Libe Goad

Its official—Apple Computer Inc. has released the long-awaited, much-speculated-upon OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system, an upgrade to the current OS X, complete with a smattering of bells and whistles. Frank Casanova, senior director of Mac OS X audio/video, gave a complete rundown of the new features Tiger will bring to current (and future) Mac […]

Forget Paris Hilton; heres a wireless security story thatll make ones heart pulsate the next time a cell phone or PDA lands in someone elses possession. Houston police officer Christopher Green, after arresting a woman on suspicion of drunken driving, allegedly downloaded sexually explicit pictures from her confiscated cell phone onto his PDA and then […]

Following closely on the heels of the Yahoo/Flickr announcement, Hewlett-Packard has announced its acquisition of Snapfish, a leading online photo service. “This combination of HPs leadership in digital imaging and home printing with Snapfishs leadership in online photography will provide our customers and partners with an expanded mix of quality, value and voice that we […]

While still hesitant to spill its guts on the next Xbox, Microsoft gave a few hints of whats to come on Wednesday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Corporate vice president and chief XNA architect J. Allard said the new Xbox will not be just another game system, but an “entertainment gateway” that […]

“Robots to Watch Children”: A scene from a B-movie starring Eric Roberts? Guess again. The “Teddy” project was one of the many emerging technologies showcased at Microsoft Corp.s two-day, in-house TechFest showcase this week. Teddy brings a big-brother twist to something in every toy chest—in this case, a teddy bear equipped with a swiveling head, […]

Comcast Corp., the largest cable TV and high-speed Internet service provider, has decided to delve into the VOIP market, with a goal of snagging 8 million customers in five years. The new Comcast Digital Voice plan will cost customers $40 per month, about $10 (and then some) more than other voice-over-IP services. Comcast says customers […]

In mid-November, members of Sonys PlayStation Underground received the Holiday Demo Disc and discovered that after executing one of the game demos on the disc, their PS2 memory cards were completely erased. While that doesnt mean much to nongamers, for anyone who has spent 40-plus hours building a character in a role-playing game or playing […]

Ping. Pong. Thats the sound that signifies that an instant messaging session has commenced. Its the quick-paced, back-and-forth communication standard that has grown rapidly in corporations over the past five years, and for many has become the preferred means of communication among co-workers and colleagues. A recent survey by The META Group shows that 57 […]

Does the tech that drives video games influence the rest of the tech industry? It seems like another reason to dust off the chicken-and-egg scenario. Which comes first depends on whos buying: the average consumer or big business. Jupiter Research senior analyst Michael Gartenberg says it all depends on trends. “Consumer technology goes back into […]

Its been said that polite conversation should avoid the two mood-killing topics of politics and religion. But what about text messaging, which has been playing a small, but growing, role in politics this year? Just as blogging has revolutionized election-year reporting, text messaging via cell phones and PDAs has served as a constant reminder to […]