700MHz spectrum, ideal to deliver 4G data in rural areas, expected to be auctioned in October…….

We’ve got a lot of top stories this week, beginning with the American government’s shutdown of the American government. For that, and more than the usual level of government fun and outrage, read on…….

The partial government shut-down that the U.S. is experiencing right now is about to enter its second week. Various government functions and services have been disrupted (including some web sites, whether it’s a good idea or not), and lots of workers on the Federal payroll have been furloughed. But since the U.S. government is involved…

Nick Bilton at the New York Times has been writing skeptically for years about the FAA’s ban on even the most benign electronic devices during takeoff and landing on commercial passenger flights. He writes in the NYT’s Bits column about the gradual transformation that may (real soon now) result in slightly more sensible rules; a…

The Kindle Fire, iPhone, and Samsung S4 show how upstarts have outpaced and out thought the dinosaurs of enterprise tech. The big question now is whether there can be any way back…….

The Nexus 4 proved that you could offer a great smartphone with a fantastic off-contract price. Will the Nexus 5 continue that welcome trend?……

Despite the number of companies shipping or promising them, smart watches aren’t the easiest sell, and Ars Technica’s review of Samsung’s entry illustrates why. Despite all the processing power inside, the watch is “sluggish” even for the kind of at-a-glance convenience features that are touted as the reason to have a phone tethered to an…

Google is apparently displeased with sites designed to extract money from arrestees in exchange for removing their mugshot pictures online, and is tweaking its algorithms to at least reduce their revenue stream. From the article at The New York Times: “It was only a matter of time before the Internet started to monetize humiliation. ……

Microsoft claims its Surface tablet is selling out. That should give pause to anyone who remembers the first-generation Surface debacle…….

A new ad trying to make the poorly reviewed Galaxy Gear somehow relevant, features Captain Kirk, and a host of other watch-talkers throughout entertainment history…….