SAN FRANCISCO, December 21, 2006 (PodTech News) — The Federal Communications Commission took a step toward deregulation of video franchises. Good news for the telephone companies, and just in time for Christmas. Also, liquid lenses may finally be coming to a mobile phone near you — the technology that could ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 20, 2006 (PodTech News) — Researchers have been working with an series of images to reveal what might be some of the oldest matter in the universe. Meanwhile, closer to home, Sony has settled in the case against embedding dangerous software on protected CDs, the VCR passes ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 19, 2006 (PodTech News) — Google and NASA are working together to bring the virtual astronaut experience to a computer near you. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are working together to improve primary and secondary ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 16, 2006 (PodTech News) — Predicting extreme weather, like Hurricanes, has come a long way with the help of remote control devices. That same technology, or a version of it, has proven an unprecedented success through NASA’s Mars Rover project. Originally planned as a three-month project, several ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 15, 2006 (PodTech News) — Al Gore addressed the American Geophysical Union here Wednesday, on the same day as several recently-published studies on climate change were also in the news. Gore’s comments to the scientific gathering focused on the challenges facing scientists when it comes to explaining ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 14, 2006 (PodTech News) — Samsung’s plan to introduce its OneDRAM fusion memory in 2007 could mean much speedier smartphones. The company announced the device this week, amid the year-end predictions from analysts and enthusiasts for everything from cell phones to start-ups. We look to the ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 13, 2006 (PodTech News) — BlackBerry v. BlackJack - a new lawsuit says Samsung is playing games with names. Also, security patches from Microsoft, a security breach at UCLA, increased Internet controls in China, a long-term threat from the Arctic and a bed that floats. Those stories ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 12, 2006 (PodTech News) — In the news today, Nintendo’s Wii surprises the world with its first lawsuit — it’s not an injury! In Vienna, Mozart’s works have been brought into the digital age, and they’re now living online, absolutely free. Also, a glimpse at memory after ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 9, 2006 (PodTech News) — Recent headlines suggest that it’s getting harder and harder for citizens in Iran to visit Web sites like the open-source online encyclopedia Wikipedia and even the online home of The New York Times. An academic partnership between several universities is working to ...

Apple is once again in Greenpeace’s cross-hairs — the environmental watchdog’s Green Electronics Guide put Apple at the bottom of the heap, while Nokia sits on top. Along those lines, a quick look at a conversation that’s bound to gain momentum: How much energy does the online world use? ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 6, 2006 (PodTech News) — MySpace.com has plans to move further into the wireless space. That — plus plans to move into China — may bolster the value of the site that News Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch has hinted he might like to sell. Comcast gaming gets ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 5, 2006 (PodTech News) — Search competition may be heating up with Ask.com’s revamped services. Other search firms have pumped some ad revenue into the newspaper industry. How are newspapers reacting? They may be starting to look a lot more local — and a lot more virtual ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 2, 2006 (PodTech News) — “Clean, flat sheets of bronze.” That’s one way to describe one of your modern PC’s progenitors. Researchers at Hewlett-Packard are in the news this week for the interest they’ve taken in the Antikythera mechanism — arguably the world’s oldest computer. Also in ...

SAN FRANCISCO, December 1, 2006 (PodTech News) — At long last, Microsoft has launched its Vista operating system for businesses. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called it the biggest launch in the company’s history. It could have been even bigger, though - the other shoe drops at the end ...

While YouTube finds its footing with Google, not everyone’s concerns over the site’s reliance on copyrighted material have been settled. In particular, there’s a certain Mouse that might need some special attention. Disney fires a warning shot. Also, today is the day that Delta and its creditors will hear the ...

The Nintendo Wii has been proving to be physically demanding for many users. Soreness and pain are two of the system’s reported side effects. The official response so far: get in shape — then you won’t be sore. Also, a few rumors about Apple — one, involving the long-anticipated tablet ...

As Christmas shopping kicks off, the consumer tech world lurches into full gear — this is what months of speculation in the gaming console realm have all been leading up to. Rio Pesino continues his in-depth look at the consoles and their hype. With all the rumors over a possible ...

SAN FRANCISCO, November 22, 2006 (PodTech News) — While both Google and Yahoo have recently made inroads into newspaper ad sales, reports that print and online spending fell for the first time since at least 2004 have sparked a fresh round of spinning from the Newspaper Association of America. The ...

SAN FRANCISCO, November 21, 2006 (PodTech News) — Speculation kicked into high gear over the prospects of an Apple iPhone — again. Michael Johnson reports on why the rumors have so much traction this time. In news from Yahoo — after posting slightly improved search numbers in October and leaking ...

SAN FRANCISCO, November 18, 2006 (PodTech News) — This week saw the highly-anticipated launch of the new Sony Playstation 3. The first few buyers to get their hands on the new system waited for about 40 hours outside of the Sony store in San Francisco. Rio Pesino spoke with them ...

SAN FRANCISCO, November 17, 2006 (PodTech News) — Sony’s PS3 went on sale at midnight at stores in the U.S. Many fans began lining up days ago. As the lines in downtown San Francisco grew in anticipation of launch, PodTech’s Rio Pesino spoke to gamers and sales staff about the ...

Sony’s NBA 07 is one of several launch titles on display at the Sony Store. PodTech’s Rio Pesino went one-on-one with Sony’s Alex Armour to discuss some of the unique features of Sony’s basketball game during the Sony PS3 Launch event in San Francisco.

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PodTech’s Rio Pesino got his game on with Sony’s Sheila Bryson at the company’s Playstation 3 Launch event at the Metreon in San Francisco. In this podcast, we go hands-on with the PS3 interface and Bryson gives her thoughts on rivals Nintendo and Microsoft.

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Hundreds of people are lined up outside the Sony Metreon in San Francisco, hoping to buy a Sony PS3 gaming console, which will go on sale across the country at midnight. With so many people already in line, even before they’ve used the new machine and before they know how ...

Creative solutions to tricky problems are the great appeal of many tech gadgets. What about the tricky problems posed by living a modern life while following ancient (biblical) rules? Old Testament-compliant gadgets are on the way. Also, Google and YouTube tie up some loose ends, and leave some money aside ...