Maryland

First Google, and now Intel. The chipmaker has revealed that its servers were hacked in January, around the same time search giant Google and 24 other companies reported a highly sophisticated security breach. And Intel says such attempts happen regularly.

Faster computers, broadband connections and free public Wi-Fi are taking the fun out of snow days.

The federal government was shut down for the second day in a row Tuesday and many offices were empty in the nation's snowbound capital, but work continued -- in homes across the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. It showed just how seamlessly well-equipped workers can soldier on even through disruptions such as heavy snowstorms.

Marvin J. Cetron with David A. Patten in NewsMax Magazine:

One thing, and one thing only, got Jim Stritzinger to take up running. It wasn't new running shoes or a desire to trim down or get away from the computer, he says.

It was a small sensor in his shoe that he is not even aware of anymore.

Stritzinger, 45, belongs to a growing number of fitness fanatics who rely on wireless technology to monitor workouts, offering them real-time coaching and a social network. Where pedometers once ruled exercise gadgets, these virtual workout buddies are taking off and adding more capabilities (prices range from $50 to $700).

From Blogs.worldbank.org:

From Blogs.worldbank.org:

A settlement has been reached between three universities that supported Amazon.com's popular Kindle electronic book reader and the federal government. The U.S. Department of Justice settled with Case Western in Cleveland, Ohio; Pace University in New York City; and Reed College in Portland, Ore., after they agreed to no longer use or promote the Kindle DX or any other electronic reader until the devices are accessible to blind students.

The universities were part of an Amazon.com pilot project to use the Kindle DX in the classroom. Six schools participated in the project.

Paul West in the Baltimore Sun:

From Science: