Dina Pule is feeling the love, and she’s not happy about it. South Africa’s communication minister says she has been the target of a 10-month “smear campaign” by the Sunday Times, which included a proposal of “love” from a friend...
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Photograph by Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg
In South African Digital TV Shift, Claims of Love Offers and Graft
Photograph by Julian Stratenschulte/AP Photo
Forget the Batphone. Here Comes the Merkelphone
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is getting a new phone. In fact, she’s buying almost 10,000 of them, for something in the neighborhood of $31 million. This summer, the German government will get the first of about 9,600 hack-proof handsets. The...
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Courtesy HeartMath
The Inner Balance app coaches you through breathing exercises designed to reduce stress.
Inner Balance Promises Stress Relief for IPhoners: Rich Jaroslovsky
In a classic “Seinfeld” episode, George’s father adopts what’s supposed to be a stress-reduction technique. Except that, instead of reciting it softly to himself, he bellows to the rafters: “Serenity now!” The Inner Balance Trainer is a $99 device from...
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Photograph by Bobi/Getty Images
Motion sensors allow users to control the screen of a device without having to touch it.
How an Old Russian Invention Inspired STMicro’s Hover Screen
It’s the latest in mobile technology, inspired by an invention nearly a hundred years ago. At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, chipmaker STMicroelectronics is showcasing screen technology that works by just hovering your hand a few inches away from the...
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Photograph by David Becker/Getty Images
Journalist Greg Sandoval (L) with actor/director Danny DeVito on stage during the 2013 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 9, 2013.
CNET Reporter Resigns After CBS Interferes With Coverage
(This post was updated with information from a CNET blog.) CNET reporter Greg Sandoval said on Twitter today he has resigned from the digital media site after its parent company, CBS, forced staff to withdraw a new product by Dish...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
An air hockey app is demonstrated on Lenovo’s Horizon touchscreen PC at CES in Las Vegas.
Lenovo to Kids: Stop Texting at the Dinner Table
Turns out, there’s a reason why Lenovo released its hit-or-miss tabletop PC, the Horizon. According to CEO Yang Yuanqing, family patriarchs are increasingly frustrated with their kids constantly playing on their smartphones and tablets at the dinner table. Individual devices are making individual...
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Wow! Meets Oops! as Sony Trips on Road to Recovery
(This post was updated throughout.) It was a slick presentation by Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai. But it was an oops and a subtle mea culpa that highlighted the long road ahead for the Japanese company to rebuild its battered...
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Courtesy Moshi
Moshi, formerly an Internet telephony company, has found a big business in selling accessories for devices such as the iPad.
Moshi’s Mega Pivot: From Web Telephony to Apple Accessories
Technology startups are notorious for making dramatic product changes, whether that means moving from hardware to software or from an ad-supported business to one based on subscriptions. In Silicon Valley, it’s called the pivot. But few companies have pivoted the...
Read more »Hollywood’s Next Heist Flick Should be Set in Suwon
George Clooney led his team of ingenious Las Vegas thieves through all sorts of tricks in the “Ocean’s” series of casino heist movies, Val Kilmer tangled with the Russian mafia in “The Saint” to steal the secrets to cold fusion,...
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Image courtesy of Jawbone
Jawbone's UP wristband tracks the wearer's physical activity.
Jawbone Fitness Band Could Use Some UP-Dating: Rich Jaroslovsky
When I first reviewed Jawbone’s UP fitness wristband a year ago, I cautioned that it would soon come to seem remarkably rudimentary. A lot’s happened since. Problems with the band’s durability forced the company to stop production for most of...
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