Wireless connections begin creeping into daily life

Mar 4, 2013

Wireless connections begin creeping into daily life

A car that tells your insurance company how you are driving. A bathroom scale that lets you chart your weight on the Web. And a meter that warns your air conditioner when electricity gets more expensive. Welcome to the next phase of the wireless ...

U.S. wins Dotcom extradition case

Mar 2, 2013

U.S. wins Dotcom extradition case

The United States on Friday won a court appeal in its battle to extradite Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom from New Zealand. A New Zealand appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that would have allowed Dotcom broad access to evidence in the case against him ...

Feb 28, 2013

Music industry posts first rise in global sales since 1999

The music industry announced Tuesday the first increase in global sales since 1999, suggesting that the long-awaited rebound against the digital revolution has begun. Sales rose 0.3 percent to $16.5 billion in 2012, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which ...

Feb 28, 2013

Net slowdown threat issued to cut illegal downloads

Web users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slowdown for 48 hours. Those who claim they are ...

Streaming firms use original series to muscle into TV market

Feb 11, 2013

Streaming firms use original series to muscle into TV market

The big-budget “House of Cards” original series launched this month on Netflix highlights the growing importance of streaming video, which is ramping up competition against traditional television. With stars including Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, the new 13-episode series, estimated by some to have ...

Android 'fragmentation' leaves smartphones vulnerable

Feb 8, 2013

Android 'fragmentation' leaves smartphones vulnerable

In late October, researchers at North Carolina State University alerted Google to a security flaw that could let scam artists send phony text messages to Android phones — a practice called “smishing” that can ensnare consumers in fraud. Google’s security officials replied in minutes, ...

Feb 7, 2013

Most Facebook users take breaks for several weeks

Too much drama, boredom and scads of irrelevant information are just some of the reasons Facebook users cite for taking a break from the world’s biggest social networking site for weeks at a time, according to a new study. A report from the Pew ...

Feb 4, 2013

Proposed free U.S. Wi-Fi divides techs, telecoms

The federal government wants to create Wi-Fi networks across America, so powerful and broad in reach that consumers could use them to make calls or surf the Internet without paying a cellphone bill every month. The proposal from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ...

Puppy Bowl grows in leaps, bounds

Feb 4, 2013

Puppy Bowl grows in leaps, bounds

by Maura Judkis

When reporters from The New Yorker, “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Good Morning America,” The Associated Press and The Washington Post, have all converged upon one event, it must be important. An appearance by the president. A press conference about dignified matters, with ...

Microsoft puts new Office in the cloud

Feb 1, 2013

Microsoft puts new Office in the cloud

by Anick Jesdanun

As much as I like Google Docs for word processing and spreadsheets, I find the online software clunky at times. So I was skeptical when I heard Microsoft is trying to sell its new version of Office as an online subscription. I was pleasantly ...

China blamed for hacking U.S. media

Feb 1, 2013

China blamed for hacking U.S. media

The Obama administration is considering more assertive action against Beijing to combat a persistent cyber-espionage campaign it believes Chinese hackers are waging against U.S. companies and government agencies.