Technology Audio/Video - NPR

Michael Phelps won his record-tying seventh gold medal by a fraction of a fingernail, just 0.01 second. Even when you study the photos and the video, it's tough to tell who came in first. Christophe Berthaud, the director of Olympic timekeeping for Omega, the official timekeeper at the games, explains the system used to time swimmers.

Troy Hitch talks about You Suck at Photoshop, a hit series of Web videos created to explore viral marketing concepts. Hitch is the creative director for the agency Big Fat Brain.

Using a technique known as self assembly, researchers have found a way to create high-quality repeating patterns with features just ten nanometers across.

iPhones, electric toothbrushes, antilock brakes — all of these are products of mechatronics, a growing field which combines physics, computer science and mechanical engineering. We meet students training in this difficult discipline, as they play with robotic mice.

If you're among the people who make personal calls on a company mobile phone, the Internal Revenue Service may want to talk with you. The IRS considers such cell phone calls to be a taxable extension of your compensation package.

Every day, millions of people are asked to retype sequences of squiggly letters so Web sites can verify they're not automated spammers. A scientist has figured out how to harness that manpower to digitize old books.

Many Americans are getting their fix of the Olympics on the supersmall screen — cell phones. Real-time results, live coverage and on-demand video are just some of the cell phone options for tuning in to what's happening in Beijing.

Millions of people thought they were watching live fireworks as part of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It turns out, some of those vivid fireworks were computer graphics created by a team of hundreds of Chinese visual-effects specialists who worked nearly a year to pull it off.

Will the Web trump Olympic TV coverage? NBC is offering hundreds of hours of Olympics coverage on its various broadcast and cable outlets, but it's also offering hundreds of hours of coverage online. How can it profit off the Web?

Esquire magazine's October cover will feature an animated electronic display using a technology called E-ink. How will it work? Russell Wilcox, the CEO of E-Ink Corp., explains.

The town of Rock Port in northwest Missouri is the first community in the United States to be completely powered by wind. The small community owes its energy independence to the presence of four massive wind turbines.

Are you more likely to browse sports sites or celebrity gossip? And what does that say about your gender? Madeleine Brand talks with Mike Nolet of mikeonads.com about an online widget he created. It claims to predict whether you're male or female based on your Web surfing history.

Here's the irony of the popular online social network Facebook: nothing makes critic Andrew Wallenstein feel more antisocial. Since joining earlier this year, he's found himself consistently confused by random people asking to be his "friend." Even when he denies them, they try again.

Eleven men have been charged with stealing more than 40 million credit card numbers from U.S. retailers, making it the biggest identity-fraud heist ever prosecuted in the U.S. The fraud targeted customers at TJ Max, Marshalls, Barnes & Noble, Office Max and Sports Authority.

Travelers will soon be able to surf the Web at 20,000 feet. Delta airlines will begin offering WiFi on flights as early as next month. By next summer, its entire domestic fleet will be set up for multitasking — at a cost.

Time Warner could soon announce a plan for separating AOL's Internet dial-up and advertising businesses. The move could foreshadow spinning off the whole AOL division. Madeleine Brand speaks with Marketplace's Amy Scott about attempts to shore up the once behemoth internet service provider.

A work by Vincent Van Gogh was recently uncovered at a museum in the Netherlands. But it wasn't lost in some dusty corridor, it was hidden under the paint of another Van Gogh. Scientists found it by using a giant X-ray machine.

Barack Obama is no stranger to the Internet. He supports the creation of a chief technology officer for the U.S., who would help integrate technological solutions and ideas. Obama also wants to ensure access to technology in rural areas.

The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Comcast Corp. violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers. The ruling ordered Comcast to stop cutting off transfers of files among customers who use a type of file-sharing software.

YouTube is loaded with home videos from Californians about this week's 5.4 magnitude earthquake, the first big temblor in a decade to hit a densely populated urban area. Now, Los Angeles and surrounding cities are trying to warn the public how to prepare for the "Big One."

The political parties are trying new methods for writing their platforms this year. The Republicans are going digital, inviting comments via YouTube and message boards. Meanwhile, the Democrats have embraced the Obama camp's fondness for caucuses. Both camps say they're making the platform-writing process more democratic — to an extent.

Scientists at Caltech have created a tiny, lens-free microscope that they say could be built for just $10. Changhuei Yang, one of the microscope's inventors, explains the device and some of its potential uses.

This week, the American College of Emergency Physicians issued an alert warning of the dangers of text-messaging while walking and driving. Dr. Angela Gardner, an emergency physician at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, says texting while walking is a growing problem that is growing bigger every day.

Renee Montagne has today's Last Word in business.

All is not well with the new iPhone. Some Apple stores don't have enough supply to meet customer demand. It takes a long time to activate the service, and the MobileMe software has bugs. This is especially striking for Apple, which promotes itself as a source of products that always work right out of the box.

Japan's Cabinet approved a trial plan to trade carbon credits in an effort to lower emissions and fight global warming. Some critics believe the efforts are more publicity than policy and paint a deceptive picture of Japan's environmental status.

The switch from analog to all-digital television signals will begin in Wilmington, N.C., in September. The FCC is on the ground at farmers markets and baseball games to get the word out and help iron out any kinks. The rest of the nation will make the switch in 2009.

A computer engineer in San Francisco faces multiple charges for allegedly holding the city's computer network hostage. Jaxon Van Derbeken of the San Francisco Chronicle says Terry Childs is also accused of plotting to destroy the city's computer network.

Raytheon, a contractor to the U.S. military, is trying to improve its drones by calling on video game developers to redesign the controls. Slate.com's Will Saletan discusses the future of military technology.

Renee Montagne has today's Last Word in business.

Renee Montagne has this morning's business news.

Chevy Chase Supermarket has installed a contraption that washes dirty carts by spraying a peroxide-based mist that kills germs. The washer, made by Pure Cart Systems, is approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are trying to capitalize on the Internet in their campaigns. Jose Antonio Vargas, who covers the Internet and politics for the Washington Post talks about the Internet's impact on the campaigns.

A few months ago, Dan Kaminsky discovered a major problem with the basic wiring of the Internet that could easily be exploited by hackers. It has to do with what's known as the domain name system, or DNS.

After nearly a week of empty shelves, a new shipment of iPhone 3Gs have arrived in stores. And, we take a closer look at the latest warnings on cell phone use and cancer. Tech guru Mario Armstrong brings us up to speed.

The content won't change that much, just how it's delivered, predicts media critic James Ledbetter.

As it gets ever easier to doctor images, will the photograph lose its credibility? A digitally manipulated photo of an Iranian missile launch recently made its way onto major news Web sites, raising concerns about whether images can be trusted. Guests discuss the long history of altered images.

General Motors is partnering with more than 30 North American utility companies to create technology and energy interfaces for the introduction of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Here's a look at the impact that plug-in hybrids might have on consumers' pocketbooks and the environment.