John

As far as the United States was concerned, John Glenn's Feb. 20, 1962, flight aboard Friendship 7 could not have been more important.

Less than a year earlier, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human in space, and by the time of Glenn's launch, Americans Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom had already made their way into the heavens, if only briefly.

But with his 4 hour, 56 minute flight, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, doing so three times at an altitude of up to 162 statute miles and speeds of up to … Read more

When I was younger, I used to love the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. Deciding the fate of a story based on the decisions you made was quite thrilling, and now you can have that kind of fun again...on YouTube.

Australian comedian John Robertson created an interactive game called The Dark Room for the video-sharing site. The clip begins with Robertson exclaiming, "You awake to find yourself in a dark room!" You are then presented with four different options as seen in the photo above, and each one leads to another chapter of the story.

Though the game's initially creepy, I quickly got sucked into it and even had a laugh or two along the way. It's silly, for sure, but it makes for a nice afternoon break (warning: use headphones, as there is some NSFW language). Robertson notes on his YouTube page that there are even some Easter eggs thrown in there, so get in there and give it a whirl! … Read more

Remember Nokia's concept phone with a flexible screen?

Well, designer John Anastasiadis has applied it to a BlackBerry concept phone featuring a display that wraps around to the back.

The additional screen real estate enables separate work spaces to be set up on the front and back of the phone. Due to the flexible screen technology, the phone is light and has the ability to differentiate between an intentional command and a hand that's just holding the phone. … Read more

So, does AMD have a solid Windows 8 tablet strategy this year? I'll let the reader decide, but AMD needs to be extra aggressive on the power-efficient chip front because it's not just an Intel-AMD fight now.

Windows 8 will bring ARM chip players like Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Freescale into the market, presenting AMD with plenty of heavyweight Windows competition.

Earlier in the week, I spoke with John Taylor, director of client product marketing and software at AMD, who cited two major chip designs for tablets, Hondo (2012) and Temash (2013). AMD now calls its chips … Read more

Dell has hired John Swainson, former CEO of CA, as president of its new software group.

Reporting directly to Dell CEO Michael Dell, Swainson will lead the new group with a mission to sell products and services to large enterprises as the company continues to expand beyond the PC business.

Dubbed CA's Mr. Fix-It in a CNET story from 2005, Swainson has been credited with turning around and expanding his former company, a talent Dell undoubtedly hopes he can bring to his new position.

The new software group is aimed at helping Dell in its ongoing goal to sell … Read more

The Hawaii politician behind a proposed Internet tracking law acknowledged defeat today, saying that he recommends "that we kill this bill" this year.

State Representative John Mizuno, the lead sponsor of H.B. 2288 (PDF), bowed to what he described as an "incredible" national outcry that arose after a CNET article last week. His proposal would have required virtual dossiers to be compiled on state residents: two years' worth of their Internet browsing.

"It's generated a lot of national attention," Mizuno, a Democrat from Oahu, told CNET this afternoon. "I've taken … Read more

Voters chat with Obama on Google+ Hangouts, Apple surpasses Hewlett-Packard in PC shipments (if you count iPads, that is), and almost everyone would take your call while on the toilet.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

After losing the mastermind behind its retail stores last year, Apple has been on the hunt for someone who will keep up its momentum.

Apple is placing its bets on John Browett, CEO of European technology retailer Dixons. Browett will be joining Apple in April as senior vice president of retail, the company announced last night. In his new role, Browett will be charged with handling Apple's retail strategy and continuing Apple Store expansion worldwide.

"Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we've met," Apple CEO … Read more

Hawaii's legislature is weighing an unprecedented proposal to curb the privacy of Aloha State residents: requiring Internet providers to keep track of every Web site their customers visit.

Its House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing this morning on a new bill (PDF) requiring the creation of virtual dossiers on state residents. The measure, H.B. 2288, says "Internet destination history information" and "subscriber's information" such as name and address must be saved for two years.

H.B. 2288, which was introduced Friday, says the dossiers must include a list of Internet Protocol addresses … Read more