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Latest by Geoff Duncan

SEC Charges ex-AOL Execs on Online Ad Fraud

The Security and Exchange Commission has filed charges against eight former AOL Time Warner executives for a scheme that overstated the company's ad revenue by over $1 billion.

Greenpeace Goes After Game Consoles

Environmental watchdog group Greenpeace has taken apart the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and guess what? The guts aren't very eco-friendly.

Sony’s Rolly Pops, Locks, and Rolls to U.S.

Sony has brought its Rolly "music entertainment player" to the United States, so users can see the egg-shaped device dance and spin to their favorite music.

Netflix Unveils Streaming Set-Top Box

Netflix has partnered with Roku to offer a compact set-top box that can stream movies from Netflix directly to users televisions.

Google Health Stores Medical Records

Amid privacy concerns, Google has launched Google Health, a password-protected online service that lets users store an online version of their medical records.

Microsoft Wants to Buy Yahoo Search

The Microsoft-Yahoo saga continues to unfold, with Redmond's "alternative" offer looking to be a buyout of Yahoo's search business.

NEC Puts Some Heart Into LCDs

NEC has announced new LCD technology that permits complex, non-rectangular LCD display shapes...you know, like hearts.

AMD Wants You to Know It’s Got Game

AMD is rolling out a new AMD Game program to help consumers more easily pick out AMD-powered gaming rigs.

Nintendo Launching Wii Fit May 21

Nintendo has announced an official launch date for Wii Fit in the United States: May 21, just two days from now.

Google Beats Yahoo for Most Web Traffic

According to comScore, the total number of visitors to Google Web sites just barely edged out total visitors to Yahoo sites during April.

EA Extends Take-Two Offer

Electronic Arts has extended the deadline on its unsolicited $2 billion takeover offer for Take-Two, but Take-Two still isn't interested.

Samsung Shows 240 Hz ‘Blue Phase’ Display

Samsung has developed an LCD panel with a 240 Hz display rate capable of handling high-speed video...but doesn't expect to bring it to market until 2011.

Xtreme 917V Notebook Goes Quad Core

XtremeNotebooks' new Xtreme 917V is now available with a Intel X3360 Xeon quad-core processor, Blu-ray, RAID capability, and a choice of high-end graphics.

Sprint Declares WiMax Ready for Business

Sprint says it and Samsung have completed commercial acceptance testing on Sprint's Xohm WiMax service...but launch is still slated for "later this year."

OLPC, Microsoft Partner for XP on the XO

The One Laptop Per Child Project has reached an agreement with Microsoft to offer Windows XP on the low-cost XO notebook computer.

Orange Lands Multi-Country iPhone Deal

French wireless operator Orange has announced it will be offering the Apple iPhone in ten European and Middle Eastern nations, plus Orange's existing African markets.

Nintendo Hit with $21 Million Patent Ruling

Nintendo has been ordered to pay Anascape $21 million in a patent infringement case involving controllers for its GameCube and Wii console systems.

Microsoft Touts Xbox 360 Sales, Ignores Wii

Microsoft is declaring a preemptive victory in the game console wars, since it's the first next-generation console to have sold 10 million units in the United States.

Comcast Buys Social Network Site Plaxo

U.S. cable operator Comcast has announced a deal to acquire pioneering social networking site Plaxo to drive TV and mobile social features.

Ask.com Buys Dictionary.com Company Lexico

Internet portal Ask.com has announced it has entered a deal to acquire Lexico, the company behind dictionary.com and other reference sites.

Icahn Launches Yahoo Proxy Battle

Mega-investor Carl Icahn is unhappy Yahoo didn't accept Microsoft's takeover offer...and is launching an effort to replace Yahoo's board and make the deal.

CBS Buys CNet for $1.8 Billion

Media company and broadcast television network CBS has reached a deal to buy the online news site CNet for $1.8 billion in cash.

Seagate Notebook Drive Gets NSA Nod

Seagate's self-encrypting Momentus 5400 FDE.2 notebook hard drive has been certified by the National Security Agency for use on U.S. government computers.

Assault Heroes 2 Hits Xbox Live Arcade

Sierra Online has released Assault Heroes II for Xbox Live Arcade, marking the first time a title developed for the online service has spawned a sequel.

Survey: One in Six U.S. Homes Cell-Only

Preliminary results from the CDC's National Health Interview Survey finds that about one in six U.S. homes have ditched their landlines.

Dell Says It’s Sticking with XPS

Dell says it plans to keep developing gaming rigs in its XPS line, even as it "invests like crazy" in Alienware.

Craigslist Countersues eBay

Online classifieds site Craigslist has filed suit against eBay, accusing the online auction site of using its ownership stake to steal Craigslist trade secrets.

EarthLink Terminates Philadelphia Wi-Fi

So goes the notion of metropolitan Wi-Fi networks: EarthLink has announced it will shut down Philadelphia's Wi-Fi network as of June 12.

Microsoft Rolls New Headset, LifeCams

Microsoft has introduced its new LifeCam VX-5000 Webcams and LifeChat LX-2000 headset, aiming at folks looking for affordable online chat solutions.

Microsoft’s OOXML Faces New EU Challenge

The European Commission has received a new complaint about Microsoft's Open Office XML format, alleging (you guessed it) the format impedes competition.

Eye-Fi Offers Geotagging, Photo Uploads

Eye-Fi has expanded its line of Wi-Fi enabled SD-compatible storage cards to support uploading images to photo sharing services and support geotagging.

EA Brings Skate It to Nintendo Wii, DS

EA is expanding its Skate franchise to the Nintendo Wii and DS with Skate It - including support for the Wii Balance Board.

Microsoft Messenger TV Touts Social Video

Microsoft's Messenger TV will enable users to watch the same video and chat about it in real time...but it's not available in the United States.

Apple Settles iPod Class Action Suits

Apple has agreed to settle a pair of Canadian class action lawsuits that charged Apple misled consumers about battery life in its portable music players.

iPhone Going Non-Exclusive on More Carriers

More international carriers are announcing deals to carry Apple's iphone, including multiple operators in India and Australia.

Built Slims Down Laptop Backpacks

Is that body armor...or are you just lugging a notebook? Built NY's slim new neoprene laptop backpacks keep 12- to 17-inch laptops close to your heart.

MySpace Opens User Profile Data to Net

MySpace's new "Data Availability" initiative will enable MySpace users to share profile information with other sites, like Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket, and Twitter.

Facebook Working to Protect Young Users

Facebook has reached an agreement with 49 states attorneys general to protect underage members from sexual predators.