FCC rejects proposal for free wireless service

Federal regulators have shot down a proposal by a startup called M2Z Networks Inc. to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network using a spare slice of airwaves, reports the Associated Press.

Federal regulators have shot down a proposal by a startup called M2Z Networks Inc. to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network using a spare slice of airwaves, reports the Associated Press.

Apple Inc. jumped into the social networking business on Sept. 1, introducing Ping, a service built into iTunes that is intended to help users discover new music and, presumably, buy more songs from Apple, reports the New York Times.

Samsung on Sept. 2 unveiled what the South Korean electronics giant hopes will be a major rival to Apple’s highly successful iPad tablet computer, AFP reports.

California’s community colleges have dropped a controversial plan that would have allowed their students to take some courses at the online Kaplan University and make it easier to transfer to that school for a bachelor’s degree, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Scientists and academics who study how we interact with technology say touch screens have seeped into people’s day-to-day existence more quickly and completely than other technological behaviors because it is so natural, intimate, and intuitive, reports the New York Times—and so now device makers in a post-iPhone world are putting touch at the core of the newest wave of computer design, known as natural user interface.

Autodesk announced Aug. 30 that its AutoCAD software used by professionals to design everything from skyscrapers to pocket knives is reuniting with the Macintosh computer platform, AFP reports.

Google Inc. can sift through more than a trillion web links in a matter of seconds, but can the internet search leader help people wade through their overflowing eMail inboxes? That’s the challenge Google will try to tackle Aug. 31 with the introduction of a tool called “Priority Inbox” in its Gmail service, reports the Associated Press.

Scientists at Rice University and Hewlett-Packard are reporting this week that they can overcome a fundamental barrier to the continued rapid miniaturization of computer memory that has been the basis for the consumer electronics revolution, reports the New York Times.

If you’re looking for bargains on computers, bad news from the tech industry could be good for your pocketbook, reports the Associated Press.

Scientists using cutting-edge technology to explore waters off Indonesia were wowed by colorful and diverse images of marine life on the ocean floor, reports the Associated Press—including plate-sized sea spiders and flower-like sponges that appear to be carnivorous.