Oak barrels are obsolete, according to United States vinters, who say aging wine in metal tanks with pieces of oak thrown in costs less and tastes just as good. Braving the stigma of being branded "voodoo vintners" by traditionalists, oak alternative vinters have produced award-winning wines at bargain prices.

Apple aims to make hot-selling iPhones even more appealing, premiering a speedier new model complete with a video camera.

Hackers armed with laptop computers, camping tents and dreams of software glory invaded Yahoo! on the weekend.

Social networking websites saw their ranks swell and values soar this year as everyone from moody teenagers and mellow music lovers to mate-seeking seniors joined online communities. Google's freshly released Zeitgeist 2007 reveals that seven out of the 10 hottest topics which triggered internet queries during the year involved social networking.

US President Obama, Bill Gates and thousands of people across the world have paid tribute to Apple founder Steve Jobs, who has died aged just 56.

Tablet computers will lead a host of "smart" gadgets in the Nevada desert this week at the Consumer Electronics Show.

As concern about online privacy grows, Mozilla is promising to let people cloak internet activity in free Firefox web-browsing software.

A week of TED Talks ranging from animal necrophilia to fighting poverty has ended, and the inspiring talks are now spreading across the globe.