http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93697466&ft=1&f=1019 : 'Marketplace' Report: Fun Gadgets In Rough Times - Rather than going out in the evenings, Americans appear to be spending time and money on new gadgets. The U.S. government says consumer electronic sales were up 4.8 percent in July.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93666253&ft=1&f=1019 : Clockwatcher Explains Phelps' Win - Michael Phelps won his record-tying seventh gold medal by a fraction of a fingernail, just 0.01 second. Even when you study the photos and the video, it's tough to tell who came in first. Christophe Berthaud, the director of Olympic timekeeping for Omega, the official timekeeper at the games, explains the system used to time swimmers.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93661794&ft=1&f=1019 : Guerrilla Ad Campaign Pushes Boundaries - Troy Hitch talks about You Suck at Photoshop, a hit series of Web videos created to explore viral marketing concepts. Hitch is the creative director for the agency Big Fat Brain.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93632999&ft=1&f=1019 : The People Behind Your Electronic Toothbrush - iPhones, electric toothbrushes, antilock brakes — all of these are products of mechatronics, a growing field which combines physics, computer science and mechanical engineering. We meet students training in this difficult discipline, as they play with robotic mice.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93636621&ft=1&f=1019 : Allowing Components to Self Assemble Nanoscale Patterns - Using a technique known as self assembly, researchers have found a way to create high-quality repeating patterns with features just ten nanometers across.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93579585&ft=1&f=1019 : IRS Taxes Personal Calls On Work Cell Phones - If you're among the people who make personal calls on a company mobile phone, the Internal Revenue Service may want to talk with you. The IRS considers such cell phone calls to be a taxable extension of your compensation package.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93605988&ft=1&f=1019 : Web Security Words Help Digitize Old Books - Every day, millions of people are asked to retype sequences of squiggly letters so Web sites can verify they're not automated spammers. A scientist has figured out how to harness that manpower to digitize old books.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93536213&ft=1&f=1019 : What's New On Your Cell: Gold, Silver And Bronze - Many Americans are getting their fix of the Olympics on the supersmall screen — cell phones. Real-time results, live coverage and on-demand video are just some of the cell phone options for tuning in to what's happening in Beijing.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93522548&ft=1&f=1019 : Live From Beijing: Computer-Enhanced Fireworks - Millions of people thought they were watching live fireworks as part of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It turns out, some of those vivid fireworks were computer graphics created by a team of hundreds of Chinese visual-effects specialists who worked nearly a year to pull it off.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93498553&ft=1&f=1019 : 'Marketplace' Report: The Olympic Coverage Contest - Will the Web trump Olympic TV coverage? NBC is offering hundreds of hours of Olympics coverage on its various broadcast and cable outlets, but it's also offering hundreds of hours of coverage online. How can it profit off the Web?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93473104&ft=1&f=1019 : 'Esquire' To Print Electronic Cover - Esquire magazine's October cover will feature an animated electronic display using a technology called E-ink. How will it work? Russell Wilcox, the CEO of E-Ink Corp., explains.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93208355&ft=1&f=1019 : Missouri Town Is Running On Vapor — And Thriving - The town of Rock Port in northwest Missouri is the first community in the United States to be completely powered by wind. The small community owes its energy independence to the presence of four massive wind turbines.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93420263&ft=1&f=1019 : Predicting Your Gender Based On Web Surfing - Are you more likely to browse sports sites or celebrity gossip? And what does that say about your gender? Madeleine Brand talks with Mike Nolet of mikeonads.com about an online widget he created. It claims to predict whether you're male or female based on your Web surfing history.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93374335&ft=1&f=1019 : Why Can't Facebook 'Friends' Accept Rejection? - Here's the irony of the popular online social network Facebook: nothing makes critic Andrew Wallenstein feel more antisocial. Since joining earlier this year, he's found himself consistently confused by random people asking to be his "friend." Even when he denies them, they try again.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93341389&ft=1&f=1019 : How To Catch An Anthrax Killer - The anthrax attacks have been under investigation for more than six years. One of the reasons it's taken so long is that the FBI had to invent new scientific procedures to pin down where microscopic spores came from and who could have sent them.