Almost 2 out of 3 Americans, or 63%, said they were more inclined to side with writers in their dispute with major studios, according to a survey by Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business Management that is scheduled to be released today. Writers went on strike last week amid disputes over pay when their work is distributed on the Internet and via cellphones and other new-media devices.

*****

Smith said the public support could wane if the strike disrupted consumers' TV viewing habits. Though several shows have stopped shooting, viewers won't notice much change until early next year, when reruns, sports and reality shows replace scripted programs. When asked about the prospect of reruns replacing new shows, 42% of the respondents said they would read more, and 35% said they would spend more time on the Internet.

Raging wildfires have forced some local technology companies to close their offices, including Qualcomm and Sony Electronics. Risk is greatest for employees' homes than for the businesses.

Sony Electronics closed its U.S. headquarters on Oct. 23 for a second day, sending home nearly 2,500 employees from its 71-acre campus in Rancho Bernardo. Fires ravaged the area on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.

Hewlett-Packard's printing and imaging division also is located Rancho Bernardo. The office couldn't be reached during normal business hours on Oct. 23, suggesting closure because of the fires.

Qualcomm, which employs more than 11,000 people in San Diego, wasn't in the fires' direct paths. But some employees live in areas ravaged or threatened by the wildfires. Qualcomm's headquarters is located south of the worst fires.

According to research from Nielsen/NetRatings, people are buying cutting-edge technology but often don't understand the terms that describe what their device actually does.

So while 40% of online Britons receive news feeds, 67% did not know that the official term for this service was Really Simple Syndication.

Terms such as podcasting and wikis are still meaningless to many.

"In the relentless quest for the next big thing when it comes to new forms of digital consumption, there is a significant tendency for the industry to over-estimate consumer's knowledge and understanding of the seemingly limitless new terms and products out there," said Alex Burmaster, internet analyst with Nielsen/NetRatings.

The company will require that all of its cafes and cafeterias serve only the pricier cage-free eggs, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Google uses about 300,000 eggs a year along with 7,000 pounds of liquid egg products.

Animal-rights activists charge that caged chickens -- sometimes called battery-raised, because the cages are piled high -- have miserable lives during their productive egg-laying months, confined six to a cage with only 67 square inches of floor space per chicken. Egg farmers say caged chickens are just as happy as -- and healthier than -- those raised outdoors or in open barns.

Google is jumping on a bandwagon that already includes America On Line and Bon Appetit Management, a catering company serving a number of Silicon Valley companies. Several universities have also pledged to serve cage-free eggs.

The poster-size calendar features scantily clad babes in technology-related scenes: March is serving up a platter of iPods at a fast-food restaurant while October is wearing a halter-top made of computer cables.

The women also reveal precious details about their inner nerdiness. For example, Mohr is a Trekkie whose "latest obsession is data mining and statistical analysis of econometric data for an upcoming real estate investment application." Tracy, Miss March, attends "Sci-Fi conventions, although she's never attended one in costume." And Barbara, Miss August, said her "friends give her a hard time because she'd rather stay home and play computer games than go out to the movies."

Mohr said she knows some people will see the calendar as objectifying women. But she argues that teenagers these days look up to celebrities who flaunt their beauty and sexiness. The calendar, she said, shows them that you can be all that, and intelligent and tech savvy, too.

Using a voice recorder attachment, you can record your thoughts on your iPod, dump it to your computer, publish it to your web site in such a way that people can download your musings to their iTunes Library, sync that with their iPod, and listen to you babble about something on their way to work. It's called podcasting and hopefully it'll get much easier than that.