Tech Buzz

Opportunities for using new media for the public good have been overlooked in the excitement surrounding the rise of new media itself. The fading of television as a traditional media form, the end of television sets as distinct single-function devices, and the redirection of advertising dollars away...

The holiday season is upon us, and that often allows time for a little deep thinking, particularly given current events, about what is important and what we should be focusing on. Still, we can't forget about shopping, as much as we would like to, so I'll offer some unique gift suggestions. I'd like...

There is no limit, it seems, to what financial institutions are willing to spend to ensure that their customers' money is safe. The latest twist? Biometric safeguards, such as voice imprints or iris scans. To be sure, this technology already exists and is used in all sorts of high-end applications.

Shopping is normally good for the economy, but not when the shoppers are net neutrality advocates looking for friendly deals on a regulatory forum. Policy makers in Michigan, their current target, should tell pro-regulatory activists to go home, with good reason. Those who support net neutrality leg...

As we roll to the end of the year, events continue to take place that are changing dramatically the technologies and environments we live in. Last week, Microsoft had a coming-out party for Vista -- but only for the business market. While most feel it can't ramp up in business until 2008, there is c...

New scientific studies showing that it is possible to slow down the aging process are important for those interested in life extension, but also key for those who want to see greater economic growth. That's because life-extending treatments generate what some call the "longevity dividend" -- an idea...

Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices heard arguments concerning a basic tenet of patent law. In addition to being new, any invention for patent must be deemed "nonobvious" over what is already known; i.e., the innovation must represent some technological advance -- even if slight. The cas...

We are working our way toward the end of the year, and this year appears to be going out with a bang. The most recent drop in our river of discontent was a memo written by Yahoo's chief marketing officer talking about what other people in the company needed to do to fix it. These things are always s...

Perhaps a savvy political operative tasked with designing the best go-to-market campaign for service-oriented architecture would proclaim: "It's the applications, stupid!" Focusing on the applications -- and not the means to achieving them -- has served computing well over the decades. I recall tryi...

Do you wonder if technology has given us more information than needed? Perhaps, but sometimes it is very helpful, if not invaluable. There is so much good, solid data on the Internet that today, researchers can use it with great comfort and assurance. The days when academics were stuck in libraries ...