Latest top stories
1 machine, 4 weeks now enough to sequence human genome
Researchers have used a new machine that sequences millions of small DNA fragments in parallel to cover 90 percent of one individual's genome in only four weeks.
Off the clock? Hyperconnected workers sue employers
Ubiquitous Internet connections and a proliferation of smartphones have put more employees "on call" than ever before, and many aren't being paid for the extra time. Some are pushing back in lawsuits against their employers, but it may simply be time for companies to draw a clearer line on out-of-office communications.
Transmeta's buyer folds as venture capital avoids semis
Novafora, the company that bought the remains of erstwhile low-power x86 vendor Transmeta, has shut its doors. You might think that the Transmeta name is somehow cursed, but it's really just a sign of the times.
$60, at-home night vision gets cheaper, better
Ars Technica takes a look at the next-generation of night-vision, in a toy. JAKKS Pacific has taken a second pass at its night vision design, making it easier to use and adding a larger screen that now takes advantage of both eyes. It's time to go ninja hunting.
Despite Intel hype, Atom-based MIDs are a retail no-show
We recently went on a quest to actually find an Atom-based Mobile Internet Device (MID) or UMPC for sale in the retail channel, and we failed. So we turned to Intel and to professional channel watchers for help, and they failed, too (with the sole exception of a $2,500 Toughbook)—despite all the energy Intel has directed at hyping these form factors. What gives?
Team Tenenbaum to fight on for those "RIAA has screwed over"
Ars Technica talks to the Joel Tenenbaum defense team about their plans to keep fighting the case, why they refused to settle, and their hope to file a class-action lawsuit against the RIAA in the future.
Pleasing the hardcore (and casual) racing fans in DiRT 2
A preview build of the upcoming DiRT 2 shows an impressive improvement from the first title, along with concessions to bring a wide audience into the fold. Ars explores the next great rally title.
Does this TV make me look fat? The extra-10-pounds myth
Do cameras really make people look fatter, and if so, how? Does it only apply to TV, or still cameras too? We were recently asked this question and decided to do some investigation into the old saying.
Weird Science sees that eureka moments are for the birds
Bats go for a stroll, Central America chows down, squirrels are particular about how they learn, and ROFLing is made easy thanks to a government-hosted database. Welcome to this week's Weird Science.
Week in Apple: mystery Apple product, keyboard and SMS exploits, 10.5.8
This week's top Apple news revolved around the FCC's investigation into Apple and Google, an unidentified Apple product showing up in an updated .plist file, rumors about Netflix coming to the iPhone, and the release of Mac OS X 10.5.8. Read on for more!
Week in gaming: PS3 Slim, Fat Princess, and Batman
This week in gaming we have more speculation about the PS3 Slim, a look at the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo, and a look at the legal consequences of modding your gaming console.
Week in tech: USB 3.0, gay slurs, and Chrome syncing in the cloud
We recap the most important stories from the world of tech policy, hardware, open source, and science. This week we've got USB 3.0, Google's plans for syncing Chrome in the cloud, and some rather unfortunate hidden search terms in US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign website.
Week in Microsoft: Windows 7 RTM starts trickling out
This week in Microsoft we covered Windows 7, Windows XP Mode, Microsoft's retail logo, Zune HD, Bing, and Microhoo.
EC criticized for conduct during Intel investigation
The European Union's ombudsman is criticizing the European Commission for not keeping adequate records during its antitrust investigation of Intel. The EC has no record of a 2006 meeting in which a Dell executive criticized the performance of AMD processors.
Storing text docs in XML may run afoul of Microsoft patent
At the same time that Microsoft was pushing for the adoption of an XML-based file format for documents, it had a patent pending that would cover most uses of XML for word processing files.