friday

I've gotten together with my friends Chewbacca and Scotty to unveil a little machine we've been working on. This combination of a transporter and souped-up Millennium Falcon allows passengers to travel to a sci-fi universe. We're handing the controls over to you. Where would you like to go?

This week, we shared an infographic comparing the technologies of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek," and it sparked a spirited discussion among fans of the famous franchises.

Reader methos2000 brought up an interesting point: "The best argument I ever read regarding Star Wars vs … Read more

I had to really think about what the old Microsoft logo looked like. I ruminated. I racked my brain. Then I googled it. Ah, I thought to myself, I can see why they changed it.

Microsoft has traded in the old text-only logo for a new set of duds. Something with a little splash of color. A little pizzazz, but not too much pizzazz. … Read more

The brightly lit aisles of Best Buy have a certain pallor to them these days. Geek Squad employees have been axed. More than 50 stores are closing. The consumer-electronics retailer is treading water in a sea full of hungry online competitors.

Will Best Buy go the way of dearly departed Circuit City? Sales are slumping and profit is shrinking into losses. Consumers are avoiding the mazelike store layouts and shopping around for deals online. Apple Stores are popping up everywhere and Microsoft is expanding its brick-and-mortar presence.… Read more

The 1976 Viking mission to Mars uncovered some tantalizing, and much-debated, evidence of possible previous life on the big, red planet. Now we have the Curiosity rover over there to really sort things out.

Among other adventures, Curiosity is looking for organic molecules. The discovery of organic compounds could indicate previous life on Mars, though that life isn't likely to look like a toothy, long-headed alien that wants to hug your face.

While we wait for the rover to wander around and report back on its findings over the course of its mission, we have plenty of time to speculate about what it might find. … Read more

The glamor days of great meals on airplanes, no luggage limits, and easy boarding at airports are long gone. Those Pan Am dreams have disappeared into a maze of airline money-saving efforts and increasingly personal TSA security checks.

Ever since the TSA rolled out its revealing body scanners, we've been in the midst of a contentious privacy versus security debate. … Read more

I just slayed a nasty-looking giant spider in the Skyview Temple. I got there thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It came out last year, but I'm a little behind the times with my gaming. Maybe that's why I'm still enjoying the Wii when so many have consigned it to collecting dust.

Wii sales have slowed to a crawl, leaving Nintendo in a tough financial position. When the Wii first came out in 2006, it was next to impossible to track one down. It was the Cabbage Patch Doll of game consoles that holiday season.… Read more

I'm feeling a little left out of the Facebook experience. I'm friends with some of my exes on the social-networking megasite, but I don't hover around their profiles, watching their every social-media move. I may be in the minority on this.

Western University master's candidate Veronika Lukacs conducted a study to see how people respond to breakups using Facebook. Her survey respondents were people who had gone through breakups within the last year. She that found 88 percent of them, in her words, "creeped" their exes around on Facebook.

Some jilted lovers take a … Read more

The Android-packing Samsung Galaxy S III will be arriving in stores in a few days with plenty of fanfare to welcome it. The Galaxy Nexus is expected to change into new clothes and reappear wearing the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

All these hot Android developments mean the ball is now lobbed onto Apple's side of the smartphone court. The iPhone 5 is shrouded in both secrecy and juicy rumors. It may be bigger. It may have NFC. It may be a true world phone.

The biggest problem is you may have to wait until September for the official iPhone 5 announcement. With some enticing Android options showing up sooner, how antsy are you for a fresh, new phone?… Read more

The Fourth of July is coming up next week. It's a good time to take stock of where the country stands in the world of technology manufacturing.

We've been hearing quite a bit lately about how feasible (or not) it is to make tech products right here at home.

Manufacturing plants in Asia pretty much have the cell phone and gadget market cornered, but there are some blips on the U.S.-made tech radar. Google has managed to design and build the Nexus Q streaming media player in America.

Is this a sign of a reboot for technology manufacturing in America?… Read more