Your finger swipe could become your password[ Tue, 2 Oct 2012 16:16:08 GMT ]Natural finger movements can be more secure, more memorable and more fun than standard passcodes and passwords, according to researchers at New York University.

Gmail now lets you search PDF and Word attachments[ Tue, 2 Oct 2012 14:59:26 GMT ]Given that it's from Google, it's not surprising that Gmail has a powerful search feature. But until now, if your email had a third-party attachment, say a PDF or Word doc, it couldn't index that text.

Pre-caffeine tech: Privacy wars, Baturday![ Tue, 2 Oct 2012 13:38:21 GMT ]Our pre-caffeine roundup is a collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning. Facebook wants the Obama administration to make "Like" exempt from child privacy laws -- you know, that button that helps deliver targeted advertisements.

Postage stamps celebrate the planet[ Tue, 2 Oct 2012 01:21:23 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A new postage-stamp set celebrates America's landscapes, as seen from heights ranging from several hundred feet to several hundred miles.

Social media hones cynical edge in presidential politics[ Tue, 2 Oct 2012 10:35:26 GMT ]When you're watching the first presidential debate Wednesday night, don't believe what you see. Online, that is.

Who controls your digital assets post-mortem?[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:33:01 GMT ]A law professor says federal laws are needed to give people the right to control their digital afterlife. [Read more]

New York Times unveils Web app for iPad[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:08:38 GMT ]The new HTML5-based but "experimental" app is available for current subscribers of the paper's online edition. [Read more]

Paul Allen likes Windows 8 -- well, except for a few things[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:20:52 GMT ]The Microsoft co-founder says the new tablet features are "particularly bold and innovative," but he calls some aspects of the new operating system "puzzling." [Read more]

iOS 6 already on 60 percent of iPhones in North America[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:43:38 GMT ]More than half of iPhone users, and close to that on iPads and iPods, are running Apple's latest iOS, an advertising company says. [Read more]

Microsoft's holiday pop-up stores get Oct. 26 start date[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:49:07 GMT ]And that Friday, not surprisingly, is also the launch date for Windows 8. All told, there will be 30-plus holiday pop-up stores in the U.S. and Canada. [Read more]

Rock on! The compact disc turns 30[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:26:55 EDT ]On October 1, 1982, the first commercial compact disc, Billy Joel's "52nd Street," was released in Japan. In the 30 years since, hundreds of billions of CDs have been sold, Joel has stopped recording pop music and the music industry has moved on to the next hot medium.

Review: Kindle Paperwhite e-reader[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:35:04 EDT ]The new Kindle Paperwhite isn't the perfect character. Just like the literary creations that live and die on its screen, it has flaws. It's wise, though it still suffers from memories of its past.

Water, theft, gravity: smartphone killers[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:01:49 EDT ]There are many ways to lose or ruin your smartphone. Forgetfulness, crime, gravity, anger, intoxication, acts of God.

Did fanboy fever peak with Steve Jobs?[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:01:58 EDT ]Apple Store employees, dressed in matching blue T-shirts, clapped and sang and made intermittent "woo!" cheers as they walked past John H., who was waiting in line to buy the iPhone 5 in Atlanta last month.

Did Apple's fanboy fever peak with Steve Jobs?[ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:17:12 EDT ]Apple Store employees, dressed in matching blue T-shirts, clapped and sang and made intermittent "woo!" cheers as they walked past John H., who was waiting in line to buy the iPhone 5 in Atlanta last month.

How to make your smartphone's ringtones smarter[ Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:53:02 GMT ]Find out how to tweak your smartphone's ringtones and alerts so they're actually informative and not just the same annoying sound.

Apple no longer calls Maps ‘the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever’[ Mon, 1 Oct 2012 16:03:02 GMT ]Not only did Apple CEO Tim Cook recently apologize for the Apple Maps app and recommended competitors' mapping solutions as alternatives, but now Apple has changed some language related to Maps on its website as well.

Apple posts fix for Verizon iPhone 5 Wi-Fi bug[ Mon, 1 Oct 2012 14:13:17 GMT ]Apple has rolled out a fix for an annoying (and potentially costly) issue affecting some Verizon iPhone 5 owners.

White House says it thwarted cyberattack[ Mon, 1 Oct 2012 15:44:48 GMT ]The White House is acknowledging an attempt to infiltrate its computer system but says it thwarted the effort A White House official said the attack targeted an unclassified network. He said the attack was identified and that the system was isolated to prevent spread.

Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite is the new king of e-readers[ Mon, 1 Oct 2012 01:08:22 GMT ]Amazon's new e-reader solves two of e-ink's biggest problems — lousy contrast and lack of integrated lighting — while preserving the e-reader's core advantages: readability, affordability and insanely long battery life.

Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer gives birth to baby boy[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:35:07 GMT ]The Yahoo CEO and her husband Zachary Bogue are now the parents of a new boy. [Read more]

Facebook explains ad moves to try to prevent privacy freakout[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:38:32 GMT ]The social networking giant's privacy engineer says it has taken many steps to safeguard users' information, including substituting "hashes" for email addresses in its Custom Audiences feature. [Read more]

Apple fixes data usage snafu on Verizon iPhone 5[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:40:48 GMT ]Some Verizon iPhone 5 users were inadvertently being charged for data usage when they were actually on a Wi-Fi network. But Apple has come to the rescue with a software fix. [Read more]

Zuckerberg meets with Russia's PM Medvedev[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:59:31 GMT ]AP reports that Medvedev convinced Zuckerberg to open a research center in Moscow rather than seek to lure Russian programmers to the U.S. [Read more]

Facebook CEO: Search to harness the 'wisdom of friends'[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:00:03 GMT ]The social network's Sheryl Sandberg talks search, e-commerce, ads and analytics with CNBC this morning. [Read more]

10 smartphone habits to avoid[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:42:12 EDT ]These are things you literally could not do before the www went mobile; now we're embarrassing ourselves all over the place.

Facebook launches Gifts service[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:37:40 EDT ]Bad about forgetting peoples' birthdays until you see them pop up on Facebook?

Rock on! The compact disc turns 30[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:26:55 EDT ]On October 1, 1982, the first commercial compact disc, Billy Joel's "52nd Street," was released in Japan. In the 30 years since, hundreds of billions of CDs have been sold, Joel has stopped recording pop music and the music industry has moved on to the next hot medium.

Review: Kindle Paperwhite e-reader[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:35:04 EDT ]The new Kindle Paperwhite isn't the perfect character. Just like the literary creations that live and die on its screen, it has flaws. It's wise, though it still suffers from memories of its past.

Review: Kindle Paperwhite is king of the e-readers[ Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:30:41 EDT ]The new Kindle Paperwhite isn't the perfect character. Just like the literary creations that live and die on its screen, it has flaws. It's wise, though it still suffers from memories of its past.

Google Field Trip serves as virtual tour guide[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 17:06:17 GMT ]Google's new Field Trip app pops up interesting local information — from local history and architecture to the best restaurants and shopping — without you having to ask for it.

SpaceX tests rocket engines for liftoff[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 21:57:55 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: SpaceX says it successfully test-fired the engines on its Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for Oct. 7's liftoff of a space station resupply mission.

30 years ago, the CD started the digital music revolution[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:08:26 GMT ]The digital music revolution officially hit 30 years ago, on Oct. 1, 1982. After years of research and an intense period of collaboration with Philips (and the Bee Gees), Sony shipped the world's first CD player. Music would never be the same.

9 steps to the perfect online dating message[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 17:28:57 GMT ]Why are so many online come-ons so terrible? Find out how to send a semi-decent online dating message in nine easy steps.

Maya prophecies: What were they thinking?[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:14:22 GMT ]As the clock winds down to Dec. 21, experts on the Maya calendar have been racing to convince people that the Maya didn't predict an apocalypse for the end of this year.

Canada's stimulus plan advertised on The Pirate Bay[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 20:15:54 GMT ]Whoops. Perhaps an ad on a notorious piracy-oriented file-sharing site is not the best way to encourage Canadians to spend money. The government says it was all a mistake. [Read more]

Apple's iOS 6 stumbles on basic connectivity: Wi-Fi[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 22:18:48 GMT ]Apple is struggling with a number of issues after the release of iOS 6 and the iPhone 5, not least of which is Wi-Fi connectivity. [Read more]

Hash tags go airborne[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 22:50:19 GMT ]At the Ryder Cup today, attendees and players alike got an aerial reminder that the European team has enthusiastic boosters. [Read more]

Do you remember when Sony was Apple?[ Sun, 30 Sep 2012 15:07:00 GMT ]Sony dominated consumer electronics for decades, but that was a long time ago. [Read more]

Techs Factor: Cowell to seek next Zuckerberg[ Sun, 30 Sep 2012 16:05:04 GMT ]It's what you've been missing in life. An "X Factor" show to find the next great tech leader. It should make for riveting television. [Read more]

Google cameras go under the sea[ Thu, 27 Sep 2012 05:45:33 EDT ]Google Street View, the interactive panorama feature within Google Maps, has shared eye-level images of Antarctica, gone inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center, floated down rivers in the Amazon and strolled the halls of famous museums.

Facebook cracks down on fake 'Likes'[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:36:11 EDT ]If it looks like lots of Facebook pages are shedding fans, it's because they are.

10 smartphone habits to avoid[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:14:53 EDT ]These are things you literally could not do before the www went mobile; now we're embarrassing ourselves all over the place.

Facebook launches Gifts service[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:37:40 EDT ]Bad about forgetting peoples' birthdays until you see them pop up on Facebook?

12 tips to be a better smartphone photographer[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:48:12 EDT ]Wondering how to get the most of your smartphone camera? Is there more to mobile photography than filters to make your pictures look better than they really are?

'Angry Birds' spinoff 'Bad Piggies' is the whole hog[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:52:44 GMT ]You really can't go wrong spending the pocket change or the time it'll cost you to buy and play the newest game from the creators of "Angry Birds." When it comes to puzzle gaming for your mobile device, "Bad Piggies" really is the whole hog.

Mooning over the night sky's marvels[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 01:34:26 GMT ]Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: NASA's Cassini sends back a big, beautiful, black-and-white picture of Saturn and its rings — but what's the little white speck in the corner?

Vatican: 'Jesus' Wife' papyrus is a fake[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:36:55 GMT ]An ancient papyrus fragment which a Harvard scholar says contains the first recorded mention that Jesus may have had a wife is a fake, the Vatican said Friday.

Why I never trust GPS maps completely (and you shouldn't either)[ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:51:05 GMT ]Thanks to the well-publicized shortcomings of Apple's new Maps app, our blind reliance on GPS apps has become quite clear. As a navigationally challenged human who's reviewed GPS gadgetry for 10 years, I've learned that any system can be as flawed as it is useful, and you should never trust it 100 percent.

Russians face up to their outer-space crisis[ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 01:37:37 GMT ]In the wake of a string of setbacks, Russia's top space officials acknowledge that the country's aerospace industry is in deep, deep trouble.