AFP - Sony chief executive Sir Howard Stringer unveiled prototypes of video bifocals and bendable televisions as he kicked off a gadget-rich Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Reuters - China has widened an Internet crackdown on 'vulgar' content to target 14 new sites, including Microsoft's MSN, and chided fellow American giant Google for not doing enough to clean up.

Reuters - The U.S. Army, struggling to ensure it has enough manpower as it fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is wooing young Americans with video games, Google maps and simulated attacks on enemy positions from an Apache helicopter.

AFP - The arrest of a popular South Korean Internet financial pundit sparked a heated debate on Friday over how much freedom of speech should be tolerated in cyberspace.

PC World - Meet the 3G Palm Pre

PC World - One of the clear trends at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show is the proliferation of ways to get Internet-based content onto your TV. But I’ve seen only one system that’s free (as in both speech and beer) and doesn’t seem to restrict where you get content: Boxee.

PC World - Coming out of CES, Gateway is going great guns in the sub-$1000 laptop category.

PC World - On the heels of Audiovox's announcement of an automotive version of the MediaFlo TV service for cell phones, AT&T has revealed plans for its own robust, satellite-based in-car TV service.

PC World - Imagine a couple of dueling Wii controllers that squawk and beep rhythmically as you and a buddy wave them at each other, and you have an idea of what you can do with ZooZBeat software on an iPhone, iPod Touch or Nokia N95/N82/N93i.

CNET - LAS VEGAS--Ford on Thursday announced a series of innovations aimed at giving drivers more a higher degree of Internet connectivity as well as a slew of tools devoted to helping them get to where they're going in the most efficient way possible.

AP - The Alabama Legislature's Contract Review Committee approved a $1.7 million two-year contract Thursday to help spread high-speed Internet service across the state, particularly to rural areas.

Reuters - Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc expects to report restructuring and impairment charges amid a weaker economy and falling shares, according to a regulatory filing on Friday, although it gave no estimates.

Reuters - Shares in Palm Inc surged over 30 percent on Friday after its new touch-screen phone and mobile operating system impressed analysts, giving investors hope it may win customers from rivals such as Apple Inc .

PC World - Twenty-two major software and security companies are being sued for alleged patent infringement by a little-known entity now controlling the two patents in question.

AP - Computer maker Dell Inc., trailing Hewlett-Packard Co. in worldwide sales, could have used a home run at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Instead, it came to Vegas with a model and a mirage.

Reuters - Dell Inc, the world's second-largest maker of personal computers, on Friday introduced a 10-inch netbook and gave a very brief, sneak peek of its new ultra-thin laptop PC.

NewsFactor - Skype is offering its Voice over Internet Protocol service to Android and Java-enabled mobile phones, and to Intel-based Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). This is the first time the software has been released for mobile users in the U.S.

CNET - The Consumer Electronics Show tends to be about small gadgets, the kind that fit in the hand or a pocket, or at least don't take up too much space on a desk or TV stand.

Macworld.com - When you think of security for the Mac, you’re usually talking about firewalls, encryption products, and (most controversially) antivirus apps. But there are some much more brass-tacks security products on the Macworld Expo show-floor that have nothing to do with hackers or malware.

PC World - The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to investigate a patent complaint on the import of some cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) inverter circuits used in laptop screens and other LCD displays.

PC World - The early buzz is favorable for the Palm Pre, the vendor's new smart phone that is earning praise from reviewers who've had a chance to play with it. The device, which combines a touch screen with a slide-out QWERY keyboard, was introduced yesterday at CES 2009 in Las Vegas. The Pre features Palm's much-anticipated Web OS operating system, and will be available on the Sprint 3G network in the first half of 2009.

PC World - A DVR Alternative - Moxi HD DVR

PC World - At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Asus took the wraps off a number of new products, such as a touchscreen netbook with a swivel hinge, a redesigned Eee PC keyboard, and a 12-inch netbook with a 512 GB solid-state hard drive. All of these are product you'll be able to buy in the not-too-distant future.

AFP - Stevie Wonder wants a car he can drive around. For the time being, the famous blind music star will settle for engineers designing gadgets that let visually-impaired people stay in tune with the digital era.

PC World - Bicycles at a consumer electronics show? You bet. But Schwinn's Tailwind is no ordinary cycle: It's a hybrid bicycle, which can be ridden the old-fashioned way, powered by its petals, or in motor-assist mode. So if you live in a hill-ridden city like San Francisco, you can get an extra boost getting up those arduous inclines.

AFP - Skype, which brought cheap and free calls to the Internet, is doing the same for mobile phones.

CNET - A report that Apple is planning a visit to CES next year had eyes rolling Friday morning from Las Vegas to Cupertino.

AP - The first computer with a screen of organic light-emitting diodes, a technology that is being touted as the future of both displays and lighting, was announced this week at the International Consumer Electronics show by San Francisco-based OQO Inc.

AP - The Blu-ray disc, the high-definition successor to the DVD, was one of the few products that did well in the just-ended holiday season, with sales tripling from the previous year.

Macworld.com - iPod accessories maker XtremeMac this week unveiled a voice recorder designed for the fourth-generation iPod nano.

PC World - A DVR Alternative - Moxi HD DVR

AP - In less than six weeks, the nation's television broadcasters are due to shut off their analog signals and begin transmitting in digital — potentially blacking out as many as 8 million U.S. households that rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air channels.

AP - As budget cuts force many U.S. newspapers to retrench on their foreign coverage, veteran journalist Charles Sennott saw virtually no chance of getting another assignment abroad.

AP - Hearst Corp. put Seattle's oldest newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, up for sale Friday, saying that if it can't find a buyer in the next 60 days, the paper will close or continue to exist only on the Internet.

Reuters - Imagine storing 100 movies in glorious high-definition on a card the size of a postage stamp, then calling them up instantaneously for viewing on your cellphone whenever and wherever you like.

PC World - Via Technologies on Thursday showed off several new products armed with its new Nano microprocessor, the chip it hopes will compete with the Intel Atom in netbooks and other devices.

AP - The head of AT&T Inc.'s consumer business said Friday that he believes there may be room for phones in the company's lineup that can receive new digital broadcasts from local TV stations, if a business model can be worked out.

Macworld.com - At the CES show in Las Vegas, Ion Audio announced two new iPod products, iCapture and Anyroom.

Reuters - Imagine storing 100 movies in glorious high-definition on a card the size of a postage stamp, then calling them up instantaneously for viewing on your cell phone whenever and wherever you like.

Macworld.com - Thursday night marked the ninth annual MacBowl, a charity event co-sponsored by Macworld magazine and Other World Computing (OWC). The event gathered Macworld Expo vendors under one roof for a good cause: Raising money for an at-risk San Francisco school to create a Mac-based computer lab for their students.

AFP - Polaroid Corp., the iconic inventor of the instant photo, has reinvented itself for the digital age, launching a digital camera which makes instant full-color prints.

Macworld.com - Feral Interactive has announced plans to publish a Macintosh version of Sega's Rome: Total War Gold Edition in March. It will cost $29.95.

NewsFactor - Three-dimensional high-definition television. Superthin TVs. Bendable TVs. These and other visions of the future abounded at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Macworld.com - Boston Acoustics introduced a new speaker system at the Consumer Electronics Show Thursday. The Horizon i-DS³ Powered Speaker System with Wireless Subwoofer targets both iPod and iPhone users.

PC World - Macworld Expo (sans Steve Jobs) and the International Consumer Electronics Show (sans Bill Gates) got the new year off to a start, providing plenty of IT news this week.

PC World - Dell on Friday stripped the tease surrounding its upcoming Adamo computer, revealing it to be a lightweight laptop, which could make it a possible competitor to Apple's MacBook Air.

PC World - LG Electronics is showing off a 15-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) display at the International Consumer Electronics Show that's just 0.85 millimeters thick, less than half the thickness of a similar display it expects to market in the second half of this year.

Reuters - Imagine storing 100 movies in glorious high-definition on a card the size of a postage stamp, then calling them up instantaneously for viewing on your cellphone whenever and wherever you like.

AFP - Microsoft's mighty servers were overwhelmed on Friday as computer users worldwide rushed to download a free test version of a Windows 7 operating system being groomed to succeed Vista.

PC World - Remember last March when I mentioned video games you could stream from a server to a thin client? Here's some of what I wrote:

AP - RealNetworks Inc. Chief Executive Rob Glaser is still confident that people will be able to use the company's RealDVD software to copy DVDs to their personal computers — just not now.

Reuters - Dell Inc, the world's second-largest maker of personal computers, on Friday introduced a 10-inch netbook and gave a very brief, sneak peek of its new ultra-thin laptop PC.

PC World - Amid growing calls for the U.S. Congress to delay the nation's transition to digital television, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and four public safety organizations urged lawmakers to keep the original Feb. 17 deadline.

PC World - Casio, Polaroid, Panasonic, and Sony are putting camcorders and cameras into focus here at CES. We spotted a bevy of new models that do everything from go under water, print photos, and one tiny burst-mode Casio camera that can shoot at 30 frames-per-second.

Macworld.com - Intego rolled out a spate of updates to its line of Internet security offerings at Macworld Expo, including a significant update to its Internet-filtering software and a new version of its server-side virus protection programs.

Macworld.com - On Thursday at Macworld Expo, Dan Frakes, Chris Breen, Jason Snell and I sat down to host an Ask the Editors session. The idea behind the session was simple: the four of us would sit on stage, accepting questions from the crowd on nearly any Apple- or Mac-related subject they wished to talk about. The inspiration for this session came from the MacMania cruises, where similar open-mike sessions have proven popular and entertaining.

AFP - Consumer electronics manufacturers are making greener products than a year ago but more progress needs to be made before they can claim a truly environmentally friendly product, Greenpeace said Friday.

Reuters - Green is in like never before at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, with 3,000 square feet of dedicated floor space and companies touting the energy-saving, earth-friendly attributes of their gadgets.

CNET - Update 6:08 p.m.: This story has been changed to add comment from Google, and to address streaming adult content on the iPhone. LAS VEGAS--Apple might not want anything to do with it, but if one thing is clear, it's that porn on the iPhone is going to be huge.

Macworld.com - You may not be able to surf tech blogs without coming across the iPhone applications, but that doesn’t mean that it translates into the real world.

Macworld.com - The big news out of CES (the Consumer Electronics Show where all the big electronics companies who their wares) was that Palm is, in fact, still in business. Not only are they still in business, but it looks like they actually want to stay in business since they announced a slick looking touchscreen phone. It's called the Palm Pre and it runs Palm’s new WebOS.

CNET - Google's free code-hosting Web site for developers is being used to distribute malware, a security researcher said on Friday.

Reuters - Hollywood is toning down the glitz at the annual Consumer Electronics Show as studios seek cheaper, more practical ways to sell movies and television programs.

PC World - Microsoft has delayed the public release of its Windows 7 beta download due to an overwhelming demand that its servers couldn't handle.

Reuters - The U.S. Army, struggling to ensure it has enough manpower as it fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is wooing young Americans with videogames, Google maps and simulated attacks on enemy positions from an Apache helicopter.

PC World - I was making the rounds on the opening day of the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday when I encountered a bizarre sight: A group of young people, some dressed in black, but all with white-and-black death-mask makeup and black boxes on their heads bearing the names of TV vendors (JVC, Philips, Vizio, and others), filing silently toward the exit of the show floor.

Reuters - After years of watching music fans flood online social networks to interact with their favorite recording artists, the music industry is starting to get serious about adding community features to its own Web sites.

AFP - NVIDIA wants zombies to reach right out of videogames and virtually grab players by the throats.