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Hitting the road with Bill Gates

Bill Gates is going back to college, and Beyond Binary is going along for the ride.

Next week, the Microsoft chairman and philanthropist is doing a three-state college tour, meeting with students and faculty to encourage more people to join efforts to solve society's biggest global challenges.

In a blog post this week, Gates noted that he's done similar tours during his time at Microsoft, but that this is the first time he's done it in his capacity as head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"I'm most looking forward to my conversation with … Read more

Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online is free and in full swing

While everybody these days seems to have some sort of diverging opinion on Tiger Woods, the man, it's pretty hard not to really like Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, the video game. In case you haven't heard already, the best thing about it is that it's free--or at least a good portion of it is--as EA Sports has brought the freemium model to its popular golf franchise.

To get started playing all you need to do is go to the Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online Web site, sign up for an account, and you'll be good … Read more

Mass., Nissan partner on Leaf charging network

The 24-city Nissan Leaf Zero-Emission Tour stopped at the Museum of Science in Boston on Tuesday to announce that Nissan and Massachusetts will develop an electric-vehicle charging network and policies to support widespread adoptions of electric cars.

The agreement includes plans to promote a charging infrastructure for electric cars so drivers could charge their cars at home, work, and other locations. Nissan also has agreed to make available a supply of electric vehicles statewide.

Nissan has spearheaded a holistic approach to zero-emission mobility by working with several states, municipalities, utility companies, including the state of Tennessee, the state of Oregon, … Read more

RIM briefly outs BlackBerry Tour 9650 on Facebook

It's no secret that a Wi-Fi-enabled BlackBerry Tour will be making its way to Sprint and (most likely) Verizon Wireless, but one question remains: When? Well, we still don't have an exact date for you but it seems the device's release is imminent. RIM posted an update on its Facebook page on Wednesday that read, "The BlackBerry Tour 9650 is coming! Check back soon for official news!" The wall post has since been removed (hey, no take-backs RIM!) but obviously not before BlackBerry fans caught wind of it.

In addition to a release date, it'… Read more

Bill Gates' home tour on charity auction block

A tour of Bill Gates' mansion in Medina is going for a hefty price tag. The bid to tour his house (and have him guide you around) is up to $35,000. Last year, the tour sold for $8,600, the Seattle PI is reporting.

But before you run out to start bidding, it's only available to those who work at Microsoft as part of its annual charitable giving campaign. According to the Seattle PI, word slipped that the bidding was on the rise this year from Microsoft CIO Tony Scott at the Society for Information Management's SIMposium … Read more

Apple hosts iPhone Tech Talk World Tour 2009

Apple will be hosting free iPhone Tech Talks starting later this month and continuing through December. The talks will be hosted by Apple engineers and technology evangelists in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Apple representatives will discuss and provide guidance in user interface design, game design, code optimization, Core Data, video and audio development, App purchases, push notifications, and Web content integration. They'll also make themselves available to answer questions about software development on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

You have to be a registered iPhone Developer in order to attend these sessions, which you can sign up for online. … Read more

The 411: Touch-screen durability

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of queries about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might be wondering about the same things, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Hi Nicole, I'm thinking of upgrading my mobile phone in the near future. I've been a BlackBerry user for the past couple of years, and I've really given this thing a beating. I have dropped it more times than I can count, sometimes at a great enough velocity to send the battery cover flying well past the rest of the phone. What I am wondering is, how durable are today's touch-screen phones? I've heard that the Pre is particularly fragile. Are the OLED devices any better or worse? Would you recommend someone like me sticking with a non-touch device, since once you crack a touch screen, you are left with an expensive paperweight? -- Jay, via e-mail.

If you abuse your phone that much, I would say touch-screen phones are probably not the best for you. Touch-screen phones usually have a glass surface as the display, which, of course, is particularly susceptible to cracking. You might consider a durable case of some kind to prevent everyday nicks and scratches, though. There are also many manufacturers that make scratch-resistant screen overlays, like the Zagg invisible shields, for example. But if you're truly concerned, then yes, perhaps a more durable phone is in order. You can check out phones like the Sonim XP3 Quest or the Casio Exilim C721, both of which are rugged enough to withstand the elements. Check out our reviews of other durable phones, too, if you want more options.

I am due for an upgrade in October and was seriously considering a BlackBerry Tour on Verizon Wireless. The only thing is that I have big hands and while some people might laugh it makes for an uncomfortable experience on those BlackBerry devices. My question is this: Does RIM have any plans on coming out with a BlackBerry device that has bigger keys? Or am I doomed to never be able to use a BlackBerry device at all? -- Stu, via e-mail

RIM has been pretty consistent with the size and shape of its BlackBerry handhelds, so I don't think RIM will enhance the size of its keyboards any time soon.… Read more

The 411: BlackBerry choices

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Thanks to Bonnie Cha for her help with the first couple of questions!

I am thinking of getting the BB Tour or … Read more

BlackBerry Tour trackball issues--how widespread?

BlackBerry Tour, which is available to both Verizon Wireless and Sprint customers, is under scrutiny for trackball issues that have led some Tour owners to return the smartphones.

The question is: how widespread is the problem?

TownHall Investment Research's David Eller said in a research note this week that he has consulted "experts" who have determined Research In Motion is having a "big trackball problem, especially with the Tour," which was launched in July.

Eller wrote that BlackBerry Tour owners are being forced "to clean the trackball frequently and preferably with compressed air." When they don't clean the trackball, the issues get worse, leading them to bring the device back to the store for repairs or returns.

It has gotten so bad, Eller contends, that Sprint's "return rates have been climbing toward 50 percent."

A 50 percent return rate on a mobile phone would be huge. But Sprint is telling a much different story.

"We experienced a small percentage of early production Blackberry Tour smartphones with trackball issues," a Sprint representative said in a phone interview Wednesday night. "As soon as the issue was identified, we worked closely with our partners at RIM to resolve the problem quickly. Any customer experiencing issues with the Tour should visit a Sprint service and repair center."

Sprint, which said it had never worked with TownHall Investment Research prior to the research note's release this week, said the number of BlackBerry Tour returns it experienced "weren't even close to 50 percent." The Sprint representative said it was "a very small percentage." He wouldn't release exact figures but did say the percentage was in line with other new devices that experience some hardware problems at launch.

But Eller didn't only mention Sprint. In the same note, he wrote that "Verizon is experiencing serious problems with the Tour." He claimed that "Verizon will soon be getting new smartphones from Motorola and Palm that compete with RIM. Verizon is angry about this recurring trackball problem and is telling its retailers to expect strong support for the new Motorola phone."

However, Verizon spokesman Jim Gerace said in a phone call Thursday that the "BlackBerry Tour has the lowest return rate of any smartphone Verizon Wireless is selling. In fact, its return rate is one of the lowest among all the products our company sells."

That said, Gerace did acknowledge that BlackBerry Tour devices did experience trackball issues when they were first released. He said that his company "caught it pretty early and we didn't sell many with the bad trackball."

Gerace offered a biting response yet when I asked him about the accuracy of Eller's contention that Verizon is angry at RIM and will be strongly supporting a new Motorola device.

"That is blatantly not true," Gerace told me. "Just look around at our advertising. Does it look like we're not pushing the BlackBerry Tour?"

RIM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.… Read more