Internet

When the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church were sequestered in the conclave to choose a new pope, they were instructed to give up their cell phones. No texting! Revealing the secrets behind the election of the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, they and their attendants were told, would lead to excommunication.

Jammers were also installed in the Sistine Chapel to prevent electronic communication.

For an institution that has suffered its share of leaks, the Vatican maintained its storied traditions as it voted for a pope for the second time in the 21st century.

But while the announcement that a new pope had been chosen was made via a cloud of white smoke -- a tradition that has continued since the election of Pope Benedict XV in 1914, and a symbol of the cardinals' cloistered proceedings -- the introduction to the world of Argentinean Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis was made on live TV and Internet, via Twitter and Facebook, and by the countless smartphone and tablet photos snapped in St. Peter's Square. … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--At Google, the future of search looks an awful lot like something out of one of the iconic science fiction franchises of the past.

At least that's the impression given by Google's Amit Singhal when he was interviewed on-stage by Guy Kawasaki at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin recently.

No matter how much Kawasaki prodded Singhal for insights into the inner workings of Google's algorithms, the senior vice president of search seemed far more interested in talking about his apparent obsession with the computer from "Star Trek."

"For those of you who have never watched an episode of 'Star Trek,' please go do that," Singhal implored the audience at one point.… Read more

The Telegraph published an article titled "Why women constantly lie about life on Facebook." My first thought was, "Do they really?" I'm a woman on Facebook. I'm not constantly lying about my life.

It turns out the article with the somewhat inflammatory title is about a survey commissioned by Pencourage, a social-media site with where people post anonymous journal-like entries. According to the results, nearly one in four women admitted to exaggerating or lying about key aspects of their lives on social media between one and three times per month. The survey of 2,000 women was conducted by OnePoll.… Read more

Sometimes here at Technically Incorrect, one has to operate with eyes wide shut. This is one of those times.

For I have been forwarded an infographic about various Internet searches around the world related to online porn and ordered to discuss it. By someone who, no doubt, is wearing extremely slippery leather.

This infographic claims to show the most popular search terms related to porn that are entered around the world, and I am grateful to BuzzFeed for buzzing me into it.

It was prepared by PornMD, a search engine of which I had previously been unaware. This is not … Read more

In case you're unfamiliar with the significance of the color of smoke rising from the world's current most-watched chimney, here's how Ireland's Father Paddy Byrne broke it down in a Tweet awhile ago:

Not going to directly accuse Father Byrne of anything except wacky tweeting here, but it should be noted for noobs to the conclave of Catholic cardinals currently trying to select the pope's successor that only the first two parts are true. I hope. After each round of balloting that doesn't produce a two-thirds majority, a puff of black smoke goes up and out of the Sistine Chapel. Once a new pope is selected, the smoke turns white.

So, that means the true pope-arazzi should have already staked out a prime smoke-viewing spot outside the chapel. But for the rest of us who aren't trained to the live Vatican smoke cam but are maybe just a little obsessed with anything that involves balloting, be it popes or pop stars, fortunately there's Pope Alarm (tagline: "When the smoke goes up, you'll know what's going down"). … Read more

Crowdfunding may be a normal way to start a business, but it's an unusual way to start a baby. Baby Ali-Penny is due soon, and when the kid arrives, it may have one of the first crowdfunded births thanks to the March 2013: Baby Ali-Penny Indiegogo project.

"Since getting knocked up, the number one question we have been asked is, 'What do you guys need?'" mom Fanny says in the project video. The answer is pretty much nothing. The family already has strollers, car seats, onesies, blankets, and socks. What's left? The birth itself.… Read more

We've all been taught that our actions have consequences. Sometimes, you get a silly tattoo and earn a lifetime of regret. Other times, you get a silly tattoo and earn a free yearlong Netflix subscription.

Myron Robinson appears to have gotten a tattoo of the Netflix logo embellished with a background of paisley shapes, all done in gray-scale ink. He posted it on Twitter along with a plea for the video company to put him in a commercial. Netflix took notice and got right back to him with this reply:… Read more

Evidence can be a menace.

You think you've gotten away with something, and then that moment comes along when you suddenly remember that perhaps you've left a clue.

This thought may (or may not) have crossed the mind of an alleged cell phone thief.

As the New York Post reports, police in the Bronx feel sure that what happened is that a certain man -- whose picture they now have -- robbed a 27-year-old woman of her gadget.

He then allegedly used it to take a quite fetching picture of himself smoking pot.

This would not be the … Read more

Toss a creative challenge at CNET readers and they always step up. Yesterday, we asked for help jazzing up the above picture of Mark Zuckerberg speaking to the media at Facebook's event.

The company announced changes to its News Feed, with Zuckerberg repeatedly using the phrase "personalized newspaper" to describe the direction of the site's core feature. We thought this photo needed a bit of personalization itself, and that's where our readers came in. Zombies and superheroes, anyone? … Read more