Having a child reach toddler age involves many exciting new questions and avenues for parents: What should my child eat? What books should I read to my child? What activities should I start involving him or her in? How should I socially interact my child?

The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and spring is here. If you like to sleep with your windows open this time of year, you might notice an “added attraction” in Gilbert. Union Pacific loves to send their little choo choos through town at all hours of the day and night. For the past two years, I’ve been involved in a campaign to silence the train horns. No luck so far in Gilbert, although I know that both Tempe and Chandler established quiet zones at several crossings last year. A horn is posted at the crossing only, rather than the train blowing away (three short, one long, per crossing) starting a half-mile down the track. Not an issue? It does have an impact on the quality of life in Gilbert, and has an economic impact on residential property values. Perhaps this will be the year that Gilbert can move out of the stone age and plan for the future. We leave the more advanced projects, like light rail, to progressive cities like Mesa.

The sound of train horns — considered nostalgic by some but an irritant to others — will mostly be a thing of the past north of Broadway Road in Tempe starting Jan. 25. That’s when a so-called quiet zone will go into effect for trains on the Union Pacific Railroad line. In the zone, conductors are prohibited from using the horn except for safety concerns such as pedestrians, bicyclists or motorists getting too close to the tracks.

Lawyers can make their clients' files available to them on the World Wide Web - but only if they take proper safety precautions, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona has concluded.

Lawyers can make their clients’ files available to them on the World Wide Web — but only if they take proper safety precautions, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona has concluded.

Four East Valley men accused of spending more than $1 million using stolen credit cards are being held in a Maricopa County jail after a grand jury charged them with fraud-related offenses.

Q. I have all of my music stored in iTunes on my PC. As you know, they are in the form of (AACs). If I want to burn anything onto compact disc, do I have to convert each music file into an MP3 first? If so, is there an easier and quicker way than converting them file by file? - Bill

Feb. 19, 2008, was supposed to be a watershed day in the history of home entertainment.

TUCSON - Anyone thinking of swiping a stately saguaro cactus from the desert could soon be hauling off more than just a giant plant.

Q: What is Silverlight, and do I need it? - Glen

WASHINGTON - Thirty-eight people were charged Monday with stealing names, Social Security numbers, credit card data and other personal information from unsuspecting Internet users as part of a global crime ring.

SAN FRANCISCO - Most people gave up on their vinyl music collection two decades ago, when compact discs all but nudged LPs off store shelves for good. If you held onto any favorites, DJ equipment maker Numark Inc. is looking to breathe new life into them with a USB-equipped turntable.

Gov. Janet Napolitano signed a deal Thursday with federal officials to create a new “technologically enhanced’’ state driver license.

NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp. and its hardware partners are trying to bridge the divide between home computers and TV sets this holiday season with the release of several "media extenders."

Digital Rights Management. If you buy digital downloads, you’ve probably encountered it. And there’s a good chance that you’ve been very aggravated by it.

That information encoded on your driver’s license would get a little more privacy protection under terms of legislation approved Wednesday by the House.

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. must pay $1.52 billion in damages to telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA for violating two patents related to digital music, a federal jury ruled Thursday.

High Definition TV is any screen with 720 pixels or more from top to bottom, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. HDTV gives the viewer a sharper image, but with an array of competing initials such DLP, LCD, PDP and LCoS the picture can get pretty fuzzy for a consumer searching for the right TV.

It’s the next-to-last day of Mesa’s 14-week firefighter academy, and a roomful of men in rookie red T-shirts watch instructor Fred King as he explains what, many say, is the most harrowing part of a dangerous job.

It’s the next-to-last day of Mesa’s 14-week firefighter academy, and a roomful of men in rookie red T-shirts watch instructor Fred King as he explains what, many say, is the most harrowing part of a dangerous job.

BOSTON - In an effort to boost the level of data security on portable computers, cell phones and other gadgets, IBM Corp. is unveiling a method for injecting encryption capabilities into the heart of the machines' circuitry.

HANOVER, Germany - Companies like Lucent and Nokia announced new deals to build infrastructure and make mobile phone service faster as providers such as Virgin, T-Mobile and others strive to make TV viewing on tiny cell phones easier and cheaper.

NEW YORK - Even as the U.S. government is embroiled in a debate over the legality of wiretapping, the fastestgrowing technology for Internet calls appears to have the potential to make eavesdropping a thing of the past.