A leading IBM researcher says computers capable of mimicking the human brain's power and efficiency could be just a decade away. CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman talks about the findings.
Plus, Hulu inks its first major music label deal, the Office 2010 beta goes public, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 breaks even more records than we originally thought.
Listen now: Download today's podcastToday's stories:
Modern Warfare 2 tops entertainment industry, not just games
Who makes the most reliable laptops?
Carriers to sell majority of mobile devices by '13
Hulu lands first music label deal
Google set to promote Chrome extensions
Sprint on Tuesday announced it was planning to snatch up Virgin Mobile in the U.S. The buy puts Sprint in a good position to compete with prepaid offerings from other carriers. We talk to CNET News writer Maggie Reardon to hear what kind of money Sprint is making off customers of these prepaid programs, and what it's planning to do with Boost Mobile, the prepaid mobile phone service it already owns.
We also cover Tuesday's billion-dollar acquisition by IBM, and a new study that's found that text messaging while driving can take away enough concentration to drive the length of a football field without noticing.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
Sprint to buy Virgin Mobile for $483 million
IBM to acquire analytics provider for $1.2 billion
Samsung's debut e-book reader arrives
Study: Texting while driving increases crash risk 23-fold
Verizon to offer Palm Pre in early 2010
Netflix contest ends, with winner in doubt
Microsoft is promising lower power consumption in Windows 7, among other products. CNET News intern Erik Palm had a chance to sit down with Robert Bernard, the company's chief environmental strategist, to talk about what changes users can expect to see.
Also in this podcast: Three ISPs join the RIAA in its fight to squelch illegal file sharing; Facebook responds to users' redesign complaints with a few upcoming changes; and TiVo owners can now use Blockbuster OnDemand.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
Comcast, Cox join RIAA antipiracy campaign
Complaints prompting Facebook changes
Blockbuster OnDemand coming to TiVo
EMI's catalog comes to Project Playlist
New Dell enterprise offering heavy on services
IBM is reportedly in talks to buy Sun Microsystems for $6.5 billion in cash as early as this week. CNET News reporter Stephen Shankland and ZDNet Editor in Chief Larry Dignan join the podcast to offer a closer look at what that deal could mean.
That, and other headlines of the day, on Wednesday's CNET News Daily Podcast.
Listen now:
Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
Is it a bad idea for IBM to buy Sun?
Why an IBM purchase of Sun would make sense
Sun's new mantra: Call us the 'cloud company'
Psystar adds new Mac OS desktop
U.K. to monitor, store all social-network traffic?
Reporter Ina Fried stops by the podcast studio to talk about where Microsoft might make cuts, how it's managed to avoid them in the past, and what to expect from its earnings report Thursday.
Also in this podcast: the next-generation Android phone might be on the horizon; the SEC investigates Apple's disclosures over Steve Jobs' health; and what might be the largest credit card data breach yet.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
Next-gen Android phone coming soon?
IBM earnings beat analyst expectations
AMD earnings: More fear, uncertainty, and doubt?
A nonpartisan report on cybersecurity recommends that President-elect Barack Obama create an office in the White House focused on cyberspace which would be headed by an assistant to the president. But the report offers a worried look at the current state of the nation's cyberdefenses, describing the challenge as one of the most urgent national security problems facing the new administration. We check in with CNET News' Stephanie Condon to find out more.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
Obama policy docs to live on Change.gov
Tapping compute cloud for solar research
Angel investor Ron Conway is warning his start-ups to start saving up cash and reducing costs quickly. He's not the only one who says the current economic crisis is similar and perhaps worse than the dot-com bust of 2000-2001. CNET's Rafe Needleman, editor of Webware, stops by to talk about how or if Web 2.0 companies will be able to survive in the months ahead, and which kinds of companies are in the most danger.
Also in Thursday's podcast: IBM affirms a positive outlook for the year and predicts a good quarter ahead, and Digg founder Kevin Rose sits down with CNET to talk economics and what needs to change at Digg. Plus, Apple sends an invitation to a notebook event next week, and Microsoft unveils its overhaul to Xbox Live.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
The tech downturn: How long and how bad?
It's official: Apple to talk laptops on Oct. 14
Amid gloom, IBM sees sunny forecast
Getting global with Digg's Kevin Rose
Do you download more than 250GB of data per month? If you're a Comcast customer, you'll likely want to get out of the habit--quickly. Beginning October 1, the Internet provider said customers that use more than 250GB per month, per account will get their account disabled. It's got a lot of people in an uproar. Make sure to check out Webware.com's coverage of the news.
Also on Friday's podcast: Apple and AT&T could be looking at a plan to allow tethering of the iPhone, Nintendo Wii sales continue to propel the company forward, and is Napster for sale?
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
Nintendo shares soar on bumped-up forecast
Microsoft to drop $486 million for European shopping site
Google to buy GeoEye satellite imagery
IBM tests 4-terabyte solid-state drive tech
CNET News' Greg Sandoval analyzes Yahoo's attempts at damage control to mollify customers upset over its digital music policy. Apple has begun issuing regular status reports for its recently introduced e-mail and cloud-computing service. The good news: The situation is improving. But the company still isn't out of the woods. And Webware's Rafe Needleman assesses the odds for a technology start-up with an impressive pedigree to carve out a place in the increasingly hardscrabble market for Internet search.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Today's stories:
MSN to follow Yahoo in issuing music refunds?
New search engine takes aim at Google
Ozzie puts his own spin on 'ThinkWeek'
Report: FCC expected to rule against Comcast
Listen now: Download today's podcast
With the price of crude oil once again reaching all-time highs, drivers may be looking at how that will affect prices at the pump this holiday weekend. CNET News.com's Michelle Meyers tells News.com's Leslie Katz how a few minutes online can pay off.
IBM is out with new software to help corporations make their supply chains more environmentally friendly. Carbon Tradeoff Modeler lets companies look at different packaging or transportation options and measure energy use of their suppliers.
Plus, why Google is willing to ruffle feathers in the open-source world with its Android mobile-phone software, and what we can learn from Microsoft's blocking of American Gladiators.
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Rafe Needleman is editor of CNET's Webware. He's been covering technology since 1988, and has interviewed thousands of tech execs. He blogs at 
Leslie Katz is senior editor of CNET News' Crave blog, which focuses on gadgets, games, and all other digital distractions.
Erica Ogg keeps up on the latest consumer electronics and PC goings-on as chief correspondent for CNET News' Crave blog.
Jennifer Guevin is assistant managing editor for CNET News and focuses on science and green tech.
Josh Lowensohn writes for Webware.com, CNET's blog about Web applications and
services. 
