Stories by: Ann Bednarz

Being available to troubleshoot tech problems remotely, at all hours of the night and on weekends, goes with the territory for IT pros. But working from home during business hours? Not so much. There are signs, however, that attitudes could be changing.

Mother-approved gadgets and gizmos as chosen by a tech-tolerant mum.

Bruce Schneier shared his ideas about the psychology of security, and the need for thinking sensibly about security, in his hometown last week when he gave a lecture at the Weisman Art Museum in the US.

Much has been made of the impact of teleworking on the careers of those who work outside traditional office environments. But what about the impact on those left behind in the office?

What makes a top newsmaker? Sometimes a company generates lots of buzz by doing particularly innovative things, or someone with a catalyzing personality gains notoriety. Other times a hot new product or a spectacular disaster gets the attention of the masses.

Every year thousands of cell phones, PDAs and music players meet their demise in toilet water. But lest it seem the toilet is merely a destroyer of technology, consider the growing number of high-end toilets sporting remote controls, wireless sensors and built-in accessories such as music players and lighting.

Amazon.com and Dell came out on top in Keynote Systems' rankings of online computer hardware retailers for consistently providing a solid shopping experience.

At the Venice Biennale this week, visitors to the contemporary art and design exhibition can see graphic displays of how residents and tourists are moving about Italy's capital city, Rome. A project called Real Time Rome uses data gathered from cell phones and other wireless technologies to create a map that illustrates where people are -- whether they're stuck in traffic, congregating at a tourist destination or passing through a thinly populated neighborhood.

Speech recognition vendor ScanSoft this week announced plans to pay up to US$98 million to buy three vendors in an effort to strengthen its product portfolio in three key areas: directory assistance, wireless applications and enterprise speech applications.

A key standard for building speech-based telephony applications, VoiceXML 2.0, has received a final nod of approval from the World Wide Web Consortium.