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Google made changes to how it collects and shares user data. Here's what to know and what to do about it.

Zynga, maker of "FarmVille," is trying to diversify beyond its signature Facebook games.

An article in Thursday's Styles section looks at the way various virtual-closet Web sites like Pintrest, Clothia and Stylitics are changing the way we shop online.

Our colleagues over at Bucks, The Times's personal-finance blog, have a cool post on apps that can help cut down on catalog junk mail.

Earth's building blocks were more eclectic than once thought, according to a new study suggesting our planet formed from collisions of many different types of meteorites.

Newfound clouds of gas that stream from gigantic black holes may dictate the pace of star formation in the galaxies around them and the growth of the black holes themselves, according to a new study.

New photographs capture multiple drops splashing in formations that look like doubled-stemmed mushrooms.

Microbes that digest wastewater in a fuel cell to produce electricity are getting a boost from a technology that could lead to wastewater treatment plants that generate electricity, instead of consuming it.

Fans of "Assassin's Creed" are well aware of the impending arrival of the third installment, likely due in October and focused on the founding of the United States of America.

Food appears to be a thriving social media driver, with photo sharing, recipe look-ups and exchanges, deal shopping and recommendations constantly adding to the culinary culture.

AT&T Inc. caved to complaints that it's placing unreasonable limits on the "unlimited data" plans it offers smartphone subscribers.

Super-intelligent computers or robots have threatened humanity's existence more than once in science fiction. Such doomsday scenarios could be prevented if humans can create a virtual prison to contain artificial intelligence before it grows dangerously self-aware.

A laptop stolen from NASA last year was unencrypted and contained command and control codes for the International Space Station (ISS) on it, the agency's inspector general told a United States House subcommittee Wednesday.

Twitter users are about to become major marketing fodder, as two research companies get set to release information to clients who will pay for the privilege of mining the data.

Basking sharks, the second-largest fish on the planet, were once plentiful along the Pacific coast of North America. Now, it's a rare treat to see even one of them. But within just a few days, satellite technology has offered scientists an unprecedented look at the mysterious wanderings of this elusive fish.

Many of us have not wanted to get anywhere near Facebook's Timeline, but President Obama has adopted the new feature.

Most AT&T customers are aware of the fact that their data speeds get throttled — slowed down — once they've used a certain amount of data, but up until now the invisible lines drawn by the carrier seemed to be arbitrary at times.

I avoid talking to my gadgets, but something about the Wacom Intuos5 made me want to shower it with praise as soon as I removed it from its box. It was slender, felt reassuringly solid and it would accept input from a stylus as well as from my own fingers. Beauty and brains.

Thanks to its new unified privacy policy, Google is now better equipped to help out law enforcement officials and the government when it comes to finding out about you.

Players who use the new Zynga.com platform will be ranked by skill as well as helpfulness to other players.

Just call him the Biebernaut. An astronomer is making a case for launching pop singer Justin Bieber into suborbital space aboard a private rocketship.

When female bonobos join a new group, they will do anything to get with the "it" crowd — which often means having sex with the alpha female.

Super-intelligent computers or robots have threatened humanity's existence more than once in science fiction. Such doomsday scenarios could be prevented if humans can create a virtual prison to contain artificial intelligence before it grows dangerously self-aware.

In the past year, smartphone ownership among Americans has increased from 35 to 46 percent, according to a new study.

Six weeks before their wedding day, a woman and her fiancé found themselves facing a nightmare: The events company organizing their wedding suddenly closed down and their deposit of over $7,000 was lost. "Totally devastated," the couple turned to Twitter for help.

Sensitive to those who like to keep their streams as pure as possible, Google+ is advancing its aggressive stance against spam.

There's one change that hasn't gotten enough notice: the increasing importance of lateral social networking on the part of grass-roots conservatives.

Data protection agencies in European countries have concluded Google's new privacy policy is in breach of European law, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Thursday.

An explosion of smartphone messaging services like iMessage and BlackBerry Messenger have managed in just a few years to slash away at the important revenue that phone companies get from text messaging. Analysts say there's no end in sight to the financial blood letting.

One of the most wonderful things about the Internet is that it encourages people to behave in the most shocking and amazing of ways. A recent example of this phenomenon involves an engagement ring, a blog post and hundreds of ridiculous images.

What kind of future does climate change portend for our energy supply? Futurists have laid out in four scenarios for the year 2025 — some more optimistic than others.

People identifying themselves as activists in the Anonymous hacker movement said Wednesday it wasn't technical prowess but police infiltration that yielded 25 arrests in a sweep in Europe and South America.

China's top official in Tibet has urged authorities to tighten their grip on the Internet and mobile phones, state media reported on Thursday, reflecting the government's fears about unrest ahead of its annual parliamentary session.

A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry.

Readily available, easy-to-use software can encrypt a computer hard drive so thoroughly it would take years for a hacker to break in. But that seems to be no impediment for U.S. government prosecutors, who have obtained an order compelling a Romanian immigrant to disclose the contents of her computer.

Apps can help you manage your own health, whether it's to help you quit smoking or manage your diabetes. Now, there are CPR apps that can even help your save someone else's life.

It's just over a week until one of the biggest geek gatherings of the year. South By Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas, is the place where new web services and applications get their big break. So which new technologies might we expect to see breaking out at SXSW 2012?

How to sync your iPhone to iTunes over a Wi-Fi network.

Digitaltrends.com

Google wanted to create a Google Bucks currency Digitaltrends.com Google Chairman Eric Schmidt claims the company thought about making its own mobile banking currency before rejecting the idea altogether. Once upon a time, Google considered the possibility of creating its own currency called Google Bucks, ... Google: 850 Thousand of New Android Devices Activated Daily.X-bit Labs Google Once Considered Making Its Own Currency (GOOG)San Francisco Chronicle Google's Schmidt Warns Against Creation of 'Digital Caste System'PC Magazine Fox News -Engadget -eWeek all 79 news articles »

Globe and Mail

Marketers get new way to reach Facebook users The Journal News | LoHud.com The logo of social networking website 'Facebook' is displayed on a computer screen. / Leon Neal, AFP/Getty Images By Scott Martin, USA TODAY At a splashy New York City event, the social-networking giant pitched "Premium on Facebook" as a new way for ... Brand-name deals to mix with Facebook friend postsWall Street Journal Facebook giving pages for businesses a new lookSan Francisco Chronicle Substantial Growth in Ads Is on the Way to FacebookNew York Times Digitaltrends.com -Boston Globe all 711 news articles »

NDTV

Inside the Lytro New York Times The Lytro camera is the first consumer “light field camera.” It uses a new technology to create photos that can have their focus changed after they have been taken. Because of this, there is no need to auto-focus, resulting in virtually no shutter ... Radical Camera Lets You Pick What's Blurry And What's NotWall Street Journal Lytro Begins Shipping 'Living Picture' CamerasPC Magazine Lytro camera a 'game-changer' in world of photographyWashington Post Bloomberg -Popular Science -Mashable all 36 news articles »

Space Fellowship

NASA Still Falling Short on IT Security PCWorld By Jeremy Kirk, IDG-News-Service:Sydney-Bureau Unencrypted laptops, unpatched software and advanced attacks from hackers are putting US technical know-how at risk if NASA doesn't take a stronger IT security stance, according to a report released on ... Laptop with ISS Command Codes Stolen from NASA in 2010PC Magazine Space station control codes on stolen NASA laptopCNET ISS codes stolen from NASA in 2010Moneycontrol.com Space.com -San Jose Mercury News all 62 news articles »

Boston.com

Flea fossils in China - they were big suckers San Francisco Chronicle Washington -- In the Jurassic era, even the flea was a beast, compared to its minuscule modern descendants. These pesky bloodsuckers were nearly an inch long. New fossils found in China are evidence of the oldest fleas - from 125 million to 165 million ... In dinosaur era, fleas were giant tooWorld Science Giant fleas bugged dinosLawrence Journal World Giant Jurassic fleas drank the blood of dinosaurs and pterosaursThe Guardian all 164 news articles »

USA TODAY

Google's new privacy policy goes into effect Mar. 1 Washington Post Google is moving ahead with a planned change to its privacy policy, despite a request from EU regulators that they delay the decision. Cecilia Kang reports: European regulators on Tuesday warned Google that its new privacy policy set to take effect ... Google implements privacy policyBBC News Google sued for Android refund over privacy shakeupTelegraph.co.uk A Letter from France on Google's New Privacy PolicyCorporate Counsel Detroit Free Press -eWeek all 1,128 news articles »

Telegraph.co.uk

iPad 3 is old news: 7.85-inch model due in Q3, says report CNET by Brooke Crothers February 29, 2012 10:09 PM PST Follow @mbrookec Enough about the iPad 3 already. The first iPad to come in a smaller size is due for production in the third quarter, an Asia-based report says. Apple is likely to begin production of a ... Rumor: Apple to unveil 8GB iPad 2 alongside 'iPad 3' on March 7Apple Insider Apple market capitalization exceeds $500-billion markDetroit Free Press Apple market value hits $500BBoston Globe Digitaltrends.com -USA TODAY -ZDNet (blog) all 2,399 news articles »

Moneycontrol.com

Windows 8 tests start Detroit Free Press Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of Windows Web services, gives a Windows 8 consumer preview presentation during a news conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday. / Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press By Alan ... Microsoft releases first Windows 8 test to compete with iPadBoston Globe Two Hours to Windows 8: An Upgrade DiaryPCWorld Microsoft Poised To Launch New Office In Addition To Windows 8Wall Street Journal InformationWeek -BusinessWeek -Washington Post all 1,588 news articles »

One of the earliest forests in the world was home to towering palmlike trees and woody plants that crept along the ground like vines, a new fossil find reveals. The forest, which stood in what is now Gilboa, N.Y., was first unearthed in a quarry in the 1920s. But now, a new construction project has revealed for the first time the forest floor as it stood 380 million years ago in the Devonian period.

A small asteroid about the size of a house made one cosmic leap past Earth Wednesday, just in time for leap day.

If secret agent James Bond wanted to tell his MI6 superiors about the location of a stolen superweapon without tipping off villains, he might turn to a global satellite network that transmitted coded keys made unbreakable by the weird laws of physics. Such "quantum key distribution" already exists on Earth beyond the realm of Hollywood spy fantasies, and could soon head for space.

If you're amazed — and maybe even a little alarmed — about how much Google seems to know about you, brace yourself. Beginning Thursday, Google will operate under a streamlined privacy policy that enables the Internet's most powerful company to dig even deeper into the lives of its more than 1 billion users.

To see if life does lurk beneath the frigid crust of one of Saturn's moons, scientists are developing a powerful drill that can melt and bore its way down to the moon's icy depths.

Many gadgets and apps introduced at Mobile World Congress pushed the envelope by offering improved speed and functionality, but these seven stood out from the pack.

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A new infrared image of the Orion Nebula highlights the hot young stars that are typically hidden amid gas and clouds.

Data Center Knowledge

AMD to Acquire Server Start-Up Wall Street Journal By SHARA TIBKEN And DON CLARK Advanced Micro Devices Inc., vowing to change the game in its longtime competition with Intel Corp., has forged a deal to buy a Silicon Valley start-up that takes the chip maker into the server business. Intel Snatches New-Age Server Maker From Under IntelWired News AMD Buys SeaMicro, Enters Server Hardware BusinessPCWorld AMD to Acquire Microserver Startup SeaMicro for $334 MillionPC Magazine Register -eWeek -Ars Technica all 89 news articles »

This week, the Doomsday Seed Vault in Norway is scheduled to receive nearly 25,000 samples of seeds from around the world. With these additions the now four-year-old vault would house more than 740,000 samples in an Arctic mountain on the Svaldbard archipelago.

Police and school officials locked down two Georgia schools for two hours Wednesday following a report about a text message that seemed to warn of a gunman present on campus.

What would you do if had if you had an Internet service that could download a 2-hour movie in about 5 seconds? City officials and investors in Chattanooga, Tenn., hope you have some creative business ideas that take advantage of its 1-gigabit-per second Internet.

Recently, we learned that the iPhone’s Address Book can be shared with app developers because of a flaw that Apple says it is working to fix. Now it appears that a user’s photos on the phone can be similarly accessed by various apps without users knowing it.

Scientists need your help in the search for life beyond Earth. The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute is asking the public to join in its hunt for signals from intelligent civilizations out there in the universe.

Many of us have fond memories of the places we've visited, both in the real world and in video games. In the case of the latter, a particular pixelated vista can hold a special meaning to one person, which despite being personal, is still relatable to other gamers. And that's what Mapstalgia is all about.

A recent study conducted by the University of Missouri claims video games today "problematize religion by closely tying it in with violence."

    Described by Gawker as "a study in speed meming," actress Angelina Jolie's "dramatic right leg" took over the Internet in less that 24 hours after its Oscars red carpet premiere.

Someday soon, in addition to the familiar refrain heard on radios and TVs — "This is a test of the emergency broadcast system" — you may also see this on Facebook: "This is a test of the Disaster Message Board."

Even in the permanent twilight of Arctic winter, polar seas teem with teeny life, a surprise to the researchers who recently returned from one of the first expeditions ever to venture into roiling Arctic seas in wintertime.

Hit man picked hitmanforhire.net to promote services

A Greek bronze helmet, covered with gold leaf and decorated with snakes, lions and a peacock's tail (or palmette), has been discovered in the waters of Haifa Bay in Israel. But how this helmet ended up at the bottom of the bay is a mystery.

Are you reading this article on your cell phone or tablet? That makes you pretty normal, according to a new report from comScore.

Toshiba's Excite 10 LE tablet, billed by the company as "the world's thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablet," will be available in the U.S. starting March 6. The Wi-Fi-only tablet will cost $529.99 for the 16GB model, and $599.99 for the 32GB version.

In the Jurassic era, even the flea was a beast, compared to its minuscule modern descendants. These pesky bloodsuckers were nearly an inch long.

As Microsoft reveals a consumer preview of Windows 8, we witness the kind of promise of progress not seen in Windows since XP. But can it compete with the iPad?

DIY'ers looking for a bargain converged en masse yesterday with the launch of the Raspberry Pi, a compact Linux-based computer advertised for $35 — but its retailers are already crippled by the demand.

It has taken millennia for our calendar, called the Gregorian calendar after the pope who modified it in 1582, to evolve to include the leap year tweak — 97 leap years every 400 years. But there are other alternatives, too.

The distribution of matter across the cosmos is most easily explained by inflation, a theory that suggests our universe inflated rapidly — just like a balloon — shortly after its birth, according to new research.

Iran opened a key space facility to visiting journalists for the first time Wednesday in an apparent effort to show its willingness to allow glimpses at sensitive technology.

NASA's space shuttle Discovery is set to land in Washington this April, where the now-retired fleet leader will be welcomed by the Smithsonian Institution during a four-day public festival.

The moon, which has been pummeled by a barrage of asteroids and debris throughout its lifetime, experienced a strong uptick in the energy and speed of incoming rocks around 4 billion years ago, new research suggests.

The ads are coming! The ads are coming! According to a post on the official Twitter blog, the social network's official mobile apps are about to get flooded with ads — ahem, I mean "promoted tweets."

With Windows running on a tablet you might just be able to take your most beloved hardcore games with you on the road. In-Game’s Todd Kenreck reports. (In-Game)

Most Facebook users have been switched over to the Timeline at this point, so it should be no surprise that brands — such as companies, TV shows or bands — are now finally able to convert their fan pages into Timelines as well.

The social platform for collecting, sharing and discussing photos is engaging, absorbing and addictive. But it's been around since 2008, so why the attraction now? The experts dish.

Millennials — the always-connected generation, those born between 1981 and 2000 — have such a "thirst for instant gratification and quick fixes" that they're at risk of making poor life decisions based on findings from a fast Google search or a text message response from a friend, says a new report.

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Outside experts say the video exploration of a nearly intact 1st-century tomb in Jerusalem is a technological tour de force but an archaeological faux pas.

A collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning.