RIM says BBM Music now available

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion says its music-sharing application for its popular messaging service is available for downloading in Canada, and in the U.S. and Australia within a day. BBM Music allows BlackBerry users to select 50 songs from a catalogue of millions of tracks for their personal playlists. BBM users can share those songs from that list with friends who use the instant messaging service, meaning the size of the music library...

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China's unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasts off

China's unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasted off Tuesday morning, in the latest step in what will be a decade-long effort by the country to place a manned permanent space station in orbit. The spacecraft took off from a base in the far western city of Jiuquan, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Minutes later, Xinhua cited Chang Wanquan, who leads China's space program, as announcing the launch a success. China launched its own space station...

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Print decline outpaces online gains for Yellow Media

Advertising in the Yellow Pages and Canpages print directories is drying up at a faster rate, but Yellow Media Inc. (YLO-T0.42-0.01-3.41%) chief executive officer Marc Tellier says it’s only temporary. “We’re pretty much near or at the peak of the print erosion,” Mr. Tellier told analysts on a conference call Thursday to discuss the company’s third-quarter results....

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Google changes search algorithm, trying to make results more timely

Google is changing the way it looks at the Internet, as the company tries to keep its search engine relevant at a time when Web users want up-to-the-second search results. The world’s most popular search engine announced on Thursday it will alter some of the algorithms it uses to determine what search results it shows to its users. In a move that affects roughly 35 per cent of all Google searches, the company will now put more emphasis on the most...

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After 520 days in isolation, space researchers emerge from Mars 'mission'

Pale but smiling, an international crew of researchers on Friday walked out of a set of windowless modules after a gruelling 520-day simulation of a flight to Mars. The all-male crew of three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian and a Chinese slowly emerged from the western Moscow facility, which simulated the confinement, stress and fatigue of interplanetary travel — minus the weightlessness. Dressed in blue track suits emblazoned with...

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