Technology News

Web search leader Google (GOOG) Thursday posted a rise in quarterly profit that beat expectations and showed the company dodged the slowing growth trend that has hurt rivals Yahoo and eBay.

LONDON (Reuters) - PartyGaming plans to expand aggressively outside the United States, but sees no risk of being dragged into the U.S. indictment of a rival for racketeering, the world's biggest online gaming firm said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Online gaming group PartyGaming said on Friday it was not concerned by the U.S. indictment of rival BETonSPORTS, and might take advantage of the falling share prices that followed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to ban Internet gambling faces opposition in the U.S. Senate, but backers still hope to win passage of it within a few weeks, a top aide to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Convicted child molesters would be listed on a national Internet database and would face a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts under a bill the Senate approved Thursday.

OSLO (AFP) - Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor has posted strong second-quarter earnings in line with expectations, boosted mainly by its international mobile phone activities.

TAIPEI (AFP) - Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's leading telecom operator, says it plans to invest 8-10 billion dollars (244-305 million US) in its third-generation (3G) mobile phone business over the next two to three years.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Legacy Interactive is trying something unusual with its latest game based on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it shipped 1.8 million Xbox 360 video game console units in the fourth quarter, according to a slide presentation on its Web site.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Wireless has obtained a permanent injunction blocking a Miami telemarketer from making automated calls to its customers, the cellular phone company said Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - RadioShack Corp. , the struggling consumer electronics chain, on Friday reported a quarterly loss, hurt by declining wireless phone sales at its company-operated stores and costs of its turnaround plan.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Ericsson, the world's biggest supplier of mobile telecommunication systems, has reported a slight drop in second-quarter net profit as the acquisition of British group Marconi in 2005 continued to weigh on earnings.

OSLO (AFP) - Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor has posted strong second-quarter earnings in line with expectations, boosted mainly by its international mobile phone activities.

TAIPEI (AFP) - Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's leading telecom operator, says it plans to invest 8-10 billion dollars (244-305 million US) in its third-generation (3G) mobile phone business over the next two to three years.

Cingular Wireless tripled its second-quarter profit to $540 million as customer disconnects fell to an all-time low.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday lifted its full-year earnings outlook on strong demand for its new Windows operating system and announced plans to buy back as much as $40 billion of its stock, boosting its share price by 5 percent.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - US computer software titan Microsoft Corp. reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter profits fell 24 percent, partly as income flagged in its Internet and home and entertainment operations.

Avanquest Software Publishing has launched a new line of office software for the "professional" consumer or even enterprise arena that provides another alternative to Microsoft's Office suite.

Demand for a number of recently released products helped the Redmond software maker report record revenue of $11.80 billion in the fourth quarter, a 16 percent rise over the same quarter of the prior year.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. warned about a new computer virus that exploits a vulnerability in its PowerPoint presentation software to allow hackers to infiltrate computer systems.

SQL Server, Visual Studio, and Dynamics applications drive sales growth. CFO Liddell outlines the company's fiscal 2007 spending plans.

Microsoft says it remains committed to unifying the Exchange database store with the SQL Server database store going forward. They just don't know exactly when yet.

BOSTON - Drug store chain CVS Corp. will overhaul its human-resources department as part of a 10-year contract announced Thursday that is worth several hundred million dollars to IBM Corp.

Avanquest Software Publishing has launched a new line of office software for the "professional" consumer or even enterprise arena that provides another alternative to Microsoft's Office suite.

IBM is wielding the power of its World Community Grid in the fight against cancer.

Novellus Systems (Nasdaq: NVLS - News) reported results for its fiscal second quarter after market-close yesterday. As expected, the chip equipment maker reported strong increases in sales, earnings, and bookings, and expressed a remarkably bright outlook for NAND flash memory -- the stuff used to store songs in Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) iPod nano and other MP3 players.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc.'s shares surged after the company reported the recent update of its notebook line and the continued popularity of its iPod music players helped fuel a nearly 48 percent increase in profit and countered Wall Street fears that the company might be losing its shine.

A day after posting its second quarter of weak earnings, chip-making giant Intel announced Thursday it would shuffle top managers to new positions.

Advanced Cluster Systems (ACS) hopes to bring grid computing into the business mainstream with its new Math Grid Toolkit, a system for adapting Wolfram Research’s gridMathematica Workgroup Clusters.

The latest earnings from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) put a smile on many an analyst's and investor's face, with 24% revenue growth year over year and a 47% earnings increase. The decision to power MacBooks and iMacs with Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) chips is paying off, and the iPod/iTunes phenomenon is still going strong as well.

A French start-up created to build autonomous, easily programmable, affordable humanoid robots has emerged from stealth mode.

San Francisco (InfoWorld) - Microsoft is not viewed as an open source proponent, but a key executive said Wednesday the company recognized its benefit and was becoming more open itself.

55,000 downloads in June support claim to be world's most popular open source BI suite.

Microsoft announced on Monday that it has partnered with Linux supplier XenSource to develop technology that will ensure that Linux can run on its upcoming virtualization software code-named Viridian. The move is another step for Microsoft in its recent efforts to coexist with the open-source platform after years of fighting against it.

Review: The distro's usability and active community earn it high marks; its long-term support will appeal to businesses.

I was a bit worried about reviewing the Soda-Club 'make your own soda at home' gadget—I don't really drink soda, you see.

Getting organized, focused and productive doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

Windows/Mac: Adobe has just released a beta version of Lightroom, their new software for the entry-level professional photo editing market.

Got yourself some fresh strawberries to serve in a hurry? De-stem them using a common drinking straw: Just push the straw up through the bottom of the strawberry and push through until the stem pops off.

Mac OS X only: AlphaBaby lets your baby bang on your computer without renaming your shortcuts 'apyflkje;'.

ROME (Reuters) - The next time you call directory inquiries in Italy, you may speak to a convicted murderer.

Lower-than-expected demand for flat-panel TVs is spurring makers to cut prices - setting the stage for a bargain-filled back-to-school and holiday shopping season. A year ago, a 37-inch flat-panel model typically cost about $4,000. Now, some can be found for as little as $1,100.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. warned about a new computer virus that exploits a vulnerability in its PowerPoint presentation software to allow hackers to infiltrate computer systems.

Many MySpace users and others appear to be infected by a Trojan horse.

SAN FRANCISCO - It has been clear to investors for some time that eBay Inc. has been losing the luster that turned the online auctioneer into an e-commerce bellwether. Now, CEO Meg Whitman is finally acknowledging things have been off kilter and is hoping to set things right by raising fees on the online stores that had been diverting traffic from eBay's auctions.