Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

According to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, nearly half of all 12-year-olds in the U.S. are using social network sites, despite not meeting the minimum age requirements for sites like Facebook

A number of moves by different companies and organizations around the world seem to be confirming a long - held rumor is true: Wireless credit card payments using NFC (Near Field wireless Communications) are coming. And (although we ourselves have wavered a bit ) they're coming soon. Verifone We knew Verifone , one of the biggest players in the handheld credit card processing unit market, was going to be adding NFC to all its new handsets, but the company has just set out exactly how and why it's making this move.

Someone's dream comes true every December.

Fingernail-sized, gemstone-shaped, it's the first device of its kind.

In my previous life as fashion editor I covered the Oscars for many years. And now that the finalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards have just been announced, I can totally see how the JBAs are like the Oscars for the food world, complete with just as much campaigning, intrigue and breathless live blogging as Hollywood's biggest night.

Today I participated in a conference held at the Treasury Department on access to capital. The session, which was convened by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Karen Mills, head of the Small Business Administration, explored what the government can do to make it easier for entrepreneurs to access growth capital. I participated on a panel that explored the environment for initial public offerings or IPOs

[Moderated by Anya Kamenetz;

Nearly half report major complications, having bands removed

A new cruise ship port in northern Jamaica celebrated its official launch Tuesday with the arrival of one of the world's largest recreational liners.

As the ongoing nuclear saga in Japan plays out, a spotlight is being thrown on the reactor technology at the heart of it.

CEO Reed Hastings told investors he wasn't interested in "creative risks." But his company is betting a rumored $100 million for 26 episodes of a series no one has seen--based largely on "intuition" and the reputations of David Fincher and Kevin Spacey. On a Jan. 26 earnings call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told investors he was not interested in taking creative risks.

Two Stanford researchers have tested a confidence-boosting technique that dramatically increases the performance of minorities in college. Two Stanford researchers have found a free, universally accessible method of shrinking the college minority grade gap

For all you know, they might be stalking you right now. Sometimes technological progress is measured by subtraction, rather than addition.

On March 16, 2011, Fast Company was awarded a National Magazine Award for Digital Media for its breakout site, FastCoDesign.com , in the Online Department category, which honors a regularly updated, clearly branded department or channel. Fast Company received two nominations from the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media, the magazine industry's highest honor, from the American Society of Magazine Editors: "The Influence Project" , a print story from the November 2010 issue, with a comprehensive online companion, in the Multimedia Package category, and Co.Design, a site dedicated to the intersection of business. Co.Design was awarded the Ellie for the Online Department category

Amazon just revealed its own specially curated version of the Android Marketplace, but has chosen to label it the "Appstore." Apple , in turn, has now sued Android for trademark violation. The move is a not-so-subtle shot across Amazon's bows. The suit was filed last week, but has emerged at more or less the same time as Amazon's official unveiling of its Android Appstore--Amazon's version of the free-for-all Google Android Marketplace that, on launch, contains 3,800 apps