technology

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Silicon Valley Unplugs for Meetings

Companies go 'topless' to boost employees' attention

(Newser) - Tired of competing for attention with iPhones, BlackBerrys and laptops, some Silicon Valley companies are banning them from meetings. One exec calls it going "topless," short for laptopless, and the Los Angeles Times reports that it's boosting some companies' efficiency. "Aside from just being rude," an...

Tech Toy Splurges for That Tax Return

You haven't already spent that tax refund, have you?

(Newser) - This year, the government’s economic stimulus package will add $600 to the average $2,300 refund each taxpayer receives. That’s a sizable chunk of change, perfect for a little tech-toy indulgence, reports ComputerWorld.
  1. Casio Exilim Pro Ex-FI high-speed digital camera: Snag 60 frames in a single second, to
...

US Needs More Visas, Gates Tells Congress

America's status as tech leader is in jeopardy, he says

(Newser) - Bill Gates exhorted Congress today to increase the number of available H-1B visas for highly skilled foreigners, and invest more in domestic education in science and technology, cNet reports. "It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidized by US taxpayers, and then insist they return...

Late Adopters Send Message to Tech Industry

Using their Netscape browser over a dial-up AOL connection

(Newser) - Netscape Navigator is still the browser of choice for 0.14% of Internet users, which doesn’t sound like a lot, until you realize that’s over a million people. They, and other late adopters like them, are becoming a rare breed in today’s world of automatic updates, but...

Free Tool Offers Web Security
Free Tool Offers Web Security

Free Tool Offers Web Security

Former Microsoft employees run startup Haute Secure

(Newser) - A new free system designed to protect Web surfers from dangerous code is taking on the software security giants, reports the Wall Street Journal. Developers say Haute Secure, the brainchild of ex-Microsoft security experts, blocks Web pages embedded with malicious code. The public can download the program free, and companies...

Do We Need A New, Safer Internet?
Do We Need A New, Safer Internet?
OPINION

Do We Need A New, Safer Internet?

Patrick Dempsey thinks so, but Ars Technica says no

(Newser) - Online debate exploded after former FBI agent Patrick Dempsey said Wednesday that a second, safer Internet is needed. "The same positives that the Internet provides for information sharing, also create negatives in terms of ‘bringing to task' those that wish to use the Internet for illicit purposes,"...

Sex or a Plasma TV? British Men Split 50-50

Survey finds half would abstain for six months to get a TV

(Newser) - With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it might not be a good time to bring this up, but nearly 50% of British men surveyed said they’d abstain from sex for six months if it meant they’d land a 50-inch Plasma television, Vunet reports. The poll, by retailer...

Move Over, Silicon Valley
Move Over, Silicon Valley

Move Over, Silicon Valley

Seattle's start-up culture takes off as entrepreneurs, VCs flood Emerald City

(Newser) - Baby Bills, Jeffs, and Sergeys—start-ups founded by veterans of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google and nicknamed for their founders—are sprouting up around Seattle as the city becomes the next hot technology incubator, the New York Times reports. With the University of Washington playing the role Stanford does in Silicon...

What Do the Candidates Say About Tech?

PC magazine examines positions on access, neutrality, privacy

(Newser) - We may know where they stand on Iraq, but what about technology? Among presidential candidates, the Democrats generally have discussed broadband access, Net neutrality, privacy/security, and innovation more than the Republicans, and both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have clear positions on all four. Among Republicans, John McCain and Ron...

Cell Phone Can Read to the Blind
Cell Phone
Can Read
to the Blind

Cell Phone Can Read to the Blind

4-ounce, $2K talking device is smallest reader ever made

(Newser) - A new cell phone can read aloud to people with impaired vision—and at 4 ounces, it's the smallest such device ever made, NPR reports. The $2,000 phone can help with the myriad daily tasks that seeing people take for granted, like identifying a $20 bill. "All you...

New Tech Sinks or Swims Based on Whims
New Tech Sinks or Swims Based on Whims
OPINION

New Tech Sinks or Swims Based on Whims

Users react to devices in surprising ways, NYT scribe says

(Newser) - Innovations like the iPod and Prius usually require new user skills, and acceptance can depend on one's willingness to adapt, writes G. Pascal Zachary in the New York Times. “You throw technologies into the market and see what sticks,” he quotes one analyst as saying. Revolutionary stuff can...

Tech Doldrums Coming in '08
Tech Doldrums Coming in '08
OPINION

Tech Doldrums Coming in '08

But 2009 will bring boom, predicts ABC 'Silicon Insider' Michael Malone

(Newser) - Expect a tech recession this year, says Michael Malone of ABCNews.com. He predicts a failure by Apple to produce any new blockbuster products, forcing it to compete on price and distribution—“not its greatest strengths”—and a “major stumble” by Google, for which he cites the...

TV Content Stars at Vegas Show
TV Content Stars at Vegas Show

TV Content Stars at Vegas Show

What viewers see, more than what they see it on, in focus at CES

(Newser) - Televisions were all over the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, including some of the biggest, thinnest ones around, showing the crispest pictures ever, the New York Times reports. But exhibitors' focus was much more on what viewers will be seeing on those TVs, with several manufacturers unveiling...

'Fuzzy Logic' Could Help Create Better Elder Care

Researchers add computational mathematics to monitoring systems

(Newser) - Researchers in the UK and US are collaborating to develop “fuzzy logic” technology to improve care for the elderly. The 6-month project aims to create more discerning medical and accident monitors that can distinguish between, for example, a slamming door and a person falling, CNET reports. So-called fuzzy logic...

Tech Sales to China Raise Red Flags

Weapons experts say imports could upgrade military—or be sold

(Newser) - Chinese companies linked to the People’s Liberation Army were cleared to import sensitive high-tech equipment from the US after the Bush administration eased restrictions blocking the sale of technology with military applications, the New York Times reports. One company has ties to arms sales to Iran and Syria, claims...

Laptops Finally Outsell Desktops
Laptops Finally Outsell Desktops

Laptops Finally Outsell Desktops

Laptop sales soar 21% this year as desktops sag by 4%

(Newser) - Tech buffs have forecast a laptop takeover for years—and now US buying data is finally confirming a coup de desktop. Consumer laptop sales beat out desktop buys for the first time last year, and corporations will likely follow in 2008, the Los Angeles Times reports. New technology, lower prices,...

Critics Cry 'Privacy' Over Passport Cards

US approves wireless ID that may spark identity theft

(Newser) - New wireless passport cards will make it easier for Americans to cross borders between Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean—but privacy groups worry that thieves will be pinching personal data off the new ID, the AP reports. One critic called the cards "inherently insecure;" officials say safeguards are...

New Cisco Unit First Based Abroad
New Cisco Unit First Based Abroad

New Cisco Unit First Based Abroad

Will aim to wire entire cities in Middle East, China, India from Bangalore HQ

(Newser) - Dozens of new cities are to be built in China, India, and the Middle East in the coming decade and Cisco Systems wants to network them top-to-bottom, the Financial Times reports. The networking equipment giant is setting up a new business center in Bangalore, India, as part of its push...

Campaign for Young Voters: Vote 4 Me! Pls?

Candidates employ new technology to reach youth

(Newser) - New technology has given presidential hopefuls a host of new ways to transmit the "Vote For Me" message, McClatchy reports. Campaigners are using social networking sites, YouTube videos, instant messaging, and even text messaging in a bid to gain an edge with young voters. But their target audience seems...

BlackBerry Maker On a Sales Roll
BlackBerry Maker On a Sales Roll

BlackBerry Maker On a Sales Roll

Consumer demand means RIM ends 2007 on a revenue high

(Newser) - Blackberry maker Research in Motion is seeing its sales and profits soar, CNN reports. Third-quarter results show revenue has doubled from a year ago and the Canadian company looks set to end the year on a high. Much of the growth is credited to Blackberry use expanding beyond its corporate...

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