Technology

Late last week, Microsoft unveiled the newest update to its 12-year old Microsoft Home -- a conceptual model that showcases possible future technologies and how they would be integrated into the everyday home and family life. What is the Microsoft ... Home? Since its launch in 1994, the Microsoft Home has been a jump off point for new ways of thinking about how technology potentially impacts our the day-to-day existence. Developers from the software giant's Consumer Prototyping and Strategy Team have partnered with research staff and product groups to generate revolutionary and future-focused ... (view more)

Moviegoers may always have Paris -- to quote the famous line from Casablanca -- but will they always have access to their cell phones once the theater lights go down? Many of the people who voted in a recent UK newspaper poll actually hope not. The ... reason is obvious: no one likes being interrupted by an annoying "ring tone" in the middle of a movie. (Source: arstechnica.com ) Sadly, most theater owners don't seem to be doing much to combat the problem -- at least not enough to ease the frustrations of their fed-up customers. Over 80 percent of the poll-takers chastised managers for being ... (view more)

Announced earlier this week, a group of technology companies are planning to provide a vast wireless network that will give the entire Silicon Valley free high-speed Internet access. The free WiFi service will be available as early as next year and ... will be provided by Silicon Valley Metro Connect: a group that is comprised of IBM, Cisco, SeaKay, and Azulstar. (Source: abcnews.com ) Silicon Valley Metro Connect will provide the service for 38 cities in California's San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, and Santa Cruz counties -- an area covering roughly 1,500 square miles. This move takes advantage ... (view more)

Credit card numbers. Bank passwords. Business secrets. Proof of adultery. If you give away your cell phone, you may be giving away all of those things -- and more. In the case of a married man who was cheating around, deleting the information on his ... cell wasn't enough to completely eliminate the sordid secrets he had stored there -- even though he did exactly as the manual instructed. Despite that, the guy he sold his phone to on Ebay was quickly able to scoop out the hanky panky. This reads like a bad, cheesy soap opera -- but it's real. And it could happen to you. Even if you aren't ... (view more)

Imagine this scenario: You're the boss, and the people that work for you are required to use technology -- computers, cell phones, basically anything that keeps them "connected." Sounds normal enough, doesn't it? After all, that could describe any ... number of jobs. Now picture this: over time, one of your employees eventually becomes a little too dependent on the tools of the trade you've deemed necessary. A good work ethic turns into a dangerous addiction. Believe it or not, it happens. ;-) You're not responsible, right? Well, if a recent study by Rutgers University gains any traction, you ... (view more)

Evidently, crime doesn't pay, even in the tech world. Although it seems that in the land of Microsoft, PDAs, and Google criminals routinely get away with their crimes (even as corporate entities in various industries, like music, begin to get ... tough), there is evidence that the courts are fighting back. In the last week two major sentences have been handed down, including a three year jail term for a botnet attacker and a six year lockup for a software pirate. Christopher Maxwell, 21, pleaded guilty in May of launching a computer attack that affected tens of thousands of systems. Last Friday, ... (view more)

According to Police Chief Benson Page of Caro, Michigan, cell phones can be used as detonators. Who would've thought? So, naturally, when three men were found with almost a thousand cell phones on hand, they became instant terror suspects. 80 of ... those phones were pre-paid TracFone models from Wal-Mart. That amount constitutes a violation of the store's policy because customers are limited to only three cell phones per purchase. A Wal-Mart clerk sold them the phones -- despite the policy -- but became suspicious and called the police. Apparently, it's common knowledge that cell phones make for ... (view more)

Own an Xbox or a Playstation 2? According to one research firm, your answer to that question could reveal a number of things about your personality, including gullibility, confidence, and distrust. It's a pretty remarkable study of the things we've ... ALL used at one time or another -- toys. By combining radically new text mining software with the work of personality psychologists, research consultants Anderson Analytics believe they have found a legitimate way to interpret the subconscious thoughts of children (and in the case of many video game players like myself: immature young men). As you ... (view more)

Stepping outside the bounds of its usual focus on security and operating systems, Microsoft has recently licensed touch-screen technology. Dubbed "Touchlight", the technology is one of twenty projects being offered to venture capitalists for ... development in cooperation with Microsoft. Signing on for Touchlight is EON Reality, who will use the technology for exhibitions, technical demonstrations, and training exercises. EON hopes to begin commercialization of the Touchlight and other similar projects before the year ends. (Source: microsoft-watch.com ) Touchlight: How It Works Microsoft's ... (view more)

Matt Nagle is 25 years old. His recent activities include playing video games, checking e-mail, and using a TV remote. Being able to successfully complete of those tasks might've seemed like an impossible dream for the young man just a few years ... ago. But that's because he's paralyzed. The injury that changed Matt's life forever happened in 2001. A knife wound severed his spinal cord, leaving him unable to move any of his limbs and most of his torso. Luckily, he managed to retain a bit of control over his head, neck, and shoulders. Matt's life may soon change forever once again -- this time by ... (view more)