Top technology news headlines

• 

  Reports point to
  mass Google outages

  CNET readers and Twitter users are reporting problems with many Google services, most notably its lifeblood, search.
  • YouTube arrives on Google News after outage

  Read full story
• 

  Amid housing crunch,
  why isn't Zillow dead?

  How is it that a site about buying and selling houses is growing in this miserable economy? CEO Rich Barton explains.

  Read full story

• Google energy guru hot on geothermal

  Google.org's Dan Reicher says enhanced geothermal has three times the potential of wind, and Google will soon release its PowerMeter energy monitoring software.

  (Posted in Green Tech by Martin LaMonica)

• Sony reports $1 billion annual loss

  The electronics giant suffers its first yearly loss in more than a decade, as it struggles with the economic downturn, PlayStation losses, and more.

  (Posted in Digital Media by Lance Whitney)

• Color-changing materials react to force

  Many uses in store for new polymers that change color when physically stressed, researchers say.

  (Posted in Planetary Gear by Candace Lombardi)

• Pirated Windows 7 RC builds botnet

  The botnet software is designed to download and install other malicious packages under a "pay-per-install" scheme, according to security company Damballa.

  (Posted in Security by Matthew Broersma)

• Putting souls into Sims

  Electronic Arts is about to release The Sims 3 and introduce a mostly online marketing campaign that uses social networking to showcase new features of the game.
  (From The New York Times)

• Next big thing in wind: Huge turbines

  Offshore wind farms are discussed frequently in the U.S., but the trend is to build even larger turbines for land use.

  (Posted in Green Tech by Erik Palm)

• Verizon Netbook to hit stores this weekend

  It's official: Verizon Wireless announces its first Netbook, but the hefty contract-based service prices will likely deter price conscious consumers.

  (Posted in Wireless by Marguerite Reardon)

• Ksplice wins $100,000 in MIT start-up contest

  Start-up beats out five others to win grand prize in institute's entrepreneurship contest with its tech for installing software updates while other programs are running.

  (Posted in Cutting Edge by Lance Whitney)

• RealNetworks accuses MPAA of antitrust violations

  In court filing, Real claims the six largest film studios violated Sherman Antitrust Act by conspiring against the software maker.

  (Posted in Digital Media by Greg Sandoval)

• Chrome extensions draw near

  Now's the time to start trying to build Chrome extensions, Google says. But some sophisticated Web page features coming with HTML 5 will have to wait longer.

  (Posted in Webware by Stephen Shankland)

• Hate speech on Facebook: How much is too much?

  The release of a Jewish human rights center's annual report about "hate 2.0" coincided with a sticky situation for Facebook over Holocaust denial groups.

  (Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy)

• IEA: Little gadgets consume gigawatts of power

  Home electronics account for 15 percent of electricity bills and its share is growing rapidly. The International Energy Agency calls for policies to promote efficiency in consumer electronics.
  • What if your refrigerator got its own electricity bill?

  (Posted in Green Tech by Martin LaMonica)

• Google wants to know if you're sick

  A temporary project from Google Health attempts to figure out how many people are searching for health-related terms because they are seeking remedy.

  (Posted in Webware by Tom Krazit)
• All CNET News headlines

Multimedia

Additional features