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Google should be investigated by the U.K. tax authority HM Revenue and Customes over its tax affairs, according to a parliamentary watchdog.

The search giant came under heavy criticism from the U.K. Public Accounts Committee today for only paying $16 million in tax to HMRC on turnover of $18 billion between 2006 and 2011.

Google achieved this by basing its operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in Ireland, which has a corporation tax rate of 12.5 percent, less than half the 28 percent rate in the U.K. It then reduced its Irish tax liabilities … Read more

Five months later, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is once again aloft.

United Flight 1 took off from Houston Monday morning en route to Chicago. It marked the first flight of Boeing's next-generation airliner since the entire worldwide fleet of Dreamliners was grounded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in January in the wake of multiple on-board fires.

The fires were found to be related to the plane's batteries, and in the months since then, Boeing and its suppliers have worked to correct the problems. Last month, the FAA approved Boeing's proposed fix to the battery issues, … Read more

Auralux (iOS|Android) on its surface is a beautiful and simple strategy game, but it quickly gets very challenging as you progress through levels. Your job is to conquer suns, and ultimately two AI-controlled teams using a single type of unit.

There have been other similar strategy games for mobile devices, but none that kept the gameplay so incredibly simple. When you start out, you have one sun that is producing an army per second, as does each other team. But before you rush to attack another team, you'll want to conquer gray, uninhabited suns by sending your armies. … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas -- Once again, Uncle Sam wants you. This time, the U.S. government is after your nerdy, data- and public policy-obsessed brains.

That was the message delivered by Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller to a small but actively curious group of techie and policy wonks at South by Southwest today.

In a session entitled, "Mobilizing Ingenuity to Strengthen Mobile Security," Gottemoeller and CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman discussed the U.S. government's interest in getting the public more involved in disarmament and the detection of weapons of mass destruction. … Read more

The United States' top arms control official thinks the public can play a vital role in helping to combat international arms control violations and threats.

At South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, this Friday, Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller will take part in a session, to be moderated by CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman, in which she will talk about the U.S. State Department's plans to develop initiatives that utilize technology and public participation in tackling some of the thorniest security problems the United States and its allies face today.

During … Read more

China has accused the U.S. for most of the cyberattacks launched against its military networks.

In a statement released today, China's Ministry of National Defense said that cyberattacks against its military sites have increased over the past few years. Based on checks of IP addresses, the Defense Ministry claimed an average of 144,000 cyberattacks per month last year, according to Reuters.

And it fingered the U.S. for almost 63 percent of them.

The allegations from Beijing come hot on the heels of a recent report from U.S. security firm Mandiant, linking the Chinese army to cyberattacks … Read more

Ah, the old copy/paste. Such a handy keyboard shortcut for such a wide range of applications. But would you want your doctor using it while maintaining your oh-so-personal and unique-to-you medical records?

Because chances are good that your doc does, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Excuse me while I take a moment to summarize, rather than copy and paste, some key findings from the research.

Assistant professor of medicine and lead author Daryl Thornton and his team scrutinized 2,068 electronic patient progress reports at an ICU in Cleveland. Some 62 … Read more

Days before CES kicks off in Las Vegas, AT&T and Sierra Wireless pull back the curtain on the AT&T Unite, the carrier's second touch-screen hot spot.

Riding AT&T's 4G LTE network, the Unite features a 2.4-inch display and more conventional design than its rival, Novatel Wireless' AT&T Liberate.

Like the Liberate, the Unite also supplies connectivity for up to 10 Wi-Fi devices and offers touch access to device and network settings from the screen.

AT&T hasn't shared pricing information yet, but you will be able to … Read more

The Mars Curiosity rover recently detected signs of organic compounds on the Red Planet, but NASA won't call the findings definitive. One holdup is the issue of contamination. The trace amounts may be the result of contamination from the rover itself.

The contamination issue could rear its head again should the rover or future expeditions turn up any microbes. Finding microbes on Mars would be a cause for scientific celebration, but a study published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America" shows that Earth microbes could very well survive in the brutal conditions on Mars.… Read more