Technology

13 - 1:18am

Tech Bits NEW YORK Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter. Apple Inc.’s stock has been on the decline since the company’s quarterly earnings report Wednesday suggested its fast growth phase, rare for a company of its size, may be coming to an end.

What holds energy tech back? The infernal battery 01/27/13 - 1:18am

WASHINGTON — As 21st-century technology strains to become ever faster, cleaner and cheaper, an invention from more than 200 years ago keeps holding it back. It’s why electric cars aren’t clogging the roads and why Boeing’s new ultra-efficient 787 Dreamliners aren’t flying high. And chances are you have this little invention next to you right now and probably have cursed it recently: the infernal battery.

Review: Mega sharing service lacks versatility 01/27/13 - 1:17am

NEW YORK — New Zealand entrepreneur Kim Dotcom — still wanted by U.S. authorities on allegations of copyright infringement — has launched a new online service for storing and sharing files. Staying true to his outsized personality and reputation for excess, Dotcom unveiled the Mega service with great fanfare, renting a helicopter and hiring actors dressed as police agents to re-enact a raid that followed the shutdown of his first venture, Megaupload.

Tech review: Searching for answers on Facebook 01/20/13 - 1:10am

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook has unveiled a new search tool that gives users a chance to sift through the photos, places and other information available on the site — all through the lens of their social connections. Would you like to know which of your friends live in San Francisco? Are you curious about who likes Madonna? Or are you dying to know which friends appeared in photos with you before 2006? Facebook’s new search tool will tell you, in the hopes that you’ll spend more time on the world’s largest online social network.

Wacky gadgets make their pitch at Las Vegas show 01/10/13 - 12:22am

Motorheadphones

LAS VEGAS — From the iPotty for toddlers to the 1,600-pound mechanical spider and the host of glitch-ridden “smart” TVs, the International CES show is a forum for gadget makers to take big — and bizarre — chances. Many of the prototypes introduced at the annual gadget show over the years have failed in the marketplace. But the innovators who shop their wares here are fearless when it comes to pitching new gizmos, many of which are designed to solve problems you didn’t know you had.

New Lego robotics kit talks to iPhones 01/08/13 - 1:12am

LAS VEGAS — Lego bricks are getting cozy with the iPhone and other Apple devices in the latest incarnation of the Mindstorms robotics kit. Lego announced Monday that a new, $350 Mindstorms EV3 kit will have the ability to talk to iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches through Bluetooth wireless connections. That means Lego builders can use the devices as remote controls for their robots, or create simple programs that are then sent to the robots to control their actions.

Google executive chairman arrives in North Korea 01/08/13 - 1:11am

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Google’s chairman wants a firsthand look at North Korea’s economy and social media landscape during his private visit Monday to the communist nation, his delegation said, despite misgivings in Washington over the timing of the trip.

License plate scanners spark debate 01/06/13 - 1:16am

SALT LAKE CITY — License plate scanners in widespread use by law enforcement agencies hold the potential for misuse by divorce lawyers or police who use information on a motorist’s whereabouts as fodder for an “interrogation game,” a legislator said Friday. Utah has no law governing the use, collection or lifespan of tracking data on law-abiding motorists, said Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross. He plans to introduce legislation in January to make clear the information cannot be kept in a databank longer than six months, or subpoenaed in divorce or other civil litigation.

New search engine tailors its results for tablets 01/06/13 - 1:15am

SAN FRANCISCO — The makers of Blekko believe they’ve built a great alternative to Google, but they’re realistic. They know their 2-year-old Internet search engine won’t ever supplant Google as the most popular place to search on laptop and desktop computers. But Web surfing on tablet computers is a different matter, creating an opportunity that Blekko hopes to exploit with a new product called Izik — a search engine designed especially for Apple Inc.’s iPads and tablets running Google’s Android software.

Tech Bits 01/06/13 - 1:13am

Tech Bits DOVER, Del. One of two Chinese nationals charged in an international software piracy scheme has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Delaware. Xiang Li has agreed to plead guilty to two conspiracy counts involving copyright infringement and wire fraud. He is scheduled to appear at a plea hearing Monday. Prosecutors agreed to drop more than 40 other counts against Li. Li and co-defendant Chun Lan Li were charged with conspiracy, copyright infringement, smuggling, wire fraud and other crimes.