Tech Buzz

France reportedly has stymied an Internet service provider's attempt to let users block ads. Free, a French telecommunications company with more than 5 million users, had said it would allow its customers to block online advertising. Google, the world leader in online advertising, was mum about Free...

I think CES is the worst show in the technology market. That's not because it is badly run -- on the contrary, it is one of the better-run shows. Nor is it because there aren't any interesting and compelling products there. No, it is because we all just blew out our budgets buying crap, and CES is a...

The 2013 International CES is the must-attend trade show for all things consumer electronics. It is a "must attend" not because it is when many companies will debut new products and introduce new technology, but because so many tech journalists, analysts, insiders and others -- lots of others -- des...

The U.S. State Department gave a measured but clear rebuke of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt's upcoming trip to North Korea. News broke this week that Schmidt will join former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson on a humanitarian mission to the impoverished nation. The itinerary and exact purpose of t...

Microsoft could be cutting new inroads into the world of home automation, based on rumors that it has purchased id8 Group R2 Studios. This acquisition will reportedly bolster Microsoft's Xbox division, which is likely to introduce a next-generation game console later this year. Aside from an Android...

Don't expect google.nk anytime soon, but hey, it's a start. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, will travel to North Korea for a private, humanitarian mission. The trip, to be led by former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, will mark the first time a top exec from Google has gone to N...

On New Year's Eve, armed burglars lifted thousands of dollars -- and potentially more than $1 million -- worth of merchandise from an Apple store in central Paris. The hit targeted a flagship Apple store, which carried a full array of products including iPhones, iPads and Macs. Police declined to co...

As I look back on 2012, a number of products stand out as memorable. I figured I'd use my last column of the year to take a moment to recall each one and what made it special. For years I wondered why someone didn't use the technology that was used to cool astronauts and race drivers in consumer clo...

A Chinese court fined Apple 1 million yuan, or roughly $160,000, because its App Store hosted third-party applications that were peddling pirated e-books. The ruling stems from a suit brought by a group of Chinese authors earlier this year. The group originally was seeking 10 million yuan. There is ...

Lonely Planet, the travel guide and guidebook giant, has temporarily closed Thorn Tree, a popular online travel forum, because of pedophilia-related posts. The BBC, which bought out Lonely Planet in 2011, made the decision to take Thorn Tree offline. BBC executives, who were reportedly tipped off by...