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.