Tech Buzz

This column is dedicated to the intersection of technology and traditional news media. With less than a week to go before America elects a new president, that intersection is looking more and more like the scene of a multi-vehicle pileup. The victims: democracy, the average voter, my patience. For m...

It's been called the "rapture of the nerds," but such derision didn't stop an estimated 500 enthusiasts from showing up to the Singularity Institute's conference in San Jose, Calif., last weekend to discuss the possibility of artificial intelligence overtaking that of humans. That's the concept of t...

Pity the Patent and Trademark Office examining attorney who gave Dell the green light propelling its trademark application for the term "cloud computing" toward the home stretch this summer. That particular individual was obviously unaware that the phrase had become, over the course of a year, one...

Several high-profile technology companies, human rights organizations, academics and investors have joined forces to launch the Global Network Initiative. Announced Tuesday, the GNI intends to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy throughout the information and communication technolo...

I can remember the day, way back, when the U.S. was the most important market in the world and companies from all over fought to build a presence and establish themselves here. Our politicians have creatively fixed that advantage, and now China is the place to be. According to projections, the Chine...

Microsoft has angered Chinese computer users with its latest antipiracy move. On Tuesday, during its Global Anti-Piracy Day, Microsoft turned Windows Genuine Advantage loose on the Chinese people. Other users worldwide are familiar with WGA, which famously labeled legitimate users as pirates and dis...

I was tempted to pick FUD as a topic and talk about how McCain's use of it killed his campaign. However, last week we had two major launches, one of which was Apple releasing its latest notebooks and embracing graphics as a defining feature but avoiding Blu-ray and HDMI. Apple works to drive the ma...

One of the books that had a big impact on me during my larval stage as a journalist was Dan Rather's "The Camera Never Blinks." The memoir was of Rather's experiences as a truly trailblazing and courageous TV reporter, not Rather the lightning-rod anchor with the southern-fried election night phrase...

Chipmaker Intel said this week that despite its record $10.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter, the company is worried that the global economic crisis will affect future performance. Despite such a general malaise across the industry, however, there is some very good news on the tech front.

The Hacker Underground is dead. Long live the Hacker Underground! In the most recent issue of Phrack Magazine, I read an article titled "The Underground Myth," that makes a number of astute points about the demise of the hacking scene of the last few decades. The author describes a technical landsca...