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.