AP
Technology - AP

In this June 30, 2008, a controller watches over air traffic from the control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. When a computer glitch at a Federal Aviation Administration center caused widespread airline delays this week, the agency and some of its critics called it a reminder of the importance of a pending modernization of the nation's flight system. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

FAA outage reveals odd computing practices

Fri Aug 29, 4:08 PM ET

WASHINGTON - When a computer glitch at a Federal Aviation Administration center caused widespread airline delays this week, it served as a reminder that the U.S. flight system is waiting for a modernizing overhaul. But it also appears the FAA's management of its existing technologies falls short of standards in other vital sectors.

  • Soft economy speeds newspaper decline, job cuts Fri Aug 29, 6:19 PM ET

    NEW YORK - The newspaper industry's downward spiral is accelerating as the weak U.S. economy depresses already-tumbling advertising revenue and forces more rounds of job cuts and other trims.

  • A vintage car drives through a flooded street in Havana August 26, 2008. Torrential rains hit the city as weather forecasters predicted on Tuesday that Hurricane Gustav would skirt the western coast of Cuba and enter the Gulf of Mexico as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds in excess of 100 mph by Sunday. (Claudia Daut/Reuters)
    Phone companies prepare backup plans for Gustav Fri Aug 29, 11:26 PM ET

    NEW YORK - The hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast could be a test for the country's wireless carriers, which faced criticism and a regulatory push after Hurricane Katrina took out networks.

  • The entrance to the Apple store is shown on New York's Fifth Ave. Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. Even as iPhone griping rages online, it's looking like Apple's reputation will come out unscathed. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
    Even critics give Apple a pass on iPhone 3G woes Thu Aug 28, 4:29 PM ET

    First an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks. Now the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal.

  • Garmin GPS units, similar to this one shown Wednesday night, Aug. 27, 2008 in Tampa, Fla., can be used in court cases to pinpoint for jurors the places defendants have been. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
    Small GPS devices help prosecutors win convictions Thu Aug 28, 4:16 PM ET

    Like millions of motorists, Eric Hanson used a GPS unit in his Chevrolet TrailBlazer to find his way around. He probably didn't expect that prosecutors would eventually use it too — to help convict him of killing four family members.

  • Boxes containing Dell computers are stacked on an upper shelf of a Best Buy store in Seekonk, Mass., Aug. 16, 2008. Computer maker Dell Inc. says its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008. Restructuring charges were partly to blame. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
    Dell 2Q profit drops 17 percent and stock plunges Thu Aug 28, 5:00 PM ET

    Computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent, hurt in part by lower prices and restructuring charges. The earnings were short of Wall Street estimates, and Dell shares plunged.

  • Comcast CEO Brian Roberts speaks at his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada January 8, 2008. U.S. communications regulators voted on Friday to order Comcast Corp to end some of the tactics it uses to manage its broadband network after concluding that they unreasonably restrict Internet users who share movies and other material. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
    Comcast to make monthly Internet use cap official Thu Aug 28, 6:21 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Comcast Corp., the nation's second-largest Internet service provider, Thursday said it would set an official limit on the amount of data subscribers can download and upload each month.

  • Reborn retail site fires salvo in shipping war Thu Aug 28, 11:05 AM ET

    NEW YORK - With gas prices high and consumers stretching shopping dollars, competition is heating up online for deals — and a discount retail site hopes to fan the flames by shipping orders for $1.95.

  • Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer addresses a news conference in the northern German town of Hanover March 3, 2008. (Christian Charisius/Reuters)
    Microsoft's newest browser may block ads Thu Aug 28, 2:13 AM ET

    SEATTLE - The next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Web browser makes it easier for people to surf the Internet without leaving a trace.

  • Passengers are reflected in a video display showing flights with rescheduled or delayed departure times shown in yellow at the American Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. An FAA Web site that tracks airport status showed delays at some three dozen major airports across the country. The site advised passengers to 'check your departure airport to see if your flight may be affected.' (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
    One small hitch for FAA, one giant mess for fliers Wed Aug 27, 5:26 PM ET

    CHICAGO - When a computer system that distributes flight plans nationwide came rolling to a halt this week because of a software glitch, so did airplanes on tarmacs from Orlando to Chicago. The ensuing delays drove home just how easily an apparently isolated problem can trigger network-wide disarray in the country's aging air traffic control system.

  • Thomas Albert, of Alexandria, Va., drives his Chevrolet Equinox Electric Fuel Cell Vehicle at a Shell Hydrogen Fueling station in Washington on Wednesday June 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
    Consumers picked to test hydrogen car prototypes Wed Aug 27, 5:23 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Tom Albert drove his loaner Chevrolet Equinox like any other car.

  • Axl Rose performs in a 2002 photo. The June leak of nine allegedly "mastered, finished" tracks from Guns N' Roses' long-delayed "Chinese Democracy" spurred a renewed round of speculation about whether the Axl Rose-led band will finally release the 14-years-in-the-making album. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn
    Blogger arrested over leak of Guns N' Roses songs Wed Aug 27, 7:17 PM ET

    LOS ANGELES - A blogger suspected of streaming songs from the unreleased Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on his Web site was arrested Wednesday and appeared in court, where his bail was set at $10,000.

  • Researchers offer new way to avoid bogus Web sites Wed Aug 27, 5:16 PM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO - Intercepting Internet traffic, and spying on the communication between two computers, is a gold mine for hackers. Now Carnegie Mellon University researchers hope software they've built will make it harder for criminals to hit that jackpot.

  • Printer maker offers to help people print less Wed Aug 27, 3:32 PM ET

    NEW YORK - A leading printer maker wants to help you do less printing.

  • New Nikon SLR camera shoots high-def movies, too Wed Aug 27, 3:11 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Nikon Corp. on Wednesday launched the first digital still camera with interchangeable lenses that also shoots movies.

  • A screen shows Internet services available through an broadband-connected TiVo digital video recorder at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada January 5, 2006. REUTERS/Steve Marcus
    TiVo shows another profit, but outlook weak Thu Aug 28, 9:26 AM ET

    NEW YORK - TiVo Inc. managed consecutive quarters of profitability for the first time ever despite eroding subscriptions, demonstrating that the pioneer in digital video recorders is on track in reducing marketing expenses and subsidies.

  • A Chinese clerk eats noodles during her lunch break at a Dell Chinese retail outlet in Beijing , China, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. Dell Inc. unveiled four computer models Wednesday designed for buyers in China, India and other emerging economies in a new bid to build sales in high-growth markets outside the United States.(AP Photo/ Elizabeth Dalziel)
    Dell unveils new PCs targeting emerging markets Wed Aug 27, 9:16 AM ET

    BEIJING - Dell Inc. unveiled four low-cost computer models for China, India and other emerging economies Wednesday in a new bid to tap the potential of high-growth markets outside the United States.

  • Best Western rebuts claims of massive data breach Tue Aug 26, 6:19 PM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO - Did a computer intrusion at a Best Western hotel in Germany open the door for a hacker to steal the records of 8 million customers and pull off "the greatest cyber-heist in world history," as a Scottish newspaper put it?