Complaints about over-blocking e-mail messages are fueling debate over AOL's plan to charge for guaranteed delivery of e-mails. But spam is often in the eye of the beholder. News analysis by Joanna Glasner.
The possibilities of building products made with stretchy silicon go far beyond e-paper. Get ready for televisions and laptops you can carry like a yoga mat. By Gretchen Cuda.
The new M1 battery beefs up the lithium-ion technology in cell phones and laptops to a duration and power density that can handle power tools, lawn mowers and hybrid cars. By Spencer Reiss from Wired magazine.
Last week's Apple media event is more notable for what was left out of the product announcements than for what was included. Commentary by Eliot Van Buskirk. This column is available as a .
Study the heavens with an out-of-this-world star gazer or bask in the warmth of a space-age fireplace that burns water. This month's Fetish from Wired magazine reports on the latest tech innovations.
Worn down by the grueling nature of her book tours, author Margaret Atwood conceives of a device to allow her to sign books for her fans from even thousands of miles away. It saves on the shoe leather but not everybody thinks it's a good idea.
Only eight of 5,000 delegates to China's National People's Congress are approved to post comments on government-sponsored web logs. China is trying to boost public interest in the parliament by using the medium popular with young people.
Japanese scientists have learned how to make gasoline from cow dung by applying high pressure and heat. They hope to have a commercially viable process to supply fuel within five years.
The White Stripes front man muses on the value of quiet observation and the power of words from a faceless critic. Plus: Recommending tunes for the iPope. In Listening Post.
Want more of a full-body workout from your bike ride? Try the Rowbike, dreamed up by the inventor of Rollerblades -- you power it with your arms instead of your legs. In Gear Factor.
Games are not being treated as pornography in Utah -- the State Senate rejects a bill that would have made the sale of violent video games to minors equivalent to selling them smut. In Game|Life.
The DoJ investigates "anticompetitive practices" in the music-download industry, which appears to be spurred by Apple's success with 99-cent iTunes. In Cult of Mac.
The first gay cowboy bunny film is 30-seconds long. Plus: A puppet interviews the creators of Goat comic strip. Political video games fight the dictatorship of entertainment. In Table of Malcontents.
Caller-ID spoofing services let users appear to be dialing from any phone number they choose. Now federal investigators are trying to get the real names of anonymous callers. By Kevin Poulsen.
Entice TV offers full-length, high-definition adult features over your broadband connection. Who knew adult content could look this good? Commentary by Regina Lynn.
Who comes to mind first when you hear the word "spy"? James Bond, of course, and that's an insult to spies the world over. The tech gadgetry we associate with 007 turns him into a mere cartoon. It's time for George Smiley to come in from the cold. Commentary by Tony Long.
This column is available as a .
The riveting documentary film, Our Brand Is Crisis, chronicles the adventures of the American political advisors who stage-managed Bolivia's 2002 election. What's the effect on democracy, asks the film, when ad execs hawk politicians the same way Nike sells sneakers? By Jason Silverman.
A blogger resists pressure to remove videos lampooning Bill Cosby from his site. The Cosby legal team is bearing down, but Andy Baio says it's discrimination against amateur web creators -- mainstream shows (The Simpsons, Mad Mag, SNL) have parodied Cosby over the years.
They call him the Jackson Pollock of the internet age. He calls them a few choice four-letter words. But everyone wants a piece of artist Joshua Davis, the bad boy of web design. . By Scott Kirsner from Wired magazine.
Cheered on by the green building movement, waterless urinals conserve water by going with the flow. And they're catching on from North America to the South Pole. By Jenny Cutraro.
From 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, a new breed of electric vehicles kick it into high gear, clocking performance that challenges gas-guzzlers. By Michael Spinelli from Wired magazine.
But its top speed can reach 200 mph. Plus: The Jaquar XC engine roars. Citroen's hybrid model struts its stuff. Wired News covers the Geneva Auto Show.
Christian millennialists have seen the apocalypse augured in everything from Social Security numbers to movable type. A new book warns that that the long-dreaded "mark of the beast" could be an RFID chip. For real this time. By Mark Baard.
The new IMAX movie Deep Sea 3D submerges audiences in Neptune's realm in eye-popping 3-D -- and none of it's done with CGI. Xeni Jardin reports from the Los Angeles premiere. Plus: Stereo-Vision Camera Dives Deep
Supermarkets adopt portable scanners that let shoppers total their purchases themselves -- and foil Italian elbow queens who have mastered cutting in line. By Nicole Martinelli. This story is available as a .
So many delightful marketing ploys in the grocery aisles try to lure us into putting packages in our shopping carts -- here are a few more favorites for your delectation. Commentary by Lore Sjöberg. This column is available as a .
A visit to the Ninth Ward shows how modern communications failed the poorest residents of New Orleans during Katrina. In some ways, it's failing them even now. Commentary by Jennifer Granick. This column is available as a .
Big pharmas have a billion people vying to be part of clinical trials of untested drugs. Areas known only for snakes and heat now have good hospitals after the government passed a law allowing the drug testing and advertised its "treatment naive" patients. By Jennifer Kahn from Wired magazine.
Media and politicians are piling criticism on the fast-growing teen social-networking site, which has been linked to sexual predation. But scapegoating and overreaction may be an equal, if not greater, danger. By Kevin Poulsen. PLUS: A MySpace Cheat Sheet for Parents