UPI Hi-Tech articles from January 2006

UPI Hi-Tech archives from January 2006

Capture Saddam Hussein in a game.
January 2, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- With the troops in Iraq being the top story every night, it was bound to happen -- why not have a video war game based on the actual events that takes place in Iraq? Military game...

CES comes to Vegas.
January 2, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- From Jan. 5 to Jan. 8, Las Vegas is going to be flooded with electronic geeks and gear heads from around the world as they prepare to host one of the largest conventions in the world,...

Networking: Convergence comes to China.
January 2, 2006... Byline: GENE J. KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A number of converged network communications projects are expected to move forward in China this year -- with wired and wireless elements -- spanning from Shanghai to Beijing, experts tell...

IT boom leads to more power for tech execs.
January 3, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Getting the right equipment and network systems is critical to the success of any sizeable business, but it has hitherto been very much a back-office position. According to some analysts,...

China excited for IPTV.
January 4, 2006... Byline: INDRAJIT BASU CALCUTTA, India, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Its government may impose stringent regulations on the media sector. It may still suffer from inadequate bandwidth and rampant piracy problems, and Internet protocol television or IPTV...

No end yet to electronics boom.
January 4, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The housing market might be frothy, and the stock market's outlook is anyone's guess, given the prospect of still-higher interest rates and pricey energy costs. Yet the electronics sector...

The Web: Women vs. men online.
January 4, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Men and women use the Internet rather differently, with women employing e-mail more often than men to communicate with family and friends, but with men logging online more frequently to...

France Telecom's loss may be Belgian gain.
January 5, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Buying or being bought out seemed to be the way of life of European telecommunication groups in 2005, as a slew of carriers both big and small either gobbled up rivals or were eaten up...

World of Warcraft focus of millions.
January 5, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A long day over and done with, they return in the millions to their homes and apartments. Heading over to their computers, they sit down and open "The Program." Introductory music emanates...

Consumer Electronic Show: Day 1.
January 5, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Day 1 of the sprawling Consumer Electronic Show proved how important convergence and high-definition technology will be in 2006. From the HD-DVD promotion group's launch party to...

Globe Talk: Pakistan's shaky step forward.
January 6, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Cell-phones sales seem to know no bounds, with first-time handset buyers continuing to line up in developing markets to purchase basic models, even as hipsters in some of the richest...

Wireless World: Carriers losing focus?
January 6, 2006... Byline: GENE J. KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Wireless carriers have lost their focus and are concentrating on the wrong priorities, like trying to recruit as many new subscribers as possible, rather than properly serving those...

Nano World: Hybrid structures fuse traits.
January 6, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A menagerie of complex new structures that assemble themselves from combinations of semiconducting, metallic or magnetic particles only nanometers or billionths of a meter wide promise to...

Entertainment tech to flood consumers.
January 6, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- If Day 1 at the Consumer Electronics Show was all about high-definition content, then Day 2 can be described as "Hollywood gets its day," as the show was about portable media centers,...

Networking: iPod dominance a mirage?
January 9, 2006... Byline: GENE J. KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Though Apple Computer has reported remarkable success with its iPod -- sales rose by 250 percent during the last fiscal year -- there is some competition coming this week for the developer...

Spectrum woes plague India's cell phones.
January 9, 2006... Byline: INDRAJIT BASU CALCUTTA, India, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- India may be one of the world's biggest telecom success stories, but when it comes to quality of service, its mobile-telephony sector portrays a gloomy picture. Despite billions of...

Author feature: Counterfeiting.
January 9, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A booming knockoff community might be the product of evolving technology and inefficient law enforcement, according to one counterfeit expert. Counterfeiting is one of the...

Denmark's TDC deal rattles markets.
January 9, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Europe's telecommunications market may become increasingly cut-throat, but competition means that smaller carriers too can hold out and not take up any investment offer that comes their way....

Top 10 things seen at CES.
January 9, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- After four long days of walking the Las Vegas show floor and being dazzled by the large, gorgeous flat-panel HD displays, it was time for me to hunker down en route home Sunday and...

FilmLoop Inc. photo broadcasting.
January 10, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- At the Macworld Expo Monday FilmLoop Inc. introduced FilmLoop, a cross-platform photo broadcasting systems currently in development for the Mac OS X and already available for the...

No stampede yet to snap up tech stocks.
January 10, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Stocks are back on a roll once again, and the bulls are out in full force to tout their optimism about the U.S. financial market's outlook. The renewed optimism about share prices is felt...

Nano World: Venture capital in nano rises.
January 10, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Venture capital investment for nanotechnology rose strongly in 2005, with institutional venture capitalists devoting $480 million into nanotechnology startups last year, up from roughly...

Jobs debuts Intel-based iMacs.
January 10, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced Tuesday updates of Apple's hardware, software applications and operating system as well as the introduction of new hardware based on Intel processors. ...

The Web: 'Digital home' comes of age.
January 11, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The "digital home" came of age in the last year as global revenues from sales of Internet-related products surged past the $100 billion mark for the first time, experts tell United Press...

Users react to Macworld announcements.
January 11, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Amid iPods, plasma monitors, flashing displays, loud music, free trinkets and luxury leather beanbag chairs for tired Macworld Expo attendees to fall into, users reacted to Apple's...

Wearable iPod gear at Macworld.
January 11, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Sometimes it's the strange and almost accidental discoveries that become the most useful. This is especially true at a technology conference like Macworld Expo, wherein an obscure but...

Netflix tops online satifsaction list.
January 11, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Sometime it can hurt to be too successful, or so some online retailers might start to think. For now, though, it seems that companies focused purely on selling via the Internet are more...

XM Radio set to battle Apple's iPod.
January 11, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- XM Radio is the latest company to step in the ring with Apple's iPod. The satellite radio provider has teamed up with Samsung and Pioneer Electronics to create a pair of devices...

Strike a pose with Oakley's 'eye-pod'.
January 12, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Looking cool without succumbing to the ever-growing iPod empire is getting easier. While many MP3 fans might swear by the performance of Apple's digital music player, some might...

Anti-terror body scanner gets London trial.
January 12, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A new high-tech security system to detect would-be terrorists went on trial at London's Paddington station Thursday. A steel box 7 meters long has been erected on a platform at the...

Digital killed the video store.
January 12, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The livelihood of video stores and online rentals might be numbered, now that the video-download movement is underway. The dawn of convenient video downloads of movie and television...

Macworld new products and reactions.
January 12, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The Macworld Expo show floor buzzed with its usual annual energy Wednesday as hundreds of vendors and thousands of attendees converged to discuss new products, Apple's recently...

Euro political blogs lagging behind U.S.
January 12, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Blogging in America has been transformed into a political watchdog post shaking up today's political and journalistic worlds; however, the same effect hasn't made a significant stir in...

Globe Talk: Alluring yet perilous growth.
January 13, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Until not too long ago, having a domestic telecommunications company was seen as a matter of national security as well as pride, even in some of the most open economies in the world. But as...

Wireless World: Sensors detect icy bridges.
January 13, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A suspension bridge is perilously close to collapse, but secret federal agents learn about the pending disaster on their Palm Pilots and dash to the site and are able to stop the catastrophe...

Anti-online annoyance law may have no legs.
January 13, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- At first it seemed like an Internet hoax. "There is a new law against annoying someone on the Internet, but it can be repealed if you forward this to 25 people." If you ask...

Apple fans greet new technologies.
January 13, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Step into the Moscone Center on the third day of Macworld Expo and it'd be hard to argue that this computer platform controls only 5 percent of the overall computer market. Throngs of...

Nano World: Magnet nanostructure for chips.
January 13, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- All-magnetic microchips without transistors that could pack more computing power, instantly turn on without need to wait for reboot and change function after they are built could one day...

Apple's new direction takes foothold.
January 16, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- For anyone who's watched a nature documentary as a mother bird nudges her young out of the nest or a parent who's fielded calls from a nervous child they just sent away to college, the...

Networking: Securing illegals' records.
January 16, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Migrant farm workers flow into Salinas, Calif., during the lettuce-harvesting season, just as once portrayed, long ago, by novelist John Steinbeck. The difference is that now, the workers...

Consumers vulnerable to phone data theft.
January 16, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- The political site AMERICAblog announced Thursday that for only $89.95 it had purchased the cell-phone records of 100 calls over three days in November 2005 made or received by former...

Portables drive up video-game sales.
January 17, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Microsoft's Xbox 360 may have been having teething problems or major flaws, depending on who one talks to. But even as the software giant's latest video-game console's debut was riddled...

Nano World: New nanotech law called for.
January 17, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A new law specifically targeting nanotechnology could prove necessary to regulate its potential risks and promoting its continued development, experts told UPI's Nano World. "If one...

New search engine uses human touch.
January 18, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Humans are better at information-gathering than computers. That's the philosophy behind PreFound, the Web's new community-based search engine. PreFound, which first opened its doors...

The Web: Alito a blank slate on technology.
January 18, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Judge Samuel Alito seems destined to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the Supreme Court of the United States in the coming weeks and will likely be faced with an assortment of major...

Internet use in China tops 110 million.
January 18, 2006... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- There were more than 111 million Internet users in China by the end of 2005 according to data released Tuesday by the agency monitoring the industry's development. Findings in the 17th...

Livedoor's fall rattles beyond Japan.
January 18, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Until a few weeks ago, Takafumi Horie was the darling of the Japanese media, personifying a new Japan full of confident, youthful vigor who challenged the old establishment. For the younger...

2006 graphic cards debut new technology.
January 19, 2006... Byline: CHRIS BARYLICK WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- It began with a straight line and grew from there. At the dawn of the 1970s a few rectangles, when properly animated on a television screen, were used to create the groundbreaking video...

China to hasten telecom regulation.
January 19, 2006... Byline: INDRAJIT BASU CALCUTTA, India, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- In a bid to curb rampant spam and growing fraud conducted over mobile services, China will speed up creation of a new telecom law this year that will insist on all mobile-phone...

China puts technology at policy forefront.
January 19, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Semiconductors may be the best way for China to move beyond simply being regarded the factory to the world, albeit a huge one at that. Given that chips are found in all...

Wireless World: New roaming standard?
January 20, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Consumer interest in mobile Internet access continues to climb, and computer industry leaders including Intel Corp. and others are now calling for the creation of a global roaming standard...

Microsoft China braces for Google.
January 20, 2006... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Analysts see Microsoft's announcement it was consolidating its Chinese R&D assets as a move preparing for increased competition from Google. Zhang Yaqin, vice chairman of Microsoft...

Nano World: Gold nano vs. Alzheimer's.
January 20, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Gold particles only nanometers or billionths of a meter wide together with extremely weak microwaves can dissolve the abnormal protein clumps linked with Alzheimer's disease and...

Stevens demands online porn rating system.
January 20, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- In a week in which the Child Online Protection Act is back in the news, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, used a committee hearing Thursday to fire a warning toward the adult entertainment...

iPods -- or can we call them iPodsicians?
January 21, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- iPods are no longer just basic MP3 players -- now they are portable musicians, or iPodsicians, too. With portable media devices taking center stage -- literally -- the transformation...

Television programming execs in Vegas.
January 23, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The old saying, "Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," doesn't apply to this week's National Association of Television Programming Executives meeting at the Mandalay Bay...

Networking: Sales skyrocket overseas.
January 23, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Sales of networking equipment -- routers, switches and the like -- are soaring overseas at major, multinational companies, indicating signs of a global expansion in the technology economy,...

High hopes for Filipino wireless outlook.
January 23, 2006... Byline: DENNIS POSADAS MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Hopes that some of the biggest names in telecommunications will be investing in the Filipino wireless market continue to grow as rumors of third-generation license winners...

O2's first firm step forward as Telefonica.
January 23, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- On the day that O2 officially became part of Spanish carrier Telefonica, the British wireless provider is proving that it was a good buy, if its latest progress report provides any...

FBI survey finds cybercrime rising.
January 23, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Nearly nine out of 10 public and private institutions suffered computer security incidents in 2005, but less than 10 percent of those report the incidents to law enforcement, according...

India's laptop sales leap.
January 23, 2006... Byline: INDRAJIT BASU CALCUTTA, India, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Call it a new fad, or the emergence of a new breed of technology conscious IT users, or both. But a shift in working styles and the need for "anytime-anywhere" access to information...

Anti-abortion bloggers convene in Washington.
January 24, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Technology is playing an integral role in delivering the anti-abortion message, say those in the movement, but better communication between bloggers as well as firsthand reporting is...

Nano World: First solar-powered nano motor.
January 24, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- An international team of scientists has created the first molecular motor powered solely by sunlight, experts told UPI's Nano World. By acting like pistons that move back and forth,...

Livedoor's fall hurts Japan's can-do spirit.
January 24, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The spectacular rise of Japan's most flamboyant entrepreneur could be outdone only by his very public fall that has rattled the country's financial markets and shaken its confidence in...

Watch out iPod, Mobile TV is under way.
January 24, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Portable television may have just gotten a lot easier, now that the wireless industry is checking into mobile TV. A new alliance of wireless and technology companies are jumping on...

Some DVD collectors think big.
January 24, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- As my favorite artist, Prince, used to say, he doesn't like the term "fan" because it's short for "fanatic." Nowhere is this more true than the avid DVD collector. I'm not talking...

The Web: Working hard or hardly working?
January 25, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Are you wasting time when online? Or working? A new study released this week showed that about 20 percent of government staff, while on the job, in one Malaysian state utilized the Internet...

Sales using mobile phones to skyrocket.
January 25, 2006... HAMPSHIRE, England, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Mobile ticket sales and retail will generate more than $63 billion worth of revenue by 2010, according to a new report. A new report from Juniper Research reveals that revenues from mobile ticketing and...

Rights experts question Google censorship.
January 25, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Google's decision to do business in China by adhering to the government's strict censorship rules has come under attack by many bloggers, academics and activists alike. What's more, some...

More home buyers go online.
January 25, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- More Americans who search online for a new home are more likely to purchase a house through a real-estate agent than a non-Internet user, says a recent survey from the National Association...

Is Singtel hanging up on India?
January 26, 2006... Byline: INDRAJIT BASU CALCUTTA, India, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The India telecom sector was abuzz with reports that Singtel may be selling out of India ever since October when Vodafone acquired a smallish stake in Bharti Tele-Ventures for a huge...

Internet television finally grows up.
January 26, 2006... Byline: MICHELLE ALEXANDRIA LAS VEGAS, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- At the height of the Internet boom, television companies and Internet startups were promoting the power of using video on the Internet. Real Networks had a multibillion dollar...

Strong sales not leading to mobile profits.
January 26, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Mobile-phone manufacturers are finding that global demand for handsets is almost insatiable, as consumers in wealthy countries flock to update their phones with the latest multi-functioning...

Outside View: Internet as apple of discord.
January 26, 2006... Byline: VLADIMIR SIMONOV MOSCOW, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The lower house of the Russian parliament (State Duma) and human-rights activists have clashed in an irreconcilable battle over the social role of Ru.net, the Russian segment of the World...

Wireless World: Enormous innovation, but big challenges.
January 27, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI A record number of mobile phones were shipped last year, and analysts and investors are now saying that the promises made 10 years ago about the potential for the wireless economy are truly being realized. Still,...

Globe Talk: Bets are on for mobile TV.
January 27, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- An alliance between some of the biggest names in information technology is always bound to pique the interest of industry analysts, and the latest collaborative effort between titans is no...

Korean DRAM finds itself shut out of Japan.
January 27, 2006... Byline: INDRAJIT BASU CALCUTTA, India, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Japan may claim that the countervailing duty it slaps against Korean DRAM chip maker Hynix from today is just a protest against unfair trade practices and to curb dumping, but there's...

Nano World: DNA-wrapped nanotube sensors.
January 27, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Carbon tubes nanometers or billionths of a meters in diameter wrapped in DNA could serve as sensors within cells, experts told UPI's Nano World. These sensors "could give us...

Portable tourist guides now in service.
January 27, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Your iPod might be your next tourist guide if you find yourself in Ireland, just one more example how countries are adapting with evolving technologies to intrigue a new generation of...

Networking: IT training a retention issue.
January 30, 2006... Byline: GENE KOPROWSKI CHICAGO, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Training and education of experienced IT professionals already established in the workforce is becoming a major concern, one certain to be on the consciousness of senior management at...

IM interoperability raises virus threat.
January 30, 2006... Byline: ELLIOT SMILOWITZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Interoperability of instant-messaging services will allow worms and viruses to propagate more easily, creating more risk in online security, according to Postini's annual Message...

Dell to expand call center in India.
January 30, 2006... Byline: SHIHOKO GOTO WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- In an attempt to keep costs low and service quality high, Dell announced Monday it will increase the size of its call center in India by 50 percent. But there is already some concern about...

Nano World: Organic-carbon nanotube hybrid.
January 31, 2006... Byline: CHARLES Q. CHOI NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Scientists have created the world's first hybrid organic molecular and carbon nanotube electronics, which could in the future serve in advanced computers or ultrasensitive sensors, experts...

Iraqi stations launched online by JumpTV.
January 31, 2006... Byline: STOKELY BAKSH WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Starting in February, five independent Iraqi broadcast stations will be streamed online through a partnering up with the New York-based online TV service JumpTV. Calling itself the...