David Miller

ThinkPad laptops are returning to retail shelves after an absence of more than six years. Lenovo announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with electronics retailer Best Buy to sell Lenovo computers at select stores across the U.S. Lenovo, based in China, acquired IBM’s personal computer division last year, and has recently been reaching out […]

Google has bought the rights to a search engine algorithm that its creators predict will revolutionize the way people search for information on the Internet. The search giant snapped up the rights to “Orion” from Australia’s University of New South Wales for an undisclosed sum. Google has also hired Ori Allon, a 26-year-old PhD student […]

The price of a free citywide wireless network planned for San Francisco may be increased advertising for users. A patent application filed recently by Google details a method of pushing highly targeted advertising to users of wireless hotspots, and sharing the ad revenue with the wireless service provider. On Wednesday a San Francisco city commission […]

Snoops no longer need much technical savvy to steal personal information from computers and mobile phones. The reason? Easy-to-use spyware is increasingly becoming available online. Recently released offerings include a kit that allows purchasers to infect their Web sites with malicious software code that can automatically install itself on computers that happen to visit the […]

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is suing an Internet advertising firm he claims surreptitiously installed millions of pop-up ad producing programs on individuals’ computers. The suit seeks a court order preventing New York City-based Direct Revenue from secretly installing spyware or sending ads through spyware that has already been installed on computers. It also […]

Now playing on a PC near you: downloadable movies available for purchase on the same day they’re released on DVD. But movie fans will have to decide whether the convenience of quick access to the latest films compensates for higher costs and strict digital rights management restrictions. The downloadable movies will cost up to twice […]

More than half of all small businesses in the U.S. — as many as 13 million — experienced a security breach last year, according to a survey by the Small Business Technical Institute. In response, the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Privacy & American Business, a nonprofit think tank, have launched a new national […]

As Apple gears up to celebrate its 30-year anniversary, two of the executives who worked on projects tied to the company’s recent success are leaving. Avadis “Avie” Tevanian, Apple’s chief software technology officer and the programmer credited with creating the core of Mac OS X, is leaving the company on March 31, Apple confirmed on […]

Amid brewing controversies, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ 25th International meeting officially opened on Monday in Wellington, New Zealand. The meeting, which runs through March 31, brings together members from the technical community, business and government to discuss the management and future of the Internet. But some members of ICANN have made […]

Where should the world’s largest software provider focus its energies? During a week of Vista delays, Windows platform division shakeups and rumor-zapping over the fate of the next version of the Windows operating system and the Office suite, internetnews.com asked Microsoft experts to line up some advice for the software giant. For starters, get the […]

New York’s Attorney General is turning up the heat on data brokers over their privacy policies. Eliot Spitzer’s office said today that it filed suit against Web site operator Gratis Internet, charging that Gratis sold personal information that was obtained from millions of consumers despite a strict promise of confidentiality. “Unless checked now, companies that […]

A newly discovered flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser can cause the browser to crash and may expose PCs to another round of nasty Internet hack attacks, security firms said Tuesday. The vulnerability is caused by a “buffer overflow,” a flaw that has plagued Internet Explorer in the past. In this case, the flaw allows […]