Culture and Society

“Broadband over power line” (BPL) — using the electricity grid in a city and the wiring in individual homes to provide direct “plug in” broadband access through electricity sockets — made a significant stride yesterday when Manassas, Va. became the first city in the country with city-wide commercial deployment of …

Best Buy Co. Inc. – the number one electronics retailer in the U.S. – is currently testing the sale of used video games in a few of its stores. With more than 870 stores in North America, Best Buy is trying to tap into the existing used video game market …

Most American parents, and kids for that matter, have accepted the vital importance of auto child safety seats for babies and young children: it’s the law of the land and you can’t even take a newborn home from the hospital without producing an approved baby pod. But when kids outgrow …

Where are all the female bloggers? Here, in my weekly "top ten" posts.

Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club share their 50th anniversaries in 2005, and 10 of the original Mouseketeers are returning to Disneyland on Monday, October 3, to celebrate the golden milestone (I’m not sure which 10, however, hmm). In a ceremony in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Mouseketeers will …

While we waxed rhapsodic about the gentle breezes, hypnotic beaches, groovacious vibes and the overall pleasantry of a musical visit to the Cayman Islands, we also noted that the lineup of last year’s Cayman Jazz Fest had only a tenuous connection to jazz. This year’s is a bit jazzier, with …

All preschool, all the time – our almost-2 year old will likely burst with programming-induced joy. PBS announced this week the launch of a new 24/7 preschool channel, called PBS KIDS Sprout, available on digital cable and satellite, and a companion website, which are “dedicated to offering little ones safe, …

Now, however, Magnatune customers can legally distribute up to three copies of uncompressed music.

Is human nature today the same as it was 50, or 500, or 5,000 or 50,000 years ago?

The Chinese government, feeling threatened by the flow and exchange of information among its 100 million Internet users, announced yesterday the imposition of new regulations intended to limit access to news and commentary not pre-approved by the government’s Propaganda Department. The new rules will allow only the posting of “healthy …