Teens putting their own spin on personalization

As the thousands of Sophias and Isabellas and Jacobs and Masons born this past year will learn when they go to pick up their backpacks off the soccer field or sort their duffels in college dorms, their names aren't as unique as they are.

Teens putting their own spin on personalization

CafePress offers a baseball jersey T-Shirt for men or women.

Teens putting their own spin on personalization

CafePress offers an unFriend Messenger Bag.

ACLU: 3 Griffith girls expelled over Facebook jokes

HAMMOND | The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Griffith Public Schools after it expelled three eighth-graders for posting on Facebook about whom they would kill — a conversation the ACLU and parents say was sarcastic humor.

Facebook warns employers not to demand passwords

The social networking company is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying that it's an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities.

Awards go to PUC student documentary about technology

HAMMOND | Purdue University Calumet communication students and recent graduates produced a documentary about a potential dark side of Internet technology that received two Gold Empixx Awards.

Viewer-friendly vittles: Popular blogger Ree Drummond brings her home cooking to Food Network

Ree Drummond is packing up her chuck wagon and heading off to a new frontier — television.

Startup tries to put sociability back into movies

Streaming movies might not yet have the equivalent of a theater experience, with roaring crowds crunching on popcorn, but they are getting more social.

Twitter buys TweetDeck for reported $40M to $50M

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter has bought TweetDeck, a London-based startup that helps people read, write and organize the short messages posted on the online network — and will keep the service going.

The guerilla roots of the Skype calling service

NEW YORK (AP) — In buying Skype, Microsoft is getting one of the rare companies that has turned its name into a verb, like Xerox or Google. "Let's Skype" is a phrase understandable, with slight translation, in much of the world.

Report: U.S. would make Internet wiretaps easier

WASHINGTON | The Obama administration is pushing to make it easier for the government to tap into internet and e-mail communications. But the plan has already drawn condemnation from privacy groups and communications firms may be wary of its costs and scope.

Letterman to Twitter exec: I don't understand

MUNCIE | "Late Show" host David Letterman proudly displayed his aversion for technology during an on-stage talk with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone at Ball State University.

Dell's enterprise challenge remains after 3Par

SEATTLE | Dell Inc. doesn't have to start over in its quest to become a significant purveyor of technology for businesses after losing a multibillion dollar bidding contest for an obscure data-storage maker.

What binds Ill. couple? It could be The Force

PAWNEE, Ill. | The last time Marjorie Carvalho checked her iPhone, she was mayor of the Springfield Toys R Us — despite the fact that she and her husband, Arnie, do not have children and no plans to change that.

Young, fat, fabulous and moving the fashion market

In a midtown Manhattan showroom, fashion blogger Amelia Pontes picked up a pair of "jeggings" (jeans tight enough to be leggings) from a table filled with trendy jeans in boot cut, boyfriend and skinny styles.

Craft socials turn do-it-yourselfing into a party

Gathered around dozens of tables, more than 115 women are working on craft projects on a stormy Friday night, stamping buttons, turning old T-shirts into totes and using crayons to create cross-stitch patterns.