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Business

Court Protects Web Pornography

The Supreme Court rules against a law intended to keep pornography away from children using the Internet. The court ruled 5-4 that the 1998 Child Online Protection Act likely violates the First Amendment, citing less restrictive alternatives such as filtering software. The case now returns to an appeals court for further review. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Court Protects Web Porn, Sends Case Back for Review

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Virtual Record Player Preserves Historic Recordings

Particle physicists have found a way to allow preservationists to play fragile historic audio recordings on acetate and wax cylinders without damaging them. Photographic imaging technology is used to map the grooves on the cylinders and records. A computer program reads the data and plays the music -- without ever touching the record. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne.

Virtual Record Player Preserves Historic Recordings

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Business

Web Auctioneer Extends Online Empire to India

Web auctioneer eBay is buying Baazee.com, the largest online marketplace in India, for $50 million. Currently, about 17 million people in India use the Internet. That number is expected to grow to more than 30 million by 2006. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne.

Web Auctioneer Extends Online Empire to India

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Science

First-Ever Commercial Space Flight a Success

NPR's Alex Chadwick speaks with NPR's David Kestenbaum, reporting from the Mojave Desert site of the launch of SpaceShipOne, the first commercial space flight. Officials are still checking radar data to confirm the final altitude -- but unofficially, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded rocket ship to carry a human into space Monday morning. The final stage of the flight soared approximately 62 miles high, past the "official" mile marker for the edge of space.

First-Ever Commercial Space Flight a Success

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Science

Part Man, Part Machine: Engineer Could be First 'Cyborg'

NPR's Andrea Seabrook talks to Dr. Steve Mann, a computer science engineer in Toronto, Canada, who may be the world's first "cyborg" -- part man, part machine. Mann has boosted his sensory abilities with special glasses and implanted sensors that enhance his perception of reality and give him constant biofeedback. He's the author of Cyborg: Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer and a pioneer in the field of cybernetics.

Part Man, Part Machine: Engineer Could be First 'Cyborg'

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Environment

Computer Energy Waste a Major Cause of Pollution

Computers and computer monitors in the United States are responsible for the unnecessary production of millions of tons of greenhouse gases every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA officials say emissions could be drastically reduced if companies and individual computer users would follow a few energy-saving guidelines. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

Computer Energy Waste a Major Cause of Pollution

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Business

Book Review: 'Amazonia' and the Dot-Com Rush

Book critic David Kipen has a new crush: It's on a book called Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.com Juggernaut by former Amazon.com worker and author James Marcus.

Book Review: 'Amazonia' and the Dot-Com Rush

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Business

Race for Private Space Craft

Private companies and the government are both searching for ways to reduce the cost of going into space. But as NPR's David Kestenbaum reports, no one is even close to finding a truly cheap way to put things in orbit around the earth.

Race for Private Space Craft

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Space

A Brief, Private Trip into Space

A small company funded by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen will attempt to send a person into space aboard a vehicle called SpaceShipOne. It's one of more than 20 groups competing for a $10 million prize for the first non-governmental manned space flight. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

A Brief, Private Trip into Space

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Business

The Marketplace Report: Oracle's PeopleSoft Battle

NPR's Alex Chadwick speaks with Marketplace correspondent Tess Vigeland about the opening day in court in a case challenging Oracle's takeover bid for software company PeopleSoft.

The Marketplace Report: Oracle's PeopleSoft Battle

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Business

Computer Glitch Leaves Canadian Banks in Turmoil

Millions of Canadians are uncertain just how much money is in their bank accounts, due to a computer glitch that first began affecting banking systems on Monday. Some account holders waiting for their payroll direct deposit on Friday may have to wait a little longer. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Laurence Booth of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

Computer Glitch Leaves Canadian Banks in Turmoil

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Health

Legal Battle over Cancer Drug

Officials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are suing ImClone, the makers of a promising new cancer drug called Erbitux. The university says the drug is manufactured using technology patented by the school 20 years ago. Fights between universities and companies that use their research are becoming much more common. NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports.

MIT, ImClone Battle in Court over Cancer Drug Patent

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