Technology: November 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Space shuttle lands smoothly in California

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California (Reuters) - The space shuttle Endeavour glided to a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Sunday, returning to Earth from a mission to expand and renovate the International Space Station.

Microsoft-Yahoo deal "total fiction:" report

LONDON (Reuters) - A report in the Sunday Times that Microsoft Inc is in talks with Yahoo Inc to buy the U.S. internet company's online search business for $20 billion is "total fiction," according to a key executive cited by an influential U.S. blog.

Bad weather delays space shuttle landing

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA delayed the landing of space shuttle Endeavour on Sunday due to bad weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and may have to divert the spaceship to a backup landing site in California.

Scientists track genetic changes in leukemia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Distinctive genetic changes occur in the cancer cells that trigger relapse in patients with the most common type of childhood cancer, according to a study that may offer new hope for beating the disease.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Japan polar bear mating stymied by gender mixup

TOKYO (Reuters) - Handlers of a popular polar bear, brought to mate with a female in a zoo in northern Japan, found their breeding plan was doomed when they noticed that he, in fact, was a she.

Former MTV exec named MySpace Music president

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MySpace, the popular social networking website owned by News Corp, said on Tuesday former MTV executive Courtney Holt will become president of its MySpace Music joint venture with the four major record companies.

Wal-Mart previews Black Friday deals to draw sales

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc previewed some of the deep discounts it plans to offer right after Thanksgiving next week, part of a promotional strategy that has kept cash-strapped customers scouring its stores for bargains.

Tech looks to raise bets on healthcare

LONDON (Reuters) - An aging population, spiraling medical costs and increasingly poor service are spurring more computer firms to bet on healthcare and what many of them see as a lucrative -- but relatively untapped -- market.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Verizon Wireless bets on Storm for holiday season

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless is betting on the new BlackBerry Storm for the all-important holiday season, hoping the highly anticipated smartphone can compete against the iPhone offered by rival wireless provider AT&T Inc.

Israeli archaeologists unearth Herod family tombs

BEIT SAHOUR, West Bank (Reuters) - An Israeli archaeologist said on Wednesday he had unearthed what he believed were the 2,000-year-old remains of two tombs which had held a wife and daughter-in-law of the biblical King Herod.

New, old media good for each other, Huffington says

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New media and old can clash and crowd each other out, but blogger extraordinaire Arianna Huffington argues in a new book that the two worlds are rapidly joining together to bring out the best in each other.

Microsoft: New software not Symantec, McAfee rival

BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's upcoming security software is not designed to take sales from Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc as it is a stripped-down, free product that focuses purely on anti-virus protection, a Microsoft executive said.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Tiny, long-lost primate rediscovered in Indonesia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On a misty mountaintop on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, scientists for the first time in more than eight decades have observed a living pygmy tarsier, one of the planet's smallest and rarest primates.

Cuban responds to SEC, says no secrecy deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire basketball team owner Mark Cuban responded to U.S. insider trading charges on Tuesday, saying on his website that he had not agreed to keep information about a proposed stock sale confidential.

Bolivian farmer leads to dinosaur discovery

ICLA, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivian farmer Primo Rivera had long wondered about the dents in a rocky hill near his home. Paleontologists solved the mystery this month: they are fossilized dinosaur footprints -- the oldest in Bolivia.

Plumes from Saturn moon may come from liquid water

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Huge plumes of water vapor and ice particles are spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus at supersonic speeds in a way that strongly suggests they come from liquid water down below the icy surface, scientists said.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Public safety airwave auction faces next test

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A renewed effort by U.S. regulators to auction part of the airwaves to a commercial entity that must share the spectrum with firefighters, police, and other emergency workers, faces its next test within weeks.

Apple gears up for Black Friday sale

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc, facing a tight U.S. consumer spending environment, is gearing up for a one-day sale on Friday and at least one analyst expects the company to offer discounts of up to 15 percent.

Cheap Blu-ray players seen scarce in Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - A scarcity of cheap Blu-ray video players combined with the effects of a recession are expected to delay take-up of the new, high-definition Blu-ray DVD format in Europe, according to media research firm Screen Digest.

Online networks a magnet for job-seekers

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Janel Landon, who runs a small PR consultancy in Chicago, has long been aware of the potential of online networks: now in her mid-50s and facing a global recession, she's decided to sign up.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Shipwreck may hold key to Turks and Caicos' lineage

MIAMI (Reuters) - A pair of glass-eyed idols led marine archeologists to the wreck of a Spanish ship that once carried an illegal cargo of African slaves believed to be the ancestors of many of today's inhabitants of the British colony of Turks and Caicos.

Apple sued over tech that helps iPhone surf Web

BOSTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc is the target of a lawsuit that claims a technology the iPhone uses to surf the Web infringes on a patent filed by Los Angeles real estate developer Elliot Gottfurcht and two co-inventors.

NASA finds apparent fix for urine recycling system

HOUSTON (Reuters) - NASA appears to have resolved problems with a new urine recycling system on the International Space Station, bolstering hopes it will be able to expand the research outpost's crew next year, officials at the U.S. space agency said on Tuesday.

Blockbuster takes on Netflix with new set-top box

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Blockbuster Inc on Monday said it would roll out a new digital media player that brings fewer, but more recent titles from the Internet to consumers' televisions than a six-month old offering from rival Netflix Inc.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Jury to deliberate in MySpace suicide case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The suicide of a Missouri teen could have been avoided had she not been tormented online by a mom who lived a few houses away, prosecutors said on Monday, describing the girl's death as a tragedy.

Silver Lake eyes Asia tech investments

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Private equity fund Silver Lake is in talks with technology companies in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan as it looks for firms with strong growth potential during the global financial turmoil, an executive said on Monday.

MySpace Japan bets on world demand for J-Pop

TOKYO (Reuters) - Banking on the global appeal of Japanese pop and video games, social networking site MySpace said it would more than double the number of artists on its Japanese pages to get more clicks internationally.

Shuttle inspects heat shield on way to space post

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Astronauts orbiting the Earth aboard the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour unfolded a robotic arm on Saturday to inspect the ship's heat shielding as they sped toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Facebook pulls Italian neo-Nazi pages after outcry

ROME (Reuters) - Facebook said on Friday it had removed several pages from its site used by Italian neo-Nazis to incite violence after European politicians accused the Internet social networking site of allowing a platform to racists.

Sony's Crackle.com set to roll out new Web shows

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Web site owned by Sony Corp is expected on Monday to unveil a slew of new Internet programs in the latest move by a division of a major media company to bolster online entertainment.

YouTube rolls out sponsored videos in revenue drive

NEW YORK (Reuters) - YouTube, the popular online video sharing site owned by Google, said on Wednesday it will roll out a new sponsored videos format, the latest step in its drive to grow revenues through advertising.

Meteor lights up skies over Western Canada

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A massive ball of fire that lit up the skies over two Western Canadian provinces on Thursday evening was likely among the biggest meteor events to be witnessed in Canada this year, one expert said.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Astronauts finish longest spacewalk outside station

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two shuttle Endeavour astronauts finished the longest of their planned spacewalks outside the orbiting International Space Station on Saturday, a nearly seven-hour effort aimed at cleaning and repairing a contaminated joint on the station's solar power array.

Spacewalkers resume space station repairs

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two shuttle Endeavour astronauts slipped outside to the vacuum of space on Saturday to clean and repair a contaminated joint in the International Space Station's external frame, a key step to restoring the outpost to full power.

Virgin Media sees mobile broadband as complementary

LONDON (Reuters) - British cable operator Virgin Media said it did not believe mobile broadband had mass appeal in the short term, but it entered the market to offer the service in its high-end mobile, broadband and TV bundles.

Even Google scales back on holiday fun

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet search giant Google Inc is known for hosting the most extravagant holiday parties in Silicon Valley, often drawing crowds of over 10,000 and prompting some employees to post ads for party dates on classifieds Website Craigslist.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Huge glaciers detected under rocky debris on Mars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A radar instrument aboard a NASA spacecraft has detected large glaciers hidden under rocky debris that may be the vestiges of ice sheets that blanketed parts of Mars in a past ice age, scientists said on Thursday.

Sony says Blu-ray sales short of forecasts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - High definition Blu-ray disc players may be one of the holiday season's best sellers, but they will still fall short of expectations, due to the tough economy, the head of Sony's U.S. electronics unit said.

Irish the heaviest users of mobile phones: Ofcom

LONDON (Reuters) - Residents in the Republic of Ireland spent the most time on their mobile phones and sent the most text messages per head in the world in 2007, according to a report which examines changes in the communications industry.

Astronauts finish second spacewalk outside station

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Shuttle Endeavour astronauts working outside the orbiting International Space Station faced glitches during a second spacewalk on Thursday, as one astronaut experienced high carbon-dioxide levels after his crew mate lost a tool bag on the mission's first spacewalk.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Government warns of "catastrophic" U.S. quake

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - People in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earthquake struck there and should ensure that builders keep that risk in mind, a government report said on Thursday.

Woman posed as teen online in suicide case: attorney

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Missouri woman established a fake identity online to torment a vulnerable teenage girl who later committed suicide, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday in a trial that is being closely watched by the burgeoning social networking industry.

U.S. woman posed as teen online, teased girl: attorney

High-street shopping losing appeal in plugged-in Asia

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Internet is replacing the high street as the shopping destination of choice in the Asia Pacific, with a new survey showing a majority of Internet users prefer to go online to buy everything from electronics to holidays.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Suit forces eHarmony to offer gay dating service

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Online dating service eHarmony has agreed to create a new website for gays and lesbians as part of a settlement with a gay man in New Jersey, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General said on Wednesday.

Global chip sales forecast to drop 5.6 percent in 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global semiconductor sales will fall in 2009, the first decline in eight years, as the financial crisis takes its toll on consumer spending, a chip industry trade group forecast on Wednesday, sending a key industry gauge to its lowest level in a decade.

Astronaut set to become Japan's first mom in space

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese astronaut and mother of one has been picked as a crew member of the space shuttle Atlantis, Japan's space agency said Tuesday, making her the country's first mom to go into space.

Woman gets first trachea transplant without drugs

LONDON (Reuters) - A Colombian woman has received the world's first tailor-made trachea transplant, grown by seeding a donor organ with her own stem cells to prevent her body rejecting it, an international research team reported on Wednesday.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

National Geographic enters the sea of video games

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - National Geographic is getting into the video game business. Through its for-profit unit National Geographic Ventures, the nonprofit National Geographic Society is set to announce Tuesday that it has created National Geographic Games.

Obama ticket sellers threatened with prosecution

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People trying to sell tickets to Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th president of the United States may face a fine of up to $100,000 or a year in prison, if a U.S. senator has her way.

Search is on for new Yahoo CEO after Yang steps down

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said Jerry Yang will step down as chief executive as soon as the board finds a replacement, sending its shares up 4 percent on hopes his departure will clear the way for a deal with Microsoft.

Sci Fi's "Sanctuary" a true Web-to-TV pioneer

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A milestone was reached last week in the crossover from Internet to TV when Sci Fi Channel gave an early second-season pickup to "Sanctuary," making it the first TV show based on an online series to accomplish the feat.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Yahoo's Yang to step down

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said Jerry Yang will step down as chief executive as soon as the board finds a replacement, sending shares up 4 percent on hopes the departure would clear the way for a deal with Microsoft.

NASA loses contact with Mars lander, ends mission

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Phoenix Mars Lander, which made history by finding definitive proof of water on the Red Planet, has lost contact with Earth, effectively ending its more than five-month mission, NASA said on Monday.

Mountain gorillas at mercy of Congo war factions

GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - East Congo's conflict has put more than a quarter of the world's last mountain gorillas at the mercy of armed groups who hunt and camp in their territory, park officials said on Monday.

Lawmaker plans bill on Web neutrality

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. lawmaker plans to introduce a bill in January that would bar Internet providers like AT&T Inc from blocking Web content, setting up a renewed battle over so-called network neutrality.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Music Mogul offers virtual world to musicians, fans

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer Rodney Jerkins and former Vivendi Games executive Nicholas Longano are teaming up on a technology project that will present a basic virtual world, in the tradition of Second Life, on the Web.

U.S. lawmaker plans bill on Web neutrality

Web travel agencies feel pinch of weaker demand

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Online travel agencies are a traveler's best friend when budgets are tight, but the current economic crisis is so bad it has squelched a lot trips and clouded the outlook for companies that sell bookings.

NASA begins shuttle launch countdown

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) -- Countdown clocks at the Kennedy Space Center began ticking down on Tuesday toward Friday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour on a mission to outfit the International Space Station for an expanded live-aboard crew.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Purified urine to be astronauts' drinking water

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - As NASA prepares to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing may do more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

Wide-hipped fossil changes picture of Homo erectus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fossil of a wide-hipped Homo erectus found in Ethiopia suggests females of the pre-human species swayed their hips as they walked and gave birth to relatively developed babies with big heads, researchers said on Thursday.

EA debuts fitness videogame for Wii

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc unveiled its first personal training product on Thursday, tapping into the growing appeal of video games as fitness systems as seen with Nintendo Co Ltd's hit title "Wii Fit" earlier this year.

Videogame sales up 18 percent in October

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. sales of videogame hardware and software rose 18 percent in October from a year earlier, after falling 7 percent in September, as Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console sold over 800,000 units, market researcher NPD reported on Thursday.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Rare dinosaur nest offers look into bird evolution

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian researchers say they've narrowed down the likely owner of a dinosaur nest, abandoned on a river's edge 77 million years ago, adding the discovery offers a unique look at dinosaur reproduction and the evolution of birds.

Bacteria, fungus problems? Try copper socks

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Copper socks? Copper towels? How about copper subway poles? These are only a few of the uses Chile, the world's biggest copper producer, is applying to the red metal now used more in the construction and auto sectors.

Video games sales up 18 percent in October

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. sales of video game hardware and software rose 18 percent in October from a year earlier, after falling 7 percent in September, as Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console sold over 800,000 units, market researcher NPD reported on Thursday.

Japan police crackdown videos a hit online

TOKYO (Reuters) - Video clips of a Japanese police crackdown on a group of "working poor" who tried to get a look at the wealthy prime minister's luxurious private home in Tokyo have attracted of thousands of viewers on the Internet.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Google to let businesses generate more search pages

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc said on Thursday it is launching a new feature to help businesses that use its Site Search service to instantly incorporate and update new Web pages in the latest phase of its expansion into business services.

Intel's shock warning sounds alarm for tech sector

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chip giant Intel Corp cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast by about 14 percent citing weak demand across the world and in all its products, indicating the economic crisis is set to hurt computer sales in the holiday season and beyond.

WITNESS: Zero G -- like being born

Tim Hepher has been a journalist with Reuters for 14 years, with experience covering trade wars and takeover battles, and now specializes in aerospace business in Paris. In the following story, he describes a parabolic flight where he somersaulted weightless with space officials and politicians.

WITNESS: Zero G is like being born

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

U.S. issues Internet gambling rule, ignoring lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve issued a final rule on Wednesday aimed at stopping illegal Internet gambling, two days after a leading Democratic lawmaker called for a delay because of the problems he said it would cause for banks.

U.S. top court rules for Navy in whales-sonar case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy can conduct sonar training exercises off the southern California coast without restrictions designed to protect whales, dolphins and other marine mammals, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a defeat for environmentalists.

Economy grinch may pinch Blu-ray format

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Executives hoping that the weak consumer embrace of high-definition discs will strengthen during the holiday season thanks to clarity on format and hardware issues suddenly face this rude awakening: It's the economy, stupid.

Taiwan's Asustek says U.S. sales not hurt by slowdown

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Asustek Computer said on Tuesday its U.S. sales have not been affected by the global economic slowdown, even as a bankruptcy filing by a major U.S. retailer raised fears about price wars.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Dell quells rumors about music player

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc, struggling to recharge its lineup of consumer product offerings, indicated Monday that a digital music player is not in the computer maker's near-term plans despite speculation that such a product is in the works.

Obama boosters urge greater role for Web

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Barack Obama had a brigade of Web denizens backing his election, from comedy star Obama Girl to throngs of young voters, and now they are clamoring for the Internet to play a big role in his presidency.

New test to identify heart failure in ER superior

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A new blood test to identify heart failure patients in most dire need of treatment when they turn up at an emergency room complaining of shortness of breath proved better than current tests, according to results of a study unveiled on Tuesday.

Dell quells rumors about new music player

Monday, November 10, 2008

Stem-cell firms surge as Obama fuels funding hopes

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Shares of companies developing therapies based on stem cells surged on Monday, after confirmation over the weekend that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama plans to reverse an existing executive order against federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.

DTV ad gets mileage in race car crash: FCC chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nine-car NASCAR pileup may have wrecked a vehicle sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission, but it gave the agency more mileage in advertising the imminent switch to digital TV signals, the FCC's chief said on Monday.

YouTube to post full-length MGM films

NEW YORK (Reuters) - YouTube, the largest video-sharing website, will show full-length television shows and films from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's archives in its latest step to boost advertising revenue by adding professional programing, the company told Reuters on Sunday.

Octopuses had Antarctic ancestor: marine census

OSLO (Reuters) - Many octopuses evolved from a common ancestor that lived off Antarctica more than 30 million years ago, according to a "Census of Marine Life" that is seeking to map the oceans from microbes to whales.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

YouTube to post full-length MGM films on site

Gene Simmons rushes to cash in on rock videogames

DENVER (Billboard) - Amid the flood of third-party instrument peripherals emerging for the new "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" music simulation games, God forbid if Gene Simmons would miss an opportunity to get his brand on.

FCC head, Google co-founder see cheaper Internet

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - High-speed wireless Internet will be cheaper and more available across the United States in the near future, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a Google co-founder said on Thursday.

Activision posts better-than-expected earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings on Wednesday, fueled by sales of "Guitar Hero: On Tour", and said it plans to buy back $1 billion of its stock.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Earliest known shaman grave site found: study

LONDON (Reuters) - An ancient grave unearthed in modern-day Israel containing 50 tortoise shells, a human foot and body parts from numerous animals is likely one of the earliest known shaman burial sites, researchers said on Monday.

3D gives taste of life and combat in ancient Rome

ROME (Reuters) - For tourists who struggle to make sense of the ruins around the Roman Forum, a new high-tech show provides a 3D sense of what life was like for plebeians and gladiators in ancient Rome.

AMD lays off 500 people worldwide

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices, one of the world's two makers of microprocessors for personal computers, said it had cut 500 people from its staff of 15,500, effective Wednesday, as part of a move to cut costs.

Media groups turn on Web for election coverage

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedy spoofs by Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert have made the U.S. presidential race a made-for-television event, but on Tuesday many voters will turn to the Internet to watch election night coverage.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Brains of depressed people handle pain differently

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found clues in the brains of people with major depression that might help explain why so many depressed people also battle chronic pain, according to a U.S. study published on Monday.

Malaysia court to free blogger under security act

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian court is to free a blogger who was detained under the country's draconian security laws and whose arrest in September sparked condemnation from rights groups, state news agency Bernama reported on Friday.

Cell phone makers face toughest year since 2001

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A wave of economic gloom is set to hit mobile phone buyers next year, with a growing number of analysts expecting the once-buoyant market to shrink for the first time since the 2001 crash, a Reuters poll showed.

A cancer patient's genome decoded for first time

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists for the first time have decoded the entire genome of a cancer patient, identifying a series of genes never before linked to the type of white blood cell cancer that ultimately killed the woman.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Yang says Yahoo is still best option for Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - After nearly a year spent seeking alternatives to Microsoft Corp's buyout offer, Yahoo Inc's Chief Executive Jerry Yang said he believes a deal between the two is still the best option for the software company.

Apple, RIM win smartphone market share from Nokia

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Surging demand for the latest iPhone and Blackberry models helped Apple Inc and Research In Motion to win larger shares of the smartphone market in the third quarter at the expense of top vendor Nokia, market research firm Canalys said on Thursday.

Newspapers grabbed up after Obama's historic win

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a good day to be in the newspaper business. The historic November 5 editions proclaiming Barack Obama's White House victory flew off the newsstands and major newspapers struggled to keep up with the demand for copies.

Yahoo's Yang says Microsoft deal still best option

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Google executives to face trial in Italy: sources

MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian prosecutor has ordered four former and current Google officials to stand trial on charges related to a video of a taunted youth with Down syndrome posted on its Italian website, court sources said on Wednesday.

Google pulls out of search ad deal with Yahoo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc pulled out of a search advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc due to regulatory objections, causing Yahoo shares to rise as investors hoped the move could lead to a resumption of deal talks with Microsoft Corp.

Gates urges rich countries not to cut health aid

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Wednesday said he was worried the global financial crisis he says could last two to three years might drive rich countries to cut back spending on health aid for the developing world.

FCC gives go-ahead to Verizon purchase of Alltel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday voted to approve a Verizon Wireless plan to buy Alltel Corp for $28.1 billion, allowing it to overtake AT&T Inc as the biggest U.S. mobile service.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Yahoo-Google deal may flounder, analyst says

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The new search advertising deal between Yahoo Inc and Google Inc is unlikely to win U.S. antitrust approval, and therefore may open the door to a new bid for Yahoo from Microsoft Corp, an analyst said on Tuesday.

Yahoo-Google deal may founder, analyst says

Yahoo, Google revise deal in hopes of approval: source

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc and Google Inc have drastically scaled back the scope of their search advertising deal, a person close to the discussions said on Monday, in a last-ditch effort to win U.S. antitrust approval.

Senior Apple executive to leave: report

(Reuters) - One of Apple Inc's top executives, who was part of the development of the iPod, has decided to leave the company and will be replaced by a former employee of International Business Machine Corp, the Wall Street Journal said.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Salesforce.com unveils new services, pushes its cloud

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Business software provider Salesforce.com Inc said Monday it set alliances with Facebook and Amazon.com Inc and unveiled a new Web site management service as it pushed to bring more customers into its so-called "cloud" computing universe.

Media groups turn on Web for election cover

China sacks drunk official outed on Internet

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ministry of transport has fired an official in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen after photos and video clips of his drunken misbehavior in a seafood restaurant appeared online.

MySpace, MTV test piracy-profit plan

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A new technology that essentially allows content owners to profit from piracy will get a high-profile test this month from MySpace and MTV Networks.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Shanty sound

What do you do with the recorded sailor?

Geeking out

How dinner parties are bringing women into tech

Supersonic car

British team that broke sound barrier targets 1,000mph

Valley Girls

Bebo founder Xochi Birch on start-ups and success

Scientists find genes that lift lung cancer risk

LONDON (Reuters) - An international research team has identified two genetic variations that appear to increase a person's risk of developing lung cancer by up to 60 percent, they reported on Sunday.