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Shape-shifting polymer pulls off amazing memory tricks

The polymer, called Nafion, can "remember" three distinct shapes when heated – the best yet for a shape-memory polymer

What We're Reading: A Cook, a Slacker, Some Bubbly and Fall Colors

Our daily roundup of tech tidbits features a Flickr visualization of seasonal colors, Tim Cook's $5 million bonus, an upstart competitor to Twitter and Slacker Radio's coming music service.

Facebook Helps Social Start-Ups Gain Users

Facebook Connect can help nascent Web services recruit a healthy crowd of users in a hurry, and help the users find their friends on those sites.

Appeals Court Upholds Cable TV Access Rules

The regulations require cable TV companies to make programming available on equal terms to rival TV providers.

Vast F.C.C. Plan Would Bring Net to More in U.S.

The 10-year plan would reimagine the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.

Ivory and tuna top wildlife talks

UN wildlife negotiations begin on banning the trade in bluefin tuna and permitting sales of ivory at a two-week summit in Doha.

Netflix Cancels Contest Over Privacy Concerns

The movie rental company canceled a competition to improve film recommendations after learning that customers could be identified from data it released.

Cernan 'disappointed' by Moon plans

The last man on the Moon, Eugene Cernan, has said he is disappointed at President Barack Obama's decision to push back further Moon missions.

Opera browser for iPhone may be 'weeks' away

The company behind the Web browser Opera is weeks away from submitting it to Apple's iPhone store for approval, a spokesman said Friday.

FCC responds to questions about broadband speed tests

The Federal Communications Commission responded Friday evening to questions about the broadband speed tests it launched Thursday, saying that data collected from the effort will be supplemented by other information in the agency’s analysis of connection speeds. The point of collecting data on broadband speeds and service quality is so that the FCC knows — down to the level of a home address — how well differnt parts of the United States are being served by Internet providers. About 80,000 people have tried the tests — using an iPhone application and a Web-based test — in the first day. Some users expressed concern about widely varying results, saying that because the tests were voluntary, the agency wouldn’t get a full portrait of broadband access and speeds in any geographic area. An FCC lawyer, Jordan Usdan, responded in a statement Friday that information from the tests would be combined with

China Warns Google Again on Censorship

A top Chinese regulator warned bluntly that any move by Google to stop censoring its Chinese search engine would draw a response from Beijing.

Runaway Prius case presents nagging questions (AP)

AP - Investigators are confronted with a series of nagging questions as they try to unravel the case of a California real estate agent who said his Toyota Prius turned into a runaway death trap after the gas pedal became stuck.

Lionfish eat way through Caribbean

A poisonous "alien species" of fish is eating its way through the Caribbean and quickly multiplying.

Will 4G Mobile Service Be Superfast? (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Video on demand on your cell phone. High-fidelity voice quality on a cell phone. Wireless Internet speeds for your laptop from the back of a taxi that's as good as what you get at the office. These are just three of the advantages offered by the latest acronym to hit the cell phone world: 4G.

Apollo men decry Obama Moon plans

Nasa Moon astronauts tell the BBC President Barack Obama's decision to cancel the US lunar programme is "catastrophic".

Orders for Apple's new iPad start today

Apple began taking orders online Friday for its new iPad tablet computer, with delivery scheduled for April 3, the same day the iPad goes on sale in stores.

One on One: Andrey Ternovskiy, Creator of Chatroulette

A interview with the Andrey Ternovskiy, the 17-year-old Russian founder of Chatroulette who has abandoned high school to travel the world and meet with technology investors.

Disney to shut Zemeckis-run motion-capture studio

To further cut costs at its movie studio, The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it will shut a San Francisco-area facility used to capture the performance of Jim Carrey for his digitally animated character, Scrooge, in "A Christmas Carol."

Mac news briefs: 3D and animation (Macworld.com)

Macworld.com - Toon Boom Animate 2 announced

Implants Create Insect Cyborgs

Scientists are ready to to practice mind control on moths.

For Better or Worse, Modern Ocean Explorers Stay Connected

Scientists talk about the joys and sacrifices of a life at sea.

TV Migrates to Cell Phones

The broadcasting industry is setting the stage for mobile TV.

Murky History of Television Gets Murkier

Sorkin's invention shrouds Farnsworth in static.

Charge Your Cell Phone Just By Walking

Scientists have created a wearable machine that harvests energy from walking.