Electronics

The sleek Infiniti G37 Cindy Marsh bought last August was the car of her dreams, equipped with the latest keyless electronics technology that allows her to start the engine with the touch of a button. But right away, the system gave her trouble. To get the engine started, she would sometimes have to tap the power button repeatedly. Sometimes it wouldn't start unless she opened and closed the car doors, Marsh recalled. She eventually adapted to the system's quirks but said that even now she isn't sure how to shut off the engine in an emergency.

Bob Moog was a geek. And proud of it. His music-meets-electronics inventions made him a legend in the music world but not exactly a household name. Today, a Google Doodle seeks to change that, honoring him with an ultra-cool interactive doodle -- call it a Goog -- that shows the world just how "instrumental" the late Moog was.

Something sounded familiar last week when I heard U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski make a huge pitch for infusing digital technology into America's classrooms. Every schoolchild should have a laptop, they said. Because in the near future, textbooks will be a thing of the past. Where had I heard that before? So I did a bit of research, and found it. The quote I recalled was, "Books will soon be obsolete in the schools.... Our school system will be completely changed in 10 years.

Lorex's newest video monitor thinks small -- baby small. The Live View Video Baby Monitor lets caregivers keep an eye and ear on little ones, and with its light weight and easy interface, is a good bet for trips. The parent unit has a bright 2.4-inch LCD screen and a stand that doubles as a belt clip. In the dark, the camera switches to black and white night vision. Up to three additional video camera units can be added to the system, so caregivers can monitor up to four rooms.

Tired of tangled wires on your portable electronics? The folks at Black Box are on the case — specifically, a 7-inch-square by 2-inch-deep faux-leather case. The case unzips to reveal five mobile accessories with retractable cables: a USB optical mouse, a USB cable, a cable for wired networking, stereo ear buds, and a notebook AC power cable. Each item in the Deluxe Retractable Cable Kit ($38.95) pops into and out of its own slot. Extension ranges from 2 feet (for the mouse)

Arthur Firstenberg, who says he is hypersensitive to certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, saw the house at the end of a narrow lane as a refuge from physical and neurological symptoms that have plagued him for three decades. "It's been difficult because of my electromagnetic sensitivities," he said. "I had a lot of difficulty finding a house that I could be comfortable in." So in September 2008, he bought the home on Barela Street, a few blocks from the newly redeveloped downtown rail yard here.

A Diamond Bar couple were charged by federal authorities Friday with conspiring to export sensitive electronics technology to China, a crime that carries a potential 20-year prison sentence. York Yuan Chang, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and his wife, Leping Huang, a Chinese national, are accused of working with a government-affiliated technology firm in China to develop electronics that could be used in weapons and other military equipment. Chang, 53, also known as David Zhang, is being held without bond, while Huang, 49, was released on $1-million bail.

Clueless about that mysterious doohickey you received this holiday? Turn to www.tomshardware.com. Chances are, if it has a semiconductor, Tom Pabst and his crew have turned it inside out, examined the nuts and bolts, and figured out what makes it tick. In addition to thorough reviews written in plain English, the site contains step-by-step instructions on installing and using hundreds of PC peripherals and consumer electronics--from joysticks to memory cards.

The rating on $135 million worth of convertible subordinated debentures for Bergen Brunswig Corp.'s electronics operations has been lowered to BBB- from BBB by Standard & Poor's, the nation's largest rating service. The debentures still are considered by Standard & Poor's to be of investment grade. A BBB- is the lowest that bond debt is ranked by the credit rating agency before it is considered speculative.

There's a disturbing story of an American institution and the implications of technology in Eastman Kodak, creator of the family photograph, which announced Wednesday that it was restructuring, again. Chairman Colby Chandler, responding to falling profits, said Kodak would drop 4,500 employees, freeze salaries at its Rochester, N.Y., headquarters and sell some businesses in an attempt to cut costs.

A drop in the number of subscribers for Star Wars: The Old Republic triggered a 10% slide in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. in after-hours trading Monday, overshadowing news of a better-than-expected quarter for the Bay Area game publisher. EA, which in February said it had 1.7 million active subscribers for The Old Republic, reported that the figure fell to 1.3 million at the end of April. Although "active subscribers" doesn't translate exactly to paying subscribers because it includes people using a 30-day free trial, it is a good gauge for how many people have bought the title and are actively playing it online.

A nine-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Department has been arrested on suspicion of felony possession of child pornography after reportedly meeting a teenager while on patrol and soliciting explicit photographs of the youth through electronic messages, police said. Noe Yanez, 40, was taken into custody Thursday evening by Long Beach police after an investigation that began earlier this month. The alleged victim had told a school resources officer about the messages and authorities were alerted.

Best Buy Co. has formed a selection committee to find a new chief executive after an internal investigation into former CEO Brian Dunn's “personal conduct” led him to resign. Lisa Caputo, Ronald James and Sanjay Khosla - all members of the electronics retailer's board - will help determine who will replace Dunn after his departure earlier this month . The group will be led by board member Kathy J. Higgins Victor and will consider candidates including interim Chief Executive Mike Mikan.

They called it the zombie walk. After midnight, when the coffee and Red Bull had worn off, Sari Gennis and her co-workers would take a brisk stroll to make it through their graveyard shift. For four months straight, often seven days a week, a team of visual effects artists worked 12-hour shifts to complete the 3-D conversion of movie blockbuster "Titanic. " Gennis said the long hours aggravated a severe arthritis condition. She'd already had both knees replaced, and needed a third surgery, but couldn't afford to take time off for the operation.

E-ticketing on Amtrak has finally arrived - sort of. As of this week, rail passengers on Northern California routes may print out their train tickets before heading to the station, Amtrak says in a statement. Electronic ticketing is scheduled to be available for Southern California routes such as the Pacific Surfliner and others by the end of summer, though no start date was specified. Electronic ticketing is now offered for one-way and round-trip travel on the Capitol Corridor (Auburn-Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose)

When the lineup for the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was announced in January, the reaction among a particular demographic of electronic dance music fans was swift and merciless, best captured on the festival's message board by one user: "It's like a VIP-bottle Las Vegas casino nightclub has taken over the Sahara. " Translated: Many dance music snobs are disgruntled about the offerings in the big dance tent and elsewhere on the pitch. That sentiment has since been echoed often, and with good reason: The presence of superstar DJs like David Guetta, Kaskade, Martin Solveig, Swedish House Mafia - all mainstream dance producers who have taken over the top of the Billboard charts or have sold out mega-tours in the past year - suggests to many that Coachella has lost sight of the dance music vanguard, running counter to the festival's philosophy of bringing the best forward-thinking music to the desert.

About 10 tons of electronic waste, including potentially hazardous cathode ray tubes from computer monitors and other dangerous materials, was found dumped Wednesday morning on a vacant lot in Long Beach, officials said. Jim Kuhl, an official with the city's waste management department, said the refuse apparently was dumped during the night at 16th Street and Long Beach Boulevard because laws prohibit the disposal of the tubes, which contain lead, in commercial landfills.

Give me a remote control that could change anything in the world (as long as it plugs into a wall or runs on batteries), and here's where I would start . . . Make it simple. The nation that admitted, in a moment of self-flagellation, that it could not set a VCR's clock now has 20 million households with a home theater, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn.'s latest count.

MUSIC Pairing a very old Indian concept of life death, "samsara," with cutting-edge electronics and synthesis, the KarmetiK Machine Orchestra takes a contemporary route to explore ancient themes. The group plays musical takes on traditional Indian fables accompanied by dancers and multimedia stagecraft, but makes these old stories sound like the future. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 8:30 p.m. Thu.-Fri. $20. Redcat.org.

Best Buy Co.'s Chief Executive Brian Dunn has resigned from the struggling electronics giant, the company said Tuesday. There was no bad blood affecting the decision, according to Best Buy, “no disagreements … on any matter relating to operations, financial controls, policies or procedures.” Instead, Dunn's departure was part of a “ mutual agreement ” of the necessity “to address the challenges that face the company.” ...