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New Advances in Prosthetics

It"s not often you meet a researcher looking for a solution to a condition they themselves are dealing with. But when you do their quest has added resonance. Hugh Herr is a double amputee having lost both his legs below the knee while mountain climbing at age 17. He"s also one of the world"s leading prosthetics innovators through his work at MIT. Herr was recently awarded the $250,000 Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment, but more importantly his efforts have resulted in breakthroughs for other amputees like Iraq war veteran, Army specialist Garth Stewart.

Is Comcast hacking?

In my column that went up today, I examine Comcast"s alleged practice of blocking uploads from BitTorrent and other applications. The practice was reported last week by the Associated Press and numerous bloggers. The company doesn"t admit to the practice but does say that it takes steps to protect its network from people who abuse their service by sending out excessive amounts of information.

Music Player Cellphone Flubs

(Verizon)CBSNews.com's David Hancock tries out one of Verizon's new cellphone MP3 players and finds himself pining for the easy interface of the Apple iPods.

Gee Whiz With 'gPhone'

So, let's just say that, maybe, perhaps -- for example -- you recently bought yourself an Apple iPhone, maybe, for example. Ahem. Am I, I mean, are you excited about the now official Google-esque phones? Or are you more ambivalent? Kinda confused about what they'll look like? You're not alone. Google announced its major foray into the mobile space Monday by (sort of) describing its Android mobile operating system. Will Android do to cell phones what Google did to Web searching?

Buy A Laptop, Give One Away

In the spirit of sharing I want to steer Tech Talk readers to a story over at LAPTOP Magazine written by a professional peer of mine, Joanna Stern. For months she's been following the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, which has received praise from the world community, coupled with some lingering concerns over how well it will actually work. Today marks the first day the Give One, Get One program becomes available to the general public, who now have a limited opportunity to help put a laptop in the hands of some of the world's poorest children.

iPod Alternatives

(AP Photo/Microsoft) I am as bothered by the market domination of the iPods as I am by Microsoft's Windows. And I find it almost amusing that people will rush out and buy iPods because of the brand name and marketing.

Click Your Mouse, Donate Rice

Ingenious. That"s probably the best word to describe computer programmer John Breen. He"s the man behind Freerice.com, a new Web site with a unique, two-pronged approach to tackling literacy and world hunger. A lofty-sounding goal, I know. But Breen is determined to make it happen, one click at a time.

Prying Or Parenting?

Is it high-tech parenting or old-fashioned prying? For any parent concerned about what their kids are doing in the digital domain, dozens of software programs can log every keystroke, keep track of every Web page, read every e-mail, instant message, etc. Users can even set keyword "alerts," so if a child types or reads something they deem inappropriate an e-mail is sent to the person who installed the software. Sound scary? Orwellian? Handy? If you're under 18 years old then your parents may be reading this blog right now (although I doubt many of you are).

Data Loss Redux

We"ve had plenty of serious data losses in the US, including the incident in 2006 when a computer with data on 26.5 million living and dead veterans went missing because a Veterans" Administration employee"s laptop was stolen from his home.

Zombie Computer Armies

Botnets. You may not have heard of them, but their invisible nature makes them all the more dangerous. And you may already be both a victim and an accomplice in a botnet operation. Because everything in the high-tech world needs an acronym or abbreviation, a botnet is actually short for a robot network. Think of it as a massive super-computer army with your computer one of the many conscripted ranks.