By BENNY EVANGELISTA, San Francisco Chronicle
When does an addiction to Internet become a problem?
Technology can be seductive because it provides an instant reward -- a text message from a friend, success in a video game or stimulating news on a Web site -- that is not necessarily harmful.
But mental-health experts say an addiction can form -- just as with gambling -- when people keep seeking that intermittent, unpredictable reward.
Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
In today's fast-paced, multitasking world, it's easy to get hooked on technology that's always online, delivering a steady stream of texts and tweets.
Internet doesn't socially isolate users, study finds
SAN FRANCISCO - Fears that the Internet and other personal technologies are making Americans socially isolated are unfounded, according to a new study
Charities benefit from social media
Got a tweet to spare? It could help the charity of your choice.
A week ago, a record number of status updates on Twitter and Facebook using the phrase "#BeatCancer" helped raise $70,000 for four non-profit cancer organizations.
Software predicts which songs will be hits
Computer programs already recommend books to read or DVDs to watch. But can a mathematical algorithm predict if a song will become a hit?
Singer-songwriter Ben Novak said he was skeptical that a San Francisco company's technology could determine whether his song "Turn Your Car Around" would be a winner.
Facebook grows into an online social superpower
Facebook was born in 2004 as a way for college students to connect with friends. But what does the social media giant want to be when it grows up?
Similar to how Microsoft, Google and Apple have inserted themselves into users' everyday lives, Facebook also seeks that type of influence by providing a social layer to every online activity.
Community leaders try to save longtime Japanese-Amer. newspaper
The Nichi Bei Times, Northern California's oldest Japanese American community newspaper, said Thursday that it is shutting down, but a group of community leaders hopes to keep the presses rolling by forming a nonprofit organization.
'Sue first, ask questions later' firm sues over tweeted criticism
Between innocuous updates about a wardrobe malfunction and a Cubs game, Twitter user Amanda Bonnen posted this tweet in May:
"(at)JessB123 You should just come anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."
California companies produce pricey green motorcycles
A San Francisco startup is on a mission to give the world motorcycles that are fast and sexy, yet green.
Mission Motors hopes to produce the fastest all-electric powered production motorcycle, capable of topping out at 150 mph.
Technology keeps parents, kids in touch, or tethered
When college student Kelsey Quickstad went to Spain to study for a semester, she rarely used the phone to call her parents in the San Francisco Bay Area.
She didn't have to. They communicated almost daily by Web cam, Skype's Internet telephone service or instant message.
