ban

We name the best car tech from CES, visit the very different auto show in Detroit, and hear about a total cell phone ban in cars.

• Best of CES Awards, including Gracenote CarStars

• All the car technology from CNET's CES coverage

• CNET's coverage of the North American International Auto Show

• A call for a total ban on driver's using cell phones. Period.

We are not pulling your legs -- the controversial app Pull My Finger (iTunes link) by the developer Air-O-Matic.com is again for sale in the iTunes App Store for $.99

As our colleagues at CNET News reported in September, Apple rejected the app because it was "of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod Touch user community." However, it's back to stay in the Entertainment category of the iTunes App Store.

If you are interested in a demonstration you can see a video of the new app in action. Pull My Finger does what you … Read more

President Bush said earlier this week that Americans will soon be able to send family members in Cuba cell phones in a move he hopes will bring more freedom to the communist island nation.

The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, which has been in effect since the early 1960s, prohibits American companies from doing business there. Americans are also restricted from traveling to Cuba. And there are several restrictions regarding gifts given to people living in Cuba.

Dan Fisk, National Security Council senior director for Western hemisphere affairs, told the Associated Press that the new policy, which will take … Read more

Ordinary Cubans will soon have the luxury of owning a cell phone, according to a story by the Associated Press.

President Raul Castro's government said Friday that it will allow anyone in the country to get cell phone service, a right previously limited to executives working for foreign companies or high communist party officials.

This is the first announcement that a major government policy or restriction has been changed since the 76-year-old Castro took over as leader of the island nation from his older brother Fidel Castro.

The AP said there has been a kind of black market for … Read more

Although most of the major tech news sites have been covering the impending ban on Internet tax for the next seven years, I'm a bit appalled at two facts that have emerged from this most recent bill: there has been very little "mainstream media" coverage and the curernt bill only calls for a ban for the next seven years.

To make matters worse, there's no end to this debacle in sight. An Internet that is tax free should be a mantra of this year's presidential candidates and should be covered on each and every news publication in the country. Why you ask? Because each and every person relies on the Internet, and if access fees jump for the sole purpose of paving roads or hiring more crooked bureaucrats, each and every person will bear that burden.

This is an important issue, folks.… Read more

Qualcomm has likely dodged a bullet that could have halted the import of some of its chips into the United States.

On Friday, the company said a judge recommended putting an end to an investigation conducted by the U.S. International Trade Commission that is looking into complaints filed by handset maker Nokia against Qualcomm.

Nokia, which sells more mobile phones than any other manufacturer in the world, asked the ITC in August to ban imports of phones that included Qualcomm chips that Nokia says infringe on its patents. The patents are related to technology that enhances device performance, lowers … Read more

Qualcomm said Monday that its top lawyer is leaving the company.

Lou Lupin, who has served as Qualcomm's executive vice president and general counsel since 2000, is stepping down from his post, the company said. The company didn't provide any details about why Lupin is leaving. But his departure comes just a week after the company was dealt another legal blow in its ongoing battle with Broadcom.

Last week, the Bush administration declined to step in to veto a ban imposed by the Federal Trade Commission on importing cell phones using Qualcomm chips that have been found to … Read more

The Bush administration has dealt another blow to chipmaker Qualcomm in its battle to dodge an International Trade Commission's ban on the importation of its advanced cell phone chips into the U.S.

On Monday, the Bush administration ruled it would not intervene and veto the ITC's decision, which was handed down in June. The ITC banned the importation of all cell phones using 3G chipsets from Qualcomm, because Qualcomm was found to have infringed on patents held by rival Broadcom.

The ban still hasn't gone into effect, but it looks like Qualcomm is running out of … Read more

Shelfari is a social network and recommendation service that lets you flaunt your book collection to others, and discover new titles worth reading. Yesterday Shelfari announced a round of funding, with Amazon.com being the top contributor.

If you've ever seen Delicious Monster, Shelfari is visually similar, with virtual bookshelves that house your collection as long as you're willing to manually input all your titles. The result is a slick-looking listing to share with others on your blog or Web site (see below), and make friends with people who have similar tastes to swap recommendations.

Each Shelfari book … Read more