DIGITAL LIFE

Two new Earth-like planets have been discovered, and one of them is actually a bit smaller than the Earth. They are about 1,000 light-years away, and Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f are two of the smallest planets ever detected orbiting another star.

Every year, the Winter Solstice falls between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23 because that is when the Earth is tilted away from the sun more than any other time. It's the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter.

At the start of the 20th century, inventors Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla clashed in the "war of the currents." To highlight the dangers of his rival's system, Edison even electrocuted an elephant. The animal died in vain; it was Tesla's system and not Edison's that took off. But today, helped by technological advances and the need to conserve energy, Edison may finally get his revenge.

Michael Woodford, the ousted boss of Japan's Olympus Corp, has won the battle to force his former employer to admit to more than a decade of accounting fraud. His bid to return as chief executive officer, however, appears doomed.

Apple has bought Israel's Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for up to $500 million, the Calcalist financial daily reported on Tuesday.

Apple executives have been speaking with large media companies about its strategy for Apple TV, indicating that it is all set to push forward into the television market.

This year, Santa Claus will enjoy the most comfortable Christmas, thanks to Siri, the intelligent, voice-controlled, personal assistant from Apple, according to the new ad released by the technology giant.

One of Apple's supply plants in Shanghai was rocked by an explosion on Dec. 17 afternoon and even though no fire broke out, 61 workers were injured and 23 of them had to be hospitalized.

There are some updates from Chronic team member Pod2g and the hacker MuscleNerd, for those who are waiting for the iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak for their iOS devices, especially the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

Samsung Electronics has launched a new app called 'YouTube on TV' for Samsung Smart TV customers worldwide. Thanks to the new app, Samsung Smart TV customers can enjoy more than 8,000 HD movie, drama and video that YouTube provides.

NASA has released an image of a supernova remnant (SNR) called 'Puppis A,' which contains dust and gas cloud in the form of a 'glowing red rose'. The image was captured by NASA's WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer).

Even though Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 came out in the summer, it holds up well to the newly released Droid Xyboard from Motorola. That helps explain why the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is about $50 less than Xyboard 10.1, but that number improves in Samsung's favor when you don't included the Verizon subsidy for the Xyboard.

Despite losing co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, who died on Oct. 5, Apple hasn't slackened its pace of growth and, if rumors are to be believed, the Cupertino-based technology giant is all set to release iPad 3 as well as a 7.85-inch iPad Mini in 2012.

Besides being $100 cheaper than Verizon's flagship devices, there are nine other reasons Droid Bionic is a great holiday gift. Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display, an eight megapixel camera, up to 10 hours of talk time and 16 gigabytes of on-board storage.

Amazon's new tablet and e-reader line-up includes four devices with very similar names, so the Kindle Touch and Kindle Keyboard may be just similar enough to need a brief explanation. Obviously, one is a touch screen device and one relies on a full QWERTY style keyboard, but the Touch has a couple extra features readers might really love.

With Christmas drawing near, many people are looking for the perfect holiday gift. In the digital world, a tablet computer may be a good choice. During the fourth quarter of this year, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, launched a hard-hitting advertising campaign and powerfully presented the most awaited tablet, the Kindle Fire. But can it stand up to Apple's best-selling iPad 2?

One of NASA's hardest working space explorers has helped astrophysicists determine a series of X-ray bursts from a distant system may be the telltale heartbeat of the tiniest black hole ever found.

Nook Tablet is a great seven inch tablet in the sub-$300 range, while the Droid Xyboard 8.2 is a 4G-enabled full feature tablet that requires a two-year contract and data plan if you want it for the $430 price. That means the Xyboard should be twice as good as the Nook Tablet because without the Verizon subsidy, Xyboard costs $600.

It might seem like corporate heresy but an increasing number of technology investors and experts are asking whether Research in Motion needs to ditch its BlackBerry handset business to survive.

T-Mobile is offering the Samsung Galaxy S2 for $99 on their Web site only, but the sale ends today, Dec. 18. Only the white version is being offered, and the $99 price is after a $50 mail-in rebate.

iPhone 4S makes a better gift than Droid Razr because it is $100 less, has better resolution, and includes Siri the voice recognition software that can send your messages and texts just by hearing your voice.

iPad 3 may be here before Spring, but that doesn't mean you have to wait to grab a speedy, lightweight tablet computer like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Featuring a screen slightly larger than the iPad, and possibly the same size as the iPad 3, Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a bright display and good resolution.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp, whose balance sheet took a massive hit after it admitted to a long-running accounting cover-up, told lenders its cash and deposits could run out in 2015, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Online games developer Zynga Inc scored badly as it went public on Friday, dashing hopes for the year's hottest tech IPO, as investors frowned on its over-reliance on Facebook, dimming growth prospects, and outsized control by CEO Mark Pincus.

A months-long delay in Research in Motion's new BlackBerrys and a dreary quarterly report sent RIM shares tumbling again on Friday and pushed some analysts to sound the death knell for the mobile device that once defined the industry.

To understand what ails BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd in the U.S. market, just ask eBay Inc Chief Executive John Donahoe.

It might seem like corporate heresy but an increasing number of technology investors and experts are asking whether Research in Motion needs to ditch its BlackBerry handset business to survive.

Even as rumors about Apple's next generation tablet - dubbed iPad 3 - continue to grow, a report on another gadget called iPad Mini - an iPad with a 7.85-inh display that could compete with Kindle Fire - has surfaced.

Two of Verizon's top smartphones will be the subject of some debate over the next week as holiday shoppers size them up and wonder if Droid Razr makes a better holiday present than the Galaxy Nexus. They are both only on Verizon, and they even come at the same $300 on contract price.