Top technology news headlines

• 

  All eyes on e-readers

  year in review On the gadget front, e-readers and smartphones gained momentum, Netbooks started to give way to thin-and-lights, and as for robots, they were never weirder.

  Read full story
• 

  Behind the scenes:
  NORAD's Santa tracker

  For decades, the defense group has let you follow the Christmas Eve travels of the jolly old elf. These days, technology is playing a bigger role than ever.

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• Obama to name chief of cybersecurity

  President is expected to name Howard A. Schmidt, an industry exec with experience as a cybersecurity adviser to Bush and who also has a military and law enforcement background.
  (From The New York Times)

• Big Facebook privacy void: Controls on Connect

  If you're sharing info on your news feed with Facebook Connect, it's visible to either all your friends or none of them, something that Facebook can and should change.

  (Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy)

• Virtual world designer Metaplace to shutter

  Saying it hasn't been able to gain traction as a consumer user-generated content service, Raph Koster's leading game design company is shutting down.

  (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman)

• Google's creed: 'Open will win'

  In a 4,000-word manifesto recently penned by Google's Jonathan Rosenberg on the importance of being open, the company once again swears it is a force for good.

  (Posted in Relevant Results by Tom Krazit)

• Intel launches redesigned Atom chip for Netbooks

  The chipmaker officially announces the next generation of its popular Atom CPUs for Netbooks, the N450, weeks before the CES trade show.
  • What new Atom means for you
  • Review: Asus Eee PC 1005PE

  (Posted in Nanotech - The Circuits Blog by Brooke Crothers)

• Twitter? Profitable? Really?

  A report in BusinessWeek says that Twitter will have turned a profit in 2009 thanks to search deals from Google and Microsoft. Legit, or fuzzy math?

  (Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy)

• Microsoft CFO heads to new post at GM

  Chris Liddell joins General Motors as vice chairman and chief financial officer. He'll start at GM in the new year.

  (Posted in Business Tech by Lance Whitney)

• Ford cars to become Wi-Fi hot spots

  Using the next version Ford's in-car Sync system, vehicle owners can plug a broadband modem into built-in Wi-Fi, providing Internet access to all passengers.

  (Posted in Wireless by Lance Whitney)

• Yelp bails on Google deal?

  Uh-oh. Less than a week after reporting it was practically a done deal, TechCrunch has backtracked and now says that Yelp walked away from a $500 million buyout.

  (Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy)

• First Solar opens utility-scale power plant

  Company says the site--the largest photovoltaic solar power station in California--serves a model for its expansion into the utility business.

  (Posted in Green Tech by Martin LaMonica)

• TweetDeck deal brings a Sherlock Holmes look

  Popular Twitter-user interface promotes Warner Bros.' new movie with a themed version of its software. Also in the works: deals with record labels and bands.

  (Posted in Deep Tech by Stephen Shankland)

• Maine to consider cancer warnings on cell phones

  A state legislator is bringing a bill to the 2010 session that would require cell phone vendors to affix cancer warnings on devices.

  (Posted in The Digital Home by Don Reisinger)

• Report: O2 to buy VoIP start-up Jajah

  The mobile arm of Telefonica Europe has apparently won a bidding war for the Internet telephone company with a $200 million offer, according to published reports.

  (Posted in Wireless by Steven Musil)
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