Tech Buzz

The hottest rumor for Microsoft Xbox Halo fans has taken on a life of its own: The voice and text-based virtual assistant service -- code-named "Cortana" and planned for release with Windows Phone 8.1 -- actually might be created with the real-life voice behind Cortana, Jen Taylor. While there is no...

French taxi drivers reportedly attacked vehicles linked to the smartphone app Uber, which helps people find shared rides and drivers-for-hire -- or, from cabbies' perspective, helps erode a time-honored business model. Protestors blocked traffic and went after the service's vehicles, reported one Ub...

Microsoft reportedly will discuss its vision for the future of Windows at its Build developer conference, to be held in San Francisco April 2-4. The company also will talk about the next version of its operating system, code-named "Threshold," which will be officially named "Windows 9" and will debu...

After my Belize retirement update appeared last week, a number of things happened. Most initially were rather painful, but eventually I was placed on the phone with Rod Kazazi, the project CFO who is based in the United States. Since we both had a financial background, he was able to address most of...

The Internet of Things, wearables, mobile devices and the next generation of automobiles were the standouts at CES 2014. "The Internet of Things will probably have the broadest impact, since it includes quickly evolving, increasingly intelligent and highly mobile technologies of every kind," said Ch...

Rumors of a super-duper, amped-up, big-screen "iPad Pro" have been floating around at least as early as this summer, and that's before Apple surprised the tech community with its 64-bit A7 processors in September. Overall, most of the rumors seem to surround speculative predictions, where a financia...

Devices ranging from the sublime to the strange are debuting this week at International CES 2014. Products unveiled at the show suggest growing trends toward wearable health-tracking products and increased human-gadget interaction. There's a bed, for example, that tells owners how they slept the pre...

China reportedly will temporarily lift a sales ban on foreign videogame consoles, reversing a 14-year prohibition. Companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo -- which long have salivated over the heretofore obstructed gold mine of Chinese videogamedom -- will be allowed to make game consoles in Sha...

I've been executing on a long-term dream of retiring in Belize. I've been putting some rigor into the effort to make sure the perception of the dream doesn't outpace reality. I've often been brought in on projects that should have been shut down early, largely because executive staff had lost track ...

As New Year's Day approaches, I'm reminded of the Chinese curse, "May you be born in interesting times," because 2014 is likely to be a very interesting year. I expect the Democrats will be trying to distance themselves from their failed Affordable Care Act, while Republicans will be doing their bes...