Technology news

Japan eyes solar station in space as new energy source

Technology / Energy

11 hours ago | 4.6 / 5 (10) | 9

It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan's space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves.

Advertisers face resistance to on-line tracking

Technology / Internet

10 hours ago | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Campaigners are stepping up efforts to curb online tracking of Internet use by firms that deliver adverts tailored to the specific interests of consumers, as polls reveal widespread unease with the practice.

Software cos. eye key patent case in Supreme Court

Technology / Business

12 hours ago | 5 / 5 (2) | 1

(AP) -- With the technology industry looking on, the Supreme Court on Monday will explore what types of inventions should be eligible for a patent in a pivotal case that could undermine such legal protections ...

New 'smart' electrical meters raise privacy issues

Technology / Energy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (11) | 12

The new "smart meters" utilities are installing in homes around the world to reduce energy use raise fresh privacy issues because of the wealth of information about consumer habits they reveal, experts said ...

Google's desire to scan old books has critics casting it as Goliath

Technology / Internet

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (5) | 6

Google's ambitious plan to scan millions of old, out-of-print books, many of them forgotten in musty university libraries, has turned into one of the biggest controversies in the young company's history.

A new computer simulator allows to design military strategies based on ants' movements

Technology / Computer Sciences

Nov 06, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 3

A researcher of the University of Granada, Spain, has designed a new system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield based on the mechanisms used by ant colonies to move using a commercial ...

Norway court snubs call to block The Pirate Bay

Technology / Internet

Nov 06, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 1

A court in Norway on Friday rejected calls from the entertainment industry to force communications giant Telenor to block its customers from accessing popular file sharing website The Pirate Bay.

eStadium application brings multimedia sports features to smartphones

Technology / Software

Nov 06, 2009 | 1 / 5 (1) | 0

The intimate and spirited quarters of a stadium offer perhaps the most ideal venues to experience an athletic event. Or do they?

Pioneering Swiss solar-powered plane rolled out

Technology / Energy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (8) | 0

Solar Impulse, the Swiss bid to make the first solar-powered flight around the world, rolled out its prototype on Friday at an airbase near Zurich and powered up the engines.

EBay settles lawsuit filed by Skype founders

Technology / Internet

Nov 06, 2009 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- EBay Inc. has settled a legal skirmish with the founders of Skype that threatened to complicate eBay's plans to sell most of the Internet phone service to a group of investors for $2 billion.

Program automatically shuts down office PCs when not in use

Technology / Software

Nov 06, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 0

NEC Corp. says it has developed the country's first software that automatically controls power consumption by personal computers in accordance with the patterns of its user's PC activity.

Online collaboration with built-in clarity

Technology / Software

Nov 06, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Software packages that interoperate while providing online users with an overview of their colleagues' work may finally threaten the dominance of email as the world's premier collaboration ...

Deja vu: Wal-Mart, Amazon, Target in DVD price war

Technology / Business

Nov 06, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is upping the ante heading into the holiday season, trimming the online preorder prices of some upcoming DVDs following last month's price cut on books.

Windows 7 debut a hit: NPD

Technology / Software

Nov 06, 2009 | 1.4 / 5 (11) | 0

Microsoft's new-generation Windows 7 operating system hit the ground running, with US sales in its opening days blasting past those of its Vista predecessor, according to NPD Group.

Judge orders US music website to drop Beatles songs

Technology / Business

Nov 06, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

A judge on Thursday ordered a California online music service to stop delivering Beatles songs to users, according to a copy of the ruling posted online.

New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record

Technology / Software

Nov 06, 2009 | 3 / 5 (3) | 0

(AP) -- This holiday season's biggest entertainment blockbuster likely will be a sequel to a popular franchise, with jarring depictions of war and an intricate story of good versus evil. It could easily rake ...

Professor finds that iconic Oswald photo was not faked (w/ Video)

Technology / Computer Sciences

Nov 05, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (9) | 23

(PhysOrg.com) -- Dartmouth Computer Scientist Hany Farid has new evidence regarding a photograph of accused John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Farid, a pioneer in the field of digital forensics, digitally ...

Solar power generation around the clock

Technology / Energy

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (24) | 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Californian company, SolarReserve, is developing a solar power system that can store seven hours' worth of solar energy by focusing mirrors onto millions of gallons of molten salt, allowing ...