Here’s how they work: Your GPS-enabled phone automatically transmits bits of data to Waze, Inrix, Google and other traffic app makers that show where you are and how fast you’re moving. Some apps also allow users to report accidents, closed roads or construction (when parked or in standstill traffic, of course). Each company then combines the information to get an idea of traffic conditions and distributes that across its network.
Call it crowd-sourcing from your car. While you are fuming in traffic on I-95, other drivers can benefit from that information and avoid getting stuck themselves. In turn, you get free traffic reports from other ... Read More »

"You have seen the smartphone market just explode...we are in the right sweet spot... This idea that there are two players and a small pie and they are divvying that between them — you are missing the point," Balsillie told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 CEO Summit in Seoul.
Balsillie was referring to a perceived two-way battle f ... Read More »

Slideshow: World's most romantic islands
The two are now married and have visited 15 countries together on a tireless quest to uncover the world’s most romantic destinations.
Being marooned in the middle of the ocean with your beloved brings out the starry-eyed traveler in all of us. Travel agent Julia Douglas runs Jetset World Travel, a Virtuoso-member agency that attracts well-heeled couples looking for ultra-romantic escapes. Her clients often use words like “authentic,” “exclusive,” and “pampered” to d ... Read More »

Arizona researchers have made their first demonstration of a holographic display that projects 3-D images from another location in near-real time. The images are static, but they are refreshed every two seconds, creating a strobe-like effect of movement.The researchers hope to improve the new technology over the next few years to bring higher resolution and faster image streaming.
"What we have come up with is a new technique to build three-dimensional telepresence, which means that we can take objects from one location and show them in another location in 3-D in near-real time," said Nasser ... Read More »

Whoever said “Getting there is half the fun” was clearly on to something, especially where today’s high-end lodgers are concerned. Whether by sea, air, or ingenious — and often indigenous — overland passage, many travelers these days are being treated to holiday thrills well before they actually arrive at their holiday destination.
Slideshow: World's coolest hotel transfers
Of course, the idea of packing luxury and leisure into every travel moment — while providing hotels a unique op ... Read More »

And that's just what the ZTE Peel does. It wraps around the iPod and creates a secure Wi-Fi network that the Touch links to. For $80 up front and then $30 per month, that is. (No contract, though!) Another speed bump: It only works on older iPod Touches, not the ones Apple currently is selling.
OK, so it's got pricing and compatibility issues, and it's pretty bulky, since it packs its own battery that you have to remember to recharge. But let's look at the bright side! If you go in on this, you will be able to fool at least some people into thinking you have an iPhone. And if you need help with that, you're in luck, because Lifehacker just upd ... Read More »

Taking a gap year — time off between high school and college — is designed to be a break from academics before college, for personal growth, travel, or to participate in community service or internships. It is common in a number of European countries and Australia.
Experts say no one tracks the exact numbers of American students taki ... Read More »

GE makes equipment for the electric grid that will charge these vehicles and owns a stake in battery maker A123 Systems . It estimated that it could generate $500 million in electric vehicle-related revenue over the next three years.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
The cars will go both into GE's fleet of cars and trucks used by staff and be leased out by a unit of GE Capital that leases cars and other vehicles to busi ... Read More »

I've been playing with Sprint's version of the Galaxy Tab for a few days now, and while I was immediately struck by its likeability, it's far from perfect. As I'll explain, every minor advantage over the iPad comes with a potentially major tradeoff. And while the 7-inch tablets are "cheaper" than Apple's 10-inchers, that's only because they are attached to wireless plans and two-year contracts. iPads gener ... Read More »

Yesterday, Amazon defended the sale of the book, issuing a public statement. "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable," it read. "Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support ... Read More »