Computers

A man who authorities say appeared to be driving while using his laptop computer died Monday when his car crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Hummer. California Highway Patrol officers found the victim's computer still running and plugged into the cigarette lighter of his 1991 Honda Accord. The 28-year-old victim was a computer tutor in Chico, Calif. The Sutter County coroner's office was withholding his identity until his family could be notified.

A computer glitch at Dow Jones & Co. late in Tuesday's stock market session made it erroneously appear as though the closely watched Dow Jones industrial average had plunged nearly 200 points in a matter of seconds -- shocking traders and adding to the fear and confusion of an already chaotic day. The glitch sparked a cascade of sell orders at the New York Stock Exchange and other markets, causing delays in execution of trades and a choppy end to the trading session.

Computer glitches that added to the turmoil of Tuesday's stock market plunge struck some on Wall Street as an illustration of the downside of the markets' moving increasingly to electronic trading. At the same time, problems at the New York Stock Exchange handed a bragging issue to its arch-rival, the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., which said its electronic systems handled Tuesday's trading without significant disruptions. As U.S.

A friend of Anna Nicole Smith's who said she asked him to secure her belongings if "something ever happens" to her, turned them over to authorities in South Carolina because he feared her death was drug-related and a crime, the man's attorney said Friday. The friend, Ford Shelley, who lives in Myrtle Beach, S.C., wants prosecutors to determine whether Smith's computer equipment offers any evidence of a crime, Shelley's Fort Lauderdale attorney, Walter "Skip" Campbell, said Friday.

In the weeks after three laptops went missing from a Los Angeles County Child Support Services office, officials sent letters to 243,000 clients in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, warning that their personal information -- including Social Security numbers -- might be at risk. The computers were stored at the secured Child Support Services Department headquarters in the City of Commerce but went missing sometime during the weekend of Feb. 24, officials said.

When Karl Rove and his top deputies arrived at the White House in 2001, the Republican National Committee provided them with laptop computers and other communication devices to be used alongside their government-issued equipment. The back-channel e-mail and paging system, paid for and maintained by the RNC, was designed to avoid charges that had vexed the Clinton White House -- that federal resources were being used inappropriately for political campaign purposes.

It pulled in more than $9 billion in revenue last fiscal year and supplies the hard drives that sit inside one-third of the world's personal computers. But Seagate Technology Inc. longs for a little recognition. Tired of being a faceless supplier of parts for PCs and other electronic devices, Seagate is trying to worm its way into the consumer consciousness with a new attitude and fresh line of retail products. For years, the company prided itself on not spending a dime on industrial design.

A county laptop computer that contained individuals' Social Security numbers was stolen last month, according to a county report. The password-protected computer assigned to a county auditor-controller employee held the names and Social Security numbers of 28 people enrolled in the Department of Social Services' Refugee Employment Program. The auditor-controller's office is sending letters to the affected individuals advising them to protect themselves against identity theft.

Acer America Corp. announced a voluntary program to replace batteries in about 27,000 of its notebook computers. The recall applies to certain lithium-ion batteries containing cells made by Sony Corp., the company said. The notebooks should be run only on AC power until a replacement battery pack is received, Acer said.

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday took the wraps off Surface, a coffee-table-shaped computer that responds to touch and to special bar codes attached to everyday objects. The machines are set to arrive in November in T-Mobile USA stores and properties owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a shiny black table base, topped with a 30-inch touchscreen in a clear acrylic frame.