Technology

If you have a newer car, particularly a GM car, you may be among millions of drivers who have OnStar service, which provides vehicle diagnostics, driving directions and even automated 911 calls.

Read More|Comment

Despite the whining about the launch of their “top stories” feature this week, Facebook unveiled and even bigger change at the company’s F8 developer conference in San Francisco: Timeline.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that profile pages will soon automatically put photos, videos, status updates and status changes in chronological order. The timeline will also feature a “way back” section, which allows users to insert material from their pre-Facebook days.

Read More|Comment

Sources claim Apple’s newly-installed CEO, Tim Cook, will preside over an October 4 media event in which he will announce the long-awaited iPhone 5.

The date is consistent with previous reports setting early October as the release date for the next-generation smartphone.

Read More|Comment

Chances are good at least one “d’oh!” was uttered in at least one Netflix conference room Tuesday morning.

It seems the company, which on Monday announced it would split up its service and rebrand the DVD-delivery side Qwikster, neglected to lock up the name on Twitter. Now Jason Castillo, who’s owned the @Qwikster name on the microblogging service since April, wants money — big money — to hand it over.

Read More|Comment

In the wake of unpopular rate increases that caused customers to cancel subscriptions in droves and resulted in the company stock nosediving, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings apologized in a blog post on Sunday.

“I messed up,” he said. “I owe everyone an explanation … In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success.”

Read More|Comment

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Steve Rosenbaum, a documentary film producer and web developer, has created an app called The 9/11 Memorial: Past, Present and Future.

Read More|Comment

In a replay from an incident last year, another Apple employee lost another iPhone prototype in yet another Bay Area bar. If this keeps up, they’re going to start surgically implanting new phones into developers’ arms.

Read More|Comment

On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice filed suit to stop AT&T’s bid to buy rival cell service provider T-Mobile, saying the acquisition would result in consumers facing “higher prices, less product variety and innovation, and poorer quality services due to reduced incentives to invest.”

The complaint also said T-Mobile “places important competitive pressure on its three larger rivals, particularly in terms of pricing,” and that its elimination “would remove a significant competitive force from the market.”

Read More|Comment

Steve Jobs is stepping down as chief executive at Apple, the company said on Wednesday. Jobs will remain at the company as chairman, but he and his iconic black turtleneck will be replaced by former Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook.

Read More|Comment

A study by technology research firm Gartner, which recently surveyed 6,295 people between the ages of 13 and 74, reveals almost a quarter of 18- to 29-year-olds use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter less than when they first signed up for the services, with many saying the services simply aren’t that much fun anymore.

“The trend shows some social media fatigue among early adopters,” says Brian Blau, research director at Gartner. “And the fact that 31 percent of younger consumers indicated that they were getting bored with their social network is a situation that social media providers should monitor, as they will need to innovate and diversify to keep consumer attention.”

Read More|Comment