Technology

Microsoft is planning to release a number of improved features for its Windows Phone 8 mobile platform. The update could dramatically improve how the system functions. The update carries the codename Apollo Plus. Microsoft promises that it will ... offer fixes and features inspired by consumer feedback. VPNs Add Sense of Security for Windows Phone Users The first new feature in Apollo Plus is the inclusion of support for Virtual Private Networks (VPN). VPNs enable a host computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if they were private. Adding this feature to Windows ... (view more)

Verizon says it won't charge customers who live in areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy for service lost during the massive 'superstorm.' On a case-by-case basis, the company will also consider helping people in other locations. The network says the ... fee waiver is part of an ongoing program to help victims and restore cellphone service. Under the program, Verizon will waive fees for customers in ten New York counties and twenty-one New Jersey counties. The deal involves waiving the fees for all domestic calls and texts made by customers in the designated counties between October 29 (when the ... (view more)

Delta and United Airlines are among 100 firms that have been told they are breaking California's privacy laws. The problem: these companies have smartphone and tablet applications that don't give customers adequate information about the way they ... handle personal data. Kamala Harris, California's attorney general, insists companies are breaching the California Online Privacy Protection Act, which says app users must get clear details about the personal data collected and how it will be used. These 100 companies are among many more offenders but happen to own the 100 most popular apps breaching ... (view more)

A prototype car offers self-driving technology with a twist: valet-style parking. The Nissan vehicle, which is codenamed NSC-2015, can also foil thieves by streaming live footage of a potential break-in. This new model was recently shown off by ... Nissan at a tech conference in Tokyo. Several companies are already working on driverless cars. However, in the few locations where their use is or will be allowed, laws say a driver must be inside the vehicle to take over in case of a malfunction. Nissan could circumvent these laws if the feature is used only on private land, such as driveways and ... (view more)

A recent study by Swedish researchers has led to claims that it is possible to erase emotional memories from the human brain. It's an idea that appears to come straight from the 2004 movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." The startling ... assertion is related to a new theory that suggests memories (predominantly those associated with fear) can be turned into benign memories and remain that way for a lifetime. Emotions Altered Before Becoming Long-Term Memory Scientists agree that a long-term memory is formed when individuals learn new information through the process of ... (view more)

Microsoft is in the process of pursuing a new patent that would stop mobile phone rings with a simple "whack". The new technology could save users from embarrassing searches through pockets and purses in order to find and press the 'decline' or 'end ... call' button. The Microsoft patent application is filed under the name "Controlling Audio of a Device." According to the patent description, it covers "a method comprising, in a mobile communications device, receiving information indicative of acceleration of the mobile communications device, determining correlation between the information ... (view more)

Last week, Apple created a huge stir by unveiling its iPhone 5 smartphone. Already analysts are predicting the company will sell 48 million of the handhelds by the end of 2012. But Motorola is hoping to steer some consumers away from Apple with its ... RAZRi, which the company showed off in a public demonstration on Tuesday, September 18. With the new device boasting the fastest processor ever in a smartphone, Motorola called the RAZRi release the "biggest launch since the original RAZR." Super-Fast Processor Could Give RAZRi the Edge At the demo, the company proudly highlighted the RAZRi's ... (view more)

A team of researchers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have created the world's first batch of stretchable electronics. The researchers say they're hoping to use the new stretch polymer skin patches to help doctors and nurses monitor a patient's vital ... signs. MC10, the startup firm behind the stretchable electronics, is the same company now in the process of commercializing electronic sutures , which are said to be capable of healing deep wounds much faster than present technology. Stretchable Polymer: A Worldwide Pursuit To be considered "stretchable," technology must contain electronic ... (view more)

A group of researchers at China's Zhejiang University have used fast-emerging 'thought-control' technology to successfully launch a helicopter into the air and have it perform a controlled series of maneuvers. To make the mind-controlled device ... (called FlyingBuddy2) soar, the scientists first adapted a Parrot AR Drone 2.0 so that it could be operated by an Emotiv EPOC electroencephalogram (EEG) headset hooked up to a PC running special software. Basically, the operator wears the headset, connected via Bluetooth to a laptop, which then transmits flight instructions to the helicopter. At that ... (view more)