technology

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iPhone Mania Gets Under Way Across Asia

Apple's upgraded phone goes on sale in Japan, elsewhere

(Newser) - The new iPhone model went on sale in the Asia-Pacific region, with throngs at one Tokyo store counting down the last 30 seconds in unison. The celebration is part of a global rollout in 22 nations of the 3G, or third-generation, wireless connecting iPhone, an upgrade of the model that...

Gardeners Dig These Gadgets
 Gardeners Dig These Gadgets 
Jul 10, 2008 6:00 PM CDT

Gardeners Dig These Gadgets

New tools can make your thumb look a little greener

(Newser) - Technology is coming to the rescue of gardening-handicapped yard owners. A variety of new tech tools can help weekend gardeners keep their plants alive and even thriving with a minimum of effort, reports MSNBC. Among the new green gadgets:
  • Wireless Weather Projection Station: This handy device measures temperature and barometric
...

Tech Holds Ground Amid Slump
 Tech Holds Ground Amid Slump 
Jul 9, 2008 7:10 PM CDT

Tech Holds Ground Amid Slump

Growth slow, but still up; unemployment below average—no dot-com bust here

(Newser) - Despite malaise in most sectors of the economy, the technology industry is weathering the downturn well, USA Today reports. Sales are up only 3% this year over 2007—a mediocre result, considering the industry usually grows by more than 10%—but with tech unemployment at 3.9% compared to 5....

Pragmatism Dictates China's Religious Policy

Strategic chip firm given leeway for Christian worship

(Newser) - China officially sanctions religious worship only at state facilities, but the Christian Science Monitor finds that plenty of wiggle room exists in the business world. It profiles one company whose Christian CEO is allowed to put up a church at every worksite. Why such accommodation in a formally atheist state?...

Teary Farewell for Gates
 Teary Farewell for Gates 
Jun 27, 2008 4:18 PM CDT

Teary Farewell for Gates

Microsoft CEO salutes founder, leaving after 33 years, for 'enormous opportunity'

(Newser) - Microsoft celebrated Bill Gates’ last day as a full-time employee today, the Seattle Times reports. More than 800 employees, family members and friends shared memories at the company’s corporate conference center in Redmond, Wash. CEO Steve Ballmer bid a tearful farewell to his longtime friend: "We've been given...

Silicon Valley, Big Apple, DC Remain Top US 'Cybercities'

51 of 60 major metro areas found by industry survey to have added tech jobs

(Newser) - Silicon Valley, New York, and Washington, DC, still have the most tech workers among US metro areas, a new report shows. New York has the most techies, but when San Francisco and the greater Bay Area are combined with Silicon Valley, it tops the list, MarketWatch notes. The Valley is...

Would You Mind If This Wasn't Mined?

Lab-created diamonds get ever closer to nature's version—to chagrin of some

(Newser) - De Beers might like you to think a “diamond is forever,” but try this on for size: “A diamond is for everyone.” In a secret Massachusetts lab, Apollo Diamond is using novel technology to grow diamonds virtually indistinguishable from their mined cousins, the Smithsonian reports. Unfortunately...

Stolen Gadgets Call Home With Pictures of Thieves

New technology lets cameras, phones, computers automatically email owners

(Newser) - Technology letting cameras and other gadgets automatically contact their owners is thwarting thieves, Reuters reports. GadgetTrak software, for example, lets stolen BlackBerrys send data from thieves’ SIM cards to their rightful owners and allows Macs to shoot and send video of robbers. In other cases, emailed data not intended to...

Gates Departure Should Calm the Waters

Joint leadership with Ballmer slowed, hurt Microsoft's growth

(Newser) - Bill Gates’ departure from full-time employment at Microsoft on June 27 will end 8 contentious years in which Gates has attempted to stay onboard while nominally beneath his close friend and new CEO, Steve Ballmer. Though they built the company together, this “ambassadorial succession” produced mixed results, with Gates...

Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques
Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques
OPINION
May 31, 2008 1:14 PM CDT

Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques

Cultural attitude toward virtual world reflects antiquated view

(Newser) - The dizzying growth of the video game industry continues to alarm cultural Luddites, writes Tom Chatfield for the Prospect, but the critics are trapped in video gaming’s past. They haven't adjusted to the development of social, team-based gaming worlds, treating games “as an odd mix of the slightly...

Mixed Day Yields Mixed Results
 Mixed Day Yields Mixed Results 
MARKETS
May 30, 2008 3:30 PM CDT

Mixed Day Yields Mixed Results

Dell performance rallies tech; Commerce Department gives bad news

(Newser) - Stocks ended mixed after a seesaw session today, with strong performance by tech and energy shares contrasting with bad news on consumer spending and incomes, MarketWatch reports. The Dow closed down 7.90 at 12,638.32. The Nasdaq gained 14.34 to 2,522.66, while the S&P...

Robot Offers Hope to Would-Be Spidermen

Electric adhesion allows machine to scale walls carrying 75 pounds

(Newser) - Researchers have created a wall-climbing robot that uses electrically activated adhesion to get up any surface—dusty, wet, glass or concrete. Other Spiderman-imitating machines use a different kind of gecko-inspired technology and generate stronger sticking power than the new ‘bot, but the simplicity of the approach means it could...

Chinese Create Slang for New Technology

Cell phone, computer make way into written and spoken Mandarin

(Newser) - New technology has kids in China generating their own modern lingo, I.D. Magazine reports. The millennia-old Mandarin language lacks terms for things like cell phones (which go as shou ji, or "hand machine") and USB (which goes as yo pan, a word created partly phonetically), forcing users...

Trucking Goes High Tech
Trucking Goes High Tech
May 22, 2008 3:18 PM CDT

Trucking Goes High Tech

Tracking improves efficiency, safety—and kept final Harry Potter book from escaping

(Newser) - Trucking companies are adopting technologies that track vehicles, monitor trucks’ condition and drivers’ actions, and even act automatically to stop accidents, reports ComputerWorld. The systems help companies meet regulations and contract obligations. Take the company that delivered the final Harry Potter book nationwide within a three-hour window and achieved its...

Bluetooth Gets a Makeover
 Bluetooth 
 Gets a 
 Makeover  
PRODUCT REVIEW
May 15, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

Bluetooth Gets a Makeover

Walter Mossberg reviews Aliph and Plantronics new offerings

(Newser) - As more states push “hands-free” rules on drivers, ridiculous-looking wireless headsets only get more common. But two firms, Aliph and Plantronics, are attempting to address that. While the Wall Street Journal’s Walter Mossberg finds the “jewelry-esque” makeover of both models pleasing, it’s the functionality of Aliph’...

Microsoft Takes Windows to the Walls

Microsoft's TouchWall technology aims to make any surface part of your computer

(Newser) - Microsoft has already unveiled mega-expensive “Surface” computers, with which a user interacts solely through touch. Now, cNet reports, it's unveiled an impressive lower-budget version: the TouchWall. Touchwall looks like an ordinary projector, except that the image it projects on the wall is itself an interactive touch screen.

10 High-Tech Survival Items
 10 High-Tech Survival Items 
May 4, 2008 1:09 PM CDT

10 High-Tech Survival Items

Innovative solutions for wilderness living

(Newser) - Wired sees a distinct lack of cool high-tech outdoor gear, and gives its favorite examples of steps in the right direction:
  1. The Cocoon, a hanging teardrop-shaped tent/sleeping bag.
  2. The Adamant, an earthquake-proof bed.
  3. The Bedu Emergency Rapid Response Kit, a keg full of enough essentials to keep a family alive
...

Cisco Develops a Lighter Touch in Acquisitions

Tech giant develops new strategy for new era in takeovers

(Newser) - Cisco, once famous for swallowing small companies whole and digesting them without leaving a trace of their former brand names (or management), is forging a new acquisition strategy. As it targets new, Internet-based technologies that it’s less familiar with, the company has developed a lighter touch, as evidenced by...

Tech Hybrids Blend Lofty Ideals With Bottom-Line Business

(Newser) - Tech companies that blend social missions with business ambitions are all the rage in Silicon Valley. Called “social enterprises,” they often generate sizable revenue (unlike most nonprofits), that’s then retained and reinvested (unlike most for-profits). Now, an ecosystem of related organizations is emerging, such as specialized legal...

Parents Get the Text Message
 Parents Get the Text Message 
Apr 11, 2008 8:42 AM CDT

Parents Get the Text Message

(Newser) - Moms are leading the charge in taking text messaging beyond the teen set. Adolescents and adults in their forties and fifties are the two most active groups sending texts, the Washington Post reports. In the past two years, texting increased 130% among people 45 to 54, while text-saturated teens saw...

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