HP's nanotech vision of how to save a sick planet

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - If like many people in our technology-ruled world you can't live without Google, video games, digital media and social networking sites like Facebook,

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - If like many people in our technology-ruled world you can't live without Google, video games, digital media and social networking sites like Facebook,

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets We're still a bit gun shy when it comes to surfing over to PEAK Surgical's website after watching that PlasmaBlade demonstration video, but a new release from the outfit affirms that said electrosurgery scalpel has just been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration. The "tissue dissection system," as it's so gruesomely called, has been given 501(k) clearance, meaning that PEAK can now market its tool for use in general surgery. So, anxious to camp out an... [read more]

Filed under: Misc. GadgetsCarbon nanotubes may very well kill you (okay, so that's very much a stretch), but you'll have a hard time convincing the dutiful scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to stop their promising research. Put simply (or as simply as possible), said researchers have discovered that "networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes printed onto bendable plastic perform well as semiconductors in integrated circuits." So well, in fact, that the nanotube networ... [read more]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless Details are scarce right now, but you can make of it what you will. Sprint hasn't been in the best of situations since it acquired Nextel in 2005, and while this move may not be seen by everyone as definitively negative, it certainly is worth noting. The flagging carrier sold off "nearly all" (around 3,300) of its wireless communication towers to TowerCo for some $670 million in cash. According to Sprint Nextel's Bob Azzi, the move to lease rather than own these... [read more]

Filed under: Gaming, Wearables Just as Mr. Adams wrote of the summer of '69, some heralded pop star decades from now will pen a smash hit recalling the summer of two-thousand and eight. Oddly enough, the tune will likely focus on the revitalization of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which has somehow wiggled into just about everything imaginable over the past few months. The latest concoction is a bit different, though, as the NES Belt Buckle doesn't really shove NES capabilities into a buckl... [read more]

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Cellphones We know, we know -- this one's going to be a doozie, but it's something that just has to be done. For folks out there too far from the reaches of GSM or simply unwilling to cough up the requisite dough to pay for AT&T's comparatively pricey plans, we figure Kevin's question will hit very close to home: "What is the best alternative for the iPhone / iPhone 3G? I am looking for a touchscreen phone that has most of what the iPhone can provide, such as medi... [read more]

REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) - Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Microsoft Corp's need to make heavy investments in its Internet businesses but said the company was "done," for now, with pursuing Yahoo Inc.

Filed under: Storage Nothing too fancy from Kingston Technology today, just a couple of more capacious flash drives and an all new one for good measure. For starters, the DataTraveler 400 with MigoSync software and the DT100 are both now available in roomy 16GB flavors. Meanwhile, the DT101 arrives on the scene with security software, capacities up to 8GB and in cyan, pink and yellow hues. Each of the newcomers should be available now, with the 16GB DT400 demanding $196, the 16GB DT100 costing $... [read more]

The company's out with a new initiative designed to expand its popularity and smooth relations with developers. Rafe Needleman and I got together to take stock of the coming changes.

Yahoo Music comes under criticism for deciding to stop supporting DRM keys. The Electronic Frontier Foundation should have learned from Microsoft's mistakes.

West coast utilities are charging ahead with solar plants, but other regions could surpass them soon, according to the Solar Electric Power Association.

REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) - Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Microsoft Corp's need to make heavy investments in its Internet businesses but said the company was "done," for now, with pursuing Yahoo Inc.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two former members of the Smashing Pumpkins sued Virgin Records on Thursday, saying the label shut them out of profits after signing a deal with the rock band's frontman Billy Corgan.

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals You think your liquid-cooled rig is pretty snazzy, don't you? After Purdue researchers get their technology on the streets, that stuff will seriously look like old hat. The team is working on a "miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers," which would hopefully boost cooling performance while enabling computers to be smaller. According to Suresh Garimella, they have "a very good handle on the technology," but it's s... [read more]

Facebook wants to be the center of its members' lives in the same way that MyYahoo became the home base for millions of users over the last decade.

Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, sends list of precautionary measures to faculty and staff.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets We're not quite sure how the pitch session went with this one, but it looks like the US Army was so impressed by toymaker Lund and Company's Hydrogen Fuel Rocket that it decided to recruit the company to build a decidedly more lethal version of it. The new system, dubbed the Variable Velocity Weapon System, will apparently be able to be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes, and be loaded with rubber bullets, actual bullets, or other projectiles, which are fired... [read more]

Filed under: LaptopsBad news, Atom fans. That dual-core nugget of netbook-powering goodness that you were so looking forward to seeing in Q3 won't begin shipping until Q4. According to some data picked up by Fudzilla, the Atom 330 will only be debuting in Q3 (September 21st, to be precise), but it isn't scheduled to get a shipping label until a few months later. Also of note, we're told that the chip will sell (at some place in the supply chain) for $43, but don't count on those savings being co... [read more]

Speaking to financial analysts, Chris Liddell concedes online business hasn't shown much tangible progress, but says Yahoo deal making less and less sense.

REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell on Thursday described Yahoo Inc. as "a declining asset" and all but ruled out a complete takeover of the Internet company.

Filed under: Laptops It was inevitable, was it not? With the success of HP's 2133 Mini-Note, it was pretty obvious that the outfit would be working up a second edition, and according to Jerel Chong, HP Australia's Market Development Manager for Notebook PCs, it's already "looking at a similar device but at a lower cost." Reportedly, the lower cost low-cost laptop will be ready for budget-conscience consumers sometime before 2009, though we have no idea what corners will be cut in order to hack d... [read more]

Company buys Datallegro, which Microsoft says will help the company compete with Oracle at the high-end of the market.

In a Webinar on Thursday, researcher discloses specifics about his DNS cache poisoning flaw, and cites statistics on the number of systems that are patched.