LAS VEGAS — Microsoft detailed plans for XBox 360 enhancements, a new gesture-driven interface for the XBox and a tablet-style Windows PC tonight at a keynote presentation kicking off the Consumer Electronics Show here. It was the second year as CES headliner for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who too

Ten years ago today, I was in the middle of trying to get a content syndication startup off the ground. I’d just left InfoWorld, where I had a cushy gig as a columnist and content development editor. In six months, the startup would be dead and I’d be back to journalism, this time as a […]

From my own experience, and the experience of friends who had spent months to years to a lifetime devoted to little magazines and small presses, I knew in my bones that tinywords had become overwhelming. This stuff eats you alive. But I also knew, it’s damn hard to let go once you made your mark. […

I spent a few minutes on CNBC Asia talking about Wired’s picks for the hottest (and most unusual) gadgets of 2009. Most of these came from Wired’s awesome Wish List 2009, a roundup of 100 amazing gadgets.

after the last train a man works the floor polisher alone almost snow calculus — the slow accumulationof almost nothing turning the corner into the sudden warmth of sunlight in a light raina woman pushes a shopping cart, singing “Wish You Were Here” new glasses: all of my mistakes now painfully clea

You can imagine that Barnes & Noble, with 774 stores scattered across suburban strip-mall America, finally got fed up with the way Amazon’s Kindle dominates the e-book market. “I know,” some B&N exec must have said. “Let’s pull an Apple move on their sorry asses!” The result: a nearly buttonless e-b

When the zombie apocalypse hits, you’ll want to have a copy of Wikipedia with you. And you’ll want to make sure it works even if the power is out, cellphone and internet connections are nonexistent, and you’re hunkered down in a remote cave. That way, you’ll be able to consult the sum of all human [

A couple of weeks ago I took part in a discussion about press embargoes, with Tom Foremski, Damon Darlin and Mark Glaser, skillfully moderated by Sam Whitmore. Also in the audience, and contributing worthy comments, were Rafe Needleman, Paul Boutin, and other members of the press and PR corps. I kic

I’ve been testing the Verizon Droid for the past few days, and it’s an awesome phone. But even though I’m eager to ditch my iPhone and eighty-six AT&T, I’m not going to switch to Verizon for the Droid. Don’t get me wrong: I am very impressed with what Motorola has built. In my mind, the […]

clearing sky– cherry petals lying blown upon the asphalt– what have you taught us except to fall, and fall, and fall? published in American Tanka #16

One thing follows another,as sure as teeth meshwith teeth, the pinion turns the gear,the axle drives the wheel and the worldtumbles forward on its pivot:Some things are reversible,allowing for the unavoidable backlash,a little play, a wiggle in the works,a slap in the gears, the jerk of each caras t