Stories related to: technology

China officially sanctions religious worship only at state facilities, but the Christian Science Monitor finds that plenty of wiggle room exists in the business world. It profiles one company whose Christian CEO is allowed to put up a church at every worksite. Why such accommodation in a formally atheist state? The company, SMIC, makes semiconductors, an area of production China is desperate to increase for its domestic electronics industry. More »

Microsoft celebrated Bill Gates’ last day as a full-time employee today, the Seattle Times reports. More than 800 employees, family members and friends shared memories at the company’s corporate conference center in Redmond, Wash. CEO Steve Ballmer bid a tearful farewell to his longtime friend: "We've been given a enormous opportunity, and Bill gave us that opportunity," he told the audience. More »

Silicon Valley, New York, and Washington, DC, still have the most tech workers among US metro areas, a new report shows. New York has the most techies, but when San Francisco and the greater Bay Area are combined with Silicon Valley, it tops the list, MarketWatch notes. The Valley is also tops in concentration of workers and average salary—$144,800. More »

De Beers might like you to think a “diamond is forever,” but try this on for size: “A diamond is for everyone.” In a secret Massachusetts lab, Apollo Diamond is using novel technology to grow diamonds virtually indistinguishable from their mined cousins, the Smithsonian reports. Unfortunately for consumers, the synthetic gemstones cost about the same as Mother Earth's—for now. More »

Technology letting cameras and other gadgets automatically contact their owners is thwarting thieves, Reuters reports. GadgetTrak software, for example, lets stolen BlackBerrys send data from thieves’ SIM cards to their rightful owners and allows Macs to shoot and send video of robbers. In other cases, emailed data not intended to stop thefts has helped owners track missing items. More »

Bill Gates’ departure from full-time employment at Microsoft on June 27 will end 8 contentious years in which Gates has attempted to stay onboard while nominally beneath his close friend and new CEO, Steve Ballmer. Though they built the company together, this “ambassadorial succession” produced mixed results, with Gates undermining Ballmer in front of executives, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

The dizzying growth of the video game industry continues to alarm cultural Luddites, writes Tom Chatfield for the Prospect , but the critics are trapped in video gaming’s past. They haven't adjusted to the development of social, team-based gaming worlds, treating games “as an odd mix of the slightly menacing and the alien: more like exotic organisms dredged from the deep sea than complex human creations.” More »

Stocks ended mixed after a seesaw session today, with strong performance by tech and energy shares contrasting with bad news on consumer spending and incomes, MarketWatch reports. The Dow closed down 7.90 at 12,638.32. The Nasdaq gained 14.34 to 2,522.66, while the S&P 500 ticked up 2.12, ending at 1,400.38. More »

Researchers have created a wall-climbing robot that uses electrically activated adhesion to get up any surface—dusty, wet, glass or concrete. Other Spiderman-imitating machines use a different kind of gecko-inspired technology and generate stronger sticking power than the new ‘bot, but the simplicity of the approach means it could work for human wall-climbing, MIT Technology Review reports. More »

New technology has kids in China generating their own modern lingo, I.D. Magazine reports. The millennia-old Mandarin language lacks terms for things like cell phones (which go as shou ji , or "hand machine") and USB (which goes as yo pan , a word created partly phonetically), forcing users to resort to slang. The new words are spread through television and other pop culture. More »

Trucking companies are adopting technologies that track vehicles, monitor trucks’ condition and drivers’ actions, and even act automatically to stop accidents, reports ComputerWorld . The systems help companies meet regulations and contract obligations. Take the company that delivered the final Harry Potter book nationwide within a three-hour window and achieved its goal that “Harry Potter must not escape” with advanced tracking. More »

As more states push “hands-free” rules on drivers, ridiculous-looking wireless headsets only get more common. But two firms, Aliph and Plantronics, are attempting to address that. While the Wall Street Journal ’s Walter Mossberg finds the “jewelry-esque” makeover of both models pleasing, it’s the functionality of Aliph’s Jawbone that most impresses him. More »

Microsoft has already unveiled mega-expensive “Surface” computers, with which a user interacts solely through touch. Now, cNet reports, it's unveiled an impressive lower-budget version: the TouchWall. Touchwall looks like an ordinary projector, except that the image it projects on the wall is itself an interactive touch screen. More »

Wired sees a distinct lack of cool high-tech outdoor gear, and gives its favorite examples of steps in the right direction: The Cocoon, a hanging teardrop-shaped tent/sleeping bag. The Adamant, an earthquake-proof bed. The Bedu Emergency Rapid Response Kit, a keg full of enough essentials to keep a family alive for up to 5 years. The Urban Skiff, a portable sailboat. The Firun Inflatable Sled, a snowsled that folds down into a backpack. More »

Cisco, once famous for swallowing small companies whole and digesting them without leaving a trace of their former brand names (or management), is forging a new acquisition strategy. As it targets new, Internet-based technologies that it’s less familiar with, the company has developed a lighter touch, as evidenced by several recently acquired businesses that operate with much greater independence, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »

Tech companies that blend social missions with business ambitions are all the rage in Silicon Valley. Called “social enterprises,” they often generate sizable revenue (unlike most nonprofits), that’s then retained and reinvested (unlike most for-profits). Now, an ecosystem of related organizations is emerging, such as specialized legal services and independent Internet providers, reports the New York Times . More »

Moms are leading the charge in taking text messaging beyond the teen set. Adolescents and adults in their forties and fifties are the two most active groups sending texts, the Washington Post reports. In the past two years, texting increased 130% among people 45 to 54, while text-saturated teens saw only a 41% bump. More »

The Vatican has released a list of seven new Deadly Sins, and satirist-curmudgeon PJ O’Rourke isn’t impressed. Writing in the Weekly Standard , O’Rourke details the updated catalogue, which includes “morally debatable experimentation,” “social inequality and injustice,” and “genetic manipulation.” Finding it wanting, the author has come up with a list of his own. Number one? Celebrity. More »

As more radiologists switch from film to digital mammogram imaging, they must learn new interpretation techniques—and that means more healthy women face a dreaded recall for further testing, the New York Times reports. During the changeover, “there’s an increase in the rate of things you think are abnormal,” says a doctor. But over time, clearer digital images should cut the number of callbacks, experts say. More »

The 2010 US census was meant to be a high-tech affair, NextGov.com reports, but the Census Bureau today ditched plans to use hand-held computers. The agency will return to plain old paper after "a lack of effective communication" derailed efforts by Harris Corp. to come up with devices to record data from the estimated 1 million who don't mail back their forms. More »