Microsoft reposts Windows 7 download tool [ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:36:00 PST ]Software giant restores a tool that allows Windows 7 to be more easily installed on older Netbooks. This time, though, it is under an open-source license.

LG: Before sending pic of your junk, put on a beard[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:01:57 PST ]An extraordinary new series of PSAs from LG, featuring James Lipton, asks teens to ponder carefully, put a beard on and stroke it, before sending risque texts.

The iPhone app that's like a Yelp for dogs[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:18:39 PST ]FidoFactor is an app and site that claims to be perfect for dogs to find the things and places that will make them happy. It's supposedly like a Yelp for dogs. But what do dogs think?

Vevo--a music site we didn't need[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:35:00 PST ]The new music-video site operated by Google was designed with the needs of content owners in mind, but offers nothing new for users.

Analysts: Modern Warfare 2 to make up fifth of game sales[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:34:00 PST ]When the NPD releases its video game sales data this week for November, it expects the latest Call of Duty release to account for the lion's share of the software sales.

Obama directs $600 million to health centers[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:46:48 PST ]Of the funds the U.S. president is directing to help create jobs and overhaul the country's health system, $88 million is earmarked for helping digitize medical records.

Friendster finds buyer in Asian payment company[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:30:00 PST ]Pioneering social-networking site agrees to be purchased by MOL Global, a Malaysian online payment company.

IBM opens new cloud lab while Microsoft reorgs[ Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:01:00 PST ]Big Blue continues to be the only enterprise vendor bringing cloud services to its customer. A new lab in Hong Kong will focus on emerging markets and applications.

The smartphone apps that could save your life[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:15:58 EST ]There are a growing number of smartphone applications aimed at assisting medical professionals or improving personal health.

Can burying carbon emissions work?[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:54:06 EST ]Nestled in the heart of American coal country, on the banks of the Ohio River, an expensive, high-stakes experiment is underway --- one that could fundamentally alter the way the world manages carbon emissions.

Branson unveils his newest spaceship[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:50:35 EST ]Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson on Monday unveiled the winged rocket his company developed to give paying customers a brief taste of space.

Google launches real-time search[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:36:01 EST ]Google announced Monday the fruits of its earlier deal with Twitter, showing off how it has decided to present real-time Internet content within search results.

AT&T launches app for iPhone service complaints[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:52:55 EST ]Would you like to let AT&T know when your iPhone has dropped a call? Well, now there is an app for that.

Math scores show improvement at schools in large U.S. cities[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:28:44 EST ]Public school students in major metropolitan areas are showing improvement on test scores in mathematics compared with scores from previous years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Education.

Twitter creator demonstrates new mobile-pay device[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:17:56 EST ]Twitter creator Jack Dorsey Wednesday gave the first public demonstration of his hotly-anticipated latest venture -- a device to allow credit card payments by cell phone -- and revealed it would be given away for free.

Conference weighs future of real-time Web[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:10:11 EST ]The future of social networking, the real-time Web and a host of apps and gadgets were the talk of the annual Le Web conference as it opened here Wednesday.

Apple expels 1,000 apps after store scam[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:47:30 EST ]Apple has sent a clear message to any developers who try to game its iTunes App Store. Software developer Molinker has been kicked out, along with more than 1,000 of its iPhone applications.

What's the future for independent AOL?[ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:35:24 EST ]As it breaks free fom Time Warner today, AOL looks for a new identity on an Internet far bigger and more diverse than the one it dominated in the 1990s.

NASA cooks up ingredients for life[ Tue, 8 Dec 2009 16:23:45 GMT ]In a laboratory set up to simulate conditions in space, NASA scientists were able to produce a key component of RNA, which is found in the genetic makeup of all living organisms on Earth.

Cosmic Log: SpaceShipTwo goes on show[ Mon, 7 Dec 2009 22:02:39 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Hundreds of paying space tourists and travel agents, rocket geeks and glitterati gather to see the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane up close.

iPhone app lets you bird-watch on the go[ Tue, 8 Dec 2009 23:36:33 GMT ]When Jory Langner finds time for a field trip during an upcoming visit to Washington, he won't have to ask local birders where to find candidates to add to his life list of birds sighted.

MySpace buys imeem music site[ Tue, 8 Dec 2009 21:14:06 GMT ]MySpace's online music venture with recording labels completed its purchase of song streaming site imeem, scooping up its 16 million users and mobile phone applications.

Petunias and potatoes may be carnivorous[ Tue, 8 Dec 2009 21:42:49 GMT ]Carnivorous behavior may be far more widespread in plants than commonly thought — if we take a closer look, botanists said.

Video: 'Avatar: The Video Game' crashes and burns[ Mon, 7 Dec 2009 22:04:02 GMT ]If you really have a hankering to see blue people, hold out for the James Cameron movie. Msnbc.com's video game reporter Todd Kenreck gives the game version of 'Avatar' a 6 out of 10. (msnbc.com)

Fake sites trick search engines to rank higher[ Tue, 8 Dec 2009 20:40:32 GMT ]Even search engines can get suckered by Internet scams. With a little sleight of hand, con artists can dupe them into giving top billing to fraudulent Web sites that prey on consumers.

Cosmic Log: From the desert to space[ Wed, 9 Dec 2009 01:57:43 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: SpaceShipOne may have put Mojave, Calif., on the map — but when it comes to the future of space travel, there's more than one game in town.

Surprise! Merchants say Web fraud is down[ Tue, 8 Dec 2009 14:08:53 GMT ]Losses to U.S. and Canadian merchants are down from $4 billion in 2008 to $3.3 billion this year, according to a recent survey. That's a drop of 18 percent, but don't break out the champagne just yet.

Hubble telescope spots most distant galaxies[ Wed, 9 Dec 2009 00:06:18 GMT ]The revamped Hubble Space Telescope has spied what might be the oldest, most distant galaxies yet seen, astronomers announced today.

Did Apple pay $80 million or $17 million for Lala? [ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:24:00 PST ]Dramatically different amounts were reported for what Apple paid to acquire the music service. In this tough environment, it's hard to believe Apple would overpay.

iTunes Rewind shows off best-selling content of 2009[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:25:59 PST ]iTunes' rundown of the most popular iTunes music, movies, TV shows, and apps for 2009 has been released.

Dell earns $6.5 million, thanks to Twitter[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:37:00 PST ]Microblog might be a place to talk about the simple things in life, but it can also be an effective tool for promoting products. DellOutlet has almost 1.5 million followers.

Cloud-scaling on Amazon with Memcached[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:43:00 PST ]Memcached is the unsung hero of the cloud. A new offering lets users deploy directly to Amazon Web Services.

Mozilla lets Thunderbird 3 fly[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:12:00 PST ]Mozilla Messaging pushes the stable release of Thunderbird 3 out of the nest, and there's far more to like than dislike in the latest iteration of this Outlook alternative.

Microsoft Azure, Server teams form new cloud division [ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:36:36 PST ]Company is creating a new Server and Cloud Division, combining the Windows Server and Solutions group with the Windows Azure group.

'Intel will buy Nvidia' mere theory, but intriguing[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:56:00 PST ]A theory is being proposed as to why it's really true this time that the chipmakers will merge. Because of recent events--project cancellations and legal wrangling--it makes for fascinating reading.

Woman sues Burger King over spam texts[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:10:58 PST ]A woman gets so fed with Burger King texting her with offers after she asks the company to stop that she sues the King for harm and aggravation.

Google brings Groups to Google Apps Premier[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:01:00 PST ]The addition of Google Groups allows users to more effectively collaborate with others within the workplace.

Vevo launch party (photos)[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:45:00 PST ]Google's CEO was one of the guest of honors at a party to launch the music video site Vevo. The partnership between the recording industry and YouTube could serve as a blueprint for other content creators.

Q&A: 'Climategate' explained[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:34:13 EST ]As world leaders gathered in Copenhagen Monday for the start of the United Nations climate conference, leaked emails from an internationally-renowned climate research unit threaten to overshadow the talks.

Europe: U.S., China must match climate change goals[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:05:54 EST ]The United States and China have not offered to go far enough to combat climate change, a top European Union official said as a major international summit on the subject opened Monday.

Facebook board aims to keep kids safe[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:45:28 EST ]Facebook has joined forces with five Internet groups to help protect kids, the social-networking site said.

The smartphone apps that could save your life[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:15:58 EST ]There are a growing number of smartphone applications aimed at assisting medical professionals or improving personal health.

Can burying carbon emissions work?[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:54:06 EST ]Nestled in the heart of American coal country, on the banks of the Ohio River, an expensive, high-stakes experiment is underway --- one that could fundamentally alter the way the world manages carbon emissions.

Branson unveils his newest spaceship[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:50:35 EST ]Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson on Monday unveiled the winged rocket his company developed to give paying customers a brief taste of space.

Google launches real-time search[ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:36:01 EST ]Google announced Monday the fruits of its earlier deal with Twitter, showing off how it has decided to present real-time Internet content within search results.

AT&T launches app for iPhone service complaints[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:52:55 EST ]Would you like to let AT&T know when your iPhone has dropped a call? Well, now there is an app for that.

Math scores show improvement at schools in large U.S. cities[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:28:44 EST ]Public school students in major metropolitan areas are showing improvement on test scores in mathematics compared with scores from previous years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Education.

Google Goggles can search by sight[ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:30:27 EST ]Google's first search engine let people search by typing text onto a Web page. Next came queries spoken over the phone. Now Google is able to perform an Internet search by submitting a photograph.

Video: Fight off the Nazis in 'The Saboteur'[ Thu, 3 Dec 2009 21:28:25 GMT ]'The Saboteur' is a stylized shooter set in Nazi-occupied Paris in the 1940s. Msnbc.com's video game reporter Todd Kenreck takes a closer look at the game's unique style. (msnbc.com)

Spaceships may speed consumer air travel[ Mon, 7 Dec 2009 18:06:05 GMT ]With several firms working on commercial suborbital spaceships, a two-hour flight to anywhere on Earth may soon be possible, says an advocacy group laying the groundwork for global high-speed air and space travel.