By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Users of e-readers can be excused for wondering if they haven't embraced a technology headed for the graveyard of products overtaken by something brighter and shinier -- in this case inexpensive tablet computers.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Recent attempts to deal with one of the darker sides of the Internet -- so-called Internet "trolls" who hide behind electronic anonymity to post often vile, abusive and inflammatory comments to websites -- raise a troubling question: Will an understandable desire for civil discourse threaten a very American right of free speech?
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
If, as proposed by President Obama, a manned mission is on its way to Mars in the mid-2030s, and if perhaps in the distant future mankind attempts to journey beyond the limits of our solar system, scientist will want to know some answers to a most pressing question: How does long-term exposure to the zero gravity of space affect the human body?
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Motorola unveiled its first flagship smartphone since being acquired by Google, and facing fierce competition from Samsung and Apple, it appears it's decided to market its Moto X on looks, not brains.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
There's a war going on in your home, and as in most wars the goal is control -- in this case control of what you watch on your television, and more to the point, from where it comes.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Quick: What's the total number of moons orbiting planets in our solar system? Don't worry if the answer's not on the tip of your tongue but it's still the Trivial Pursuit sort of question that's fun for a water cooler session at the office.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
It seems like no one less than 30 years of age wears a wristwatch any more. Why? Because they carry smartphones.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Windows 8.1 is seen as Microsoft's attempt to regain the customer favor lost with the release of Windows 8 and its controversial user interface, but is it more a case of back-pedaling than moving forward?
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Yahoo's announcement last week it would begin resetting inactive email addresses and make them available again must gladden the hearts of people set on a "vanity" address of theirname@yahoo.com, but how likely is it they'll succeed in getting it?
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
NASA says its Mars Curiosity rover will finish up its scientific investigations in its initial landing area -- working in an area smaller than a football field -- and enter a "distance-driving" mode ... but don't get too excited. We're talking about a five-mile "road trip" that's going to take months.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Struggling Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has announced a version of its flagship HTC One handset running stock Android 4.2.2 will be available June 26, making it the latest phone maker to hope a phone running the "true church" version of Android -- untouched by any manufacturers' or carrier's add-on bells and whistles -- will attract some buyers.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
The unveiling last week of the Xbox One represents Microsoft's latest weapon in a war whose outcome is likely to either bulk up or shred the bottom line of more than a few companies -- call it the battle of the living room.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
If persistent rumors of Apple's introducing a low-cost version of its all-conquering iPhone -- rumors gaining credibility with each passing day -- turn out to be correct, it will mark a turning point for the Cupertino, Calif., tech darling. But you have to wonder what Steve Jobs would think about it.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Empty space. In discussions of things astronomical, the term pops up so often it's gone beyond cliche.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Every jump in technology brings with it adjustments society must make and rules it must develop if the new paradigm is to be considered acceptable, and Google Glass -- a wearable computer that can record video surreptitiously -- presents just such a paradigm shift.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
The public release of photos and videos in the hunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects was made possible in large part because we now live in a society where we are never long out of the field of view of a camera mounted somewhere or carried by someone.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
"Facebook Home" for Android phones, creating an "all Facebook all the time" home screen, can be seen as an "all in" bet by the social networking company, pushing its stack of chips from the desktop computing arena to where it sees its future -- mobile.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
One might like to assume that when the framers of the Constitution sat down to consider the rights and freedoms most deserving of being explicitly put forward in the document, people's right to privacy would be at the top of a short, fundamental list.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Amid signs the smartphone industry may have to gird itself for a period of slower growth and reduced profit margins, manufacturers are casting about for a new smartphone feature that could capture the public's eye and convince buyers to pull out the old credit card yet again.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Google, which as an American company operates in the United States under freedoms and rights taken mostly for granted, is finding itself in European courts because of a concept the European Union takes very seriously -- "the right to be forgotten."
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Asteroids and meteors have been much in the news recently, with an exploding meteor injuring hundreds in Russia and an asteroid making a close fly-by of the Earth, both on Friday.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
You've lost your smartphone. Or more worrying, it may have been stolen. Like most people, you've entrusted it with more and more of your personal data. Your first thought: just how secure are those emails, contact list, work documents and that app to access your bank accounts?
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Research in Motion, desperate to turn around its flagging fortunes, has laid the chips on the table for it final wager in the form of two new BlackBerry smartphones, the requisite collection of companion apps -- oh, and an announcement that it's not Research in Motion anymore.
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
With recent reports Apple may have cut back on orders for some iPhone 5 components, rumors ran rampant of a less than healthy demand for what has to be considered Apple's flagship product, raising a nagging question: Has the most valuable company on earth finally stumbled?
By JIM ALGAR, United Press International
Reports last week of a possible smartphone running a Firefox operating system from Mozilla, developer of the Firefox Web browser, raises the question of whether the world is ready for -- or even needs -- yet another flavor of smartphone software.
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