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Yahoo has reportedly hired an executive search firm to find possible replacements for several members of its much-criticized board of directors.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Web giant has hired Heidrick & Struggles to help it identify "several new board candidates" who could replace long-term directors that have served on Yahoo's board. The board has faced biting criticism in recent years for rejecting a lucrative takeover bid from Microsoft in 2008, as well as for its hiring--and then its ham-handed firing--of former chief executive Carol Bartz.

The Journal reported that board member Patti Hart … Read more

Sony has knocked $100 off the price of its S series tablet, another sign that non-Apple tablet pricing is trending downward.

The 16GB Tablet S is now $400, reduced from $500, while the 32GB model got cut to $500 from $600.

Specs include a 9.4-inch 1280x800 display, front and rear cameras, Android Honeycomb, 1GB system memory, and eight hours of rated battery life.

Sony is by no means is the first to wield an ax on pricing. RIM's BlackBerry Playbook is the most extreme recent example of tablet price deflation. The PlayBook has been selling--depending on the week--for $300 off its original price.… Read more

The California agency responsible for protecting air quality says it will appeal a decision by a court that blocks enforcement of rules designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage alternative fuel technologies.

The Air Resources Board, part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, adopted the landmark Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCSF) last year. The regulation gives producers and refiners until 2020 to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel by 10 percent.

Ethanol producers complained that the rules favor in-state producers and refiners because they take into consideration the carbon footprint impact of the transportation of, as well as … Read more

Apple-centric blogs play an important role in disseminating information about what is probably the most important consumer-electronics company in the world. But the coverage is hardly neutral.

While not all that surprising, the FUD factor can get pretty hot and heavy sometimes. You know, that tendency to try to discredit any major threats to Apple's dominance. Namely, Android.

Take the blog Daring Fireball. It offers some solid analysis. But in the end it's a fanboi site, assailing the misinformed or pointing out how wrong or disliked the Android competition is. That kind of attitude gets in the way … Read more

XyBoard tablets will launch at Verizon stores on Friday, as Verizon takes another shot at selling Motorola tablets--now sleeker and faster.

Stores contacted in suburban and downtown Los Angeles Thursday night said "live units" will be available for the first time Friday and units should be available for purchase.

Update: A Verizon spokesman said today that the tablets would be in "all stores by Monday, Dec. 12." But he added that some stores have them and are selling them on Friday. Three stores randomly contacted by CNET in Los Angeles have Xyboards on display and available for purchase. Same for stores randomly contacted in Ardmore, PA and North Dartmouth, MA.

The tablets are a fairly radical redesign. The 10.1-incher is iPad 2-thin (about 9mm) and has squared-off corners. While the 8.2-inch design is a first for Motorola.

Xyboard salient specs:… Read more

iStunt 2 is a snowboarding sequel that adds enough extras and unique gameplay to make it a great time-waster and might be one of our favorite pick-up-and-play games for 2011. Just like in the original, you'll be challenged to snowboard on several complex courses that involve loops, jumps, tricks, and even snowboarding upside down. The control system uses the iPhone accelerometer to control your snowboarder, a couple of onscreen buttons for grab-type tricks, and screen swipes for jumping over gaps.

iStunt 2 is better in almost every way than the original, with better-designed tracks, better graphics, and more control … Read more

Rat on a Snowboard is primarily a distance/survival game where you play as (you guessed it) a rat on a snowboard. In this game you're not trying to pull off big tricks; instead, you're simply trying to get as far as you can while avoiding obstacles.

You have a couple of control systems to choose from. The default layout lets you simply touch the screen to both jump and spin (to gain altitude and points while in the air). But we preferred switching to two buttons, one each for jumping and spinning, to feel like we were … Read more

Super Trick Snowboarder is a 2D snowboarding game that uses rag doll physics as you jump, flip, and spin down the slope, but it might be a bit too rag doll for its own good. The game features nice-looking cartoonlike graphics; your snowboarder makes his way past obstacles while pulling off big tricks. The control system involves a snowboard on the left with four buttons for grabbing the front, back, and sides of your board in the air. On the right you have buttons for jumping and rotating either clockwise or counterclockwise.

The problem with Super Trick Snowboarder is that … Read more

This week I've gathered up some 2D snowboarding games that are not as good as being in the actual snow, but might be the perfect time-waster while we wait for winter to settle in.

As we hunker down for the winter months in the northern hemisphere, many are dreaming of another great season of winter sports. While there's probably nothing I can offer on the iPhone that will give you the feeling of snowboarding on powder-covered slopes, maybe these apps will make the days slip by a little bit faster.… Read more