All Blog Posts from Tech Talk

First, full disclosure: I fall smack in the middle of Gen X. You can do the math (that was never my strong suit). So while I'm not that far removed from Gen Y, as I pointed out yesterday I'm more of a "digital immigrant" (or "digital nomad") than a "digital native." There are many terms for this generation -- Gen Y, millenials, digital natives -- but the point is that someone born after 1980 likely grew up with a mouse in their hand. Using a computer came naturally, and the transition from school to the workplace didn't involve learning new ways to search for information (Dewey Decimel System vs. Web browsing) or adopting different methods of communicating (faxes vs. instant messaging). Bottomline: exactly what has this lifelong immersion in technology done to Gen Y's social skills? Admittedly, it's a broad question, but we try to answer it (at least in part) tonight on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Read full post…

First, full disclosure: I fall smack in the middle of Gen X. You can do the math (that was never my strong suit). So while I'm not that far removed from Gen Y, as I pointed out yesterday I'm more of a "digital immigrant" (or "digital nomad") than a "digital native." There are many terms for this generation -- Gen Y, millenials, digital natives -- but the point is that someone born after 1980 likely grew up with a mouse in their hand. Using a computer came naturally, and the transition from school to the workplace didn't involve learning new ways to search for information (Dewey Decimel System vs. Web browsing) or adopting different methods of communicating (faxes vs. instant messaging). Bottomline: exactly what has this lifelong immersion in technology done to Gen Y's social skills? Admittedly, it's a broad question, but we try to answer it (at least in part) tonight on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Read full post…

Quick update: Due to today's economic news my story about the technology to prevent people from talking/texting on cell phones while driving will air on tomorrow (Thursday) night's Evening News with Katie Couric. I hope you'll watch!

Read full post…

When was the last time your phone rang and you didn't look to see who's calling and decide to answer it? The temptation of a ringing phone is tough to ignore. Is it the boss? Your spouse? The bank? Forget the social etiquette of answering when you're around friends or loved ones and consider what happens when you're driving. Still answer it? We've all done it. But for Dave Teater that act of talking on the cell phone while driving changed his life forever. Four years ago his 12-year-old son Joe was killed when a woman talking on her cell phone ran a red light and plowed into the family vehicle. Now, Teater has joined a technology company in Canada that's got a new way to avoid that ringing or talking temptation. We'll have the story tonight on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Read full post…

A healthy contingent from CBS and (our corporate colleague) CNET attended today's T-Mobile press conference where the G1 was unveiled for the first time. Corporate executives from handset maker HTC, Google, and T-Mobile were onhand, as well as a "surprise" visit from Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. So what's the deal? Read on!

Read full post…

So, as it turns out the Consumer Electronics Show got the best of us, in some ways. The producer on the shoot got a wicked case of the flu, I caught a minor stomach bug going around and basically we hobbled out of Las Vegas with some story ideas for the future. Overall, a decent show, but definitely subdued. Hard to tell if it was a result of the New Hampshire primary or our collective illnesses or a cooling in the gadget world. Food for thought. In any case, we move onto tonight's piece on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric that highlights a growing problem in the technology marketplace -- what to do with all the tons of discarded electronics? James Burghett, a former drug addict and homeless person, is taking the challenge head on.

Read full post…

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?

Read full post…