Tech Sightings, December 25, 2013

Posted December 25th, 2013 at 2:30 pm (UTC-4)
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A New Use for Coal: Glowing Nanodots

All that coal found in the stockings of naughty children today could be a source of cheap, nontoxic fluorescent nanoparticles useful for biomedicine.

Apple Fined $670,000 In Taiwan For Price Fixing

Another one of these little stories that show the difficulty that multinationals have around the world. What might be considered entirely respectable behavior in one market can end up being illegal in another.

Brazil Tops E-waste Ranking in LatAm

The country has generated 1.4 million tons of e-waste in 2012.

Futuristic Tech That Wowed Us in 2013

A look back on some of the coolest, most promising products, bold new technologies, and grand plans for making life better that emerged in the past year.

China Chips Away At Taiwan’s Prized Tablet PC Industry

Taiwan, a long-standing global tech hardware powerhouse, is losing coveted contract tablet PC orders to China because of the other side’s prices, speed and flexibility in getting jobs done, a government-backed IT industry research group warns.

Researchers Report Security Flaw in Samsung’s Galaxy S4

An Israeli security team says a vulnerability in Samsung’s Knox security platform enables malicious software to track e-mails and record data communications.

A Mobile OS That Doesn’t Care What Phone It’s On

About four years ago, Steve Kondik started tinkering with an early version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, a piece of open source software that’s freely available to anyone. Eventually, he pieced together an alternate version of the Google OS, known as Cyanogen, and backed by a thriving community of software hackers, this “mod” became one of the most popular ways of replacing and enhancing the OS that comes with your phone.

Studio of Indie Sensation Hello Games Flooded on Christmas Eve, Devs Say

The offices of one of 2013’s most exciting indie studios have all but been ruined.

Is the Internet a Mob Without Consequence?

The immediacy and fast pace of the Internet can be magical. But when someone makes a comment that the masses disagree with, a mob with 140-character pitchforks can develop in seconds and the Internet can become terrifyingly bellicose.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

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