Leading PC manufacturers are often unable to resolve problems with the computers they make, according to new research. They were defeated by more than 40 percent of user problems with Windows PCs, US investigators found.

Customers also say they're tearing their hair out over manufacturers' phone support hassles and delays, and that paid technical support is often little better than free service.

UPDATED May 9: Google News has removed a prominent news source which had faced questions over possible 'gaming' of Google's news gathering algorithm.

"To ensure a high quality service for our end users, we periodically review our index of news sources, particularly following user complaints, and have recently removed some sources that do not meet our criteria as news organizations, including Playfuls.com," a Google spokesperson told Texyt today.

Google News is generated by software which scours more than 4000 sources worldwide and displays the stories that it determines most newsworthy. A number of sources appear to have been dropped on or around April 26, they include Playfuls.com, a popular news website.

Until recently, links to Playfuls' news articles had been extremely prominent on Google News. The site ranked 16^th amongst Google News' English-language sources, placing higher than many better-known news organizations according to Newsknife. However, on April 26, new links to Playfuls abruptly stopped appearing at Google News.

Male infidelity is a fact of life and women are at increased risk of AIDS because governments refuse to accept this reality, a new Columbia University study says. The report's authors say society should get real about the 'monogamy myth' and work to make extramarital sex safer, instead of just trying to prevent it.

Studies around the world showed married women at heightened risk of infection with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, because of the public and official state of denial.

Unintentionally hilarious product design or subversive moral commentary? 3M is selling these cute self-adhesive hooks in Asia. Just take a look at 3M's colorful, friendly animal pals with their handy hooks to hang your stuff on.

In a significant setback for the world's first rocket racing league, a founding team has abandoned the competition. The withdrawal of Leading Edge Rocket Racing leaves the league with only two teams.

The Rocket Racing League plans to run high speed, low level flying races between manned rockets. Backers hope that the League can eventually rival Nascar or Formula 1 racing as a sport, while simultaneously boosting spaceflight and aerospace research.

Demonstration events are planned for the end of 2007, the League announced earlier this year.