China’s High-Speed-Rail Revolution

China has begun operating what is, by several measures, the world’s fastest rail line: a dedicated 968-kilometer line linking Wuhan, in the heart of central China, to Guangzhou, on the southeastern coast. In trials, the “WuGuang” line trains (locally built variants of Japan’s Shinkansen and Germany’s InterCity Express high-speed trains) clocked peak speeds of up to 394 kilometers per…

Plastic Logic Device Showcases Organic Transistors

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Plastic Logic announced the details of the first consumer product based on organic transistors, a technology that’s been limited to the lab for the past 20 years. The company’s thin, lightweight e-reader, called the Que, uses organic transistors to power a black and white, touch-sensitive display made by E-Ink, an electronic paper…

Google Reveals Its New Phone

Google launched its own cell phone, a device called the Nexus One, at a press conference in Mountain View, CA, on Tuesday. Designed and built by the Taiwanese handheld-device company HTC in partnership with Google, the phone is being sold through a new online store that will sell not only Nexus One but also future devices based on Android,…

How to Find Hidden Explosives at Airports

The bomb that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab reportedly tried to set off as his flight neared Detroit on Christmas could have been detected using existing screening technologies, had they only been used. Not only could the explosives have been spotted using back-scatter X-rays or millimeter wave technology–which can see through clothes–invisible traces of the explosive could have been detected using…

The Pogie Awards for the Year’s Best Tech Ideas

Wow, what an opportunity! Imagine having a newspaper column published precisely on the last day of the year. What a chance to step back, look ahead, sum it all up! Or else I could just trot out my usual end-of-year silliness, better known as the Pogie Awards.

These honors, now in their fifth consecutive year, aren’t meant to identify the best…

Voice May Join Google’s Enterprise Lineup

GrandCentral, which Google acquired in 2007, relaunched as Google Voice way back in March. It’s still technically in private beta, but invitations aren’t all that hard to find.

From what we’ve heard, Google is very seriously planning to add a version of the Google Voice product to its Apps/Office suite of applications for businesses. Currently, businesses are offered enterprise versions…

iPhone Now The Most Popular Phone In The US

Ranking cell phone companies is a tough thing to do. Some of these companies have a bunch of popular handsets, whilst others have just one or two yet manage to sell as many or more. Rank the companies by cumulative sales across all of their lines and the results will swing one way; rank them model-by-model, and they might…

Twitter Disrupted by Web Attack

Twitter was the target of a cyberattack Thursday that disrupted its microblogging service for many users, especially those accessing it directly through the company’s Web site.

The service appeared to be functioning normally on Friday morning.

In a blog post late Thursday evening, Biz Stone, a founder of Twitter, said hackers had changed the records for the…

As Phones Do More, They Become Targets of Hacking

Mobile phones are becoming ever more like personal computers. That means they are also becoming more vulnerable to traditional computer menaces like hackers and viruses.

The co-founders of a cellphone security company, Lookout: Kevin Mahaffey, left, James Burgess, center, and John Hering.

This year, the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Lab reported on a new malicious program that stole money by taking…

Are Internet firms afraid of the Middle East?

The Middle East represents a vast, largely untapped market for Internet businesses across an audience tailor-made for maximizing online revenues, according to industry experts — so what’s holding everyone back?

The sector’s failure to capitalize on what, on paper at least, appears to be a perfect match for Internet start-ups hoping to exploit a vast international market with…

Price of Flat-Panel TVs Rivals the Old Tube Type

According to iSuppli, a research firm, the average selling price of a 23-inch LCD set is $451; three years ago it was $752. The average price of a 32-inch LCD is $600, about half of the $1,182 ticket in 2006.

In the stores, flat-panel prices are even better. Wal-Mart is selling a 32-inch Vizio LCD for $400, and…