MICROSOFT

Facebook is working to extend its reach by lifting age restrictions from the site and developing a social network for children that will be monitored by their parents, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Remember when we said Microsoft has ?big plans? for the future of its Xbox console? With the Electronic Entertainment Expo beginning June 5, rumors about what the video game industry will unveil are starting to heat up. One of the most recent speculations to surface involves plans from Microsoft to offer a new feature that will stream Xbox 360 content from games directly to a mobile phone or tablet.

Intel Corp engineers are applying lessons from aircraft design to create sturdier laptops in a bid to reduce the cost of the new ultra-thin computers, the top chipmaker is promoting heavily

Sony considered a download-only format for its next-generation gaming console, but ultimately rejected the idea. The idea that a traditional disc tray could be excluded from one of the most anticipated consoles indicates the growing presence of online networks in the industry.

Microsoft?s Windows 8 Release Preview will launch today, May 31st according to tech news source Neowin. An accidental blog post published by Microsoft, which was almost immediately taken down, revealed the date.

Shares of smartphone manufacturers Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) and Nokia (NYS: NOK) swooned this week on fears of mounting losses and dwindling share.

Two months ago, Toronto activist investor Victor Alboini, whose Jaguar Financial had acquired a stake just below 5 percent in Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), said the company won?t be around in its current shape in two years. Now it's for sale.

Apple has acknowledged that its iPad made it a major force in ebooks but denied that it?s stifling competition in a formal reply to the Justice Department's antitrust suit.

The Xbox gaming console has evolved over the years, and Microsoft?s Yusuf Mehdi has revealed that the system is only in its beginning stages.

Microsoft's Windows 8 is expected to launch near the end of this year, but details have already leaked about the coming operating system: An offer pricing the Windows 8 Pro upgrade at $14.99 will run from June 2 to Jan. 31 of next year, according to The Verge.

Several industry bellwethers like Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) ) and NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP) have reported poor resuilts or forecasts. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) will axe 27,000 people. Is a new tech recession ahead?

Lorenzo Thione believes in fate and approaches the world with a somewhat self-confident naivete. This outward optimism comes across most clearly when he talks about his new business: He wants to be an artist among the artists, unchaining fine art from wealthy collectors and setting it free among the hoi polloi.

Because they report quarterly results generally out of the regula,r pattern technology giants Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSC), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) are technology bellwethers. Do their dismal dismal forecast presage downturn?

Dollars? He's got billions. Facebook friends? He's got millions. His name is Mark Zuckerberg.

In 2010 Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Motorola over patent fees for Xbox 360 technology. The phone manufacturer then countered with a lawsuit against Microsoft that could affect Xbox 360 sales in the United States.

No official release date has been set for Microsoft's upcoming Xbox 720, but legal documents could provide gamers with a time frame. According to TG Daily, Activision and Bungie have formed plans for a joint publishing deal.

In the era of emerging social media platforms, it may seem as if all forms of virtual communication have been covered. With Facebook and Twitter spearheading the social media scene, cyber networking offshoots have formed to cater to specific needs such as Pinterest and LinkedIn. Now it seems that Microsoft is looking to develop the social media landscape even further with its latest creation called So.cl.

Pod2g announced has that the highly anticipated untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 is almost ready for public release and should available in the next few days. As per further revelation from xvolks, the new jailbreak took will indeed be called Absinthe 2.0. He also uploaded a video showing the tool in action on an iPhone 4 GSM running iOS 5.1.1.

One value of going public for any company is to raise cash as well as mint new shares for acquisitions. Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)?s $16 billion initial public offering was no exception.

It?s not just Mark Zuckerberg whose shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, became more valuable on Friday. U2's Bono is also smiling.

It took Facebook a little over eight years to go from fledgling Internet startup to a $114 billion company. Here's a timeline of the social network and how it got to where it is right now: