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With tech giants like Apple stepping into the online music business, how will a small San Diego company like Slacker Radio stay alive?

In the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton, N.J., John Saunders, a jury manager, spends his weekdays shepherding potential jurors. Much of what he tells them regards the paraphernalia of 21st century life: cellphones, tablets and laptops. These are OK to use in the waiting room, he tells them. "We realize life does not stop."

Everywhere you walk in downtown Austin, Texas, new names compete for the attention of the tens of thousands wandering the SXSW Interactive festival. Which of this year's emerging ideas and brands -- MakerBot, Leap Motion, Geomagic -- will break into mainstream consciousness? Here's a quick rundown of the conversation topics in coffee lines, and some notes on appearances and panels that caught our attention:

Culture Lust contributor Randy Dotinga is an avid reader who's made the switch from hardcovers to reading entire books on his phone. Dotinga makes the case for reading on a tiny, hand-held screen.

The iPhone went on sale Friday, after much hype. But by Saturday, the long lines were for people who wanted to try the phones, not buy them. Everybody was curious but slow to buy as there were concerns about the carrier; No. 3 AT&T. Sentiments are mixed as to whether it has lived up to its promise.

Despite Facebook, Twitter, iPhones and other cutting-edge communication technologies, an increasing number of people are staying in touch using century-old amateur radio. "It's just talking and sharing and enjoying," says ham radio newcomer Helen Schlarman, 89.

The subject line on the email my old friend Bill sent me two days before Christmas said, simply: "here is a poem emily wrote for her murdered sister lauren."

About 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. The average American consumer wastes 10 times as much food as someone in Southeast Asia — up 50 percent from Americans in the 1970s. Yet, 1 in 6 Americans doesn't have enough to eat, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Airs Monday, October 4, 2010 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

Monica Potts reflects on her time reviewing civilian complaints about encounters with the NYPD, in light of several high-profile, videotaped confrontations this summer between officers and civilians.