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Monthly Archives: May 2009

Nintendo to launch new Wii Fit, Mario games

Nintendo Co Ltd plans to launch a new version of its “Wii Fit” home exercise game this autumn, the Nikkei business daily reported Sunday.

12 really, really ugly cell phones

Some cell phones really look great, but are impossible to use. Other cell phones have cool features, but are ugly ducklings. Then there are those rare mobile monstrosities that fail at both looks and usability. Some have pricing issues as well. The phones in our dirty dozen list all suffer from either design flaws or functionality failures, or both. Some cell phones really look great, but are impossible to use. Other cell phones have cool features, but are ugly ducklings. Then there are those rare mobile monstrosities that fail at both looks and usability. Some have pricing issues as well. The phones in our dirty dozen list all suffer from either design flaws or functionality failures, or both.

Vying for plum work: Hacking for U.S.

The government’s urgent push into cyberwarfare has set off a rush among the biggest military companies for billions of dollars in new defense contracts.

Microsoft reverses Windows 7 Starter limit

Microsoft Corp said on Friday it would not limit the number of applications available at one time on the Starter edition of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, reversing its earlier strategy of limiting its capabilities and urging users to upgrade.

Robots with fins, tails demonstrate evolution

Vassar biology and cognitive science professor John Long poses with Madeleine, a swimming robot, in a lab at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Madeleine has four flippers sticking from its sides, and it was used to study a 45-ton marine reptile that patrolled the seas in the Jurassic Period. Robots wag their tail fins and bob along like bathtub toys in a pool at a Vassar College lab. Their actions are dictated by microprocessors housed in round plastic containers, the sort you’d store soup in.

Exhibitors gear up for upgraded E3

The Electronic Entertainment Expo may be back on the upswing after two years of downsizing, but that doesn’t mean the gaming industry’s once showy spectacle known as E3 is returning to its heyday of a few years ago.

Cuba criticizes Microsoft blocking Messenger

Cuba criticized Microsoft on Friday for blocking its Messenger instant messaging service on the island and in other countries under U.S. sanctions, calling it yet another example of Washington’s “harsh” treatment of Havana.

Obama’s new cyber czar may create turf war

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on securing the nation's cyber infrastructure Friday at  the White House. It it remains unclear whether the structure he is creating will be capable and powerful enough to take on an enduring and monumental task.The digital battlefield is proving to be difficult terrain for President Barack Obama. As he unveiled his plan Friday to make the nation’s computer networks more secure, he fulfilled a campaign pledge to make cyber security a top priority. But he fell short on another promise to create a cyber adviser “who will report directly to me.”

ID-theft ruling: Set your own fraud alerts

Companies that sell “identity-theft protection” present an alluring but questionable proposition.

NASA: Next shuttle launch may be delayed

Space shuttle Atlantis is towed from the runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California after landing to conclude the 13-day mission to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Landing occurred on Sunday, May 24, 2009.Fresh on the heels of a successful flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA is again gearing up to launch a space shuttle into orbit, but bad weather could delay the June spaceflight, mission managers said Thursday.