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CEA Predicts 'Okay' Holiday Tech Spending

Tue Oct 7, 12:38 PM ET

With the economy tanking, credit limits shrinking, and 401(k)'s dwindling, will consumers tighten their belts this holiday season when it comes to digital cameras, MP3 players, video games, and other gadgets? Probably not, the Consumer Electronics Association predicts.

  • MySpace, HP Announce Web Printing Deal Tue Oct 7, 12:01 PM ET

    MySpace and Hewlett-Packard said Tuesday that the two companies have agreed to place an "click to print" button on MySpace pages.

  • Update: Firefox 'Geode' Tech Adds Location Awareness Tue Oct 7, 11:03 AM ET

    Mozilla Labs on Tuesday unveiled a Firefox add-in called Geode, which will give the browser location awareness.

  • AMD: A Spectator in the CPU Game? Tue Oct 7, 11:01 AM ET

    AMD's decision to split into two companies and launch a separate chip manufacturing business is as good as waving the white flag.

  • NEC Adds to Green LCD Monitor Line Tue Oct 7, 8:11 AM ET

    NEC announced the 22-inch EA221WM MultiSync LCD last month. Now, in a nice move that expands the product line, NEC has added 19- and 24-inch models.

  • zzzPhone Claims It's Selling Android Phones Tue Oct 7, 6:05 AM ET

    The mysterious zzzPhone has popped back into focus, with zzzPhone execs now proclaiming that they're selling low-cost Google Android phones drop-shipped to you straight from China.

  • 'World's Toughest Phones' Heading to U.S. Tue Oct 7, 5:56 AM ET

    Their European phones have been dropped from a 13-story building and shot with guns four separate times. But Sonim's cell phones keep on ringing. Now, the California-based company finally plans to bring their phones home to the U.S. with the upcoming XP3.

  • AMD Pulls Out of Manufacturing in 'Asset Smart' Plan Tue Oct 7, 5:19 AM ET

    On Tuesday, Advanced Micro Devices finally announced its "asset smart" strategy, which, as expected, involved spinning off its manufacturing operations into a pure-play foundry company.

  • IPhone 3G Boosts Apple's Smartphone Share Mon Oct 6, 12:03 PM ET

    The launch of the iPhone 3G boosted Apple's smartphone marketshare within the United States from 11 to 17 percent, according to an NPD report released Monday.

  • TiVo Wins Dish Suit As Supreme Court Refuses Case Mon Oct 6, 10:35 AM ET

    TiVo scored a victory Monday when the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a $74 million DVR patent case against Dish Networks.

  • RealNetworks Halts Sales of RealDVD Mon Oct 6, 8:40 AM ET

    RealNetworks has agreed to abide by a court-ordered temporary restraining order and has halted sales of its RealDVD DVD ripping software.

  • eBay Buys Bill Me Later, Cuts 10 Percent of Workforce Mon Oct 6, 7:06 AM ET

    Internet auction site eBay will cut 10 percent of its workforce, or about 1,000 jobs, the company said Monday. On a more positive note, eBay also announced Monday that it will acquire online billing company Bill Me Later for $820 million in cash, plus two Danish Web properties.

  • Palin Wins 'Spam Debate,' As Does Obama Fri Oct 3, 2:35 PM ET

    In a September study of spam by Secure Computing, Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Barack Obama top their rivals in the number of spam email messages making reference to them.

  • Nintendo's DSi: Everything You Need To Know Fri Oct 3, 8:32 AM ET

    We decided to compare notes and round up all the important info on the new Nintendo DSi handheld game console so far.

  • 'Area 51,' Two Other PC Games Free on FileFront Fri Oct 3, 8:19 AM ET

    Is the Dow getting you down? Looking to take your mind off of total financial ruination with a few cheap, solid games? How does free strike you?

  • Skype Acknowledges Chinese Spying Fri Oct 3, 7:52 AM ET

    Skype's president has acknowledged that users in China have had instant messages both blocked and copied to servers owned by TOM Online, Skype's partner in the country.

  • Microsoft Launches 'Suite Magellan' for Portugal Fri Oct 3, 5:24 AM ET

    Microsoft launched on Friday a software package for a Portuguese ultra-cheap laptop for school children that the government hopes will boost the country's technological edge in education.

  • Saving Internet Radio Thu Oct 2, 7:50 PM ET

    Passing the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 may help reconnect us with an old friend: the radio.

  • Comcast's Broadband Usage Cap Won't Hurt My Mom Thu Oct 2, 1:05 PM ET

    Net-neutrality issues aside, Heavy Net users should pay more for broadband than those who simply dabble.

  • Kohl: Google-Yahoo Deal a Possible Antitrust Threat Thu Oct 2, 12:12 PM ET

    Google and Yahoo might be singing the praises of their ad deal on a newly created Web site, but the chairman of a Senate antitrust subcommittee said Thursday that the arrangement could pose a threat to competition.

  • Apple Argues That It Is Not a Monopoly Thu Oct 2, 10:57 AM ET

    Apple has asked the court hearing its suit against Psystar to toss out Psystar's counterclaim that Apple is in fact a monopoly, arguing that Psystar's own arguments acknowledge that fact.

  • DOE Solar Cell Hits 40 Percent Efficiency Thu Oct 2, 9:53 AM ET

    Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a clean-tech arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, have developed a photovoltaic cell that converts 40.8 percent of solar radiation -- the highest confirmed conversion efficiency to date.

  • WD Debuts Next-Gen GreenPower Hard Drive Thu Oct 2, 9:34 AM ET

    Western Digital has added a second-generation GreenPower hard drive at 500-Gbytes and a 1-terabyte capacity point. WD says that the drives will consume 20 percent less power than the previous generation.

  • Free BlackBerry 'Memory Aid' Transcribes Notes Thu Oct 2, 9:03 AM ET

    A free beta app called reQall for the RIM BlackBerry transcribes your voice reminders into actual to-do calendar and shopping items.

  • Report: Honda Developing Hybrid Motorcycle Thu Oct 2, 8:50 AM ET

    Honda is developing a gas-electric motorcycle that would use a hybrid drivetrain similar to the one in the forthcoming Honda Insight and could be available within two years, a report says.

  • Vudu Debuts' HDX' High-Def Movies Thu Oct 2, 8:40 AM ET

    Good news today for VUDU customers: Your HD content is about to look and sound better. Well, some of it is. It's all thanks to "Trufilm" HDX technology.

  • Hands On With Nokia's First Touchscreen Smartphone Thu Oct 2, 8:30 AM ET

    Nokia, the world's number-one cell phone maker, today announced the company's first touch-screen smartphone, the Nokia 5800.

  • Comcast's Rate Caps Get a Pass from Video Sites Thu Oct 2, 7:31 AM ET

    Comcast officially launched its bandwidth caps for residential customers Monday, but while some video Web sites expressed concern about Internet restriction in general, none were particularly concerned.

  • Biden Versus Palin: The Tech Debate Wed Oct 1, 9:12 PM ET

    Vice presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will face off in their first and only debate Thursday, likely bypassing technology issues. But if they didn't, what type of expertise would each bring to the table?