TechTalk: Exploring the Latest Technology News, Updates, Reviews, and Gossip

China launched a second weather satellite on Tuesday to help improve forecasts for this August's Beijing Olympics, state media reported. The 2,295-kg satellite Fengyun-3 will provide mid-range forecasts over 10 to 15 days, Xinhua news agency reported. Detailed weather predictions are important because climatic conditions can have a major impact on Beijing's attempts to rid the skies of pollution fo r the Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that some endurance events might have to be shifted if the air quality is not good enough and the earlier they know about that possibility, the easier it is to re-schedule. There are also concerns that rain, which is common in early August in the Chinese capital, might ruin the opening ceremony at the roof-less Bird's Nest National Stadium on August 8. Attempts to counter the threat by weather manipulation are also reliant on accurate forecasts. Beijing authorities have claimed some success in stopping rain ove...

RIM will launch touch-screen BlackBerry in Q3: report BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd (RIM.TO)(RIMM.O) plans to launch a touc h-screen version of the wireless e-mail device in the third quarter as an answer to Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The device, known as the Thunder, is to be sold exclusively through Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and Vodafone PLC abroad , the Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter. RIM declined to comment on the report, stating that it does not comment on rumors and speculation. Earlier this week, rumored details of a touch-screen BlackBerry surfaced on the Internet. In February, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said the company may bring out a touch-screen device if customers want it. This week, Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM announced its BlackBerry Bold, a sleek smartphone with a keyboard aimed at its core base of business users. In...

Windows to run on One Laptop Per Child computer M icrosoft Corp (MSFT.O) reached an agreement to make available its Windows operating system software for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's XO Laptop, the company said on Thursday. Microsoft was not part of the project started by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nicholas Negroponte to develop an inexpensive laptop computer for elementary school children in developing countries. In recent months, the two sides have engaged in more serious talks and started testing the XO Laptop's Sugar software package on Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs on more than 90 percent of the world's computers. Microsoft said it plans to start trials of Windows on the l ow-cost laptop in key emerging markets as early as June. Customers will be able to choose to run the computer on either a Windows or a Linux operating system. Sugar was designed only to work with ...

EU says Google map images could be a problem BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The ability of Google Inc's map service to put detailed street-level images on the Internet could raise concerns in Europe if it was introduced there, the EU's data protection agency said on Thursday. Google's Street View offers ground-level, 360-degree views of streets in 30 U.S. cities. It has become popular among drivers but courted controversy over potential privacy invasion. " Making pictures everywhere is certainly going to create some problems ," European Union Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx told a news conference to present his annual report. But Hustinx, who works with Europe's national authorities to set consistent rules on data and privacy protection through the 27-country bloc, said he was confident Google would take into account European law in any future introduction of the product. " Apparently there is the capacity to adapt ...