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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Microsoft Lowered Vista Bar for Intel

Email messages between Microsoft executives seems to indicate Microsoft lowered Vista's hardware requirements so Intel could keep selling low-end chipsets.

Bill Gates Joins LinkedIn

We don't think he's looking for a new job, but Microsoft founder Bill Gates has set up a profile on the online professional social network LinkedIn.

PayPal: Steer Clear of Apple’s Safari

PayPal's chief information officer says its users stay away from Apple's Safari Web browser because it lacks anti-phishing features PayPal considers important.

Sprint Offers Simply Everything for $99

Following its competitors' leads, Sprint has unveiled an unlimited mobile pricing plan - everything (voice, text, data, video, music, and more) for $99 a month.

Samsung and Sony to Partner on LCD Plant?

Just a day after Sony invests over a billion dollars in a Sharp LCD plant, reports have Samsung and Sony looking to jointly build a new LCD production line.

Sony Brings Bluetooth Walkmans to U.S.

Sony has announced plans to bring Walkman portable media players to the U.S. that support noise canceling and Bluetooth technology.

Sony Shows Off New Blu-ray Players

Fresh off vanquishing HD DVD, Sony is showing off its BDP-S350 and S550 Blu-ray players, featuring picture-in-picture and BD-Live support.

FCC Weighs in On Network Management

The FCC has said it's willing to fine Internet service providers who engage in "network management" that favors certain types of traffic over others.

Network Solutions Sued Over Domain Tasting

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Network Solutions and ICANN over NSI's policy of temporarily registering domains as soon as someone searches for them.

iTunes Now #2 U.S. Music Retailer

It's well-known that Wal-Mart is the leading music retailer in the United States...but would you believe Apple's iTunes store is now the second largest?

Sony Buys 33 Pct Stake in Sharp LCD Plant

Sony has announced it will buy a one-third stake in a $3.5 billion LCD plant being built by Sharp, in a long-term effort to meet demand for flat-panel TVs.

Apple Speeds Up MacBook Line

Apple has updated its MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook lines, adding more storage, more RAM, faster processors...and a multi-touch trackpad on the MacBook Pro.

DivX Shutting Down Stage6

DivX's Stage6 video sharing service will go dark on February 28, as the company works to focus on its core technologies.

eBay Names New Skype, Shopping.com CEOs

eBay has appointed new CEOs for its Skype and Shopping.com subsidiaries...and Skype's new boss is the former head of Shopping.com.

Nokia Morph Concept Phone Flexes, Stretches

Nokia is showing a nanotechnology-based "concept phone" dubbed Morph, with transparent technology, self-cleaning surfaces...and the ability wrap around your wrist.

Fujitsu Pushes Notebook Drives to 500 GB

Fujitsu has announced a 500 GB, 2.5-inch hard disk drive for notebook computers...but it's a little too thick to be a drop-in upgrade.

Sony Games Chief Phil Harrison Resigns

Sony has announced Phil Harrison, president of its game development division, will resign effective February 29, with duties to be taken over by Kaz Hirai.

Vista Capable Suit Gets Class Action Status

A federal judge has granted class action status to a lawsuit claiming Microsoft inflated demand for PCs at the end of 2006 by labeling them "Windows Vista Capable."

Russia Now Biggest Malware Producer

According to Threat Expert, Russia has surpassed both China and the United States in the production of spyware and viruses.

U.S., EU Crack Down on Counterfeit Tech

U.S. and EU officials are vowing to crack down on counterfeit computer components after seizing more than 360,000 fake items in just two weeks last year.

Nvidia Unveils New Mobile, Desktop Graphics

Graphics developer Nvidia has introduc the Quadro FX 3600M controller for notebooks, and unveiled the super-fast, budget-friendly GeForce 9600 GT.

Google Still Growing Search Lead

New figures from comScore show Google still expanded its lead in the search market in January 2008, now accounting for 58.4 percent of Americans' online searches.

Consumer Tech Spending Slowed Down in 2007

Market research firm NPD says that consumer technology spending increased during 2007, but slowed significantly in the second half of the year.

Sharper Image Files for Bankruptcy

Upscale gizmo retailer The Sharper Image has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming declining sales and the woes caused by its iconic Ionic Breeze air purifiers.

Google Selling Ads in Online Videos

Google has extended its AdSense program to online video, with start-up YuMe and My Damn Channel on board as participants in the beta.

Sony Selling Chip Facility to Toshiba

In a move rendered ironic by Toshiba's coup de grace on its HD DVD format, Sony has agreed to sell Toshiba a Japanese chip-making facility for $835 million.

Alienware Adds Penryn to Area-51 m15x

Alienware has added a 45nm Core Duo 2 Extreme X900 "Penryn" CPU to its Area-51 m15x notebook, making it the only 15.4-inch notebook featuring the processor.

Wii Fit Coming to the U.S. in May

Nintendo is planning to bring the Wii exercize title Wii Fit to the United States beginning in May, complete with the weight- and motion-sensing Balance Board.

Amazon, Universal Embrace Blu-ray

In the wake of Toshiba officially dropping its HD DVD format, a flurry of companies are joining the Blu-ray camp...even some HD DVD stalwarts.

Intel to Invest in Sprint-Clearwire WiMax?

Sprint and Clearwire are still trying to work out how to deploy a nationwide WiMax network...and Intel may ride to the rescue with $2 billion.

Undersea Cable Cuts May Have Been Sabotage

An International Telecommunications Union spokesman refused to rule out sabotage as the cause of the damage to undersea cables linking the Middle East to the Internet.

Liberate iTunes Media with doubleTwist

DVD Jon is back with doubleTwist, a new desktop application that promises to share and convert media between devices...even if it's protected by Apple's FairPlay DRM.

Apple Bumps iPod shuffle to 2 GB

Apple has released a new 2 GB model of its diminutive iPod shuffle for $79...and dropped the price of the 1 GB model to $49.

DTV Coupons In The Mail

The U.S. government says it has started mailing out $40 coupons good toward the purchase of DTV converters, while Nielsen says 13 million home aren't ready for DTV.

U.S. Hangs Up On Analog Cell Service

The United States has officially terminated old-style analog cell service: better see if your alarm systems are still working.

In-Stat: 400,000 iPhones on China Mobile

Market research firm In-Stat reports some 400,000 Apple iPhones are already running on China Mobile's GSM network. That's more than all the iPhones in Europe.

Alibaba To Weigh In On Microsoft-Yahoo Deal

Sources say Chinese Internet portal Alibaba - 39 percent owned by Yahoo - will try to retain control of its operations of a Microsoft/Yahoo merger goes forward.

iSuppli: Wii Sales To Pass Xbox 360 in 2008

Market research firm iSuppli is forecasting that total sales for the Nintendo Wii will surpass the Xbox 360 during 2008...and the PS3 will surpass them both in 2011.