News For Thursday Aug 28, 2008 News For Thursday Aug 28, 2008

Science & Technology Science & Technology

Dell 2Q profit drops 17 percent and stock plunges - Added 3 hours ago

Computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent, hurt in part by PC price cuts. Both earnings and margins fell short of Wall Street estimates, and Dell shares plunged. For the...

Comcast to make monthly Internet use cap official - Added 5 hours ago

Comcast Corp., the nation's second-largest Internet service provider, Thursday said it would set an official limit on the amount of data subscribers can download and upload each month. On Oct. 1, the cable company will...

Lifestyles of Brazil's ancient urbanites revealed - Added 6 hours ago

Roads and canals connected walled cities and villages. The communities were laid out around central plazas. Nearby, smaller settlements focused on agriculture and fish farming. The place: the now-overgrown jungles of...

Summary Box: iPhone woes likely won't dent Apple - Added 6 hours ago

WHAT'S WRONG: The new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service and other oddities. WHY IT MATTERS: Apple Inc. has had many missteps before, but it enjoys a reputation for well-designed, sleek products that...

Even critics give Apple a pass on iPhone 3G woes - Added 7 hours ago

First an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks. Now the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the...

Sector Snap: Chinese online gaming stocks - Added 9 hours ago

Chinese online gaming stocks traded lower Thursday after Giant Interactive Group Inc. reported second-quarter profit that met Wall Street views but was downgraded by one analyst after failing to issue third-quarter...

Reborn retail site fires salvo in shipping war - Added 12 hours ago

With gas prices high and consumers stretching shopping dollars, competition is heating up online for deals _ and a discount retail site hopes to fan the flames by shipping orders for $1.95. Chicago-based Enable...

China Telecom says profit slips 8 percent - Added 13 hours ago

China Telecom Ltd. said Thursday its first-half earnings slipped 8 percent as revenues for fixed-line voice service shrank and warned it faces pressure on profits as Beijing carries out a planned restructuring of its...

TiVo shows another profit, but outlook weak - Added 14 hours ago

TiVo Inc. managed consecutive quarters of profitability for the first time ever despite eroding subscriptions, demonstrating that the pioneer in digital video recorders is on track in reducing marketing expenses and...

Malaysia blocks anti-government news Web site - Added 15 hours ago

Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep...

Microsoft's newest browser may block ads - Added 21 hours ago

The next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Web browser makes it easier for people to surf the Internet without leaving a trace. Companies that sell advertisements online _ including Microsoft _ can electronically gather...

Arctic sea ice drops to 2nd lowest level on record - Added 1 day ago

More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30...

Consumers picked to test hydrogen car prototypes - Added 1 day ago

Tom Albert drove his loaner Chevrolet Equinox like any other car. He took it to work during the week, picked up groceries, and loaded up the back with bags of soil at the garden store. When his infant son was fussy,...

Researchers offer new way to avoid bogus Web sites - Added 1 day ago

Intercepting Internet traffic, and spying on the communication between two computers, is a gold mine for hackers. Now Carnegie Mellon University researchers hope software they've built will make it harder for criminals...

Summary Box: Consumers testing hydrogen vehicles - Added 1 day ago

TEST PROGRAMS: General Motors, Honda and BMW are letting a small number of consumers road test hydrogen-powered vehicles to gain feedback and see how the advanced vehicles might fare in day-to-day driving conditions. ...

Microsoft's newest browser may block ads - Added 1 day ago

The next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Web browser makes it easier for people to surf the Internet without leaving a trace. Companies that sell advertisements online _ including Microsoft _ can electronically gather...

TiVo issues 3Q revenue guidance below Wall Street - Added 1 day ago

TiVo Inc. says its revenue in this quarter will fall short of analysts' current expectations. The digital video recording company said Wednesday that its revenue for services and technology should be in the range of...

Printer maker offers to help people print less - Added 1 day ago

A leading printer maker wants to help you do less printing. Printing an article off the Web often produces several pages of waste, including ads, links and boxes for entering text. So the latest version of a Web...

New Nikon SLR camera shoots high-def movies, too - Added 1 day ago

Nikon Corp. on Wednesday launched the first digital still camera with interchangeable lenses that also shoots movies. The D90 single-lens reflex camera, or SLR, takes 12.3 megapixel stills, but can also shoot movies in...

Arctic sea ice melts to second worst on record - Added 1 day ago

New satellite measurements show that crucial sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has plummeted to its second lowest level on record. The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., announced Wednesday that the extent...

Mystery 'iPhone Girl' generates Internet intrigue - Added 1 day ago

!!-- pobj:XKC801-0827081519 -->Who is the "iPhone Girl"? Pictures of an Asian factory worker found on a new iPhone sold to a British customer have generated keen discussion on the Internet about her identity _ and her...

Dell unveils new PCs targeting emerging markets - Added 1 day ago

Dell Inc. unveiled four low-cost computer models for China, India and other emerging economies Wednesday in a new bid to tap the potential of high-growth markets outside the United States. The two notebook and two...

Best Western rebuts claims of massive data breach - Added 2 days ago

Did a computer intrusion at a Best Western hotel in Germany open the door for a hacker to steal the records of 8 million customers and pull off "the greatest cyber-heist in world history," as a Scottish newspaper put...

Mars rover leaving crater after yearlong probe - Added 2 days ago

The plucky Mars rover Opportunity is driving out of a giant crater nearly a year after a dangerous descent to examine exposed bedrock. NASA said Tuesday that engineers noticed a power surge in Opportunity's left front...

Applied Signal profit doubles in 3Q - Added 2 days ago

Applied Signal Technology Inc., which makes signal-processing equipment for military and surveillance applications, said Tuesday its net income doubled in its latest quarter. The Sunnyvale-based company said the jump...

Broadcom co-founder apologizes after plea deal - Added 2 days ago

Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli has apologized for lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission during its probe of stock options backdating at the chip maker. Samueli's two-page written apology, filed...

Estonia hosts Georgian Web sites to halt hackers - Added 2 days ago

The government of Estonia is temporarily hosting the Web sites of Georgia's central bank and Foreign Ministry to try to protect them from cyber attacks, officials said Tuesday. Georgia has transferred key Web sites to...

Earnings Preview: TiVo Inc. - Added 2 days ago

TiVo Inc., a pioneer in digital video recorders, reports earnings for the fiscal second quarter, which ended on July 31, after the closing bell Wednesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst...

Summary Box: The phone headset that talks back - Added 2 days ago

THE PROBLEM: Wireless headsets let you make calls without holding a cell phone, but the headsets can be hard to figure out how to use. BLUEANT'S IDEA: The $130 V1 headset from BlueAnt Wireless recognizes spoken...

Review: A $130 phone headset helpfully talks back - Added 2 days ago

Bluetooth wireless headsets for mobile phones are puzzling: We're supposed to control them with couple of unmarked buttons and get feedback from a single indicator light. What is the headset trying to say when the LED...

Cancer cluster confirmed in northeast Pennsylvania - Added 3 days ago

Nearly a year after federal epidemiologists first sounded the alarm over a cluster of rare blood cancers in northeastern Pennsylvania, their research has zeroed in on a hardscrabble region 80 miles northwest of...

Cows seem to know which way is north - Added 3 days ago

Talk about animal magnetism, cows seem to have a built-in compass. No bull: Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world. ...

Monkeys reward friends and relatives - Added 3 days ago

For capuchin monkeys, it seems, it's better to both give and receive, than just to receive. At least, that's what researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta have found. ...

Broadcom to buy AMD TV-chip business for $192.8M - Added 3 days ago

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will sell its unit that makes chips for digital TV sets to fellow chip maker Broadcom Corp. for $192.8 million in cash, the companies announced Monday. AMD is selling the unit as part of a...

Facebook cuts off Scrabulous after legal complaint - Added 3 days ago

A highly popular Scrabble clone already pulled from Facebook in the United States and Canada continued its tumble over the weekend as the online hangout extended its block of the game throughout most of the world. ...

VMware names David Sung to China post - Added 3 days ago

Business software maker VMware Inc. said Monday it has named David Sung, an ex-IBM executive, as president of its greater China region. Sung is responsible for strategic planning, business operations and management of...

Research aims to put tongues in control of devices - Added 3 days ago

The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech, helps kiss and swallow and fights germs. Now scientists hope to add one more ability to the mouthy muscle, and turn it into a computer control pad. Georgia Tech...

Research aims to put tongues in control of devices - Added 4 days ago

!!-- pobj:AX101-0609081246 -->!!-- pobj:AX102-0609081550 -->The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech, helps kiss and swallow and fights germs. Now scientists hope to add one more ability to the mouthy...

Embarq to cut 500-700 jobs - Added 6 days ago

Telecommunications provider Embarq Corp. said Friday it is cutting between 500 and 700 jobs and eliminating around 300 contract positions as it deals with a continued loss of telephone customers. The Overland Park,...

Telecom rollouts raise ire over utility boxes - Added 6 days ago

The road to advanced video, Internet and phone services is bumpy _ and the bumps can be almost as big as refrigerators. As cable and phone companies race to upgrade services or offer video for the first time, they're...

Summary box: Internet usage cap raises questions - Added 6 days ago

WHAT HAPPENED: Frontier Communications Corp., a phone company with more than half a million broadband customers, has said it plans to start charging extra for Internet use above a certain level. WHY IT MATTERS: The...

Summary box: Telecom rollouts spawn unloved boxes - Added 6 days ago

THE ISSUE: New utility boxes are popping up in neighborhoods as cable and phone companies race to offer advanced video, Internet and phone services. Often residents don't want the boxes, which can be nearly as large as...

NASA destroys rocket after failed launch - Added 6 days ago

NASA destroyed an unmanned experimental rocket carrying a pair of research satellites Friday when it veered off course shortly after an early morning liftoff. There were no injuries or confirmed reports of property...

Internet provider's usage cap raises questions - Added 6 days ago

Three months ago, Guy Distaffen switched Internet providers, lured from his cable company to his phone company by a year of free service on a two-year contract. But soon the company quietly updated its policies to say...

iTunes blocked in China; Tibet album suspected - Added 6 days ago

Customers in China of Apple Inc.'s iTunes online music store were unable to download songs this week, and an activist group said Beijing was trying to block access to a new Tibet-themed album. In Internet forums,...

Following US, Japan lowers Hynix duty - Added 6 days ago

Japan decided Friday to end most of its punitive tariffs slapped on South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc., following a similar U.S. decision and orders from the World Trade Organization. Japan will lower its 27.2...

Oracle's Ellison grabs top spot on best-paid list - Added 6 days ago

Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, a longtime fixture on the list of the world's richest people, is now ensconced atop The Associated Press' rankings of the top-paid chief executives in the United States. Never shy...

At top of Greenland, new worrisome cracks in ice - Added 6 days ago

In northern Greenland, a part of the Arctic that had seemed immune from global warming, new satellite images show a growing giant crack and an 11-square-mile chunk of ice hemorrhaging off a major glacier, scientists...

ShoreTel swings to 4Q loss, beats Street view - Added 1 week ago

Internet-based telecommunications provider ShoreTel Inc. on Thursday said it swung to a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter as expenses climbed. For the three months ended June 30, ShoreTel posted a loss of $47,000, or...

Intel shows how to send power wirelessly - Added 1 week ago

THE PROMISE: Using wireless power transmission, one day people might be able to recharge their laptops or cell phones or other gadgets without plugging them into an electrical socket. The technology makes use of some...