Technology
Latest stories
Nokia Debuts $99 Smartphone in Emerging Market Struggle

Struggling Finnish handset giant Nokia unveiled on Thursday its next-generation of lower-end mobile smartphones as it seeks to gain traction in a market expected to be worth $15 billion by 2015.

Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop released the $99 Asha 501 touchscreen Internet-enabled model at a global launch in New Delhi that especially targets emerging market users moving up from their no-frills first mobile phones.

W140 Full Story
Brazil Slum Study: Mobile Health Tech Promising

Using mobile health technology to monitor patients in poor urban areas could improve residents' access to health care while also reducing health care spending, a study conducted in a Rio de Janeiro hillside "favela" slum suggested Wednesday.

The study, by the New Cities Foundation, looked at the effects of bringing state-of-the-art health care diagnostic tools to sick and elderly residents of Rio's Dona Marta favela, an underserved shantytown up a steep hill from most conventional health care services.

W140 Full Story
Rights Group Presses Twitter on 'Hate Speech'

A Nazi-hunting group urged Twitter and other social media Wednesday to step up efforts to remove online "hate speech," citing a surge in incitement to attacks like the recent Boston bombings.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center said Twitter has spawned nearly 20,000 hashtags and handles this year that are linked to terrorism and extremism, up 30 percent in the past year.

W140 Full Story
Forest-Mapping Satellite to Join Earth Study Mission

A satellite that will map the world's forests has been chosen for the seventh mission in Europe's Earth Explorer project, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Tuesday.

Dubbed "Biomass", the satellite will use sophisticated radar technology to map and monitor living matter -- plants and animals -- as well as inorganic carbon contained in forests, one of the world's most precious resources.

W140 Full Story
Dotcom's Lawyers Say Prosecution Threatens Internet Freedom

Lawyers for Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom accused the U.S. government Wednesday of launching a flawed prosecution against their client with "frightening" implications for all Internet users.

The New Zealand-based Internet tycoon's legal team released a "white paper" to coincide with a visit to Auckland by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, which argues that online piracy allegations against Dotcom are baseless.

W140 Full Story
Files Posted Online to 'Print' Working Handgun

Computer files to create a handgun almost entirely from parts made with a 3D printer went online Monday, alarming gun control advocates after it was successfully test-fired by its inventor.

The single-shot .380-caliber Liberator bears a vague resemblance to its namesake, the FP-45 Liberator pistol that the United States developed during World War II to be air-dropped to French Resistance fighters.

W140 Full Story
YouTube Said Set to Soon Launch Pay Channels

YouTube is set to announce within a few weeks a series of channels that will require payment, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

The content on the new pay channels will be in addition to the millions of videos viewers watch for free on YouTube. It's not clear whether the paid videos will come with advertising.

W140 Full Story
Microsoft Touching up Windows 8 to Address Gripes

Microsoft is retooling the latest version of its Windows operating system to address complaints and confusion that have been blamed for deepening a slump in personal computer sales.

The tune up announced Tuesday won't be released to consumers and businesses until later this year. The changes, part of a software package given the codename "Blue," are a tacit acknowledgment of the shortcomings in Windows 8, a radical overhaul of Microsoft Corp.'s ubiquitous operating system.

W140 Full Story
Pentagon: China's Cyber Spying Targets U.S. Government

China is engaged in widespread cyber espionage in a bid to extract information about the U.S. government's foreign policy and military plans, said a Pentagon report issued Monday.

China kept up a steady campaign of hacking in 2012 that included attempts to target U.S. government computer networks, which could provide Beijing better insight into America's policy deliberations and military capabilities, according to the Pentagon's annual assessment of China's military.

W140 Full Story
Intel Revamps Chipsets in New Mobile Push

Intel Corp. on Monday unveiled a new line of computer chips as part of the tech giant's efforts to gain traction in the fast-growing mobile sector.

The Silicon Valley giant said its new, low-power, high-performance Silvermont chip design could be used in segments ranging from smartphones to the data center.

W140 Full Story