Engineers sentenced to 1 year for espionage case (AP)
AP - Two engineers from China were sentenced to a year in prison Friday for stealing computer chip designs from their Silicon Valley employers and trying to smuggle the secrets to their homeland to launch a government-backed startup there.

Broadband makes tiny town an English-teaching hub (AP)

AP - The nearest Wal-Mart is two hours away, and only foul weather, a deer in the road or a Washakie County sheriff's deputy would slow down anyone with a mind to drive there faster.

Web sites offer real estate agent rankings (AP)
AP - Word of mouth is one of the most common ways homebuyers and sellers find a real estate agent. Now, there are several Web sites that tout a more scientific approach: ranking agents based on criteria such as years of experience, how many sales they've closed, and the number of positive testimonials from past clients.

Pentagon bans computer flash drives (AP)
AP - The Pentagon has banned, at least temporarily, the use of external computer flash drives because of a virus threat officials detected on Defense Department networks.

Customers line up for new BlackBerry Storm (CNET)
CNET - Hundreds of people lined up outside some Verizon Wireless stores to buy the new BlackBerry Storm on Friday, but many walked away empty handed.

Ruby on Rails upgrade released (InfoWorld)
InfoWorld - Ruby on Rails 2.2, an upgrade to the popular Web application framework, was released Friday, featuring an internationalization framework and stronger support for HTTP validators, according to the Ruby on Rails Web site.

Apple's iPhone Update 2.2 Adds Multiple Features (NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - Features galore are included in Apple's new 2.2 software update for the iPhone, which became available a day earlier than expected. Apple released the new software one day before Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm hit store shelves, but analysts say it was just a coincidence.

Sprint Nextel's CDMA exec John Garia steps down (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. mobile service provider Sprint Nextel Corp said on Friday that the president of its CDMA business unit, John Garcia, is leaving the company.

Sun receives complaint about Java vetting process (InfoWorld)
InfoWorld - Sun Microsystems has heard from a company concerned about the vetting process of Java and open source, a Sun official said on Wednesday.

Sun, Microsoft boost IDEs (InfoWorld)
InfoWorld - In separate moves this week, Sun and Microsoft both proceeded with previously stated plans to boost their software development environments

IBM, Partners Aim To Build Brain-Like Computer Systems (NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - IBM, in collaboration with five universities, announced plans Thursday to create computing systems that simulate and emulate the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition while rivaling its low power consumption and compact size. The goal is to solve the problem of information management.

Study Finds Online Activities Help Teens' Development (NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - Online games, social-networking Web sites, and chat rooms are empowering and motivating for teens and help with their development, according to a study released Thursday by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation at the American Anthropological Association's annual meeting. The study covered three years and 5,000 hours of observing teens online.