antivirus

The inquiry into the August 2008 crash of Spanair Flight JK 5022 at Barajas Airport in Madrid took a bizarre turn recently when Spanish daily El Pais reported that the server that the airline used to track technical problems on aircraft contained malware . Although the flaps and slats were not in the proper position for takeoff, the crew was never alerted — causing the flight to go down moments after takeoff, killing all but 18 of the 172 on board. That’s not to say that human error wasn’t a factor: as well as causing an audible alarm, the problem should have been spotted by the mechanic or airport maintenance chief, both of whom are under investigation

Remember those Acer Android tablets the company has been teasing since May? Rumor has it they’re getting put on ice — for a little while, at least

Polaroid’s iconic instant camera may have retreated into the annals of yuppie history , but the company’s original business remains: sunglasses, whose light-spinning lens technology is indeed directly responsible for the Polaroid name and whose new RealD-certified Polaroid Premium 3D variant is the latest attempt to make the brand relevant again. Yes, only seven decades after introducing polarized theater to the world the firm’s at it once more, with a line of designer 3D glasses endowed with upstart RealD’s enthusiastic recommendation. The glasses should appear at theaters near you soon, though we think it’s safe to say that you won’t see them distributed in little plastic baggies at the counter — there’s no word on price, but Polaroid’s probably calling them “premium” for a reason

Well, we got our copy of McAfee Antivirus for $29, but it looks like Intel had something a little more substantial in mind. The latter has picked up the Santa Clara-based security / antivirus company for a cool $7.68 billion, which works out to $48 per share in cash.

Touchscreen controls are nice for some applications but, until someone invents transparent fingers, they’re a real bother for gaming. Many, including Apple , have toyed with the idea of putting the touch sensitive sections on the back of the device, and we have strong rumors coming out of Gamescom this week that this is the path Sony is taking for its next-generation PSP