Washington (DC) - Laptops get hot, but can they cause a plane to catch on fire? The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating whether laptop batteries caused a UPS cargo plane to catch on fire last February. The DC-8 plane with three crew members made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport after a fire broke out in the cargo hold. The fire continued to burn for four hours destroying the plane and most of the UPS packages inside.

Some instant messaging addicts won't have to keep multiple chat programs for too much longer. Microsoft and Yahoo are testing new chat clients that let MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger users talk to each other. The combination would, according to Microsoft, form the largest instant messaging community and eclipsing the current king of the hill, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has unveiled a new program to send SMS and other alerts to mobile phones and computers. The Digital Emergency Alert System will also include radio and televisions stations - the traditional avenue of emergency broadcasts. Mobile phones will receive SMS messages while computer users will se a video message along with downloadable instructions.

Recruiter and hiring managers are increasingly eliminating job candidates because of negative online information found on social networking sites, blogs and forums. ExecuNet, a job search and recruiting company, polled 100 executive recruiters and found that more than a third of recruiters have eliminated a candidate based on dirt they dug up online.

Web analytics firm OneStat published figures last Sunday claiming the combined usage share of Firefox and Mozilla browsers has climbed to nearly 13% worldwide, and almost 16% in the US.

There are few who doubt the massive popularity of social networking website Myspace.com, but a new study released by a web analytics firm may surprise some.

The battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD to control the high-definition DVD market could be solved by a laser that can read the two competing formats.

  Grapevine (TX) - While custom PC builder Alienware may benefit from the much-increased purchasing power of its new corporate parent, Dell Computer, the development tracks of the two companies will remain separate.

Several Taiwan-based panel makers are planning to roll out new TV panels for the entry-level segment based on twisted nematic (TN) technology in the second half of this year, with the goal of boosting demand in developing markets for 30"-and-under TV panels, sources said.

OneStat.com, an Amsterdam-based web research firm, says global use of the Firefox browser has increased 1.14 percent since May 2006, while Internet Explorer usage fell 2.12 percent during the same time. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still holds the top spot with 83.05% of the market versus the 12.93% of Firefox. Regional market share show similar numbers except for Australia and Germany which have much higher Firefox usage.

Fontana (CA) - Being stuck in traffic is a hated situation commonly experienced by city dwellers, but Streetdeck is selling car computer software that makes those painful waits more enjoyable. The Streetdeck software helps drivers find destinations with voice-prompted GPS navigation along with playing back music, videos and pictures, which is in line with the company's motto of "Pray You Get Stuck in Traffic".

Compal Electronics and Wistron posted on-month revenue growth in June, following sequential slides for two consecutive months.

Roland Piquepaille writes in on his Technology Trends website about a new approach that could show scientists a way to create three-dimensional photographs of actual molecules: Researchers from the University College London say that they were able to create full 3D images of the inside of nanocrystals by using a process known as coherent X-ray diffraction imaging.

Nokia announced this morning it has reached an agreement with the New York City Parks and Recreation Dept. to become a "primary provider" of mobile multimedia services for 18 locations throughout ten public parks.

Market research firm NPD Group says Mother's Day gadget buying is catching up with Father's Day. Sons, daughters and husbands purchased over $865 million dollars in gadget gifts for mom, while $873 million in gadgets were purchased for fathers day.

Mouse potatoes joined couch potatoes, google officially became a verb and drama queens finally found the limelight on Thursday when they crossed over from popular culture to mainstream English language.

Checkout, Google's idea how to pay for goods and services on the Internet, has been added to Ebay's "not permitted" list of payment methods.

Mountain View (CA) - Experience the Tour de France cycling race from a somewhat elevated position and the comfort of your office chair: Google has released a new KML file for Google Earth that lets users see all the stages of the race in 2D and 3D. Google Earth Tour de France plug-in

The average selling price (ASP) of 17" LCD-monitor panels has stabilized during the first half of July, while prices for LCD-TV panels have continued to decline during the period, according to WitsView Technology.