Stories by Bob Brown

Sidecar app for iOS, Android seeks to give smartphone voice calls overdue respect

Sidecar, a born-again startup whose founders hail from Internet media services company Real Networks, Tuesday is launching an eponymous app for iPhones and Android smartphones that's designed to make it easier for people to share videos, photos and more while talking on those devices.

J*******k: Dirty word disappears from Apple iTunes store

Apple historically has fought iPhone jailbreaking by warning customers that their device warranties will be voided if they muck around with the innards of their Apple products. Now Apple appears to be taking its disapproval of jailbreaking one step further by censoring at least some references to "jailbreak" in its U.S. iTunes store.

'Thelma & Louise,' 'Beetlejuice' star Geena Davis wins major telecom award

Actress Geena Davis, President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Huawei Chairman Sun Yafang have been named winners of the 2012 ITU World Telecommunication and Information Society Award for their efforts promoting information and communications technology (ICT) to empower women and girls.

CAPTCHA, crowdsourcing pioneer von Ahn captures Grace Murray Hopper Award

Luis von Ahn, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University best known for his work in protecting websites via crowdsourcing, has been named winner of the 2011 Grace Murray Hopper Award.

Apple WWDC: Hot ticket sells out in 2 hours

Apple WWDC, the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, sold out in just 2 hours Wednesday morning, smashing last year's record 10-hour sellout. 

Researchers turn to vibrating steering wheel to shake bad driving habits

AT&T Labs and Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a vibrating steering wheel that they say can help drivers keep their eyes on the road and off of distracting GPS screens.

Internet Hall of Fame opens ... on the Web

Thirty-plus Internet pioneers, innovators and "global connectors" - yes, even including Al Gore - have been inducted into the first class of the Internet Hall of Fame.

AT&T Watson vs. Apple Siri: Talkin' about a smackdown?

AT&T Labs says its Watson speech recognition technologies have been around for more than 20 years, and come this June, it will put APIs and SDKs in the hands of developers who want to give users a way to interact with smartphones, TVs and other devices using their voices.

Celebs Zooey Deschanel, Samuel L. Jackson shill for Apple iPhone

Apple has turned to a couple of celebrities -- singer/actress Zooey Deschanel and actor/children's book narrator Samuel L. Jackson -- to demo its iPhone 4S Siri voice recognition technology in a couple of new video advertisements.

Cisco, Juniper among new software-defined networking research center's founders

Cisco, Juniper, HP and nine other technology companies have joined forces with two leading universities to form a research center focused on software-defined networking (SDN).

iPhone to the rescue: Helps save 2-year-old in a well

Firefighters in China lowered an iPhone into a 40-foot deep dry well to aid them in rescuing a 2-year-old boy who fell in, according to a report from the U.K.'s ITN.

IETF plays Hide-and-Go-Seek with April Fools privacy protocol

IETF pranksters this weekend revealed their latest April Fools' Day requests for comments, including one that outlines use of Hide-and-Go-Seek techniques to encourage network privacy.

April Fools: Google fills HUGE gap with 8-bit Google Map

Google kicked off its usual April Fools’ Day barrage of gags early with a least a temporary option to turn Google Maps into 8-bit images remindful of those from Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games.

New iPad opener: Forego finesse with this April Fools' Day special

Just in time for April Fools’ Day, the repair experts iFixit have come up with a slick new way to get at the innards of an Apple iPad: the iPad Fubar – by Stanley.

In Pictures: 10 funny (?) April Fools' pranks - Web style

Our roundup of some of 2011's Internet-based April Fools' pranks should get you in the mood for this year's inevitable crop. Get ready to wince.