Microsoft releases Vista test
Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, completed the test version of its Windows Vista operating system as it works to deliver the program to consumers by January.
THE TICKER
Fox asks for ban on satellite TV practice
Fox Broadcasting Co. has asked a federal judge to bar EchoStar Communications Corp. from transmitting network programming from one city to satellite TV subscribers in a different area, the latest volley in an 8-year-old lawsuit.
E-SHOPPER
Stroke of success: Paint-by-number- of-days-in-a-year
Nick Jainschigg was having a terrible time recently trying to paint a pink rose in 30 minutes. One day he said the petals looked thick as icing, and the next he just couldn't get the bud texture right.
Gateway rejects $450 million buyout offer
Gateway Inc., the third-largest personal computer company in the United States, said Friday that it rejected an unsolicited $450 million bid for its retail business from eMachines Inc. founder Lap Shun Hui.
Boeing loses bonus from Air Force for GPS satellite pact
Significant cost overruns and production delays affecting Global Positioning System navigation satellites built by Boeing Co. have prompted the Air Force to withhold all 2006 program award fees from the company.
3 years for teacher in Internet sex sting
Former Stagg High School teacher James Leonard was sentenced to 3 years in prison Friday for soliciting sex from someone he thought was a minor in an Internet chat room.
Theft of laptop may affect thousands
Nearly 60,000 current and retired local public employees, most of them city and Cook County workers, are being notified of a possible compromise of confidential personal information, including Social Security numbers and birth dates.
Russian roulette
Thinking about doing business in Russia? Listen to this: Five months ago the Russian Interior Ministry seized 167,000 phones from Motorola at a Moscow airport after they had been accepted for sale in the country.
Beep. Beep. It's your laundry calling.
The technology behind cleaning clothes has spun through more than a few cycles over the last century, from clunky hand-cranked machines to today's gleaming appliances that can detect a load's size and even how much grime is in the fabric.
High-tech guide can give pilots sound advice
Honeywell test pilot Markus Johnson taxis his plane toward a runway at Paine Field overlooking Puget Sound when over his radio headset a female voice announces, "Approaching one-six right."
Charter school going online
In a tense and dramatic meeting, the Illinois State Board of Education gave approval for the state's first virtual public elementary school to open its cyberspace doors this fall.
Microsoft execs reap vested stock rewards
Several high-ranking Microsoft Corp. executives Thursday received millions of dollars in stock awards as part of a compensation program that the company rejiggered several years ago.
Verizon ending surcharge on DSL
Verizon Communications Inc. said Wednesday that it was dropping a "supplier surcharge" on its high-speed Internet service for retail customers.
Blogs force Stevens to admit halting bill
Ending a mystery that had captivated conservative and liberal Internet activists, Ted Stevens of Alaska emerged Wednesday as the senator who secretly held up action on a bill to create a searchable online catalog of federal grants and contracts aimed at helping the public learn who receives government support.
Q. What are the most popular college majors today?
Alex Zatvornitsky has spent uncountable hours researching Loyola University Chicago, the school where he started classes as a freshman earlier this week.
Ego surfers count their 15 clicks of cyberfame
Chicagoan Elaine Soloway, author of "The Division Street Princess," has an obsession: She checks each day, often more than once, to see where her book ranks on Amazon.com's sales chart.
THE TICKER
APPLE COMPUTER: Google boss latest to join directors
Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday that Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt is joining its board, adding another well-known name to the list of high-profile directors who oversee the management of the company behind the iPod and the Macintosh computer.
Office manager charged in plot to frame his boss
An office manager at a West Side hospital who was trying to "get back at his boss" downloaded child pornography on his supervisor's computer, then reported the images to police, authorities said.
Springfield favors AT&T wireless offer
AT&T Inc. is the leading candidate to build a citywide wireless network for Springfield, Ill., marking the company's first success in the developing market to blanket municipalities with ubiquitous Internet access.
ACROSS THE NATION
Execution halted over lethal injection method
Gov. Mike Rounds halted South Dakota's first execution in 59 years just hours before it was scheduled Tuesday, saying the state law detailing how to administer lethal drugs is obsolete.
THE TICKER
Order-filling change adds speed element
For the second time this year, the Chicago Board of Trade will change how electronic orders on futures tied to five-year U.S. Treasury notes are filled, as it tries to attract more users to its second-most popular contract.
INSIDE RETAILING
Good lot at a great price? Ask Santa Monica
Sears Holdings Corp. agreed to sell property housing an auto center in Santa Monica, Calif., to the city for $35 million.
Google, eBay enter ad alliance
In a deal between two of the Internet's most prominent players, Google Inc. will begin selling advertising for eBay Inc. outside the U.S. and help buyers quickly ring an online merchant to do business.
Business wireless in XO's embrace
Even as Chicago city administrators refine standards for citywide wireless Internet connections for consumers, a private firm on Monday is launching business-class wireless broadband service across the area.
MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Word choice key to driving Web traffic
A company doesn't need to be Wal-Mart or Target to ace placement on the major search engines.
Pluto memorabilia rockets onto Internet
Not long after puny Pluto was stripped of its planethood, Janis Robinson started selling $25 "Pluto is a Planet"' T-shirts on the Internet.
TECHBUZZ
Web 2.0 in search of better definition
In its short history of having a huge impact on society, the Internet has leapt from one fad to the next, embracing each new trend as the next killer app while dismissing each old one as if it were an annoying baby dancing across your computer screen.
INSIDE TECHNOLOGY
Quick tests for contamination help manufacturers
Fungus in toothpaste or bacteria in shampoo are the kind of nightmares that keep executives focused on assuring that the products they send to market are absolutely sterile.
Gamer cracks code, finds jewel
In the world of computer programmers, 26-year-old David Heinemeier Hansson is a rock star.
Nothing to do? Enjoy!
Doing nothing--absolutely nothing--is a fine art that some people have never mastered. Nor do they care to.
ASK JIM WHY
Free-for-all software a gem, bringing order to your PC
OK kiddies, it's the last weekend of summer downtime and we need something to cheer us up. And among the most cheerful things about using personal computers is finding free stuff.
QUALITIES OF LIFE: HEALTH
A giant leap for diabetics
A little-known side effect of child diabetes is nervous sleeplessness in parents, who monitor their children's blood glucose throughout the night.
SPECIAL SECTION: SMALL BUSINESS
For the little guy, Internet is leveling the field
Chicago is a big market, but entrepreneur Bill Raspe knows he probably couldn't make it selling envelopes here without the Internet's expanded reach.
SPECIAL SECTION: SMALL BUSINESS
What works in bridging the digital divide
Martin Cabrera could run his small investment bank and institutional brokerage firm without an electronic trading system.
TECHNOLOGY
The search for answers
Back to school often means buying tech equipment, some of which is dauntingly expensive. But as long as you have a way to access the Internet, you can use educational sites in the true spirit of the Web, whether they were established by a corporation, a non-profit group or a lone, lovable geek.
MY TECH
Making online connections more personal
The two Chicago residents lived three blocks from each other, but they had no idea. They were on their PCs, at home, when they figured it out.
E-SHOPPER
Stroke of success: Paint-by-number- of-days-in-a-year
Nick Jainschigg was having a terrible time recently trying to paint a pink rose in 30 minutes. One day he said the petals looked thick as icing, and the next he just couldn't get the bud texture right.
Russian roulette
Thinking about doing business in Russia? Listen to this: Five months ago the Russian Interior Ministry seized 167,000 phones from Motorola at a Moscow airport after they had been accepted for sale in the country.
Boeing loses bonus from Air Force for GPS satellite pact
Significant cost overruns and production delays affecting Global Positioning System navigation satellites built by Boeing Co. have prompted the Air Force to withhold all 2006 program award fees from the company.
Microsoft releases Vista test
Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, completed the test version of its Windows Vista operating system as it works to deliver the program to consumers by January.
Gateway rejects $450 million buyout offer
Gateway Inc., the third-largest personal computer company in the United States, said Friday that it rejected an unsolicited $450 million bid for its retail business from eMachines Inc. founder Lap Shun Hui.
3 years for teacher in Internet sex sting
Former Stagg High School teacher James Leonard was sentenced to 3 years in prison Friday for soliciting sex from someone he thought was a minor in an Internet chat room.
Theft of laptop may affect thousands
Nearly 60,000 current and retired local public employees, most of them city and Cook County workers, are being notified of a possible compromise of confidential personal information, including Social Security numbers and birth dates.
THE TICKER
Fox asks for ban on satellite TV practice
Fox Broadcasting Co. has asked a federal judge to bar EchoStar Communications Corp. from transmitting network programming from one city to satellite TV subscribers in a different area, the latest volley in an 8-year-old lawsuit.
