washingtonpost.com - Technology

Fast Forward's Help File

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Q How can I keep track of the security fixes for all the software that Windows Update doesn't cover, like my Internet plug-ins and media players?

Consignment Sales Rise as Economy Falls

Jura Koncius — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Patricia Ohlemiller packed up her Edmund Scientific Astroscan telescope last week and headed to the Gaithersburg iSold It eBay drop-off center. She hoped to recoup $150, minus commission, of its original $350 value.

Radio Ratings Device Flawed, Stations Say

Paul Farhi — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A little black box no bigger than a cigarette pack is at the heart of a multibillion-dollar dispute in the radio business. The box, some fear, could alter long-held notions about what's popular on the radio -- and hence who profits from it.

FCC, Wireless Providers at Odds Over Plan for Unused Airwaves

Kim Hart — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A report released yesterday by the Federal Communications Commission concluded that using empty airwaves to provide free wireless Internet would not cause major interference with other services, paving the way for FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin's proposal to sell the airwaves at a federal auction.

U.S. Allegedly Listened In on Calls of Americans Abroad

Joby Warrick — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee is looking into allegations that a U.S. spy agency improperly eavesdropped on the phone calls of hundreds of Americans overseas, including aid workers and U.S. military personnel talking to their spouses at home.

Security Fix Live

Brian Krebs — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Security Fix blogger Brian Krebs answers your questions about the latest computer security threats and offers ways to protect your personal information.

Craft Flies 16 Miles From Moon Of Saturn

Marc Kaufman — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The international Cassini space probe flew within 16 miles of the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus yesterday -- a breathtakingly close flyby designed to gather dust and water particles that will help scientists better understand the recently discovered geysers that spew constantly from the moon's...

The $700 Billion Man With an Engineer's Mind

Michael S. Rosenwald — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Many of the complicated securities at the center of the subprime mortgage crisis were designed by mathematicians and physicists, and now the U.S. government has tapped an aerospace engineer who used to design NASA satellites to start unraveling them.

Kentucky Tests State's Reach Against Online Gambling

Brian Krebs — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:40:05 EDT

An effort by the state of Kentucky to seize more than 140 online gambling Web site names is raising novel legal questions about the physical location of digital property and the reach of local and regional governments on the global Internet.

IBM sells $3.9 billion in corporate bonds

MADLEN READ — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:13:29 EDT

NEW YORK -- IBM Corp. sold $3.9 billion in bonds on Thursday, a sign that the stalwarts of the corporate world are still finding lenders.

Cameras Get Cheaper, but at a Price

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Something wonderful has happened to digital cameras in the past few years. They've become enough of a commodity for manufacturers to start acting a little silly in their quest to find some new feature to set their hardware apart from everybody else's.

MoveOn Grows Up

Jose Antonio Vargas — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK Five days after Sen. John McCain named Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, Quinn Latimer and co-worker Lyra Kilston sent an e-mail to 40 female friends and invited them to outline the reasons they were upset with his choice. It elicited such a huge response -- from friends of...

An Optimized View

Amanda Henry, — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

BORN DIGITAL Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives

District, Verizon Reach Deal on FiOS Service

AP — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:14:00 EDT

D.C.'s Office of Cable Television and Verizon have reached an agreement on a 15-year franchise pact to bring FiOS television, high-speed Internet and telephone service to the city.

3 Physicists Win Nobel Prize

Nelson Hernandez — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

An American and two Japanese physicists won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics yesterday for their discovery of tiny breaks in the symmetry of nature's fundamental particles that help explain why our universe exists and the rules that govern it.

YouTube to sell music, games in revenue push

Yinka Adegoke — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:09:08 EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - YouTube, the world's most popular video-sharing site, will start to sell music and video games and experiment with new advertising formats to grow revenue, executives said on Tuesday.

Army's Life-or-Death Drama

Ann Scott Tyson — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Alarmed by a record rate of suicide in its ranks, the Army yesterday unveiled a unique prevention tool -- an interactive video to be mandatory viewing Army-wide -- in which soldiers will play the role of an anguished infantryman and make virtual choices that lead the character to get help or, in the...

EBay to Fire 10 Percent of Workers, Buy Bill Me Later

Beth Jinks — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

EBay, whose shares are trading at an almost six-year low, will cut 10 percent of its workforce and agreed to buy two payment and classified advertising companies for $1.34 billion as sales growth slows at its Internet marketplace unit.

Studies Lift Hopes for Great Lakes Wind Turbine Farms

Kari Lydersen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

CHICAGO -- Picture 100,000 wind turbines rising from the Great Lakes off Michigan's shores, casting spinning shadows on the water and producing electricity for the entire Upper Midwest.

House Gives Thumbs-Up To Members' Web Videos

Carol D. Leonnig — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Members of the House, relax. You will still be allowed to post YouTube videos of yourself on your official congressional Web sites, so all your interested constituents can click and see you pounding the podium and championing a bill for your district.

High Court Lets Dish Ruling Stand

Greg Stohr — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday rejected Dish Network's appeal of a patent-infringement ruling that may force the company to shut down its digital video recording service and pay TiVo hundreds of millions of dollars.

Bells and Whistles in Search of an Audience

Mike Musgrove — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Pop in a new Blu-ray version of the animated flick "Sleeping Beauty" this week, and you (or your kids) will be able to connect online while watching the movie to text-chat with friends or other Disney fans. Or you could pick your favorite scene and send it with a personalized video message to fam...

Biotechs Race for New Vaccine

Kendra Marr — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Developing a next-generation anthrax vaccine is not for the weak of heart -- or wallet. Just two years ago, a revoked federal contract for a purportedly new and improved vaccine left a California biotech in ruins.

25% of Wild Mammal Species Face Extinction

Juliet Eilperin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

BARCELONA, Oct. 6 -- At least a quarter of the world's wild mammal species are at risk of extinction, according to a comprehensive global survey released here Monday.

Help File

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Q We have upgraded to a digital TV, but we get only the local stations' analog signals, not their digital broadcasts. In the ads, they make it sound so simple. Am I the only one having this problem ?

Google and Yahoo Ad Deal Delayed

Peter Whoriskey — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Google and Yahoo will delay implementation of their joint advertising deal to give antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department more time to review the agreement, the companies said yesterday.

With Merger, Revolution Takes Aim At WebMD

Annys Shin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Revolution Health Network, the online health care business launched by AOL co-founder Steve Case, is merging with competitor Waterfront Media in an effort to better challenge WebMD as the top source of online health information.

Tech Tactics for Hard Times

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

News flash: The economy stinks. It's not a good time to be throwing money at things that don't rate as necessities -- a description that applies to many of the goods and services reviewed in this space.

New Sony Reader has light, note-taking stylus

PETER SVENSSON — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:22:46 EDT

NEW YORK -- Sony Corp. unveiled a new e-book reader Thursday with a built-in light and a touch-sensitive display, features that set it apart from Amazon.com Inc.'s competing Kindle reader.

Protests Lead Carmaker To Give Up Plant in India

Emily Wax — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

NEW DELHI, Oct. 3 -- After months of violent demonstrations, Tata Motors, the Indian manufacturer of the world's cheapest car, will abandon its $350 million factory in West Bengal state.

The Accidental Beach House

Dina ElBoghdady — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Dan Wittenberg never really wanted a beach house, just a patch of land at the water's edge where he could park his Hobie Cat and sail it at a moment's notice.