HemmersChess

On the 60th anniversary of color television sets being made available to the public, LIFE.com celebrates the real national pastime: watching TV. See the full gallery at Life.com.

Radiation hazards are likely to increase for air travelers and spacefarers in coming years due to changes in solar activity, researchers say.

From Androids to Apples, from Samsung, RIM and more, 2011 will be the year of the tablet. 

So far, no company has come close to the success of Apple's iPad, but with the unveiling of its version of a tablet computer Wednesday, analysts say Amazon has a real chance.

Samsung, the second largest smartphone maker in the world, announced a patent agreement with Microsoft -- meaning the Windows giant will earn cash for every Android device Samsung sells.

IBM, Intel, Global Foundries, TSMC and Samsung plan to invest $4.4 billion over five years to create 2,500 permanent new jobs in New York and the next two generations of computer chips, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Fossils tend to offer a black and white view of the past, but new research on prehistoric beetles brings the insects' flashy metallic colors back to vivid life.

Heidi, a cross-eyed opossum who became an Internet sensation in Germany, winning three times more Facebook admirers than Chancellor Angela Merkel, is dead, her zoo said Wednesday.

A new set of computer simulations suggests that there was once a fifth giant planet in addition to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Some may think of the solar energy industry as new and even in need of government help, but those who have worked in it for decades say plenty of privately funded solar power companies are thriving

NASA and the military have pinned down exactly where and when a huge dead climate satellite fell to Earth on Saturday, Sept. 24.

An unknown hacker has hijacked the accounts of at least nine well-known critics of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, posting curse-filled insults, threats and slogans such as "Long live Chavez."

A 30-year-old intercontinental missile designed to hurl nuclear bombs at Russia was used instead Tuesday morning to blast military communications into the future.

Apple on Tuesday invited reporters to an iPhone-related event Oct. 4, setting the stage for the widely anticipated launch of its latest iPhone 5 smartphone.

While everyone has been buzzing about Facebook after a recent series of announcements and updates have that inspired both excitement and ire, Google has been making its own waves in the social networking space and looks to have a few tricks up its sleeves.

The 787 is a radical departure for Boeing: Made of lightweight composite materials, it will be quieter, produce fewer emissions and use 20 percent less fuel than comparable aircraft.

How can you complain about something that's free? More to the point, how can you complain about something you don't even have to use?

Signed, sealed and delivered, the first Boeing 787 took off from Everett on Tuesday in the hands of launch customer All Nippon Airways.

China is making final preparations to launch its first space lab module — a prototype for a future space station — this week, state media reported.

Social networking giant Facebook promised Tuesday to fix a major privacy breach that allowed it to collect users' browsing information after they had logged out, The Australian reported.