Stories by: Tom Spring

The tech-world's epicenter shifts to Las Vegas this week as the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show kicks off. Over the next week expect a parade of shiny, tiny, and wireless gadgets from CES exhibitors -including a 3G watch-phone from LG Electronics, a wafer-thin TV from Samsung that's 6.5-millimeters thick, and an emphasis on emerging technology such as environmentally friendly green technologies and Wi-Tricity, a technology that allows wire-free power charging of small devices.

My guess is most people don't use Google's new Chrome Web browser as their primary browser yet. Google still has a long way to go with the browser adding features and fixing problems. Nevertheless, I've collected what I think are some of the most useful tips and the most interesting tweaks for the Chrome browser.

The nonprofit One Laptop Per Child Project has shown the first images of its next-generation touch-screen laptop that goes by the name XO-2. According to Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC, the laptop is under development and has a goal of costing US$75. Negroponte showed off images of the XO-2 at an OLPC event here at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He says the first XO-2 is slated to be built by 2010.

Green sells, whether the product in question is a hybrid car or a laptop computer. Tech firms know this.

The Google Web site--and many of the company's software programs--are loaded with gags, goofs, and Easter eggs that have helped Google maintain a fun-loving spirit in the cutthroat world of Web competition.

US consumers using an expanding array of broadband services, including movie downloads, video games, online backup, and streaming audio and video, are flooding the nation's broadband pipes with data--and it could cost them.

It's the year 2010. Microsoft owns Yahoo and has just changed the name of Flickr to Microsoft Flickr Live Photo-Sharing Service for Digital Camera Enthusiasts. The service is still free, but Windows Vista users will have to validate their copy of Vista as "genuine" first to use it. What has Microsoft wrought?

When Seattle, Washington resident David Ruggiero heard about an opportunity to get his hands on the innovative XO laptop made by the One Laptop Per Child charitable organization, he hopped on it. Within two hours after the promotion began on Nov. 12 he snapped one up.

Which browser is more secure Internet Explorer or Firefox? We all have our opinions, but rarely do we get a chance to hear Microsoft and the makers of the Firefox browser, Mozilla, debate the issue.

Authorities are warning of yet another scam targeting online loan applicants. This time it's an advance fee loan scheme involving MortgageTree Lending, a company that is finding plenty of victims online.

If you're running Vista and you need a multifunction printer, Brother's MFC-5860CN might seem like a great choice. After all, it's proudly sold as "Certified for Windows Vista."