A federal judge has dismissed a Texas girl's objection to locator chips in student ID badges at a public high school in a case that raises concerns about the erosion of privacy and civil liberties.

Andrea Hernandez, 15, and her father told school officials they oppose the use of locator chips on religious grounds.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt told North Korean officials their country would never develop unless it embraced Internet freedom, he said Thursday as he returned from a visit to Pyongyang.

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who led the trip, urged North Korea to adopt a moratorium on ballistic missiles and nuclear tests following the communist state's widely criticized rocket launch last month.

Microsoft on Wednesday sent out word that it will "retire" its Messenger online chat feature on March 15 and replace it with the Skype Internet telephony service it bought last year.

Microsoft sent an email message advising Messenger users to update to Skype using their same account information in advance of the deadline.

Automakers and technology firms are jumping on the bandwagon of the driverless car, which remains a concept as well as a platform for new technologies to improve safety on the road.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Toyota and Audi showed off their ideas for autonomous vehicles, in the wake of the push by Google on its driverless car. And others may follow suit.

A Manhattan neighborhood has become the first in New York to have totally free outdoor wireless Internet access, courtesy of Internet giant Google.

"All you need is a laptop or smartphone or other wireless-enabled device and a web browser to get online," Google's chief information officer Ben Fried said at a press conference announcing the free Internet access, which covers about 20 city blocks in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

TV makers showing off their new wares at a huge trade fair will seek to dazzle consumers with bigger, bolder displays, and smarter technologies for consumers who want television to be a "multiscreen" experience.

Companies like Samsung, Sony, LG, Sharp and Panasonic showing at the International CES in Las Vegas this week are making a new push for so-called "ultra HD" high definition of 4K, which can provide stunning, lifelike images at a steep price.

What is one of the world's most prominent advocates of Internet freedom doing in a country where unregulated access to information is generally either impossible or criminal?

Google chairman Eric Schmidt's "private" visit to North Korea raises many questions, not least because he embodies what regimes in Pyongyang have spent decades resisting with all the considerable power at their disposal.

Reports echoing online Tuesday fueled speculation that Apple is tailoring a low-price version of the iPhone for China and other emerging markets.

DigiTimes.com, which specializes in news about the supply side of the technology industry, cited unnamed sources as saying an iPhone model made with less expensive parts would be rolled out in the second half of this year.

People who don't want to disturb sleeping family members could use a new product from Panasonic that doesn't need speakers or even your own ears: wireless bone-conduction headphones.

The headphones connect to a TV via the Bluetooth wireless standard and attach to your head like a normal set of headphones. But instead of using your ears, the headphones work like hearing aids by transmitting sound waves through your skull.

Sony Corp. is finally pressing its advantage as a conglomerate that owns both high-tech gadgets and the content that plays on them by being the only electronics maker to offer ultra-HD TVs — and a way to get movies to the new super clear screens.

Ultra-high definition TVs, which quadruple the number of pixels of current high definition technology, have been the talk of the International CES gadget show so far. But only Sony has offered a content solution to go with them.