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This story was originally published on June 17, 2013, and is brought to you today as partof ourBestofECT News series I'm into fixing problems -- in fact, for much of my life I've been employed as someone who is brought in to fix a difficult problem. I don't see much point in just complaining -- either try to fix it, ignore it, or move someplace wh...

This story was originally published on June 21, 2013, and is brought to you today as part of our Best of ECT News series. If you're perusing Staples' website anytime soon looking for boring old printer cartridges or what have you, you may be surprised to see, in the Narrow by Department panel, a listing for 3D Printers....

This story was originally published on June 14, 2013, and is brought to you today as part of our Best of ECT News series. Building a customer relationship -- the kind that lasts a long time -- is a not an easy thing. There are lots of occasions where things can go awry, touch points where signals can get crossed and communications that can unwitti...

As I write this, the U.S. has deployed a battle group to Syria in preparation for a missile strike against the government there, and Russia has deployed what appears to be a counter force. What most seem not to be factoring in is that Syria has already fired its warning shot with attacks on Twitter and The New York Times, at least I say "at least,...

Despite being hit by a lawsuit from T-Mobile over its use of the color magenta in its marketing materials, AT&T subsidiary Aio Wireless has announced plans for a nationwide online rollout starting mid-September ...

Despite being hit by a lawsuit from T-Mobile over its use of the color magenta in its marketing materials, AT&T subsidiary Aio Wireless has announced plans for a nationwide online rollout starting mid-September ...

JumpStarter aims to use its new JumpStartFund platform to help Elon Musk's Hyperloop project draw the attention and investments it needs to get off the ground Musk's design for a high-speed transportation system that could transport people between San Francisco and Los Angeles in a little more than half an hour has drawn interest from the science a...

A three-judge panel from the Superior Court of New Jersey's appellate division has pushed the envelope a little further in defining who is liable for accidents caused by texting Namely, the panel has established a new standard of responsibility and ruled that texters whose communications distract a driver and lead to an accident may be held respons...

NASA is poised to launch a mission next week that will use lasers in a test of two-way communications between the Earth and the moon The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration will herald a new area of space communications....

One short year ago, Facebook had virtually no presence on the mobile platform, at least in terms of ad activity and monetization. Today, it's not only flourishing but showing real signs of leading the pack one day The latest indicator comes from eMarketer, which on Wednesday released upwardly revised projections for Facebook's ongoing momentum in t...

There is something odd happening between Americans and their usually intense love relationships with their cars. One survey points to a slight, but still worrisome, drop in customer satisfaction with vehicles and light trucks this past year; another shows that Americans are driving less -- much less in some cases Is there any overlap? That is, are...

Light Flow LED & Notifications for Android is available for US$2.49 in the Google Play Store.For years, manners have been defined and documented in easy-to-learn rules classed by geography and culture. For example, in some countries it's acceptable to make abundant noises when eating, whereas in others, eating is a matter to be taken with the utmo...

From programmable robots to robotic family pets, toy robots are pushing the limits of interactive technologies "Robotics is definitely influencing toys, and there are plenty of robots to talk about," The Toy Insider's Laurie Schacht told TechNewsWorld.

Apple has acquired AlgoTrim, a Swedish software developer that specializes in compression algorithms for mobile phones AlgoTrim developed algorithms for "lossless" compression, whereby processing instructions in operating systems and applications are not only sped up but require less flash memory....

Google executive Hugo Barra, one of the leading public faces for Android, has left for up-and-coming Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi ...

With an eye toward the upcoming holiday season, Nintendo on Wednesday announced a US$50 price cut on its Wii U gaming platform and rolled out a brand-new portable gaming system priced at just $129.99 Slated for release on Oct. 12 in red or blue, the new Nintendo 2DS is an entry-level gaming system that plays all Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS games i...

Mixamo on Wednesday launched Face Plus, a new tool that lets developers and filmmakers convert human facial expressions recorded by a webcam into high-fidelity 3D animation to enliven their digital characters. Face Plus works with any ordinary webcam, making it possible to produce short scenes, commercials or games that feature animated characters...

Flailing Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is developing its own mobile operating system for the China market in the hope of reviving its fortunes, according to The Wall Street Journal Likely slated for introduction by the end of the year, the OS reportedly will be closely integrated with services such as China's popular Twitter-like microblog Sina W...

Foursquare has released a new Windows 8 app in the Windows store that promises dividends for both Microsoft and the social network itself The benefit for Microsoft is the extra traffic and exposure a new app for a still-popular social network like Foursquare can deliver -- especially an app that has been designed from the ground up for Windows 8....

Windows 8 is the torpedo that sunk Steve Ballmer, the headlines have been screaming. The news we were all expecting finally arrived last Friday with the announcement that Steve Ballmer would step down as Microsoft's CEO. Now the question is who will replace Ballmer -- and will that person be the right choice? I have an important recommendation for Microsoft in this process.