Tech News, Tips and Advice

Startup Promethean Power is developing a “thermal battery” that gets around unreliable power service in India at a clean-tech incubator in a converted warehouse in South Boston.

Startup Promethean Power had to ditch its dream of solar-powered milk chillers in rural India, but hit upon a novel energy storage system that’s cheaper and overcomes the unreliable grid.

At issue is whether some of the titans of tech conspired not to hire each other’s employees. Attorney Joe Saveri argues the alleged conspiracy kept workers salaries artificially low by stifling competition.

Hackers did not take down Facebook today, as they had earlier claimed they would. Meanwhile, the pace of tweets appears to have slowed amid an ongoing Twitter boycott. And Twitter’s lawyer responds.

An interview with Microsoft’s Bill Gates in The Telegraph is just the latest to show he and the late Steve Jobs had a strong relationship at the time of the Apple leader’s death.

BMW has revealed that it, too, has entered the self-driving car arena, inserting self-driving technology in a 5 Series car.

Programmers using Google’s mobile operating system must reckon with upfront work for the wide range of Android screens, but the benefit is flexibility.

Google’s latest charming doodle commemorates an event of which few might be aware: a 15-inch diameter snowflake that attacked Montana.

High-resolution formats define the upper limit of quality, but if the recording’s mix was overcompressed and processed, a lossless file won’t sound great.

Here are a few of CNET Reviews’ favorite items from the past week, including the HP Envy 15, Nikon Coolpix S8200, and the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx.

We talk record breaking earnings, and reports of trouble in Apple’s supply chain that made that possible in this week’s edition of Apple Talk Weekly.

Photoshop CS6 will get a dark gray interface by default and, of course it inherits Lightroom 4′s new raw-image editing controls.

When Twitter announced it would withhold tweets country-by-country based on local restrictions, it said it was being more transparent. But some users disagree.

Hackers are attacking sites and looking to expose information on European officials in response to the signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. ACTA critics say it’s even worse than the Stop Online Piracy Act floated in the U.S.

St. Petersburg, Russia-based Andrey N. Sabelnikov says he is “absolutely not guilty” of participating in the creation of the huge spam network that Microsoft shut down last September.

Windows 8 on ARM is coming along nicely, thank you, according to a couple of sources with whom CNET spoke.

The bean counters at Sony need to make up their minds on how they are pricing PS Vita games.

Instead of complaining about the FCC’s decision to squash the T-Mobile merger and blaming the agency for raising prices, AT&T needs to shut up and move on.

If Google+ and Google search aren’t two different things, there’s no conflict in emphasizing Google+ in search results. Right?

Facebook Timeline is now a requirement, not an option. Are you digging the new profile look–with its long history and constant friend updates–or are you pining for the old days?

You couldn’t ask for a better show for a night out in the elements. A time-lapse video shows the auroras produced by this week’s solar radiation storm.

Strong sales of its Android smartphones helped propel the Korean consumer electronic giant’s revenue and profit for the period.

E-commerce site Fab.com claims it’s the fastest growing site on the planet. Now can we please have some more details?

Unsightly mosaic artifacts no longer mar Google Earth’s high-altitude views. But for an even more singular look at the planet, check Flickr’s latest NASA contribution.

Flickr automatically charges credit cards to renew premium accounts. That change is smart but nowhere near what’s needed to restore an ailing brand.

A Hawaii politician who proposed requiring Internet providers to record every Web site their customers visited is now backing away from the idea.

Another company that received backing from the U.S. Department of Energy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Apple’s CEO responds to report about working conditions at a factory in China, saying that any suggestion it doesn’t care about worker welfare is “false and offensive.”

The two Republican candidates, battling for supremacy in the Republican war of the stars, have markedly different views about our need to export our technological excellence to set up a little earth on the moon.

Wasn’t the Web supposed to save us money? Then how come what should be a $20 application is now a $120 yearly subscription?

Carrier added a net 717,000 new contract subscribers and activated 9.4 million smartphones, but paid the price with increased subsidies. AT&T activated 7.6 million iPhones.

Handset maker posts its third consecutive quarter of hefty losses, despite strong initial sales of its Windows Phone smartphones in the quarter.

The top 2,000 retail Web sites load faster this year but still take 10 seconds on average, a study says. Also: IE9 beats Chrome and Firefox in the speed race.

Startup Oorja Protonics has developed a methanol fuel cell to give battery-powered forklifts a lift and it’s planning to apply the same hybrid approach in fleet vehicles.

Hawaii’s legislature plans hearing on bill requiring Internet service providers to create dossiers on residents showing all Web sites they visit for two years.

That score in the big orange box may not be telling you exactly what you think it is. Klout is measuring influence, but not in the way that seems most obvious. And to understand the company, you have to understand exactly what business it’s in.

An in-depth New York Times report focuses on the final months of a factory worker who died as a result of an explosion at a factory that makes iPads, as well as the conditions workers often endure.

Rumor has it that well-known investor Marc Andreessen is looking to amp up funding for his Andreessen Horowitz investment firm with an extra $1.5 billion.

A Twitter feed from an Anonymous account claims it caused Facebook problems, with some intermittent outage. Facebook says it was nothing of the sort.

Since its launch last October, the Optimus LTE smartphone has scooped up more than a million in unit sales across the U.S., Canada, Japan, and South Korea, according to LG.

The EU says that data protection for individuals will be drastically improved by not allowing companies to process sensitive data without the user’s consent.

The British carrier tells disgruntled customers that it’s “investigating” the issue and that it’s a “top priority.”

An overhauled version of Firefox for Android could come shortly after January 31–or maybe six weeks later, a stretch in which Apple might sell 26 million iPhones and iPads.

Wiki publishing platform is great at collecting user-generated content. Next step: Getting it to users more efficiently.

Famous hacker George Hotz is rumored to have left Facebook and was recently seen at a Backplane hackathon.

A virulently anti-gay Twitter feed–@LGBTfacts–uses the hashtag #LGBTFacts to spread its word. However, those with a different perspective decide to offer their own thoughts to the same hashtag.

A new book by reporter Paul Barrett documents how technology helped make the Glock pistol one of the top-selling handguns in the U.S.

Microsoft’s next-generation game console will be based on AMD’s 6000 series processor and have six times the power of the Xbox 360, sources tell IGN.

A grassroots movement for Minecraft-themed Lego sets is getting real, as Lego announces plans to go ahead with a project that brings the two popular pursuits together.

The latest iPhone is capturing 36 percent of its buyers from people upgrading from Android, BlackBerry, and Palm, says Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Apple comes up empty as a Dutch court dismisses its claims that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t infringe upon the iPad’s look and feel.

The company blames noncash pension charges and added costs associated with the Apple iPhone for hurting its bottom line in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Maker of digital health and fitness devices says it will use the proceeds to grow its workforce.

Social network also seeks order barring man, who is suing for half the company, from filing any additional papers or pleadings in the case until he pays.

ThinFilm Electronics says it has assembled the pieces for a simple printed-on-plastic computing device with processing power, memory, and display that will enable “smart objects” and an Internet of things.

The largest solar radiation storm since 2005 is causing stunning auroras throughout the North and South Poles.

Software giant accuses a St. Petersburg, Russia, resident of writing malware to control and nurture the botnet, which infected 41,000 computers worldwide.

Security startup Dasient joins Twitter to apply it malware-fighting platform to the “world’s largest real-time information network.”

Game will have you battling Daleks, Cybermen, and Silurians on the PS3 and PS Vita via the PlayStation Network in March, with a PC version to follow later.

Between the middle of December and the beginning of January, the number of tablet owners in the U.S. almost doubled from 10 percent to 19 percent, says Pew Internet.

A lawyer presenting MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom asked a New Zealand court to release him on bail and said that he’s innocent of the piracy and money laundering charges brought against him by the U.S. government. Lawyers representing the U.S. allege that DotCom is an “extreme” flight risk.

The company’s iBooks Author application is also popular, tallying 90,000 downloads so far, according to a report from Global Equities Research.

The Chevy Volt and other electric vehicles are still safe to drive, says the NHTSA after a side collision test with the Volt caused concerns.

With routers, smartphones, tablets, and TVs expected to adopt Wi-Fi 802.11ac over the next few years, the upcoming standard will be the linchpinch for wireless HD video streaming, says NPD In-Stat.

The mobile-game publisher says it is structured to handle a diverse mix of phones, operating systems, and hardware in the market, as it too looks to casual gamers and the “freemium” business model for growth.

Apple is expected to report another record quarter, but all eyes are on the number of iPhones sold, with this being the first quarter to include sales of the iPhone 4S.

commentary The resignations of co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie and appointment of insider Thorsten Heins may not be drastic enough to help the ailing handset maker.

Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis resign their positions in the beleaguered company as profits decline and investor disappointment grows.

Is Windows 8 coming as soon as this fall? One can’t help but think that Intel is gung-ho about Windows 8 for a reason.

One reason for Apple’s success is its knack for driving technology standards. So much so that tech adopted by Apple often becomes a must-have on products from other device suppliers.

A new report uses Apple and its recent history to look at why the success of some U.S. firms hasn’t led to more U.S. jobs. In the process, it offers up interesting details about the evolution of the iPhone, and how it was made.

Neither Steve Jobs’ widow nor a representative of his trust will be on the ballot when Disney shareholders vote on re-electing the company’s board, says a report. The Jobs Trust is Disney’s largest shareholder.

The Web-hosting service and domain name registrar sends a heads-up e-mail to customers, saying their FTP passwords may have been accessed by hackers. It also asks them to change e-mail passwords, though it says those passwords weren’t affected by any breach.

Energy monitoring is like fitness-tracking for your utility bill. CNET’s Martin LaMonica tries a whole-house electricity monitor out and gets a read on where software and the cloud is taking home energy.

Apple’s much-rumored textbook plans came to light this week, alongside a new version of iBooks and iTunes U. More on that and the rest of this week’s news and rumors in Apple Talk Weekly.

Wattvision is one of a few whole-house electricity monitors that feeds meter data online to give you a better picture of your electricity usage. Through APIs, software developers can develop custom apps with that data, too.

Two Hollywood-backed copyright bills were dealt a severe blow by this week’s historic online protests, but their supporters are hardly giving up.

Groupon Goods may be getting a boost by picking up daily-deal shopping site Mertado.

The eBay-owned company is expanding into credit card territory by giving customers the option to shop in more than 2,000 conventional stores.

After more than two years of accepting user-submitted 15-second clips, the creators of the crowdsourced–and Lucas approved–fan-made film have at long last released their full version.

Launch of a SpaceX Dragon cargo carrier on an initial test flight to the International Space Station is on hold until at least late March, and possibly later, to give engineers time for additional tests and checkout.

New company lets you text your local businesses. And get a reply back. Yeah, you think that’d already be a thing, but it isn’t.

Zynga may try its hand at online gambling, which ZDNet’s Larry Dignan says might be both a great business move and a real problem.

Judge Andreas Voss says one of the claims Samsung brought against Apple was not valid, but many more lawsuits before the court have yet to be decided on.

Kim Dotcom will spend the weekend in a New Zealand jail while the U.S. tries to extradite him. His attorney said YouTube was accused of the same copyright violations but nobody raided them.

An early impression of Nike’s activity-monitoring wristband, where I unexpectedly jump rope, drum on buckets, and do a few surprisingly intense basketball drills–all to test out the device.

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are on a national tour showcasing their take on science, sharing the lessons they’ve learned and both entertaining and educating as they go. It’s a lot of fun.

Facebook and Vevo have spoken about a possible partnership once Vevo’s deal with Google runs out in a year, CNET has learned. A Vevo deal would enable Facebook to offer free music to users.

AT&T is increasing the price of its smartphone and tablet data plans by $5, but it’s giving consumers more data usage. But do most subscribers need the extra data? Or is this just another way for AT&T to boost revenue?

Republican presidential candidates take aim at a pair of Hollywood-backed bills: the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA

Convicted of developing software used on a porn site, Iran’s Supreme Court confirms the death sentence to Saeed Malekpour.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini says Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich should make tablets more competitive against the iPad, while intimating that Windows 8 tablet production may be sooner rather than later.

Millions of people still flocked to Wikipedia despite a blackout of its encyclopedia.