News Analysis

Ford talks up connected cars at CES

LAS VEGAS--Today's automakers are embracing the Internet cloud by building connected cars, and Ford is no exeception.

To find out more about Ford's strategy, I sat down with the company CEO Alan Mulally and Chief Technology Officer Paul Mascarenas at Ford's massive booth at the Consumer Electronics Show here, ahead of Mulally's keynote address. (Scroll down to listen to the podcast.)

When I asked Mulally why a car company would be at CES, he said, "We're clearly a technology company and we're providing very important technical solutions through the mobile application devices we … Read more

Asus rocks the tablet boat

Intel is making a big push into smartphones and tablets, Polaroid has the first Android phone, and Asus hands out four cores for the price of two with the game-changing Asus Memo 370T.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded, from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas:

Four cores for the price of two? Intel goes inside smartphones Polaroid's Android camera Box-less DVR with DirecTV and Samsung Buzzing about the Dell XPS 13 and the Inhon. Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Timberlake tries to revive MySpace

Dish launches the "Hopper," with the first live kangaroo ever on stage at CES; Steve Ballmer explains why this is Microsoft's last CES keynote; and Justin Timberlake takes the stage at Panasonic's press event to announce MySpace TV.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded, from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas:

Timberlake presents MySpace TV Dish Network's Hopper and Joey multiroom DVR service The battle of the 55-inch OLED TVs First 3D TV shipping to the US that doesn't use glasses The Galaxy Note is a smartphone tablet hybrid Microsoft says so-long … Read more

Kodak mulls bankruptcy protection

Logitech tries to reinvent the mouse with the Cube, the next Xbox may have built-in DVR functionality, and venerable Kodak lays plans for bankruptcy protection if it can't sell its patents.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Kodak mulls bankruptcy protection DVR coming to Xbox? Apple hunting for iTV content deals Nintendo sells 4 million 3DS units Music sales up for first time in seven years Barnes & Noble may spin off Nook business Logitech's boxy mouse Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

CES chief muses on what to expect this year

Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro talks big numbers when he describes this year's Consumer Electronics Show, which takes over Las Vegas next week.

He is expecting more than 140,000 visitors who will collectively crisscross the more than 1.8 million net square feet of exhibit space and visit more than 2,700 exhibitors.

For one company, this CES will be its last. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will give the opening keynote at CES 2012. But the company announced last month that in 2013, it will no longer host a booth or lead a keynote there.

"They'… Read more

Apple to unveil next chapter of iBooks

Smartphones sold like holiday hotcakes, you might be reading books and magazines on your next Wii U game console, and Apple has something up its iBooks sleeves.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Apple may unveil new iBook features Wii U may be your next eReader Report: 1.2 billion apps downloaded last week Nintendo sells 4 million 3DS units Google Plus traffic rises Google Election Hub Romney leads in Facebook fans Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Facebook lawsuit gets green light

Google+ introduces improvements just before the holidays, text-sending teens increase their data usage by 256 percent over last year, and a federal judge rules that a lawsuit targeting Facebook's "sponsored stories" can proceed.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook lawsuit can proceed Facebook private messages for biz Google+ improvements Teens text way too much Japanese touchscreen vending machines Saudi prince invests in Twitter Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Amazon to update Kindle Fire software

HP open sources WebOS as the fire sale on the TouchPad burns out in minutes; Apple announces that 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store; and Amazon promises a software update to the Kindle Fire to alleviate some of the user interface issues.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon Kindle Fire update coming soon HP TouchPad fire sales HP open sources WebOS Android Market's new filtering Mac App Store reaches 100 million downloads Intel forecasts hit by hard drive shortages Samsung to sell 300 million handsets Apple MacBook Airs to dominate ultrabooks Subscribe:&… Read more

Man behind XXX domains says they'll help parents protect kids

After years of being debated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ( ICANN), .XXX was approved earlier this year and is now a reality. Approximately 100,000 XXX domains are going live on Tuesday.

The new top level domains (TLD) are not without controversy. Some free speech advocates worry that there will be governments that require the use of XXX for adult content, effectively forcing such sites into a virtual red-light district but others, including some religious groups, worry that it will legitimize or even sanction pornography.

Stuart Lawley, the founder and CEO of ICM Registry, the company … Read more