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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Spammer Alan Ralsky, 10 Others Indicted

A federal grand jury has indicted Michigan's so-called "spam king" Alan Ralsky and 10 others on charges of spamming and running stock pump-and-dump schemes.

Microsoft Offers Xbox Live Users Free Game

By way of apologizing for almost two weeks of unreliable performance on its Xbox Live service, Microsoft is apologizing by offering all Gold and Silver members a free Arcade game title.

Dell Announces New LCD Displays

Dell has tipped its hand on two new, much-rumored LCD displays: the 22-inch Crystal Display, and a 30-inch monster with a DisplayPort Connection.

Hitachi Rolls Out 500 GB Portable Drive

Notebook computers and other portable devices just got a boost: Hitachi has announced it will be offering 500 GB 2.5-inch SATA hard drives beginning in February.

CinemaNow Inks Deal with Macrovision

Online digital movie service CinemaNow has inked a deal with Macrovision intended to make it easier for device manufacturers to build in CinemaNow service.

Motorola Announces Mobile TV Player

Motorola's forthcoming Mobile TV portable device will offer live television and support for on-demand video clips and stored programming transferred from DVRs.

Netflix, LG to Partner on Set-Top Box

Video rental service Netflix and South Korean electronics giant LG have announced plans for a set-top box to stream high-def content to consumers' living rooms.

Lenovo Intros IdeaPad Consumer Notebooks

Lenovo wants to branch out from business and enterprise users to consumers with its new IdeaPad notebooks featuring sleek designs and facial recognition technology.

Manage iTunes and iPods with TuneRanger

Smith Micro's new TuneRanger software enables users to manage iTunes libraries across multiple computers, finding lost songs, coordinating libraries, and managing multiple iPods.

AOL Finds Online Dating Generation Gap

A survey of users of AOL Personals find significant generational differences among online daters' views on truth and long-term commitment.

Get Wet with Liquid Image Underwater Camera

If underwater photography is your thing but you don't like awkward waterproof cases for digital cameras, Liquid Image is building a 5 megapixel camera into a diving mask.

High Royalties May Impede WiMax Adoption

So-called "4G" WiMax technology has held the promise of mobile broadband server - and Sprint's Xohm service is betting on it. But will tech royalties impede its adoption.

Qualcomm Says Non-Infringing Chips Ready

Qualcomm says an injunction barring it from selling mobile phone chipsets using Broadcom technology will hurt, but it has non-infringing chips ready to go.

Broadcom Wins 3G Injunction vs. Qualcomm

A federal judge has delivered a major patent victory for chipmaker Broadcom, ruling Qualcomm can neither sell nor support products using Broadcom's 3G mobile phone technology.

Hybrid Hi-Def Drives to Dominate PCs?

In the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray, ABI Research forecasts that, by 2012, universal drives capable of handling both formats will be the winners in PCs.

Vonage Settles with Nortel

Vonage has managed to settle its patent dispute with Nortel in a patent cross-licensing deal that doesn't cost either company any money.

Music CD Sales Slide 20 Pct Over Holidays

According to Nielsen Soundscan, sales of music CDs slumped over 20 percent from Thanksgiving to Christmas eve compared to sales in 2006.

U.S. Online Holiday Spending Up 19 Pct

Market analysis firm comScore says Americans online spending during the end-of-year holidays increased 19 percent compared to a year ago.

Over Half U.S. Households Own Digital TVs

The Consumer Electronics Association says that over half of U.S. households already own digital televisions - good thing, since analog TV is scheduled to be switched off in just over a year.

AOL Ends Support for Netscape Browser

Once the undisputed most important piece of Internet software, AOL has announced it will no longer support the Netscape browser.

Digital Foci Bringing Photo Frames to CES

Digital Foci plans on bringing new 6, 8, and 15-inch digital photo frames to CES, with models featuring deep color, LED backlighting, and high pixel density.

MP3Tunes Comes to the Wii

If you use the online "music locker" service from MP3Tunes, you may be thrilled to know you can now stream your music collection to the Nintendo Wii game console.

CDT Names Bogus Music Sites

The Center for Democracy and Technology has released a list of over 30 Web sites it says promise access to mainstream music...but don't have the licenses to back it up.

Fujitsu Quits Plasma Panel Business

Plasma display pioneer Fujitsu has decided to get out of the plasma television business, owing to competitive pressures from lower-cost LCD panels.

Americans Still Tuning In to Technology

A new survey finds more and more Americans are tuning into online video, putting content on the Internet for others, and using mobile phones as entertainment devices.

Wal-Mart Closes Video Download Service

After a year, Wal-Mart has abruptly shut down its online video download service, claiming Hewlett-Packard discontinued the technology that powered it.

Study: Ads in Online Shows Better Than TV

A new study reports that consumers are 47 percent more "engaged" with ads that run in online versions of televisions programs than they are with ads on plain-old television.

Cables To Go Twists Up HDMI/DVI Connections

If you received any HDMI or DVI-enabled gismos for the holidays, Cables To Go has 360-degree rotating connectors that'll help you get your fill of plugs.

Google Autolink Gets Patent Challenge

An appeals court has partially overturned a district court decision to throw out a patent lawsuit brought against Google by Hyperphrase.

Samsung Files ITC Complaint Against Sharp

South Korea's Samsung has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging Japan's Sharp makes LCD displays that infringe on four Samsung patents.

Amazon MP3 Store Gets Warner Music

Amazon MP3 - the online retail giant's DRM-free music store - has inked a deal enabling customers to buy music from the Warner Music Group library.

High-Def Format War Still at Stalemate

Here it's almost 2008, and the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray doesn't look any more resolved...but just wait for the spin.

Russia Launches Final Three GPS Satellites

Russia has launched the final three satellites for GLONASS, a mapping system designed to compete with the United State's Global Positioning System (GPS).

Verizon Wireless Touts Phone Recycling

Get a new phone for the holidays? Verizon Wireless wants folks to know they'll recycle your old phone, or put it to good use.

IBM Rolls Out Five Predictions

IBM has unveiled its second set of five predictions about technology it believes will come to pass in the next five years.

Nokia Claims UMTS Patent Victory

Nokia has emerged victorious in a patent battle with InterDigital over the UMTS technology used in many 3G mobile phones.

Hitachi, Matsushita, Canon Pact on LCDs

HItachi, Canon, and Matsushita have defined a basic, multi-billion dollar agreement to join forces - and share the costs - on developing LCDs.

Asus Announces U2 Notebook

Asus is getting a jump on January's CES show, announcing its new Core Duo U2 notebook with an 11.1-inch, 1,366 by 768 widescreen LCD display.