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Technology news. From SFGate.com: the Bay Area's home page, online home of the San Francisco Chronicle and much more.
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Library group offers text search to 4.6M books
A group of major national research libraries says users now can search the full text of 1.6 billion pages from 4.6 million digitized volumes. Last year, the University of Michigan and 24 other research libraries launched the HathiTrust Digital ...
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Other
YouTube to add automatic captions to aid deaf
Google Inc. announced Thursday that it is using speech recognition technology to create automatic captions for certain videos on YouTube, helping the deaf and hearing impaired to access a rapidly growing form of online content. The Mountain View ...
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Online
YouTube
Google unveils Chrome OS
Google Inc. painted a bright picture of the personal computing future on Thursday: an always-connected netbook that boots up in 7 seconds, never has to install software, stores all data online and efficiently fends off attack. These are among the ...
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Online
Chrome
Tech Awards recognize innovation
Silicon Valley, the launch pad of technology dynamos like the iPhone and Google's search engine, recognized innovations of a less flashy sort that may still prove to be game-changers. The Tech Awards, a humanitarian program recognizing technological ...
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Other
Dell profit falls 54 pct; report pulls shares down
Dell Inc. said Thursday that its net income dropped 54 percent in the latest quarter amid signs the company isn't fully benefiting from the computer industry's fledgling recovery. Dell's numbers missed Wall Street's forecasts, and the shares fell ...
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On the Call: Dell's CEO Michael Dell
A key element of Dell Inc.'s turnaround strategy has been a vow not to cut prices as aggressively as rivals just to keep market share. The tactic has allowed competitors such as Acer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. to steal business from Dell, and this ...
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Hardware
Michael Dell
Acer
Hewlett-Packard
Applied Materials begins offer for Semitool
Applied Materials Inc. said Thursday it has launched its $364 million tender offer to buy all the outstanding shares of Montana-based Semitool Inc. The chip manufacturing equipment maker is acquiring the company to tap the growing market for ...
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Google adding automatic captions to YouTube videos
Think of it as closed captioning for the new media world. Google Inc. said Thursday it is introducing automatic, machine-generated captions for videos on its YouTube site. The new service, being launched this week, is intended to make online videos ...
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Online
YouTube
Judge rejects AT&T's bid to pull Verizon ads
A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by AT&T; Inc. to force competitor Verizon Wireless to pull its "There's a Map for That" commercials. But the judge scheduled a Dec. 16 hearing to give the AT&T; attorneys another chance to make their case. ...
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Mobile
AT&T
Verizon
Verizon Wireless lays off former Alltel workers
Verizon Wireless is laying off former Alltel Corp. headquarters workers in Little Rock. Verizon would not put a number to the Thursday layoffs. Spokeswoman Lucie Pathmann said the company is cutting positions that became redundant with its 2008 ...
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Mobile
Verizon
Game sales lift GameStop 3Q profit 12 percent
GameStop Corp., the world's largest video game retailer, said Thursday that sales of new hot-selling games helped boost its third-quarter profit nearly 12 percent and offset a sales decline for video game hardware. The profit narrowly beat Wall ...
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Other
Sony chief executive outlines turnaround plan
Sony said it aims to be profitable in gaming and flat-panel TVs by the fiscal year ending March 2011, pushing 3-D technology as a way to showcase its strength in entertainment and surface from deep losses. "Our work is already bearing fruit," Chief ...
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Hardware
Sony
YouTube to add automatic captions to aid deaf
Google Inc. announced Thursday that it is using speech recognition technology to create automatic captions for certain videos on YouTube, helping the deaf and hearing impaired to access a rapidly growing form of online content. The Mountain View ...
Tags:
Online
YouTube
Google unveils Chrome OS
Google Inc. painted a bright picture of the personal computing future on Thursday: an always-connected netbook that boots up in 7 seconds, never has to install software, stores all data online and efficiently fends off attack. These are among the ...
Tags:
Online
Chrome
Tech Awards recognize innovation
Silicon Valley, the launch pad of technology dynamos like the iPhone and Google's search engine, recognized innovations of a less flashy sort that may still prove to be game-changers. The Tech Awards, a humanitarian program recognizing technological ...
Tags:
Other
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
You might call him the Mickey Mouse of video games. He's reminiscent of a doughnut, round and sweet and comforting. He's also a vessel, devoid of a real personality so you can live vicariously through him. Mario, the pot-bellied Italian plumber with ...
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Gaming
Nintendo
Senators blast Web sites for scamming shoppers
With Cyber Monday, the unofficial start of the Internet holiday shopping season nearing, a Senate committee Tuesday condemned three online companies, saying they are tricking consumers into signing up for subscription services they don't want. ...
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Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 friend Facebook
Users of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles can now brag about their achievements on Facebook. Both systems are integrating the social network this week. Microsoft Corp. switched on a slew of new features for its Xbox Live online ...
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Gaming
Xbox 360
PS3
Microsoft
Xbox Live
House lawmakers push ban on peer-to-peer software
Stung by an embarrassing electronic leak last month revealing ethics investigations into dozens of lawmakers, Congress moved Tuesday to prohibit federal employees from using the same type of Internet file-sharing software blamed for the disclosure. ...
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A daily dose of postings from The Chronicle's technology blog (sfgate.com/blogs/tech) / New Oxford Dictionary picks word of the year, and it is ...
The folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary have picked "unfriend" as their Word of the Year for 2009, a testament to how much social media is affecting the lexicon. Here's how the Oxford University Press USA blog defines the word: Unfriend - verb ...
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iPhone
Dictionary!
Redwood City startup wins green contest
Startup companies with ways to save energy and make plastic from wastewater took top honors Tuesday evening in the 2009 Cleantech Open, an annual contest to find and nurture promising environmental entrepreneurs. The open offers its winners some ...
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Other
Venture firm Maveron opens San Francisco office
Maveron LLC, a Seattle venture capital firm co-founded by Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, will announce today that it is opening a San Francisco office, bucking the contraction trend sweeping the sector. The consumer-focused fund, ...
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Other
Maveron, LLC
McAfee warns of Cold War-style computer attack
The threat of warfare spreading into the digital realm is no longer just a possibility, according to a McAfee report released Tuesday. The Santa Clara computer security firm concluded that countries like Russia, China, France, Israel and the United ...
Tags:
Security
McAfee
IBM takes a (feline) step toward thinking machines
Scientists say they've made a breakthrough in their pursuit of computers that "think" like a living thing's brain _ an effort that tests the limits of technology. Even the world's most powerful supercomputers can't replicate basic aspects of the human ...
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Other
Microsoft's cloud computing system is growing up
Microsoft Corp. leads its industry in part because a vast army of outside computer programmers design software that only runs on its Windows operating system. Now, the company is fighting to keep those programmers working with its tools as ...
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Other
Microsoft
Science-based US supercomputer fastest in world
At least for the moment, the world's fastest supercomputer is devoted to solving scientific questions that may save the planet _ climate change, renewable energy, new medicines _ rather than advances in nuclear weapons that might blow it up. The Oak ...
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Other
Twitter to overhaul user list seen as partisan
Social-networking site Twitter plans to end a service that links prominent message posters with new users, a service that was criticized in California because of perceived unfairness toward GOP gubernatorial candidates. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone ...
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Online
FBI says hackers targeting law firms, PR companies
Hackers are increasingly targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients doing business overseas. The FBI ...
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Other
Vietnam Internet users fear Facebook blackout
Vietnam's growing legions of Facebook users fear that the country's communist government might be blocking the popular social networking Web site, which has become difficult to access over the past few weeks. Facebook has more than 1 million users in ...
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Online
A daily dose of postings from The Chronicle's technology blog (sfgate.com/blogs/tech) / New Oxford Dictionary picks word of the year, and it is ...
The folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary have picked "unfriend" as their Word of the Year for 2009, a testament to how much social media is affecting the lexicon. Here's how the Oxford University Press USA blog defines the word: Unfriend - verb ...
Tags:
iPhone
Dictionary!
Redwood City startup wins green contest
Startup companies with ways to save energy and make plastic from wastewater took top honors Tuesday evening in the 2009 Cleantech Open, an annual contest to find and nurture promising environmental entrepreneurs. The open offers its winners some ...
Tags:
Other
Venture firm Maveron opens San Francisco office
Maveron LLC, a Seattle venture capital firm co-founded by Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, will announce today that it is opening a San Francisco office, bucking the contraction trend sweeping the sector. The consumer-focused fund, ...
Tags:
Other
Maveron, LLC
McAfee warns of Cold War-style computer attack
The threat of warfare spreading into the digital realm is no longer just a possibility, according to a McAfee report released Tuesday. The Santa Clara computer security firm concluded that countries like Russia, China, France, Israel and the United ...
Tags:
Security
McAfee
Salesforce's Marc Benioff sees cloudy future
Marc Benioff is a busy guy. The latest book by the chief executive of Salesforce.com hit store shelves last month. His pioneering cloud computing company reports third-quarter earnings this afternoon. And the organization's annual conference, the ...
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Other
Obama speaks out against Web censorship in China
President Barack Obama is telling Chinese students that unrestricted Internet access in the United States is a source of strength and an open exchange of information makes all countries stronger. Obama on Monday told a town hall-style meeting that ...
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Other
Barack Obama
Twitter to scrap controversial suggested user list
Social-media site Twitter plans to scrap its hand-picked list of "suggested users" to follow after controversy erupted over the selection of people on the list, a company executive said Monday. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said the company was seeking ...
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Online
Egypt applies for first Arabic domain name
Egypt's technology minister says the country has applied to register an all-Arabic domain name. Information Technology Minister Tarek Kamel said Monday that the measure will make the Internet accessible to the millions in the region unable to access ...
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Other
Home security systems ease remote monitoring
This holiday season, many travelers will be able to keep a close eye on home. Thanks to new security system technology, including live video feed, you can monitor everything from the front door to the sump pump from hundreds of miles away. "You can ...
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Other
Restoring e-mail access after Windows 7 upgrade
Q: I upgraded to Windows 7 from Vista. I like it much better, but I no longer have an e-mail program, because Windows Mail was not installed during the upgrade. Was it on the upgrade disc and I just missed it, or was it really not included? Also, does ...
Tags:
Software
Windows 7
Windows Mail
Try on that outfit, share the look online
One of the downsides of buying clothes online is there is no dressing room for you and your friends to see how the item looks on you. But two companies are using technologies like augmented reality, motion capture and social networking to let ...
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Chronicle | CNET Reviews / HDTVs that save energy
Samsung UN55B8500 Cnet rating: 4 stars out of 5 (excellent) The good: Deep black levels; solid shadow detail; reduced blooming; accurate, highly saturated color; excellent video processing with adjustable dejudder; numerous picture adjustments; ...
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Hardware
Samsung
Salesforce's Marc Benioff sees cloudy future
Marc Benioff is a busy guy. The latest book by the chief executive of Salesforce.com hit store shelves last month. His pioneering cloud computing company reports third-quarter earnings this afternoon. And the organization's annual conference, the ...
Tags:
Other
Internet addiction can harm real relationships
Technology can be seductive because it provides an instant reward - a text message from a friend, success in a video game or stimulating news on a Web site - that is not necessarily harmful. But mental health experts say an addiction can form - just ...
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Other
Left to their own devices: Tech takes over
The Chronicle asked: Do you feel you're addicted to technology? Here are some of the responses: - Cassey Hoo, 22, Union City Yes. I remember being so addicted to AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) back in middle school and high school that it was the ...
Tags:
Online
AOL
Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
In today's fast-paced, multitasking world, it's easy to get hooked on technology that's always online, delivering a steady stream of texts and tweets. But some mental health experts fear that a growing technology addiction, perhaps accelerated by ...
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Other
Home security systems ease remote monitoring
This holiday season, many travelers will be able to keep a close eye on home. Thanks to new security system technology, including live video feed, you can monitor everything from the front door to the sump pump from hundreds of miles away. "You can ...
Tags:
Other
Restoring e-mail access after Windows 7 upgrade
Q: I upgraded to Windows 7 from Vista. I like it much better, but I no longer have an e-mail program, because Windows Mail was not installed during the upgrade. Was it on the upgrade disc and I just missed it, or was it really not included? Also, does ...
Tags:
