Brian Gongol
Air-traffic control is finally getting upgraded
The NextGen system for guiding aircraft from one airport to another has been under development for a long, long time. American Airlines just sent a flight on the first route using the new system, which is supposed to create more-direct routes for flights, saving fuel and time. It's mostly just a matter of using GPS (which is widely available) instead of radio beacons, but the airlines blame the FAA for taking much too long to put the system into service.
Internet banking crime steals $600,000 from Diocese of Des Moines
The need for safeguards against electronic theft has never been greater
An automatic translator for Internet and text-messaging slang
Casey's will buy back a quarter of its outstanding shares
It's an effort to head off a takeover by Couche-Tard. On one hand, the step will most likely help the current management remain in control of the company, but on the other, it comes at a very hefty price: about $500 million in borrowed money. They received reasonable financing on the deal, but new debt depletes the owners' equity. Was it the right move? For some people, yes. But if a share buyback had been the company's most efficient use of capital, why didn't they do it a year ago, when the stock cost $27.67 a share, rather than $37 today?
Top Gear reviews the world's fastest street car
(Video)
A virtual tour of tenement life in America a century ago
Progress is the result of lots of little improvements in life, all compounded upon one another
