely spiraled penises of undesirable males, scientists have discovered.

Ancient Mayans likely had fountains and toilets[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:18:55 GMT ]The ancient Mayans may have had enough engineering know-how to master running water, creating fountains and even toilets by controlling water pressure, scientists now suggest.

Snowflakes on Christmas cards drawn wrong[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:09:13 GMT ]In pop culture depictions, snowflakes are usually drawn inaccurately, an expert now says. Snowflakes are six-cornered, rather than the four-, five- and eight-cornered crystals typically depicted in children's books, Christmas cards and even in an ad for a science magazine.

Decrepit stars locate the fountain of youth[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:46:23 GMT ]Mysterious old stars that look oddly young found the fountain of youth via two means, new research finds. Some rely on vampirism to suck the life out of a companion star, while others are rejuvenated in cosmic collisions.

Why bees always have a safe landing[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:12:52 GMT ]Whether landing on a picnic table, underneath a flower petal, or on a wall of a hive, bees always manage to touch down without crashing or tumbling.

BlackBerry users suffer second outage in a week[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:26:15 GMT ]BlackBerry e-mail service in North America was restored for some users Wednesday morning following its second outage in less than a week.

Netbook decision: Windows XP or 7 Starter?[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:31 GMT ]Some critics think Microsoft's previous operating system, Windows Home XP, remains a better choice for netbooks than Windows 7 Starter. Both versions are being sold on netbooks.

Cool gifts for shutterbugs[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:07 GMT ]From a practical gift of a spare battery to a lavish new camera lens, these are add-ons that any shutterbug would love.

10 best video games of 2009[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:28:02 GMT ]The last year has been a difficult one for the game industry. And yet, 2009 has still managed to deliver a bumper crop of truly excellent and even inspiring games.

Cosmic Log: Pick the weirdest wonders[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:38:43 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Which of the past year's scientific discoveries were the weirdest? Cast your official ballot for the 2010 Weird Science Awards.

CNET News Daily Podcast: Comcast, Microsoft lawsuits conclude[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:01:00 PST ]Comcast settles a class action lawsuit, Microsoft loses its Word patent appeal, and RIM explains what happened with Tuesday's BlackBerry outage.

iPhone + robot marimba player = instant band[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:21:00 PST ]Shimon is an autonomous robot marimba player created at Georgia Tech. When teamed with iPhone app ZOOZBeat, Shimon can jam Thelonius Monk-style.

iPhone vs. BlackBerry in the California outback[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:28:00 PST ]On a recent trip to the California desert, CNET Blog Network's Brooke Crothers had a chance to put Verizon (BlackBerry) and AT&T (iPhone 3GS) service to the test.

How iPhone apps can ruin your Christmas[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:42:57 PST ]If you are looking to download new iPhone apps that will change your life this Christmas, beware if a couple that could easily change things for the worse.

Twitter buys developers of GeoAPI[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:48:00 PST ]With location-aware services hot right now in the social-media segment, Twitter is buying the developers of a popular API used by developers on the platform.

Wait! Nook arriving for Christmas after all[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:11:00 PST ]Despite statements to the contrary a few days earlier, Barnes & Noble now says it will fulfill all preorder shipments by Christmas. Got whiplash yet?

Tablet hint? Apple developers supersizing apps for January event[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:42:00 PST ]Company has told some key developers to prep versions of their iPhone apps that will work on a device with a larger screen, sources say.

Web staggers under pre-Christmas DDoS attack[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:23:00 PST ]Several high-profile e-commerce sites were inaccessible for around half an hour Wednesday evening, due to what customer support at a major DNS provider called an attack.

DDoS attack hobbles major sites, including Amazon[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:04:00 PST ]More than a mouse was stirring Wednesday night on the Internet, as an attack on a major DNS provider to sites such as Amazon.com and others hobbled service for about an hour.

Web-based Lookout protects mobile devices, data[ Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Lookout offers data security, backup, and management over the Web and a way to locate and protect missing or stolen devices.

Ode to Saab, a car that follows its own road[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:23:44 EST ]My name is Steven Wade and I'm a Saaboholic.

Facebook campaign creates No. 1 song[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:02:38 EST ]Rage Against the Machine has claimed the prestigious No. 1 spot on the British singles chart on the last Sunday before Christmas, marking the first time in five years the winner of Simon Cowell's "X-Factor" has not won.

Copenhagen's surprising gain for climate[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:58:36 EST ]Two weeks ago, representatives from nearly 200 countries flew to Copenhagen to hammer out an agreement to limit the emissions that cause global warming.

Why Hollywood security is better than Pentagon's[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:33:50 EST ]It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster: A group of insurgents hack into American military drones, using software they got off the Internet, according to The Wall Street Journal. But, for the benefit of that screenwriter likely pounding away right now to get his idea in first -- as well as for the general public -- what actually happened?

App army promises new tech revolution[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:41:12 EST ]Read full story for latest details.

Roller coaster year for video games[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:56:31 EST ]In January, sales were up 13 percent over the year before, reported industry analyst the NPD Group, and that trend continued in February, with a 10 percent boost over 2008.

Mall of America tweets parking info[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:19:39 EST ]One of the messiest aspects of the holiday season is fighting the holiday traffic, especially during the last-minute shopping rush. But the Mall of America, the mammoth shopping center outside Minneapolis-St. Paul, is turning to technology to ease the parking pain.

BlackBerry users hit by outages[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:32:35 EST ]Service outages plagued BlackBerry customers across North America on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, leaving them without e-mail and Internet for more than eight hours.

Jailbreak fugitive updates Facebook page[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:11:13 EST ]British police have appealed for information about the whereabouts of an escaped prisoner who has been telling the world via Facebook about his life as a fugitive.

#%*@#! The top 10 tech 'fails' of 2009[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:27:34 EST ]It was a big year for technology, with the popularity of Twitter, Facebook, smartphones and e-readers exploding. But into each electronic life a little digital rain must fall.

New airport screeners could save time, energy[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:41:22 GMT ]Using several new advances in T-rays, or terahertz radiation, airport scanners could soon determine if a vial of white powder in a suitcase is common sugar or illegal drugs.

Rover makes discovery while spinning wheels[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:40:36 GMT ]Even though NASA's Mars rover Spirit has been trapped in the sand for months, the robot has still managed to report new facts about the red planet — all by just spinning its wheels.

Santa Claus: The real man behind the myth[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:45:35 GMT ]Like America itself, the jolly figure we call Santa Claus is a melting pot of cultures, blending elements of folklore with the fantastical.

Teen gets plea deal in Facebook sex scam[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:53:26 GMT ]A Wisconsin teen who blackmailed dozens of fellow high school students into sex acts by using photos and videos obtained in a Facebook scam faces up to 50 years in prison.

Trio brings holiday cheer to space station[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:33:32 GMT ]Three new spacefliers arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday wearing Christmas hats and bearing holiday cheer.

Slide show: Year in Space 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:48:38 GMT ]Click to see images of Hubble's revival and other outer-space highlights from 2009.

Cosmic Log: The year in space[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:08:30 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The highest highlight of 2009 was the revival of the Hubble Space Telescope. Or was it? Weigh in on the top stories of the past year and 2010's top trends.

The biggest security threats in 2010[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:14:10 GMT ]Despite scams, viruses and worms, the Internet is still standing at the close of the decade. But the virtual world still holds plenty of pitfalls, from botnets to e-mail attachments.

Real-life high school musical smackdown![ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:27:21 GMT ]When Javier Cáceres walks the halls of Shorewood high school, he is greeted as a rock star, a conquering hero … the guy who engineered the defending blow against Seattle rival Shorecrest.

Cosmic Log: Decades of future science[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:22:06 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Solar-power primacy? Cloud science? Space colonies? Those are some of the visions put forward for the next 50 years in science and technology.

Should 'nerd' and 'geek' be condemned?[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:22:00 PST ]A Bennington College professor believes the terms are emotionally damaging and need to be eradicated from our vocabulary. Are they really that bad?

U.S. senators to take up biodiesel credit next year[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:31:46 PST ]Credit extension has been delayed by the health care debate and because it has been linked with other tax incentives. A so-called extenders bill passed in the House earlier this month.

UK divorce lawyers: A fifth of cases Facebook-related[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:43:06 PST ]It has been well established that Facebook fuels suspicions between lovers. Now an online divorce law firm claims almost 20 percent of cases involve Facebook infidelities.

The five biggest digital audio duds of 2009[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:54:40 PST ]From the questionably useful to the questionably legal to the just plain dumb.

AT&T's Santa: Better 3G coverage an excellent wish[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:28:46 PST ]AT&T lets you text Santa with all your wishes. When one asks for better 3G coverage from AT&T, Santa doesn't hesitate to write back.

Comcast settles class-action suit on traffic blocking[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:09:00 PST ]The broadband giant offers $16 million to settle Pennsylvania case over throttling of P2P connections in 2007 and 2008, but admits no wrongdoing.

Soyuz craft docks, boosts space station crew[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:21:54 PST ]A Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked with the International Space Station Tuesday after a smooth, automated approach, boosting the lab's crew back up to five.

RIM confirms BlackBerry e-mail problems--again[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:48:00 PST ]For the second time in less than a week, BlackBerry smartphone users across the country and beyond are reporting problems accessing e-mail.

A year out, where's RIAA's promised ISP help?[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]The recording industry stopped suing fans for copyright violation in favor of partnering with Internet service providers. But the latter isn't happening, yet.

Web sites that shuttered in 2009[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]New sites launch all the time, but there are also quite a few that shut their doors. We highlight 15 that bit the dust this year and explain what happened.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Ode to Saab, a car that follows its own road[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:23:44 EST ]My name is Steven Wade and I'm a Saaboholic.

Facebook campaign creates No. 1 song[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:02:38 EST ]Rage Against the Machine has claimed the prestigious No. 1 spot on the British singles chart on the last Sunday before Christmas, marking the first time in five years the winner of Simon Cowell's "X-Factor" has not won.

Copenhagen's surprising gain for climate[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:58:36 EST ]Two weeks ago, representatives from nearly 200 countries flew to Copenhagen to hammer out an agreement to limit the emissions that cause global warming.

Why Hollywood security is better than Pentagon's[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:33:50 EST ]It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster: A group of insurgents hack into American military drones, using software they got off the Internet, according to The Wall Street Journal. But, for the benefit of that screenwriter likely pounding away right now to get his idea in first -- as well as for the general public -- what actually happened?

App army promises new tech revolution[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:41:12 EST ]Read full story for latest details.

Roller coaster year for video games[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:56:31 EST ]In January, sales were up 13 percent over the year before, reported industry analyst the NPD Group, and that trend continued in February, with a 10 percent boost over 2008.

The Top 10 tech trends of 2009[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:38:17 EST ]Engineers didn't make huge improvements to technology in 2009. Instead, this is the year technology changed us. We're connected to each other and to the Internet like never before.

BlackBerry users hit by outages[ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:25:37 EST ]Service outages plagued BlackBerry customers across North America on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.

Can HP webcam see black people?[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:38:33 EST ]It's a question posed on a now-viral YouTube video: Why does the webcam follow a white woman's face but not a black man's face? The company says it's a lighting issue and they are looking into it.

Is facial recognition software discriminatory?[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:58:08 GMT ]A video posted on YouTube shows HP's facial recognition software tracking the movements of a white face, but not a black one, something the video's maker calls "racist," but the computer giant says is definitely not.

Texting drivers six times more likely to crash[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:40:49 GMT ]The research adds to a mountain of evidence showing that texting or talking on mobile phones while driving is dangerous. Texting seems to be the worst.

White House picks new cyber czar[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:28:24 GMT ]After months of wrangling and delays, President Barack Obama has chosen a national cyber security coordinator to take on the task of organizing and managing the nation's digital networks.

First Jesus-era house found in Nazareth[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:27:46 GMT ]Days before Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what they said were the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus.

Chimps master first step in controlling fire[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:02:50 GMT ]Chimps remain cool under fire, possessing a near human ability to predict how wildfires spread and react accordingly.

Mom calls 911 over son's video-game habit[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:42:21 GMT ]Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn't get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep.

Terrific tech gifts for $200 or less[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:12:06 GMT ]Strapped for cash? Keeping up with the latest technology doesn't always require pinching pennies. From Blu-ray players to Bluetooth devices, you can find a plethora of useful technology gear, each item priced less than $200.

Lavish gadgets for those with rich taste[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:30:06 GMT ]Is there a technophile on your list with tastes that run a little rich? You may want to consider custom-made PCs starting at $8,000 or an uber-chic cordless phone for $1,100.

Slide show: Year in Space 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:48:38 GMT ]Click to see images of Hubble's revival and other outer-space highlights from 2009.

Cosmic Log: The year in space[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:08:30 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The highest highlight of 2009 was the revival of the Hubble Space Telescope. Or was it? Weigh in on the top stories of the past year and 2010's top trends.

The five most welcome digital audio products of 2009[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:30:38 PST ]Despite the economic toll on the industry, five stand-out products did much to move the state of digital audio forward this year.

BioWare: Japanese RPGs don't get American audiences[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:55:00 PST ]Company co-founder says Japanese role-playing games just aren't evolving from where they started, causing most American gamers to look the other way.

Meebo Bar now available for all[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:12:22 PST ]Previously only available to large blogs and businesses, the Meebo Bar, which features a variety of sharing and chat options, is now available to everyone.

Big Facebook privacy void: Controls on Connect[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:20:00 PST ]If you're sharing info on your news feed with Facebook Connect, it's visible to either all your friends or none of them, something that Facebook can and should change.

Tax prep preview: Which DIY app is right for you?[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:26:00 PST ]In anticipation of the 2009 tax season, we've gathered some preliminary information about tax prep software for the DIY tax-doers among you.

Google's creed: 'Open will win'[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:04:00 PST ]In a 4,000-word manifesto recently penned by Google's Jonathan Rosenberg on the importance of being open, the company once again swears it is a force for good.

Virtual world designer Metaplace to shutter[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:34:00 PST ]Saying it hasn't been able to gain traction as a consumer user-generated content service, Raph Koster's leading game design company is shutting down.

Broadcom, Nvidia bring HD video to new Netbooks[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Consumers who want to watch high-resolution video on new Netbooks will need special chips from Broadcom or Nvidia.

Accused 'Wolverine' pirate calls charges 'ridiculous'[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]In a newspaper interview, Gilberto Sanchez acknowledges uploading the film, but says he obtained it from a street vendor. Has the trail for the original leak gone cold?

Valley VC learns to embrace government[ Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Famous venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson avoided politics--as long as he could. Now dealing with the feds is a job skill.

A car that turns into a speedboat[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:23:00 EST ]California-born Dave March has always had a passion for cars and boats.

Microsoft help desk less busy after Windows 7[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:49:08 EST ]There are many ways to measure how Windows 7 is doing. There are reports on new PC sales, tallies of boxed copy sales, and surveys of planned enterprise adoption, to name a few.

BlackBerry users hit by e-mail outages[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:16:28 EST ]Users of BlackBerry phones in North America reported widespread interruptions in sending and receiving e-mail Thursday.

Official: Iraqi insurgents hacked Predator drones[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:53:40 EST ]Insurgents were able to use a mass-market software program to view live feeds from U.S. military Predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq, a U.S. official indicated to CNN Thursday.

Review: 'Avatar' delivers on the hype[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:15:03 EST ]James Cameron has done it again.

Twitter hackers appear to be Shiite group[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:46:34 EST ]The popular microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly hacked early Friday by the "Iranian Cyber Army." The Web site was down for nearly an hour before service was restored.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Ode to Saab, a car that follows its own road[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:23:44 EST ]My name is Steven Wade and I'm a Saaboholic.

Facebook campaign creates No. 1 song[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:02:38 EST ]Rage Against the Machine has claimed the prestigious No. 1 spot on the British singles chart on the last Sunday before Christmas, marking the first time in five years the winner of Simon Cowell's "X-Factor" has not won.

Contest tests nation's top hackers[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:56:44 EST ]Elite young hackers from around the nation competed in the U.S. Cyber Challenge -- a national talent search for future cybersecurity experts. The idea is to recruit these youths to help defend the government against cyber attacks.

Verizon defends higher smart phone fees[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:18 GMT ]Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Twitter temporarily hacked, now up[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:19 GMT ]Micro-blogging site Twitter said its domain name system records were temporarily "compromised" Thursday night, but that the problem was fixed later.

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT ]With all the incredible games that have been released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 this year, trying to write a “Best of 2009” list feels an awful lot like trying to stick 20 pounds of sand into a 2-pound sack.

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:48:26 GMT ]When the sun is relatively inactive — as it has been in recent years — the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere cools dramatically, new observations find.

Even bacteria get lonely[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:42:41 GMT ]Scientists are reporting that bacteria locked in solitary confinement know they are locked up, talk to themselves, and try to break free of their imprisonment.

Maine to consider cell phone cancer warning[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:12:57 GMT ]A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.

Eight ways to cool a warming planet[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:32:29 GMT ]Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are widely considered the most prudent strategy to cool the planet, but some scientists say the politics and economics of this process are unfolding too slowly. Could geo-engineering be the answer?

Cosmic Log: The decade's highs and lows in science[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:17:34 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Some may call the decade that's ending the "aughts" or the "noughties," but you could also think of the 2000-2009 time frame as the double-oh decade. In the world of science, the past 10 years had plenty of "Oh! Oh!" moments – and a few uh-ohs as well.

Slide show: ‘Polar Obsession’[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:48:06 GMT ]National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen captures images of life in the polar reaches and the effects of climate change.

Crew blasts off for Christmas space mission[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:46:18 GMT ]A Russian rocket has blasted off from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, shuttling an American, a Russian and a Japanese to the International Space Station.

U.N. climate talks end with bare-minimum deal[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:54:34 PST ]Accord "may not be everything everyone had hoped for, but this...is an important beginning," says U.N. secretary-general after talks end with U.N. "noting" nonbinding agreement.

No Nook by Christmas? Here's a $100 gift card[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:47:48 PST ]Barnes & Noble alerts some customers who preordered the new e-reader that they might not get the device in time for Christmas. Company says it will send a $100 gift certificate, with apologies.

iPhone, BlackBerry Storm offer contrast in browsers[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:42:00 PST ]The BlackBerry Storm 2 has some catching up to do in the browser department.

Three station fliers set off on flight to lab complex[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:51:00 PST ]Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and NASA's Timothy Creamer blast off on a two-day flight to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft

Microsoft sued over Bing name[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:15:53 PST ]A company called Bing Information Design is suing Microsoft, alleging "trademark infringement, unfair competition, and tortious interference with business expectancy."

The best Tiger Woods online gift ideas[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:25:11 PST ]Somehow, many exciting and exacting entrepreneurs still try to make money out of Tiger Woods' woes. Here are some of the finest, led by one of Tiger's alleged lovers for BidHere.com.

Facebook group 1, Simon Cowell 0[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:58:31 PST ]A Facebook group formed to ensure a Simon Cowell reality show product doesn't become Britain's No. 1 persuades more people to buy an old song by Rage Against the Machine.

Report: O2 to buy VoIP start-up Jajah[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:45:00 PST ]The mobile arm of Telefonica Europe has apparently won a bidding war for the Internet telephone company with a $200 million offer, according to published reports.

Intel launches redesigned Atom chip for Netbooks[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:00:00 PST ]Chip giant announces radically redesigned Atom processor. New Netbooks on the way.

How NORAD keeps track of Santa[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]For decades, NORAD has been providing real-time information on Christmas Eve about Santa's whereabouts. These days, technology plays a bigger role than ever in bringing the program to the world.

The best video games of 2009[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:50:36 EST ]Now that video game sales have eclipsed Hollywood box office revenues, you can bet your bitmaps that some extraordinarily good games were released in 2009. Here's our look at the best, grouped by genre.

Pet products get the tech treatment[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:48:10 EST ]Gadgets are not soft and cuddly, and there are no downloadable upgrades for slobbering mutts. But with enthusiasm for pets growing unabated, and technology digging ever deeper into our lives, the two seemingly unrelated worlds increasingly touch.

Tokyo man marries video game character[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:27:32 EST ]Nene Anegasaki is a witty, doe-eyed beauty. She looks perfectly perky in sexy skirts, doesn't pick fights and is always at one Tokyo man's beck and call -- that is why the 27-year-old decided to marry her.

Microsoft help desk less busy after Windows 7[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:49:08 EST ]There are many ways to measure how Windows 7 is doing. There are reports on new PC sales, tallies of boxed copy sales, and surveys of planned enterprise adoption, to name a few.

BlackBerry users hit by e-mail outages[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:16:28 EST ]Users of BlackBerry phones in North America reported widespread interruptions in sending and receiving e-mail Thursday.

Official: Iraqi insurgents hacked Predator drones[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:53:40 EST ]Insurgents were able to use a mass-market software program to view live feeds from U.S. military Predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq, a U.S. official indicated to CNN Thursday.

Review: 'Avatar' delivers on the hype[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:15:03 EST ]James Cameron has done it again.

Twitter hackers appear to be Shiite group[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:46:34 EST ]The popular microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly hacked early Friday by the "Iranian Cyber Army." The Web site was down for nearly an hour before service was restored.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Be a green Santa with these holiday gifts[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:08:25 EST ]For Christmas this year, some of us wouldn't mind getting gifts that are good for the planet as well as our lifestyles. Here are some suggestions for environmentally friendly gifting.

Verizon defends higher smart phone fees[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:18 GMT ]Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Twitter temporarily hacked, now up[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:19 GMT ]Micro-blogging site Twitter said its domain name system records were temporarily "compromised" Thursday night, but that the problem was fixed later.

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT ]With all the incredible games that have been released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 this year, trying to write a “Best of 2009” list feels an awful lot like trying to stick 20 pounds of sand into a 2-pound sack.

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:48:26 GMT ]When the sun is relatively inactive — as it has been in recent years — the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere cools dramatically, new observations find.

Even bacteria get lonely[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:42:41 GMT ]Scientists are reporting that bacteria locked in solitary confinement know they are locked up, talk to themselves, and try to break free of their imprisonment.

Maine to consider cell phone cancer warning[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:12:57 GMT ]A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.

Eight ways to cool a warming planet[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:32:29 GMT ]Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are widely considered the most prudent strategy to cool the planet, but some scientists say the politics and economics of this process are unfolding too slowly. Could geo-engineering be the answer?

Cosmic Log: The decade's highs and lows in science[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:17:34 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Some may call the decade that's ending the "aughts" or the "noughties," but you could also think of the 2000-2009 time frame as the double-oh decade. In the world of science, the past 10 years had plenty of "Oh! Oh!" moments – and a few uh-ohs as well.

Slide show: ‘Polar Obsession’[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:48:06 GMT ]National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen captures images of life in the polar reaches and the effects of climate change.

Crew blasts off for Christmas space mission[ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:46:18 GMT ]A Russian rocket has blasted off from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, shuttling an American, a Russian and a Japanese to the International Space Station.

Hungary votes for open standards[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:10:16 PST ]Hungary has legislated adoption of open standards for its critical IT systems, perhaps showing a better way to get an open result than even open-source licenses could.

U.N. climate talks end with bare-minimum deal[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:54:34 PST ]Accord "may not be everything everyone had hoped for, but this...is an important beginning," says U.N. secretary-general after talks end with U.N. "noting" nonbinding agreement.

No Nook by Christmas? Here's a $100 gift card[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:47:48 PST ]Barnes & Noble alerts some customers who preordered the new e-reader that they might not get the device in time for Christmas. Company says it will send a $100 gift certificate, with apologies.

iPhone, BlackBerry Storm offer contrast in browsers[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:42:00 PST ]The BlackBerry Storm 2 has some catching up to do in the browser department.

Three station fliers set off on flight to lab complex[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:51:00 PST ]Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and NASA's Timothy Creamer blast off on a two-day flight to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft

Microsoft sued over Bing name[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:15:53 PST ]A company called Bing Information Design is suing Microsoft, alleging "trademark infringement, unfair competition, and tortious interference with business expectancy."

The best Tiger Woods online gift ideas[ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:25:11 PST ]Somehow, many exciting and exacting entrepreneurs still try to make money out of Tiger Woods' woes. Here are some of the finest, led by one of Tiger's alleged lovers for BidHere.com.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Be a green Santa with these holiday gifts[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:08:25 EST ]For Christmas this year, some of us wouldn't mind getting gifts that are good for the planet as well as our lifestyles. Here are some suggestions for environmentally friendly gifting.

The shortest day: The science of the solstice[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:23:34 GMT ]You may think Mr. Frost's blustery entrance already occurred, but not officially. The winter solstice, and thus the official start of the chilly season on the astronomical calendar, begins Monday.

New crew poised to launch to space station[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:14 GMT ]A Russian cosmonaut doctor, a veteran Japanese astronaut and a rookie American spaceflyer are poised to blast off Sunday for the International Space Station.

Fla. mom under fire for tweet after son's death[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:36:54 GMT ]A Florida mother is being criticized by bloggers and Twitter users for posting a tweet less than an hour after her 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool at her home.

Verizon defends higher smart phone fees[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:18 GMT ]Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Twitter temporarily hacked, now up[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:19 GMT ]Micro-blogging site Twitter said its domain name system records were temporarily "compromised" Thursday night, but that the problem was fixed later.

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT ]With all the incredible games that have been released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 this year, trying to write a “Best of 2009” list feels an awful lot like trying to stick 20 pounds of sand into a 2-pound sack.

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:48:26 GMT ]When the sun is relatively inactive — as it has been in recent years — the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere cools dramatically, new observations find.

Even bacteria get lonely[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:42:41 GMT ]Scientists are reporting that bacteria locked in solitary confinement know they are locked up, talk to themselves, and try to break free of their imprisonment.

Eight ways to cool a warming planet[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:32:29 GMT ]Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are widely considered the most prudent strategy to cool the planet, but some scientists say the politics and economics of this process are unfolding too slowly. Could geo-engineering be the answer?

Cosmic Log: The decade's highs and lows in science[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:17:34 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Some may call the decade that's ending the "aughts" or the "noughties," but you could also think of the 2000-2009 time frame as the double-oh decade. In the world of science, the past 10 years had plenty of "Oh! Oh!" moments – and a few uh-ohs as well.

YouTube shows what friends share on Facebook[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:59:00 PST ]YouTube just rolled out a feature that keeps you up to date on the videos that your friends are sharing on Facebook.

Mountain Dew drinks up social media (Q&A)[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:40:00 PST ]A sophisticated social-media marketing program shows how brands can extend themselves to new levels of audience engagement.

ILM steps in to help finish 'Avatar' visual effects[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST ]While most of the visual effects work on the film was done by New Zealand's Weta Digital, George Lucas' ILM got the call to step in late in the game and help get the job done.

Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST ]Here are a few of CNET reviewers' favorite items from the past week, including the LG Shine II, the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, and the 2010 Mazda Mazdaspeed3.

Chip revenue falls 11.4 percent in 2009[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:54:32 PST ]Drop marks the sixth time in 25 years the semiconductor industry has posted an annual decline. It's the first time it has seen a drop two years in a row, according to Gartner.

A wondrous cell phone Christmas card[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:20:01 PST ]A man is asked to create a Christmas card for his marketing agency. Noticing that there are a lot of old cell phones about the place, he puts them to extraordinary, festive use.

Open house? Google has also been eying Trulia[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:55:29 PST ]Search giant has been in acquisition talks--on and off--with the real-estate search engine, sources tell AllThingsDigital.

Hungary votes for open standards[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:10:16 PST ]Hungary has legislated adoption of open standards for its critical IT systems, perhaps showing a better way to get an open result than even open-source licenses could.

U.N. climate talks end with bare-minimum deal[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:54:34 PST ]Accord "may not be everything everyone had hoped for, but this...is an important beginning," says U.N. secretary-general after talks end with U.N. "noting" nonbinding agreement.

No Nook by Christmas? Here's a $100 gift card[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:47:48 PST ]Barnes & Noble alerts some customers who preordered the new e-reader that they might not get the device in time for Christmas. Company says it will send a $100 gift certificate, with apologies.

The best video games of 2009[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:50:36 EST ]Now that video game sales have eclipsed Hollywood box office revenues, you can bet your bitmaps that some extraordinarily good games were released in 2009. Here's our look at the best, grouped by genre.

Pet products get the tech treatment[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:48:10 EST ]Gadgets are not soft and cuddly, and there are no downloadable upgrades for slobbering mutts. But with enthusiasm for pets growing unabated, and technology digging ever deeper into our lives, the two seemingly unrelated worlds increasingly touch.

Tokyo man marries video game character[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:27:32 EST ]Nene Anegasaki is a witty, doe-eyed beauty. She looks perfectly perky in sexy skirts, doesn't pick fights and is always at one Tokyo man's beck and call -- that is why the 27-year-old decided to marry her.

Microsoft help desk less busy after Windows 7[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:49:08 EST ]There are many ways to measure how Windows 7 is doing. There are reports on new PC sales, tallies of boxed copy sales, and surveys of planned enterprise adoption, to name a few.

BlackBerry users hit by e-mail outages[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:16:28 EST ]Users of BlackBerry phones in North America reported widespread interruptions in sending and receiving e-mail Thursday.

Official: Iraqi insurgents hacked Predator drones[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:53:40 EST ]Insurgents were able to use a mass-market software program to view live feeds from U.S. military Predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq, a U.S. official indicated to CNN Thursday.

Review: 'Avatar' delivers on the hype[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:15:03 EST ]James Cameron has done it again.

Twitter hackers appear to be Shiite group[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:46:34 EST ]The popular microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly hacked early Friday by the "Iranian Cyber Army." The Web site was down for nearly an hour before service was restored.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Be a green Santa with these holiday gifts[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:08:25 EST ]For Christmas this year, some of us wouldn't mind getting gifts that are good for the planet as well as our lifestyles. Here are some suggestions for environmentally friendly gifting.

The shortest day: The science of the solstice[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:23:34 GMT ]You may think Mr. Frost's blustery entrance already occurred, but not officially. The winter solstice, and thus the official start of the chilly season on the astronomical calendar, begins Monday.

New crew poised to launch to space station[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:14 GMT ]A Russian cosmonaut doctor, a veteran Japanese astronaut and a rookie American spaceflyer are poised to blast off Sunday for the International Space Station.

Fla. mom under fire for tweet after son's death[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:36:54 GMT ]A Florida mother is being criticized by bloggers and Twitter users for posting a tweet less than an hour after her 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool at her home.

Verizon defends higher smart phone fees[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:18 GMT ]Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Twitter temporarily hacked, now up[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:19 GMT ]Micro-blogging site Twitter said its domain name system records were temporarily "compromised" Thursday night, but that the problem was fixed later.

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT ]With all the incredible games that have been released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 this year, trying to write a “Best of 2009” list feels an awful lot like trying to stick 20 pounds of sand into a 2-pound sack.

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:48:26 GMT ]When the sun is relatively inactive — as it has been in recent years — the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere cools dramatically, new observations find.

Even bacteria get lonely[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:42:41 GMT ]Scientists are reporting that bacteria locked in solitary confinement know they are locked up, talk to themselves, and try to break free of their imprisonment.

Eight ways to cool a warming planet[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:32:29 GMT ]Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are widely considered the most prudent strategy to cool the planet, but some scientists say the politics and economics of this process are unfolding too slowly. Could geo-engineering be the answer?

Cosmic Log: The decade's highs and lows in science[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:17:34 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Some may call the decade that's ending the "aughts" or the "noughties," but you could also think of the 2000-2009 time frame as the double-oh decade. In the world of science, the past 10 years had plenty of "Oh! Oh!" moments – and a few uh-ohs as well.

YouTube shows what friends share on Facebook[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:59:00 PST ]YouTube just rolled out a feature that keeps you up to date on the videos that your friends are sharing on Facebook.

Mountain Dew drinks up social media (Q&A)[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:40:00 PST ]A sophisticated social-media marketing program shows how brands can extend themselves to new levels of audience engagement.

ILM steps in to help finish 'Avatar' visual effects[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST ]While most of the visual effects work on the film was done by New Zealand's Weta Digital, George Lucas' ILM got the call to step in late in the game and help get the job done.

Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST ]Here are a few of CNET reviewers' favorite items from the past week, including the LG Shine II, the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, and the 2010 Mazda Mazdaspeed3.

Chip revenue falls 11.4 percent in 2009[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:54:32 PST ]Drop marks the sixth time in 25 years the semiconductor industry has posted an annual decline. It's the first time it has seen a drop two years in a row, according to Gartner.

A wondrous cell phone Christmas card[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:20:01 PST ]A man is asked to create a Christmas card for his marketing agency. Noticing that there are a lot of old cell phones about the place, he puts them to extraordinary, festive use.

Open house? Google has also been eying Trulia[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:55:29 PST ]Search giant has been in acquisition talks--on and off--with the real-estate search engine, sources tell AllThingsDigital.

Hungary votes for open standards[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:10:16 PST ]Hungary has legislated adoption of open standards for its critical IT systems, perhaps showing a better way to get an open result than even open-source licenses could.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Be a green Santa with these holiday gifts[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:08:25 EST ]For Christmas this year, some of us wouldn't mind getting gifts that are good for the planet as well as our lifestyles. Here are some suggestions for environmentally friendly gifting.

The shortest day: The science of the solstice[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:23:34 GMT ]You may think Mr. Frost's blustery entrance already occurred, but not officially. The winter solstice, and thus the official start of the chilly season on the astronomical calendar, begins Monday.

New crew poised to launch to space station[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:14 GMT ]A Russian cosmonaut doctor, a veteran Japanese astronaut and a rookie American spaceflyer are poised to blast off Sunday for the International Space Station.

Fla. mom under fire for tweet after son's death[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:36:54 GMT ]A Florida mother is being criticized by bloggers and Twitter users for posting a tweet less than an hour after her 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool at her home.

Verizon defends higher smart phone fees[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:18 GMT ]Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Twitter temporarily hacked, now up[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:19 GMT ]Micro-blogging site Twitter said its domain name system records were temporarily "compromised" Thursday night, but that the problem was fixed later.

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT ]With all the incredible games that have been released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 this year, trying to write a “Best of 2009” list feels an awful lot like trying to stick 20 pounds of sand into a 2-pound sack.

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:48:26 GMT ]When the sun is relatively inactive — as it has been in recent years — the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere cools dramatically, new observations find.

Even bacteria get lonely[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:42:41 GMT ]Scientists are reporting that bacteria locked in solitary confinement know they are locked up, talk to themselves, and try to break free of their imprisonment.

Eight ways to cool a warming planet[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:32:29 GMT ]Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are widely considered the most prudent strategy to cool the planet, but some scientists say the politics and economics of this process are unfolding too slowly. Could geo-engineering be the answer?

Cosmic Log: The decade's highs and lows in science[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:17:34 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Some may call the decade that's ending the "aughts" or the "noughties," but you could also think of the 2000-2009 time frame as the double-oh decade. In the world of science, the past 10 years had plenty of "Oh! Oh!" moments – and a few uh-ohs as well.

Memo to FTC: Update your Intel dossier[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:30:00 PST ]The Federal Trade Commission needs to do a better study of the future of the chip market and Intel's likely diminished role.

iTunes U breaks 100 million downloads[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:55:08 PST ]The iTunes Store's higher-education channel, which launched in 2007, has hit a milestone, Apple says. A download leader: the United Kingdom's Open University.

Economy center stage in green tech at year's end[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:19:00 PST ]2009 ends with governments promoting clean-energy innovation for environmental reasons and for national economic competitiveness. Take a look back on the year.

Mozilla hopes to finish Thunderbird 3.1 in April[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:46:00 PST ]The updated e-mail software, code-named Lanikai, should arrive in April and could get an ability to show useful information about folders and other e-mail activity.

Reporters' Roundtable Podcast: Biggest tech stories of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:59:00 PST ]This week on the Roundtable, Rafe Needleman talks about the biggest tech stories of 2009 with CNET Editor in Chief Scott Ard and Buzz Out Loud host Tom Merritt.

Report: Psystar closes up shop[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:00 PST ]The Florida company was ordered by a federal judge to stop selling Mac clones earlier this week. Now the Web site is inaccessible.

California solar outfit Solyndra files to go public[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:09:00 PST ]The start-up, which secured a large loan from DOE to make its solar arrays for commercial buildings, looks to raise $300 million to fund expansion of second factory.

Explosive deep-ocean volcano (photos)[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:14:35 PST ]Scientists funded by NOAA and the NSF explore and analyze volcanoes erupting at 4,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean.

Undersea robot captures rare deep-sea eruption[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:17:00 PST ]Scientists get an up-close (and high-def) look at molten lava and billowing ash in the deepest underwater volcanic eruption ever seen.

YouTube shows what friends share on Facebook[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:59:00 PST ]YouTube just rolled out a feature that keeps you up to date on the videos that your friends are sharing on Facebook.

The best video games of 2009[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:50:36 EST ]Now that video game sales have eclipsed Hollywood box office revenues, you can bet your bitmaps that some extraordinarily good games were released in 2009. Here's our look at the best, grouped by genre.

Pet products get the tech treatment[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:48:10 EST ]Gadgets are not soft and cuddly, and there are no downloadable upgrades for slobbering mutts. But with enthusiasm for pets growing unabated, and technology digging ever deeper into our lives, the two seemingly unrelated worlds increasingly touch.

Tokyo man marries video game character[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:27:32 EST ]Nene Anegasaki is a witty, doe-eyed beauty. She looks perfectly perky in sexy skirts, doesn't pick fights and is always at one Tokyo man's beck and call -- that is why the 27-year-old decided to marry her.

Microsoft help desk less busy after Windows 7[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:49:08 EST ]There are many ways to measure how Windows 7 is doing. There are reports on new PC sales, tallies of boxed copy sales, and surveys of planned enterprise adoption, to name a few.

BlackBerry users hit by e-mail outages[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:16:28 EST ]Users of BlackBerry phones in North America reported widespread interruptions in sending and receiving e-mail Thursday.

Official: Iraqi insurgents hacked Predator drones[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:53:40 EST ]Insurgents were able to use a mass-market software program to view live feeds from U.S. military Predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq, a U.S. official indicated to CNN Thursday.

Review: 'Avatar' delivers on the hype[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:15:03 EST ]James Cameron has done it again.

Twitter hackers appear to be Shiite group[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:46:34 EST ]The popular microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly hacked early Friday by the "Iranian Cyber Army." The Web site was down for nearly an hour before service was restored.

NASA reveals photo of liquid on Saturn moon[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:11 EST ]NASA scientists revealed Friday a first-of-its-kind image from space showing reflecting sunlight from a lake on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Be a green Santa with these holiday gifts[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:08:25 EST ]For Christmas this year, some of us wouldn't mind getting gifts that are good for the planet as well as our lifestyles. Here are some suggestions for environmentally friendly gifting.

The shortest day: The science of the solstice[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:23:34 GMT ]You may think Mr. Frost's blustery entrance already occurred, but not officially. The winter solstice, and thus the official start of the chilly season on the astronomical calendar, begins Monday.

New crew poised to launch to space station[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:26:14 GMT ]A Russian cosmonaut doctor, a veteran Japanese astronaut and a rookie American spaceflyer are poised to blast off Sunday for the International Space Station.

Fla. mom under fire for tweet after son's death[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:36:54 GMT ]A Florida mother is being criticized by bloggers and Twitter users for posting a tweet less than an hour after her 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool at her home.

Verizon defends higher smart phone fees[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:18 GMT ]Verizon Wireless said Friday that it doubled the fees for customers to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Twitter temporarily hacked, now up[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:19 GMT ]Micro-blogging site Twitter said its domain name system records were temporarily "compromised" Thursday night, but that the problem was fixed later.

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT ]With all the incredible games that have been released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 this year, trying to write a “Best of 2009” list feels an awful lot like trying to stick 20 pounds of sand into a 2-pound sack.

Earth's upper atmosphere cooling dramatically[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:48:26 GMT ]When the sun is relatively inactive — as it has been in recent years — the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere cools dramatically, new observations find.

Even bacteria get lonely[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:42:41 GMT ]Scientists are reporting that bacteria locked in solitary confinement know they are locked up, talk to themselves, and try to break free of their imprisonment.

Eight ways to cool a warming planet[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:32:29 GMT ]Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are widely considered the most prudent strategy to cool the planet, but some scientists say the politics and economics of this process are unfolding too slowly. Could geo-engineering be the answer?

Cosmic Log: The decade's highs and lows in science[ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:17:34 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Some may call the decade that's ending the "aughts" or the "noughties," but you could also think of the 2000-2009 time frame as the double-oh decade. In the world of science, the past 10 years had plenty of "Oh! Oh!" moments – and a few uh-ohs as well.

Memo to FTC: Update your Intel dossier[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:30:00 PST ]The Federal Trade Commission needs to do a better study of the future of the chip market and Intel's likely diminished role.

iTunes U breaks 100 million downloads[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:55:08 PST ]The iTunes Store's higher-education channel, which launched in 2007, has hit a milestone, Apple says. A download leader: the United Kingdom's Open University.

Economy center stage in green tech at year's end[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:19:00 PST ]2009 ends with governments promoting clean-energy innovation for environmental reasons and for national economic competitiveness. Take a look back on the year.

Mozilla hopes to finish Thunderbird 3.1 in April[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:46:00 PST ]The updated e-mail software, code-named Lanikai, should arrive in April and could get an ability to show useful information about folders and other e-mail activity.

Reporters' Roundtable Podcast: Biggest tech stories of 2009[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:59:00 PST ]This week on the Roundtable, Rafe Needleman talks about the biggest tech stories of 2009 with CNET Editor in Chief Scott Ard and Buzz Out Loud host Tom Merritt.

Report: Psystar closes up shop[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:00 PST ]The Florida company was ordered by a federal judge to stop selling Mac clones earlier this week. Now the Web site is inaccessible.

California solar outfit Solyndra files to go public[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:09:00 PST ]The start-up, which secured a large loan from DOE to make its solar arrays for commercial buildings, looks to raise $300 million to fund expansion of second factory.

Explosive deep-ocean volcano (photos)[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:14:35 PST ]Scientists funded by NOAA and the NSF explore and analyze volcanoes erupting at 4,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean.

Be a green Santa with these holiday gifts[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:08:25 EST ]For Christmas this year, some of us wouldn't mind getting gifts that are good for the planet as well as our lifestyles. Here are some suggestions for environmentally friendly gifting.

Moon poses radiation risk to future travelers[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:08:09 GMT ]Future lunar explorers counting on the moon to shield themselves from galactic cosmic rays might want to think about Plan B.

Scientists watch deep-sea volcano explode[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:01:14 GMT ]Scientists have witnessed the eruption of the deepest submarine volcano ever discovered, capturing for the first time video of fiery bubbles of molten lava as they exploded 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Monument lifted from Cleopatra’s sunken city[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:34:32 GMT ]Archaeologists on Thursday hoisted up a 9-ton temple pylon that was part of the palace complex of the fabled Cleopatra before it became submerged for centuries in the harbor of Alexandria.

Cosmic Log: Koreans plan space tours[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:27:14 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: XCOR Aerospace and Yecheon Astro Space Center announce a deal that would eventually provide rides to the edge of outer space from South Korea, in a rocket plane made in the U.S.A.

Pentagon: Insurgents intercepted spy videos[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:26:54 GMT ]Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from Predator drones, a key weapon in a Pentagon spy system that serves as the military's eyes in the sky for surveillance and intelligence collection.

Privacy watchdog files complaint against Facebook[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:32:48 GMT ]A Washington-based privacy advocacy group has filed a complaint against Facebook over the social network's latest privacy changes.

Check your Facebook privacy settings. Now![ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:14:11 GMT ]If Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg can't figure out his social networking site's privacy settings after they were ripped open earlier this month, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Pocket cameras with big-time lenses[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:07:09 GMT ]Several compact cameras offer much more versatility than the average point-and-shoot does, thanks to powerful lenses that reach from 8X to 12X optical zoom.

Eight ancient drinks uncorked by science[ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:51:34 GMT ]Throughout human history, alcoholic beverages have treated pain, thwarted infections and unleashed a cascade of pleasure in the brain that lubricates the social fabric of life.

Cosmic Log: The year in science[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:26:02 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The unveiling of the 4.4 million-year-old skeleton of a human ancestor, 15 years after it was unearthed, ranks as Science's top breakthrough of the year.

Mozilla releases fifth Firefox 3.6 beta[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:47:00 PST ]The latest Firefox 3.6 beta likely will be the last. The new browser is due to bring Personas, file-handling, and new security features by the end of 2009.

Oracle delivers strong quarter, outlines plans for Sun[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:49:23 PST ]Company announces better-than-expected second quarter results and says it expects the European Union to clear its proposed acquisition of Sun.

Biking 2.0: Does Copenhagen Wheel go the distance?[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:07:33 PST ]MIT's new take on storing and boosting power, keeping track of nearby friends, and monitoring traffic, fitness, and fog has bike/health enthusiasts scratching their heads.

Top ad trends list spotlights online behavior[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:05:00 PST ]New data from research firm Nielsen shows that brands need to manage consumer experience across all the screens--TV, PC, and mobile.

Bitly.tv serves up the Web's most linked videos[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:15:00 PST ]Popular URL shortener bit.ly debuts a new service, bitly.tv, which shows off the most-linked videos through their service.

Mom updates Twitter as 2-year-old son is dying[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:43:00 PST ]A mom blogger's son falls into a pool. Some 30 minutes after she calls paramedics, she sends a tweet. The 2-year-old subsequently dies. Controversy rages about her turning to Twitter.

Twitter hijacked by 'Iranian Cyber Army'[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:40:00 PST ]The microblogging site appeared defaced by a group that identified itself as the "Iranian Cyber Army" before the site went down.

Google said talking buyout with Yelp[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:44:32 PST ]The potential acquisition of the reviews site for local businesses, reportedly valued at $500 million, would make Google the Borg of local content.

CE industry hopes 'Avatar' is a hit[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Good box office returns for the 3D film are expected to spur 3D entertainment from the theater to the living room.

Google's top antitrust defender: 'it's fun'[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Life at Google is certainly different than government service for senior competition counsel Dana Wagner, but his past and present collide on a daily basis at the search giant.

Boeing claims 'historic day' with 787 test flight[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:34:53 EST ]After more than two years of delays, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner made its maiden flight Tuesday in a three-hour trip that the maker described as a success.

One in six teens engage in 'sexting'[ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:27:14 EST ]Nearly one-sixth of teens who own cell phones have received nude or nearly nude images via text message from someone they know, according to a new survey on "sexting" from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Susan Boyle, 'David After Dentist' top YouTube in 2009[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:45:27 EST ]A dazed boy's musings after a trip to the dentist's office had a good run.

Pet products get the tech treatment[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:48:10 EST ]Gadgets are not soft and cuddly, and there are no downloadable upgrades for slobbering mutts. But with enthusiasm for pets growing unabated, and technology digging ever deeper into our lives, the two seemingly unrelated worlds increasingly touch.

Tokyo man marries video game character[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:27:32 EST ]Nene Anegasaki is a witty, doe-eyed beauty. She looks perfectly perky in sexy skirts, doesn't pick fights and is always at one Tokyo man's beck and call -- that is why the 27-year-old decided to marry her.

Microsoft help desk less busy after Windows 7[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:49:08 EST ]There are many ways to measure how Windows 7 is doing. There are reports on new PC sales, tallies of boxed copy sales, and surveys of planned enterprise adoption, to name a few.

BlackBerry users hit by e-mail outages[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:16:28 EST ]Users of BlackBerry phones in North America reported widespread interruptions in sending and receiving e-mail Thursday.

Official: Iraqi insurgents hacked Predator drones[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:53:40 EST ]Insurgents were able to use a mass-market software program to view live feeds from U.S. military Predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq, a U.S. official indicated to CNN Thursday.

The 9 worst tech movies of all time[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:01:28 EST ]From nonsensical gadgets to gimmicky, Web-themed plots, movies often get technology wrong. From Sandra Bullock's "The Net" to Angelina Jolie's "Hackers," here are our picks for the worst tech movies ever.

Twitter hacked by 'Iranian Cyber Army'[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:15:46 EST ]The popular microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly hacked early Friday by the "Iranian Cyber Army." The Web site was down for nearly an hour before service was restored.

Moon poses radiation risk to future travelers[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:08:09 GMT ]Future lunar explorers counting on the moon to shield themselves from galactic cosmic rays might want to think about Plan B.

Scientists watch deep-sea volcano explode[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:01:14 GMT ]Scientists have witnessed the eruption of the deepest submarine volcano ever discovered, capturing for the first time video of fiery bubbles of molten lava as they exploded 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Monument lifted from Cleopatra’s sunken city[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:34:32 GMT ]Archaeologists on Thursday hoisted up a 9-ton temple pylon that was part of the palace complex of the fabled Cleopatra before it became submerged for centuries in the harbor of Alexandria.

Cosmic Log: Koreans plan space tours[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:27:14 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: XCOR Aerospace and Yecheon Astro Space Center announce a deal that would eventually provide rides to the edge of outer space from South Korea, in a rocket plane made in the U.S.A.

Pentagon: Insurgents intercepted spy videos[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:26:54 GMT ]Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from Predator drones, a key weapon in a Pentagon spy system that serves as the military's eyes in the sky for surveillance and intelligence collection.

Privacy watchdog files complaint against Facebook[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:32:48 GMT ]A Washington-based privacy advocacy group has filed a complaint against Facebook over the social network's latest privacy changes.

Check your Facebook privacy settings. Now![ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:14:11 GMT ]If Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg can't figure out his social networking site's privacy settings after they were ripped open earlier this month, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Pocket cameras with big-time lenses[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:07:09 GMT ]Several compact cameras offer much more versatility than the average point-and-shoot does, thanks to powerful lenses that reach from 8X to 12X optical zoom.

Eight ancient drinks uncorked by science[ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:51:34 GMT ]Throughout human history, alcoholic beverages have treated pain, thwarted infections and unleashed a cascade of pleasure in the brain that lubricates the social fabric of life.

Cosmic Log: The year in science[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:26:02 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The unveiling of the 4.4 million-year-old skeleton of a human ancestor, 15 years after it was unearthed, ranks as Science's top breakthrough of the year.

Microsoft to fix Zune HD censoring issue[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:18:00 PST ]Redmond's new Twitter app for the Zune HD automatically abbreviates curse words in tweets. The company has come under fire and now, it plans to fix the issue.

Court to Lucas: 'Star Wars' costumes aren't art[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:37:00 PST ]The Star Wars creator loses a case in a British court against the original designer of the Stormtrooper costumes, who has been selling replicas online.

Study: iPhone beats Windows Mobile in market share[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:46:55 PST ]Apple's iPhone has passed Windows Mobile in terms of operating-system market share for smartphones, according to a report from ComScore. But BlackBerry is still tops.

Mozilla releases fifth Firefox 3.6 beta[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:47:00 PST ]The latest Firefox 3.6 beta likely will be the last. The new browser is due to bring Personas, file-handling, and new security features by the end of 2009.

Oracle delivers strong quarter, outlines plans for Sun[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:49:23 PST ]Company announces better-than-expected second quarter results and says it expects the European Union to clear its proposed acquisition of Sun.

Biking 2.0: Does Copenhagen Wheel go the distance?[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:07:33 PST ]MIT's new take on storing and boosting power, keeping track of nearby friends, and monitoring traffic, fitness, and fog has bike/health enthusiasts scratching their heads.

Top ad trends list spotlights online behavior[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:05:00 PST ]New data from research firm Nielsen shows that brands need to manage consumer experience across all the screens--TV, PC, and mobile.

Bitly.tv serves up the Web's most linked videos[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:15:00 PST ]Popular URL shortener bit.ly debuts a new service, bitly.tv, which shows off the most-linked videos through their service.

Mom updates Twitter as 2-year-old son is dying[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:43:00 PST ]A mom blogger's son falls into a pool. Some 30 minutes after she calls paramedics, she sends a tweet. The 2-year-old subsequently dies. Controversy rages about her turning to Twitter.

Twitter hacked by 'Iranian Cyber Army'[ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:15:46 EST ]The popular microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly hacked early Friday by the "Iranian Cyber Army." The Web site was down for nearly an hour before service was restored.

Secret Santa exchange proves the Web has heart[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:32:17 GMT ]'Tis the season for heart-melting tales of spontaneous good will among strangers, which, like the rest of our relationships, has gotten a lot more convenient since the advent of the Internet.

Ohio court: Cell phone searches require warrant[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:31:08 GMT ]The Ohio Supreme Court said Tuesday police officers must obtain a search warrant before scouring the contents of a suspect's cell phone, unless their safety is in danger.

Netbooks meet luxury in ultra-light Sony[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:59:59 GMT ]Netbooks have been a hit among laptop buyers because they're cheap and they're easy to carry. Now there's the option to pay a lot more and get a lot less — a lot less weight, that is.

YouTube's top 2009 videos feature eclectic cast[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:14:54 GMT ]The year's biggest hits on the Internet's top video channel were anchored by an improbable singing sensation, a groggy boy nursing a sore mouth, a bride and groom dancing down the wedding aisle, supernatural heartthrobs and roller-skating babies.

Mars lander just might rise from the dead[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:22:15 GMT ]NASA's Phoenix Mars lander lived up to its name — rising from the ashes of an earlier failed Mars landing attempt to go on to a successful mission. But now the probe has a chance to rise from the dead itself.

Organic molecules found ... on the moon?[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:07:49 GMT ]Indian researchers say they have found organic matter on the moon, a discovery that may be seconded by U.S. teams analyzing a plume of debris kicked up by the deliberate crash of a rocket body into a lunar crater.

Teen runs up dad's cell bill to nearly $22,000[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:02:37 GMT ]A 13-year-old teen was probably in hot water with his father after running up a cell phone bill of nearly $22,000.

Top 5 reasons to keep playing your PS2[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:34:37 GMT ]Like all forms of entertainment, old doesn't always mean outdated, something active PlayStation 2 users continue to evangelize. Here are five reasons to keep playing your PlayStation 2.

10 best PlayStation 3 games of 2009[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:15:09 GMT ]With a slew of exclusive games, the PlayStation 3 is finally hitting its stride.

Cosmic Log: Alien ‘water world’ found[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:30:04 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Astronomers say they have detected a planet just six and a half times as massive as Earth — at a distance so close its atmosphere could be studied, and with a density so low it's almost certain to have water.

CNET News Daily Podcast: Resolution between Microsoft, Europe[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:24:00 PST ]A resolution in Microsoft's long antitrust battle with the European Commission, Intel gets sued by the FTC, and an arrest is made in the copyright infringement case of the "Wolverine" movie.

Mac clones through the years[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:27:00 PST ]Looking back at those who've tried to sell Mac OS on non-Apple hardware.

Cell phone activity helps predict spread of malaria[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:04:56 PST ]Researchers at the University of Florida are predicting the spread of malaria based on analysis of more than 21 million cell phone calls that track where and how often Zanzibar residents travel.

FTC pursues Intel on new front: Graphics chips[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:21:10 PST ]The latest regulator-filed antitrust complaint against the chipmaker breaks from past suits, as it focuses on sales practices for graphics processors instead of CPUs.

Nvidia CEO: FTC action 'transforms' industry[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:55:00 PST ]Nvidia's Jen Hsun Huang issued an internal statement today to employees, calling the FTC action against Intel on Wednesday transformative for the computer industry.

Dear newspapers: I will pay for your content, once[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:24:00 PST ]Asking subscribers to pay for the same content twice will not work.

IBM closes lackluster M&A year with buying spree[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:30:00 PST ]The total value for tech merger and acquisition activity reaches $142 billion in 2009; in contrast, the second quarter of 2008 alone saw $173 billion in tech M&A deals.

Google project shows when Web content is hiding[ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:30:00 PST ]The Browser Size tool provides an overlay to reveal how likely it is people are reading the extremities of a Web page.

Browser makers hope WebGL will remake 3D[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Don't believe WebGL is real? Here's how to try the 3D browser technology yourself. It works, but plenty of development is needed for this graphics foundation to mature.

Windows 7 leaving Redmond's help desk less busy[ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:00:00 PST ]Microsoft says it has gotten only about half as many calls with Windows 7 as it had anticipated. In part, though, that's also due to the fact more people are going online for PC help.

Koalas dying from AIDS, habitat loss[ Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:23:13 EST ]On the operating table lies a sick koala. He's just been brought in by a driver who found the animal sitting in the middle of a busy road. Veterinarian Claude Lacasse determines the koala has not been hit by a car but she immediately detects one serious problem facing many of the marsupials: Chlamydia, a disease which can lead to a very slow and painful death for koalas living in the wild.

Tweeting about the weather[ Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:09:28 EST ]This week, winter storms dumped more than 18 inches of snow on parts of the Midwest before swerving toward Canada.