Wash Post Technology

California moves to restrict TVs' power usage; others may follow

Paul Farhi — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Nick Canzoneri weighed several factors when he went shopping for a new flat-screen TV at the Best Buy in Gaithersburg earlier this week. He wanted the right brand ("Sony. I've had one for 20 years. I tend to stick with what I like . . .") and the right price. Size mattered, too. Canzoneri's son t...

A new kind of company, a new challenge for feds

Cecilia Kang — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

One is a giant of the entertainment world -- a tangle of television networks, a film studio and a stable of hit shows. The other is a cable colossus, the nation's largest provider of cable TV and Internet access. Together, the possibilities are endless.

White House official's net neutrality comments irk AT&T

Cecilia Kang — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

AT&T doesn't like the idea of new regulations mandating unfettered access to the Internet, and recent comments from the Obama administration that connected the issue to censorship in China have really gotten under its skin.

Holiday guide to video games

Mike Musgrove — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When the holidays roll around, the video game industry rolls out the big blockbusters.

Fast Forward: How to choose a computer

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Across the universe of gadget gifts, few things can inspire more angst and buyer's remorse than home computers. Even as their prices have crumbled -- processors and memory have become so cheap that your main risk is buying more of either than you'll ever use -- these machines have remained specia...

Avoid the crowds and save money online

Cameron Huddleston — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

We've tested and picked Web sites we think are easy to use and will help you save money this holiday season. Take a look:

Still plus video: Today's digital cameras double as camcorders

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Not so long ago, cameras and camcorders lived as separate species. But while digital cameras still take better photos than camcorders and camcorders still shoot better video than cameras, the differences between them have shrunk to the point where many people can and should do fine with just a...

Apple and Android phones are the smartest

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Many phones tout themselves as "smart" these days, but not all these gadgets exhibit the same IQ. Let's set a few standards to weed out the unworthy: A smartphone should display a normal Web page, easily synchronize your contacts and calendars, make it simple to add or remove a wide range of add-on...

TV gets simple; DVD, not so much

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Something wonderful has happened in the world of high-definition video over the past few years: Flat-panel HDTVs have become everyday, relatively risk-free purchases. If only the same thing could happen for another category of high-def devices -- Blu-ray players.

In the Black Friday crowds, a lingering sense of caution

V. Dion Haynes, Ylan Q. Mui and Dana Hedgpeth — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Throngs of bargain hunters kicked off the holiday shopping season Friday, buying Paula Deen cookware, Zhu Zhu toy hamsters and flat-panel TVs. But even as they filled parking lots, waited in lines overnight and loaded shopping bags, they talked of restraint, drawing names for gifts, paying cash and...

Personal Tech: Holiday Gift Guide

Rob Pegoraro — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro discusses recent reviews, answers your personal tech questions and provides tips for buying the perfect gadget gift for the holidays.

Holiday Tech Guide: Video Games

Mike Musgrove — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Washington Post @Play columnist Mike Musgrove will be online to discuss the latest video games and provide holiday gift giving advice.

@Play: At libraries, fun and games now the lure

MIKE MUSGROVE — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Nine-year old Cody Wallace and his seven-year-old brother Justin spent the day at the library last weekend, but for once they weren't working on book reports. They were playing video games.

Ciena to buy Nortel unit in $769 million deal

Mike Musgrove — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Linthicum-based Ciena announced Monday that it has won a bid to buy a major piece of bankrupt Canadian tech firm Nortel Networks.

House seeks records in contracting case

Robert O'Harrow Jr. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

A House oversight panel this week called on Army Secretary John M. McHugh to provide procurement documents, e-mail and other material related to almost $200 million worth of technology contracts involving the Communications-Electronics Command.

Local Digest: Computer Sciences lands $2.9 billion job

Post — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Computer Sciences Corp. of Falls Church said that it signed a new data center and information technology infrastructure management service agreement with Zurich Financial Services Group.

Ted Leonsis has the option to purchase the Washington Wizards franchise

Tarik El-Bashir and Thomas Heath — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Former AOL executive Ted Leonsis, who purchased the Washington Capitals from Pollin in 1999, has the first right of refusal to purchase the Washington Wizards, Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington Ticketmaster franchise.

Help File: Garmin and MSN Direct; Blu-ray movies on computer monitors

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Q: I am thinking of replacing my four-year-old Garmin GPS unit with a newer Garmin that includes free lifetime traffic data and MSN Direct. Would that ease my holiday drives?

Fast Forward: 'Augmented reality' fuses your world and the Web

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The cameras on some new phones don't show the world as you've known it.

New attack targets weakness in Internet Explorer

Brian Krebs — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:11:25 EST

Blueprints showing attackers how to exploit a previously unknown security hole in versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser recently were published online. The danger here is if IE users browse to a hacked or booby-trapped Web site that uses the exploit, that site could install malicious...

New technology, tight budgets hinder sex-offender monitoring

Jerry Markon — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The pursuit of Lee Shelton began the moment the convicted sex offender was released from prison.

Safety issue raised in Dulles rail bridge project

Lisa Rein — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thirty-two years ago, the Virginia transportation department drove dozens of steel pilings 50 feet into the ground near the West Falls Church Metro station. Encased in concrete, the pilings formed foundations that one day could hold up a bridge carrying Metro trains across Interstate 66 to Dulles...

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Hackers steal electronic data from top climate research center

Juliet Eilperin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Hackers broke into the electronic files of one of the world's foremost climate research centers this week and posted an array of e-mails in which prominent scientists engaged in a blunt discussion of global warming research and disparaged climate-change skeptics.

AOL plans to cut a third of workforce

Mike Musgrove — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

AOL said Thursday that it plans to reduce its workforce by a third over the next several months.

Business Digest: Judge backs revised Google Books deal

Post — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

A federal judge granted preliminary approval Thursday to a revised settlement between Google and authors and publishers over the Internet giant's effort to create a vast digital library.

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In wake of breach, ban on file-sharing software proposed in House

Paul Kane — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Weeks after an embarrassing security breach revealed details of dozens of ethics investigations, a House committee chairman introduced legislation Tuesday that would forbid federal employees to use popular file-sharing technology that was involved in the leak.

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American Express to enter market for online payments

Frank Ahrens — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

American Express on Wednesday said it had agreed to buy the online person-to-person payment provider Revolution Money for $300 million, the latest move by one of the credit card giants to add a service that has been increasingly in demand by consumers, especially younger ones.

The virtual doctor visit: Health monitoring at home

Elizabeth G. Olson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Every morning at 10 a.m. sharp, Juanita Wood, 87, taps "okay" on a screen to start up a device that takes her blood pressure and transmits the information to her medical clinic. At 10:30 a.m., her husband, Arthur, 91, touch-starts his own device, neatly lined up next to hers. The machine calculates...

U.S. teens report 'frightening' levels of texting while driving

Ashley Halsey III — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

A graphic British public service video that portrays a fatal accident caused by a texting teenage driver has been the talk of Facebook and other places where young Americans congregate, but a study suggests that it hasn't done much to change their habits.

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Experts: Smart grid poses privacy risks

Brian Krebs — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:41:34 EST

Technologists already are worried about the security implications of linking nearly all elements of the U.S. power grid to the public Internet. Now, privacy experts are warning that the so-called "smart grid" efforts could usher in a new class of concerns, as utilities begin collecting more granular...

Security Fix Live

Brian Krebs — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Security Fix blogger Brian Krebs answers your technology questions and offers ways to protect yourself from online security threats.

Hydrogen-powered car still seems improbable

Curt Suplee — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Just in time for Thanksgiving, a familiar techno-turkey is back on the national policy table: the hydrogen-powered car. The Obama administration had flatlined funding for President George W. Bush's pet initiative, briefly but heavily touted a few years back as the driving force toward a future "h...

Microsoft warns of Windows 7 security hole

Brian Krebs — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:11:34 EST

Microsoft has confirmed reports of a security flaw in its Windows operating system that hackers could use to temporarily destabilize Windows 7 PCs. The software giant also acknowledged that blueprints for exploiting the flaw are now available online. At issue is a so-called "denial-of-service"...

Makers of electric cars address shortage of recharging station

Peter Whoriskey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

As their manufacturers see it, the electric cars entering U.S. showrooms as early as next year will be engineering marvels: stylish, battery-operated, zero-emission wonders.

Obama backs non-censorship; Beijing, apparently, does not

Keith B. Richburg — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST

BEIJING -- President Obama, taking questions Monday from government-selected students at a town hall-style meeting in Shanghai, called himself "a big supporter of non-censorship." But the Beijing government, apparently, is not, and most Chinese never got to hear or read what Obama said.

Copyright overreach goes on world tour

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Some of the better ideas in the computing industry never make it into stores, and not because of expensive hardware, complex code or inadequate bandwidth. You can blame laws that keep otherwise desirable products off of the market.