Technology

National

Consumers Facing Subscription Service Overload Will Only Get More Choices

4:02pm May 09, 2013

by Laura Sydell

Consumers already have an abundance of choice when it comes to entertainment and news subscriptions. But analysts say it's still early days for all the digital subscription offerings we'll have to pay for.

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National

What We Can Learn From The Viral Spotlight On Charles Ramsey

2:40pm May 09, 2013

A compelling television interview with Charles Ramsey, who helped save three women held in captivity in Cleveland, quickly became an online meme in the vein of Antoine Dodson and Sweet Brown. Slate's Aisha Harris and Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post discuss what Harris has called the viral trend of the "hilarious black neighbor."

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Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system was criticized when it was released last year for features some said didn't mesh with a desktop PC environment. The company has indicated that it will address some of those issues in an upcoming update.

Economy

Will Tweaking Windows 8 Be Enough To Revive The PC?

11:43am May 09, 2013

by Steve Henn

When Microsoft introduced Windows 8 last year, the software giant billed the new operating system as one of the most critical releases in its history. The system would bridge the gap between personal computers and the fast-growing mobile world of tablets and smartphones. But this week, the company sent signals that it might soon alter Windows 8 to address some early criticism.

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Saifulzul Husseini (right) works in Dashti Barchi, a Hazara neighborhood of Kabul. He believes that ethnicity should be listed on the new identity card.

World News

Afghans Confront Sensitive Issue Of Ethnicity

11:43am May 09, 2013

by Sean Carberry

Afghanistan is set to issue new national IDs that will have a person's ethnicity embedded in it electronically — but not printed on it. That's renewed debate over a divisive issue in a country made up of many different groups.

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This 12-story building in Shanghai's northern suburb of Gaoqiao allegedly houses a Chinese military-led hacking group.

U.S. Turns Up Heat On Costly Commercial Cybertheft In China

1:04pm May 08, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

U.S. official displeasure has grown over the problem of Chinese cyber-espionage. The Obama administration has signaled that it will step up the investigation and prosecution of trade-secret theft and has not ruled out punitive measures.

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The Senate on Monday approved a bill to allow states to collect sales taxes from online retailers. Proponents say sellers will get help navigating tax collection, but many retailers says complying will be burdensome and opens the door for unforeseen probl

Some Net Retailers Aren't Buying Online Sales Tax Proposal

9:00pm May 06, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

Proponents of the bill, currently before Congress, say collecting taxes from online sales should be relatively simple for retailers. But with close to 10,000 tax jurisdictions around the country, some online businesses say collecting the taxes and navigating potential problems will be a costly burden.

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With instant messages buzzing, emails pinging and texts ringing, how can employers increase productivity in the workplace? Software companies are tackling the problem, tracking employees' computer time to find ways to improve their efficiency.

When It Comes To Productivity, Technology Can Hurt And Help

3:27pm May 06, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

With more employees working on the road and more distracting technologies in the office, some companies are creating new ways to improve efficiency. One software firm helps identify wasted time, while another makes it easier for co-workers to collaborate.

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Unearthing History: How Technology Is Transforming Archaeology

2:40pm May 06, 2013

For centuries, explorers tried to find la Ciudad Blanca, a fabled city in the rain forests of Central America. Dense jungle impeded efforts to uncover it. Douglas Preston tells the story of a team who used light detection technology to survey the iconic ruins from the air.

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These robotic flies, which were built in a Harvard lab, can flap their wings independently of each other and fly around while tethered to a power and control wire.

Science

Of Flybots And Bug Eyes: Insects Inspire Inventors

5:49pm May 02, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

Miniaturizing technology is really hard — gears, rotors, belts and pistons that work perfectly at human size just don't work very well at the small scale. So researchers are turning to insects for ideas about how to make tiny flying robots and cameras — and driving a new generation of gadgets.

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A Look Ahead At The Future Of Tech

2:14pm May 02, 2013

Technology's already changed our lives in ways we couldn't have imagined just a few years ago. As part of Talk of the Nation's "Looking Ahead" series, Farhad Manjoo, technology columnist for Slate.com, discusses what's changing and how it will change us.

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